Do you remember B. Dalton Booksellers?

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B. Dalton Bookseller was an American retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 by Bruce Dayton, a member of the same family that operated the Dayton’s department store chain. B. Dalton expanded to become the largest retailer of hardcover books in the United States, with 798 stores at the peak of the chain’s success. Located primarily at indoor shopping malls, B. Dalton competed primarily with Waldenbooks. Barnes & Noble acquired the chain from Dayton’s in 1987 and continued to operate it until a late 2009 announcement that the last 50 stores would be liquidated by January 2010. B. Dalton was later revived by rebranding a Barnes & Noble location in 2022.

The Rise & Fall of B. Dalton Booksellers

1966FoundedB. Dalton Booksellers was Founded

B. Dalton Bookseller was an American retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 by Bruce Dayton

1986Barnes & Noble Acquired B. Dalton Booksellers

Barnes & Noble acquired 779 B. Daltons Booksellers stores from Dayton’s in 1987 for $300 million..

2013DefunctThe End of B. Dalton Booksellers

In January 2010, Barnes & Noble closed the last 50 B. Dalton locations, except for the stores at Union Station in Washington, D.C. and Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York. The Roosevelt Field Mall location closed in January 2012 and the Union Station location closed at the end of February 2013.

Click through the gallery above for some of the most popular forgotten retail spots that are now gone, but never forgotten. Did we miss one of your favorites? Share your memories in the comments.