The Exchange at 125: Exchanges of Today Aren’t the Ones of Yesteryear

Exchange facilities have undergone major changes from their first appearance to today’s era.

Throughout the Exchange’s history, main stores—post exchanges, base exchanges, PXs, BXs, whatever the troops called them—have changed from rudimentary tents and not-so-well-lit rooms to the most modern shopping malls that rival those in the private sector.

Here is a sampling of what today’s main stores looked like years ago. Find more in the “PXs of the Past” section of the Exchange History Flickr Album.