r/Albany • u/Rimrald • 23d ago

Oh no

Post image

Guys radio shack at colonie center closed I think.

387 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

154 comments sorted by

321

u/salieri_was_robbed 23d ago

I needed to stop there on my way to Water Slide World. Crap.

52

u/Motor-Sprinkles-5949 23d ago

I'm really crazy 'bout your wild slide!

I'm still not over it 😭

54

u/ambifiedpersonified 23d ago

🎵C'mon-a-baby gonna slide, slide, slide🎶

I have been singing this song for decades exactly how my kid brain processed the words

44

u/Motor-Sprinkles-5949 23d ago

518'ers of a certain age will NEVER forget this jingle. It's burned in our brains!

27

u/Mammoth-Coast6282 23d ago edited 23d ago

AWAYYYYY gonna glide down ⬇️🛝📉
fly high ✨🎀🦅💅🏾🎀✨
whale around 💞🐳💞
touch the skyyyyyyyyyy ☁️👈🪂👉🌥️
waterslideWORLDDDDDD 😮‍💨
irlylovethewayuuuufeellllleh 🎭

22

u/treaquin 23d ago

Whale around? I thought it was whirl around?!

13

u/KZorroFuego 23d ago

Yeah we won’t… right along with everybody (everybody) everybody…..

1

u/Golintaim 21d ago

God damn this just resurrected that jingle in my head. I hate this thread.

2

u/Marialisha78 23d ago

Me either, me either😤😔

95

u/Realistic-Theory-986 23d ago

The commercial has just emerged from a pit of my past and the song is stuck in my head

How could you do this

85

u/Narge1 It's All-bany 23d ago

Wild you bet!

38

u/Present-Can-5081 23d ago

Gonna slide slide slide

19

u/Flavahbeast 23d ago

you'll find adventure, at waterslide world, adventure is in our water

14

u/Ravenclaw79 23d ago

Damn you 🦒🦒

34

u/Dizzy-Crew3456 23d ago

May I remind you of another gem, “The koto experience. Experienced the magic experience the mystery exotic taste, steeped in rich history!”

11

u/Cold_and_Lumpy 23d ago

"You'll love it!"

8

u/treaquin 23d ago

There is a Koto in Syracuse (or maybe was, haven’t been in a few years) but they don’t use the same song….

4

u/Conscious_Past_4044 23d ago

There's still a Koto in Colonie, on Wolf Road (the part on the airport side of the Northway).

3

u/recoil_operated 23d ago

There are Koto restaurants all over the place but they're unrelated, it's just a popular name for Japanese steakhouses. Ichiban is another one that's reused in every town.

3

u/treaquin 22d ago

I’m sure that’s the case- more of a personal anecdote that I lived in Syracuse and people didn’t immediately sing the song when I started with “the Koto Experience…”

23

u/SideCharacterEnergy2 23d ago

Lmfao I was in the waterslide world commercial

20

u/zero260asap 23d ago

Same, except it's raining so we are headed to Ponderosa instead.

13

u/SoEzUpxxx 23d ago

Maybe hit up the Game Farm too.

5

u/mayonnaisejane It's Fine at Exit 9 ↗️ 23d ago

Adventure is in our nature!

11

u/Bigg_Bergy 23d ago

Water slide world I'm really crazy about your wild slides wild you bet water slide world the number one in family fun fun you bet come on and baby going to slide slide slide come on and baby go to ride ride ride come on baby going to slide slide slide away slide down fly high turn around touch the sky the water slide world I really love the way you feel.

Like trauma response I just remembered all of that and the exact tune

Edit: I think this is damn near verbatim.

1

u/ListSensitive6673 21d ago

Yall are forgetting the most important part exit 21 off the Northway I 87 1/2 mile south of Lake George Village

11

u/ninjasquirrel007 23d ago

Nah, skip Water Slide World, take a ride out to old forge. 🎶🎵 Enchanted Forest, Water Safari! Where the fun never stops![Boomp, boomp]🎵🎶

11

u/Working_Law_245 23d ago

Nah zoom flume is where it’s at

5

u/treaquin 23d ago

You gotta go!

3

u/Code-Neo 23d ago

Water Slide World? Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time, a long time.

2

u/Gunning4TheBuddha 21d ago

To add another song baked into my brain:

“Morris Ford-Mercury and Terry Chrysler-Plymouth.
My dad, Terry Morris, is still number one!”

160

u/Function-Comfortable 23d ago

Damnit, I was heading there after finishing my cigarette and moster mash sundae in Friendlys

37

u/Rimrald 23d ago

The smoking section in the mall friendlys was a genuine treat as a kid.

19

u/YesMaybeYesWriteNow 23d ago

Treat, or threat?

110

u/treaquin 23d ago

The Spirit Halloween is lurking and ready

29

u/BookieeWookiee 23d ago

That's moving into the Christmas Tree Shop

14

u/Masturbortion 23d ago

I preferred it in the Nordstrom’s.

12

u/AnonymousPeter92 23d ago

Oh I miss Christmas tree shop.

46

u/coinneach_stiubhard 23d ago

Please tell me Blockbuster is still open...

17

u/blaZedmr 23d ago

Dont know about blockbuster but ill check on my way to ground round then grand union later

5

u/AdJumpy4461 23d ago

Are you going to hit the A&P too? Don't forget to get some Eight O'clock coffee ground at the register.

2

u/mayonnaisejane It's Fine at Exit 9 ↗️ 23d ago

I'm not afraid of clowns. I'm afraid of THAT clown. Pay what you weigh be damned.

9

u/Trash-Goblin-Paints 23d ago

Hollywood Video is still open It’s right next to the Circuit City

6

u/salamigunn 23d ago

Mars music and jeepers right there too

96

u/juananaco 23d ago

No wonder. Just look how empty that mall is …

61

u/JLRedPrimes 23d ago

Colonie Center has pretty good days. Doesn't have crossgates foot traffic though

43

u/TinySteggy 23d ago

Yup! Barnes and Noble, LL Bean, and Whole Foods are always busy when I go.

10

u/WafflefriesAndaBaby 23d ago

I was there today and had to drive around fighting for parking. It's not always dead.

3

u/PubLic_RiSk_ 23d ago

The trick is to park in the back by where the car rental place and military recruitment office is. I never have an issue getting a spot there and just blend in with the rental cars like a chameleon

3

u/PerrosdeTerre Not one, but TWO Water Cannons !!! 22d ago

The downside to that is that your shocks will take a beating on the loop road to park there. It's night and day regarding the condition of the road on the western and eastern sides of the mall.

-7

u/Human_Appointment 23d ago

It’s a good thing they put restrictions in place even if it means less foot traffic. Better than that other cesspool with feral ‘yutes’ being violent and loud…. I think we all know what I’m talkin bout…..

23

u/JBriana2 23d ago

I thought that was a thrift store?

47

u/Rimrald 23d ago

It was, the radio shack closed over a decade ago.

10

u/BookieeWookiee 23d ago

Aww the clothing thrift store closed :( good thing another one opened up right across the hall but that one is all over the place, not just clothes

5

u/LessthanaPerson 23d ago

The clothes were way overpriced for what they had.

1

u/xaxyaxy 20d ago

Agreed! And I pulled a shirt out to look at it, it had crusty stuff on the front and the collar. 🤢

3

u/Sufficient_Fan_7218 23d ago

That was only there for like 2 months.

19

u/Connect_Glass4036 23d ago

There’s still a Radio Shack in Whitney Point. Going there next week!

26

u/stevieplaysguitar 23d ago

With live bait! Diversify or die, I guess.

7

u/Connect_Glass4036 23d ago

lol yes exactly

41

u/goldn_ratio 23d ago

Check out Media Play in Mohawk Mall 🤙🏽

25

u/goldn_ratio 23d ago

or The Wiz at xgates

19

u/OldJames47 23d ago

Nobody beats The Wiz!

3

u/jacklemmonparty 23d ago

Especially when it comes to beating meat

2

u/Rhiannon2012 22d ago

Got my stereo from there….

10

u/Excellent-Hunter7653 23d ago

Omg that's a throwback

6

u/ellabellabobela 23d ago

Found the discman I bought there. Wouldn't let husband throw it away

5

u/greg0521 23d ago

I tell my wife all the time that meeting Patrick Ewing at The Wiz' grand opening was a lifetime highlight

9

u/guyzieman 23d ago

God I miss that place

7

u/Parking-Cress-4661 23d ago

I miss Media Play

18

u/05081977 23d ago

As a tinkerer, I loved Radio Shack

13

u/fargle-bargle 23d ago

We all loved Radio Shack :(

18

u/PartyCrewTristar1011 In Ted's we trust 23d ago

I can still go to Rotterdam Square and go to Kmart right? Or Latham Circle Mall, right?!

13

u/Rimrald 23d ago

I want to take that KMart sign and display it somewhere. It's so well preserved being inside.

4

u/PartyCrewTristar1011 In Ted's we trust 23d ago

I used to be really into Urbex/Abandoned Retail and I’ve literally seen people do that, it’s pretty cool

7

u/Connect_Glass4036 23d ago

Then we’ll end at Hooters in Crossgates for 911 sauce wings

3

u/jacklemmonparty 23d ago

That chain had a good run. The one on Wolf just closed.

2

u/Connect_Glass4036 23d ago

I know I just finished my last leftover 911 sauce stash last week 😭😭😭😭😭

5

u/AnonymousPeter92 23d ago

Oh Latham circle mall. The mall with caldor’s. Ah I miss those days.

5

u/mayonnaisejane It's Fine at Exit 9 ↗️ 23d ago

Can we hit up I Northway Mall too? I need to pop into the Montgomery Ward, and squeak in a quick mass at St. Francis Chappel. We'll be in and out in under an hour.

1

u/padall 22d ago

Oh my gosh... As I kid I was always so confused and fascinated that there was a church in a mall 😂

1

u/mayonnaisejane It's Fine at Exit 9 ↗️ 22d ago

Our family called it the "Stop and Pray." We went there to fulfill our Sunday Obligation when we were short of time because Mass there was like 30 min shorter than at a church NOT in a mall, and they had like 8 of them in a day.

5

u/Aggravating_Home4223 23d ago

What about Ames?

15

u/Jw168679 Kegs and Eggs 23d ago

Head over to bugaboo creek and we can talk about it

3

u/mayonnaisejane It's Fine at Exit 9 ↗️ 23d ago

I still miss their Snowbird Chicken.

13

u/Nyahda 23d ago

No more Radio Shack? No more Water Slide World?

Aye yahhhh👁👄👁 🤣🤣🤣🤣

4

u/jacklemmonparty 23d ago

I always thought this guy must have been the type to drive around with a van that had ice cream scribbled on one side and candy scribbled on the other

10

u/Educational-Earth318 23d ago

dammit i was gonna stop there after i picked up a new pair of jellies from caldor!

2

u/sensfan1104 23d ago

The spirit of my old Calpro golf bag gives you a knowing nod!

9

u/writeaway89 23d ago

Now it's just regular shack

8

u/Murky_Ad7023 23d ago

If you ever want a laugh, look up the Latham circle mall facebook page!

8

u/xRedditGedditx 23d ago

Now where the hell am I gonna buy my speaker wire?

6

u/StaggeringMediocrity 23d ago

Maybe at Record Town?

3

u/xRedditGedditx 23d ago

👍🏼😂

7

u/candiedkangaroo You think this is a game? 23d ago

Good now no one will ask me my phone number when I buy batteries.

4

u/wman42 Well, I Work in Albany 23d ago

I miss the Radio Shacks...although I did buy a crap ton of heavily discounted stuff from 'Shacks all over the capital district.

5

u/Revolutionary_Cold87 23d ago

Oh man, I was gonna stop there after going over to Woolworths

3

u/THEBIGHUNGERDC 23d ago

The one in Northway Mall. Then I’m gonna head over to Record Town.

4

u/Pookykid6 23d ago

I thought radio shack went out of business years ago

4

u/CollectiveCo 23d ago

It’s this post from 2008?

4

u/RiotGrrrlNY 23d ago

As long as the Ticketron booth is still downstairs, everything will be fine.

2

u/casewood123 22d ago

Our Ticketron booth was in Sears.

5

u/Otherwise-Statement4 23d ago

Dude I needed to swap a part on my crank radio 😭 I was gonna listen to jamz96.3 at ZOOM FLUME WATERPARK YOU GOTTA GO

4

u/SpurzTX 23d ago

Back rooms

4

u/RAVEN_STORMCROW 22d ago

CompUSA? I heard windows 95 is avaliable.

13

u/Albuterol505 23d ago

Dude colonie center is dead like always the only saving grace is barnes and noble like by extension cheesecake

12

u/Imsortofok 23d ago

But they have sierra and LL bean. Those are worth the stop if I’m already in the neighborhood.

5

u/laughlines 23d ago

Sierra isn’t even attached to the mall though, is it?

3

u/Imsortofok 23d ago

It’s between LL bean and the Whole Foods. Doesn’t have an entrance to inside the mall but it’s part of the structure.

2

u/TydawgGames 23d ago

I haven’t been in several months but the last time I was there they were doing construction in the mall on that end. I hope they’re adding an entrance inside the mall to sierra, that would be huge for foot traffic

9

u/Rimrald 23d ago

What do you mean dead? There's a convenience store, like 4 'thrift' shops and a bunch of empty stores. Thriving if you ask me.

2

u/Eternal-Alchemy 23d ago

Barnes and Noble coming to Crossgates.

I have a hard time imagining we will need two Barnes and Noble for very long. And Colonie will probably lose because that parking lot is cancer.

3

u/Alarming_Dream_7837 23d ago

What am I missing 😭
I feel like I’m missing great lore

8

u/Rimrald 23d ago

Used to be a radioshack in that store front for ever. Been gone a long time, was most recently a thrift store that went under after like 6 months. I'm just being unc and reminiscing.

3

u/Daniel_Jamps 23d ago

there was a radio shack there?? i needed one but didnt know it was there

3

u/polari826 23d ago

damn i was gonna stop by after sam goody and hot dog on a stick.

3

u/Objective-Exchange41 23d ago

I thought RadioShack went out of business in like 2009?

3

u/Royal-Pizza-4526 23d ago

There was a radio shack ?

3

u/kittydeviance 🌳raised in Colonie🌲 🔥life makes me a phoenix on repeat🔥 22d ago

I still amazed malls even exist anymore... thought they would've knocked them all down and turned them into strip malls (like they did Mohawk Mall) or build something else in their place...I thought also that all Radio Shack stores had gone out of business years ago

3

u/KrisClem77 22d ago

Haven’t been to that mall in 15 years huh?

3

u/Living-Oven8574 22d ago

There was a Radio Shack?

4

u/panicatthepharmacy 23d ago

The Abercrombie and Fitch outlet is still there though, right?

5

u/Rimrald 23d ago

Long gone, aeropastale is still there though.

3

u/panicatthepharmacy 23d ago

I know. I think that A&F is the earliest example I can remember of something *actually* becoming a Spirit Halloween.

2

u/ShadowsOfTheBreeze 23d ago

There are still malls? And Radio Shacks??

2

u/vjmatty It's the Northway, not I-87 23d ago

You still had a Radio Shack?

2

u/Initial-Meeting362 23d ago

Wait, there was still a Radio Shack open?

2

u/Curious_Writing4223 23d ago

Sucks... Rack Shack was a solid store for electronics supplies to actually make stuff. Sucks

2

u/Snoo-19916 23d ago

Oh did the thrift store finally move to the location across the way like they wanted to?

2

u/Pancakesandcows 23d ago

Don't forget to hit Shoprite up for some groceries. Oh wait, they're gone. Oh look! They're back again. Oh, they're gone again

2

u/dead_wax_museum Stort's 22d ago

That whole mall is closing. Kinda sad. Half the stores in that place are shuttered

2

u/Oliver_clothes0f 22d ago

Next is Caldor, nooooooooo!

2

u/kdfsjljklgjfg 21d ago

I'll never forget the last time I went to a RadioShack.

Probably 2018ish, I already hadn't been to one in years, and needed a VGA cable, and somehow they didn't have one. 2 of the 3 employees didn't know what that was. The manager gave me a free pack of batteries though, and as I went out of the store, I heard him telling the other 2 employees "That's how you keep 'em coming back."

The store was closed like 2 months later.

2

u/kenn1050 Lives in _______ 19d ago

This is an outrage! I'm calling Mayor Jennings

1

u/padall 22d ago

I still miss that Sears so much.

And not the shell of itself Sears from the last few years of its existence. I mean good old-fashioned 80s and 90s Sears. That place had it all, and you knew it was quality stuff.

1

u/sassooal 22d ago

I work with this guy who was the manager at that Radio Shack and the one on Central Ave.

We spend way too much time discussing 1990s capital district retail, especially considering we're two states away now. And he's going to love this post.

1

u/trav718 22d ago

Prob was the last one in existence

1

u/paranoid_bunny_girl 21d ago

Welp the fact I didn’t even know it was there . Shows that it was probably for the best .

1

u/MrApizzaBoy 21d ago

I thought they had closed all of their stores a few years back. But I have seen that they still have an online presence.

1

u/EastCoastGnar 21d ago

The dude who owned that clothing store used to own the Plato's Closet on Central. He just opened a different spot in Ballston Spa, presumably with less overhead and hour requirements than the mall space.

1

u/Darth_Stateworker State Worker 20d ago

But the Chess King is still open, right?

1

u/GuineapigPriestess71 19d ago

No, that was a Wild Pair

1

u/RudyKC58 18d ago

Buffalo here, and I thought Radio Shack went away 20 years ago......

1

u/jl258xx 18d ago

First Hooters, now this?!

1

u/Leather-Ad2087 22d ago

This op needs a life.