Groceteria.com

The 1960's era former Marina Safeway in Kelso which currently houses a thrift store, was recently sold to the city of Kelso. They had plans to turn it into a library, but now a higher offer has surfaced and it may become state offices.

The inside of this store is mostly intact, with the original brown and tan floor tiles, and original lighting where the meat department used to be. The walls have been painted over but mouldings are still visible through the paint.

This store closed at some point in the mid-late 70s when it moved to Riverway Plaza. That store ,about two or three years ago, moved across the freeway to the former TOP Foods building. The Riverway Plaza store is now Hilander Family Fun Center.

The Marina store has been slowly deteriorating in recent years. Hopefully it can be remodeled in a way that still shows some of its history.

Where in Kelso is this store? I frequently get into Kelso to visit a friend who works at the Three Rivers Mall Safeway.

It is located on S. Pacific Avenue, next to Kelso City Hall. Follow Allen Street west from the mall, and veer right just before the Cowlitz River Bridge, then turn left on Pacific. You can't miss it.

The building has been sold and will become state offices instead of a library. The city of Kelso received a higher offer shortly after purchasing it.

Now the plan is to move the WorkSource employment offices to this building:

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/09/13/ ... news05.txt

I did some digging and found a link to a photo of this store right on this website. The store currently is called Not Too Shabby, and has a couple pieces of plywood covering what were broken windows, but otherwise looks the same today. Unfortunately I do not have a digital camera so I can't provide a current picture.

http://www.groceteria.com/safeway/slide ... nt/07.html

Remodeling is taking place on this store, and there is a picture in today's Longview Daily News:

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/07/25/ ... news11.txt

I drove by there during my lunch break today. The marina is no longer visible from the front, and it looks like the interior has been totally gutted and suspended ceilings will be installed. It's too bad they couldn't find a way to preserve some of the marina appearance in front. However, it had been deteriorating for several years, and hopefully this will provide a much-needed revitalization to Kelso's downtown area.