Naperville is a fucking joke though. I was driving through downtown naperville on a sat in sept. and also on 59 and it is a fucking zoo. the people in downtown naperville are so snobbish and everyone drives like an asshole. All the little faggoty asses driving their mommies mercedes. Very superficial people in naperville. I have been there a dozen times over the last couple years and that was the last time. I live in Lisle and love it!!!!You could never pay me to live in that overrated town.
This video is very interesting, as it reminds me of the Kmart store in Kenosha, Wisconsin where I worked at in about the same time period. You must have had a cool store manager, as ours would have never allowed anyone to video tape inside the store.
... and I remember that our current Kmart had the auto center, but now its gone.... I also remember the cafe in the back of the store when I was little in the 80s, but they moved it to the side in the mid 90s, but now its gone. :(, but overall, still much the old Kmart I remember from the 80s-90s. :)
This is cool! Memories of how things were when I was 14 years old. :) I often wish I had of taken videos way back then of places here locally. Did you take this video? Our Kmart (well, one of them in our town still) has been here since the mid 70s, same building. Basically everything the same. I remember going in there when I was a kid. Love its still there, lots of old memories. Even the ceiling vents and floors I think are the same! :) Thanks for sharing this!
the kmart I current work at in Doraville Atlanta GA and another one in SW Atlanta, looks like a giant Big Lots or Dollar General, a very Generic Store that uses Kmart's name.
I bought some stuff there a few times. Down at the north end of that mall was one of the Naperville burnout spots. The was a big parking lot behind the movie theater, and any night there you might find Aileen Burke, Angie Davis, Tim Green, Mark Montenegro, Suzi Davis, Crystal Grier or maybe even a Sjordahl. Classic Chicago suburb burnout kids, all of 'em. It was fun time to be in high school. You kids today don't know. It was way better then. Oh and Christine Grupe, whom I've slept with...
There is one Kmart like this that opened in 1977, and was remodeled, and added onto in 1994. The checkout fixtures (except cash registers & lights) are the originals. Another one opened in 1968 in Hammond Indiana with the 60's outside look was another memorable look. That store also had a similar look inside. The LaPorte IN store doesn't look like any organically opened Kmart. That one still looks like it's stuck in the 70's with avocado green floor tiles, fixtures, & old food court.
The K-Mart in Gulfport, MS is still laid out almost just like that one (but with the addition of a Sears-Kenmore appliance section). And they even still have the old-school sign.
This was back when things were still made with some kind of quality wether it be telephones, cars TVs cellphones fans. They just don't make stuff like they used to. The 60's 70's and 80's were when things were made with quality.
Back in 1990 you could pick up a decent box fan at the K-mart in your local area. Nowadays you buy a box fan at K-Mart and you get a cheap unreliable piece of shit that doesn't last and blows no air.
this is awsome!!! I worked for kmart for 5 years and collected a lot of crap. I remodeled a lot of old stores like this and i alwys wanted to see how they looked prior to the huge remodels of the early 90's. Thanks for the tour kevin (clock #24)
This was really interesting to see. I'm a Milwaukee, WI native but I don't remember K-Marts near me looking like this.....probably because I was only 3 years old when you shot this.
Great video. That's exactly how I remember those old Kmarts with the big orange stripe and white lettering for the departments, and row after row of flourescent lighting. Thanks for posting!
I know, I miss those old color signs better than them boring BIG K. At least that location on Odgen is still alive, I remember the other ones near there that closed years ago like North Aurora on Lake St (which is now a theater) and 2 in Bolingbrook on Boughton/ Weber Rd accross the Target and other one on IL 53 south of I 55.
Hi, I accidentally hit the remove button when I was trying to respond to your comments. YouTube won't let you undelete once they are gone. Please leave them again and I'll be sure to not remove them this tima around.
Attention KMART shoppers.... That was what I used to announce on the PA at my old KMART in Phoenix Arizona. Sadly it is closing down at the end of the year. They bulldozed my old store and made the SUPERKMART. Just goes to show you,they did not know what they were doing.
I think they just closed ths KMart afew months ago didnt they? Or they were planning to. Its sad when all the good things from the past disappear and all you have are the memories. The kids and teens today dont understand how important it is to just be out there living it so they cant hold onto it as thye get older.
This video made my day. This video brings back memories of the K-Mart near Carolina Circle Mall (Torn down, now Lowe's Home Improvement). Give me a retro K-Mart like this over a Wal-Mart any day of the week. Thanks for the flashback.
@Roadgeek It also reminds me of the Okemos (MI) Kmart we often used to frequent in the 80s and mid-90's before it was shut down and before Roger Penske ruined the Auto Centers.
Wow I never thought I'd meet a fellow Okemos Kmart shopper! I have fond memories of the Okemos location and remember it quite well for being a person born in 1988. It closed around 1994 didnt? I remember it being vacant for a considerable amount of time. What was the inside like before it closed? Was it getting pretty run down or was the closure a complete shock?
omg, the k-mart near me looks exactly like this one inside and out years ago. i remember the old food court too. i can't believe they have to change everything. i missed the orange interier. thanx 4 da memories!
O! I really like the song "Hello, I Love You" by The Doors, you have it in your video, right? The K-Marts around where I live all the 'Big K' signage, I shop Kmart several times every week. One of them closed, though.
I miss hills and ames department stores but, I think hills would still be around if Ames would have not bought hills stores out. I liked hills better than ames stores.
Wow Mark this brings back so many memories. Just the other day when I saw that the Baker's Square on Ogden closed, I was thinking we should have a K get together.
Whats funny is I use to work in that same building. But not for the company K-Mart. I was there when Minards had a store at that location. But now Minards changed locations and that place looks abandon. Been that way for a while now.
I can remember that service desk area in the Kmarts in the 80's...at the one I used to go to, there was a "Tape-a-thon" reel to reel machine in this area which had probably been used to provide in-store music. I used to like to get icees and popcorn at the snack bar too.
Hello, Retrochad! BTW - I love your videos. I must have watched 20 of them last night. I am an electronics hobbyist.
Anyways, I used to own the 'Tape A Thon' Reel to Reel from the service desk at the Kmart store in my video. When the store was remodeling, I asked if I could have it since the store had converted to cassettes. It needed a few belts, and it did not sit straight on a flat surface, and I ended up tossing it out. I should have kept it though.
Wow, I can't believe you actually had the Tape-a-thon. That was a very long ago memory for me, maybe like from around 1984 or so when I was a kid. This was probably the first reel-to-reel machine I ever saw.
My guess is that it was from when the store opened around 1973. Also, all Kmarts that opened in the early 70's had great Altec Lansing amps (high voltage w/ step downs), and the speakers were also very high quality and sounding. Last I recall, the amp is still there and working. I was a manager for Kmart, so I know this stuff.
This brings back memories! I've shopped at this location since it opened in 1973. When I returned from the Army, I worked at the Carol Stream,IL store from August-Dec'75. Evidently, this Kmart didn't have the "grill" in the rear of the store like those built in the early 1970's. It did however have a deli up front. This store has been remodled many times over it's 35 year history.
The Ogden Mall Kmart did have a grill in the back center, but it was removed sometime prior to 1989. At the time, the tiles in that section of the building were a different color. Also, there was a room in back (probably part of the old kitchen) with a light switch that turned on a fan that you could not see. It had been walled up - probably the grill fan.
I love this video...it reminds me of shopping when I was a kid. Heck, I even remember the yellow-and-white clearance tags they used to use.
The Princeton, WV K mart store had nearly the exact same interior signs and decor, which it maintained to the end...but alas, the store closed in 2000 and was finally torn down last year.
Yeah, those were great days. It's interesting how all the retail stores back then did not focus on cleanliness or having things displayed perfectly. The clothing department looks like a total wreck. There are not many Kmarts left in the Chicagoland area. The one on the video is still in business but seems to be very dead these days.
This is not fair. I wasn't born until 1989 and wasn't old enough to realize just how plain, simple and fun 1990 was. I'm not a modern day type person at all. Give me the 1990s any day and any of the old department stores.
dude im really digging your videos man, i have (As i think you already know) lived in naperville my whole life, and i always enjoy watching videos like these. Awesome!
Does that kmart still have the giant round air conditioning vents?
MTLTV1765 3 days ago
Yes, it does. It has three hugh furnaces, each of which has round vents the size of a small car. They don't make 'em like they used to.
davismv 3 days ago
Back then, Kmart was great and the time period was much more fun! I need a time machine! Nice mullets! LOL
freedombear79 1 month ago
Naperville is a fucking joke though. I was driving through downtown naperville on a sat in sept. and also on 59 and it is a fucking zoo. the people in downtown naperville are so snobbish and everyone drives like an asshole. All the little faggoty asses driving their mommies mercedes. Very superficial people in naperville. I have been there a dozen times over the last couple years and that was the last time. I live in Lisle and love it!!!!You could never pay me to live in that overrated town.
bkljaydee 5 months ago
The hairstyles in this video are freaking amazing.
dark2ooth 5 months ago
oh man who can forget about poofed up bangs and the yellow horse with the caurosel right beside it
slipknot789able 7 months ago
Man, I want to shop at a Kmart store, we do not have them anymore :(
catbob15 10 months ago
Too bad you didn't get a close up of the auto center, that would have made it a perfect vid.
andrewps84 10 months ago
I've seen a picture of what the Naperville Kmart looks like nowadays.
elkinsinboxinc 1 year ago
This video is very interesting, as it reminds me of the Kmart store in Kenosha, Wisconsin where I worked at in about the same time period. You must have had a cool store manager, as ours would have never allowed anyone to video tape inside the store.
JimRotunda 1 year ago
Check out the old Pepsi machine, it looks just like the one in my garage!
JimRotunda 1 year ago
... and I remember that our current Kmart had the auto center, but now its gone.... I also remember the cafe in the back of the store when I was little in the 80s, but they moved it to the side in the mid 90s, but now its gone. :(, but overall, still much the old Kmart I remember from the 80s-90s. :)
Toni7859 1 year ago
This is cool! Memories of how things were when I was 14 years old. :) I often wish I had of taken videos way back then of places here locally. Did you take this video? Our Kmart (well, one of them in our town still) has been here since the mid 70s, same building. Basically everything the same. I remember going in there when I was a kid. Love its still there, lots of old memories. Even the ceiling vents and floors I think are the same! :) Thanks for sharing this!
Toni7859 1 year ago
this was a month before the plainfield tornado
EVANLINDEN16 1 year ago
wow this kmart is still there it old ass.
EVANLINDEN16 1 year ago
I really appreciate how the employees are dressed professionally.
Railfan2103 1 year ago
the kmart I current work at in Doraville Atlanta GA and another one in SW Atlanta, looks like a giant Big Lots or Dollar General, a very Generic Store that uses Kmart's name.
brotherbrown84 1 year ago
@brotherbrown84 Kmart is'nt as classy as it once was.
JimRotunda 1 year ago
kmart still looks the same today as it did 20 years ago lmao
ihavedsl 1 year ago
the 90s were fun!!!
TheCrushBones 1 year ago
slice o life in 90s illinois!
putdownan8dude 1 year ago
PAY PHONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
deltapunk21 1 year ago
i grew up a block away from there
allenoshdog 2 years ago
This Kmart had a bunch of good looking men working in it. :-)
retrounderground1 2 years ago 2
I bought some stuff there a few times. Down at the north end of that mall was one of the Naperville burnout spots. The was a big parking lot behind the movie theater, and any night there you might find Aileen Burke, Angie Davis, Tim Green, Mark Montenegro, Suzi Davis, Crystal Grier or maybe even a Sjordahl. Classic Chicago suburb burnout kids, all of 'em. It was fun time to be in high school. You kids today don't know. It was way better then. Oh and Christine Grupe, whom I've slept with...
IshadaKatzteilov 2 years ago
There is one Kmart like this that opened in 1977, and was remodeled, and added onto in 1994. The checkout fixtures (except cash registers & lights) are the originals. Another one opened in 1968 in Hammond Indiana with the 60's outside look was another memorable look. That store also had a similar look inside. The LaPorte IN store doesn't look like any organically opened Kmart. That one still looks like it's stuck in the 70's with avocado green floor tiles, fixtures, & old food court.
davenwin1973 2 years ago
The K-Mart in Gulfport, MS is still laid out almost just like that one (but with the addition of a Sears-Kenmore appliance section). And they even still have the old-school sign.
ClassicCommercials4U 2 years ago
This was back when things were still made with some kind of quality wether it be telephones, cars TVs cellphones fans. They just don't make stuff like they used to. The 60's 70's and 80's were when things were made with quality.
Astromchaser 2 years ago 2
i buy quality stuff all the time...
aybaybay91 2 years ago
but kmart does suck now. it's a suckier version of walmart. so i guess i know what u mean
aybaybay91 2 years ago
Back in 1990 you could pick up a decent box fan at the K-mart in your local area. Nowadays you buy a box fan at K-Mart and you get a cheap unreliable piece of shit that doesn't last and blows no air.
Astromchaser 2 years ago
the kmart I work at still looks like this lol
deserieeee 2 years ago
this is awsome!!! I worked for kmart for 5 years and collected a lot of crap. I remodeled a lot of old stores like this and i alwys wanted to see how they looked prior to the huge remodels of the early 90's. Thanks for the tour kevin (clock #24)
kmartkevin1 2 years ago
great video. takes you back in time. Fro the fashions, hairstyles to the cars in the parking lot, its all very interesting to watch.
alboree3 2 years ago
hey the video doesn't load
Segadude3000 2 years ago
haha my house of 22 years is right next to arrow head behind this kmart. I even worked here in my high school senior year in 2002. So weird
rando168 2 years ago 2
This was really interesting to see. I'm a Milwaukee, WI native but I don't remember K-Marts near me looking like this.....probably because I was only 3 years old when you shot this.
MiltownPunkette21 2 years ago
I can't believe people actually wore bolo ties.
wadros 2 years ago
Great video. That's exactly how I remember those old Kmarts with the big orange stripe and white lettering for the departments, and row after row of flourescent lighting. Thanks for posting!
DanR1245 3 years ago
on 36th st... COOL
thinkgreen801 3 years ago
good times... i like venture betta
johnnywriight 3 years ago
What does this have to do with donor 3066
Blondencrazee 2 years ago
i live right by naperville. the k mart back then looks better than the ones now. i mean...the outside does
aybaybay91 3 years ago 3
I know, I miss those old color signs better than them boring BIG K. At least that location on Odgen is still alive, I remember the other ones near there that closed years ago like North Aurora on Lake St (which is now a theater) and 2 in Bolingbrook on Boughton/ Weber Rd accross the Target and other one on IL 53 south of I 55.
qwandiddy 3 years ago
Oh no, I really liked the music that originally accompanied this video!!
retrochad 3 years ago 2
WOW! How long has that Kmart bees there???
it looks like it was there before me lol
MiniMichelle97 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
this is so gay
skater251993 3 years ago
Why was my comment removed?
hondolespaul 3 years ago
Hi, I accidentally hit the remove button when I was trying to respond to your comments. YouTube won't let you undelete once they are gone. Please leave them again and I'll be sure to not remove them this tima around.
davismv 3 years ago
Well, that is an honest mistake. Thank you for letting me know.
hondolespaul 3 years ago
OMG! This is like blast from the past. I can't believe this. I was 10 yrs old at that time. Crazy....I cant believe I even shopped here.
smileqt2000 3 years ago
this was afew months before i was born
titanjb 3 years ago
Attention KMART shoppers.... That was what I used to announce on the PA at my old KMART in Phoenix Arizona. Sadly it is closing down at the end of the year. They bulldozed my old store and made the SUPERKMART. Just goes to show you,they did not know what they were doing.
oliviafan1 3 years ago
I was 17 back then and I also worked retail at that time. The overall vibe of your video brings back awesome memories of my youth.
Thanks for posting!
rettrovision 3 years ago 2
I think they just closed ths KMart afew months ago didnt they? Or they were planning to. Its sad when all the good things from the past disappear and all you have are the memories. The kids and teens today dont understand how important it is to just be out there living it so they cant hold onto it as thye get older.
longislandny143 3 years ago 2
Its videos like this that make me wish i bought a camcorder years ago. People if you have nostalgic videos from your past like this cherish them!
craig1974 3 years ago 5
Yeah, it's great to have things on tape that don't exist the same today. I love reliving the past and watching videos from back in the day.
davismv 3 years ago
my boyfriend and me just watched this entire video! reminded us of being kids.
tammitheworm 3 years ago 3
This video made my day. This video brings back memories of the K-Mart near Carolina Circle Mall (Torn down, now Lowe's Home Improvement). Give me a retro K-Mart like this over a Wal-Mart any day of the week. Thanks for the flashback.
Roadgeek 3 years ago 9
@Roadgeek It also reminds me of the Okemos (MI) Kmart we often used to frequent in the 80s and mid-90's before it was shut down and before Roger Penske ruined the Auto Centers.
andrewps84 10 months ago
@andrewps84
Wow I never thought I'd meet a fellow Okemos Kmart shopper! I have fond memories of the Okemos location and remember it quite well for being a person born in 1988. It closed around 1994 didnt? I remember it being vacant for a considerable amount of time. What was the inside like before it closed? Was it getting pretty run down or was the closure a complete shock?
Nes8bitmachine 7 months ago
@Nes8bitmachine Glad to see someone else remembers that store...I'll message you more privately.
andrewps84 7 months ago
omg, the k-mart near me looks exactly like this one inside and out years ago. i remember the old food court too. i can't believe they have to change everything. i missed the orange interier. thanx 4 da memories!
damusician 3 years ago
I cant believe i am adding this to my favorites.....
sammyb1981 3 years ago
O! I really like the song "Hello, I Love You" by The Doors, you have it in your video, right? The K-Marts around where I live all the 'Big K' signage, I shop Kmart several times every week. One of them closed, though.
catbob15 3 years ago 2
Cool, it has the old KMart logo!
8218933alt 3 years ago 2
Ugh. Straightening sucks
crackthecracker 3 years ago
Yes it does. Especially the lego aisle or a section with lots of peghooks.
davismv 3 years ago
I miss hills and ames department stores but, I think hills would still be around if Ames would have not bought hills stores out. I liked hills better than ames stores.
Comptekhs 3 years ago
Ames came back to Chicago in the mid-90's and flopped a second time. I liked Ames too.. and Zayre.
davismv 3 years ago
Ohh my goodness, I miss Zayre, I grew up in Ohio and I miss Hills.
qwandiddy 3 years ago
Wow Mark this brings back so many memories. Just the other day when I saw that the Baker's Square on Ogden closed, I was thinking we should have a K get together.
dasa104 3 years ago
damn man at 2:13 I have a car just like that except mines grey
crimsondude80 3 years ago
Does it cost ~$100 to fill with gas these days? I owned one to inthe 90's! A 1983 Gray Park Avenue.
davismv 3 years ago
i usually put about $30 each time it gets me about a half tank good enough for around the city
crimsondude80 3 years ago
Whats funny is I use to work in that same building. But not for the company K-Mart. I was there when Minards had a store at that location. But now Minards changed locations and that place looks abandon. Been that way for a while now.
TigerRaptorFX 3 years ago
Error on my part. I'm thinking of the wrong K-Mart. I got this one confused with the other K-Mart on Ogden which is no longer there.
TigerRaptorFX 3 years ago
Yeah, this one is at the Ogden Mall. But the abandoned Menard's building still has the old Kmart look, like the one in the video.
davismv 3 years ago
hahah i live by there was panera there?
ImAbbyZ 3 years ago
The Panera at the Ogden Mall was an Applebees at first, which must have closed sometime in the early 90's.
davismv 3 years ago
i think i was there today.
ArtGaul 3 years ago
Different Kmart. The one taken over by Menards is still vacant. The one in Ogden Mall in this video is still open.
youewe 2 years ago
I am aware of this. Stated this in the 2nd reply to my first comment.
TigerRaptorFX 2 years ago
I can remember that service desk area in the Kmarts in the 80's...at the one I used to go to, there was a "Tape-a-thon" reel to reel machine in this area which had probably been used to provide in-store music. I used to like to get icees and popcorn at the snack bar too.
retrochad 3 years ago
Hello, Retrochad! BTW - I love your videos. I must have watched 20 of them last night. I am an electronics hobbyist.
Anyways, I used to own the 'Tape A Thon' Reel to Reel from the service desk at the Kmart store in my video. When the store was remodeling, I asked if I could have it since the store had converted to cassettes. It needed a few belts, and it did not sit straight on a flat surface, and I ended up tossing it out. I should have kept it though.
davismv 3 years ago
Wow, I can't believe you actually had the Tape-a-thon. That was a very long ago memory for me, maybe like from around 1984 or so when I was a kid. This was probably the first reel-to-reel machine I ever saw.
retrochad 3 years ago
My guess is that it was from when the store opened around 1973. Also, all Kmarts that opened in the early 70's had great Altec Lansing amps (high voltage w/ step downs), and the speakers were also very high quality and sounding. Last I recall, the amp is still there and working. I was a manager for Kmart, so I know this stuff.
davismv 3 years ago
I noticed to that the early 70s Kmarts have the giant round ac vent on the ceiling. I believe the ac system in those Kmarts are a spit-system.
Vinylrecordsneverdie 2 years ago
This brings back memories! I've shopped at this location since it opened in 1973. When I returned from the Army, I worked at the Carol Stream,IL store from August-Dec'75. Evidently, this Kmart didn't have the "grill" in the rear of the store like those built in the early 1970's. It did however have a deli up front. This store has been remodled many times over it's 35 year history.
pm0501 3 years ago
The Ogden Mall Kmart did have a grill in the back center, but it was removed sometime prior to 1989. At the time, the tiles in that section of the building were a different color. Also, there was a room in back (probably part of the old kitchen) with a light switch that turned on a fan that you could not see. It had been walled up - probably the grill fan.
davismv 3 years ago
Mustaches, High hair, Mullets, tight jeans (pre hip hop baggy)...good times.
thesilverfish 3 years ago
I love this video...it reminds me of shopping when I was a kid. Heck, I even remember the yellow-and-white clearance tags they used to use.
The Princeton, WV K mart store had nearly the exact same interior signs and decor, which it maintained to the end...but alas, the store closed in 2000 and was finally torn down last year.
AndrewT3660 4 years ago
Yeah, those were great days. It's interesting how all the retail stores back then did not focus on cleanliness or having things displayed perfectly. The clothing department looks like a total wreck. There are not many Kmarts left in the Chicagoland area. The one on the video is still in business but seems to be very dead these days.
davismv 4 years ago
god begin 1 year old in 1990 sucks now lol
vettefreak89 4 years ago
This is not fair. I wasn't born until 1989 and wasn't old enough to realize just how plain, simple and fun 1990 was. I'm not a modern day type person at all. Give me the 1990s any day and any of the old department stores.
chris31989 4 years ago
The way you feel about the 90's is the way I feel about the 80's. I was in my teens in the 80's though. I'm a sucker for nostalgia.
davismv 4 years ago
That Naperville Kmart is still alive, I still mad that they closed the Super Kmart in Bolingbrook on Weber.
qwandiddy 4 years ago
dude im really digging your videos man, i have (As i think you already know) lived in naperville my whole life, and i always enjoy watching videos like these. Awesome!
michaelkrumlauf 4 years ago