Lacey, Wash. Albertson's and Safeway Photos

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tkaye
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Lacey, Wash. Albertson's and Safeway Photos

Post by tkaye »

I stumbled upon a Web site with a treasure trove of excellent (but unmarked, so hard to find) early '70s photos of a couple of supermarkets in Lacey, Wash. that I had to share.

The first batch are of the Lacey Village Albertson's (4522 Lacey Blvd S.E.), which operated from 1964 to about 1974. After a short vacancy, it was replaced with an IGA and later a Thriftway. Its final stint as a supermarket was as a Food Giant in the late '80s and early '90s. This development is now called Lacey Town Center... a Rodda Paint outlet is the only recognizable name on the tenant list these days.

Reader board with western-style lettering... peaches were two pounds for 29 cents!

Wide shot of store... with cardboard incinerator chimney clearly visible coming out of the right side of the roof. The paint job on this place reminds me of a circus tent. Also, does anyone have a guess as to what that blue and yellow box is in front of the store (at right)? It seems awful tall for a clothing drive box.

Bakery department... and a lonely looking shopping cart full of markdown items. I wonder what an applesauce donut tastes like.

Produce department (negative must have been scanned backwards)

Meat department looking toward coffin-style frozen foods cases.

Black and white photo of exterior with Farman's Pickles truck in parking lot

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Next up is the Marina Safeway (built 1966) located as an outlot of the South Sound Center, the Olympia area's first enclosed shopping mall. I'm pretty sure this store was replaced by the Lacey Center store on Marvin Road N.E., which was built in 1988. Absolutely gorgeous shot, with bright blue sky and flags flapping gaily in the breeze
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tesg
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Re: Lacey, Wash. Albertson's and Safeway Photos

Post by tesg »

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE

Check out this SWEET Thriftway

Just keep browsing for more awesome surprises...a 1960's VW dealership full of classic VW's, great old restaurants (even some interiors)...yeah.

Cool find.
tkaye
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Post by tkaye »

I'll see your Thriftway, and raise you one more: K&W Thriftway in Parkland/Tacoma. I don't know about the Lacey store, but this building is still around (exterior relatively unchanged) as a fitness club. The similarly influenced designs make me wonder if they hired the same architect.

Ralphs Thriftway has a few historical shots of their two Olympia locations on their Web site:
Bayview Thriftway and Ralphs Thriftway

I'm sure you've probably already noticed, but there are also several shots of the South Sound Center on the Shadow Catchers site as well, including anchors Peoples Store (later Mervyn's and soon to become Kohl's) and Sears. Lots of great shots of the other Lacey Village retailers in there also.
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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

Great photos. I'm going to move this one to "specific locations/commercial archaeology" though, because it's more about the locations themselves than about general history in the area.
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