Back when VHS tapes and DVDs ruled the world of video it seemed like there was a Blockbuster Video store on every corner.
According to Wikipedia, just 15 years ago there were over 9,000 Blockbuster stores world-wide, and about half of those were in the United States.
But then along came Redbox with their $1 movie rentals and dirt-cheap video streaming from Netflix and the folks at Blockbuster Headquarters quickly saw the writing on the the wall.
In 2010 the Blockbuster Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection. By the end of 2013 every one of their company-owned stores were gone.
A relative handful of locally-owned Blockbuster franchise stores remained open, but they too eventually shuttered their doors one-by-one as the Internet and economic reality made it virtually impossible to remain in business.
At the start of this month (March 2019) there were two Blockbuster locations still in business – one in Perth, Australia and the other in Bend, Oregon.
But that will change on March 31 when the Blockbuster in Perth will close its doors for good.
That will leave the Bend, Oregon store as the last remaining Blockbuster Video store still in business on planet Earth.
There’s no doubt that the Internet has forever changed many aspects of our everyday lives.
I believe most of those changes were for the better, but some were not.
I agree that it’s very convenient to log into Netflix and watch virtually any movie you want to see right on the spot, but I also miss going to the video store and perusing the tapes and DVDs to try to find a “winner”.
I don’t know what the future holds for the one remaining Blockbuster store, but I sincerely wish them all the best as they continue their swim upstream against the overwhelming current of the Internet.
By the way, a CBS News crew visited the Bend, Oregon Blockbuster and asked several customers and employees what they thought about being associated with the last remaining Blockbuster Video store ever.
I have shared the video of that news report below. Check it out!
Note: As always, you can watch the video at full screen by clicking the “square” icon that will pop up in the lower-right corner of the video after it begins playing.