Ya know, I seriously love this Ames, every time you show this one, its just so much nostalgia for us 80's 90s kiddos, lol. I still love how tucked away, quiet and serene this one is. In love with it all! 💜

@redrayman1977

6 жыл бұрын

Check out my Abandoned Kmart And Applebee Video if you like to thank you

@JenniferJones-qn6lg

6 жыл бұрын

Raymond Doolan will do, thanks!

@davidc.pierce9631

6 жыл бұрын

Jennifer Jones you know, I would be the guy, who, would buy it, and preserve it, for the memories. It is like a living being

@JenniferJones-qn6lg

6 жыл бұрын

David C. Pierce no doubt you would, lol. Id do the same thing and reuse the building restore it to the former glory. I love the location. Just so quiet, secluded. 💜

I used to go to that EXACT store with my Grandma for her yarn and crafts! She always parked in the same spot at the base of the light post, right where you were standing, so she could find her car when we came out! My God, the memories are flooding back!! I can still see that store up and functioning in my memory!

Ames and Bradlees were the stores I remember from my childhood. Those were great stores and its such a shame that they closed, some are left abandoned. Wish they were still around

I never thought I would ever see another person who had such strong emotional connections to department store childhood memories as I do. Wow.

I actually helped to set up that store, and worked there for awhile when it opened. I remember working the cash register on opening day. The lines of people stretched way out into the parking lot that day!!

Nice place Ace. They turned my old local Ames into a grocery store and it has been doing good for about 10 years now.

I have a cup that has to old red Ames logo on it. Found in our mower shed. There’s also a hills shopping bag filled with stuff in a storage room. The house used to be my grandparents house so there’s a lot of old stuff lying around. There was an Ames near where I grew up that lasted to the very end. It’s now a big lots (if you look hard enough you can still tell it was an Ames). The local Ames were I live now is a Weis grocery store (you can’t even tell it used to be an Ames). Ames went out of business shortly after I graduated high school in 2002.

@AcesAdventures1

6 жыл бұрын

CamaroAmx would you sell me that cup? Lol

Oh man, Ames was a great store back in the 80’s and 90’s! I was so sad when they closed.

I feel old at 32, I remember Ames, Venture, Zayre I lived around the Chicago area til the early 90s and then I lived in Indiana and Ohio we did a lot of shopping at Ames! Venture was a really good store too a lot like Target is now from what I remember. Great video

I'm from Mississippi and we didn't have an Ames. I've never been to one either. I love learning from your channel.

@danh2134

6 жыл бұрын

you didn't miss much , similar to kmart

@juliekeenum2824

6 жыл бұрын

Dan H Thanks! We have Kmart

Zayre, Hill's and Ames, all stores from my childhood. Good stuff!

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

I have never seen nor been in one

@ruthwoytsek7750

6 жыл бұрын

Oh boy, Hill's brings back memories!

@toro8star

6 жыл бұрын

Zayre yep was a good store! Hills and Ames never was built in south. Zayre, Kmart, and Walmart were always in the south. Then eventually Target came to the south.

@MeowingKittyCat

6 жыл бұрын

I remember Ames, also Rich's and Caldor's. I miss all those stores!

That looks like the original old Supermarket entrances that may have been converted into AMES,they may have leased existing properties 😢😢

Wow , they had everything

He goes of the right side of the building, I think I first see a dumpster. But as Ace gets closer see's it is a loading dock. I then think where is the door on the loading dock. I then look past it and see the ramp down to the door from it. I don't think I have ever seen a loading dock set up like that before.

I heard that sign actually fell off p, oh you just said it lol Awesome video

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

Lol

Grew up in Pennsylvania and use to shop at Ames, Hills and Jamesway all the time as a kid.

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

Cool :)

@CamaroAmx

6 жыл бұрын

Loved Ames and jamesway. Few seem to remember jamesway.

@brandondrescher2182

6 жыл бұрын

I remember Jamesway as I grew up with a single mom and she use to get all our cloths and stuff there since it was cheap. Went to the one in Columbia, PA

@CamaroAmx

6 жыл бұрын

I don’t remember which jamesway we went to. Probably either limerick or Pottstown ones with my grandparents. My grandparents used to take me there on my birthday and let me pick out whatever I wanted.

@brandondrescher2182

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah we went to Columbia, PA and down to Lancaster, PA for Hills which later became an Ames. I also remember going to Ames in Dover, Delaware when I went to the Nascar race there.

Really enjoy your videos

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

Same here, Anthony is awesome! :)

That zoning map is hilarious XD My most local Ames would be right at the bottom of that red bit that juts into MD - now it's a Homegoods/TJ Maxx. I was very young, so I'm not sure if I ever personally went there or not, but I sure remember driving past that teal and white sign!

Great video Ace.

We had a Zaire’s.

Love the clip at the end -- especially the managers trying out the Koosh balls!

ok collins in my home town the 8 in the back was me just wanted to throw that out there haha

Wish you showed the light on that parking lot pole. Assuming it was an original install I could probably tell when roughly.

That's a weird place to have a store like that right in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

@CamaroAmx

6 жыл бұрын

BuccaneerBruce probably wasn’t a residential area at the time. A lot can change in 16 years.

@SabatezZ

6 жыл бұрын

BuccaneerBruce lol you're joking right? You know places are built around other places. It's like saying wow it's weird to see a road go through here..

@as6110

6 жыл бұрын

Meanwhile, my former retail job built a new store at the end of a housing development because the zoning was right. And they get all sorts of traffic now.

@CamaroAmx

6 жыл бұрын

Ashley Sayers they built a housing development right behind the shopping center that the Ames used to be up in my old area. Was just woods when Ames was still there. They’re putting in housing developments all over the place nowadays. None of the houses are very affordable either (start at $250,000 in an area where the average income is in the mid 30s).

@BuccaneerBruce

6 жыл бұрын

Those houses look like they have been around for quite a while...

Wow Anthony Great video man like the retro store frot great job man

Awesomeness, my old Ames in Delaware is now a Big Lots. We had Ames, Caldor, Jamesway, Value City, and others. Ah, the simple times of the 90's.

Anthony, maybe phone the real estate broker (number on the leasing sign) and inform them you would like the Ames sign on the door. Maybe they will allow you to acquire it.

cool !👍

Our old Ames in Batesville, Indiana, is now a Shopko or some crap. Ah, nostalgia.

Nice video!

This store is now a Big Lots for anyone who is wondering the current state of the building.

The Ames in my area use to be a Hills store. I remember both pretty fondly as my mom and grandma use to take me there when i was really young. Now the store is Rural King. (Basically a farm supply store)

@camhowe349

6 жыл бұрын

ToryTheFanMan My Ames is still sat abandoned and has a For Lease Sign on the windows on the inside dont know if anything will be going into it

Anyone have a list of or know where to get a directory of still standing abandoned Ames? Living in WNY I'd like to visit any still standing ones. To pay respects and breathe in the nostalgia one last time. I'm thinking it's really just this one and mayyyybe Horseheads??

Sucks u couldn't get inside but still interesting either way!

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

I would have loved to see inside, never been in one.

@camhowe349

6 жыл бұрын

Aces Adventures actually has a video here on his channel of an Ames that him and WallieB26 explored and managed to get inside of..

What a terrific tribute to Ames. So sad to see a great family, customer focused retailer go under. There has to be away to preserve something from this property. They should give you that Ames stickie on the door. Also love the training film and the 80s era points like the average income. Today could not pay for an apartment for a year with that average income. Best part of this: You know how to tell a story. Keeps the videoes more interesting. Look forward to what's next.

Cool Video :)

That's an amazingly good condition and un-graffitied store, especially considering it's all-white exterior. Maybe because of the suburban location? Looks pretty quiet.

@billl1127

6 жыл бұрын

More surprised the back wasn't a dumping ground for peoples old stuff.

i wonder how many abandoned ones are left? and the sign was white and the sign on the street/road was red.

Bring it back!

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

:)

i would love to live in this building if i was able to and still in good shape inside. have a few arcade games in the lobby like they had in them days. FUN AND SWEET

@danh2134

6 жыл бұрын

what's stopping you from owning it ? nothing is there now , go for it

its amazing this store has not fallen into ground

If you want to see the sign on the building, the thumbnail for Bright Sun Films Ames video is THIS Ames with the sign. It was green and white but it did have an original red lettered sign when it opened. Yes we believe it fell because it was suddenly not there after the overhang started to seriously decay and age. Local group thinks there was a farm supply store here in the 70's before Ames but not sure if it's the same building (I don't think it is, I have fuzzy memories of Ames opening). I'm getting multiple people saying a water pipe burst in the building recently and it has damage. Also that the building owner passed away.

@JenniferJones-qn6lg

6 жыл бұрын

Radiant Paragon fascinating history! Its fun to hear stories of what was in these old buildings, just the memories alone are worth the stories to tell.. Awesome!

@camhowe349

6 жыл бұрын

Nice story thanks for sharing

@billl1127

6 жыл бұрын

Why in the world would they still have water turned on at that place and not shut off an some main valve?

@camhowe349

6 жыл бұрын

Bill L Clearly whoever runs/takescare of the property now would be the one to ask that question too because i dont know how or why the water turned on and not have the main valve shut off

Your definitely not a weirdo .You are filming this for social history so that people can look back at retail at the beginning of the 2000s.Keep up the good work.🇬🇧

My dad was a manager for Ames for 30+ years before he lost his job in 2002.

@AcesAdventures1

6 жыл бұрын

ashitomarisu does he have any memorabilia?

@ashitomarisu

6 жыл бұрын

Personally, I would have to talk to him. He might still have a plaque from his early years, but I'm not sure. I'll get back to you on it.

I guess that 4 BILLION DOLLARS! wasn't enough, was it?

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

Wow!

@CamaroAmx

6 жыл бұрын

4 billion in sales was a gross profit (how much they made) but the net profit (what’s left after they pay the bills) was far lower. Add the debt the accumulated from buying hills and other stores and the profit margin was slim and eventually as sales began to slip the profits shrank into the red.

Hey Ace, quick question. Is this that Ames right outside of gowanda?

Call the owner for a tour?

Epic

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

:)

Just sit there rotting away

When did this store close down ?

What I don't understand is how it is empty for this whole time, and why the owner is OK with keeping it that way. The sign out front says "for lease," as though the owner would be able to sell this empty spot to a new commercial tenant?? Who would be responsible for probably tearing down the old building and replacing it with a non-collapsed one? I guess what I'm asking is why the owner wouldn't just sell it? And if housing is more in demand, could it be replaced with that? Or municipal buildings, or a church? I'm just so boggled by a property standing empty for enough time for a baby born at its closing to be enrolled in college by now.

@billl1127

6 жыл бұрын

Obviously the owner wasn't too concerned about the income producing potential or value of the property to bother with it.

We never had a Ames in Michigan, not that I know of.

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

I don't even know if there is one in Wa. State

@dennismanbook

6 жыл бұрын

Seem like Ames, Hills and Zayre stayed in pretty much of the eastern states, didn’t make it to Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and other midwestern states west of the Mississippi

@screechman1

6 жыл бұрын

Fenton, MI (15 miles south of Flint) used to have an Ames from the late eighties until about 1991.

@klee8960

6 жыл бұрын

Brian Strong I'm only 20 miles from Flint, didn't know that 20miles south of Flint

Wow, how has that parking lot held up for that long!? Repeated winter/summer temperature extremes should have shredded it to where mostly grass would take over. Wonder what the demographic is like around there, is there need for commercial there or is there too much. The owner should rezone and sell the property rather than try to lease the dilapidated building

Everyone vote. #Hills or #Ames

Why did Ames go downhill Tony?

😎..COOL VIDEO!! LATER 🐍.SNAKE

@erinbricker-urbanhistorian5803

6 жыл бұрын

Same here

What do you mean there's a few left? This company closed years ago! Can you tell us where they are?

@gmcnewlook

6 жыл бұрын

Gregory Reed I think he meant (I assume) the buildings themselves still exist, either unconverted or not demolished like this one...

3:30 Pay phones still existed in 1998, wonder who took the phone? Then again, could be just the angle but I feel we would at least see the top of the receiver from that angle or at least through the punch holes in the shape of a receiver on the side of the box. 3:53 Do not park here. Someone handicapped may want to come visit the dead 20 year old Aim's shell of a store.

@CamaroAmx

6 жыл бұрын

John Becker if you look hard enough, you can still find functioning pay phones today. Usually the phone company removes the phones but leave the housings. Pay phones were common until about 2008 or so.

@johnny-becker

6 жыл бұрын

I seen one locally, but it wasn't functioning. When I was young (and devilish), I learned that if you dialed a certain number, a fake number, and hung it up three times, it was a test the phone company uses to test the phone. If you did this, then walk away quickly, 30 seconds later, it would ring. When someone picked it up it would just be a dial tone. I cannot remember the number but as a kid, I thought that was hilarious. I knew the difference between reasonably harmless fun. To some, it is lit on fire paper bag of dog dooty on the door step, for me it was the fake phone call.

@billl1127

6 жыл бұрын

As a kid I never walked by a pay phone where I didn't check the coin return. It was amazing how often I'd find a dime and later quarters.

@johnny-becker

6 жыл бұрын

Not as bad as a sin, but it was foolish to not check... especially since you could potentially get a free gumball