it's sad to see this location go. it was such an amazing store on the inside. the theme had some great homages to Mars Attacks!, as well as a great many other sci-fi films. this album has some good pictures of some of the more notable sculptures in there, but the theme went even farther than just sculptures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/selfishcauses/albums/721577140...

That's a crime the Valley Relics Museum couldn't get the Spaceship. It has done a really great job saving what can be saved of Los Angeles San Fernando Valley history. If you're ever near the Van Nuys airport check it out. Fry's was a happy place for me. Memories of their old Terminal based stockkeeping system (AS400? AIX? I heard rumors the owner wrote it themselves). The Burbank Scifi theme, the Manhattan Beach polynesian theme, the Woodland Hills Alice in Wonderland Theme. Even the old sacramento unthemed version and the newer train themed one. The memories of building my own computers for several iterations and almost always getting my parts there, shopping first with my Dad then later a relaxing walk on my own. The haunted look of female partners dragged there. The ecclectic selection. It was a okay substitute for an old style electronics store like Electronic City, but had so much other interesting things. So many interesting things lost in LA. DAK2000, TRI-ESS Sciences, OPAMP Books. ALL Electronics surplus.

My favorite thing about Fry's was the weekly sale ads in the newspaper with all the rebate offers. At one time I had at least a dozen cheap-ass "web cams". LOL

I probably still have some LEDs and transistors in my parts bin that (my dad) bought for me from that Fry's.

Fry's really made me feel like a kid in a candy store -- all the PC software and hardware along with electronics parts too. I was less interested in the household appliances, but I think the small Sony Trinitron TV that was in my bedroom was from Fry's.

Oh yes, they also had candy as well, strategically placed in the isle where we'd wait before reaching the cashier. Must have picked up dozens of Reese's peanut butter cups and Skittles over the years.

My dad and I spent so many days in that place. The Burbank one wasn’t my favorite. My favorite was the Alice in Wonderland theme in Woodland Hills. Also liked the tropical theme in Manhattan Beach. Our local Fry’s, one of the last ones to open, was sad. Some kind of California nostalgia theme. Palo Alto, cowboy/Wild West… that one was so cramped. I remember the Santa Clara one had a lot of hardware that others didn’t have like large plotters etc.

Definitely miss it. Even the low quality of the items and the rude or useless sales staff lol.

Damn. I grew up in Glendale and used to visit this store all the time. I’d take the bus if my parents couldn’t take me. Which was actually 3 buses and probably 4 hours of travel to get there and back. My dad worked at Lockheed Martin and the credit union was right across the street so that was always an excuse to drop-in after a bank visit.

Got my first WRT54G there, my first managed switch, power supplies, misc parts for RC building (heat shrink, soldering accessories). Was always fun to visit “the pit” with all the motherboards and processors unboxed and on full display. Felt like the NYSE with people lined up to look at the board and grab a processor. It was always so active like a bee hive. Visiting more recently it was just a shell of its former self.

It’s still my favorite store with the alien attack vibes and all the army jeeps.

Here's a decent 21 min mini-doc on the birth and death of Fry's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu2uAKc37jI

Personally, visiting friends in California and them taking me to Fry's fir the first time was an experience I'll not forget. We had CompUSA back home. But, Fry's was a whole other level.

Going from being a computer geek in 90s rural midwest to being a computer geek in a Fry's in Silicon Valley in the Tech Bubble was like stepping into a magically wonderful mirror world.

Gone are the times when I could spend some time perusing around Fry’s…looking at all the discrete components and computers. It was sad seeing it die too; all the empty shelves filled with the same item spread out…

A classic bit of satire and HTML form humor that reflected Fry's focus on products and ambiance but not necessarily employee helpfulness: https://web.archive.org/web/20200130175501/http://homepage.s...

In the early days, Fry's would take returns on opened software. I remember returning Borland C compiler after copying many floppies when I was a teen.