Most buildings are built to last, often for decades and sometimes even centuries. But the people living in them or the businesses operating there don’t always stick around that long. So over time, plenty of places get repurposed and end up taking on a completely different role than they were originally designed for.
This can lead to some pretty unexpected and often hilarious transformations. A former bank might become a McDonald’s, while an old bowling alley could end up as a thrift store. We’ve rounded up some of the best examples below. Scroll down to check them out.
#1 My House Used To Be A Police Station And My Bathroom Is An Old Jail Cell, The Original Window Is Still In Place
© Photo: rebuffedchaff8
#2 My College Used To Be A Shopping Mall
© Photo: Colecaliber
#3 Señior Colonel
© Photo: Dafracturedbutwhole
#4 One Of Our Local Libraries Moved Into An Old Marsh Supermarket
© Photo: blt08
#5 Former Target Turned Into A Walmart, They Painted The Target Orbs Yellow Instead Of Removing Them
© Photo: landofgay
#6 Little Caesar's Pizza In A Former Sonic Drive-In; Location Unknown
© Photo: KrispyKayak
#7 My Apartment Building Used To Be A School
© Photo: RTSantos4894
#8 This Thrift Store Used To Be A Bowling Alley
© Photo: danielsenandrew
#9 A Church Converted To A Grocery Store
© Photo: KrispyKayak
#10 Walgreens That Used To Be A Historic Bank. Chicago, IL
© Photo: jlektro
#11 This Trader Joe's In Media, Pennsylvania, Used To Be An Armoury For The Pennsylvania National Guard
© Photo: The_Persian_Cat
#12 Gay Bar In Cedar Rapids Used To Be A McDonald's
© Photo: BrainGoesPop
#13 Apple Store In An Old Theatre, Los Angeles
© Photo: ZMONEY0823
#14 This Starbucks Drive-Thru In An Old Car Wash
© Photo: quiet_musings
#15 An Orthodontist's Office Used To Be A Blockbuster [hinesville, GA]
© Photo: ilikepeople1990
#16 A Bank Converted To Mcdonalds
© Photo: KrispyKayak
#17 The Subway I Went To Today Used To Be A Bank. Instead Of Removing The Vault They Just Added More Seating Inside
© Photo: [deleted]
#18 Former Taco Bell, Louisville, KY
© Photo: bowsiestaff
#19 Gas Station Turned Into A Boost Mobile - North Carolina
© Photo: JessTheGardener
#20 Allenby Theatre Built 1935, Turned Into Coffee Shop/Convenience Store In 2010 (Toronto)
© Photo: jamesisninja
#21 This Sports Bar Used To Be A Hollywood Video Store. They Reused Parts Of The Original Sign
© Photo: thrakkerzog
#22 Blockbuster Got Converted To A Book Store
© Photo: SLOOGOVS
#23 Church In My Local Town Converted Into A Nightclub
© Photo: cmdrxander
#24 Old Mall Turned Into College Building. Stores Were Converted Into Classrooms
© Photo: Maverick3458
#25 Old Hollister Now A Book Store
© Photo: Bfloteacher
#26 This Medical Facility Totally Used To Be A Pizza Hut
© Photo: LordBarvis
#27 A Former Cricket Wireless Is Now A Chicken Restaurant
© Photo: LollerskateDJ
#28 KFC Turned Into A Jamba Juice
© Photo: rivers2mathews
#29 Former Hot Topic Now Veterans Museum Denton, TX
© Photo: hipsterdaddyo
#30 Urban Krag Climbing Center, Dayton Oh
© Photo: Lost-Oil-2141
#31 Former Bank, Now KFC. Owners Call It The Crystal Bucket. (Corning, NY Area)
© Photo: todaresq
#32 Value Village, Edmonton, Ab
© Photo: AsparagusOk8213
#33 Sears Store At My Mall Was Turned Into A Fake Mega Church For A TV Show
© Photo: criticalcustard
#34 Former Wal-Mart Now Board Of Education
© Photo: ibrentlam
#35 Jay's Liquor In Lakeland, FL (Former Blockbuster)
© Photo: mistermania64
#36 CVS Pharmacy Used To Be A Theatre, East Los Angeles, CA
© Photo: NERPG
#37 Former Toys-R-Us, Now Sdf. Indianapolis, In
© Photo: [deleted]
#38 Reused Krispy Kreme Sign Now Kroger Gas Station (Down The Street Is A Really Old Reused Pizza Hut Sign)
© Photo: jackrobertskun
#39 The Owners Ended Their Quiznos Franchise But Wanted To Run A Sandwich Shop Still
© Photo: pfohl
#40 It’s Time To Get Spooky
© Photo: arcticcloud
#41 Taco Bell Turned Into Law Offices
© Photo: ImAThiefAndIDigIt
#42 This "Starbucks" With Extra Pickup Lanes. So Convenient
© Photo: probablywhy
#43 Old Toysrus Is Now The Biggest Liquor Store I’ve Ever Seen! Includes A Bar. Fun For Kids Turned Fun For Adults. (Omaha, Ne)
© Photo: [deleted]
#44 So Why Does A Hair Salon Need Three Drive-Through Lanes? (Former Bank)
© Photo: ibrentlam
#45 Ihop Now An International House Of Prayer
© Photo: Cutmerock
#46 Former KFC, Broken Arrow, Ok
© Photo: [deleted]
#47 Pretzelmaker, Now Avis/Budget Rental (North Little Rock, AR)
© Photo: allyourbaseareoblong
#48 Former Pizza Hut - Now La Piñata Mexican Grill, Childersburg Alabama
© Photo: jaredpointer
#49 Last Year This Was A Jack In The Box
© Photo: Steffie18
#50 Domino's Used To Be A KFC, Albert Lea, Minnesota
© Photo: micholob
#51 "Chick & Burger" In A Former Chick-Fil-A At The Former Virginia Center Commons Mall
© Photo: 22408aaron
#52 Former Bk Converted To Chinese Drive Thru. Didn’t Change A Thing Except Signage
© Photo: Throwaway54304
#53 Former Walgreens Is Now A Planet Fitness
© Photo: bayhenn720
#54 Here's A Good Find
© Photo: conjtheruler
#55 Former Pizza Hut Now An Asian Vegan Restaurant (Pinellas Park, FL)
© Photo: CronyKony
#56 Former CVS Now An Uber
© Photo: orokro
#57 Old Taco Bell (Hamilton, Ontario)
© Photo: NickytheDicky
#58 This Black Rifle Coffee Company Location Used To Be A Taco Mayo. (Moore, Oklahoma)
© Photo: MissusLunafreya
#59 Yes, You Were Always A Wireless Store
© Photo: ibrentlam
#60 This Former Pizza Hut Got Turned Into A Home! The Owners Even Added A Garage And Lawn!
© Photo: jackrobertskun
#61 Imagine Graduating From A High School That Was Once A Macy’s
© Photo: jAxk_34
#62 A Former Burger King Listed Online As A Townhouse
#63 This Bp In Anderson Used To Be The Walgreens
#64 A Former Ryan's Buffet Repurposed As A Used Car Dealership - Martinez, Georgia
© Photo: KrispyKayak
#65 Planet Fitness In A Former Circuit City. Phoenix, AZ
© Photo: [deleted]
#66 I Coulda Swore This Used To Be A... Krispy Kreme? Naahhh
© Photo: Sea-Active5439
#67 Gresham, Or - This Was Once A Gas Station And Then A Used Car Lot Before Becoming A Jimmy John’s
© Photo: ComfortableFriend879
#68 Spirit Halloween - Was Fraser Health Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic Until Last Week, Formerly Best Buy - Surrey, Bc
© Photo: BobBelcher2021
#69 This Muncie Liquor Store Used To Be A Taco Tico
#70 This Mexican Restaurant In Chesterfield Used To Be A Pizza Hut
#71 Former Kroger Parkersburg WV
© Photo: TightAnalyst7068
#72 A Former Huddle House That Was Turned Into A Little Caesar's Pizza - Lafayette, Georgia
© Photo: KrispyKayak
#73 A Former A&p Grocery Store Is Now A Store For "Heavy Duty Truck & Trailer Parts" - Gary, Indiana
© Photo: KrispyKayak
#74 Former Arby’s In Norfolk, Virginia
© Photo: 22408aaron
#75 They Didn't Even Remove The Original Sign On The Cart Corral
© Photo: a_person_96
