Help Us!
You may be wondering what you can do to help move our project along. I’m glad you asked, because there are three easy ways that you can make a contribution to make Labelscar into the best site it can be and help as many people as possible to find it.
1. Give Us a Link
If you have your own blog or website of any kind, the best thing you can do for us is to link to one of our pages. Heck, link to more than one–we’d love that, too. We’re no fools–if we’re putting all this stuff online, we want as many people to read it as possible. The more that people are willing to tell their friends and site visitors about Labelscar, the more that can happen.
2. Send us Stuff
It’s pretty difficult to dig up all of the information for this website. Between the time spent taking road trips to get photos and the time spent researching, it eats up a lot of hours. Furthermore, due to logistics – personal lives, funding limitations, etc. – we can’t travel everywhere and see everything that deserves to be on this site. Even more importantly, this is fundamentally a retail *history* blog, and that means we want to show you things from the past as well as the present. Old malls, old chains, stuff like that–if you have photos and stories, please share them with us. Or even send us current stuff, too. We’ll give you credit and (if applicable) a link back to your own website or blog. In doing so, you’ll keep our site full of great, rare stuff we all want to see.
And even if you can’t help with anything, we’re thankful you’re even reading this page. Creating this website to share our hobby has been great fun, but knowing a growing audience is finding entertainment from it is reward in itself.
John Espiau
November 6th, 2006 at 6:19 am
I have some mall info for malls in the Houston and New Orleans areas I would like to submit to the site. How do I go about submitting them to the site?
[Reply]
Den
November 15th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
Hello,
I was perusing through Labelscar and was pretty surprised to see a link to my newly-grand-opened MALL HALL OF FAME Blog included in your Directory.
I cannot thank you enough for including this link to my blogsite! I mean, I never even had to send you guys an email to ask you do this.
I have been trying to figure out how to “edit my links” on the MHOF Blog, so that I might include links to other “mall related” blogs and websites. Thus far, I have tried to do this….but apparently I am doing something wrong; the links won’t appear on my blog (I know NADA about HTML codes and the like).
I’ll keep trying…hee hee.
Thanks again.
By the way, if you would like to use ANY of the content that I have created for articles on MHOF (using said material for articles on Labelscar), feel free to do so.
I have done “mini-mallmanac” plan/layout drawings for every mall on my blog. Moreover, I also did artist/rendering drawings for DAYTON MALL and EASTGATE MALL (Chattanooga). I may do more of these, as time permits.
If you ever are working on Labelscar articles for the malls in the Southwestern Ohio area (I grew up there), don’t hesitate to email me. I might be able to help you guys out.
bossanovabear@yahoo.com
or
gamtnman@peoplepc.com
Cheers,
Dennis
Mall Hall Of Fame Blog
[Reply]
DayGlo!
December 12th, 2006 at 5:33 am
I’m visiting a friend in Kentucky next week (Louisville, with likely stops in Lexington and Frankfort), and I’ve been promised dead malls aplenty. I will keep you informed of what I find.
[Reply]
Jonah N.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Hey, I’ve been collecting mall maps for several years now. I have Southern Hills Mall, my local mall, Altamonte Mall, Parkdale Mall (it has an NBC station inside!), Vista Hills Mall, Mall at Millenia, and more.
Contact me if you want some scans!
[Reply]
Brenda
December 21st, 2006 at 2:35 am
Melbourne Florida checking in here! If you tell me how to submit I might start capturing dead malls instead of landscape art images? A different kind of landscape art maybe?
Brenda
[Reply]
Larry
January 1st, 2007 at 10:35 am
Malls adapting to new trends – recent news story about North Texas Malls
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/16155517.htm
[Reply]
Ken
January 23rd, 2007 at 4:14 am
Picture is of Houston Mall in 1976
I went to the Houston Mall in October 2006. I was rehab shopping for my mother. No, not THAT kind of rehab; she is becoming less and less mobile with her disease.
Houston Mall was opened in 1972 and anchored by WT Grant’s, Sears, and Belk-Matthews. In the Grants court there were Eckerd’s with a lunch counter and a Playland toy store. On the northeast wing was a locksmith, a Dipper Dan and an art store. There was also a card shop. The main court had an Elmore’s discount store, a bookstore, and an Orange Julius.
The center was the most modern in Central Georgia until 1975 when Macon Mall cut its ribbon. Up until the late Eighties it was still a thriving mall. The Galleria in Centerville was the death blow when it opened in 1994. Oddly Houston Mall is attracting a few tenants while the Galleria is a hangout for teens which has trouble keeping stores.
Even at 3:30 PM the mall is dead. Evelyn’s, the dress shop that was too stubborn to leave, is no more. A third of the mall is rented by the Houston Medical Center. This is not a bad idea if the $/sqft sales are high even for spending money on medical procedures. But HMC isn’t the Mayo Clinic or Cook County Hospital in Chicago.
The northeast entrance is no more. Home Decor resides in it, the small stores along the way, and in two or more old stores possibly carved out of WT Grant’s. I remember when my sis and I went to Grant’s and bought a small globe. This was on a Sunday. Eckerd’s is a billing center for HMC and the northeast corridor has Warner Robins Municipal Court and a probation office. A nail place and beauty supply replaced stores near where the old record store and Burton’s shoes once thrived. I forgot there was a southeast wing to the mall. It has a few of HMC’s storefront facilities.
Were I HMC and if no expansion were already planned for the hospital I’d buy the mall and revamp it. Then I would rent it out. Hospitals likely find themselves hurting to make a profit and though Houston Medical Center doesn’t have indigents bleeding them dry it remains a neat idea.
Management needs to market the mall as an office center and fill the hallway with another row of offices. Perhaps they can bulldoze all but the east and west anchors and make a strip mall. Westgate did this but their mistake was remaining commercial in a deteriorating neighborhood.
[Reply]
Bob
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:14 am
What is the deal with the Westgate site? I spent a couple years in Warner Robins(No I was not affiliated in any way with the Air Force) and I always had a sense that the Eisenhower/Pio Nono area wasn’t gonna hold together even with the power center.
Is it just a completely dead power center now? And btw, did they ever add that 4th department store to the Galleria Mall or is it still an empty plot of land?
[Reply]
Bobby
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Bob, do you mean fifth department store? Centerville has Belk, Goody’s, JCPenney, Sears, and a plot of land for a fifth store that seems to have never opened. Any idea what it would have been?
[Reply]
Bob
January 24th, 2007 at 6:52 am
I don’t count Goody’s as a true anchor.
Rumor was that Dillard’s was to move into the plot of land. I also seem to recall that Centerville was delayed in its opening and actually had construction stalled at 1 time. Any truth to this that you can dig up?
[Reply]
tim
January 26th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
here’s a link to the life and death of the south’s oldest indoor shopping mall.
[Reply]
bagman64
January 28th, 2007 at 4:34 am
heres a link to a blog i just started, showing most of my collection of retail memoribilia, I would be honored if you would post it on your site and if you could give me instructions to link yours, i would appreciate it…thanks!
[Reply]
Phil P.
February 1st, 2007 at 5:52 am
I have some great pics of a mall that is now dead and abandoned in Milwaukee . . . Northridge Mall. These are actually photos of the mall from the inside about a month or two before it closed down. I actually have a directory of the mall from 1984 and one from 1992 that I can scan into my computer if anybody is interested. I know the history of the mall, which is very interesting, because it opened a year after an identical mall was built on the south side of Milwaukee . . . Southridge Mall . . . which is still thriving today.
[Reply]
Marie Mauel
February 18th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Currently investigating the mall trends per area and researching ways of improving the sale/shopping experience (customer-retailers relation)…
Online browsing/shopping has bent the natural marketing laws our malls used to live by. Today, the mall clientele is under more pressure (time, budget, children, etc.) Naturally turning to a family-friendly shopping solution,
it does appear that staffed indoor playgrounds (e.g., with ballrooms) for young children – offering parents a break in favor of convenient shopping – could bring slow-sale immunity to most of our malls.
Welcoming reactions
[Reply]
Margaret Duhon
April 5th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
There was a great mall in Lafayette, Louisiana (PRE ACADIANA MALL DAYS) It was very small compared to today’s malls. Mall was called
Northgate Mall. Its still there today, a former shell of itself, but it the 70’s when I was a child I remember my friend and I used to hang out there from the ages of 11 -14. Unfortunately I have no pictures of it but may be able to obtain 1 or 2 from the City of Lafayette, but I will have to look into it.
Original anchors were JC Penny & Montgomery Wards. Mall opened in 1963 I think, I was not born yet. Mall was added on to in the 70’s and 2 more anchors were added Service Merchandise & Bealls.
Stores in 1980 were as follows: JC Penny’s w/ a cafeteria,
Montgomery Wards, Orange Julius, Musicland, REGIS Hairstyles, Driftwood Lounge, The Hanger, Chess King, Emielle Josephs, Bakers Shoes, Shoe Town, Lerner, The Fair, TG & Y, K & B Drugs, A & G Cafeteria, Maison de Hallmark, Keds Shoes, Millers Outpost, Weingartens Grocery Store. New addition included: Morrows Nut House, Great American Cookie, B Dalton Books, Radio Shack, Steuart’s Fashions, Bealls, Sweeney Jewlers, and Service Merchandise
There was no food court in this mall so the eatries were scattered about.
In 1979 Acadiana Mall opened at Johnston Street and Ambassador Caffery Dr. (Used to be called New Flanders Rd) That mall did not kill off Northgate right away. Despite being a bigger mall, very modern, with trendy stores that Northgate did not have, Northgate still held its on through the mid 80’s but when Weingartens Grocery closed about 1984, that was the beginning of the end. Soon after Shoe Town was gone, then Chess King, and so on………
I don’t know whats left inside the mall itself but every store listed above has closed up. The JCPennys eventually went to Acadiana Mall and the Montgomery Wards folded in 2000 with the closing of the chain. The Pennys is now an Albertsons grocery store and the Wards a Home Depot.
[Reply]
Bobby
April 5th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Thanks for the info on Northgate Mall. Also, you forgot something – Service Merch at Northgate used to be Wilson’s.
[Reply]
Mall Rat
April 8th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I know 2 malls you should add to your site…. in Kansas City, MO
Metro North Mall
Antioch Center
I have tons of info about them if you need it, and I have a dozen or so pics of Antioch Center also ^-^
[Reply]
JeffreyL
April 12th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
The DeadMalls site has some great commentaries about North Town Mall, a totally dead little mall in Springfield, MO. You might want to add some pictures of it before the Wal-Mart people tear it down. What’s with Wal-Mart bulldozing all the malls in Missouri?
[Reply]
Mike Hepp
April 16th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Hi, I’m from Liverpool,NY my father was a long time member of the maintinance dept. at the PennCan Mall from 1989-2001 when Burdick took over and eliminated my fathers job. Anyways I’m a big mall fanatic and I like to collect info and photos of local & malls from all over. I have helped the creator of the PennCan site build a collection of photos. Just about all the 70’s classic photos I have in my possesion I sent through a photo website I created using photoalbum.com. You may view this collection and if you see anything you like, feel free to post it under the PennCan profile page! I viewed the latest post about Pyramid Mall in Ithaca, now I’m gonna have to take that hour drive out there now to see it for myself. Speaking of I have a map that I cut out & posted on that photoalbum that pin points all the malls that Pyramid owns & plans on selling. Thanks
[Reply]
Sarah
April 27th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Here is a great link, to show the history of a dead or dieing mall in Macomb County, MI. I read your review About Summit Place Mall which I am familiar with, I actually used to get my son’s pictures taken at the “my photographer” that was there which has now relocated. Universal mall is the mall of my childhood and I have many great memiories there and would love to see some one perserve those for me and future generation.
Thank you for the awesome work you are doing!
Sarah
[Reply]
Alex "AL" Mertz
April 30th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Hey fellow mall rats,
Was surfin the web and found your site, cool stuff guys, I dig the malls. I used to spend lots of hours at the greats here is SOCAL, my fav always Del Amo. Keep up the good work!
AL
PS I know guys in SOCAL with lots of mall stuff, maybe you and them could hook up.
[Reply]
Brandie
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:28 pm
I think you guys would be interested in City Center Mall in Downtown Columbus Ohio. Here’s a link to a recent article about it:
http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-04-12-0021.html
It even has video!
Here’s the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_City_Center
My personal experience with the mall is this: When I came to Columbus in 2001 as an Ohio State student, it was “the” place to go, especially due to the easy access from campus. Since then, it’s died a relatively quick death. Last time I was there, I was actually creeped out because it’s practically a retail graveyard. There are SO many vacant storefronts that it’s difficult to even find the stores that are still hanging on. It’s become quite a thorn in the side of the city as they struggle to revitalize this blight right in the middle of our downtown.
I think part of the demise is a result of the bigger, better, more specialized malls in the area that have been developed, particularly Easton Town Center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easton_Town_Center) and Polaris Fashion Place (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaris_Fashion_Place). These malls are targeted toward a more high-end crowd.
Let me know if you’d like me to get some pictures of any of these places.
There’s also a similarly abandoned mall called Forest Fair Mall. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/08/15/fin_forest_fair_mall.html
[Reply]
JohnE
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
I was just at Northgate 5 days ago and it is pathetic. The only store listed above that is open is the maison de hallmark. Only about 15 stores are inside the actual mall and it felt like the a/c was off. Anna’s linens is approx where the tg&y was and the other stores in the mall are urban clothing stores and cell phone stores. Towards the end of the mall are several beauty shops so I lost interest and did not even make it to the other end of the mall. The Albertson’s and Home Depot that are closed off to the mall do great business and had several cars in the parking lot. The new development on Louisiana Ave & I-10 will probably take away the last few customers from the mall and it will more than likely close in a couple of years.
[Reply]
NJSHOREGUY
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I have alot of information for your Monmouth Mall, NJ section, specifically JCPenney. I worked in JCPenney in the 1990’s. Was there pre and post remodel of the mall. Email me with any questions you may have.
And just to add to the information you already have posted, the JCPenney was originally constructed as a JCPenney in 1976. The JCPenney was always a JCPenney, unlike the other anchor buildings that were sold and changed names.
Thanks for your time
[Reply]
Luk
June 17th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Hi there. I’ve already been on your sight for many hours now, and I’m completely enthralled by it. I live in palm beach gardens, florida…where as I’m sure you know is The Gardens Mall. Anyways. There is an ailing mall in West Palm Beach about ten minutes south, The Palm Beach Mall, which is almost 50 years old. There used to be a mall in between the two called the Twin City Mall which was anchored by Sears, Jefferson’s and a third one…closed about 15 years ago, and is now mixed use restaurants, banks, grocery store, etc. I hate the big shopping centers with the mega stores…that are becoming all too popular in suburbia. Also, I noticed you do not have West Virginia in your list. How/where/when can I submit info and photos?
[Reply]
Panda
June 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
In the malls of New England link, you are missing one of Boston’s malls…The Corner Mall in Downtown Crossing. Just thought you should know so you can add it to the list.
[Reply]
Mary
June 23rd, 2007 at 12:17 am
no web site….but was looking up what my neighborhoods historical stuff…
I am very close to the old Blue Ridge Mall In KC MO
Guess what is there now..??? A Giant Walmart….and there is already a walmart within a 10 min drive.
I can snail mail photos..its very sad.
I want to move
[Reply]
Shann
July 1st, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Port Plaza (as most people know it) definitely falls into the category of dead malls. This used to be THE place to shop in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A friend and I decided to stop in about 4 years ago and it was depressing to see about 90% of the storefronts empty. It wasn’t a huge shock when they announced the mall was abruptly closing in 2006, as the place to shop now is Bay Park Square.
[Reply]
Chris Whittaker
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Thanks for the Southern Tier mall update in Upstate NY. Based on that, and the other mall trips that you have had, the next two logical trips would be to either the Rochester malls (which I could help with) and/or the Scranton/Wilkes Barre PA malls, including Steamtown, a large downtown mall built in the early 90’s. Even better, there are malls that have not been looked at here that are on the way to these places (Sangertown Square and FIngerlakes Mall, two of the early Pyramid Designs in the case of Rochester, and the small Southside Mall between Albany and Binghamton NY).
[Reply]
Matt from WI
July 12th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Guys, I found a bunch of vintage pictures featuring the construction, and exterior / interior shots of Valley Fair Mall that was on the outskirts of Appleton WI. This mall is no longer open to the public after an attempt and failure of trying to convert the complex into a ‘youth oriented’ mall.
They claim to be the world’s first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center, but we all know who has that claim to fame. Still it’s one of Wisconsin’s first, that’s for sure.
I visited the mall once in 1993, twice in 1995, and my final time in early 2000. None of those times, did I get any images.
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=U0&Dato=20070710&Kategori=APCNEWS&Lopenr=707100810&Ref=PH
Should this page of images go offline, I did save the pics locally to my computer for a possible future writeup on the mall for this site (Mall Hall of Fame also did a Valley Fair entry, but it’s buried in their archives). Being from the region, and having family that’s lived in the area since the 1970s, between myself and them, I have tons of information in my mind.
I need to get cracking on Northland Mall as well…..that’s Appleton’s ‘other’ mall.
[Reply]
JAL
July 13th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
The small city of Marquette, Michigan, used to have two malls: Marquette Mall and Westwood Mall. Westwood is in operation, but I believe Marquette closed. There is a car dealer on the site, and I think some fast food. I will be up there next month. Does anyone have any information?
[Reply]
Service Merchandise
July 17th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
I’m in Oak Ridge TN right now and there is a mall called something like Rutger Place, but it will be a lifestyle center soon. I’ll try to visit and take pics.
[Reply]
Bobby
July 18th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Can you find the exact name please? I can’t find anything on Google.
[Reply]
shaney_oyeah
July 19th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Caldor, I know another mall in Nj that you probably haven’t even been to or heard of.
It’s the Holiday City Mall in the holiday City development (a giant age-restricted community) in Toms River, NJ. It’s a mini mall, & has no anchors.
It has a Freedman’s Bakery, Silver Threads (a local chain that sells clothes for old people), a vitamin store, a small grocery store, a few banks, a restaurant, a few rea estate offices, i think an antique store, a showroom for some contractor, and a few other places. It’s really bizarre.
It’s probably been there since who knows how long and is packed with tons of old people.
It’s at the intersection of Jamaica blvd & plaza dr (in the middle of a giant development).
[Reply]
Jonah N
July 19th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I got some photos and a mall directory of Valley View Mall (aka Tanglewood’s killer). I can send some to you, but you don’t have anything yet.
[Reply]
SEAN
August 6th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
White Plains NY has malls worth checking out.
1 GALLERIA
2 THE WESTCHESTER
3 CITY CENTER
I work close by to them, if you post i will ad more info.
COME ON DOWN! Excuse the t p i r reference.
[Reply]
twincitymall
August 17th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Looking for pictures of the old Twin City Mall located in North Palm Beach.
This mall was built in 1970 and I cant seem to find ANY pictures…
Thanks!
[Reply]
[jonrev]
August 17th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Here’s my site with photos and Information on Lakehurst Mall that stood in Waukegan, Illinois…
http://www.freewebs.com/lakehurst/
I used to go to this mall all the time, and almost all movies I saw in a theatre until recently were at the Lakehurst Cinema. The mall opened in 1971 with three anchors, and started to die when Gurnee Mills was built. It met the wrecking ball in 2003 and the demo crews are just wrapping up demolition of the theatre.
I also have the sign from this mall that stood at the Rt. 120 off-ramp.
[Reply]
DQ
August 20th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Was reading the write-up on Laurel Mall in Laurel, Maryland. It says the mall opened in 1977. I lived in Laurel all my life and was at the mall on opening day. It opened in 1979, not 1977. I was still riding my bike on the dirt hills between the old shopping center and Montgomery Ward in 1977.
[Reply]
Ryan
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I see from the Delaware posts you were just in the Philadelphia area, or someone was. There’s two treasure you ought to check out. the MacDade Mall in Delaware County, PA on MacDade Blvd. near South Ave. This one has like 4 stores left, a K-Mart (former Woolco I believe) and an Acme Supermarket. It’s still open as far as I know but not for long. The other is Cheltenham Square Mall at Ogontz Avenue (Route 309) and Cheltenham Avenue on the Cheltenham/Philadelphia border. This one’s not doing as bad as MacDade but is anchored by Burlington Coat Factory and Value City, a sign of decay. A Home Depot is also on the property. I don’t know much else about the mall except that the Burlington Coat Factory/Shop Rite used to be a Gimbels a while back and I wonder why it’s come to this.
[Reply]
Seth
September 13th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
I saw your blerb on the County Line Mall in Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s nice to see some history behind this place. I live close to it and have done some exploring of it myself, if there is a way to send you pictures of it’s current state, with the two still existing mall corridors, I would be happy to send some to you. Let me know!
[Reply]
Jerseyboy381
September 26th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I don’t know if this is the place to post this but I’m driving myself crazy. I’m looking for pictures of the Menlo Park Mall in Edison NJ before the expansion and remodeling that took place in the early 90’s. I have very vague memories of going there in the 80’s since my dad worked in that office building on the south side of the mall and took me there a few times. All I really remember was some orange panels on the ceiling and there was something there having to do with the show “Double Dare” one weekend. Id’ love any information anyone has of the old mall before the expansion.
[Reply]
AceJay
October 13th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Hey there, I was wondering if I could help you out by giving you pictures and some press info for Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrenceville, NJ. I think it deserves a feature
Email me if you’d like me to take pictures.
[Reply]
Sera
October 20th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
This mall used to be my favorite one to go to back when I was a kid, but wow, it’s really fallen since then. As I’d been reading your blog lately I thought maybe I’d send you this information on it, and see if anyone there knows anything more about it’s history.
Charlestowne Mall opened in 1991, anchored by JCPenney, Marshalls, Carson Pirie Scott, and Kohls. I’m not sure on the exact changes that happened, but JCPenney and Marshalls have been replaced by Sears and Von Maur (which is apparently planning to leave after this holiday season?), and there is a Cinema 18 there that I’m not sure was there when it opened. I remember that this mall had a little educational toy store (Imaginarium or something, I believe) in it that I really loved. It even had a little child-size mall entrance to go through. When we were going to the mall I always wanted to go to Charlestowne and not Fox Valley because of this!
The mall is mostly empty now, the city wants the place to just shut down already, and it really is pathetic. The place looks nice enough and all, but it’s just so… empty. Some interesting tenants make use of the place now too. There’s a haunted house that’s there just for the Halloween season- though the near-empty mall is scarier than it is, and there’s a mini-golf place. The Carousel that I remember riding as a kid is still there- I wonder what they’ll do with it when the place closes. It has the mall’s name written on it and everything. But nobody was there riding it. About the only place at the mall that people seemed to be going was the theater. Even the department stores seemed pretty bare (and the Kohls was TINY. I wanted to find some new pants, but no luck there!).
I’m planning to go back in a week or two to get some pictures. I hope I get there before Halloween- I want to get pictures of the Christmas decorations that they are already putting up while beside the haunted house. Christmas is about the only time of year that the mall seems to get many people, so apparently they’re trying to get a head start on that by decorating in the middle of October. I’ll get those pictures to you once I go again, okay?
And to think, I remember when this mall was nicer than the nearby Fox Valley Center (now Westfield Fox Valley). But due to competition with that, the Aurora Premium Outlets, Woodfield, and a slew of big box centers this relatively young mall that drove some smaller ones out of business (Piano Factory Mall and St. Charles Mall, anyone?) is in a tight spot itself.
[Reply]
Ryan
October 28th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
I was reading your Jersey mall posts and in the Shore Mall post you commented that you’d seen every mall in New Jersey. From South to North (roughly): Hamilton Mall, Deptford Mall, Moorestown Mall, Ocean County Mall, Burlington Center Mall, Quaker Bridge Mall, Market Fair, Brunswick Square Mall, Woodbridge Center Mall, Menlo Park Mall, Jersey Gardens, Bridgewater Commons, Mall at Short Hills, Livingston Mall, Phillipsburg Mall, Riverside Square, Rockaway Townsquare and not enclosed Roxbury Mall (though it’s still interesting).
[Reply]
Ryan
October 29th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
And if you’re checking out those Jersey Malls, find Neshaminy Mall: Sears, Macy’s, Boscov’s, one floor with an excellent Woolworth labelscar arond back. I can provide some history too.
[Reply]
Macy's=evil
November 9th, 2007 at 11:47 am
I want to know some more about The Source Mall in Westbury, NY on Long Island. From the website’s directory all I see is a Fortunoff as the chain’s flagship store but also Nordstrom and Saks outlets. It looks like the lower level doesn’t continue the stretch of the mall which looks neat. Anyone have info? Wikipedia says an Ohrbach’s was on the property too at one point.
[Reply]
Big Daddy
November 12th, 2007 at 7:32 am
Here is a tribute site for the late Big Daddy’s Restaurant from Brooklyn and Florida. This site has pictures from the Lauderhill Mall location that was closed around 1977. We are also looking for pictures of any other Big Daddy’s that were known to exist in Brooklyn on Coney Island Avenue in Sheepshead Bay or Miami Beaches Lincoln Road Mall or Washington Avenue.
[Reply]
Jason Armes
November 28th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Cheltenham Square Mall will be located in Cheltenham Township,
Montgomery County Pennsylvania at 2385-87 West Cheltenham Avenue
in Wyncote,PA with a zip code of 19095 and Cheltenham Square Mall
will get a better area to relocate Cheltenham Township,Montgomery
County,PA and Cheltenham Square Mall will say no to locations to
Philadelphia,Philadelphia County,PA 19150 and Philadelphia,Pennsylvania
will no longer use to locate (Cheltenham Square Mall) and Cheltenham
Township,Montgomery County,PA will still longer use Cheltenham Square
Mall,Forever for life without”Philadelphia,PA” anymore.
Jason Armes
South Philadelphia,PA
[Reply]
Jason Armes
November 28th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Exit 351(PA Turnpike) will be use for the(BENSALEM/TREVOSE)
Interchange will connects with US 1,PA 132 and I-95 in Bucks County,PA
and PA 63 in Northeast Philadelphia,PA will have NJ State Capitol in
Trenton,NJ,Oxford Valley Mall&Sesame Place in Langhorne,PA,The
Neshaminy Mall&Philadelphia Park Racetrack&Casino in Bensalem,PA
APS Workplace in Trevose,PA and Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast
Philadelphia,PA with Hotels Provided in Bucks County&Northeast
Philadelphia,PA area locations. Exit 351 will formerly use the PHILADELPHIA Interchange and PA Turnpike will relocate to the
BENSALEM/TREVOSE Interchange with Toll Plazas&EZ Pass.
Jason Armes
South Philadelphia,PA
[Reply]
kturnerga
November 29th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Question:
Do you remember the various retailers who put out Christmas album collections including tire stores such as Goodyear and Firestone? I have a JCPenney 1973 album and a Grants album from that time period.
[Reply]
Ryan
December 1st, 2007 at 10:39 am
The MacDade Mall in Pennsylvania I posted about recently(ish) is now being used as a movie set. It’s interesting to see fountains and 60s decor again as the movie is set in that golden age of malls. There was rumor that the mall would be torn down and I don’t know if that is still on schedule after production of the movie. Gives an interesting spin to a dying mall.
[Reply]
Jerry
December 7th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
I was so sad (and rather disturbed!) to see your piece on the Washington Mall, in Wash PA. Growing up in and around Washington, I guess I never really realized how lucky we were to have TWO great malls (for the 80’s) in one fairly small town. Going to South Hills and Century III (which is still my all-time favorite) were considered “special” trips for serious shopping. But most of my mall time until I was about 16 (1993) was spent at Washington Mall!
In it’s heyday, that JCPenny’s and the Giant Eagle grocery (then at the front of the mall) along with G C Murphy’s (including their really antiquated but charming lunch counter) were real draws. Shortys (in one of your pics) was known for it’s hot dogs and they were really fantastic (and cheap). There was a great pet store called Jerry’s and a Waldenbooks and a Baskin Robbins on the front end. In the back was a popular arcade and a cheap pizza joint that served it the way it should be – greasy and foldable, for it’s thin flimsy crust. Somewhere in the depths of the narrow hallways near the Elby’s (outparcel) was a barber shop that I had my hair cut on more than one occasion.
The best memory I had was during Easter of 1981 where they had a local radio station doing promos from inside. Being the big ham that I was, they thought it was cute when I made a beeline for the microphone where they allowed me to say “Welcome to Washington Mall” for the delight of the shoppers. Adorable, huh? LOL
Anyway, the last I was there (about 1993) it was about 1/2 occupied. The Wal-Mart had opened across the road (JCPenneys side) and the K-Mart Plaza in the front had long been razed. Last I was in town (1998) the Giant Eagle had moved across the interestate) all I could tell from the outside was the the JCPenney’s was still there. And perhaps it will be the last thing to go. I’m glad I still have fond memories of it though. I hope you find this useful! Your site has been a wistful trip but I’m glad someone has kept these commercial icons in their memory. Well done
[Reply]
Mark
December 21st, 2007 at 2:10 am
I love this site and was hoping to find pictures from the 70s of the mall in Trumbull Connecticut … of all the malls I’ve seen and remember I think that was something truly unique, I remember theme areas, like each of the corridors was like a section of Disneyland. I was only 10 when I visited my aunt there and she took me to the G Fox there. Travelling recently in Connecticut I went back to try to find it and all that is there now is yet another messys/Lord and Taylor Shoppingtown, same blandness as everywhere.
[Reply]
Herman Krieger
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:03 am
Photo essay: “Mall-aise”, off beat look at malls in America, at:
http://www.efn.org/~hkrieger/mallaise.htm
[Reply]
Kevin
December 23rd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Hi there – I love the site and want to help. I try my best to visit as many old (and new) malls as much as possible when on the road, and have recently started to take pictures. I also have a collection of about 50 directories (the brochure kind) from the mid to late 90’s and early 2000’s that you may like. They are all from malls in New England. Malls I have pictures of: Rhode Island, Wakefield, Walpole Mall, Westgate Mall (WAY before the newest renovation), and Silver City.
How can I share this stuff with you?
Kevin
[Reply]
Brian
December 27th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Hi,
Inspired by this fantastic site of yours, I took some pics of Rhode Island Mall last week, during the Christmas rush. Apparently, the news of Christmas didn’t make it to the former Midland Mall…and the pics tell the story. Please let me know if you would like me to e-mail you the pics for this site.
Brian
[Reply]
Jack
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
The next time you folks come through Central Ohio, there is one mall that is an absoulute must see: Columbus City Center.
There is absolutely nothing there. Zilch. Zip. Nada. No anchor stores (the last one, a Macy’s, opened with the mall as Marshall Field’s, closed last December.) and more coppers than shoppers. This makes taking pictures a bit difficult (during my last visit I was stopped a couple of times and told to put the camera away) It is currently run by the City of Columbus, as its old owners, Simon Property Group, were evicted over the summer of 2007. It’s probably not going to close any time soon (there are a couple of small shops that get good business, as its large parking garage is used by workers downtown) but I’d hurry, because the city wants to re-devellop it. I have a TON of pictures, including several of the million-square-foot Lazarus anchor store, if you want my help. If you want the pics, just email me.
qwert78@earthlink.net
[Reply]
Teddy
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:26 am
hello all, there is one i think you will want to know about, its on the border of mexico, yes this big ol long mall has , or i need to say had three blocks all with over head floor cat walks and ground lev curbs walks and yes there is even SMOKING in this mall, but like the ones ya have listed here the mall has closed one block, call that giving in to the store front cus the main ent of this mall faces the rio grand and looks out to mexico across the USA park but its all down hill truly the mall is or was built on a hill and that was for the river to rise and fall but like the malls going away so to have the rushing rivers of spring an summer so now the USA has a nice green park in a place where there is no green for miles and miles the park is, well it just looks unreal, this mall is long and has just a hand full of stores but walk as much as ya want to and see some of the men smoking and wonder wheres that sent, wheres that ,,, funk even, but this mall has a old water cooler system, and step in side from the texas heat and ya almost fall to the ground thanking the spirts , this mall is dim and damp but great for most any one who needs a cool rest away from the boarder town and Texas oven, this mall is off i-35 south , to find it go south to the border then stop and make a right be fore the crossing then ya stay west maybe 7 blocks and you will se the next walk over crossing one block more your in the mll and parking is on down in gated parking lot enjoy and have a blunt or a cig, no pipes no cigars big sign and two guys walk the malls cleaning the ash trays with ease its wonderful to see old life style’s and truly the stores are 99 cent store and wigglys womans wear and a few drug stores and a water store where ya can buy water oh and a rental center that will bring your washer to Mexico for you , Teddy
]
[Reply]
Margaret Duhon
February 5th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Mall update for Houston, Texas
Northline Mall which opened in 1960 at the corner of I45 & Crosstimbers St. was leveled effective last week.
Mall was small, original anchors were Joske’s and Montgomery Wards. Mall also had a Piccadilly Cafeteria. There was a medium sized anchor store in the back of the mall which was housing classrooms for Houston Community College at the time of its demolition, but I have not been able to find out the name of the store. Also I am unsure of all its original tennants other than the anchors and Piccadilly. There was a 4 screen movie theater in the rear of the mall on the outparcel, and I think it shut down the year I moved to Houston, 89-90 and it was demolished not long after. Unfortunately I have no pictures to submit.
Sharpstown Mall/Sharpstown Center at hwy 59 South & Bellaire Blvd has filed for bankruptecy and its last major anchor is leaving. Macy’s will close sometime in February. Store was originally a Foley’s. Mall also used to have a JC Penny, Montgomery Ward, Limited Express, Gap, Lerners and all the major botiques of a mall. It started on a downward decline in the 90’s due to the surrounding areas that became sesspool for immigrants and drug dealing and major crime. The mall is basically a shell of its former self. A Burlington Coat Factory is housed in the former Montgomery Wards building. Mall was originally a 1 story and a 2nd story was added in the 70’s.
[Reply]
Christopher
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 pm
One mall that would be great for this website is our forgotton Hampton Square Mall in Bay City/Essexville MI.
This mall was built in 1975, and featured Kmart, JCPenny (1990 addition) and Weichmann’s as the main anchors. Currently, nearly every single store is closed. There is an extremely popular Chinese restaurant that has been there for years. The mall started declining with the new Bay City Mall across town in 1991. The Bay City Mall is also declining, and may be dead itself in a few years.
[Reply]
Christopher
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:45 pm
http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgottenmi/hampton.html
Here is a link to Hampton Square Mall Information!
[Reply]
Mike
February 24th, 2008 at 2:33 am
I was wondering if you or you know somebody that might have a photo of a plaza called Henrietta Plaza which is located in Henrietta, NY (Rochester). I would like to find a photo of the plaza from the 1970’s to show the way it originally looked. Any information or help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
[Reply]
Angie
March 13th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I need to know where you got your information for the Blvd Mall in Las Vegas, NV. I am trying to make the Wikipedia site for it, and I don’t have any reliable references for the interesting history of this mall. Can you tell me where you got your information?
[Reply]
Gary
March 21st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Another BARNS & NOBLE is Closing in Manhattan. Take pictures of it
[Reply]
Jaime
March 25th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Check out the Fashion Mall in Plantation, Florida (Broward County). This mall used to be all high-end… now you can’t pay retailers to open shop. Still it’s open… maybe the food court has magic Manchu Wok or something. They’ve been threatening to overhaul it for years… we’ll see.
[Reply]
Chris Trice
March 27th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Hello,
I thought you might like to know that I’ll soon be
publishing a book of my photographs of Dixie Square
Mall, located in Harvey, Illinois…one of the most
famous “dead” malls in the world. The photos were made
over a 3-year period, and represent both a thorough
documentation of the mall, and a chance to reconsider
the aesthetics of abandoned spaces. The book includes
over 50 images, plus various historical information
about the mall itself, and will be accompanied by the
launch of a companion website. The target date for
both book and website is late spring, 2008.
I’m considering including a “links” section on the
website, and possibly in the book itself. Would you be
willing to let me include a link and/or printed
reference to your site? If you think anyone on your
contact list (or visitors to your site) might be
interested in my book, you are more than welcome to
pass this information along. I’d also be pleased to
discuss any ideas you might have for cross-promotion!
You may see a sample of my work at Dixie Square here:
http://www.mocp.org/collections/mpp/trice_christopher_w.php
And here:
http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/trice_christopher.php
Please contact me if I can provide any further
information.
Thanks for your time,
Chris Trice
[Reply]
Jeff
March 29th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsbn123/2371592210/
[Reply]
AceJay
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Hey Caldor or another admin, I posted up two huge posts in the Cherry Hill and Echelon Mall blogs and they never appeared. Could you look through the autofilter? It had a bunch of links (to pictures) so that’s why it never appeared, I guess.
[Reply]
Stephen Greer
May 13th, 2008 at 1:58 am
You should take a peek at the Burlington Center Mall in Burlington NJ, It is one of the newer malls in the area, and has some 80s desegins in it. Also while in burlington, check out Burlington Coat Factory Store 001 on Route 130, since it is the first of many Burlington Coat Factory stores.
[Reply]
Joshua DeLand
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
- I know someone that works at Universal Mall in Warren, MI and they said that that asbestos is currently being removed from the old Montgomery Ward Store and that the redevelopment construction is going to start this week. I also heard that the Target Store located on Dequindre, right down the street is going to build a store there. I am not sure if it is going to be a regular Target Store or Metro Detroit’s first Super Target. The movie Theatre is going to stay along with A.J. Wright and Burlington Coat Factory. There is also new traffic lights being put up on Dequindre in front of the old Mervryn’s and there will be a street going through where the old Mervyn’s is now. I will let you know how things are progressing on The Universal Mall redevelopment. Thank You.
Sincerely,
Joshua DeLand
[Reply]
TXGolfer
June 5th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I have an idea for a mall which would be reported on: Highland Mall in Austin, TX
[Reply]
Patron Zero
June 8th, 2008 at 3:13 am
Os it possible to get an addition made to the Indiana page to include Glendale Mall (originally Glendale Center) in Indianapolis ? This was the premier shopping center-cum-enclosed-mall built back in the 1950s and ‘perished’ in 2007. I have a few vintage photos as well as scans of the mall’s floor plan & shopping directory should such weigh in favor of it’s inclusion to this site.
[Reply]
Mall Rat
June 9th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Metro North Mall in Kansas City, MO would be a great feature to your site
Wikipedia.org’s pg for “Metro North Mall” has lots of details also (most of them mine)
Metro North is owned by the guy who brought you “Metcalf South Shopping Center”… and it’s got all the retro lamposts, planters, black diamond shiny ceiling thing, and fountains
It’s basically a bigger version of Metcalf South, that got lucky and lasted a long time — it’s got 40/125 stores and anchored by Macy*s, JCPenney (which is having a closing sale), and a Dillard’s Clearance Center… Montgomery Wards is the 4th anchor closed in 2001
There is a $2 movie theatre, dress alterations shop, etc. — ya’ll should check it out ^^
I know more if u need info
[Reply]
JP
June 15th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Call me crazy, but I have an idea for a site that would complement Labelscar…a mall wiki. It would be a Wikipedia-type site that anyone can edit, but devoted to shopping malls and retail history. The owners of this site and most regular contributors could become admins…
There could be articles on individual malls, the retail scene in general in various metro areas, lists of current and former locations for various chains, etc. Everything could go much more in-depth than, say, a corresponding Wikipedia article.
Any thoughts?
[Reply]
Mall Rat
June 15th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
^ Brilliant idea! I would love that! =)
[Reply]
JP
June 15th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Well I got something small going…
http://retailguide.wikispaces.com
Nothing but indexes so far, but who knows…this may become something someday.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 15th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Actually, I considered doing that on Wikia. Maybe I should make that…
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 15th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Ack! I had just made one on Wikia, which (I think) is better.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 15th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Check back on:
http://mallsretail.wikia.com/
(sorry JP, I had already initiated the process before you posted…)
[Reply]
Tyguy
June 16th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Hey everyone, I just submitted some information on a mall and some pics to the owner of this site. Hopefully he will get them soon and post them up. They are of the Midnapore Mall here in Calgary, Canada. Its pretty dead.
I think that idea about a mall wiki is awesome and I’d defintely be interested in seeing it and contributing. It’d be really cool if it can get going, we seem to have a lot of people from all over on this site so I think it would be promising. Great stuff JP. Jonah, when I click on yours I just get a 404 wiki not found error, did you take it down or are you working on it?
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 16th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
It’s now at http://Malls.wikia.com
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 16th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
It’s not as indexed as JP’s, but it’s far less antagonistic to new users as with mine people can actually make and edit pages…
[Reply]
Mall Rat
June 19th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
^ I love it! I’ve alrdy gotten started… and someone else has too
[Reply]
Jake
July 6th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I have another idea: Valley View Center in Dallas. This mall is located less than a mile from the upscale Galleria Dallas and just a few miles from the ultra upscale and behemoth Northpark Mall near Highland Park. This mall was built from out from an existing Sears store in the early 1970’s and initially included anchor tenets Bloomingdales, Sanger Harris, Joske’s (or maybe Dillard’s, i’m not certain) and Sears, of course. In recent years, it anchors have included JCPenny, Dillards, Sears, and Foley’s (converted to Macy’s in 2006), along with an AMC cinema. However, over the past year, the mall has fallen on especially hard times. This past March, Macy’s shut its doors for good since it has a very successful location at the Galleria almost next door. Then, on July 2, Dillard’s announced that it would be closing its store by the end of August, leaving JCPenny, Sears, and the theaters as the only anchors. This mall is located in a particularly upscale part of Dallas surrounded by large office towers and other similar developments. The land which the mall sits on is extremely valuable in itself. For this reason, a complete redevelopment is highly likely considering the wave of development occuring in the area. If you are interested in seeing this mall before it is gone for good, I would recommend visiting soon since its real estate is so valuable.
Although the mall tends to attract a lower-end clientele due to its anchors, crime does not seem to be a major factor here. In my opinion, the biggest factor in this mall’s decline has been intense competition, In Dallas, the high-end dollar primarily flows to Northpark Center and the Galleria Dallas, which are both located within close proximity to the mall. In addition, Stonebriar Centre, a new mega mall in nearby Frisco has pulled significant foot traffic away from other malls in northern Dallas and nearby suburbs Plano and Frisco with its mid to high end shops and large variety of restaurants. As a result, this overmalling has created intense competition for other nearby malls such as Valley View and Collin Creek Mall in Plano. Dallas is one of the most overmalled cities in the United States, with several malls dead or dying (and several more recently torn down). Therefore, Valley View will most likely just become another casuality added to a lengthy list.
[Reply]
Mike
July 17th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Any chance that you can do a story on the original Menlo Park Mall in Edison NJ? They renovated it in 1990, and now its a completly different mall. I am having trouble locating any information on the original mall. I cant locate any pictures or any information outside wikipedia….
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
July 17th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Try using News.Google.com and search for “Menlo Park Mall” before 1990.
[Reply]
Joey
July 17th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City, NJ
Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ
and Woodbridge Center in Woodbridge, NJ would all b great!
[Reply]
Halle Higbee
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Let me know via the e-mail address I gave you if you are interested in a Cleveland correspondent.I noticed that you have a little bit about this area, but not a great deal.
I have interesting stories about city hall (over)involvement and developer short-sightedness in one of America’s hardest-hit cities during this “recession”.
Contact me via the e-mail address above and let me know. I can post pictures with back story along with interesting news items as they pop up.
[Reply]
Mike
August 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
http://www.spotsylvaniamall.com
This mall had a few stores in it. It raised it’s rents and they left. Now the mall is trying to expand.
It is in Fredericksburg VA
[Reply]
Terry Babiarz
August 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I think it would be great if you could get some oral history about the chain stores that were in areas over the years. I was in Retail for almost forty years in the Chicago Area. My career took me to Wisconsin and up and down the East Coast. There has to be more people like me that remember more than you will ever get in a book.
[Reply]
Ryan
August 24th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Be sure to check out http://www.emporis.com for some more St. Louis mall information. Here are some links:
Glen Carbon, IL (Cottonwood Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=cottonwoodmall-glencarbon-il-usa
Alton, IL (Alton Square)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121574
Crestwood, MO (Crestwood Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121403
St. Peters, MO (Mid RIvers Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121067
Mehlville, MO (South County Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121144
North County (Jamestown Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121621
Fairview Heights, IL (St. Clair Square)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121543
Chesterfield, MO (Chesterfield Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=chesterfieldmall-chesterfield
St. Ann, MO (Northwest Plaza)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=northwestplaza-streetann
Jennings, MO (River Roads Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121620
Keep checking back for more pictures in the future.
[Reply]
Ryan
August 24th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
More St. Louis malls:
Richmond Heights, MO (St. Louis Galleria)
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=121064
Des Peres, MO (West County Mall)
http://www.emporis.com/ge/wm/cx/?id=121065
Hazelwood, MO (St. Louis Mills)
http://www.emporis.com/ge/wm/cx/?id=121542
[Reply]
CoryTJ
August 31st, 2008 at 2:56 am
Jake, I have to say that on my trip to Valley View in Dallas, the mall seemed to be very healthy. There was plenty of national chain presence, and the foot traffic seemed steady. Apparently along with the closings, there are a number of new store openings.
The only downfall of course is the lack of interested anchor tenants to fill the two vacated spaces that were formerly Macy’s and Dillard’s. I have to tell you, I loved this mall. It had a lot of charm, convenience, and variety. A good fit for new anchors for this mall would be a Bon-Ton chain of sorts (Bon-Ton, Boston Store, Elder-Beerman, Bergners, Younker’s, Herberger’s, or Carson’s) and a Von Maur or Kohl’s.
I am sticking, by the way, to my original assessment of Dillard’s. Two thumbs down. If being unimaginitive were a crime, Dillard’s should get the death penalty.
[Reply]
Jake
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Personally, I do not feel that Valley View will die off completely in the near future, however, I do see a looming possibility of redevelopment, especially with two empty anchor pads. In addition, Sears and JCPenny, don’t really fit the demographics of the area since both of these middle-class stores are located within a relatively upscale area. Most of the national stores within Valley View can be found at other nearby malls, such as Stonebriar Centre and Collin Creek. Therefore, many of these stores are a bit redundant. In addition, JCPenny has been building many big box style stores lately, therefore, the Valley View store could potentialy move to a nearby power center. The one thing that could actually save Valley View is the AMC theaters and the mall’s proximity to the Galleria. Many visitors to the Galleria come to Valley View for the theaters, helping to add foot traffic to the mall.
In short: Valley View won’t close for at least another year or two, but don’t be surprised to hear of redevelopment plans sometime in the next few years.
As far as Dillard’s goes, I enjoy shopping at Dillard’s, but I must admit that it is far from unique. Their stores in upscale malls such as Northpark can be a bit unique, but otherwise, their stores all seem exactly the same. In recent years, they have become just as homogenous as Macy’s did after the May Co. buyout.
[Reply]
Andrew
September 12th, 2008 at 10:30 am
If you ever swing by North Carolina check out Southgate Mall in Elizabeth City. It’s a 250,000 sq ft mall with a spartan decor not unlike the day it opened in 1968. Still has good business for now, esp. with three anchors, but with a new business district forming on the freeway a few miles west, who knows how long that will last. Check out this time capsule of a building!
[Reply]
ellie
September 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I just read Discovery-Based Retail for my own store, but thought you might like it. It’s a resource for retailers, but also gives a great account of how the industry has changed. I recommend! http://www.discoverdbr.com
[Reply]
Ken
October 7th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
http://www.13wmaz.com/article/20081007/NEWS01/81007012 details how Macon Mall, already with 39 empty spaces, is losing Dillard’s. The Macon Mall has a “deteriorated” reputation and is said to be a hangout for urban youths. The mall is being operated by a court-ordered manager as it is a subject of foreclosure.
[Reply]
Lynn
October 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
There are 2 malls worth looking into in Ohio, which seems to be a continuing labelscar state
Dayton Mall (mostly torn down now) had a similar fate of Randall Park and Rolling Acres; however segregation and suburban sprawl really killed it. I moved to Dayton in the late 90s for college and never ventured over until about 2005, it was a really large mall, I believe the biggest of it’s time in the entire miami valley but crime, gang violence, a 2 story suburban mall and then a lifestyle center also near by finally killed it. It is interesting that strip mall and big box retailers still exist and thrive in that area though.
The other is Midway Mall in Elyria Ohio, this mall recently lost Dillards and I hear that JcPenney is leaving in 2009, which I have a feeling will really kill this mall off. I haven’t been inside this mall since 2006. My mom worked at Dillards part time in her “golden years” so I heard a lot of the stories. I worked nearby and even in the 90s a lot of retail outlets were moving out and random non-chain stores starting coming in…mainly sports and gold stores. They tried a few years ago to revamp it, but even at holiday time it’s not as busy as I’ve seen it. My mom and dad lived there since the mall existed, even before so and she has a lot of info I’m sure she could share about it’s up and down road.
[Reply]
Lynn
October 8th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
sorry I meant Salem Mall, in Dayton, the Dayton Mall still exists.
[Reply]
La Reyna
October 12th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I think you ought to do the malls of Dayton, Ohio: Salem, Dayton, Mall at Fairfield Commons, and The Greene.
Forbes.com recently named Dayton, Ohio, one of 10 dead cities in the nation. The jobs here are becoming scarcer, leaving people with no choice but to migrate to areas where jobs are plentiful or get further education. The shopping options are no better. The Salem Mall is gone. Dayton Mall is exhibiting early signs of decline. The only malls that are flourishing are the Fairfield and The Greene. Both are outside Montgomery County. They’re in Beavercreek, Ohio, the outer suburb of Dayton.
Please do this important piece of history soon.
[Reply]
tony p.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:46 am
in regards to finding retro rad pics of mall from way back I found two on this ladies website of the rockaway townsquare mall. ritablitt.com/resume/index.cfm It must be opening day 1977. Remember those crazy sculptures? Rita made them. This is her website. im 27 years old i can remember a few major things, the lights were wild. Did they have some kind of seating that sunk into ground like a sunken living room? maybe carpet yellow? across from an ice cream place. as a kid i use to run along the fountain streams it was slanted tile wall. I recall an orange drink place and maybe a bake potato joint and yogurt/salad eatery? very vage indeed. I need more pics to bring back and jog my brain with visions. I hope someone can help me, im such a geek hahaha. contact me at myspace if anyone feels the way i do. myspace.com/radtone81. I think they should put rita’s sculptures back in the mall were they belong. Maybe they got rid of all the rad stuff cuz of stupid insurance premiums.?.? i dont get it.
[Reply]
tony p.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:07 am
oh i forgot to mention on her website go to the portfolio, scrole to sculptures and you will find the pics toward the bottom.
[Reply]
Mike
October 29th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Would love to see some information on Jamestown Mall in Florrissant, MO – looks like it is probably not long for the mall world – Sears has announced they are pulling out now, in addition to Dillards that has already left, leaving the mall with only JC Penney Outlet and Macy’s as its only anchors. The Macy’s store in the mall is actually one of the newer stores in the St. Louis area, having been built in the late 90s as a Famous-Barr. The old Famous Barr store was then turned into JC Penney’s and within a couple of years was downgraded to an outlet store. Smaller spaces are emptying out more and more, especially in the Dillard’s wing, and now plans are to convert the former Dillards store and wing into Office Space, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
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Bobby
October 29th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Famous Barr at Jamestown Mall never became a JCPenney. The Famous became Macy’s.
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Evan
October 30th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
How do I send you pics? I took three pics of the near empty Palm Beach Mall food court today? Just email me please and I can send them to you!
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Bobby
October 30th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Their emails are caldor@labelscar.com and prangeway@labelscar.com .
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Mike
October 31st, 2008 at 8:21 am
As I remember, about 10 years ago, Famous Barr built a brand new store at Jamestown – the old Famous then became JC Penney, after the new one opened, which is now a Macy’s.
[Reply]
Occasional Oklahoman
November 5th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Sheridan Village in Tulsa, Oklahoma has been contracted for demolition later this year (http://www.batesline.com/archives/2008/11/sheridan-village-doomed.html). Lost Tulsa has some pictures of it (http://www.losttulsa.com/2008/11/sheridan-village-admiral-place-and.html), and links to a Flickr album (http://www.flickr.com/photos/losttulsa/sets/72157608599875895/) with many more pictures.
[Reply]
The Leavster
November 13th, 2008 at 9:10 am
The owner of several malls in the Houston, TX area is considering filing for bankruptcy. Here is a link to the local news station.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/17970821/detail.html
Later,
Leavster
[Reply]
Bobby
November 13th, 2008 at 9:37 am
We’ve already covered that in another post.
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Jamie B
November 20th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I tried to send you an email about a mall you might be interested in including on Labelscar, but I get it back the email sayng it is unable to send. I am talking about Northshore Square Mall in Slidell, LA. Please contact me at jamiegon@yahoo.com if you are interested on the info and pics I have. Jamie B
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CoryTJ
November 21st, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hey, I was contacted by deadmalls.com to submit something for Grand Avenue in Milwaukee. Does anyone have any pics from the 80’s or even early 90’s they could send me. Any help would be appreciated. corybroker1@aol.com. Thanks.
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nicola carysle
November 27th, 2008 at 4:16 am
i found a list of closing stores & chains suposedly from the sec, can anyone confirm these, the chains & stores are cache, talbots, & J. jill, also pac sun closing all stores. so like i said if anyone can confirm & verify this.
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Erica
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Has any one covered Chicago Place Mall at 700 N. Michigan Ave Chicago, IL 60611. Michigan Ave currently had 4 Malls. 900 N. Michigan anchored by Bloomingdales, Watertower Place that was anchored by Lord and Taylor and Macy’s but now American Girl Place stands in the Lord and Taylor spot, North Bridge Mall anchored by Nordstroms and the dying or dead Chicago place anchored by Sack’s 5th Ave, Talbots and used to have a huge Ann Taylor presence. The rumors that the mall was going to be turned into a hotel. Has anyone heard anything or been inside with some pictures?
Moving away from downtown has anyone covered Ford City? near Midway Airport?
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Jodie
December 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
There was an article in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the plight of Northwest Plaza, once billed as the world’s largest shopping center. Here is the link: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/developmenteconomy/story/2D783124CEAF437D862575170013B3D9?OpenDocument
Thank you for the site! I find it fascinating.
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Erica Crawford
December 24th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I just got back from Canton Centre in Canton Ohio. The place is 90 percent empty but still open. JC Penney was very busy but the mall has mostly dark store fronts. Tons of label scars outside and faded brick. I took pictures. I will post them up today on your flickr site.
Erica
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Erica
December 26th, 2008 at 1:26 am
My pictures from Canton Centre can be found here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18223393@N07/sets/72157611600563360/
Let me know what you think. This mall has been dying for 20 years. I am shocked it is not mentioned anywhere.
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Charles
December 26th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Erica, I like your Canton Centre pictures! The Mall Hall of Fame blog is reporting that the place has already been demolished for redevelopment, but evidently that is not the case. I was there a year ago (before Macy’s closed) and got a number of pictures myself, but yours are the only newer ones I’ve seen.
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Chip
December 26th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Nice pics Erica. Having lived in Canton between 1981-84, I don’t recall going to this mall. We always went to Belden Village since that one had Sears ( also O’Neils and Halles that closed and became Higbees). Canton Centre is done. The inside reminds me of the old College Hills Mall in Normal IL. Except all the storefronts are open, not hiding behing fiberboard.
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AceJay
December 27th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Was there another anchor and wing where the Walmart is now?
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Erica
December 27th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Yes Montgomery Ward was once there.
Click on this link and scroll down until you see Mellett Mall. All of the floor plans through the years are listed.
http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html
As a kid it was great to go to this mall because they had Kaybee Toy Hobby. Belden Village only had Hobby Center not as cool as Kaybee.
More gumball and trinket machines at Mallett and the theatre and Baskin Robbins right next to each other made a childhood mall trip just great. I also remember helping my mom pull my sister in the stroller up these horrible steps in the back of JC Penny. I was only 4 at the time of the stroller pulling so a stranger had to help us with the effort. I believe those have been turned into ramps now.
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Erica
December 27th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I posted on the Mall Hall of Fame blog so he is updating stuff right now after seeing my pictures. Nice guy
Erica Crawford
Chicago
Former Akron/Canton Ohio Resident
[Reply]
Erica Crawford
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 am
Here is an article published in today’s Chicago Sun Times regarding Chicago Place.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1358106,CST-NWS-mall01.article
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Eric Paulson
January 8th, 2009 at 10:56 am
I just wanted to let say that next time you cover a mall in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, you should make an entry on the Brookdale Center.
The mall was opened in 1962 with Sears and JC Penney. Later in the 60s, a Dayton’s and Donaldson’s were added. Brookdale went along just fine until the 90s, when the suburb it is located in called Brooklyn Center, had a demographic switch, from solidly middle class to poverty level.
After several anchors coming in and out, Macy’s announced today it is closing its store there in the near future. Steve and Barry’s recently pulled out of the mall. The only remaining anchors that will be left are Sears and Barnes and Noble
Here is an article regarding the fate of the mall from December 15, 2008: http://www.startribune.com/business/36083789.html?elr=KArksUUUU
[Reply]
Ryan
January 9th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Just a suggestion – but since this blog is about reatil in general, how about a post about that Mall Cop movie? It was shot at Burlington Mall in Mass. Again, just a suggestion…
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Mr.D
January 10th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I Second Ryan.
Mall Cop Review!!!!
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Sera
January 14th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Added a link to you guys on my new retail blog.
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Mr.D
January 18th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
If anyone wants to check out this time capsule go ahead.It’s a store from the 70’s called Valley Fair(?).The interior has a few “surprises” for the unprepared.
First is the smell……Then the getto looking pet department with dead fish greeting you ,Third is the sleezy looking restaurant in the back and the foruth and final thing is the merchandise is unsold stuff from the 70’s/getto.
The address is 260 Bergen Tpke, Little Ferry NJ.Go if you dare.
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Jonah Norason
January 18th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Wow…that actually sounds pretty awesome.
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Jonah Norason
January 18th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
But it doesn’t look to be enclosed, but there is an old Wal-Mart called “H Mart”.
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Mr.D
January 18th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
H Mart has nothing to do with Wal-Mart.
It’s a Asian supermarket.
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Jonah Norason
January 19th, 2009 at 10:37 am
But it still doesn’t look enclosed. Is it?
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Mr.D
January 19th, 2009 at 11:36 am
So I’ve seen stand alone stores featured on this site.
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SEAN
January 19th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Review from wwwthemovieboy.com **
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
Directed by Steve Carr.
Cast: Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O’Donnell, Raini Rodriguez, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Gerety, Adam Ferrara, Shirley Knight, Stephen Rannazzisi, Jamal Mixon, Adhir Kalyan, Erick Avari, Allen Covert.
2009 – 90 minutes
Rated: (for some violence, crude and suggestive humor, and language).
Reviewed by Dustin Putman, January 12, 2009.
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is better than it sounds, which is to say that it’s not good at all but just shy of awful. The title, though, is something to behold, and may be reason enough for this tepid, instantly forgettable comedy to go belly-up at the box-office. Seriously, does making a trip to the theater and spending ten bucks a pop to see something called “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” sound appealing to anyone? Maybe ten-year-old boys. Maybe. But don’t let the PG rating fool you; this is basically “Die Hard” set in a mall, only with less laughs and not as much profanity. The peril, gunplay and endangered lives, however, are safely intact.
Bumbling, heavyset single father Paul Blart (Kevin James) has dreamed of becoming a state trooper, but his hypoglycemia has kept him time and again from finishing the mandatory obstacle course. Working instead as a security guard at the West Orange Pavilion Mall, Paul tries to maintain his dignity even as he is dogged by coworkers and humiliated in front of the girl he has eyes for, sweet-faced weave seller Amy (Jayma Mays). When the mall is suddenly taken over on Black Friday by a group of thieves led by Veck Sims (Keir O’Donnell), Paul is the only remaining inhabitant not captured and held hostage at the mall bank (he was too busy playing “Guitar Hero” in the closed video game store). Now, with the cops surrounding the building and Amy and, later, his own precocious daughter Maya (Raini Rodriguez) trapped in the bank, it is solely up to Paul to save the day.
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was directed by Steve Carr, the king of throwaway family movies whose past credits include 2005’s “Rebound” and 2007’s “Are We Done Yet?” He is in his comfort zone here, but a game Kevin James (2007’s “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry”) and a cute-as-a-button Jayma Mays (2007’s “Epic Movie”) raise the proceedings all on their own above being thoroughly detestable. James and Mays share the best scene in the film—a joint ride on a Segway through the mall and out to Amy’s car, scored to ’80s power ballad “I Can’t Hold Back” by Survivor—that surprisingly doesn’t end in a cheap pratfall or gag. It’s just a pure, sweet moment, and one of the few that the picture provides.
The central heist plot, by contrast, is running on autopilot, and so is the screenplay by Kevin James and Nick Bakay. Attempts at humor are broad, but so uninspired that there isn’t a single joke worth mentioning or remembering. Paul may not always be balanced on his feet, but he manages to elude the criminals as he sets out to save the hostages. That he intentionally breaks the law himself—he actually finds the time to shatter the glass of a Hallmark store in order to get Amy a birthday card while she sits at gunpoint mere steps away—is washed over by director Steve Carr, who reasons away Paul’s own occasional ill behavior simply because he’s the hero of the piece. A subplot involving the police outside and Commander James Kent’s (Bobby Cannavale) shared past with Paul is egregious, particularly when it leads to a groan-inducing last-act twist.
Boring and predictable in both its narrative and its aesthetics, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” merrily goes on its way without bothering to add inspiration into the equation. Kevin James is likable in the title role, but deserves a smarter cinematic vehicle to show off his talents, while Jayma Mays plays nice in the underwritten part of love interest Amy. A movie focusing just on their blossoming relationship would have been preferable to anything else offered up here. Save for the few nice moments between them and the handful between Paul and daughter Maya, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is dumbed-down, low-rent slapstick with stereotypes galore and a violent undercurrent that doesn’t sit well. With witticism not in director Steve Carr’s vocabulary, he chooses to go for the juvenile.
© 2009 by Dustin Putman
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
January 24th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I took some pictures of FIRST COLONY MALL, circa 1996, in Houston. A full write-up will (hopefully) soon follow.
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Jeremy
January 25th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I was wondering if you could do a story on Cincinnati Mills (Forest Fair Mall) in Cincinnati,Ohio. The mall is already nearly 60% empty, and Simon Properties has recently sold the mall.
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tomz
January 29th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Funny how malls are being replaced by “lifestyle centers” or named “village”(s). The buiding styles are at times a mishmash of different themes thrown side by side, with a quaint “village square” near the center. It is known that “Star Trek” inspired the cell phone and other items we use today. Could it be that “The Prisoner” is the inspiration for the shopping centers of the future?
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JP
January 29th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
This is mainly for the Canadian readers….some info I’ve compiled from an old 1981 directory I found at the local library:
http://www.the506.com/1981Malls.xls
Enjoy!
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Jim Jones
February 8th, 2009 at 1:33 am
You all should really do something on the Regency Mall in Augusta, Georgia. It was a great mall that basically wasted away for years until early 2001 when Montgomery Wards finally gave up!!! Just thought you all should know about it. Also there is now talks of using SPLOST money to redevelop part of the malls parking lot into a lake and then using the mall for mixed use. This would include stores/ restraunts/ and apartments.
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Stuart
February 14th, 2009 at 10:04 am
We have a mall near where I live that is a real head-scratcher. Dulles Town Center mall is the only enclosed mall in rapidly-growing Loudon County, VA. When it opened in 1999 it was a little ahead of its time because there really wasn’t the population to support it just yet. Now, 10 years later, that population is there and the mall gets more and more crowded as I stop in there.
It has solid-enough anchors: Macys, JCPenney, Dicks Sporting Goods, Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, Sears, and Nordstrom. The restaurant choices in and around the mall are endless. But when you walk inside the mall you see a heavy reliance on one-off retailers along side national chains.
The newer Nordstrom wing, which opened in 2002 along with the Nordstrom is a lot of knock off stores. To me, this seems to be a case of mall management not realizing that they are sitting on a gold mine. I’m sure there are plenty of malls in this boat whose full potential is not being realized. When you look at Taubman’s Fair Oaks, the mall was considered strictly secondary for quite some time until a couple of years ago the mall owners woke up and seized the opportunity – it’s doing quite well and bringing in more and more upscale names.
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Chip
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:51 am
Louis Joliet Mall in Joliet IL is adding a 14 screen movie theater to the mall. It is located by the food court opposite end of the hallway leading to Macy’s. Part of the footprint includes the old 2 screen theater from years ago. However there are 2 other movie theaters in the vicinty. This will make 36 movie screens in the surrounding mall area.
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SEAN
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Which circuit is running that theatre?
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Chip
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Cinemark will operate the theather in the mall. They also own the theather on the ring road and across the street by Target.
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Brandon
February 22nd, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Actually, that was a three screen General Cinema theater, Chip. They also ran one at Jefferson Square, across town (same number of theaters). My suspicion is that the Movies 8 will be sold or converted to something else, and the Movies 10 will be renovated to stadium seating. The General Cinema opened with the mall in 1978. The Movies 8 (on the Ring Road) opened in the late 1980s, and the Movies 10 (by Target and Barnes & Noble) opened in the mid to late 1990s. The General Cinema was converted to a second run theater about the time the Movies 10 was opened.
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Jonah Norason
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I just found out that the Festivals of Forest Fair (inside Forest Fair Mall) and Mall of America both had America’s Original Sports Bar. Will Forest Fair Mall/Cincinnati Mills ever be seen on the Labelscar plate?
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Caldor
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am
@Jonah:
Someday. Prangeway has a full set of photos from Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills so it will show up. We’ve both visited it too.
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Jonah Norason
February 27th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Is anyone in the “Remembering Retail” group on Yahoo? I tried to join but it’s been “pending” for two weeks. Is the original owner gone? How can I access the information inside?
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Lee Ann
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
This is the weirdest, craziest hobby I have ever seen. Thank you for it because you have no idea how many great memories you’ve dredged up for me.
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SEAN
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Fortunoff has started going out of business sales last Thursday. Only 2 places had the original breaking storry, Newsday & a local online newspaper called White Plains Citizens Net Reporter AKA WPCNR.
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Nara
March 17th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Hi there, this is an interesting site. There’s another one out there somewhere that catalogs abandoned walmarts.
Here in Vancouver BC we have interesting mall, it’s all underground – again, when it developed in the 70’s it was considered the height of downtown groovy urban planning – well, it sure killed off the street life (or it encouraged the type of street life most people didn’t want to be around (it was called Granville Mall, in the european sense of the word, a pedestrian mall instead of a busy downtown st.
Literally underneath Granville Mall is Pacific Center, which has direct access to Four Seasons Hotel. Houses Holt Renfrew, Sears, The Bay, “Skytrain” station (Granville) – plus way more stuff. This place is packed – every day, any day, any time. While the initial stage was built underground with connecting tunnels – the new phase was built in the 90’s atrium style – 3 storeys above ground.
Sears is in the building that was Eaton’s. It’s an unfortunate architectural monolith – tiled white which turns to mildew grey-green in our climate. Some critics call it a gigantic urinal. Well, it does have a resemblance. (sidenote – the former Sears building never really took off – it certainly wasn’t a highlight of my teen years in the city — now it is Simon Fraser University’s downtown campus.)
Another underground mall downtown is called Royal Center – Hyatt Regency, Staples, not as popular – largely serves the lunchtime downtown worker crowd, another skytrain station (Burrard)
The interesting thing about the above two malls is that they are served by transit (light rail, bus, SeaBus) as opposed to having acres and acres of parking
The other interesting thing is that the downtown is very vibrant and affluent. It’s common to shop at street level and in the underground malls all in one shopping expedition. Example: Chapters is above ground, yet Body Shop, and all those other popular brands are underground. There are grocery stores that have escalators, even a downtown Costco … .again, no mammoth parking lots.
THere’s another mall in the adjacent city of West Vancouver – very affluent – it’s called Park Royal. It started out as I suppose what you’d call a town center in the mid-50’s. The thing about this mall is that it is alleged to be the first mall in Canada (shopping center is how it was called in those days) There are a couple of groovy apartment towers and then the adjacent mall. It has evolved over time to become enclosed tho I don’t believe it was so at the beginning. It is on two sides of a busy intersection so has evolved as a real dogs breakfast – you should see how they try to make the ugly 70’s monolithic grey concrete parkades look nice. Ugh.
Anyway, the latest incarnation of Park royal is one of those “main street” outdoor shopping malls like are popular in the USA – like Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, So Cal. I think this might be the only big-box, out of the box example in Canada. I have never seen another one up here. I am sure you know what I’m talking about – it’s a way of making “big box” fit in to strict city bylaws in those affluent towns who actually bother to make sure that what gets built actually has some appeal. It reminds me of Disneyland – I mean, this mall even has a fake lighthouse! “Park Royal Village – Main St” is anchored by Whole Foods, Home Depot, Old Navy, Michaels Craft stuff and a bunch of high-end smaller shops and services.
Across the water from Vancouver is a small regional city called Nanaimo – in the 80’s, the developers got greedy and built and built and built — it had so many malls – Woodgrove Centre is just one – that it was said to have more mall space per capita than anywhere else up here. This is not to say that it was actually rented out mall space – a lot was empty.
It used to be that a lot of malls up here were developed by “Woodwards” department store (sadly defunct) — they were the anchor, usually with a “food floor” supermarket at one end and the department store at the other – and then boutiques in the middle.
The other developer was Cadillac Fairview – I think they’re broke now – they were connected to the also defunct Eaton’s chain.
RE: Walmart – I know of one Walmart that is accessed from the enclosed mall, it is in Duncan BC on Vancouver Island — one hour north of Victoria.
Another walmart that USED to be accessed from the mall was in Penticton BC – but they demolished the entire mall, including a big Safeway grocery store, and built an even bigger walmart, a stand-alone mega big box with teeny boxes scattered at the street front of massive paved parking lot.
It’s true that we up here in Canada have indoor malls for even the smallest towns. We’ve had a mall in our small town since the 1970’s. It was added on to an existng strip shopping center.
Isn’t it funny how malls are often named for what used to be there — and was probably prettier? (Cherry Lane, Orchard Park, Oakridge Center, Woodgrove, Lansdowne Park … well, that was a former horse race track near YVR International Airport)
ps – over the border, I have heard the Lloyd Center in Portland OR is one of the first malls ever built. Heading north up I-5, TAcoma Mall (WA) was pretty groovy architecture (big white arches) in its day – kind of dumpy now.
Hope this helps your research.
[Reply]
Alan
March 27th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Here are a collection of pictures from the Palm Beach Mall and the 1970s era Target across the street from the PBM that was recently demolished. The album is convieniently named labelscar and is intended for use on this site. Enjoy!
http://s538.photobucket.com/albums/ff344/labelscar/
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
March 27th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Cincinnati Mills’ time is running out. Now known as Cincinnati MALL, the new owners are trying to sell/redevelop the property. They want to make it mixed-use, though that may or may not involve total demolition.
[Reply]
SEAN
April 7th, 2009 at 11:19 am
From SCT April 2009
Center Stage: Cincinnati Mills
By Curt Hazlett
Like hapless people, some shopping centers seem to have been born under an unlucky star. So it is with Cincinnati Mills, which has had six owners during its 20-year life span and ended 2008 with a vacancy rate of 44 percent, despite completing a renovation four years ago that cost $70 million. It is, in the words of one local blogger, “the nicest abandoned mall in the country.”
The latest owner is Atlanta’s North Star Realty, which bought the 1.5 million-square-foot shopping center in December from Simon Property Group for a reported price of just over $9 million, plus $18 million in assumed debt. Tom Robinson, North Star’s principal, vows to make the property profitable by attracting both traditional and innovative tenants, but he also hints that much of its value lies in the land beneath — 77 acres along Interstate 275, in Forest Park, north of Cincinnati.
“My understanding is that the folks who bought it see it as a blank piece of paper,” said Christopher J. Hodge, vice president of retail services in the Cincinnati office of CB Richard Ellis. “They are going to study it and redevelop it from its current carcass into something else. I don’t think you’ll see more than half that building remaining on that site over a period of time.”
That would be a fitting outcome for a property that seems to have been dragged into the world kicking and screaming. Construction started in 1986, though the center, then called Forest Fair Mall, did not fully open until 1989. By then development costs were $50 million over budget.
Then there was the complicated matter of anchors. The developer, Australia’s L.J. Hooker Corp., had acquired B. Altman, Bonwit Teller and Sakowitz & Co. and also owned a stake in the Parisian chain; the firm installed all of them as anchors.
That was a disastrous idea. Crushed by the cost overruns and the acquisition debt, L.J. Hooker Chairman George Herscu put the mall on the market just three months after it opened, and a year later Hooker filed for bankruptcy along with the three department stores it owned outright. “When it failed, it failed not only quickly, but miserably,” said Hodge.
Serial ownership ensued. L.J. Hooker’s lenders assumed ownership in 1992, renamed it the Mall at Forest Fair and spent heavily to expand the property before selling it in 1995 to Gator Forest Park Partners, which in turn sold it to The Mills Corp. seven years later.
With Bass Pro Shops, Babies ‘R’ Us and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th in anchor roles, occupancy rose. But then vacancies climbed again when Mills ran into financial trouble. In January 2007 Cincinnati Mills was among the properties sold to Brookfield Asset Management and Simon. Simon soon indicated that the property was no keeper.
The retailer exodus continued, meanwhile. The center’s 245,000-square-foot Biggs hypermarket closed last June, and Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear is to be shut as part of that chain’s liquidation. The mall’s east wing is now nearly empty.
North Star completed the purchase of Cincinnati Mills on Dec. 30. Robinson says he is still working on a plan for the property, which he described as “flat gorgeous — tremendous sticks and bricks.” He says plans may involve closing underused portions of the building and bringing in nonretail tenants.
A lot is riding on the outcome, because Robinson financed the deal with recourse loans backed by personal guarantees. Why take such a chance on a troubled property? “This is what we do,” he said. “We have been transacting mall deals for a long time, and you only take a risk when there is a possibility of reward. The good news about mall properties is that they occupy huge tracts of land, and when you can get a tract of land for land value or below, it is well worth it.”
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
April 10th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I have pictures of West Hill Mall, a sMall in Huntsville, Texas. Sad, sad, sad. A JCPenney the size of a postage stamp, Foot Locker, Dollar Tree, a veteran’s museum, a nail salon, Palais Royal, a community center, and about three or four clothing stores. And then there’s the mysterious sealed-off corridor.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
April 10th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
And what’s worse a big-box site is being prepared south of town (with Target!) and a bunch more leveled land. JCPenney will likely jump ship…but I don’t think the mall will bounce back. It certainly hasn’t changed much since my last visit in 2002. And it has a website.
http://westhillmall.com
[Reply]
thatbeegirl
April 14th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
interesting pictorial of now-gone stores: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1884100,00.html
[Reply]
Sarah
April 21st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
The Tampa Bay area would have made an interesting case study for dead malls between the eight-year span of 1997-2005 — no short of eight malls were struggling, shuttered, and demolished in that time frame. Shame I didn’t take residence here until 2005, I’ve been having difficulty finding pictures of these places (except for Tampa Bay Center, there are pictures on deadmalls and flickr of it).
Pinellas Square Mall (called ParkSide Mall in its twilight years) in Pinellas Park — A large mall that struggled from 1990 onward. After John Hancock took possession of it from Simon-DeBartolo in 1996, it underwent an extensive renovation, but that couldn’t save it. Many factors contributed to its death, including crime (or the perception of it), the deterioration of the area, and the demographics in the immediate area surrounding the mall. The St. Petersburg Times described the mall in 1998, “The mall is nearly new, but it appears as doomed as an old factory in a northern steel town.” It closed on June 30, 2004 and demolition prep started the next day. It was turned into a huge big-box center in 2006.
Tampa Bay Center in Tampa — One of the most popular malls on that side of the bay in the ’80s. The closing of Burdines in 1999 and shortly after, Montgomery Ward, sent the mall into tailspin. The opening of International Plaza not too far away in 2001 was the final nail in the coffin. It shut its doors in 2002 and was demolished in early 2005 to make way for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility.
Crossroads Mall (originally called Tampa Bay Outlet Mall) in Clearwater — You’d figure a mall at one of the largest intersections in the county would have taken off at light speed. However, it didn’t. The outlet mall was a doomed project from the get-go. It was razed in 2005 and there had been large, ambitious plans for the property, but none of them have come to fruition. The mall’s dilapidated sign still stands there, though.
Clearwater Mall in Clearwater — Another well-traversed intersection (Gulf-to-Bay and US 19), another dead mall. It was one of the Bay area’s first regional-size malls. We all know the oft-repeated story — a newer mall strangling the older mall’s business. It lost a war with Countryside Mall to the north, and ceased operation in early 2002. It’s now a big-box center with a Super Target.
Gateway Mall in St. Petersburg — First opened in the ’60s, this smaller mall once boasted nearly sixty tenants. It started its decline in the late ’80s, with younger people preferring to shop at larger malls like Tyrone Square. Most of the original mall structure was demolished and transformed into a big-box center in 1998 which, until recently, still retained the Gateway Mall name.
Eastlake Square in Tampa — This mall was Pinellas Square’s twin sister, and was an exercise in failure. Less than a decade after it was built, it showed signs of not making it, even before newer malls like Brandon Town Center were built. Like Pinellas Square, John Hancock also took possession of this mall, and decided the best thing for it was to put it out of its misery. Rather than tearing down the mall, they transformed it into a mega-office park in 1998, called Netpark Tampa Bay.
Sunshine Mall in Clearwater — This small mall bit the dust about the same time Gateway Mall did, but was mostly vacant for longer than Gateway was. Opened in 1968, Sunshine was one of the first enclosed malls in the state of Florida, and got considerable amount of business up until the mid-to-late ’80s. Its final years were geared towards the senior citizen population rather than as a shopping destination. It was leveled in 1998 and now an apartment complex stands in its place.
Floriland Mall in Tampa — This small mall was the pioneer in Tampa Bay’s demalling wave, getting a head start four years earlier. When University Square (now University Mall) opened in the late ’70s, it started to feel the heat. Then crime in the neighborhood increased — dramatically. Even some operators of mall stores were involved with serious criminal activity, including a prostitution ring. It was dingy, dirty, vacant. A last-minute renovation by new mall owners couldn’t resurrect it, and was turned into a flea market in 1994, and more recently, offices and services.
.
Nowadays it looks like the General Growth-owned University Mall shows signs of decline, even after renovation. In the next county over, Baywalk (while not a mall, it’s more like the outdoor plaza version of a small mall) is in serious trouble. It’s under foreclosure and one by one, tenants are leaving. When I drove by it on the way back from a baseball game last weekend, it was dark save for the movie theater and Johnny Rockets.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
April 26th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Please do an Ohio mall.
Polaris Town Center (http://www.labelscar.com/retail-news/shopping-is-for-the-dogs)
or
Cincinnati Mall (http://deadmalls.com/malls/forest_fair_mall.html)
[Reply]
Gary
April 26th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I have two suggestions for Pittsburgh-area malls.
Century III Mall in the southern suburb of West Mifflin. This has to be one of the more unique malls developed by DeBartolo. (http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/century_iii_mall.html) There’s also a link to a MySpace group with lots of user photos of the mall’s interior.
Former Greengate Mall in Greensburg, PA. Developed by James Rouse and Victor Gruen, two of the most influential mall developers of our time. Legendary for its annual Christmas displays and family-like ambiance. Immortalized in the William S. Kowinski book, the Malling of America.
(http://www.greengatemallrevisited.com/)
[Reply]
SEAN
April 27th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Also Pittsburgh Mills & South Hills Village
[Reply]
Karen R
April 27th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Wow, Jonah, RE: Westhill. That is one dead mall. You know you’re in deep doo-doo when a couple of the major players are a Veteran’s museum and the US Dept of Agriculture.
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Jonah Norason
April 27th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Have you been there? The JCPenney is the smallest one ever.
[Reply]
funky-rat
April 27th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I have a ton of pictures I took at Century III last november. It’s a quintessential DeBartolo mall. Lots of white brick, mirrors, and angles.
[Reply]
Gary
April 28th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Pittsburgh’s South Hills has a very thorough retail history. In addition to Century III and South Hills Village, there’s also the Mt. Lebanon Galleria, which started as a freestanding Kaufmann’s department store, and Village Square, which began as an enclosed mall and later redeveloped into an open-air power center. SHV, the Galleria and Village Square sit about a half mile from each other. Century III is about 10-15 minutes to the east.
[Reply]
Mr.D
April 29th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Rehoboth Mall:
18908 Rehoboth Mall Blvd. Rehoboth Beach Delaware
It has a small enclosed portion with a creepy pet store.
P.S The Salon in it is for sale here:
http://www.jeffreyfowler.com/mls-num/566693/Search.php
Just thought I spread the word.
[Reply]
funky-rat
May 1st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Woah. The Rehoboth Mall is still open? It was dead as a doornail in the late 80’s. Even then I wondered why anyone would have bothered building it.
[Reply]
Mr.D
May 1st, 2009 at 3:03 pm
funky-rat, It’s still open.
So it was a failure from the start?
[Reply]
funky-rat
May 1st, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Well, it was always small, but the pickings there were always really slim, variety wise. Lots of mom-and-pop stores and hardly any foot traffic. A few years after the last time I set foot in there (which was probably around 1990-ish), my mom stopped by and said it was still there and still sparce.
I was honestly shocked to see it was still open. I’d have figured it would have been swallowed up by a Lowe’s or something similar. I know that the last time I went there they didn’t have a Wal-Mart (I checked out the developers website), but there was a similar type store (like an Ames or something similar) because we bought beach towels there. I also think the mall corridor might have been longer than it is now, but I can’t be 100% sure. It’s been too long.
Now I don’t live there, and only visited once or twice a year, but I don’t ever remember that mall “hopping”. The place to go shopping that’s always crowded are the stores down toward the boardwalk. Maybe the mall is best served by the permanent residents and not the tourists.
[Reply]
Mr.D
May 1st, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Let me see what I remember what was in there when I was in there Wed.
Outside:
Wal-Mart(Undergoing some renovations)
Peebles
A Craft Store?
Rite Aid?
Fast Food Places lining the highways
Inside:
Radio Shack
Chinese Buffet
Salon
Exotic pet store(They had a kangaroo for sale, WTF?)
A Medical supply store.
Some foodplace.
And a small theater that went out of business.
That’s all I remember and I thank Labelscar for inspiring me to poke my head in here instead of run the other way =p.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
May 1st, 2009 at 8:26 pm
OK, let’s see what Google Maps says. I can see that the craft store is Michaels, which I think is sort of Hobby Lobby. The theater appears to be still open or very recently closed (a review dated as being from March 2009 calls the theater clean and prices reasonable). The medical supply store is called CPS Medical Supplies and the pet store is Pet Safari.
The Wal-Mart looks like replaced something else at one time.
[Reply]
funky-rat
May 1st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I can’t remember what store it was exactly, but it was like a Wal-Mart. I’m thinking Ames or K-Mart or something similar.
I know we bought beach towels there once (because someone at the beach stole ours), and I forgot to pack a few things once and we stopped there to get what I forgot.
[Reply]
Mr.D
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Darn, I should have taken photos.
But then I would have noobed it up so bad I probably get busted.
(Rehoboth Mall)
[Reply]
Mr.D
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Sorry for the double post, but look at what I found:
http://www.cordishleasing.com/rehobothmall/
[Reply]
funky-rat
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Yeah – that’s the one I found the other day.
Sometime in the next year I’ll be headed that way, and if I have time, I’ll stopy by.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
May 8th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
The site suddenly went plain-text HTML like. Is this only on my end? It was normal earlier this afternoon.
[Reply]
Jake
May 18th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=13522278&ch=4226713&src=news
[Reply]
DayGlo!
May 19th, 2009 at 8:22 am
http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/v/13531944
[Reply]
Henrietta Plaza
June 1st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Does anyone have a photo of the Henrietta Plaza located at the intersections of 15A and 252 in Henrietta, New York from that late 1960’s – 1970’s?
[Reply]
dmchoul
June 5th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Here’s a post from my blog about The Summit, a mall near Niagara Falls that is on the verge of shutting down. It was meant to close on June 6, but now may stay open a bit longer. Feel free to use any of the photos, which were taken at the mall last week
http://dmchoul.wordpress.com/2009/06/05/a-mall-on-the-brink/
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 7th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
@dmchoul, I was just about to post that it was shut yesterday.
[Reply]
Allan Marshall
June 7th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I might as well post here that I’m trying to look up anything I can on the former Brickyard Mall on the northwest side of Chicago, and interior pics of the mall from the 80s and 90s. I have seen some photographs on this mall, including one who did a photoset of this mall’s demolition a few years ago, but are there any major photosets of this mall floating online besides of it’s demolition. Finally, I hold a lot of interest in this mall, since I went here every so often when I was younger.
I already have read the Deadmalls.com entry for Brickyard, just for everyone’s information. URLs to non-photography sites about people just blogging about their Brickyard memories, and for other various sites about things relating to this mall, would be appreciated too.
[Reply]
CoryTJ
June 8th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Allan,
I’m also looking for information on the Brickyard Mall. I used to be a District Manager for a chain that had a location there, and I drove by recently only to see the place leveled in such an odd way that it’s difficult for me to remember the original configuration. There used to be an Odeon Theater, a Pep Boys, and a Silo (later Circuit City) store in the out lot of the Bricktown Center (strip mall next to the Brickyard). Then there was a ramp leading to the Sears in the Mall that had several tiers. It was the strangest mall. But what is left is even more odd.
Can you elaborate on how they reconfigured? Does the Bricktown Center still stand? If it does, it looks so far set back from the road. Everything does! It is rather creepy!!!
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 12th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Thornton Town Center was a Colorado mall. It may or may not be de-malled, I think it is…and it had a bigg’s (like Forest Fair Mall!). What happened to it? Any info?
10001 Grant Street Thornton, CO
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 13th, 2009 at 9:59 am
It was suspiciously similar to FFM, in fact. It was opened at the same time, had a smaller amusement park (”carousel, 18- hole miniature golf course and a midway filled with sports, rides and games”), possibly more like River Falls Mall, developed by LJ Hooker…
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 15th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Labelscar’s comments are kind of slow, maybe time for a new update? Oh, and I found out a bit about Thornton Town Center…it’s not too exciting.
[Reply]
kitty
June 25th, 2009 at 11:32 am
I’m surprised no one has brought up Pittsburghs most famous mall…Monroeville Mall, Monroeville Pa. This mall has had several movies filmed there, as well as hosting the world famous zombie walk, which set a guinese world record. There are also several other malls in the area that deserve some credit: Greengate Mall, Eastland Mall, Century 3, Pittsburgh Mills, Westmoreland Mall….to name a few.
[Reply]
Gary
June 27th, 2009 at 5:53 am
America’s Most Endangered Malls
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/flowchart/2009/06/26/americas-most-endangered-malls.html
[Reply]
mrmdn
June 27th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
If you’re coming back to the Reading/Philly area to check out Fairgrounds or Berkshire again. I highly reccomend Coventry Mall and the hallowed out corpse shell of the M.o.M Mall in Morgantown. I just took my girlfriend today and it was amazing in the saddest of ways
[Reply]
Khalid Shaheed
June 30th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Hello,
I live in Landover, MD and just read about your visits to dead malls in PG county which has its share.
But you missed one or there is one you need to add.
Capital Center at the BLVD with was built on the old site of the Capital Center Arena in Landover where the Hoyas/Bullets/NHL Capitals once played. It only opened in 2005 but its already dead. Some because of luck and timing (Circuit City and Linens & Things went out of business nation wide) and partly because of crime (at least two shootings that resulted in death in the past 2 years), poor store selection form the get-go with poor policing and security.
I agree Iverson mall is groovy!
I also grew up in Texas and enjoyed your post on Red Bird mall/AKA Southwest Center Mall in Dallas.
I remember “John Wiley Price” and as of Jan. 2008 he was still an elected official beleive it or not!
[Reply]
Paul
July 6th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Hey guys could you please add my new blog- http://kmartworld.blogspot to your blogroll? I’m trying to get the word out about it. It’s all things Kmart and related retailers. I added a link to labelscar on my blog to support you guys. Thanks!
[Reply]
Eddie C.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:44 am
Here is a link for the Omni Mall in Miami, FL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_International_Mall_of_Miami
[Reply]
Dave
July 8th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Hello
I’m glad to have found this wonderful site. It’s also good to see some recent activity, too. I will mention it in any message boards or groups of which I am a member that have a similiar interest, if you like. This is the modern recording of history!
I will post more info on malls I have known that are now long gone, also.
Anyone else out there collect vintage postcards of malls? These are a great recording of the interiors of malls past. FYI- these can be purchased very cheap at flea markets,usually a dollar or less.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)
July 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Umm….
http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/
[Reply]
Caldor Reply:
July 8th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
@Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D), what about it?
[Reply]
Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
It was supposed to be a response to “Anyone else out there collect vintage postcards of malls? These are a great recording of the interiors of malls past. FYI- these can be purchased very cheap at flea markets,usually a dollar or less.”
I was posting that link to him, in case he hadn’t heard of it.
[Reply]
Chip
July 13th, 2009 at 12:59 am
A recent trip to Myrtle Beach SC has shown that Myrtle Square Mall in no more. Except for an Office Depot, the place is shuttered, the parking lot is barricated. Looks like is was out-classed by Coastal Grand Mall, Broadway by the Beach, and The Market Commons, Located within the touristy beach shops, mini golf places, and fried fish emporiums of Kings Hwy didn’t help Myrtle Square either.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)
July 25th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Hmm…in addition to Cincinnati Mall and Century III Mall, why not try Sherman Oaks Galleria…it’s outdoor and in California but it WAS an indoor mall, so it’s a fine fit.
[Reply]
Sandi Dooley
August 9th, 2009 at 1:06 am
I love your topic. I started doing something similar to your topic for a digital photography class last fall. The slide show of it all really makes a big impression.
I added a couple to your Flickr group,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandid/3478384873/in/pool-labelscar/
People thought I was a little crazy for taking pictures of an empty Sears parking lot, but seeing these pictures here in volume shows how much things have changed.
[Reply]
Sandi Dooley
August 9th, 2009 at 2:29 am
A link to a local mall that was demolished in 2005 (it was built in 1968). It was put out of business by a giant outlet/discount indoor mall called Gurnee Mills.
[Reply]
Jeremy
August 20th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I have more so a suggestion for the site.
Could you please take a look at your html coding, because your website page appears extremely wide
(bottom scroll bar, when I scroll to the right there is a big white space adjacent to the layout)
and please make your photos at the beginning of your articles a tad smaller.
I use Firefox Browser, btw.
No problems with any other websites.
[Reply]
James
October 6th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I have a request: Check-out more of the Ohio malls. Ohio is one of the most populous of the states and yet you have covered only 7 malls in the Buckeye state. Similarly-sized Illinois has 21 entries. Puny Massachusetts and Maryland have 27 and 9 entries, respectively. If you want to be comprehensive in your mall coverage, overlooking the Buckeye state’s rich retail history is a mistake. Arguably, the first urban vertical mall in the US is in Cleveland [the Arcade, which dates to the 1890s] and one of the first planned suburban shopping centers [Shaker Square, from the 1920s] is in Ohio as well. And, you had better hurry-up in your Ohio coverage, as the malls are disappearing fast- the following malls are all dead or have morphed into other uses: Euclid Square, Severance Center & Westgate in Cleveland; Salem Mall in Dayton; various malls in Cincinnati and Columbus, as well as the malls that you have already covered in Toledo and Cleveland. Thanks for your consideration.
[Reply]
Mr.D
October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Does anyone the mall used in the Surviving Disaster mall shooting episode last night?
[Reply]
Mr.D
October 14th, 2009 at 11:31 am
*know
[Reply]
Paul H.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Here are 2 links for winrock mall in Albuquerque ,New Mexico,U.S.A.Whichby the way is not in your list of states.Wonder why.I was surprized the dead mall phenomenon was national.Thought it was just winrock.
[Reply]
Caldor Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Paul: funnily enough we’re working on a post about Winrock RIGHT NOW. It should be the next thing live on the site!
[Reply]
Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Cool! Looking forward to it.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Out of curiosity, how long do Labelscar entries take to make? It might help me gain perspective on things and not be so impatient (or worried).
[Reply]
Prange Way Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 11:10 am
@Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D), It takes a while. For each article we have to do research, gather and edit the pictures, write and edit an article for cohesiveness and clarity, and make sure we included everything we could. This whole process takes hours, but when you factor in that we each have lives and other obligations, it ends up taking a lot longer, unfortunately. We can’t really cut corners, either, or all of the comments will be negative and attack us. Ha ha.
[Reply]
Bob
November 15th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Holiday shoppers find a changed retail landscape
Retail landscape has changed since the last holiday season
By Dana Hunsinger of The Indianapolis Star
An Indianapolis perspective on what has been discussed here. I wonder if Ms Hunsinger reads Labelscar and DeadMalls, or only university professors and retail analysts. Real journalists can’t quote blogs and other web stuff!
[Reply]
Bob Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
…the link…
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091115/BUSINESS/911150320/1003/BUSINESS
[Reply]
Prange Way Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 11:07 am
@Bob, Actually, we’ve been quoted in many local newspapers, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal, and so has Deadmalls. So, at least some real journalists are using us as a refereed source of info, and that’s great.
[Reply]