[GothicPrincess]

I tried to find a thread for this store but no luck, so here is one. I found this gem on a book I ordered off of e-bay...


There was a Hills dept store here in Greensburg, PA, which is now a Burlington. No labelscars, the building was re-done. Kind of depressing, I don't know much about this store other than what my husband has told me, and on wikepedia. I showed him the book and he nearly fainted lol he remembers Hills fondly from his childhood, the way I remember Bradlees.

[Andrew T.]

I miss Hills: They used to have a large regional store presence; particularly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Hills was bought out by Ames in 1998, who soon converted and reopened all the stores under their own banner (thus explaining the lack of labelscar). This proved to be the end of both chains, as Ames promptly plunged into debt and became a historical footnote in 2002.

I always enjoyed shopping at Hills as a kid: I remember them having the largest toy selection of any department store! I also liked the snack bar near the entrance: At the time, I thought it was novel how they served food right in the store.

[GothicPrincess]

The Hills here never went to ames. they just closed up and eventually burlington moved in. There was an Ames behind Westmoreland mall that was a Zayre before that. As far as I know, from what I've heard, the Hills just shut down. I'm not entirely sure if this is true or not, I'm not quoting anyone. But I've been looking for old labelscars on buildings around here. Anything...lol

[umtrr-author]

They were in Western New York also. Several Hills stores were in Rochester and I believe that they may have been Two Guys before and Caldor after.

[ahbb18]

Hills
Fan Site: http://www.hillsstores.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hills-Dep ... 2491012242
T Shirt: http://www.80stees.com/products/Hills-T-shirt.asp

Ames
Fan Site: http://www.amesfanclub.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ames-Depa ... 4249247603

[TenPoundHammer]

Hills had a brief presence in Michigan; I would say about 1988-1993 at the most. Their distribution was weird, too. Here are all the ones I know of:

*Saginaw, Gratiot Road: Former Yankee->Zody's->Tradeway. Was only Hills for 3 years, now a relocated Kmart.

* Saginaw, Tittabawassee Road: Later Handy Andy, torn down for Lowe's.

*Flint, Pierson Road: Also a former Yankee->Zody's->Tradeway. DIvided between Kessel (now Kroger) and Family Dollar.

*Flint, Court Street: Former Yankee->Zody's as well, but I think it closed before Tradeway. Cut up into small stores such as Dunham's (since moved) and Family Dollar.

*Grand Rapids, Eastbrook/Centerpointe Mall: Now Menard's. Strangely, this was built behind what used to be a Woolco, making this one of the only malls I know of to have had two different discount anchors.

*Grand Rapids, Clyde Park.: Now Value City Furniture.

*Grand Rapids, Plainfield Ave.: Later Handy Andy, last known to be vacant.

*Kalamazoo, West Main Mall: Talk about an oddity. This mall's first anchors were Federal's and Grant City, which respectively became Zayre and JCPenney, then Jewel after JCPenney left. Zayre hung on until 1989-1990, with no other tenant taking it over. The majority of the mall was then torn down for a Hills, which didn't last long and became Menards as well. When Menards moved, its building became MC Sports and Harding's Supermarket, which had previously been in the former Grant's/JCPenney/Jewel slot. The former Zayre was then torn down for Lowe's, and the former Grant's/JCPenney/Jewel/Harding's building is now a Kohl's.

*Portage: Also now a Menards.

*Monroe: Anchor to Frenchtown Square Mall. Now a Target.

*Holland: Divided between Menards and Save-a-Lot.

*Jenison: Later Handy Andy, now Hobby Lobby.

*Muskegon: Don't know where it was.

Also, I think there was one in Adrian that became a Kmart.