Mystery Mall (Columbia Mall?)
Columbia, Maryland - circa early '80s
I recently received the following e-mail (with the above photo attached) from MOA reader, Jeanine Long:
"Found this photo while going through old pictures. It is a lovely shot of an indoor fountain in a two story mall. The whole family tried to remember what mall it was but we are coming up short. We live in Northern Ohio in the Cleveland area but it may have been taken on a vacation to Baltimore or to Washington DC. Would love to know if any of your readers can remember where it came from. We know the photo was taken in either 1980 or 1981."Well, I think I may have this mystery solved for you already. I believe it was taken inside Columbia Mall (aka The Mall in Columbia) in Columbia, Maryland. Pretty sure that's it, but if anyone out there thinks differently please comment or e-mail me your opinion. When/if I ever know the answer definitively, I'll update this post. Thanks for the great photo, Janine! :)
Mall history: 1971 - present
Developer: James W. Rouse
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1
Labels: '80s, Columbia, Columbia Mall, Fountain, Maryland
posted by Keith @ 8/21/2007
14 Comments:
That is the Mall in Columbia and that fountain is still there, however, the jets have been reconfigured and it's smaller...last time I was there, there was also a Land Rover parked in the fountain...many malls are utilizing their fountains for advertising space. The Mall in Columbia also has 2 additional fountains; one in front of JCPenney (the pic was posted on this site around a year ago...it's still the same) and one in front of Sears under the stairs.
I remember a two story mall in Suburban Washington, DC called The Iverson Mall. We used to beg to go there all the time!! Is it the same mall? I am talking early 60s so maybe the name was changed later.
Peach in PA
The Iverson Mall is not the same as the Columbia Mall. Here is the website for the Iverson mall.
http://www.iversonmall.com/
I used to visit it in the early 80s with a friend of mine, it is in PG county Maryland. I'd venture to say it is a little less upscale then the Columbia Mall.
The Mall in Columbia opened in teh 1970s and was part of the planned community of Columbia, MD built by the Rouse Company. Since 2000, the mall has become quite huge with its recent construction and expansion. The main anchors are: Nordstrom, Macy's (former Hecht's), Lord and Taylor, JCPenney and Sears. Immediately outside the Sears entrance is a small lifestyle area with LL Bean, an AMC Stadium Seating Theatre, Champp's, PF Chang's, Uno's and The Cheesecake Factory. Another thing I like about the Mall in Columbia is that the renovation kept a lot of the mall's character with the high ceilings, airy settings and fountains...the new earthtone tiles also gives the mall a parklike feel.
That has to be Columbia; the configuration of the upstairs stands out among the largely cookie-cutter malls in Baltimore and DC.
This shot is great looks more professional than candid. Whoever took the photo did a wonderful job.
Certainly looks like The Mall in Columbia. Ahhh...I remember those art shows! The whole fountain area is now "owned" by Land Rover. They have several parked in and around the fountain as well as signage all around the fountain area. The fountain in front of Sears that someone mentioned is gone now. There is a newer outdoor fountain/waterfall right outside of Sears infront of the L.L. Bean store.
In this photo, the upstairs store "Park.....? Something" is now a Build-A-Bear store.
They must have gotten rid of the Sears fountain since February when I was last there. There used to be a fountain next to Hechts/Macy's and it's now a lowered area where the massage station is located. Still one of the best if not the best mall in MD.
That is definitely the Mall in Columbia, having worked there when it first opened. Parklane Hosiery was located in that exact position, on the top floor over looking the fountain.
The Sears fountain is still there...they only just recently turned it on. I was in the mall recently and all of the fountains are there--(though for whatever reason, the fountain in front of JCPenney has been off for weeks now).
THE JC PENNY FOUNTAN IS NOW REMOVED WITH A WALL AROUND IT THat says comming soon to the mall in columbia a play area and i think that is sad thay are taking it out becaus the fountan is a c and stand for columbia there was another fountan in the center of food court also.
there was also another fountain in out side the mall by jcpenny the fountain that is shown in the photo had a pointseta tree in the center of the fountain around the holaday season. but they discontinud it
the founten in the photo is now working like it did in the photo and the pointseta tree is coming back.
I lived in Columbia, as a teenager in the early eighties. Suffice to say, I remember the mall, and this is it. I remember both the stores pictured, too. I can't remember the corner as well, but I think it was opposite Harmony Hut and Mcrory's (sp.?). Past the visible part of the photo on the left was the "original" food court. The mall has had two enlargements, with the first occuring in this time frame.
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