Kokomo, Indiana - 1993
Outside the Sears store at Markland Mall in 1993. Thanks to, Jay, for another peachy photo submission! Here's Markland Mall's current pitch from their website:
"At Markland Mall, you'll find fabulous fashion, exceptional eateries, delightful diversions and superb shops that entice you to create a new look! Come to Markland Mall where you'll be sure to find what you need with stores like Sears and Target and more than 40 specialty stores, including Aeropostale, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Books-A-Million, Finish Line, Old Navy, Maurices, Pac Sun and Victoria's Secret. A surreal indoor miniature golf course under black lights adds to the attractions."OK, now that "surreal" indoor black light golf course sounds cool! Anyone here tried it? More shopping malls need those now that they mention it. :)
Mall history: 1968 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none
I knew it'd just be a matter of time until one of my old haunts showed up here. Markland Mall, I remember you well in the late 70s/early 80s. Countless hours spent at the arcade and the movie theater made me the man I am today. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Didn't know any Sears were sporting their old logos in '93.
ReplyDeleteSouthwest Plaza, near Denver, has a blacklight golf facility, and it is not as cool as you would think. Rather, it is just one of the signs, along with all the B and C retailers, that the mall can't fill up their storefronts.
ReplyDeleteTheir line of "speciality shops" don't sound very special to me.
ReplyDeleteI've played the course that pboy mentioned at Southwest Plaza - it pretty much sucks. However, at another course, located at Colorado Mills Mall (also in the Denver area) I had a lot of fun and enjoyed taking in the trippy art. When implemented well, black light golf can be quite fun. :) However, I agree that it probably means that the mall is in decline.
ReplyDeleteBeen a while since I last commented here. Time to get rolling again.
ReplyDeleteWhat better way than with that classic Sears script...in RED!. Thanks for finally finding one. Same exact style of signage the Sears at Sheboygan WI's Memorial Mall had up until 1995 (probably roundabout the same time for this store too).
Also speaking of classic logos, anyone notice JCPenney has gone back to using their thicker-lettered version of their "JCPenney' logo they started with in Fall 1971....saw this on their Fall/Winter '07 catalog. Sure, not 'Penneys' but it's more retro-looking now.
Now if Sears could just get their bearings again and retool their tarnished image.
Thanks for this one Keith. I'm glad to be back too.
From the looks of things...I would guess this would be more 1983 than 1993...of course this goes by judging the car collection in the parking lot( I see a lot of boxey cars and i see A Fireo,80's vette,80's chevy van etc )
ReplyDeleteJay (who supplied the photo) said it was '93, taken whilst passing through Kokomo on a trip. So I'm pretty sure the stated date is correct.
ReplyDeleteAs for the black light golf--oh well, the concept is still cool at any rate, even if the reality of the experience may vary.
And welcome back, Matt! Glad to have you back. I appreciate your presence and comments here. :)
Yep, it was 1993, and I was certainly very happy and surprised to find this Sears unchanged at that time.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I wish I had started looking for these places earlier. I would have found far more of them to photograph.
Was this Sears ever another store?
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have been another store. The 'double-entry' prototype like this was a common building style in the 1960s for Sears.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm curious about is what the Target at the other end was beforehand.
Lazarus of course, became Macy*s.
The dying Columbia Mall up the road from me in Bloomsburg PA has "3-D Glow-In-The-Dark Pirate Mimiature Golf". We thought it was great fun.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, probably a sign the mall isn't doing well. And I was disappointed that the new golf location took the old arcade. Especially when there's a huge empty anchor next to it.....
I live in Kokomo. The Target store at the north end of the mall used to be called T-Way. I think the golf is no longer. The defunct Macy's store was first a store name Blocks, then Lazarus. Markland Mall was in decline but has seen a rebound in the last cpl of yrs with new renovations.
ReplyDeleteTarget's predecessor was Ayr-way,a discount version of L.S Ayers. T-Way was south of Markland Mall, located in a strip mall near the intersection of Hwy 31 & Alto Road.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is a cool site! I am the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Markland Mall and actually worked there from 1985 through 1994! I left for a while and came back in 1998! The lunar mini golf has been gone for a while now. We miss that a lot!
ReplyDelete