Okay, I'm sure that some of you who've been following our series on A&P have been thinking "Good grief, what's with all this black and white 1930's and 40's stuff? Where are the Centennials?" Well, my friends, not to worry! Your long national nightmare is almost over.For those who may not be familiar with the term "Centennial" as it applies to A&P, it refers to the colonial-styled stores that A&P first introduced in 1958 to commemorate its 100th anniversary the following year. The style was such a hit that A&P used it with great frequency over the following decade.
We'll start with the earliest Centennial photo I have, which is in fact the earliest one that I'm aware of, an A&P publicity shot. A nice use of soft focus, taken on a beautiful fall day in 1958. The cars in the parking lot all appear to be a couple of years old, with tailfins more subdued than those on the rocket rides that were rolling out of Detroit that year.
The color photos are to die for, don't get me wrong, but I actually like the 30s/40s black and white shots, especially anything deco and associated with the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE you're color photos! They are simply priceless to say the least!
ReplyDeleteLove the Centennials! They turned the one in Lawrencville, GA into an auto parts store. :( The cupola survives, though!
ReplyDeleteDave, I will be visiting family for the next couple of weeks. So I would like to take this time to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. PEACE! ~ Richard.
ReplyDeleteDidi - I definitely like them as well (I'd have to, to feature them so much), but a little variety is good!
ReplyDeleteCharles - Glad that you like 'em! And thanks for all you do in documenting these great old stores (and restaurants, gas stations and motels...) as they appear today!
Adrienne - They've always been among my favorites - and I love that they're so easy to spot, with or without the cupola - always better with them though! I'm always excited to see Centennials on my travels.
Richard - Thanks, and I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year as well! Safe travels!
What a great tribute to the A&P centennial Early American store design! We had one in Old Bridge, NJ that opened in 1967 and it was the largest and most beautiful supermarket I had ever seen. The Early American A&P store design was very good looking. I was a kid at that time and prior to this A&P I only remember a much smaller Food Fair in our town. Sadly, our 1967 A&P wound up in the hands of Foodtown in 1977 and it was never the same in upkeep or quality. I recently drove by to see if the building itself even exists and it is now empty and boarded up. Very sad. But thank you so much for a great memory of A&P from my childhood years.
ReplyDeleteJohn K – Thanks very much, glad that you liked it! I agree. It was very striking, and I’d have to say that at least as far as my own personal experience goes, it would have been the most beautiful as well. (So many of the great ones on this site I never had a chance to see in person!) Maybe someone will find a use for the Old Bridge location yet. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteYour site and pictures of A&P stores are wonderful. My father was a butcher for over 30 years at A & P stores in the Chicagoland area. He was finally forced out when he turned 50.
ReplyDeleteI have so many pleasant memories of those days and I actually worked at an A&P for a year.
Sorry to see it go. We can still buy 5 0'clock coffee at the local Jewel.
Gin - Thanks so much. I'm sorry to read about your father being forced out after so may years of service, and at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have some fond memories of A&P, and that the site helped rekindle them!
It's sad to see that another 25 A&P/Superfresh locations are closing. The modified colonial located at 48th st. in Washington DC has been sold to Mrs.Green's Fresh Market. I've read that the remaining 315 supermarkets in the chain will be reevaluated. Those stores not having pharmacies will likely be closed as well. So those remaining half dozen A&P colonials will likely be closed as well in the coming months.
ReplyDelete