Oh, the good old days! There are so many memories that stick around from our younger days. Often, some of those include going to special places. Whether you loved it or hated it, you had to follow your family, and the stores that you frequented while growing up stay in your heart. Here are five stores in Columbus that might remember from those days.

1. Columbus City Center

The Columbus City Center, located in the middle of downtown Columbus, was open between 1989 and 2009. It was a huge 1.25 million-square-foot, three-story mall. At its best time, the City Center was Central Ohio’s largest and most upscale shopping mall. With the opening of three more popular shopping malls in the North of the city, the Columbus City Center could not withstand the competition. It dropped from 144 tenants in 1992 to just eight small shops in 2009. Nevertheless, we’ll always remember this downtown destination and its former glory.

2. Long's Book Store

Long’s Book Store functioned at the corner of 15th and High on Ohio State’s campus since 1909. This was a neat place to gather books and all sorts of quality art supplies. With the creation of other textbook stores on campus, especially Barnes & Noble OSU only a few blocks south, the store closed and has been demolished. However, Long’s had one more surprise for us before it was gone forever; after the recent excavation of the site, a century-old arched doorway leading to a space under High Street was discovered. While the former owner doubts the door led to anything more than a basement storage room, others have more exciting speculations. The long time legend of a tunnel leading from Long’s to a speakeasy across the the street finally seemed to have gained some evidence.

3. Lazarus

Lazarus opened as a one-room men's clothing store in downtown Columbus in 1851. The business was started by Simon Lazarus and continued by his sons, Fred and Ralph Lazarus. Some common department store and mall practices were actually started here by the Lazarus franchise, including the one low price that eliminated the need for bargaining. It was the first department store in the country to have escalators and air-conditioning. Here's a unique historical tidbit: Fred Lazarus successfully lobbied President Franklin Roosevelt to permanently fix Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November, which has since marked the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season!

4. Media Play

Founded in 1992 by Musicland, Media Play sold movies on video, DVDs, music, electronics, video games, books, and games. It was meant to be a hip place for young people looking for music. Musicland was purchased by Best Buy, but despite all efforts, lost money on the endeavour. With the accessibility of the internet, Media Play faced strong competition from digital downloads and websites like Amazon, which offered a wider selection at lower prices. All Media Play stores closed by 2006.

5. The Original Goodie Shop

For some good news, here’s a fantastic store that is still open! The Original Goodie Shop has served Columbus with delicious baked goods for over 60 years. It’s an entirely family run operation that makes classic desserts, and you can still pop in for that melt-in-your-mouth cookie or order decadent custom cakes. I remember scrounging up coins for a cookie at the Goodie Shop as a little kid, do you? The Original Goodie Shop is located at 2116 Tremont Center, Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221.

Do you remember any other stores that you used to visit as a child? Share with us!

For another amazing walk down memory lane (and beyond!), check out our recent article featuring some of the oldest photos ever taken in Columbus.