Places

The Griffith Park Zoo opened in 1912 with 15 animals in its collection. It closed in 1966 when the Los Angeles Zoo opened. Griffith Park remains a popular recreational destination and some of the ruins of the old zoo can still be seen around...

A popular discount department store for generations, Woolworth was also famous for its in-store lunch counter.

A holdover from the 1962 World's Fair, Fun Forest ??was the place to go for thrill rides. It closed forever on January 2, 2011.

Rock-A-Hoola was the last of many names this waterpark went by from 1962 until it closed for good in 2004. It now sits abandoned along I-15 in San Bernadino County's section of the Mojave Desert.

Opened in 1954 at 10543 Memphis Ave. in Brooklyn, just outside of Cleveland, this drive-in movie theater entertained moviegoers for over 50 years.

A Pittsburgh institution, Chiodo's Tavern opened at the end of the Homestead High-Level Bridge (now the Homestead Grays Bridge) in 1947. Famous for its Mystery Sandwich, memorabilia-covered walls, and friendly owner, it became a popular gathering spot. It closed in 2005.

Halle's was founded in 1891 in Cleveland. A shopping institution for generations, it closed its doors in 1982. It is best remembered for featuring Mr. Jingeling, who as Santa's "Keeper of the Keys," and could be found on Halle's Seventh Floor downtown throughout the...

The Lit Brothers, Samuel and Jacob, opened their first department store in Philadelphia in 1891 at the corner of North Eighth and Market Streets. After adding several suburban locations, the whole operation shut down in 1977.

Founded in 1967 in Columbus, Gold Circle??was a discount department store chain??that grew to 76 locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Western New York State. The chain was dissolved in 1988.

Billed as "Orlando's number one dinner attraction," Arabian Nights opened in 1988. Tucked away on Arabian Nights Drive, off 192, its final performance came on New Year's Day 2014.

A favorite of locals and tourists alike, Wet 'n Wild was America's first water park. Opened in 1977 it welcomed its last visitors on December 31, 2016.

It was the place "where pineapples grow." A Highway 27 institution in Florida, Plantation Paradise, colloquially known as Pineapple Paradise, was a popular attraction Lake Placid on the road from Orlando to Miami.

The Bubble Room was a unique and eclectic restaurant that opened in Maitland in 1986. In 1995, Roy "Pete" Scheid bought the place, adding his name to the sign. With a decor featuring holiday decorations, old toys, and various memorabilia, the Bubble Room was...

Legend City opened in Phoenix in 1963. It was conceived as a Disneyland-style, old west theme park by local ad man Louis E. Crandall. Though it faced numerous financial challenges, it remained open until 1983.

The Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch was a Florida institution. Billboards across the state beckoned diners to the restaurant on Route 27 in Clewiston.

Stix, Baer & Fuller was a department store chain based in St. Louis. Founded in 1892, it was absorbed by Dillard's department store in 1984.

Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park located in Winter Haven, Florida. It opened in 1936 and claimed to be the state's first commercial theme park. It closed in 2009 and was replaced by Legoland Florida. The old botanical gardens were saved...

Venture was a chain of discount department stores headquartered in St. Louis in 1968. It was founded by former executives from Target and May Company and at its height had nearly 50 locations in the Midwest. The chain went out of business in 1998.

While it was known for most of its existence as the St. Louis Arena, from 1977 to 1983 it was known as the Checkerdome. Opened in 1929 it closed in 1999, replaced by the Kiel Center (now the Scottrade Center). Over the years it...

Aquarama, officially, Aquarium Theater of the Sea, was an aquarium attraction located in South Philly. It opened in 1962. Popular at first, attendance waned forcing it to close in 1969.

The Flip Side started selling records & tapes in Chicago in 1971. At its peak, it had over 25 locations throughout the Midwest. However, the rapidly changing landscape of the music industry caused The Flip Side to go out of business in 1992.

Burger Chef was a fast-food hamburger chain that started in Indianapolis in 1958. At its peak in the mid 1970s, it was second only to McDonald's in the number of nationwide locations. The chain even made inroads into Canada. In 1982, the chain was...

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...

Founded in Lexington in 1957, Jerry's Restaurant offered fast-casual dining and through the '70s grew to have locations throughout the Midwest and South.

Sick's Stadium, also known as Sick's Seattle Stadium and later as Sicks' Stadium, was a baseball stadium in Seattle, Washington. It was the longtime home of the Seattle Rainiers??of the Pacific Coast League and it hosted the Seattle Pilots??during their only major league season...

Daddy's Junky Music store was the premier destination for Boston-area musicians. Staffed by musicians, the store served the scene from 1972 to 2011.

When it was completed in 1976 it was "the biggest mall, in all the world." It thrived for years but started to decline at the beginning of the 2000s, finally succumbing to other area shopping centers as well as Internet retailers. The mall was...

Headquartered in Twinsburg, Revco was founded in 1956. For two generations, it was the Cleveland area's leading drug store chain.

Uncle Bill's had 5 stores in the Cleveland area in 1961 when it was acquired by Cook's. Ontario stores and 3 other Midwest discount chains were also bought by Cook's. The company also owned Pick-n-Pay stores but sold them in 1972. In 1976 it...

Salem Mall opened in 1966 and was Dayton's first enclosed shopping center. It boasted 60 shops and two anchors, Sears and Rike's. A 1972 expansion added a second floor adding another 50 stores as well as a JC Penny. The mall closed in 2005.