Park City Center Mall Kiosk

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - circa 1970s

Here's a fun postcard shot taken inside the ever-moody Park City Center Mall in the 1970s (back when it was still dark and moody). In this photo we see a small kiosk store in the middle of the mall proper, but I need a little help with this one's name.

It obviously sells nuts, but it's a store I'm not familiar with at all, and the back of the postcard is no help. It appears the name is "Ah! Nuts", but I'm not positive (maybe that's reversed?). Any fellow mallrats (particularly those familiar with either Park City Center back in the day or this shop itself) know for sure what this store was called?

Either way, it's a neat shot, where you can also see the very colorful Fifth Avenue Card Shop as well in the background.

Mall history: 1972 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

MOA Galleria - Spider-Man At Korvettes In Sunrise Mall, 1977

Massapequa, New York - 1977

Spider-Man makes a promotional appearance at the Korvettes store in Sunrise Mall in 1977! This image is courtesy of my friends at the fantastic Mego Museum, the website devoted to vintage Mego toys (thanks especially to Brian over there, for alerting me to these!). Here's a description from their page (where there's more shots!):

"We've all heard of Mego Store appearances to promote toy lines, many of us even have fond fond memories but few photographs remain. Enter Megomuseum member Doug Knoth with his amazing recently unearthed photos from a store appearance at a Korvette's in the Sunrise Mall, Masapequa NY around 1977 to promote the World's Greatest Superheroes as well as the Micronauts. Spider-Man and Acroyear pose (above) in the mall for children next to my parents patio furniture."

And hey, while you're digging on this photo, don't forget about the other Spider-Man mall shot I blogged before from an old East Towne Mall appearance. You can dig on that one, too! :)

See more Sunrise Mall here!
See more MOA Galleria here!

Mall Sign: Vineland Shopping Center

Vineland, New Jersey - 1973

The Vineland Shopping Center and its swanky signage, in this fantastic vintage snapshot taken back in 1973. Photo is courtesy of this flickr photoset, which also contains an interesting side-by-side shot of this image, along with an updated one of the same sign (yes, it's still there) at the Vineland Shopping Center, taken much more recently. (Surprise! Though similar, the vintage version's still cooler.)

See more mall signs here!

Tanforan Shopping Center (aka The Shops At Tanforan)

San Bruno, California - circa 1970s

Now called The Shops At Tanforan, the Tanforan Shopping Center (or Tanforan Park Mall) originally opened in 1971, and then was rebuilt and updated in 2003. Current anchors include Sears, Barnes & Noble, Target, and JCPenney. The vintage interior photo above is from one of the mall's 1970s postcards.

Apparently it's a pretty swanky place to shop today. Here's a description of its current-day atmosphere and decor from Bigmallrat.com:

"Tanforan mall is chic; beautifully designed and decorated. The architects, Altoon + Porter, are known for other famous mall renovations, including Las Vegas' The Fashion Show mall. The ceiling is stunning, with the latest in lighting design. At night, it glows a beautiful blue. Careful attention was given to detail, including fixtures and neutral flooring. The mall appears upscale and demands attention. Only Westfield Valley Fair Mall and Westfield Oakridge Mall could compare in terms of design."

Mall history: 1971 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none

Crossroads Center Mall 1970s

Waterloo, Iowa - circa early '70s

Four vintage seventies photos of the Crossroads Center mall on one postcard, with exterior views of Sears, JCPenney, and Osco Drug all visible here, as well as a couple really groovy interior mall shots, too!

Some of Crossroads Center mall's current anchors and stores include Dillard's, Gordmans, the aforementioned JCPenney and Sears, Old Navy, and Younkers.

Mall history: 1970 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1

Retro Mall Video: '70s Sears Optical Department

Sears Optical Department (1970s)

Here's a retro '70s TV commercial for the Optical Department at Sears, in all its weird retro '70s glory. Man, I remember the catchy little jingle in these Sears ads very well from when I was a kid. As for the woman in this one... can you say Stepford Wives?

Altamonte Mall Interior

Altamonte Springs, Florida - circa 1970s

Do not adjust your computer monitor... but do enjoy Altamonte Mall's funky '70s color design, which includes blood-red carpeting, hickory paneling, and yellow and red colored fountain lights (the red one's a groovy dandelion fountain, too), which probably changed to other colors as well! Spectacular, I say.

This is a view from the mall's center court area, and I actually featured this same photo before, however that version was black and white, and also reversed!--which I (and no one else), ever noticed back then. Whoops. Well it's fixed now with this entry, and in Living Color to boot! :) A reader reminisces about Altamonte Mall as a kid:

"The center court was filled with fountains (one more is to the right and there was another fountain underneath the stairs just off center court)... the large fountain to the left, along with the other fountains, were lit with multi-colored lights and there were plenty of seating areas around the fountains. At that time, it seemed like the only 2 level mall in the Orlando area. Today, this mall is quite sterile the center court area is totally different."

Mall history: 1974 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1

Two Guys Discount Store 1977

Middletown, New Jersey - June 3, 1977

Here's a beautiful, almost dreamlike late-seventies snapshot of the Two Guys discount store at a larger Two Guys shopping center arrangement in Middletown, NJ. Thanks to ever eagle-eyed MOA reader, Patrick Richardson, for spotting this one for me!

"Hi Keith. Here's a cool Two Guys picture I found on Wikipedia. It's from the town I grew up in in NJ. This was part of the Two Guys shopping center. It was replaced in the early-80's by a Bradlees and is currently a Kohl's."

As well, here's a related snippet from said Two Guys stores entry on Wikipedia:

"Many locations originally included a discount store with a supermarket, as well as complete Hardware, Major appliance, and Automotive Service departments. The Two Guys Supermarkets were full sized 'stores within a store', and they competed directly with large Supermarket chains like A & P and Shop Rite. The Supermarkets used the tag line, 'Two Guys, The Super, Supermarket', while the main store used the tag line 'We Save Money For You, Naturally'."

Oxford Valley Mall 1973

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.

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."

Mall history: 1973 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3

International Malls: Sherway Gardens Shopping Centre

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - circa 1970s

Colorful retro '70s postcard view of the entrance sign and interior of the Sherway Gardens shopping centre in Toronto. I'll refrain from calling the interior "gaudy", but I'll just say it's definitely some bold '70s mall decor style at its finest! And I mean that in a good way. :)

More Sherway Gardens: 1

Mesabi Mall Woolworth Store

Hibbing, Minnesota - 1971

Woolworth store at Mesabi Mall, right around the time of the mall's original Grand Opening in 1971.

Note that this Woolworth facade is sporting the chain's then-new American style logo with the F. W. dropped from the name (you can also see it here). This is the groovier seventies Woolworth logo design I grew up with and it sure brings back lots of great childhood memories!

Mall history: 1971 - present
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none

MOA Galleria - Belknap Mall Zayre Store

Belmont, New Hampshire - April 1978

What lies at the end of the rainbow? A shopping mall of course!

In this case it's Belknap Mall, pictured here in April of 1978, from the parking lot in front of the mall's Zayre department store just after a late-afternoon or evening Spring rain, it would appear. Image via habspuck's photos on Flickr.

More Belknap Mall: 1
See more Galleria here!

Willowbrook Mall Interior 1973

Wayne, New Jersey - 1973

Groovy interior shot of lush (and very Avocado Green-ish) Willowbrook Mall in 1973. Many thanks to, Charles Freericks, for the head's-up on this vintage postcard! Some Wiki notes:

"The opening of Willowbrook Mall came at a time when many shoppers were avoiding trips to downtown areas to shop over safety concerns. Early radio spots for the mall called it 'the new downtown', and it featured anchor stores that were also located in nearby downtown Newark, or within the city limits itself. (Bamberger's, Ohrbachs, and Sears). The large branch of Bamberger's opened in the fall of 1967 (before the rest of the mall), and with Newark just having dealt with race rioting in the summer of 1967, many shoppers defected to the Willowbrook location."

Mall history: 1969 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4

International Malls: Fairview Mall

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - circa 1970s

Seventies multi-view postcard depicting Fairview Mall in Toronto, Ontario. America or not, these are exactly the kind of gaudy, groovy old shopping mall photos I dig, so this one's going right here at the top today! Fairview Mall opened in 1972 and is still going strong--currently undergoing a major renovation. Here's an aerial view, and some Fairview Wikipedia notes:

"The mall opened in 1972 with the Bay and Simpson's as its department store anchors. It was the fourth fully-enclosed and the first multi-level mall in Metropolitan Toronto. The Hudson's Bay Company, parent company of the Bay, purchased Simpson's in 1978. In 1991, it sold the Simpson's store in Fairview (along with five others that were co-located with the Bay) to Sears Canada."

MOA Galleria - '70s Fashion Shopping

Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Fall, 1972

Two very groovy, happenin' ladies check out the trendy '70s Fall fashions they intend to rock, as they shop at Haber's department store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

See more Galleria here!

(Study images courtesy & © the State Library and Archives of Florida)

Chess At Lloyd Center Mall

Portland, Oregon - April 21, 1973

A Chess Master visits Lloyd Center Mall in the early-seventies for an all-day exhibition match. The photos here and accompanying quotes below, are from the May 1973 edition of Northwest Chess Magazine:

"At 10:08am on Saturday April 21,1973. Senior Chess Master Jude.F. Acers of San Francisco made his first move on board 1 of a 117 board simultaneous, a World Record for number of players played all at the same time. It was 13 hours and 4l minutes later when he shook hands with the last player to resign.

The event was held in the open area of the Lloyd Center North Mall and drew lots of spectators. One could tell just where the master was by looking for the largest crowd of onlookers.

It got dark about 7:00pm and the lighting was not the best from then on. The rain gods held off until the event was over but it was rather on the cool side for last couple of hours. Bob Slayton of Lloyd Center Corp. did a lot of work to setup and promote the exhibition. He also played and was one of the last ones to finish."

Mall history: 1960 - present
Current website: here
Info from Wikipedia
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Muskegon Mall Seventies Aerial

Muskegon, Michigan - circa 1976

Vintage aerial view of Muskegon Mall in the seventies, shortly after it originally opened. This sprawling shopping mall (created by throwing a roof over several existing buildings and also adding some new ones) located in the historic heart of downtown Muskegon, MI, opened in 1976, but began to struggle for its retail life in the '90s, until finally closing its doors for good in 2001. It has since been demolished and the area is undergoing an ongoing and long-term redevelopment/revitalization process.

I'll be sharing some interior photos of this mall as well in the near future. It had quite the funky look going on!

Mall history: 1976 - 2001 (dead/redeveloped)
Current website: n/a
Previous entries: none

Columbia Mall (aka Avondale Mall)

Decatur, Georgia - November, 1972

Outside Georgia's first enclosed mall, Columbia Mall (renamed Avondale Mall in the mid-'80s), in November of 1972. This photo is courtesy of Judy Baxter, who was actually taking a picture of her new Plymouth Duster at the time. Glad she chose Columbia Mall's parking lot for her photo shoot! Some of the stores visible here are: Sears, Baskin-Robbins, Ryan's, Wigs, Thom McCann Shoes, John Couffiers, Walgreen's, Walgreen's Grill, and Davison's, as well as the main entrance.

Alas, this mall is now gone. Token demolition began earlier this year in February, and the razing was completed in earnest just a few months ago in March of 2007 (some of which can be viewed here), all to make way for a... any guesses? Yep, a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Many local residents protested the coming of that Wal-Mart in place of the abandoned Columbia/Avondale Mall (see their grassroots Stop The Avondale Mall WalMart page for proof of their retail unrest).

Note: The aerial link below is obviously a little outdated now, as it still shows the mall's structure (look for Belvedere Plaza Shopping Center just to the South).

Mall history: 1964 - 2001 (dead)
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Resource links: 1, 2, 3, 4
Previous entries: 1

Mall Sign: Buckingham Square

Aurora, Colorado

I don't know exactly how "vintage" this sign at Buckingham Square Mall is, but it sure looks pretty (image courtesy of dafaba on Flickr). Does anyone know if this is the mall's original sign from 1971 when it first opened? I'm guessing it's not, just looking at it. Probably an '80s or early '90s makeover design but I really don't know. I'd love to find out it's original vintage signage, though.

Buckingham Square Mall is now closed apparently--a dead mall--and sits awaiting future re-development (which will probably wind up rhyming with "Pall-Vart").

The mall's old website is still online (link below), but I doubt it will get updated anymore.

Mall history: 1971 - 2007
Current website: here

Current aerial view

Previous entries: none

Retro Mall Video: Columbia Mall (aka Avondale Mall) Demolition

Decatur, Georgia - March, 2007

The last Sears wall at the abandoned Columbia/Avondale Mall is razed to make way for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in its stead--much to the dismay of many local residents (which you can read about in another Columbia Mall entry). Such a sad sight for anyone who's a vintage mall lover.

Note: This video is only part one of four. For your viewing convenience, I put them all on one page in a playlist at YouTube, if you'd like to go watch the rest after this one. Click here for the playlist.