Comments on: Meriden Mall (Meriden Hub); Meriden, Connecticut

By: Bob Whitworth

Bob Whitworth — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:08:32 +0000

@Ms. Jones,

Correct, back in the 80s and early 90s.

Best regards,

Bob W.

By: Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)

Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:19:43 +0000

What if the liquor store is tasteful and awesome, not some cheerless and drab place frequented by drunkards?

By: Variety House

Variety House — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:28:34 +0000

An OTB will kill just about anything it gets near – except for a liquor store.

By: Ms. Jones

Ms. Jones — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:10:58 +0000

Are you the Bob Whitworth that was once married to the New Haven Register reporter named Anne?

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:13:39 +0000

I worked at Grants from 73-74 as well…..probably with Fred as a management trainee for Pete Zimmerman……it was a pretty busy place back then but did suffer from the Meriden Square which had opened in 71 and was much bigger……but we had some good times….especially at Kenny Yums restaurant after work…..

By: chief mike

chief mike — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:47:48 +0000

Where the Mills is now and the NE corner of the Hub lot, was a street called Stone Street. My French Canadian “memere” lived there. Was a French area………..

I do remember Walgreens had a sit down restaurant. (eating there was a big deal for us at that time) We were eating there once and a girl reached in thru the plants and tried to steal my mothers pocket book.

The Meriden Mall is the perfect example of urban planning “going to the dogs”

By: Fred

Fred — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:26:10 +0000

Very sad story about the Meriden Mall. I worked there in 1973-1974, in Grants. There was a Chinese restaurant there called The China Yum which we used to frequent after work. Two old Italian guys had a by-the-slice pizzaria and an Orange Julius franchise opened up also. Anderson Little had a store at the north end of the mall.

“Rob” mentioned that he worked there the same time I did and remembered the store manager, Pete. There were a lot of good people working at Grants back then and it was a shock to learn that the whole corporation went bankrupt a year or so after I left.

From what I heard, the thing that really spelled the end for the Meriden Mall was the opening of the Off Track Betting parlor in the mall. When that happened, every bum, wino, derelict, and sleasebag started hanging out in the mall all day. Families stopped going there and it just died.

When I went back for a visit some years later, the mall was closed and some sort of business was using the building more as an industrial park. But at least the Jay Bee deli was still on the corner!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:09:21 +0000

The Meriden Mall was located on the lot bodered by East Main, Pratt, Mill and State Streets. If you are driving west on East Main you would pass it just before you get to the railroad tracks. There were a couple of banks right on East Main. The mall or Hub was directly behind. I remember when this place opened when I was a kid. There was a big fountain in the main concourse that went through the middle of the mall. A good indication of the problems to come was during the first month or so when some of the idiots from the projects went in to the grocery store, bought or stole a couple of bottles of dish soap and poured them into the fountain. Foamy bubbles everywhere! The old business saying is “location, location location!” With the Mill Project next door, this was a loser from the start.

By: BOB WHITWORTH

BOB WHITWORTH — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:38:03 +0000

How times zip by. I lived in Meriden until 1983 or so, and as a kid I watched the Meriden Mall being built. Took plenty of pictures of the construction, too. I would walk the construction site regularly, and was only occasionally chased off the property. I not only saw this place being built, I was there on opening night. For 1970, this was a pretty cool place even though crudely designed and cheaply built. By 1973 or so I found myself working at the Stop and Shop supermarket, located at the north end of this mall. The store was used primarily by low-income residents of nearby Mills Apartment projects, and suffered theft losses that got so bad, the Stop and Shop company closed the store several years before its 10-year lease ran out. There was a “Meriden Twin” theater in this mall, one storefront south of where the Stop and Shop was located. I can still remember the construction workers using blue chalk snap line to mark the locations of the auditorium seats! Meriden Mall won’t be missed. It was a product of the times, lousy political “leaders,” and poor economic planning.

By: Tammy Wikowski

Tammy Wikowski — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:14:31 +0000

Anyone know exactly where this place was located (like, street name or nearby buildings)? I grew up in Meriden (born in the late 70’s) but I can’t figure out whether I’ve ever seen this place before.

Also, I think some of the commenters here are being way too harsh on my poor old hometown, regarding the “urban decay” and scariness. It is actually quite a suburban place, and besides the projects most of it is safe and lovely (but then few towns have nice projects). I promise that you can safely exit your car nearly anywhere in Meriden without dying or being accosted- the crime rate is a 3 on the national scale (1 to 10), which is exactly average and possibly a little low for a town of its population.

I think part of the problem is that there is a predominant stereotype of every place in CT either being “olde New England” or “wealthy, white, and upscale”. So, when they are confronted with a completely average working town, they think it’s a dump by comparison.

I still visit Meriden regularly to see my parents, and would move back in a heartbeat… but sadly my job keeps me chained elsewhere.

However, if you want some **real** urban decay and fearing for your life, check out Bridgeport!