A return look at the remnants of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.
I spotted the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester
last October. I returned for a look at the Fallowfield Retail Park location during my lockdown daily outdoor exercise time yesterday.
Some more of the inside of the store has become visible since
my first visit. You can now see the remains of a computer system, a CRT TV on a desk and a larger CRT TV hanging from the ceiling.
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| How TV's should be |
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| I wonder what the last film trailer to be shown on that telly was? |
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013.
Oh how times have changed since then.
Social distancing
As with all of the other shops at Fallowfield Retail Park the pathways and walls have had Covid-19 social distancing signs and stickers added.
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| There's nobody around to observe social distancing from |
It's quite something to see the remains of a defunct brand from 'the before times' alongside the signs-of-the-times during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| A Covid-19 social distancing sign on the exterior of the long since closed Blockbuster store |
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| The tented bay you can see in the right of the photo is part of a drive-in Covid-19 test facility! |
A look at the old store
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| Did you ever rent games from Blockbuster? I remember buying a few ex-rental PlayStation games from the Luton store in the early noughties |
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| Frozen in time |
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| I wonder what the last item to be dropped in here was? |
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| Some old paperwork |
Unfortunately in the coming months and years we are likely to see a number of other brands disappear.
The last Blockbuster
There is currently one independently owned franchise still operating as
Blockbuster in the USA and you can find it in Bend, Oregon.
We were planning to visit Portland, Oregon later this year. The Blockbuster in Bend is 174 miles from Portland and a 3-hour journey by car.
Blockbuster Crazy Golf
Interestingly there is still another 'Blockbuster' store in the UK. It's part of the Ghetto Golf indoor crazy golf course at The Custard Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham.
Do you have a favourite defunct brand? Are the remains of an old brand still visible on a building where you live or work? Do let me know.
