Going Back in Time in Succasunna!

Location: 10 Roxbury Mall, Succasunna NJ

The former Succasunna Acme first appeared on the blog back in April 2009. You can jump to that post by clicking here. Be sure to check out the comments section for a highly detailed account of the final years of this Acme. It is a fascinating read! 

The photo seen above shows the Acme, which closed in May 1998, having been take over by a Linens N Things. LNT went under in 2008. All these years later, Acme's pyramid remains on the left side. This feature was added during an early 90's remodel over Acme's entrance. LNT sealed up those doors and moved the entrance to the right side of the store. The building is now occupied by a Ramsey Outdoor sports store and still looks very much like this today, with Acme's pyramid still intact. 

Missing from the original post were the historic aerial images. At the time, I wasn't aware that such images existed online so they were not included in the posts I was doing back then. For Succasunna, the historic images give us a fascinating look at the original Acme before a fire wiped it out. Let's head back in time for a look...

This is how the shopping center looks today. A Home Depot sits next to the former Acme with a ShopRite on the other side. Acme and ShopRite co-existed here for years. The large building in the middle of the photo is a Kohl's today but started out as Caldor. What you can't see in the photo in the original strip mall that existed along Route 10. Long gone now but we will get a look at it down below. 

2007

The shopping center as it is today. Many of the black roves have been painted white. 

1995

The Acme was still open in 1995. ShopRite had yet to expand due to the Acme still being in business. The commenter I mentioned from the original post, explained that ShopRite was not permitted to expand while the Acme was still in business. I do remember a change ShopRite made at the store that proved to be a massive disaster. They spent a million dollars on a new entrance the had a giant revolving door. It was similar to what IKEA uses at some of it's stores. The door was so despised by customers, ShopRite had to rip it out and send it to the dump. 

1987

Now we're getting to the good stuff. As of 1987, a good ten or more years after the fire, you can see the foundations of the stores that were located closer to Route 10. I'm not sure which pad was the Acme. I remember going to the Acme as a kid and wondering why it was so freakishly far from the main road. I don't think you could see it very well from Route 10, if at all. The field in the center of the property was quiet overgrown. 

1979

Slightly better view in 1979. Zoomed in just below... 

1979

I would have loved to play here as a kid! I remember being fascinated at the news that the original strip had burned down but don't remember ever seeing on the way to the new Acme.

1971

1970

Interesting how the images get a bit clearer the further back we go. Looks like the first store at the bottom of the photo has been torn down. It was standing in 1963 as seen below...

1963

No idea which building is the Acme or what other stores where here. 

1957

I've wondered about the Roxbury Mall since I was probably 10 or 11 years old. Nice to have some answers all these decades later!

Former Acme — Succasunna, NJ

Here is the abandoned Linens-N-Things which is the former Acme at the Roxbury Mall in Succasunna NJ. I believe the Acme closed sometime in the mid-90's. Not sure how long it sat empty until LNT moved in. At one time, this Acme used to be one of the most successful in North Jersey. It wasn't particularly large and faced tough competition from the much larger ShopRite at the opposite end of the strip. This Acme was one of the first to be remodeled in the mid 80's and then had the 90's decor put in... the checkerboard arch look which can been seen in the Manasquan post. The checkerboard floor from the 80's remained. The facade was also changed with the addition of the green pyramid over the entrance. The latest Acme logo was put here as well as a smaller version of the logo on the right end of the store's facade.

Acme's entrance was kinda tucked out of the way. Home Depot is next door. Exiting the Acme must have been difficult with cars coming around the corner there.

The Acme entrance and windows were where the darker brick section is now.

I believe the railing and bench are left over from the Acme days.

LNT made alot of changes when they took over. Glad the left the old green pyramid in place.

Windows of course lined the front of the store when it was an Acme. I think that door was put in by LNT. One interesting thing about this Acme is that the in-store bakery was at the back of the store near the dairy department. Acme in-store bakeries were almost always located at the front of the store in the corner opposite the entrance.

No Acme labelscar that I could see. I don't think the store remained opened very long after it's last remodel. Not sure how it survived as long as it did with the huge ShopRite practically next door. Strangely too, Acme was one of the only stores to not have it's logo on the signage out by Rt. 10.

The Acme used to have it's red oval logo on a section that looked similar to the Carter's store signage. LNT removed it when it built it's new entrance.

Here's what it looked like with the Acme sign.

This snap shot from Live Maps was taken while LNT was still in business. I wonder if Acme ever attempted to get the Carter's store moved so it could expand. No expense was ever sparred to keep this store updated to compete with the ShopRite.

Here you can see the ShopRite to the left of the strip. It was always a larger store than the Acme and wass expanded significantly over the years.

You can see here how far back from the main road the Acme was. This strip mall was originally located much closer to Rt. 10 but caught fire and burned to the ground. I believe that happened in the late 70's. The mall was rebuilt further back to get the stores re-opened as soon as possible. Years later Caldor built were the strip mall used to be. That store is now a Kohl's.

I believe this is sort of the replacement store to the old Succasunna location. It's located about 4 miles away in Randolph. Not sure when this location opened and if the opening was timed with the closing of Succassunna. Hopefully someone will have more information to share. This location is similar to Acme's of the past... at stand-alone building in a residential area. No other stores or shopping centers nearby. I was in this Acme once. The interior is one of the nicest I have ever seen.

UPDATE 7.14.09: The Succasunna store closed on May 23, 1998. The Randolf store was not a replacement store. This location opened on October 1, 2002. It is a former Grand Union.