Langhorne, Pennsylvania - circa 1973
Oxford Valley Mall interior circa 1973, around the time it first opened. Man, every time I feature this mall I fall in love with it all over again! Its vintage self looked so beautiful and sexy! Well maybe you should marry it, Keith?
Maybe I will...
"(via Wikipedia) The Oxford Valley Mall is a two-story Simon Properties shopping mall located next to the popular amusement park Sesame Place in Langhorne, Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Its department stores are Sears, Boscov's, J.C. Penney, and Macy's. There is a food court on the second floor. The food court was originally the second floor of a Woolworth store.Mall history: 1973 - present
The mall itself acts as an anchor for the huge local conglomeration of shopping centers, such as Target Center, Lincoln Plaza and The Court at Oxford Valley."
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3
I wish you well on your honeymoon and look forward to photos. lol
ReplyDeleteGood thing I announced my return to commenting on MOA at that vintage Sears posting, Keith. I'll bet you had me in mind for this one.
ReplyDeleteYou know well I enjoy, as much as you do, these slices of that moody, groovy '70s architectural design so common back in the day. Even if I wasn't born until '78, many malls went un-renovated until at least the mid-1980s around my neck of the woods.
I don't know if this one was a Simon mall back then. The lighted perimeters of the ceiling (or are those skylights), the darker colors, and the fountain don't seem to have their (Simon's) common design elements of that era. Alot of their malls were rather plain looking. Simon or not back then, I wouldn't mind time-travelling back in time to be standing right where this shot was taken.
One thing that I noticed from one of the other pics is that it had the dark brown tiles like most malls in the Atlanta area did in the 1970's and 1980's. The latticework up on the ceiling was nothing unusual in the day and oddly seems to have aged pretty well...one of the few trends of the 70's that lasted. I really think that malls look bigger and more fun the darker and moodier they are.
ReplyDeleteThe trend is definitely returning to dark and moody, but I still could stand to see some fountains, less light colored tiles and plants everywhere. Part of the reason we have so little to enjoy now is the lawsuit paranoia of the 90's where we couldn't have plants because kids had allergies, we couldn't have fountains because they caused mold and mildew, etc. I see some signs they are trying harder to make malls look elegant again, but the wheels are moving slowly.
Oxford Valley Mall was not a Simon Mall back then. The skylights and ceiling today in OVM are quite similar to what they were then and they give the mall a light and airy feel. I do wish the fountains were still around and if there are pics of the other ones in the mall, I'd love to see them on here. With the upcoming expansion at Quakerbridge Mall (I'd also be interested in seeing if anyone has pics of the old fountains at Quakerbridge), across the river in NJ (they will soon be building a Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, new JCPenney and 120 additional stores), OVM will most likely be needing a renovation or remerchandising soon, but as long as Sesame Place is next door, and no new malls come up in Bucks County, Oxford Valley Mall will do fine.
ReplyDeleteGood comments, guys, thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1: There might be a few that aren't too racy to show here, I guess. We'll see. ;)
Matt: Yep, I knew you'd like this one! We both have an appreciation for the gloomier moody shots.
J.T.: Amen! Well said.
Anonymous #2: I'll see if I can dig up some old shots of the fountains at Quakerbridge for you.
Don't worry, Keith, I fully support you. There are lots of buildings I wish I could marry and go on honeymoons with!
ReplyDeleteTo Matt: A lot of Simon malls ARE STILL plain looking whether they were built in the 70s or in the 90s. Simon always seems to have the most undecorative malls ever. I know I live near one: Lincolnwood Town Center and it was built in 1990.
To didi: Very true. Likewise, My hometown Forest Mall, opened in 1973, had two remodels (1985 and 1998).
ReplyDeleteIt needs another already. The 1998 renovation has dated more quickly than the '85 one did to my eyes. Heck I wouldn't mind seeing some design elements from the 1970s being reintroduced into the mall ....should it ever get another renovation.
Simon's malls (especially the older ones) have the trouble of having low ceiling clearances and wide concourses. Those sorts of things hinder what they can all do as far as design goes.
To Keith: Thought so. Thanks again. :-)
I just recently visited Orland Square Mall with a friend of mine who used to go with me to the Chi-Chi's across the street on Lagrange and 152nd st before it closed down a few years ago. We decided to visit Orland Square mainly because we spent so much time in the shopping center across the way that we never visited the mall. It is a Simon Mall. I am not sure if it has always been a Simon owned mall but I thought we were going to step into a time warp because the outside looked very much orginal and still kickin' it in the 70s. I was wrong. It was plain, pastel-ish and looked very much like Lincolnwood in terms of the concourse and the two floors except Orland Square had two extra anchors making it four while Lincolnwood only has two anchors. Still spelled boring and un-exciting for me.
ReplyDeleteThis mall is the epitome of "moody" that has been used to describe 70's mall.
ReplyDeleteI love it!
Scott
Although I wasn't born until 1980. I miss the malls from my early childhood. Many of them had yet to be remodeled since they were built in the 60/70's. Todays malls are very bland by comparison. The mall that I've recently been too that stands out as unique is the Oviedo Marketplace Mall in Oviedo Florida(just outside of orlando). Everytime I walk into the Oviedo mall it reminds me of going into a mall much older. It still has lots of plants(in fact the walls are covered with vines.And there is even a small manmade river going right through middle of the food court. But almost every other mall I go into is more of the same. I miss the malls like the ones posted on this site.
ReplyDeletegalatasaray
ReplyDeleteHey Guys,
ReplyDeleteJust a note... the Camera Store on the upper level in this photo, is still open at this exact same location in the mall. If this photo is from 1973, that would mean that store's been open since the mall opened... quite a feat! Other than JC Penney, what other stores in the OVM can claim that? I can't think of any others.
It is a Kravoc mall. Well...they merged Simon and Kravoc and there we have it. Spencers has been around since the beginning I believe, same place.
ReplyDeleteThis mall was GORGEOUS back in the 80's, believe me, I spent my childhood there. Fountains and trees EVERYWHERE and that light, airy ceiling. Sadly its gone to s---. It is a playground for the nouveau riche of Newtown and Yardley...ugh. And where the fountains and trees were are now kiosks selling crap.