Comments on: East Towne Mall; Madison, Wisconsin

By: Rex Preston

Rex Preston — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:24:45 +0000

@Ann Trummer, hello from Rex. Ted died in 1995, but I am still kicking in Phoenix AZ dba Old Moon Corporation. I was just talking about you to the person I work with, and he decided to do a search for Rex Preston Wisconsin. I had told him about our time at P&H and our meeting at that craft store where you were the head of customer service at Point Loomis.

By: Ann Trummer

Ann Trummer — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:35:10 +0000

@Rick, Rex Preston was a very dear friend of mine. I used to work with him at Harnischfeger when he and Ted planned the Moon Fun Shop. I also met Ted through Rex and one time assisted him on stage at one of his magic shows. I think of Rex so often. Do you know anything about what happened to him after the Moon Fun Shops closed? I tried on line but can’t find anything. I still think of dear Rex often. Would you know anything. I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you.
Ann

By: David

David — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:43:10 +0000

@Prange Way,

Manchester opened two stores away from their flagship on the Capitol Square around 1960. They moved their Westgate store to West Towne (where the food court is now) when West Towne opened, but they kept their store at East Side Shopping Center (or Madison East SC, across from where Johnson St. runs into E. Washington) until it was closed (early ’80s IIRC). That would have been after Chapman’s had bought Manchester’s. I don’t remember the exact order, but it seems that the West Towne Manchester’s lasted longest.

By: Chery Z

Chery Z — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:52:47 +0000

@Vintage Glory,

Cant forget the County Seat….. Best Place to purchase jeans and cords!!!!

By: Chery Z

Chery Z — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:49:12 +0000

@Dave T in AZ,

Yes, the bar in the Mall was called Backstage and they were FAMOUS for thier Oscars! Those were the days of no worries! Moon Fun, Sam’s, Spencers, York Steak House…. Wish we could go back to that for a moment!

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:21:30 +0000

Bruce the Spruce! That was my own personal version of “A Christmas Story” (with me being Ralphie of course). I would come down to East Towne from about a hundred miles north to sort through the fake forest to see Bruce. Oddly enough, I thought a talking conifer was more believable than a fat guy in a red suit. The one thing I remember for sure, he was not in Prange’s/Prange Way (I worked for them for years). My recollection was that they set up that holiday set in the Sears store.

On another note, I was working for Younkers (Prange’s) when we completed the huge renovation of the East Towne store (now Boston Store) when the dingy little Prange Way was evicted, the Younkers extended into its former shell, and all that pink marble floor was put down (to the delight of the store manager at that time).

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:47:36 +0000

Wasn’t the drug store across from York Steakhouse a Rennebohm’s? This was a ubiquitous chain around Madison for decades until it eventually sold out to the Walgreens and other national chains.

Also, does anyone else remember visiting Bruce the Spruce, the talking spruce tree that I think used to sit by Prange Way? He only appeared at Christmas time.

Great memories of East Towne Mall – going with my mom in the 70s and then running amok there with my friends in the 80s.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:08:34 +0000

I remember going into York Steak House and having to give your order verbally to the host, they would repeat your order to the cooks in French!!? I ordered the #4, which was the steak sandwich (would kill for one today) which was something like the ‘four bien twee’ when he would repeat it to the cook. haha

The malls today are terrible (both WT & ET). The need to get rid of the Kiosks (and their carny workers that try to accost you to like you are at some local fair) and STOP SPRAYING THAT NASTY PERFUME/COLOGNE at Abercrombie and all the other stupid teen clothes stores. I can’t get that stank out of my nose or off my clothes for the rest of the day…just from walking by in the hall. Refuse to shop at either mall until they eliminate both kiosks and agent orange nuke spraying of nasty perfume…

By: regularjoe

regularjoe — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:13:29 +0000

@bill,

The Ponderosa was across the street [E. Washington Ave.]

There was a steak house in the mall, it was called ‘York Steak House’ and it was located right inside the door where the current food court is. At the time, there was no food court but there were a couple of restaurants scattered in the mall. I recall a Burger King begin close to the Spencer Gifts.

Anyone with photos of the mall, especially the old benches and the center court circa late 70s/early 80s, as well as Christmas decor photos, please feel free to email them to

regularjoe1365@yahoo.com

By: Gary

Gary — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:07:53 +0000

@Corey Coyle, Westmoreland Mall near Pittsburgh, which is a CBL mall, still has three fountains in there. They were installed during a renovation in 1994 and are still there to this day despite the mall receiving a few cosmetic improvements here and there.