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

Retro Mall Video: Wausau Center Mall Commercial

Wausau Center Mall commercial (1983)

Here's a fun 1983 TV commercial for the grand opening of the Wausau Center Mall in downtown Wausau, Wisconsin. This shopping mall (which underwent a mall-wide, multi-million dollar renovation in 2006) is currently anchored by JCPenney, Sears, and Younkers stores.

Watch more Retro Mall videos here!

Retro Mall Video: Slim Jeans Commercial

Slim Jeans commercial (early '80s)

Behold, it's Slim Jeans! "The uncommon jeans for people with a common problem!" :D

Wow, I remember seeing these commercials on late night TV back in the day, and even remember seeing these, uh, "jeans" in stores and at the malls. They're actually still sold today in one form or another, especially in the backs of magazines and in gift catalogs and whatnot. Can't believe the stuff we buy sometimes (especially with this kind of ridiculous pitch in mind)!

The quality of this video is terrible, I know, but it's the only full-length one I could find (there's a much better version here on YouTube, but it's missing the beginning and I'm kind of a stickler for that sort of thing).

Retro Mall Video: Members Only Jackets - One Jacket To Rule Them All

Members Only Jackets (1982)

Remember that hip and trendy must-have fashion accessory so popular in the '80s--the "Members Only Jacket"? If you were a teen back then living in the U.S., you definitely do. Especially if you were one of the "cool kids" who's parents could afford to get you a Members Only jacket.

I didn't have one.

Well actually, I had a Members Only knock-off version from Kmart or Montgomery Ward at the mall or something. While I certainly fancied myself as relatively cool (OK, very cool), the jackets came along at a really tight financial time in our household (and I couldn't wait, like every other cool kid I needed one NOW!) so I settled for a jacket that looked very similar to the real thing--unless anyone looked real close at the little front pocket label tag which was on the outside of all genuine Members Only jackets, bearing The Name.

That tiny little tag was quite the status symbol in those days. I forget what my knock-off said, but from a few feet away it looked close enough (and no one ever called me on it either). It was like "Member Only" (singular not plural) or something like that. Close enough. I felt cool (or cooler) and all was well.

So here's a 1982 TV commercial for Members Only Jackets, with Anthony Geary of General Hospital, who was a really popular daytime TV sex symbol in those days. Just look at him, can't you tell?

"When I put one on... something happens."

You look like an uncool idiot?

Watch more Retro Mall videos here!

Retro Mall Video: '80s Korvettes Toy Land

Korvettes Toy Land (1982)

Korvettes discount stores "Toy Land" TV commercial from 1982, featuring Mego and others! This is a fun companion piece to the other Korvettes commercial I featured before (and I have yet another vintage Korvettes spot on the way next time).

Watch more Retro Mall videos here!

MOA Galleria - Universal Mall Vintage Decor

Warren, Michigan - circa 1980s

Since precious little vintage Universal Mall material has surfaced online (or in my inbox) yet, I'm reduced to recreating my own for this relatively obscure little cult mall I grew up with in Warren, MI. And that's what the above graphic is. It's my own Photoshop rendition of the forest-themed wall mural (or wallpaper) that hung in certain areas of Universal Mall's funky interior back in the early to mid '80s, and possibly before.

This design is based on my 1986 Universal Mall Boat Show video, where you can see quick glimpses of the mall's mural art in the background of certain shots. Obviously it was there in early 1986 (the time of the video), but my own youthful memories of this decor element go further back than that. How far back it actually does date in the mall I'm not sure, but it's possible it goes back to the late '70s at least (not that anyone on Earth really cares besides me). Either way, I just dug the design and thought I'd try to recreate it and document it here on the blog--for posterity's sake if nothing else.

More Universal Mall: 1, 2

The Daily Mall Reader: Kmart Bargains

A daily dose of mall-related reading...

"Bargains with Few Frills"

TIME Magazine - Monday, Aug. 25, 1980

(Excerpt) Other department stores may try to win back recession-scarred consumers with glamorized décor, personalized service and accordion-like credit arrangements. But K mart Corp, knows that the way to the shopper's heart is still through the pocketbook. Most of the 1,750 stores around the country that show off the company's big red K are riding out the recession relatively well, and the discount chain may displace Sears, Roebuck and Co. as the U.S.'s leading retailer.

K mart has prospered because of a no-frills policy that places the premium on value. In stores that usually have the ambience of a supermarket, customers can wander amid clothing, lawn chairs and stereos, rarely encountering a sales assistant. But the prices, as much as 15% below those at tonier stores, make up for the inconvenience.

Read the full article here.

Retro Mall Video: Fox Valley Center (aka Westfield Fox Valley)

1983 Fox Valley Center TV spot

A wacky 1983 Chicago television commercial for the Fox Valley Center mall (aka Westfield Fox Valley), in Aurora, Illinois--using generic Muppet-like local puppet talent.

The mall's current anchor stores are: Carson Pirie Scott (originally a Lord & Taylor), JCPenney, Macy's and Sears.

Mall history: 1975 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none

The Daily Mall Reader: Sherman Oaks Galleria

A daily dose of mall-related reading...

"Like, totally, the end of one mall's era"

CNN.com - April 15, 1999

(Excerpt) Remember, like, Valley Girls?

Think back to the early '80s. Think malls filled with mini-skirted teens with big hair and their own special language. Think "gag me with a spoon." Fer shure. You remember.

But that was a long time ago. The species has disappeared. And now, the last visible symbol of that era is on the way out: the Galleria is shutting down.

There was a time when the Sherman Oaks Galleria was the most famous mall in America, at least among those of a certain age.

Read the full article here.

Retro Mall Video: '80s Mall Arcade Training Tape

(part 1)

(part 2)

This is a totally rad find (that I found on YouTube)! It's a 1981 "Space Port" Mall Arcade employee training slideset video.

Space Ports were a franchised chain of shopping mall video arcades that were especially popular in the late-seventies and early-eighties. Mallrats and pretty much any teen who grew up in those days, will remember these loud and funky shopping mall gaming wonderlands. The video above (in two parts) is an interesting (and oftentimes unintentionally funny!) relic of the '70s and '80s shopping mall landscape--albeit from slightly more on the "inside".

Lots of shopping malls had Space Ports--among the ones I can think of are: Aurora Village, and King of Prussia Plaza.

Also see this: Retro Mall Video - Mall Arcade '84 & MOA Galleria - Mall Arcade

San Antonio Shopping Center

Mountain View, California - 1982

Vintage early '80s view of San Antonio Shopping Center (aka San Antonio Center), an outdoor strip mall located in Mountain View, California (here's an aerial). Above Image and the following history both via MVPA:

"San Antonio Center has gone through many incarnations. It started in the 1950s as a stand alone Sears Department Store surrounded by bean fields. It grew over the years and became Downtown Mountain View's first major competition. By the 1970s the center had expanded into the pedestrian mall viewed here in this picture. During Christmas time this fountain was covered up and became a place to meet Santa Claus.

At its height in the early 1980s, the mall connected Sears, JC Penny's (which had moved from Mayfield Mall) and Meryvn's. It was also home to the Menu Tree restaurant, a strange two story international restaurant remembered for its use of dozens of cuckoo clocks for decoration.

The mall fell on hard times in the early 1990s and grand plans for its expansion fell through. Most of the mall was demolished to make way for Wal Mart and a parking lot, although a remainder of the mall can still be found behind Sears."

The Daily Mall Reader: Shopping Malls Ban Break Dancing

A daily dose of mall-related reading...

"Breaking Through to Big Profits"
A craze born in the ghetto becomes a whirling cash dance

TIME Magazine - Monday, Oct. 01, 1984

(Excerpt) Break dancing has been banned from certain shopping malls, sidewalks and no doubt countless living rooms as a public nuisance. But the ghetto-born dance fad, with its twirls, windmills and head spins, has shown remarkable staying power. As a result, dozens of entrepreneurs are making a fast break to cash in on its widespread popularity among teenagers by spinning off such accessories as clothing, how-to books and video games.

Wrangler, the jeansmaker, in January will begin selling its Wrapid Transit collection of break-dancing fashions in red, purple, blue and black. The twill pants ($25) will be loosely tailored in the legs and reinforced in the seat and knees. The jackets ($30) will be sleeveless, with six pockets. Van Doren Rubber of Anaheim, Calif, has produced a special red-black-and-white version of its Vans wrestling shoe ($32), designed for break dancing's fast footwork.

Read the full article here.

Retro Mall Video: '80s Dance Station Booth

Shopping Mall - late '80s

Here's a weird video I recently came across on YouTube, and in my effort to leave absolutely no vintage mall stone unturned, I present it here. For what it's worth. Thought some of you guys might get a (nostalgic?) kick out of it as well, especially the bona fide '80s Mallrats among us.

Remember when shopping malls back then featured totally rad, extra cheesy stuff like this to draw shoppers and teens in? To a certain extent many still do, I guess, but I'm not so sure there are any of these Huey Lewis-powered green screen video dance booth thingies still out there anymore. This clip happens to star a young David Deeble, who it turns out, went on to become a famous comedy juggler. From the video's description:

"David Deeble in the late '80's at some mall that let you dance around in front of a camera with some video effects for a few minutes and they would tape it and give you a copy. MTV was involved, I think a lot of the technology was on loan from NASA. "