Remember These 12 Department Stores That Seemed To Be Everywhere In The 1970s And 1980s? Here Is What Happened To Them

If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, your Saturday errands probably included a department store with a layaway counter, a toy aisle and a smell all its own. For plenty of families, those stores were the place to go for school clothes, appliances and a birthday present.

Then, one by one, the signs came down. Some chains were folded into bigger names, some were sold off, and some simply liquidated.

The twelve stories below come from the Wikipedia histories of each chain, with the founding years, closing dates and store counts as listed there. Each one is a small piece of American shopping history.

Gimbels Closed Its Remaining 35 Stores After Starting In 1842

According to Wikipedia’s history of Gimbels, Adam Gimbel opened a general store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. By 1965 the corporation counted 53 stores, including 22 Gimbels, 27 Saks Fifth Avenue and 4 Saks 34th Street.

BATUS, the retail arm of Brown & Williamson, decided in 1986 to close the Gimbels division, calling it a marginal performer. The remaining 35 stores closed in 1987, and the New York flagship became A&S Plaza in 1989.

Woolworth’s Five-And-Dime Counters Closed Their Last U.S. Stores In 1997

Frank Winfield Woolworth opened the first store in Utica, New York, on February 22, 1879, according to Wikipedia. The company closed its final U.S. Woolworth department stores in July 1997.

The company kept going under a new name. It became Foot Locker, Inc. in 2001.

Woolco Shut All 336 U.S. Stores By January 1983

The first Woolco opened in Columbus, Ohio, on June 6, 1962, per Wikipedia. Woolco announced on September 24, 1982, that it would close all its U.S. stores, and by January 1983 all 336 were shut.

The Canadian stores stayed open, and on January 14, 1994, Woolworth sold most of them to Walmart.

Zayre Became Ames Stores After A 1988 Sale Of Nearly 400 Locations

Wikipedia’s page on Zayre says the discount stores began in 1956, and that in October 1988 the parent company sold its nearly 400 Zayre stores to Ames Department Stores. In June 1989 the parent merged with its subsidiary TJX, which became The TJX Companies.

By 1990, all Zayre stores had either closed or been converted into Ames stores.

Montgomery Ward Closed Its Catalog Business In 1985 After 113 Years

Aaron Montgomery Ward founded the company in Chicago in 1872 as a mail-order business, according to Wikipedia. The company closed its catalog business in 1985 after 113 years.

On December 28, 2000, it announced it would cease operating and close its remaining 250 stores. The brand came back online in 2004 as a retailer with no physical stores.

Ames Once Ran 700 Stores In 20 States And Liquidated In 2002

Wikipedia’s page on Ames Department Stores says the chain was founded in 1958 in Southbridge, Massachusetts. At its peak it had 700 stores in 20 states.

On August 14, 2002, Ames announced it would close its remaining 327 stores. The page attributes the collapse mainly to debt from the Hills acquisition and tighter credit markets in 2001.

Hills Department Stores Went Into The Ames Fold In November 1998

Hills was founded in 1957 in Youngstown, Ohio, according to Wikipedia. Ames acquired it on November 12, 1998, when it had 155 stores in 12 states.

Almost all of the stores were renamed Ames by the end of 1999.

Caldor Closed Its Last Store On May 15, 1999

Carl and Dorothy Bennett founded Caldor in 1951, opening a 9,600-square-foot store in Port Chester, New York, funded by $8,000 in savings, per Wikipedia. Liquidation sales began January 23, 1999, at the remaining 145 stores.

The page says Caldor filed for Chapter 11 in 1995 while struggling to compete with the lower prices and wider selection at stores such as Wal-Mart.

Bradlees Shut 105 Stores And About 10,000 Jobs In March 2001

The first Bradlees opened in New London, Connecticut, on March 14, 1958, according to Wikipedia. It filed Chapter 7 on December 26, 2000, and the final store closed on March 15, 2001.

At that point the chain had 105 stores and about 10,000 employees.

Jamesway Peaked At 138 Stores In 1991

Jamesway began in 1961 with one store in Jamestown, New York, per Wikipedia. At its 1991 peak it ran 138 stores across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

After a second Chapter 11 filing in October 1995, liquidation sales ran from October to December 1995.

Alexander’s Closed All 11 Stores On May 15, 1992

Wikipedia says George Farkas opened Alexander’s on Third Avenue in the Bronx in 1928. The company shut all 11 of its stores on May 15, 1992, and about 5,000 people lost their jobs.

The Lexington Avenue flagship site is now 731 Lexington Avenue, headquarters of Bloomberg L.P.

Jordan Marsh Turned Into Macy’s In 1996

Jordan Marsh opened in Boston in 1841, according to Wikipedia. In 1996 its Northeastern stores were converted to the Macy’s name and branding.

The department stores of that era may be gone, but plenty of people still remember where they bought their first suit or their first record player.

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