Empty shelves, half erect stands and scant clothing racks picked by shoppers on the hunt for a good deal were the scene at the downtown Sears on Sunday, Jan. 28, when the former retail behemoth permanently shuttered its doors.
The store’s closure came a month after the in-house Auto Center called it a day. Prior to Sunday, the Key Shop, which called Sears’ expansive parking lot home, had also gone dark.
Parent company Sears Holdings announced the closure of the store located on State and 800 South, as well as 17 other Sears and 45 Kmarts nationwide, last November.
At the time, City Councilman Derek Kitchen, whose district included the store, told The Salt Lake Tribune he looked forward to the “great opportunity” the vacancy could signify to the State Street corridor.
“As nice as it was in the 1970s, it doesn’t fit our development pattern or the style of the city—a big building in a sea of parking,” he said.
View slideshow: Photo Dispatch: Sears' Last Day of Business by
