This Is Framingham

This Is Framingham
Life in the ‘ham

Bradlees

November 28th, 2007

 
The above photo is what I believe is the only known photograph of the Bradlees in Framingham (that is now Kohl’s).

This and the rest of the photos of this store are made possible with the kind permission of Joseph Kacoyannakis of Joseph Kacoyannakis Productions.  Joseph used to work at this Bradlees and had the foresight to take some photpgraphs while he was there.
I don’t know where to begin with Bradlees, I loved this store.  Sometimes on a Saturday afternoon I’ll still have the urge to go to Bradlees.  You’d think I would have taken some pictures when I knew they were closing but maybe I was in denial or something.   It wasn’t until it was gone that I realised how much I missed it (que Cinderella song).   I remember as a kid I loved being able to afford the 1¢ gumball machines by the front doors, the way the decorated the entrance for holidays and even the smell of popcorn from the snack bar.  As an adult, it was a pleasant place to shop and although I will give Target thumbs up to being it’s contemporary, there was still something about Bradlees that was really nice.
Some more pictures that Joseph took at the Framingham Bradlees:

Some treasures from my personal collection:
  
I know I have a plastic bag somewhere too.  I’d also be willing to bet money my mom (who is notorious for returning things that I don’t know why she bought in the first place) has a Bradlees receipt in one of her old pocketbooks, not that any of this really has any value but it is kind of fun to find things from an extinct store.

Also, even though this isn’t Framingham related I got a kick out of this old Bradlees commercial featuring John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, and Don Nelson with Johnny Most narrating.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bewek4DUNGE

Posted in Flashback |

12 Comments »

  1. say “hello” to Vinoo doing the returns as always!

    Comment by s — November 28, 2007 @ 2:35 pm

  2. I loved the ICEE bear!

    Comment by scott — November 28, 2007 @ 3:17 pm

  3. I remember many a shopping trip to Bradlees as a kid with my mom. They had that snack bar that smelled like old hot dogs.

    Comment by Michael — November 29, 2007 @ 2:03 am

  4. Bradlees was the best; had whatever you needed. good casual clothes at a good price, lots of good kids stuff. I miss it. love the comment about the hot dog smell..funny. hey, Michelle, we miss your restaurant reviews…hope you get to go out and review soon.

    Comment by beth — November 29, 2007 @ 1:02 pm

  5. There was also a Bradless in Hyannis on Cape Cod, and I was just discussing Bradlees the other day: how you could go there for anything. Definitely another one missed.

    Comment by Boston Cube — November 29, 2007 @ 5:09 pm

  6. I have many memories as a kid of going from Caldor to Bradlees and vice-versa with my mother. Anyone remember that little passageway?

    Comment by Franco — November 30, 2007 @ 2:27 am

  7. I worked at the Bradlees in Hyannis, Cape Cod for close to five years, and would still be with the company tody had it not closed. This brought back lots of fond memories.

    Comment by Brian — December 1, 2007 @ 10:37 pm

  8. I’d type something but I’m tearing up too much to read…

    Comment by Joseph Kacoyannakis — December 6, 2007 @ 12:30 am

  9. Wow, another chunk of my childhood gone. I remember in Boy Scouts this time of year, helping the slavation army ringing a bell. We would stand in front of Bradlees, Caldor, and at Shopper’ World outside of Toys R Us. I can’t believe how much change is going on in the 5 years I’ve been gone. Even the National Guard Armory is changed according to the Google Satellite images. I’ll look around and see if I have any pics from that time of these stores. I have box upon boxes of pictures I packed up and just carry with me but never find the time to go through LOL. I’ll let you know :)

    Comment by Happy Guy — December 22, 2007 @ 12:02 pm

  10. does bradlees had coke or pepsi at their snack bars that they had nachos,hot dogs and popcorn?

    Comment by edwin — July 23, 2008 @ 1:19 pm

  11. Does anyone remember the record dept in Bradlees? I use to go to the one in Shrewsbury, MA back in the late 60’s and all through the 70’s LOL. The Bradlees store was connected to an Iandoli market. They had this big wooden sliding door that seperated the 2 stores but most of the time it was open so you could just walk thru.

    Comment by Anthony — September 9, 2008 @ 6:56 pm

  12. I remember discovering my love for clothes in the Juniors department at Bradlees. I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.

    Comment by Alli — September 30, 2008 @ 1:21 pm

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