Authoritative 1950's-style announcer voice: "Remember this, folks! When better markets are built, Acme Men will build them! Just look at these Acme Men...Men of foresight...Men of ingenuity...Men of zeal!"*Zeal notwithstanding, Acme’s late 1950’s stores were fairly plain as a rule, with the only standout aspect being the “Acme Markets” logo (which by this time had evolved into a cool automobile fender-style script) above the awnings. The example shown below in a 1957 photo is typical of the period and portrays the design seen in a multitude of shopping center and free-standing Acme locations. From an architectural standpoint, much more interesting things would come from Acme in the 1960's.
Acme closed the 1950's with 870 stores, of which only 50 remained of the service type, the rest being self -service, and nearly $900 million in fiscal 1959 sales. Acme's co-founder and longtime president Samuel Robinson passed away in 1958.
*Not an actual commercial. 
": "Remember this, folks! When better markets are built, Acme Men will build them! Just look at these Acme Men...Men of foresight...Men of ingenuity...Men of zeal!"*"
ReplyDeleteWhat are they, Super Heroes?
Must've been. Look how big they are compared to the store! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. True
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to find this today as I was searching the internet on Mr. Samuel Robinson.
ReplyDeleteMy Great Grandfather, Charles Rogers was an employee of Mr. Robinson for many happy years. Mrs. Robinson was a great friend of my great grandmother and would on several occasions send the limousine to fetch my g.grandmom to have tea.
Mr. Samuel Robinson was a wonderful, wonderful man and so kind to his employees. He was also a God fearing man.
Last week my mother gave me some old books that were in my great grandfather's library and one book by Billy Graham was among them. In this book I found this inscription by Samuel Robinson to my great grandfather " With Compliments of Sameul Robinson".
Not only, upon flipping through the pages out fell several articles from the news paper on Samuel Robinson with Pictures of him. I also found 2 original copies of Mr. Robinson's articles in which he wrote, I am assuming, to his employees. One Entitled "Loyalty" is very inspiring. In it he describes a blizzard in 1958 in Philadelphia> He was in Califonia during the blizzard but was informed by a Mr. Park " that a large number of our stores were left without electricity, and that our people were hauling dry ice to those stores in order to protect the merchandise in them. He [Mr. Parks] also referred to the loyalty of our people and how well they were cooperating together for the benefit of the Company."
And he finishes with the moral of his story this: " It is a good thing to display so much loyalty to Company of which you are a part. It is a better thing to be loyal to your family. Best of all is loyalty to Jesus Christ, who has done so much for all of us in order to bring us back to God so thatwe may in herit eternal life and dwell forever with Him." THINK Samuel Robinson