Step Inside the Former Pittston Acme!

Courtesy of John from WISL1480.com

Location: 401 Kennedy Blvd, Pittston, PA

We're heading back to one of the very first stores covered on the blog. This time we will be taking a look at the fascinating interior. While the store has been converted to several different banners over the years, the place is still ALL Acme inside and out.

The classic photos that are kicking off the post are from the Wyoming Valley Blog which is,  unfortunately, no longer on the internet. The person running the blog was kind enough to allow me to access to all the great photos he had taken over the years. It was just the thing Acme Style needed to get off to a great start! For coverage of all of the former Wyoming Valley Acmes, please click here.

Above you see the Pittston store with the Acme/Super Saver sign. The awning is disguising the pitched-roof just behind it. You may also notice the banner on the left side of the store displaying Acme's 100th Anniversary logo, which was launched in 1991. Pretty crazy to see a store where the Super Saver sign lasted until the 90's. This was, by no means, a neglected location. The store received the 80's Remodel but for some reason did not get the red oval logo sign. Instead, the Super Saver sign would finally come down for the Checkerboard Arch decor of the early 90's, when the new block-letter logo went up.

And in giant 3D letters to boot! Just a few years later, this Acme would sold off to Penn Traffic along with 44 other North Eastern Pennsylvania stores. 

This location would become Penn Traffic's Insalaco's banner...

Not sure how long Insilco's lasted by but by January 2006, the store had become Bruno's.

Bruno's with a fresh coat of paint here. Notice the panels covering the old windows now painted in red and green. 

Bruno's closes in 2008.

Quinn's took over next, continuing on with the Shur Save branding. Not shur what the difference is between Shur Save and Shur Fine. I'm more familiar with the latter.


Quinn's has really brightened the place up with a new paint job!

The window covers are now blue and green.


Interesting situation here. The produce delivery door is now located on the dairy aisle side of the store. From all indications of the interior, Acme gave this place a major overhaul, completely flipping the layout.


An addition was made to the left side of the building which looks to have happened when the store was given the Super Saver awning. A bank once occupied this front space with Acme expanding into the rest. The addition allowed for the store's standard 50's/60's layout to be converted to the 33M format which remains today. Pittston must have been a good money maker for Acme. It certainly had plenty of remodels and upgrades here over the years.

Let's head inside and check it out!


Time to check off another item on my wish list! Well, not entirely but at this point we'll never come across a pitched-rood store that still has the Checkerboard Arch decor intact. This is as close as we're gonna get. While the checkerboards are gone here, the arches remain giving us a very good idea of what the store looked like back in the early 90's. The ceiling tiles may or may not be original to the store. Some pitched-roof models where built with them rather than leaving the ceiling exposed. They may have been added here later as both the tiles and lighting look relatively new.


This interior shots is a screen grab from a news report I found online. I couldn't help but to include it so we would have more views of the interior. A little hard to see all the details here but the original dairy side of the store is now the produce aisle. I believe the entrance is on the other side of Customer Service. A drop ceiling has been added over the front-end of the store, which is something we have never seen before on the blog. Again, all of these changes most likely happened when the store was converted to a Super Saver. In more recent years, the tile has been replaced in this section of the store.


Looking across the back of the store we see the good ol' 80's Remodel floor! Deli all the way in the far corner but originally would have been in this corner.


The red Meat Department tiles extend all the way over to Dairy.


These cases remain from the 80's Remodel. The blue Dairy tiles kick in at the creamer section.


A great view of the arches along the wall. Not sure about the chick coming out of the egg. That's not whatcha want to see at breakfast. Below is a picture from the Middlesex store which gives you an idea of what this wall looked like back in the Acme days.




In-store Bakery undoubtedly installed during the 80's Remodel. The tiles here are looking more red than the dark gold color they should have been. This image is a screen grab from the news video.


We have never seen a pitched-roof store on the blog with a drop ceiling across the front-end! I am assuming this was added years after the store had opened. I've certainly not seen anything like it in a pitched-roof store before.



A look around back on this snowy day...

AERIAL VIEWS

You can clearly see the addition made to the left side of the store.

HISTORIC IMAGES

2008

1999

1992

1969

Unfortunately no historic images available between 1969 and 1992. 

Thanks to John for the long awaited tour of the Pittston Acme!

Step Inside the Lansdowne Acme!

Photos courtesy of Gary in DC

Location: 63 North Union Avenue, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania

Big day at Acme Style! First off, welcome back to everyone who's checking in today. I announced back in July that the blog would be on break until today but I wound up resuming posts a week early. After you finish here, be sure to check out the posts of the Medford Acme and an ad for the grand-opening of the Pitman Acme that went up last week.

For today's post, we're returning to the former Lansdowne store for an exciting LOOK INSIDE! What were about to see here has never appeared on the blog. In fact, this combination of model type and interior decor is something I have never seen in person or in pictures. I have been hoping, since the very first day of this blog, that photos would eventually come in... and they finally have!

So what's inside? Well, Acme fans it's the 80's Remodel! Up until now I have seen pictured-roof stores with all sorts of decor packages... 70's Colonial, Checkerboard Arches, Neighborhood  Market, Convenience Store... but never the 80's Remodel. I had mentioned this previously on the blog and Gary had contacted me a while back to tell me he had these pictures. Problem was, they were on an old computer and he wasn't sure if he could retrieve them. Torture! After some finagling, he was able to access them and sent them in. #1 item on my wish list now checked off! 

Now the photos I have to share here are rather limited. Gary was taking some pictures of the fixtures shortly after the store closed for good. His intentions were not to photograph the store's decor. We will only be getting some glimpses of the left side of the store where Frozen and Dairy were located. There is, however, something very interesting to see along the back wall. It's something I have never seen in all my years of visiting 80's remodels!  

Quiet a long time ago, Gary sent in the exterior photos shown here. Apparently I never posted them. I was quiet sure I had but can't find them anywhere on the blog. If you've seen them before on here, let me know! They may have been part of an update post. In the photos, we're seeing the Acme boarded up with the sign removed. We're also seeing the tiles that made up the interior sign. As mentioned before, these were always left in place as they as the tiles were part of the support structure for the front wall. The colorful plastic panels have been removed. (For a view of what this sign looked like from the inside, check out the Clayton Acme by clicking here.) A close-up is right below...



Now we'll head back in time with an exterior photo sent in by trex354. This photo was included in the original Lansdowne post which you can visit by clicking here.

Classic photo courtesy of trex354

LOOK INSIDE >>>

Well I never thought I'd live to see the day! The 80's Remodel in a pitched-roof store. And still looking pretty darn good when this store closed in 2005. The Frozen Food cases all appear to have survived from the remodel. We can see some newer black cases back in the Meat Department. Hey, what's on the wall back there? "Lancaster"?? Did Acme come to it's senses at some point and ditch "Quality" which was standard issue during the 80's Remodel? Look below for a close-up...


I thought maybe they just added Lancaster here and had the sign read "Lancaster Quality Meats" but that's not the case as we was can see a sliver of the "M" behind the marker for aisle 8. (For a look at the 80's "Quality Meats" sign, please click here.) Notice too, the ceiling has tiles and is not exposed like most pitched-roof stores. No idea if this store was always like this or if the tiles were added at some point.


Aisle 10 is a continuation of Frozen as well as the Dairy aisle. Interesting to note here... in the 50's stores the frozen food cases shared the same same aisle. It was during the 80's remodels that the cases were backed up to each other having frozen foods run along two different aisles as seen here.


Sleek black cases put into the Dairy aisle at some point. This store must have been doing fairly well into the early 2000's. It did outlive a much larger Super Fresh that was located just steps away. Notice that this pitched-roof is very similar to the one in Paulsboro. The roof extends all the way to the Dairy wall. Most stores like this had the last aisle or two located under a flat drop ceiling. For a look at a similar store check out Paulsboro by clicking here. Compare that store to the more common set up like the one in Parkesburg by clicking here.


They even squeezed in an In-Store Bakery! To the right is Customer Service. You can see just a tiny bit of "SERVICE"in the upper-left hand corner. This sign is from the Checkerboard Arch decor package of the early 90's. 80's remodels were stripped of the Customer Service office in favor of the CSR stand which never had any signage indicating what it was. A similar situation played out at the now-former Adams Avenue Acme in Philadlphia, where the 80's remodel remains until today accompanied by the 90's Customer Service sign. Click here for a look.


The front wall of the store. The colorful Acme interior sign sadly covered over in beige...


A closer look at the red-oval logo with "Thank you for shopping" right above it.


Today Save a lot calls this former Acme home. For additional coverage of how the store looks today, visit the original post by clicking here.

Thanks again to Gary and the effort he made to get us these pictures! A pitched-roof/80's Remodel has finally made it to the blog!!

Acme — Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

Location: 785 Starr Street, Phoenixville, PA

Snow is still in the forecast at Acme Style! I have a few more stores to get posted from this past winter. Kind of appropriate this week since the temperature plunged in New Jersey and we did get some more snow. Over the next few Fridays, I will be focusing on getting this batch of stores up on the blog. Most happen to be Pennsylvania locations so we'll be on a short break from the New Jersey store coverage. My goal, as of now, is to have all open New Jersey stores represented on the blog by summer's end.


So when it comes to the Phoenixville Acme, I find myself with just one word to describe it… confusing. Not in a bad way. In fact, it is one of the more fascinating stores that I have covered for the blog. Had I not known better, I would have sworn Acme took over this building from another chain. Even the facade is more Grand Union-like than Acme...

Photo courtesy of gustores4ver

My knowledge Phoenixville's history is pretty dicey. A 50's model existed on this same property, closer to the road, until at least 1971. Exactly when this replacement was built is my question. It's nearly impossible to figure that out from the interior. The configuration of the Bakery, Produce and Deli & Seafood is not typical to any era of Acme stores.


Heading in here through the right side entrance. The Bakery is surprisingly the first department inside the entrance...


Update 5.1.14: Just came across this picture and realized it wasn't included in the post. Interesting font for the "Welcome to…" This is the entrance on the left side. We'll now get back to the original post where we're heading in the right side...


Check out that floor! A bright, bold, virtually flawless version of the 80's Checkerboard floor remains in a majority of the store. The checkerboard pattern is on an angle here rather than running parallel to the exterior walls of the building. That slight change makes the floor so much more visually interesting than the standard pattern in the majority of 80's stores and remodels.


The condition of the floor is pretty remarkable. You'll see that some tiles have been swapped out around the store and don't quite match the original color schemes...


Let's discuss this Bakery for a moment. Does anyone know of another Acme where the Bakery is the very first department? I've certainly never seen one. This is technically the start of the store. The Pharmacy is at the opposite corner. We'll be seeing some other odd layout situations here as well.  The decor is a basic version of the Industrial Circus package. The department signs are flat against the wall with no spot lights shining on them. The walls throughout the store have minimal decor elements.


A look at the Bakery tiles joining up with the grocery aisles. A couple of mismatched tiles on the left.


Tiles shift to bluish-green as we move on to Produce. You can see in the lower-left hand corner that some areas of the 80's floor were switched out for the Industrial Circus flooring.


Aisle 1 is half deals and half Wild Harvest, with Meat to the rear. Produce is in an alcove off to the right with all new flooring. Notice how the checkerboard floor looks more interesting here than in the former Sharon Hill store, for example…




This alcove may have been a result of an expansion of the store.




I'm always surprised to see this old Wild Harvest signage. Not sure why they haven't swapped it out in all stores, especially with many of Acme's competitors placing more emphasis on their health food departments. The new signage matches the current packaging for the Wild Harvest products. You can see an example of the sign at the abandoned Cinnaminson store. But then again… Wild Harvest may be on its way out in favor of Safeway's O Organics brand. There have numerous articles online discussing the cost cutting measures Safeway will take once it starts running Alberstsons. Ditching SuperValu's brands would seem like a logical step.


Fake corrugated steel. Click here for the real thing.






Can't get enough of this floor. It actually pairs up nicely with the Industrial Circus decor. And look at that shine!




Check out the lighting! It's the exposed fluorescent tubes rather than the recessed lighting seen in 80's and 90's stores. This type of lighting was phased out of new Acmes way back in the 70's!  Could this in fact be a former 33M store? It's impossible to tell from the historic aerials since we see the 50's model in 1971 and the current store in the next available view from 2002. There are just too many odd situations here to sketch out the exact history of this place.


Over to aisle 2 now with an extension of the Wild Harvest department reaching into "Shop the World". Again, notice how the checkerboard pattern here. I believe this was done in very late 80's stores. The very last ones just before the newer Red/White/Blue package was used in new stores.


There appears to be second floor offices above the Meat Department. You can see the mirrored windows along the ceiling.


Some of the pictures from here on out get a little blurry. This was one of my first stop on a 17 store day so I was moving pretty quickly through the place.




The store is screaming "expanded 33M model" in this shot. The drop ceiling extending out over the Deli and Seafood is another odd aspect of this store.


Bad picture of the frozen food. Including it to show the Industrical Circus category signs hanging from the ceiling. Other aisles have been upgraded to the Premium Fresh and Healthy signs...




No markers in this aisle here but notice how beautifully the shelves are stocked! Yes Acme shoppers, Supervalu HAS left the building.




Dairy extends into an alcove in the back corner. This is due to the the Wine And Spirts running along the left wall of the store.


Dairy doesn't have the usual light blue tiles.


Regardless of all the mixing of decor packages, this is still a very attractive store.


More Industrial Circus flooring can be seen in this corner of the store.


This was my first time in an Acme that sold liquor.






Hopefully someone can confirm the history here. I'm putting my money on a 1970's 33M store being expanded and completely renovated in the late 80's. The historic aerials down below offer no confirmation on this.

Aerial Views...

Additional stores added in recent years, seen here still under construction. Acme's parking lot no longer has angled spots. All construction is now complete and the stores are open.


This just adds to my confusion… there are NO clues on the roof of any kind of expansion. From these aerial shots, it looks like it could be a freshly built, late 80's store.




No clues in the back either. The brick all looks exactly the same. From this distance, there's no indication of a new and old section. I didn't drive around back for a closer look.

Historic Aerials...

2008

Store construction and parking lot complete in 2008.

2002

Here you can see the spot where the original store was located. Not sure why all of those trailers are sitting there. Strange that the lot of the former store was left such a mess.

1971

Jumping decades back to 1971, we see the original 50's store. I have a feeling we're missing some interesting history during those years. A few small stores appear were added to the left side of the building.

1968

1965

1957

Acme stands alone in 1957. The store opened in December 1955.

1951

Ok Phoenixville Acme fans… what can you tell us about this place?

Update: An article at philly.com has this store opening on May 18, 1988! "Acme Chain Has 1st New Pa. Store In A Decade" So it was one of the first new 80's stores. Not among the last as I speculated. Strange though that they went back to the florescent tube lighting for a new store. Also puts the angled checkerboard flooring at an early date than I thought. Perhaps they decided to so this just for new stores and not the remodels. Link to the article about the store's opening is below...

http://articles.philly.com/1988-05-26/news/26260852_1_united-valley-bank-nursing-acme-employees