Service Merchandise (Demolished)
Birmingham, AL Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
For anyone who grew up in the 1980s, those familiar red letters probably bring back a few memories. This old Service Merchandise store in Birmingham still had its sign and storefront lettering intact when this photo was taken, making it feel like the doors could open at any moment. According to the Service Merchandise site, they're back as a online retailer now. 06-06
Service Merchandise became one of the country's best-known catalog showroom chains, where shoppers filled out order slips before watching their purchases roll out from the stockroom on a conveyor. It was a shopping experience unlike just about any other, and for years the chain competed with retailers like BEST during the catalog showroom boom.
By the early 2000s, stores like this had become a rare sight. While the buildings still stood in some places, the days of browsing jewelry counters, electronics, and toys before waiting for your order to appear were already coming to an end.
UPDATE: Service Merchandise closed its remaining retail stores in 2002. The Birmingham locations have since been demolished or redeveloped, and the familiar roadside signs are gone. 08-26
Kress
Elizabethton, TN Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Walking through downtown Elizabethton, it's hard not to notice the old Kress building. Even though the familiar five-and-dime has been gone for decades, the storefront still hints at a time when S.H. Kress stores were fixtures on Main Streets all across America.
This location opened in 1929 and served shoppers for nearly half a century before closing in 1975. Like many Kress stores, it offered everything from household goods to school supplies and small gifts, making it a popular downtown stop long before shopping malls became the norm. The colorful terra cotta details across the front of the building are still worth looking up to admire.
UPDATE the building remains part of Elizabethton's historic business district, housing a furniture store instead of a five-and-dime. While the Kress name has faded from the storefront, the building itself continues to be one of the more recognizable pieces of downtown's commercial past. 02-08
S.H. Kress
Gastonia, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
This former Kress department store built in 1925 is still located in downtown Gastonia. Now home to a business called Hickory Furniture, this Kress building was designed by Edward F. Sibbert. The building is a part of the Downtown National Register Historic District. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 07-08
Take a walk through downtown Gastonia and you'll eventually come across the impressive S.H. Kress building. Even without the familiar five-and-dime signs, it's easy to recognize this classic storefront, with its detailed Art Deco design standing out among the neighboring buildings.
Completed in 1930, the Kress store was one of many built across the country by the S.H. Kress chain, giving downtown shoppers a place to browse everything from household goods and toys to school supplies and gifts. For generations it was one of Gastonia's busiest shopping destinations before later becoming a hardware store, a furniture outlet, and eventually an antique mall.
Today the building remains one of the architectural highlights of downtown. The Kress name may be gone, but the distinctive facade still looks much as it did when shoppers first walked through its doors nearly a century ago.
UPDATE: The historic Kress building is currently vacant and available for lease, awaiting its next chapter while continuing to anchor downtown Gastonia's historic streetscape. 08-26
S.H. Kress & Co.
Greensboro, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Walking down South Elm Street, it's hard not to stop in front of the S.H. Kress & Co. building. The beautifully restored storefront looks much like it did during the downtown shopping days, and when this photo was taken, the display window had even been dressed to resemble an operating Kress store. It was a fun touch that made it feel as though the next customer might still walk through the front door. 02-09
Completed in 1930, the building was designed by noted Kress architect Edward F. Sibbert, whose Art Deco designs became a familiar sight in downtowns across America. Take a few minutes to look beyond the storefront and you'll notice the colorful decorative details, ornate metalwork, and craftsmanship that helped make Kress buildings stand apart from ordinary department stores. Even today, it's one of the architectural gems of downtown Greensboro.
For generations, shoppers came here looking for everything from school supplies and housewares to toys, candy, and lunch counter favorites. Like so many downtown five-and-dime stores, Kress was more than just a place to shop. It was part of the everyday rhythm of downtown life. This location also played an important role in Greensboro's Civil Rights history during the lunch counter sit-ins of 1960, adding another chapter to a building that has witnessed decades of change.
S.H. Kress & Co.
Greensboro, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
The Kress store closed in 1973, but the building was carefully restored around 2000 instead of being lost to redevelopment. That restoration brought much of the original Art Deco character back to life and gave the old landmark a new purpose, while still preserving the look that made it such a recognizable stop along Elm Street.
UPDATE: The building continues to anchor downtown Greensboro as a beautifully restored mixed-use landmark. The former Kress Terrace event venue has closed, but the historic building remains one of the city's best-preserved reminders of the classic downtown shopping era. 08-26
Service Merchandise (Demolished)
Kress
S.H. Kress
S.H. Kress & Co.
S.H. Kress & Co.
