Fairfield Mall; Chicopee, Massachusetts
While perusing some archived folders on my hard drive this morning, I found a real treat: a full set of photos from the Fairfield Mall in Chicopee, Massachusetts, which was demolished a full five years ago. I honestly have no idea where these pictures came from–I didn’t take them!–they’re not terribly clear, and they make the mall look even more bleak than it was (and this is quite a feat), but they’re still a huge find!
The Fairfield Mall was a 400,000 square foot, simple dumbell mall located just off the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Springfield suburb of Chicopee. The PREIT-owned mall, which opened in 1974, closed in 2001, and was demolished in parts through 2003 or 2004, was anchored by Caldor and Bradlees, which gives all of the necessary details to discern why it died. It was also an extremely dated mall inside and out, apart from the airy and bright center court and food court, which was almost certainly added at a later point. Still, much of the mall was functioning as a relatively standard small-to-mid-sized mall as late as 2000. I can recall one of my visits to the Fairfield Mall in March 2000–barely a year before it died–when I felt it actually seemed to be doing better than it had on my previous visit.
The Springfield metropolitan area is not overmalled, but it is dominated by the large Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, and has suffered through a sluggish local economy since the 1980s. Chicopee is a relatively large suburb with a population of 56,000, plenty enough to support its own enclosed mall. The design of Fairfield Mall was only suitable to be a convenient, off-price, neighborhood alternative, however. As such it was unable to weather the loss of both its anchors in 1999 and 2001, respectively, especially given its relatively forlorn appearance. The relative revitalization of Springfield’s nearby Eastfield Mall in 2000 also likely didn’t help matters.
After being demolished in parts beginning in 2002 and continuing through 2003 or 2004, the site today is home to a big box center anchored by Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Staples, Marshall’s, iParty, and others.
Dead Malls also has a string of articles and anecdotes on the Fairfield Mall, along with some exterior photos taken sometime in 2001 after the mall was shuttered. In the photo below, look very closely and note that there’s an intact, 1970s vintage “brown rainbow” Caldor logo still on their building:
Prangeway: The above photos were polaroids taken by Joe Collins of Chicopee and scanned in by me, in the fall of 2000. Also in late August 2001 I attempted to visit Fairfield Mall but I think I was a tiny bit too late. The outside sign read a bank (on an outlot to the mall itself), Ocean State Job Lot (also on an outlot), Subway, and Luca’s Pizza were open at that time. So, I went around to the entrance where Subway was and I could see it in there just beyond locked doors. They still had the menu up and there were bags of chips hanging there, and it looked very much like it was still in operation. However, the doors to the mall were locked, it was very, very dark inside, and it was a Saturday afternoon. So, who knows? At any rate, it’s all gone now, so enjoy the extra pictures of the outside of the mall from August 26, 2001.
Kristen
August 26th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
I’m pretty sure the Caldor in the Newburgh Mall (New York) had the brown and orange rainbow logo up until they closed. Or, at least, that’s what I remember. That location is now The Bon-Ton. This mall reminds me quite a bit of the Orange Plaza mall (New York; on deadmalls.com) if for no reason but the 1970s decor.
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Steven Swain
August 26th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
I wonder if the Caldor or the Bradless (or both) were another department store at some point. I know, in Baltimore, Caldor took the place of Stewart’s Department Stores.
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Lynette Staszko Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 11:06 am
@Steven Swain, Yes, you are correct in your recollection of other anchor stores being at the Fairfield Mall prior to Caldors and Bradlees. Where Bradlees was, it was origianlly Two Guys Department Store. They had great deals reminiscent of K-Mart’s old blue-light specials. They even did the “bargain of the moment” thing, too.
And prior to Caldor, it was , I believe, J.M.Fields Department Store. For some reason I am not as positive about this one. Guess we did not shop there as often.
Hope this rings a few bells…..
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Max
August 27th, 2006 at 10:55 pm
Does anybody know the detials regardings the efforts made by mall management towards finding new anchors to fill the empty Caldor and/or Bradlees buildings?
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Caldor
August 27th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
The photos above would’ve been taken in 2000 or very early 2001; the mall no longer looks like that. In fact, as far as I know, the entire thing has been razed at this point.
I know that the site was redeveloped as a big box plaza anchored by Wal-Mart and Home Depot, amongst other things (Staples, I think?). From what I’ve heard it’s pretty uninspiring and unremarkable, though functional.
This mall was no gem, and in fact was kind of brutally dark and worn, but I liked it anyway.
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scott
September 6th, 2006 at 2:47 am
fromw hat i know the caldor Newburgh Mall had tehr ainbow logo on teh outside only the lablesacr is still there too also this caldor in the fairfeild mall was one of the verey few to have eth rainbow logo most were changed to the plan organe logo in the 80’s and alot chnaged to the red logo in the 90’s although most caldors were pretty updated from what i know teh mall tryed to get soemthing to fill teh sapce up but once bradlees clsoed in 2001 that was it the bradlees in this mall loos even more outdated then the caldor but yet again bradleed neevr rentvvated alot of there stores most of them were dark and creppy looking inulding alot of there new york stores unlike caldor bradlees never cared to rentvaethere stores.
were caldor once stood in this mall is now were teh home depot is and were wal mart is is were bradlees use to be i think this mall shouidl have gotten soem outehr store to ancore teh mall somthing besides bradlees or even caldor maby it could have been caldor or sears or bradlees and jc penny something liek that probley would have saved the mall
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Holyoke Mall at Ingleside; Holyoke, Massachusetts » Labelscar: The Retail History Blog
November 19th, 2006 at 4:30 am
[...] Metropolitan Springfield is home to approximately 600,000 residents, though the Holyoke Mall pulls from many rural areas for hours around. Still, it’s inevitable that a mall this large would wreak serious havoc in a mid-sized metropolitan area, and it did: The Fairfield Mall in nearby Chicopee shut in 2001 after years of decline; the Baystate West/Tower Square Mall in downtown Springfield has been reduced to little more than a food court; the Hampshire Mall in Hadley (which serves the Amherst/Northampton area) succeeds mainly on the strenth of its anchors, but its interior is lagging; and the Eastfield Mall in Springfield has had major ups and downs over the years, even if it’s on relatively solid ground at the moment. The Enfield Square Mall, just over the border in Connecticut, also suffers from a relatively uninspired tenant roster despite anchoring one of the most successful retail districts in the Springfield area. [...]
john
November 23rd, 2006 at 3:32 am
THe original anchors of the Fairfield Mall were Forbes and Wallace, Springfiield’s large department store and Two Guys discount store. The anchor stores wre open before the mall. Forbes and Wallace closed in 1976 and was replaced by Bradlees, Tow guys was replaced by Caldor.
I still ahve a sale booklet from Forbes and Wallace and articles about its closing.
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Scott S.
January 20th, 2007 at 1:08 am
I was the manager of Zales Jewelers at the Fairfield Mall. I arrived while the mall was still under construction in October or 1974 and took part in the grand opening. Danny Kay was the special guest for the opening and he “hid” in the back of my store until introduced on stage. At that time the mall was a huge success and the 2 anchors, Two Guys and Forbes and Wallace brought in lots of traffic. There was also an excellent mix of stores including Spencer Gifts, Anderson Little, Friendly’s Restaurant and Foggie’s Tavern. The mall manager was a well qualified, hands on person and we had an excellent Mall Board consisting of various store managers. We met monthly to come up with various marketing promotions, sales events, etc. It was a great place to work, the employees were like a family and all the stores were doing very well. I just can’t believe its gone!
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John S.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I grew up in Chicopee. Actually, the Forbes and Wallace was replaced by Caldor, the Two Guys by Bradlees.
I remember the mall booming into the early 80’s. On a Friday or Saturday night, the mall was always crowded. There was really no competition except the Eastfield Mall, and that was far enough way, and not very convenient to get to.
When the Holyoke Mall opened in 1981, however, the downward spiral began. The new mall was in a class by itself. I’ll never forget visiting the three-level behemoth for the first time and marvelling at the glass domes. I had never seen anything like it in my life. Also, the new I-391 made the trip from Chicopee even easier. They tried to give the Fairfield Mall a facelift, but that was merely fixing a broken arm with a bandaid. The Holyoke Mall was about 20-25 minutes from my house. The Fairfield Mall was less than 10 minutes. There was no question about making the longer trek to Holyoke. There was simply no way the poor little Fairfield Mall could compete. It’s sad, but that’s the way the free market works.
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Steve from Chicopee
April 12th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Bradlees(owned by Stop&Shop) was its own entity, connected to but not part of the mall. Not only did they hinder the demolition of the mall, I’m quite sure the were a sticking point in any revitalization attempts. S&S had shed the Bradlees name years earlier but still held the lease on the land. I can remember back to the original Forbes&Wallace and Two Guys stores with only a dirt road through an open field connecting them. And yes the advent of the Holyoke Mall was the kiss of death for most smaller shopping centers in the Chic/Springfield area.
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Brian Lapointe
April 12th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
John S is right on the money about the mall’s history.I also grew up in Chicopee and remember hanging out at Just Fun playing pinball, going to Spencers Gifts to check out the cool stuff, buying cheap 45’s at Caldors, fishing gear at the Sports Emporium, having a shake and a good meal at Jake’s, York Steak House, or Lucas Pizza and just plain hanging out with my friends before going across the street to the U.S.A. roller skating rink. Lets not forget the Airline Drive Inn as well! The sad part about the mall failing was also the demise of the K-Fest. The mall and the K-Fest brought the city of Chicopee’s community together in a way that’s hard to replicate now. Times change and we roll with the changes.
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Joe Collins
September 19th, 2007 at 1:45 am
I took the photos of the inside of the mall while home from college for Thanksgiving. Weird…I had totally forgot about this until a friend of mine stumbled upon it recently. The mall is completely raised, and in fact the Walmart on the site is now transforming into a Walmart Supercenter. When the store was in the planning stages, Stop & Shop and Big Y fought having a grocery component. Maybe they gave up…I wonder how well they will do once the Supercenter opens. In any case, the Chicopee Savings / Ocean State Job Lot building is now being completely renovated. I guess a Panera is moving in along with a jewelry store and some other businesses. I will have to check it out when I go home for Thanksgiving this year (I now live in California). Also, I must say I agree with Brian Lapointe in that I miss that Kielbasa Fest and the Taste of Chicopee. The 4th of July timed Fest-Of-All just isn’t the same.
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Greg
November 29th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
When I worked for Rock 102 WAQY Springfield in 1997
we did a promotion here.
Brings back some good memories sad to see it torn down.
I remember running around trying to find an outlet for the remote equipment.
ha ha ha
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Katelyn L.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I was sad to see the mall go. My dad would always talk about going for a slice at Lucas and how it was a big time in Chicopee to hang at the arcade.
Dad was the DJ at the United Skates at the time. He was the Boz and everyone knew him Rick and Kirby. They were Chicopee finest at one time.
The mall was a place to hang out and people got together, sad times change and not for the better.
thanks for the memories
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eric
July 7th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
my dad was a DJ for united skates too, DC Boogie (his choice)…i remember the a record store “Music And…” next to Kay-Bee toys. Z Street, T Shirt Express, Just Fun, Jakes (some of the quickest food/and trivial pursuit while-u-wait), chocolate store next to the food court. worked at the Wall when the mall was on the outs. All of that crap, fond memories though. it was what it was, a mall.
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Chris
August 15th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
This was the only mall that I know of that had a bar in it! This was probably in the late 90’s. I can’t remember the name of it. My wifes family is from Chicopee.
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Liz Reply:
September 21st, 2009 at 1:38 pm
@Chris, it was called Foggies
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Teacher
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 am
I worked in the Forbes and Wallace store as a teen before this became a mall. Two Guys was at the other end of the parking lot. Around ‘73 I think they started to build this mall. There were plenty of decent stores at that time. Jewelry stores, Cherry Webb & Touraine, a steak house, Jakes restaurant and several other good stores.
Somewhere around the 80’s they changed management and hired a young team that had no clue. The mall started to have appearances of junk stores (air brush t-shirt shops, etc). The total mismanagement led to the ulitmate demise. They tried every trick in the book except attracting decent stores. To no avail. It’s too bad.
Now there are two major anchors Home Depot, Staples and a Big Box Walmart which in my opinion is much too large to shop at anymore. In between are stores I rarely visit but are -dollar stores, party store etc. I rarely go there except for Home Depot and Panera bread which is in the mini strip directly facing this one.
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MALLRATT(MARK M)
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
ALL FOND THOUGHTS OF THE MALL. SPENT MANY DAYS IN THE 80S HAVING A SMOKE IN FRONT OF JUST FUN ,LONG HAIR AND UP TO NO GOOD. HA HA HA ..THROWN OUT MORE THAN ONCE BY NOW FRIEND MALL COP ALICE (REMEMBER THE BIG HAIR ON HER) HA HA HA
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Deanna Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
@MALLRATT(MARK M),
OMG! ALICE! Haven’t thought of her in years. I was a mallrat too and she would chase us through the mall. Of course we deserved it, cause she knew we we stoned and drunk coming in from partying in the woods in the corner of the parking lot. There was also an older man security guard too, but can’t remember his name. (That’s what drugs does to your brain! ha ha ha)
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John From Seattle
October 4th, 2008 at 12:45 am
The name of the bar in the Fairfield Mall in the 90’s was called “Z Street”.
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Jen
December 10th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I worked at the BayBank at this mall in the early 90s and we used to go to Z Street after work for drinks. My fondest memory of this mall was the loaded baked potato from one of the food court vendors. I seem to recall it was an ice cream place that happened to also have baked potatoes. Maybe Ben and Jerry’s? I can’t remember, but I used to get those yummy potatoes for lunch all the time. I felt sad when they tore the mall down.
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Vince
December 17th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
In 1978, Caldor interviewed over 500 people for 200 jobs (mostly part-time) to staff their new store in Chicopee (the site of the old Forbes and Wallace). Wages were $2.35 an hour and I felt very luck to get a job. Bob March hired me. I worked for several store managers including Bob Seklecki, Don Slocomb, ?? Sedegren. All great guys!
It was a fun place to work. We were stored number 52. We kicked butt in softball against against all the Caldor powerhouse teams including Rocky Hill, Manchester, Vernon, and Springfield.
The men wore light-weight brown zipup cotton jackets. The woman wore the same in gold.
We spent alot of time putting yellow sales stickers on items and tearing them off a week later.
There was a bar close by, on the mall side named Foggy’s and an arcade called “Just Fun”.
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Don
December 18th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Union practice at Caldors is a prime example of how Unions ruin America and work agasint the average worker.
At Chicopee Caldor The Springfield UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers Union) ran a “closed shop”. Every worker was forced to join the union and pay union dues. No exceptions It was a precondition for employment.
The Union leeched money out of the pockets of people who could least afford to part with their hard earn money. They were barely surviving on $2.35 an hour. There was no such thing as “merit raises” .
There was also no such thing as wage levels. Every job was treated equally and compensated at the lowest possible rate.
As a result, few were particularly interested in working hard. The union imposed an artificial celing on wage and a throttle on the productivity of the workforce. .
After 2 year (TWO YEARS), the Union was forced to push through a 30 cent and hour wage increase. This was a joke. The economy had turned around and people began leaving Caldor for more lucrative jobs. A labor surplus actually turned into a labor shortage and the Union found their revenue stream was eroding. Caldor couldn’t hire fast enough, the number of workers was diminshed, and the Union revenue stream was in decline.
Everyone knew that Caldor and the UFCW union were running a “quid pro quo” operation.
Caldors “closed shop” policy provided the Union with a stead stream of cash. In return the Union insured that wages remained low. Also, any employee grievances were swept under the rug. Caldor did not have to treat their employees fairly, because the guardians of fairness were in their hip pocket. Those that filed grieveances were strung along for years, until they quit. No grievances were ever resolved.
Caldor was also allowed to violate the Unioin Contract. The folks that handled the money needed to be compensated at a hirer rate. Caldor was allowed to give secret raises to these people and compensate them at a higher rate, even though they were employees subjected to the collective barginning agreement and the negoatiated wage.
Those that knew, filed greivances, which were kicked down the road, like a can, as long as it took for the aggrieved party to give up.
This scenario was repeated over and over. Outside of the Christmans season overtime was allocatd to the friends of the management team. Overtime meant 1.5X (and sometimes 2x) wages and was highly desirable. By contract, it should have been handed out according to seniority. It was not. Those that filed grievances were ignored and put on black list, no more overtime (unless it was the Xmas Season).
Caldor meant well, but got caught up in the underworld that is unionized labor and played it their hand just like everyone else caught up working with criminals.
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Stuart
February 7th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I visited this mall during Christmas of 1993 and it was very busy and seemed full. I would venture to say that the major expansion and re-tenanting of Holyoke Mall from 1995 on was the nail in the coffin. Plus that, Eastfield Mall started to get its act together in the late 90s as well. It seemed like the owners simply threw in the towel. The next time I visited this mall was to go the DMV Express there in 1999 and it was a ghosttown. Also, it didn’t help that both of the chains that anchored the mall went out of business completely.
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Kris B.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I grew up in Chicopee. In the 80’s my friends and I went to the Fairfield Mall every weekend to hang out. I remember Lucas Pizza, Just Fun arcade. You were not cool if you didn’t own a baseball sleeve iron on tee shirt fron T-Shirt Express with your name on the back. Caldors, Foggies Bar–looked dark and very grown up from a young teenage perspective. There was a popcorn/candy place next to the arcade, Steakhouse, Friendly’s icecream, The Weathervane, Spencer’s, Cheey webb Touraine, a pretzel kiosk, a pet store, CVS. Lots of little sunken seating areas to sit with friends and hang out. A big fountain in the middle with a bakery/cofee shop near the Baybank.
Wow it’s weird to be bale to recall all of that.
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Barb D.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
A few more names to add to the list:
Liberty Bakeries, Joann’s Nut House, Bavarian Pretzels, Canine Corner (bought a hamster there), Paperback Booksmith, Musicsmith, Karmel (?) Korner (popcorn place), Fannie Farmer, Weathervane, GNC…
Does anyone remember Fannie’s Flea Market on Sundays before MA did away with the blue laws? I remember buying a Door’s bootleg on cassette and mood rings.
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Barb D.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Also,
Every year a robot called “Fubar” would be escorted around the mall and joke/talk with people. It was kind of freaky
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Scott LeTourneau
March 27th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Back in ‘75 and ‘76 I owned and operated the “11th Hussar Leather” kiosk between Jake’s and the bookstore. I sold handcrafted belts, hats, pocketbooks, buckles, all that good stuff from my hippy days! Anyone remember my little shop?
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Scott L. (also a mallrat)
March 27th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Damn, those are some crazy teenage memories. Big hair. Listening to 80s music like Ratt, or the ultimate kewl guy music: Judas Priest. Alice the security guard, my substitute mom while I was out being a juvenile delinquent. Smoking out and drinking Jack and Cokes in the little square of woods in the back parking lot. The big haired sexbomb hair dresser lady we used to make fun of. Playing that crazy Space Harrier game, where it always said, “welcome to the fantasy zone” before you blew up giant space dragons. Snogging with big hair girls and getting in fist fights in the parking lot. I’m sort of glad they buried it along with Chicopee Comp and Holyoke Catholics old buildings. It’s kind of embarrassing having all those youthful memories concentrated in a shabby building with a weird bronze modernist water fountain in the middle of it. I guess we were lucky in a way. It was no Trevi Fountain, but at least kids had a place to congregate after school which didn’t involve Roller Skates and disco music.
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Diana
April 5th, 2009 at 12:20 am
I remember the Fairfield Mall as well. My grandmother worked at Liberty Bakery for years, her name was Jane but everyone called her Ginny. I worked at Rainbow Shops after school when I was a sophomore and I also worked for Acme Surplus for a little while. I miss those days, the days of freedom, no big, major responsibilities just hang out with friends and have a great weekend. No where for the kids to do that these days. I mean after 4 pm anyone under 18 has to have an adult accompanying them at the Holyoke Mall these days!!! Sad to see those days gone….
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Billy
May 6th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Not that this has to do with the mall (but sort of, since Stop & Shop did own Bradlees at one point), but just across from it.
Who came up with the design for the Stop & Shop, Big Y and BJ’s on the opposite side of Memorial Drive?
(See the aerial shot at the top of the post).
With the S&S up close to the road and totally cut off from the other two, such that if you went to Big Y or BJ’s first, you can’t get back to S&S without a long, round about trip.
Seems kind of a strange set-up, even though the grocery stores may not mind (making it harder to have people reach the competition).
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Paul S
May 30th, 2009 at 12:04 am
The mall also had a Commonwealth Registry branch for renewals, and it was the last place I ever got my Mass license before permanently residing in NY.
I think it was 1994.
I went to the bar Foggies once in the 80’s when I was in college.
Don, you are reporting on a corrupt union- they are not all like that.
And I agree with the sentiment- this is change not for the better.
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Justin
August 6th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
the walmart store is now a superwalmart store they renavated it to make it newer it dosent look like it was ever a walmart [discount store]
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Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)
August 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Did they raise the ceiling line? A local Wal-Mart is about to become a Supercenter soon here…
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Gary
August 6th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
There’s a Walmart Supercenter near Cedar Point in Ohio that apparently was a smaller Walmart at one time but had been expanded. The main merchandise section looked practically untouched, with the drop ceiling and everything intact, and the food center was added on the end, which has that warehouse look like in most Supercenters.
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Carla B.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Loved to go to the mall too. And Katelyn loved you Dad “BOZ” also he was the best DJ United Skates had in the 70’s and 80’s. Rock and Roll Friday nights was the best.
Pizza from lucas, a tour through the arcade and then stand in line to get into the rink.
Rosco, Bosco, and Boz always thought that was cool, the Owl, and Louie. I know this is about the Mall but it was all about a night out with the gang. I remeber Boz’s 69 Firebird Convertible sitting out at the mall, that was a great time… Anyone ever see these guys around?
A reunion would be cool!
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Scott S
October 11th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I was the manager of Zales Jewelers at the Fairfield Mall. I arrived while the mall was still under construction in October or 1974 and took part in the grand opening. Danny Kay was the special guest for the opening and he “hid” in the back of my store until introduced on stage. At that time the mall was a huge success and the 2 anchors, Two Guys and Forbes and Wallace brought in lots of traffic. There was also an excellent mix of stores including Spencer Gifts, Anderson Little, Friendly’s Restaurant and Foggie’s Tavern. The mall manager was a well qualified, hands on person and we had an excellent Mall Board consisting of various store managers. We met monthly to come up with various marketing promotions, sales events, etc. It was a great place to work, the employees were like a family and all the stores were doing very well. I just can’t believe its gone!
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