Pilgrim Gardens
Pilgrim Gardens is a major shopping center in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania in Upper Darby Township. One of the oldest area shopping centers, it was built in stages from 1951 to 1955. A public road runs between the shopping center and its main parking lot, but it has metered parking at store level. Both 1950s stages of the plaza received a minor remodel in 1974. In 2004, one portion of the center was acquired by UK-based Centro Watt (now Centro Properties Group) in a large purchase of US shopping centers. The rest (a 1995 addition) is owned by local management company NRC (National Realty Corporation).
Notable tenants, current and former:
- Food Fair (1951-1978; now Dollar Tree)
- Thrift [...] (1992-1997; became Eckerd, closed in 2004, slated to become Tuesday Morning)
- Wine & Spirits Shoppe (added 1995; relocated to different spot in Pilgrim Gardens 2005)
- Maggie O'Neill's (local bar; known for its distinctive architecture and rare modern cigarette machine, added 1995)
- Howard Johnson's restaurant (now Loehmann's)
- Office of Republican state senator Edwin Erickson
- U.S. Post Office
- A joint Honda/Oldsmobile dealership shared the property for many years. The Oldsmobile portion, however, stopped selling new cars in 2002, before the brand was discontinued in 2004. The building has since been used for extra Honda space, and As of 2007 no longer provides Oldsmobile warranty service.