The Ames Fan Club

Anyone rember GRANTS talk about it here:)

I know the name, but, I have no pictures of them

Another NorthEast chain I don't know much about: W.T. Grant stores i think were the 5 and 10 type stores, and Grants were the larger Kmart type stores

"Grants in Clementon NJ
More recently this was a Jefferson Ward and then a Bradlees."
(http://img83.exs.cx/img83/1277/grantsinclementonnj6bk.jpg)

QuoteOriginally posted by MBZ321
Another NorthEast chain I don't know much about: W.T. Grant stores i think were the 5 and 10 type stores, and Grants were the larger Kmart type stores

"Grants in Clementon NJ
More recently this was a Jefferson Ward and then a Bradlees."
(http://img83.exs.cx/img83/1277/grantsinclementonnj6bk.jpg)

All I really know about them is they went bankrupt in 1976. They stretched beyond the Northeast, though, we had a Grant City in Reedley, Ca, and a regular Grant's store in Clovis, Ca. When I was younger we had a Grants brand blender in our house, and I always see those "Grants -- Known For Values" christmas albums in the local thrift shops...

I've learned that canadian discounter Zellers concluded a deal with the W.T. Grant Company in the late 50's or 60's.  

Grant was allowed to purchase 10% of Zellers common shares, and was given options that eventually translated into a 51% effective ownership of Zellers in 1959. In return for this, the "Grant Company was making available to Zellers its experience on matters of merchandise, real estate, store development, and general administration". This arrangement greatly benefited Zellers. The two chains made common buying trips to the Orient, a practice that benefited both companies.   Zellers went on its own when Grant closed in 1976.

http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/acquisitions/retail/zellers.asp

heas what a logo looked like

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This photo shows the location of a former Grant's store (EG Routes 9 & 20) (not sure which type, but likely the 5 and 10 style as it is smaller).

The store occupied the left end of the building (I believe about as far as where the trees are).  After Grants it housed a flea market for a while and then was divided into smaller stores as it is seen today - though the number/type of stores has changed repeatedly).  To the left (behind the flag - in the separate building) is the EG Hannaford which was added to the plaza - this is also the plaza with the old small Price Chopper at the opposite end.

Clementon, NJ. in the early 60's. This was later a Jefferson Ward and then a Bradlees.

(http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/60sdiscountstores/grantcity.jpg)
http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/60sdiscountstores/page2.html

I kinda remember this store. My parents used to shop there all the time. It was a Woolworth's type of five and dime and had a lunch counter. The one in Rumford RI was in the Gansett Plaza, after the store went bankrupt in 1976 it became a Save-Rite (they sold electronics, gifts, and jewelry sorta like a Service Merchandise) This went out of business in the late 80's and is now an Ocean State Job Lot. The one in Barrington is now offices.

Grants Ad.

Another.

Bangor, Maine, Mid-60's. You can also see a Zayre in the picture.

(http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/60sdiscountstores/zayre-bangor.jpg)
http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/60sdiscountstores/index.html

IS grants the Same as WT Grant??

I know the Kmarts in Acton massachusets and Chelmsford mass (now a relocated MArket BAsket) and Laconia NH were WT Grants.

QuoteOriginally posted by d_fife
IS grants the Same as WT Grant??

I know the Kmarts in Acton massachusets and Chelmsford mass (now a relocated MArket BAsket) and Laconia NH were WT Grants.

Yes, they're the same. They just dropped the W.T. like Kresge was originally S.S. Kresege and F.W. Woolworth and others.

Yes, it is the same store

This is inside of one in the 50's.

(http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/spcollimages/av/lane/jpeg/LBCB121-107b.jpg)
http://www.library.gsu.edu/

It's too bad we can't post audio clips here... I have a 60's Grant's radio jingle...

"W.T. Grant company...

If you want more
If you want more
If you want more for your money keep your eye on Grant's!"

These all appear to be former W.T.Grant/Grants store.  They all have the same pattern of windows and two door sets.  Some like Ogdensburg, NY and Houlton have the original building style where the logo was.

QuoteOriginally posted by Zayre88
These all appear to be former W.T.Grant/Grants store.  They all have the same pattern of windows and two door sets.  Some like Ogdensburg, NY and Houlton have the original building style where the logo was.

Hey thanks, Zayre88, for including my hometown store (Ogdensburg NY) here!  That was a Grants, from 1972-76, then Kmart from 1976-90.  Unfortunately, it's been vacant since.  This store (64,960 sf) replaced a smaller Grants (15,000 sf) in the Seaway Shopping Center on Canton Street (from 1959-72).

Grants was pretty popular around New England. Most cities had one downtown next door to Kresge's and Woolworths. However once malls started opening people didn't go there anymore.  I suppose they missed out on a golden opportunity that others capitalized on and started moving to the suburbs in the 60's but then it was too late. Too bad, I liked their lunch counters better than Woolworth's

Grants I know

Rumford RI-closed in the mid 70's, became a Save-Rite (Service Merchandise type of store) then when that closed Ocean State Job Lot moved in and has been there ever since. Oddly enough when Job Lot remodeled they set the store back up in a Grants style

Barrington RI--closed in the mid 70's, it is now some sort of office type building. Not sure if that has always been the case since I lived near the Rumford one.

Both the cities of Pawtucket and Providence also had Grants but the buidlings have been so remodeled and changed I am not sure where exactly they were.

if you go to the jamesway page on page 7 it shows a picture of jcpenny that use to be a wt grant pennys been their for 30 years grants closed around 75-77 penny opened in 77

jamesway was located across the road from the former wtgrant/jcpenny

QuoteOriginally posted by shakethis1234
if you go to the jamesway page on page 7 it shows a picture of jcpenny that use to be a wt grant pennys been their for 30 years grants closed around 75-77 penny opened in 77

The same situation happened in Potsdam, NY.  There used to be a Grants (large enough to possibly be a "Grant City" store).  It was in the Potsdam Plaza on Market Street.  When Grants closed, the store became a JCPenney.  I think that the space where the JCPenney Catalog Center could have originally been a restaurant for Grants.  After Penney's took over, the space on the far right was a JCPenney Hair Salon.  Penney's moved to the St. Lawrence Centre mall in Massena in 1990 and the store was split three ways.  Penney's kept the space on the left for their catalog outlet, P&C Foods took the middle part and the area where the hair salon was became a Sears Authorized Retail Dealer store.  The catalog center later moved into the Eckerd (then closed), while the Sears moved across the street and the plaza space became a Dollar Tree.  Here is a pic of how it looked a few years ago.  The former Penney's Catalog Center is at left, P&C in the middle, and the former Sears at right.

pictures i found of wt grant on flickr

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I remember them well during my childhood and teen years as a nice, clean variety store where you could find just about anything.  In addition, they had a lunch counter (which has become a non-entity in the days of fast food places) that had great food and fountain Cokes that were served by friendly motherly-type servers.

They began in 1906 with their first store in MA and started having problems in the early 70's as they were slow to adapt to the growing suburbs.  Their last store was closed in 1975.

:info:  ;)

Here is an article from the February 18, 1976 issue of the Gouverneur Tribune-Press newspaper in Gouverneur, NY.  The former Grants store shown here is on US Route 11 (East Main Street) and was built in 1970 to replace an older downtown store which opened in 1950 and burned down in 1968.  This store closed in 1976 and became an Ames that summer.  It is now a WiseBuys and will soon become a Hackett's.

Found a yarn/spool from Grants at my grandmother's house on Thanksgiving. My mother used to tell me about shopping at Grants (W.T. Grant) all the time and really lamented when they disappeared.

I remember a Grant's in Poughkeepsie NY. Early 70s when I was very young

my grandmother was a big grants shopper.  I dont think i was ever inside one.  If i was, i was a baby.  seeing that spool of yarn reminded me of my grandmother going there.  my grandmother had 2 bedrooms full of junk (mostly new, unopened) and i am sure some of it came from grants.  She was quite the shop-a-holic.

There was a WT Grants in the TriCity Plaza (Vernon, Connecticut) that became a Caldor then an Ames and is now a Price Chopper Supermarket. The Bradford House restaurant area became a few small stores. In 1975, I told in my HS paper that I would predict that WT Grants will close in a year. That WT Grant in Bartow, Florida was nice, but the mall it was at was a dump.

QuoteOriginally posted by MBZ321

"Grants in Clementon NJ
More recently this was a Jefferson Ward and then a Bradlees."
(http://img83.exs.cx/img83/1277/grantsinclementonnj6bk.jpg)

Here is that store as of August 2, 2008. That little place on the left was lastly an ACME. I have a picture of it on my Flickr page.

And also, I can't figure out what it was after Grants. You say it was a Jefferson Ward and then Bradlees, one person on Flickr said it was a Pathmark and then a flea market, and another person on Flickr said it became a Woolco and then the "Route 30 Market". :huh: :huh:

Grants I know:

Dunmore, PA: became King's, then Jamesway, now subdivided into Big Lots and Family Dollar
Claymont, DE: (Tri-State Mall) now Kmart
Egg Harbor/Pleasantville, NJ: (Shore Mall) now Value City

I remember my grandparents taking me to the Grant's in Crafton, PA when I was very young.  We would grab a bite at the Bradford House Restaurant which was attached.  The store later became a K-mart for many years, and is now a large Giant Eagle supermarket.

The Kmart in Berwick, PA looks sort of like a W.T. Grant. address: 1520 W Front St, Berwick, PA‎ 18603

QuoteOriginally posted by nims57
The Kmart in Berwick, PA looks sort of like a W.T. Grant. address: 1520 W Front St, Berwick, PA‎ 18603

it probably was one

I saw there store in the orignal gone in sixty seconds

QuoteOriginally posted by Mobil
Grants I know:

Dunmore, PA: became King's, then Jamesway, now subdivided into Big Lots and Family Dollar
Claymont, DE: (Tri-State Mall) now Kmart
Egg Harbor/Pleasantville, NJ: (Shore Mall) now Value City

East Lampeter (Lancaster) PA became a Kmart (opened in 1977)

There was another one in West York PA which also became a Kmart, but the chain closed the store due to poor sales and also no doubt due to the condition of the building (roof was in horrible shape...LEAKS!)...it and the entire shopping center (including a former Hills/Ames store) were demolished and replaced with a new shopping center several years ago.

QuoteOriginally posted by catsnap1972

QuoteOriginally posted by Mobil
Grants I know:

Dunmore, PA: became King's, then Jamesway, now subdivided into Big Lots and Family Dollar
Claymont, DE: (Tri-State Mall) now Kmart
Egg Harbor/Pleasantville, NJ: (Shore Mall) now Value City

East Lampeter (Lancaster) PA became a Kmart (opened in 1977)

There was another one in West York PA which also became a Kmart, but the chain closed the store due to poor sales and also no doubt due to the condition of the building (roof was in horrible shape...LEAKS!)...it and the entire shopping center (including a former Hills/Ames store) were demolished and replaced with a new shopping center several years ago.

Welcome, catsnap1972!

I know that center, Delco Plaza. Torn down for a Giant/Lowe's a long time ago. I never knew there was a Grants there.

article on Delco Plaza: http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/delco_plaza_mall_pa.html

QuoteOriginally posted by nims57

I know that center, Delco Plaza. Torn down for a Giant/Lowe's a long time ago. I never knew there was a Grants there.

article on Delco Plaza: http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/delco_plaza_mall_pa.html

If you enable the "birds eye" view of the property on Microsoft Bing/Live Maps (make sure it's zoomed out as far as possible), one view will show Delco Plaza as it was before it was demolished while if you drag the view, it'll then change to the new center under construction.  One of those strange anomolies of satellite imagery no doubt.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/CorporateA/EvolutionKeeneWalmart.jpg) (1993?, Jan 09, Aug 09)

Keene, NH was originally a Grants

When it became Bradlees in the 70's it used the original Grants signage (bottom right/reverse side) through the 80's, which has a different shape than the Bradlees sign did in the 90's (above)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/CorporateA/Kenne80s003.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/CorporateA/BradleesSign.jpg)
This was most likely the same sign used by Grants when they closed as well, though it is just a guess.
This signage no longer exists and the current one is in a different spot

I am a little too young to remember them, but there are baby pictures of me that were taken there. It is obvious that JCPenney took over a lot of them because that is what became of our local store. That was in Easton, MD at the Talbottown shopping center. I was never 100% sure about the exact location in the plaza but that was the largest store there. JCP moved across town. The upstairs and downstairs have now been seperated, with the upper level becoming a Talbots, I think several small things moved in downstairs.

My Dad still has a Bradford chest freezer from Grants.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/CorporateA/tyler/1966disaster.jpg)

Found this one from December 1966, unknown location, unlisted disaster.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/CorporateA/tyler/1975wtgrant.jpg)

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in October 1975 as the chain was shutting for good

Quote from: TRJ_22487 on March 04, 2012, 02:42:53 PM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/CorporateA/tyler/1975wtgrant.jpg)

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in October 1975 as the chain was shutting for good

Grant's went under the following spring (one of the largest retail going out of business sales at the time)

Found out that Philadelphia, PA did have a W.T. Grant store.  It was located at the SE corner of 11th and Market Streets.  It opened in 1954, on the site of the Stanley Warner's Earle Theatre.  After it closed, a Woolworth opened there in 1976.  Then in 1997/98, the building was split into a Staples and a CVS/pharmacy.  Sadly, the staples closed earlier this year.
(http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/axST2Lm5sLLLikoSi9gj_Q/ms.jpg)

Pine Tree Shopping Center, Portland, ME. Former WT Grant on the left which became (obviously) Child World. Currently the space is occupied by a Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft store. The newer Child World on the right with the Castle exterior theme later became Marden's, which retained the theme until 2007. Marden's closed in 2010 and the left half of it became a Dollar Tree (the other half is still vacant.)
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2123/2156218862_47d2fd3531_z.jpg?zz=1)

Quote from: catnap72 on March 06, 2012, 08:01:35 PM
Grant's went under the following spring (one of the largest retail going out of business sales at the time)

It was, in fact, the largest retail bankruptcy in US history up to that time. The series of bad decisions leading to the chain's demise is both sad and infuriating. If that sort of thing interests you the following linked book chapter is well worth reading:
http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft4x0nb2jj&chunk.id=d0e1075

Here's the downtown Portland, ME store exterior in its prime:
(http://www.vintagemaineimages.com/media/images/450/75/17241.JPG)

The store, which opened in 1942, expanded to four floors in 1948 and boasted the first escalator in Maine:
(http://bp3.blogger.com/_ibxbdDkfVHc/SJPsw5XrbFI/AAAAAAAAAEM/k4jEZy8u7Xc/s400/newgrants.jpg)
(http://bp2.blogger.com/_ibxbdDkfVHc/SJPs6Eot3-I/AAAAAAAAAEU/deYKYiZjz0Y/s400/newgrants2.jpg)

And what it looks like today, with CVS taking up roughly half of the first floor frontage:
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2550/4199112130_0386e0e753_z.jpg)

The long-abandoned former Grant City shopping center in Clementon, New Jersey has FINALLY been torn down. I was in that area last week.

Here's the former Grant City in downtown Brunswick, ME which was rechristened "Grand City" and lingered for more than three decades before finally calling it quits in late 2008:
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2120/2200034283_3210e93bbd_z.jpg?zz=1)
(http://static.flickr.com/97/224212331_27f2dbd0a2.jpg)
(http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/images/2008-10-31/large_grandcity.jpg)

The store was something of a time capsule right to the bitter end, retaining, for example, the lunch counter of old. Here's a news story from October of 2008 regarding its demise:
http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/article.php?date=2008-10-31&section=3&id=1

The store was renovated and reopened in 2011 as a Cool as a Moose novelty store. I'm surprised that Renys didn't end up with it, but perhaps it was just too close to its Bath location (and it should be noted that Renys ended up taking over a vacant storefront in the nearby Topsham Fair Mall.)

Quote from: palooza68 on January 07, 2005, 07:49:28 PM
Anyone rember GRANTS talk about it here:)

The Grants in Ybor City (Tampa) is a nightclub.  ;D  The Grants in downtown Tampa is abandoned!! :(

Found an image in the paper of the Grants in Keene, New Hampshire. First image I've ever seen of this store as its original tennant

1970s
(https://i.imgur.com/nLB5j0P.jpg)

1990s
(https://i.imgur.com/KhMdYe7.jpg)

2000s
(https://i.imgur.com/RFXoHNh.jpg)

2010s
(https://i.imgur.com/cVeFK1s.png)

There was also a brief period in late 2009 where this Walmart had a brown exterior w/ new logo. It was painted blue in the 2010s
(https://i.imgur.com/tJP3nUb.jpg)

Quote from: TRJ_22487 on February 08, 2020, 10:00:54 PM
Found an image in the paper of the Grants in Keene, New Hampshire. First image I've ever seen of this store as its original tennant

1970s
(https://i.imgur.com/nLB5j0P.jpg)

1990s
(https://i.imgur.com/KhMdYe7.jpg)

2000s
(https://i.imgur.com/RFXoHNh.jpg)

2010s
(https://i.imgur.com/cVeFK1s.png)

There was also a brief period in late 2009 where this Walmart had a brown exterior w/ new logo. It was painted blue in the 2010s
(https://i.imgur.com/tJP3nUb.jpg)

So is Shaw's still there?  What else is in the plaza?

Shaw's is gone. Home Goods, Harbor Freight, and Sierra are in the the old Shaw's Sierra is an outdoor gear store owned by TJX which also owns Home Goods.

https://dlc.propertycapsule.com/properties/riversideplaza/

Quote from: bjs203marc on February 09, 2020, 07:56:36 PM
Shaw's is gone. Home Goods, Harbor Freight, and Sierra are in the the old Shaw's Sierra is an outdoor gear store owned by TJX which also owns Home Goods.

https://dlc.propertycapsule.com/properties/riversideplaza/

Sort of surprising that Walmart didn't take over the Shaw's spot when they left, since it shows the current Walmart is only around 104,000 Square Feet, which is more like their traditional stores than their superstore size.  Adding that 60,000 Square Feet (approx.) that the Shaw's once had would have put them more in the Super Center size, and would have made sense since, given that the supermarket was leaving there shouldn't have been an issue with competition as would have possibly kept Walmart from adding groceries prior?