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Hi Group,

If anyone has any pix of vintage Kmarts which (originally) opened anywhere from 1962 to 1990 (the era of the big red "K" and turquoise blue "mart"), particularly those in Oregon and SW Washington State, I would appreciate it. Thus, this is why I have opened this topic.

NW Kmart photos wanted:
13750 SE Johnson Rd in Milwaukie, OR (open circa 1970)
2315 SE 82nd Ave in Portland, OR (extinct) (open circa 1968)
440 NW Burnside in Gresham, OR
12350 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR
19003 S Beavercreek Rd in Oregon City, OR (open 1989)
3955 SW Murray Blvd in Beaverton, OR (open circa 1975)
2711 NE Andresen Rd in Vancouver, WA

I remember the roadside sign of the big red "K" on top and below that the turquoise blue "mart". That was present at the Clackamas location mentioned above, and the Beaverton location.

Worth noting..the Milwaukie K-Mart was not remodeled, and retained the old K-Mart logo along with the orange interior colors, until it was remodeled into a "Big K-Mart".

Also, the former K-Mart at Jantzen Beach mall recently reopened as a Burlington Coat Factory. They repainted the ceiling and installed new light fixtures, but in the process retained the huge air conditioner vents common in so many old K-Mart stores.

I'm glad somebody else notices those huge round air diffusers! They were common in Woolworths too...

Those huge air vents helped me determine that a Super Kmart somewhere outside Denver had been an expansion from a regular Kmart.

Many older Kmart Stores have an odd smell, not sure what this smell is. I used to think it came from the food service operation, but since now none of the ones I visit have this, but still have the small, I really wonder what it is.

storewanderer wrote:Those huge air vents helped me determine that a Super Kmart somewhere outside Denver had been an expansion from a regular Kmart.

Many older Kmart Stores have an odd smell, not sure what this smell is. I used to think it came from the food service operation, but since now none of the ones I visit have this, but still have the small, I really wonder what it is.

Sears had a unique smell to them as well. Especially older (pre 1980) locations. I think it was from the candy/nut counters. Its funny, I can still smell that going into Puente Hills......

But back to Kmart.

The smell in old K-Marts was probably the 3/$1 "hoagies" and the popcorn.

We recently had our house sprayed by the exterminator, and afterward the whole place smelled exactly like the entrance to a Kmart or Woolworth's used to. We determined that smell was either stale popcorn, stale candy, or a combination of the two (caramel corn, maybe?).