Fayetteville, AR and the Frankenstein Safeway
Posted: 04 Oct 2018 12:11
I've been to Arkansas exactly once in my life, and I wouldn't have gone there at all if I hadn't had a convention to go to. My travels took me to the northwest corner of the state...home to Rogers, Bentonville (of Wal-Mart fame), Springdale, and Fayetteville (home to the University of Arkansas).
I have a preference for researching cities I've been to, so all of these were a shoo-in when it came to picking places. Unfortunately I don't have access to Rogers or Bentonville directories, while Fayetteville turned out to be pitifully small in breadth and scope. (I still need to check on Springdale.) Nevertheless, I posted my findings here:
Fayetteville, AR chain grocery/supermarket history, 1939-59
It turned out that Fayetteville was a place that both Kroger and Safeway operated in...albeit at different times. That wasn't the most startling or interesting thing I discovered, though. Take a look at this!
This is 612 N. College Ave., a Safeway store that opened between 1950 and 1955. The building has a prominent barrel roof, and likely originated as an early pylon store with ridged brick details on the side, like this one in Maryland. At some point, though, a 1960s Marina facade was grafted onto the side of the store; perpendicular to the original roofline, no less!
Currently the building houses a roller rink, which seems oddly appropriate. If you look carefully, the original 1950s ridged brick details are still visible in the upper-right corner of the side wall.
Unfortunately (as so often is the case), I didn't know this store existed when I visited the city, so I missed out on my chance to photograph it and check out the interior.
I have a preference for researching cities I've been to, so all of these were a shoo-in when it came to picking places. Unfortunately I don't have access to Rogers or Bentonville directories, while Fayetteville turned out to be pitifully small in breadth and scope. (I still need to check on Springdale.) Nevertheless, I posted my findings here:
Fayetteville, AR chain grocery/supermarket history, 1939-59
It turned out that Fayetteville was a place that both Kroger and Safeway operated in...albeit at different times. That wasn't the most startling or interesting thing I discovered, though. Take a look at this!
Currently the building houses a roller rink, which seems oddly appropriate. If you look carefully, the original 1950s ridged brick details are still visible in the upper-right corner of the side wall.
Unfortunately (as so often is the case), I didn't know this store existed when I visited the city, so I missed out on my chance to photograph it and check out the interior.