Comments on: PREIT Purchases Former Strawbridge’s Flagship Store

By: Peco

Peco — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 02:42:56 +0000

I moved out of the region for a bit, and returned after the Macy’s acquision of Philadelphia’s “Strawbridge’s” and New England’s “Filene’s” (where I lived). I went downtown to the old “Strawbridge’s” location at the Gallery and was saddened that it was CLOSED! I had no idea! But I guess the outcome made sense considerring the former Lord & Taylor turining into Macy’s a couple blocks away. In any event, I began ponderring ways the Strawbridge’s location can be saved! Imagine if Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Sears, or Nordtrom were to buy it! (Noticeably off the list is “Boscov’s”.. I HATE BOSCOV’S!) It could likely help contribute to the revitilization of the Gallery, East Market Street, Center City, and Philadelphia in general! I MISS THE OLD STRAWBRIDGE’S! Any effort to save the building I so support!!!

By: Irene

Irene — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:30:33 +0000

I grew up in Philadelphia and over the course of the ’90s and early 2000’s, the Gallery changed drastically.

Eventhough Gimbel’s left in the ’80s (my mother used to talk about this a lot), JC Penney and Strawbridge &Clothier stayed at the mall for a while. I remember going to the mall in the ’90s for shopping for clothes and CDs and the convenient part was that the subway and commuter trains all stopped at the mall. So, if you lived in Philly’s neighborhoods like I did, you could take the train from your street and it would take you directly to the mall.

But, in the early 2000’s, Strawbridge&Clothier just became Strawbridge’s and K-Mart also became part of the mall. I can’t recall the year, but around 2000 or 2001, the mall became, as we locals call it, really “ghetto” and dirty. I used to take the subway home from high school and would stop at the mall to go to the smaller food court (the mall had a larger one farther inside and a smaller one near the train station which had an Adam’s Cafe, Village Pizza, a Chinese place, and I believe either a Popeye’s or some other Chicken place). Anyway, I would wander around the mall out of boredom and it was mostly taken over by bored high school students like myself who were just simply urban mallrats. The store selection had changed I recall there was a KB Toys in the mall and The Wall music store, and several clothing stores in the ’90s (I recall buying a pair of sneakers there in 1997). By 2000, KB and most of the clothes stores were gone and The Wall was replaced by a disorganized FYE.

I don’t live in the city anymore, but I went by there in 2006 or 2007 and the mall definitely had gone downhill from what I remember as a high school student. Basically, the only thing the Gallery is good for now is air conditioning and as a subway stop.

Also, the Philadelphia area has another mall, the Cheltenham Mall, which is on the city line in the northwest section of the city. Ironically, in the ’90s, it was revered to as the “ghetto” mall because of it’s proximity to the northwest part of the city and housing projects and also because of a really dark, dingy, extremely dated (and almost Shore Mall, AC-like) interior. Valu-City and Burlington Coat Factories were the main anchors. But, in this decade, a movie theater was built next to the mall, which seems to be drawing more traffic.

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:47:17 +0000

My wife and I recently visited the Art Museum and arrived via suburban Septa train at Market East station. We decided to walk through the Gallery, and there certainly has been quite a transformation to “dollar” value retail. I was attending school in Phila. when the Gallery opened, and it was quite exciting at the time (long before the arrival of the convention center transformed the area in general). Many of the independent cart vendors in the Gallery are now scented oil/incence stands; put your picture on a t-shirt; and cell phone add-ons that blink colorful led lights. A few hangers-on are still there: Radio Shack; The Camera Shoppe; and other mall standards. The biggest shock came when coming out of the Gallery onto Market Street. We were met by someone shouting into a microphone with the amplifier set to 10; and several others pounding on boxes and plastic buckets with sticks. This noise echoed back and forth between both sides of Market Street, and could be heard for several blocks as we walked. Any good points noticed? Well, if I think of any I’ll come back and post them. Perhaps I’ll take a few photos and send them to update your web site. I very much enjoy the history of retail stores . . . particularly in urban and “downtown” settings. I’ve been enjoying your site for several nights now.

By: John delacio

John delacio — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:55:08 +0000

Where is the great juice bar “ENERJUICER”?
Did they move somewhere?
I need my energy back. There is other fresh fruit concept like that anywhere.

By: Jonah Norason

Jonah Norason — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:30:50 +0000

The mall may have been the first time I was so close to a mall I didn’t know it. At least since I started looking for them (as I had passed Hammond Square for years and did not see it, possibly because it was 6 in the morning)

By: SEAN

SEAN — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:11:20 +0000

3 words KING OF PRUSSIA. That is were the high profile stores go not phili. Plus you have roosevelt mall & franklin mills-but mills is also faltering.

By: Jonah N

Jonah N — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 23:52:30 +0000

There was a mall there? I parked on the parking lot adjoining Strawbridge’s! I saw “Strawbridge and Clothier”. It made me sad, really. Shouting “It’s all Macy’s fault!” would make me an idiot, so I didn’t.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 00:17:18 +0000

The best thing that could happen to the Gallery is to demolish it. The mall’s design is so outlandishly 1970s, that it’s not attractive or practical for today’s retailers. All the levels — even the lower level — have split-level features. So you can walk up a few flights of steps to enter one store but you then must walk down a few more for the store next door. Crime is and has been a problem for some time. This mall is frequented almost exclusivley by gangsta-rap loving truants looking for trouble. The few stores left open are music shops, discount shoe stores and dollar stores. In short, the Gallery was a great idea when it was proposed in the 1970s but it was executed poorly. It should be leveled and re-developed. How about a Super Target instead?

By: Matt from CLT

Matt from CLT — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:52:37 +0000

Going to the GaME is definitely an experience, and I hope that PREIT can revitalize the place. Even though I’ve been there only once, I was saddened to hear of Macy’s closing Strawbridge’s. What a grand old store she was — all 7 floors of her! Shopping there was a step back in time.

Love the site…

Matt