Comments on: Walpole Mall; Walpole, Massachusetts

By: BostonMoFo

BostonMoFo — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:03:24 +0000

1. <>

This was the Dedham Mall, not the Walpole Mall.

2. Can someone post some pics of the new mall to flickr and link them here sometime? thanks

3. Someone mentioned the new streetlight on the Coney Street entrance. Logistically, that seems like a nightmare. I would think that all the traffic would get backed up and clog up the Coney/Route 1 intersection.

By: Ace Base

Ace Base — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:05:23 +0000

I read several of the comments here, and I dont think anyone mentioned the old wing of thw mall that was removed back around 1996 or so (it contained the original Papa-Ginos for the mall, old Dream Machine, Walden Books, Auntie Annies towards the end)…..but the wing was taken down to build the Old Navy and Barnes and Noble (you entered the wing by way of where the Barnes/Noble inside entrance is now)…..also, I’m pretty sure the Office Max was an Ames originally in the ealr 70s….I know by about 1985 it was a Stop and Shop….they built a bigger one up the highway in like 1998. Back in 1985, there werent many supermarkets in the area, that was a maor one, at the mall….the only other for Walpole was the old Hartland on 1-A. I recall the entire mall was renovated around 1986 or 87…..it had a brown tile to it before that (prob from the 70s)….but virtually no trace of the original features remains I think, the place has changed a great deal since the late 90s….

By: Rocky

Rocky — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:34:45 +0000

I worked at a restaurant/bar called Thackeray’s in the mall in the late 70’s early 80’s. It was a pretty hopping spot for the area back then. It was located where the Old Country Buffet is now. There was a bank on the other side of the mall entrance, a Newport Creamery, GAP, Orange Julius, Bradlees and Stop & Shop. Also a Stacy’s gift shop and a hair salon.
The Barnes & Noble, Taco Bell, Joann Fabrics were added on later. Thackeray’s was eventually sold and became Pickerings. There is a page on myspace called Thackeray’s. There are some pictures on it of that were taken inside and outside the mall.

By: jj

jj — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:36:29 +0000

My Aunt lives in Norwood, and when we would visit her in the 70’s and 80’s, we would go to Walpole Mall. Good Vibrations was a great record chain in the area, with superb customer service, and this location was full of cool imports. I remember the Bradlees as well, CVS and Orange Julius. I never saw malls as a “cool place to hang out” – that was something you saw in the movies or TV. It was an average mall for an average population area.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:17:17 +0000

All I can add was that in the late 80s or early 90s, the mall was “renovated” and rebranded as “The Mall at Walpole” which even to me as a young kid seemed pretty lame.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:00:01 +0000

I can’t believe nobody has mentioned the Dream Machine! While the mall may never have been cool for teens, for us younger kids the new addition that replaced Almy’s was pretty cool. It gave us a new Walden Books, a Papa Gino’s, and the aformentioned Dream Machine arcade.

I think the arcade was one of the fe arcades in the state. I remember attending many joint Papa Gino’s and Dream Machine birthday parties.

Once the big box stores moved in, I think the Dream Machine relocated to a new store within the mall.

I don’t recall if Pinches and Pounds was in the expansion or not, but I remember it also being a popular store for people my age.

Everyone is correct about Office Max at one point being a tiny Stop and Shop. IIRC, the store actually closed well before the Super Stop and Shop was completed.

I’ve recently moved back to the area and the new renovations look good. I think a lot of malls have moved to the new outdoor format – it reminds me of some of newer DC area strip malls.

As for the Dedham mall, I don’t have too many memories of it, but I recall at one point my parents were concerned about crime and wanted me to stay close to them.

There was an old Child World outside the mall, which was odd because Toys R Us was just down the street.

Does anyone know what the new buildings outside the Wapole Mall are going to be?

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:38:36 +0000

I’ve been in some of these stores from the front and I didn’t even know it was a mall. Probably a good thing in terms of its survival.

On another note, 3 Old Navys between Dedham and Foxboro on Rt 1? If this isn’t indicative of the vast excess of retail space I don’t know what is.

By: Jane

Jane — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:23:12 +0000

There used to be an Auntie Ann’s, Bradlee’s, Gap, Pinches and Pounds has gone recently, so has F.Y.E and KB Toys. It’s basically a ghost town. I cannot wait for L.A. Fitness to open up.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:59 +0000

I am living in walpole currently and have always lived in walpole. It’s a small town that barely anyone knows about, but it has a lot of character. it’s small size lets everyone get to know each other. given, the mall could have better stores. but it is currently under construction and getting extended. i love walpole and everything about it. even it’s crappy malls

By: Cici

Cici — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:31:12 +0000

The Walpole mall expansion is moving along quickly…they just moved the Coney Street entrance to the mall further away from Rt. 1 and will be installing a traffic light at that entrance. I’ve heard that CVS will be moving to it’s own store outside of the mall and that Olympia Sports will be moving it’s store to a larger space in the new part of the mall. Texas Roadhouse Restaurant is coming to the mall as well as Famous Footwear and fitness facility, LA Fitness.