email: roadarch@outlook.com

Ohio Mid-Century Modern Retail Buildings

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former Fotomat [gone]
Canton, OH		 former Fotomat [gone]
Hamilton, OH		 former Kronheims Furniture [gone]
Eastlake, OH
Fotomat was a drive-thru photo developing chain founded in San Diego, CA in the 1960s. The company's kiosks were located in shopping center parking lots. By 1980, there were over 4,000 locations nationwide. The original buildings had gold roofs. With the invention of one-hour developing, Fotomat's one-day service became obsolete. The company began selling off their kiosks in the mid-1980s. There are still many examples of adaptive reuse of these buildings across the country. For more, see this page and this website.

This former Fotomat kiosk in Canton last housed a Tropical Sno shaved ice stand. The building was gone by 2017.

This former Fotomat in Hamilton was in use as the Sno Palace snow cone stand until 2007. It remained vacant after that. It was demolished around 2018. For more, see this website.

There was another photo developing chain in Ohio called Photo Bug.

Kronheims Furniture moved into this building in 2000. It had been occupied for many years by Nagel & Poor, a moving and storage company. I don't know the original occupant but it looked bank-like to me. This photo was taken in 2005 when the building was vacant. The building later housed Northeast Factory Direct. It was demolished by 2018.

Educators Music
Lakewood, OH
The Educators Music building was constructed in 1966. This photo is from 2010. The building appeared to be vacant in 2019 and the letters had been removed from the facade. [map]

Wurster Drugs [gone]
Portsmouth, OH
Wurster Drugs was established in 1897. This building was built in 1959. The neon sign is probably from then as well. It originally had a clock. These photos are from 2009. In 2011, the business closed and the sign was removed. It was sold to a private collector. The building was demolished by 2013. For more, see this website.

Anthony Rossi Studio [gone]
Canton, OH
The Anthony Rossi Studio featured four metal screens on the second floor. They were probably from the 1960s. In 2017, the business was gone and the screens had been removed.

Szabo Shoes
Rocky River, OH
Szabo Shoes was established around 1930. This building appears to have been built or significantly remodeled in the 1950s or 1960s. The store closed in 2019 and has been vacant since then. The letters remain on the building. [map]

Sears
Columbus, OH		 former Lazarus
Columbus, OH
These Sears and Lazarus department stores were built in 1968 as part of the Eastland Mall.

The Sears store closed in 2017 and the building remains vacant. [map]

The Lazarus building later became a Macy's. However, this building has been vacant since Macy's moved elsewhere in the mall. [map]

Macy's [gone]
Columbus, OH
This Macy's at the Kingsdale Mall was also originally a Lazarus department store. Macy's bought out the Lazarus chain in 2005. This photo is from 2009. The mall was demolished later that year. This building, like the one at the Eastland Mall above, was designed by Raymond Loewy. Loewy also used this blue tile color scheme at other Lazarus stores: the Northland Mall [demolished 2004] in Columbus, OH; the Richland Mall in Mansfield, OH [tile gone]; and the Lima Mall in Lima, OH.

Sears
Middleburg Heights, OH
This Sears store was built in the 1960s. Sears closed in 2018 and the building remains vacant. [map]

More Ohio:
former Higbee's Department Store (Canton)
former Royal Castles (Cleveland)
former Higbee's Department Store (Elyria)
former J.C. Penney (Elyria)
former Martin Hardware (Mansfield)
former Higbee's Department Store (Mentor) [map]
Fotomats (Norwalk) [map]
former Lazarus Department Store (Ontario) [map]
former laundromat (Sandusky)
Seaway Tradeshows of Toledo (Toledo)