Former Acme — Bridgewater, New Jersey

A couple of requests have come in recently for the former Acme here in Bridgewater. Despite passing the Somerset Shopping Center on a fairly regular basis, I haven't bothered to take any pictures until now. Former Acme locations such as this one fall pretty low on my list of priorities simply because there isn't much left to see. From the front, no one would ever guess that this used to be an Acme. The same can be said for the back. Despite having opened in 1957, the back is virtually free of all the characteristics that were standard issue for stores of that era.


No sidewalk scars of any kind to be found. The front has been completely renovated and reconfigured.




Judging from the historic aerial images, the Acme extended slightly past the Gap's current facade. Another store appears to have been in a portion of the Lane Bryant space back in the Acme days.

Heading around back...


Notice there is no second floor at the rear of the building.




The awning here is left over from the Acme. One set of doors as well with scars of others...




The delivery bays were added decades after the Acme opened.






Turning to the other side of the shopping center, we see a former Grand Union which is now a Barnes and Noble. Like the Acme, there is hardly a clue to be found that GU was ever here.






All new sidewalk with no scars left from the Grand Union.


A few walled up doors around back...


There isn't much to be found around back that would indicate this budiling was ever a supermarket.











This image seems to give us the best indication of the space Acme occupied in this building.


'95 must have been a rough year for satellites. Images from this year are always terrible.


The delivery bays were added as of 1987. Not sure if the Acme was still here at the time. Notice the awning along the space currently occupied by Lane Bryant.


Take a close look… you can see the shadow of the script logo!


The script logo is visible her too but not as clearly.


No building to the right of the Acme in 1963.


Still under construction in 1956. You can see here the Acme and the accompanying store wasn't originally joined with building next door.




Now we'll view the evolution of the shopping center starting in 1956 and progressing to present day. The Acme and the Grand Union appear to be almost exactly the same size.


Another store has been built here on the left side of the Grand Union. I imagine the Grand Union expanded into this space at some point. It remained open until the chain went under in 2001.


Huge crowds in 1970!