[Andrew T.]

Does anyone have any idea if this was a supermarket at one point?



The entrance configuration is somewhat similar to that I've seen on early 1950s Krogers (and many other supermarkets from that era). I doubt it was a Kroger, since the 1950s Kroger that's now a post office is a block away from this. The architecture itself is pretty generic, so I doubt there are any reliable clues to go by unless someone's familiar with the area or has an old city directory on hand.

[rich]

Kroger rapidly cycled through stores from WWII into the 70s. This could have been an early post-WWII store that was abandoned for another that was only slightly larger--they did that quite often. A&P would be another possibility. Big Bear and Evans may not have gotten this far during the early 50s when this was built. IGA would be another possibility. It's likely that a supermarket would have had a vestibule design with two sets of doors to prevent loss of heat and a/c. Southern-based chains often didn't use this design--Colonial's Albers stores used the single door design and the very oldest supers even in the north only had one set of doors. I'd consider whether this was a hardware store, which would have been a natural evolution to a paint store.

[Groceteria]

I'm thinking that if this was a supermarket, it would probably have dated from the 1940s or maybe even earlier, and that it would have been significantly renovated to get to its current appearance. That's my take based on the size of this building and the lack of any significant parking lot (see Google Maps). Had it opened in the 1950s, I think it would have been larger and would likely have had an adjacent lot, particularly in this neighborhood.

I lean toward a 1960s hardware store as well. It may even have been built as a Sherwin-Williams store. But I'm not sure by any means.

[Andrew T.]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll file it under "enigma/hardware" for now.

[Groceteria]

I'll file it under "enigma/hardware" for now.

I like that as a name for a chain. It's at least as good as, say, "cvs/pharmacy".