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Krambo, 514 W Walnut St, Green Bay, WI ruined

Posted: 18 May 2018 22:52
by Andrew T.
I regret to say that the old art deco Krambo store in Green Bay, Wisconsin, previously discussed in this thread, has been ruined:
krambo-gb.jpg
Krambo was a chain of stores in northeast and north-central Wisconsin that was ultimately absorbed into Kroger. I scouted out a number of former Krambo buildings when I lived in Wisconsin, but absolutely none were as impressive as this: The soaring tower, the curved canopy over the entrance, the porcelain enamel tile, and the glass block all made this particular store an incredible sight to behold. According to the city assessment record the structure was built in 1950, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's older than that.

Unfortunately, almost all the unique and historical touches have since been pared away in favour of a bland, generic block facade as plain as the dollar-store merchandise inside. Even the side windows (which were formerly intact) have been covered over.

This isn't exactly breaking news (from what I can gather, the renovation happened about five years ago), but it's new to me, and I'm saddened. I last stepped foot in Green Bay in 2012, and the store was still intact then.

At least Green Bay's Red Owl is still around.