Sunrise Shopping Center (aka The Galleria Mall)

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - 1960s

Here's a vibrant color postcard photo of the Jordan Marsh store looming high in the distance, above and anchoring a portion of the venerable Sunrise Shopping Center (as it was originally known) complex, along with a sweeping view of the beautiful surrounding areas. This shot looks West towards the shopping center, from the Intracoastal Waterway seen in the foreground.

In 1980 the Sunrise Shopping Center was fully enclosed, redeveloped and renamed The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale. I still prefer "Sunrise Shopping Center" myself, though.

Mall history: 1959 - present
Current aerial view
Current website: here
Previous entries: 1

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

Winter Park Mall (now Winter Park Village)

Winter Park, Florida - circa 1960

Vintage postcard view (shot dates to around 1960) of Winter Park Mall, with it's incredible spilling chalice fountain--this was the way it originally looked when it first opened. It's since been completely redeveloped and transformed into a sprawling open-air lifestyle center dubbed, Winter Park Village. Below is a quote on the original mall's demise, from the website of Dover, Kohl & Partners, one of the firms involved in the redevelopment of Winter Park Mall in the late-'90s:

"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

The Daily Mall Reader: Discount Megamalls

A daily dose of mall-related reading...

"The Price Is Always Right"

TIME Magazine - Monday, Dec. 17, 1990

(Excerpt) Psssst! Want a deal on some Jordan Airs? Joan & David pumps? A Donna Karan dress? The latest Sony tape deck? Without slogging through the sales racks at five different department stores? And in a place where the teenagers can hang out and Dad can catch a football game on TV? Well, here's a concept in shopping-till-you're-dropping, just in time for Christmas and the recession: megamalls with maxi discounts.

Step into Florida's Sawgrass Mills, the world's biggest outlet-and-discount mall. Situated 15 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, it boasts 2.2 million sq. ft. of name-brand shopping at no-name prices. The parking lot alone covers 170 acres. Two miles of storefronts, 150 in all, include outlets for such status labels as Ann Taylor, Maidenform, Van Heusen, American Tourister and Athlete's Foot, plus such familiar discount stores as Brands Mart and Marshalls.

Read the full article here.

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)

Granada Plaza Shopping Center

Ormond Beach, Florida - circa 1960s

The Walgreens and TG&Y store in the Granada Plaza shopping center in Ormond Beach, Florida. Granada Plaza is a strip mall (still there today) with an interesting location nestled right next to the Atlantic Ocean. Zoom out its aerial view to truly appreciate this plaza's impressive spot, which also puts me in mind of the Gulf View Square Mall postcard I shared before (in Port Richey, FL), with its close (if not downright precarious looking) proximity to the water.

Vintage Coral Ridge Mall aerial

Fort Lauderdale, Florida - circa 1960s

Here's another vintage aerial postcard (yes, it looks like dirty mall pr0n) of Coral Ridge Mall. Card dates back to the sixties, I believe. I'm still trying to pinpoint what year this shopping mall first opened. I'm also not sure why the mall doesn't appear to maintain an official website (if they do, I sure haven't been able to find it), but current anchor stores are Target, T.J. Maxx, and Marshalls, last I heard.

An anonymous reader shared some fun memories of Coral Ridge the first time I featured it (initial comments reference the aerial in that original post):

"To the left right in front of Penny's is a Publix supermarket which is still open. Move further down in the picture and you will see the old Plitt Theatre (saw King Kong in '76 there), which was a nightclub last time I checked. I have never seen another building, much less a theater, that had this great architectural concave at the top of the roof. Very art deco-esque.

The interior had these wonderful skylights which let in ample yet understated lighting on a bright, sunny day. The ceiling was in a wave-effect pattern which only added to the mall's beauty. I also remember a small arcade where I saw Pac-Man for the first time! (It was on the left corridor exiting Penny's in the mall). They've since built a bigger arcade in almost the exact spot, but it wasn't as magical as the original.

Here is a current arial view of the mall in almost the exact frame. Notice all the new condominiums that have popped up over the years. This section of Ft. Laud is extremely affluent and ritzy, not to mention the property value has gone through the roof since the 70s. It's a realtor's dream."

Mall history: '50s or '60s - present
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view
Resource links: 1
Previous entries: 1, 2

Disney's Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village

Lake Buena Vista, Florida - 1975

Likely a "shopping destination" I doubt I'll ever have much reason (or opportunity) to return to again on Malls of America, but nevertheless, these two postcards look so groovy I had to feature them here at least one time! :)

On March 22, 1975, the small tourist community of Lake Buena Vista Village in Orange County, Florida, officially opened to the public as an annexed part of the Walt Disney World Resort theme park, which was primarily located about five miles away. The village included (and still does) a dedicated shopping plaza area called the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, which the above photo welcomes you to.

Lake Buena Vista, Florida - 1975

Above is The Flower Garden store, one of Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village's early swanky looking shops. Both great images in this post are courtesy of Big Brian's Disney Page, an awesome site for Walt Disney World nostalgia fans (celebrated through vintage postcards). Some really fun stuff there!

Edison Mall Shopping Center

Fort Myers, Florida - circa '60s or '70s

A beautiful vintage postcard view of Edison Mall, baking under the hot Florida sun in the sixties or early-seventies (not exactly sure on the year). This is a shot of the mall's main entrance, with Woolworth's sitting to the right of the photo, a Penneys anchor to the right of that (not sure what store's on the immediate left of this courtyard), and a Maas Brothers store straight back behind this entrance foyer. Check out the "previous entries" below. You can just make out this entrance in a couple of them.

Mall history: 1960s(?) - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3

Lincoln Road Mall Night Shopping

Miami Beach, Florida - circa 1960s(?)

Not an enclosed shopping mall photo, but an outdoor one that I had to post, just because it looks so darn nice. Here's a beautiful nighttime view of the historic Sterling Building and storefront, on the famous Lincoln Mall pedestrian shopping district, in Miami Florida. And dig that nifty looking lighted sculpture thingie! I'd give anything to have one of those for my front lawn, wouldn't you?

I believe this photograph dates to somewhere in the mid to late '60s or so, but I'm not positive of the exact year. See the previous entry below for another nice Lincoln Road Mall picture.

Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1