Monday, July 31, 2006

Oakbrook Center


Oak Brook, Illinois - circa 1963

Colorful and oh-so-inviting view of the well-manicured grounds at Oakbrook Center mall. Back of this postcard reads:
"Looking across the beautifully landscaped Mall in one of the largest planned shopping centers in the nation. 5,000 chrysanthemums are planted here yearly."
History: 1962 - present
Architect: Richard Marsh Bennett
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2



Northridge Mall



Milwaukee, Wisconsin - circa 1974

Here are two great interior shots of the now-defunct Northridge Mall, in Milwaukee. These were taken not very long after the mall's opening in '73. (photos courtesy & © the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries)

Like many dead malls, this one's history was a colorful, and ultimately, sad one. For a number of years a thriving, happy place to be, only to wind up dying an ugly, steady death, beginning in the early '90s. It was razed to make way for a standard strip mall site called, Granville Station.

Mall history: 1973 - 2002 (dead)
Current aerial view (outdated, still showing the mall)
Resource articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Previous entries: none



Mall del Norte


Laredo, Texas - circa late '70s

Another kind of gloomy looking interior photo of Mall del Norte (like the last one I posted of it). Though I'm not complaining, because I like them dark and gloomy, as I've mentioned before. I'm not sure why, I just do. The darker and gloomier, the betterer ! :)

History: 1977 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1



Saturday, July 29, 2006

Winter Park Mall


Winter Park, Florida - circa 1959

Not too shabby, eh? Winter Park Mall (now Winter Park Village) really had a nice center court. This scene is just an amazing sight to my eyes. The views at the aerial link below are quite spectacular, too!

Mall history: 1950's - late '90s (redeveloped)
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4



Retro Video - The Front Line (1965)


The Front Line (1965)

I'm sorry, but I just love the heck out of these goofy old public domain industrial films! Can't resist posting them here (and I think they're related enough, in the general scheme and mood of things). You'll have to bear with me if you don't share my enthusiasm, cuz I think they rock. :) And this one is almost a pop art masterpiece of exploding colors, music, hair-do's, and groceries, in my opinion!

This film is a 1965 instructional short from the Super Market Institute, that delves into the fine art of cashiering, and all that it entails (which is a lot, it turns out). There's some really nice vintage grocery store footage in it, including all those gaudy, old-timey cash registers and food labels and what not.

I know this whole super market deal pretty well myself, as a matter of fact, having worked in a huge Farmer Jack grocery store here in Michigan for quite a while many years ago. Those people earn their money, let me tell you! (The good ones anyway, who actually care and work hard at it, which not everyone does.) It aint no jazz garden, that's for sure.

Our checkers today:



Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Exton Square Mall


Exton, Pennsylvania - circa 1970s

Beautiful fountain and interior of Exton Square Mall. Looks like a pretty tall plume of water there! Impressive scale for an indoor fountain. Actually, this fountain court, looks very similar to the one that was in Cinderella City Mall. Almost an identical setup, even down to the apparent water spray height (40-foot plume Cinderella City had--not sure this one is quite that tall).

Mall history: 1973 - current
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1



Friday, July 28, 2006

Mayfield Mall


Mountain View, California - circa 1966

This groovy photo speaks for itself! The quintessential looking swinging sixties mall, complete with funky flower pattern hangings, and wall-to-wall carpeting (which this mall had). I only wish this shot was in color! (image courtesy of the Mountain View Preservation Alliance)

According to the MVPA:
"The Mall was shut down in 1984 after owners felt it could not compete with newer or expanding malls like Vallco and San Antonio Center. The building was converted into an HP office building. HP is vacating the building in the near future, and the future development of the property has yet to be determined."
Obviously there's no official website for Mayfield Mall (Northern California's first fully enclosed, climate-controlled mall) since it's long gone, but a quick search found some good background info on this cool page, among a few others, if you're interested.

History: 1960s - 1984 (dead)
Previous entries: none



Dixie Square "The Dead Mall" Promo


Harvey, Illinois

Haunting (and rather spooky) promotional video with lots of footage of the long-abandoned (and quite decrepit and scary looking) Dixie Square Mall. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming documentary from Paw Filmworks. Below is the information they included with the video:
"Promotional video put together by the Paw Filmworks "Dixie Square" documentary crew back in November 2005. Some never-before-seen footage of 'The Deadest Mall In America' set to the music of Parliament Funkadelic's haunting 'Maggot Brain' instrumental."
Mall history: 1966 - 1978
Architect: Hornbach & Steenwyk
Fan website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Thursday, July 27, 2006

Tacoma Mall


Tacoma, Washington - circa 1960s

The Bon Marché anchor at Tacoma Mall, looks very regal and classy here. I always liked the flags on top of these stores, too. Nice touch. Many thanks to Tyler Kaye, for this great photo! He added some helpful info, too:
"The Bon Marche opened in August 1964 before the rest of the mall was built. J.C. Penney and the main concourse opened in October 1965, and Nordstrom-Best opened in 1966. That was Phase One. Liberty House (later Frederick & Nelson and now Mervyn's) and a west wing was added in 1973. Sears and the northeast wing came in 1981. Nordstrom expanded in 1983.

A significant remodel came in 2000, which added a food court. More changes will come next February when Mervyn's goes out of business and their store will be demolished to make way for a new Nordstrom. The very dated current Nordstrom will be torn down for an outdoor lifestyle center--BOO!"
Boo, indeed. :(

(Ugh, Blogger's giving me all kinds of trouble (and errors) trying to post this! Hope it gets through OK.)

Mall history: 1964 - present
Architect: John Graham
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2



Coral Ridge Mall


Fort Lauderdale, Florida - circa 1970s

Need some data on the Coral Ridge Mall if anyone out there has any to share. Found very little online about it (at least around my usual haunts). I found no official website for it, nor do I know what year it was first opened--though I know it's still there and operating. Many thanks to Rob, for this great submission!

Please Note: Posting is currently a real struggle here this morning (and was yesterday too!), as Blogger is having some serious problems right now. I'll try to at least get something posted here in the next few minutes while I have time (if it'll let me), but basically, if you don't see much new here today, and if the site is hard to even get to load and you get weird errors, you know why. Hopefully they'll get it all worked out later today.

History: ? - present
Current website: none
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Water Fountains

No, these aren't all mall fountains (or even in America), but heck they're fountains, and those always remind me of the shopping mall vibe! And besides, what climate-controlled mall blog worth its salty pretzels wouldn't offer you some sweet fountains to gaze at and cool off in--especially when it's so flippin' hot outside, like lately in many portions of the US?!

So here are just a few of the many nice water fountain videos I found on YouTube of late. Let's kick off our shoes, relax for a few moments, and take a little fountain break! :) Btw, to avoid auditory annoyance, watch the volume, as some are louder than others.


Taipei 101 - Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC


Shopping Center - Nurnburg, Germany


Sunshine City Mall - Ikebukuro, Tokyo


Fountain music video


The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc - Barcelona, Spain

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Dadeland Mall


Miami, Florida - circa 1962

Here's another aerial photograph of Dadeland Mall, but this one from a few years earlier than the one I just posted a couple days ago. This is a shot of the mall around the time it first opened in '62 (notice the growth changes in the 1975 photo).


Miami, Florida - circa 1975

And how 'bout let's time travel back to the future (heh), to 1975, and go inside, shall we? Vintage yet decidedly modern looking interior photo (thanks to Alex, for both great image finds here!).

History: 1962 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1



Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Levittown Shopping Center


Levittown, Pennsylvania - circa 1950s

During a promotional event at the shopping center, Children ride through the parking lot on an "elephant train"! This is why malls and shopping centers rocked in the good old days.


Levittown, Pennsylvania - circa 1950s

The back court entrance of Sears is visible, as shoppers leisurely stroll past the shops at the Shop-a-Rama. (photos via)

History: 1953 - present (re-developed)
Developer: William Levitt
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1



Dadeland Mall


Miami, Florida - circa 1975

Fantastic sprawling aerial view for another mall I've never featured here. Welcome to Dadeland Mall! Funky interior shots of this one are coming soon.

History: 1962 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none



Vintage toy commercials


Penneys TV spot - 1970s


Woolco & Woolworth X-mas TV spot - 1980s

Vintage store toy commerials! The Penneys video shows many great ones in their lineup, and the Woolco & Woolworth one is for a cool Tyco racetrack set! Had several of those babies over the years. An annual Christmas gift staple at my house growing up (needed a new one every year to replace the one we got last Christmas and promptly broke within a couple weeks).

No trip to our local malls was ever complete without a stop in Woolworth and Penneys!

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Tel-Twelve Mall


Southfield, Michigan - circa 1970s(?)

Tel-Twelve Mall was demolished in 2002 and re-developed into an ever-popular openair center, surrounded by a bevy of external bigbox stores. Bye bye shopping mall. (Not sure how old that aerial below is, btw.)

Mall history: 1967 - 2002 (re-developed)
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Monday, July 24, 2006

Levittown Shopping Center


Levittown, Pennsylvania - circa 1950s

Nice little view of an outside promenade court area at The Levittown Shopping Center (as it was originally named). Within a couple years of its 1953 opening, it would be officially renamed the "Levittown Shop-a-Rama", which never stuck with the public, however, who continued to refer to it by its original name. In 2002, the site was redeveloped and renamed yet again, reopening this time as the Levittown Town Center (allow myself to introduce...myself. Heh).


Same (sad) view as it looked in 2000 (photo via)

Some of the original stores here included Woolworths, Sears, Kresges, Pomeroys and Penneys, to name a few. I will definitely be doing more entries on not only the Levittown Shopping Center and Levittown itself, but also its famous visionary developer, William Levitt, which is a whole other story in its own right (lots of great links & photos to share on that stuff eventually!).

History: 1953 - present
Developer: William Levitt
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Friday, July 21, 2006

Seminole Mall


Seminole, Florida - circa 1970s

Talk about funky (and pukey)! Here's Seminole Mall, in all it's harvest gold/avacado green glory. They sure don't make interiors like this anymore. At least not on purpose. Not the best quality shot, but it's all I have at the moment and I wanted to post it. There's an interesting 2002 article on this mall and its struggles to stay afloat, right here, if anyone's interested.

Mall history: 1970 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Midtown Plaza mall "Clock of the Nations"


Midtown Plaza - 1963

You've seen this mall and its famous clock frequently here at this blog, in pictures, so now how would you like to see it in action, and from right around the time the mall first opened?

I took the original 1963 Jam Handy industrial film short, Rochester: A City of Quality, and edited out all but the Midtown Plaza shopping center footage, leaving only the rich, creamy, nougaty shopping mall center! Hope you dig the few minute's worth of film I ended up with. As a bonus, here's another shot of the "Clock of the Nations", which sits in "America's Town Square", in Midtown...

Rochester, New York - circa 1960s

Back of postcard reads: "The unique 'Clock of the Nations' is the focal point of Midtown Plaza mall. Visitors gather each hour and half-hour to watch animated dolls dance to music of twelve nations. Midtown Plaza, in the heart of downtown Rochester, NY, boasts more than 1,000,000 square feet of stores, shops, services."

Mall history: 1961 - present
Architect: Victor Gruen
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Northgate Mall - The Bon Marche


Seattle, Washington - 1950s

One of the original Northgate Mall anchors, The Bon Marche department store, lit up and glowing brightly, beckoning to shoppers, in this wonderful vintage nighttime photo!

History: 1950 - present
Architect: John Graham Jr. (1908-1991)
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2



Thursday, July 20, 2006

Kennedy Mall


Dubuque, Iowa - late '60s or early '70s

This postcard literally doesn't say which mall this is! So I've done a little quick digging and I'm gonna deduce that it's most likely Kennedy Mall (the first climate controlled mall in Iowa). Please feel free to correct me if you think I'm wrong, and I'll fix the post later. But assuming this is Kennedy Mall like I think it is, I'll point out that stores actually began collecting at the site of this future enclosed shopping mall in 1964, but it wasn't offically opened as a mall until 1970 (decent history can be read at the Wikipedia link below).

Personally, I think this is another of the absolute grooviest shots yet here! This is the kind of classic, vintage shopping mall photo I really love. The funky space-age design (look at that ceiling!), the colors, the fountain, the little kid playing in said fountain, the plethora of nerdy old dudes, etc. It's got it all!

Mall history: 1970 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Retro Video - "In the Suburbs"


In the Suburbs (1957)

Great, cheesy old 1957 public domain promotional short from Redbook Magazine, In the Suburbs. For me, the study of Suburbia is directly related to (and parallels) my interest in vintage malls and shopping centers. Which is why I'm sharing this kitschy old documentary about the Suburbs, and the young families who live, work and shop there (circa the late '50s).

Video quality isn't that great (original is crystal-clear, of course), as this one is pretty long (almost 20 minutes), so Google really compressed it. But you'll get the drift. Anyway, if you've never seen this before (like at The Internet Archive, for instance), then grab a nice cup of coffee, sit back, relax and ride with the young adults!

Btw, there's some terrific shopping footage in this piece, a few minutes in. So if you're not interested in all the suburbia living stuff and want to skip right to the actual shopping and retail scenes, scroll to about the 8 minute mark and watch from there. But if you've never seen this before, I'd sincerely suggest you watch the whole thing. It's the kind of stuff that's right up our collective alley's here, I think! Might not be entirely focused on shopping malls, per se, but it's still great stuff--like the Shopping Can Be Fun video I shared a while back! :)

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Palm Beach Mall




West Palm Beach, Florida - 1971 (all)

Yep, it's more super-swanktastic photos of Palm Beach Mall back in the '70s! These black & white shots take us outside the mall itself and into the parking lot, for a cool look at the entrance, some of the stores, a few palm trees, and plenty of vintage-era cars. And look, not a cloud in the sky! Can it get much better? I submit that it cannot! (Many thanks again to, Alex, for spotting these babies and e-mailing them to me!)

History: 1967 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4



Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Lloyd Center


Portland, Oregon - circa early '60s

Super stylish looking Merle Norman cosmetics & gifts store, inside Lloyd Center mall. Nice storefront design. And just look at all the wonderful little gifts it's chock full of! Bet there's some mighty cool stuff in there.

Mall history: 1960 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4



Pompano Fashion Square Mall


Pompano Beach, Florida - 1973

The Pompano Fashion Square Mall (as it was originally named), was initially an enclosed shopping center, that was redeveloped in recent years, into an open-air mall layout. It was also renamed, and is now known as the, wait for it... Pompano Citi Centre. How thrilling. Boy, they're really working hard these days to get the "mall" out of the shopping malls, aren't they? Unbelievable.

Anyway, in this nice shot above, we can see the Penneys anchor at this entrance (many thanks to MOA reader, Alex, for finding this fantastic shot for the archive!).

Keep in mind that this is the mall that sported that really cool, huge fish sculpture that I featured in the other Pompano Square entry. Of course, this was back many years ago, when the place still had a soul.

For me, this mall would have been worth a trip just to see that weird looking fish in person! Be sure and read the comments in the other entry, too, for some great memories of this mall--and its huge fish.

History: 1970 - present
Developer: Leonard L. Farber
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1



Friday, July 14, 2006

Northway Mall



Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - circa 1970s

Here's a couple of wonderful vintage photos to start the weekend off right! First one is, of course, a groovy Woolworth's store--you can see the checkout counter and everything! Incredible view. The second is a Marianne ladies clothing store.

Currently known officially as the Shoppes at Northway, but still more widely referred to as Northway Mall (the newer "Shoppes" moniker is a post-renovation rename), this was purpotedly the first enclosed shopping mall in Pennsylvania. (photos courtesy The Shoppes at Northway)

Mall history: 1962 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Woolworth & Woolco Stereo Spectacular!


1978

Here's a cool old TV commercial from 1978, for the Woolworth & Woolco Stereo Spectacular Sale! I'm sure many of us ran straight to the mall after seeing a spot like this, to stock up on our records and 8-track tapes! :)

Man, I remember quite fondly these kinds of commercials, which pretty much ran around the clock in those days on TV. Alas, good times, good times...

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Midtown Plaza


Rochester, New York - circa 1968

Fresh in the mail yesterday was this great postcard! Another very moody shot, just dripping with cool retro ambience.

In this one we see Midtown Plaza mall bathed in a warm, romanitc glow. And yes, this is the actual lighting and coloring of the original photo. I did a little color-correction and balancing on it to ensure the finished scanned image would match the original as closely as possible. And it does. Obviously, this warm orangish tinting was done intentionally for atmospheric effect, and was not quite the normal lighting in Midtown Plaza, even at night (in fact, you can see it's actually daytime in this photo, I believe, if you look in the upper-left cieling windows).

I thought the kids gazing into the fountain was a nice little moment in time, too, so I scanned a blowup of it (at right) for a closer look. It was worth it.

I remember doing the same thing in our local malls with my brothers and sister growing up. Getting hypnotized by the whole thing: the relaxing sounds of the gurggling fountains, the shimmering ripples on the surface, the glistening coins blinking up at you from the fountain's tiled bottom, all mixed with the murmuring din of busy shoppers and lulling muzak echoing throughout the mall in the background. Gazing into those fountains of youth was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. Maybe I should do it more often now? Haven't in a long time.

Oh, and want an eyeful of architecture? Of course you do. Be sure and click on the "Bird's eye" view on the aerial link below. "Midtown" Plaza is right--this mall is wedged right in the middle of it all!

Mall history: 1961 - present
Architect: Victor Gruen
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4



Ultimate Mall fountain



We sure didn't have fountains like this in malls when I was growing up! They've certainly come a long way (for better or worse, depending on how you look at things). But then again, this might be getting just a little into overkill territory here. :D

Anyway, this is not vintage, just a video clip I came across on YouTube, of an amazing choreographed fountain in Aberdeen Mall, in Richmond, British Columbia. The waters are dancing to "What a Feeling", from Flashdance. I think it's kind of cool myself. Of course, it might get annoying if you're trying to shop and it goes off to much. Wonder how often they actually run it like this? If you worked there you might get sick of it real fast, too, heh.

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Cinderella City Mall


Englewood, Colorado - 1970s

Quaint town street-themed "Cinder Alley", inside the incredible (but now gone) Cinderella City Mall. Very cool and colorful photograph! (courtesy MallHistory.com)

This mall was so amazing and had such a fascinating and rich history, that I won't even try to recount it all here. Besides, that's already been done for us very admirably, by dedicated fan, Josh Goldstein (see the Wikipedia link below). I think this mall deserves a lot more attention than it gets! The more you learn about it, the more I think you'll agree. Dixie Square Mall currently has a documentary in the works about it... well I think Cinderella City is equally deserving of that kind of attention. It was truly a huge, breathtaking shopping mall, with tons of character and color!

Mall history: 1968 - 1999
Developer: Gerri Von Frellick
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1, 2



Sketches of Frank Gehry



Just thought I'd mention for anyone out there who's like-minded as me, a new film that's currently in limited release (comes out on DVD in August), called Sketches of Frank Gehry, from Sony Pictures Classics. It's a documentary by Sydney Pollack, about the life and work of renowned architect, Frank Gehry, who not only designed a little building called the Guggenheim (you may have heard of it) to name one, but more importantly (to us anyway, hehe), the Santa Monica Place mall, along with many other beautiful buildings.

Anyway, I dig what I see in the trailer above (check out the related interview with Sydney Pollack on this Amazon page, too). Really looks interesting! I'll probably have to wait till next month to see it on DVD myself, but I figured I better mention this movie, since there aren't too many architect movies coming out these days (lol). I'd guess a couple of you here have seen this already, no?

www.sketchesoffrankgehry.com

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Somerset Mall


Troy, Michigan - circa early '70s

Now called The Somerset Collection (which I hate), this is an upscale hoity-toity mall right in my own backyard. In fact, I'm near it almost every day--though I can't afford to shop there. Heh.

Somerset actually has quite an interesting layout nowadays, though, consisting of two actual malls sitting seperately across the street from one another on the North and South sides of Big Beaver Road, and connected to each other (to form The Somerset Collection) by an elevated, moving sidewalk in a tunnel, called The Skywalk. So it's two malls for the price of one here! And they tout this "Skywalk" as something pretty special, too:
"The Skywalk — Spanning Big Beaver Road and integrating the twin centers is a 700-foot, enclosed, climate-controlled Skywalk. One of the first skywalks of its kind in the country, the bridge features a moving sidewalk to move shoppers between Somerset Collection South and Somerset Collection North, enabling them to conveniently shop the entire center in a single trip."
Just like in The Jetsons! And I do have to admit, it is kind of cool in person. You can actually see the Skywalk connecting the North and South malls in the aerial I link to below.

Anyway, there's no doubt this is really a beautiful looking mall (check out their Virtual Tour page), but it's certainly not "retro" looking at all anymore. It's all modern-day gloss and High Class sheen now. It always was actually, but then of course, in the 1970s the idea of "high class" wasn't what it is today, so now the old Somerset High Class looks cool! :)

Mall history: 1969 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none



Monday, July 10, 2006

Tacoma Mall


Tacoma, Washington - late '60s or early '70s

Happy Monday everyone! And how's this shot to start the vintage mall week off here? Nice, huh? Man, Tacoma Mall was a pretty cool mall in its early years. Every vintage shot I see of it I love! What style!

This photo obviously has a lot going for it. I dig the creamy color scheme, the majestic columns, the lighting, the two kids in the foreground (the smaller tyke having fun with a balloon), and also that great looking tiered fountain layout! Wow. Actually, this shot sort of puts me in mind of that incredible Palm Beach Mall photo I posted a while back, too. Same vibe.

Really interesting to see those awesome gothic columns that actually start at the main entrance (as seen in my previous Tacoma entry), extending on into the mall itself like this. Nice integrated design theme! As MOA reader, Tyler Kaye (who also submitted this great photo, that I once again thank him immensely for!), notes in the comments of the above-mentioned Tacoma entry, the mall's distinctive main entrance (still there today) was being referred to at the time by local media, as the "Columnarium". I think that has a nice ring to it. (See those comments for more on the entrance and these columns.)

Mall history: 1964 - present
Architect: John Graham
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1



Park Central Shopping Center


Phoenix, Arizona - circa 1950s

Nice shot from this shady corner (looks like one of the few) of the parking lot at Park Central. Store sign on the left says "Coffee Dan's", I believe, and there's a Walgreens visible in the center, and the Goldwaters anchor on the right.

Last I heard this shell-of-a-mall is mostly being used for office space these days--its bustling shopping center days far behind it now. Sad. If only these walls could talk...

Mall history: 1957 - '90s? (dead)
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1



Retro Shopping Music! (to buy toasters by)

Be sure and head over to Ultra Swank today, guys and gals, and download my pal Chris' absolutely groovylicious new mix collection, Retro Shopping Volume 1 - Music to Buy Toasters By! An amazingly cool musical treat consisting of vintage shopping-inspired tracks, that is sure to rock the world of anyone who digs this here blog!

Chris and I are on the same wavelength obviously. Many months ago after I first posted my vintage shopping radio spots and jingles collection here (need to re-upload it yet again), I started slowly putting aside tracks to do this same kind of mix collection (seemed like an obvious no-brainer), but Chris has beat me to it. And I'm glad he did! Not only is he saving me some time now (hehe), but more to the point, he's done a fantastic job!! He's pulled together a great mix of songs that really evoke the whole vibe I'm going for with Malls of America. I'm already playing the HECK out of these tracks myself!

It goes without saying that it's especially perfect to listen to whilst reading this blog. Give it a try. Download it and play it every day when you read MOA. :) Because, if this blog had background music (and I'm toying with that idea), this kind of stuff would be it! Look no further.

My hat's off to you, Chris! Thanks for a super-fun and groovy release! Your hard work is definitely appreciated here. :D



New Comment Index - July 1-7, 2006

Here are all the posts that received new comments last week! (newest entry to oldest)



Friday, July 07, 2006

Swanky Sears

Circa 1961

Though I'm not sure which exact mall this Sears store is attached to (and the image quality isn't great--it's from an old magazine ad), I just really like this shot. There sure is a NICE retro vibe going on in it! Wish my backyard looked like this.



Leonards Department Store Subway


Fort Worth, Texas - 1960's

Back of postcard reads:
"World's first private subway - Through The Bluffs of Trinity River to beautiful sky-high Fort Worth, Texas. This is the first privately owned Department Store Subway in the world. Two of its seven Electric Cars are seen passing at the Entrance. Owned by Leonards Department Store, the vast river-level parking lot, subway and cars are free to the public, making the project unique in the annals of Downtown Business, Enterprise and Pleasure."
I wondered if this subway was still going today. Here's what I found on Wikipedia:
"The Tandy Center Subway operated in Fort Worth, Texas from 1963 to 2002. It ran a distance of 0.7 miles (1.1 km) and was, during the period of its operation, the only privately owned subway in the United States.

The subway was originally built by the Leonards Department Store in 1963, connecting the store to its large parking lots on the edge of downtown. Originally known as the Leonards M&O Subway, it consisted of one underground station beneath the store and three stations in the parking lots. The Tandy Corporation purchased the department store, its parking lots, and the subway in 1967. The corporation built its headquarters, the Tandy Center, on the site in 1974. Although it demolished the original store, Tandy retained the subway.

The small subway primarily served patrons visiting the mall at the base of the Tandy Center. However, the anchor tenant moved out in 1996 and the mall declined. The Tandy Center Subway ceased operation on August 30, 2002, thus ending the last privately-owned subway system in the United States."



Shopping Mall Interactive Floor


Displax Interactive Floor and Window

While this blog's main purpose is definitely to celebrate the past, it doesn't hurt to take a little peek now and then at the future we're heading towards, to help put the past we're celebrating into more perspective (like the RFID video I posted a few days ago). If you get where I'm coming from.

So now, behold the new Displax Interactive Floor and Window! In the video above, you'll see an example of one of these informational & advertising products installed in an unnamed shopping mall. Welcome to true Minority Report/Blade Runner territory here, folks...or I guess, as the makers of the Interactive Display, Displax, say on their website: Welcome to the future!

Times sure are changing, aren't they? In my day (yes, insert crotchety old man voice here), high-tech at the shopping mall was getting a t-shirt or mug made with your face on it while you waited, or
maybe doing your own spin-art at a kiosk or looking at birds or monkees in a cage or something. That was all we had and we liked it! But nowadays...

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Note: Video is Flash format. If you don't see it, you must temporarily disable your ad-blocking programs.



Recent blog comments

I've noticed something that bugs me. That is the fact that many great reader comments this blog receives on a regular basis, probably go largely unread and un-replied to, simply because they're made in archived posts that are off the main page. My guess is that most of you here would enjoy the added information, memories, and dialogue from these new comments, but that you probably don't even usually see most of them (unless you regularly dig through each and every archived page here, which would be a lot of work).

Of course, as owner of this blog, I get to see any new comment automatically (each new one is e-mailed to me as soon as it's posted), but there's no way for you guys to know when old posts get new comments. And I think that's a shame. In a way, this amounts to a lot of fresh new content each week that everyone else pretty much misses out on. Sometimes people clearly work very hard on thoughtful, lengthy comments, and share wonderful details or memories in them (which I really appreciate!), and these shouldn't fall on deaf ears, I don't think.

Problem is, Blogger doesn't implement a "recent comments" sidebar feature by default, and though you can "hack" the code of your blog template and actually add that feature, it's too simplified and limited to be very useful, unfortunately. Any of these hacks I've seen to do this, will only show you the most recent comments on the main page, and that's just not very helpful. I think people should be able to see when older, archived posts get new comments, too, not just the newest stuff on the front page (which is easy to monitor yourself anyway with a cursory glance and a touch of blog familiarity and memory). But especially for a blog like this one, I think new comments in archived posts still need to be seen!

So, in an effort to make sure no one misses anything, and that all comments do get seen, I've decided to try doing it myself by hand (I'll try to do this at the beginning of each new week from now on, if it proves useful and worth doing. So, if you haven't checked some of these past entries in a while, you might want to take a peek at the new comments. I'll start with last week first. Here are all the posts that saw new comments last week (I think I got it all right)..

Last Week's New Comment Index - June 24-30, 2006
(newest entry to oldest)

Palm Beach Mall (6/29/2006)
Hillsdale Shopping Center (6/29/2006)
Dixie Square Documentary Promo #2 (6/27/2006)
SouthPark Mall (6/27/2006)
Northland Center (6/27/2006)
Lenox Square Mall (6/27/2006)
Cherry Hill Mall (6/23/2006)
Edison Mall (6/23/2006)
Greece Town Mall (6/18/2006)
Vintage Mays Discount Store TV commercial (6/18/2006)
Golf Mill Shopping Center (6/15/2006)
Gulf View Square Mall (5/31/2006)
South Flint Plaza (5/19/2006)
Unknown Shopping Center (5/16/2006)
South Coast Plaza (5/13/2006)
Cumberland Mall (9/28/2005)
Greenbriar Mall (9/28/2005)
Randhurst Shopping Center (6/09/2005)

And for good measure while kicking this off, here's the week before that:

New Comment Index - June 17-23, 2006
(newest entry to oldest)

Edison Mall (6/23/2006)
Cherry Hill Mall (6/23/2006)
Cortez Plaza (6/18/2006)
Vintage Mays Discount Store TV commercial (6/18/2006)
Greece Town Mall (6/18/2006)
Golf Mill Shopping Center (6/15/2006)
Wonderland Mall (6/15/2006)
Nicollet Mall (6/15/2006)
Vintage store interior (6/11/2006)
Westgate Shopping Center (6/11/2006)
Briarwood Mall (6/04/2006)
Westland Center (4/05/2006)
The Galleria Mall (11/07/2005)
Genesee Valley Center (10/02/2005)



Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Tacoma Mall


Tacoma, Washington - circa 1960's

Love this retrolicious shot of the '60s Tacoma Mall entrance! Just awesome. And according to the source for this photo, the architect of this mall, John Graham, was the same man/firm who designed the Space Needle in 1962. I kind of get a sense for that relationship when looking at this picture, don't you?

Big thanks go out to Tyler Kaye, for submitting this shot (and several other gems you'll see real soon)! I appreciate the submissions, Tyler, and thank you for taking the time to share the vintage mall goodness. You just made my list of new best friends. :)

Mall history: 1964 - present
Architect: John Graham
Current website: here
Current aerial view



Edgewater Mall

Biloxi, Mississippi - circa 1960's

The beautiful fountain in Edgewater Mall (originally Edgewater Plaza). See my previous entries below on this mall for more nice shots of it. Though she took a direct hit from Katrina, and suffered some severe damage, Edgewater Mall galliantly reopened just 10 weeks after the storm, and continues its healthy recovery and operation today. Bravo!!

Mall history: 1950's - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2



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