Here is a rare sight to see in 2021. The building is still standing just like this as of the making of this post. If there are any posts, I have in my backlog anyone would like to see next, feel free to comment below. My traveling for the blog has ended, but I have a about 50 posts in my backlog. I appreciate the comments and requests.
Super Kmart Corsicana is actually the second Kmart location in Corsicana. Opened on March 4, 1994 and closed on April 13, 2003. This 172,021 SF. Kmart store has sat mostly vacant for nearly 19 years. Click here for the old Loopnet listing.
After making a wrong turn near the College Park Mall, I noticed this building and had to stop by. I was floored by the sight of this relatively untouched former Super Kmart. This was a very ambitious store for a city the size of Corsicana that already had a nearby Walmart. Corsicana was also home to a large Kmart warehouse (Thanks for the tip Travis). Here is an article about the store and warehouse closure in 2003, over 500 jobs lost in a town with a 2003 population of 25,260.
March 2022 update, close to midnight while driving home from Dallas. As you can see, metal gates have been put up surrounding the site to keep people from driving in the parking lot. Maybe the owners saw my photos or people complained enough to get the lot closed off, who knows.
As for the store, here it is! You can also see a video tour from WallieB26 in 2020 by clicking here.
Former Little Caesars.
I stopped at the front of the store and got out to get these photos. Looking inside of the vacant store through the former Little Caesars, not much to see. A leftover mini-blind, being the only remnant.
In the middle of this photo an animal (maybe a cat), ran off when I moved over the take this photo.
As you can see the store has been stripped clear of just about everything besides the metal.
I was still in awe of the sight. A relatively untouched Super Kmart in 2021.
Now, I will give a more up-close view of the building from my walking tour. You can already see some of the metal has fallen off of the building.
The sky is exposed just under the hole in the roof.
The non-grocery entrance of the store.
The only view I could get of the entryway foyer through the front entrance. You can kind of see the metal sprinklers in the background. By the way, you can smell the putrid odor of the mildew and mold growth getting up this close to the building.
You can see my hand and camera in the reflection, it was a stretch.
Nature has taken over, look at the bird nests all over the ceiling.
The filth left behind by all of the birds and blown in trash is disgusting.
A view from the same entrance looking towards the East side of the lot.
The walkway from entrance to entrance.
Not sure what this entrance was for, maybe an optical department.
You can see the mildew/mold growth and damaged stucco in several spots.
Not sure if this damage is natural or from vandalism.
What the inside of that column looks like, facing upward.
The grocery entrance has similar damage.
A little more of the drywall is intact on this side, but it will more than likely continue to fall.
Part of the metal roof that has come off. I wonder if this was due to wind damage or just plain neglect. Both entrances have similar damage, it is hard to determine how the damage happened.
Mildew and mold have taken over this building.
The flagpole has long been empty, the flag line is dangling in the wind.
The smell has to be terrible inside of the building. Here are more views from the windows of the Little Caesars side of the store. Look at the buildup of the mold and mildew with water puddles.
The abandoned flagpole and grocery entrance of the store.
Such a huge waste, very sad to see.
The old parking lot signage is still intact on this light pole.
When was the last time the words "closed circuit television" were used to describe security cameras?
Far view of the store.
Panorama of the store.
Non-panorama view.
Garden Shop and auto center in the distance.
Some views of the back and auto center section of the store.
The sun was in the way, so I did my best to get these photos while on the street behind the store. The back of the lot is fenced off so I couldn't get back there for better shots.
Auto center doors
One last look before we end this visit.
As an added bonus, here is the old Kmart location which is located across the street from the former Navarro Mall. This store opened on November 21, 1977 and closed in March 1994. The building is being used as a storage and boat repair facility.
The building still retains most of the shape and design of the old Kmart. I wonder if the inside has the old Kmart A/C vents.
This might be the closest you have come to doing some authentic urban exploration for the blog! Although the building looks quite well intact from a distance, it's starting to get a Dixie Square Mall circa 2000s feel to it upclose. Unlike Dixie Square Mall, the interior fixtures of this building appear to be totally gutted. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny how the original Corsicana Kmart is actually in much better shape than the replacement Super Kmart. That original building is faring much better than the remnants of many 1970s and 1980s ex-Kmarts in Houston. I wouldn't be surprised at all if those old HVAC vents are still in that old Kmart building.
That old Kmart seems to be right-sized for a town like Corsicana. I suppose Kmart saw Wal-Mart build large stores in small towns and thought maybe they could duplicate that success here, but obviously Kmart didn't have Wal-Mart type success here. Perhaps Kmart thought the locals would be loyal to Kmart given the distribution center.
The last Kmart I ever went to was a Super Kmart like the Corsicana one in Moon Township, PA about a decade ago. That location was closed and demolished long ago. That said, when I visited that Moon Township store, it was actually in pretty good physical condition so obviously we can see what neglect does to these buildings.
Some interesting local retail news here in Houston is that the North Oaks Mall is going up on the auction block next month with a starting bid of $8,500,000. That includes the part of the shopping center across the street where 99 Cents Only is (Drug Emporium used to be in that part of the shopping center years ago). It'll be interesting to see what happens to the place. Hopefully the new owners can get the negative trend turned around and can get some of those vacant spots filled again like it was just a few years ago.
Mike from HHR just posted a new post about the Spring Deauville Fashion Mall. That's a post worth checking out. The link he has to the 360 view of the airsoft place in the mall is awesome and totally worth seeing!
I'm not sure what to suggest for future posts from your backlog. If I remember correctly, I believe you have a couple of Randall's closing posts. Those might be interesting to see, but I'm sure whatever you post will be interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing whatever gets posted!
This building was in really poor shape for sure. It is at one of the busiest spots in town so it is strange for it to still be sitting there like that. The replacement Walmart Supercenter is less than a block away on the same side of the road. The College Park Mall is across the street. Aldi and Tractor Supply are in front of and next to the Kmart.
DeleteNorth Oaks Mall seems to be struggling for the first time in quite a while. The center badly needs an update. I think this stretch of FM 1960 may follow the decline of the I-45 and Kuykendal corridors. Retail is continually pulling out of these older centers and towards the newest centers.
I did see his post, it is too bad he didn't find a door unlocked to be able to walk in. Trust me, I have tried to find a way in myself. I certainly appreciate the link to my old post. I took my son to the airsoft place a couple of times, but we haven't been in their shooting area. They have some videos online showing their shooting area as well, that are worth a look.
I do still have those posts in the backlog. I will check the status to see if I can post them soon. I want to make sure to get the store opening dates if I can find them. The former Randall's in the back of Kingwood is halfway being redeveloped into an Ace Hardware. The shopping center is still going strong despite the loss of Randall's and a CVS.
Here's a North Oaks Mall update. I have not been able to confirm this, but a commenter on Houston Historic Retail said today that the North Oaks Mall Half Price Books is closing on April 4th. I don't know anything else other than that and that HPB's website has very limited hours posted for the North Oaks location and that they aren't buying books at that location. With that in mind, the store probably is indeed closing.
DeleteIt's hard to say exactly why HPB is pulling the plug there. They've closed the Rice Village and Montrose locations in Houston here recently as well so HPB appears to be on the decline here in Houston, but then North Oaks is certainly on the decline as well so maybe it's just a bad combination of the two.
We'll see, hopefully more information about this will come out here soon, but I did want to update you with this potential news.
I think North Oaks is becoming a failing shopping center. Quite a few dominos have fallen to hurt the shopping center. Safety seems to be slipping through the cracks there as well. People from HPB's are normally nice and really friendly, so an increase in crime would be enough to close off the store. There are a couple of reviews that mention this store will close in April. At least we still have Deerbrook and Copperfield.
DeleteSpeaking of Kmart, here is a quick update based on some news I heard today. It seems Sears is opening a new concept store called Sears Hometown Plus in an old Kmart location in the Milwaukee, WI suburb of Cudahy.
ReplyDeleteHere are some photos of this store on the store's Facebook page. In addition to the Sears Hometown departments like we have in Houston, these Plus stores also sell some everyday household items like laundry detergent and paper goods. I suppose these stores are a mix of a downsized Sears along with a downsized Kmart.
It would be nice if the Pasadena and Willowbrook Sears Hometown stores got upgraded into Sears Hometown Plus stores. They certainly have room for it. Then again, the competition for everyday household items might be much higher here in Houston than in that Milwaukee suburb.
In other Sears Hometown news, the Willowbrook Mall store is having their formal grand opening this weekend (February 19-21).
On another topic not completely unrelated to Sears Hometown, have you seen the new Market by Macy's stores that are opening in the Metroplex? They are downsized (often very small in the 20k sq. ft. range) Macy's stores. From what I can tell from
this photo of an already-open Market by Macy's in Georgia, these stores look terrible. It's like they rolled out Macy's fixtures into a plain empty storefront. If this is the best Macy's can do, they'll probably be going out of business soon. Then again, new build Kohl's stores are also similarly ugly and downsized as well. We may have reached the point where TJMaxx and Marshalls stores are nicer than the newest department stores. Long gone are the days of the upscale 1980s Macy's like we saw at Deerbrook and Willowbrook Malls!
I would have to say that the Sears Hometown Plus is pretty close to what I imagined the Kmart departments at Sears would have looked like. The whole turn of events that have led to the creation of these stores is so strange. I guess it is better to run a small store than it is to try and run a full-sized store.
DeleteI need to check out the Hometown stores again. I only went to the Cleveland and Pasadena Hometown stores in 2021. The only other Sears stores I visited in 2021 were closing locations.
The Market by Macy's location looks very similar to the Nordstrom Rack stores I have visited. I don't see a lot of Men's clothing in the photos either. I read about the concept a while back, but this is the first I have seen of the stores. This concept could be a way for Macy's to grow their market share in smaller markets where they have closed stores. Macy's doesn't have the prestige and reputation for being a high-quality retailer anymore. The high-quality stuff is probably reserved for their Bloomingdales stores these days. They have downgraded to fit in with the discount and mid-priced retailers. Market at Macy's and Macy's Backstage have watered down their brand. Another thing with Macy's is their partnership with Toys R Us. It appeared that they were about to build an area for the Toys R Us at Deerbrook, but instead filled in the area with more children's clothes. Their signage advertising the new Toys R Us stores coming soon has vanished as well. I wonder if something is wrong with the partnership, there is a small section of toys with a Geoffrey cutout, but nothing else TRU related. The TRU stores are supposed to open up this year in Macy's stores so we will see what happens.
Speaking of Macy's their San Jacinto store apparently closed at the end of February. I am glad that I went in January to document the store, but I recently upgraded my phone so I could have gotten better quality photos before they closed.
I did manage to get some Fiesta market photos with my new camera. Since the old signage is beginning to disappear, I figured it would be the perfect time to document some of these stores. The new camera really does a great job with neon pictures.
Those Fiesta photos should be great, I am looking forward to seeing them! I can think of a few local retail enthusiasts who will be excited to see those as well. I'm glad you were able to document Fiesta neon because it is starting to be removed from various locations.
DeleteThat's too bad about the Macy's TRU deal potentially falling through. Although I thought adding TRU departments could boost Macy's sales a bit, I was also a bit skeptical about it happening or it lasting long if it did happen just due to the failures associated with both TRU and Macy's in recent times. We'll see, maybe it'll happen, but not until we get later in the year because I'm not sure if this is a hot toy buying season anyway.
You're right about Macy's being a downmarket retailer these days. It's a shame, the Macy's name really meant something not too long ago. I think there is still room for retailers who sell work clothing for office workers and stuff like that, but many of these retailers are struggling and a lot of their products they sell are just not of a high quality anymore. These retailers just aren't doing a good job convincing people not to shop at the Rosses and TJMaxxes of the world.
I'm not sure if you heard about this, but Barnes & Noble recently decided to rename their store at the Oviedo Mall in Orlando, FL to B. Dalton. It's the first time the B. Dalton name has been used on a bookstore in a long time. Otherwise, it seems B&N left the store as it was when it was a normal B&N. B&N says one of the reasons why they changed the name was because the store was smaller than their typical stores, but it still looks much larger than the B. Daltons of the past. But, anyway, it's neat to see the B. Dalton name return to a mall. I don't know if B&N will make any changes to other stores, but I suppose it is a possibility if the change in Orlando is well-received.
I sent you some samples of the Fiesta photos, the new camera really captures neon nearly perfectly. There are a couple more Fiesta stores I may visit that have different old-school signage.
DeleteI wonder if they may put the TRU on the first floor instead at the Macy's. The Backstage addition and Lids Locker Room stores are down there. The Finish Line is on the second level, but it appears to have gotten a bit smaller recently. The Men's clothing department has been downsized to make room for the Macy's Backstage addition which is disappointing.
The B-Dalton name coming back is a way to draw attention to what is becoming a stagnant brand (Barnes and Noble). I went to the Deerbrook store last week and their physical media selection is getting really thin. Even the records appear to be thinning out. I was more of a Waldenbooks fan back in the day though, I liked their layout of the store better.
It's a shame how many former big boxes, Kmart or otherwise, are just sitting around rotting like this.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, we are way over retailed in the US.
DeleteWho has old pictures of the inside of the San Antonio one, the link to Flickr pictures is broken, is there any way I can get to them somewhere else, and are the any up close picture from the humble one before it was redeveloped?
DeleteHow does it look now?
ReplyDeleteI haven't been back since. If anyone local has an updates, please reply to this comment.
DeleteIt is in much the same condition, if not worse. If memory serves, K-Mart closed after the new Super Walmart opened... they couldn't compete and it was like a ghost town well before it actually closed down. Lots of businesses have difficulty staying open in that area, Walmart and Atwoods being the exceptions. My last visit to that K-Mart was in the fall of 2001, it was hardly busy even then. It temporarily served as a distribution warehouse for Guardian Industries after Hurricane Katrina or Ike... but it's been a while and I don't remember all the details.
DeleteStill the same according to Street View but I don't live in the area unfortunately
DeleteThe distribution center originally belonged to Venture. I remember there was a Venture store in Corpus Christi that I went to as a kid. Ironically, that one was in an old Kmart (another Kmart to Venture conversion was in Irving). Looking back at their history, Venture really wanted to make it big in Houston since that's where most of the Texas locations were at but I find it strange that they even opened a store in Corpus Christi.
DeleteThere is a metal barrier now to prevent people from driving into the parking lot. I guess the overnight spot for the truckers was becoming an issue. That is about the only update, you can still walk through the lot from what I know.
DeleteI guess Venture needed growth, so Corpus made sense for them. Did the Valley have any Venture stores as well? The conversion from Kmart to Venture is backwards from what happened when Kmart bought all of the Venture stores.
DeleteI went ahead and uploaded my photos from my late-night trip through Corsicana in March on the way home from Dallas.
DeleteFor awhile the parking lot was used by Fun Town RV, maybe around a year. But once they got settled at their new location they moved all those RVs away. Nothing has really changed inside that I know of, just the occasional rumors. Hopefully something will happen in the future since the area is building up more
DeleteI guess the site at least got some action and much needed cleanup with the Fun Town RV moving in for a while.
DeleteThe valley didn't have any Venture stores and nether did San Antonio. There was one planned for Austin though: https://www.bluepageswiki.org/wiki/Venture_162
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty awesome that these are being archived on the Internet to give a real history of the chain. So many chains fail with their expansions, and few succeed. Venture, Ames, Alco, and so many others took on expansions that eventually killed the company.
DeleteThat's what I've been working on as of late (mainly the Texas ones) and why I've been focusing less and less on my blog as it's been somewhat easer to document that stuff vs having to drop everything and go from Houston to Corpus and San Antonio on my days off. I wish it didn't have to be like this but I feel like this might work in the long run for me. I'll still leave what I already have on my blog up but won't be doing anything major like what I had originally planned to do
DeleteLife unfortunately happens and can change our plans for the future at a moment's notice. I originally planned to shut down my documentation for the blog, but I have made a few posts in 2022. The documentation in 2022 is still much lower than in 2021, but I still plan on finishing up things in the near future.
DeleteThe Super Kmart sold in September and will be an RV Dealership, they are replacing the roof and will make repairs to it.
DeleteThanks for the update, that is probably why the site had those gates on the entryways. It will be interesting to see the property put back to use after being abandoned for so long.
DeleteThey have a lot of work to do, the new owners bought in September, blocked off the lot, and it'll be worked on for quite a while
DeleteDefinitely, the site has sustained a lot of damage from neglect and weather over the years. I wonder if the building really can be saved.
DeleteThe roof is being replaced now, they want to reuse it, it's called fun town RV, there was an abandoned Gander Mountain in Corsicana that was bought by the same company and is now Fun Town RV, they are working on this one so they can have 2 Corsican locations.
DeleteThat company is growing really fast, that Gander Mountain store opened just a little more than a year ago. The definitely have their work cut out for them with the Kmart building. That building is one of the most disgusting that I have walked up to. To tell you the truth, I thought it was a complete loss. I guess the fact that the inside had been gutted is what kept the building in good enough shape to renovate.
DeleteThe Gander mountain took less time to renovate, the Super Kmart has a long time yet. Why was there a fence around the loop 410 Kmart, how bad was that one?
DeleteWhy was there a fence around the Loop 410 Super Kmart? It was crazy, did you drive around the back of that building?
DeleteThey want more locations selling junk RVs, when I found out it sold, I thought noooooooooooo not the Super Kmart being used for greed. What I mean is RVs are not made to last and the CEO of the company wants to be a Mr Big shot and want 2 Corsicana locations to make more money form the city. I thought this would sit till it was demolished or something. The San Antonio one I know used to be horrid, and I wonder about the fence around it and what the inside looked like. I hope you downloaded the interior pics and took pics of the back.
DeleteProbably to keep people from going inside of the building or spray painting the building even more. I was able to drive around most of the building, but I didn't go into the back area. If I remember correctly that part was fenced off as well.
DeleteDid you see or download the interior pictures of the San Antonio one from Flickr? Do you know what it looked like inside and why was there a fence around it?
ReplyDeleteI saw the Humble kmart pics, when were those taken and when did the start remodeling it, i also noticed in one pic there was a open garage door to the auto center.
ReplyDelete2010 was when I took the photos. I believe 2012 was when the Academy and Burlington opened, but I am not 100% sure.
DeleteWas it early 2010? I noticed a open garage door the auto center in one of the pictures.
DeleteI noticed a open auto center door to the Humble kmart, wonder if that was vandals or how it got like that. When did Academy open in Corpus Christi Super Kmart?
DeleteI am pretty sure that those photos were taken in the fall of 2010, I can't remember for sure it has been over a decade since that post.
DeleteAcademy opened in the Corpus Super K in the mid 2000s, relocating from their location across the street which was originally Handy Dan. Ashley HomeStore opened in the 2010s
DeleteThank you South Texas Retail for answering the question.
DeleteHow bad was the loop 410 Super Kmart? I tried the flickr link to interiors but it broken, I need some help from somebody to find out how bad it was!
ReplyDeleteIs the abandoned Kmart on Homestead in Houston still standing?
ReplyDeleteYes it is still standing and rotting away. I pass by there frequently on my way home from work when traffic is bad on I-69. One of these days I may stop by and make a post, but usually I just want to get home for the day.
DeleteWill it get demolished anytime soon? I really want to see a post on it along with the rest of the plaza. Do you have a flickr account?
ReplyDeleteI am sorry, but I don't have any plans to revisit that area. From what I have heard, the building will remain in place as is. I appreciate the comments.
DeleteIs it still standing? All those buildings need demolished. you can see on google maps the roof's on all the buildings are caving in.
ReplyDeleteWe will see if someone from the Corsicana area can help with an update. Please comment below.
DeleteI meant the homestead Kmart and plaza
ReplyDeleteSorry about the mix up, it is still sitting vacant. There was a recent new story about the buildings, but nothing has happened at this point. The link is below.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/VHYKFyS1JJ4
It needs razed, the roofs are caving in on all the builfings, and they look unstable.
DeleteI agree, it will probably sit for a while longer. That neighborhood has a lot of vacant houses in bad condition as well.
Deletedo an update on the homestead kmart and if you have a drone use that oo
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't own a drone. Maybe I will pass by there in the future but I no longer drive that way since changing jobs.
DeleteFrom Corsicana area, this former Super Kmart is currently under construction to be converted to a TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Academy, and Ulta. They will be using the Kmart building but just fixing all that is wrong with it and dividing it up. Happy to have something here in this building after 20 years!
ReplyDeleteThat is great news. I am glad that the property will get used again. Sad to see the remains of a Super Kmart get replaced, but the building was almost to the point of no return. Thanks for the update.
DeleteI'm originally from Corsicana. Super K opened when I was in high school. I remember going to the food court (before Little Ceasars went in) for biscuits & gravy before school. It was on the way to school so it made sense to me. When you come into the front lot, grocery & food court was on the right. Everything else was to the left as well as the garden center and automotive. I dont recall them having an optical center, but they did have an Olan Mills Photography place in there and there was also a hair salon. Walmart was where Atwoods is and used to have an entrance to College Park Mall inside the store. It was quite the place back in the day (80s & 90s anyway). As far as the warehouses go, the Venture warehouse is now a Kohls warehouse. Kmart Distribution Center was across town. Worked there a few times. The potholes have always been bad. They have been doing some work on the roads out by the old VF Mall (I used to get some great deals on clothes there back in the day) and they're doing work on W. 13th Ave. Sorry for the short history lesson. I sometimes get carried away when I'm talking about my hometown.
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying some of the history of the area. Feel free to comment on the blog any time. The Atwoods/Walmart space was one mysteries of the old mall at least for the blog readers`. I figured that there had to have been some kind of mall entrance there or another anchor that did have a mall entrance on that end of the mall. There are very few photos of the mall online. Corsicana has a lot of retail history for a city of its size. Is the area beginning to feel the effects of suburban sprawl as Dallas grows exponentially?
DeleteCoincidentally, this 1994 news video of the Super Kmart in Corsicana was just shared with the blog from our friend anonymous in Houston. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2273053/m1/
DeleteHere are a couple of holiday surprises for you and your readers. Granted, I didn't have anything to do with these other than that I found them at the Portal to Texas History website! I think you're really going to like this video though, it is a 3 minute news video out of the Metroplex of the opening of the Corsicana Super Kmart. They show many parts of the store when it was new and talk about the novelty of late night shopping. I'm sure you're going to like this video: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2273053/m1/
ReplyDeleteThere were two Kmart oddities here in Houston in the 1990s, the Super Kmarts and also the KVentures, the Big Kmart stores in old Ventures. Here is a video, also at the Portal, showing a Metroplex area KVenture: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2269016/m1/
Those are some fantastic videos. I really appreciate you sharing them here with us. A tour of a Super Kmart in the 90's is a rare thing to see online. In the mid 90's they would have probably found me at about that time of night at the Humble Super Kmart. It is hard to believe that 24-hour in-store shopping and Thanksgiving Day in-store shopping are a thing of the past in 2024. I really miss late night shopping trips. I am glad that most retail workers now have the Thanksgiving holiday off though.
DeleteThe KVenture is really cool to see as well. The Big Kmart signage of 1998 was a lot different than the later signage put in place after the Sears/Kmart merger. The quality of that video is really good. I don't have a lot of memories of Garden Ridge from that era, but looking at the quantity of goods they had for sale is interesting. A thousand Christmas trees sold during their 84-hour sale is a staggering number.
I am sure you heard that Big Lots is closing down all of their stores now. Apparently, their rescue plan fell through, but they will continue to see if they can work out another deal to save some of the stores. It sounds like we will see more Ollie's and Dollar Tree conversions in 2025. I am not sure when the store closing sales will start, but we know the liquidators work fast. It wouldn't surprise me to see the store closing sales start at the final round of stores as early as tomorrow.