The first Kmart-branded store was located in San Fernando, California. The 24,000 square foot prototype, referred to as a "Bantam Store," was inaugurated in January 1962. At the same time, an 80,000 square foot store (seen above) was being built in Garden City, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It opened, as the first full fledged Kmart, in March 1962.  

Photo from the Detroit Free-Press

Some early Kmart stores included an adjacent Kmart Foods supermarket.

Photo from the Kresge Company Annual Report 1964

Graphic from the Kresge Company

A vista view of a new Kmart store in Colorado Springs. It was the first Kmart in the Centennial State.

Photo from the Kresge Company Annual Report 1964 

An early Kmart ad for the Fredericksburg, Virginia store. It was printed in the local newspaper's August 30, 1963 edition.
Advert from the Kresge Company

The Kresge and Kmart Companies operated the Jupiter chain between 1961 and 1987. Stores were always in downtown locations. They carried a small line of fast-moving merchandise.

Drawing from the Kresge Company Annual Report 1961

Shoppers await the official opening of the first Kmart de Puerto Rico, in October 1964. The first Canadian stores had been dedicated in 1963.

Photo from the Kresge Company Annual Report 1964

A store interior view from the mid-1970s. 

Photo from the Kresge Company Annual Report 1976