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

Easter Bunny at Monmouth Mall

Eatontown, New Jersey - 1981

Vintage newspaper ad promoting the Easter Bunny's arrival at Monmouth Mall in 1981. Thanks to, Pat Richardson, for this fun (and timely) submission! Here's a little overview from long-branch.net:

"Monmouth Mall, New Jersey's fifth largest shopping center, is 1.5 million square feet. The center first opened as a 500,000 square foot open-air center on March 1, 1960. In 1975, the mall was enclosed and expanded to it's current size. The mall underwent major renovations in 1987 and again in 1996. During the 1996 renovation, Monmouth Mall added a 700-seat food court and the 15-screen Loews Theatre."

Mall history: 1960 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none

Jefferson Square Mall

Joliet, Illinois - 1981

Interior view of the now defunct, Jefferson Square Mall, as it looked back in 1981, which is pretty snazzy, I must say! Here's a small snippet from the shopping center's entry over at Dead Malls, where you can read an excellent history of the place if you're interested in all the details (I mainly just like looking at pretty pictures myself, lol):

"Built in 1975 as the first enclosed mall in Joliet, Illinois, a city about 45 miles southwest of Chicago's Loop, Jefferson Square Mall boasted 65 stores, Walgreen's, Woolworth's, Wieboldt's, and Montgomery Ward. The mall was built such that the central court had four branches off it.

The central court was oriented such that the north and east wings branched off at the northeast end, and the south and west wings branched off at the southwest end. At the northeast end of the court was a bandshell with a water feature around it, and at the southwest end was a kiosk with four shops. Between was open space."

Mall history: 1975 - 2006 (redeveloped)
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view: n/a
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none