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Video: We Urban Explore an Abandoned Ames (Formerly Hills) Department Store.

Apr 30, 2021
1 min read

Updated: Apr 22


Abandoned Ames department store
As a Hills, the green awning read, "Famous for Low Prices Every Day."


Join us as we explore our old Ames department store! Contributing writer Luke Worle and I infiltrated in a torrential downpour. This location was once a Hills, and has been closed since around 1999. The place is host to a lot of memories. I didn't mention it in the video, but I test drove PlayStation games on their demo kiosk, and once I bought a really ugly tie here. Also, a bikini girl air freshener.


When I was about eleven, I saw a row of My Buddy dolls in storage along the ceiling of the store, and I could swear they were all watching me like they were Chucky dolls! It was legit terrifying.

My Buddy doll and Chucky
Courtesy: Nightmare Nostalgia

When this store was a Hills, I was a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. My parents bought me Krang's Android Body from there. Here I am below, opening it up on my eleventh birthday in 1991. I still have the toy, along with the Technodrome, Party Wagon and more TMNT stuff. It's all in this blog article.



This urban exploration is a special Retro Injection entry, so let's jump right into the odyssey.


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Dave Fife is the driving force behind retroinjection.com, a nostalgia blog focusing on the pop culture of the '80s and '90s. Retro Injection places an emphasis on movie reviews, classic video games and vintage toys. 

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An authority on the 1980s and a member of the Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, Dave is the creator of the acclaimed documentary, Time-Out: History of a Small-Town Arcade. He wrote the forward to the breakdance movie book, There's No Stopping Us: The Untold Story of Breakin' from Australia to Venice Beach by Tony and Doug Pichaloff. Mr. Fife has appeared in several low-budget horror flicks,with varying success at survival.

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The New York Times revised an article pertaining to the Super Mario character after Dave sent them a correction. At that point, he was just showing off.

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Dave offers content creation on a freelance basis. Contact him for rates via the site's chat button.

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Retro Injection showcases the pop culture of the '80s and '90s. This era's movies, music, technology and toys will never stop being awesome, so join us for a trip back in time!

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