Please post any feedback below. Be sure to include the name of the particular mall (or mobile home) write-up that you are commenting on.
Thank you,
Vintage mobile homes and the Trailerite culture of the 1940s, '50s and early '60s
Vintage mobile homes and the Trailerite culture of the 1940s, '50s and early '60s
Aaron Olden asked:
ReplyDeleteCan you make a drawing of the Davison's in Northlake Mall?
Hazel Jordan asked:
ReplyDeleteWho is the author of the Rosedale Mall article?
Hazel and Aaron,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting. A rendering of Davison's Northlake would be great.
"The Curator" (or myself) wrote the Rosedale Center article (and all other copy). Do you have a question about the article?
Greg said:
ReplyDeleteI found some very interesting info on the original Oxnard (Ca) Esplanade Mall(1968-2001) on this site. I was wondering if there are any available interior/exterior photos. The blog stated that there was a Mann Theatre there, which I remember as a kid, but it said that it went out of operation in the early 90's. It did become a "cheapy" theatre afterwards through the mid to late 90's. I remember seeing From Dusk Till Dawn and Anaconda there circa '96/'97.
Thanks for the interesting histories and details on your site! Let me know if you come across any pre-2000 photos of either the Oxnard Esplanade or the Pacific View Mall(Ventura Center).
Greg,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting. The cinema -at THE ESPLANADE- was in operation latter than I had thought. Thanks for pointing this out.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteI just revised THE ESPLANADE article. It now includes a full history of the Mann 1-2-3 Theatres.
Aaron Olden said:
ReplyDeleteYou should make an article on The Florida Mall in The Shopping Mall Museum. Has a lot to the plans.
4/26/17
Aaron, thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteRobert said:
ReplyDeleteDear Curator,
How can I contact TheBubster6? I would like to inquire about using some photos of the Richland Mall in an upcoming book. Many thanks!
Robert Jeschonek
Robert,
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to go about contacting the fellow who published the RICHLAND MALL photos. There used to be a website devoted to the Johnstown shopping mall....but I can't find it now. I'm sorry.
Anthony Lawrence has left a new comment on your post "Post A Comment:":
ReplyDeleteHello-
An update for the Plymouth Meeting Mall post:
The food court has been pushed back to its original location. The 1998 food court has been closed and replaced with a LEGOLAND.
Thanks!
-Anthony
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting the info. Cheers.
I was very happy to find your site. In my youth, the first complete mall store I built was Record Town in the Pyramid Mall in Plattsburgh, NY in 1975 ... 40 plus years ago. I then built several more there before the mall was completed and it was quite an education. Record Town was the first of a chain with several names that turned into over 300 stores. With so many site views I hope you can expand and monetize it. Malls are a major social development and currently becoming dinosaurs as the Amazon-type retailers capture the market. Thaks for your work.
ReplyDeleteAnon, thanks much for posting. I've considered monetizing these three sites (Mall Hall of Fame, Shopping Mall Museum and Portable Levittown) but (so far) have decided against it.
ReplyDeleteJoe said:
ReplyDeleteWhile it may not have been re-branded as such on the outside, I shopped at the Boca Jefferson Ward during the mid 70's. The price tag logo had already been changed. My first purchase was a suitcase, which I still have. Since I had a Monkey's card at the time, made it quite convenient. Was my store of first choice whenever visiting in Pompano Beach. Bought my wife's first "real" present there in 1977, opal pendant with a diamond chip.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting the "Boca Mall Memories". I never shopped at a Jefferson Ward, but did shop at a standard Montgomery Ward many, many times. I got my first bike at Wards (it was 22 $$).
Edwin said:
ReplyDeleteSadly the Maine Mall's Bon-Ton will be closing after only 4 YEARS in business...
(I can't believe that The Bon-Ton will close by the end of August, all 50 employees will soon need to find new jobs, hopefully they will find new jobs soon...).
Edwin,
ReplyDeleteI regret hearing that the Maine Mall Bon Ton has not been successful. I guess this means that Bon Ton's New England expansion has not panned out. Thanks much for posting the info.
It looks like Sears in The Rhode Island Mall/Midland Mall (in Warwick, RI) will be closing...
ReplyDeleteHopefully this link works:
http://warwickonline.com/stories/ris-only-sears-deemed-unprofitable-closing-sept-17,125533
Edwin,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting the info. I'll add it to the MIDLAND MALL article.
CJ said:
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate advertising, I have a retail blog of my own and I am trying to bring traffic to it. I'd really like it if you linked me on the side with the other retail blogs on Mall Hall of Fame or Shopping Mall Museum. Y'all inspired me to make a retail blog of my own and I'd love it if you did so. If you can't do so, I understand. Link is www.skymallblog.blogspot.com
CJ,
ReplyDeleteI have added a link to SkYMall to the "External Links" menu of the Mall Hall of Fame and "Mall & Retail Related Links" menu on the Shopping Mall Museum. I hope that this will direct traffic your way.
It looks like you have been working for quite a while on the SkyMall site. There is a LOT of material there. I am impressed.
I am also a bit envious that you have visited Southdale Center. It might be blatantly obvious...but I have never been to America's "Mother of all Malls". In fact, I've only been to a paltry few of the malls that I have "documented for posterity".
At least I WAS at Aventura Mall a time or two...where I saw one of the Bee Gees perusing VHS tapes at a SunCoast Video store (yep, this was back in the pre-dvd ----or BluRay--- era, lol).
So, I hope that these links to your site will bring you some traffic. Thanks much for posting.
CJ said:
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for adding me with the links. I've already seen a spike in traffic ever since you did so. Those are some vintage stories - oh how much I would give to visit a mall stuck in time (architecturally and stores). Apparently SunCoast still exists - though a shell of its self.
Southdale was a beautiful mall, and I'd hope you will make it there someday. It's still going strong after sixty years and plenty of hoobaloo. One of my favorite malls in terms of design, not bland at all.
It's only been two months since I started SkyMall, but how much passion can drive someone. I'm enjoying it, and I hope to keep working hard for months (and years) to come. Thanks for paying a visit.
My Bee Gees sighting -at Miami's Aventura Mall- took place around 1994. However, my vintage "mall" stories can go all the way back to late 1969 (I went to Dayton Mall -south of Dayton, Ohio- then). This was the first time that I ever went to a mall.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the grand ole 5 & Dime stores, that mall had one then called McCrory's (aka J.G. McCrory). It had the standard "lunch counter" (that I never once ate at) and -if I recall correctly- the candy department was right near the main entrance to the store (apparently, something of a standard 5 & 10 feature).
5 & 10s were a truly world unto themselves...there simply is not any thing like them nowadays. Where else could one buy a grilled cheese sandwich, "cherry coke", (live) baby turtle, Mattel Thingmaker, pair of swimming trunks and that new "In the Year 2525" 45...lol?
BTW, I believe that my favorite mall -past or present- is Atlanta's Lenox Square (circa-1959). Unfortunately, I never saw it when it was "open-air" (it was enclosed in 1972-'73). I did, at least, go there (in 1986) when the Food Court area was still with its original -1980- decor and the Rich's store was STILL Rich's.
We moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1970 and I grew up with all the changes to our malls. It was where you went to socialize and be seen. Thank you for recording all the changes. BTW I recently discovered that Winrock Mall was named after the developer Winthrop Rockafeller. I always wondered where the name came from. Thanks!! Julie
ReplyDeleteJulie....so sorry about the delay in posting your comment about WINROCK. I've been out of town. Thanks much for posting.
ReplyDeleteIn your Kirkwood Mall (Bismarck, ND) article, you have Herberger's as an original anchor at the southern end of the mall. Although other articles online also say this (including Wikipedia), I believe that this is incorrect.
ReplyDeleteI have a proposed site plan for the mall from 1968 which shows that the original southern anchor was Herbst--a small department store chain in North Dakota originating in Fargo. A history of the chain online confirms that they had a location in Bismarck, which I presume was at the mall.
Furthermore, the Herberger's lease was not signed until 1977, which makes it impossible for them to have been there when the mall opened in 1971. Their site plan even shows them in their current location and as part of the expansion, not in the original anchor location.
The last Herbst store, their Fargo flagship, went out of business in 1982, which explains why their Bismarck store disappeared around the time of the Kirkwood expansion in 1980.
Thank you for the information in your article, btw. I had especially been curious about where the name of the mall came from.
Keri,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your input. I have just tried to research this Herbst or Herberger's question over the internet...and not turned up anything to confirm either one as a 1971 anchor of Kirkwood Plaza.
The Bon Ton Stores' (Herberger's parent company) annual reports lists Herberger's as opening at Kirkwood in 1971. However, I have found that in most (if not all) cases, a retail chain that has bought out another will date their store opening all the way back to that of the original store (that they rebranded).
So.....I have revised the Kirkwood article to show Herbst (not Herberger's) as the original south anchor store.
Thanks again,
The Curator
Your information made me even more curious, so I dug a little deeper and found a Herberger's document that does reference an "Old Lease" that dates back to 1969. It implies that Herberger's was the original Tenant, but it's possible that someone was just lazy with their legal recitals and didn't mention that they inherited the store from someone else (I've seen that before).
ReplyDeleteIt's also possible that Herbst was originally planned, but fell through before opening. Planning was going on at least as early as 1968, but the mall didn't open until 3 years later, so time enough to get, then lose, proposed tenants.
The mystery deepens!
Keri,
DeleteI found some more info.....Herberger's was -after all- an original 1971 anchor at Kirkwood Plaza. The store opened its doors March 23, 1971. This detail was found at https://www.bismarckcafe.com .
Also, I found a March 1986 article from a Minnesota newspaper that listed Herberger's stores, as of 1986. There was a Gateway Mall {Bismarck} store listed, which the article said opened "in 1983". This is revealing, because this store was originally an AW Lucas, that had opened in 1979.
Also, a Holiday Village Mall {Great Falls, Montana} Herberger's was listed. The article said it opened "in 1976". However, this store had originally opened, as a Hested's 5 & 10, in 1962.
This article also said that a Herberger's in Bismarck's Kirkwood Plaza opened "in 1971". So, the store opening dates Herberger's lists indicate when said stores opened as a Herberger's.
When my husband got drafted ; I was 17 and we had to move to Killeen Texas and the place we moved in was a dump ! And I needed some household things and we went to Gibsons; I bought a few pairs of plastic curtains ; It was all we could afford ; thank God we had this store. Soldiers didn't get good pay then !
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting. I went to just one Gibson's store...which was in Tennessee. This was in the early '70s.
Rick said:
ReplyDeleteRECORD BAR rocked the malls, especially #20 Eastgate Mall-Chattanooga. Special management was the key, (thanks Susan and even "awesomer.") The trip described in metromall is pretty much how things worked for the mall rat generation.
Rick,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting. I bought many an LP at the EASTGATE Record Bar.
Sandra Knight said, on January 4, 2018 at 3:20 PM
ReplyDeleteI worked for the Globe Stores as Secretary to the president, Mr. Clayton Burkstrand. Yes it was owned by Walgreens and I along with my boss traveled to many of the stores for business purposes. I was hired at the Gulfgate location but then we moved off the Katy Freeway at the Walgreen location. Then when it was sold, I was so sad to lose my job, it was really a fun place to work with the greatest of employees. My other favorite store, Foleys and Weiners were also sold. What great stores they were also. Now we see Sears, K-Mart, Macy's, Penneys and others also going down. So sad. Over my 75 years I have seen so much but still have the good memories.
Sandra,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting. I also am saddened by all of the retail chains going out of business. At least we do have all of the memories. I guess these are what my three websites are all about. Thanks again for posting.
Darius Wilder has left a new comment on your post "Post A Comment:":
ReplyDeleteThe Target store at the Eastland Center in Harper Woods, MI is slated to close next month.
Darius Wilder has left a new comment on your post "Post A Comment:":
ReplyDeleteThe Target store at the Eastland Center in Harper Woods, MI is slated to close next month.
Darius,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting the info.
On April 21, 2018 at 8:17 AM Dale said:
ReplyDeleteIn your post about "Globe Discount City," you said it was sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Globe Shopping City." It WAS Globe Shopping City. I remember the jingle.
Dale,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for pointing this out. I've re-researched Globe discount stores as much as is possible and have come to the conclusion that stores in the same states (and at the same time) were promoted in print ads and TV commercials as either Globe Shopping City or Globe Discount City.
Yes, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense...but I have found newspaper ads with logos for both "Globe Shopping City" or "Globe Discount City".
In both cases, the logos have the exact same "Mister Sun" graphic and "Everything Under The Sun Priced Lower" slogan (see the newly-revised section about "Globe" stores at the end of the "A History of the Discount Mart" article).
I think that, by the late '70s, the stores were just being promoted as "Globe".
Thanks again.
On April 22, 2018 at 11:10 AM, john doe left a new comment:
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have photos of the Susan Ives store in ParmaTown Mall?
Anonymous said, on April 24, 2018, at 1:27 PM:
ReplyDeleteI will be curating a very small postcard-only exhibit at a frame store in Millburn,New Jersey from May 11-25 2018. It will only feature about 24 cards -all mall postcards. There will also be some text regarding opening dates and some closing dates for the malls. And a brief post-war history as well. Opening reception is May 11 from 6-8 pm.
DewN Nitek said, on May 3, 2018 at 10:11 PM
ReplyDeleteThe former Belk/McRae's building at Springdale Plaza/Mall in Mobile AL is currently being redeveloped to house three new junior anchors. Regional footwear chain Shoe Station is departing an outparcel at Bel Air Mall for 20K square feet on the ground level. Joining it will be Cost Plus World Market and Mobile Festival Centre tenant Bed Bath & Beyond.
Aaron Olden said, on May 3, 2018 at 1:59 PM
ReplyDeleteI actually like your Cin-Day Mall article, do you think you can add more fake mall ideas like that? Just to balance out all the real world ideals that we are losing?
Jim H. said, on May 18, 2018 at 10:28 AM
ReplyDeleteHello,
Does anyone have photos of the Susan Ives stores from the early 1960's to the early 1970's? Thank you.
Jim Harrigan
Also at Springdale Plaza in Mobile, AL, the former Best Buy space will be occupied by Burlington Coat Factory.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2018/05/31/michigan-sears-store-closings/661237002/
ReplyDeleteThe Sears stores at the Fairlane Town Center (Dearborn, Michigan) and Genesee Valley Center (Flint Township, Michigan) are closing in September.
The Sears stores at Fairlane Town Center and Genesee Valley Center in Michigan will be closing this fall.
ReplyDeleteYour Tampa Bay area section is missing the Tri-City Plaza mall.
ReplyDeleteNathan Victor Steinberg of Navist Theaters opened the Ridgeway Theater in Stamford, CT in 1951.
ReplyDeleteThe state-of-the-art, air conditioned, 900 seat theater - one of the first shopping center theaters in the U.S., was equipped with Stereo Sound, posh, rocking-chair seating, had Calder Mobiles, a Modern Art lounge with a Matron serving coffee and was awarded the most modern theater of its time in 1951.
As Stamford was the only first-run films City between New York and New Haven, the Theater serviced all of Westchester County, NY and Southern Connecticut.
Renowned theater architect,John McNamara, designed the space. Mr. McNamara practiced more than a decade in the office of Thomas W. Lamb, one of the nation's most respected and prolific early 20th C.theater architects.
Note correction below > Harry Brandt Theaters merged with Navist Theaters in Stamford during 1955 after Mr. Steinberg's premature death in 1953,
re:
Ridgeway Shopping Center - Stamford, CT
"Construction commenced on a second phase in February 1950. This southern block of stores included a
6-story Professional Building, 3-level (72,000 square foot) Sears and single-screen cinema. Originally known as the Navist Theaters(Harry Brandt -INCORRECT) Ridgeway Theatre, it showed its first feature, John Wayne in Flying Leathernecks, on August 31, 1951."
Hello! This is a very informational website. Thank you for maintaining it. It is appealing.
ReplyDeletePlease make a correction, however, to the article on the Topanga Mall in Canoga Park, California. The Sears building has not been torn down yet. I am a local resident, academic, neighborhood council member, and activist. I can assure you that construction on Westfield's new complex of luxury theaters and restaurants has not begun. Please correct this error. Also, Westfield was sold this year to the French company Unibail-Rodamco. The company name is now Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
Sincerely,
Gina Thornburg
Hello,
ReplyDeletePlease make this correction to the article on the Topanga Mall in Canoga Park: The Sears building has not yet been torn down. Construction has not yet begun on Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's new complex of restaurants, theaters, and a food hall.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Gina
Sears will be closing their stores at the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Michigan and Genesee Valley Center in Flint Township, Michigan in September 2018.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the hotels surrounding Fairlane have changed ownership and names: the Hyatt is now the Edward Hotel & Convention Center and the Ritz Carlton is now The Henry.
Darius,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for keeping me updated and for posting the info.
Also, to you, "Dewn Nitek", "Slush Puppie", "Navist Theatres" and Gina K. Thornburg...
I regret this long-delayed posting and answering of your comments. My mail server has -once again- messed up and stopped sending me notices when comments are made. I have corrected the problem and am now working on rectifications to the various articles (on the MALL HALL OF FAME) that you all posted comments about.
As always, thanks very much for your input and information.
Per your Dayton Mall article: Rike's...Macy's didn't have 3 levels until a January 1994 renovation. Elder-Beerman is still open, scheduled to close by the end of August 2018. "Sears is the only original tenant left". Well...Rike's is still there, just rebranded. JCP has moved, but is still there. Sears is closing in November 2018. JCP/McAlpin's/E-B expanded its 2nd floor from a loft to a full floor when McAlpin's took over.
ReplyDeleteChas,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting. As I remember, Rike's did have just 2 levels back when the mall was new. The original Penneys had an upper level, but it must not have been a full level (until McAlpin's). With Sears closing...none of the mall's original stores must be left.
Summit Place Mall in Waterford Township, Michigan has an appointment with the wrecking ball.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2018/09/10/ari-el-enterprises-inc-buys-summit-place-mall-demolition/1259051002/
Darius,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for posting the update.
On 8/25/18 / Anonymous said:
ReplyDeleteHello Admin, I'm a frequent visitor of St. Louis & South County mall (Have been my entire life!), and I recently realised that there's an odd staircase which is blocked off by moveable potted plants near #18 and Macy's on your 2006 map, near a hall which leads to the upper parking lot. In person, I can see it forks off to the left/west while looking down it while standing by the right side of it (In other words, it goes towards Macy's), and it's blocked off to the north and south by an immediate wall surrounding said staircase. I know it's a stupid question, but my ADHD and interest in architecture just won't let me be and I've been pondering this for a good month now- do you know the purpose of the staircase, or where it leads? I'm thinking it may have had something to do with the lower level parking lot, if I understand you correctly and it was underground like one of Crestwood's parking lots was. Thanks for your help in advance!
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteSorry about the delay in responding.
It appears that the stairway was part of a lower level entrance (from an old rear -or south- parking area)...although I can't confirm this. I have not been able to find any 1960s or 1970s SOUTH COUNTY store maps (to see for sure what this stairway was for).
Thanks much for posting.