22-Year "Danbury Fair" Mall Neon Sign Replaced

Welcome to the new Danbury Fair Mall.

As we've mused before, the emblematic vintage neon "Danbury Fair" sign is now gone.

The funky sign, which was erected (shortly after this preview sign) at the opening of the Danbury Fair Mall in late 1986 once stood at the outskirts of Danbury Fair Mall and once conceptual three-level Macy*s area has been removed after twenty plus years of the mall's lifespan. The staple of the two-level regional shopping mall acquired by the Macerich property group in 2001 from its originator, Wilmorite Properties, slated a long overdue remodel on the interior of the aging mall as planned with many of its existing and acquired properties back in mid-2007 which sought to do away with the mall's aged tones of browns and tans.

Danbury Fair Mall, built upon the fairgrounds of the once Danbury Fair was modeled after the Danbury Fair with like colors, tent-like architectural mirror inside and other "fairly" reminscent design elements including bulb-lighting stroon about the mall's stretching double corridor's length of shopping terrain. The nexus of the mall's homage, located within the food court, is the carousel, formerly used at the Fair.

In late 2007, developer Macerich announced a major year-plus interior remodel, which sought to do away with much of the mall's aging 80's decor including the mall's olympic-sized (as Labelscar might refer to it as) concourse fountain and stage area. The move, which sought to add an earthtoned vibe to the center also attracted a bevy of new upscale tenants, rumors of a decaying vacant Filene's to find life as Nordstrom's (still unconfirmed) driving some veteran ones out, in order to raise the cliente a la what Taubman has done with Westfarms recently.

Here are some visuals into the new era of Danbury Fair Mall, taken (almost exactly one year ago!) April 2008. For a detailed photographic transition of the Danbury Fair Mall's original look, head over to our Flickr for many photos from 2007, right before the remodel.

The Caldor Rainbow caught a night glimpse upon a passing on I-84 by in mid-January 2009. Last year, we raised awareness for the mall's management to at least considering saving the historic sign, which by today's standards might not be much but we'd just hate to see any identity with neon flare go away.

We made attempts to contact Macerich for a story we prepared back in December 2007, but never received a response (bureaucracies).

We instead got a cold response upon our arrival to Danbury Fair Mall on March 27, 2009 for our pictures of the new sign.

Shortly after we took our shots, we were greeted by a security SUV who immediately inquired about our camera-toting activities. After a brief, routine exchange of being reprimanded, we complied with the [unwritten] no photography rule and went on our marry way.

But he wasn't done.

The guard, who incited further argumentative fracas didn't care for our failure to explain our motives or the contents of our digital media suddenly ordered an increasingly annoyed yours truly to leave -- no "get out" of the mall's property (followed by him following my car off the property). The guard (who will remain unnamed) tried to explain his reprimand by claiming "private property" universally bans any kind of photography, even if it's open to public invitation. Respectfully, we left but not without a fight.

Next time, if Macerich (or any other private outlet who allows the public for any reason onto its property) has a problem with people snapping leisurely photos on its property, you might want to put up signs or some kind of notice on your website or something before calling your clip-on tie wearing bullies. As a long-time guest of this mall, and one whose taken a bevy of photos here in the past is ashamed of Macerich and it's unprofessional, thuggish staff.

If any of you know when the original sign was taken down, had a similar run-in with security, throw down a comment or two.

Dayville Ames Remains After Six Years of Vacancy

Residents of the Killingly area might know it well as a common dilapidated site on the Hartford Turnpike, shortly off Exit 93 along I-395 of one post-mortem Ames.

The Dayville location, a small town beside Killingly, opened its doors in July 1983 as one of the first Ames stores in the state along with one in Naugatuck. Unlike Naugatuck, whose lived on as a relocated site for well-known New Englander closeout Ocean State Job Lot (like many former Ames sites), the long-vacant Dayville location is still rotting away while the otherside of I-395 flourishes with the new Killingly Commons shopping center which include such major tenants as Stop & Shop, Target and Lowe's.

Upon the site, in a real dead zone, we sighted an independent fish market (who was looking on as we shot our pictures) selling out the back of a truck, a truck stop and a breeding ground for bird life. A lone, rare, rusted red Ames shopping cart filed with trash was stranded on the outskirts of the store's lot among a field of potholes and melting ice. Nearby , towards the road is a small vacant strip plaza with a Carvel, across the road an old but repainted "shingled" Dunkin' Donuts, and further across the way a vacated, boarded-up McDonald's, a vintage diner and a closed up supermarket beside the Ames.

The Caldor Rainbow took a ride over to the "country" or northeast Connecticut in the town of Dayville, Connecticut this weekend, arriving near sundown for somewhat cold, windy session. Our first trip to Dayville might be our last but was one of the more intruging shoots we've done in our Ames chapter.

THE SEYMOUR STORE, STILL VACANT IN FEBRUARY 2009.

As of February 2009, Ames still has two fully intact vacant locations left in the state; Dayville and Seymour, with one partially vacant in East Hartford.

View the full gallery of our Dayville shoot and check out more of our Ames pictures on Flickr and on The Ames Fan Club.

Agawam Ames Becomes Dave's Pet And Soda City

It's been a while since we've discussed Ames.

Yes, Ames, the late green (once red)-clad discounter that ended its decades' run succeeding the troubled Framingham, Mass.-based Zayre chain to which it gobbled up in the late 80s met the same cancer as rival northeast discounters Caldor and Bradlees by the millennial swing. After a story published back in 2007 (to which The Courant used as a footnote on a story on the chain) about the remaining locations still vacant in Connecticut, six years after the chain folded, sites are eventually becoming swept up by future tenants here and abroad.

Connecticut is currently host to roughly three intact former, vacant Ames locations in SEYMOUR, EAST HARTFORD* and DAYVILLE. The chain, formerly headquarted in Rocky Hill, Conn. (still vacant, by the way) entered Connecticut in July 1983 with its first two stores in DAYVILLE and NAUGATUCK. By year's end, the store had accumulated to six total stores all over the state.

In March 2006, we took our first voyage to the former Ames in AGAWAM, MASS. along Springfield Street. The small town of Agawam, which is well-known for its adjacency to the West Springfield-hosted The Big E as well as its border to Connecticut, at one time, contained two Ames stores. The original store was located along Suffield Street, now home to a weekend-only independently operated flea market, relocated into a former Zayre up the [Springfield] street by the late 1980's.

Upon that first jaunt, we didn't leave empty handed. A genuine artifact was secured; a "receiving sign" was apprehended after minutes of painstakingly brisk temperatures, prying the sign off the vacant building with a penny and a dime. Our triumphant testimony was reported on The Ames Fan Club forums on March 22, 2006.

"Went to the Agawam, Massachusetts store this morning and did an updated photo shoot. I found this store to be quite fascinating from your galleries and took quite a bit of the building which still lies vacant. I saw a receiving sign and after a first failed attempt, I went back and got a penny, then a dime to unscrew the rusty screws from off the wall. Five minutes later full of thwanking metal sounds and achy hands and now it's mine."

The store, which had been vacant for almost a decade outskirts a diseased, ghost-town plaza had finally found a successor. Local entrepreneur Dave's Pet and Soda City (like chicken and waffles) moved into the former husk, which is historically sound as a genuine, largely intact Zayre store model from the 1960's.

Following renovations by Dave's, the store no longer retains its exterior roots.

THE FORMER AMES SITE AT SPRINGFIELD STREET, TAKEN JUNE 2007.

But, thanks to a robust photo set by Chris Fontaine, founder of The Ames Fan Club, we can see various unchanged traits evident within the building. Patrons are now welcome to shop at Dave's after many long years of looking through the glass as a vacated Ames.

Zayre stores came in a few main variants during the 60's and 70's; one such was a "winged facade" look. When the store became home to Ames, a few adjustments were made including the shrouding of the frontal large glass window panes which showcased the store's glorious innards (and rows upon rows of buzzing fluorescent) from the streets.

You can see a slew of amazing, vintage full-color shots of Zayre over on Pleasant Family Shopping to get an idea of what Zayre was like in its heydays (before the dilapidation ages of its elder life).

For more photos of the metamorphosis of the Agawam locations, swing by The Ames Fan Club were you can see my own collection as well as others including Chris's.

Dave's Pet and Soda City has three other stores in Hadley, Northampton and Springfield.

*EAST HARTFORD store has vacant entrance, no more signage but evident window decals. Space has been subdivided into Petsmart (left) and TJ Maxx.

"Friday Knights" Look Back On Toys "R" Us

Plug time! Most of you may be unaware of my buddy Nick Fusari and I's talkshow or "podcast" (for neo-media aged folks) Friday Knights of the Round Table.

We began this endeavor a few months ago whereby we discuss various topics pertaining to all thoughts of sorts broken down into segments. Our show, relatively new, is still morphing into everything our hopes and dreams will allow and I have, in a few instances, had worlds collide as I've plugged The Caldor Rainbow in the few of our ten episodes available on 17 Studios.

Recently, we've introduced a new segment on the show pertaining to nostalgic ventures by which we discuss Toys "R" Us and our memories spent with the chain in its final glory years of the late 1980's and early 90's. Some of those past-present clashes include the beloved rainbow-striped frontage into the boring white looks of today's stores, the video game ticket/slip system and the wall-to-ceiling board game selection: all of which have gone by the wayside in today's Toys "R" Us. While I could've spent a lengthier time on the subject, we stamped it down to just five minutes of time [out of] mind travel. Great Scott!

Our tenth episode features this new segment we've generically catagorized as "Nostalgia" for now but the entire episode has a overwhelming retail theme whereby at the top of the hour we shootout thoughts on the Sonic restaurant chain and the now late Circuit City (sorry, the segment was cut from the final version) most of the information I mirror in my recent Caldor Rainbow article.

Hope you enjoy it and spread the word and a somewhat rare "live" media appearance by myself (on the left). If you've got suggestions, complaints or ways to bolster our show, throw us an e-mail.

We're still growing, morphing, mutating!

Roy Rogers Rides No More In Manchester

Like a sepia sunset, The old-fashioned burger-n-fries chain Roy Rogers is done in Manchester. Over done (bad joke?). The franchise-operated quick-serve restaurant well known for its roast beef, chicken and burgers (or likeness to Arby's and/or Wendy's) has shuttered another Connecticut location all under the radar.

The 394 Tolland Turnpike location, located a few short turns off I-84 (Exit 63) in Manchester has been found closed by The Caldor Rainbow (and additional thanks to a reader tip off) and at such short notice. One could certainly pin this one on the shuttering economy round-up as it's owner seems to have packed up and run.

THE LATE MANCHESTER, CONN. LOCATION IN JULY 2008

Back in February 2007, Roy Rogers' franchise owners closed up many of its locations in the state including one we covered on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington, which closed up abruptly has since become new life as Arby's. One such on Route 5 in North Haven followed the same fate, shuttering silently. Over the past decade, Roy Rogers has trickled down, losing market share to other fast food restaurants who've prospered much in its place; namely Wendy's and recently Arby's.

THE LATE MANCHESTER, CONN. LOCATION SITE IN JULY 2008

ROY ROGERS WOULD BE ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE-Y: SITE MASTERS DISGRACEFULLY CAUGHT SLACKING OFF, KEEPING DEFUNCT LOCATION ON THE STORE LOCATOR

Thought their website has a 2003 stamp on it, there's no reason to perpetuate lies! Somebody tell the sleepy webmaster to remove the Manchy location off the locator.

Roy Rogers leaves one lone location in the state: all the way up in North Stonington (still under construction?) or one shortly over the Massachusetts border in Sturbridge. It's to the entrepreneurial spirit to keep Roy's dreams of serving grease-laden burgers and fixin' bars to truckers and travelers alive!

The former Manchester location will live on: reportedly soon tobecome an independently-owned Indian restaurant.

ROY ROGERS TIMEWARP AT A REST STOP ON I-90


ROY ROGERS ROCKFACED RECEPTACLE TAKEN AT FORMER NEWINGTON LOCATION

All photos taken by THE CALDOR RAINBOW.

Everything Must Go At Circuit City

Say goodbye to yet another retail electronics giant, Circuit City. As you've heard, the chain has announced everything must go, announcing chainwide liquidation this past Friday January 16, 2009.

Yes, the monochrome roulette of retail's death bringer follows one of the most crippling retail seasons in recent time of 2008 and into 2009, and no more than a few weeks after the company announced a mega-sized dose of doze, as expected, the struggling second-best electronics retailer has announced it's seizure to retail la-la land shortly after the post-Christmas season, joining the ranks of other big namers who've folded in recent years (and months, for that matter) including the a 90's boomer chain from New York Nobody Beats The Wiz (later remarketed as just "The Wiz"), CompUSA last Christmas season of '08 and most recently a Massachusetts-based hi-ender Tweeter Etc., whose success mirrored hi-fidelity electronics of the 80's.

TWEETER ETC.; MANCHESTER, CT JUST WEEKS BEFORE CHAINWIDE CLOSURE


TWEETER ETC. FORMERLY AT THE STRUGGLING WATERFORD, CONN. CRYSTAL MALL (TAKEN JAN. 2007)

The chain recently opened stores in Enfield at the Stateline Plaza; placing a years vacated Media Play and most recently a concept "The City" in Torrington in 2007 at the Torrington Fair Plaza replacing Sears Hardware.

"THE CITY" CIRCUIT CITY NEWLY BUILT IN TORRINGTON (TAKEN SHORTLY BEFORE OPENING IN DEC. 2007)

Other stores in Meriden weren't too long leased in a revamped, former Waldbaums plaza outskirts the nearby mall while others with aged looks in Manchester , Trumbull and North Haven had toughed it out through the 90's. Orange had been the one store to close just before the Christmas shopping season at the cusp of 2009.

A NOW YEAR VACANT COMPUSA IN MANCHESTER WILL LIKELY STAY THIS WAY FOR A WHILE LONGER (TAKEN DEC. 2008)

While my own thoughts reflect that of many of Circuit City's harshest critics, and not just for a move that damaged the chain's corporate image, my views are shared on a consumer angle as well as many of its stores struggled to capture the unique flair and competitive model that many prefer in the flashier competitor Best Buy. Heck, that's not too far from a bitter Consumerist's editorial perspective...

It hasn't always been that bad, has it? We never cheer any chains' demise (unless they are truly dreadful organizations, to which Circuit City brushed with years back) so we'll miss them. In a troubling retail economy, it's a time unlike recent years when the slacker chains will have to pay up or pack up as we've seen. With even prominent names like Circuit City going, how far long before some of the suspect chains start shuttering underperforming stores (Kmart and/or anything under the Sears umbrella comes to mind...)

So whose left to take on Best Buy? With all the cleansing that took place in just the last year, premiere electronic giant Best Buy lives on to dominate the market with very little competition on the same level. It seems their closest game is now on par with the department retail market a la Walmart and Target.

The Caldor Rainbow will soon collect an array of vacant storefront shots to better remember the chain's impact on the retail sphere in coming months.

Share your thoughts...

Title image by The Caldor Rainbow; Orange, CT.

Retro Toys "R" Us; Bowling Green, Kentucky

Reader Jessica Nielsen threw us an e-mail and accompanied gallery of photos of yet another left-behind Toys "R" Us located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It would appear apart from the stripped-away rainbow bars along the front and a white-washed road sign, this store would be a spitting image of it's original look from twenty years ago. According to the town's assessor database, the store was built in 1989 as a Toys "R" Us-Kids "R" Us hybrid.

Road sign of BOWLING GREEN store

Classic Jeoffrey sign of BOWLING GREEN store

Orange Entrance sign of BOWLING GREEN store

THE BOWLING GREEN store from space; Courtesy: Live Maps.


THE BOWLING GREEN store pictures; Courtesy: the Warren County town assessor.

Jessica, who shot the series of superb shots, tells in her e-mail "The building is white brick and appears that the rainbow boarding might have been removed at one point." At that, she's correct. Like some other older stores, like one in Durham, N.C., the once rainbow-pallette along the store's front has been removed. But when?

If anyone else remembers the Bowling Green store, tell us more about it. If we missed a store, notify us. You can refer to our list of known old-school stores.

Retro Toys "R" Us In Tallahassee

The Caldor Rainbow reader and fellow retail enthusiast who traverses the circuit of mall-related blogs, Jack Thomas, has provided wonderful on-site pictures of a known, old-school Toys "R" Us in Tallahassee, Florida. This update comes off the heel of a recent retro round-up.

The retro store, likely built in the late 80's (our guess is 1986), located along Appallache Parkway seems to contain all the elements from the store's conception: the signature brown "mansard" roof, rainbow-stripes (not repainted!) and even a pastel-colored road sign these oldies typically contained. Thomas ensures us the photos are recent, taken in December 2008. The Caldor Rainbow discovered the store back in March 2008 via our eye in the sky.

To get some perspective, here's the store shot from the sky, courtesy of Live Maps.

Oddly enough, there's no Jeoffrey sign anywhere on the building nearby but we assume with Florida's frequent, rampant weather patterns, it's likely the mascot's plexiglas iteration had been destroyed or mangled over the course of the store's 20 plus year run.

The Caldor Rainbow suspects other stores with left-behind looks in Bradenton, Orange Park and Gainesville. Check out The Ames Fan Club Forums for satellite imagery.

Retro Toys "R" Us Round-Up

It's been too long since we've featured a Toys "R" Us related update, and thanks to plenty of badgering by our own reader Jonah Norason, a regular who always provides worthwhile feedback in our mall sphere, he provides us with his own array of photos captured from a vintage store still out in Waco, Texas, which appears to resemble one such store in Horseheads, New York and a now (still?) vacant one in Battle Creek, Michigan.

WACO, TEXAS: STILL FEATURES RAINBOW-STRIPED CURTAIN MOTIF, RETAINS JEOFFREY SIGN; AN ENDANGERED SPECIES (IMAGES: J.NORAHSON)

The Caldor Rainbow knows of most of the vintage-looking, left-behind, or unremodeled stores left in the country in large part to our own research and on-site of Ames Fan Club board member Daniel Fife, who'se just about raided the entire eastcoast in confirmation of these stores. This year, we've visited one such location in Boardman, Ohio and have no updates regarding other stores we've since exposed here including Horseheads, NY; Clay, NY and Woburn, MA. We've also got a superb set of shots submitted by Steven Swain, another friend of ours, whose taken shots direct from the Roanoke, Virginia store.

ROANOKE, VA; FEBRUARY 2008 (IMAGES: S. SWAIN)

BOARDMAN (YOUNGSTOWN), OHIO; MARCH 2008




SAINT CLAIRSVILLE, OHIO; MARCH 2008




WOBURN, MA; MARCH 2008

LIST OF KNOWN VESTIGIAL OR RETRO STORES
Below is a compiled list of stores we know of that still feature original build date design elements, though some may be painted over, signs and other features removed or replaced.

NEW YORK
CLAY
HORSEHEADS Stripes repainted white

MASSACHUSETTS
WOBURN Stripes repainted blue

MAINE
BANGOR Stripes, roof repainted white

OHIO
EUCLID (MIXED USE; STILL VACANT)
BOARDMAN Original; removed Jeoffrey
SAINT CLAIRSVILLE Stripes repainted white

CALIFORNIA
ANAHEIM (VACANT)
ONTARIO A real oldie! Roof repainted white, stripes removed
RICHMOND (VACANT) Stripes removed; roof repainted white, then green

MARYLAND
CATONSVILLE Stripes, roof repainted white

INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS / 4575 W 38th St. (VACANT) Stripes removed
LAFAYETTE Original though roof ripples removed

ILLINOIS
BLOOMINGTON Stripes repainted white
MOLINE Stripes repainted white, signage updated to "Concept 2000"

IOWA
CEDAR RAPIDS Stripes repainted white

IDAHO
BOISE Roof repainted red, removed ripples

MICHIGAN
GRAND RAPIDS
BATTLE CREEK (VACANT)
PORTAGE/KALAMAZOO Stripes repainted blue

KENTUCKY
BOWLING GREEN Rainbow stripes removed

TENNESSEE
KNOXVILLE

ALABAMA
MONTGOMERY

FLORIDA
BRADENTON Stripes repainted white, roof repainted blue
GAINESVILLE Stripes repainted white
TALLAHASSEE
ORANGE Roof repainted gray, stripes repainted white

NORTH CAROLINA
WILMINGTON
DURHAM Stripes removed

GEORGIA
SAVANNAH (RECENTLY RELOCATED, NOW VACANT)

TEXAS
WACO

VIRGINIA
ROANOKE Stripes repainted blue

WASHINGTON
SPRINGDALE Roof repainted blue, stripes repainted white

If you have an update or one we've forgotten, please inform us.

Hey, You! We like on-site photography here and since our resources limit us from traveling halfway across the country, you'd be swell to lend us your digital eye for The Caldor Rainbow and its audience. Just enter any information about old-school Toys "R" Us stores -- we've become synonymous with any information and, of course, the best images out there.

If you missed our report on the now twenty-year, classic Clay store, see it here. Look at my personal collection, a gallery of stores on Flickr. And of course, tons of user submitted pictures on the Ames Fan Club forums.

Black Friday 1978

BLACK FRIDAY is here again.

Fresh on the minds of those who dozed off from turkey (not tofurky) at the early noon hours of Thursday, they were caching up on sleep, ready to cash in on the dawn-breaking deals, gearing up for camping outside, snaking lines around buildings of the big boxers and malls early Friday morning, awaiting hearty deals and avoiding stampedes of people wanting to bombard the Walmart at 4am for a $79 giant-screen thirdworld LCD TV or quite possibly access to a Wii.

They weren't thinking about this stuff... in 1978. Or were they?

Roll your cart back down the aisle -- if you can fit it down the aisle!

The "Black Friday" retail tradition has more or less been hijacked over recent time, specifically by the material age and isn't the same as the day in history Steely Dan eluded to on Katy Lied, instead, the day is typically heralded as one of the biggest shopping days of the year. In fact, it's not, but it's the one and only day were dedication to standing long hours in frigid outdoor lines and getting sick deals on high-priced goods they may or may not get upon arriving at the gates. Don't worry about its meaning, it's "Black" largely in part of the immense volume of would-be spenders, but conversely the very climate of dead-cold darkness before conventional opening hours -- not necessarily crippling sales for retailers as you may have been lead to believe in the past.

While the term wasn't officially a household term back even ten years ago, the day after Thanksgiving is the prized grand slam, kick-off to shopping for the Christmas season -- even back thirty years ago.

However, in 2008, the retail and financial crisis of this [unofficial] holiday seem to be merging with the current dour spending climate in the U.S. (and comparable to one era of "stagflation" back in the late 70's), as well as the sour retail market amidst some big name closures and cutbacks this year. It's not likely to break tradition; meaning droves of people at the malls, especially with some retailers teetering on extinction, Walmart and Best Buy will predictably continue to lure the most bargain hunters long before, into and after the sun wakes.

The electronic age of the 2000s exploded with the "must-haves"; LCD TVs, MP3 players, all-in-one cellular gadgetry, an impossible-to-find video game console, GPS devices -- more distractions, more things people will fill their closets with and toss out before Black Friday 2009. And you know what to expect: the annual Walmart trample, the midnight tents, foaming mouthed zombies, and lines in below freezing late November temps (while asleep in my warm slumber) and newsstories of caffeine-maniacal early morning shoppers who picked up a radical deal.

Should you go, have fun shoppers and bundle up, maybe consider body armor. If you're not going or waiting it out until afternoon (like me) and you choose to stay home cozy at wee hours of morning, get a load of what consumers were saving their cents on back in good old '78 at our favorite defunct retailer Caldor: toys for the little buckaroos, portable black-and-white TVs, wood-trimmed "stereo" FM radios, power tools, hot $5 LPs (Steely Dan Greatest Hits, anyone?!) and more.

"The Big Holiday"; Caldor advertisements that ran on in the November 23 (above) and November 24, 1978 (below) issue of The Hartford Courant ("Black" Friday 1978).