As a youngster or older, What stores did you do your holiday "shopping" at, that are no more? We would go to Kaufmanns

[debm55]

in Pittsburgh and look at all the decorated windows. We would go inside and with the eyes of a child, delight in the decorations. I don't ever remember buying anything myself, but the experience was magical.

[hlthe2b]

1. The Jones Store (Kansas City), Harzfeld's (Kansas City--even longer gone), Rich's (Atlanta), May D&F (Denver)

mostly early childhood stores, but I still have a green and white striped gift box from Harzfeld's that my Mom used to store some nostalgic items.

[debm55]

7. Thank you very much, hlthe2b.for sharing the memories.

[rsdsharp]

2. Mostly at Sears. It's not totally gone (yet) but it might as well be.

[debm55]

8. Thank you rsdsharp. I loved Sears and their Holiday catalogue. back then our list was circling the toys we wanted from

Santa.

[RazorbackExpat]

146. I remember when the Sears Wishbook arrived in the mail

I would go straight to the hobby and book sections. I especially loved the Peanuts and Winnie-the-Pooh books

[debm55]

148. Me too! Thank you RazorbackExpat for bringing back that memory.

[Lochloosa]

3. K-Mart...they were worth going to back in the day

[CrispyQ]

6. I loved K-Mart! And the blue-light special!

Every January I refreshed my kitchen towels cuz they put them on sale three for $3. Nice terry cloth ones, too. Super absorbent. Now you pay $3 per towel. WTF happened? They had great deals all over the store!! The one I shopped at was one of the last retailers to offer lay-away.

[Lochloosa]

9. It was fun watching everyone trying to find the light.

[debm55]

11. Thank you Lochloosa. Kaufmann's was a treat for us. But K-mart is where we bought our items.

[debm55]

48. Thank you very much. Lochloosa.

[MustLoveBeagles]

143. How could I've forgotten KMart?

Mom worked there in the 80's.

[debm55]

144. Thank you MustLoveBeagles.

[SheltieLover]

4. Wiebolt's for kid toys

[debm55]

13. Thank you very much, SheltieLover.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

5. My faves were Hecht's. and Woodward & Lothrop (Woodies) dept. stores (DC area).

Woodie's downtown DC store had amazingly decorated windows for the holidays.

[debm55]

49. Thank you very much for sharing with us. 50 Shades Of Blue.

[oberle]

111. It's great to see

a fellow DC denizen.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

120. Ditto!

[RandySF]

10. Kresge's

[debm55]

50. Thanks RandySF, Didn't they later change to K-Mart?

[RandySF]

54. Yep

[debm55]

60. Thanks.

[Diamond_Dog]

12. I don't remember much shopping going on,

But when my sister and I were kids, my parents took us to downtown Cleveland a few times, this would have been in the mid 60s. Among the several big department stores, there was one called Sterling-Lindner’s.
Every Christmas they had a huge real tree on display in the atrium of the store. The one in 1966 was 73 ft. Tall. Gazing up at that tree I felt like it must have reached into the heavens. I still remember it well to this day. We also went to Higbee’s, Halle’s, I’m sure others. It was such a magical time. Halle’s 7th floor was the toy floor. They had this guy there called Mr. Jingaling who was dressed in a costume supposed to be one of Santa’s elves. You could ride around the toy dept. on a little train and when you got off the train his helper would give you a little paper cup of Jordan almonds (which I disliked but that was a minor thing). Mr. Jingaling also made appearances on local kid TV shows so of course every kid in the area wanted their parents to take them to Halle’s 7th floor. Also the store had those vacuum tubes to send your payment to the office when you bought something. I was into Steiff stuffed animals back then and I remember my mother bought me a stuffed tiger. It was such a happy time.

Here is the Sterling Lindner tree from 1966.

[debm55]

24. Beautiful, Diamond_Dog Simply beautiful.

[Wuddles440]

28. My father worked in part-time in sales at Halle's...

during the late 1940's and early 50's. He was taking engineering classes at Case Institute (now Case Western) at the time, but said he seriously thought about pursuing a career in retail after his experience at Halle's.

[Diamond_Dog]

31. Halle's was my favorite downtown Cleveland department store!

My Dad graduated from Case, too.

[debm55]

52. Thank you very much for sharing that memory of your dad.

[AllaN01Bear]

38. ohm myyyyyy!

[Eugene]

14. S.S. Kresge

Jordan Marsh for the more expensive stuff. Both in Downton Boston.

[debm55]

53. Thank you ,Eugene. My husband is from Boston. His mom would buy our son clothing from Jordan Marsh's basement.

[JoseBalow]

15. Hudson's

[debm55]

55. Thank you very much, JoseBalow. Didn't they have there own Thanksgiving parade. I vaguely remember it as part of the CBS

line up.

[JoseBalow]

59. Yes, the Hudson's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I'm not sure if there is still a Thanksgiving day parade in Detroit anymore, or what it is called, or who sponsors it. But it was a big deal back in the day.

[debm55]

61. Thank you very much JoseBalow.

[LisaM]

78. Yes, there is. I watched it yesterday!

They call it "America's Parade" now. You can stream it next year on WDIV, which is what I did this year.

[JoseBalow]

88. I'm glad to know that tradition continues!

Many good memories.

[Jacson6]

16. In detroit it was Hudson's, woolworth, kmart and sears. n/t

[debm55]

56. Thank you very much, Jacson6 for sharing.

[DBoon]

17. Sears toy catalog

When I got a bit older, the Radio Shack catalog

[debm55]

22. Thank you DBoon, I loved the Sears toy catalog. Spent hours looking through it.

[MiHale]

18. Woolworth's...Federal's ....Hudson's...

Michigan department stores.

[debm55]

21. Thank you very much, MiHale.

[Cirsium]

86. Federal's, yes

I forgot about Federal's.

[JMCKUSICK]

19. Applebaums in the Twin Cities

[debm55]

20. Thank you very much, John

[lpbk2713]

23. Sears, Montgomery Ward's

J M Fields, Zayre's, Toys r Us

Many others long gone.

J C Penney is still here, just hanging on by their finger nails.

[debm55]

57. Thank you Ipbk2713. Toys r Us and Zayre's around here.

[Wuddles440]

25. Horne's (my favorite), Kaufmann's and Gimbels for the Yinzers in the audience.

Really couldn't afford to do much actual shopping, but the atmosphere was magical and exciting.

[debm55]

58. I loved going their to see all the decorations. Wasn't Horne's bought by Lazarus? I'm a Yinzer.

[Wuddles440]

80. Yes, they were acquired by Federated Department Stores (Lazarus).

One of my first jobs after graduating from college in the early 1980s was with Horne's as an Assistant Buyer. They were owned by Associated Dry Goods during that period. I loved that store, but the salary wasn't great and the hours were long.

[debm55]

82. Thank you very much, Wuddles440

[marble falls]

26. Our schools held little inexpensive gifts fairs to buy things for our families. Almost 70 years ago. And we loved Sears.

And going downtown to see the windows at O'Neil's and Polsky's



If I was lucky, Granma Schenk would take me to the Oak Room for "luncheon".

[debm55]

62. Thank you marble falls. When I taught they had the gift fairs for kids to buy gifts. We would go downtown to just look

at the windows and decorations and maybe eat at the Tea Room .

[marble falls]

64. Sure you're not a buckeye?

[debm55]

73. Closer to WV. I am a Yinzer.

[marble falls]

74. The Yinzers I knew were from Pittsburgh.

[debm55]

76. I am 10 miles south of Pittsburgh. I am a Yinzer,

[marble falls]

79. My granmother from Nanny Glo used to use 'yooze' and 'you'uns'.

[debm55]

83. Thank you marble falls. I use yooze. Help me here, is Nanny Glo by Penn State. I have a brain freeze and can't remember.

[marble falls]

90. A little south and east of Pittsburg, near Johnstown. My Grandfather was a coal miner and farmer. He dug coal at ...

...the Bethlehem mines one person he worked with until the war was Charles Bronson. Nanty Glo ( a Welsh word) was literally a bump in the road. He died of Black Lung, and Jake Yablonski and the UMW made his last years much better. I am pro union partially from this.

[debm55]

94. After I posted to you, I remembered it was near Johnstown area. My father was born in Derry.

[marble falls]

99. We're all a lot closer than we think.

[CanonRay]

27. Carson Pirie Scott and Marshall Field

downtown Chi.

[Zackzzzz]

39. Yes, DOWNTOWN on the EL.

We went DOWNTOWN to look ALL the Xmas displays;
Goldblatt's and the wonderful windows of Lebolt and Peacock Jewelry.
My brother designed and arranged windows at one of those store....

[debm55]

63. Thank you very much, CanonRay. for sharing

[Diamond_Dog]

29. Deb-We took our first son to either Horne's or Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh one Christmas, I forget which one it was.

This would have been the early 80s, my son was about 4 or 5. We oohed and ahhed at the Christmas decorations. And we saw Mark Malone sitting at a table signing autographs! There was a long line of people waiting for an autograph. He was quite good looking!

[debm55]

66. Thank you very much, Diamond_Dog. Mark Malone--eye candy

[KitFox]

30. While in college in Seattle, Frederick & Nelson, The Bon Marche

and Jay Jacobs were great stores for shopping and looking at all of the lights and decorations inside and in the huge windows. They have all gone out of business. Frederick & Nelson had elaborate window displays with Santa always in one of them. Their windows also had motorized displays that you could activate by pressing your hand on a panel on the outside of the window. When I was a kid, I lived in a small town and J C Penny’s was the only corporate chain store but we had many locally owned shops.

[debm55]

67. Wow. I like how you could activate the displays on the outside of the window.Thank you KitFox. I love it.

[regnaD kciN]

108. Strictly speaking, The Bon Marche didn't "go out of business"...

It merged into Federated, which continued running chains under their original identities until a decade or two ago, when they deciddd to rebrand all of them as Macy’s. They’re very much still around, although they moved out of downtown Seattle thereafter.

[wcmagumba]

32. Woolworth's and TG&Y...here in small town Kansas...

[debm55]

68. Thank you very much, wcmagumba. The last one I have seen was in the late 80s in Butler, PA.

[BOSSHOG]

33. Gibson's

As they say in New Orleans - “ain’t dere no more.”

Gibsons similar to Walmart 50+ plus years ago. Charmingly cluttered like todays Dollar General.

[wcmagumba]

35. Oh, I had forgotten Gibsons...loved it too...

We had a small one in my little Kansas town, I bought a lot of record albums there...

[debm55]

46. Thank you very much, BOSSHOG,

[RazorbackExpat]

157. At one time, there was a Gibson's in Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville

The Fayetteville store was on College Avenue, the Springdale store was in a shopping center just off Thompson Avenue, and the Rogers store was on South 8th Street. I remember getting some Mighty Mites firecrackers at the F'ville store, a Monster Magnet at the S'dale store, and an LP record at the Rogers store After that, Gibson's became Howard's, and then Howard's just kind of faded away

[debm55]

158. Thank you very much for sharing your memories. RazorobackExpat.

[RazorbackExpat]

160. That was late '60s, early '70s

Gibson's was trying to compete with a local mom-and-pop shop called Wal-Mart Discount City, and local residents were placing bets on which store would come out on top. I doubt that anyone back then imagined that Wal-Mart would get as big as it did

[debm55]

161. Thank you very much. I liked the local mom and pop stores. TY RazorbackExpat.

[RazorbackExpat]

162. Back then, there were lots of mom-and-pop shops downtown

Two dime stores, two hardware stores, two shoe stores, three pharmacies (two with soda fountains), two barber shops, three clothing stores, two jewelry stores, 4 gas stations, 3 supermarkets, one bookstore, one seed store. There was also a Sears catalog order store (which burned down). And all of those stores are long gone

[debm55]

167. Sadly, most if not all are gone.Thank you for sharing RazorbackExpat.

[BOSSHOG]

165. I worked Walmart #6 south of town

Had lunch at Mr Quick across the highway. My grandmother and her sisters all said they could have married Sam Walton. Gibsons was so bad it was good. And there was the Pizza Hut down the highway near Gibsons which had a basement were the bar was. Geez Louise I had a helluva time.

[debm55]

166. Thank you very much, BOSSHOG for sharing your memories.

[RazorbackExpat]

170. Was that the Wal-Mart on West 6th Avenue, near Ramay Jr. High?

And I remember Mr. Quick's 19cent hamburgers. And Dog 'n Suds, where "Dad from Springfield" uttered those immortal words, "Six root beers. Six coney dogs"

[BOSSHOG]

171. That "new" Wal Mart is near Ramey

It is on the sight of a drive in movie which operated at least into the early 70s. I got a half hour for lunch so Mr Quick was cheap and convenient, and I thought good for fast food.

[RazorbackExpat]

174. So the "old" Wal-Mart was closer to Drake Field?

Was the by-pass built by then? I think the by-pass was opened in 1972 or so, around the time the NWA Mall was opened.

[Niagara]

34. A few stores that I use to holiday shop at:

Bon-Ton, K-mart, RadioShack, Schultz's, Fisher's Big Wheel and On Cue.

[debm55]

45. Niagara, I have missed you. Yes, some of those I remember. Thank you

[Niagara]

91. I've missed you too, Debbie. I hope that you're doing well.

You're welcome

[debm55]

106. Thank you.

[johnp3907]

36. Greengate Mall in Greensburg Pa.

Though we probably bought more from the G. C. Murphy’s in West Newton.

[debm55]

44. Thank you johnp3907. I remember that Mall well. Spent my teen years there. Lived in North Huntingdon(Irwin) PA They had

beautiful displays.

[AllaN01Bear]

37. may company. jc pennies and a few others that are fallen flags.

[debm55]

43. Thank you very much, Bear. Kaufmanns was bought out by the May Co. .

[tavernier]

40. Along with many already mentioned,

Lerner, Five and Dime, Gilmore, JC Penney, Robert Hall. There were several shoe stores named after shoe brands but I don’t remember the names now.

[debm55]

41. Thank you very much, tavernier. I shopped at many of them.

[duckworth969]

42. K Mart

[debm55]

47. Thank you duckworth969. We had one that was local. Would run after the Blue Light cart to see what was on special.

Mother would buy their god awful hoagies to eat when we came back home. I would take all the mystery meat off and have a vegetarian sub.

[applegrove]

51. Ogilvies Department Store. They had the best french fries. My

friends and I would go swimming at a local hotel when we were tweens and then go to ogilvies for french fries.

[debm55]

70. Thank you very applegrove. That sounds like so much fun.

[Linder]

65. Radio Shack, Robert Hall, KMart

The Fair Store, Goldblatt's. Marshall Fields windows. We would stop at a small store for freshly made Carmel Corn. The Walnut Room in Marshall Fields. Skating, the Chicago Tribunes 'Silver Skates'.

[debm55]

71. Thank you very much Linder. I remember the three in your title. Wow, I love carmel corn. Lucky you

[chowmama]

69. Prange's in Sheboygan Wisconsin

They had a special area for children to buy for their parents. The doorway was only 3 feet high and only children and a few store advisors were allowed in. You went in with a little cash (nothing was over about five dollars, which at that time was high end for most children) and came out with a completely gift-wrapped and tagged item for under the tree. The parents had no idea until Christmas what their present was going to be. It was really special.

After we moved across state, we went to Minneapolis to see the Dayton's Christmas exhibit, but I don't remember shopping there. My parents did, but we just wandered and watched. Mostly wandered.

[debm55]

72. Oh, I like the idea of a miniature store. That was a really great idea. Thank you chowmama

[wcmagumba]

75. David's Dept Store in Wichita, KS. It had a unique pointed triangle roof design and refreshment stand at the exit...

Great toy dept. for a kid, back in its own corner of the store...We always got popcorn and a soda on the way out...The company sponsored the "Santa's Workshop" show on local TV station, on daily in Dec. The show had a little talking puppet they called KAKE Man (after the station name). They later changed the puppet's name to Toy Boy...He was always pushing a particular product which he and Santa would play with...as an adult in my 30s I worked with a guy who did the voice of KAKE Man, woo hoo. I tried but couldn't get him to do the voice...oh well...

[debm55]

77. Oh that would be neat to have a Santa's Workshop on TV. Thank you wcmagumba.

[LisaM]

81. Hudson's. The downtown Detroit store was magical.

And on Thanksgiving Day, we would watch the then-national coverage of all four Thanksgiving Parades - the Detroit one, of course, but also Macy's in New York, Gimbel's in Philadelphia, and Eaton's in Toronto. They'd switch between all four.

It was a big deal and it's still a little shocking to me that those days are gone forever. It all seemed so permanent. Now the only one with an original sponsor is Macy's, and their parade is more like an ad for Broadway, at least the part they show on TV.

[debm55]

85. Oh yes, I remember the grand 4. I read about the bummer the coverage was this year. I liked it with the Grand 4.

Pittsburgh had one today. But it is put on by, I think , KDKA.

[Cirsium]

84. Hudson's

The J. L. Hudson Company department store, on Woodward avenue in downtown Detroit.

[debm55]

95. Thank you you very much, Cirsium.

[Deep State Witch]

87. Kaufmann's, Horne's, and Gimbels

In Pittsburgh. We'd also go to Murphy's Mart, Claber's, or David Weis for stuff, too.

[debm55]

115. Thank you very much, Deep State Witch, I remember those stores. I worked at David Weis one Christmas.

[Bluestocking]

89. Korvettes

[debm55]

105. Thank you very much. Bluestocking.

[Bmoboy]

92. Bunches in Baltimore

Stewart's
Hutzlers
Hochschild Kohn
Luskins
Acme
Read's

[debm55]

104. Thank you very much, Bmoboy.for your selection of stores that once were but aren't anymore.

[Norrrm]

93. Zayre's again.

[debm55]

97. Thank you , Norrrm. Wasn't Zayre's bought by Ames. I loved the Christmas commercial Zayre's did.

[displacedvermoter]

96. Woolworths

It had an ice cream fountain, you could get a hot fudge sundae and then pop a balloon to see how much you had to pay. Maybe 49 cents, maybe ten cents, maybe free! They had candy cane ice cream at Christmas.

[debm55]

101. Oh I remember Woolworths and their ice cream fountain. I remember popping the balloon. Never got a freebie. Thank

you displacedvermoter.

[WmChris]

98. Arlens

A precursor to Kmart

[debm55]

100. Thank you very much. WmChris.

[Raven123]

102. May Company, Sears, Woolworth

[debm55]

103. Remember all three. Thank you very much for bringing the memories back to me. Raven123.

[GP6971]

107. Bambergers and Sterns in NJ.

Bambergers was at the Garden State Plaza shopping center and Sterns was in the Bergen Plaza shopping center.

[debm55]

112. Thank you very much for sharining with us. GP6971

[vanlassie]

109. California: Starting in Fresno, Gotschalk's Department Store.

Sadly missed to this day.
😢

[debm55]

113. Thank you for sharing, vaniassie. It's sad when your favorite store is done,

[electric_blue68]

110. I don't know about holiday shopping but the department stores that are gone that I shopped at....

maybe at holiday time, too ;
Gimbels, Alexander's, Korvette's.

While not shopping there (usually too expensive) it's always fun to see Sak's Fifth Ave Holiday windows, and facade.

[debm55]

114. Thank you very much, electric_blue68. I loved to walk around the store and the malls and just see the decorations. When

I was young I thought I wanted to do that as a living.

[Paladin]

116. Joske's department store, downtown San Antonio, TX.

Within spitting distance of The Alamo.

My mother and grandmother (and usually an aunt or two) started dragging me there when I was maybe five years old, back in the 1950's. As was the custom back then, they were always immaculately dressed for the occasion: their best dresses, hats, stockings, etc. I look back on it with fondness, but I hated it, at the time. Whole different world...

[debm55]

117. Thank you very much , Paladin , for sharing your memeories with us. I also remember getting all dressed up to go go to

downtown Pittsburgh. It was an experience.

[lastlib]

118. Woolworth's, Newberry's, and TG&Y

Also Montgomery Ward's and Sears.

And a local entity, Wild Woody's.

[debm55]

119. Thank you very much, lastlib. The locals are what I miss the most. I would walk to the hardware store. Upstairs , they

had all the toys. Went by myself and would just look around. They are long gone.

[WestMichRad]

121. JB Branch & co

Coldwater Michigan. A old 3- floor department type store that specialized in millinery, i.e. carpet and flooring, draperies, and the like, but also a host of other home furnishing things. On the ground floor, they had an overhead cable system for sending a capsule to another room, for cash and receipts… operated until they closed in the mid 80s. Might have been the last operating capsule system, or whatever it was called, of that type. It was pretty cool!
My one purchase there was a stereo receiver… one of the best buys in my life. Still in occasional use!

[debm55]

122. Thank you very much for sharing WestMichRad. When I was a kid, I enjoyed watching those capsules. Drive through banks

them too.

[OldBaldy1701E]

123. In eastern North Carolina, we went to Roses or Sears.

My home area was too rural for a K-Mart. But, in the town 26 miles away we had a Roses and a Sears. A J.C. Penny's opened up when I was around twelve.

My home town had a Western Auto, and a Pope's. That was it at the time.

[debm55]

124. Thank you very much for sharing with us. OldBaldy1701E

[beaglelover]

125. Bambergers, Epsteins, Hahnes

[debm55]

140. Thank you very much for your selection of stores., beaglelover

[LogDog75]

126. My father was in the Navy

so we shopped at the base exchange. The other store was Sears.

[debm55]

137. Thank you very much, for stores of your youth, LogDog75

[KC Shell]

127. Stores I went to as a child

Montgomery Ward. It was a huge department store in my neighborhood, in Northeast, KCMO. They even had and a white Santa and a black Santa. Fancy....

[debm55]

138. Thank you very much for sharing with us. KC Shell

[doc03]

128. Back when I was a kid there were no malls. Downtown Wheeling

had everything, now there is nothing. Back then the downtown was shoulder to shoulder crowds
and cops directing traffic at crossings.

[debm55]

139. Thank you doc03. I lived my years in Duquesne and McKeesport. Lots of small stores. Now there is nothing there. Sad.

[no_hypocrisy]

129. Can't remember generally, but . . . .

when I was 17 and it was Christmas, I was really pissed at my father.

So I went to the local drugstore and bought two men's colognes: Brut and English Sterling ("Make him a legend in his own time" )

My father was so obtuse. He never got the underlying message.

[debm55]

141. I remember those men's colognes. HAHAHAHHA. Got the message, no_hypocrisy.

[MustLoveBeagles]

130. Sears, Montgomery Wards

Is Bergners still around?

[debm55]

142. Thank you very much, MustLoveBeagles. I don't think we ever had a Bergners around here in SW PA

[Redleg]

131. The Ogden Mall

Used to be the main mall in Ogden Utah but now it is gone.

[debm55]

136. Thank you Redleg. Our local mall----Century III was beautiful at Christmas. Loved it. But now gone.

[Thunderbeast]

132. Meier and Frank, Lippman Wolfe, Olds Wortman and King

Portland, Oregon downtown anchors.

[debm55]

145. Thank you for sharing your selection with us. Thunderbeast.

[dem4decades]

133. Caldor's, G.E. Madisons, and Alexander's

[debm55]

147. Thank you very much, dem4decades. for sharing your selections with us.

[Xavier Breath]

134. We visited Hills and Gold Circle religiously, and always during the holidays.

Both were founded in Ohio, but I believe Hills was present in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and the South as well. They've both been gone for decades, but I miss them still.

[debm55]

150. Thank you very much, Xavier Breath. I loved shopping at Hills and Gold Circle here in SW PA

[ProfessorGAC]

135. Marshall Fields, The Boston Store, Goldblatt's

All gone, the latter 2 for 45 years.

[debm55]

151. Thank you very much for sharing your selections ProfessorGAC

[31st Street Bridge]

152. The Downtown stores were so grand!

Kaufmann's windows and Gumbel's basement and Horne's classy wooden cases on the first floor. Add the streetcars, the lights, the small independent retailers and Pittsburgh was a holiday treasure chest, even into the 1980s. I miss it all so.

But as a kid, those wooden escalators at Kaufmann's upper floors scared the heck outta me!!

[debm55]

154. HAHAHAH. I agree. 31st Street Bridge. They were great. I enjoyed the wooden escalators at Kaufmann's they reminded me of

the wooden steps at the Noah's Ark at Kennywood.

[Abstractartist]

153. Oh the memories

Sears, Montgomery Ward, Hutzlers, Hecht Co., Macys, Target.

I grew up in the county outside of Baltimore, Md.

[debm55]

156. Thank you very much for sharing your memories, Abstractactist.

[markodochartaigh]

155. Toys by Roy

When they were closing in the mid 80's I remember reading that shopping malls weren't doing so well anymore because women were spending less time shopping and more time working.

[debm55]

159. Thank you very much for that memory. That is so old fashioned. TY markodochartaigh.

[macwriter]

163. Filene's Basement in Newark

When I was a kid, in the run up to Christmas and Easter my family went to Filene's Basement store in Newark. It was a madhouse, but there were bargains plenty. I hated shopping for Easter bonnets, in particular

[debm55]

164. Thank you very much, macwriter. There was a Filene"s Basement in Boston too. My MIL would buy my baby outfits

Last edited Wed Dec 3, 2025, 04:25 PM - Edit history (1)

And ship to us.

[yellowdogintexas]

188. the Filene's in Boston was awesomel

You could get off the subway and step right into the store.
If you got out on the other side of the car, you were in front of Jordon Marsh.

Sad that Filene's is gone

[debm55]

190. I remember it well. Thank you yellowdogintexas.

[QueerDuck]

168. Sears. K-mart. Borders. Waldenbooks. Record Bar & Tower Records.

[debm55]

169. Thank you very much for sharing your selection of stores. I really liked Borders. TY QueerDuck

[jmowreader]

172. The Crescent in Spokane, WA

I think the people running The Crescent wanted to be Spokane's Macy's - this was back when the only traditional department stores in town were The Crescent and The Bon Marche.

Like the Macy's on 34th Street in New York City, The Crescent had this enormous display window that a Christmas display would be built in. About a month before what is now called Black Friday, they'd cover it from the inside and build the display - which was unique every year. The day before Thanksgiving the store itself had no trace of an indication Christmas was coming. On Thanksgiving Day, it was tradition that all employees report to work to reset the store for Thanksgiving - and when they were done their families were allowed to come in and the whole bunch would be served the most deluxe Thanksgiving dinner imaginable. (Strangely enough, the employees thought this was an honor to do.) At something like 6am, the townspeople would be gathered in front of the store for the window unveiling and opening the store to reveal the Christmas Wonderland it had become. IIRC they kept the place in holiday mode until January 1 then set it back to normal.

[debm55]

173. Thank you so much. That sounds so wonderful and beautiful. Thank you jmowreader for sharing. It sounds like a winter

wunderland.

[Mad_Dem_X]

175. Sears and K-Mart

[debm55]

177. Thank you very much, Mad_Dem_X Mine too for shopping. I liked the larger stores for their decorations. I never bought

Last edited Thu Dec 4, 2025, 01:02 PM - Edit history (1)

anything, But the decorations brought joy to my heart.

[The Blue Flower]

176. Hudson's at Northland outside Detroit

My family didn't celebrate Christmas, but I remember what a delight the decorations were. Red, Green, and SHINY.

[debm55]

179. Thank you very much. The BlueFlower. Yes, I loved the decorations inside the store and the looking at the store windows

[pandr32]

178. I was a Canadian kid...

so we shopped Woodward's and Eaton's, and if we went into greater Vancouver (we lived in West Vancouver) we would visit the Hudson's Bay store. Gorgeous, elaborate window decorations seen from the sidewalk in front of the Bay (Hudson's Bay department store).

[debm55]

180. That sounds wonderful . Thank you very much pandr32 for sharing with us. Is Hudson Bay still around?

[pandr32]

182. No.

Some corporation took them over and ran them into the ground. I think the last few stores closed in June of this year.

[debm55]

183. That's sad. It sounded like a very nice store.

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[pandr32]

187. It was founded in the 1670s.

It should have been considered a Canadian heritage something or other—an institution.
Got to slice and dice quality and service— the corporate capitalist way. 😩

[Deminpenn]

181. Kaufmanns, Gimbels, Hornes, Sears

We went to their nearby stores at the malls.

Back then the mills were booming and all the small towns had vibrant downtowns. We shopped at most of those stores, too.

[debm55]

184. I agree. Deminpenn. We would get dressed up to go to McKeesport to shop. Mckeesport had a variety of stores and even a

Christmas parade. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.

[Deminpenn]

185. The stores were open until 8 or 9 on Friday nights

It was a big deal to go downtown that night and shop. Oh well, the only constant is change.

[debm55]

186. Yes, Thank you Deminpenn. I simply loved their decorations.

[yellowdogintexas]

189. We did all our shopping in Tennessee either in Clarksville or Nashville

Clarksville had these old timey stores, 3 or 4 stories tall with the pneumatic tube to send the money up to the office.
There were two of them I can only remember one of them McNeal and Edwards.

Nashville had Harvey's, Castner Knott and Cain Sloan's

I Cain Sloan is now Dillard's and Castner's was also bought by Dillard's Both of the downtown locations have now been closed. Harvey's closed in 1984.
I used to love being in downtown Nashville during the holidays. Cain Sloan covered their windows until after Thanksgiving when they would raise the drapery to expose the special window decorations. They had the best windows.

The closest town to us had a Ben Franklin and Bentley's 5 & Dime which is where we kids actually shopped.

[debm55]

191. Thank you yellowdogtexas. I am unfamiliar with the stores except for Ben Franklin and the 5 and 10 store. The window

Decorations sound great.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

192. Kaufmann's or Horne's here in Pittsburgh

Both GONE now.

[debm55]

193. Thank you some_of_are_sane, I live 10 miles SW of Pittsbugh. Very near the once was Century III Mall. You can add

Gimbels to the closed Downtown stores.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

194. I FORGOT GIMBEL'S, YES!