Monmouth Mall; Eatontown, New Jersey
All of this Steinbach posting has put me in a New Jersey mood lately. Malls are as synonymous with New Jersey as Bruce Springsteen, so there’s plenty of neat ones to pick from, and the 1.5 million-square-foot Monmouth Mall on the Jersey Shore is one of the cooler ones that I visited for the first time in November of 2006.
The Monmouth Mall is visibly old, and originally began its life as an open air center built on the site of a former farm in 1960. A 1975 expansion brought it to its current, massive size, and renovations in 1987 and 1996 added a food court and movie theatre. Like many old malls, Monmouth Mall has had many anchor stores rotate in and out over the years:
- Abraham & Straus became Stern’s, which in turn became Boscov’s. (You can even see a photo of this store during its Stern’s days here)
- Bamberger’s became Macy’s.
- Alexander’s became Caldor, which in turn became Nobody Beats the Wiz, which then became Burlington Coat Factory. While I have no firsthand experience, the mall directory makes it appear that the Loew’s Cinemas were carved out of this area as well.
- Hahne & Company became Lord & Taylor.
- There’s also a JCPenney. No idea what that might’ve been, if it was ever anything else.
The Vornado Realty Trust-owned center is one of the most successful malls on the Jersey shore today, despite a location that’s relatively close to the Freehold Raceway Mall, one of the state’s largest and newest enclosed shopping malls. I think Monmouth Mall is cool because of its bizarre floorplan and changing decor–if you look at the directory below, you can tell that there is one long wing that begins as a grand, one-level atrium in front of Macy’s before splintering into two levels (much like the Cherry Hill Mall) and continuing a long ways to the modern-day Boscov’s anchor store. In the other direction, at the Macy’s store, the mall takes a 90 degree turn and narrows substantially enroute to the large food court and Burlington Coat Factory store.
And if the floorplan itself doesn’t excite you, then look at the facade of the Macy’s (which is, again, a former Bamberger’s store): check out the wood paneling! It’s pretty vintage and fun.
EDIT 4/29/2007 10:11AM EST: Silly me, I forgot to finish my research when I posted this article. Want to see a vintage advertisement of the Easter Bunny at Monmouth Mall? Because you can.
Outdoor
Macy’s > Food Court wing
Macy’s > Boscov’s wing (2 levels)
on April 28th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Another excellent post, Caldor! However, before I comment about the Monmouth Mall, I want to tell you about a problem with the board that I am having: earlier today, I tried to post a comment in your thread about the Steinbach stores. However, when I submitted my comment, it never appeared on the blog. And, when I tried to resubmit the comment I received an error message stating “a duplicate comment has been detected; it looks like you’ve already said that.” Unfortunately, this is not the first time that this has happened; instead, this is a somewhat common occurrence. It would be greatly appreciated if you or Prangeway could provide any insight as to why this is happening.
Now, on to the Monmouth Mall:
Even though the Freehold Raceway Mall is better looking and more luxurious, I actually prefer the Monmouth Mall simply because it has such a unique anchor in Boscov’s. The Boscov’s at this mall is particularly large (perhaps even the largest in the chain), and its third floor is a real highlight, with its great electronics and candy departments.
Despite the neat wood paneling, the Macy’s in the Monmouth Mall is a dump. For instance, on the bottom floor (where housewares and domestics are located), there are numerous tears in both the carpeting and the flooring. Sadly, I have found such poor housekeeping to be especially common at Macy’s locations that were once Bamberger’s: witness the junky stores at the Livingston Mall and the Willowbrook Mall as well. (Although I do concede that some of the former Bamberger’s locations are quite nice looking, such as the store at the Garden State Plaza.) This is a real shame, because back when Bamberger’s–which was/is one of my all time favorite department stores–was in existence, they always did a great job at keeping their stores clean. Unfortunately, this cleanliness–along with the community involvement that Bamgerger’s was known for–all disappeared after the chain became Macy’s in 1986.
Finally, as many of you know, the Monmouth Mall is one of three gigantic malls in Central New Jersey (with the others being the Freehold Raceway Mall and the Woodbridge Center); as a matter of fact, these three malls are among the top five largest in the state, as shown on wikipedia’s list of New Jersey’s 16 largest shopping malls:
1. Garden State Plaza–2,000,000 sq. ft.
2. Woodbridge Center–1,633,000 sq. ft.
3. Freehold Raceway Mall–1,600,000 sq. ft.
4. Monmouth Mall–1,500,000 sq. ft. (tie)
4. Willowbrook Mall–1,500,000 sq. ft. (tie)
6. The Mall at Short Hills–1,342,000 sq. ft.
7. Deptford Mall–1,300,000 sq. ft.
8. Jersey Gardens–1,292,611 sq. ft.
9. Cherry Hill Mall–1,283,000 sq. ft.
10. Rockaway Townsquare Mall–1,250,000 sq. ft.
11. Menlo Park Mall–1,232,000 sq. ft.
12. Newport Centre Mall–1,149,147 sq. ft.
13. Echelon Mall–1,140,000 sq. ft.
14. Quaker Bridge Mall–1,102,000 sq. ft.
15. Moorestown Mall–1,046,100 sq. ft.
16. Hamilton Mall–1,028,500 sq. ft.
(Here, note that the above list includes every single New Jersey mall that has at least 1,000,000 sq. ft. Also, note that the Freehold Raceway Mall will become the second largest mall once its expansion is complete. Additionally, half of the Echelon Mall is in the process of demolition, while the Quaker Bridge and Cherry Hill Malls are being expanded.)
on April 29th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Max:
Thanks for bringing the “missing comment” issue to my attention. It was a simple (but regrettable) problem: the comment was automatically flagged as spam by Akismet. You may not realize it because Akismet works great 99.9% of the time, but this site attracts between 2000-3000 spam comments a week, most of them outrageously filthy in nature. Unfortunately, because it is robust, it does occasionally pick out legitimate comments and move them to the spam folder. I used to go through this folder manually on a daily basis, but there’s *so much* nowadays that I don’t always find time to get to it. But either way, if it happens again let me know and I’ll make sure to go looking for the inappropriately flagged comment.
on April 29th, 2007 at 12:30 am
Caldor, I greatly appreciate the insight that you provided in your above post. I also want to thank you for all of the hard work and effort you put into running and maintaining this site.
Despite the long nature of my initial post, there were actually some things about the Monmouth Mall that I forgot to comment about:
*I remember reading on the internet (perhaps it was on wikipedia) that Montgomery Ward was an initial 1960 anchor of the mall (along with Bamberger’s, of course). Apparently, this was one of the few New Jersey locations that Montgomery Ward ever had. I was not given any idea as to when it closed; however the building was eventually torn down. I certainly wonder as to whether the former Montgomery Ward building was located where the 1975 extension now sits.
*This mall has a separate Macy’s Kids store that is not adjacent to the mall’s main Macy’s location. Does anybody know when this store opened, as well as what store was previously located there?
*Does any body know exactly when the mall was enclosed? Was it during the 1975 expansion that added A&S, Hahne’s, and JC Penney? Also, how did the 1987 and 1996 renovations differ from each other (in terms of new stores/wings being added, new flooring installed, etc.)?
on April 29th, 2007 at 12:38 am
The Monmouth Mall has always been a classic. As you had noted, Caldor, the Loews Theatre was carved out of the former Alexander’s/Caldor. Before the 1996 renovations, the top floor of Alexander’s/Caldor was quite bigger and they basically rebuilt the top floors as part of the new food court, an expanded mall area and Loews Theater…note the truck tunnel by route 35 that heads down to the former basement floor of Alexander’s. The basement was left behind and after the renovations, became The Wiz and then Burlington Coat Factory. And JCPenney was always JCPenney and was only recently freshened up.
Even though Monmouth Mall is a classic, it is underutilized and is in dire need of a fix-up. First, the mall needs to be brightened up a lot. I remember Monmouth Mall before its 1987 renovations and the place was downright dark. Those renovations did a lot to brighten the place up and also give more room (lowered seating areas and permanent planters, as well as a stage in front of JCPenney were removed). If I were running things at Vorando, I would do a few things to fix up this retail gem: first I’d brighten the place up so more natural light filters in, change the flooring and maybe throw in a fountain or two for a little character…the 1996 renovation was less of a renovation and more of an expansion; second I would expand the 2nd floor to Macys and also rebuild the wing that heads out toward Wyckoff Road…there is enough room to build a small wing, as well as an additional anchor…and with communities like Rumson, Fair Haven and Colts Neck not too far off, there is no reason why that anchor can’t be affluent; third, I would re-merchandise the 1 level food court wing into an entertainment/lifestyle wing…keep the movie theatre but update the food court, bring in some new restaurants/bars and also a bookstore with cafe; lastly, I would add a parking deck between the ‘new Wyckoff Road Wing’ and Lord and Taylor, as well as between Loews and JCPenney to improve the parking situation.
With its close location to GSP exit 105 and great spot near the beaches (and potential for major profit on rainy summer days), there is no reason that Monmouth Mall shouldn’t be one of the retail Powerhouses and Vorando should definitely do much more to this mall than add a Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Bosov’s Parking Lot.
on April 29th, 2007 at 1:27 am
first of off thanx for adding my page’s as links I have been to these stores so much I have been going to the monmouth mall snce I was a little boy and to this day I still go there even though I live 25 miles away in woodbridge I miss A&S that was one of my favorite stores at that mall
on April 29th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
I have some exterior shots of Monmouth Mall, as well as some vitage ads at LiveMalls:
http://livemalls.blogspot.com/search/label/Monmouth%20Mall
on April 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
That “Easter Bunnicula” in the ad is supposed to invite people albeit children?! Man, us children of the 80s (who grew up in the 90s) had it eaaaasy.
I like the Macy’s here; love the wood panels and oddly placed poles in the middle of the entry way. The rest of the mall, decor wise, seems kind of blah fooey.
on April 30th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Agreed. The Macy’s area of this mall is the interesting part. Even that sign looks vintage without the star fronting it like on today’s logo that I’ve seen installed on all stores that Federated bought out of the May Co. merger.
on May 1st, 2007 at 4:13 am
What I like about the design of this mall is how the food court level is split between the lower and upper levels. It would make it more difficult to expand the second level all the way to the Macy’s store like the one previous commented said, but it also is fine the way it is because this complex is essentially 2 malls put together, the dual-level section and the food court section. I agree that the latter could be converted into an entertainment/lifestyle wing. The food court looks almost like the ones that are located inside the Mills megamalls, so it already has an entertainment aspect to it with the themed decor. With the food court and the movie theater, it can be opened later than the rest of the mall, and with the addition of a few more places like a Cheesecake Factory, Lucky Strike Lanes and Dave & Busters, this can really kick this mall into high gear.
on May 3rd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
What did the Macy’s Kids used to be?
on May 7th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Gary,
The food court is not exactly split between the 2 levels. The two levels meet about 50-75 yards in front of Macy’s, entering into a fairly grand area. If the floor in front of Macy’s were lowered, you definitely could have 2 levels continue to Macy’s, and have the 2 levels come together the same way heading down the corridor to the food court. It is definitely the oddest design for a mall I’ve experienced, and is much different from the 2 other ‘vanilla’ malls at the shore, Freehold and Ocean County.
Mike
on May 12th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Stumbled upon this and it is making me nostalgic. I used to shop at Bambergers when I was a kid, and I remember when the mall was originally enclosed. Back then, Mom used to drop us eleven year olds off (you could do that then) with 5 bucks and we’d hang there all day “shopping.” I think there is still a very old elevator from that time in the ladies department of Macys. When I was a child the kids’ deptartments were upstairs. I don’t remember what the new kids’ store used to be–I moved away in 1979 and returned 20 years later. I do remember that there was a little oval pizza place (Lucas?) outside around that end. Also near there was an art supply store called Paint N Place, rumored to be owned by the parents of the pop singer Melanie (I’ve Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates). Don’t know if that’s true. On the other side of the mall (Alexanders end) there were a few stores set off by themselves: The Plum Tree that sold candles and insense, Parklane hosery (where we all got our danskins for ballet class) and a few others. I also remember a large sporting goods store that was freestanding. This area later became the movie theater, etc. My favorite store, however, was Kresges, which was located across the way from what is now the food court, if I remember correctly. You could get a lot for the 3 bucks you had left over after lunch. While I enjoy being nostalgic about the mall, I rarely shop there. The quality of the stores and merchandise is pretty lousy compared to other places in the area. I agree with mallguy–this place needs an overhaul, and I’ve heard many say the same thing. It has so much potential. Many people I know hate it and will travel to Menlo Park or Short HIlls. And you can’t even go to the movie theaters there on weekend evenings–there have been problems with teens.
One note about Boscovs–It is unique in that it still has a toy department–you rarely see that anywhere in a dept. store these days.
on May 27th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Back in the 1980s, there used to be a video arcade near the Macy’s Kids Annex and it used to open to a mall entrance facing Wyckoff Road. The mall entrance in that wing that faces route 36 between Ruby Tuesday and the former American Cafe came as part of the 1996 expansion. This area of the mall is truly underutilized and could be rebuilt with a new anchor and 2 level wing…getting Bloomingdale’s to come down here would give Monmouth Mall a definite leg up as the closest Bloomingdales to Eatontown is at Bridgewater Commons.
And if they ever expanded the 2nd floor to Macy’s, the current floor could be easily lowered and like what was done in Garden State Plaza, they could place mini-escaltors, a ramp and a short stairway between the lowered mall floor and the Macy’s entrance.
As Gary had earlier stated, Cheesecake Factory, Dave and Busters and Lucky Strike would all be great additions to the older wing of the mall that would become the entertainment/lifestyle wing. A bookstore and some “demonstration stores” (e.g. Apple, Sharper Image, Brookstone, LL Bean) could make that wing a very popular place.
There is definitely the room to build and with the upcoming closing of Fort Monmouth, it would be in Eatontown’s best economic interest to spruce up Monmouth Mall.
on May 27th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Mallguy, thanks for providing insight as to what the Macy’s Kids store might have been. Regarding your comment about Bloomingdale’s, I strongly doubt that they would locate here since they twice before refused that option (when A&S closed and then when Stern’s closed).
I visited this mall yesterday, and had a great time. In fact this is probably my favorite mall in the state: largely because of Boscov’s gigantic store, but also because of the mall’s unique layout and interesting history. However, I honestly don’t know exactly where the former Caldor ’s interior entrance to the mall was located; if Caldor’s entrance was located exactly where the food court begins (which would mean that it encompassed the entire area covered by the food court, the movie theater, Old Navy, and Burlington Coat Factory), then that would have had to have been one massive Caldor (even for a two-level Caldor store).
According to Wikipedia, the size of each anchor is as follows:
*Boscov’s: 264,601 sq. ft.
*Macy’s: 262,422 sq. ft.
*JCPenney: 202,669 sq. ft.
*Lord & Taylor: 159,260 sq. ft.
*AMC Theatres: 77,275 sq. ft.
*Burlington Coat Factory: 44,209 sq. ft.
*Macy’s Kids: 25,637 sq. ft.
on May 27th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Max, the former Caldor at Monmouth Mall began right about where Old Navy and American Eagle are today. Also, the Food Court was new construction and the wing that led to Caldor was very traditional. The building of Caldor was a lot smaller back in the day and the Loews Theater was new construction. Remember also that Caldor was previously Alexander’s, a fairly traditional department store. I vividly remember the York Steakhouse was in that wing (a cafeteria-styled steakhouse which was pretty good and themed to look like a castle), as was a large Burger King that had more skylights than the usual fast food establishment.
Over the past 10 years, the wealth of the Monmouth County area has significantly grown and while this mall may not have been a good candidate for Bloomingdales then, it will be better for it now. Something else to consider is that while Freehold is expanding, this upscale addition along with the entertainment/lifestyle options I mentioned earlier will give an additional option to Freehold and battling the ever-growing route 9 traffic.
on July 23rd, 2007 at 10:41 pm
This week, I went to the Monmouth Mall for the first time since April/May and noticed a few interesting store changes. The following stores have just recently opened new branches or recently renovated: Express, Limited, NY & Co, Hollister. Coming soon to the mall are Charlotte Russe, Journey’s, Johnny Rockets and Modells (a two level Modell’s, next to Boscov’s…that will be interesting competition with the two level Dick’s planned to be built in the Boscov’s parking lot adjacent to Wyckoff Road). The former American Cafe is vacant, as is the former Express Men next to the secondary Macy’s mall entrance.
No renovation news, but the mall definitely needs it, as we have all stated and described its tired appearance.
on July 25th, 2007 at 9:56 am
I was just reading this blog, and it is very interesting, as a New Jersey native, it has been fun to read about the malls I am so familiar with. I thought you might like to know that Boscov’s now has its very own blog. You can check it out if you want, as we are excited to get feedback about our store as well as have people interact and share their thoughts and ideas with us!
on August 13th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
good job on history of monmouth mall. caldor got any reports on malls in norrth jersey like woodbridge center or garden state plaza
on August 28th, 2007 at 10:32 am
I’ve been there only twice but as soon i got off the bus i could tell it was a 70s flashback. WOW! Kind of reminds me of the former New Rochelle mall or Brunswick Square.
The idea of turning the food court area into a lifestyle wing is a good one, just not sure about cheesecake factory. then again CF did go into willowbrook.
I agree that it is time for a major overhall, just not sure at this point when they will, considering that they should have done one 15 years ago.
on October 15th, 2007 at 10:20 am
This mall is neat. A few questions:
1) Anyone have pictures of the “downright dark” interior.
2) The second level: does it just add an extra level, or is it split, a la Cherry Hill Mall.
on October 15th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
It’s just like cherry hill mall, split levels & all
on October 15th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
But Cherry Hill Mall has a lot more character to it…and better stores. I really, really hope Vorando gives Monmouth Mall its due and puts some money in it to renovate/expand. Now with Freehold expanding and renovating, most Monmouth Co people will be bypassing Monmouth Mall for Freehold and in the long run, Monmouth Mall and the Jersey Shore area will lose out.
on October 15th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
I sort of take it back…at least Monmouth Mall has Lord & Taylor.
on October 23rd, 2007 at 8:19 pm
but L & T by it self is not enough to bring in the upscale clientel. You need something else to draw people in like good restaurants & a bookstore or electronic store.
on October 24th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I was quite surprised to see some of the recently opened stores choose Monmouth Mall and to an extent, I agree more needs to be brought in to attract better stores. Vorando really needs to put some money into Monmouth Mall, especially with the upcoming grand opening of its cross-county rival and a remerchandised Grove.
on October 26th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
You think money will be spent on this mall? I don’t know if they will or not. Look ot the other malls that vornado owns, doesn’t enspire confidence.
on October 27th, 2007 at 10:10 am
I’m guessing nothing is going to come out of there in the immediate future and it’s flat out dumb for every party involved. As I said earlier, Monmouth Mall is going to suffer with the changes going on at the competition as most NJ malls are going through, are through, or are about to go through some sort of renovation or redevelopment (I could think of 12 off the top of my head). Plus, the 3 major interesections (35/36, 36/Wyckoff, 35/Wyckoff) need some fixing up and I don’t think Vorando will do anything until NJ does something with those roads. For Eatontown, a fix-up and expansion of Monmouth Mall would be in their best interests as Fort Monmouth is slated for closure.
on October 27th, 2007 at 11:15 am
If one of the department stores closes this mall is dead. Keep your eyes on L & T, they would be first to go do to Freehold.
Enough said.
on October 28th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
I don’t see any of those department stores closing anytime soon. Macy’s has a long history there, L&T’s is already in Freehold and has a base in the immediate area, JCPenney has also been there a while and is not going anytime soon and Boscov’s ran head over heels to get into Monmouth Mall. Vorando just needs to put some money into the mall, give it some more room to grow, remerchandise certain areas of it (as I had said earlier posts, make the one level area of the mall an entertainment/lifestyle wing), renovate it and it will do much better.
Monmouth Mall is far from dead, but it does need to gain its edge.
on October 29th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Good points mallguy; i have 1 issue with L & t though, why would Lord & Taylor a some what more upscale retailer stay in a mall whose inline offerings are more middle of the road?
Now if MM adds better stores & gives the place an extreme makeover not nessessarily by ABC then i can see them staying. Otherwise i see no point having 2 stores in the same area.
Then again this is NJ we are talking about.
on October 29th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Sean, there are some very wealthy areas within a 10 mile radius of Monmouth Mall (Rumson, Spring Lake, Monmoth Beach, Deal, Ocean, MIddletown) and they are much closer than FRM. Monmouth Mall offers the convenience of not having to go 20-25 minutes inland and dealing with the local traffic (no direct interstate out there). If that mall grows, they will defintely attract more upscale retailers…and Monmouth Mall can also take advantage of its location as a rainy day shore destination.
on October 29th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Lets hope that VRT is as foward thinking as you are mallguy, i’m not sure they are or not.
You are, that is a given.
on November 23rd, 2007 at 12:55 am
monmouth mall has been on my favorite shopping centers I would go there so much when I was a little kid sometimes we even drove down to old seaview square as well.Im old enough to remeber monmouth mall when It had that restraunt BUnnNburger it was on the upper level right before the escalators going to the mid level and remeber authur treachers ??? on the same wing as alexanders and of course mccrory’s my mom alwys went there they didn’t have a darn thing in there lol ahh the memories
on November 23rd, 2007 at 3:19 am
While there are many wealthy areas in the radius of the Monmouth Mall, Eatontown (and the part of Long Branch that is closest) is not. Nevertheless, with Seaview Square out of the way, I can’t see this mall going anywhere soon, renovation or no. Also, as I’ve said in the FRM thread, MM has much of the same stores that FRM has. Unless one really has a hankering for a designer whatever, I can’t see them going out of their way to FRM with gas prices being high and all.
P.S. I worked at that Bun ‘N Burger in the late 80s. Got into fights with management every day. Good times.
I also worked at the Canadians, which was on the lower level, where my sometimes blunt opinions on current fashion were not appreciate much, LOL.
on November 24th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
wow I remeber canadians I forgot where it was in the mall I think it was by A&S or on that wing I dont remeber at all. and also wow I actually heard from a former bun n burger employee I never had a burger there but I always ate fries there. that was the good days now goin to mallis so much diffrent now everyting is so bright and well lit back in the day’s everything was dark that was awesome Idk
on November 24th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Monmouth Mall is still pretty dark these days…needs a renovation.
And I remember Bun N Burger, too, but I always was partial to the York Steakhouse (adjacent to the former Alexander’s) and they were also in Brunswick Square.
on November 25th, 2007 at 2:44 am
Chris: Canadians was on the lower level; I want to say it was in the wing where the food court is now, but my memory is foggy on that.
Bun ‘N Burger was on the upper level–*that* much I remember. I kind of remember the York Steakhouse too, though I never ate there.
Also, since I seem to be part of the female minority here (LOL), you guys may not appreciate the humor in this, but here goes…Up until about five years ago, this mall had a Wet Seal and a Contempo Casuals (same company until they consolidated) within 500 feet of each other. I don’t think there were more than 3 or 4 stores between them. I think they must have co-existed like this for about five years or so. Very strange.
on November 25th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Debbi: Bun N Burger was located upstairs exactly where The Gap is today. They were also in Brunswick Square (right next to York Steakhouse, actually) and Staten Island Mall.
I remember Canadien’s was in all the malls as were two other chains of the 80s: Merry-Go-Round (young adults/teens) and Chess King (mens)…both were in Monmouth Mall.
on November 27th, 2007 at 3:46 am
Mallguy: I have to check out that Gap next time I hit MM. Thanks for that info!
Bun N Burger was everywhere in the 70s and 80s. Not sure when they went belly-up; my best guess, since I worked there during the summer of 1988, was around 1990 or so? Google and Wikipedia have turned up nothing.
I also remember Canadian’s in many malls, as well as Merry-Go-Round and Chess King. I so coveted the clothes at Merry-Go-Round. I remember FRM having one at the beginning. I believe they went under in the mid-90s.
on December 1st, 2007 at 1:03 am
This is probably going to turn into a nostalgia post, but as a child in the early 80s, I have a few memories of this mall before the the remodelling(s) that have occured. One of the most unique things about this mall that I could remember were the oval signs that adorned the outside of each store inside. Most of the signs simply had a picture that related to the nature of the store, and I can only remember 3 to be exact. One had a cookie on it which I assumed to be a cookie store. Another one had an odd picture of a man in overalls with a hammer drawn in a woodcut like style. To this day I can only assume it was for a hardware store, but I would like to know for sure what it really was (remember I was very young at the time so some of my memories are quite vague). The last one I could distinctly remember was the Orange Julius sign, which not surprisingly said Orange Julius on it. That particular sign actually survived the first initial remodelling and remained when they took the other signs down. If anyone has information about or pictures of these signs or pictures (particularly the man with the hammer one), I would really appreciate it. My brother remembers these signs too, so I know they weren’t figments of my young imagination
Other things I remember (and miss): the Bonsai tree store, the Nintendo kiosks where you could play a number of Nintendo games (albeit only for about a minute and a half before the game reset), Roy Rogers, and the Software Etc. which was accessed through the back of the B. Dalton (or was it a Waldenbooks?) bookstore.
on December 1st, 2007 at 11:41 am
Out of curiosity, was it this kind of Orange Julius:
http://www.labelscar.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/crossroads-mall-okc-27.jpg
Or was it neon?
on December 1st, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Merry-Go-Round ceased to exist in 1996 to be exact. The entire chain had a GoB / Liquidation sale in the late Winter / early Spring of that year. It should be noted that Chess King wasn’t taken over by the chain until 1994, at which time they phased out the ‘Attivo’ banner and replaced all those stores with ‘Chess King’, only to shut them a year later.
Chess King was a huge money loser for MGR (the reason Mellvile Corp dumped the chain in teh first place to MGR, who was desperate at the time for any means of a ‘quick fix’), and was one of the big factors in its demise.
It’s sort of like the whole Ames buying out Zayre story all over again. Everyone knows that Zayre was a money losing chain and sent Ames into their first bout with Ch. 11 bankruptcy.
on December 1st, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Wonder if Macy’s will be on the chopping block in about year. The merger is slowly poisoning them.
on December 3rd, 2007 at 5:06 am
Jonah -
I believe it was similar to that type of Orange Julius, but it also had an oval sign hanging off the facade of the shop with the “Orange Julius” logo on it.
on December 4th, 2007 at 3:57 am
wow I remeber york steakhouse and remeber there was a restraunt upstairs by A&S it was right by that upstairs mall entrance oh man u guys are taking me back I rember captron that nintendo kiosk I used to love playing nintendo games there they also had one in woodbridge center by fortunoff on the upper level but that was a actual store not a kiosk. keep bringing up these memories I love to remininsce also check out my department store tribute pages if you really want to go back lol
on December 4th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
That restaurant you mentioned upstairs by was kind of French in style (can’t remember the name off the top of my head), but there was also one in Quakerbridge Mall. That restaurant in Monmouth Mall would later become Garcia’s, then Escondidos and now it’s no longer a restaurant but a Kirklands. There was also a Ground Round where Ruby Tuesday used to be, but it’s wasn’t connected to the mall.
A shame about that wing being dead and useless. Monmouth Mall has great potential (as I mentioned above) and I hope someone does something about it.
on December 6th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
The french restaurant upstairs was called La Crepe. This mall also used to have those castle phones in the middle of the mall that told kids stories and had yellow smile faces on them. There was a pet store called Puppy Love next to Macys Kids as well as a Jo Anns Nuthouse that was in the middle of the mall across from Orange Julius and you had to go down two or three steps to get there. The Children’s place store had a big round circle in the front of it that all the kids played in. Speaking about restaurants, Bamburgers had one on the third floor and JCPenney had one on the first floor.
on December 7th, 2007 at 12:21 am
Yes! I remember now…thanks Mike. I also remember the castle phones, which were all over the mall. Monmouth Mall is still pretty dark inside, but it was even darker prior to the 1980s renovation…I also remember the lowered seating areas in front of each department store..Rockaway Townsqaure used to have the same thing, as did Woodbridge Center (in the middle of the Sears wing).
Department store restaurants are truly a thing of the past. Almost every dept store had them (A&S and Sterns in Woodbridge, Bamberger’s in Menlo, Willowbrook and GS Plaza)…even Nordstrom phased out The Pub and Garden Court, the two sit down restaurants, after its stock slide due to its horrible “Re-Invent Yourself” campaign…it seems that dept store restaurants only survive in Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus.
I don’t recall a restaurant in the Monmouth Mall A&S, but it the store itself had a more open feel than the one in Woodbridge or pre-renovation Paramus Park.
on December 8th, 2007 at 4:33 am
memories I remeber that round ciricle in childrens place that was the best part about the store.the A&S in monmouth did have a restraunt in it on the third floor by the rest rooms i dont rember those castle phones but I do remeber the rides right by rite aid where that jewlery store is now right by bambergers
on December 8th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Right! I remember that now…speaking of restaurants, the one in the Woodbridge A&S overlooked the 2nd floor of the mall. The rides were there as well and prior to the 1980s renovation, there used to be an arcade near the old mall entrance on the Wyckoff Road side of the Macy’s wing. The old Burger King also had a lot of skylights and natural light coming through, more so than any other Burger King in my memory.
on December 8th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Not more than the Princeton Burger King across from the churcch on Nassau St.) They had lots of shrubbery and skylights.
on December 14th, 2007 at 1:14 am
Wow…was trying to get the name of the pretzel place that was in this mall back in the 80’s and I came across this blog. Can anyone tell me what it was called??? It was right next to the movie theater and the arcade. I sure would appreciate it!
on December 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
I do not think this mall had a movie theater in the 80’s. The movie theather opened in the mid 90’s where caldor used to be. The movie theater and the food court opened together. The arcade was outside by the Ground Round and Luca’s Pizza. It was called Supercade.
Also speaking of “dark” atmosphere that Monmouth Mall used to have, the restaurant Sebastion’s Pub was exteremely dark inside.
on December 18th, 2007 at 3:41 am
I remeber sebastian.s pub wow keep taking me back guys.I just went to monmouth mall on saturday to do a little bit of shopping and browsing,more browsing than shopping lol . did anyone check out the new modell’s right next to Boscov’s where sam goody used to be.for some reason this modells has 2 floors you can take a escalator up to the second floor and exit there if you desire. they should have done this @ monmouth a long time ago.
on January 5th, 2008 at 7:02 am
I think that Modell’s used to be a Nobody Beats The Wiz, if I recall correctly. They too had a two-story store.
on January 5th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Actually, Nobody Beats the Wiz was the basement of the former Alexanders/Caldor. Burlington Coat Factory is there now. Modells is next to Boscov’s and is in the former location of Sam Goody (lower level) and a Dollar Store (upper level).
on January 5th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I was at the mall the other day and noticed that Friendly’s restuarant closed. I wonder how many other stores are going to be closing now that the Christmas season is over?
on January 10th, 2008 at 11:08 am
The last time i was there The Wiz was still open. What a creepy store that was.
on January 19th, 2008 at 3:45 am
wow that must have been a long time ago burlington is in its place now
on January 21st, 2008 at 11:37 am
On the comment about the movie theater in the 80’s- no. There was no movie theater on site. It was down Route 36 (very close) where the Vitamin Shoppe and a few select stores are in a strip mall. It was only a 2-screen theater. Back in the day (before the 90’s I believe) it was a drive-in-theater.
on January 21st, 2008 at 11:39 am
Also, I do want to add that the mall has added more “fancy” lighting throughout the mall in order to make it look more elegant and bring some more lighting in. However, it kind of looks tacky as the whole mall has a 90’s flair; so, these gold light fixtures don’t match very well. Good try though!
on January 21st, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I heard that when the mall first opened, it had live mannequins in the department stores. Is this true? Like they would have women dress up in the store’s clothes and they’d just stand in the aisles.
And I remember that the Nobody beats the Wiz always had a weird setup but i thought it was cool.
on January 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Hey! I go to this mall all the time. Nice to see it profiled.
While I don’t think Monmouth Mall is really in much trouble as Freehold is quite a distance from a good portion of coastal Monmouth County (which is, I’d guess, where most of MM’s shoppers come from), it would be nice to see it renovated and expanded. First off, something needs to be done with the Macy’s Kids wing - it’s extremely dead and useless. A new department store would do that wing well and it could also be expanded. Making it an upscale department store is probably the best way to go, either Nordstrom or Bloomingdale’s (id go with Bloomingdale’s as Nordstrom is already in FRM). Or possibly even something unique like a Fortunoff.
The entertainment/lifestyle wing idea is a good one - I say move Burlington Coat Factory across the highway and convert it to a Barnes & Noble. Then, the wing next to the food court could be expanded a bit (move Old Town Buffet and Thomasville across the highway, as well) and they could add either a Champs or a Dave & Busters, and also a Cheesecake Factory would do this mall well. This mall definitely needs a Sharper Image and maybe an apple store, as well. I think something like a Build-a-Bear Workshop could also fit in the lifestyle wing. The food court also needs to be updated.
Still, I’d hope that if the mall is renovated, it’d keep some of it’s unique look. It needs to be brightened up a lot, though. I think they should give it a look similar to Woodbridge Center.
on January 28th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I think if Vornado renovate monmouth mall. i think they will do the same thing they did at Green Arces Mall and Kings Plaza Mall. New flooring, lights and maybe a new food court. Here is link to photos to Green Arces Mall renovation,
http://www.greenacresmallonline.com/shop_rev.asp
I do not think Vornado will not do your upscale entertainment/lifestyle wing idea. To me Vornado do not try to bring there malls to the next level. For example lets take King Plaza Mall. At Kings Plaza Vornado could have done what Macerich did at Queens Center Mall. Macerich created a new wing next to the old mall and then connected the two malls with a two level glass skywork ( with stores part of the skywalk). Next to Kings Plaza there is land that chould have been a new wing of shops/entertainment/ lifestyle. Maybe if a other mall developer owned Monmouth mall maybe your idea might happen.
on January 29th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Sadly I agree - Vorando won’t do all that much with this mall and won’t bring it to it’s full potential. It’d be nice to see the mall get taken over by another company, maybe General Growth.
on January 29th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Vornado isn’t just dead weight…they LOBOTOMIZED Bergen Mall! Those heartless monsters!
on January 29th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Vornado has to be one of worst run reits for retail i have ever known. 1. Green acers, 2. Monmouth Mall, 3. Kings Plaza, 4. Springfield Mall on this site. Any questions?
on January 29th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I also have some more points about Kings Plaza. King Plaza is also a marina. I will think other Malls will use their Waterfront/Marina as a advantage. I think Kings plaza used their waterfront so poorly. In some kind of entertainment/lifestyle/shopping wing idea. Kings plaza could have some restaurants overlooking the water/ boats/ million dollar houses in Mill basin. The new wing could have shops like Barnes & Noble (Waldenbooks just closed). I sure a other mall developer might have done that. Kings Plaza closed the outdoor parking lot for a Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. There is a Home Depot a few feet away ! Vornado could have done better than that.
Though King Plaza looks modern. The mall lost what made it special. That the problem with Kings Plaza. Kings Plaza used to have a brown 1970’s look with wood everywhere. A carousel with people loved. the Macy’s store still had there 1970’s all red capital logo. Like the one in this link,
http://graphicslib.viator.com/graphicslib/2074/SITours/vip-shopper-macys-san-francisco-in-san-francisco-2.jpg
I know some of you labelscarers will love to take pics of the before 2002 Kings plaza.
Now there is nothing special about Kings Plaza. All the stores you can get in Manhattan ( larger at than Kings Plaza). A lot of people only go to Kings Plaza because, they do not want to go Manhattan or some other Malls.
on January 30th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I just don’t understand why Vorando won’t do anything with this mall since it’s probably their most successful mall (or at least one of them). A few new restaurants and a book store at the very least need to be added, and of course news flooring/lighting. Then again the fancy lighting does inspire SOME hope that at least Vorando is paying attention to it, even if it doesn’t look great.
on January 30th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
What did Macy’s Kids used to be?
on January 31st, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I was going to mention the castle story phones! I remember when i was about 8 and 9 My grandma and her sister used to take me my brother and cousin to White castle and then to monmouth mall. We only really went to Mcrory’s. I got one of them plastic charm necklaces that were sooo cool in the mid 80’s from there. And us kids were playing with our toys in the back seat on the way home…we had these plastic horses covered in fake velvet or felt or something and they were black so we called them black booty…because my cousins grandpas nick name was booty. I stopped going for a number of years because in 1990 my grandpa died and we had no way to get there no one drove. I started hanging out there alot when i got my license in 95.
There is one original part of the mall still standing i think(at least it as when I was there in 07 sometime…the spiral stair case in front of penny’s.
I agree that the yucky rt 35 entrance has to be spruced up…and the ghetto parking garage. Remember the red and yellow star shaped sign that was out front???? There was a zany brainy sort of on the outside of the mall at one point…and I DO remember the Childrens Place circle thing!!! The Sesame Street store closed before i started going to the mall again…it was where i think gap is now…I also remember Le Crepe…and there was a Barnes and Noble in the mall. Or was that Woodbridge?
on February 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Another thing, I think, that is holding back Vorando from doing any Monmouth Mall expansion/renovation is the area roadways. The 35/36/Wyckoff Road intersections need to be redone and two out of three of them need overpasses. I consider this intersection a “Gateway to the Northern Shore” since it leads to the Northern Jersey Shore Communties, Monmouth Park and Monmouth University…Monmouth Mall would get much better business with the updating of these highways in the same way that GS Plaza got an even bigger boost when 4 and 17 were redone. At the same time, the route 35 entrance where the traffic light is needs to be made into an overpass. As we have all said time and time over again, the place could use a lot of sprucing up.
Mandy, the Barnes and Noble was in The Grove, where Talbots currently is. It was a smaller location (bigger than a mall bookstore, but much smaller than the superstores of today) when they first started opening in the area and was similar to the early ones in East Brunswick and West Orange.
On the Green Acres Mall, renovation, I think those renovations are pretty darn ugly. They also, unfortunately, took out the fountain that used to be between the elevator and escalator in this picture .
on February 3rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
What an ugly looking mall (Green Acres). Looks like an airport…
on February 9th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Hey,
I just came across this site while browsing the net. I thought it was pretty interesting. I live less than 5 minutes away from this mall and it’s definitely my favorite. It could definitely use some renovations though, now that Freehold Mall is really nice and classy. Anyways, it looks like they are planning on expanding Monmouth Mall. The plans call for 2 attachments to the actual mall structure and 2 buildings on mall property. Here is the link:
http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/news/2008/0103/Front_Page/006.html
Enjoy!
…and I agree, Green Acres Mall looks maadd ugly hah
on February 9th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Interesting article…good to see Barnes and Noble is coming…where is the “Site B” location in the mall?
Somewhat surprised Dick’s pulled out, but they really need to address the Macy’s Kids/Ruby Tuesday wing, as well as make some cosmetic changes to the mall, as we have discussed in detail.
on February 10th, 2008 at 11:09 am
So I guess Barnes & Noble will move from their current location in Consumer Centre (West Long Branch) down the street. It is a pretty small location, considering the new two-floor cafe styles they use now. I hope this doesn’t take away business from the great Borders down the street. Yeah, the mall needs a good sprucing. From the floor to the ceiling. Freehold Mall looks awesome. Vornado- steal some ideas? Also, most of the department stores need makeovers as well. I agree: some more restaurants would be great- even some better food court places. The AMC Loews could also look better. I remember when they opened- it was AMAZING! But now, it is a little too 90’s for me. Those new HD theaters are looking pretty good now-a-days.
on February 10th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Looks like Vorando is finally giving Monmouth Mall what it needs.
I’m sure a renovation will come with the expansion, and a Barnes & Noble is exactly what MM needs to attract the upscale crowd, especially since Freehold has a Borders and not a B&N.
on February 10th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Also, by “upgrading the types of commercial entities that will be purchasing and renting space in the mall”, I’m guess this means they’ll be going for more upscale stores, right?
on February 15th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Yuck! Monmouth wants to go upscale too! My three reasons for this are:
Cherry Hill Mall got what was left of its unique personality and the mix of upscale to mid-scale tenants plus the large food court all ripped out for a snooty generic “upscale” feel.
Freehold Raceway Mall is nearby. Do you really need another upscale mall?
Bergen Mall also had horrible things done to it by Vornado. I don’t want Vornado to even TOUCH poor Monmouth after they butchered Bergen Mall!
on February 15th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I mean AGAINST upscaling, not for it. My bad.
on February 15th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I HATE VORNADO! AS A RETAIL LANDLORD!
on February 16th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Let’s face it, Monmouth Mall is tired and needs something done. The longer they wait, the more customers they lose to Freehold and other places in the area. We already had a “dead mall” a few miles down route 35 (Seaview Square) and ignoring Monmouth Mall could be detrimental to the area and it would be ashame as this mall has a very rich history. It’s also in Eatontown’s best interest as their tax base will skyrocket. I don’t think Vorando is going to do enough for the mall though. Barnes and Noble is a good start, but they need much, much more. For Monmouth Mall to go upscale, they need to do it full force as The Grove at Shrewsbury is nearby and also downtown Red Bank, where prospective tennants may rather go. It can definitely be done with towns like Colts Neck and Rumson nearby. My recommendation would be to extend the 2nd floor out to Macy’s and rebuild the Ruby Tuesday wing to 2 levels and anchor it with Bloomingdale’s. Then lifestyle the one level section and make the place aesthetically pleasing. Fix the 35/36/Wyckoff Road intersections and we have a nice super-regional mall at the eastern Jersey Shore.
on February 22nd, 2008 at 1:41 am
Oh…
The JC Penny store was built for the mid 70’s expansion and has always been JC Penny. And the Hahnes store that is now Lord and Taylor was built at the sme time.
What became of the Ground Round? Is it gone? Or is it Chilis now or something?
I remember thwe Ground Round (free standing building in the parking lot) having floors COVERED in peanut shells.
Anyone remember the modern tree sculpture that was near the B. Dalton (or Waldens Books can’t remember wchich it was) leading toward the bambergers store? It was HUGE. Is it gone now too?
Note to moderator: I had a typo in my email address in my 1st post. Please correct it. It is jettmiester@yahoo.com.
Thanks again!
on February 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 am
WOW!! So glad I stumbled across this blog/website! Sure brings back LOADS of Memories! AWESOME! Kudos to the webmaster!!!
Born in 1965 and raised in Monmouth County (Neptune Township), I shopped regularly in Monmouth Mall since I can remember. I moved away from the area in 1984 and miss this mall and have such FOND memories of it!
To answer what seems one unaswered question on here,:
What is now Macy’s Kids was part of Bambergers from way back when. When I was a kid, my grandmother bought lots of stuff from that location. It was a Bambergers outlet/discount type store. Later I believe it turned into “Bambergers Kids” as well. Remember too that Bambergers (if I remember correctly) was always part/division of Macy’s since 1929! They just changed the name to Macy’s to simplify. Reason why I remember this, is even way back…shopping at Bambergers, our shopping bags from there ALSO had Macys on it as well. And it was Bambergers who in fact had the LIVE maniquins. It was not all the time, just special events/occasions.
I was saddened to find Friendlys no longer exists in this mall. It was always one of our favorite places to eat. Hickory Farms had a store very close too where we’d “tour” to get free samples! Yum! Free food tastes best!
Another place missing I was saddened to see gone was ITALIAN DELIGHT. It was on the lower level practically under Friendly’s. And near there,but upstairs was Video Concepts. One of teh VERY 1st places in teh 70’s to buy VHS/beta movies and new VCRs and camcorders! I got my Atari there!
The wing that lead from Bambergers was your typilcal straight boring wing before the food court. On the Macy’s side it had Arthur Treachers, and great Record and Tape Store (don’t remember the name), to name a few. Across the mall was Kressgee’s which had a great lunch counter, which later turned into McCrory. This wing always seemed to have a dooming dark cloud over it. It was always changing, sometimes having many vacancies off and on through even the heydays of the 70’s
Last time I was in this mall was 1984. I really missed the HUGE Sam Goody that used to be by the escelator/elevators on the lower level, relpaced by a smaller one upstairs near A&S. Rite Aid was cool too on the corner near the Discount Bambergers, for the fact It had adult magazines!
A kid always thinks it’s special to peek at those! They werent shrink wrapped at all back then. LOL
The upper level across from J.C. Penny was a great KB Toys. I bought and still have quite a few of the items from there. One of my main places to get My Car models and later my Star Wars Figures! This Toy store thrived being it was there before Toys R US was built across the highway.
Alexanders was Montgomery Wards 1st, then Alexanders then Caldors. I got my Atari 5200 there! That wing was the older part of the mall (the wing with the dooming dark cloud).
Near that wing, Hermans Sporting goods was the free standing sporting goods store that did not get enclosed in the 70’s remodel.
One of my other favorite things was the outside free standing Pizza place. Octagon or round in shape, you stood in there to eat. There were no tables that I can remember. A ledge indoors that went all around the windows where you stood to eat. It was just outsdie from the Bambergers Discount store.
At that Mall entrance was a fortune teller machine that was scary as hell. I remember it giving me nightmares as a small child! One just like it was later used in some late 1970’s/early 1980’s horror movie!
This mall was also the 1st place I encountered that had the NEW digital touch tone payphones. We’d entertain ourselves by pushing the buttons and checking the change chutes. We’d actualy find lots of change! Sometimes we’d leave the mall with more $ than we started out with!
Last thing, is the mall before the 70’s enclosure that I remember is the HUGE SNOWMEN they would put out by the roads by the entrances for Christmas. These things were so big, I would dream that Santa’s Workshops were inside of them! LOL
Later I remember Santa Arriving at Monmouth Mall via sky diving!
So..as you can see this mall holds LOTS of memories for me.
And there are many more I haven’t even broke the ice on!
Thanks again for resurrecting such fond memories. I appreciate it.
on February 27th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I remeber italian delight. I used to go there all the time for pizza. now you gotta eat that overpriced roman delight in the food court and the pizza aint to great believe me on that lol.and to answer monmouth malls question about the ground round it is closed and the chilis is a freestanding chilis. it was built in the early 2000’s ajacent to macy’s. you can see it from rt36 entering the mall coming off the parkway exit 105. the ground round is the american,mozzarellla whatever the heck that place is called. i forget correct me on the exact name. you guys are bringin up some great memories of oone of my favorite malls in jersey. someone should do a write up on seaview square but sadly the mall part was demolished =( I rember the kaybee by Jc penny as well i used to get my old atari 2600 games there and some nes games as well when toys r us and child world didn’t have them across the highway.
on March 2nd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Yeah, I would love posts about Seaview Square since it is long gone. I would also love pictures of it, since I remember it vaguely.
on March 4th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Let me paste a copy of my Seaview Square post here that I had placed in a Steinbach blog to share here:
I loved Seaview Square Mall. It was the closest to my house being I lived in Neptune. The Steinbachs was a gorgeous store, but lacked character and charm of the beautiful clasically styled grand one in Downtown Asbury Park that relocated here. But originally the new one had a sit down eating area as well.
Seaview had a doomed fate from the beginning. My Mom’s Cousin went to the grand opening of the Mall, a man was stabbed in the Steinbach Parking lot. He staggered into the Stienbach store for help when he then colapsed, right at her feet near the escalator. I don’t recall if he passed away or was dead at the scene. But..what a beginning! Whew!
This did not keep me away from this mall. I loved this Mall, loved it’s size. And had great anchors. Sears, Sterns and Steinbachs,
I loved the Food court in this mall. All your places to eat located together. Monouth Mall was older, so it had not adapted this concept yet. Seaview was the 1st time I EVER heard of a Chick-fil-a. Monmouth Mall never had one (does now however in the New Food Court it built). My favorite Scicilian Pizza was served by a great lil pizzaria that I unfortunately can’t recall the name of. I would make trips into that mall many a day after school just to grab a slice from there!
Seaview had a great McCrory’s and a great Aladin’s Castle arcade. And Seaview had a lot of stores that weren’t so frequent or common in other malls. It had an EXCELLENT Record Shop on the lower level called Record World (a TSS Record Shop), where I bought LOTS of my music at. And upstairs was a Listening Booth record shop as well! Next door to Record World was a great hobby type store where I got many art supplies for highschool.
Seaview did have a few sit down type restaurants. Gizmos was a restaurant you could sit down and eat at, and it had an arcade too! Bonaza restaurant was also upstirs which was also a sit down and eat near Sears. Gizmo’s had a tie in with Warner Bros. Lots of Looney Tunes imagery and mascots.
At Christmas they had the Talking Reindeer. I rememeber telling them I wanteed to find Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinati fame) under my tree christmas morning, and they did not respond! LOL
Mom would always run in and get things for the house at a store called Karen’s Kurtains. It was upstairs not too far from McCrory and Aladin’s Castle in the Steinbach wing.
There was a cool Rock N Roll/Musical Instrument shop downstairs in the Sears wing. It was near Rite Aid and across from Some bank near the bottom of the escalator that was on a corner with a walk through bee hive for the entrance. And it had one of the 1st MAC machines I remember.
I loved the huge theatre that was out in front of the mall. It preceeeeded the mall by quite a few years. It was not built specifically to go with this mall. It was renamed to go along with the mall when it was built. Later it became a multi-plex, but before then, it had one HUGE screen! It was the best place to see Star Wars or any loud action movie! This is what I missa bout movie going. These new multi-plexes have smaller screens.
There was another smaller mall built to the east of this mall. It contained Acme (a grocery store). and a drug store of some kind as well. I don’t think the few other retail spots were ever filled. It was built at the same time. I think that buliding survived the demolishing of Seaview and the properties redevelopement. But I have no idea what occupies it.
I sure would love to see this mall honored on this site with some photos. I would love to see some then and now images to compare. I do look at it every now and then using Google earth and compare from my memory. But photos would be so appreciated!
If Labelscar does create a section dedicated to this gone mall, I would love to have this blog moved to it’s page.
I ask all of you to please share your Seaview Quare Mall Memories with us!
Thanks!
on March 4th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
The theatre was a General Cinema,, they had locations statewide. Like SeaView, many theatres closed do to compitition from Loews & National Amusements with better theatres.
on March 4th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
The bank was Provident Bank, I remember walking through the Beehive entrance many times. The store by the ACME was Thrift Drugs, which eventually got swallowed by Eckerd. Pizza place was Rizzo’s Pizza.
Here is the Seaview Square Mall food court, from what I can remember beginning counter clockwise. Fanny Farmer, Orange Julius, (food store, cannot remember), Something Fishy, (fire exit), something called Hot Potato, or Stuffed Potato, Rizzo’s Pizza, Oriental Delight, Mc Fraden’s Deli, (fire exit), Hot Dog Works, (another one I cannot remember), then Burger Stop. Across from the food court was Chick Fil-A, Freedman’s Bakery, and on the other side of the Stern’s wing was Hot Sam.
Down the other end by McCrory’s was a sit-down Wendy’s with SuperBar, and a TCBY. Also, downstairs was a sit-down Sbarro near the Sears entrance. This mall had a lot of food choices, and Mc Donald’s made a brief appearance in the food court right before the mall closed. According to my map, memory, and tokens, the arcade from mid-1980’s on was Fun N Games, the same place that was in Ocean County Mall. Was it Aladdin’s Castle prior? I always loved this mall, and loved to see Snoopy on his doghouse from the glass elevator to the food court. I also remember the 2-level Jack La Lanne health club in the mall, with the pool and hot tub being connected via indoor walkway to a free-standing building behind the mall.
Where was the Bonanza in the mall? My mall map of Seaview is from 1988, and has no record.
I also have classic Mall Directories for Monmouth and Ocean. The Monmouth one still has the old buildings and Caldor wing in tact.
on March 4th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I drove by Monmouth Mall today and noticed that the Old Town Buffet restuarant outside next to Thomsville has closed. The sign was down and it was all dark inside.
Moving over to Seaview Square the music store was called Farrington’s Music. It was next to radio shack. Also upstais by Karins Kurtains and Fun And Games was a surf shop called Shore Image. It was operated by Feet First which was located downstairs between Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug. The Kay Bee toy store was much bigger in Seaview than in Monmouth Mall. Also there was a bedding store that sold only waterbeds called Suppier Sleep. It was located upstairs next to Sears.
Another interesting fact was that Seaview Square had a Coles Bookstore which was owned by Waldenbooks. I knew so many people who had bunk beds that were purchased from Pine Factory from that mall.
Seaview Square was a great mall because it always had baseball card shows many times each year.
on March 5th, 2008 at 12:13 am
On Seaview Square, it was very sad to see this place de-malled. I attribute it to the following:
- its location-while at a busy traffic circle, it has very little visibility from route 35 and can be easily missed from route 18. It was visible, slightly, from route 66, but no traffic signs gave a good heads up on the turnoff (”Shopping Center” is very vague and I always thought if the visibility stinks, put the name of the shopping center on the sign)
- Its REIT: They were unable to successfully market the mall as an alternative to Monmouth Mall and as a result, it could not attract big name leases. Because of this, people had little reason to come here. The mall could have easily been expanded and fully leased if the REIT put some time into the place.
- Movie theater as an outparcel: There used to be a small movie theater along the route 66 entrance, near the current locations of Applebees and WJLK. When malls have movie theaters as outparcels and not attached to the malls, there will be little reason or want for customers to visit the mall…Monmouth Mall, GS Plaza, and basically every mall that has a movie theater attached to it has realized this potential.
-Lack of dining options: A few fast food places and a food court with little access (only from the 2nd floor and they could have put a mall entrance in it to give it more visibility). To my memory, there were no sit down restaurants either….during this time Monmouth Mall had 4 or 5.
I miss the old Seaview Square, before the 1990s renovation…even before the Center Court remodel of the late 1980s…at either end of the mall underneath and around the escalators, there were fairly large fountains. The one in center court was huge, but was taken out in the late 1980s. After the construction, they took the two remaining fountains out and replaced them with tiny waterfalls underneath the escalators. The pastels of the new construction were hideous. The mall was classic and had a character to it that Monmouth Mall in its current state is missing.
on March 8th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I remember those waterfalls! Thanks for the memories.
on March 9th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Bonanza restaurant was upstairs not too far from Sears. It was across the way from the Waterbed store. I left the area in 1984, I am sure the mall changed quite a bit after I had left and before it’s demise.
When I frequented the Mall the Food Court was laid out a bit differently then.. Fanny Farmer and Orange Julius was there, but Blimpies Subs was also there, closer to where it came around near Chick Fil A.
Wendy’s, Sbarro and TCBY had not existed yet either in the Mall before I left the area. Sbarros, being it was downstairs next to sears had to have been in the original Rite Aid spot or the Providence Bank location with the huge bee hive.
I was in an older mall in Oklahoma recently and it had a DEB store in it that was an exact duplicate of the one in Seaview in the 70’s.
I loved that Coles Book store. I always seemed to find more books to my interest than any other book store in any mall.
I do remember the huge beautiful fountains. And I also remember the boardwalk type walkway around them as well. It fascinated me how they would drain all that and turn it into a winter wonderland for Christmas.
There was another type arcade/store that was across form McCrory on the Upper level….
…They had a few of the 1st sit down table top type arcade games I can remember. Plus that store focused on selling anything game related as well. Dart Boards, Board games, bumper pool tables… retail stuff like that. Was that called Fun and Games? Aladins Castle was a play type only arcade, not a retail store at all, and it was in an upper wing back on the top floor near the back upper level entrance. These two acrade type places co-existed when I was there.
And i do remember the Pine Factory Store! Almost forgot about that.
Wow, such memories. I am really enjoying this trip back in time!
Dave Lansing,
These old mall directories you have..can you take pics and post them? I would love to see these!
Thanks again to all!
on March 13th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Hello all,
Thanks for this forum and the chance to relive a lot of old memories that I have since forgotten.
I worked at both Seaview Square and Monmouth malls, in both cases after the upgrades, but was going to those malls since I was a kid, back in the late 70’s and forward.
I have a pretty vivid memory of both malls but there is so much I had forgotten that I have been reminded of by reading these posts. When I worked at Monmouth Mall there was this older guy who use to to matainence in the mall and was there for decades. He said he had old directories and I asked him a few times if I could have some or at least see them, but unfortunately I never got either. So yeah..if anyone has any directories from this time period, me and I’m sure everyone else would love to see them.
I have maybe 3 photos of Seaview prior to the renovations. I will try to post them somewhere soon and share. The aren’t great and only show a bit of the mall. But one of them is of Fubar the robot. Anyone remember him? He was a remote controlled robot at least the size of an adult and very wide. He use to talk to shoppers, sing, dance, and so on. It was a real treat if you got to talk to him and see him. I was fortunate enough to get my picture with him and also have one of the maps he use to spit out of his chest. Not a mall map, but a map of his universe I guess. I will try and post both soon.
In regards to Seaview Squre, does anyone remember before the renovation that there were I believe 2 staircases at either end of the mall with these huge white clocks? I remember a lot of red and orange tones and a wood floor. Some other stores I remember are Mr. Pipe, Tid-bit Alley, Care on the Square, Orange Julius (which later bacame Derby dog, I think Oriental express too. Sears, Sterns and Steinbachs rounded out the 3 anchor stores. There was a McCrory in the steinbach’s wing across from Karin’s Kurtains.
In regards to Monmouth, I remember the Orange Julius there being more isolated from the rest of the mall. I remember there were also a lot of outside stores such as a Vaccuum cleaner store outside on the way to the outdoor arcade. The arcade was very dark and dingy, which was fitting for the mall, and had a warped pool table.
I remember the golden castle phones well and vaguely remember the fairy tales they use to tell. The McCrory’s had a small grill on one side of it where I would have fries. That wing was dead and also had I think a hobby store by Burger King, Record Town (or world), New York Steakhouse, a long corridor that housed the restrooms, and a Chinese restaurant (maybe Jade Garden???). They always looked so bored in there.
I’ll try to conjure up other memories that I have from both malls and post them. If I can dig up any other information about the malls I will as well. Thanks for the memories.
on March 13th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
The Chinese restaurant was called Wok Express. When it closed it Monmouth mall it reopened in Seaview Square in the food court next to Derby Dog.
Seaview Square also had a store downstairs between Rite Aid and Deb called We R Tops that made those T-Shirts with the ironed on decals. There was also a small fotomat in the middle of the mall where they would send out your film to be developed and it would take weeks to come in.