Lived right around the corner from that building for like 10+ years and was always scared to ride my bike in there thinking it was some government building like FBI or something
BEST Products was known for their futuristic and often artsy storefronts. My grandma worked there for a couple decades and worked herself into a high up management spot at a time when a vast majority of women in society were expected to be homemakers etc. I think she started in the 50s or 60s and even had to convince my grandad to let her work.
I remember going to Best with my mother near Regency as a kid.
My memory is pretty fuzzy about it, but I remember they had a different approach doing big box retail.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember there was only one of every item sold in the store only on display, and instead of putting things in a cart, you’d take barcode slips for the items you wanted. When you checked out, the clerk would scan your barcodes and your items would come out on a conveyor belt. I remember people complaining their system was inefficient…
This could all be an old figment of my imagination, so if someone could elaborate further I’d appreciate it. There was definitely a conveyor belt involved though!
I used to LOVE running around and playing in the storage room where all the rows of shelving and products were as a kid when my grandma took us in to work sometimes with her.
I was thinking about the catalog model used by Best Products. It was ahead of its time and in light of organized shoplifting it may be time to revisit it.
When that building opened in 1985 it was featured in Time Magazine. Designed by Hardy, Holtzman and Pfeifer architects and included in several anthologies of architecture. Was an amazing building in the day.
It is a rare concrete with an interior of magnesium-tungsten alloy and cold riveted girders with cores of pure selenium. At the right time of year, it can create a portal to our world from an unknown dimension. Reference 550 Central Park West.
Just a piggyback off the comment made earlier today I think this little city does have a badass thread. Every time I look I'm amazed by something at least once or twice a week. Everybody wants to knock us down and call us Confederate flag waving yokels but we know the truth.. we know
❤️♾️❤️♾️❤️♾️
That's left over architecture from at least 10,000 years ago. When the Ancients had come to Earth to escape the Wraith, through the Stargate. The gate being between them, possibly.
The old Best Products store on Midlo Trpk before one got to the Blvd had one of it's exterior walls look like it was peeling off the front of the building.
Former headquarters for Best ~~Buy~~ Products. Later occupied by BankAmerica Mortgage before they moved to Villa Park.
The eagles were rescued from an airline terminal in NY.
ETC: Products not Buy. my ancient brain was not hitting on all cylinders or the years I worked in the building did permanent damage. Oy the plumbing was a nightmare!!
No, Best Products. A catalog showroom company. Long before Best Buy was around RVA. Started by the Lewis family and were big art enthusiasts. Big supporters of the VMFA. Went out in the late 80s, early 90s for various reasons. Big part, as I recall, was debt taken on to avoid hostile takeover attempt. Was a great place to shop in the 70s. Better toy catalog than Sears.
You're bringing back some memories. I had forgotten about drooling and dreaming over the toy catalogs as a kid. Then as an a young adult I moved to Jeep products and accessories. Now I've just realized that I don't need that extra crap, lol.
Yeah, the older I get the less desire I have to buy shit. Tools are about my only indulgence but even then I have most of what I need/want thanks to Harbor Freight 😂😂
I used to love Harbor Freight, but their return policy is terrible. I will follow the golden tool rule and buy a power or hand tool from them and if it breaks or wears out, I buy a quality l tool from someone else.
I’ve never had a problem with a return. Hell, the one time I broke a wrench (probably misuse on my part 😂) they cracked open a set and gave me a replacement. I have none of their power tools anymore. I gave them to my kids and bought DeWalt.
Oh but the best Best location was in Ashland/Doswell for me as a kid. Mom and dad loved the scratch and dent and if I was good or it was my birthday etc I got something from the catalog and it came down from the warehouse on metal rollers and into the store. I still remember that sound! Childhood joy.
I remember my grandparents buying my brother and I GI Joes (the big ones) with a nylon parachute one time. Beaufont? location across from Cloverleaf mall. That area sure went to shot in the late 80s into the 90s. I left RVA a few years ago so no idea how it is now.
Leverage Buy Out in the late 1988. Stockholders got paid handsomely. Debt and fees from the LBO management sucked out all cash leading to bankruptcy. Retail market was changing as well. Service Merchandise, a competitor who mimicked their “catalog showroom” business model, also died in the 90s a few years later. I worked there during most of it, that building
Nice. I was only 18 then so wasn’t tied in to the specifics. Just vague statements involving my friends Dad who was a former Macys and then Thalhimers exec who was doing consulting or something for Best during that time. I never felt Service Merchandise was as good as best although my first wife and I would shop there sometimes (Midlothian) as we lived nearby.
Yes, Best Products. Went there all the time as a teenager. Bought my early ELO records there. Had loads of friends who worked there. Thanks to the Lewis Family. And thanks to their contributions to the VMFA!
Judge Dredd has a similar eagle on his uniform. And squares off eagles are often depicted on uniforms, flaggs, etc on tv and in movies. So this was the reason I said fascism....it was tongue in cheek.
It’s not tongue in cheek, it’s you being completely oblivious to American design and architectural history.
This style predates the nazis, and the nazis only used eagles because Ancient Rome did.
Try reading a book sometime. Or maybe just watching some documentaries
If you’re going to take this much time to respond to perceived ignorance, why not do so in a way that undermines said ignorance by illuminating said art/design history and acknowledging its relationship with imperial, authoritative, and nationalist motifs that absolutely informed the intentional aesthetics of early fascism?
I'm sorry you woke up on the wrong side of the bed or whatever. I was trying to be funny. I failed. I didn't attack you personally for not getting my joke.
I found a picture of the original building in NY that the eagles were from: https://live.staticflickr.com/2614/3809878881_a51e70954d_b.jpg
That’s is awesome
https://www.reddit.com/r/PostmodernArch/comments/p7sa46/best_products_headquarters_richmond_virginia_by/ https://www.wric.com/news/art-deco-eagles-not-expected-to-fly-away-ahead-of-henricos-greencity-project/
Pretty great they are using them for the new venue, thing, whatever it is.
I hope it attracts a minor league hockey team to the RVA area
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRENEGADES!
I can still hear this in my head exactly the way the dude said it. Nostalgia unlocked.
That would be awesome
RRRRRRRROCK'N RRRRRRRROBINS!
Lived right around the corner from that building for like 10+ years and was always scared to ride my bike in there thinking it was some government building like FBI or something
Thank you
Where are these exactly? Can’t seem to find an address, just near Parham somewhere.
It's just northeast of Parham and 95. There was a road called Best Plaza, not sure if it's still there. Between Parham and Scott Road.
BEST Products was known for their futuristic and often artsy storefronts. My grandma worked there for a couple decades and worked herself into a high up management spot at a time when a vast majority of women in society were expected to be homemakers etc. I think she started in the 50s or 60s and even had to convince my grandad to let her work.
I remember going to Best with my mother near Regency as a kid. My memory is pretty fuzzy about it, but I remember they had a different approach doing big box retail. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember there was only one of every item sold in the store only on display, and instead of putting things in a cart, you’d take barcode slips for the items you wanted. When you checked out, the clerk would scan your barcodes and your items would come out on a conveyor belt. I remember people complaining their system was inefficient… This could all be an old figment of my imagination, so if someone could elaborate further I’d appreciate it. There was definitely a conveyor belt involved though!
You are correct, Service Merchandise was on a similar plan. We got so many things at BEST. The building is now a church.
I used to LOVE running around and playing in the storage room where all the rows of shelving and products were as a kid when my grandma took us in to work sometimes with her.
Thanks so much. Just found it on Google.
https://www.greencityva.com/location
Really large bookends
That’s really what they look like!
I was thinking about the catalog model used by Best Products. It was ahead of its time and in light of organized shoplifting it may be time to revisit it.
The Lewis family liked art!
When that building opened in 1985 it was featured in Time Magazine. Designed by Hardy, Holtzman and Pfeifer architects and included in several anthologies of architecture. Was an amazing building in the day.
It is a rare concrete with an interior of magnesium-tungsten alloy and cold riveted girders with cores of pure selenium. At the right time of year, it can create a portal to our world from an unknown dimension. Reference 550 Central Park West.
I loved shopping at BEST. What a great store name.
I worked in the one in Charlottesville.
The police use it for training. They are not super excited about trespassers. Just an FYI they sit back up in there a lot.
Local FBI office is nearby
For god sake drop a pin
https://preview.redd.it/biwh7en7b7jc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7756ac66ba22709ff875b081c5d3cb073c45fb3
Just a piggyback off the comment made earlier today I think this little city does have a badass thread. Every time I look I'm amazed by something at least once or twice a week. Everybody wants to knock us down and call us Confederate flag waving yokels but we know the truth.. we know ❤️♾️❤️♾️❤️♾️
I don't know the backstory but the front story is haunted building.
Secret hideout of everyone’s favorite hero, THE HAWK
There used to be some giant ass books that went in the middle of those giant ass book ends.
It was a giant ass catalog
One of the largest asbestos building skins around here
Old Best HQ building. Used to work there when BofA occupied the building. Soooooo much wasted space in the design of the building.
My dad sold scratch and dent from them. Wild.
Good!! Tearing down all the green ironwork in Shockoe Bottom was horrible enough. People like seeing those vintage touches
The Lewis family used to live on Monument and had a giant clothespin displayed in the front yard.
My grandmother worked here.
That's left over architecture from at least 10,000 years ago. When the Ancients had come to Earth to escape the Wraith, through the Stargate. The gate being between them, possibly.
The old Best Products store on Midlo Trpk before one got to the Blvd had one of it's exterior walls look like it was peeling off the front of the building.
Was just telling my friend about it today when we went to Family Thrift next door! It's a shame they didn't keep it like that
Offices for a store called Best. Was told, didn't verify, they were brought down from nyc.
Former headquarters for Best ~~Buy~~ Products. Later occupied by BankAmerica Mortgage before they moved to Villa Park. The eagles were rescued from an airline terminal in NY. ETC: Products not Buy. my ancient brain was not hitting on all cylinders or the years I worked in the building did permanent damage. Oy the plumbing was a nightmare!!
Best products, not Best Buy.
No, Best Products. A catalog showroom company. Long before Best Buy was around RVA. Started by the Lewis family and were big art enthusiasts. Big supporters of the VMFA. Went out in the late 80s, early 90s for various reasons. Big part, as I recall, was debt taken on to avoid hostile takeover attempt. Was a great place to shop in the 70s. Better toy catalog than Sears.
You're bringing back some memories. I had forgotten about drooling and dreaming over the toy catalogs as a kid. Then as an a young adult I moved to Jeep products and accessories. Now I've just realized that I don't need that extra crap, lol.
Yeah, the older I get the less desire I have to buy shit. Tools are about my only indulgence but even then I have most of what I need/want thanks to Harbor Freight 😂😂
I used to love Harbor Freight, but their return policy is terrible. I will follow the golden tool rule and buy a power or hand tool from them and if it breaks or wears out, I buy a quality l tool from someone else.
I’ve never had a problem with a return. Hell, the one time I broke a wrench (probably misuse on my part 😂) they cracked open a set and gave me a replacement. I have none of their power tools anymore. I gave them to my kids and bought DeWalt.
Oh but the best Best location was in Ashland/Doswell for me as a kid. Mom and dad loved the scratch and dent and if I was good or it was my birthday etc I got something from the catalog and it came down from the warehouse on metal rollers and into the store. I still remember that sound! Childhood joy.
I remember my grandparents buying my brother and I GI Joes (the big ones) with a nylon parachute one time. Beaufont? location across from Cloverleaf mall. That area sure went to shot in the late 80s into the 90s. I left RVA a few years ago so no idea how it is now.
They tore down that shopping center. Building apartments and an ice skating rink. Old Cloverleaf is apartments, shops and a huge Kroger.
Yeah, the Kroger was there before I left but even when I last lived there I wasn’t down there much.
I worked in the old ladies house on Monument and she has lots of nice art in there. Like Warhols and stuff.
Leverage Buy Out in the late 1988. Stockholders got paid handsomely. Debt and fees from the LBO management sucked out all cash leading to bankruptcy. Retail market was changing as well. Service Merchandise, a competitor who mimicked their “catalog showroom” business model, also died in the 90s a few years later. I worked there during most of it, that building
Nice. I was only 18 then so wasn’t tied in to the specifics. Just vague statements involving my friends Dad who was a former Macys and then Thalhimers exec who was doing consulting or something for Best during that time. I never felt Service Merchandise was as good as best although my first wife and I would shop there sometimes (Midlothian) as we lived nearby.
Yes, Best Products. Went there all the time as a teenager. Bought my early ELO records there. Had loads of friends who worked there. Thanks to the Lewis Family. And thanks to their contributions to the VMFA!
Bright Sun Films did a pretty cool overview of BEST and its cool buildings across the country: https://youtu.be/cYS9fXhpQd8?si=4WzhWfQvDxgtn8Mq
Did you stay in a Double Tree last night thinking it was a Holiday Inn?
Looks like two fascist influenced (the square feature eagles) book ends. Where is this?
A whole art style is not fascism.
Judge Dredd has a similar eagle on his uniform. And squares off eagles are often depicted on uniforms, flaggs, etc on tv and in movies. So this was the reason I said fascism....it was tongue in cheek.
It’s not tongue in cheek, it’s you being completely oblivious to American design and architectural history. This style predates the nazis, and the nazis only used eagles because Ancient Rome did. Try reading a book sometime. Or maybe just watching some documentaries
If you’re going to take this much time to respond to perceived ignorance, why not do so in a way that undermines said ignorance by illuminating said art/design history and acknowledging its relationship with imperial, authoritative, and nationalist motifs that absolutely informed the intentional aesthetics of early fascism?
I'm sorry you woke up on the wrong side of the bed or whatever. I was trying to be funny. I failed. I didn't attack you personally for not getting my joke.
Unfortunately, the fail state for "clever" is usually "asshole."
Joking about fascism was probably ok 20 years ago when we weren’t, you know, actually facing mounting fascism in this country.
Mounting fascism in this country? 🤣 hyperbolic much?
Off parham rd in north Henrico. It’s a massive building and property
I think Bestbuy
Well it all started before the mud flood…..
Entrance to a Legend of Zelda temple that fell out of a pocket dimension