Stores We Loved That No Longer Exist – IOTW Report

Stores We Loved That No Longer Exist

Thursday, 15 December 2022, 22:22 BFH Uncategorized 62

Bonus- Mall Stores That Are No Longer Around-

62 Comments on Stores We Loved That No Longer Exist

  2. In a related note, there is a cool site called Retailer Graveyard.

    Before Target it was Ayr-Way, from LS Ayres.
    I fucking loved that store.
    I bought & stole there on a regular basis.
    (White boy, never got followed or profiled…Bwahahaha! Privilege!!!)

    Anyway, I would wager LS is rolling in his grave about how woke Target became…

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  7. bought a K98 Mauser from Montgomery Wards @ Capital Plaza, Landover Hills, MD in 1972 for $39 … gave it to my son
    bought an SKS 7.62 packed in cosmoline from G.C. Murphy’s in Landover Plaza, MD in 1977 for $49 … gave it to my son
    bought The Beatles album ‘Introducing The Beatles’ from S.G. Kreske’s in Aspen Hills, MD in 1963 for $2.95 … still have it
    bought my first digital camera from Circuit City … still have it

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  8. The Montgomery Wards had a store on Broadway and about I-25 in Denver Colorado. The Bargain basement wasn’t in the basement, it was on the sixth floor…..That floor was like having sex for a ten year old. Camping gear, tools, bicycles, guns, roller skates, fishing stuff etc…..My first bike was a Montgomery Ward bike that later turned into a Swinn knockoff. Banana seat, butterfly handle bars, the works. My Dad knew what was cool. No sissy bar because my Dad wasn’t building a bike for a sissy, his words…..

    Later on I had simulated sex with a girl on that bike when I was 17ish…..and then when I was 42 I had simulated sex on that bike with another girl because we both pulled our groins trying to do it free style, got ice and heat packs, ordered in Chinese….Damn, I still wish I kept that bike….mostly true….

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  13. Didn’t watch the video, but as a kid, I did like The Treasury…mainly for the toys. No one ever mentions that store when reminiscing.

    My vote for the stupidest damn store ever…Service Merchandise with their cards to fill out in order to purchase something. Went there once and never went again.

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  15. @ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ DECEMBER 15, 2022 AT 10:47 PM

    I bought a Remington 600 in 308 Winchester from the JC Penney store for $99 on sale Tacoma Mall ~ 1980. Was in the store with my mom and they announced it over the PA system.

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  16. Loco – The card thingy was stupid…don’t know if was a theft deterrent, who knows…but the one time I was in there the merchandise looked like it was kinda cheap but high priced??

    Tell you some stores I do miss…mom and pop hobby shops, record stores (Spec’s Music was popular here in Florida, at least in my area.) and Barnes and Noble.

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  19. Thing is CJ, for a kid the toy department was the Holy Grail.
    If the store had a toy aisle I was Gung-Ho to go with the folks shopping.

    I honestly remember the toy aisle layouts of a dozen stores in the late 60’s & early 70’s.

    OK, who am I kidding, I still like the toy aisle…
    I still buy Hot Wheels!
    I miss Toys-R-Us
    Not ashamed to say it!

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  24. Brentanos Books! Best bookstore ever.

    DC department stores: Woodward & Lothrop, The Hecht Co., Garfinkles. They competed to have the best store window displays, which were worth a trip in to the city at Christmas to see. My mother told me they hired people to work year ’round to design and make the Christmas displays and I knew that’s what I wanted to do when I grew up. I didn’t.

    Wannamakers in center city Philadelphia had organ concerts at lunchtime to entice the local office workers to browse and shop.

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  27. JDHasty – The story of Cabelas is a sad one. A pos corporate raider bought it to destroy it for a profit. Wiped out the jobs in their headquaters town. They would be gone if BassPro did not buy them. I too hate that they are different now.

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  30. When I was in high school Eddie Bauer had his dogs with Jim Gionia and trained on the weekends. He died when I was about 25. The Seattle store was an expedition outfitter still, but he had sold out to partners when I was a kid. The gun shop was amazing. I still have real Eddie Bauer gear that my mom bought in the basement of that store. It was all but free. I can’t remember for sure, but I think it was kind of a “friends and family” kind of invitation only deal.

    He had some nice dogs.

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  31. Anyone else here use to change price-tags prior to barcodes?
    I was a mark-down specialist.
    Not too much to cause suspicion, mind you but hey, I was diabolical.

    Good times!
    Fuck technology!

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  35. @ refuse/resist DECEMBER 15, 2022 AT 11:32 PM

    We used to visit Cabela’s weekly. I used to purchase a lot of private label clothing and name brand sporting goods from them. They don’t have much of anything I can’t get at a Big 5 or similar outfit cheaper now. We go only to visit people who still work there now. Rarely do we buy a thing there. The Bass Pro Red Head clothing is THE WORST. It is absolute garbage. Their private label optics aren’t anything I’m interested in. I traded with Bass Pro when it was a one man operation in the 1970’s. I don’t do much with them at all these days.

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  38. We had Crown Books, and Trak Auto, both Herbert Haft…

    I met Haft on another telephone trouble in DC. He told me to never use my own money to start a business. “Always use loaned money…”

    I told him his telephone line was trapped. He laughed.

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  39. All the old Circuit City buildings are in use here in Vegas.
    Had that huge plug design.
    I still miss the price wars between them & Best Buy.

    Fucking internet!
    Take me back to the 80’s!!!

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  40. Gibson’s was a big deal where I’m from. You could buy anything from tires to Fenton Glass. I worked for Mobil Oil Corp. when they owned Montgomery Ward’s. We employees got a 10% discount there. Sweet!

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  41. Monkey Wards – My father bought a single shot 12 gauge shotgun mail order for $15. It was a present for me at age 12. My mother – never mind.

    Maybe the women remember this more – Leewards Creative Crafts. I wish they were still around but they were bought out by Michael’s. Then was Pat Catans (maybe a NE Ohio thing?) Also bought out by Michael’s. Darice may have been part of that deal when the Catan mom and pop retired.

    Dalton’s and Borders, miss both of those. The Border’s in the closest town had the best and most helpful employees. The B&N at the west side of Akron has the filthiest coffee shop lately. It looks like a herd of drunken Congress creeps have been through it.

    The Women’s Dept in Woolworth – wouldn’t that go over like a turd in a punch bowl these days.

    Higbee’s- miss the art deco design and crystal chandeliers in the downtown store. Most fun I ever had shopping.

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  42. I remember going to a Ben Franklins store right after I got married MANY years ago. I didn’t have a lick of credit, but they sold me a refrigerator, freezer and some other miscellaneous items ON CREDIT… They actually helped me establish my credit… Good Times… Sadly, they’re not in business anymore..

    And yes… I NEVER missed a payment, and they were always on or before the due date. I hand delivered the check to the store myself… I didn’t (and still don’t) trust the post office.

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  44. Eugenia, I worked at Higbees (Great Lakes Malls) the summer before my senior year and thru senior year for one reason: The employee discount was 18%.Worked in mens shoes.

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  45. In Seattle it was Tower Records. Great place to peruse the racks and bins.

    I worked for Frederick & Nelson while in high school. It was an amazing experience. There’s still a F&N alumni organization — or was. Very loyal and nostalgic group of people. Everyone was heartsick when they closed their doors.

    We had every major store downtown and it was a fun day to go, shop, have lunch, shop, shop, shop. I don’t think I’ve been to a downtown store in the past 5 years. There’s Nordstrom and Macy’s. Macy’s doesn’t even decorate for Christmas now and what is left of them occupies only a couple floors of the old, 8-floor Bon Marche’ building. It’s worse than visiting the “Friendship” stores in communist China. No exaggeration.

    I don’t like shopping at malls, so I don’t shop anymore.

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  48. around here, each town had its ‘General Store,’ usually owned and staffed, by a local family. We didn’t have big stores otherwise, and a lot of things were from catalogs.
    alas, they are almost all gone now.

    oh, and don’t forget ‘Sneed’s Feed and Seed’

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  49. We had a Gemco here. Mom had to have a “membership card” to get in. They’d give kids a raffle ticket for each shopping cart you’d bring in from the lot and have a monthly raffle. When you walked in there was a big prize winner board to look at. I remember winning a green Royce Union 10 speed bike. Good times.

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  51. In the Boston area–

    Grossman’s
    Somerville Lumber
    Zayres (I think same family as current BJ’s Wholesale Club)
    Bradlees
    Service Merchandise
    Brands Mart (Jingle: “With your Brands Mart card or college ID save on furniture, appliances, and TV!”)
    Spags in Shrewsbury (sold everything from clothes to hardware, better hardware store than an actual hardware store)
    Tech Hifi
    Purity Supreme
    Edwards (food warehouse)
    Lechmere Sales

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  52. JD Hasty, The White Elephant on N. Division in Spokane was a cash only store up until a few decades ago. They had the best sporting goods dept. (the General Store now has the best sporting goods dept.) in town as well as an incredible toy dept. The only thing that was bad about their store was their incredibly narrow aisles. When the owners sold the White Elephant a couple of years ago and completely went out of business after being around since just after World War 2, they did save the White Elephant kiddy ride that was in front of the store. Panda Express bought their huge lot and is currently building another Chinese restaurant there. Just what we really don’t need is another Panda Express with their overpriced American/Chinese fast food. We had a Wanamaker’s in my neighborhood when I was a kid back in the mid 60’s where I used to buy model cars, model planes, Rat Finks etc. but it’s been long gone. It was kid heaven back when we still had silver coins up until 1965.

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  53. I had an aunt that was the store manager of the Western Auto. She started when she was in high school and worked her way through the ranks until she was running it when she was in her early 30’s.

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  54. @DaveVA, I worked in downtown Cleveland at the Lausche (or the Lousy bldg as we called it) building near Higbee’s . The Silver Grille was another place to visit. I heard the Silver Grille either was or going to be restored for the casino traffic. When Dillard’s took over it seems they did their best to screw over some of the senior employees and get them to quit.

    Downtown Cleveland Woolie’s had the best strawberry pie in the summer and real fish sandwiches not that fish-type fake food product like McD’s.

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  57. The Monkey Wards headquarters was outside of Baltimore. They had a HUGE scratch and dent discount store that took up an entire floor of the building. Great deals! You can still see the building off I95 just south of the city. I think it’s called Montgomery Plaza now.

  58. E.J. Korvettes was a popular department store in the DC area in the 60’s. They were similar to but larger than the current Walmart Supercenters of today. I think they morphed into K-Mart.

  61. @ AbigailAdams DECEMBER 16, 2022 AT 7:16 AM

    I just remembered Tower Records this morning, you beat me to it.

    I used to buy shotgun wads from John Conley at White Elephant. Cash on the barrel head son. whiteelephantstores.com/

    I talked to Hornady about my price if I bought a truck load at a time, they told me to se if I could cut a deal wilt Conley, he was buying them by the boxcar. I did and used to be seen frequently sleeping next to my pickup on an army cot along I-90 when I was transporting them from Spokane to Tacoma.

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