The one that stood out the most was an official Pokemon store/ center where kids would go to have pokemon card and game battles. I was way to young to play pokemon or even know what it was. But what I do remember was that the whole store was yellow with yellow walls, flooring, tables and a huge pokemon sign right above the entrence. That pokemon center actually replaced a TY beanie baby store. There were yellow/ red floors and beanie babies lining the walls. Obviously this was during that huge craze.
A friend of mine owned an all Pokemon/Beanie Babies store in Knoxville, TN around that time. He made boatloads of money from it.
"Hills is where the toys are!" We've got Transformers and WWF/WCW toys that were bought at the Hills that was around the corner here in the mall. The site's now the movie theater. Poor toys, I bet they never thought they'd wind up sitting in the exact same mall again.
Just wanted to chime in and say I really enjoyed this topic. Some of these stores (Jamesway, Ames, ect.) bring back a lot of childhood memories. Keep the pics coming as you find them!
Same here, chiming in to say awesome thread. I actually enjoyed looking at all the old cars as well lol something about an old car that is junk today, being nice and new back then.
The ones that bring me back (which almost gives me goosebumps):
Software Etc, now a Gamestop - I gave this store my entire NES collection back in the day as trade in for O.G. Xbox
Toys R Us - still kicking with a fresh remodel
Kay Bee Toy Store - wow I miss this place, closed down probably a decade or so ago
Funcoland - only visited one at my first stop at the Mall of America - awesomeness x1000
K-Mart - slowing fading out of Iowa one store at a time
I'm from the south and never grew up with a lot of these stores (Ames, Hills, Funcoland, ect.)
From what I remember, we had Alco, Magic Mart, Otasco, and some others. I'm pretty sure I remember getting Atari 2600 games from these chains. Anyone else from the south (LA, AR, TX, MS) remember any of these stores?
I'm from the south and never grew up with a lot of these stores (Ames, Hills, Funcoland, ect.)
From what I remember, we had Alco, Magic Mart, Otasco, and some others. I'm pretty sure I remember getting Atari 2600 games from these chains. Anyone else from the south (LA, AR, TX, MS) remember any of these stores?
There are still a bunch of Magic Marts in Appalachia. It definitely feels like the late 80s/early 90s when you walk in there!
Damn, things were so much better back then. Nice to see a bunch of people not on "they sail fones". Smoking in malls? I sure don't remember that. Very cool pics. Thanks for sharing.
Damn, things were so much better back then. Nice to see a bunch of people not on "they sail fones". Smoking in malls? I sure don't remember that. Very cool pics. Thanks for sharing.
Haha very true though I was wondering what these two women were doing, maybe listening to a radio station...
It would be very interesting to go around taking 100 pictures of people at the mall now not only to see the difference in styles but in our overall body language as well.
A lot sure does change in 25 years though. A world without cell phones and selfies. I'd take it back!
Damn, things were so much better back then. Nice to see a bunch of people not on "they sail fones". Smoking in malls? I sure don't remember that. Very cool pics. Thanks for sharing.
It's probably sad that I'm now old enough that I can remember when people used to smoke indoors everywhere. I remember people lighting up right in McDonalds!
WHAT A THREAD! I wish there was an archive I could just download the photos onto. One thing I'll say, if you want to see some hilariously bad hair and clothing styles from the 80's and 90's, there's NO substitute to the malls of New York and New Jersey! I'm personally guilty as charged.
Does anyone else from MA/NH remember Rich's Department Store?
For some reason I can't find any pictures on Google that aren't ancient black and white. It was like the pre-cursor to Wal-Mart almost (where I lived); great gaming section!
Does anyone else from MA/NH remember Rich's Department Store?
For some reason I can't find any pictures on Google that aren't ancient black and white. It was like the pre-cursor to Wal-Mart almost (where I lived); great gaming section!
Did you read the first post fully? I put Rich's Department Store in there with a few color photos, right after my Ames section. Almost no photos of Rich's Department Store based out of Salem, Massachusetts exist, though I have some. All of those images on Google are of the famous Rich's Department Store based out of ATLANTA. That was an entirely different chain of upscale clothing stores, those Rich's were more like Macy's, who actually owns them now. They were founded in 1867 after the Civil War ended, and were bought out by Macy's in 2005.
The Rich's based in New England opened in 1962 and all stores closed in 1996/1997, slightly before Hills, Caldor, Bradlees, & Ames all went out of business.
This was the Rich's/Ames in Rutland, Vermont. I remember buying Golf for Game Boy new at this store.
These days it is a JC Penney.
This is a shopping bag from the 90's from the New England Rich's.
This was the Rich's in Nashua, New Hampshire taken from a newspaper, it became a Staples/AC Moore
This was the Rich's/Ames in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. I went to this location nearly every weekend with my Dad as a kid. It has since been completely remodeled as a Kohl's.
This was the Richs in Concord, New Hampshire. I attached some listings from a store flyer to the bottom.
After Rich's closed the plaza was remodeled into a Borders/Staples.
This was the Richs/Ames in Manchester, New Hampshire. I think it became a "Building 19" in the mid 2000's.
These were the doors at the Waterville, Maine location
This was the Rich's in Keene, New Hampshire. It was open from 1983-1996. The JC Penney from Brattleboro moved over here when Rich's went out of business, and the Brattleboro JC Penney became an Ames.
I took this photo in 2009 before the entire plaza was remodeled, it no longer looks this way. Up to that point the plaza kept the classic Rich's architechture.
This was the Rich's in Auburn, Maine
This was the Rich's in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for a long time you could still see the faded logo on the building.
This was the Rich's in Gilford, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. It was the final Rich's to open. This Walmart closed in 2006.
This was the Rich's in Gorham, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Calais, Maine
This was the Rich's in Portsmith, New Hampshire
This was the original Rich's store in Salem, Mass.
Here is a flyer from Rich's (though there was never a store in Boston)
Does anyone else from MA/NH remember Rich's Department Store?
For some reason I can't find any pictures on Google that aren't ancient black and white. It was like the pre-cursor to Wal-Mart almost (where I lived); great gaming section!
Did you read the first post fully? I put Rich's Department Store in there with a few color photos, right after my Ames section. Almost no photos of Rich's Department Store based out of Salem, Massachusetts exist, though I have some. All of those images on Google are of the famous Rich's Department Store based out of ATLANTA. That was an entirely different chain of upscale clothing stores, those Rich's were more like Macy's, who actually owns them now. They were founded in 1867 after the Civil War ended, and were bought out by Macy's in 2005.
The Rich's based in New England opened in 1962 and all stores closed in 1996/1997, slightly before Hills, Caldor, Bradlees, & Ames all went out of business.
This was the Rich's/Ames in Rutland, Vermont. I remember buying Golf for Game Boy new at this store.
These days it is a JC Penney.
This is a shopping bag from the 90's from the New England Rich's.
This was the Rich's in Nashua, New Hampshire taken from a newspaper, it became a Staples/AC Moore
This was the Rich's/Ames in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. I went to this location nearly every weekend with my Dad as a kid. It has since been completely remodeled as a Kohl's.
This was the Richs in Concord, New Hampshire. I attached some listings from a store flyer to the bottom.
After Rich's closed the plaza was remodeled into a Borders/Staples.
This was the Richs/Ames in Manchester, New Hampshire. I think it became a "Building 19" in the mid 2000's.
These were the doors at the Waterville, Maine location
This was the Rich's in Keene, New Hampshire. It was open from 1983-1996. The JC Penney from Brattleboro moved over here when Rich's went out of business, and the Brattleboro JC Penney became an Ames.
I took this photo in 2009 before the entire plaza was remodeled, it no longer looks this way. Up to that point the plaza kept the classic Rich's architechture.
This was the Rich's in Auburn, Maine
This was the Rich's in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for a long time you could still see the faded logo on the building.
This was the Rich's in Gilford, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. It was the final Rich's to open. This Walmart closed in 2006.
This was the Rich's in Gorham, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Calais, Maine
This was the Rich's in Portsmith, New Hampshire
This was the original Rich's store in Salem, Mass.
Here is a flyer from Rich's (though there was never a store in Boston)
Wow, how the HELL did I miss this?! I swore I checked all the pics in this thread; I guess not!
The Salem, MA location was the one I used to frequent; I lived about 10 minutes down the road. Many a nostalgic memory, my friend Thank you for these stellar pics and info!
Comments
Originally posted by: acromite53
The one that stood out the most was an official Pokemon store/ center where kids would go to have pokemon card and game battles. I was way to young to play pokemon or even know what it was. But what I do remember was that the whole store was yellow with yellow walls, flooring, tables and a huge pokemon sign right above the entrence. That pokemon center actually replaced a TY beanie baby store. There were yellow/ red floors and beanie babies lining the walls. Obviously this was during that huge craze.
A friend of mine owned an all Pokemon/Beanie Babies store in Knoxville, TN around that time. He made boatloads of money from it.
Also found some very cool shots at Caldor locations in the 1980's
Believe it or not the two shots below are of the same store before & after renovation in 1980's. Bedford Hills, New York.
The store and lightposts still have all the classic tellings of a Zayre store in the first picture.
Also, another defunct store in the Northeast USA that I didn't have any pictures of before, went defunct slightly before my photos, Jamesway.
Based in New York, they had 138 stores at their peak. All remaining stores closed in 1995.
I know to this day if you go to Dunmore, Pennsylvania, you can find a Jamesway if you look hard enough
Originally posted by: lojack44
In Phoenix, we had a few places that were great to get games from back in the day. We had:
-BEST (already mentioned)
-Home Express (my mom worked there as a kid, and that's where she got me my first Game Boy!)
-GEMCO
-Service Merchandise
-Funcoland
-AND.... LIONEL PLAYWORLD! This place was fantastic for factory sealed Atari 2600 games, all $10 or less and a fantastic Nintendo section
Thanks for posting Lionel Playworld! I remember I bought Goonies II for NES there (in Phoenix).
I also found this home movie footage from 1986 of a kid videotaping in his Dad's car while they drive to Hills Department Store.
This is one of the only classic department stores people often bring up that I don't think I ever went to, though I have toys with Hills stickers
The inside of the stores looked like this
Woolworths
HQ (it was like a home depot)
Grossman's
Video horizons( mentioned in a Dane cook skit)
West coast video
Strawberries
Electronic boutique
The ones that bring me back (which almost gives me goosebumps):
Software Etc, now a Gamestop - I gave this store my entire NES collection back in the day as trade in for O.G. Xbox
Toys R Us - still kicking with a fresh remodel
Kay Bee Toy Store - wow I miss this place, closed down probably a decade or so ago
Funcoland - only visited one at my first stop at the Mall of America - awesomeness x1000
K-Mart - slowing fading out of Iowa one store at a time
From what I remember, we had Alco, Magic Mart, Otasco, and some others. I'm pretty sure I remember getting Atari 2600 games from these chains. Anyone else from the south (LA, AR, TX, MS) remember any of these stores?
Originally posted by: j1eazy
I'm from the south and never grew up with a lot of these stores (Ames, Hills, Funcoland, ect.)
From what I remember, we had Alco, Magic Mart, Otasco, and some others. I'm pretty sure I remember getting Atari 2600 games from these chains. Anyone else from the south (LA, AR, TX, MS) remember any of these stores?
There are still a bunch of Magic Marts in Appalachia. It definitely feels like the late 80s/early 90s when you walk in there!
LOOKS at all those classic carts and trucks!!
/drolls all over himself!
Somebody posted a photo of this Hills store on the front page
Well it was another example of a Hills store that became Ames - Kingston, Pennsylvania
And here is an example of a Zayre Department Store that became Ames - South Burlington, Vermont
As I said there were once hundreds of Ames stores in the Eastern USA. Here are a few more locations that are long gone
http://www.retronaut.com/2011/03/shopping-malls-usa/
Originally posted by: j1eazy
Damn, things were so much better back then. Nice to see a bunch of people not on "they sail fones". Smoking in malls? I sure don't remember that. Very cool pics. Thanks for sharing.
Haha very true though I was wondering what these two women were doing, maybe listening to a radio station...
It would be very interesting to go around taking 100 pictures of people at the mall now not only to see the difference in styles but in our overall body language as well.
A lot sure does change in 25 years though. A world without cell phones and selfies. I'd take it back!
Originally posted by: j1eazy
Damn, things were so much better back then. Nice to see a bunch of people not on "they sail fones". Smoking in malls? I sure don't remember that. Very cool pics. Thanks for sharing.
It's probably sad that I'm now old enough that I can remember when people used to smoke indoors everywhere. I remember people lighting up right in McDonalds!
They were founded in 1962, the same year as Walmart, K-Mart, and Kohl's.
My area did not start receiving Target stores until 1998-2005.
These shots are of the original store in Roseville, Minnesota throughout various rennovations.
This was the Target in Duluth, Minnesota.
I remember EVERYTHING discussed here. Toy Works, Child World (Saugus, MA), etc.
I should upload my personal pics of me in those stores from BITD! Time to do some photo album digging
For some reason I can't find any pictures on Google that aren't ancient black and white. It was like the pre-cursor to Wal-Mart almost (where I lived); great gaming section!
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
Does anyone else from MA/NH remember Rich's Department Store?
For some reason I can't find any pictures on Google that aren't ancient black and white. It was like the pre-cursor to Wal-Mart almost (where I lived); great gaming section!
Did you read the first post fully? I put Rich's Department Store in there with a few color photos, right after my Ames section. Almost no photos of Rich's Department Store based out of Salem, Massachusetts exist, though I have some. All of those images on Google are of the famous Rich's Department Store based out of ATLANTA. That was an entirely different chain of upscale clothing stores, those Rich's were more like Macy's, who actually owns them now. They were founded in 1867 after the Civil War ended, and were bought out by Macy's in 2005.
The Rich's based in New England opened in 1962 and all stores closed in 1996/1997, slightly before Hills, Caldor, Bradlees, & Ames all went out of business.
This was the Rich's/Ames in Rutland, Vermont. I remember buying Golf for Game Boy new at this store.
These days it is a JC Penney.
This is a shopping bag from the 90's from the New England Rich's.
This was the Rich's in Nashua, New Hampshire taken from a newspaper, it became a Staples/AC Moore
This was the Rich's/Ames in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. I went to this location nearly every weekend with my Dad as a kid. It has since been completely remodeled as a Kohl's.
This was the Richs in Concord, New Hampshire. I attached some listings from a store flyer to the bottom.
After Rich's closed the plaza was remodeled into a Borders/Staples.
This was the Richs/Ames in Manchester, New Hampshire. I think it became a "Building 19" in the mid 2000's.
These were the doors at the Waterville, Maine location
This was the Rich's in Keene, New Hampshire. It was open from 1983-1996. The JC Penney from Brattleboro moved over here when Rich's went out of business, and the Brattleboro JC Penney became an Ames.
I took this photo in 2009 before the entire plaza was remodeled, it no longer looks this way. Up to that point the plaza kept the classic Rich's architechture.
This was the Rich's in Auburn, Maine
This was the Rich's in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for a long time you could still see the faded logo on the building.
This was the Rich's in Gilford, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. It was the final Rich's to open. This Walmart closed in 2006.
This was the Rich's in Gorham, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Calais, Maine
This was the Rich's in Portsmith, New Hampshire
This was the original Rich's store in Salem, Mass.
Here is a flyer from Rich's (though there was never a store in Boston)
Originally posted by: Trj22487
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
Does anyone else from MA/NH remember Rich's Department Store?
For some reason I can't find any pictures on Google that aren't ancient black and white. It was like the pre-cursor to Wal-Mart almost (where I lived); great gaming section!
Did you read the first post fully? I put Rich's Department Store in there with a few color photos, right after my Ames section. Almost no photos of Rich's Department Store based out of Salem, Massachusetts exist, though I have some. All of those images on Google are of the famous Rich's Department Store based out of ATLANTA. That was an entirely different chain of upscale clothing stores, those Rich's were more like Macy's, who actually owns them now. They were founded in 1867 after the Civil War ended, and were bought out by Macy's in 2005.
The Rich's based in New England opened in 1962 and all stores closed in 1996/1997, slightly before Hills, Caldor, Bradlees, & Ames all went out of business.
This was the Rich's/Ames in Rutland, Vermont. I remember buying Golf for Game Boy new at this store.
These days it is a JC Penney.
This is a shopping bag from the 90's from the New England Rich's.
This was the Rich's in Nashua, New Hampshire taken from a newspaper, it became a Staples/AC Moore
This was the Rich's/Ames in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. I went to this location nearly every weekend with my Dad as a kid. It has since been completely remodeled as a Kohl's.
This was the Richs in Concord, New Hampshire. I attached some listings from a store flyer to the bottom.
After Rich's closed the plaza was remodeled into a Borders/Staples.
This was the Richs/Ames in Manchester, New Hampshire. I think it became a "Building 19" in the mid 2000's.
These were the doors at the Waterville, Maine location
This was the Rich's in Keene, New Hampshire. It was open from 1983-1996. The JC Penney from Brattleboro moved over here when Rich's went out of business, and the Brattleboro JC Penney became an Ames.
I took this photo in 2009 before the entire plaza was remodeled, it no longer looks this way. Up to that point the plaza kept the classic Rich's architechture.
This was the Rich's in Auburn, Maine
This was the Rich's in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for a long time you could still see the faded logo on the building.
This was the Rich's in Gilford, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. It was the final Rich's to open. This Walmart closed in 2006.
This was the Rich's in Gorham, New Hampshire
This was the Rich's in Calais, Maine
This was the Rich's in Portsmith, New Hampshire
This was the original Rich's store in Salem, Mass.
Here is a flyer from Rich's (though there was never a store in Boston)
Wow, how the HELL did I miss this?! I swore I checked all the pics in this thread; I guess not!
The Salem, MA location was the one I used to frequent; I lived about 10 minutes down the road. Many a nostalgic memory, my friend Thank you for these stellar pics and info!