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
pseudo3d commented on Apr 29, 2024
ReplyDeleteI've been a fan of MHoF for a long time (15+ years) and one thing I'm surprised that was never covered was Eastpoint Mall in Baltimore.
It opened in October 1956 as the Eastpoint Shopping Center, anchored Hutzler's and Hochschild-Kohn in a U-shaped strip mall configuration. A new row of shops were added in the 1960s and ultimately enclosed by the 1970s.
By the early 1990s it featured Value City (Value City Furniture was accessible from an upper level, not the main mall, though they might've been interconnected originally), JCPenney, Ames, and Sears (Hutzler's later became Value City, and Hochschild-Kohn was renovated into a food court and additional retail. It still remains open today.
Thanks much for posting. I'm sorry about the delay in responding. Google is supposed to alert me when any comments are received. It rarely -if ever- does this.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, EASTPOINT CENTER is surely deserving of a write up on here. I have done screen saves of the original shopping center logo and a circa-1956 rendering. I also have a list of the original 40 stores and services.
Pseudo3d commented on May 3, 2024
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm not sure if this page is updated anymore, but the other mall that would be interesting to see is Eastwood Mall (in Ohio, not Alabama). It was once erroneously credited as the largest mall in the U.S. by counting its outparcels but opened in 1969 with Sears, Strouss', and Montgomery Ward. Strouss' became Kaufmann's and eventually Macy's, Montgomery Ward was briefly split into multiple tenants but reopened as Dillard's (though a gym, added in the mid-1980s during its multi-tenant phase still exists), Sears became Boscov's. JCPenney and Target were added later. It also has a hotel but I'm not sure if it connects directly to the mall or not.
Yes, the MHoF site is still up & running, although I haven't "inducted" any malls since Dallas' A. HARRIS-OAK CLIFF CENTER was added a few months ago. To be honest, I haven't felt like working on the site since I -and the MHoF- were bitterly lambasted on another mall-related site.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have saved some graphics for Greater Youngstown's EASTWOOD. I have the original (circa-1969) "Everything Under One Cover" mall logo, as well as a 1969 floorplan (the most important thing to have on hand when doing a write up).
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI greatly appreciate your input. Your comments are -in no way- insulting or belittling. In fact, you've made some excellent suggestions and have done so in a polite, considerate and complimentary manner.
Firstly, I considered renaming the "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania" section as (quote-unquote) "Delaware Valley-Philadelphia." However, I felt that this might create consistency issues with some of the other 15 "Cities With Mall Lists" links. Should the "Phoenix, Arizona" link also incorporate "Sun Valley"? Should "Chicago, Illinois" read "Chicagoland" or "Boston, Massachusetts" be listed as "Beantown" or "The Hub?"
I love to incorporate such local-isms as "Delaware Valley," "Beantown,"The Mile High City" or "The Big Apple" into the narrative. However, I thought it best to just leave the "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania" moniker as is. Still, I will stress that you are correct that the link should incorporate "Delaware Valley." "Delaware Valley" was already mentioned in the Shop-A-Rama article. I added mention of it to several more "Philly" mall articles.
I see that Delaware, or at least the the northern section, is considered to be part of the Delaware Valley...as is a lot of New Jersey and even some of Maryland. It would be nearly -if not- impossible to add Wilmington and South Jersey malls to the existing "Philadelphia, PA" link. However, I will add references to Delaware Valley to the Wilmington mall articles, as well as those for malls around Camden.
Your recommendations for additional "Del-Valley Malls" were well-thought. I regret that I don't have any graphics, floor plans or info saved for Cheltenham Square, Neshaminy, Suburban Square or Wynnewood. I do have a vintage floor plan of Exton Square (from 1976). I would have to have original floor plans to assemble any new articles, and these can be VERY difficult to find. Back in the day, I would do articles without the benefit any vintage plans or graphics. However, I ended up being lambasted by detractors for posting incorrect info and I don't want to do that again...if I can help it.
The concept of merging the MHoF and MALL MUSEUM sites into one has a great deal of merit. However, this would be extremely difficult, even if I could figure out how to do it. If I could just start over from scratch and post a "new & improved" MHoF -including all MALL MUSEUM content- I probably would. However, this would entail buying a domain and making it a TRUE website and reposting everything. Even with all of the limitations of Blogger, I like that these sites are free of charge.
When I started all of this way back in 2006, I had no idea what I was doing. I (perhaps unwisely) decided that this new mall site should cover only USA malls originally opened during the "Baby Boom" years (my generation). I eventually figured out how to label things and make clickable links to this and that.
4 years later, I created the second site, that -not only- included USA shopping complexes from the early 20th century, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s...but featured malls in Canada, Australia, South America, The UK, France, Africa and Japan. Like, where else can one find detailed -and illustrated- histories of Melbourne's CHADSTONE CENTRE or Johannesburg's KILLARNEY MALL, lol?
Getting back to the MHoF, your recommending a new section for "Taubman Malls" is spot on. I only have sections for 4 major mall developer-designers, i.e., Edward J. DeBartolo, James Rouse, Victor Gruen and John Graham, Junior. In addition to an A. Alfred Taubman section, there should -at least- be ones for Lathrop Douglass, Welton Becket and William Pereira. Assembling correct -and entirely inclusive- lists of malls built or designed by these men might be difficult. I guess this is why I've only completed preliminary work on a few such sections.
So, I'll get this posted. Hope to hear back from you soon.
Ally asked on May 9, 2024:
ReplyDeleteHello! I have been a fan of this blog for many years, and I have recently begun my journey as a PhD student researching the cultural history of the American Shopping Mall. I would love to get in touch with you about this amazing resource that you have built. I'm not sure how to contact you besides posting a comment, but if you see this I would love to get in touch!
I just revised the LAKEWOOD CENTER (California) article. I managed to find a photo of Ben Weingart. Here is the caption...
ReplyDeleteThe money behind the mall. Multimillionaire Ben Weingart (1888-1980) was a mid-century mover and shaker. He amassed a fortune running hotels, apartment complexes and discount department stores. He also developed housing plats, shopping centers and office buildings. In 1949, Weingart formed a joint venture with fellow Californians Mark Taper and Louis Boyar. Their Lakewood Park Company assembled the 3,500 acres that were eventually incorporated as the City of Lakewood.
ReplyDelete"Unknown" commented on July 9 2024
The discount grocery store at Vallejo Plaza was better by foods not food max.
"Food Max?"
ReplyDeleteAaron Olden commented on August 23, 2024
ReplyDeleteHi, it's me again... with new suggestions & comments. Hope you enjoy my input.
- New Special Features (or exhibits as I call them, fits the museum theme) Page Concepts: Murphy's Malls & Grant City Centers -
It may seem outlandish, but I believe it would make the most sense. Murphy's Mart & Grant City within their lifespans were a part of a large number of mall developments (not as large as Woolco, but I believe in shining a light to underrated aspects of mall history), and it makes sense to have dedicated lists for the other two sister chains from the 5 & Dime big 3 (Woolworth, Murphy's & Grants).
- New Special Features (or exhibits as I call them, fits the museum theme) Page Concept: The What-Ifs -
Let me explain, because I don't mean things like "What if Rolling Acres Mall Succeeded?" cause I do believe those type of fictional concepts wouldn't exactly work with the current site in mind (That & I believe you had your fill with Cin-Day). The concept in mind I propose involves confirmed proposals of mall expansions/redevelopments & of the sort that didn't happen in one way or the other(example being the proposed expansion of Quaker Bridge Mall from the mid 2000s or the 100 Oaks Mall redevelopment that never came to be). Possibly with illustrations of how these proposals would be & if it would work or not. I didn't put this in the original post from May due to how long it was (understandably), and I understand where your coming from when it came to detractors. I thought of the post concept because of an actual museum doing an exhibit concept like that but with Best Products store design proposals (I have a book of it from the exhibit too), so I thought it could be a perfect fit.
- History Update: JCPenney -
You must've heard about too... JCPenney closing all their mall stores. Sad to see them go like this, honestly.
- History Update: The Block Northway -
BJ's was recently added, taking the vacant Costco spot.
- Exton Square: Need any help? -
I do (or used to) live in that area of Del-Val so I can detail & find some info of Exton Square if it helps.
Anyways, I hope you are doing well & I hope this gets back to you.
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for the excellent suggestions. I must ask, what did you think of the TAUBMAN'S MALLS section that I added a few months ago?
I don't know what's going on with Blogger...but -whatever it is- it's making adding anything new to either mall site quite difficult. I've had to work for (sometimes) 30 minutes to get text to align correctly. Also, attaching images can often be very problematic and require a great deal of patience and work.
Perhaps my alotted Blogger storage space has been surpassed? I really don't know (and there's no one to ask).
BTW, I just added mention of the BJ's Wholesale Club that opened, in 2022, at Pittsburgh's Block At Northway.
Thanks again for posting. I greatly value your input.
ReplyDeleteAaron Olden commented on August 26, 2024:
Thought the Taubman Malls & Douglass section was an excellent addition.
To be honest, I don't know what's going on with Blogger as well. With what's been going on with Blogger lately (not just you unfortunately), you can see why I made the previous suggestion of a standalone/new website. Probably use that suggestion as a last resort if anything further happens BTS.
Aaron, I added one photo to the MALL MUSEUM "Forest Fair Mall" article yesterday. It took a good 20 minutes to get text to post properly.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was just my two sites that are so wonky. It's unfortunate to hear that problems are being experienced by other Bloggers.
"Unknown" commented on September 9, 2024:
ReplyDeleteChesterfield Mall under St. Louis (City of Chesterfield) closed for good on 8/31/2024 and will demolished in October 2024 except for Dillard's which will remain as part of Downtown Chesterfield, the new development where the mall used to be.
WestPort Plaza is NOT in the city of St. Louis but rather the city of Maryland Heights, a western suburb. About 30% of the stores were demolished and are replaced with an open park in 2023-2024, as Rollings (sports) moved in and added a large store.
ReplyDeleteUnknown,
Thanks much for the update on Chesterfield Mall. The listing on the Major St. Louis Malls & Shopping Centers list now reads as follows;
16. CHESTERFIELD MALL -1976 / enclosed mall / WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN CHESTERFIELD -2002 / WESTFIELD CHESTERFIELD -2005 / CHESTERFIELD MALL 2007-2024 / DOWNTOWN CHESTERFIELD -2027? / City of Chesterfield
I guesstimated that the first phase of the Downtown Chesterfield complex would open in 2027...
The listing for Westport Plaza needed some tweeking, for sure. I was correct in saying that it opened in 1971 (Wiki says 1973...the Maryland Heights website says 1971). I was grossly incorrect in saying that WP is in the City of St. Louis. Apparently, it was originally in unincorporated St. Louis COUNTY. Maryland Heights wasn't incorporated until 1985. So, this is how this listing now reads...
12. WESTPORT PLAZA -1971 / open-air & enclosed entertainment, office & retail complex / St. Louis County (Maryland Heights)
Thanks again
DMR, Yes, I grant permission for you to use the directory maps I drew for the El Con Mall article on the Mall Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteDMR commented on October 10, 2024
ReplyDeleteHello. Sorry for the delayed response. I thought the reply would show up in my Gmail account, so I didn't see your response until now. Thank you so much for allowing me to use these maps in my book. I will be sure to include citations, which will hopefully generate more traffic to your wonderful website. It really is a treasure for those of us who appreciate this retail history. Once again, thank you!
ReplyDeleteDavid posted a comment on November 23, 2024:
Hello, I'm from Chile and a big fan of shopping malls. Thanks to this blog, I've been able to get a clear idea of how and why shopping malls are created, their origins, and everything related to them.
Although Chile's shopping mall industry is still in its early stages, it has also been affected by various economic problems. However, what's happening with 'dead malls' in the United States is also happening here, with a saturation of supply and a lack of intention to change. I'd be delighted to have a contact so that in the future, one of our shopping malls or companies can have a space on this site. I'd also like to get an idea of what will happen with the shopping mall landscape in the coming years, since we've copied the successes and mistakes of North American shopping malls to the letter.
Unknown commented on December 4, 2024:
ReplyDeleteJust a heads up on your article on Merle Hay Mall (https://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2007/03/merle-hay-plaza-douglas-avenue-us-6-and.html): the renovations to install the hockey arena never happened. Funding from the city fell through. The Younkers is still sitting empty, and the ex-Kohls where the sports training facility was going to be is a pickleball place now.
The mall claims they're going to build the stadium anyway, but is presently in a state of disrepair and the attached office tower and former theater have been for sale since 2019 with no buyer.
Thanks much for the word up. I did not see your comment until just now...As a matter of fact, I revised the MERLE HAY article yesterday (on Dec. 5). I included all the details about the Buccaneers pulling out of the mall arena deal and the new pickelball complex. Thanks so much for alerting me that the MERLE HAY article was badly in need of an update.
ReplyDeleteI am currently going through all mall articles state-by-state, checking to see if any revisions are necessary. As of today, I'm up to the letter "L" (Louisiana).
Thanks again.