As of early 2019 the old toys r us is now a Gabes. The part of the shopping center to the right was the original Hickory Walmart. The shopping center opened around 1987 and I think the Toys R Us came along in 89 or 90. Kids R Us was in the back left.
Media Play was awesome and I remember it being kind of a big deal when it opened in Hickory. Then about 5 years later Best Buy opened and I think they really hurt Media Play the same way all the Walmarts took out Kmart. People are going to go for the best deal and now online shopping is taking over and really affecting these brick and mortar stores.
I live 15 minutes away from here, and seeing that old store brought me to tears. I miss it so much, and I'm glad that there's a good chance of revival coming soon.
Opened in the early to mid 90s and remodeled at the time of the Revenge of the Sith release in 2002, as I worked on the remodeling crew and remember those figures dropping while I worked there. Figured I'd try to better nail down the dates you were guessing at due to the store decor. I can't remember exactly when it opened, but I don't recall buying toys here as a child. I was born in 79, so it opened sometime after I outgrew toys (11 or 12 years old, so 1991/1992) That mural was amazing. Someone put a ton of work into it and I loved it due to the cringe it induces. It's like the characters all developed eating disorders, drug problems, steroid abuse or some wonderful combination of the 3.
Do you remember Nichols and their huge toy section? That was kind of our Toys R Us in Hickory back in the '80s. Seemed like toy stores were everywhere back then before all the Walmarts. I used to go to Brendles, Kmart, Roses and Clark's uptown. Remember the toy section down the stairs and all the bikes? There was also a good toy store in Valley Hills mall. Then it changed to KB Toys or something like that.
@@chaddeez8446 Sam that ran Toyland at Clark's was the coolest. When I was 7 or 8 he would let me see all the new toy catalogues and tell him what I thought looked awesome. That meant so much to me as a child, that it felt as if I had some agency to help pick out these new toys that hadn't came out yet. I've been searching for any photos of Clark's Toyland for years, but to no success. I even think I remember the local paper interviewing Sam and a picture of him and Toyland appeared in the Hickory Daily Record, but I can't be sure, as childhood memories aren't all that reliable. But if you or anyone that reads this and knows of any photos of Clark's Toyland please reach out to me. Nichols was ok, I remember Sky City vaguely as well. Roses and Kmart were also great toy spots, but nothing topped Clark's Toyland for me. As a kid just going down those stairs with my grandmother was just the most magical thing in the world.
@Matthew Smith That's amazing you say you live in Morganton because your English skills and bizzare formulaic writing sounds more like an overseas comment farm paid to pitch businesses in what is supposed to be a "casual and relatable" method. The problem is you don't sound too relatable or casual with that bizzare phrasing and forced language. But I guess Gabes gets what they pay for. I'm specifically not going to shop at Gabe's Department Store in Hickory North Carolina because of the use of this overseas comment farm and your benefactor using non-local advertising to save a few bucks. Further more I'll make sure to suggest to everyone I see that none of them ever step foot in Gabe's Department Store in Hickory because their management must also believe that local shoppers are stupid and susceptible enough to fall for such blatantly dishonest advertising tactics while farming out work overseas. Also that fabulously creepy but sincere Toys R Us mural got painted over so we could get this store trying to peddle 10 seasons out of date clothes with manufacturers defects. So please take your unwelcome advertisement disguised as a comment along with the rest of your late stage capitalism manipulative baggage back to the digital sweat shop from which it came.
@Matthew Smith You are literally killing me. How many of me live in Morganton? How many of me should there be? If it's more than one I'm not sure how to feel. If there is more than one do they all have to live in Morganton? Maybe they can live together and I can start an advertising firm trying to leave ads that double as relatable comments on RUclips videos. I have another question now from exploring these ideas; do I have to pay the other instances of me a livable or even minimum wage? Since they are all me can I divide one wage among them? How are the division of wages handled amongst your advertising clones? Do the clones ever fall in love with each other? Is that frowned upon in your culture? So many questions. I hardly no where to start. What if a clone escapes? Is there a Blade Runner-esque system to track and eliminate them or is it more like the first 15 minutes of Battlestar Galactica (the reboot) where they can just leave and form a new society that they eventually return from to disguise themselves as members of your advertising sweatshop? Did Gabe's Department Store pay you enough to deal with this and the implications of a post clone world? Are they complacent in opening the Pandora's box of advertising clones to wreak havoc on innocent comment threads around the internet? For the sake of our futures we must know!
My step-father LOVED going there when I was little up until it closed which made him cry for 2 whole weeks. I cried a little also, I always got all the toys I wanted from there. I got lost once when I was 4, when my stepdad went to the front to get me he was really upset but relieved that a worker found me. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced as a 4 year old. I went to that exact location
I believe this store opened in 1993. A regular Walmart was there in the late '80s and very early '90s before they built a bigger one down the road. I remember the Walmart sign and font being orange.
Or maybe it was an Orange border and the letters were brown. I remember it looking rather drab and it was WAL-MART instead of Walmart. Pharmor had the orange lettering. I really miss that store. They had great prices and you could rent videos and games there way cheaper than other places.
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As of early 2019 the old toys r us is now a Gabes. The part of the shopping center to the right was the original Hickory Walmart. The shopping center opened around 1987 and I think the Toys R Us came along in 89 or 90. Kids R Us was in the back left.
I live in Hickory. The department store to the left also used to be Media Play. I really missed Media Play when it shut down more than anything
I.DIG.WAX. Me too!
Media Play was awesome and I remember it being kind of a big deal when it opened in Hickory. Then about 5 years later Best Buy opened and I think they really hurt Media Play the same way all the Walmarts took out Kmart. People are going to go for the best deal and now online shopping is taking over and really affecting these brick and mortar stores.
Isn't this the shopping center where time tunnel used to be? It's been a few years lol Im shocked hobbytown moved
@@mangog2229 Don't remember time tunnel. What was it?
@@i.dig.wax.5805 It was a Comic Book Store. It was next to the nail salon I think.
This store Toys R Us as been turned into a Gabes in 2019 and is still a Gabes to this day 2023
I live 15 minutes away from here, and seeing that old store brought me to tears. I miss it so much, and I'm glad that there's a good chance of revival coming soon.
i live in hickory too.
Same
Opened in the early to mid 90s and remodeled at the time of the Revenge of the Sith release in 2002, as I worked on the remodeling crew and remember those figures dropping while I worked there. Figured I'd try to better nail down the dates you were guessing at due to the store decor. I can't remember exactly when it opened, but I don't recall buying toys here as a child. I was born in 79, so it opened sometime after I outgrew toys (11 or 12 years old, so 1991/1992) That mural was amazing. Someone put a ton of work into it and I loved it due to the cringe it induces. It's like the characters all developed eating disorders, drug problems, steroid abuse or some wonderful combination of the 3.
Do you remember Nichols and their huge toy section? That was kind of our Toys R Us in Hickory back in the '80s. Seemed like toy stores were everywhere back then before all the Walmarts. I used to go to Brendles, Kmart, Roses and Clark's uptown. Remember the toy section down the stairs and all the bikes? There was also a good toy store in Valley Hills mall. Then it changed to KB Toys or something like that.
@@chaddeez8446 Sam that ran Toyland at Clark's was the coolest. When I was 7 or 8 he would let me see all the new toy catalogues and tell him what I thought looked awesome. That meant so much to me as a child, that it felt as if I had some agency to help pick out these new toys that hadn't came out yet. I've been searching for any photos of Clark's Toyland for years, but to no success. I even think I remember the local paper interviewing Sam and a picture of him and Toyland appeared in the Hickory Daily Record, but I can't be sure, as childhood memories aren't all that reliable. But if you or anyone that reads this and knows of any photos of Clark's Toyland please reach out to me.
Nichols was ok, I remember Sky City vaguely as well. Roses and Kmart were also great toy spots, but nothing topped Clark's Toyland for me. As a kid just going down those stairs with my grandmother was just the most magical thing in the world.
@Matthew Smith That's amazing you say you live in Morganton because your English skills and bizzare formulaic writing sounds more like an overseas comment farm paid to pitch businesses in what is supposed to be a "casual and relatable" method. The problem is you don't sound too relatable or casual with that bizzare phrasing and forced language. But I guess Gabes gets what they pay for. I'm specifically not going to shop at Gabe's Department Store in Hickory North Carolina because of the use of this overseas comment farm and your benefactor using non-local advertising to save a few bucks. Further more I'll make sure to suggest to everyone I see that none of them ever step foot in Gabe's Department Store in Hickory because their management must also believe that local shoppers are stupid and susceptible enough to fall for such blatantly dishonest advertising tactics while farming out work overseas. Also that fabulously creepy but sincere Toys R Us mural got painted over so we could get this store trying to peddle 10 seasons out of date clothes with manufacturers defects. So please take your unwelcome advertisement disguised as a comment along with the rest of your late stage capitalism manipulative baggage back to the digital sweat shop from which it came.
@Matthew Smith You are literally killing me. How many of me live in Morganton? How many of me should there be? If it's more than one I'm not sure how to feel. If there is more than one do they all have to live in Morganton? Maybe they can live together and I can start an advertising firm trying to leave ads that double as relatable comments on RUclips videos. I have another question now from exploring these ideas; do I have to pay the other instances of me a livable or even minimum wage? Since they are all me can I divide one wage among them? How are the division of wages handled amongst your advertising clones? Do the clones ever fall in love with each other? Is that frowned upon in your culture? So many questions. I hardly no where to start. What if a clone escapes? Is there a Blade Runner-esque system to track and eliminate them or is it more like the first 15 minutes of Battlestar Galactica (the reboot) where they can just leave and form a new society that they eventually return from to disguise themselves as members of your advertising sweatshop? Did Gabe's Department Store pay you enough to deal with this and the implications of a post clone world? Are they complacent in opening the Pandora's box of advertising clones to wreak havoc on innocent comment threads around the internet? For the sake of our futures we must know!
2:22 that made me jump😂😂
My step-father LOVED going there when I was little up until it closed which made him cry for 2 whole weeks. I cried a little also, I always got all the toys I wanted from there. I got lost once when I was 4, when my stepdad went to the front to get me he was really upset but relieved that a worker found me. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced as a 4 year old. I went to that exact location
WHOA! I've actually never seen a fairly old toys r us near me.. You're actually pretty lucky you get to see that xD
Nice video!
I believe this store opened in 1993. A regular Walmart was there in the late '80s and very early '90s before they built a bigger one down the road. I remember the Walmart sign and font being orange.
Or maybe it was an Orange border and the letters were brown. I remember it looking rather drab and it was WAL-MART instead of Walmart. Pharmor had the orange lettering. I really miss that store. They had great prices and you could rent videos and games there way cheaper than other places.
That store was opened before 93 sir
i used to work there lol
Sadly it’s now gabes 😭😭😭
I think it's open late 1990s
Building built 80s
I remember buying hula hoops in there :(
Toys r us is returning to the USA 🤞
Actually no
Sheena Actually yes they are returning to the USA but right now everyone is in a lockdown because of the corona
The sign ain’t up anymore
Guys thats now gabes I went there
Once. this is my childhood.
My name is Brandon