Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Pal
Apparently White Front was a chain, something like a precursor of the big box stores.
|
From the
Wikipedia entry for White Front:
White Front was a chain of discount stores in Southern California and the western United States from 1959 through the mid-1970s. They were noted for the architecture of their store fronts which was an enormous, sweeping archway with the store name spelled out in individual letters fanned across the top. The chain also ran Topps, a similar discount store with locations in the American Midwest.
History
The name White Front was said to refer to the practice of lining up appliances like washers, dryers and stoves in front of the store, giving it a "White Front." Another feature of each store was that each had a separate key booth located in the parking lot.
The company was founded in 1929 in Los Angeles and opened its first store at 7651 S. Central Ave. Their second store open in October 1957 at 16040 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. In April 1959, the two stores were acquired by Interstate Department Stores, Inc., which expanded the chain to other California locations and broadened its retail mix beyond the original housewares. In September 1960, Interstate also acquired Topps, which at the time had ten stores. For several years, White Front was the leading discount store in the United States.
Bankruptcy
In 1966, Interstate acquired the four-store Washington D.C. toy store chain Children's Supermart, predecessor of Toys "R" Us, which is the only survivor of the company. White Front filed for bankruptcy in 1975 and then went out of business; the locations were changed to Two Guys, another discount chain. Two Guys soon failed as well and the stores became relabeled as FedMart stores, which eventually were purchased by Target. The Target store in San Bernardino, California sported the archway across its facade for many years until a recent remodeling.
The White Front store on California Avenue in Bakersfield, California, was taken over by Zody's. Later it was purchased and remodeled by Mervyns, which also soon went out of business.
A number of independent local pharmacies continue to carry the White Front name in Costa Mesa and elsewhere, having inherited it from their former host stores, but are otherwise unrelated.
Prev
NBC TV
LA., O
I vaguely knew about Papoo's Hot Dog Show and it's appearance in a movie, but I didn't realize it's moment on film 
Linear Mode
