Most buildings are built to last, often for decades and sometimes even centuries. But the people living in them or the businesses operating there don’t always stick around that long. So over time, plenty of places get repurposed and end up taking on a completely different role than they were originally designed for.
This can lead to some pretty unexpected and often hilarious transformations. A former bank might become a McDonald’s, while an old bowling alley could end up as a thrift store. We’ve rounded up some of the best examples below. Scroll down to check them out.
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My College Used To Be A Shopping Mall
Señior Colonel
One Of Our Local Libraries Moved Into An Old Marsh Supermarket
Former Target Turned Into A Walmart, They Painted The Target Orbs Yellow Instead Of Removing Them
My House Used To Be A Police Station And My Bathroom Is An Old Jail Cell, The Original Window Is Still In Place
Little Caesar's Pizza In A Former Sonic Drive-In; Location Unknown
My Apartment Building Used To Be A School
This Thrift Store Used To Be A Bowling Alley
A Church Converted To A Grocery Store
Walgreens That Used To Be A Historic Bank. Chicago, IL
This Trader Joe's In Media, Pennsylvania, Used To Be An Armoury For The Pennsylvania National Guard
Gay Bar In Cedar Rapids Used To Be A McDonald's
Yes, indeed it is and I've been to the drag shows there. It's a great club.
Apple Store In An Old Theatre, Los Angeles
This Starbucks Drive-Thru In An Old Car Wash
An Orthodontist's Office Used To Be A Blockbuster [hinesville, GA]
A Bank Converted To Mcdonalds
The Subway I Went To Today Used To Be A Bank. Instead Of Removing The Vault They Just Added More Seating Inside
Former Taco Bell, Louisville, KY
Allenby Theatre Built 1935, Turned Into Coffee Shop/Convenience Store In 2010 (Toronto)
Blockbuster Got Converted To A Book Store
Church In My Local Town Converted Into A Nightclub
This Medical Facility Totally Used To Be A Pizza Hut
Gas Station Turned Into A Boost Mobile - North Carolina
This Sports Bar Used To Be A Hollywood Video Store. They Reused Parts Of The Original Sign
How is this not a gay bar? There's been a Woody's in my neighbourhood since 1989, one of Toronto's best known gay bars, and it isn't "Big Woody's"!
Old Mall Turned Into College Building. Stores Were Converted Into Classrooms
Old Hollister Now A Book Store
A Former Cricket Wireless Is Now A Chicken Restaurant
KFC Turned Into A Jamba Juice
Haha! I recognize this one. It's in Granada Hills on Chatsworth west of Zelzah. Too funny!
Former Hot Topic Now Veterans Museum Denton, TX
Former Bank, Now KFC. Owners Call It The Crystal Bucket. (Corning, NY Area)
Value Village, Edmonton, Ab
Sears Store At My Mall Was Turned Into A Fake Mega Church For A TV Show
Former Wal-Mart Now Board Of Education
Jay's Liquor In Lakeland, FL (Former Blockbuster)
CVS Pharmacy Used To Be A Theatre, East Los Angeles, CA
Former Toys-R-Us, Now Sdf. Indianapolis, In
Reused Krispy Kreme Sign Now Kroger Gas Station (Down The Street Is A Really Old Reused Pizza Hut Sign)
The Owners Ended Their Quiznos Franchise But Wanted To Run A Sandwich Shop Still
It’s Time To Get Spooky
Taco Bell Turned Into Law Offices
This "Starbucks" With Extra Pickup Lanes. So Convenient
Old Toysrus Is Now The Biggest Liquor Store I’ve Ever Seen! Includes A Bar. Fun For Kids Turned Fun For Adults. (Omaha, Ne)
So Why Does A Hair Salon Need Three Drive-Through Lanes? (Former Bank)
Ihop Now An International House Of Prayer
Former KFC, Broken Arrow, Ok
Pretzelmaker, Now Avis/Budget Rental (North Little Rock, AR)
Former Pizza Hut - Now La Piñata Mexican Grill, Childersburg Alabama
Last Year This Was A Jack In The Box
Domino's Used To Be A KFC, Albert Lea, Minnesota
"Chick & Burger" In A Former Chick-Fil-A At The Former Virginia Center Commons Mall
Former Bk Converted To Chinese Drive Thru. Didn’t Change A Thing Except Signage
Former Walgreens Is Now A Planet Fitness
Here's A Good Find
Former Pizza Hut Now An Asian Vegan Restaurant (Pinellas Park, FL)
Old Taco Bell (Hamilton, Ontario)
This Black Rifle Coffee Company Location Used To Be A Taco Mayo. (Moore, Oklahoma)
Yes, You Were Always A Wireless Store
This Former Pizza Hut Got Turned Into A Home! The Owners Even Added A Garage And Lawn!
Imagine Graduating From A High School That Was Once A Macy’s
A Former Burger King Listed Online As A Townhouse
This Bp In Anderson Used To Be The Walgreens
If you hover your cursor over this photo, the AI generated description is: "A green and yellow QuikCheck store, a building pretending to be something else, resembling a lemon with a gas station nearby." 🙄
A Former Ryan's Buffet Repurposed As A Used Car Dealership - Martinez, Georgia
I used to live near Martinez (Augusta, Georgia area). I'm trying to figure where this would be, but it was a while ago that I lived there. Now I'll have to look it up. OK - I looked it up and it is now closed, but I lived a few miles from there. Small world.
Planet Fitness In A Former Circuit City. Phoenix, AZ
I Coulda Swore This Used To Be A... Krispy Kreme? Naahhh
Are krispy kreme donuts just as horrifically over-priced in America? Here in Australia they're like f*****g $8 and they're not even that good!
Gresham, Or - This Was Once A Gas Station And Then A Used Car Lot Before Becoming A Jimmy John’s
Spirit Halloween - Was Fraser Health Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic Until Last Week, Formerly Best Buy - Surrey, Bc
This Muncie Liquor Store Used To Be A Taco Tico
This Mexican Restaurant In Chesterfield Used To Be A Pizza Hut
Former Kroger Parkersburg WV
My grandparents on my father's side used to live in Parkersburg. It has really fallen apart over the years. It was a lovely little town many years ago.
A Former Huddle House That Was Turned Into A Little Caesar's Pizza - Lafayette, Georgia
A Former A&p Grocery Store Is Now A Store For "Heavy Duty Truck & Trailer Parts" - Gary, Indiana
Former Arby’s In Norfolk, Virginia
They Didn't Even Remove The Original Sign On The Cart Corral
Fascinating changes, and a bit of a treat to see several areas I used to live in or had family in.
Fascinating changes, and a bit of a treat to see several areas I used to live in or had family in.
