Your childhood mall

Started by dvferyance, December 03, 2019, 08:59:56 PM

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dvferyance

Which mall did you have memories of as a child? And as of today is it still a thriving one a struggling one or a dead one?


bandit957

I remember Florence Mall, Beechmont Mall, Eastgate Mall, Crestview Hills Mall, and more. All are either struggling or dead.

There weren't any malls right in my immediate area back then, but after I was about 14, we always went to those malls because I always got attacked at stores closer to home.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

Rothman

The more interesting mall I think of is Mountain Farms Mall in Hadley, MA, which went from dying (as Almys finally closed) to dead (practically empty except for a small AMC theater and an arcade...I think Papa Gino's even closed leaving the two) to gasping (a developer got half a dozen small businesses to move in, including a pool hall), then dead again, and now live (Walmart, Barnes and Noble and assorted other stable stores).
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

dvferyance

Quote from: bandit957 on December 03, 2019, 10:42:35 PM
I remember Florence Mall, Beechmont Mall, Eastgate Mall, Crestview Hills Mall, and more. All are either struggling or dead.

There weren't any malls right in my immediate area back then, but after I was about 14, we always went to those malls because I always got attacked at stores closer to home.
Crestview Hills Mall is an outdoor mall but from what it appears it looks like it's still one that is thriving.

bandit957

Quote from: dvferyance on December 03, 2019, 11:20:36 PMCrestview Hills Mall is an outdoor mall but from what it appears it looks like it's still one that is thriving.

It was really a different mall. The one in my day was an indoor mall, but that was torn down and replaced with the outdoor mall they have now, which isn't doing that well.

One big dud of a mall was Forest Fair Mall. They opened it amid huge fanfare, and it was a big failure. I think the last time I visited it was in 1990 when they had a small exhibit about 'American Top 40'.

A more recent dud is Newport on the Levee, which they don't really call a mall, even though it's an enclosed area with stores. They're mostly stores that nobody would even think to visit.

A long time ago, maybe in the '70s, there was a tiny mall in downtown Newport, but I hardly remember anything about it at all. They tried cramming a little mall inside a city block.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

nexus73

Pony Village in North Bend OR was under construction when I was a young child.  I can still remember part of the floor being bricked and sand in the exposed unfinished areas.  There used to be a small train that would drive around the outside of the mall that a person paid a small charge for the ticket.  It was just a funsie kind of deal.

When Pony Village opened, neighboring Coos Bay still had parking meters in downtown.  Guess where people wound up shopping at?  If you said "the enclosed mall with free parking", you are a winner!  A few years later an older lady called up a local radio station during their talk show to complain about those meters. That opened up a floodgate of complaints.  This resulted in the mayor using the city police to harass the station manager and DJ's.  The talk show was pulled off the air but in the end those parking meters were removed.

Downtown Coos Bay then got an outdoor mall makeover with massive canopies.  When Carter lost the Shah in 1979, the resulting economic hit caused 75% of downtown Coos Bay to become vacant. 

Fast forward to 2019.  Pony Village is a shadow of its former self.  Downtown Coos Bay and downtown North Bend both have seen incredible revivals.  No one saw that coming as the 20th century drew to a close.  Pony Village is still the largest mall on the Oregon Coast but it has become the largest mausoleum instead. 

For excellent malls, PDX has two which really thrive that I can personally attest to (Washington Square, Clackamas Town Center) while Medford has one (Rogue Valley Mall).  It is not all doom and gloom for malls in Oregon although Lloyd Center in PDX, which used to be the world's largest mall in the Sixties, is struggling.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

jp the roadgeek

I had 3 childhood malls.  2 still exist.

Meriden Square:  Now Westfield Meriden, but will always be The Square to me.  Has undergone a couple of additions since my childhood.  The anchors are now different (JC Penney is now Boscov's and G Fox is Macy's).  The Sears is currently empty, but otherwise, the mall is surviving.

Westfarms Mall: Still thriving.  I do miss Sage Allen (now the Macy's mens and home store) and going to Top of the Mall for chicken croquets.  The mall was expanded about 15-20 years ago and the fountains in the middle are long gone.  Also remember seeing Return of the Jedi at the old movie theater that is where Au Bon Pain is now, and an Arthur Treachers right across from it. 

Naugatuck Valley Mall.  Always remember it being quite dark inside, plus going to a pizza place and McCrory's.   The mall is now gone, replaced by an open air strip mall that includes a Walmart, Stop & Shop, Staples. and Bob's Stores.  It's replacement is Brass Mill Center, which is less than 25 years old, and already seems to be dying.
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amroad17

Tower Mall (now Victory Crossing Shopping Center), Portsmouth, VA.
Military Circle, Norfolk, VA.
Pembroke Mall, Virginia Beach, VA
Coliseum Mall, Hampton, VA
Greenbrier Mall, Chesapeake, VA

Chesapeake Square Mall did not open until 1989--when I was 27.
I don't need a GPS.  I AM the GPS! (for family and friends)

ClassicHasClass

I grew up in San Diego. Most of the malls I remember as a child are still around.

MNHighwayMan

#9
The Mall of America. Was okay as a kid, but sucks now, especially now that Camp Snoopy isn't called that anymore.

Edit: Also, the Cambridge Mall (I guess it's called "City Center Mall"), even though it was mostly empty even I was an adolescent. We hung out there partially because security didn't care, and there was also the Gamers' Den, where I played DnD a few times.

LM117

For me, it was two malls since I grew up in Fremont, NC, which is roughly halfway between Wilson and Goldsboro:

Parkwood Mall in Wilson, near the corner of Ward Boulevard and Tarboro Street. It's decline started when Hull Property Group (then known as Hull Storey Gibson) bought the mall in 2004 and did everything they could to run it into the ground. They changed the name to Wilson Mall and jacked up the rent for the tenants, as well as refusing maintenance whenever a tenant had a problem with the building, among other things. Then they decided to build a movie theater in an awkward location in front of the mall next to the main entrance, which cut the parking lot in half. The big, empty building on the north side of the parking lot used to be a Kroger, which didn't last long (2001-2004). It would've been better to tear down the old Kroger building and put the theater there, but that made too much sense. Another strike against the mall was when Heritage Crossing shopping center was built on the west side of town on US-264 Alternate near I-95 in 2006. Belk was the first tenant to leave the mall and move to Heritage Crossing. It snowballed from there. The indoor part of the mall finally closed in 2013 and most of the outside tenants were eventually kicked out after they were promised that they could stay. There's nothing there now except Roses, which is in Belk's old space, K&W Cafeteria, and the theater. Back in 2013 after the mall closed, HPG said they were gonna tear down the mall and redevelop that area, but it never happened. They wanted tax breaks from the city and the city council basically told them to go fuck themselves. The mall is still there, falling apart and being vandalized. The old Kroger building has been sitting empty since it closed in 2004, though the old gas station beside it was torn down about 10 years ago. It's a sad sight now. I have a lot of great memories there as a kid.

The other mall is Berkeley Mall in Goldsboro. It's still open and while I wouldn't say it's thriving, it seems to be in no danger of closing anytime soon and it seems to have better management. It's located on Berkeley Boulevard, which is the busiest thoroughfare in Goldsboro, and is right down the road from Seymour Johnson AFB. If it had been anywhere else in town, it wouldn't make it. Not much has changed there since I last lived in the area in 2009. The notable changes were JoAnn Fabrics moving in with their own entrance, followed by rue21 relocating there from another shopping center up the road, also building their own entrance. Sears closed back in January, but that came as no surprise. That space is still empty, as far as I know. The standalone Sears Auto Center closed and moved to Kmart, which also eventually closed. The Auto Center was torn down and Olive Garden was built in it's place. The parking lot in front of the mall main entrance is a damn clusterfuck filled with assholes who don't pay attention to the directional arrows. I always parked at JC Penney or Sears because of that.
"I don't know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!" -Jim Cornette

kevinb1994

I grew up between New Brunswick and Princeton in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. Originally had a mailing address of Franklin Park, but we moved not far at all and got a Princeton mailing address as a result. Still, the closest malls weren't exactly easy to get to! I have fond memories of Bridgewater Commons Mall in the township of the same name, Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick Township, Menlo Park Mall in Middlesex County, Quaker Bridge Mall in Mercer County, and Woodbridge Center Mall in the township of the same name. I have also seen a dead mall or two there. For example, where the Route 18 Flea Market used to be was slated to be redeveloped as the "˜Golden Triangle' and that ultimately did happen, with a new 24-hour Super Walmart and condos and townhouses right behind that new superstore. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for 251 Route 18. The Kids R Us is long gone and the stores are in serious decline. No takers for redevelopment yet, apparently. Loehmann's Plaza is either dead or alive, depending on whom you ask! Now, where the Walmart in North Brunswick has been since the mid-late 90s...it was once a mall called Fashion Plaza. This was before I was born (mostly), and at that point the US 1 and US 130 circle was already long a clusterfuck and would be replaced years later with a nice interchange with a flyover ramp. I'm not sure if there were any plans to remove the traffic signal for the Walmart plaza! The mall replaced an old drive in movie theatre and motor vehicle inspection station. I do have fond memories of Princeton Forrestal Village, but that one had never seemed to stay stable enough, but it is now a mixed-use development, as I recall before we left NJ a couple years back.

PHLBOS

Growing up in Marblehead, MA; the first enclosed mall I went to as a kid was the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers which first opened in 1971.  Such is still there today.

However, the shopping center my parents went to more often, largely because it was around a lot longer, was the then-North Shore Shopping Center in Peabody that first opened circa 1958(?).  It became an enclosed mall in 1977 and was, hence, renamed the North Shore Mall.  Such is still there today.

Circa 1975, a smaller mall closer to home was built & opened in Swampscott called the Swampscott Mall.  Such was close enough for me to bike to/from home.  For the most part & with the exception of Bradlee's, Medi-Mart (which became a Walgreens years later), Brigham's and Radio Shack; the other stores that were in the mall were very short-lived.  For some reason, that mall never quite caught on.  No sure whether such was due to poor access, the mall was only served by a couple of two-lane roads: MA 1A/Paradise Rd. & Essex St., or that the smaller stores were just too hidden from outside & the public eye.  A supplemental sign underneath the SWAMPSCOTT MALL that listed the various stores was added.  Ultimately, and following the demise of Bradlee's (one of the mall's anchor stores), the mall was converted into an old-school, open-air strip mall over a decade ago.

Another mall not too far away that never really caught on from day one was the East India Mall in Salem.  Largely because such was too hidden and had absolutely horrible road access to such; the main entrance was on a one-way side-street (Church St.).  Adding insult to injury, there was a charge for daytime parking whether in the parking garage above the shops/stores or in the adjacent lot.  Years later, it was renamed Museum Place (named after the nearby Peabody Museum); but most viewed such a putting lipstick on a pig.

IIRC, the only businesses in the mall that had some success was a movie theater (still there even though such has changed hands at least once or twice) and Weylus-Too whose space later on became a Thai restaurant.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

vdeane

Most of the mall visits we had when I was young were to Marketplace Mall in Henrietta.  That one is struggling, and I'm not really sure why, since it has a nice location.  Three of the four original anchors (Sears, the Bon Ton, and Macy's (formerly Kaufmans)) are gone, with only JCPenney left standing, though they did gain Dick's Sporting Goods at some point (I think they built their store on what used to be a direct entrance to the mall interior).  It was too bad when they replaced the fountains that were originally in the mall with play areas.

We also visited Eastview Mall in Victor, which is thriving despite being far away from most of the Rochester area (probably because Ontario County has a 7% sales tax instead of Monroe County's 8%), and Irondequoit Mall/Medley Center, which is dead.  The Mall at Greece Ridge is doing well as far as I know, though I've never been there.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Brandon

Quote from: bandit957 on December 03, 2019, 11:27:23 PM
A more recent dud is Newport on the Levee, which they don't really call a mall, even though it's an enclosed area with stores. They're mostly stores that nobody would even think to visit.

Dud?  I just looked on Google Maps, and there's a lot of stuff there, Barnes & Noble, a huge AMC movie theater, Gameworks, a lot of restaurants.  It's probably very busy on a weekend.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton, "Game of Thrones"

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg, "Monty Python's Life of Brian"

Mrt90

Lakehurst Mall in Waukegan, IL, which was torn down about 15 years ago, was a common Sunday afternoon destination during the winter when I was a kid.  My parents loved walking around the mall and browsing but I don't think we bought much there.  I remember that my dad almost always took the wrong exit off of US 41 (120 East instead of 120 West) so the trip usually involved making a U-turn in Park City.  For me the best part of the trip was the possibility of stopping at the Big Boy (long gone) at the Highway 50 exit on our way back to Kenosha.

bandit957

Quote from: Brandon on December 04, 2019, 01:39:51 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on December 03, 2019, 11:27:23 PM
A more recent dud is Newport on the Levee, which they don't really call a mall, even though it's an enclosed area with stores. They're mostly stores that nobody would even think to visit.

Dud?  I just looked on Google Maps, and there's a lot of stuff there, Barnes & Noble, a huge AMC movie theater, Gameworks, a lot of restaurants.  It's probably very busy on a weekend.

Barnes & Noble is gone.

Nobody goes to that mall.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

MikeTheActuary

Growing up, "the mall" for me was The Mall of Memphis.

When I visited Memphis for my 10-year high school reunion in 2000, the mall was emptying and was referred to as "The Mall of Murder" after a couple of unfortunate incidents (i.e., murders).  It lost its anchor stores in 2001, and was demolished in 2004.  Last time I looked, it was mostly a vacant lot, site of several unfulfilled development prospects.  (That could have since changed.  As my father fades, we don't do as much local sightseeing as we used to, so I haven't been by there in a couple of years.)

Another reason for the Mall of Memphis' failure was the opening of a new big mall east of the city.  That mall, Wolfchase, is now looking a bit rough and suffers from some issues with violence and property crime.



webny99

Quote from: vdeane on December 04, 2019, 01:23:54 PM
The Mall at Greece Ridge is doing well as far as I know, though I've never been there.

Never? That's wild! I'm not a shopper at all - basically the anti-shopper, in fact - yet I've been up to Greece Ridge a handful of times in my 20 years. I think I've actually been to Greece Ridge more often than Marketplace... but it seems like Eastview has long since usurped both of those as the "go to" mall, especially for those south and east of the city. Case in point, I honestly couldn't put a date on the last time I was in a mall that isn't Eastview or Destiny USA (excluding out-of-state malls like MOA).

Brandon

Living near Chicago, we went to several when I was little, as well as a few outside the area to places we'd visit often.

Louis Joliet Mall, Joliet
A one-level mall, filled with stores on what was the edge of town then (I-55 and US-30).  It had Bergner's, JCPenney, Marshall Field's (now Macy's), and Sears.  Still thriving, in spite of losing two anchors (Carson Pirie Scott nee Bergner's, and Sears) and filled with stores.

Jefferson Square, Joliet
Another one-level mall, but with only two anchors, Montgomery Ward and Wieboldt's.  Wieboldt's went out of business in 1986-87, and it was replaced with Menards a few years later.  The mall slowly lost stores over the next couple of decades (including Ward's in 2000-01).  Menards bought the mall, tore it down, and built a new store where Ward's was.  The other end is now a Walmart Supercenter.

Fox Valley Center, Aurora
Two-level mall with a basement food court area, anchored by Marshall Field's, Sears, JCPenney, and Lord & Taylor.  Lord & Taylor became Carson's (now gone, along with Sears).  Not too sure how it's doing as I haven't been there in a while.

Orland Square, Orland Park
Two-level mall anchored by Carson Pirie Scott, Marshall Field's (now Macy's), Sears, and JCPenney.  Sears is being redeveloped for a huge movie theater.  Carson's is now a Von Maur.  Orland's gotten a bit better over the years, and seems to be full with places like The Cheesecake Factory in the lineup.

Lincoln Mall, Matteson
Two-level mall anchored by Wieboldt's, Montgomery Ward, Carson Pirie Scott, and JCPenney.  Wieboldt's went out of business and was replaced by Sears several years later.  Ward's went out of business, and JCPenney left in 2001, leaving Sears and Carson's.  Not too sure what all happened, but it seemed to lose to places like Orland.  The mall is torn down now, but oddly, JCPenney came back to the mall on an outlot only a few years after leaving the mall proper.

Meridian Mall, Meridian Charter Township
When I first saw it, it was all on one level with JCPenney (formerly Knapp's), Service Merchandise (formerly Woolco), and Hudson's (now Macy's).  Definitely the dominant mall in the Lansing area, it's grown a bit to add a Mervyn's (later Younkers Men's Store) and a Galyan's (now Dick's).  The Service Merchandise was only half of the former Woolco, and it was torn down for a Jacobson's.  That later became Younkers.

Lakeview Square, Battle Creek
I remember it being built alongside I-94 near M-66 in the early 1980s.  It opened in 1983 with JCPenney, Sears, and Hudson's (later Macy's).  It was always a nice stop along the way to/from Lansing or Detroit.  Now, all the anchors are gone.

Twelve Oaks, Novi
Very nice two-level mall anchored by JCPenney, Sears, Hudson's (now Macy's), and Lord & Taylor.  The designs reminded me a bit of Fairlane and Woodfield (same builder - Taubman).  Later, the mall added a Nordstrom.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton, "Game of Thrones"

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg, "Monty Python's Life of Brian"

Brandon

Quote from: bandit957 on December 04, 2019, 01:44:51 PM
Quote from: Brandon on December 04, 2019, 01:39:51 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on December 03, 2019, 11:27:23 PM
A more recent dud is Newport on the Levee, which they don't really call a mall, even though it's an enclosed area with stores. They're mostly stores that nobody would even think to visit.

Dud?  I just looked on Google Maps, and there's a lot of stuff there, Barnes & Noble, a huge AMC movie theater, Gameworks, a lot of restaurants.  It's probably very busy on a weekend.

Barnes & Noble is gone.

Nobody goes to that mall.

OK, maybe you don't, but the entertainment options say otherwise.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton, "Game of Thrones"

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg, "Monty Python's Life of Brian"

kphoger

Quote from: Brandon on December 04, 2019, 01:59:42 PM
Louis Joliet Mall, Joliet
A one-level mall, filled with stores on what was the edge of town then (I-55 and US-30).  It had Bergner's, JCPenney, Marshall Field's (now Macy's), and Sears.  Still thriving, in spite of losing two anchors (Carson Pirie Scott nee Bergner's, and Sears) and filled with stores.

Orland Square, Orland Park
Two-level mall anchored by Carson Pirie Scott, Marshall Field's (now Macy's), Sears, and JCPenney.  Sears is being redeveloped for a huge movie theater.  Carson's is now a Von Maur.  Orland's gotten a bit better over the years, and seems to be full with places like The Cheesecake Factory in the lineup.

Lincoln Mall, Matteson
Two-level mall anchored by Wieboldt's, Montgomery Ward, Carson Pirie Scott, and JCPenney.  Wieboldt's went out of business and was replaced by Sears several years later.  Ward's went out of business, and JCPenney left in 2001, leaving Sears and Carson's.  Not too sure what all happened, but it seemed to lose to places like Orland.  The mall is torn down now, but oddly, JCPenney came back to the mall on an outlot only a few years after leaving the mall proper.

Growing up in New Lenox in the 1980s, I remember these three as "the mall" (especially Orland Square), although I'm not certain about Lincoln Mall.

He Is Already Here! Let's Go, Flamingo!
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Male pronouns, please.

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vdeane

Quote from: webny99 on December 04, 2019, 01:58:52 PM
Quote from: vdeane on December 04, 2019, 01:23:54 PM
The Mall at Greece Ridge is doing well as far as I know, though I've never been there.

Never? That's wild! I'm not a shopper at all - basically the anti-shopper, in fact - yet I've been up to Greece Ridge a handful of times in my 20 years. I think I've actually been to Greece Ridge more often than Marketplace... but it seems like Eastview has long since usurped both of those as the "go to" mall, especially for those south and east of the city. Case in point, I honestly couldn't put a date on the last time I was in a mall that isn't Eastview or Destiny USA (excluding out-of-state malls like MOA).
We went to Marketplace the vast majority of the time when I was young due to its convenient location.  Eastview and Greece Ridge are actually both around the same distance from where I grew up, and Eastview had something that was like a jumbo-sized Discovery Zone.  Plus my parents both hate Ridge Road on the west side of town and will go out of their way to avoid it - I suspect their conception of the corridor is from when it was still only four lanes.  And, of course, Medley Center was still thriving back then.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

roadman

North Shore Shopping Center - both before and after it was converted into an enclosed mall.
Liberty Tree Mall

Haven't been to either in years.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

spooky

For me it was the Midland Mall (later Rhode Island Mall) in Warwick, RI.

Midland Mall opened in 1967 with Sears and the Providence-based Shepards department store as anchors. My memories from the '80s are of Sears and G. Fox as anchors. The mall was renamed the Rhode Island Mall and renovated in the mid-'80s.

The mall lived in co-existence with the Warwick Mall on the other side of I-295 and the Pawtuxet River for many years. Warwick Mall opened in 1970 as a single-story mall with Filene's and Jordan Marsh as end anchors, with Woolworth and two Providence-based retailers (Peerless and The Outlet) as in-line anchors. My recollections from the late '80s and early '90s are of Filenes, Jordan Marsh, JC Penney and Caldor as main anchors, with Woolworth's still around at that point.

My family was a Midland/Rhode Island Mall family - we typically went out to dinner as a family every other Friday on my father's payday, with a trip to the mall afterwards.

The Rhode Island Mall's demise (and the inter-relation between the malls) starts when May Department Stores acquires Filene's in 1988. In 1993 May eliminated G. Fox and converted the RI Mall store to a Filene's. Two Filene's in neighboring malls could not survive, and so the RI Mall store was closed. The Filene's store, the food court, and about a third of the mall were redeveloped as a dual anchor with Wal-Mart on the first level and Kohl's on the second level. The mall is built on a hill, and so there was always parking access to both levels depending on which side you parked on. Now these separate anchors had their own parking areas and no connection to each other or to the mall itself. The mall limped along as a dead mall for years, with Sears still holding on as an anchor. Sears finally just stopped opening their gate into the mall in 2011, then walled off the opening, after which the interior mall closed for good.

It is presently being redeveloped with big-box stores. Burlington opened a few years ago. Sears closed in 2017 and has been redeveloped with At Home on the top level and Raymour & Flanagan furniture on the bottom level. Ironically, the site has returned to its former name (of sorts) and is now known as Midland Commons.

The Warwick Mall's history also relates to the operations of the May and Federated companies, like many other malls. Federated acquired Jordan Marsh in 1988 and converted the Warwick Mall location to a Macy's in 1996. Ten years later, Macy's moved to the other end of the mall to the Filene's space when Federated acquired May. The former Macy's/Jordan Marsh end was redeveloped as a Target on the ground floor and a Sports Authority on the 2nd floor.



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