Canned meat, Spam, is a part of the American heritage. It was the main food during the Second World War and during the tough years of the Depression. The Spam Museum is actually an innovatively renovated K-Mart building. The original K-Mart structure has however been completely run over by Spam renovations. What remains of the K-Mart building is but a shell whose windows, walls, doors, ceilings and the exterior designs have been totally overhauled to form the modern day Spam Museum.
How the museum came to be is a story as amusing as the museum itself. Innovation is the best way to describe this museum. K-Mart had vacated the building located at Main Street, Austin, a decade or so ago. After remaining idle for all those years the location lost value since with the exit of K-Mart slow business resulted. In fact, even a grocery store once thriving across the street also moved shop and left an empty huge box lying idle.
Spam Museum
Mr. Hormel came in with an idea of how the area could be turned around positively. At that time, Hormel’s offices were just half a mile away from the abandoned K-Mart. For one, it was a prime location in Austin and had space for expansion. The price was cheap and the space available. This conveniently located site became the Spam Museum and it opened in September 2001. Besides innovativeness, cost efficiency was a determining factor in choosing to renovate the K-Mart building rather than build it from the ground. Renovating the big box was by
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