820 West College Avenue (Appleton, Wisconsin)

820 West College Avenue is a building in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin which has housed the Thompson Community Center since 1994. The curved-roofed building was originally constructed for a Kohl's Food Store, which opened in 1973 and moved out in 1980. Northwest Fabrics and Crafts occupied the building from 1982 to 1993.

History
Before 1971, the block between College Avenue, Bennett Street, Washington Street, and Locust Street was mostly occupied by the Soo Line railroad station at 812 West College Avenue. In November 1971, Soo Line stated that it was planning to move its operations to a railyard west of town and sold the downtown property to Kohl's. Kohl's built its first store in Appleton on the site, a Kohl's Food Store supermarket. Construction began in August 1972, and the store opened to the public on April 11, 1973.

On March 26, 1980, the Kohl's Food Store was relocated to the Valley Fair shopping center, a larger location next to a new Kohl's department store. The next occupant of the building was a Peavey's work clothing store, which opened in part of the building on December 17, 1981. The remainder of the building was occupied by the Peavey Company's Northwest Fabrics and Crafts chain, which moved its Appleton location from 2720 West College Avenue into the building, opening on February 14, 1982.

The Peavey's concept was later dropped, and Northwest Fabrics took over the entire building. The store relocated to the Fox River Mall on January 4, 1993. As Northwest Fabrics prepared to close its downtown location, the Thompson Community Center announced that it had outgrown its building at 532 North Appleton Street and was looking for a larger building to move into, with the former Kohl's building being their primary interest. The senior center successfully acquired the property, and held its first community events in the building on April 11, 1994.