The Tempo store was opened in 1965 and was owned by Gamble-Skogmo Inc. out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. A 17,000 square-foot addition was built in 1969 giving the store 41, 000 square feet which made it the largest department store in Marion history at the time. The company completed a $100,000 remodeling project in 1974 and employed about 65 people.

The building was built in Westmore Shopping Center in Marion and was owned by Castel Properties (Castellano). Next door to Tempo was Zwick’s Concept Two clothing store owned by Ivan Zwick.  Tempo carried an inventory of nearly $1,000,000 and this factor tied to the size of the store made it very popular in Marion for the duration of its existence.  

The building however, as did the incarnation rebuilt in its place, could never quite overcome leaky roofs. There were always buckets sitting around catching water when it rained, and rain it did on March 27, 1977. Many of us remember this Sunday, when it rained buckets and flooded many sections of Marion.

Shortly after closing time at 6 P.M., an explosion was reported and the Tempo Department Store in the Westmore Shopping Center in Marion was destroyed by fire with the loss estimated at about $1 million. For details, see the fire report.

After the fire, Tempo never returned to business in Marion.  Castellano did rebuild the structure and it was occupied by Walmart for a few years, followed by Bud’s Bargain Barn and then by Rural King who still occupy the spot today.

(Compiled by Sam Lattuca on 03/25/2013)