Former Golbro/Golbro Jewelry Center: Irondale, AL

I do not know a whole lot about Golbro, but what I do know about it is that it is was a lot like Service Merchandise, so I am assuming the catalog merchant part of the business was closed in the mid to late 1990's.  Service Merchandise was just one of many catalog merchants, but through a series of acquisitions including Ellman's of Atlanta it became the largest.  Up until the 1990's, Alabama had many stores and chains that were very specific to the state only.  One of these was Golbro, which was at least in Birmimgham and also in Huntsville.  A tattered Golbro sign in Huntsville also became a famous photo after a large tornado destroyed the shopping center it was located in.  In Birmingham, a Golbro sign today remains at a location along Crestwood Blvd (US 78) in Irondale just east of the former Century Plaza and Eastwood Malls.

What is most curious about Golbro is that, like Service Merchandise, it did not completely close down.  What it did instead was downsize into a jewelry-only operation much in the way Service Merchanside continues to operate only as a web site.  This might explain why today the signs for the otherwise defunct chain remain.  Most of the Golbro space, however, was taken over by Superpetz...lesser competition to better known PetSmart and Petco.  It also appears that, much like stores of its kind, it had a rather distinctive design.  Nevertheless, what remains today appears quite dated, but "dated" is something worthy of photography for me.  Considering all this, I would like to hear a little more about this chain since I ran across it.  For me, it was one of those "finds" I always encounter on these trips, but I'm sure others of you have stories to tell about it, and I would love to hear them!

The smaller Golbro sign looks much more deteriorated looking southeast than looking west.  It looks like a creepy afterthought next to the modern Superpetz sign.  In both pics, I-20 is in the background on the overpass.

The tall sign looks newer, but still is designed in a fashion that looks no later than 1982.

Golbro Jewelry Center itself looked out of business.  It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week and there was a metal screen on the inside of the door.  The original Golbro took up the entire building where Superpetz is today.

A view of the store and building in greater detail.  I am guessing this was built in the mid to late 70's.