Retroguy 76's blog

I been a jersey resident all my life and have been in these stores as a kid but they are no more. A trip down memory lane with these stores.  Bamberger's the legendary store and its flagship on Market Street in Newark is still standing to this day despite its partner Macy's closed up shop there over 30 years ago as Macy's rebranded the Bamberger's chain in 1986 as it was part of Macy's phase of rebranding regional chains of course in the 1990's they rebranded A&S and Stern's in the early 2000's  Hahne's another Newark based chain was not too far away from Bamberger's as its flagship sat on Broad and Washington Streets. The chain lasted until the late 1980's as most of the store's turned into Lord and Taylor except for Garden State Plaza which opened the first Seattle based Nordstrom which has expanded all over the US. The old flagship was restored a few years back into retail and living space called Hahne & Co Steinbach's base...

 Back before the present day of My9 or UPN 9, There was WOR-tv 9. It was based in NYC before crossing the Hudson over to nearby Secaucus, Nj where the station was still good in the early years of  it coming to NJ but times would be changing by the mid 80's as a additional W was added and know as WWOR tv as it ended the RKO era of the channel changes continued in the 1990's as the channel took on a network The UPN United Paramount Network which lasted into the mid 2000's. Also in the late 90's Fox 5 WNYW aquired WWOR as a secondary channel which still goes to the present day. But the old days of Channel 9 were great as a kid growing up in Central Jersey can't forget Romper Room with Miss Molly or the Million Dollar Movie with the Gone with the wind theme as you saw the sights of NYC from the Roosevelt Island tram to Times Square then for you late night buffs on a Saturday Night, there was wrestling then Fright Night at 1am which that intro woulda gave me nightmares a...

 In 1865, Abraham and Straus or A&S was founded as a dry goods store in Brooklyn, Ny as the brand turned into a empire in the tri state area well not yet until the 20th century turned over. Starting out as Weschler and Abraham, The founders were Abraham Abraham and Isidor Straus in which the store bears their last names turned their small dry goods business into a full service department store which lasted for 130 years. Isidor Straus in 1912 was a passenger on the Titanic which sunk into the ocean. his remains are buried in New York once he and his wife were recovered. Brooklyn was the flagship store off Fulton Street once you head into the borough. As WW2 was ending and people started moving into the suburbs, more branches opened on Long Island as Stores opened in Manhasset, Lake Grove, Smith Haven then as the decades went Valley Stream, Garden City, Massapequa, White Plains, Yorktown Heights and Nanuet and Manhattan which turned the old Gimbels Herald Square location into A...

 During my time doing Automotive Photography, I often went to a lotta car events. Ever so often, I would see a car I remember as a kid. Here are some cars I have seen over the years. Best bet is to go to cars and coffee events in you area                                                                     Toyota Celica Supra                                                                           Isuzu Impulse                                        Chevy Celebrity/Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera/Pontiac 6000         ...