Sparks soon to become an old flame

Sparks Department Store, a longtime mainstay in the city of Malden, is set to shut its doors at the end of this winter. The closure is part of a broader effort to modernize the area and re-establish Pleasant Street as the gateway to Malden Square. Pictured is the view of Pleasant Street from Malden’s City Hall.

Set to go out of business by the end of this March, the Sparks Department Store liquidation sale is underway. Pictured here, store manager Rita Tecce works the register.

• Story:Sparks flickers out after 95 years

Amy Sparks, left, stands with her father, Albert Sparks, pictured right, in the top floor of Sparks Department Store in Malden. Albert has worked in the department store since its beginnings, while Amy joined the family business as a teenager and learned about the retail industry alongside her father.

Not only did Sparks maintain a large population of long-time, faithful shoppers, but a band of devoted employees too. Pictured here, Beverly Crane, 68, of Malden who has worked with the company for 13 years, straightens out the underwear bin at the Malden department store.

Maintaining afforable prices for customers, like the ones pictures here, was something Sparks always took pride in. “You could find everything in this store, and for reasonable prices,” one customer praised.

Loyal customers gave the department store the nickname, “Sparkingdales” in fun, but the Sparks never strived to be glamorous. Flourescent lights and historic nostalgia adorned the store’s walls, giving it the character and spunk that kept it a local favorite for nearly a century.

For a time, school unifroms and all accessories alike kept business booming at Sparks. For many, the department store served as their go-to school uniform destination.

Night gowns and nurses’ scrubs were among Sparks Department Store’s “speciality items” that kept customers coming back for years.

Sparks is offering sizable discounts as they prepare to close their doors for good, but they plan to remain open until the last item sells.