Comments on: Lafayette Square Mall; Indianapolis, Indiana

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:08:49 +0000

My first “real” job as a teenager was with Sears at Lafayette Square back in the early 1970’s. I was indeed a very cool place to work. I also worked for a short time in the Pet Shop and at L.S. Ayres. I watched many a movie at the Cinemas – both indoor and the one built later in the far south parking lot. Hung out with friends and had lots of family shopping trips. It was a great place back then. It was painful to watch its decline. I miss it.

By: Iamtim

Iamtim — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:05:52 +0000

I worked at Lazarus in the winter 1978 between labor day to right before Christmas.

I was the warehouse lead there.The mall was in it’s prime and a very cool place to work.

By: Biggie

Biggie — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:52:42 +0000

Well Jonah, it’s a tough market and Milwaukee is a tough city… Most places are going downhill in this economy. On the flipside, AAC did a good job with Eastland Mall in Detroit of all places and I have read this entertainment park in Lafayette is doing very well. Time will tell but all things considered, it could work out.

By: Jonah Norason

Jonah Norason — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:13:49 +0000

Barbara, I, as a reader of this blog, find it hard to believe how Lafayette can survive, especially after losing Macy’s, Sears, and Steve & Barry’s. I also have little faith in AAC, after they let Grand Avenue Mall (now The Shops at Grand Avenue) go badly downhill.

But I could be wrong.

By: Barbara McIntosh

Barbara McIntosh — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:23:45 +0000

I have worked at Lafayette Square Mall for six years. I have seen first hand how a property can be beaten down. In December 2007 Simon Property Group sold the mall to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation (AAC Realty). AAC Realty specializes in bringing distressed properties back to life. In just one short year we have opened up several new stores and made moderate enhancements.

Our goal at Lafayette Square Mall is to bring it back and make it more family oriented. We are at the beginning of a $12million redevelopment plan and are very excited for the changes to come.

We have added two new play areas to the mall, retail chains, and construction on our new digital pylon signs have begun. Our facade will begin it reconstruction as we get into the summer seasons.

I encourage everyone to keep up on our story. I guarantee the change is coming.

shoplafayettemall.com

By: Kati

Kati — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:11:13 +0000

Oh, and I can’t forget MCL Cafeteria being there! They decided not to renew their lease in the early ’00s, removing the only non-food court meal option.

By: Kati

Kati — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:05:02 +0000

I’m only 22 and have seen this mall rise and fall a few times now. Your site has done an excellent job of documenting its ups and downs; mostly people just say, “It’s gone downhill,” but don’t acknowledge the whole history. I’m worried that history really is ending now though.

LS is probably the closest mall to me (well actually, downtown’s Circle Center- where I work- and Plainfield’s new open-air mall, Metropolis, which opened in 2005, are all about the same distance from me), but my family stopped going there about five years ago, around the time of several crimes and store closures. Once Old Navy, American Eagle, and other stores closed, my teenage sister and I were less inclined to go. Recently I started wondering what it looked like now, and finally found a reason to go inside when I needed to get a tire fixed nearby. While my car was in the shop, I walked across the parking lot and wandered around for a few hours.

Macy’s is on its way out, as the most recent poster noted. It was a shame to see its racks emptied and discounts on everything remaining; I remember when going there when it was an L.S. Ayres. (Am I remembering that right, or was Ayres next door?) A dismal (but cheap) Shopper’s Village has taken over another anchor spot, but only the first floor. They stopped the escalators and put doors around them- rather creepy. There are long stretches of the hallways with no retailers, and many are “urban” retailers or locally-owned stores. Surprisingly, there’s still a nice Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works, and Children’s Place, but few of the other stores you’d see at any other Indianapolis mall. The whole place was depressing, and label scars abound. Perhaps I should go back and take photos.

The other malls I mentioned have drawn westside shoppers away from LS since the mid-90s, and the neighborhood has become less affluent and more crime-ridden. For quite a while I thought LS could survive in its market with a few anchors and its mix of “urban” and “mainstream” retailers, but now that Macy’s and Sear’s are out, I’m not sure. I heard a couple was assaulted in broad daylight there this week. However, on the snowy Wednesday morning I stopped in, there was a fair amount of traffic, so you never know. Perhaps it can still find a niche AND be a reasonably safe place. I’d really like to see LS thrive again. My mom speaks nostalgically about having fun there as a teenager in the 60s and 70s, and I have fond memories of shopping there as a kid. I hate to see it- and that whole stretch of W. 38th Street- go through such an economic downturn, but that’s exactly what’s happening. People have predicted LS’s death before, and been wrong, and I certainly hope I am.

By: Spark Plug

Spark Plug — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:45:05 +0000

When I was in high school (Speedway) the “Square” was the place to troll.
It was a fun place to just hang out – walk around – have a coke. We were regulars for single pieces of candy at Fannie Mae.

And as I grew older – it was the first place my kids saw Santa.

I really do miss the glory days. Now its like a cheesey flea market.

By: Kamilah

Kamilah — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:12:01 +0000

Right now, the large church that was in the spot where the most recent Lazarus used to be has been replaced by an indoor theme park kind of place called Xscape. It has arcade games and rides and things like that. It reminds me of Jillians in the descriptions and videos I’ve seen. I haven’t gotten to see it up close in person yet. Other than that the mall is dead and depressing compared to what it was like during my youth in the 80s. I last made a very hasty daytime visit to the place with my boyfriend to return a video game to the GameStop store. Stores were shut down all over the place. I was surprised to see Cinnabon open because I thought it had closed at one point. Even during our short visit, some guy on a bench pestered us to buy his bootleg mix CDs as we were headed out the door. The place is just embarrassing. I resent how much more of everything the north side of town seems to get compared to the west side where I live, as well as the east and south sides. Not sure what to do to change things… wish I knew.

By: Patron Zero

Patron Zero — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:11:10 +0000

Sadly the handwriting was on the wall and now appears on the Indianapolis Star webpage, Macy’s is closing the location at Lafayette Square Mall, not a surprise to anyone who has been following Macy’s declining profits across the nation,

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090108/BUSINESS/90108016