Ames going down the memory hole

[TheFugitive]

I did some random web surfing the other day to see if I could find anything interesting
on the web about my old Ames store in Imlay City, Michigan.

I was somewhat surprised to see virtually no mention of it turning up in search results.
Almost as if it had never existed.  Beyond hits from this website, and a couple of newspaper
obituaries on my former employees, there was nary a mention.

Granted that is likely due in large part to the fact that it closed several years before
the internet really got going.  And the fact that Ames has been gone for over a decade now.

What are the rest of you able to find out there when surfing for info about your old store?

[Ameskid]

Nearly nothing.  There seem to have been two Ames stores in Cincinnati at one point.

One was located in Western Woods Mall, originally a JC Penney, then a Zayre starting in 1989. Apparently it was converted to an Ames in 1990 and closed by 1991.

The other was located in Beechmont Mall. Originally a Gold Circle built in the early '80s as part of a mall expansion and renovation, it became a Hills at some point, and was an Ames for a very short time at an unknown date. A Kmart opened in the building in 1991 and closed last August.

Apart from the recollections of locals, I can find VERY little information about these stores. Not too popular in the Ohio Valley, I'd imagine.

Edit: And now I've learned that there was a third in Castenelli Square in Tri-County, a Gold Circle-turned-Hills-turned-Ames-turned-HQ.

[TRJ_22487]

There are no photos of the one I frequented the most as a kid, and it did not close until 2002. Springfield, Vermont. I was born in the hospital that is basically right behind the building. It is a Shaws now. I believe it converted into an Ames in 1982, It was Britts Dept Store before that. Aside from a few obituaries of people that had worked there I basically could never find a mention of it. It is the only plaza in the entire town really.

Funny enough while I've never been able to find a single photo of it as Ames, I did once find a photo from the 1970's before the conversion.



I think I took this photo around 2008. The Friendly's closed in 2014 without a days warning after 30 years of business.

[TheFugitive]

Same thing for my former store in Hillsdale.  Aside from some obituaries of former
employees, can not find much of anything online.

[TheFugitive]

MeTV thinks that you've all FORGOTTEN about Ames!

http://www.metv.com/lists/7-discount-stores-from-back-in-the-day-you-probably-forgot-existed

Sadly this article reads too much like my resume!

[Amesdepartmentstores]

 :o

[Chuck E. Cheese]

Yeah, saw that. I "follow" them on Facebook.
It's not like everyone has forgotten,..but I've noticed that most of the posting members are based in CT. Some odd coincidence.., as I'm an Ames Fan and I've never even been to it. (Been to many places where an Ames used to be though)

[TheFugitive]

Yeah, saw that. I "follow" them on Facebook.
It's not like everyone has forgotten,..but I've noticed that most of the posting members are based in CT. Some odd coincidence.., as I'm an Ames Fan and I've never even been to it. (Been to many places where an Ames used to be though)

Not a coincidence.  Ames was headquartered in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
I am sure that's a target-rich environment for people who either worked for Ames
or remember them fondly.

I'm surprised more Western PA people aren't here.  Ames had a huge footprint here
after acquiring G.C. Murphy.

[Amesdepartmentstores]

Here is the former Ames in Joliet Illinois at 1500 n Larkin Ave

[Amesdepartmentstores]

Former Ames store
993 N Semoran Blvd, Orlando, FL 32807