Friday, February 02, 2007

Everybody Likes Photo Albums

The Caldor Rainbow has compiled some photo albums of a few recent sites we've visited lately, or in the past few months. Beginning with the Caldor-Pergament Express plaza in East Patchogue, New York (Long Island), which we first reported in our one of our first posts way back in September. Since we were in our infancy back then, we suspect the story may have been overlooked so we saw the opportunity to revisit the site back when we were in the area back in December 2006 and took a slew more photos of one of New York's remaining former Caldor sites now home to primarily potholes and pigeons (or seagulls but it doesn't rhyme well).

As we've mentioned before, this presumably decade-vacant site came as a tip off from a poster, Caldor1999 at Ames Fan Club forums who discovered a gallery on the 'net from some Long Island natives who actually found a way inside the building. Unfortunately, we didn't find a way in to the hollowed out building, but we scored a fine number of images of the building's exterior, site, and the horrendous pending destruction conditions it's currently in. To our dismay, no enormous bird nests were found this time around...

The site, not entirely vacant, has suffered losses from the bankruptcy of dependable anchors, Caldor and Pergament Express; the latter a now defunct compact hardware store chain. The collapse of such magnets
drove-out other smaller stores; Vision World, a local eye doctor's as well as Genovese Drugs; whose since been purchased by Eckerd. With Eckerd, a cramped old store, to soon merge into Rite-Aid, there's a good chance this location will shutter sealing the fate of the long-troubled site.

As of December 2006, the site is pending destruction to make way for Lowe's Home Improvement Store, who has filed a site plan to occupy the entire volume of existing site. In the meantime, you can see the progress on a site which is progressing, Focus East Patchogue, who has confirmed Lowe's is, in fact, coming soon.

The plaza has a rich history of housing pinnacle discount department stores which Pac-Manned their way throughout the decades. Opening in 1968 with W.T. Grant later becoming home to Woolco, who opened many former Grants, before Caldor snatched it up like it did with many former Woolco locations. Judging by the building marks, we also suspect this was an "orange-lettering" era Caldor before the "red/accent era" took place in the mid-90's. It was also most likely painted-over white during the 90's trend. Please comment if you've got any light to shed.


View: The Mall at Bristol Centre (1.30.2007)

Just a few days ago, we decided to revisit the dead Mall at Bristol Centre in Bristol, which is also in the twilight of destruction. Earlier this year, we visited the long-alarmingly vacant, outdated mall and took a slew of interior shots which are viewable on Facebook, and mirrored on Yahoo! Pictures, with some outtakes over there (due to Facebook's limitations).

The mall, a few months now shuttered to the public, sits awaiting a plan to further Bristol's urban renewal project which has taken flight on North Main Street in the past few years. We last heard the site might sit vacant for a few years awaiting the funds to demolish as well as the draft for the site's future, which hopes to keep a vital "lifestyle" component of retail and offices. As for
remaining reluctant-to-leave anchor Ocean State Job Lot, the days are numbered as the city has fought to evict the anchor who operates apart the mall.

As we recently reported, Ocean State Job Lot currently has a lease renewal coming up later this year for their other Bristol store currently operating the former Stop & Shop on
Route 6.

Have a fine weekend!