Corry Plaza

With everything going on in the world at the moment, I thought it would be appropriate to take a quick look around at a pharmacy in Corry, PA - and would later revise my plan to basically take a look at the entirety of the shopping plaza it is located in. 

All evidence would suggest that this CVS location seen below was a former Revco and that would make sense given this location is part of a community shopping plaza.

While its true you 'quit tobacco' by not selling it anymore, I don't think it is that easy for your customers to quit. But, hey this isn't a bad move; just amusing as CVS quit tobacco in an entirely different way then what most would assume those words to mean. 

Comments on my Flickr photostream suggest that the aisle marker signs happen to be a relic from Revco, so that's pretty neat that CVS actually reused them. 

And now I pivot this post to focus on the neighbor to this CVS for a second. I have a suspicion that the Save a Lot next door may have been a Kroger at one point. Given that Revco was likely next door, I feel pretty confident in my guess.

It actually did relocate to this spot from an abandoned plaza (as seen below) closer to downtown Corry, so obviously something would of been here prior.

A few pictures of an entirely different shopping plaza closer to downtown Corry that is now mostly abandoned.

Back at the Corry Plaza, we also have a few more pictures to look at:

Former Quality Farm and Fleet; and likely also a former Ames 

Former a GC Murphy 5&10 then a Dollar Zone 

Warren's Kroger Supply

I had mentioned in one of my very first posts that Kroger once had a presence in the Twin Tiers coverage area. I can confirm that were also locations in the towns of Clarion, Clearfield, DuBois and Meadville. Kroger also had locations outside the blog coverage area surrounding the Pittsburgh region. Kroger completely left Pennsylvania in 1984 due to increased costs to operate just nine stores after having labor disputes in the Pittsburgh area:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19840315&id=SlsuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZNoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1306,2698866&hl=en

Warren apparently either closed as part of the 45 stores mentioned, or it just closed on its own. The second seems more likely as Warren is the furthest city to the north- with at one time having a Kroger presence- away from Pittsburgh. I do plan on doing another post or two on PA Krogers, but it may be a while before I do.

This store, now split between a Salvation Army thrift store and a Tractor Supply, was a shadow anchor of the now dead Warren Mall. Although I have no idea when this store opened or closed, I do know it was a greenhouse style of store.1  Going in I didn't have much of an idea of what I was looking for so I kind of looked for anything that seemed out of place for a Tractor Supply:

These greenhouse windows is what give this building's days a Kroger away. At least Tractor Supply kept them intact. Nowadays it seems Tractor Supply does actually do exterior work for at least some of the newer locations.

Some miscellaneous views from under the greenhouse windows.

Now for some interior details:

First sights upon entering.

Original Kroger doors have been blockaded off, but there still here!

Newer doors in place.

Greenhouse windows as viewed from the inside.

Open back wall.

Different ceiling heights. The higher ceiling is actually a hallway that leads to the restrooms here.

Peeking into the stockroom at the end of the mentioned hallway.

So while Kroger no longer operates in PA, its memory still does even if I only discovered it within the past few years. Interestingly enough, the former Indiana, PA Kroger is also a Tractor Supply.

I would like to thank Flickr user Mjhale for bringing my attention to the google newspaper link in this article. He has a picture of the former Grove City and Clearfield Kroger locations on his photostream. I plan to eventually visit Clearfield myself.

Footnotes:
1. Thanks to multiple Flickr users (you know who you are) and Mid-South Retail Blog's series of post about Kroger decors.

The Dead Bradford Mall

NOTE: This post has been updated and is now complete.

As promised, here's a little post on the Bradford Mall's history (that I am aware of) and some future plans as well. Just like most other malls were meant to be, this mall was McKean county's shopping detestation in its heyday. Its original anchors were JCPenney and Woolworths. Other notable tenants included JO-ANN and CVS, as well as a bank. KB Toys possibly had a store here at one time, but I couldn't find any evidence suggesting it was other than talking with my parents/older friends.

As time moved on, JCPenney would end up closing first. What is odd in this situation is that they didn't really have any competition unless you count local clothing stores. They moved to a JCPenney catalog center on Kendall Ave (now Enterprise uses the space) before ultimately leaving Bradford forever. I can only assume that the nearby city of Olean, NY (about 15 miles away from Bradford across the state line) received its JCPenney location because of this one closing. Bradford did suffer from a major loss in population. Rather ironically, JCPenney has moved three times total if they did indeed replace the Bradford store with Olean.

Eventually Jamesway moved into the old JCPenney's space until the chain was bought out by Ames. The space did become Ames until it closed when the chain went bankrupt. Now about a quarter of the space is being used by Tractor Supply while Carolina Furniture uses the back half of the store as a warehouse for furniture assembly. According to the local newspaper, Carolina Furniture is interested in opening a showroom in the remaining quarter of the store. If this indeed does occur, then the former Ames would be completely filled. 

Former JCPenney, Jamesway and Ames. Now used by Tractor Supply and Carolina Furniture.

Former Ames interior. Note how clean it is. This is a good suggestion that Carolina furniture may open a showroom here.

Let's take a look at the mall itself. The mall is a classic T shape. I have limited pictures of the mall since it is closed to the public. However, you can still see remains of it through Big Lots, Label Shopper and obviously the former entrance.

Mall entrance. Verizon is one of the newest tenants here.

Former mall corridor as viewed from Big Lots' former mall entrance.

Here's a look at the former mall entrance for Big Lots.

Looking at Big Lots from Label Shopper.

Looking at Label Shopper (former CVS) from Big Lots.

Now for the future of the mall. As already stated, things are actually looking pretty decent for this mall with ?Dunham's opening and the furniture store looking to open as well. Although the back portion of the mall isn't being used, the side facing East Main Street is. Everything with the exception of one or two storefronts is now filled. Here's a look at the more plaza like Bradford Mall:

Dollar Tree actually opened after the mall went dead. It opened around the same time that Walmart across the street did. I found it interesting that Dollar Tree didn't open in the plaza on the hill by Walmart like a lot of the other former mall stores did and instead built their new location in the dead mall.

Formerly Woolworths

Label Shopper was a former CVS

It is worth noting that I didn't really take a picture of the health services center that is the newest thing to occupy a space. The reason I did this is because it isn't retail. Taco Bell and Sheetz have both announced plans to open on or near the Bradford Mall property in the near future. I'll be sure to take pictures of both once they are open and operational, possibly a picture or two during their construction.

Former JCPenney Auto & Firestone Auto. Currently being used as a beer distributor and ice cream parlor. Rumor would suggest that Sheetz may tear this down and build a store here.

Future Taco Bell in the parking lot of the Bradford Mall. The current owners also want to add a road to the stoplight for Walmart as seen in this picture allowing for better traffic access.