Ames History I've Found Online

[108CAM]

This topic will be a showcase of Ames history that I've found online. Most of it will be images of older ames related items that I've found while browsing the internet.

I'll start with an old image of the former Sturbridge MA store.
A few cropped and blurry photos of this store have existed for quite some time but the image I found is a digital scan of the original uncropped photo that shows the full storefront sign which reads "AMES DEPARTMENT STORE" in a fairly generic font. The HQ image reveals that the plaza also had a JCPenny which has since been demolished. The Ames has been split in half with Ocean State Job Lot on the left and Tractor Supply Co. to the right.



Next is an old Ames logo which appears to be the predecessor to the Cheltenham Italic logo. This could be an old photo of the St. Johnsbury store sign which was changed many times throughout its life as an Ames store.


Third is a digital scan of an old Pay Slip with the word "PAID" in big bold letters above the Ames "Building Blocks" logo. Under the logo is an area where the payment date would be written by the employee.


Last is an Ames Stock Certificate from August 7, 1990


That's all for now but when I find more Ames history, I'll post it in this thread.

[Retail_247]

I think that Ames originally started out as Grant's

[108CAM]

Had a look at the Wrightstown, NJ Ames on Google Maps and discovered that the satellite photos (as of 2023) were taken shortly after the store's roof partially collapsed. Quite an interesting image too.

[108CAM]

I think that Ames originally started out as Grant's

If your talking about my photo of the Sturbridge MA store, it may well have been a grants before it became an Ames.
Grant's was one of the many department store chains that ames acquired throughout it's life.

Ames was started in the 1950's by a group of people who opened a discount variety store in the former Ames Worsted Textile Company mill in Southbridge MA. The founders simply left the original textile mill Ames sign in place then registered it as the name for what would eventually become Ames Department Stores Incorporated.

Grant's was founded in 1906 and didn't go out of business until 1976, nearly 20 years after Ames was founded.
Ames has been Ames since the start.

 

 

[Retail_247]

Had a look at the Wrightstown, NJ Ames on Google Maps and discovered that the satellite photos (as of 2023) were taken shortly after the store's roof partially collapsed. Quite an interesting image too.

This location was also originally a Grant's (a "Grant City" store), and was later a Jamesway before it was Ames

[108CAM]

Had a look at the Wrightstown, NJ Ames on Google Maps and discovered that the satellite photos (as of 2023) were taken shortly after the store's roof partially collapsed. Quite an interesting image too.

This location was also originally a Grant's (a "Grant City" store), and was later a Jamesway before it was Ames

That would explain why the design of the storefronts at both Wrightstown and Sturbridge are very similar. Most of the Grant's that were converted to Ames are easily identifiable from this design. The Grant's store design is also similar to the design used for lots of US Kmart stores.

[BillyGr]

Had a look at the Wrightstown, NJ Ames on Google Maps and discovered that the satellite photos (as of 2023) were taken shortly after the store's roof partially collapsed. Quite an interesting image too.

This location was also originally a Grant's (a "Grant City" store), and was later a Jamesway before it was Ames

That would explain why the design of the storefronts at both Wrightstown and Sturbridge are very similar. Most of the Grant's that were converted to Ames are easily identifiable from this design. The Grant's store design is also similar to the design used for lots of US Kmart stores.

Which, of course, is because Kmart moved into many former Grant's locations as well once the company went out of business.

They didn't get sold to any chain as a whole (unlike how Ames took over Zayre or Hills later on), so the store locations were available to whomever wanted to pick up the spot(s).

[TheFugitive]

Kmart moved into the former Grant location near me when I was a kid in the 70's
(Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center in Crafton, PA).  It remained there for many years
before relocating and becoming a Super Kmart in Robinson Township, PA in the mid-90's.

[108CAM]

Found a bit more Ames history today.

First is an old photo of the Acme Supermarket and neighbouring W. T. Grant's Department Store at Cranberry Plaza in Pennsville, NJ.
The Acme is long gone and the Grant's later became an Ames, store number #0025.


Second is a 1971 Storefront photo of Ames #0004 at Park Plaza in Ogdensburg, NY. Love the old Ames sign at this location.


Third is a photo of the former Addison, IL Zayre. The red neon letters are amazing and many Zayre stores had them.

[108CAM]

Recently I was watching a video about the history of candlepin bowling and had to pause it when I saw this overhead view of a bowling alley in Newport, ME.



When I first saw it, I said to myself; "That looks very similar to an Ames storefront" and took the screenshot you see above. I then took a look at the Wayback Machine archives of the Ames stores in Maine and found a listing for a store in Newport. I clicked it and boom. The building was an exact match to the building I saw in the video.
To double check and verify that the building was the same, I put the Ames address into Google Maps, checked the Streetview of the parking lot and was able to confirm that the building in the video is Ames #0383.

Opened in early 1985 as Ames #383 and closed in fall 2001 during the round of 47 stores which closed just before the 2nd bankruptcy.

Here's a link to the store/bowling alley on Google Maps. You can still see parts of the Ames labelscar if you look closely.
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.8382573,-69.286954,3a,15.2y,2.47h,92.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNwwZSKKcdqwqrU1WfbvFog!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[BillyGr]

Recently I was watching a video about the history of candlepin bowling and had to pause it when I saw this overhead view of a bowling alley in Newport, ME.

When I first saw it, I said to myself; "That looks very similar to an Ames storefront" and took the screenshot you see above. I then took a look at the Wayback Machine archives of the Ames stores in Maine and found a listing for a store in Newport. I clicked it and boom. The building was an exact match to the building I saw in the video.

To double check and verify that the building was the same, I put the Ames address into Google Maps, checked the Streetview of the parking lot and was able to confirm that the building in the video is Ames #0383.

Opened in early 1985 as Ames #383 and closed in fall 2001 during the round of 47 stores which closed just before the 2nd bankruptcy.

Given how many bowling facilities have closed and converted to other things (including stores), it's nice to see one that went the opposite way :)