Around these parts, a lot of commercial buildings get repurposed. Some are renovated so seamlessly that you’d never guess their original use, while others wear their past like a badge. In downtown Anderson, there’s a perfect example of the latter: I drive past a gas station that proudly displays BP signage twice a day, but people with a sharp eye can tell it’s not fooling anyone. Beneath the green and yellow paint, it’s unmistakably an old Walgreens.
The Walgreens at West 14th and Jackson Street in Anderson was built in 19951. Typical of stores from the era, its main architectural flourish was a pair of peaked facades with half-circle motifs that looked like wagon wheels. In Indiana, I’ve seen similar Walgreens in Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and Muncie; I’m sure they’re all over the place.
At any rate, Anderson’s 13,490-square-foot establishment served downtown residents for twenty years before it closed amid protests large enough to make the local headlines2. The building sat empty for about a decade before new owners VP Empire LLC3 converted the structure into an eight-pump BP “to go” gas station and convenience store. BP’s “to go” branding dates to 20144, and its bright greens and yellows are striking.
I’ve watched the new convenience store emerge from the empty Walgreens over the past few years on my weekday commute. It’s an attractive, if incongruous, place, and I’ll have to stop there soon. Still, about 7,000 square feet of the building’s back half remains available for lease5. Here’s hoping something fills it in soon- downtown Anderson could use more businesses.
Sources Cited
1 Madison County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). Parcel ID: 48-11-13-102-010.000-003. Madison County, Indiana Assessor. map, Anderson, IN.
2 Moyer, T. (2015, April 12). Walgreens closing brings out protesters. The Anderson Herald Bulletin. Web. Retriebed October 13, 2025.
3 (See footnote 1).
4 BP introduces ‘to go’ convenience store makeover kit designed to enhance consumer site experience (2014, May 15). BP. Web. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
5 1323 Jackson St · Retail Property For Lease · 7,000 SF (2025, September 9). Coldwell Banker. LoopNet. Web. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
How to succeed at adaptive reuse without really trying.
I’m looking forward to documenting the continued half-assery as part of an occasional series.
I remember when Walgreens and CVS were building stores that seemed to be spaced every 10 blocks. Now we see ex-Walgreens and Ex-CVS everywhere.
It would be interesting to do a photo essay of what became of all of them. We have several abandoned examples hereabouts.
Anderson is not the city I grew up in.
When I was in Jr, high 1965/66 there was bowling alley at Jackson and 9th. Strike-Mor. My parents operated the lunch counter there for a a year along with my Grandmother, before we moved to Henry County.
When I saw it months ago, my first thought was that it was an homage to the old Seattle Supersonics. It does beat the abandoned, overgrown Walgreens, I guess.
I like the idea of the Sonics tribute better!