PS. Does anyone know what happened to the old sculptures? They weren’t there in my day.

As an aside–I drove near the demo area earlier this week and was surprised to see the trees in that were in the food court area still there, in their huge planters! They must have survived by gettin light from the skylights. It was kind of sad to see all the railings and Rouse-era lights exposed, since I remember eating there so much in the 80’s and 90’s. Still, since it’s in a good area I hope the best for the new randhurst. Here is an article written up the in Daily Herald, the local area paper:

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Randhurst dome time capsule to be opened Aug. 21
By Shelia Ahern, Daily Herald

Back in 1962, Mount Prospect residents sealed up a time capsule and secured it inside Randhurst Shopping Center’s 64-foot dome.

High above the mall’s merry-go-round, the capsule sat for more than 40 years while most residents forgot it was even there. But on Aug. 21, the Mount Prospect Historical Society will reopen it.

“At this time, the full contents of the time capsule are unknown. As such, we are hoping this will not be another Al Capone’s vault,” said society Executive Director Greg Peerbolte, alluding to journalist Geraldo Rivera’s famously anti-climactic 1986 opening of an empty safe allegedly belonging to Capone.

Currently, the capsule is still in the very top of the dome, which will be demolished in the next week, said Village Manager Michael Janonis.

“Other than the dome, pretty much everything else is gutted,” he said.

In 1962, the mall designers wanted their structure to defy convention in every possible way, including the placement of a time capsule. At the time, the $20-million project was called the “world’s largest shopping center under a single roof,” according to a March 8, 1962, Daily Herald article.

So instead of the traditional cornerstone ceremony, officials opted for a “dome-stone” ceremony, hoisting the large copper capsule into Randhurst’s massive dome.

The public is invited to the capsule’s reopening at the Mount Prospect Historical Society’s annual fundraiser at Bogie’s Ale House, 303 E. Kensington Road, on Aug. 21. Tickets are $15 and include a pizza buffet.

The new Randhurst mall is slated to open in Spring 2011.

In January, crews ripped down the outer portion of the mall after working for months gutting the inside, which once housed about 80 shops. The main anchor stores will remain and are currently open.

The mall is being redeveloped into what will be called Randhurst Village at a cost of about $150 million. It will include a new theater, hotel, restaurant and retail and office spaces.

The redevelopment plan calls also for a number of restaurants and 25 smaller buildings to be scattered around the site. The plan allows for rental dwellings units to be built some time in the future if the developer chooses.

In the mid 90’s, when I was younger, my mom used to take me to this arcade. It, I believe, was located in Ranhurst mall in Mount Prospect or the old Town and county mall/shopping ceter in Arlington heights. Im leaning more twords Randhurst, I know there was an arcade in Town and Country, but I know that was called “Just for Fun.” Anyways there was an arcade or entertainment center their that I remember being Jungle themed or maybe like enchanted- ghostly woods themed. I remember it was always dark in there as part of the theme. They had a fairly large space and had sky tubes. I guess it was like Rainforest Cafe and Chuck E Cheese put together. I believe they had random animationics scattered around the store. Not like the singing ones just life-like stuff. I think they had a water display in the corner of the arcade as well. They also had tickets and prises and I know its not Aladdin Castle or Chimpy’s Pizza.

This Arcade has long been closed down. So After all that, does anyone out there remember what Im talking about? And does anyone have any history on it? Ive been trying to remember for the longest time!

THANKS!