Exploring An Abandoned Ames *So Much Mold*

[@michaelb8245]

In Feb of 2019 my friend and I took a trip up to Dundalk to the Key brewery. After that we swung by the Ames a couple miles away. It was a Saturday and the flea market was going strong. So was the smell of the mold when I walked up to the front of the Ames to look inside. I couldn't believe it - The alarm was still going off, Dee Dot Dee Dot Dee Dot. So for the record the alarm was still going in Feb of 2019. Awesome revisit Wallie !! Thanks for the cool video.

[@Catmannj1]

This will go down as one of your legendary works. That was scary and wow. Glad you both got thru it without problem. Kayla is an angel to be alert for trouble. How they just left the place to go to mold city. Glad I made the time to watch this

[@rayryan90]

“Look at the front...where it says Ames real big”

[@BIendtecc]

I understood that reference

[@S1LLY_RUBY_L0V3RR]

Hills stickers though

[@Realscoutchucklenuts]

Look at the front... where it says Ames real big?

[@danestegman155]

Holy cow! I cannot understand why this AMES has not been torn down, what an eyesore! Good video! Be careful!

[@jasongallagher9547]

The cost alone is to much. Trust me. Also we would have to get dumpsters to clean it out.

[@jacobfrech288]

@@jasongallagher9547 do you know the people that own it?

[@jasongallagher9547]

@@jacobfrech288 I was listed as one of the last people on the list of managers associated with that store. So I got a few emails in regards to that store

[@doe9de995]

Id love to go looking through that old merchandise in the back to see what cool things i could find.

[@siltstridersftw]

When Kayla said that it sounded like someone was in there. I kept saying to myself, please get out of there and like now. If i heard that, I would've booked it.

[@NiteGrite]

I'm suprised that they haven't demolished the place yet

[@charliemartin-k7m]

In my area we had a old Kmart that was in this shape it closed back in 2001 but in 2017 they started to clean it all out and a year later some Carpet mill bought it and thankfully fixed it up as a storage place for there carpet.

[@jonathancreveling8699]

Maybe it isn't yet worth the expense

[@jasongallagher9547]

@@jonathancreveling8699 well the last quote I got was 500k for the roof alone not including the glass which keeps gettin broken. I was emailed about having issues with teenagers getting in here and destroying it. But all we can do is put up boards but they keep kicking them out.

[@tallo7545]

They’re going to demolish it October this year, I think.

[@tallo7545]

@Connor Odonnell I read somewhere on Flickr. Also Wallie mentioned in one of his videos too.

[@LethaWolf30]

I loved Dan Bells video on this place, I didn’t think it could get any worse since then but I was wrong. It’s really sad the alarm finally died, it was the last bit of life left in the building. It was great to see more of the building and I want to thank you Wallie for doing the explore so we don’t have to.

[@JamesJAKAZeldaboy14]

don't forget the 2 lights that were on in that video too

[@doug9066]

I remember Zayre which there was a Zayre when I was a kid in Rochester, Minnesota. Thank you for sharing Wallie & was worth watching especially since I've not seen a Ames store. 🙂👍

[@andysorensen1737]

Small world! I grew up in Rochester. Where was the Zayre?

[@taylorp360]

Zayre!!! I’m coming across old Zayre tags and such while cleaning my grandpas house, totally amazing and I’m def keeping any articles I find!!!!

[@XFIGHTINGDREAMERX245]

PetsMart in Ohio: Pretty moldy. This AMES: Hold my soggy ceiling tiles.

[@jasongallagher9547]

It's because the alarm kept going off. Due to 2 roof access panels on the roof got opened idk if someone did it or the strong winds. But all the water is mostly getting in through those. You can see the bright light in the video of you look up. Those are mostly the cause. As for the tiles and the mold. It was caused by all the moisture and humidity. It weakens the tiles and they fell. Most of the tiles date back to the 80s. So they are not as moisture resistant as some of today's. If you need any more info let me know.

[@watchensee]

@@jasongallagher9547 Actually the beginning of the 90s as this shopping center was built in 1990.

[@daytonafuntim]

Man, I was glad to hear you had respirators on! That black mold can be deadly.

[@erich84502ify]

AND a moment of silence for the alarm, RIP 2019?

[@WallieB26]

For real. I was hoping it would still be going off.

[@BoratWanksta]

That was a heck of an explore! Can't believe that place is still standing, 18 years after Ames shut down their last stores. I wonder if this was among their last stores that closed, in 2002? And so EXTREMELY bad with mold and pigeons, inside that store. In the past, I once explored an abandoned Kmart(since has become Truck World, a truck parts store) in Gary, IN, and this one honestly seemed to be a little worse believe it or not.

[@Bloodyfacejr]

Hi Wally b keep the good work up St. Petersburg Florida has a lot of old Kmart locations and Ruskin Florida has a super old big Kmart close since 2003 not deplorable. It’s something else now but St. Petersburg Florida old Kmart is Now a sprouts and at home

[@taylorp360]

Ames has always been one store brand that has interested me in so many ways. Not only because I shopped their WAY back with my grandpa when he lived in CT, but because of videos like yours where there’s so much merch left behind! I remember going to AMES before it was Ocean State Job Lot with my grandpa and he always said that Ames was SUPERIOR over job lot. He liked job lot, but Ames was always his top choice!!! I love your videos and am so thankful you post them!!! ❤️😊

[@coltongoff456]

Clicked right away when I got the notification. Another great video Wallie!

[@gerardcarriera7052]

Wow! That's really bad! I worked at Ames Corporate Headquarters in Rocky Hill, CT in the mid 80s around the time they purchased Zayre's. It was a bad company to work for. Very low pay and I was on salary but they didn't tell me until after I started working there I would have to work a full day Saturday from Labor Day to Memorial Day. Needless to say, I didn't stay there very long. The one and only good perk was the employee discount. 33.3% for everything including sale items.

[@stevent9179]

RIP AMES. How is the sign still freakin' there?!

[@dianeadkins-diorio1783]

IKR... that Ames had been closed 13 years already when Dan Bell filmed it

[@jasongallagher9547]

Because it would cost over 3k to have it taken down. And that's not including the permits. It was really great before the idiots broke the neon tube lights in the sign. It was lit for a couple years after the store

[@otieducy1963]

Very sad to see this store like that, considering how nice the store was back when it was open. My mom worked there in the late 90s up until the store closed. I remember running down all the aisles as a kid and hiding in the clothes racks. 😂

[@williamyeager7496]

This used to be my Ames. This is a second one. The first was in Eastpoint Mall. Where Gabes is at.

[@jqueen1380]

Not sure what’s still holding this place up! The mold! Yikes. Stay safe. That Ames smock!

[@jasongallagher9547]

The structure is still very strong. It's just certain sections of the roof are getting bad. But most of the leaks are do to the roof access sores on the roof being open.

[@grand_vacation]

I did some research on MY local Ames (Palatine Bridge, NY) Apparently back in 1978, Ames acquired the 40 or so Neisner Bros. Big "N" stores and thus turned to Ames. While being born in the early 90s, I only saw the building as Ames, and the entire time I thought it was a former Zayres. Interesting stuff!

[@steffyherself]

I'm trying to catch up on your videos lately, I just gotten married last week and didn't had much time to spend on YT in the last month but I'm still a simple girl, I see a new Ames video, I click. I can't believe that place looks like that 18 years later, why that place has not been demolished yet?! I love that intact signage on the outside of the building and that amount of (moldy) stuff left inside is just insane!

[@jasong3652]

Absolutely fascinating! Great video!!

[@TimurD1905]

Awesome video Wallie! I like how they had the greeting card shelves still there, the electronics department layout and the fixtures, signage and product in the back. But yeah, that store was in pretty bad shape. Do you know of any Bradlees that are abandoned in like PA or NY? They were one of my favorite retailers from back in the day!

[@jasongallagher9547]

Where you said was customer service in back was lay away this Ames was a Zayre before.and And yes we got shipments all the way to the last day. I remember locking those doors. I know the alarm went off because the punk kids kept breaking the glass. And evidently someone just crawled through the broken glass that we had boarded up. And just unlocked the doors. When I left this building last it was in no way like this. So sad

[@90scarguy]

Holy shit, I can’t believe it’s not been torn down... wow!

[@unknownuser..._...]

Yeah i know it’s crazy

[@jasongallagher9547]

Is that your Beretta. Nice.

[@90scarguy]

@@jasongallagher9547 Yah the red ones mine. I also have a yellow & green Indy.

[@jasongallagher9547]

@@90scarguy nice. Did you ever get your hands on the rare drop top one? It's really rare

[@90scarguy]

@@jasongallagher9547 No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those in person. Wouldn’t mind having one though.

[@internetkumquat4542]

Roof torn away by age, mold up to your knees and god knows what else is lurking in there, yet you still have that ambition to voyage inward. No idea what drove your desire to see it again but my goodness I doubt I'd have the same desire.

[@fihsgirl2009]

Wow! That’s crazy for all the signage and merchandise left behind. Great video!

[@StarkCountyStringer]

Awesome video, id be scared to go in with everything being right outside the doors

[@brendakrieger7000]

Thank you for sharing this❤ Cool I love flea markets! You should film that too! Yuck, I can almost smell the mold😵😷😖

[@babtotheboneproductions]

Wow! That’s a lot of mold right there!

[@108CAM]

Ames = Abandoned Moldy Empty Store

[@AFRCSD]

LOL

[@MrIceman22]

thanks for sharing wallie... wow it like the building at my old kmart budilng here in my town it`s been not touch since 2000 and never been been if the have to do anything to that building in my town it would be destoryed.. never seen something like that before wow

[@maccustoms2295]

Great video thanks for sharing. Awesome that you include a commercial at the and. Have a great week guys.

[@slackingpacking]

Wow! That place has seen better days, I wonder what was in those boxes that didn’t sell. Great video Wallie!

[@kimberlyontiveros9175]

Yeah me as well im shocked to see it like this

[@reginaldlawrence412]

WOW I can't believe they just let all that merchandise in there to rot that's just stupid.

[@Sarahlynn1304]

Exactly! What exactly was the merchandise anyways??? And why couldn’t it have been donated??

[@jasongallagher9547]

We was instructed by corporate to lock the doors no matter what on the last day. But also it was to be left in broom clean condition. That's the easy we left it. Unfortunately punks helped destroy my building. As for donations. We couldn't. Corporate office said no due to the fact of liquidation. It was supposed to be taken by value city the merchandise but never happened

[@Olivia_Roblox226]

City View Center: MY STORES ARE ALL CLOSED THIS AMES: Hold my ceiling tiles

[@scottfreeman3748]

Just amazing they have not demolished this yet

[@alanlough638]

I really enjoyed this video, Wallie! WOW! There's alot of mold in the building! I hope that you and Kayla had on the appropriate masks on when filmed inside the Ames store. I imagine that you and Kayla did though. As I heard you say that you heard water drops, I also saw water dropping in front of your video camera lens. I'm not really sure if I personally would go inside any building when there's that much mold inside. I shopped at the Steubenville, Ohio Ames store where Hills was located. I also shopped at that Hills store.

[@bjv93]

This is for sure one of your best videos. I'm glad you got to show us a lot more than Dan Bell did, this is a super interesting location. I just wish it wasn't in such horrible condition.

[@Optopolis]

*That. Is. An. INSANE. EXPLORE!*

[@StantonsJourneys]

Always respect the place you are exploring well said Wallie. I am surprised that this one is still standing in the shape it is in. Thank you for sharing this explore.

[@dannykvistad6526]

It's sad to see all these stores closed they had one in Auburn New York

[@brandonrobertson5251]

I was only in that place once cant remember where they had that Ames they probably demolished it

[@writer_chacha]

You guys are brave! I wouldn't be able to step foot in there - I'm allergic to black mold. Definitely Layaway counter in the back (I used to work at an Ames in CT).

[@HeatherHugs]

So, did you guys end up seeing other people in the building after Kayla said she heard someone talking? That creeped me out 😱

[@WallieB26]

No, thankfully we did not.

[@HeatherHugs]

@@WallieB26 Well that’s good! Glad you guys didn’t run into any trouble. That mold is insane!

[@trish2179]

HI!! LOVE U AND LOVE YOUR VIDS. You know when you just have to point something out?? The Ames is in Wrightstown, NJ. I googled Wrightsville, just to make sure you weren't in NNJ, but Wrightstown is the only one that comes up. Right off of JB:MDL. Sorry, i live in the area, so...

[@leedaniels7196]

Yes you are right.I know he meant Wrightstown not Wrightsville lol.There is no Wrightsville in NJ.Fellow New Jersean here!.

[@cynthiarose1957]

Great video. Creepy but very cool. I love how all the signs are still up. I hope you had time to check out the flea market. Thanks for the awesome explore of moldy old scary Ames. Great job

[@retailexplorationwithdanny8070]

This was sears Kmart and blockbuster video is awesome my name now is retail exploration with Danny If u remember me great video

[@brandonb.6099]

Great exploration, i also enjoyed the Ames commercial at the end of the video.

[@slackingpacking]

Update: it’s being demolished in fall of 2022.

[@claudespeed277]

Bet, did it tho? It's well past then now

[@chuckecheeseminnesota]

​@@claudespeed277 It was demolished in early 2023.

[@pepperj]

Wow a Zayre reference!! Our family place to go in the Chicago suburbs, 80s. Great video!!

[@jasongallagher9547]

You should visit my site on Facebook zayre departmentstore.

[@redrayman1977]

Hi my friend and Awesome Ames and great video bye

[@chad40wv]

You were in Dundalk just near Eastpoint Mall, is the Sam's Club still open too or was it closed too.

[@korvettes1]

It's closed. As of last year it was a furniture store.

[@WallieB26]

That Sam's has been gone for years to my understanding. A guy who worked there said its been a furniture store for years even back in 2018 when I was first there.

[@frozendragonsfan9298]

@@WallieB26 There's pigeons up there and they scared me

[@jayreed9977]

You two are awesome.. Thank you for that.. But please be safe that was bad, mold everwhere

[@ZeeMann_Retail]

Hyped for this video! Good job and stay safe!

[@letaloudone]

I find it shocking that all those years nobody busted in there and stole or rummaged threw the abandoned merchandise. My question who pays the property taxes on properties that set that long?

[@jasongallagher9547]

It is the property owner that does. I worked for Ames. And still get emails in regards to this store about violations. But I'm trying to get investors together to buy the building. And get the roof done which alone is 500k

[@Truckguy1970]

The property owners usually own several other strip malls that are still open and making money so they're able to pay the taxes on the ones that's not open.

[@mntwins28]

That mold makes it look like a fire took place. Damn

[@liam-man7265]

14:55 You probably found a Chuck E. Cheese’s cup since the Diamond Point Plaza was also home to a Chuck E. Cheese franchise, which it too is now permanently closed.

[@silverkittenx9763]

And that Chuck E. Cheese's cup has most likely been there possibly before the Ames closed. It was most likely hidden under a shelf or something. I know since Chuck E Cheese's stopped using the logo on the cup around 2004/2005ish.

[@phantomhourglass13]

@@silverkittenx9763I'm guessing the cup is from around 1999.

[@dansimon1100]

I swear I can remember a Ames in Winchester Virginia plus they had a Zayres that's where Gabriel brother is now

[@jasongallagher9547]

You are right it was Ames after zayre

[@reallathrillarainingpainov5472]

Man hopefully we can get our stores back one day i dont like ordering things online at all half the time you dont get what you thought you were theres almost always a problem and sending things back can be a pain when you don't own a printer or computer and if you do you have to wait for your money i miss being able to physically see what im getting trying on clothes before buying so ya know it fits for you !!!

[@ConservativeCoinCollector]

I'm surprised that the Ames hasn't been renovated into anything. The Ame's around my area has been turned into a Save A Lot and the other one tuned into a Tractor Supply.

[@CheapestGamer]

Part of the one near me became a Planet Fitness while another portion is a Dollar Tree. Yet there's a whole corner of the building that is empty again. It previously housed a store called Rainbow.

[@estahbear]

The. Mold.

[@joshuajerrythereviewer]

This is the first plaza I ever saw that had sams club and ames in it usually it be Walmart but Ames is their. I wonder what the closed sams club looks like inside

[@sam_the_sausage]

There are 2 Ames stores in New Hampshire, one in Seabrook and the other is in Dover, the Seabrook one still has some signage but the one in Dover is just a solid brown brick building with nothing on it

[@MxCartney_Lou]

Have you guys ever been to Alco?

[@WallieB26]

I have not.

[@alyxgraff9121]

I'm still amazed that Ames collapsed the way it did. Granted, if it were still around it would have died by 2020 anyways since most businesses are struggling now. Also wow, So Much Mold indeed! It looked like one of those areas in Fallout or Biomutant you can't explore with a hazmat item. It's surprising how much decay there is in that building.

[@paul-roblox5174]

Sadly to say this but if someone is going to buy that building they going to have to demolish that building because of mold being that bad and there's no way to fix it and I don't see way around it

[@kurtwetzel154]

As long as it’s demolished and something else is built for a store or business is fine. Nothing worse than a abandoned store sitting to rot like this. Just gives the area a bad look.

[@jasongallagher9547]

Paul. Actually you are wrong. It is a fairly easy remodel. I've had quotes. It's a simple gut out. Basically do whole interior demo. But outside stays in tact. And roof is 500k to replace. That's the quotes I received

[@jasongallagher9547]

@@kurtwetzel154 no we just need someone to commit to leases on the space then the restoration can begin. One of our former Ames just now got 3/4 leased it is sectioned of into 4 smaller stores. That's what I want to do there. We have another ghost Ames in Richton Park illinoins that is like this too. Empty still but not destroyed inside or out. All glass is still original. As is the Bolingbrook Zayre. That became century tile that is now empty. We are trying to get these stores leased and saved.

[@Truckguy1970]

These buildings are actually pretty solid. They have block walls and concrete floors and are built like fortresses. I seen ones in worse shape than this that have been saved. Usually they use small Kubota tractors to clear out all the trash, the office partitions, debris etc. then the roof gets replaced or repaired. Next they have a company that comes in with a high lift and they power wash the whole inside with special solvents to kill and remove the mold. Once everything dries up they seal everything with mold inhibiting paint and then they start over and renovate the inside.

[@entertainmentshack1933]

Hey wallie this has to be one of the worst dead buildings I've seen you took a huge risk going in there even the mold turned furry lol awesome video glad your going to do some driving videos there great I love Pittsburgh and the penguins and Steelers the building has to flattened for sure hope your safe thanks dazz from Glasgow Scotland

[@Titanic19127]

Those were leftover vests?

[@FlameDragon]

Damm that place is bad. I'd be curious to see what was left behind of merchandise though

[@crazycatlady2271]

How Horrible.in that mold festooned place--Yikes! Interesting video though! Be Carefull in these places! That Ames looks to be the stuff of nightmares. Woonder why this horrid building wasn't demolished by now?

[@joshhunyady6819]

Great video Wallie. Keep it up

[@NoCommentaryGamer6]

Just some interesting facts that is toxic black mold

[@cheaplaughkennedy2318]

Damn Wallie you really need a charcoal respirator for that . Really good segment 👍

[@WallieB26]

I had a respirator on.

[@cheaplaughkennedy2318]

@@WallieB26 👍

[@blakev3934]

I shopped in there the last few weeks before they went out of business. Unfortunately the entire shopping center is vacant and in an advanced state of decay. Neighborhood kids used to break into the store to skateboard before the mold and moisture issues started. Interestingly enough, the old Sam’s Club adjacent to the Ames sat for years until it was rented for about 2 years to film some set scenes for the HBO series “The Wire”. Most of which, where the inside scenes of the Baltimore Police Homicide Office…fun fact.

[@racheldehaan2760]

Looks so different from last time

[@Brandewey]

something odd is floating at the top of the screen at 11:59 to 12:04 maybe pigeon feather on a spider web? so since ames had an electronics department did they sell video game merch? hugs love and bee safe :D

[@teamtripledent31nextgentls94]

years later, the foundation is gone now, it's nothing but an empty not, and the Mold must be the reason why the chucky cheese's shut down, my mother cried when watching this when I showed it to her, and she got mad about the merch being left in there, it should be illegal to leave merch in abandoned store like that, possibly is.

[@joshuajerrythereviewer]

My dad used to be manager at my local Ames in Champlain New York.

[@princedkness8577]

I drive by this place every day. I hope one of these days they tear it down and rebuild something new (and useful). It could have made a great supermarket space honestly, but it’s too far gone.

[@melodybeitzel5378]

What a cool find thanks for sharing that place was amazingly bad

[@AC-hv2lq]

Is this in Essex Maryland

[@news89]

Wow. This is about as bad the Ames HQ. Also reminds me of the former Greenhouse Kroger and Sun Books. 18 years later the signage is still up.

[@kenw6361]

Man, that place is truly apocalyptic!

[@Tanneritefilledfido]

The parking lot looks like it was recently striped so money is being spent on the property. Wonder who owns those properties now

[@sparkynewman6692]

17:04 impressive set of contrails in the sky there

[@AmongTheUnknown]

Lets goooo. Just got dinner just as this video is uploaded. I'm 4 mins in, and this place just looks CRAZY.

[@kevinbakken2245]

Just a note, it doesn't help that some of the rooftop HVAC units were removed!

[@jasongallagher9547]

True that's the main cause of the leaks as well as no maintenance performed since 2002

[@DevouiDevoui]

14:56 Thats Like An Early 2000's Chuck E Cheese Cup The Chuck E Cheese Beside This Opened In 1992 And Closed In 2018 It Has Probably Been There From Someone Going Into The Chuck E Cheese And Then Going To The Ames When It Was Still Open

[@michaelhardy2803]

Amazing video

[@RetroGmx]

Curious what kind of product it was? I saw leftover food products - disgusting.

[@pizzaeaterlegostudio2405]

now thats a lot of black mold

[@Fred-xf5kx]

Hey Wallie is this the Ames that you found a green Ames vest in with a name tag on it last time?

[@Fred-xf5kx]

Oh okay I couldn't remember plus I think Nate was with him on that exploration.

[@georgetrains6168]

So sad to see what happened to the old building

[@PacificNorthwestExploratio-k9j]

Sears and Kmart are headed down the same path

[@StefaniePowersfan]

Kmart already did

[@dianeadkins-diorio1783]

Kinda reminds me of a similar Ames in Baltimore that Dan Bell filmed a few years ago...

[@DevouiDevoui]

Its The Same Exact One

[@friesareyummy]

I rarely get this disgusted by any moldy abandoned structure, but this.......this is really really next level bad. Saying it's disgusting is an understatement.

[@WallieB26]

Oh I know. You can't even imagine how bad it was in person. Literally every step was wet and mushy from the soggy tile everywhere. The only dry part of the floor was the staircase and first room upstairs. It was really bad. I do not recommend anyone going inside.

[@friesareyummy]

@@WallieB26 Oh I can't imagine for sure. Boy, that must've been a really bad experience.

[@WallieB26]

@@friesareyummy Yeah... as soon as we left we headed back to our hotel room to shower and change clothes. Our clothes smelled like the mold in that building in just the 15 or so minutes we were inside.

[@jet34thehawk]

Cool video 👌👌

[@watchensee]

At 12:54 / 19:20 that was Lay Away. I shopped at this Ames with my mother it was a really nice Ames so sad how it's been left to decay.

[@claudespeed277]

Rip the alarm, 1969-2019