Big Lots! Part 1

Manchester, CT store. Courtesy Mike Mozart/Flickr/Creative Commons.

 Big Lots are one of several chains closing in the coming year as part of the so-called Retail Apocalypse, cause by the events of the past five years. They have had a number of stores in CNY since the late '90s at the earliest. Ocean State Job Lot or even Japanese chain Daiso could replace some of them. I haven't gone to Big Lots myself in a period, but it is always troubling when this happens.

Current locations

Mattydale - US 11; former Tops/P&C

Oswego - NY 104; former Fays?

Utica - NY 5; former Chicago Markets/Great American

Auburn - NY 5; former kmart

Liverpool - CR 57; The Shops at Seneca Mall; former Price Chopper

Cortland - NY 281; TBD

Oneida - NY 5 & 46; Glenwood Shopping Center; former Price Chopper

Past locations

Syracuse - Onondaga Blvd, Wegmans Plaza; former Fays; now Goodwill

deWitt - NY 5; former Price Chopper; now Spectrum

Hudson - US 9; TBD (non-CNY)

Montgomery Ward

Former Montgomery Ward store in Kansas City, MO

Caldorwards4, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 Department Store December continues with Montgomery Ward. It had left Syracuse by the time I could remember, and Utica was the closest. I only got to go in Poughkeepsie (that area later got a post of its own since I picked up so much from that time). Wards survives today as an e-tailer, but that's just too easy, of course. We like to remember a simpler time when you either got out to shop or ordered from the catalogue through the post or even over the phone (I'm getting on now!). Most of these were catalogue stores as opposed to full-fledged locations, especially in smaller plazas and areas (even though the Hudson and Mohawk Valley stores were mall anchors from later years). They also owned Lechmere in their final three years, which would be better off in their own post, but I only know of a few of those stores along the Thruway corridor (including Dutchess County).

Syracuse (Lyncourt)  - Shop City Plaza; TBD (just too old to figure out exactly where it was)

Syracuse (north side) - Carousel Center (now Destiny USA) - Lechmere; later Circuit City and DSW; now Hobby Lobby

Cheektowaga - Walden Galleria; Lechmere; later JCPenney Home; now DSW*

Albany - Northway Mall, NY 5; also had Lechmere; now Target*

Cicero - Marketplace Mall, US 11 & E Circle Dr

Lockport - Lockport Mall, NY 78*

Poughkeepsie - Poughkeepsie Galleria, US 9; now DSW and Dicks; also had Lechmere*

Fulton - NY 3?

Utica - Riverside Mall, NY 5/8/12/49

Augusta, GA - Pictured*

Baldwinsville - Tri-County Mall

Johnson City - Oakdale Mall*

Cazenovia - Town & Country Plaza, US 20

Plattsburgh - Pyramid Mall, NY 3*

Menands - Office building, NY 32*

North Syracuse - North Plaza, US 11

Wilton - NY 50, Pyramid Mall Saratoga; later Saratoga Mall; now demolished and replaced by Wilton Square*

*Non-CNY

G. Fox & Co.

AI downstate G.Fox. Courtesy Meta Platforms, Inc.

 G. Fox & Co. were once the largest department store in New England outside of Boston. I heard of them in the Poughkeepsie Galleria since I used to be up US 9, being the main drag on the east bank of the Hudson between Albany and New York. However, I can't seem to remember if I had heard of them in those days since it was no longer there by the time I came to the area. The sister mall in the next county, Galleria at Crystal Run in Walkill outside Middletown seems to be the only other store G. Fox ever had in New York State (not even mentioned in the link, so I had to inform them, and I'm waiting for the comment to be approved). They were supposed to be at another Pyramid property that I know, Crossgates Mall in Albany County, but by then, G. Fox were folded into Filenes (which left the other mall down the river several years earlier, only to come back), even though rival mall Colonie Center had them already and moved around the corner. Many past G. Fox stores that became Filenes later converted to Macys after Federated acquired May Department Stores, but today, Macys are in trouble again with the events of this century and decade.

Since other chains have looked into a comeback, either brick-and-mortar or as an e-tailer only, maybe G. Fox could be next. My drawing has just three locations, but if the legal successor are facing administration and technically own the name, I might as well try with all the defunct chains that haven't confirmed any plans on returning since G. Fox was lost to consolidation and a changing industry, and it would be even harder for such a thing to make it in the current economy, even if some old rivals may have another go, but adapt to the needs of the 2020s. You never know, but G. Fox could be next.

Furry fox fantasy of a relaunch (one can dream)

Department stores in CNY

Edited Witherill's AI. Courtesy Meta Platforms, Inc.

    While I have been covering several department store chains this month, I there are more that were in Syracuse, mainly before my time, that are long gone. It's getting more painstaking to even find free photos for each one, let alone find where they even had stores. I will just list the rest in this post. I won't mention the time of year I wrote this so it's not too seasonal in nature. I have heard of these over the years here and there. It'd be hard for them to get on today when some of the larger chains are struggling right now. Only ones I don't plan on covering separately are listed, but if I do one, it will be deleted.

AI Bonwit Teller. Courtesy Meta Platforms, Inc.

Witherills (pictured at top); downtown Syracuse and Camillus Plaza (only two stores ever)

Anderson Little

Cohoes (Fayetteville Mall; now Stickley Furniture at Towne Center)

Filenes Basement (never had Filenes proper since it was sister to Sibleys and Kaufmanns, even though Filenes Basement had spun off later)

Bonwit Teller (Carousel Center [now Destiny USA newer section; including closed Forever 21]) (above)

Macys Closeout (possibly in Penn Can Mall. Smaller Macys proper downtown.)

Denbys (Penn Can Mall; now Drivers Village)

Channel Home Center (Airport Plaza in North Syracuse which was later P&C and is now Tops)

Zayre (Northern Lights Plaza in North Syracuse; later Ames and Staples; now vacant)

Addis & Dey's

AI Addis & Deys with small edit. Courtesy Meta Platforms, Inc.

 What started as two department stores in downtown Syracuse, one in the Victorian era founded by ex-pat Scottish brothers Dey Brothers, and another before the Great Depression, the Addis Company, would join forces in 1989 when both were on the way out (I remember seeing the farewell party on the news). Both buildings survive today with new purpose and businesses. Deys and Sibleys were briefly sister chains in 1987 when owned by May Department Stores and were part of the Galleries the following year, only for the latter to close the next year and succeeded by Kaufmann's at Carousel Center in the new decade. Getting back to this, here's where Addis or Deys each or the merged chain were until 1993 when the last of the mall stores just couldn't compete with the bigger names anymore.

The Addis Co. if they never merged and had a rebrand

The Addis Co.

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina St; flagship, now apartments with replica sign and building on the National Register of Historic Places (mom said she had one of her first jobs there) (pictured below)

deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall, NY 5; mall store later Steinbach, T.J. Maxx, Kaufmanns, and Macys; see below (I could go on all day on that lot)

Cicero - Penn Can Mall, E Circle Dr; closed by late '80s; see below

Fairmount  - Fairmount Fair Mall, W Genesee St; see below

The Addis Co. building today with editing

Dey Brothers

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina & E Jefferson Sts; flagship; now several businesses and soon apartments (pictured)

Baldwinsville - Tri-County Mall, Downer St; demolished by 2000s; now over-60s housing units

Cicero - Penn Can Mall, E Circle Dr; closed in 1988 for next one; now Burdicks Drivers Village

Clay - Great Northern Mall, NY 31 & 481; can't remember which anchor replaced it; Micron coming

Fairmount - Fairmount Fair Mall; demolished; now power center with several anchors like Target

deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall, NY 5; later store became Sears in 1994; now vacant pending legal action with District East building site (don't get me started!)

Glens Falls - TBD; satellite store according to anonymous tip from the Department Store Museum

Addis & Deys logo with inverted black and white

March8613, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Addis & Deys only (Capital Region) [I wonder if my relatives there ever knew or even went back then]

Niskayuna - Mohawk Mall, NY 5; previously The Boston Store; now Mohawk Commons

Wilton - Wilton Mall at Saratoga, NY 50; later the Bon-Ton; will become townhouses and luxury apartments

AI images courtesy Meta Platforms, Inc.

Close enough AI Deys (tried to prompt the logo)

Lord & Taylor

Later store on Long Island in Manhasset (now NYU Langone Health and SaksWorks)

 Since mostly high-end department stores have become a running theme here lately, my Google algorithm has just told me that one of the very first chains ever opened in the country Lord & Taylor are now the latest one to come back from the dead. They haven't been gone that long, even though COVID had affected them like so many in the past five years. Regal Global Brands (no relation to Regal Cinemas) now own the IP for what was one of the oldest names from downstate. Lord & Taylor still have vacant stores left behind, including the one they opened thirty years ago just a few miles away from home. Might as well get them all back, but I'd have to see where they are, and stick to this state, but if they're taken, see if someone else has a property to spare instead just as good. Also go to areas that never had Lord & Taylor before. Regal do plan to open brick and mortar in the foreseeable future, and I never expect any company to come here for ideas, but I'm no better than The Simpsons on any of this (although Futurama had the parody Alien Overlord & Taylor!).

Syracuse - Destiny USA (past location still available, even though I wanted close competitors Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales there before)

Albany (Guilderland) - Crossgates Mall, US 20; empty anchor (last location now Primark)

Colonie (Roesslville) - Colonie Center, NY 5 & Wolf Rd; former Christmas Tree Shops (if above is unavailable)

New Hartford - Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A; former Hess's/Kaufmann's/Macy's (although small by Lord & Taylor's standards as is the area, yet their closest rival were last in there)

Victor (Fishers) - Eastview Mall, NY 96; past location, although after legal dispute, something like Wegmans or even Patagonia was suggested by the mall owners in all but name, but will become Bass Pro Shops instead in 2026.

Henrietta - Marketplace Mall, NY 252 & 15A; former Dicks instead of above (Rochester)

Cheektowaga - Walden Galleria; former store still available (Buffalo)

Watertown - Salmon Run Mall, NY 3 & CR 100; former Dicks or Christmas Tree Shops

Johnson City - Oakdale Commons, NY 201; former Burlington (map unavailable online to check)

Big Flats - Arnot Mall, CR 75 & 35; former Hess's/Bon-Ton or Sears (Twin Tiers is also small towns)

Poughkeepsie - Poughkeepsie Galleria, US 9; former JCPenney (I haven't been over there since 2000)

Kingston - Hudson Valley Mall, US 9W; former Best Buy or Gander Outdoor (Dicks may move soon)

Bay Shore - South Shore Mall; former store (may still be available, but downstate is just too big to get all of the ones that were last open, while another on Long Island was repurposed [see photo])

New York - 5th Ave; flagship (Manhattan)

W.T. Grant Co. in CNY

Nedrow store with replica sign made with my phone

 Now for something entirely before my time, yet I've heard of from the over-60s and historical sources. W.T. Grant Co. were a department store chain that started in the Edwardian era outside Boston that was the next level after the five and dimes, but cheaper than local competitors Filenes and Jordan Marsh. Grants closed in 1976 after seventy years' time because of bankruptcy, mismanagement, and not keeping up with those times. They were common in Syracuse and around the country, mainly the eastern seaboard. Here's where they were here and two other spots, so I don't binge again, yet people may have taken the store for Grant-ed back then! (I have such cheesy puns!). Because of how long ago the company existed, I can't always put down what came after, even in my own neck of the woods.

North Syracuse - US 11 & S Bay Rd; Northern Lights Plaza

Nedrow - US 11 & Southwood Dr; Green Hills Plaza; later kmart and flea market; now vacant (pictured)

Vails Gate - NY 32; later Caldor and kmart; now Goodwill (non-CNY)

Albany - NY 5, Westgate Shopping Plaza; closed by 1974; TBD (non-CNY)

Camillus - Camillus Plaza (now Camillus Commons)

deWitt - NY 5; Shoppingtown; original plaza demolished by 1975 when converted to mall before chains closure; store replaced by Woolworths in 1978; closed 1993 and replaced by Media Play, which itself closed in 2003 and was later Black Mamba and then vacant again; mall to be levelled for District East

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina St; demolished in 1985 for the Galleries, which opened in 1988

Of course, this is the only way we'll ever see it now