Groceteria.com

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

This looks like it was possibly a 1950s or 1960s era Kroger expanded into the 1970s prototype, as you can still see the cube sign out front. I remember it being Mr. B's Foodland well into the 1990s. (Kroger has since opened further up the road in a store that was originally Bay City-based Giantway, and more recently Kessel Foods.) This former Kroger/Mr. B's sat empty for a very long time, and in the past five or six years, it was split between a Salvation Army thrift shop and a (very large) Family Dollar, the latter of which took the corner entrance. As you can see, the thrift shop moved into the former Family Dollar, and the old thrift shop was abandoned. (The old thrift shop cut a new entry under the existing awning.) In what era did Kroger use rounded roofs?

TenPoundHammer wrote:In what era did Kroger use rounded roofs?

This looks like it was probably originally a mid 1950s store, possibly one of these:

That store looks like the store in Dearborn Michigan (complete with the rounded roof) that became a marshalls a few years ago, my guess is it was originally a mid to late 1960's store.

Kroger472 wrote:That store looks like the store in Dearborn Michigan (complete with the rounded roof) that became a marshalls a few years ago, my guess is it was originally a mid to late 1960's store.

You're right, it does. That store seems to date from around 1959, because I know that the former Crowley's at the other end (torn down for Kroger's current store in that mall) was built at that time.

Here's a look into the old Kroger building: http://www.petzoldenterprises.com/galle ... temId=1036

And here's an outside shot, making it blatantly obvious that it used to be a Kroger: http://www.petzoldenterprises.com/galle ... temId=1104

And just to drive the point home, the cube sign: http://www.petzoldenterprises.com/galle ... temId=1110

According to the lease plan, the Marshalls is 28,991 sf.

Personally, my intuition leans more towards the early to mid 1950s. Weren't they building generic shopping center-style stores with flat roofs by the end of the decade?

A great find, in any case! I like how the stepped edge of the original rear wall protrudes from the roof.

Andrew T. wrote:Personally, my intuition leans more towards the early to mid 1950s. Weren't they building generic shopping center-style stores with flat roofs by the end of the decade?

A great find, in any case! I like how the stepped edge of the original rear wall protrudes from the roof.

In another thread, someone pointed out that the Dearborn store still has a 1950s "KROGER" sign in the brick on the back.

As for Bay City, I would say 1950s is a good guess for this store.

There's an ex-Kroger with an arched roof in Dearborn, at Westborn. http://tch546.tripod.com/smkt/kroco.html