Winter Park, Florida - circa 1960
"Winter Park Mall, located in the heart of Winter Park, Florida, was hailed in the 1960s as a symbol of progress. The Mall was designed to compete directly for customers with nearby Park Avenue, the City's traditional Main Street. Starting in the 1980s, however, Winter Park Mall steadily declined in sales and lost tenants, while Park Avenue maintained its vitality and grew stronger. Park Avenue is now known as 'the Main Street that killed the Mall'."Mall history: 1950s - late '90s (redeveloped)
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Ooooo. The chalice returns! Great photo!
ReplyDeleteWow - I had no idea there used to be a mall there! I can't wait to see a post here in 20-30 years describing the replacement for the Winter Park Village when it, too, becomes obsolete. :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Does anyone really live in those condos above the Cheesecake Factory (and other stores)? They always looked empty to me...
Could you not use the phrase "Lifestyle Center"? It makes me feel...soiled.
ReplyDeleteHeh, that's their term, not mine, trust me. But I do feel your pain with the phrase, arfnotz , as I've intimated here many times before.
ReplyDeletezwanzig: I have no idea if anyone's living in those condos...but I'd think they're supposed to be (if they're finished and safe to live in).
Thanks for the comments everyone!
I love that fountain every single waking moment I see it. it's nice to see it here with some mall atmosphere and the flowers.
ReplyDeleteThis brings back memories. My mother grew up in Winter Park and I later went to college there. This mall was the epitome of sad in the early 90's. But I would say that Park Avenue only won the battle and not the war back then. Now this is a thriving retail area and Park Ave has lost all it's charm of indy retailers and has sold out to being almost entirely chains.
ReplyDeleteI think it was already past its heyday when I visited there in 1978. It was so much smaller than Altamonte Mall. There weren't very many shoppers around. I remember that Winter Park Mall had two anchors, JB Ivey's on one end, and JC Penney on the other end. Penney's had the funky 60's logos on the outside and mall entrances. I also remember a Woolworths (complete with luncheonette) and a huge Walgreens (with its own luncheonette too!) Walking acrross the mall wasn't a huge deal. That fountain in the postcard was turned off that day, and it looked like a big black chalice. I also remember the distinct damp smell in Penney's and the mall itself. I think it's common to places where the A/C is always running because when I returned to Altamonte Mall in 1990, it had developed the same damp smell.....
ReplyDeleteDidn't a prior version of the Winter Park Mall have a train that ran around the top of it that was lost to a fire in the 60s? My first visit to the mall was in 1969. It was classy and nice. I went to Rollins in the 70s and Park Ave was great as well. I still recall Jacobson's having window displays of "Resort Wear!" I live in NYC now and all we have is a pile of chains, with high-handed service to go with the high prices! Oh, to be back in Winter Park in the 60s!!
ReplyDeleteThis post brings back memories as I used to manage the 5-7-9 Shop in this mall as well as the Colonial Plaza Mall & Fashion Square Mall in Orlando...good times! I have not been back since the Winter Park Mall was redeveloped, but the Colonial Plaza Mall redevelopment was great!
ReplyDelete