Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: closed

This is an abandoned Ames store, which if I'm not mistaken is in Binghamton, NY. It really is a sign of the times when a semi-big-box store like Ames goes out of business. Ames was successful throughout the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. from the 1950's through the 1990's, but eventually went out of business in 2002, in spite of having absorbed competitors like Zayre... www.flickr.com/photos/jarchie/3468192709/ In my area, most of the Ames stores of the 1990's had been Zayre stores in the 1980's. The fate of the company's old properties remains undetermined for the moment, although when I call this store "abandoned," I mean by the owner. I'm sure that there's someone somewhere who owns it and still wants to rent it out.

Here's what was left of the ticket window, left pretty much as it was.

This is the satirical obituary I mentioned earlier for the Luzna ticket office. "As her beloved mother's eyes are dripping tears over the last ticket as the end of last light goes out in the closed window... With deep sorrow we announce to all our friends and loyal passengers, she has passed away from us our dear and beloved daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, great grandmother. The Personal Ticket Window of the railway station at Luzna u Rakovníka. Inflicted on us suddenly without reason, or fault of our own on September 27th, 2010 at the age of nearly 140 years. May the wishes of the deceased's last goodbye take place quietly in the circle of the last few survivors. On behalf of the afflicted survivors: the railway station staff at Luzna u Rakovníka and the traveling public."