Tri-State Mall; Claymont, Delaware
With a name like the “Tri-State Mall,” you might expect a major, regional mall out of this Claymont, Delaware center. Of course, you’d also be completely wrong.
The tiny Tri-State Mall on Naaman’s Road in Claymont, Delaware, located right along the Pennsylvania state line, is easily one of the bleakest and most unappealing malls that we’ve visited. While we at Labelscar love the idea of the enclosed mall and find that it’s a rare occasion that we don’t enjoy one of these centers, Tri-State Mall is one of those rare cases where the place feels so forbidding that we’re in a bit of a rush to leave. These pictures, all taken in early August 2007 of the forty-year-old mall, should illustrate why.
Set between some middle class suburban areas to the west and an expanse of oil fields and other industrial areas to the east, the Tri-State Mall is organized in a relatively simple “+” pattern, with one hallway leading straight from the parking lot to a comedy club in the mall’s rear, and a cross hallway leading between Kmart and Value City, the mall’s two anchors. There is also a rather sad little strip mall in the parking lot that’s built into the lot’s grade.
Apart from the mall’s downright hilarious website–which includes a bunch of small photos that were very obviously NOT taken here–we can’t find very much about the Tri-State Mall on the web. Did the mall ever do any better? What were the original anchors–was something here before Value City?
EDIT 8/13/07: Ask and you shall receive. Michael Lisicky always comes through for us–he had this 1987 photo of the Wilmington Dry Goods store, which occupied the Value City space. He also says the mall was a much bigger draw at that time than it is today. Value City took over the space in 1990. Also, Lisicky says he’s pretty sure that the Kmart was a Grant City store originally.
Jonah Norason
August 12th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
This is a kind of mall we won’t mind see going away. Demolish it! Place a Super Target there!
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mallguy
August 12th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
That place is downright depressing and to be honest, I never even knew it existed! Much more quiet than Christiana Mall on the other end of 95.
Speaking of Christiana Mall, they are about to embark on a much needed redevelopment phase with the closing of Strawbridge’s and Lord and Taylor, half their anchor lineup (JCPenney and Macy’s are the remaining anchors). The former Lord and Taylor will become a store called The Epicenter Collection, which is something new for a mall…kind of an internet shopping showroom. Shopping Centers Today has an article about it. The former Strawbridge’s will be Nordstrom…I’m honestly surprised it took them this long to open here…Delaware’s tax free shopping (they make up for it in tolls along 95!) attracts shoppers from 3 different states and the Christiana Mall is extremely visible from 95. With the coming of Nordstrom, the mall will probably be renovated and that probably means the three really cool fountains in this mall will be gone…oh well.
Back to the Tri-State Mall…definitely the most depressing mall around.
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Michael
August 12th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Before Value City it was the Wilmington Dry Goods, known also as “The Dry”. Its famous anchor store was located on Market St. in downtown Wilmington. “The Dry” joined Kennard’s and Braunstein’s as the anchors of downtown. It was a strange type of markdown store and actually operated more like a Filene’s Basement but was years ahead of its time. No prices were listed on the clothes and had a strict return policy. There were several branches and even found their way into NJ but this one had real odd signage. (If I can find my poor photo of it I’ll post it.) The downtown store closed in the 70s and was quickly demolished. This store, like many Drys, became Value City in the early 90s when the store just overexpanded a little too much.
I always loved the mall’s water tower. You’d be surprised how many Delaware Valley commuters know that sign.
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XISMZERO
August 12th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Distressed! That sorry scene with the broken “MALL” signs says it all about this place.
What a sorry little website. I think the mall they stole these pictures from ought to demand they be taken down or perhaps they, even worse, threw up some stock photos…
Kmart, specifically (or Value City) looks like it might’ve been a W.T. Grant originally. Any idea about the original anchors?
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Christopher Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Uh… Actually Kmart used to be W.T Grant. Because Value City used to be the Dry Goods store
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njyogibear
August 13th, 2007 at 7:31 am
We can’t discuss the Tri-State Mall without mentioning Soul Line. On Comcast in central NJ there is this hypnotic African-American dance show on TV late at night called Soul Line, and at the end they always say come and see us in person at the Tri-State Mall in Delaware. This show has row after row of blacks of all ages and shapes dressed in their most funk-tastic outfits, dancing in unison (sort of) to the music. Makes me want to go to Tri-State mall.
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eltonwheelock
August 13th, 2007 at 8:41 am
I don’t know which is more amusing: “Man’s World” or “Yum Yum Bar”
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Caldor
August 13th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Wow! I had no idea. That’s certainly a lot more festive than what’s here at the daytime. Do you know where it is in the mall that they do the Soul Line show? Is it in the back where the “Comedy Lounge” is?
Also, does anyone have any idea what the “Comedy Lounge” was originally? It seems like it was a mini-anchor of some sort.
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Craig Reply:
May 18th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
There used to be a movie theater at that end. Last movie I remember seeing there was La Bamba back in ’87. I saw The Natural there in ’84, and Ruly Carpenter, who’s family once owned the Phillies, was there! I used to get my haircut at Man’s World up until the late 80′s. That mall used ot be pretty crowded on the weekends. Thanks!
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Allan
August 13th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Gotta love the name Yum Yum Bar for a mall store!
As for my opinion of this mall, it unfortunately isn’t a very remarkable mall. To me, this one somehow screams as Delaware’s version of Pierre Moran Mall.
And BTW, I think it’d be interesting if labelscar eventually did an entry on nearby Christiana Mall, since I’ve always heard(and read) a lot about that mall over the years, since I became a geek interested in malls.
Also, what exactly do I have to do to submit info, pics, etc. about a mall I’d like to profile? Since I think I know a perfectly good mall that exists that I would be interested in profiling for this site(but obviously, I won’t reveal which mall it is, until I submit the info for this site to the webmasters of labelscar). Though keep in mind that I probably won’t be able to get pics of this mall right away onto the site, since I need to make one more trip to this mall to get pics of it(was too chickened out unfortunately, the first time I visited this mall, to get interior pics….
). Thanks to anyone who can help me out on telling me the procedures I need to do next, and I’ll see if at the same time I get pics on this mall I wanna profile, I also can find time someday soon to make a trip to Randhurst Mall to get pics of it, before it gets de-malled.
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dan-onymous
August 13th, 2007 at 11:33 am
After seeing the huge “Tri-State Mall” water tower from I-95, I decided to stop here last year expecting a mall to live up to the grandness of the water tower. The strangest part was that I couldn’t find a restroom anywhere in the mall.
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ccmoore
August 13th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Hahaha!! Soul Line is absolutely hypnotic (there isn’t any better adjective for it). Wednesday night at 8, you will get hooked … and it’s hard to explain why, you just will. They have huge commercial segways which promote the Tri-State Mall … this is literally 10 minutes away from me, so cool!
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Joe
August 13th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Feet Like Fine Brass???????
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boomshakla
August 13th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Did some work on Lexis-Nexis on the place, it seems to be fairly crime-ridden. In 1981, a sales clerk was abducted and killed, left in a nearby church parking lot. In 1991, an attempted drug deal led to a murder. There was a lawsuit in 1996 of some slip-and-fall at a Wendy’s there. I found a funny 1999 article about a loitering problem amongst teens there, and it actually claims that the mall was renovated around that time, and was built in 1967. Also around 1999, it appears that a Shoprite was an anchor.
Otherwise, what an ugly place.
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Bobby
August 13th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I think the Kmart used to be a Grant City.
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Bobby
August 13th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
The first pic gives the wrong pic when I click on it, and the 3rd pic doesn’t work at all.
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Bobby
August 13th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Now that I’ve seen the WDGoods sign, I think I see a bit of labelscar under Value City’s logo…
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ccmoore
August 14th, 2007 at 11:44 am
There was also a Dry Goods in Dover across the highway from the old Blue Hen Mall. It’s now a Value City as well. When I was growing up we always shopped in Wilmington at the old Wannamaker’s ouitside of the city, but I recall being in Dry Goods a number of times, and the toy department was in the back right corner and they always had the best shit. When PeeWee’s Playhouse was big they had everything imagineable (I dont know why that sticks out). The Blue Hen Mall, though, is something else. For a mall that has been dead for 15 years, it is a relic to behold. I was in the old mall a few months ago and I took some pictures before I was hustled out by some 108 year-old security guard.
It had a gigantic Woolworths with the nice (relatively speaking) restaurant attached (not the food counter). Most of the store fronts are still intact actually … it’s now used as a corporate center — the old Penney’s store is now an Aetna call center and the old Woolco/Roses was a Nation’s Bank office.
Does anyone else remember the Blue Hen Mall??
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sean Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
@ccmoore, i remember the blue hen mall…and used to work in the dry goods across the street while in high school! ah, memories.
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Michael
August 14th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Yes! I remember the Blue Hen Mall in Dover. It also contained a small branch of the Wilmington-based Kennard-Pyle (Kennard’s) department store. Blue Hen didn’t have a large Kennard’s but it had a presence there.
The old Wanamakers in Wilmington was a great store. It was architectually beautiful. I’m glad I was able to photograph it before it ended. If you shopped in Wilmington was Merchandise Mart (or Merchant’s Square) before your time? That was Wilmington’s true shopping center, along with Price’s Corner, and was anchored by a great Strawbridge & Clothier store. The whole large center sits there decaying, as it has been, for almost 30 years. It’s visible from 495. Centers like the Tri-State Mall with the Dry Goods hurt this mega-center back in the late 60s but Concord Mall was the last straw. Though it is not an enclosed mall it is a labelscar to the max and it is a massive retail graveyard. I have one photograph from the late 80s and not much has changed.
If I get to Dover sometime soon, Blue Hen Mall here I come.
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ccmoore
August 14th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
I remember Merchant’s Square too. I dont recall if I was ever in that Strawbridge’s or not but it’s all still there … and dead as well. When I send Jason my Blue Hen Mall pics, I’ll send the MErchant’s Square pics too. I got some amazing shots of the inside of the CineMart through abroken window. It’s like something from a movie (no pun intended).
Michael, have you ever posted the Wannamaker’s pics??? If not, you should share, that store was designed by the firm that designed the Pentagon. I drive by it every day on my way to work, it’s the coolest building in Wilmington, I think.
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Tricky Nicky
August 14th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
No mall could ever be in great shape if they have a loan or check cashing place. This mall must be three times as bad … I counted three of these places from the pictures – Advance America Cash Advance, United Check Cashing, and ABC Title Loans. I definitely agree with the first commenter – just demolish it already and put a Super Target in its place.
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Michael
August 14th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
There seems to be a real push for a Super Target here but I’m not sure, at this location, it would make the best business sense. I love Target but that’s meant for Rt. 202.
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XISMZERO
August 15th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Can any Delaware natives confirm if there’s still a vacant Caldor in Wilmington?
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Craig Reply:
May 18th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
@XISMZERO, It was turned into a Home Depot on Miller Rd
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ccmoore
August 16th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Can you be more specific? There was a Caldor in Newark, and it sat vacant for a long, long time. It was turned into a BJ’s maybe 3 years ago. There was also a Caldor in Dover.
I’m not sure about Wilmington, though.
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Eric S
August 16th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Wow. Absolutely pathetic and hilarious. To hell with putting a Super Target here, this should stand as the national memorial to retail failure. That’s just unbelievable. Check cashing, wigs, dark hallways, a K-Mart…there’s a recipe for mall success!
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Eric
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:16 am
Is Yum Yum Bar a store? What do they sell? I want to drink and look at a K-Mart!
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jean
August 24th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I would like to know who owns the Tri State Mall? Can any one tell me?????????
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Jonah Norason
August 24th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Yum Yum Bar does appear like a restaurant. It has seats and booths.
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Bobby
August 24th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I think “Rosen Properties” owns the mall, at last check.
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EricS
September 9th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Oh wow, the Tri-State. I visit some friends in the Claymont area from time to time and I made the mistake of driving into this hellhole’s parking lot thinking it might be a real mall and I could get lunch there. That has to be the biggest dump of a shoppign center I have ever seen. I took one look from my car and never even turned it off.
Right now there’s actually a huge haunted house attraction set up in the part of the lot nearest to Namanns Road. They should really just gut the place, or firebomb it after everyone’s out, and move on. That particular part of Deleware is a deadzone for retail. Let it bcome an annex to the refinery or something.
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JoeW
October 5th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Wow, I found this site from DeadMalls.com and just had to comment on the very 1st mall from my memory. I lived in Claymont with my family from 1972 to 1979 and back then this mall was hopping. In no particular order
1. It should have been named the Borderline Mall instead of TriState because it does straddle the 2 states so closely but because it was so dinky. No more than 3-4 stores at most and then the fountain in the center. I fail to see how people from Jersey could have gotten to the Mall unless they were willing to drive 20-30 to the Delaware Memorial and up 95 and when you drive that distance what’s the attraction.
2. The “Mall” sign has been up since the ’70′s so therefore most likely since the opening. The reason being is that the Tri-State had a traditional non-enclosed shopping area on the other side of Wilmington Dry Goods so the sign for the Mall differentiated from the enclosed and non-enclosed areas.
3. The fact that the water tower has no graffiti on it is both amusing and astounding. When we visted friends and relatives in the Delaware Valley from 1979-1992 there was ALWAYS graffiti on the water tower with one exception in 1989 I think. The graffiti was there in the ’70′s as well.
4.The parking lot is so outsized for the amount of shopping space available. as to be laughable. Of course the mall was built on a hill so that explains that.
5. There used to be a Kinney Shoes where the Payless Shoe Source is and a WSFS branch right in front of what was then the Eric cinemas and is now the comedy club. There were no payday loan outfits there back in the ’70′s BTW. A healthy flow of all types of shoppers were in the mall during all shopping hours.
There was a Grant store in there before the K-mart moved into the mall as well.
6. I haven’t been back to the area since 1992 but the decline of the mall is emblematic of the decline of the area as well. I have lived all over the country and while the decline of Tri-State was predictable. Bannister Mall is the most shocking to me along with Metcalf Square in metro KC
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Teresa Rothaar
October 8th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
The “Comedy Lounge” used to be a movie theatre. First Sameric owned it, then United Artists bought it, and then it was owned by one or two mom-and-pop chains before it closed completely in or after 1994.
Believe it or not, that dump of a mall used to be hopping. The K-Mart and Dry Goods used to attract a lot of shoppers from PA seeking tax-free merchandise, and the movie theatre was a big draw as well. There were also lots of little specialty shops that did well, like the Hong Kong Shop, Keys ‘N Things, and the Tobacco Barrel.
I worked at the movie theatre in the late 80′s, when I was a teenager and young adult. The mall was declining then, but it was luxed out compared to what it looks like now. At least there were still stores, including the ones I mentioned above, in all those empty spaces.
To heck with a SuperTarget. I want to see a COSTCO put there!
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Joe
October 10th, 2007 at 11:11 am
I grew up outside philly and I remember going to this mall a few times in what I *think* was the late 80s. What I remember the most was this awesome (in my memory anyway) knife shop, fairly close to the entrance I think, because I know we didn’t have to walk far to get there. I say knife shop, but I almost certain they sold more than just knives, but my adolescent brain must have ignored anything not sharp and/or pointy there.
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Teresa Rothaar
October 11th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Joe: That was probably the Hong Kong Shop. They sold all kinds of Asian-themed stuff there, including knives, numchucks, Chinese stars, and the like.
The Hong Kong Shop was really cool; that mall did have a few neat little niche stores like that one before it went completely downhill.
I’m still hoping for my Costco! I hate having to drive all the way to Christiana.
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Joe
October 15th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Teresa Rothaar: No, it wasn’t an Asian-them store, by knives I mean “real” knives like Vintrox, Leatherman, and Buck. Knives you would actually use to cut things.
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Jonah Norason
October 16th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Obviously Big Kmart isn’t the true hypermarket, it was one of the Big Ks Kmart halfheartedly converted from regular Kmarts. It obviously must be one of those depressing Kmarts without automatic doors.
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JoeW
October 16th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
In the mid to late 70′s there was a Pantry Pride across from the Levitz. I wonder what supermarket (if any) it is now? One question to anyone in the area: On the other side of Levitz furniture was a ‘Kiddie City’. I imagine it became a Toys R Us. What became of it?
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GF
December 5th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
XISMZERO:
As someone said, there was a Caldor in Newark and Dover. There were indeed two in the Wilmington Area which opened around 1992:
One was on Centerville Road between Price’s Corner shopping center and the GM Manufacturing plant (off Delaware 141 near Kirkwood Highway). It became a fairly nice K-Mart after Caldor closed, but closed during their restructuring. (I guess a nice, clean K-Mart is too expensive to maintain.) Then it sat empty for a while, eventually being gutted for Wal-Mart.
The other Caldor was in north Wilmington on Miller Road. It briefly became Ames in 2000, even though they were struggling at the time! It is now a Home Depot I believe?
None of the stores were built by Caldor, but were remodeled buildings left vacant by other chains. The location in Newark at the former Castle Mall opened around 1995 I think. It had been a long-empty K-Mart (which had moved up the road to College Square to take a spot left empty by Bradlees around 1989). The Newark location was spacious for Caldor, and was my favorite big box retailer. The Prices Corner Caldor location MIGHT have been a Bradlees or Jamesway. I don’t know anything about the Miller Road Wilmington location’s history. It may have previously been Jamesway as well?
All the northern Delaware/Wilmington locations have since been remodeled into new stores, so there are no skeletal Caldors left. I should also add that Caldor did very well in this area. Neither Target nor Wal-Mart had arrived in northern Delaware, Jamesway was gone, and Ames and K-Mart were both lacking.
Hope that helps. I really miss Caldor.
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BobC
December 7th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Joe,
your right about the kinfe shop. I believe it was just inside the main entrance, on the right. The Hong Kong shop was towards the theater. There was also a great pet shop that once had a gorilla for sale and a great record store (Wow”record” store, really showing my age). The middle of the mall had a Fanny Farmer candy store, a jewerly store, Stride Rite and some kind of snack bar (not Yum Yum). Across from the pet store, there was the Carridge House resturaunt and an ice cream shop.
The movie theater was pretty nice once, but went down hill after spliting into 4 screens.This mall was really nice at one time. Every Christmas, it was the first place decorated and Santa was there at all times. They had a Silo appliance shop in the lower section, a real nice chinese joint and I believe the Pantry Pride became a Pick and Save. Further down was the Kiddie City/Toys R Us.
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DrMDL
January 9th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
This mall is str8-up GHETTO. While we were there it became clear that the Value City is closing down. My husband say on the internet that it might become a Burlington, but if it does I’d say that’s a corporate mistake for Burlington.
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Steve Whitman
January 11th, 2008 at 3:02 am
I was an assistant manager at the Wilmington Dry Goods store in Dover DE in the late 70′s. It was something else. All transactions were cash or check. We had a huge business of Amish customers. There was even a row in front of the store dedicated to horse and buggys with a water and hay triogh. I would love to see some pictures of that if anyone has those. When we bought goods for the store, we always bought Arrow white shirts, black, gray or blue Haggar slacks and lots of dark bolt fabrics for the ladies. Another memory was that every morning before we opened, all personell would come to the front of the store and listen to a recording of “The Stat Spangled Banner.” I was told the owner was a Russian Immigrant and thought “America was the best place on eath to live!”
I remember the Yum Yum shop in the mall as a candy store that had lots of jelly beans (pre Reagan) and nickle candy.
Great memories!
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Mark Reply:
July 9th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
@Steve Whitman,
I remember you! You were one of my bosses! You are still around? How is the wife?Any kids?
Yeah, me and C, maried,divorced, and such is life!
Have you heard from anyone else? You know before Burlington took over,we had our share of tragedy too.
Barb,from receivng was killed, remember that?
More sad memories of a time long long ago…
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Ed
January 12th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
They should tear the entire mall down and upen a Costco, Target and Wal-Mart, keep the Kmart thought, it seems to be making great business
(What the hell is a Yum Yum Bar! Sounds perverted!!!
)
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Christopher Reply:
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
I agree with ya to Ed. Of cource I want that stupid mall teared down and replaced with a Costco, Target and Wal-Mart. In fact I think they should keep the Kmart too. But there are some other stores that should stay like Value City,Yum Yum Bar and Man’s World so keep those stores too PLEASE DO THAT!!
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Christopher Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Ed, what else do ya wanna put
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andy
January 15th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
i have lived in claymont for 30+ years. tri-state mall was a great place even through the mid/late 80s. i have some terrific kid memories from that place. every store was in use up to the late 80s. movie theatre was great, there was a lounge/billiards in the back corner, shoe stores, chess king(haha), toy store, book stores, arcade, and lots of weird, stereotypical 70s/80s mall-type novelty stores. the yum yum bar was half candy store, half roller-rink style snack bar. geez…i have dreams about that place….oh well. i hate all the talk about knocking it down. it could be a really cool relic if some businesses were really serious about investing in it. open the movie theatre back up, fill the retail space back up, and ditch the friggin loan/check-cashing place, and the crappy k-mart and value city. beefed up security would be a must though. claymont is still predominately a respectable blue-collar town, but a few bad neighbourhoods, and some seriously worthless imports from chester, pa present issues with theft, loitering and vandalism. like i said though, invest in some worthwhile security, which the mall has not. people would come:) wish i had a couple hundred million dollars to invest.
by the way, someone asked about what happened to the kiddie-world toy store next door. it was abandoned for quite some time, was turned into a cabinet/kitchen/bath outlet, and that now looks like it’s on the way out. all things must pass….it’s sad. no more knockin the tri-state around here:) it means a lot to some of us.
by the way, the pictures on tri-state’s site really are of the mall, just in much better days long ago. adios.
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andy
January 15th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
btw, steve whitman, i’d love to chat and trade mall stories if you’re interested. i have been thinking about trying to get ahold of some old pictures and maybe trying to do anarticle in the news journal about the place. let me know.
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Barbie
January 24th, 2008 at 10:01 am
The best was when someone went on the big water tower and doctored the Tri state Mall to say TRI STATE MALE.
I briefly worked at the flower shop owned by Manny Klein and also at the Wendys (1.85 hour)
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Glenda
February 4th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Does anyone know what year the Tri State Mall was opened and what the original stres were then?
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Glenda
February 4th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I am looking for the year that the Tri State Mall was opened and the names of the original stores that were there then. Does anyone know? Does anyone have any old pictures of the mall also?
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Dave
February 12th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Village Records was at the rear, next to the movies (where I saw Star Wars when it was first released). The record store had two rooms, records in the front and a black light room at the back, where they sold posters. The back room ended up full of pinball machines and it was a great place to hang out. There was a bookstore too on the arm towards the west anchor.
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Bob S
February 15th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Grew up in Wilmington in the 80s and went to the movie theater there sometimes. One day there was an article in the paper about a shooting at that mall and my mom forbade me from ever going there again!
I didn’t miss it.
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tom kurek
March 19th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I remember the mall and specifically village records, pet store, friends used to work at the orange bowl and pocket on the side all the $$$ they could, Hash was cheep thiose days, Claymont class of 79. Tina used to discount my movie tickets. It is a sad commentary to have gone back there some time ago (many years) and witnessed such a depressing decline. One of the reasons I rarely venture north of Boca Raton! The confluence of Brookview (“Crookview”) and the ever declining corridor from Philly/Chester to Wilmington, how could one not one see the demise. For those of you wishing to see a costco or anything of substance taking its place, don’t nold your breath. Having been on the development side of commercial RE, “it’s ain’t gonna happen” in REIT speak. My suggestion, bull doze and plow, then sow salt into the wounded earth and hope that nothing of such evil can ever sprout its seed again.
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442w30
March 24th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Found this site . . . I lived in Wilmington till my family moved around 1987 and I was in high school. Claymont had a pretty poor reputation even then, as it was pretty much white trash and so forth. My family used to go to the Dry Goods on occasion, and they had one of the Kiddie Worlds there too. I believe there was a Jamesway that I can remember looking at Steve Martin records but my mom wouldn’t let me buy them.
In high school, the mall was the place to go to get pipes to smoke some herb, but otherwise there wasn’t any good reason to go there – it was a depressed area and I was less disadvantaged in comparison. I bet there was a lot of loitering by undesirables at that point, but I had just gotten my license and wanted to drive all around town.
Anyone remember the water tower where someone climbed all the way up and spray painted a segment on the “MALL” so it read “Tri State Male”?
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Jonah Norason
March 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
“Feet Like Fine Brass”. That sounds kind of perverted too (it is in the mall directory).
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Joe
March 26th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
442w30
I would caution you against labeling any one area as “white trash and so forth” not only because it demeans others but it demeans you as well. I haven’t lived in Claymont since 1979 so I will not contest that there probably is an undesirable element that lives in places like Brookview (R.I.H) or Knollwood. I also know firsthand that there were (and remain) decent people living in Claymont who may be trapped for lack of a better word, and they are the ones whom you demeaned as “white trash”. Their future given the undesirables that seem to be spreading is probably questionable at best. Very sad and their fate is shared by many in declining suburbs all around the country. The Claymont I remember from the 70′s had regular carnivals,little league and parades. Just like any other suburb in Delaware or the country.
But this blog is about the Tri State Mall and since you knew that pipes could be procured there it only confirms your assessment of the relatively poor lowbrow nature of Claymont. Please please don’t paint every area with such a broad brush. Not everyone is “white trash” or even white for that matter.
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Brittany
May 11th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Look, i’v been qoinq to tri-state mall my whole life. im young but that mall means alot to me and alot of other people. especially when thats all you really know and its convienient.
Now theres a comedy lounge, lady blue and city blue namebrand clothing stores, mans world suits and hair cuts, kims nail salon [which i go to every 2 weeks to get my nails done], 3 furniture places , rug expo, venus wigs, rainbow womans clothing store, kmart, a book store, yum yum bar,jenos mens clothing, tabacco outlet, payless, another new womans clothing store and theres about to be a burlington coat factory where value city used to be. levits is closed down and where the wendys used to be is closed down also and looks abandoned but who cares. leave the tri state mall alone. if you dont want to shop there then dont but people like me still do
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Aba
May 19th, 2008 at 9:16 am
There’s a sign for burlington coat factory at the mall. I think it was put up recently (last 2 weeks) or I have just been blind for the past few years. Any ideas? is burlington taking over the value city spot?
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Ed Ruskin
May 20th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Feet Like Fine Brass and Yum Yum Bar MUST be owned by the same weirdo! K-mart seems to be making fabulous business, am surprise they didnt close it when Sears bought the chain (Or vice versa, i never knew anyway) i remember seem Kmart one day in my hometown, next day it was close, next day the entire plaza became a Lowes!
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Christina
May 28th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Comcast Cablevision down on Rt. 13 occupies the space that used to house Gaylords. And the Wal-Mart that used to be a KMart that was a Caldor used to also be or be adjacent to a grocery store called Plus. I was going to these stores when I was 5 & 6, but I remember. Funny what the brain can recall, isn’t it? I can’t remember what I did over the weekend on a Monday morning, but I can tell you all the stores that used to make up the New Castle Square Mall in 1987 and wher they were located. Hooray for Up N’ Down and Cheryl’s Sky Lounge!
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Chief
June 10th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Tri-State Mall was not always a “bad” place to go. I lived in Claymont from ’81 to ’95 and was 4 when I moved in. My mother used to go shopping at the Wilmington Dry Goods store – it stayed open a lot longer than the Strawbridge and Clothier down at Merchant’s Square on Gov. Printz. (BTW, that Strawbridge closed because the one at Concord Mall opened.) The Merchant’s Square area was just beginning to “go” at that point…
Anyway, as discussed, you had two levels to the mall. The downstairs level has always had a food store – when I lived there it was Thriftway, but I think it changed hands even while I was still there. Also on the downstairs level was a Silo (before they went belly up in mid-’95), a decent looking Chinese Restaurant (want to say it was Great China but cannot remember for sure, I do remember the glass front and chandeliers they had inside, looked nice if you were a kid), a bank, and some other stores that escape me. Down in the lower parking lot there was a Wendy’s and a Goodyear. (There was a staircase that let you walk from the lower level up and into the Dry Goods Store above – I checked the Value City for that last time I was in town a year ago and it’s been boarded up from upstairs.)
On the upper level you had all the other stuff. I don’t remember what the K-Mart was – I think it may have always been a K-Mart. The only thing I was usually interested in was the Eric 5 Theater there all the way in the back (where the Comedy Lounge is now). The only movie I can definitely remember seeing there “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in 1989.
The other stores I don’t remember too well. I know the bookstore had one of the largest porn magazine collections in the Tri-State area. There was an arcade that I remember during the late 80s. Someone else mentioned the “Hong Kong” store – I remember that too, I made a few purchases there myself. There was also a “Venus Wigs” store on the “front” side of the mall approaching the K-Mart.
I don’t remember exactly what shop it was, but I remember in the late 80s a house in the Radnor Woods (aka Radnor Green) subdivision was burned down by the Chinese Mafia to try and kill a guy. They killed his wife and children, but he was out of town…anyway, the guy had a store in the mall – it might have been a beauty goods shop or something.
Good memories of my hometown.
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1980's kid
June 16th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I live 5 mins away from this so called “Mall” since I was one years old. Back in the day this was the place to go ! I remember always walking to kiddie world and the tri-state mall with my mother was I was little and if i was good we would get a pretzel from the orange bowl. The employees were always pleasent, unlike today ,you go to Kmart and it seems like it is so hard for the cashier to say “thank You” or “have a nice day” I remeber it was safe to play the games at the marry house and run right next door to the tabbacco barrel to get a candy bar without your parents being on top of you.People respected other people and carried themselves in a decent manner. Todays soiecty has changed and it is unpleasent to shop and hang around…the nigs took over being loud, hanging out, making rude comments, gathering out front in groups to smoke, blaring their jungle music, and giving cold stares. I do not shop at any of the stores what so ever. I am very fortunate I have transportation to shop at the concord mall and Target.I pray that I stay fortunate or else it leaves me no choice but to take that 5 min walk to get the things I need.I would like to see them give my children those good ol’ memories and update it with another movies thearter, video games,another fast food joint like mc d’s or wendys again, magazines and books, and put in a mall restroom…but I can not see that happening…you give a nice mall to an area of low class people who will not respect it …i can see writting on the bathroom walls, ghetto employees not cleaning the bathroom, crackhead kids running around trashing up the bathroom and being as ghetto as they can get hanging on the games and not playing them, low class employees working at the fast food resturant and loud as they can be and dirty.K-mart’s shelf are always a mess and not stocked. There ussually is only two cash registers open.how sad. They jack up their prices due to the shoplifters.I peronally think the place I would visit would be Tabbacco Express it is on your left as soon as you go in.make that a one stop in and get out quick. The employees are ussually nice. I don’t know though seems like the idians are taking over it ? As far as I can remember it looks like Jo-ann’s Fabrics is the last original store still there and that place is a dump too and their lines move terriably slow…I rather shop at Micheals. Yep thats where us crafty down to earth ladies want to shop, right next to the sound of tri-state gang banging loud thumping radios.Yuck has anyone even walk into that china resturant…it looks dirty. Heck the whole mall looks dirty…fix it up or tear it down and if they ever plan to fix it up….they need decent managers and store owners who hire decent pleasent clean, quiet ,hard working emplyees who care about their workplace who want to make their store look presentable and have customers feel comfortable, pleased with prices and want to come back. The nigs seem to not understand we are the ones who give them a job/paycheck…no customers mean no need to work.
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1980's kid
June 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
This mall needs to be updated and more rent-a-cops.
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Mike
June 16th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
If anyone knew how to do history on the mall, which apparently not… The nail parlor that is in the mall now, was the Ice cream parlor, the comedy lounge was a movie theatre that smoke bombs were being thrown into the bathroom, The 212 lounge was the Merry House, City blue was a pet shop, lady blue was The YE Old Tobacco barrel, the recent place where kids came to see santa was WSFS, the bed store on the inside corner across from the payless was a Gordons Jewelers, The book store was a Pizza place, The clothing store next to Kmart was for T-shirt printing, I forget what the dance place was but the Tilte loans was Venus wigs, and for the nit wit who thought otherwise the Pizza place and the Yum Yum bar were owned by the same person. All businesses were doing excellent business and the mall thrived with People and Jobs and for the information. Dollar world which is now Tobacco express(same owner) was first a vidoe game store as in walk in and put your quarter in and play. Now for the genius who thought the mall was garbage and not worth it, It was do to prior mall management. The mall manager now is a hard worker and does a great job with what he has to work with at hand. Now unless you have something else negative and nothing better than to send half ass photographers to take bad shots of the mall, then realize finally that you have too much time on your hands and get a life.
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Prange Way
June 18th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Harsh!
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MR. H
July 7th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
The reason Tri-State Mall is so bad is when the sun goes down, don’t be cuaght any where near it. From drugs to prostitutes to violence plauges that area. So many people where killed in gang fights over the last 20 years it just collapsed. They use to be a pretty OK mall compared to Christiana. It even had a awesome movie theater at one time to to many people were killed in it.
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johnny
July 9th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I go by the sad tri-state mall on my way home from work,It was always a bad mall………..when I was a kid in the 70′s the rear entrance to dry goods smelled like piss and hobos were always around by the escalaters.The criminals from Chester,Marcus Hook ,Trainer and Wilmington loved that place……………., I hope they level that place and plant lots of trees and forget there ever was a cheezy dirty run down mall.
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Shen
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 am
Tri State sucks! Clear that spot for a Super Walmart
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Cheryl K______________
August 5th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Tear that place down; put a Walmart place in its place. I don’t like TriState Mall one bit. I also don’t like the policy that teenagers can’t hang out at Christiana Mall on weekends; I’m also boycotting that place. I love hanging at Concord Mall. I think the teenagers should visit the skating rinks or the bowling alleys if they want to have fun.
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JoeW
August 5th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
With respect I must ask those clamoring for a Super Walmart to arise from the destruction of the Tri-State Mall, what makes you think the same elements that destroyed the Tri-State Mall would not destroy a SuperWalmart and whatever else might be built on the property just like they did the Tri-State?
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Andrew
September 12th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Wal-Mart has cameras and off-duty policemen shopping there but most importantly brings new development that will deter crime…
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TRI STATE MALE
September 20th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I WAS TAKING QUAALUDES AND CLIMBED THE WATER TOWER AND SPRAY PAINTED TRI STATE MALE. THIS ACT WAS THE MOST FAMOUS THING I HAVE EVER DONE, EVEN THOUGH ONLY AL TURKS AND GREGG SHALLUS WITNESSED IT, MOST OF CHICHESTER HIGH SCHOOL DOESN’T BELIEVE ME.
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Ryan
September 20th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
BCF took over the Value City spot as part of one buying the other. I’m surprised BCF wanted it…
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Bob J
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I seem to recall that the Tri State would have opened up sometime between 1970 and 1972. Possibly before, I can’t be real sure.
Having grown up in Claymont and lived in Brookview, (aka Crookview) and worse neighborhoods, I can personally vouch for Claymont being a rather sketchy place.
Years later, sometime in the late ’80′s or early ’90′s, I wound up back in Claymont and took my current wife on a walking tour of all the hangouts of my youth, like the Tri State Mall. It seemed that everywhere had some violent event either in the past, or currently in the news, having just recently occurred. For example on that trip, my former mother in law had just been savagely beaten and robbed taking the night drop from George’s Bar to the bank. My wife did not appreciate my little trip down memory lane and was pretty anxious to just get the heck out of Claymont & never return.
Heck, I grew up there, and that’s how I feel about the place, too.
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Karen
October 7th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
With regard to “Feet Like Fine Brass”, I just HAD to Google it to see where such a phrase came from. Apparently, it’s from the book of Revelations, 1:15 “And His feet were like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters…”
Wierd name for a store, though.
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October 11th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
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Sarah
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:32 am
OMG!!. Tri State Mall. My mom use to drive from PA to buy her cheap smokes and beer for my dad. I think i started smoking on one of those rides down. I would walk around that mall for hours w/ my BF Jamie, and to this day i can’t tell you what stores were in there besides the Dry Goods. Korvettes maybe? Anyway, I stopped going down there after some drunk A-hole tried to grope me. Do that to a 15 year old today and they toss away the key.
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amy
November 13th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Tri-state mall used to be a very different place about 15 years ago. The mall had better stores and was in much better condition. I live about 20 minutes from the mall (my mom used to take me there all the time when I was younger). As the area around the mall went downhill, the popularity of the mall went along with it. I have not been to the mall since I was about 10 and I live rather close. It’s just not really a safe place to go anymore. It’s rather sad to see those pictures, when I remember it so differently.
P.S.
The Yum Yum Bar wasn’t a store. It was like a small restaurant with the BEST hot dogs and cheese fries.
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andy
November 15th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
i’m calling bull-shit on “tri-state male’s” claim that he “spray-painted” the last L to make the word male out of mall. granted, this did happen, just about every year from my earliest memory of living right across the way from the tower. but it wasn’t spray-painted for sure. those letters are like 10 feet high or more, and they are a good height above the walkway on the tower. whoever repeatedly did this had the necessary equipment that would have been required to paint the whole word. it was an excellent and clever bit of vandalism, and tri-state male should be ashamed of taking credit for such memorable event.
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daniel k. curtis
November 17th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
oh my god, is that what’s left!?! was there the opeining day for the opeining of the w.t.grant discount dept. store and the wilmington dry goods store. there also were 4 or 5 movie theatres at the time and the place drew a lot from the people of marcus hook and chester because delaware didn’t have a sales tax. on the other side of the highway (I-95) there was a woolco department store in a strip mall with a mr. pizza and a howard johnson near naaman’s road. the hilton hotel opened shortly along the side with woodstream and greentree apartments. tri-state mall was always depressing even when new. you went to the dry and grants and after they went belly up the first k-mart in delaware opened.
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Bobby
November 17th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Wow, Kmart didn’t get to Delaware until 1976-77? I thought for sure they had already had established a store everywhere by then.
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Brian
February 12th, 2009 at 3:30 am
I have fond memories of shopping at the Tri-State mall with my grandparents when I was a kid. Before Christiana mall opened up, they would take me to the Concord Mall, Prices Corner, Park City in PA or other local places. Spent a lot of time in both the Dry Goods and K-Mart as a kid sifting through toys, and I remember kiddie world distinctly!
The had coin-operated video games out in the mall commons and I remember playing Atari football, Sea Wolf, Battlezone, Space Invaders and Pacman when it came out.
I know that K-Mart was there at least in ’75 which is as far back as I can remember…I was just a little tyke at the time, and it was very well run and fun to shop. The Hong Kong shop and record store took up more of my time when I got a bit older, and for some reason I always make a sort of subliminal association with that mall and Bruce Lee. Must have been the restaurant and the Hong Kong shop and the general “70′s feel” to the place.
The movie theater was nice back in the day, and movies that I watched there included “Empire Strikes Back”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Gung Ho”, and “Runaway” amongst others. When I reached my later High School years in the late 80′s, the mall was in definite decline and I lived close to the Christiana Mall anyway. Going there at night was dangerous and whenever I needed to go I was always out before dusk. To many loiterers and gang-types hanging around outside for my comfort.
I’ll always have fond memories of shopping and especially the Chinese restaurant, which my grandparents would treat me to once in while. Looking at the Chinese characters on the menu made me want to study an Asian language and are in no small part responsible for me living in Asia this day.
It would be sad to see the mall taken down, but I don’t see how it could be resurrected and I don’t think it’s safe enough to take my family to see when we come back to visit. As someone else said, all things must pass but it will remain in my memories forever especially when I remember my grandfather.
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Delaware Jim
February 20th, 2009 at 7:50 am
I grew up in Claymont and from at least 1960 on it was a very tough place. The Tri-State mall was most notorious for the car thefts from its parking lot. In fewer than twenty minutes your vehicle could go from being parked there to being in a Chester, PA chop shop. I am not aware that the police ever found in tact a single car stolen from there.
I took my young cousin to the cinema (I believe there were originally three or four of them ) there about 1978, when the mall was about ten years old. Hearing the audio was virtually impossible: teenagers chased each other up and down the aisles yelling and laughing throughout the whole show. The ushers who worked there looked terrified, and spent most of their time pushing trash barrels around, acting busy so as not to have to confront anybody.
The Mall should have been named the Bi-State Mall, because there was no reason for anybody from New Jersey to drive over to it; the bridges were not close.
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Mont Boy
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
The original configuration had two theaters, which was a big deal
at the time. They were Eric 1 and Eric II. Saw original Stars Wars three or four times.
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Summer
May 6th, 2009 at 8:47 am
When I was a kid I used to visit the Tri-State Mall literally every other day.My Mommom ((GOD REST HER SOUL)) would bank at the WSFS then we’d venture down to the Tabacco Barrel and she’d play lottery and buy scratch off ticket after scratch off ticket.I’d get 2 hand full of quarters and went next door to the Merry House and played the car game that was on your right as soon as you walked in the door.Sometimes I’d go in the back room and play some of the other games back there but there was always older guys playing at the pool table in there on Saturdays so I never went that far in on the weekends.That car racing game was so awesome.In my teenage years I worked at Dollar World ((which is now Tabacco Express)) and My Pizza ((I think that place is now a African store of some sort)) the mall was still busy on the weekends then and that was in 1999.My whole life I’ve only lived 5 minutes from the Tri-State Mall.They have a Save-A-Lot where the Thirtway used to be sometimes I go over there to buy a few things and to stop at the movie store over there that always has new releases before any other store has them.I’d be really upset if the knocked that mall down some of my fondest memories from my childhood are there..I do wish that they’d do s
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Summer
May 6th, 2009 at 8:49 am
omething nice with it though so it can be what it once was.
That mall deserves something.
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Timothy
May 6th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I grew up and still live (in Pennsylvania) about 2 miles from Tri-State Mall and back in the 1970s and early 1980s my parents often shopped there. I remember many people (including my late brother) referring to th Dry Goods as the “Dry Rots” since they seemed to sell a lot of inferior quality and defective merchandise. Almost everytime I got a 45 rpm record there, it always skipped when I played it and my mom would end up taking it back. I also remember my dad saying that he came across a pair of pajama bottoms with one leg! Anyway, I have many fond memories of the Tri-State Mall. After I got my very first job in 1985, I used to go there every weekend to pick up stuff for my dad at K-Mart and bought MANY records and tapes at Village Records! I also bought my first CD player (along with many other stereo components) at Silo. The Hong Kong shop was another favorite of mine, in fact I was friendly with a couple of the ladies who worked there during the mid to late 1980s as they became to know me for stopping by almost every weekend. I believe they were the ones who died in a house fire as mentioned earlier by Chief. Some of the stores I remember at Tri-State Mall during the mid 1980s (enclosed portion): Rite Aid, Book/Card Shop (both next to K-Mart), Orange Bowl, Man’s World (clothing store and barbershop), Hong Kong, Village Records, Pet Shop, WSFS, Eric Theaters, Gordon’s Jewelers, Kinney Shoes, Gallenkamp (sp?) Shoes, some sort of specialty toy store next to Man’s World, Fanny Farmer Candies, Hallmark Card Shop (next to the Dry Goods), Bar/Game Room next to Eric Theaters (don’t remember the name). That’s all I can think of for now. I do miss the Tri-State Mall the way it used to be.
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Glenn
May 11th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I grew up in the area, Just over the border in Pennsylvania, And yes it did have it’s heyday, It was built before Concord mall or Granite Run mall, The other large malls in the area. Yes the original anchors were the Wilmington Dry goods and Grants. But another huge draw was what is in the back,… now A Comedy theater… Was a Eric movie complex, And it was the only one around at a time when people actually went to the movies. It started out as 2 large theaters, That were later split in half to make it 4… One thing they did that really sent it down hill… There use to be a large set of steps going from what is now value city down to the lower level, Where there use to be a real grocery store (Not a Save-a-lot)… We would park at the lower level, Go up to the Dry goods, Hit the mall and grant’s (later K-mart).. And do our grocery shopping on the way out. At the time it opened it was a big “Tri-State” deal… It was the only Suburban shopping center for many years
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pete Reply:
July 31st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
@Glenn, I too grew up in Claymont in the 70s and frequented the mall as a child and young teenager. It was the only mall in the area and we had a blast. I too remember the movie theater. Do you also remember the Hong Kong shop. And dont forget the head shop right down near the theater. Do you remember the orange bowl, a great place for drinks and snacks. It was a thriving place and packed with shoppers especially around Christmas time. I have a lot of memories there. I havent been there in 25 years or so due to living in va, but im back now and plan a trip to see what the mall looks like now. I hear its not very pleasing, but still want to take a look.
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Paul E.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I grew up in Claymont. I lived there from 1965 ( when I was born ) until 1983 ( when I graduated from Claymont H.S. ) The mall opened around 1970 . The two main stores at each end of the upper level were Grants on the west end and Wilmington Dry Goods on the east end . ( and yes every one referred to it as The Dry Rots ) There was a book store , a Rite Aid drug store ,The Yumm Yumm Bar ( a snack bar ..pizza ,hot dogs ,fries and sodas ) The Orange Bowl ( another snack bar ) a pet store ,The Hong Kong Shop ( where I got all my KISS posters and t-shirts ) Village Records ( which was also a head shop ,and arcade ,and for a while the were a TicketMaster outlet ) , The Eric Theater originally had 2 theaters but the kept splitting and adding theaters. The bar / restaurant was the Merry House ( they had pool tables and arcade games in the back ) . There was a tobacco shop ,a shoe store (maybe 2 shoe stores) ,a Hallmark store , a Mens clothing shop , a fabric store and Mans World (a mens hair salon where a pretty woman with big hair would cut and feather my hair …yes I was cool ) .There were stairs to the lower level which was really an outside strip of stores . I didn’t usually shop down there but there was a grocery store a Chinese Restaurant , a Sporting Goods Store ,a Bank with a drive thru and I think a liquor store ( that may have come later ) . I’m sure I left out alot of info but the posts above seem to be correct about the names . One thing I remeber was the water fountain right in the center of the mall , my mom would give me pennies to throw in it , later on they made it into a planter and then I think they removed it altogether. There may have been a clock above the fountain. K-Marts replaced Grants in the mid seventies. K-Mart had a restaurant in it . I don’t think that had been in Grants. When I was a kid the TriState Mall was a great place and it was very busy . The parking lot was definately not too big. Many stores have come and gone since the mall was new and the mall has been in decline since the eighties. I had many friends and family members that worked in the mall . I have moved from the area and have lived in NJ almost twenty years , when I pass the mall now I am saddened by how bad it looks now . Claymont seems to have suffered over the years also . It seems run down and tired ( if a town can be called tired ). Also I lived on The Hill ( Knollwood ) for the first thirteen years of my life and one of the previous posters called the residents white trash , well he’s kind of right most of the people ther didn’t have alot and they were a rough bunch and while some of them may have been white trash alot of them were hard working decent people . In all of the “better” towns and neighborhoods I’ve lived in I’ve never had better neighbors. I’m sorry to ramble on but I just hope to let people know that TriState Mall was once a much better place and for most people in Claymont it was The Mall.
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TKRUN
October 14th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I found this site by accident and had a great time remembering my old Claymont days in the 70′s. Me and my buddies used to walk to the mall before we could drive and hang out there for hours. It had everything a teenage boy needed, movies, food and a pretty good record store. I also remember going with my parents and getting $5 Wrangler blue jeans at the Dry. Also remember that lots of times the seams weren’t so straight but what the heck, they were only $5.00. I don’t remember being afraid back then but have since heard of the muggings in the parking lot so I doubt I’ll go back to check it out. It’s sad to see it decline but life goes on and the memories are good.
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Snakeeyes22
October 15th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
This really is the saddest little place one earth. I live a couple of miles away, and it really is just a wasteland. My neighborhood is fine, the area just around the mall is okay, except a small neighborhood behind it is rather busted and white-trashy.
I lived in Philly as a child, so in the mid 80s I visited this place(only 20 minutes outside of Philly) and it seemed like a magic wonderland. There were 2 small toy/specialty shops, Wilmington Dry Goods seemed like a great store to a 7 year old, and next to the mall was a huge toy store, one of the large Toys R Us style places that all went down before the 90s
In the 90s, it was no longer magestic, but I did buy shows there, there was a bar with arcade games, the KMart was clean, and even the Value City was okay. Most importantly, at the top of the “+” was a theater where I saw tons of movies, starting in ’89.
Nowadays, it’s not just depressing, but nearly damned scary. Half or more of the interior shops have no store. The bizzare side strip is bustling with activity around the hip-hop record store, liquor store, dollar store, and super discount grocery store, the type where you bring your own bags and no name brands are to be found. Theater’s been gone for a long time now, Value City closed down and there’s a Burlington Coat Factory. The K-Mart is just a mess, obviously doing horrible business as there is always just one cashier despite line length, and last Holiday season the layaway ok e in the back of the store must have been 25 people deep or so. It’s pretty sad, and I’m not looking down on the people, since I’m broke, it’s just an awful situation.
Finally, there are stairs outside leading from the top parking lot to the side strip. Dark, scary metal stairs I’ve never cared for in the few times I’ve used them years ago. A few months ago, my friend saw a tussle between some guy and two others fighting over a backpack(likely with drugs inside or it was just a robbery) Someone was thrown down the steps, someone got cauuht on a fence and beaten pretty good. The one guy ran away with the backpack as one of the other 2 guys started SHOOTING at him!!!
My friend actualy tried to help settle things before the gun came into play. He waited around to talk to the police…but they never showed. Likely because nobody ever called them!!
Anyway, from magic to crap. Sad.
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Douglas
November 1st, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I grew up in Chester and spent a great deal of time in the Collingdale/Marcus Hook area where my grandparents lived. I remember eating breakfast at the K-mart diner very frequently with them. The “oil fields” that a previous post referenced is actually a Sunoco refinery and tank farm. Something that I did not hear mentioned though is the very recognizable “refinery smell” that engulfs the area. It’s kind of funny because it’s somewhat comforting to me as I associate it with plenty of fun times and happy memories.
Whenever I am in the area I find myself pulling into the mall. Much like passing a bad accident it is almost impossible not to be curious. The Value City is no more and has been replaced by a Burlington Coat Factory. I have to credit the owners with finding a store that’s even more depressing than Value City…I didn’t think it could be done. Those who cross the mall hoping to find better shopping conditions at the K-mart will be dissappointed. It is filthy, smelly and all of the workers look like they are in some kind self-induced zombie-like state to try and deal with their jobs.
The interior of the mall itself is so pathetic that it’s impossible not to feel a bit sad and think about what once had been. As you pass the few remaining stores you will see shop owners standing in the doorways trying to remain proud but knowing how bleak their situation is. The only thing that makes me smile on my ever-decreasing visits is the center piece of the mall…the Yum Yum Bar…standing out like a surreal, bright oasis in a desolate wasteland. There was a solitary customer sitting in a booth eating a hot dog. She was staring straight ahead and had to notice me looking in since I was the only person in the mall and I passed three times in under thirty seconds. Although she had the same catatonic gaze as the K-mart employees she seemed slightly different…perhaps taking some strange solace in that Yum Yum Bar as I have for the past several years.
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Craig
November 14th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I was just at the mall a few weeks ago. Burlington Coat Factory is actually a decent store with nice clothes / suits. Better than Value City, which had a lot of “irregular” items. As for the inside of the mall, yes, it was very sad. Man’s World was still open, with a barber waiting to cut hair (I used to go there back in the 80s). Yum Yum bar had three employees behind the counter! There were a few empty stores and a “church” that was down the movie theater wing. The theater earily still had ticket booths in front. K-Mart is just really dated and crowded. I remember eating at the old restaurant when I was a kid. That’s been gone for a while. Anybody remember the Keys N Things kiosk? There was a humble yet proud Halloween set-up where it once stood.
Does anyone know when the Cinemart on Gov Printz closed?
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S Reply:
June 17th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
@Craig,
> Does anyone know when the Cinemart on Gov Printz closed?
Eon’s ago – tho I don’t know exactly when. I suspect in the late ’70′s/early ’80′s.
But before it was a Cinemart, it was a huge Aquarium supply… they had tanks upon tanks of tropical fish. I remember going there in the mid-60′s, when I was a young kid.
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Christopher
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Hey Ed this is the guy who left a reply on November ,22 ,09 and some other stores that should open up should include Shoprite,Wendy’s and Toys R Us. Y’all might not think so but yo.FYI there are no grocery stores in that mall, there are no hamburger joints in that mall and there are no Toy stores in that mall but yes Value City,Kmart,Yum Yum Bar and Men’s World must stay but man that man should open a Costco,Target and Wal-Mart ASAP!!!
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Christopher
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
HI THERE ED!!!!!!!!!! Hows my freind doi’n? I got an Idea 4 ya when ya’ll tear down that Tri-State mall. We can turn it into a SHOPPING CENTER!!!!!!!!!! In fact we can make it 1,000% famous people from RI,CT,NY,NJ,of course DE,The district of Columbia,MA,VA,NC,SC,GA anf FL can shop at. Let me tell you the stores it can have Costco,Target and Wal-Mart the store we could keep are Kmart,Value City,Yum Yum Bar and both the mens world barber shop some more stores that could open are Shoprite,Wendy’s,Toys R Us,The Andersons Specialty store,Villa Pizza,The Chilldrens Place,Staples,Home Depot,Dollar Tree,Qdoba Mexican Grill,Quiznos,Bath & Body Works and Radio Shack.More stores that can stay include Payless Shoes,Mia’s Depot,Tabaco Store,Barber Shop and Check Cashing.And the last store that can stay includes The Comedy Lounge (Wich is a Movie Theatere) and some more stores that can open include a bowling alley,arcade and a fancy restaurant. But when I typed in the last store that can stay. Well i’m not finished yet because I suppose theres room in our shopping center for the stores that can stay and that store we’re gonna keep will be City Depot. We should also keep the JO-ANN store and reopen the Burlington Coat Factory and lets also open up a Puppet Theatre,Post Office,Jewerly Store,Train Shop and Ice Rink too and those are all the stores that will open. And our shopping center will have different events EVERY month.In January we can have a new years carnival when you can play games like those ones when you hit a gong and if a pin goes all the way up and makes a sound you’ll win and we can have a pie eating contest too will even have a game where you can toss a ball try to hit some cans and win a stuffed bear,one game where you can spray water at a itty bitty target and if the stuffed bear reaches the top you can win a prize,one game where you take a rainbow colored ball and shoot it at a target and when the ball hits the target you’ll win a prize and we will have hundreds of games and rides and when the New Years Carnival is over people will run outside at 9:00 PM and ballons will float into the sky and fireworks start to boom and crash!!!!!!!!!!, In febuary we can have a hug fest to see how many people you can hug after the hug fest we’ll have a kiss fest to see if you can kiss all the people you hugged at the hug, In March we’ll celebrate lepracoans and search for gold all over the shopping center, In April the easter Bunny will arrive at the shopping center andeveryone can meet him in May we can have a celebrate your Mom,Aunt or Grandma at the Shopping Center day in June we can have a celebrate your Dad,Uncle or Grandpa at the Shopping Center day in July we will have a president VS Bad Guy show down and whoever wins will win a free Shopping Spree,in august we’ll have a BIG beach party where everyone can do a tropical dance and we’ll have tropical food, In september we’ll have the shopping center’s 117th Aniversery where we’ll have a show with magicans,clowns,trapizes and wizzards too,w’e'll have Spongebob,Patrick,Mickey Mouse,Minny Mouse,Dora and Boots walk on the sidewalks of the shopping center,In October people will go Trick-Or-Treating there and we’ll have a Holloween Party,In November we’ll have I Pumpkin Pie eating contest and in December take your picture with Santa,Tell Santa what you want for Christmas,Eat cookies with Santa,Have breakfast with Santa, Dance with Santa,Sing with Santa and have some fun with Santa.Okay dude good luck on making this Shopping Center and do what I told you to do because I’m gonna be In Charge of the mall and you’ll just be Vice Manager thanks for letting me talk to you
See ya later Ed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Christopher
November 24th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Hi there Ed I gotta idea for our Shopping Center we can have a dinning circle!!! It’s like a food court only outside. It will have a Villa Pizza,Quiznos,McDonald’s,Burger King,Wendy’s,Arby’s,Chick-Fil-A,Bojangles,KFC,Taco Bell,Pizza Hut,Long John Silvers,Papa John’s and Church’s Chicken it will be on one side of Shoprite and another side of Value City and it will also have some sit-down restaurants like Applebee’s,T.G.I Fridays,IHOP,Chili’s & a sports bar I’ll call it the outdoor dinning sidewalk it will be somewhere by Toys R Us and Kmart where another sidewalk is across from it. It’s the one with Target,Burlington Coat Factory and Home Depot in fact I also have another idea.In front of COSTCO we can put a 66 ft. water fountain that people can make a wish and throw coins in it.
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Christopher
November 26th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hey Ed, Watcha Doin? I’ve got an impressive idea for our Shopping Center for services next to Value City we can put an event zone where the shopping Center’s events can take place,Behind ShopRite we can put a pedestrian freindly area it can be a place where people can live,Work & play.We can also put a nice li’l park that pepole can talk a walk,walk their dog,yo a shoppin mall in VA will be havin all that and I think you and I sha’ll do the same
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Christopher
November 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Hey Ed!!! for our Shopping Center we should put a Fun Park where you can drive bumper cars,Play Basketball,Go Bowling,Play Indoor Miniture golf. And the fun park can also have a MagiQuest. And it can have cool birthday offers like a play-dough themed party, where you can play with A LOT of play-dough. A gliterry craft party,where you can make something glittery.A bubble N dancing party where the B-day child
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Ann
March 21st, 2010 at 11:49 am
I lived in claymont for many years it’s a shame how it all went down hill. The girl killed on peachtree rd and left in the colvert. And than they built Stoney Brook and from there it went down hill real fast thats when i decided it was time for me to move out. What a shame it was a real nice place at one time. I see Woodacres have cameras up.
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Lynn
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
My BF and I hung around the mall in the early 70′s.It was nice then.I remember a trendy clothes store called Phillipsborn.There was a shop called “Pearl of the East”.Also,Elaine Powers,and a lighting store called Art Lighting(?)on the lower level.We both had partime jobs at Woolco.It really is sad what happened to it.
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Lynn
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:00 pm
My hubby(BF from previous post) corrected me.”Pearl of the East” was at Concord Mall.Also,Woolco was at Northtowne Plaza…which I think was that little strip shopping center that someone referred to.
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Joe D from Philly
April 14th, 2010 at 7:35 am
I like Tri-State Mall. Scuse me if any of this is redundant: It’s a good place to buy cheap durable men’s hats, hiking boots, liquor (tho Total Wine just across I-95 is the best). It’s unrenovated all right, that doesn’t bother me, keeps prices down. The mall attracts a lot of African Americans from nearby Chester PA. Travelers see Tri-State cause of the water tower you can see from I-95. But the big mall in the neighborhood is Concord Mall a few miles west on US 202, and there’s a big Target nearby on Naamans Rd/Del. 92 (same road that goes past Tri-State).
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Christopher
April 26th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Hey guess what Ed!? The new Target in my neigboorhood The Target sign went up! Gn’ite Sleep Tite don’t let the bedbugs bight (But they might)
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Bobby P.
June 6th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Christopher, dear God, you are CRAZY. Simmer down. Your obsession with this place is unhealthy. And do you really know Ed? I sure hope you do if you’re gonna call him friend that many times.
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Ted
July 2nd, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Question I thought there was a Jamesway Department store in Claymont somewhere?
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BobC Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:04 am
@Ted, THe Ames was just west of the mall, across the street from the Hilton. It is now a Home Depot.
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Ted
July 2nd, 2010 at 7:13 pm
I think Jamesway became Ames
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mickey
July 9th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Growing up in northern DE in the ’80s, I remember attending several baseball card shows at Tri-State Mall and getting some Phillies players’ autographs- Ricky Jordan or Von Hayes or maybe Juan Samuel. I know we went to movies there, too, but I don’t remember which ones. It’s sad when you see the picture of that wooden-framed skylight atrium feature and you know that someone envisioned a much livelier place of commerce than we see today. I remember it as a pretty lively place, at least, and one where an eight-year-old kid could occasionally meet the baseball heroes he saw on TV.
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Mark
July 9th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
WOW! Talk about memories and flashback! Oh the pain! Oh the humility! Oh what happened! I remember working in two of the success’ there, Dry Goods, and the theatre. The movie house was okay, but only one problem, They would not get many crowds for first run movies, It turns out even though we had five movie houses, and what we thought we were getting guarentee sells outs, many would sneak there friends in via the fire escape. I know, I worked there, remember? Now as far as Dry Goods is concerned, yes, I remember the 8 track player having only one song, of the Star Spangled Banner before each and every day before we be open to the public! I even remember some of the in house scandals that would be hush hush back in the day. Oh for example, one of the head cashier’ was dating one of the managers. Another time, during the Cabbage Patch doll craze, the gate that was entrance to the mall, was purposely not opened to accomodate the ensuing crowd when we opened our doors the day of the midnight shopping begining at 12:01AM black Friday and the mad rush to get one of the dolls. Afterwards we would, we as the fortunate ones that did not have to “do recovery” would go next door to Sid’s Bar next door, have a Coors (the first one I know that carried Coors,btw) and have one of his famous Steak and fries. Now don’t forget Sid was infamous for knowing Frank Sinatra We could not verify it, till he showed any/all patrons of a picture of him and Mr S. , and it was a personalized dedication on the picture too. Ahh the memories.
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Anthony A
July 11th, 2010 at 12:59 am
WOW. Thanks for posting this site. I stumbled on this mall by accident on Monday when I decided to take a mini road trip & venture off I-95 from Baltimore to the Jersey shore. I saw how old this mall was & just for the hell of it wanted to see the inside. It was small, ugly & run down. I assumed it was bigger by the name of the mall. I’m all about preserving history, but this will not be a loss if this place gets razed. I’m glad I got to be a part of this shopping center’s history though. The Kmart here is in bad shape too.
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classyass
July 21st, 2010 at 10:25 am
I grew up in Wilmington in the ’80s and went there a lot. Even then it was kind of icky.
I will always think of it as the “Tri-State Male” for the reasons mentioned above.
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BobC
August 26th, 2010 at 11:19 am
I posted on here about 3 years ago. I grew up in Claymont and this mall was the place to go in the 1970′s-80′s. My family walked from Ashbourne Hills to the Tri-State Mall movie theater to see Star Wars. The mall had a great ice cream shop, a cool record store and a pet shop that was selling a gorilla. Back then, the place was very clean. The lower part had a Pantry Pride, a chinese restaurant, a Silo appliance store, an eye doctor and access to get up the steps to Wilmington Dry Goods. In the fall, the mall put up the Christmas decorations in September. Santa was at the mall in Novenber and the K-Mart had Saturday breakfast with Santa. My dad and grandfather almost beat the hell out of the Santa at breakfast one time. He was drunk as hell and was cursing at the tables. He tried to sit with my brother, sister and I (we were about 7,6 and 4 at the time) and my dad told him to leave and get some coffee. He didn’t want to hear that and my grandfather, in true Irish temper fashion, collared up “Santa” and took him up to the store management. We ate free that day, but were traumatized that Pop-Pop was beating up Santa. Now the memory is funny as hell. The mall was very nice at one time and it is a shame to see how bad in shape it is now.
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