Escondido Village Mall
Escondido, California. 1960's
Some wild psychedelic colors here, and a really ambitious (and busy) lighting array! I would've loved to have seen this baby lit up in the evening. Bet it was sweet.
Sadly, this colorful mall is no more. Like so many others, it's now a strip mall. According to info on the web, it had been extensively remodeled in the 1980s, so the incredible view you see here, was probably gone after that (if not before).
When it opened in 1964, officials boasted that it was the first fully enclosed mall in the state "where you can stroll from one store to another without touching a door--or even seeing one."
posted by Keith @ 6/29/2005
94 Comments:
that is so beautiful that it brings a tear to my eye...
Just think, that picture recorded less than a second of a moment of time. It would be wild to see it come to life (or any of the other mall pics).
Thanks, Batgirl69! I agree.
And that would be awesome wouldn't it, Dooku!? Don't think there's anything I can to make that happen--but I'll definitely look into it! ;)
Where's a time machine when you need one? Oh well, guess this blog will have to do for now. And in a way, that is actually part of its purpose.
I grew up a few blocks from here. Unfortunately I wasn't born until 1976. This picture does bring back memories and although the decor was changed drasticly i do remember the chocolate brick floor sections. Thanks for posting this mall.
oh, ya. I was there. I was 7 years old when we moved to California and that mall had just opened. I spent many a days going back and forth looking for boys! ha! I had my first job when I was 15 1/2 at the "Books Unlimited". My fondest memory was watching the live DJ broadcast radio at KOWN. Ah, the memories flood back. Thanks for the ride. Norma Rose
Wow. This photo of Escondido Mall is absolute ecstasy. I'm in awe.
Thanks for the cool comments and memories, folks!
Hey I mentioned that I would have loved to have seen how this mall looked at night, well, I managed to dig up a couple of nighttime shots! Not great quality, but at least you can get an idea of it. I'll be posting those real soon.
I was born and raised in Escondido during that time frame. I remember the mall well. It's sad now to look at it and remember what it was like. I spent a lot of time walking through there.
We may not be able to go back in time, but we can easily recreate or replace these malls. Or at least create our own 'retro malls' just like any other modern shopping centre but in the design of the 60s or 70s. Perhaps we should all lobby for one to be built...
I can still remember as a kid walking from 2nd street going to the toy store that was near the Walker Scott. If anyone can remember the name?
to anonymous The toy store was called Toy Kingdom and I live on 2nd ave as well I use to buy my tyco racing cars there
Yeah, I remember that toy store because my girlfriend, Donna, used to work there. It was a fun place.
What about Chuck's Steak House, that's where I worked. Another cool spot.
WOW, that brought back a flood of 1960's Escondido memories. I recall looking through the glass at the KOWN station and reading the news stories still on the printers. Also, one year the local car dealers set up a car show in the Mall. Wonderful years, gone forever
I was a teenager in Escondido when this mall opened in 1964. Although unremarkable by today's standards, at the time it was touted as the "golden future" of retail shopping: totally enclosed, antiseptically clean, air conditioned, with oodles of free parking. There were two "anchor stores"-- Sears Roebuck, and an upscale department store known as Walker-Scott. I suppose I was one of California's original "mall rats". The Mall was a place to go and see and be seen. As others have noted, KOWN-AM, the local radio station, had its studios located at the west end behind large glass walls that enabled you to see the goings-on. At least one year, 1968, the mall was the venue for the Escondido High School Prom. Sometime in the 80's, the property development firm owned by the family of actor Tom Selleck purchased the mall, gutted it, and converted it into just another tacky, cheap-looking, outdoor strip mall. It was great while it lasted....
Geez! I SO remember that. The little sunken area in front of Walker-Scott. Wasnt a grocery store anchored at the east end? (Mayfair, maybe?) I also remember when they expanded it to add Sears (with the mosaic tile art above the doors) and also there was an ice cream parlor on the west end. What was the name of that place?
Yes, the supermarket at the east end was "Mayfair". The ice cream parlor down at the west end, near the KOWN-AM studios was "Ferrell's". It's a horrible pity what that area--and in fact most of the town--have turned into.
Believe it or not, the mosaic tile artwork on the external walls of the Sears store was considered so distinctive and original, it was saved from destruction when Sears vacated, and was moved to another building closer to central Escondido.
I worked at KOWN here and at the Vineyard after they moved. Also at the donut cart for a little while. BTW, before the east end was Farrel's, it was Ting's Drug Store, which used to be at Grand and Broadway.bafzi
I did see it lit-up at night. I was born & raised in escondido. I remember the village mall with great affections, the christmas tree with spraying snow display in front of walker scotts, the tg&y across for the wagon wheel, the orange julius down by the sears, also the farrels ice cream, I remember in the seventies when the mall was getting trashy, millers outpost,pets n things where some of the last (new) retailers to go in before they closed it up & gutted it. I don't live in california anymore, but that mall will always live in my memories
Yes, Escondido's desirability as a place to live tanked in the early 1970's right along with the Village Mall. Walker Scott's was a classy department store, and I can actually recall getting a little "dressed up" to go to the Mall for Christmas shopping--it was a classy venue in which to see and be seen. Whenever we went there we saw someone we knew. Go there now and all you will meet is some greasy slob changing his oil in the parking lot.
the east end of escondido's village mall stunk because of the beauty salon...stunk like sulpher/ammonia.permanent wave solution fumes.prom 1968 thank goodness I didnt go!Still miss Chucks steak house.graduated from Golden Future...wow..the memories.
I remember Christmas shopping with my aunt at the Village Mall in 1972then going accross the street to the Jack in the Box. The JB is still there but the Village Mall is an unrecognizable dump now.
As an Escondido High School student in the mid 1960s, I recall how prestigious it was to land a "Mall job" over the Christmas or summer breaks, especially at Walker Scott or Sears. I toiled elsewhere in town, and I could not imagine getting paid to work in an air-conditioned building.
Yes, an incredible and sorely missed mall. I moved here in 1973, and I too remember the KOWN radio station's glass window next to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, as well as the record store, Village Records. I also recall many times taking my children to the snowfall tree in the sunken stair centre in front of Walker-Scott Department store and having their photos with Santa Claus up until the mid 1980's. These days that area of town (and what's left of the Escondido Village Mall) is rife with gangs and other such nonsense that would NEVER have been allowed to thrive back in the day. Tacky is such a tame word, but to be civil, I shall have to concur with the poster who penned that missive.
I will never forget Walker Scott's department store at Christmas time, nor the KOWN studios, nor the Books Unlimited store, etc. All were hallmarks of an Escondido in a time past, when the town had some class, when you could always get dressed up, go to the Mall and see someone you knew. Now it's an open strip mall with graffiti and gangs. Believe me, "tacky" does not BEGIN to describe what's left of the mall now.
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I bought my first seal of crystal meth in the bathroom at walker scott on the ground level in the mens clothing dept from a low life wearing a trucker hat and a dirty levi jacket
I did an unforgettable (at least for me) Christmas acrobatics recital in that sunken area in front of Walker-Scott.
We lived in Poway, so a trip to the Escondido mall in the 60s was kind of a big deal. As kids, we always looked forward to eating at Sir George's Buffet. I was especially into the carrot raisin salad.
Of course, that was before Farrell's, which trumped any other restaurant for kids.
This was a delightful place that I remember with fondness. At Christmas, they had animated decorations in the sunken area in front of Walk Scott, with snowmen that went up and down, reindeer, and other things.
When I was in high school, small groups of band members would travel through the mall playing Christmas carols for shoppers.
As someone above noted, we would dress up (a little bit) for a trip to the mall.
We thought the colored balls hanging from the ceiling were beautiful.
I actually found this site because I was trying to remember the name of TG&Y. Didn't it have a tag after it's name that was something like 5 cents, 10 cents & $1.00 ? That's what I was trying to remember.
It was fun to watch the D.J. at KOWN, and many fun times where had at Ferrell's. Golden Fabrics? and/or House of Fabrics seemed like a goldmine of fabric, I'm glad someone mentioned Ting's Drugstore. I had forgotten they used to be at the mall. I remember going to Ting's on Grand Avenue for medicine, and to get the required 'bathing cap' for swimming at the Grape Day Plunge (pool). The tile from Sears is memorable. I remember going to Mayfair market and seeing a woman ask the cashier to put the coins directly into her coin purse so that her fingers wouldn't contact the germs on the coins.
Walker Scott was an impressive store when it opened. Before that, one shopped at either Sears or J.C. Penney or the Kiddie's Shop on Grand for any clothing (or the rich women went to The Mercantile).
I have many fond memories of the mall. I used to go there every year to sign up for little league. I would spend hours there with my friends. The toy store was called Toy Kingdom. Practically lived at Farrell's. Used to get all of my Boy Scout stuff at Walker Scott. My Grandmother was a chef at Sir Georges. It was a great place to hang out. Back in the day if was very safe and secure. Went to crap later in the eighties. That is all that I have without going on for hours. Those are the moments we need to bring back for our kids.
Frank, I hear you. For me, Christmas just was not complete without a trip or two to see Walker Scott's all dressed up for the season. Does anyone remember "Sound Town" just next to the WS entrance? They transferred some of my beloved LPs to 8-track tapes, the absolute ULTIMATE in sophistication in the mid-60s!!! I actually got to appear on a KOWN radio program focused on high school activities in 1967. It was a big thrill sitting on the other side of the glass walls for a change. Hot Stuff!!!
I had a mad, raging crush on a girl from my high school who worked after school at Walker Scctt. WS had very high standards for appearance for its sales staff, and the rule for women was skirts, tasteful make-up, etc. I finally ran out of excuses to drop in ("I was just in the neighborhood.") and that was that.
Here's the Escondido Village Mall in better days, being visited by former President Regan:
http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/library/pioneer/reagan.htm
I grew up in Escondido and this mall was a big part of my life and memories. I remember as a small child going to see the Christmas decorations with my parents and seeing Santa Claus. I was afraid of the arcade on the east end; it was always so loud and dark in there! I loved Ferrell's but the San Diego Zoo thing they did was another thing that used to scare me as a small kid. The waiters running around with that table and the drum freaked me out. My grandmother worked at Walker Scott for some time. Anybody remember the barber shop with the shoe shine chair outside? I always got Bazooka bubble gum whenever we went there. Yes, that whole area has gone to pot now. I now live overseas but always remember my childhood in Escondido, CA. I also graduated from Escondido High in 1989.
I served in the Army in the early 1970's, and coming home on leave was sometimes a boring and sad affair because so many of my high school classmates had moved out of the area. During the Christmas holiday season, however, I always knew I could go to the Mall and see someone I knew. It's sad, what it's become over the last several years.
The Village Mall was a great place. The main lobby was in front of the Walker Scott store shown in the photo at the top of the post; Scotts was a two-story store, so the lobby's glass entrance was also two-story, floor to ceiling. The big oval pit in the middle was used for seasonal displays and such, but could be covered over when not in use. The two wings of the mall branched out from there; the west end began with an S&H Green Stamp redemption center and ended with KOWN and Farrell's Ice Cream; the east wing started with Village Records and ran down past Sir George's Smorgasbord and TG&Y (a later expansion that pushed out the rear of the building) to end at a massive Mayfair Market. Sears was a separate building, but was connected in later years by a huge canvas tent that spanned the yards between the two buildings. And yes, those overhead lights were fantastic! In the single-story wings of the mall, they had shapes like UFOs or flattened Japanese lanterns. Awesome stuff. The nearby wood-clad Vineyard Mall with it's 3-story silhouette of Laurel & Hardy is also now gone, except for one restaurant excised from the whole. The Fed-Mart across the street became a Ralph's for many years, but is now a skanky $5 clothing outlet (pretty much a metaphor for the entire town).
I was born and raised in Escondido; No longer live there, but I visit there about every year or so on business. It truly is a shame what the town has turned into. My Dad (deceased) was a local businessman. I shudder when thinking how he'd react to Esoondido's condition today, especially the Village Mall.
We moved to Escondido in 1969, and a few years later my sister and I would go to piano lessons (anyone remember that music store?). I remember hating the lessons, but going just to get a doughnut at the Donut Cart, an actual cart or at least made to look like a big white cart with a wagon wheel on the facade. Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor was packed on Saturday nights. After church dances, we would always go there en masse. That thing the waiters did with The Zoo, with the loud sirens and running around with the chair, was crazy. That dish of ice cream fed a ton of people (Wasn't there some prize for a person who finished one alone?). I just read that Farrell's is coming back, with the original menu and everything (http://www.farrellsusa.com/index.php). Sir George's Buffet was great too...I just remember it was a family treat, and my huge family could really pile up the plates. I loved the huge mural of Laurel & Hardy on the outside of the theater that went in later at the Vineyard. Pretty classy place.
Although the KOWN studios were located in the west end of the mall, the actual transmitter was located further west on Hale Avenue. In the mid 1960's the "format" was current rock, such as Hermans Hermits, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, etc. I can actually remember calling in with a requett, and darned if they wouln't play it for you (eventually).
In reply to an earlier poster:
Many many moons ago, in Escondido here was a store called Reese's Music. It was across from the (then) Escondido City Hall. While I was growing up there, Reese's certainly cornered the market for pianos, organs, sheet music, etc.
C'mon folks, this log is going to go the way of all flesh unless there is some more input. There must be more former and current Escondidans out there who can share memories.
I used to watch the dj for KOWN for hours. What was the name of the buffet there? Sir Georges? That was a special treat for us as kids.
Yep, it was Sir George's Smorgasbord. It was a favorite past-time of one of my buddies to try and make the KOWN DJ laugh.
Oh My Gosh - seeing that picture takes me back. My family moved to Escondido in July of 1967. I turned 4 in November of that year. does anyone remember the snow of 1967 in Escondido? the town looked beautiful covered in white. I still have pictures posing by some kind of bush that had tiny orange-red berries and I was wearing a yellow hoodie. Anyway - the Village Mall was great for me growing up in the 70's. here are some of the stores I remember in the mall - Thurles Music, Books Unlimited, TG&Y, Walker Scott, Sir George's Smorgasbord, Rose Furniture, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, Mayfair, S&H Greenstamp Redemption Center, Orange Julius, some maturnity clothes shop, Thom McAn shoes, a barber shop, smoke shop, a cobbler shop(shoe repair). The sunken pit area that had a white iron fence around it was cool during the holidays. And I remember the huge face Christmas tree that spewed fake snow from the top. the high ceiling and the multi-shaped lighting fixtures that hung on a skinny line. I used to shout in that huge center room main entrance area in front of Walker Scott to hear my echo. What fun that was. I wanna see more pictures if anyone knows where they can be found. Looking back, I wish I had thought to take pictures from one end of the mall to the other, documenting all the stores. Thanks for the great stories everyone has posted.
If I close my eyes I can picture the mall as I walk from one end to the other. some stores I can remember, but others are foggy Ah - the good old days of my youth
Paste this into your browser:
http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/library/pioneer/reagan.htm
I've looked all over the web for more photos, but this was all I could find. I think there were 1-2sites that were "construction" related.
Sorry, "My Bad". Try this link instead of the previous one.
http://www.library.escondido.org/pioneer/reagan.htm
Just found this post on the old Mall and the other commenters have jogged a lot of memories for me. Yeah, we were pretty much the first mall rats in California.
My family and I moved to Escondido from San Jose in 1964, I was 13 and I remember by dad telling me they had a "mall" in Escondido. I had no idea what a mall was but I found it. The EVM quickly became the hub for teenagers, it was the place to be along with the McDonald's across the intersection from the west end of the mall.
Orange Glen High School had their prom at the EVM in 1969, the year I graduated. Car dealers put cars on display in the mall and there was even a motorcycle display there once, long before bikes were all that acceptable.
Bummer to see what the old mall has become, the whole town for that matter, just another piece of "Generica." But the world changes and we do too, whether we realize it or not. I wonder what kids today will remember about their town in 40+ years?
I think that the music store in Escondido Village Mall was Thearle's. Or maybe it was spelled Thearl's. They had a big store in San Diego.
There was also a music store in the Washington Square shopping center, next to Grant's and Crown Books and Thrifty Drug Store. That was Fender's Music.
And the longtime music store on Grand at Valley was Reese's.
I used to work for KOWN! It was an exciting time for a young kid. The Farrells Ice cream was a big draw. I liked the soup place too. Cute girls worked there!
Yes, I too have fond memories of the that beautiful mall when we first went there in '74 and later during the late 70's and early 80's.
Remember how the kids loved to skip or run up or down the incline that joined the two areas of the mall and how nice and wide it was - plenty of walking width. When we lived in Oceanside for a year, we continued to drive over to the Esc. Village Mall to browse and shop, especially the hobby shop next to TG&Y and later when a frozen yoghurt shop moved in somewhere near the Chinese restaurant. How times have changed! I used to frequent the tobacco shop as a teenager just to smell the wonderful aromatic pipe tobaccos, feeling out of place amongst the one or two tweed-capped men looking at the pipes and tobacco. I also remember the Gem & Mineral Show that was held indoors one year. My dad loved that as well as the RV Show outside the parking lot that they had another year. I'm glad to remember it as it was as I haven't been to California in over 3 decades due to the high cost of living there, or anywhere west for that matter (west of the Rocky Mountains).
One year, I believe in the mid1960's, the local Cadillac dealer and the British (MG, I believe) dealer put on a car show in the central area of the Mall. I was 14 at the time. The British cars seemed so tiny and the Cadillac Fleetwoods so immense! It seems odd now that Escondido would have been cosmopolitan enough to have had an MG dealer, but it was!!!
I grew up in Escondido and lived about 2 miles from the mall. I went there on a regular basis with my mom, seemed like it was everyday we were there to do shopping. I loved Farrells and Orange Julius...as I got older like starting at 12 yrs old me and my girlfriends from school would save our money all week to go hang out there all sat and sun.It was so much fun!! we would run into just about everyone there..as a teen I loved that clothing store for teens I think it was called "fashion conspiracy" They had the cutest and most trendiest clothes there lol,for teenage girls. I Remember well the Christmas displays and decorations. and the green stamp place,lol. and my mom loved Walker Scotts, TG&Y, Sears, Hicory Farms OMG! always smelt so good! I was a dancer at Georgia's dance studio on Grand Ave. and WE had performed there at the mall a few times.
GOD, so many fun times and great memories at that mall and I can't forget the vineyard either. for me and my friends if you were going to hang out at the mall you couldn't not go to the vineyard as well.
I still lived in Esco when they gutted it out and destroyed EVM.....IT BROKE MY HEART. I visited Esco for the first time in 6 yrs last year...and I wanted to cry, my hometown Escondido is so different now....but I was glad to see that a lot of things are still there. Its like they just built new things in between and left the old stuff! Up's & downs skate rink is still there! always will be I hope...
Yes they need to bring back Farrells!!! and build it on the West end of EVM in Celebration and Memory of the mall and it's Glory days!! I would love my children to experience it there and love it like I did as a child. I have told them so much about Farrells and the mall
My dad was a D.J. at KOWN in the 60's....and I have vague memories of the mall itself. I still have a KOWN magazine when it was a country station...it's too bad it is gone.
loren
mehls2004@yahoo.com
I lived in Escondido in the late 60's and remember the Mall well. Does anyone remember the Indian Shop? It sold great Indian silver jewelry.
I have a vague recollection that it was near the center mall entrance near the tobacconist.
Amazing at how many memories can come flooding back, with one single picture! I moved to the Escondido area in 1965...and it was always fun to go to the mall. I too liked to hang out in front of KOWN, and hold up notes to the D.J. with song requests. And yes, too many times at Farrel's, making a pig of myself, with their Pig's Trough..LOL
All good and fun memories!
Here I am posting again. I can't get the memories of Escondido and the Village Mall out of my mind. I posted more than a year ago talking about the scary loud arcade and Farrell's Zoo and Bazooka bubble gum from the Barber Shop :-). Also, my first date was at the movies at the Vinyard next door. Woohoo. I lived overseas for 2 years which were memories in the themselves but now live in GA. I have to say southern CA has been and always will be my home.
Now living in Atlanta GA ... I guess if you were born here, it would be a different thing, but just not feeling it here. Will always be a California Girl ;-).
I WAS a DJ at KOWN Radio for a few years; interesting place to work! They always had the "Miss Escondido" contest in the center of the mall and we did a lot of radio promotions out there; the great "Honda Hunt" finding a key to a Honda motorcycle. I still live here and love it. Early KOWN was owned by Alan Skuba, the youngest Mayor of a city in California and later opened Marie Callenders!! Good Times
I WAS a DJ at KOWN Radio for a few years; interesting place to work! They always had the "Miss Escondido" contest in the center of the mall and we did a lot of radio promotions out there; the great "Honda Hunt" finding a key to a Honda motorcycle. I still live here and love it. Early KOWN was owned by Alan Skuba, the youngest Mayor of a city in California and later opened Marie Callenders!! Good Times
My Dad knew Alan Skuba, and other "downtown Escondido" guys with names like Linthicum and Crow. Whatever became of Mr. Skuba?
Alan Skuba was the Manager of a Private Golf course in Palm Springs last I heard; he has probably retired as he would be in his 70's!! A Great Guy, and great leader!
Amen to that!
Whenever I think back to Escondido's glory days, I think of him. The Mall, KOWN, etc.
Wonderful Walker Scott and Lovely Mall. It was the only place I could take my visiting beautiful Mother,finely coiffed, with her hat, white gloves, and handbag - all dressed up with patent leather heels; so that she'd enjoy a leisurely shopping trip and feel her glamorous self. Her comment was as we drove into the parking lot:"...well, look at those cows, right across the street!" We actually passed horseriders on the dusty roads approaching the area, as well. That's going back in time, eh? Also bought our first classy furniture at that mall. What's really missing is the Pride of Ownership and Care of Other People's Property. You knew you were being treated as a valuable customer in the delightful experience of finding top notch quality items; and you in turn showed respect for the merchandise and were courteous to all who waited on you.
Let's not just relive these fine memories, let's make them happen for the next generations as well. It brings out the creative spirit in architecture and decor and binds a community together in beauty.
Later, the snow was in December 1967, and we took pictures by the pool with snow on the palm tree. School closed that day! It was gone before two o'clock, tho; but everybody talked about it for weeks! Memorable indeed.
Ah yes, the great Escondido snowstorm of 1967. I recall that my bookkeeping teacher finally gave up attempting to keep order at around 1030 AM and kicked us out into the snow. Also the local stores nearly ran out of film, as everyone had to have a photograph of their home in the snow.
Monday, July 2, 2012
I was reminiscing with my parents this evening and the topic of the Escondido Valley Mall came up.
Living in San Diego, we hadn't been there since the late 1970's.
I didn't remember it was an enclosed shopping mall. The only store I could remember was Sears Roebuck.
Reading this thread was a delight... though sad, since the EVM is no more (like so much more of America that we enjoyed in our youth).
Thanks to everyone for filling in the blank spots about the mall.
I could start a similar thread about the wonderful times (1963-1970's) I spent at the Mission Valley Center Mall in San Diego... but I won't. It brings tears to my eyes.
I was born (1976) & raised in Escondido (still live here) and remember this mall. It was the only mall around. I don't remember the radio station but everything else everyone mentioned, I remember. When we were little, I loved the ghetto, hard plastic cheap-o rides they had in the mall as well. I remember thinking they were going to tear it down soon because a lot of the stores were closed and there wasn't much to look at anymore. We always enter through the Millers Outpost and went through the swinging doors (like at a saloon in the old west) on the right side of the store. Now I believe it's a Dollar Tree store, a big mexican grocery store, Office Depot ... not sure what else. Don't really go there anymore.
I remember mom loading us in the Dodge Coronet station wagon (no child seats- didn't need them then) and we had our daily routine.. clothes shopping at Sears (It took FOREVER for the cashiers to check someone out). there was that long jewelry store with the green carpet. Then if I was good, an Orange Julius. There was that store with those "hairy globes" that had tiny LED lights at the end of each strand that changed color.. then winding through the beige plastic benches , we'd end up at Farrells for some ice cream. I think I had my 6th or 7th birthday there... good times... good times...
I remember living in Escondido in 1970, my mother had opened up a pet store at the mall called Bruno's Boutique. I had many memories of the mall, as I was there fairly regularly helping. I remember Farrells Ice Cream Parlour, my 11th birthday party was there, and I also remember the Orange Julius. I was dismayed to learn that it was torn down.
I grew up in San Marcos and graduated HIgh School in 1975. I remember going to the Village Mall all the time on Friday nights and watching the "cruisers" drag race through the parking lot. One guy had a 1969 Mustang fastback and hit over 100mph in there...yeah we were REAL stupid back then. My brothers and I always made a b-line to Bermans Hobby Shop to check out the latest and greatest models, rockets etc. that we built all the time. They had these incredibly detailed WWII dioramas and the owners would always tell us in detail how to do the same thing...very patient and cool with kids. Yes I also remember eating at Sir George's smorgasbord, buying stuff at TG&Y, eating sausage at the Hickory Farms next door, being real bored while Mom bought clothes in Walker Scott, watching the DJ's through the window at KOWN, getting shirts at the place next door and just generally hanging out in an air conditioned paradise in the summer. Escondido got sooooo hot in the summer. I live close by in San Diego and go up there now and again......it is so run down and 'gangsta' there now. Makes me sad =(. Not even the slightest remnant of the past.
If any of you have any old photos of KOWN, please email them to Lyle Davis of "The Paper". Lyle was one of those DJs and he is going to do a story on KOWN for his local newspaper.
thepaper.com@cox.net
lived in Escondido from 1962-1965. I remember going to the mall to watch the people who were working KOWN radio.
I remember watching the DJ also. I lived in some apatment accross the street in 1969. My friends and I loved that mall.
https://www.facebook.com/oldesco/ is all about the old town
I am an alumni of the class of 69 at OGHS, and I also remember the Prom being held there. I didn't attend my Prom, but went to my boyfriends Prom the year before. It was also held in the mall. Perhaps that was the routine place to have the Proms. The mall was so much a part of all our lives. Sad that it had to fade into the past with the passing of time. So many things that have touched our lives had disappeared.
OMG! This posting brought a lot of memories back as well! Born & raised in Escondido through the sixties, seventies & eighties. I once tried, with a friend, to think of all of the names of the stores in the mall, west to east! It started with Farrels Ice Cream, KOWN, an unknown furniture store and on and on. For the life of me, I can't remember most of them! But reading this post, I am starting to recall a lot more! Of course, Walker Scott's! I remember buying Levi's there! Remember when they were the only game in town? You'd have to buy really big, stiff ones and then shrink them to size? 😂 They weren't even called 401 back then, they were just "Levi's"! Wow! TG&Y of course, the Wagon Wheel Donuts, Hickory Farms, Sir Georges Smorgasbord! Now, I am thinking pre Sears. Where it ended at Mayfair Market. Gosh, anymore?
Hi ... my dad worked at KOWN - Bob Mehl. We didn't live in Escondido- we lived in Encinitas. I use to love going to the mall and watch all the DJ's - my brothers and I would run up and down the mall until dad got off the air. ONe time my brother got his head caught in the bars that closed off the store entrances - had to get the mall security to help him out. I loved it there and sure miss the old days
Hi ... my dad worked at KOWN - Bob Mehl. We didn't live in Escondido- we lived in Encinitas. I use to love going to the mall and watch all the DJ's - my brothers and I would run up and down the mall until dad got off the air. ONe time my brother got his head caught in the bars that closed off the store entrances - had to get the mall security to help him out. I loved it there and sure miss the old days
Those days were fun I remember getting my shoes at Buster Browns next to tg and y and Orange Julius.
Great comments on the ol' EVM..I remember when it almost flooded during the winter storm of '67(?)..some store employees placed sandbags around the entrances to prevent flooding. Also remember KOWN D.J. Phil Flowers (Phil Bowles?) playing great ROCK on his evening shows in the '69-70 era..seemed like a great guy..anybody know whatever happened to him?
Had a friend who worked at 'Capt' Dulleys Soup Kitchen' in the mall around '74..also remember 'Aunt Emmas' restauramt in front of the mall..used to rendevous with my ladyfriend there..many good visits!
Was it Farrels Ice cream?
Remember Christmas when they would decorate? I LOVED going there!
Somewhere I have a picture of my dad and some of his coworkers at Escondido Ready Mix clearing snow off of one of the cement mixers-the old red and yellows!
Toy Kingdom!
Phil Flowers went on from KOWN, along with Gene Knight, to become an integral part of KCBQ. HE was still on the air until his u timely death in the late ‘90s. A truly great guy.
That’s not how it works. Ha
It’s now in several places, including a wall on Chestnut St. and the west wall of John Paul University on Grand and Orange.
My sister owned a record store in that mall called village records
I loved Farrels ice cream especially watching them deliver "The Zoo"
My sister owned village records and my brother ran it
Loved that place
Good old Kcbq am remember it well
Loved millers outpost
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