A couple A&P from Pennsylvania

Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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drpep
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A couple A&P from Pennsylvania

Post by drpep »

The first is now Hurley's IGA in Towanda, PA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drpep1024/tags/ap87

Next is the current Post Office in Moscow, PA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drpep1024/tags/ap88
TW-Upstate NY
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Post by TW-Upstate NY »

I can tell you with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that the Moscow, Pa. photo is definitely a former A+P. I lived about 7 miles or so from it when I was a kid and went to high school and middle school in town. On the right side of the building was the entrance and maybe someone can help me on this since I never heard it mentioned, but if you notice also to the right there is a retaining wall between the building and the adjoining property. The space between the wall and the building was nowhere near enough for delivery trucks to fit into so deliveries had to be made on the left side of the front of the building. Was that commonplace when there might have been land acquisition issues? I doubt today any store would even considering building if that kind of configuration was the only option. I could understand if this was an inner city location but from all indications, this was a new build. In looking at the property itself though, it does appear to be pretty land locked. I'd also be curious if you did any more exploring of Moscow itself or just passed through when you took the picture because if you did you may have stumbled upon the FORMER A+P in town which was, and still is, I believe, the fire station also located on Main St. closer to the center of town. You'll notice that this building was on the very edge of town where presumably more land was available to build a new albeit relatively small store. If you're ever through there again, you might want to check the fire station out as well. As far as attempting to date the building in the photo, we moved to the area in very late '66 and it was already there. This location was still open when my family left the area in June '80 and was still operating when I made a return trip there in May '81. Didn't get down there again until May '88 and by then the PO was already there. I wasn't surprised the A+P was gone but was very pleasantly surprised to see what was there since by that time I had become a postal employee myself which I am to this day. Thank you so much for posting that photo-brought back a lot of good memories. That particular A+P was one of my favorite places as a kid and to think of what it ended up being and what I ended up doing for a living was so ironic.
drpep
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Post by drpep »

I was just passing through Moscow after making my first visit to a ShopRite in Daleville. I'll be back that way someday and will look for the firehouse.
BillyGr
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Post by BillyGr »

TW-Upstate NY wrote:On the right side of the building was the entrance and maybe someone can help me on this since I never heard it mentioned, but if you notice also to the right there is a retaining wall between the building and the adjoining property. The space between the wall and the building was nowhere near enough for delivery trucks to fit into so deliveries had to be made on the left side of the front of the building. Was that commonplace when there might have been land acquisition issues?
There was a similar situation with the A&P in Wynantskill, NY - they had some (small) space to the right, and no space behind.

They also had a loading dock on the left end of the front of the building (the building was a bit larger - probably 1970's) and they had the double entries on the front (left & right ends, which opened directly into the store itself, not any kind of lobby).
TW-Upstate NY
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Post by TW-Upstate NY »

As I recall, this store had an extremely small lobby-you'd enter and have to pass through another door immediately to your left to actually get into the store. The checkouts were on the right side In looking at the photo some more, other details are coming back to me. First of all, the brick "pillars" supporting the awning were not there when it was an A+P. All you had were the traditional white brackets that were commonplace with the design. I also noticed what looks like sort of a roof had been built on top of that awning. That wasn't there either-would've obliterated the signage. I can't remember if the signage on the building was changed to the current logo or if it retained the orignial "Food Stores A+P Founded 1859" until the end. And yes this was a pretty small store-probably no more than I'm going to say maybe six aisles and three, maybe four checkouts. The layout was somewhat similar to the still-open Morristown, NJ centennial I visited this spring minus the small deli located in the rear left corner of the Morristown store. Next time I'm in the area (whenever that may be), I will check out the interior although I don't expect anything remotely resembling what it was in its former life.
drpep
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Post by drpep »

Image

Moscow, PA Post Office. Same photo as above link.
TW-Upstate NY
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Post by TW-Upstate NY »

In looking at the photo, more interesting tidbits are coming to mind. The parking lot configuration has been changed. When it was an A+P, the lot was set up so cars would face the adjoining properties. Here they face the building and the road. Also the retaining wall on the right of the building was originally a combination of an earthen structure and was actually constructed of what appeared to be railroad ties which almost came up to the roofline of the building. Interestingly enough, the wall on the left side I believe was concrete. Glad to see at least the "character" of the exterior of the building was maintained-great photo.
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