Jobs IRLDecoding DemocracyA Warmer WorldI've Always Wondered ...

Loading...

0:00
0% played

Vanishing America

Marketplace remembers the local establishments, national chains and other features of the American landscape that have disappeared from today’s economy.

From This Collection

Vanishing America

Remembering Downriver Rookie, a beloved Michigan sports-card shop

by Rose Conlon
Sep 1, 2021
"You can almost smell the cards when you think about it hard enough," said high school teacher Ken Cameron.
Ken Cameron still has the baseball cards he bought at Downriver Rookie. "Baseball was such a part of my grandfather's life, my father's life, my life," he says.
Courtesy Ken Cameron
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Vanishing America

Remembering art supply store Pearl Paint, a mecca for New York artists

by Rose Conlon
Jul 28, 2021
Architectural lighting designer Sylvia Olmos talks about her personal connection to the famed art supply store.
Pearl Paint, an art supply store in lower Manhattan, was an institution for artists until its closure in 2014.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Vanishing America

What happens after a beloved fabric store closes?

by Rose Conlon
Jun 14, 2021
Hancock Fabrics, with its rows and rows of possibilities, was a fixture in the lives of many, including Joanna Clark of Brunswick, Georgia.
Hancock Fabrics was one of the country’s largest fabric retailers. The company announced it was closing its stores in 2016.
Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Vanishing America

Remembering the iconic store Thrift Town

by Daniel Shin
Jun 9, 2021
Beatrice Hogg talks about what she remembers and misses about her local Sacramento Thrift Town.
Like many local shops that live over generations, Thrift Town became a landmark to some in the Sacramento region.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
EEC: Documentary Studies

What was so great about Blockbuster? A lot, say fans

by Rose Conlon
May 20, 2021
Marketplace listeners remember the beloved video rental store.
David Friedman/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Vanishing America

Remembering the hobby shops of yesteryear

by Rose Conlon
May 3, 2021
“A really wholesome cheap thrill”: A listener on the joys of model rockets and the the hobby shops of his youth.
"It's a really wholesome cheap thrill," Marketplace listener Ted Dupont said about launching model rockets.
Courtesy Max Myers
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Vanishing America

"I could just get lost in the place": Remembering a Connecticut sheet music store

by Rose Conlon
Apr 6, 2021
Piano teacher Victoria Reeve shares what Foundry Music meant to the New Haven community.
New Haven piano teacher Victoria Reeve in front of the now-closed sheet music store Foundry Music.
Courtesy of Victoria Reeve
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For public good, not for profit.

Donate
Vanishing America

Why Fry's Electronics was more than a store to many

by David Brancaccio and Rose Conlon
Feb 26, 2021
The ailing tech store closed this week, devastating longtime fans.
"It was this magical wonderland where pretty much everything with a power cord was on sale," said Parker Hall, a product reviewer for Wired.
David McNew/Newsmakers
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE