Walt Whitman Mall

Huntington Station, New York - 1967

Walt Whitman's current website.

Sunvalley Mall

Concord, California - 1960's

Escalator's reaching the second floor. Here's Sunvalley's current website.

Woodland Mall

Grand Rapids, Michigan - 1970's

You can just make out a bird cage down at the other end of the mall, and just off the red carpet in the foreground, you can see a couple of kids playing on an elephant (I think) sculpture. Here's Woodland's current website.

Vintage Shopping Mall Aerials - 1

Rheem Shopping Center, Oakland, CA - 1960's


Cherry Hill Mall, Cherry Hill, NJ - 1960s


Mission Valley Mall, San Diego, CA - 1961


Greenbriar Mall, Atlanta, GA - 1960's


Hilldale Shopping Center, Madison, WI - 1960's


Westage Shopping Center, Asheville, NC - 1959

Mall book

Sunvalley Mall

Concord, California - 1960's

I love this shot! Very pretty interior with some nice colors. Plus, I think their logo in the upper-left corner is kind of nifty, too! Here's Sunvalley's current website.

Mid-Cities Mall

Manitowoc, Wisconsin - February 12, 1984

Caption text: "Livestock Auction at the Mall. A man shows his cow in front of Penneys during an auction held at the Mid-Cities Mall. Twenty-one registered heifer calves were sold during the weekend of February 12-13, 1984, at an unusual location, the Mid-Cities Mall in Manitowoc. The auction was held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Guernsey Breeders Association convention in Two Rivers." Photo via.

Palm Beach Mall

West Palm Beach, Florida - 1968

Here's Palm Beach Mall's current "Simonized" website, which means there isn't a whole lot to see there, just another generic Simon-owned mall info page.

Gus Mayer Department Store

New Orleans, Louisiana - 1953

Postcard this photo comes from reads: "The bright and gay Children's Department on the 4th floor...a rendevous for the younger set. "

Columbus Square Mall

Columbus, Georgia - 1960's

Golf Mill Shopping Center

Niles, Illinois - 1967

The grounds of the outside Mill area, with its water wheel, bridges and pools with goldfish. Their current website.

Midi Muzak

OK guys, kind of a weird idea here, but I'm gonna roll with it anyway cuz I dig it and think it's fun. Hope a few of you do, too. Just ignore me if not. :)

I'm assuming everyone out there knows what Midi music is (computerized music) and more importantly for our purposes, what it sounds like -- which is usually, (the majority of it anyway), amazingly and utterly CHEESY, with a capital Cheese!

So recently, I happened to hear some random midi song playing on a website I was visiting, and just laughed out loud at the outrageously bland and silly version of a popular song I was suddenly hearing! Sounded like a dying calf in a snowstorm.

But it got me to thinking about how much most midi tunes actually mirror, and even sound like, the stereotypical "mall muzak" you hear at malls, shopping centers, department stores and whatnot. I came to the sudden realization that Midi Music, is the web's Mall Music! It really is. It's even used in much the same way -- banal, watered-down, generic Lawrence Welk-isized versions of popular songs, used in the background of websites to put you in a certain mood while you slowly browse around! See how it all fits together now?

Well anyway, I've hand-picked some choice "Midi Muzak" examples for you today (whether you like it or not, hehehe), to listen to for yourself. Heck, cue them all up, play at a soft "background" level, and maybe it will help to set the mood as you gaze at the wonderful pictures here on this blog! Or maybe not. I don't know. But I just couldn't resist doing it. The zip file is below and it's really tiny, cuz all the 15 tracks it contains are just midi files. Most computers play midi sounds by default, but if these don't work for you for some weird Twilight Zone reason, you're on your own on that one. I can't help you.

And now, behold the power of Cheese!

Download Midi Muzak Vol. 1 (180kb) via RapidShare (choose the "free" option for your download-type).

Mayfair Mall

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - 1959

Great exterior shot of the Marshall Fields entrance at Mayfair, along with those glorious old cars sitting in the parking lot! Here's the mall's current website.

Hess's Department Store interiors

Allentown, Pennsylvania - 1960's


Allentown, Pennsylvania - 1971

The photo above was shot during the annual 1971 International Flower Show inside Hess's.

WestShore Plaza

Tampa, Florida - 1960's

The WestShore Plaza is still there today (though the Woolworth's isn't, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear the fountain's gone as well) . Here's their current website.

The Galleria Mall

Houston, Texas - postmarked 1984

Great postcard showing skaters down on the ice rink in the Galleria, as shoppers stop by to gawk. Here's their current website.