Abandoned Retail - Kmart - Rochester, MN

The Rochester, MN, Kmart sign. Partially removed from the facade, October 12, 2022.

After closing in March 2019, it was time to say goodbye.

This particular Kmart (store #4351) had some historic significance. It was the first Kmart to open in the state of Minnesota, on November 4, 1971. Close to Downtown Rochester, and nearly 94,500 Square Feet, it was one of the largest general retail stores in town. You'd have to imagine it made tons of money off the non-stop stream of medical tourism, coming through the Mayo Clinic.

It was announced on December 28, 2018 that the Rochester, MN Kmart would be closing in March, 2019. In an unrelated development, the property was sold to a new developer (Camegaran, LLC, out of Hastings, MN) in February 2019, for $7 million dollars. 

In an unplanned way, we spent a lot of time going back and forth to Rochester, MN, over the last 15 months. 

Reason?

Misanthrope convention...

We were so good at it, they kept asking us back.

No one showed up and no one acknowledged the convention. Making it one of the more successful  in history. Laura won the grand prize, in both January and March of 2023. Winning a highly difficult contest of getting a lot of attention, while no-selling and sleeping through most of it. I was so proud of her! 

Eventually, we got so good at misanthropy, they asked as to not come back for a good long while. Just to let some other people have a chance. So we've semi-retired from the Misanthrope Convention circuit (Midwestern division). Although we will continue to practice in our hometown.

Or maybe not...

It could be Apathy.

It could be Cancer.

It could be indigestion.

It could be Tuberculosis.

Let the experts figure it out.

The "Peace Plaza", April 11, 2022. 

Left to right: the Marriott Hotel (where we were staying), the Mayo Clinic: Gonda Building, a block down the plaza, and the Kahler Motel, on the right. 

Checking into our room at the Marriott. The room was decent and clean. Overpriced for location and sorely needed major renovations. It was built in 1988, and definitely 35 years old. I missed the good TV channels. She pointed out the major lack of USB ports. The entire room had one. If you don't bring any additional ones yourself, this would have sucked.

******

2018 aerial photo (politely borrowed from the Rochester Post Bulletin) of Kmart and the Salvation Army, with downtown Rochester behind it. For perspective's sake.

April 13, 2022

Laura was occupied for most of today. Meaning I had a window of about 4 hours, before I'd pick her up. Not feeling the need to get the hotel valet to deliver the car, I decided that I'd go for a walk out to Kmart and back. (Not having free and immediate access to a car was weird.) This would knock out a few photo targets along the way, that I saw the night before, on our supply run down Broadway.

One thing I wish I would have taken into consideration was how cold and windy it was today. Failed to account for that. I could wear one glove to hold the camera, but would still need free fingers to operate it.

Big abandoned AMPI was my first intended target.

Although, I did take a bunch of pictures as I walked through downtown to get here.

Associated Milk Producers Incorporated closed the Rochester plant in late 2019. The amount of dairy farmers in this region had decreased greatly over the last 15 years, and operations could be consolidated at other local -and busier- plants. When it closed, this AMPI chapter was down to 75 employees. The property was sold to Camegaran out of Hastings, MN. The same developer that bought the Kmart property in 2019. 

After Kmart closed, the Mayo Clinic leased the parking lot for it's employees. Shuttle busses would take the doctors and nurses to where they needed to go and back. Funny, with all of these cars in the parking lot, Kmart actually looks open!

It fooled Laura the night before. 

We went to WalMarts (besides mismanagement over last 25 years, the biggest reason for Kmart's decline) last night for supplies, I didn't see the Kmart when we drove by it either time, but as we drove back, she said that she couldn't believe there's still a Kmart here. I disputed, remembering reading that the Lake Street Kmart in Minneapolis was one of the 3 last open Kmart's in the state. Rochester was not among them. I read that in late 2019, when I wrote my story on it. I looked it up when we got back to the hotel, and found out it had closed earlier, in 2019.

That was when I made plans to come here.

The Salvation Army used to operate a store on the west side of the building.

There was a SuperValue grocery store in this space, when Kmart opened. Makes sense for Kmart to keep that separate. SuperValue was a large umbrella that allowed individual stores under it's brand. 40-50 years ago, every town had a SuperValue with someone's name before it. 

Kmart's old planters have moved under the canopy to stay dry in the rain and snow.

According to the signs in the windows, The Salvation Army store stayed open for about 6 months after Kmart closed. Planters were jammed up against the doors, so I couldn't take better pictures of the entryway.

Seems kind of shitty to deny the shoeless and shirtless service, when their whole business model is based on providing low cost, second hand clothing and other items, to the poor. If you don't have a shirt or shoes, this might be the first place you'd turn to for those items.

However, If you didn't have a shirt or shoes... But you did have a gun...

I don't think I'd want you in here...

The retail floor was completely cleared. No fixtures left behind. Just a cavernous space. A hole has been cut into the wall separating the Salvation Army from Kmart. Perhaps in an effort to improve the Salvation Army's inventory with fresh Kmart wares, when no one was looking? Such unethical business tactics leading to the downfall of both retail bodies?

And that one wrapper left sitting on the floor. 

That bothers me...

I could use some food that doesn't come in a wrapper...

Like a breakfast from that stupid program at the Marriott. Home fries always win for hotel breakfasts. I would like them to cook the sausage links a little longer, but that bacon was fairly close to perfect. Pineapple chunks are a nice addition to breakfast.

So the food was awesome, but the stupid part was the price. Most hotels offer the food as part of it's package. However, this particular Marriott charges some ridiculous amount like $20 per day. Which included a "Happy Hour" appetizer from 5-7. These were always awful. Good thing we didn't pay for it. Laura had somehow arranged to get this comped to our room each day we stayed. But it turned out the desk clerk that did it got into trouble. 

That's so petty, Marriott...

Our room overlooked the pool. It was a weird courtyard. The more you looked at it, the abundance of hard right angles on the walls, floors and furniture, just became jarring. I was looking forward to using that hot tub and pool. However, the hot tub was closed for repairs and the pool was kept just cold enough for ice to not form on top.

It was also difficult to find places to smoke. No one wanted me smoking near their doors, or out in the open on the plaza and whatever. I get it. That makes sense being surrounded by hospitals, medical centers and doctor offices. I tried to be courteous, and only tried to smoke in the vicinity of idling cars. Let's not pretend that's harmless in a world full of toxins... 

So guess what sign... Don't care!

The second morning we were here, I hid under the overhang outside the hotel doors, in pouring rain, enjoying my delicious flaming nicotine. I'm standing on the Peace Plaza again. This time looking east toward the Chateau Theater and the University Square Shopping Center. Which actually has an open Games by James inside!

The Chateau Theater dates back to the 1920's. It's not typically open for anything, but is available to rent for events. For a stretch of time, it had been converted to a Barnes & Noble bookstore. While I never saw it, there are pictures online of this theater with a bookstore inside. Barnes & Noble closed in 2016, the bookstore was dismantled and removed. Leaving the theater as it was, before the bookstore showed up. 

Even though the Chateau Theater is no longer seeing daily use, I'd bet the water is still running.

Unlike at the Rochester Kmart...

From the looks of that (very sun-faded) Big Kmart logo, and updated facade, I'm assuming this Kmart underwent a remodel in the late 1990's. At 94,500 Square Feet, this was indeed a Big Kmart. The remodeled building is pretty similar to the Kmart I used to live close to, in Englewood, CO. 

Well, that doesn't look very safe...

The main entrance of Kmart.

Looking in the ripped off paper hole. Just like the Salvation Army, there is nothing left inside. Some lights have been left on in the back. As a nice touch, the interior door room glass has been removed, allowing better views for photos without glare. 

All of the fluorescent lighting is still attached to the ceiling. 

This was a difficult shot, given the angle and all of the reflections off the double sliding door glass. Unfortunately this was the best lit interior section of Kmart, and I would have liked to have seen it better.

On my walk to Kmart, I made a stop on the way to photograph this building, across Broadway from the AMPI plant. 

Sure looks like it used to be a Taco Bell. The last tenant that I could find, was a bicycle and athletic supply retailer, named the Running Room. I walked around the structure and took all the pictures I wanted. (Including a series of pictures of a bird glaring down at me, from one of the parking lot lights. Inside the store, was a wide open retail floor. All areas that would have been previously used as a kitchen were now just open. With windows where they definitely wouldn't have been before, so it must have lived a previous life in fast food. The wrap around driveway is one sign, but the unseen drive through window is still attached. 

Approaching the  Zumbro River bridge, on my walk back to the hotel, after taking all of the Kmart photos. Being able to photograph something abandoned really cheered up my day, and for a few hours took me away from the heaviness of what was going on 10 or so blocks to the north.

Just after crossing the bridge, I saw this manhole cover on the sidewalk.

US West Communications hasn't been a thing in decades. 

When we were in town in January, 2023, the Taco Bell Running Room had one of those menacing demolition shovels in the parking lot. 

Two months later, the building was gone.

In 1978, the Zumbro River flooded, spilling well over its banks and on into Kmart (and everything else in the area). Filling the parking lot and store with (looks like) 3-4 feet of water. Likely a total loss of all merchandise inside. That had to have been hell of a mess to clean up.

Thank you again Rochester Post Bulletin!

In April 2022, the abandoned Kmart still had it's own abandoned Garden Shop and abandoned Auto Shop (or Auop).

The plywood covering the Garden Shop entrance looks fairly new...

Guess I can just go in then...

And those vintage 1970 parking lot light poles are awesome!

The plywood covering the Kmart entrance from the Garden Shop entrance looks very weathered...

Whatever additions built onto this side have been removed, years earlier.

If I hadn't aroused enough suspicion by walking around the building in full view of the Mayo Clinic Park & Ride security cameras, I could have easily peeled that plywood off and gone inside. But I'm not going to be doing that sort of thing, at my age...

The doors covered up by the newer plywood, a few pictures ago, don't look damaged at all.

As the signs on the wall stated, this side of Kmart had the Garden Shop and the Auop (Auto Shop). For some reason, when I took my pictures of the building in April, 2022, I completely missed getting a picture of the row of bay doors, that comprised what you could see of the former Kmart Auto Center.

Which in October, 2022, looked like this:

Wonder what that label scar once read? I can make out Automotive Service Center. Sears? 

The pavement had been removed over the last month...

This is what I saw inside one of the uncovered windows, in April 2022. Aqua, red and white were kind of the original Kmart color palate. Wonder if that back wall had ever been repainted, or if that was original.

Looking in the door immediately to the right of the 6 garage bays.

On Thursday, I went to the Gonda, and was given this sticker, for my jacket to wear.

I really liked these boxes on the wall by the elevators.

Looking east from the 12th floor of the Gonda building, on August 3, 2022.  The white tower on the left side of this picture is the Broadway Plaza hotel, which we stayed at in October, 2022. University Square Shopping Center, Chateau Theater and the Peace Plaza can be seen underneath it. Kmart would have been about 12 blocks away, beyond the right side of this picture.

This waiting room is located on the Subway level, a block south of the Gonda. A large glass dome, raised above you. If you stood in the right spot, you could get the original Mayo building in the center circle. You get bored sometimes with all of the waiting around here.

So what's going on at Kmart?

Rounding the northeast corner past the Auto Shop. I'll walk around the back of the Kmart and back out to the front of the Salvation Army, then back to the hotel.

Another sign like on the front of the building, only this one has wheels underneath!

Whatever this rusty thing was (baler?) left out back. People have jammed a bunch of trash into it. I should have looked closer at what all was stuffed inside, maybe take a picture or two.

Well, too late now...

Some hack graffiti artist left this on the wall (by to the scribbled writing that I couldn't make out, and didn't bother taking a better picture). Next time, take an additional 30 seconds before pressing your finger on the paint can nozzle, so it comes off better. A little planning could have made this a stronger piece.

Maybe the artist had too much Vodka, and we should be satisfied that he (or she) only almost misspelled "left". 

Thanks Kmart.

Sometimes I need reminding of that.

That's a really small exit, in a really odd location...

On the side of a very narrow loading dock. 

With an old school TV antenna!

Kmarts of the era traditionally had these long, narrow ramps, leading to a small dock, leading into the building at an odd angle. Someday I'll have to write about the abandoned Kmart in nearby Winona, MN, that I photographed in 2018. A much smaller store, but with a much larger loading dock!

Now walking around the west side of the building. This boarded up side entrance was likely used by the Salvation Army for their drop off loading area. The one referenced as being closed, on all the flyers next to the front doors.

Then I slipped on a banana peel...

Hope it looked good!

But if you need a second take, you're out of luck. I've got a schedule to keep.

I have to be back at the hospital to pick Laura up in about 2 hours!

That must be the camera. Or an upside down black egg in a cup.

There's another one, underneath a second set of doors. 

These doors deemed not worthy of an oversized canopy.

And that's pretty much the whole loop around the building. 

If you're sad to see this Salvation Army location closed, fret not, Rochesterarians! If you are in need of low cost second hand clothing and household items, there are still several Salvation Army locations around town. Including one located less than a block away from one of my targeted stops, planned before we ever made that drive south to Rochester. 

But I didn't actually make it here until October, 2022...

The Machine Shed, home to Midwest Vintage Toys and a nice sized video arcade.

Which was closed the night I stopped by.

But Midwest Vintage Toys was open and jam packed with inventory, both old and new. Who knows, some of the vintage toys on sale here, may have originally been sold at that very Rochester Kmart? Probably not any of these, since these are mostly re-issues from the last 5 or so years.

While I was looking around the giant video game themed room (not the Arcade, that was separate still), the guy running the desk was talking to another customer. My ears perk up when he tells him: "You'll never believe what walked in here earlier this afternoon..." 

Oh my god, now I gotta know, what was it?!?!?

He showed him (then me) an original NES cartridge of Little Samson. While I'm not a serious video game collector, I knew this cartridge was a highly rare Holy Grail type item to many collectors. It was the first I'd ever seen in person. 

In support of such an awesome business, I dropped $30 on cool crap we don't need. Like a White Castle Slider Funco Pop for Laura (it looked cool and she likes White Castle), and an original loose Masters of the Universe action figure, of a two-headed monster that I didn't already have in the collection. 

This figure's name? Two Bad...

Isn't that just about the lamest of lame puns that Mattel could have come up with?

But that sentiment just seemed so appropriate for tonight!

Did my new Two Bad's origin story begin at the Rochester Kmart's toy department? I have distinct memories of how great Kmart's toy department was in 1984, when Two Bad first hit the market.

Kmart did have their own restrooms inside the store, when it was open. Well, I don't know for absolute certain, but how could they not? So these porta-potties and shed, have to be new to Kmart's closure, specifically for the Mayo Clinic Park & Ride, now leasing the parking lot. 

Well, I’ve now walked all the way around Kmart, plus a little more for these shots of the front door. I’m going to take a few more pictures in the area, then walk back to the hotel. There’s still plenty of time left before Laura is finished. Meaning I can probably stop back at the hotel room and hang out for a few minutes, before picking her up.

Looking at the Mayo building, from the 6th floor of the Gonda building. 

Sculptures attached to the Mayo building wall, above an employee shuttle bus that moves Mayo employees from the Kmart Park & Ride, to the various hospitals in the area. 

Glass sculptures hanging from the ceiling inside the Gonda building. Which reminded me of some of the more intricate bongs that would be on sale in the various Marijuana stores, in and around Denver. With recent developments in Minnesota law, I look forward to having pieces of that culture introduced into this state in the near future. 

Maybe I’ll feel less homesick.

Hopping the barricade and turning around to look back at the Rochester Kmart. With the sign still intact, over a full parking lot, it's very easy to think the store is still open. Just as it fooled Laura the night before. Not sure why they didn't remove that sign over the doors.

The frame for Kmart's old sign frame straddles a small parking lot, used for the stores of the Soldier Field Plaza, with railroad tracks cutting through. (This is a really strangely designed commercial area...) 

That two story, tan, green and red building in the distance is...

Snappy Stop!

Home of the Snappy Burger!

I regret not stopping here to try their food. But they didn't accept walk-up's and I didn't have a car today, when it seemed the most appealing.

Can't tell me this wasn't once a Pizza Hut...

View to the south down the railroad tracks.

Which run parallel to Broadway, before wandering off to the east, around the intersection with Highway 14.

Mr. Pizza, with Wash Me behind it. After several attempts, I gave up on trying to get a picture of the two signs aligned to read: "Wash Me Mr. Pizza". Should have pulled into the lot...

Kwik Trip on Broadway. Cheap, quick food, drinks and gas fills.

Then you circle back and make a left turn on Highway 14, to check out the Apache Mall. 

I had thought about going there for exterior pictures when we were here in April, but that didn't happen. We came back in May 2022. Plans were made for a drive around the mall property, while making supply and food runs, after that day's appointments were completed. As we drove west towards the mall, I looked out my drivers window and saw a boarded up, abandoned retail building across a weathered parking lot.

You, know that sure looks like a former Toys R Us… 

Sure enough!

And thank you for not yanking the letters off the wall when you closed! 

Brief photography side mission later, we're back on our way to drive the circle around the mall...

But wait!!!

A couple of blocks away from Toys R Us, sits the similarly abandoned Sterling State Bank. 

Complete with an unnecessarily large sign frame.  

Although this sign attached to the door suggests the former Sterling State Bank would be demolished soon, it's state didn't change much -if at all- between my April 2022 to March 2023 surveillance period. You can see the silhouette of the Apache Mall under the bright sun and the quickly gathering storm clouds.

Longer than brief photography side mission later, we're back on our way to drive the circle around the mall...

My walk around of the bank probably took too much time, as the storm was starting to hit when we left the bank property. By the time we drove to the mall sign I wanted a picture of, the rain was really picking up. The only reason I wanted this picture was the name, which brings to mind the great Apache Plaza Mall, in St. Anthony, MN. That I really need to write a dedicated story about one of these days.

I also wanted to drive the circle around the mall and get photos of the exterior. I had no real interest in going inside tonight. From what I could tell, business was good, and this isn't a dying mall. The medical tourism likely keeps it afloat. 

By the time we drove around to the Apache Mall's Macy's zone, the rain was coming down so hard we couldn't see very well. I pulled off the road and into a parking spot, thinking we'd just wait it out. Then the hail started...

I know of shelter!

I gunned it and got us out of the mall parking lot and underneath the Sterling State Bank drive up canopy, in a matter of seconds. Keeping Laura's car hail dent free! Seemingly out of nowhere, this storm popped up and got very intense. Wind was even knocking a few small branches off the trees. 

I parked next to the teller window, with the car completely covered by the canopy and waited out the storm. I liked this shot of the abandoned bank interior, with the storm going on in the reflection. We stayed under here between five and ten minutes. Wind howling, rain blowing in at us, thunder and lighting. It was really cool!

Heheheheheh... I peed on your bank!

Once the weather cleared up, we headed off to Walgreens to pick up a few things. This picture is not from that night. While the rain had mostly stopped by the time we got here, the ditches along the road were filled with water and the sky was unnaturally dark. I took a bunch of pictures of that, but nothing that really included the Walgreens building. So you're stuck with this boring shot from March 2023. It was a little bit windy that day, but cold and dry. 

Would have been nice if I could have picked it up earlier at Kmart, when I was there. We could've even saved $1.00! But the Rochester Kmart closed their pharmacy in 2017. Back when we were living in Colorado.

******

October 12, 2022. 

After nothing going on at Kmart during our April, May, July or August appearances, when I drove by today, I found the Salvation Army store was being demolished. Well that's a sudden detour! I pulled into the lot to park nearer the action. 

On my way onto the property, I noticed the Big Kmart sign had been partially removed, as well.

Wish I would have taken a picture that was focused correctly... 

That sign back in April...

I'll come back to this part of the store later, demolition work is currently underway just to the left of here, and I wanted to see that first. So I drove the car over the west side of the lot and got out to walk around. 

I love photos of a retail business's front doors open for demolition. 

Wait, this one's better!

And I really like this!

More to come!

Awwwwww.....

In May (and July and August), we were booked at the Towneplace Suites by Marriott. A hotel so new, it was just a hill of patchy grass on the Googles. It had better amenities than the previous Marriott, and a much better smoking area, but a terribly small parking ramp under the building, that was rather hard to drive in.

A block south was the remains of Just Right Foods. One side of the interior has a combination of tools, bricks and lumber, scattered on the floor. the other side had boxes of junk. Nothing that really looked like it would have been used in a small discount grocery. 

During our May 2022 visit, for some reason we unintentionally watched a bunch of episodes of Storage Wars. Despite wanting to punch everyone on that show in the Adams Apple. 

Look at the screen, you immediately want to kick whoever would drive a vehicle looking like this, right in the balls.

We also discovered the Canadian Honker has really good food. 

(No relation to Bob.)

The steak sammich is amazing, but needs to be about twice that size. Or more.

Really good fries too. 

Decades ago, when the Salvation Army was still a Super Value, you could have bought your own ingredients to make steak sammiches right here. 

Now that is a damn smooth segue!

The northwest corner and west wall is gone, with efforts now focused on taking out the roof. I couldn't get around any further due to the parking lot being closed off on this side of the Salvation Army. Probably isn't much more perspective I can get, so I'll start walking around to the other side of the doomed superstore. 

They didn't cut off all that much of the parking lot to take down this part of the building. Looks like they'll tear down up to the wall of Kmart, then stop. After all, they left the parking lot intact beyond that point.

I love this shot of the front doors of the Salvation Army, with nothing but open air and destruction behind them. Still can't believe the luck of having to come to town, and getting into these pictures. Instead of just showing up and finding it gone, the next time we were in town.

My pass to the Misanthrope Convention for Wednesday of July. 

Still held amongst the medical facilities, for whatever reason. 

Must have been one hell of a dump...

One thing about this town, it's really nice, but they're really picky about letting me enjoy my vice. 

Eventually, it wore me down.

With everything going on over the last year, I made the decision to quit smoking cigarettes, in June of 2022.

For the second time.

August 2017 was the first time. I lasted all the way until we moved back to Minnesota in June 2018.

I always suspected Minnesota was my biggest trigger...

These things worked the first time, and so far have worked a second time. They're not for everybody, but worked well for me. If you can cut the physical dependency, the psychological dependency is manageable. I did crack under the pressure when we were in Rochester, in August 2022. Buying two packs (because you save money if you buy 2!), smoking them, enjoying then, then quitting again. 

It's tough, I don't think there's been a day since last June where I haven't really wanted a cigarette at some point. I haven't given in, but I'm not going to say I wont ever again.

Quitting cigarettes meant that I wouldn't have to keep stopping whatever I'm doing to go outside to smoke. And if I've gone through all the effort to go outside, I might as well smoke two or three since I'm already there. Before you know it, that just killed 30-40 minutes. 

Combine that with the amount of quiet, alone time that these trips to Rochester provided, and I was very productive when I tried to be. Hours and hours of time to write, were available when she was busy or gone. Time that never seems materializes during the sleep/work/chores cycle of everyday life. In this case, it was time to write my Anoka Hardees story. As that yummy delicious Frisco Burger suggests, that story is a whole lot better than you'd think it would be.

I even took advantage of the Rochester quiet alone time to finally tape nearly 2 years worth of notepad notes into my notebook. Which is a lot more time consuming than it looks. This minimalist form of scrap-booking took place in the Marriott, during our first visit in April, 2022. Which is located along the Peace Plaza, home to... 

A Qwest manhole?

At least it's newer than the US West one by Kmart...

Anyways, the important part of the Peace Plaza I wanted to talk about...

The Olde Brick House Pub & Restaurant. 

Sitting underneath the Kahler Hotel skyway that bridges 1st Avenue. Just across the street from the hotel we stayed at, on our first trip to Rochester. We tried it and the food was excellent. We ate there a couple of times. I picked it up and brought it back to our hotel, several other times.

Sticker that attached the receipt to the take out container.

The Ribeye was always cooked perfectly. Their Asparagus wasn't rubbery and had a great smokey taste. And the garlic mashed potatoes were incredible. Some of the best potatoes I've ever had.

Maybe Kmart sold potatoes that good?

I don't know, I never tried them.

The Rochester Kmart in happier times, on Yelp! This Yelper supplied photo from August 2010, shows the front entrance. Including the typical Kmart vending machines and little kid rides, to the left of the doors. Some of the large planters (that are still here) are stocked with flowers and plants. While just a simple exterior shot, it showed this Kmart was kept up and looks nice.

12 years and 2 months later, there's a much different story here...

Looks like some of the paper covering the entrance doors has been removed.

Those front doors in April, 2022.

Looks like some pre-demo clean-up is going on inside the Kmart, in October, 2022. The fluorescent lights have been/are being removed from the sales floor. The security lights in the back of the store are now turned off.

Back to Yelp for a look at the early 2019, going out of business sale. You can see the cashier checkout stands in the center of this shot, the the doors I'm looking in, just beyond them.

Those checkout stands would have been just to the left of the exit door, on the left side of this picture.

Wonder if someone is planting these flowers in the old Kmart planters every year, or if they're just growing from the old stock that never sold. After taking the planter photos, I got in the car to leave. Choosing to go to the far east side of the parking lot, for a look at the former Garden Shop and Auto Shop, on my way off the property.

All of the old fencing around the Garden Shop is gone.

The pavement is also torn out on the whole east side of the building.

Here’s Yelp again, with a look inside the still functioning Kmart, during its last days as an open retailer. Sitting among the empty shelves was a rolling podium, advertising the Kmart Rewards program. Not sure when this program was discontinued, but it’s kind of funny to see it advertised in an all but closed up Kmart.

I’m sure enrollment is through the roof!

So yeah... There's your October, 2022, update on the former Rochester Kmart. Part of the building is coming down. I hope it's still here, but who knows if the rest of it will be demolished before we come back to town, in early January, 2023.

Oh, Dusty...

We tried out a new hotel during that October 2022, Rochester trip. This would be the Broadway Plaza hotel. At 15 stories, it's the tallest building on Broadway. They gave us a room on the 14th floor, for our four day stay.

Which gave us an excellent vantage point for viewing the demolition of the Mayo Clinic Colonial building, a few blocks away. 

Warranting a walk over to the site for a closer look, during better daylight.

Directly across the street from the Broadway Plaza hotel, was the remains of Michael's Restaurant. This closed years back and has sat empty for a few more years. But as of October 2022, demolition work on the building was underway.

That Pepsi ad on the side of the building next door is pretty sweet.

A few blocks to the north, used to be the Scrub Your Butt Soap Company. This photo was taken in October, 2022. They have since closed up shop. Laura talked to the owner and told me why they were closing, but I don't remember what it was. Or maybe they moved? Changed their name? 

Sorry, I have no good information for you about Scrub Your Butt.

You're on your own for that.

The building next door is cleverly named: "The Castle".

One would think that is because it looks kind of like a castle. 

In case Wisconsin ever invades?

Or Canada?

On this particular trip to Rochester, I was writing about Joe Senser's Sports Bar, in Roseville, MN. Background entertainment was South Park reruns on the TV. Including the excellent Terrance & Phillip: Behind the Blow episode.

I was on my own the whole next afternoon, since she was busy with appointments. So I used that time to drive around to some of the parts of town I'd seen less of, during our visits. Leading to the discovery of...

An abandoned Perkins!

An abandoned Fazolli's!

(That will soon become a Giliberto's Mexican Restaurant. A massive upgrade!)

This abandoned whatever it is...

And that strange water tower, shaped and painted to look like a giant ear of corn.

(Which we saw every time we drove down Broadway.)

******

January 2023 saw our biggest trip to Rochester, weighing in at 6 nights and 7 days. Unfortunately, January in Minnesota meant that we would going to need to drive across the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, during a raging blizzard. One that ultimately lasted 3 days and dumped nearly 20 inches of snow on Crapids.

We did make it safely into Rochester, around 9am.

Still too early to check into out hotel, and a good three hours before her first appointment of the day.

So we went to the Canadian Honker for pancakes! 

And they were really good pancakes!

Our hotel (Aspen Suites) would be home -for me at least- for the next week.

Which sat directly above the Canadian Honker.

For most of that time, Laura would be hanging out across the street at St. Mary's. 

Wandering around, killing time inside of there, I found this very old mail chute, running between the elevators. 

ENHANCE!

May 1971. 

That's a really weird way to write the number 2... And I've always loved the USPS Mr. Zip Code character. While I can't say for certain that this label has been attached to the mail chute for 52 years, that date would seem to imply that much is true.

******

While she drifted in and out of consciousness, I kept myself entertained with the seemingly endless tragic comedy of Speaker of the House voting process on the TV. (Better than all the icy road tow truck driving shows the Weather Channel has devolved into...) Six months later, we're paying the consequences for all of that back room negotiating. 

As I sat on the couch, for several hours, she was nearly unconscious, next to me. All I could think about was possible scenarios their chest pounding and bravado could bring on, over the coming years. And how that will direct affect us personally. In situations probably just like this one. All they have to offer is airing grievances. If the Freedom Caucus actually gave a fuck about freedom, they'd all resign in shame.

I thought you people were going to do something about the economy and inflation? Or something for the people you fucking represent? That's what you said! Over and over! That you'd make it great! Fucking how? All you want is pointless investigations over baseless grievances to appease an indicted sexual predator, an absolutely disgraced former leader that gave our nations military secrets to anyone that walked into his fucking golf club, just so he could look cool in front of chicks, and get his dimwit daughter a sweet 2 BILLION DOLLAR real estate contract from Saudi Arabia. Now what did THEY get in return?

And way too many people still want the supervillain leading this country again.

We live in a fucking comic book!

Unfortunately, there was no Sesame Street airing tonight, so I flipped back to icy road tow truck driving show while the talking heads yapped. 

Given the low hanging fog tonight, the ample amount of fresh snow and the lights of downtown Rochester in the distance, it was kind of beautiful. Just like Kmart said. I really like this picture I took out of Laura's 10th floor window. My room in the hotel across the street was only on the 4th floor, so the view wasn't nearly as good.

Before I left for the night, I was given a short list of needed items. She asked me to pick up some things for her St. Mary's fun time, since she'd be stuck in the room for likely four more days. Unfortunately that means a stop at the Walmarts, in the morning

Driving south on Broadway, something catches my eye... 

Between the pawn shop and Taco Jed, on the end of the Soldier Field Shopping Center, I could see Kmart. Only now I could see inside of Kmart. As in one side of the building is now gone. Unplanned detour!

March 8, 2023. 

The old Rochester Kmart is officially being demolished. 

Yeah I said it was January, and now it's March. Well, we were here for a total of 13 days and nights, over two visits, once each month. So I’m just going to combine it all and let you figure out what goes where. Not that timeline matters for this story anyways…

Standing at roughly where the entrance to the Salvation Army used to be, looking down into the remaining parts of Kmart.

Now with less fence in the way!

Now with NO fence in the way!

(I’m getting good at this!)

Back to getting on my way to WalMarts, to pick up the list of items that Laura wanted for while she was trapped in the 10th floor of St. Mary’s.

First I had to stop at the Kwik Trip to gas up the car, then grab a delicious Kwik Trip cheeseburger, for breakfast on my way out. While not fine cuisine, if you go to the toppings bar and add a few things (pickles, diced onions and ketchup for me), they’re just as good -if not better- than any of your leading fast food chains. The widespread Kwik Trips around the greater Minneapolis area has nearly eliminated any stops at McDonalds, Hardees, Wendy’s, Burger King, etc. None of those lower level fast food burgers can hold a candle to the ones from Kwik Trip. 

And you don’t have to gamble on some uninterested teenager screwing up your order!

WalMarts of Rochester.

A few miles south of Kmart, still on Broadway.

Laura asked me to pick her up ingredients to make small sandwiches. A variety of lunch meats, cheese and bread. As I was looking around the WalMarts, I found their selection of pre-made deli sammiches. Rather than buy a bunch of separate stuff that she wouldn’t have a fridge to keep cold, I figured I’d buy a couple of big sammiches, cut them into multiple smaller sammiches, baggie them up and bring them across the street a few at a time. This was a great idea, and she agreed.

Plus, the WalMarts Italian sub is REALLY good!

While Rochester has a great deal of things to keep me occupied when I’m down here for moral support, this town does not have a dedicated baseball card store. At least I happened into the WalMarts while the rep from MJ Holdings was in-store, stocking the card aisle. Nothing from 2023 had been released yet, so it was just clearing out the leftover 2022 sets.

I’ll take one box of Bowman Platinum, and absolutely none of those stupid FIFA World Cup Soccer stickers that NOBODY WANTS!

And after spending much of the day at St. Mary’s, distracting myself with stuff like Fish Solitaire on my phone, while she sleeps, I simply can’t wait to get back to the hotel across the street before 10pm...

Just so I can get at least a few minutes of quiet relaxation in the Aspen Suites hot tub.

I looked forward to this every night. 

Except the night that a bunch of screaming children decided to not stop shouting “Marco Polo” while I was trying to decompress. Why don’t you kids go play Johnny Polo instead? That’s where you get dressed up in really loud, tacky clothing and quietly amuse yourself with really dumb jokes.

“If Kitty Kelly married Conway Twitty, her name would be Kitty Twitty!”

See, that’s much quieter!

(Absolutely NO ONE gets that joke…)

The nice thing is that the food options near the hotel and St. Mary’s are open late, even after the hot tub closes for its nightly nap at 10pm. I can take a brief walk 3 blocks west to Jersey Jo’s, hopefully not trip over their ridiculously tiny delivery car, then order up an authentic and greasy as hell Philly Cheesteak sammich.

And be back in my hotel room before it gets cold!

So good!

Well, it’s not like I could go to Wild Bill’s Sports Saloon…

They closed up their sports bar since we were last in town. They were never a mentioned option for us, but I remember seeing it as we drove past the Miracle Mile Shopping Center. I’m far more interested in the restaurant when we CAN’T eat there. And from the looks of this place, it being closed is far more for me than if it were still open.

Speaking of not being open... 

Demolition of the Rochester Kmart has now moved up to the column with the triangle shaped wedge removed from it. I thought the stones at the bottom would have been solid, not hollow, decorative faux rock, wrapped around the existing pillar. 

That same column in April, 2022. 

Guess someone moved the planters before the wall fell over.

Destruction is getting very close to the front entrance. 

Some of that wall is breaking apart, just to the left of the doors. 

Once again, I absolutely love pictures taken through the front door, showing a collapsed building behind it. In this particular case, you can see all the way to downtown Rochester, from the IN.

Now looking east, toward the Garden and Auto Shop. Interesting how the roof is gone, and the front wall is still standing. But only to the height of the canopy.

See!

All that's left are some skinny looking partial framing that would have gone up the the roof, were it still attached.

I think it's time for a little nutrition break...

Before my planned visit to Nerdin Out, I stopped at the Apache Mall McDonald's for some food. I also wanted to jot some notes down in my notepad while eating. Figuring it would be reasonably quiet under the immediate circumstances. That's why I came here, instead of grabbing something on the go. 

They even had a TV aimed at my booth, to distract me from writing. That TV was airing football stuff on the NFL Network, even though it was March. At least it wasn't Fox News, as most McDonald's with TV's inside, tend to do. 

I also didn't understand what the "Cardib and Offset" meal meant. I honestly had to Google it. Given McDonald's tendency to market to children, I thought this was a new cartoon show they were promoting. 

Sometimes I'm proud to be this out of touch.

I had a lot of time to kill today, so I decided to look through the boxes of sports cards Nerdin Out had sitting out. There were 4 of them, holding 3200 cards in each (if they were full, these were not), and random mixture of sports, with a few other things thrown in. I'd assumed it was a lot of overproduced Junk Wax Era commons. And a lot of it was, but I found 2 Montreal Expos cards from 2001 that I didn't have, in the first hundred or so cards. Compelling me to continue searching the boxes. 

With occasional breaks to admire the "99% complete" U.S.S. Flagg aircraft carrier, for the G.I. Joe line. Before today, I hadn't seen one of these since Xeno Toys in Denver, CO, back in the late 1990's. At over 7 feet long, this toy was unbelievable when it hit the market in 1988. 

As cool as this would be to own... 

A, it's $1200.

B, it's over 7 feet long.

C, it's $1200.

I could find room for it in The Home Of Happy Playthings, but it's just not practical. 

In both price and mass.

Sure would be cool though...

All of Nerdin Out's sports cards were 4 for a $1. Which seemed like a lot, but 52 of them only set me back $13 (and the time spent finding them). Considering that commons of today's products sell for around 50 cents a piece, this is a good price for a bunch of cards I needed for various personal collections.

Plus an original 1985 Garbage Pail Kid First Series card ($6), because it seemed like something I needed.

On the January day we were getting ready to drive back to Minneapolis, this guy signed the biggest contract in Twins history, less than an hour before we checked out of the hotel.

I'll leave it at that.

After my afternoon of photos and stuff, it was time to drop by St. Mary's for a few hours to see how Laura was doing. 

Or if she was going to wake up while I was sitting on the couch by her bed.

Three blocks west of the Aspen Suites Hotel, and next door to Jersey Jo's, is Topper's Pizza. So after St. Mary's tells me that I have to be anti-social somewhere else, until at least 8am tomorrow morning, I can pick up a pepperoni and Italian sausage on my way back to the Aspen Suites, then kick back to reruns of The Office on Comedy Central. 

Topper's Pizza is really good. 

Kevin would approve.

A few weeks ago, I was digging through some boxes of things from my parents house, and found a lotion box with an old school Kmart price tag on it. Featuring a classic S.S. Kresge logo. Well that's pretty cool!

Then I flipped the box over...

An actual S.S. Kresge shipping label, from January 8, 1974! 

This case of 16oz Touch of Sweden Hand Lotion w/Pump, was being sent to the Kmart store at 4747 Central Ave, in Columbia Heights, MN. Punching that address into Google Maps today brings up a U-shaped double level motel/apartment building. It looks fairly old, and is obviously not a former Kmart building (unless it was a shipping/receiving center). 

Either way, it did not have as long of a life as the Rochester Kmart. 

Very much closed, and rapidly disappearing, in 2023...

Say... Looks like that emergency/fire door has been left open...

And it's in a part of the building not blocked off by a security fence!

Building debris has pushed the doors apart, with Kmart spilling onto the sidewalk that once contained it.

Well, the alarm wasn't going off, so these signs are lying!

Oh, and if the building is on fire, and you're in a wheelchair, are you supposed to wheel some 100+ feet from this exit, to find one that's better suited for you? Why not make the emergency exit wheelchair compatible in the first place? 

There's the chimney of AMPI, sticking out above the back wall of Kmart. I'd have to assume the AMPI complex is likely next on the Rochester chopping block. Some of the smaller buildings on the site were already demolished in the Fall of 2022. That real estate, combined with the Kmart property, has to be some of the most valuable in the city.

So let this mark the only time I was ever inside the Rochester Kmart. Sure, it's only my arm and upper body, and the Kmart didn't have any merchandise. Or most of its walls. Or even a roof. But here I am, inside the store!

Sort of...

The east side of the building is still pretty intact. The walled off section would have been the Auto Shop, which looks rather self-contained. But I'd imagine it had a presence in that corner, inside of the store.

The other half would have been the Garden Shop. 

The roof itself looks like it's getting torn apart from the demolition work a few few away. some of those sheet metal panels look like they're about ready to fall on me, if I don't get my arm and head back outside the store.

There's a name on the steel beams supporting what's left of the roof. Probably an identifier for the company that supplied those beams, back in 1969/1970, when the Kmart was originally built. 

ENHANCE!

Ha! I knew it!

That Fargo Foundry Steel & Manufacturing Company!

Always putting up commercial buildings with their beams! 

What bunch of wacky guys!

Somewhere in a part of the building that is likely already destroyed, used to be the Kmart Music and Video section.

This Yelper supplied photo of the Rochester Kmart Music and Video sign, from an unknown year. This has to be from a late 1990's remodel. No other era looks like that.

Unfortunately the Rochester Kmart Music and Video department was closed today, and I couldn't kill any time looking through their inventory. Since I'd spent so many days in Rochester, I decided one morning that I was going to go to the Apache Mall, and check out the inside. 

I didn't even realize that it wasn't open yet. I walked up to the mall doors and went inside. None of the stores were open yet. However, there were morning mall walkers all over the place. So I joined them and walked all around the mall, down every hallway and corridor. I was just slower than them, and kept stopping for pictures.

By the time I got to Barnes & Noble, the other mall stores were opening up. 

Which was cool, because about the only thing I want to look at inside a mall would be books, magazine and DVD's.

So let's see what Barnes & Noble has to offer!

After finding a few things that caught my eye, this was the winner, hands down. I had no idea that even one season of Drunk History was ever released on DVD, but this was all of it. Six seasons (airing between 2013-2019) worth, all 72 episodes on 11 disks.

That breaks down to 1522 minutes of Drunk History, for 30% off of $56! 

Drunk History was a TV favorite of Laura and I, when we lived in Colorado, but I know we didn't see all of the episodes. Especially the earlier ones. This was an interesting concept for a television show. A very drunk comedian/actor recounts an historical event, then the event is performed and filmed, exactly as it was told by the drunk party. 

The show was hilarious to watch (and sometimes informative, I'm looking at you Boston Molasses Flood), with actors lip-synching to drunken slurs of historical events.

And casting choices that sound like something you just made up in your head.

I was so proud of my purchase that I celebrated with a deep fried Kwik Trip bounty, of Mozzarella Sticks and Chicken Fingers. With a Coke Zero to wash it down. It's going to be bikini season soon, so I need to watch my figure.

No. I'm not doing that to anyone. 

I may not like people very much, but I do respect them enough to not subject them to that.

The Garden Shop and Auto Shop canopy at the east end of Kmart has been removed. Even before the middle of the store.

Fresh pavement has been poured over what used to sell plants and dirt. Piles of snow are pushed up against the building, all the way back to the Auto Center.

With all that snow against the wall, I didn't try for any interior shots. 

Then around to the back of the building. From what I could see from the other side, there appeared to be a narrow back room along the wall, that was accessed by these large doors. This was kept separate from the sales floor, but I can't imagine there being a whole lot of storage space between those walls. Unless there were some areas that extended out into the main retail area. But I have no idea. I never worked or shopped here...

And here we are at the northwest edge of the property. Currently being used to store piles of previous Kmart. It doesn't appear that they're doing any on site recycling of building materials, so I'm assuming it's all being trucked away. 

The Rochester Post-Bulletin providing an image for my story from their story. Again giving us one last look at an open Rochester Kmart. In 2018, I think...

Me again, giving you one final look at the Rochester Kmart opening. On March 8, 2023.

Goodbye Rochester Kmart.

Throughout our visits to Rochester, I started to view the abandoned Kmart as a sort of metaphor for why we were here. As long as we were coming here and leaving without any answers as to what was causing Laura’s health issues, Kmart stood almost defiantly in the middle of town. Large, space wasting, useless, and potentially more harmful than good. Similar to what was going on inside her lung.

As the building started being demolished, we were given a correct diagnosis and plan of attack that actually brought results. During what was (hopefully) our last visit, the rest of the Rochester Kmart was going to be come down and be gone for good. 

Again, I can't believe the timing allowed me to capture both part of it.

Speaking of Family Service, thanks to Laura's success in avoiding people at the Misanthrope Conventions, I also got to enjoy a lot of time avoiding people. Picking up a lot more writing time than I normally get. And walking around, taking pictures is always very relaxing. So while she was recognized as the convention winner, perhaps her efforts in winning benefitted me even more? 

Guess it's all in how you look at it.

Well Honker, I'm feeling pretty good!

Actually, we both are!

 

Hope I'm not in too much trouble for revealing information about the Misanthrope Convention...