Chicago

"Hey Man, is that Freedom Rock?" "Yeah, Man." "Well, turn it up, Man!!!"

Ames Department Stores Inc. was a chain of discount stores??founded in 1958??in Rocky Hill, Connecticut and at its peak operated 700 stores in 20 states. Despite some success in its later years, Ames was plagued by debt and a slow decline in sales and...

Serving hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries featuring carhop services, Dog n Suds first opened in 1953 in Illinois and grew rapidly through the '50s and '60s. Today, a few locations still remain in the Midwest.

Kiddieland Amusement Park in??Melrose Park, Illinois was home to several classic rides including the??Little Dipper??roller coaster. The park opened in 1929 but closed on September 27, 2009, however the sign for the amusement park can still be seen at the Melrose Park Public Library.

Hit a home run, tie the game, get a waffle iron from your teammates. That's how baseball works on Chicago's Northside.

Woodsy Owl first appeared in 1971 and asked Americans to take better care of the environment by disposing of trash properly.??An updated version of Woodsy was developed in the 1990s.

Family Video was in founded in 1978 in Springfield, Illinois as the Video Movie Club. The idea came about when??Midstates Appliance and Supply Company, owned by Charles Hoogland, found itself stuck with an excess of video movies as a result of being a distributor...

While it sounds like a feel good, positive mental health message, the "I'm Thumbody" campaign was, in fact, created for a financial services firm. It was introduced in 1971 and used to market various bank and credit unions across the U.S.

The Checker Motors Corporation was a Kalamazoo-based vehicle manufacture best known for making taxi cabs. The iconic, boxy sedans, roamed the streets of America's cities for most of the 20th century, before ceasing production in 1982. Though widely used by cab companies, Checker cars...

The Irish and folks of Irish decent have lived in Chicago even before it was incorporated as a city in 1837. In the following years, Irish numbers grew rapidly particularly after the arrival of refugees from the Great Famine. By 1850 Irish immigrants accounted...

They say 60 games is better than one. Sit on your porch and listen to Cubbies baseball in this great design from Old School Shirts!

Former neighborhood troublemaker, and some time loan shark, Kelly Leak became a star outfielder for the Bears.

Everyone knows all the best smugglers retire to Indiana. Now's your chance to own this awesome design that combines our two favorite Harrison Ford roles. It may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts, kid.

Red Barn was founded in 1961 in Dayton. The chain, which served hamburgers and fish in addition to fried chicken, grew to over 400 locations in 19 states before shutting down in 1986.

Spartan Mart was a discount department store chain that operated in the 1960s and 1970s.

If you survived Y2K, you can survive anything!

Steve Crane was an actor turned restaurateur. After opening the highly successful Luau restaurant in Beverly Hills in the late 1940s, he started the Kon Tiki chain in 1958. Most of these were located inside Sheraton hotels.

Crispy golden fries in two minutes was the promise made by MicroMagic, a line of frozen foods that appeared in the late '80s. "Give 'em MicroMagic now," went the jingle.

Who knows better than a skunk that smoking stinks?

ShowBiz Pizza Place was a pizza restaurant and video game arcade chain??in the '80s and early '90s. It was founded by Robert L. Brock, a Holiday Inn franchisee, who had ended his partnership with the owners of Chuck E. Cheese. In addition to pizza, ShowBiz featured...