Evansville, IN

[HoJofan206]

Posting on this web sight got me to thinking about two local department stores here in Evansville and just how many different department store chains were in the same building.

Originally both stores were called Woolco.  Woolco went out of business in 1982.  The stores then became Hills Department Stores.  HIlls was here from 1983 to 1990.
Then the stores became Venture.  Venture lasted from 1992 to 1997 (give or take a year).  Then the stores both became Shopko Department stores.  Those were here from 1998 to 2001.  Both stores would always take on the same store name at the same time, until now.  In 2003 the Burlington Coat Factory moved into the eastside store, and the north side location as been sitting empty since Shopko left town.
Wow, 5 different department stores under one roof in 20 years.  Talk about retail hell......Does anyone else have any department store buildings that housed so many different department store companies?  I know other cities had to have the same problem with this as we in Evansville did.

[Rayco7030]

2 Steigers became Filenes then will become Macy's they couldve been gfox in between steigeirs and filenes.

Chicopee Ma Kings Became MARs then a Railroad salvage

Ludlow Ma Kings Became MARs then big y took over their spot and became super big y in 90' and now big y world class market

[Anonymous]

Interesting topic idea. I have a job at the local Wal-Mart, but I never think of it's history. It opened as a Bradlees in 19??. Well when I moved here it had been a KMart for sometime (bradlees pulled out of our area long before the chain went bankrupt). That KMart closed in the first wave of closings in mid 2002. October 2003, Wal-Mart opened.

And since this website is devoted to Ames...
The closest Ames to here went on to become a no name furniture store which closed sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Today, I went by there (I eat at the Denny's in that shopping center on all holidays), and it has one wall remaining. I don't know what it's gonna be, but that sure is some large scale demolition going on, so I doubt it will be a furniture store or mom and pop place. I KNOW it will not be a grocery store, because when Ames first went out of business, amesstores.com listed locations of buildings for sale/lease and restrictions on them, and this location had "no grocery/drug store". I know it will not be a Home Depot, as there's one down the street (much bigger than this place could ever provide). My best guesses:
Target
Wal-Mart
Sears Essentials
Kohl's
Lowe's

Meaning, I HAVE NO CLUE!

[Zayre88]

There's that store in Derby VT that opened as a Mammoth Mart.  Five years later it was replaced by King's wich lasted around 10 years.  Ames then moved in and lasted 'til 2002.  Now the same space is a Shaw's supermarket !

[C. Fontaine]

The Ames on Grafton St in Worcester, MA was a Kings, Caldor, Ames, and now a Stop and Shop.

[HoJofan206]

K-Mart to Builders Square to the Giant Flea Market

[Caldor1999]

i had a Wollco wich became a Jamesway thein it closed in 1991 it was a Bradlees untill 1994 they movied to a new location then a Caldor till 1998 then it was a furnter stor till 2001 and now its a Kohls

[BillyGr]

Hudson, NY Barkers-Kings-Ames-Now Peebles & Yankee $1 (Plus a empty section left over)

Latham - Gem-Bradlees-Ames-BonTon (This plaza is also interesting since there have been 3 entirely different (not just expanded or remodeled) Price Chopper stores in it over time, the first where Marshall's now is, then where the Raymour & Flanigan is at the opposite end, and finally the current store)

Outside of department stores:

East Greenbush - Albany Public-Big Al's (Discount)-Fays-Eckerd

(Also interesting - just a few miles down the road in Schodack is a former Grand Union that opened in 1977 and never had any major remodeling until it closed during the company's bankruptcy a few years back).

[Anonymous]

In my town, one building was Hills (Built - 1998) then Ames (1999 - 2002) and it's now a Magic Mart (2004 - ?)

Then in another section of town there was a building that was Murphy's Mart (1960's - 1980's?) then A-Mart (1980's - late 80's) then Farm and Fleet (1990 - 1996) now it's been a Gabriel Brothers from about 1999.

Those are the only ones in my erea that I know changed a lot.

[ameskmart1]

Couer A'Lenane, ID's Macy's started out as Fred Meyer Apparel, then Lamonts, then Gottschalks, then The Bon Marche, and now Macy's

[d_fife]

Originally posted by HoJofan206
Posting on this web sight got me to thinking about two local department stores here in Evansville and just how many different department store chains were in the same building.

Originally both stores were called Woolco.  Woolco went out of business in 1982.  The stores then became Hills Department Stores.  HIlls was here from 1983 to 1990.
Then the stores became Venture.  Venture lasted from 1992 to 1997 (give or take a year).  Then the stores both became Shopko Department stores.  Those were here from 1998 to 2001.  Both stores would always take on the same store name at the same time, until now.  In 2003 the Burlington Coat Factory moved into the eastside store, and the north side location as been sitting empty since Shopko left town.
Wow, 5 different department stores under one roof in 20 years.  Talk about retail hell......Does anyone else have any department store buildings that housed so many different department store companies?  I know other cities had to have the same problem with this as we in Evansville did.

my ames in plymouth nh was first giant department store and now it is Marshalls.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by BillyGr
Hudson, NY Barkers-Kings-Ames-Now Peebles & Yankee $1 (Plus a empty section left over)

Latham - Gem-Bradlees-Ames-BonTon (This plaza is also interesting since there have been 3 entirely different (not just expanded or remodeled) Price Chopper stores in it over time, the first where Marshall's now is, then where the Raymour & Flanigan is at the opposite end, and finally the current store)

Outside of department stores:

East Greenbush - Albany Public-Big Al's (Discount)-Fays-Eckerd

(Also interesting - just a few miles down the road in Schodack is a former Grand Union that opened in 1977 and never had any major remodeling until it closed during the company's bankruptcy a few years back).

wow a lot of stores have replaced each other in this area. THAT IS WIERD FOR THIS PRICE CHOPPER IN LATHAM!!!! I BET THAT ONE DOES SO WELL THAT THERE IS SO MUCH DEMAND!

[BillyGr]

Originally posted by d_fife
wow a lot of stores have replaced each other in this area. THAT IS WIERD FOR THIS PRICE CHOPPER IN LATHAM!!!! I BET THAT ONE DOES SO WELL THAT THERE IS SO MUCH DEMAND!

Seems that way - of course these are spread out over about a 30-35 mile area, so they aren't all that close in reality.

As to the Price Chopper - it is unusual, but probably only because it's one of the few places where Price Chopper is that they could do that - several others areas have had 2 or 3 different store locations, but in different plazas (Hudson as an example - 3 stores in 3 different plazas) and others have had 2 stores in the same plaza (like across from Hudson Valley CC and the Rotterdam (current) location).  But in many other areas (like East Greenbush, Central Ave.) they couldn't have expanded (or not that much) where they were.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by BillyGr

Originally posted by d_fife
wow a lot of stores have replaced each other in this area. THAT IS WIERD FOR THIS PRICE CHOPPER IN LATHAM!!!! I BET THAT ONE DOES SO WELL THAT THERE IS SO MUCH DEMAND!

Seems that way - of course these are spread out over about a 30-35 mile area, so they aren't all that close in reality.

As to the Price Chopper - it is unusual, but probably only because it's one of the few places where Price Chopper is that they could do that - several others areas have had 2 or 3 different store locations, but in different plazas (Hudson as an example - 3 stores in 3 different plazas) and others have had 2 stores in the same plaza (like across from Hudson Valley CC and the Rotterdam (current) location).  But in many other areas (like East Greenbush, Central Ave.) they couldn't have expanded (or not that much) where they were.

yah the demand in the area, but I also ment that Price chopper has had 3 stoers in the same plaza and that store must make so much sales that there is more demand for that store to have more space

other places of changes

gilford kmart was wt grant

west lebanon: Rich's - ames - kohl's

COncord--- jm fields - bradlees - soon lowe's

st. johnsbury - zayre- ames - rich's - ames - now vacant still.

[MikeRa]

Plymouth Meeting Mall: Anchor #2 (Facing away from PA Turnpike)

Lit Brothers (1968-1977)
Hess's (1978-1995)
Boscov's (1996-P)

Neshaminy Mall: Anchor #3

Lit Brothers (1974-1977)
Pomeroy's (1977-1987)
The Bon Ton (1987-1992/93)
Discount Furinture (1992/93-19950
Boscov's (1995-P)

[Kmart4life]

We have one that started out as Zayre which turned to Ames then Montgomery Ward and now Target. All since 1984

[dmx10101]

We have adept. store at the mall and its stayed the smae store but the name has gone from Maycohens to Gayfers to Belk.

Then theres a store that was a Jefferson Wards, Woolco, Kmart and now Burlington Coat Factory.

[JimSawhill]

Originally posted by Rayco7030
2 Steigers became Filenes then will become Macy's they couldve been gfox in between steigeirs and filenes.

Chicopee Ma Kings Became MARs then a Railroad salvage

Ludlow Ma Kings Became MARs then big y took over their spot and became super big y in 90' and now big y world class market

Where was the chicopee Kings? What is there now?

[JimSawhill]

Silver Lane Plaza (Main Section) had Stop and Shop, then it was a Consumers, then it was subdivided into Walgreens and STrauss Auto Parts, the Silver Lane Pharmacy, then became a Rose City Auction, Woolworth (yes with a counter!) then became an EXOTIC Pet supercenter and JM Fields (then became Burlington Coat, and a oriental grocery. then BCF moved and it was replaced by a furniture store (furniture factory warehouse outlet - now empty. (Heard the plaza is going to be torn down for a wal*mart.)
Across the street was a First National/Finast, then Top Notch Foods, Best Food warehouse, 3 D Bed and Bath and then a SaLVATION Army store. (It was torn down to build a Aldi.).
(Salvation Army moved to another location in town)

[JimSawhill]

Originally posted by BillyGr
Hudson, NY Barkers-Kings-Ames-Now Peebles & Yankee $1 (Plus a empty section left over)

Latham - Gem-Bradlees-Ames-BonTon (This plaza is also interesting since there have been 3 entirely different (not just expanded or remodeled) Price Chopper stores in it over time, the first where Marshall's now is, then where the Raymour & Flanigan is at the opposite end, and finally the current store)

Outside of department stores:

East Greenbush - Albany Public-Big Al's (Discount)-Fays-Eckerd

(Also interesting - just a few miles down the road in Schodack is a former Grand Union that opened in 1977 and never had any major remodeling until it closed during the company's bankruptcy a few years back).

Hudson NY had a BARKERS? That store was founded in Meriden, CT. I loved that store.

[farmingtonvalleymall]

I guess the closest store to me would be at the former mall in my screen name. That was a W.T. Grants to Kings to Bradlees then in 1992 the space was split into a Bob's Stores and House of Fabrics. In 1999 the mall was remodeled into an open air plaza, HOF is long gone but the Bob's remains in its exact former mall position to this day. The rest of the original Grants etc... space has been rebuilt into a Movie Theater.

t

[webcookie]

G. Fox > Filene's > Macy's

Howland's > Steinbach
Steinbach > Dick's (new mall, replaced the mall with Howland's)

Ames > AC Moore & Media Play > AC Moore, Michael's, and Steve & Barry's

Bamberger's > Macy's (Nanuet)

May's > Jamesway (Fishkill)

Bradlees > Ashley Furniture

Caldor > Bon-Ton (Newburgh)

Grand Union > CVS (Goshen)

[Crawford]

I'll go with the nearest shopping plaza to me, Gansett Plaza

3 outparcels-

A Howard Johnsons that became a Ground Round then Beef and Barrel then Pub Dennis then The Roast House. Building was damaged when a carpet cleaner truck blew up in the parking lot. Building has since been torn down and there are rumours a bank will go there

2nd  was a drive up Hospital Trust Bank (precusor to the ATM drive ups) except this place actually had tellers to help. Building demolished and a McDonalds replaced it. The McDonalds has been remodeled through but still does a brisk business

3rd was a self service gas station called Top Gas, did not survive the oil crisis in the 70s and went out of business. Building torn down and was part of the parking lot for years until a Honey Dew Donuts was placed more or less where it stood

First store I recall in the plaza across from the gas station was some sort of women's workout gym, I think it was called Elaine Powers. It later became a Converse Sneaker outlet and is now a Hot Leathers Biker Gear store. Next door was an insurance place and a Baskin Robbins. The Baskin Robbins closed and became a paint and wallpaper store then second hand bookshop called Annie's Book Stop. Both the book store and insurance place went out of business and were joined into a Sears Portrait Studio which has since closed as well and is currently vacant.

Next was the Spotless Coin Op. One side was the laundromat and the other side the dry cleaners which were connected inside. How a laundromat could close down is beyond me but it did. The space was taken over by a dance studio and later by an Entenman's Bakery outlet.

Next was a Papa Gino's. This was a weird place as it had the restrooms upstairs. One had to walk through the kitchens and past the storerooms. No handicap access here. Can you imagine a restaurant being allowed to open like this today? Papa Gino's moved up Newport Avenue into its own free standing outparcel and there it remains. Still doing a brisk business. A variety of business replaced it, a pawn shop, a jewelry shop, a quick loan place, all of which closed pretty quick. the area is now vacant and I always wondered if that upstairs restroom still exists.

Next was a Star Market. You could enter the Papa Gino's from the market. It was taken over by Almacs in the late 80s and closed when the chain did. A furniture store moved in and moved out and the buiding is tenant less. There was a rumor of a Wal mart coming in and demolishing that entire part of the plaza to build on but I have not heard anything more.

There is a Brunswick bowling alley towards the back which is still in business. It has gone through a variety of name changes and remodels through the years

Next part of the plaza saw the most change, going from right  to left there was a Grants, closed when the chain did, replaced by a Save-Rite (Service Merchandise type of store) and then Ocean State Job Lot. The Job Lot was forced out last year and is being replaced by an Aldi's. How Aldi's will compete with a Stop and Shop just across the street is beyond me.

Next was a women's shoe store, I don't recall the name of it. It was vacant for a while and then was merged with the store next door into an Aarons Rental

Next was an Adams Drug Store, evidently they were there when the plaza first opened. I still remember that buzzing neon sign. It merged with Brooks at some point and then closed down. Ocean State Job Lot moved into the vacant area before taking over the Save-Rite. This was the building that had the interior wall that it shared with the store store knocked down for the rental place.

The next two store are currently a laundromat (oh the irony) and a Radio Shack which moved from the space that the laundromat is in now to the former Sir Charles Hallmark slot. I remember a bank or something else being in the original store Radio Shack was in but can't recall the name

Next up was a Mammoth Mart, replaced by King's which was in turn replaced by Burlington Coat Factory which is still there.

I don't remember much of what was in the final building, there was a Casual Male, a Tile City and a Hit or Miss. All have since closed and there is now a Curves, a karate school, a Citigroup and a Family Dollar in the spaces. There was an addition to the original building that housed Fashion Bug which closed and is now a pet shop.

[Marc82]

Originally posted by MikeRa
Plymouth Meeting Mall: Anchor #2 (Facing away from PA Turnpike)
Lit Brothers (1968-1977)

I'm familiar with this store because a friend of mine who lives in King of Prussia has his own internet radio show and one of the commercials he plays is for the Grand Opening of The Plymouth Meeting Mall and they mentioned the stores including Lit Brothers.


I was supposed to go to this mall when I was in the area last summer, but something came up. Now I see from their site they're undergoing extensive remodeling.

[mikey7290]

In Ogdensburg, NY, we had a Grants.  From 1959 to 1972, it was in the Seaway Shopping Center.  This space was split up into several smaller stores when Grants moved to the Park Plaza.  Grants store in the Park Plaza became Kmart when Grants closed in 1976.  Kmart moved to the Gateway Plaza in 1990 and the Park Plaza store has been vacant since.  The Kmart at Gateway was open from 1990 until 1998 when it closed.  The building was torn down in 2004 to make room for a Lowe's.

Ames was in an old factory at 1857 Ford Street from 1962 until moving to the Park Plaza in 1971.  The store closed in 1993 and has been vacant since.

J. J. Newberry was located downtown.  Opened in 1922, it expanded nextdoor in 1948 and was destroyed by fire in 1956.  It moved into temporary space until the store was rebuilt and reopened in 1958.  It closed in 1980 and was vacant for several years before becoming a bar, then furniture store and is now vacant.

F. W. Woolworth opened in 1937 at 206-210 Ford Street.  It closed in 1971 and became The Surprise store (a locally-owned department store), which closed in 1979.  The building has been occupied by various small tenants since that time.

Nathan Frank's Sons (another local store) moved to 224-226 Ford Street from what would eventually be Woolworth's in 1937.  The store closed in 1960 and was never occupied again.  The building was torn down in 1978 and is now a pedestrian walkway.

Empsall's (another local store) opened in the 1940's and closed in the 1960's.  It was replaced by a bank in the 1970's and the four-story building became a combination of an accountant's office and apartments a few years back.

[MikeRa]

Another one in the Philadelphia area:

bordered by: 13th Street, Market Street, Jupinter Street, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA:


[list=1]

• Pennsylvania Railroad Depot
• John Wanamaker (1875-1995) (Store was rebuilt from a railroad depot to current building in stages between 1910 and 1911)
• Hecht's (1995-1996)
• strawbridge's (1996-1997)
• Lord & Taylor (1997-2006)
• Macy's (2006-P)
[/list=1]
:cool:

[Ameskid]

Shillito's
Shillito-Rikes
Lazarus
Lazarus-Macy's
Macy's