I don’t know how many times I’ve walked by this and missed it. I was out with my friend Rob and saw this from 2 blocks away and had to get a picture of it. The buildings are close, but I ducked into an alley and just got enough of it.
Sebastien Kresge opened his first retail store a few blocks from here in 1897. This building was built in 1894 and in 1907 became Kresge’s 2nd store, when he moved here from the previous location across from Hudsons. Within a year, he was opening stores throughout the state and in other locations such as Chicago. By 1912 he had 85 stores. Known for his generosity, he created the charitable Kresge Foundation in 1926. His empire grew into one of the largest retail operations in the world. In 1962, in an effort to branch out, they opened their first K-Mart store, eventually changing all the stores to that name. It took 10 years to change them all, from 1977 to 1987.
You never know what you might find if you take a second to look up once in a while. 🙂 – Derek
