Cumberland Mall

Atlanta Georgia - '70s or early '80s?

Cumberland's current website.

Park Forest Centre

Park Forest, Illinois - 1962

Nice view (above) outside the manicured grounds of the Park Centre in suburban Chicago. I really like that cool clock tower, too! Reminds me of the monolith thing in 2001: A Space Odyssey! I can so see all those apes sitting around staring up at it and timidly touching it--while curious shoppers walk by and shake their heads. Heh.

Northland Center

Southfield, Michigan - 1950's


Southfield, Michigan - 1955

Northland's current website.

1947 Dr. Pepper ad

Now in this 1947 Dr. Pepper ad, we have a little girl out doing all the shopping for the family! An alarming trend I'm noticing at play here back in the '40s and '50s! :)

Park Central Mall

Phoenix, Arizona - 1960's

Merle Hay Plaza

Des Moines, Iowa - 1960's

There's a Kresge store to the right and a Sears anchor in the back.

1957 Canada Dry ad

Gee, Jimmy must have some lazy parents, huh? They just sit around the house and wait for the Canada Dry to come to them, courtesy of little Jimmy, their slave-son! Why do I think he drove hisself to the store, too? Mom and dad sure aren't gonna do it--they're too busy sipping on Canada Dry all day long!

At any rate, that is a great picture there at the top, isn't it?

California shopping center paking lot

Santa Maria, California - 1960's

Oakbrook Center

Chicago, Illinois - 1960's

Oakbrook's current website.

Vintage Kresge Davy Crockett button

'50s or '60s

Chris-Town Mall

Phoenix, Arizona - 1964

Wow! Feast your eyes on this beauty! Simply stunning. Chris-Town had character to spare back in the day, that's for dang sure!

This is the "Court of Flowers" section. Check out that cool red bull resting in the foliage there. It's Chris-Town Mall's Ferdinand the Bull! Swank just doesn't get much better than this, man. Wonder if they were able to keep kids off that thing? Can't imagine. The Sidewalk Cafe is visible in the background.

Sears Shopping Center

Lincoln Park, Michigan - 1960

Various nostalgic views of the stores that made up this regional suburban Detroit Sears-anchored shopping center.

California shopping excursion (Riverside Plaza)

Riverside, California - 1960's

I'm not sure exactly which mall or shopping center this would be. All I have to go on is that the photo was taken in a shopping center in Riverside. I haven't had a chance to look into it further.

Charming shot, though, wherever it was taken! You can see a Harris' on the right and a Woolworth's on the left, with Mom, Dad, and Daughter, walking the promenade hand-in-hand, in fine '60s nuclear family fashion.

Update: Thanks Kayla, and Christopher Boese, for identifying the photo as the Riverside Plaza! I appreciate the help.

Mayfair Mall

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - 1959

The North Mall area in the Mayfair Shopping Center. Looks kind of lonely, here don't it? I can just picture sitting there contemplating my navel, while the spooky wind whips eerily through the trees and open spaces. Brrr!

Man, if I were the last man on earth, I would love hanging out at abandoned shopping malls. Here's Mayfair's current website.

Mall Madness! Shopping Mall boardgames

"Mall Madness", the shopping boardgame to end all shopping boardgames! Below are a few shots of the classic teen shopping game, along with a few others you may or may not have ever heard of. After many requests, I figured I'd finally post this. For I've found (like the siren call of the shopping mall) resitance is futile.

Back in the '80s my younger sister, a rabid teen shopaholic (the exact demographic Milton Bradley was targeting), forced my two brothers and I to play this game with her more times than I care to admit, so I got to know it quite well--for better or worse. Mall Madness was a "talking" game that played very annoying (to me and my brothers anyway) audio clips throughout a game.

I so clearly remember that monotonous "choong-choong!" sound the cash register made over and over and over, and the soothing female robotic mall "speaker" announcements: "there's a sale at the FASHION BOUTIQUE". To this day, on occasion, my brothers and I still maniacally blurt out lines from the game that drove us nuts: "Wooowee! Lines' too long! Try again later!". Trust me, once it gets inside your head, it's all over for you.

(original 1989 box I knew so well)

(updated '90s box)

(current Bratz-look version)

Various other shopping boardgames

1964

1981

1964

1960

1977

Woodland Mall

Grand Rapids, Michigan - 1970's

There's a Sears anchor down there at the end, and a glorious Kresge store just to the right. Quite a humble little fountain there, yes, and not a lot of frills to be seen in this interior, but I still like this photo a lot!

Aw heck, I'll admit it, I'm biased! This baby's out here in my own neck of the woods (Michigan), so I always have a special fondness for those malls. MY malls. :) Here's Woodland Mall's current website.

Eastridge Mall

San Jose, California - '60s or '70s

Central Plaza Mall

St Petersburg, Florida - 1962

Here's a shot of the cool "Shopper Dropper" passenger shuttle train at Central Plaza Mall.

Metro Center Mall

Phoenix, Arizona - late '60s

"Nirvana for the passionate shopper!" Someone here recently requested Metro Center pix, so here they are. Enjoy!

Metro Center's current website.