apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Sam's Bargain Town was the first of it's kind when it came to shopping. It was a mini-big-box store, carrying everything from food to clothes and camping gear. At the time of it's arrival in KC (early 50's) it was only one of 4 stores around the country selling things of this nature.

This patch of tile is original to the building, even though it has been a grocery store, drug store, used appliance store and last but not least... a day care. It sits between what is now the side entrance and exit, although it used to be the main entrance into the building.

The tile has always been something that catches your eye as you drive past. The bold color choices seem to flag you down from the road, and the shimmer off the gold tiles doesn't hurt.

The building has giant plastic spheres atop the roof. Although they have seen better days, they are the true trademark of the building. They have been there since the start as you can see here.

The spheres made such a great contrast against the sky, there just had to be one more photo of them.

This tall sign sits across the street from the building. What once lured customers in, now holds down the corner to an empty lot. It has fallen victim to the same type of store that it helped create, but the signage and tile still live on to tell the story.