Woodland Scenics IGA Grocery

I am younger so don't have a lot of memories of older grocery stores, but even when I am in small towns and see where grocery stores used to be, the only thing I ever see is a traditional smaller store with a second and third story above it, which I assume was housing.  Whenever I see standalone old grocery store buildings, they are larger than this one.  So I can see why you are tempted to combine two together. 

I need to do an image search on Google to try to find a picture of a real IGA store they were trying to model because I sure haven't seen one in person before.

But yes, great building.  I have enjoyed the pictures of the building lit at night.  I love that bright light coming out of there against the black of a darkened layout.  Very welcoming.

I was so glad to see this building.  IGA was a chain of individually owned, local grocery stores that became a part of the alliance to receive better buying power through their warehouse, a brand identity, and ability to combine advertising.  I just looked and my closets IGA is 27 miles from me.  They still have about 5,000 stores.  Their headquarters is in Chicago close to O'Hare airport.  Great group of people.

Art 

This would actually look perfect in the town section of my Christmas layout.  My hometown had an IGA when I was growing up, so it would be spot on.  Thanks for letting us know about it!

I remember working as a stock/bag boy for IGA store in home town in my Junior and Senior years. Building looks almost alike except the door was at far left, this entrance also held the shopping carts, with windows across front. Bricks were the creme colored. Stores had no special style(s), since all were independent owned and built. Oh, we had the mechanical horse in front along with a spaceship ride.

Can't wait for my to come.

This IGA looks very good to me. The IGA stores represent a time to me of pure fun and no responsibilities. I was 10 years old in 1959. There were still Ma & Pa corner grocery stores and the malls and huge grocery stores hadn't squeezed every small business out yet. The "O" gauge railroader starting out today has a great variety of buildings both ready made and kit to choose from. These definitely are golden times for the O gauge railroader.

I enjoy the fact that every store was/is unique in it's architecture dictated by community demands. A few examples...

An early interior...

Jon...I am only seeing copy in your posts above...are there supposed to be pictures or a link?

Alan

Yes, Alan, 4-photos in the first, 1 in the second. I seem to be having issues lately in posting photos. Of course, I see them perfectly. Thanks for the heads-up, I'll try and fix it or delete.

When we are at our beach house in Lewes, DE, we shop at one like this...Lloyd's IGA. Very small, but they seem to have everything you need (just not 20 versions of the same thing).

I have not seen these for sale yet. I'll most likely buy one in HO to use on my S layout.

I'm waiting for them to come out with a Bohacks !

still invisible?

The IGA in my home town, when I was 12, looked almost like the WS model. The only real diffference was the door was all the way to the left, with 3 windows to the right.

What I remember most about it was a big map of the USofA painted on the end wall, near the door. There was a red band across the middle, with "Good Food" printed on it, and a shield with "IGA" on it. Above the map it said, "Coast to Coast", and below the map it said, "Independent Grocer's Association of America".

That map always made me think IGA was a huge grocery chain, bigger than A&P and First National put together. Of course, what I really liked about IGA was it was only two blocks away, and the only "real" grocery store that had 2-for-a-penny licorice sticks.

A lot of publicity about a nearby city's IGA closing on local news...underpriced by

all the big box stores.   Saw them here and there but never shopped in one.  Distant

relatives owned the low rambling non-IGA country store in the very small town I first remember.   Second town's closest store was in the front lower part of an old, closed feed mill.  Myself and other kids found a door at the back and climbed up into that building....I can still smell the grain...we sneaked around in there and got out

over the store below and could hear them talking (we didn't know we were tresspassers). Burglars could have gotten into that place easy, but that was

another time.  The building is gone and the lot had a transmission shop on it. Both of them provided lots of RC's and Clark bars.

I remember IGA stores in Upper Michigan when I was young, all gone now.  K-line had a IGA reefer, and I see that Walter at RMT has one coming up.  That would be a good match for the store.  I'll have to get this one.

I remember the candy counter in the one nearest my house.   I would go down and spend just a penny or two for treats and eat them before I finished the walk home 

One of these for the loading dock...

I just got some fresh brats at my local IGA last Sunday. Great store. There's a fire going in the fireplace at the front of the store, a really good butcher who makes his own sausages and fresh milk and produce from the local farmers. It's a real one-of-kind. Unfortunately, the exterior of the building has been "modernized" so it doesn't have the charm of the others posted here.

I am very anxious to see what you come up with combining these two structures. Individually, they look wonderful. Combined, they should be spectacular.

Back in the 50's, we shopped at the local IGA in Chicago, which was a bit larger than the model. They were doomed when National Foods, Jewel and ultimately Dominicks opened stores nearby. Of those three, only Jewel remains, and a lot of people do grocery shopping at the big box stores.

The ol' IGA! We had three near where I lived back then in Ohio. Funny thing, looking back, we shopped at the one farthest from the house.

The one I remember most was the one nearest our house as we passed by it quite often. I don't remember the number of windows, but it seems to me it would be a mirror image of the model with the door more to the right end.

Have an IGA about three miles from us now where I live in NC. They have some pretty good prices there too!

Those were the days! OSHA would be all over them these days for not having step ladders with safety rails, instead of using crates to stand on like that.

Be a pretty cool 'Streets' vehicle though. (Hint, hint, Lee!)

Thanks for the pictures Mill City.  Nice to see some real-life examples.  It is neat how back then, owners were given free license to make the store look how they wanted.  It's not like today when franchisees are forced to choose between a handful of store concepts to build.

Mine arrived today. Excellent product. My 1st. Woodland building but won't be my last.

It's a real nice looking building, and brings back great memories of my 1st job at an IGA store in the 60s in Brighton (Rochester) NY.  It was a small store, with a manager, a meat manager, 1 cashier and 1 stockboy (me).  I might have to find a place for one of these on the layout, since the people in the village have been going hungry for a long time.

International Grocers Association, Piggly Wiggly and Red & White.  In the 30s, 40s and 50s they were like the franchises of today, e.g., McDonalds, Whataburger and Burger King, and maybe, Super One.  We had an IGA in my little home town, but we didn't buy there.  My aunt and uncle had the Red & White.  Best I can recall is the IGA was a loosely amalgamated chain, while the Piggly Wiggly (hogly wogly) and Red and White were franchises.  That's all a distant memory to me now.

Here's a fun ad for Red & White I ran across the other day...

I saw ones like this in the 70's in rural areas up North.

Thanks, John. Any better now? 

Late '60's to early '70's was when I was a kid. Probably '78 to '80 when the three near where I lived went out of business or changed affiliations.

Yes, that's a cool ad!

There is one in the small town my Dad lives. It looks almost identical to the W.S. model. And it may have been as it is for many years.

Thanks again, John.

Things have certainly change over the years.

1950s...

2010s...

There were many other independent grocery stores that bought from wholesalers like Super Valu Stores, AG or Associated Grocers, and one of my favorites Clover Farm Stores. 

Jon, you are great at finding old pictures, how about some good, colored Clover Farm store pictures?  I want to change my Woodland Scenics General Store to a Clover Farm like was in my wife's home town of Ruthven, Iowa.

Art

Here's a few, Art. Let me know if they don't show-up.