R · I · P
Ames
1958–2002
“Small-town discount aisles.”
Stores
The small-town discount department store that anchored countless rural strip malls in the Northeast and Midwest — modest aisles of clothes, toys, and housewares, a layaway counter for the holidays, and prices a working family could stretch. It grew fast by acquiring other chains, then choked on the debt. It liquidated and closed in 2002.
▸ The soundtrack of its lifetime
Did you go to Ames? What do you remember?
The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of Ames.
Community Memories
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⚰️ Also gone
R · I · P
Woolworth's
1879–1997
“The five-and-dime with the lunch counter.”
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Service Merchandise
1934–2002
“Fill out the slip, wait for the conveyor.”
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Circuit City
1949–2009
“The big-box electronics trip.”
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R · I · P
RadioShack
1921–2015
“The store with a part for everything.”
Stores