Road Trip Photos

Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Moderator: Groceteria

Post Reply
User avatar
Groceteria
Great Pumpkin
Posts: 1927
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 12:13
Location: In the breakroom
Contact:

Road Trip Photos

Post by Groceteria »

A few photos from my quick trip to areas around Washington, Baltimore, and Wilmington DE earlier this week, if you care:

http://www.groceteria.com/journal/2007/12.html#121407

It wasn't a big "research" trip, just sort of a getaway, and the skies were decidedly gray, so I didn't atke too many pictures. These were interesting, though, or at least I thought so.
rich
Veteran
Posts: 673
Joined: 15 Nov 2005 20:51
Location: Washington, DC

Post by rich »

The "Acme" on Kenilworth was probably something else. There was an Acme in that area, but it was a 1950s (maybe even 1940s) store that went in their first wave of store closings in the early 1970s (right after I first saw it). It was memorable because it was dark, dank and rather small. It had the enamel covered brick front and script "Acme Markets" lettering that was common in the 40s & 50s. There was a new looking Giant (now recently closed) closeby that seemed to be getting all the business.

That Acme on Kenilworth had been turned into a meeting hall for a Hispanic group the last time I was in the area.

Hope you visited the Safeways of lore--the Soviet/Socialist Safeway on 17th St, NW and the Social Safeway on Wisconsin Ave, in upper Georgetown/Glover Park. Just up from the Social Safeway is a 1956 Giant with the original exterior (but 1990ish interior), another classic.
User avatar
Groceteria
Great Pumpkin
Posts: 1927
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 12:13
Location: In the breakroom
Contact:

Post by Groceteria »

rich wrote:Hope you visited the Safeways of lore--the Soviet/Socialist Safeway on 17th St, NW and the Social Safeway on Wisconsin Ave, in upper Georgetown/Glover Park. Just up from the Social Safeway is a 1956 Giant with the original exterior (but 1990ish interior), another classic.
I was actually only in DC proper for about 15 minutes, so I didn't see much of anything there.

Also, I just happened to be watching "Polyester", the John Waters film, tonight, and noticed that the Penn Fruit in Glen Burnie was used as an exterior location. It had already been converted into the Fontaine Bleu by that time (1981).
maynesG
Veteran
Posts: 322
Joined: 22 Aug 2007 17:03
Location: DELAWARE

Acme on route 202 WILMINGTON DE

Post by maynesG »

Hi, Great Photo of The acme in Wilmington. I spent a few years in this store as a Deli Manager. This store is not in the city of Wilmington but in what is known as Fairfax section of unincorporated Wilmington. This store was one of the first units Acme opened in surburban Wilmington in the late 1950!s as the middle Class stareted moving out of the city. As you can see the store is a verry small unit, originaly it had only a service delli and was a small box. Over the years, SAcme has taken over and expanded into a former paint store and a hardware store
Today, fourty percent of the store is now service, every thing from
Star Bucks, to a large Service Butcher Block (Combo Meat Sea Food),to a large B akery, and a huge deli are nowmin that little building. The grocery department has shrunk by four aisles and the skyline has been expanded.
Alass, Acme has only one unit oppperating in the city limits of Wilmington, on Trolley Square on the Sigth of and old trolley round house.
This unit dares back to the late fourties and has all the service departments you would expect. It also has a staircase in the back room
left over from the Trolley Days that goes up to levels to a Wall and as the old timers who worked their told me is haunted.
I will try to get pictures sent in.
User avatar
Groceteria
Great Pumpkin
Posts: 1927
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 12:13
Location: In the breakroom
Contact:

Re: Road Trip Photos

Post by Groceteria »

I didn't get a picture, but there's a Save-a-Lot close in on Lancaster Avenue (in Wilmington) that seems to have a history as well, probably dating from the 1940s or 1950s. Any thoughts?
maynesG
Veteran
Posts: 322
Joined: 22 Aug 2007 17:03
Location: DELAWARE

Re: Road Trip Photos

Post by maynesG »

Groceteria wrote:I didn't get a picture, but there's a Save-a-Lot close in on Lancaster Avenue that seems to have a history as well, probably dating from the 1940s or 1950s. Any thoughts?
hi, I went in to that store last year out of curiosity. The area is verry iffy so i didn!t stay verry long but the person in charge told me that this store had stated life as an Acme after World War two.
I asked around with older people that Had worked with Acme many years and was told that this store closed in the mid sixties, as did the unit on the Govenor Printz Highway after some verry serious riots had taken place in the city.
The building was the taken over by the Post office in
some capacity for several years and ten years ago was then taken
over by Save A Lot ( their parent company Super Valu owns Acme)
TheQuestioner
Contributor
Posts: 95
Joined: 28 Nov 2005 16:39

Re: Road Trip Photos

Post by TheQuestioner »

I can help clear up the mystery store on Kenilworth. I knew I had read about this a while ago somewhere, at first I thought it was on this board. On the dcgrocery site there is a somewhat hidden section called Name That Store with photos of unknown former supermarkets. This one has an interesting background.

It was part of a chain called Food Fair, not the major northeast Food Fair chain, but a local DC chain that was eventually bought out and renamed by Grand Union. I think the "real" Food fair went by another name for a time in the 50's when they expanded into DC, which eventually turned out to be one of their major markets.

There is a scan of an illustration of this Food Fair on the DCgrocery site, the link is below. I would recommend this site to anyone who hasn't visited it yet, there is a lot of great info about old retail, both DC chains and national ones that have/had a presence around DC.

http://groups.msn.com/dcgrocery/shoebox ... otoID=1311
rich
Veteran
Posts: 673
Joined: 15 Nov 2005 20:51
Location: Washington, DC

Re: Road Trip Photos

Post by rich »

The Philly Food Fair used the "Foodlane" name in the DC area until Grand Union bought the local Food Fair chain. The Philly chain never developed much of a profile in DC, relative to other places like Philly & Baltimore even after the name change.
Post Reply