Gee Bee Department Stores

Gee Bee Department Stores began in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1906 when the Glosser Brothers opened a small one-room shop in the Franklin Building. The chain branched out in the 1950s with the opening of the suburban Gee Bee's stores. Most of the stores, including the original which retained the full Glosser name, remained open into the late 1980s. The Franklin Building was redeveloped in the mid 1990s. The Gee Bee's locations were sold off over the years to other chain stores. The location at the Eastland Mall in North Versailles, Pennsylvania was abandoned almost entirely and served as a flea market until 2005. The location in Washington, Pennsylvania, has gone through a few changes in ownership (currently a Gabriel Brothers store) but has retained the store design and lighting from Gee Bee's.

A third suburban location existed in the University Park Center, in Richland Township, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The store underwent a major renovation around 1990, shortly before closing and being turned into a Giant Eagle Supermarket which it remains as to this day. The exterior remains very much the same but the interior has been totally redone. Another location, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was also converted into a Giant Eagle supermarket after its closure.

Additionally, a Gee Bee Junior's clothing store existed near the Westwood Plaza, also outside of Johnstown. It went out of business in 1993 and was torn down. Today, a Monroe Muffler occupies the lot where the store once stood.

At the Richland Township location, a large yellow version of the Gee Bee logo overlooked Eisenhower Boulevard. The chain's logo contained a cartoon image of a smiling girl with a flip haircut, wearing a pith/safari hat.

The Gee Bee's Department Store once located at the Fairlane Village Mall in St. Clair, PA, is now a Value City Department Store.

Yet another store, in Center Township, Pennsylvania, closed in the 1980s.

A Gee Bee's Store in Altoona was once an anchor store of the Park Hills Plaza (along with Weis Markets which is still there). The store closed in the late 1980s and the site sat vacant for some time. The building was split and how houses a Dunham's Sporting Goods store and a Toys 'R Us store.

ources

* [http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/1989/03/03-30-89tdc/03-30-89dnews-02.asp Local Gee Bee unaffected by national store closings]
* [http://www.johnstown-redevelopment.org/glosser.htm Glosser Brothers building redevelopment]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n3_v29/ai_8769171 1990 Glosser Brothers Chapter 11 buyout articale]