Park-n-Shop Supermarket (Gone)
Charlotte, NC
Photo courtesy Paul Foster

The Park-N-Shop Supermarket on Charlotte’s Wilkinson Boulevard proved that grocery shopping could come with some architectural excitement. Its dramatic roofline, broad glass frontage, and giant rooftop lettering gave the building a presence far beyond an ordinary neighborhood market. This was a supermarket designed to get noticed from the road.

Opened in the late 1950s after a fire destroyed the earlier store, the flagship location included a snack counter alongside the groceries. It also had an unexpected show-business connection: conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton worked here after their performing careers ended. Former vaudeville stars who appeared in the 1932 film Freaks, the sisters became part of the store’s everyday history during the 1960s.

UPDATE: The Park-n-Shop became Compare Foods during Summer 2004. They still have the Park-n-Shop sign on the roof, but with a Compare Foods banner over it. Many thanks to Dave Hemby for this update. 10-04

UPDATE: Here is a former Park-n-Shop market seemingly long abandoned but still pretty much mid-century modern and with an intact vintage sign. I saw one of these buildings on the east side of town still used as a market and wondered about it's origin, it must have looked like this when new. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 04-08

UPDATE: The supermarket is gone, but the restored building has found another purpose as office space under the Park-N-Workshop name. The enormous rooftop letters have been removed, although the distinctive mid-century architecture survives. Good to see this unusual grocery-store design getting another chapter rather than meeting the wrecking ball. 08-26

Park N Shop Charlotte, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss	Park N Shop Charlotte, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss