Golden East Crossing up the road really took the wind out of Tarrrytown’s sails and it never really recovered. For most of the 1990s it was a lot of local stores, a few hangers-on that hadn’t moved to be tenants or closer to Golden East, and a kind of continuing flea-market/dirt mall thing that had set up at the former Kerr Drugs location.

While it may have spent the 1990s on life support, I can vividly recall visiting it in the 80’s in my infrequent trips to Rocky Mount and it was quite a sight, especially around Christmas.

It’s a shame it was not long for the world even before the flood came, but Rocky Mount lost a lot of things to Hurricane Floyd. While I do miss it, it’s great that the land could be re-used as Rocky Mount has a lot of vacant retail that sits around unused.

If you were at Tarrytown Mall in the 1990’s, then there wasn’t really too much to remember. I remember going there growing up in the 80’s and 90’s and I think it lost a lot of it’s character once they got rid of the water fountains. There were a lot and it seemed like they did fountains rather than plantars along the concourse. It’s funny, cause I remember thinking, as a kid, that every mall should have water fountains after numerous trips to Tarrytown.

What else? I remember J. Royal. It was a clothing store, and I think it was somewhere near the center where the main traverse intersected another that lead away from Goody’s (Roses back in the day?). J. Royal had an old MG from the ’50’s in the front of the store. Apparently the battery was still connected because I hit the horn once when I was a kit and got an angry look from one of the employees.

Let’s see, what else can I remember….In front of the Goody’s was a large stage like area that was lower than the floor itself. It think it was surrounded by waterfountains and had green carpet. To the left of the stage was a grill which became Monk’s Grill (then Andy’s) and right beside it was a toy store (I think KayBee). I also remember what Philip mentioned about the high ceilings with wiindows at the top.

What else? The MW was on the left side of the mall, and there was another anchor on the right. I don’t remember what I was, but I think I was some sort of CJ Woodmasters type of store. Also the K&W Cafeteria was right at the front. Oh, and the Kerr Drugs also had very retro looking green carpet in it too.

Hopefully this description was somewhat helpful. If you have ever been in an older mall from the 60’s-70’s, a lot of the styling was the same prior to Tarrytown’s remodeling in the ’90’s. Sad to see it destroyed by Floyd.

Our next door neighbor was a barber. He was an original mall tenant, with his shop near Roses.

I believe that Roses was an original tenant also. I believe this as I won a model building contest that Roses was sponsoring when I was 12 or so. Also, my dog won a dog talent show when I was 13 or so, and the Evening Telegram ran a picture of me holding her.

We saw the glow in the night sky from our front porch the evening that the mall burned. It burned the barber shop among other stores. Our neighbor reopened his shop on Sunset Blvd near the A&P store.

Our first Rocky Mount home was totally destoryed by Hurricane Flloyd’s floods. It too is torn down.

We would ride our bikes past WEED radio station to get to the mall. Occasionally we would stop in. The DJs were cool and we all got used 45’s from time to time from ther DJs. Englewood Market was across the steet. It was a source of baseball cards and candy.

It was great living there.

So long Tarrytown!! You were a grand lady in your day!! And we miss you!!

Restaurants came and went, but we’ll always remember Zolly’s (thank you Betty and Joe). Years later there was the Grill and others. The K&W always forgot it was a chain and treated everyone as a regular. Over the next 30 years, stores came and went and Tarrytown was important to Rocky Mount for many of those years.

There was a large fire at Tarrytown in the summer of 1966 or 1967. I remember listening to the voice traffic on a ‘police’ scanner. It took the RMFD a number of hours to get the fire under control and out. Gossip around town had the mall obliterated (this was long before instant info via cyberspace), but fortunately most of the stores suffered only minor smoke and nuisance damage. It certainly made for some great buys for the ‘back-to-school’ wardrobe that filled my closet that year.

Tarrytown was a hub of community activity for many years and this should not be forgotten. There was a sense of community there not found in today’s malls. This mall was host to craft fairs, antique shows, boat shows, talent events, awards ceremonies, job fairs, civic events and community fund raisers. From junior high on into adult life I can remember volunteering for civic-service events including health fairs and screenings, safety fairs, book collections, blood-mobiles, jail-a-thons, kettle bell ringing, etc. For a few years we were blessed to have a teen center located there headed by Gerald Niece.

The huge Christmas tree most often was used to gather gifts for children who might not otherwise have any gifts. Local schools and churches showcased their youths’ talents ‘center stage’ opposite the tree.

Tarrytown was the site for special events including high school proms, concerts, and other entertainment (Jerry Butler, Barbara Lewis, etc.). One highlight for me (besides my junior prom) was Charles Kuralt and Loonis McGlohon et. al. performing the narrative & song-filled “North Carolina Is My Home” center-stage at Tarrytown.

So many years went by and Tarrytown was showing its wear and tear, not to mention store failures (MW, Kerr) and vacancies. It was sad to see. I had moved away from Rocky Mount by the time TS Floyd ravaged the mall in September 1999. During a visit just weeks before the storm, I visited the new Charter school located on the west side of the mall with a friend whose daughter attended there. It was encouraging to see an invigorating use for the failing commercial center.

During my many visits after Floyd, it was saddening to see the rotting, neglected mall set there for years: the stilled clock, the leftover signage, the boarded up MW; the many questions about why it was left standing. We viewed Tarrytown during multiple visits every year from Dunkin’ early in the mornings – my brother’s favorite coffee haunt – it was disgusting on all levels – toxic, dangerous, ugly, and more.

At least now there is new life coming to the site. I hope it does Rocky Mount proud.