Grants

[tokensafari]

Hey guys, i need your help. I hope someone might be able to help me with these. Ok..here it goes...

There were a few chains around here that existed when i was little, but are now gone, without a trace. This is where i you guys come in. I hope you all might be able to help me with them.

Sun Electronics
bEST
Children's Palace
Heck's  (not to be confused with Hechts)
Pharmor
Arlen's


As of right now that's all i can think of.. i know there's more than this, but that will have to do for now... These stores are just about impossible to find online.

[store215]

I know Phar-Mor very well (sort of) from living in Philly for a little while in the early 90's. Actually, this is the only Pharmacy becides Drug Emporium (another large-format Rx that closed in 2003) that we would shop at.

 They all closed in 2002 when they went into bankruptcy (again, i think the 1st time was in 1993), they had closed many stores before this as well.

Their stores were HUGE!, (in fact, it was even an anchor store in Philadelphia in the Franklin Mills Mall: Still empty). They would have clothing(just basic things), electronics(not a lot), home stuff, etc... In the last few years, many became "Super" Phar-Mor when they added in things like produce and more frozen food.

I remember one store in Philadelphia that was two floors with escalators and had some sort of mini Sears store on the 2nd floor, of course I may be wrong as I was very young then.

They were based out of Youngstown, OH. I think the fact that they were too big may have killed them, especially when Rite Aid, Eckerd, and later Walgreens were building stores which had a little bit of everything that Phar-Mor had in easier-to-get-to places.

I always see Phar-Mor bags floating around at the various flea markets all the time. Their main slogan was "Don't Pay Drugstore Prices".

Here's one of their archived websites from 2002:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020118092045/http://pharmor.com/

[amesman]

do you guys remember a store called Child World?

[NJF]

I remember bEST, used to get toys from their catalog all the time.  We didnt have any stores nearby but I remember going into them sometimes when our family was out of town.  I think they bit the dust in the early-mid 90's, I have also looked online for anything and the only thing I ever come up with are catalogs on ebay occassionally.  Would be cool if some store pics popped up someday though.

[retailfan]

Childrens Palace was atoy store much like Toys r us
They closed probably 10 yrs ago they were shaped like a palace
we had at least 3 in Indianapolis  East side is now a car lot next to the dead eastgate mall
There was one in Castleton  
It was a cool chain and i remeber always looking at the catolouge to make my list for Santa

[Zayre88]

Originally posted by amesman
do you guys remember a store called Child World?

This Marden's store in Portland ME was a Child World.  Just look at the storefront style;)

[dstrohmeng]

As far as I know, we had three Child World stores in the Buffalo area. There may have been more, but I only remember going to three. The two older ones looked like a typical department store on the outside, but the third one had the castle exterior. It was connected to the Thruway Mall, but you couldn't enter it through the mall. You had to go outside.

If anyone has any information/history or just memories of the Thruway Mall, let me know.

[C. Fontaine]

Quote:
Originally posted by amesman
do you guys remember a store called Child World?


That Marden's in Portland ME was a Child World...:yup:

[C. Fontaine]

cool. I was never in a Child World. I heard about them though. There was one near the Methuen Mall, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

[NJF]

Here's the store logo used by Best:

[irishgypsy323]

I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and we had Children's Palace, ONLY...it was the toy store! Christmas shopping was done there, Hills (Boy, do I miss Hills!), Montgomery Wards, and Jospeh Hornes.  All of which are now part of retail history. Sun Electronics was a big name in this area also. Around the same time Silo (another electronics chain that went bankrupt due to being sued, if I recall) was scattered through the area (does anyone remeber them?) GC Murphy's was founded not far from where I live, and we had them in every little town in the area. The diner counters most of the stores were great! There was nothing like diner food and Coca cola right from the fountain with some big fat greasy, salty fries. :-) Does anyone remember Fisher's Big Wheel? It was another store similar to Ames, it was where I spent all my time as a kid. Loved the Big Wheel!!!

[irishgypsy323]

thanks so much for posting the link to the archived Phar-Mor Website. I spent tons and tons of money at Phar-Mor over the years before it went out of business, and just like missing Hills greatly, I miss Phar-mor just as much. Great prices, easy shopping, convient!  Damn thee Walmart to Hell!!!

[powersbt]

We had a couple of Pharmor's up here in the Utica area, one was in New Hartford, and the other was in Herkimer. Both of them occupied former Nichols Discount City stores. I read somewhere that there was a relation somewhere between the companies. Anyways, Nichols stayed closed for a while, and then a new store opened, called Pharmhouse, which was about the same thing as the Pharmor. A couple years later, they swapped over to Pharmor. I want to say that the Pharmors closed around either 2000 or 2001. I remember when we went there during their final days, some of the nostalgia from the former stores was present including some Pharmhouse signage back in the perfumes, and many Nichols shopping carts.

[Anonymous]

Hi all:

     Lets see...JM FIELD's, Mars, Woolworth's (after school I used to get a snack on the way home), Mammouth Mart, and my favorite, HOWDY BEEFBURGERS.
     Of course, we used to go into Hartford to shop at G. Fox (Fox's), E.J Korvette's, Sage-Allen and Brown-Thompson's. In Meriden, there was Barker's Discount and Barker's Foods, New Haven had Malley's, Bridgeport had Read. All gone now...:hurt: Only Fox's  lives on as Filene's.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by amesman
do you guys remember a store called Child World?

I REMEMBER CHILD WORLd. IT WAS A TOY STORE THAT LOOKED LIKE A CASTLE. The nearest Child world to me was in Nashua (in a plaza by the Nashua Mall that is torn down and now a Home Depot) and Salem in the Rockingham Mall (The plaza with Kohl's, not the big mall, I stopped at them on the way home from the Boston REd Sox games.

And I remember seeing a Child WOrld in Portland MAine in the Pine Tree Plaza and in DAnvers by the Liberty Tree MAll years ago.

Child world went downhill for years and got really really junky within its last year and it closed in August 1992.

[Caldor1999]

Originally posted by NJF
Here's the store logo used by Best:

I saw one out in CO Before back in 1997 they were haveinga G O B Sale this store was alot like service merchandise they had 197 stores in 1997 when they closed they filed for ch 11 in 1991 emerged in 1994 and filed again in 1996 and seted G O BSales in 1997 kinda like what Bradlees and Montgomery Ward did in 2001

[Rich]

Originally posted by amesman
do you guys remember a store called Child World?

Child World, Child World.  A super toy store and a whole lot more!


...or so says the jingle.

They had a panda bear mascot, right?

[jmn3]

Originally posted by Rich

Originally posted by amesman
do you guys remember a store called Child World?

Child World, Child World.  A super toy store and a whole lot more!


...or so says the jingle.

 

Was there more to that jingle as well...I remember something like...

"There's no other world like child world.....with lots and lots of toys, for all the girls and boys..."

[amesman]

Man, is that why they closed? lol :bounce::bouncing:

[d_fife]

this child world (the store with the gren thing on) in Cranston Rhodie lsland in the Garden City Shopping Center is COes.

http://www.riaerials.com/gallery.php?current_dir=GALLERY

[Caldor1999]

Originally posted by d_fife
this child world (the store with the gren thing on) in Cranston Rhodie lsland in the Garden City Shopping Center is COes.

http://www.riaerials.com/gallery.php?current_dir=GALLERY

from what i know they went out in 1993 or 1994 my child hood stores are

Service Merchandise
Caldor
Ames
Bradlees
Toy Works
Toys R Us
Grand Union
Waldbaums
A&P
Shop Rite
Silo
Nobody Beets The Wiz
KB Toys
Sears
JC Penny
Macys
Filenes
Lord&taylor
Nordstrom
Bloomingdales
Jamesway
Kids R Us
Fun Co Land
Discoverey Zone
and theres many more

[Crawford]

Wow Child World....that was a great one. The one near me in East Providence became a Pep Boys. They pretty much dominated the area until Toys R Us moved in and crushed them.  

I remember the one in Garden City, there was an Outlet Department Store, a Woolworth's and an Almacs in that lot as well.

North Dartmouth Mass had one in the North Dartmouth Mall there also was one in Woonsocket RI which I believe was bulldozed and is now a Lowe's

[HoJofan206]

Here is a list of the stores we frequented when I was a child.

K-MART was "THE" store back then....
Sears
HIlls
Ayr Waye (Target)
Great Scott
Schnucks
Wesselman's
Children's Palace....my fav store as a child

[storehistoryguy]

Oh boy! Heres my list of stores.
___________________________
Bradlees
Weis
Woolworth
Woolco
K Mart
Sears
Acme
Fayva Shoes
Jamesway
Thriftway
Genuardi's
John Wanamaker's
Wendy's
Roy Rogers'
J.C. Penny Co.
Best
Caldor
Silo
J.M. Fields
Ambler Pizza (Local Store)
Clover
Two Guys
Dairy Queen
Frank's Nursery & Crafts
Hechingers
Builder Square
Thrift Drug
Rite Aid
Jefferson Ward
Radio Shack

[JimSawhill]

Originally posted by irishgypsy323
I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and we had Children's Palace, ONLY...it was the toy store! Christmas shopping was done there, Hills (Boy, do I miss Hills!), Montgomery Wards, and Jospeh Hornes.  All of which are now part of retail history. Sun Electronics was a big name in this area also. Around the same time Silo (another electronics chain that went bankrupt due to being sued, if I recall) was scattered through the area (does anyone remeber them?) GC Murphy's was founded not far from where I live, and we had them in every little town in the area. The diner counters most of the stores were great! There was nothing like diner food and Coca cola right from the fountain with some big fat greasy, salty fries. :-) Does anyone remember Fisher's Big Wheel? It was another store similar to Ames, it was where I spent all my time as a kid. Loved the Big Wheel!!!

     Fisher's Big Wheel? there was a store in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. There were 2 others in CT, too.

[beachgal26]

Hi!  I remember most of these plus a few others from the time that I was growing up in the post 60's -

Bakers Shoes
Acme Foods
EJ Korvettes (my first credit card!)
Reads Drug stores
Stewart Department Store
Hutzler's Department Store
A & P Foods

I also discovered recently that Montgomery Wards (my first employer) is back in business as a web-based store and is open for business!

[nibbick40]

Let's see what I can think of from my days in Tampa (totally gone or moved out of the area) ...

Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh (department store)
Lindsley (hardware and lumber)
Lionel Playworld (toys)
Luria's (jewelry)
Zayre/Ames
JByrons/Upton's (clothing)
SupeRx drugs
Phar-Mor
Maison Blanche (department store)
Robinson's (department store)
Woolco
Builder's Square
Jewel-T
Scotty's (hardware)
McCrory
Western Auto
Wag's (restaurant)
S&S Cafeteria
Fischer's Big Boy

[beachgal26]

I forgot about some of them and hate that Burdines has turned into a Macy's.  Macys is OK, but I fell in love with Burdines as soon as we moved to Orlando in 1985.  However, I was not aware that Western Auto was also gone.  I remember spending lots of time there as both a kid with my Dad and also an adult getting parts for our mower, spare keys, etc.  It seemed like they had everything you could ever need plus a little bit more!

[XISMZERO]

Here are some stores I've visited frequently in my childhood...

Mars
Caldor
Bradlees
Ames
Service Merchandise
Toys "R" Us
G. Fox
Sage-Allen
D&L
Bob's Stores
Lord & Taylor

Does anyone remember a store called "Mars"? It was a department store which used to be in Plainville, CT across from the VW dealer circa late 1980s. Anyway, my favorite was Caldor :)

[JimSawhill]

Mars was in East Hartford after Mammouth Mart closed. The place was nice...and now Big Y is in its spot. Mammouth Mart was a great store!!