A&P spottings in and on the way to Michigan

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Moderator: Groceteria

Post Reply
User avatar
Andrew T.
Veteran
Posts: 689
Joined: 18 Oct 2007 14:26
Location: Minnesota's attic, Canada
Contact:

A&P spottings in and on the way to Michigan

Post by Andrew T. »

As a follow-up to my other thread, here are the A&P stores I photographed on my last road trip. A&P survived in Michigan longer than average, doing business under its own name until the early 1990s and persisting in metro Detroit under the acquired Farmer Jack brand until 2007...so maybe it shouldn't surprise me that there are so many traces of their existence underfoot. But when these stores last served up groceries is anyone's guess.
Aimg_6579_1250_e_grand_river_howell_mi.jpg
1250 E. Grand River Rd., Howell, MI.. This was easily the most original of the centennials I spotted, with an intact weathervane. I wonder if it had a canopy of some sort covering the windows and entrance at one time...but the same goes for the rest of these stores.
Aimg_6601_2165_washtenaw_ave_ypsi_twp.jpg
2165 Washtenaw Ave., Ypsilanti Township, MI.. One of many retail carcasses littering the Corridor of Desolation between Ann Arbor and Ypsi, this store seems to have gone through some rather peculiar post-A&P modifications, with outward-jutting canopy towers on each end. But the roof is intact.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
Andrew Turnbull
User avatar
Andrew T.
Veteran
Posts: 689
Joined: 18 Oct 2007 14:26
Location: Minnesota's attic, Canada
Contact:

Re: A&P spottings in and on the way to Michigan

Post by Andrew T. »

Aimg_6624_8234_telegraph_rd_taylor_mi.jpg
8234 Telegraph Rd., Taylor, MI. The Super China Buffet must be enormous to envelop an entire A&P supermarket from the 1960s: Seems like an unusual reuse of such a building, but I've seen weirder. The central entrance also looks unusual; I assume the store originally had a corner entrance identical to the one in Howell but the building was reconfigured by later tenants.
Aimg_6703_1401_massachusetts_st_gary_in.jpg
Aimg_6702_1401_massachusetts_st_gary_in.jpg
1401 Massachusetts St., Gary, IN. This store was tucked within the street grid, practically downtown. The two-pole sign with ladder rungs was about a block away, and also looks to be an A&P leftover.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
Andrew Turnbull
Post Reply