First a Woolco, this massive store anchored the Eastown Plaza at Tecumseh and Lauzon Roads in Windsor’s far east end, along with local grocery store N&D.
While Woolco went under in the US in 1983, they hung around in Canada until 1994, when the Boys from Bentonville bought them out, and converted the stores to Wal-Marts.
The store stayed busy, until Sprawl-mart figured they needed a new store, and so they shuffled a few blocks west, and the old Woolco, as the anchor of the once mighty Eastown Plaza sits vacant.
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Sad sad. Posted about this nearly two years ago on our blog, and it's still the same:
http://www.psychogeography.ca/blog/archives/00000031.htm
The more things change... At least they picked up the "E". :)
I wish I could have taken that E home. Sad E.
Who knows, this might make for another "Liquidation World" if the rent is cheap enough. They seem to be popping up all over the city in these empty stores.
It still feels weird to drive by Eastown and not see the old giant N&D sign on the plaza directory (even though we usually went to their westside location).
Strange that it is still vacant.
Woolco, K-Mart, Woolworths, Kresge, etc.... not flashy places but they were all decent dept. stores we took for granted and now all that's left is Walmart (and a polite nod to Zellers where at least there is room to walk down the aisles).
Shawn, I wish you would have snagged the "E" too... I bet it went to the dump.
John gave a nod to Zellers, I'll shop there any day of the week over Sprawl-Mart.
Andrew, same here. Every time I try to shop at Walmart the 24" aisles I need to get into are strategically blocked off by armies of Bingo Mamas with sideways shopping carts, screaming kids, or both. Zellers keeps the store tidy and orderly and easy to navigate.
The first thing I thought of was that toronto psychogeography page entry.
Nice wide angle shot andrew... I really like it
It's a shame to see the place vacant--and just imagine today a mass merchandiser taking the time to add embellishment to the store exterior--as in the flagstone sections. That was a common Woolco trademark of the day--you can still spot some recycled former locations in the U.S.--and possibly even a handful of Canadian Wal*Mart conversions still operating in the old Woolco spaces.
Nonetheless, I can't join the chorus of "Wal*Mart Snobs" who look down at the rest of us for buying our Tide there--they are a chain store, just like the rest, and if HBC had three wishes from a bottled genie, they would love to have Zellers be exactly as big and succesful as WMT. I too frequent Zellers an equal amount to Wal*Mart and enjoy the wide open feel and lack of lines at Z...but has anyone stopped to think what the wide open aisles and calm store atmosphere REALLY mean?
BTW--Miss the N&D knife and fork sign too--the N&D business entity still owns Eastown.