BEST Products Stores History & Nostalgia: Catalog Showrooms, Postmodern SITE Facades & Why They're Still Iconic in 2026
Picture this: a thick, glossy catalog arriving in the mail like a treasure map, pages bursting with everything from diamond jewelry and color TVs to camping gear, toys, and kitchen appliances—all at prices that made your family feel like savvy bargain hunters. You'd circle your favorites, call in the order (or later visit the store), and head to a massive showroom where display models gleamed under bright lights, ready to touch and test. No endless aisles of stocked shelves—just curated "touch and try" areas, then the thrill of the pickup counter where your boxed items awaited like prizes. This was the magic of BEST Products, a chain that turned shopping into an efficient, exciting event from 1957 until its closure in the late 1990s. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, BEST pioneered the catalog-showroom model: browse at home, order ahead, pick up in person. It was the Amazon of its day—minus the delivery truck—blending mail-order convenience with hands-on retail. But what truly made BEST unforgettable were the nine wildly surreal, postmodern storefronts designed by the architecture firm SITE (Sculpture in the Environment) between 1972 and 1984. These weren't bland big-box buildings; they were artistic provocations—peeling bricks, forests growing from walls, tilting facades—that turned ordinary suburban retail into eye-popping commentary on consumerism. In the Northeast, where BEST had a strong presence in states like Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, these showrooms became local landmarks, blending commerce with creativity in a way that still sparks massive nostalgia today.
BEST Products began humbly in 1957 when Sydney and Frances Lewis, a Richmond couple, started a small mail-order business selling jewelry and gifts to pay bills for encyclopedias they had purchased. The Lewises—Sydney a lawyer by training, Frances a sharp business mind—saw opportunity in offering discounted, high-quality goods through catalogs. The first catalog mailed in 1957 focused on jewelry, but they quickly expanded to general merchandise: housewares, toys, electronics, sporting goods, and more. By the 1960s, BEST had evolved into full catalog showrooms—physical locations where customers could view display models of items from the catalog, place orders, and pick up purchases immediately (or have them shipped). This hybrid model eliminated traditional retail overhead—no massive inventory on shelves, no large sales staff on the floor—allowing deep discounts and vast selection. Catalogs were mailed nationwide, often seasonally, and became "wish books" in households across the U.S.
The chain expanded rapidly, opening showrooms in suburban and urban areas. By the 1970s, BEST had hundreds of locations, peaking at around 300 stores in 38 states. In the Northeast, BEST had a solid footprint: multiple showrooms in Maryland (including Towson), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York (Long Island and upstate), and Connecticut. These stores were massive—often 50,000–100,000 square feet—with wide aisles for browsing display setups of TVs, stereos, jewelry cases, toy departments, furniture vignettes, and housewares. Pickup counters at the back felt like claiming a prize after waiting in line. The experience was efficient and exciting: families flipped through catalogs on the couch, debated choices, called in orders (or visited in person), and drove to the showroom for pickup. Nostalgia floods in here—remember circling items in the catalog, the anticipation of the trip, the smell of new plastic and cardboard, and the joy of walking out with your boxed treasures? It was shopping as family ritual, especially during holidays when BEST catalogs arrived like previews of Christmas morning.
The Lewises' vision emphasized value and variety. They traded merchandise for contemporary art (building a major collection now at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), and their stores became known for customer service—generous return policies, price matching, and a no-pressure environment. BEST's success reflected the post-war consumer boom and suburban growth, where families wanted one-stop access to affordable modern goods without department-store pretension.
What elevated BEST from successful retailer to cultural icon was the collaboration with SITE (Sculpture in the Environment), led by artist/architect James Wines. Starting in 1972, the Lewises gave SITE full creative control to design nine "signature" showrooms. These weren't standard big-box facades; they were bold, ironic, postmodern art pieces critiquing consumerism, disposability, and suburban blandness:
Peeling Building (Richmond, VA, 1972): The brick facade appeared to peel away in layers like old wallpaper or a turning catalog page, revealing the building beneath in a surreal strip-tease.
Indeterminate Facade (Houston, TX, 1975): A brick wall that looked half-built or crumbling, with jagged bricks extending beyond the roofline and appearing to fall away. Shoppers entered through the "ruins," blurring construction and completion. It became one of the most photographed buildings of the 20th century.
Tilt Building (Towson, MD, 1976): Stacked brick blocks tilted precariously, defying gravity and drawing double-takes from passersby. (Northeast example in Maryland.)
Forest Building (Richmond, VA): Trees and vines "growing" out of cracks in the facade, turning the store into a nature-reclaiming-commerce scene. This is the only one largely intact today—repurposed as West End Presbyterian Church, which kept the forest entryway as an asset.
Notch Project (Sacramento, CA): A massive jagged brick corner slid open each morning to reveal the entrance, then closed at night—like the building "waking up." (Now a Best Buy with the notch removed.)
Other designs included cracked walls, partial ruins, and inverted elements that challenged expectations. These facades appeared in BEST catalogs, boosting brand visibility and sparking architectural debate. Critics called them gimmicks; enthusiasts hailed them as postmodern masterpieces—playful, ironic, and commenting on disposable retail culture. In the Northeast, showrooms like Towson's Tilt Building became local conversation pieces, blending art with everyday shopping.
BEST peaked in the 1980s with nearly 300 stores, billions in sales, and a reputation for value. Showrooms buzzed with families browsing displays of emerging tech—Walkmans, VCRs, early computers—while kids eyed toys. Catalogs remained central, but in-store shopping grew.
Challenges mounted: Walmart, Kmart, and Circuit City expanded aggressively. The catalog model lost edge as competitors offered immediate selection. BEST filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and 1996, closing most stores by 1997 and liquidating in 1998.
In 2026, BEST evokes massive nostalgia. YouTube videos ("What Happened to BEST Products?") and retrospectives rack up views. Reddit (r/80s, r/nostalgia, r/DeadMalls) threads overflow with memories: "Flipping through the catalog on the couch," "Picking up my first Nintendo," "Those weird art buildings!" TikTok creators recreate 1980s BEST vibes, and Facebook groups share old catalogs and photos. The SITE facades—now mostly gone or altered—remain icons of 1970s-80s postmodern retail experimentation.
BEST's influence is clear: catalog-to-showroom prefigured "buy online, pick up in-store." Artistic storefronts showed retail could be experiential art. In the Northeast, where regional chains faded, BEST stands out for creativity amid uniformity.
If you're chasing that retro BEST feeling, tributes like this BEST-inspired merch keep the spirit alive. In a world of Amazon and big-box sameness, BEST reminds us when shopping felt quirky, artistic, and full of surprise. Those wild facades and thick catalogs may be gone, but the nostalgia? Timeless.
Mike D. is a Northeast-based writer specializing in retail nostalgia, forgotten landmarks, and cultural icons. He contributes to Northeast Legends and Stories (@NorEastMystery on X), uncovering the tales of New York, New Jersey, and New England. Shop podcast-inspired merch celebrating Northeast history at https://northeastlegends.etsy.com.