Here is the Bossier City Kmart located on Airline Drive. This store is located on a prime spot just across from the Pierre Bossier Mall at one of the busiest intersections in the metro area. The mall across the street has a Sears store, so there is not much in the way of appliances here. This is the only Kmart in Northwest Louisiana. This store appears to be a 1970's build and the "Big" from the Big Kmart sign was recently removed from the storefront. The street sign still has the Big Kmart logo.
Not too many Kmart stores in Louisiana and Texas still have a directory at the entrance.
We have seen this electronics sign before, vintage 1990's for sure.
Pantry section
Seasonal and toys
Electronics
Garden center
Back row of the store
Back of the store facing the Pharmacy in the front.
Near the middle of the store.
Checkouts
Extra photos, somehow I missed these on my original post.
This is an interesting modified billboard style facade Kmart. I would have to guess that this is from the late 1960s or early 1970s. Of course, the store itself looks like it is stuck in the 1990s. There is the old Kmart logo minus the "Big" sign. That store map must have been printed during the early days of the Big Kmart era. It looks really faded and I'm not sure if that store has everything that the map says that it does. The Penske Auto Center almost certainly does not exist unless they have leased that space out to some other auto shop. I'm guessing it does not have the restaurant either. At least the pharmacy is still there.
ReplyDeleteThe mysterious Walkman woman strikes again! It looks like they have taken down some tiles from that electronics sign. Perhaps they took down some brand names that have long since gone out of business?
Also, the black paint they put up there looks kind of patchy. Some of the departments look quite disorganized, but that is not unusual for a Kmart. It looks like only one register is open. That was a major complaint of mine during Kmart's last few years here in Houston. Then again, maybe they only needed for one register to be open.
Do all/most Kmarts have a Dollar Shop in them now? I've seen pictures of them before in Super Kmarts, but I'm not sure if I've seen one at a regular Kmart before. Of course, there is also the K Dollar concept that Kmart is using at some locations.
The auto center is empty and the restaurant space was gutted and contains clothing now. Yes there was only one register at the time, but it was slow that evening. I have not seen one of the dollar shops yet in any of the stores I visited. One of the strange things about this store was the amount of security cameras and a few televisions to let you know that they were recording. I guess this store has a shoplifting problem because I have never seen that many cameras in a store before. Some areas near the edges of the store had cameras on every aisle even by the toys.
DeleteYes, I noticed the high number of security cameras in those pictures as well. There are several in the electronics department alone. I wonder how many of those are actually real cameras and how many are decoys. Maybe they are all real. Perhaps that store has a theft problem, but I really couldn't tell you anything about that area to know anything about it.
DeleteAlthough many of the Kmarts that you have photographed have similar looking electronics departments, I have noticed some variations in other pictures on the Internet. For example, this one has throwback Kmart blue department signage and this one has throwback Kmart orange signage. This one has the blacked out treatment, but it looks nicer than the Bossier City one. There are always these 1990s styled electronics departments with Microsoft Word clipart styled designs. This Kmart that did the Kmart-Sears Essentials-Kmart circle has a Searsish looking electronics department. Then there is this Kmart that oddly looks like a Target or something. Even the lighting does not look right for a Kmart. I don't know what the story is with that one.
Those are some interesting electronics sections especially the one that looks like a Target. I think Kmart stores should pick a style and go with it similar to what Wal-mart and Target have done. I like the all black electronics department, it really brings attention to that area of the store.
DeleteThe blacked out look does look like a winner. It makes the department look "dark" like old electronics stores even if the lights aren't any darker than the rest of the store.
DeleteThe billboard facade on this store was a replacement. It was originally a billboard store, but was rebuilt following a tornado in 1979. The facade was redone during the Big K remodel. The store was expanded to the left at that time as well.
ReplyDeleteThey did a good job with the expansion because you cannot tell, like you can when Walmart expands a store. I doubt Kmart or Sears would replace any current stores if they are damaged by weather since they seem to be selling off so many assets. Thank you for your comments regarding the history of these stores.
DeleteDid this KMart exist in the early 1980s? Were there any other KMarts in the Bossier City / Shreveport area in the early 1980s?
ReplyDeleteThis location was more than likely a mid to early 1970's opening. The storefront design is the biggest giveaway. The below bluepages wiki site lists the store opening as October 26, 1972. https://www.bluepageswiki.org/wiki/Kmart_3016
DeleteThere were two Shreveport locations that were closed in 2003. Not sure if any other stores were there in the past, but with over 2,000 locations at Kmart's peak there were probably more.
Big Kmart 1704 E. 70th St., Shreveport
Big Kmart 9140 Mansfield Road, Shreveport
I love these pictures it brought back a lot of memories I used to live there back in the middle '80s like from 1985 till probably about 89.. and I'm actually trying to find some old friends of mine that worked with me back then that I can't seem to locate and if you happen to be familiar with people who worked there at that time please let me know cuz I'm actually looking for a friend of mine at work with me over at the pharmacy her name is Jackie White back then.thanks
ReplyDeleteHopefully this comment will help you find your friend. I wish we had travelled down to Alexandria during those years, but better late than never.
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