The Iconic Stores You Grew up With That Are No Longer Around

Blame it on businesses that couldn't adapt to changing tastes or the convenience of shopping in your PJs. But, sadly, many once-iconic retailers are now distant memories. While some merged with other companies, a handful have attempted to reinvent themselves in the era of online e-commerce. But many simply closed their doors forever and surrendered to the march of time.

Whether you grew up shopping in the aisles of these establishments or just heard about them in stories from parents and grandparents, you can’t help but get a nostalgic feeling when you see photos of these old stores, because nothing can ever replace the feeling of going down the aisles at the old five-and-dime. (Then again, there’s also nothing like the feeling of realizing at 3 a.m. that you have to buy a birthday present for someone three states away and have it arrive there, wrapped and ready, in two days.) Are you ready to have your memory jogged with I-haven’t-thought-about-that-in-forever names like Gimbels and Mervyn’s? Do you want to lament that you can no longer flip through the pages of a book, killing a few hours at Borders or B. Dalton’s? Take a trip down the aisles of memory lane with these closed retail chains.