Former Acme – Rosemont, Pennsylvania

Location: 1218 E Lancaster Ave, Rosemont, PA

Another former Main Line Acme comes to the blog today. This impossibly small store open on December 20, 1957 and miraculously remained opened until 2003. It's prime location certainly helping it to overcome its limited selection. The store also received plenty of TLC over the years. The 90's Checkerboard Arch remodel made its way here as indicated by the pyramid over the entrance. Back in it's early days, the store had the tower logo in front. And according to a comment left under the Wayne store, this location was once referred to as the "big Acme" of the area!


The building dates back to at least 1948. That's the last look we will have of it in the historic aerials. No idea what was here before Acme took over.




This section currently houses Wells Fargo and has existed in one form or another since 1948. It was actually a larger structure back in the 50's than it is today.


Not sure how I missed this place back in the 90's when I would often travel through the area. I would have killed to see this little Acme.






No signs of the magic carpets. The sidewalk may have been redone since they were removed.

Just a regular ol' CVS inside...


If there's one thing you can count on CVS for, it's for not leaving a single architectural clue of a building's history.




The Bryn Mawr Acme is located just a mile thataway! And the former Wayne Acme is located 3 miles the other way.


This back section looks to have been added when Acme moved in.


This was probably all of the back room space. I can't help but wonder what the square footage of the sales floor was. Maybe 8,000?


Chimney on the corner!




Fomer Acme parking lot signs still intact...

AERIAL IMAGES

Interesting roof situation. Looks like the original structure was added on to in the front and right side. This expansion appears to be complete when the Acme moved. While we will have a look at the building in 1948, the image itself is not very good.

HISTORIC AERIALS

2008

2002

1999

1992

1971

1967

1958

1948

For an interesting read on some additional Main Line Acmes, jump over to RadnorHistory.com by clicking here.

Former Acme – Lakewood, New Jersey

Location: 2nd and Monmouth Streets, Lakewood, NJ 

The former Lakewood Acme still shows the blue script logo on Bing Maps! This despite the fact that Acme has been gone from this location for many years. I discovered this last September when doubgbalt, a frequent contributor here at Acme Style, had found an ad listing the address of the store. I immediately went to Bing Maps to survey the situation and was stunned to see the Acme logo still on the building. I then jumped over to Google to get a street level view only to find a more recent view of the building with the logo gone. So back to Bing Maps I went for some screen grabs in case they updated their aerials any time in the near future. Last week I received an email from someone else pointing out the logo on Bing Maps so I decided it was time to get this building up on the blog!

Acme opened here on March 17, 1954. Originally the building had the tower sign right above the entrance. A portion of the base of the tower appears to remain on the awning. The tower is clearly visible in some of the historic aerials. It is so clearly seen in the 1986 image that you see "ACME" is no longer on the tower. Judging from earlier historic images, the store may have closed in the 70's.

A photo on flickr of the building with the Acme logo. I had seen this photo on flickr when Acme Style was in its infancy but wasn't sure of its exact location. 

HISTORIC AERIALS

2007

2002

1986

The tower still standing in 1986 without the ACME letters. Wonder why no one painted over the front of the store.

1979

Hard to know if it was still an Acme at this point.

1970

1963

Judging from the parking lot, the place was getting a nice crowd back in 1963! The rear parking lot was also reconfigured by this point as you can see down below in the next available view.

1956

1953

Looks as though a train station stood here originally.

Below are some screen grabs from Google Maps...


Logo gone :(

Another New Ultra-Modern Acme!

 Classic ad courtesy of Amy Macnamara

Location: 51 North Woodbury Avenue, Pitman, NJ

The Parade of Progress came roaring into Pitman, New Jersey on July 18. 1956. Acme opened this ultra-modern store packed with the latest shopping conveniences including one I have never seen before. This place had an in-store bank! If you look closely at the entrance, you'll see the teller window just to the left of the doors. The rendering also has a generic "BRANCH BANK" sign on the left corner above the stores vestibule. Look below for a zoomed in view...

Amy discovered this vintage ad tucked away in her Grandmother's sewing drawer.  She hopped online to research the ad's date and wound up stumbling across Acme Style. Unfortunately the location had not yet been featured on the blog so she emailed a photo and asked if I had any information. I was able to pin down the opening date of the store but that was about it. If anyone has more information on the store's history, please leave a comment below. 

2002

The Acme is gone. TD Bank now located on the property. The Acme building survived until at least 1995...

1995

No way of knowing from this vantage point if Acme still operated here. The building had been expanded by 1995 but it looks as though another store was added to the left side.

1965

Look at the size of the parking lot!

1963

1957

1956

I did a rough count of parking spaces in this image since the lines are nice and clear. Came up with 165 spots!

1951

Thanks to Amy for sharing her incredible find with us!