Nanuet Mall
Nanuet, New York. '60s or '70s
posted by Keith @ 6/28/2005
Vintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s
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Tuesday, June 28, 2005
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90 Comments:
Ah, the Nanuet Mall. My first time to your site and you have the mall I spent many of my teen years (80's) at. The good old days in the Aladdin Castle arcade :)
The mall is old and run down now. Many businesses are now gone, and there are whole sections of the mall that are empty. It looks better in that 70's photo than it does now.
I think once the rest of the busineses leave, they should seal off the doors and convert it into a prison.
It sure isn't the mall you voluntarily would go to. Its doomed because it can't compete with the Palisades Center which is only about 1 mile away. The good old days are all you've got to latch on to . . . :(
Forget the prison suggestion, I think it would be a great bus depot, with restaurants & a hotel!
Sad to hear many parts are empty now. I remember when Palisades Center opened, Nanuet Mall opened a new wing to try and compete. I guess that hasn't worked out.....
It's so sad when you look at these wonderful old shots of these malls when they were still thriving and all fresh and new and vital, to think about what many have become now. But then, on the other hand, that's also what's so cool about being able to see them here, in their prime, all proud and vibrant and ALIVE!
Thanks for all the notes here on the Nanuet, guys!
Sad to hear how it is run down. I spent HOURS there in the 70's. It was the spot to be, at least for me and my friends. Sad when your favorite memories start to mold.
I grew up less than a 1/4 mile from the Nanuet Mall. I spent so much time there in the 80's. True, there are some empty stores there now, but it's doing alright. I think I have gotten every single haircut of my life at Marios! I take my daughter there every year to see Santa just because my wife and I were brought there as well every year when we were young. The Mall's not that rundown and is still quite convenient. I know many people purposely go there just because it isn't as crazy as the Palisades Mall.
I think half the people that visit that mall are there to get their haircut by Sal at Mario's. Aside from Mario's there isn't too much happening there. There are a many storefronts that have white plywood covering them. It's really only a matter of time before it closes down. To make matters worse, the mall has been increasing rent for those businesses that have decided to stay (I guess to make up for the stores that have left) There are several businesses there now that are just waiting for their leases to expire before moving.
test
That photo is from 1971-ish, when the mall opened. I remember it well from my childhood, just as the other posters have.
Interesting that two people mentioned "Mario's Unisex Palace." As a kid I thought that was a funny name. I worked in the mall as a teen. If anyone here has ever worked in a mall, you know that after a while you meet all the other teenaged part-time employees. Kind of like the movie "clerks."
There is a small patch of cement in the bushes by the mall enterance west of the Bambergers (Macy's) that had the handprints of a bunch of school kids who were there for the grand opening. I bet it's still there.
Does Boscov's do good business here?
I live three miles from the Nanuet Mall...was 4 years old when it first opened..and I work at Sears there..for almost 23 years...the mall is not 'run down' as has been described here...though the Palisades Mall has taken away some of its Thunder....and the Palisades Mall is more like 4 or 5 miles away..not 1 mile by the way...
Rockland County seems to have a oversupply of retail nowadays...In this day and age, how can a shopping center such as the old Bradlees center in New City sit vacant for nearly a decade??? A Walgreens and some other small business are all that is open there....How can this be?? I avoid the Palisades Mall whenever possible because it is more difficult to navigate through its maze of ringroads and parking lots. When I need to go to Home Depot, I go to the Depot up in Nanuet instead. The Nanuet Mall has suffered somewhat due to the opening of the Palisades Mall, and also due to the absolutely tyranical school and property taxes in the area, which forces rents up and tenants out....The Food Court in the Nanuet Mall is a perfect example...it is consistently only about 50% filled with restaurants...Burger King recently moved out...probably due to high rent, etc....Pretty soon, the way taxes are going, only the filthy rich will be able to afford to live in Rockland County...One thing of note about the Palisades Center is that it probably pulls some of the thieves and shoplifters away from the Nanuet Mall.....
Someone abovementioned the patch of kids handprints from the grand opening of the mall. It's sad but when they remodeled and built the new wing they removed it. It had gotten worn down anyway over years but I was sad to see that it was gone. My little handprints were there.
My memories go back to the sixtys.
I had a tree fort in the woods where they built the mall.
The arcade,the movies,friendlys,and the ground round had great burgers.
Does anyone remember the fountains they used to have inside the mall in the 70's? I remember two of them. I also remember when they finally put in the funky elevator in the middle of the mall. I spent many a weekend hanging out at Aladins. Aaaaaaaaaah the memories!!
I remember when the sign went up on the property that they were building something called a mall where all the stores would be indoors. We thought the idea was so futuristic and cool. Living now in California I haven't been there in probably 30 years. But I did get a chance to see that ugly monstrocity of a mall down by route 303. Has anyone thought to nominate the Palisades Center (I assume from other posts that that's what it's called) as the ugliest structure known to man?
Yes, I remember the fountains. Do you remember the stone animals that used to line the center of the mall. They were a favorite of the kids.
There was also a Sears Cafeteria where the Hermans Sporting Goods Store ended up. Not sure what is there any more.
My memories are as fond as many have posted here. Aladdins was THE place to hang out as kid. Pinball machines quickly gave way to the early video games. One entry indicated a date of '1971-ish" for the opening of the mall. However, the mall officially opened in 1969. The time is burned in my memory - it was so crowded opening day that I lost the grip of my fathers hand as we squeezed through the masses and ended up lost for hours. I made my way to one of the entrance doors facing Route 59, sat at the curb and cried. A policeman finally saw me and was able to find my (by then) frantic parents. The cafeteria mentioned that was in the space formerly occupied by Hermans was not a "Sears" but an independent operation. I loved it as a kid, especially being able to pick whatever desert I wanted. In hindsight, the place was always dark (late sixties dark brown panelling and dark flooring)which probably hid the dirt. As the place was built before sneeze guards were invented, I am sure it was probably the cause of many a quisey stomach. The other restaurant I enjoyed was the Hungry Lion, located where the Lens Crafters is today. This was a great "Steak and Ale" place. As for the future, rumor has it that the property will be "de-malled". In its place will be a lifestyle center, i.e., an open air shopping center constructed around a park-like setting. Will be the first of it's kind in our area.
Oh my goodness...it's the good old days at the Nanuet Mall. Days were really wonderful here and Bamberger's had a wonderful restaurant called "The Carriage House," later to be called "Louise B's Restaurant." The restaurant was on the 2nd floor. It closed a little after 1986-7. I miss it terribly. Mom,grandma & family...I love you and remember so many great days here !
Oh...and who could forget ZIPPYS on the lower level....it really was a wonderful mall in the 70's and 80's. PLUS the retro shape of Bamberger's was so very chic...My family started taking me there when I was age one...AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT !
There were 2 Zippy's and a lot of shoe stores. And can't leave out Joannes Nut House.. You can still go back in time at Spencer Gifts at it's original location all of these decades..
Boscov's is the glue to this mall these days. A full service and really nice place to shop for all you need, even appliances and TV's.
It was a great mall in its day. I worked at Bamberger's during the Christmas Seasons while in High School. Yes many days at Alladins... I also remember a very 60's-70's store named "Intrigue" which later became "Spencer Gifts". They had a wide variety of psychedilic devices including Lava Lamps, Strobes and other things that probably could not be mentioned in mixed company. There was a small Fanny Farmer Store that had great Chocolate. The Hungry Lion was a great place and they did not ID. We drank there all through High School. We had many a Family Dinner out at the Carriage House in Bamberger's. The whole place was a great place to hang out during Junior High and up. Not that I would ever drop my Kids off in a mall these days. I wanted to ask the person who's handprints were there how they got picked for that? In addition, we can't forget about those who were killed during the Brinks Robbery in 1981 at the Mall and by the Thruway in Nyack. Kathy Boudin is out of prison but the Families of her Victims have to live with it the rest of their lives.
Darn this brings back a lot of memories. I had forgotten all about Zippy's, the greasy spoon coffee shop. Very early '70s!
I worked at two of the show stores in the mall when I was in high school. First at Fredel's and later at Hahns. I recall that the mall was, at the time, owned by Sears and that even on slow nights we were not allowed to close the store early unless Sears closed. You'd look up the arcade and see all the other store emplyees/managers poking their heads out of their stores, looking up to the Sears to see if they were going to lower their gates.
Off topic slightly, but the mention of the Hungry Lion reminds me of the legendary Maximus in New City. Any other Rocklander's remember that?
Spencer Gifts was originally called "Intrigue" i think. It had a loft level, up a cool flight of stairs in the back.
I remember there WAS a cafeteria inside Sears, just on the right as you walk in the upstairs entrance. I think it had a faux-brick exterior, with windows.
I also spent way too many quarters at Aladdin's Castle. Me and a few friends woudl also hang out upstairs in Bamberger's TV section, and at the Ticketron window up there in high school i bought lots of tickets to concerts in the city or at that capital theater: Talking Heads, Devo, Gary Numan, The Clash
-dan, NHS81
I dont know if this is true or not but one of my co-workers told me he knows a security guard that works there, that said that the mall will be DEMOLISHED in 2008 and be completely re-built with a movie theatre this time. I really dont want to see it go, Ive been going there since I was a kid, but I had a feeling it was coming with half of the mall vacant.
There was also talk of a HUGE Yeshiva taking over the spot. Oy givult! Monsey comes to Nanuet:-)
My brother says he thinks that when the mall first went in, there were moving ramps, not escalators in the mall. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
Yes, there were moving ramps. Basically escalators but instead of stair based, they were conveyor belts. Can't remember when they finally converted them to stairbased ones. I'd say sometime in the late 70's.
Its weird to have watched the mall go from Rocklands gathering place, to gathering dust. I remember as a little kid the old terrazo style flooring. It was sorta wide strips of alternating lighter and darker colored granitelooking sections. I'd try to jump over the darker areas. I remember eating at the Hungry Lion and the restuarant inside Bamburgers. Playing Pacman at Aladdins Castle. Watching Private Benjamin at the cinema, thats the earliest movie I can solidly recall seeing there though I saw many before I'm sure. Last film I recall seeing there was Lost Boys. Me and my friend even got busted for shoplifting in Sears as a 14 yo teen, with of all things , fishing lures. :-) Damn our parents were pissed. No charges were filed. The one and only time I ever did something like that. Never made it to multiplex next door, The Movies as it was named then, to see A View To a Kill that day like my and my friend planned. Ahh, the memories. These days I go there rarely but stop there for lunch at the food court of I happen to be at a client in Nanuet around lunchtime or when I do go to Sears or Boscovs on occasion for clothes.
I remember that Burger King back before the food court. And that small game store "Games and Gadgets?"
Both of them are filled with embarrasing 80s nostaglia memmories.
As we near the end of 2007, Simon Properties appears closer to selling or de-malling. In its place will be outdoor shopping plazas designed to feel like a "town square". Answer to the commentator on April 27th - yes there are still "Maximus" alumnae out there. I worked there from 1982 until it closed. Hated to see it go, it helped pay for college expenses - but, given the drink specials, probably better for everyones liver in the long run.
I'm glad others remember Maximus. I think it was the Marshmellow (know simply as 'the mello') in the '70s.
Ah yes, Nanuet Mall. THE place to bumble around pleasantly baked on a Sunday afternoon. Anyone remember a weird house just up the road (adjacent to a little strip mall w/Chinese Food) affectionately referred to as THE OM? It was a classic 70's/80's headshop operating out of a beaten down house. They had a large handpainted sign above the front door that simply said OM. Beads, incense, and bongs galore. Hope someone digs this flashback!
Although we are all reminiscing about happier days, I believe we would be chided by the true Rockland old-timers (pre-mall dwellers) as to why we have fond memories of a structure that effectively killed local down- town stores. The nanuet Mall surely contributed to the demise of downtown area store in Nyack, Nanuet, Pearl River and New City
The OHM was the house...
But, I'm trying to remember the name of the "diner" across the hall from Hermans?
I got busted at Caldors and my brother at Tapeville...
the mall was great up until the early 2000's, then it really took a turn for the worst. Now, almost 2008, i dont see this mall lasting another five years. I'm sure it will close sometime in the near future and be leveled. Its a shame since ive got great memories of this mall, but they just cant compete with the palisades (at all). Hopefully the land can be used for something else beneficial. I liked the idea someone mentioned before about making it into a complex with a hotel and restaurants, that could work!
I wonder if the PLAZA DINER is still there??? Anyone know???
This past fall I worked for Malls of America (the annual mall guide that is distributed listing all malls in the US and Canada.) I can 100% confirm that Simon is 'de-malling' the mall and going to an open aire center.
Now for those of you who are fretting, I understand. But having seen the plans with my own eyes, what they plan to build should revitalize that local shopping area. Also note that many, many other areas with mall similar to the Nanuet Mall are going to the same style of open aire center. The new centre will be a refreshing breath of air compared to that horrid monstrosity that is the Palisades Center.
A rumored store going in there, and the first of its kind, is an Amazon.com pickup center. Mind you this is rumored only as that was written as one of the stores going in.
As for the plaza diner, yes it is still there, but heavily modified from its original configuration. A transformation that took place in the mid-1990's. Now I was a later parouser of the mall, but remember it as full of exuberance and vibrant businesses. Even after the renovation of the early 1990's. I used to spend hours in the Nintendo store while my mom shopped. I dont recall the restaurant in the Bamburgers (by the time I was going it was Macy's & Bamburger's) but I remember the friendly's and that Sears used to sell kick ass pretzels.
How about this for reminiscing, remember the stores in front of the Nanuet Mall area they eventually knocked down to expand 59? They used to have a beefsteak charlie's in there with an arcade around the back. Then of course there was the child world across the street which later became Barnes and Noble as well as Tower Records. Now too Tower is defunct. Have to love modern business practices of America.
I really hate to see this mall go. I'm living in NC now and I was fortuante enough to have visited this past June for the first time in over 25 years.
I still think it's a great mall and even though the Palisades Center has taken some of it's business it still seems to be doing well, not as well as back in the 70s and 80s but still it wasn't that bad.
I believe Doogie but I don't agree. That very thing happened here; a mall (North Hills) was doing fair but it had lost a bunch of its stores so they tore it down and built the open air deal. It's fine when the weather is nice but when it's really cold, rainy, windy, hot and humid it's not a lot of fun. But they geared it towards the yuppie set so it doesn't do too bad.
I worked At spencer gifts, and was one of the final employees their and the last person to stand in the empty store before the lights went out forever. I got a free vcr out of it but my manager got a tv and dvd player from the back for just a buck. That day we shipped all the stuff to other stores and destroyed all the useless crap noone wanted. I remember cutting my hand when i snapped a liscence plate frame over my leg lol good times. Im sorry to see it go but it was getting to the point that since noone came in we watched the entire movie of superbad and fell asleep.
I remember reading in a forum somewhere that someone bought king leonitus. thanks, that was put aside for someone I really didnt like and im glad he didnt get it haha.
I worked At spencer gifts, and was one of the final employees their and the last person to stand in the empty store before the lights went out forever. I got a free vcr out of it but my manager got a tv and dvd player from the back for just a buck. That day we shipped all the stuff to other stores and destroyed all the useless crap noone wanted. I remember cutting my hand when i snapped a liscence plate frame over my leg lol good times. Im sorry to see it go but it was getting to the point that since noone came in we watched the entire movie of superbad and fell asleep.
I remember reading in a forum somewhere that someone bought king leonitus. thanks, that was put aside for someone I really didnt like and im glad he didnt get it haha.
I also have those fond memories of the nanuet mall in the 70s and 80s, I remember climbing on those big animals as a kid, I had friends that worked in sam goody and spent many $5 bills in alladins castle. I remember the movie theater that was attached and before the food court was just burger king. My favorite clothes shop in the 80s...the merry go round, with its parachute pants and michael jackson jackets from the beat it and thriller videos. Nanuet mall was definitely the place to be on a friday and saturday and then going to RKO theater which was Nanuet mall south or going to studio 59 to rollerskate and then later it became zansabar, a teen club. In front of the mall originally was a Nathan's with the arcade on the side and then beefsteak Charlies and then Dailys Dandelion....The good ole days....
I'm glad to see it's finally going away. Our family's house and the swamp we used to play in growing up was torn down and filled in for the Nanuet Mall. The mall removed part of my childhood from this wonderful town. I won't miss it. What comes around, goes around.
Whatever happened to Studio 59 roller rink? I believe it was across the street...also I remember Herman's sports store and the Hungry Lion & spent most my childhood @ Aladdins!
It's quite sad to see this formerly vibrant shopping center in its current state. I remember very well several of the orginal eateries. Both Bambergers and Sears had eating concessions. There was also the Nanuet Mall restaurant which was located on the upper level in one of the exit alleys. There were two Zippy's, one was referenced Dansk and the other Dina. One was upstairs and one was downstairs, can't remember which one was which. There was also a hobby store on the first level around mid-mall area, as well as a Music Den record shop also on the first floor in one of the corners. All things must pass!
Many great memories hanging out at Nanuet Mall, right after getting my learner's permit at age 16 doing slaloms in the parking lot around the lighting stancions...this was late at night when the parking lot was empty.
Living in New Jersey, we were about equidistant between the malls in Paramus and Nanuet Mall. We usually went to Nanuet.
Many memories hanging out in the early 1980's, eating at Friendly's, going to the arcade, or watching movies at the tiny movie theater on the second floor in the back. Browsing Spencer Gifts. Buying the Bruce Springsteen "LIVE" box set at the record store next Sears. Not Sam Goody, I forget the name of it. Buying the Monty Python "Life of Brian" book at the book store.
Yeah, ZIPPY'S! Holy moly! I might have eaten there once in 15 years. My mother used to take me to the mall before I was even old enough for school, so I spent a ton of time there in its early days, around 1970, 1971. There or Shoppers' Paradise, further down Route 59.
I guess they are using The Grove in Los Angeles as the model for whatever they are going to build in its place? Should be nice, but I will miss my Nanuet Mall.
Holy Crap! What was the name of that arcade next to Beefstake Charlies/Blimpies? I had TOTALLY forgotten about that arcade! If I remember correctly, it was such a piece of trash place.
The best arcade in Rockland was either Mr. Arcade or Futurestars (the place behind Route 59 that had batting cages and for a while laser tag).
Wow - its been a long time since that mall looked like that picture!
I grew up in Nanuet and worked at the mall for my last 2 years of high school (1977-1979). I worked initially in the Burger King upstairs next to Sears, and then also worked at Spencer Gifts as well, which was on the lower level. It was good having 2 part time jobs at once, but both were for minimum wage. With Jimmy Carter as President, I was lucky to have any job at all.
At BK, I worked in the back, at the broiler. That place was so busy I spent my entire 3 hour shift putting frozen meat on a chain that would go into the broiler. At Spencer's it was all about sales. Selling any of the high price items in the back of the store such as the lava lamps, or the fiber optic lamps always put a smile on my manager's face. I met so many drop dead gorgeous girls in the back of that store, and they all said the same thing - "I am looking for a present for my boyfriend".
Like many others I spent a lot of time in Aladdin's Castle, and also in the arcade at Nathan's. I was a member of the Nanuet Fire Department during that time as well- made several trips to the mall for false alarms, and one trip for a fire in the stockroom at Sears.
I remember being crazy for a girl that worked downstairs in "Mighty Muffin and the Yogurt Queen" Her name was Pam. I never asked her out, and still wish that I had.
I remember hearing of a girl named Lisa Thomas that was murdered in the bushes behind the mall, by the railroad tracks. Back then they thought it was a crazed Vietnam vet that did it, but I think as time went on they realized it was related to drugs. I dont think the case was ever solved.
I could talk a lot more, I lived in Nanuet from age 3 to 18, but thats all for now.
My god.... I remember when Orange Julius used to be in here, the mall's interior colors were brown and orange... I used to beg my mother to take me there to buy records... Someone posted below, about 'The OM'!!!!! MY GOD! My father owned a pizzaria in the shopping mall right next door- we used to go in there all the time!!! Ahh, the aroma of patchouli oil and weed!!!
And lets not forget. Jetts petting zoo.
Aladin's Castle was the name of the arcade upstairs and i used to hang out in there when my mom went shopping.
Then, we used to eat at the Hungry Lion, cafeteria-style, or Roman Delight, which had the best sausage rolls around.
The Nanuet Mall was where my friends and I used to hang out in the late 70's. Remember the pretzel stand in the middle of the mall? Those were the days. As far as the Palisades Mall goes...it is just as ugly inside as it is outside. You can't even really shop there for too many things because it is TOO BIG to carry shopping bags around. You could go out to your car to get rid of your bags and go back in and continue shopping, but by the time you get all the way out to your car you just want to get the h--- out of there and go home. The oasrking lot is horrible and you certainly do not want to park underneath as it looks like the mall is about to collapse. Bring back the nanuet mall!!!
the record store was the Music Den
i am loving this...i graduated from SV High in 1980.....anyone else??
I worked in Tapeville from 1992-2003 when it closed. Long live Tapeville U.S.A.
Brian
Does anyone remember Gimbles at the Nanuet Mall? It was Bambergers who incorporated Gimbles. It is sad to see what progress sometimes does to a society. I don't like going to the Palisades Center. The Nanuet Mall is so manageable.
I worked in Bamberger's from the ages of 16 to 22 (1980-86). Grew up there in every sense of the word. Still miss some wonderful friends from those times, & God help me, but I still remember my old employee i.d. number, having punched it into the register maybe thousands of times over the years. Yeesh.
Cathy, Liz, Lisa, Sheila--hope you all are doing great.
Love,
'387932'
I was in a couple months ago (Dec 08 now). The mall is still in great shape but they have let half the lightbulbs burn out. The refurb when Palisades opened did it well. But three anchors is too much with PC soo close and anchor stores consolidating at the corporate level.
I think one of the problems was first impressions. The main entrance dumping into Sears was bad. Sears hasn't done any upkeep or modernization of their exterior. It looks like a 1970's destination. What they needed was some traffic. A small theatre, a nice gym, maybe knock down a few store walls and make an indoor soccer center for kids...some sort of creativity that would play off the convenience and simplicity of the mall compared to down the street.
TwoDogs
I am probably the only 14 year old that's reading this post.
I wish I could live during those times.. 60's, 70's, 80's, etc.. Just to see the Nanuet Mall and what Rockland County looked like during those times. I want to see those "moving belt-ramp escalators" that guy said on Wed May 02, 11:20:00 PM said. That sounds pretty cool. :o
By the way, I've read all of the comments above. All of the nostalgic stories are interesting.
-14 year old anonymous
This comment has been removed by the author.
whoa i remember the OM..... and most of the info. in the posts above. i hung in the mall in the 80s, mostly. at this point the mall is 1 step away from being closed down.... and it should be, half the stores are closed, and its dark and i think its even cold.... not good.
to the 14 year old poster - it would be cool to see the mall in the 80s for a few hours, but believe me, you'd want to jet right back to 2009 after that. rockland kids were REALLY bored in those days.... and besides, its not pretty, but the palisades mall is a lot better for people watching than the nanuet mall ever was.
The mall is old and run down like most of rockland county.
I have moved out west, and here there are so much more newer and nicer malls and homes.
I still cant understand why rockland is so damn expensive (taxes, real estate ect).
soon only the fithly rich will be living there in thier $800,000 homes in new city.. all else will be a ghost town
Do come to the "59x59" Photographic Exhibition curated by Ken Karlewicz. May 2nd through June 6th 2009 - Artist Reception May 9th 6-10pm at the GAGA Arts Center, Garnerville, NY. I landed on this blog while doing some research on Boscov's and it's history - I have a Boscov's image that made it into the exhibit. While browsing through the posts I thought that some of you might enjoy this exhibiton where 31 photographers photographed the length of Route 59 on May 9th, 2008, hence 59x59. visit gagaartscenter.org online for more information.
I Managed Music Den in the 80s at the Nanuet Mall. What fun and good times! Big hair. LOL It was the place to buy Albums...how dated is that. I remember when the the store went to CDs. Every kid would buy their music there. Getting pretzels in the center of the Mall from that older guy who was mean, The Cookie Company with the nicest people working there, Spencer Gifts. Our store "Musicden" was always the too of the list for scavenger hunts...they would always steal our top 10 list. LOL, loved it!
I worked at the "Hermans" Sears Cafeteria. Yes, it was a Sears operation, I was paid as a Sears employee.
Ok here goes: Nanuet Mall for ever! Mighty Muffin, Sids Pants, Bulkies (hot dog deep fried with motz cheese)wick n sticks, walden books, cookie factory, soundwave (like a radio shack you got blank tapes and mic wires there), C&T pizza, roma delight, the middle stand with orange or grape drink and a pretzel drinks were like 20cents for small 30 cents for large), G&G's,some sporting goods store up stairs not hermans, you could get a wrist rocket there, I did),at bambergers restaurant if it was your birthday you got clown desert an up side down ice cream cone with happy face in a plate, you also got a key to a treasure chest that if it opened you could pick a gift, (by the way all the keys worked they weren't that cruel), the x-mas ornimant area by the restaurant, Just Jeans, chess king, benaton (for like a second) memorabelia place next to alladins (rock t-shirts and pins and posters), The 70's art deco speckled floor which for those interested if you go through macy's to the dollar store near radio shack and go to entrance of the dollar store and look at the floor right in the entrance way you can see the old floor they missed a spot, its that facke pebble marble stuff, Sears was sears and robuck, they buitl a brdige (kind of a short cut on one side of the mall so you didn't have to walk all the way to sears to get to the other side, they took away stone alligator and hipoo and put up that stage and the elevator, florsheim shoes, Don't steal from spencers cuase in the back on the door it was ...boo ha ha two way glass, Boutons card n gift store, party city on the end of the parking lot, strawberries near the movie theater go there for sunday after movies on friday night the whole HS class was there......wow that was exhausting.
dont remember the name of the arcade behind nathans- just that they had real crappy games set up to play for free, like looper and stuff. the ultimate day was paperback exchange for comics,Tapeville u.s.a for music, blimpies for lunch and friendlys for dessert. perhaps throw in a trip to spencers and of course aladins castle.
I remember going to the mall while my parents shopped at pantry pride supermarket right on the property. As we got older we would walk the railroad tracks from spring valley to the mall on saturdays and hang out all day.
I still go to the Nanuet Mall to return some stuff for my mom. It's pretty depressing going in there nowadays since most of the good stores are gone. After doing returns, I just walk around the mall and just remembering it. Their most recent biggest loss was X-Zone, besides Auntie Anne's Pretzels. I have a lot of memories of Nanuet Mall. One of my earliest childhood memories was going into the Nintendo Store in the late 1980's. I remember when Super Mario Bros. 3 was a brand new game and I was one of the first kids in my area to own it. Anyhow, I remember just about all of the video game stores in the mall.
I remember weekends going to the Nanuet Mall with my parents throughout the 1990's and into the 2000's. By 2002 or 2003, I actually was able to drive by myself and go in there by myself. I'm pretty young by the way, I'm only 25 years old. I really liked it when they had Sam Goody and that other record store.
I heard that the Nanuet Mall may have high-end stores. I really doubt it though, I'm highly skeptical about that. By the time I move out of Rockland County, that mall will be a thing of the past. I don't know how it still survives today. Business is really not booming and we're currently in a recession. It's astounding how it still generates some revenue.
Now I go to the Palisades Mall, which isn't too bad. I don't hate it or anything. However the Nanuet Mall will always be the coolest mall it used to be in my heart.
Anonymous said...
It funny how the Lord works the Lisa Thomas murder has not been sovled. One of he players Known met his fate on Thruway. Two to go.
Remember going to Bell's clothing store on the upper level. Leon sure took pride in his store Great Deals to bad Mrs. Bell got sick and they hsd to close. Sure had a crush on Steve Bell
The arcade in front of the mall was called "Video Asylum", I'm pretty sure..
Wow. Really brings me back to my teen years. My first job was at Bamberger's in 1981. I was working there during the Brink's robbery. I was so terrifed at the time. My best friend came to visit that day and said she heard "fireworks" in the parking lot. She actually heard the gun shots! I remember the first time the mall was open on a Sunday. There was a picture in the Journal News of my neighbor in front of a piano store by CVS.
So many good memories of "The Mall" as we used to call it. Changing demographics in Rockland hurt, and of course, the Palisades Center was alot more accessible (right off the NYS Thruway) as opposed to the NM which most people reached by Rt. 59 from my area of Rockland.
I think I blew a years worth of tuition at Aladdin's Castle. Mom used to leave me for hours to read at Waldenbooks. Spencer's Gifts...remember the adult games ? LOL. Herman's Sporting Goods -- bought my high school tennis rackets there. I guess it was Junior High School when mom would finally let me wander the mall and meet her at the perfume counter at Bambergers or wherever. Before that, I had to tag along.
This site brought back so many memories of the days when I worked at Bamberger's from 1977-1979, downstairs in the Intimate Apparel dept.Around the holidays not one Christmas tree was up or song played until the day after Thanksgiving, throughout the whole mall.It was always busy and there were always lines.Payments were only cash,check or Bamberger's credit card.
It was really fun working there and I have great memories of the wonderful friendships I formed those years.
I see that some here have said the mall opened in 1971. Not true. It opened in 1969. I went there many times before moving out of Rockland, and we moved in August 1970, so the mall couldn't have opened in 1971.
I have very fond memories of the Nanuet Mall in its hey-day. I am 30 years old so I knew it in the 80's and 90's, and remember that before the Palisades Mall came around in 1997-98, exit 12 off the Thruway was NOTHING. That's the exit to my parent's house in Valley Cottage off Route 303, and when that damn mall came in, it took twice as long to get anywhere around home.
One nice memory of the Nanuet Mall is the American Cookie Companies' "biggest cookie cake in the world" event around 1989 (my photo was put in the paper taking a bite as an 8-year old).
Also, any other Rocklanders remember the Spring Valley UA movie theater being the movie hot-spot every weekend, before Palisades Mall came around? Fun times..
I went to the mall on Nov 25 2011 (Black Friday) and the mall was a ghost town. I took around forty pictures of the nearly empty place and remembered when we started going to it in 1970 before we moved up here in 1975.
The mall was killed by the Palisades Center and the new Malls built in Orange County by Middletown. Anybody who drives down from Orange County goes to the PC or Paramus (no sales tax on clothing at all.)
It will be demolished starting next month, Jan 2012.
WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE THE NANUET MALL DIED BECAUSE OF SIMON PROPERTY NOT PALISADES MALL. SIMON NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO KEEP THIS MALL GOING JUST LET IT ROT AND ALMOST DID TO THE BERGEN MALL IN PARAMUS UNTIL VORNADO BOUGHT IT. NOW BERGEN MALL IS GREAT. ALL SIMON WORRIES ABOUT HIS THE JEWEL MALLS ROOSEVELT FIELD THE WESTCHESTER NEWPORTE MALL IN JERSEY CITY. THIS BLAMING PALISADES MALL HAS GOT TO STOP. ROCKLAND COUNTY NEEDS TO GROW UP AN STOP LIVING IN THE PAST AND COME TO THE PRESENT. THE BLAME GOES TO WHERE ITS DUE AND ITS SIMON PROPERTY. MACYS ALSO IN NANUET IS NO BARGAIN EITHER VERY RUN DOWN POOR SELECTION OF MERCHANDISE COMPARISON TO THE PALISADES MALL STORE.
They just started demolition a little over a month ago. It's really sad this place is officially gone. I remember being a little kid and I used to go trick'r treating around the Nanuet Mall. I got my first cell phone from the Verizon store at that mall and my first pair of Jordan's at the monster Foot Locker that used to be there. Sad what happened to it. RIP Nanuet Mall. You were good to me.
i just found this blog... and reading the comments brought back many memories... i was born in the 70s so i do not remember the opening but i have fond memories from the 80s there, my mother worked in Bamburgers and continued to work when it changed over to Macys and worked there until she passed away in 93. i used to "go to work" with her when she worked on weekends.. that meant spending all day at aladdins castle, tapeville, and just being a punk ass kid. one of my first jobs at the mall was Merry Go Round.
i haven't been to the mall since the early 90s but i have so many memories there.
They had great dildos there
I got my first knob job in that place
First the handprint dedication was September 1969 I have the pictures to prove it as I was 1 and my handprints are there, Second the handprints never left or anything until last year 2012, I thought they destroyed them, I was very upset BUT it turns out they stored them, moved them and now this Saturday they will be unveiled and a new generation of handprints will be made too.
Can anyone remember the name of the music store before the wall?
We thought there were two music stores. First,there was Sam Goody,upstairs by the elevator, and then downstairs, perhaps a store called Musicland,next to Sears on the lower level ! Incidentally,we loved Zippy's (the char-broil like lunch counter where your burgers were prepared on the grill right in the center of the room.Ah,we can almost smell the french fries being prepared in the fryer!)We regularly enjoyed the one downstairs...yet we understand there was another Zippy's upstairs. Is it true ?
Most of the time,we enjoyed our lunch and/or dinner at The Carriage House,(later renamed Louie B's)the fabulous full service restaurant upstairs inside Bamberger's that was named after Bamberger's founder,L.Bamberger! We were always treated like family there. What wonderful and comforting memories we have thanks to the great Nanuet Mall ! Thank you all once again !
Does anyone know the names of the jewelry stores in the Nanuet Mall in the 1980s? I am trying to replace a ring bought there in 1986. Knowing the name of the store would really help. Was Wiss (or something like that) one of them? IAny names people remember are greatly appreciated... Thank you!
Looking for an old picture of shoppers paradise route 59 spring valley my father ran the liquor store there 1970
Good ole days
Before nanuet mall everone used to go shopping in spring valley
I cooked at Zippy’s #1 and #2 as a teenager. Sad to hear the place is run down :-(
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