Gone · but not forgotten
🪦 The Retro Graveyard
The clubs, the studios, the record stores — plus the restaurants, arcades and brands you grew up with in the '80s and '90s. The ones that are gone now. Wander the rows, leave a memory, and remember when.
Venues & Clubs· 6
R · I · P
CBGB
1973–2006
“Sticky floors and the birth of punk.”
Venues & Clubs
R · I · P
Danceteria
1979–1986
“Four floors of new-wave night.”
Venues & Clubs
R · I · P
Fillmore East
1968–1971
“Bill Graham's temple of the double bill.”
Venues & Clubs
R · I · P
The Palladium (NYC)
1976–1998
“Concert hall turned neon superclub.”
Venues & Clubs
R · I · P
Roseland Ballroom
1919–2014
“From foxtrots to mosh pits.”
Venues & Clubs
R · I · P
Studio 54
1977–1986
“The velvet rope, the balcony, the disco haze.”
Venues & Clubs
Recording Studios· 5
R · I · P
Chess Records
1950–1975
“The room the blues plugged into.”
Recording Studios
R · I · P
Hitsville U.S.A.
1959–1972
“The little house where the hits were built.”
Recording Studios
R · I · P
The Record Plant
1968–2017
“Where the rock aristocracy recorded.”
Recording Studios
R · I · P
Sound City
1969–2011
“A rough room with a magic console.”
Recording Studios
R · I · P
Stax Records
1957–1975
“Southern soul cut live off the floor.”
Recording Studios
Music Tech & Clubs· 5
R · I · P
Columbia House
1955–2015
“12 CDs for a penny (then the bills).”
Music Tech & Clubs
R · I · P
Kazaa
2001–2006
“Downloads with a side of spyware.”
Music Tech & Clubs
R · I · P
LimeWire
2000–2010
“The gateway with the questionable results.”
Music Tech & Clubs
R · I · P
MP3.com
1997–2003
“Streaming before it had a name.”
Music Tech & Clubs
R · I · P
Napster
1999–2001
“The night your hard drive filled up.”
Music Tech & Clubs
Record Stores· 3
Restaurants· 9
R · I · P
Bennigan's
1976–2008
“Potato skins in the Irish-pub booth.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Burger Chef
1954–1996
“The kids' meal before the Happy Meal.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Chi-Chi's
1975–2004
“Fried ice cream and a sombrero on your birthday.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Duff's Famous Smorgasbord
1969–1996
“All-you-can-eat and the birthday cake.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour
1963–1990
“The birthday sundae with the siren.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
The Ground Round
1969–2004
“Peanuts on the floor, cartoons on the screen.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Howard Johnson's
1925–2022
“The orange roof and 28 flavors.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Red Barn
1961–1988
“Fast food in a big red barn.”
Restaurants
R · I · P
Steak and Ale
1966–2008
“The salad bar and the dim wood booths.”
Restaurants
Arcades & Play· 3
Amusement Parks· 4
R · I · P
Geauga Lake
1887–2007
“Ohio's oldest coaster park.”
Amusement Parks
R · I · P
Opryland USA
1972–1997
“The theme park built on music.”
Amusement Parks
R · I · P
Six Flags AstroWorld
1968–2005
“Houston summers on the Texas Cyclone.”
Amusement Parks
R · I · P
Wyandot Lake
1984–2006
“Summer days on the Sea Dragon and the wave pool.”
Amusement Parks
Game Consoles· 5
R · I · P
3DO
1993–1996
“The $699 future nobody bought.”
Game Consoles
R · I · P
Atari Jaguar
1993–1996
“"Do the math" — 64 bits that didn't add up.”
Game Consoles
R · I · P
ColecoVision
1982–1985
“Arcade-quality at home — then the crash.”
Game Consoles
R · I · P
Sega Dreamcast
1999–2001
“Ahead of its time, gone too soon.”
Game Consoles
R · I · P
TurboGrafx-16
1989–1994
“The 16-bit underdog with the credit-card games.”
Game Consoles
Video Stores· 2
Toy Stores· 3
Bookstores· 1
Mall Fashion· 4
Stores· 17
R · I · P
Ames
1958–2002
“Small-town discount aisles.”
Stores
R · I · P
Babbage's
1983–1999
“The mall computer-game store before the giant.”
Stores
R · I · P
Best Products
1957–1997
“The catalog showroom with the trick buildings.”
Stores
R · I · P
Big Bear
1933–2004
“Columbus groceries — and, once, a real live bear.”
Stores
R · I · P
Caldor
1951–1999
“The Northeast's big discount trip.”
Stores
R · I · P
Circuit City
1949–2009
“The big-box electronics trip.”
Stores
R · I · P
Crazy Eddie
1971–1989
“"His prices are INSANE!"”
Stores
R · I · P
Electronics Boutique
1977–2005
“EB — trade-ins and the new-release wall.”
Stores
R · I · P
Incredible Universe
1992–1997
“The stadium-sized electronics store.”
Stores
R · I · P
Media Play
1992–2006
“Music, movies, and books under one roof.”
Stores
R · I · P
Montgomery Ward
1872–2001
“The catalog and the department-store trip.”
Stores
R · I · P
Nobody Beats the Wiz
1977–2003
“The jingle you still can't unhear.”
Stores
R · I · P
Phar-Mor
1982–2002
“Power buying, deep discounts.”
Stores
R · I · P
RadioShack
1921–2015
“The store with a part for everything.”
Stores
R · I · P
Service Merchandise
1934–2002
“Fill out the slip, wait for the conveyor.”
Stores
R · I · P
The Sharper Image
1977–2008
“The mall store of stuff you didn't need.”
Stores
R · I · P
Woolworth's
1879–1997
“The five-and-dime with the lunch counter.”
Stores
Kiosks & Brands· 1
Our local wing
🍺 Last Call— the Columbus bars, dance clubs and music venues that are gone. Mean Mr. Mustard's, Stache's, Mekka and more.
🍺 Enter Last Call (Columbus) →68gone so far. Remember a chain we're missing — the department store, the burger joint, the arcade, the toy store?
Suggest it and we'll add the ones we can verify. Nothing goes live unreviewed. (A local Columbus bar or club? Add it over in Last Call.)