Here’s What Went Down at Grand Junction Shopping Plaza in the 1940’s

If you visit the northwest corner of Broadway and Power Road in Grand Junction today, you'll find the Safeway shopping plaza. Some people called that lot "home" back in the 1940's. Take a look with these Bob Grant photos.

The Redlands Marketplace at 2512 Broadway is home to Safeway, Redlands Liquor, a yoga studio, and even a pet food store. Back in 1947, the location where the Safeway now sits was home to late Daily Sentinel photographer Robert Grant, his wife Dorothy, and their daughter Gloria.

I walk the Audubon Trail all the time, and typically park next to Chow Down Healthy Pet Supplies located in that same plaza. My walk down the Audubon Trail is preceded by a walk down Memory Lane. Robert Grant was my grandpa, and his only child, Gloria, was my mom. My mom died three weeks ago, and I've found myself looking through tons of old family photos.

Most of my mother's childhood was spent at this very location, the spot where Safeway now sits. Their house was located at roughly the same spot where you'll find Safeway's loading dock on the northwest corner of the building.

My grandpa bought the property right after returning to Grand Junction following World War II. The lot ran all the way from Power Road to Broadway. He told me many times how he sold the property, including the house, guest house, chicken coop, etc, in the mid-1950's for $7,000. As you can imagine, the property is now worth millions.

The photo at the top of the post is Bob Grant and my mom in the back yard, circa 1947. The photo directly above features my grandpa and my mom during the winter of 1947. Judging by the background, I would guess you are looking southwest towards the Redlands Canal.

Back in the day, my mom would ride her horse, Little Red, along the area where the Audubon Trail can now be found.

The photo below, taken in front of their house at 157 Power Road, faces east towards the Grand Mesa.

Here's another photo from 1947 on Power Road. A few blocks away you'll find Grant Road.

In this next shot, you would be standing between Safeway's loading dock and the storage units located to the west. The birthday cake has three candles on it, so this would be September 1948. From this perspective, you would be facing northwest.  Please keep in mind, I'm making educated guesses as to the direction these photos are facing. I wouldn't be born for another 23 years.

Another shot facing south. If I were to guess, the spot where my mother is standing would now be the location of the yoga studio.

Thank you for humoring me during this stroll down Memory Lane. Even before my mother died, I would stop by the area just for old times sake. I was born in 1970, and looking back on my childhood, I remember this area as the home of the old Brach's Market. The house my mother grew up in was long gone by the time I entered the picture.

The next time you visit the plaza or take walk down the Audubon Trail, give my mom and her parents a wink and a smile.