Walgreens’ Designs Prove an Upgrade for Shoppers

Not long ago, you always knew where to find a Walgreens — at the corner of happy and homely. Walgreens’ banal, cookie-cutter buildings made one part of America indistinguishable from another. Inside were narrow, harshly-lit aisles piled high with merchandise. Squawking intercoms summoned you to the pharmacy. These days, the Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore giant is writing a more sophisticated design prescription: Its latest crop of stores has a crisp contemporary look that's airy, roomy, even occasionally playful. The fresh approach extends to exteriors, which are no longer drab and interchangeable.