Vintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Belden Village Mall
Canton, Ohio - 1970
God, is this nice.
PS: If anyone can help identify this mall, I'd be much obliged (and I'd really like you). Update: Thanks for identifying this one, Crashlog! The next soft pretzel and coke is on me.
This is Belden Village Mall. It was built in the late 1960's. Still vibrant, a more recent photo is here. It is owned by Dick Jacobs, who owned the Cleveland Indians from 1986-2000.
The other Akron, Ohio area malls of interest are: Summit Mall, opened 10/28/65; Chapel Hill Mall, opened 10/12/65; and the once amazing, now ghost-town, Rolling Acres Mall, opened in 1975.
Photos of Summit Mall would be worth tracking down. I remember it being a vision of light blue futuristic plastic.
Unfortunately, it is no longer Belden Village, but Westfield Shopping Town Belden Village. The Jacobs Group sold the mall to an Australian company in 2002.
good stuff. I should open up my vast archive of Southridge Mall pix from 196X-1999. Southridge Mall is still Wisconsin's biggest mall, in Greendale, WI... it used to have these amazing ceiling-to-floor monolith fountains...
Also to be tracked down: Town Square in downtown St. Paul (MN)... Spent many - a - day in that caramel colored, water filled joint.... now it's all offices...
And, Crashlog, thanks a lot for putting a name to this one for me! I appreciate the help and additional info, and have updated the post. :)
Btw, I will get around to most of the other malls mentioned in the comments here, too (I do have the pix or postcards for most), so sit tight for your local favorites--they'll all pop up eventually, as I get to them.
Btw, one of you mentioned having an archive of Southridge Mall pix, and I just wanted pass along that if you ever want to share some here, feel free to e-mail me anything you want and I'll be happy to post them (giving you full credit, of course).
WOW! i remember alternately throwing pennies in / retrieving pennies from that fountain when i was but a wee lad. What was once a centerpiece of the mall is now a lifeless middle-of-the-mall area with trees and stuff. Meet me at the fountain has given way to meet me at the food court.
i remember being a teen going to rolling acres mall, it was the place to be on a saturday afternoon. our parents would drop us off. but it is a ghost town now as someone mentioned. what a shame, i think a lot of the crime in that area and trouble makers who started to frequent that mall caused the steady decline in it's popularity....sad really sad
That is definitely Belden Village, not Canton Centre Mall. Only Belden Village had a fountain. Canton Centre, by the way, is close to exinction. I was there just the other day, and most of the stores are closed. About half of Canton Centre, including the old Montgomery Ward store, was torn down to make way for the new Walmart that is now operating there. I don't believe Canton Centre will survive, judging from what I saw. I grew up in that mall, so it's particularly sad for me to see the sorry shape it is now in.
That really was a beautiful mall. It had a number of other fountains as well as I recall. The social hub of an American economic powerhouse of Hoover, Timken, LTV, Diebold, and pro football. Then some nitwit decided to destroy it by ripping out the fountains and installing a cream and mauve color scheme. Now it's nothing special in a largely collapsed steel town.
I can still remember how magical that place seemed when I was a little kid and my dad would take us to the steakhouse in the mall on a Saturday night.
Moving on, though, someone here said Canton Centre was close to extinction. Well, it's already dead and there. Nobody's just nailed the lid on the coffin yet. I was just there today and the only stores in operation were Macy's, JCPenney's, Velocity, the Chase Bank, Deb's, a jewelry place, and some type of urban clothing store. Even the food court is abandoned and derelict, with no eateries in operation.
Rolling Acres is also a ghost town, which is sad, and from what I hear Chapel Hill Mall is slowly moving in that direction as well.
Does anyone know what happened to Mellet Mall...or should I say Canton Centre? I grew up going there every Saturday. My husband and I were there last weekend. We no longer live in Canton so we haven't been there in a very long time. It was very depressing.
Canton Centre (originally Mellett Mall) is still open, but it's about the go away forever. Macy's announced they are closing their store soon, and just held the final clearance sale. Macy's was originally the anchor store O'Neil's. They are going to tear down the remaining portion of the mall and build some kind of open-air shopping center in its place. This is a very sad event for us baby boomers who spent so much time there as kids. It's almost like losing a family member.
To the guy/gal who said "Only Belden Village had a fountain" -- that's not true. Mellett Mall (now named Canton Centre) most definitely had a fountain - right near what would become the food court. The fountain was a tribute to the namesake of the mall: Canton Daily News Editor Don Mellett, who was gunned down by the mob for printing an unfavorable story. Sad, but true. The Canton Daily News was gobbled up by the Canton Repository, much as Mellett Mall was gobbled up by Canton Centre, which is now in turn being gobbled up by Wal-Mart. The good ol' days are behind us, I'm afraid.
anyone remember the sports store in belden back in the 80's, owner was dick cunningham, possibly. nba player from canton south? started with a "f" maybe!?!?
*sigh* They just don't make 'em like this anymore.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog! Keep the pics coming!
This is Belden Village Mall.
ReplyDeleteIt was built in the late 1960's.
Still vibrant, a more recent photo is here.
It is owned by Dick Jacobs, who owned the Cleveland Indians from 1986-2000.
The other Akron, Ohio area malls of interest are:
Summit Mall, opened 10/28/65;
Chapel Hill Mall, opened 10/12/65;
and the once amazing, now ghost-town, Rolling Acres Mall, opened in 1975.
Photos of Summit Mall would be worth tracking down. I remember it being a vision of light blue futuristic plastic.
Thanks for a great site, btw.
Unfortunately, it is no longer Belden Village, but Westfield Shopping Town Belden Village. The Jacobs Group sold the mall to an Australian company in 2002.
ReplyDeletegood stuff. I should open up my vast archive of Southridge Mall pix from 196X-1999. Southridge Mall is still Wisconsin's biggest mall, in Greendale, WI... it used to have these amazing ceiling-to-floor monolith fountains...
ReplyDeleteAlso to be tracked down: Town Square in downtown St. Paul (MN)... Spent many - a - day in that caramel colored, water filled joint.... now it's all offices...
Thanks for the cool comments and notes, everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnd, Crashlog, thanks a lot for putting a name to this one for me! I appreciate the help and additional info, and have updated the post. :)
Btw, I will get around to most of the other malls mentioned in the comments here, too (I do have the pix or postcards for most), so sit tight for your local favorites--they'll all pop up eventually, as I get to them.
Btw, one of you mentioned having an archive of Southridge Mall pix, and I just wanted pass along that if you ever want to share some here, feel free to e-mail me anything you want and I'll be happy to post them (giving you full credit, of course).
ReplyDeleteLove to see anything you got! :)
This is a great site! Can't wait to see the other pics you have!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! i remember alternately throwing pennies in / retrieving pennies from that fountain when i was but a wee lad. What was once a centerpiece of the mall is now a lifeless middle-of-the-mall area with trees and stuff. Meet me at the fountain has given way to meet me at the food court.
ReplyDeleteYep, so sad, Anonymous. These wonderful centerpiece fountains are gone from lots of malls now. It's a crying shame.
ReplyDeleteLOOKS LIKE MELLET MALL IN CANTON ON TUSCARAWAS
ReplyDeletei remember being a teen going to rolling acres mall, it was the place to be on a saturday afternoon. our parents would drop us off. but it is a ghost town now as someone mentioned. what a shame, i think a lot of the crime in that area and trouble makers who started to frequent that mall caused the steady decline in it's popularity....sad really sad
ReplyDeleteWow! I proposed to my wife next to this fountain in 1981. Sure brings back memories. Thanks for posting this pic!
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely Belden Village, not Canton Centre Mall. Only Belden Village had a fountain. Canton Centre, by the way, is close to exinction. I was there just the other day, and most of the stores are closed. About half of Canton Centre, including the old Montgomery Ward store, was torn down to make way for the new Walmart that is now operating there. I don't believe Canton Centre will survive, judging from what I saw. I grew up in that mall, so it's particularly sad for me to see the sorry shape it is now in.
ReplyDeleteThat really was a beautiful mall. It had a number of other fountains as well as I recall. The social hub of an American economic powerhouse of Hoover, Timken, LTV, Diebold, and pro football. Then some nitwit decided to destroy it by ripping out the fountains and installing a cream and mauve color scheme. Now it's nothing special in a largely collapsed steel town.
ReplyDeleteI can still remember how magical that place seemed when I was a little kid and my dad would take us to the steakhouse in the mall on a Saturday night.
oh my gosh...so many memories of shopping there! i still take my kids there to shop but it's nothing like this anymore...
ReplyDeletemissy
Can't believe that Belden used to look like that!
ReplyDeleteMoving on, though, someone here said Canton Centre was close to extinction. Well, it's already dead and there. Nobody's just nailed the lid on the coffin yet. I was just there today and the only stores in operation were Macy's, JCPenney's, Velocity, the Chase Bank, Deb's, a jewelry place, and some type of urban clothing store. Even the food court is abandoned and derelict, with no eateries in operation.
Rolling Acres is also a ghost town, which is sad, and from what I hear Chapel Hill Mall is slowly moving in that direction as well.
Really, really sad situations here...
Does anyone know what happened to Mellet Mall...or should I say Canton Centre? I grew up going there every Saturday. My husband and I were there last weekend. We no longer live in Canton so we haven't been there in a very long time. It was very depressing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCanton Centre (originally Mellett Mall) is still open, but it's about the go away forever. Macy's announced they are closing their store soon, and just held the final clearance sale. Macy's was originally the anchor store O'Neil's. They are going to tear down the remaining portion of the mall and build some kind of open-air shopping center in its place. This is a very sad event for us baby boomers who spent so much time there as kids. It's almost like losing a family member.
ReplyDeleteTo the guy/gal who said "Only Belden Village had a fountain" -- that's not true. Mellett Mall (now named Canton Centre) most definitely had a fountain - right near what would become the food court. The fountain was a tribute to the namesake of the mall: Canton Daily News Editor Don Mellett, who was gunned down by the mob for printing an unfavorable story. Sad, but true. The Canton Daily News was gobbled up by the Canton Repository, much as Mellett Mall was gobbled up by Canton Centre, which is now in turn being gobbled up by Wal-Mart. The good ol' days are behind us, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteMellet Mall had the BEST arcade in Stark County. It was called Huck Finns, and it had the top-of-the-line games for the mid 70's.
ReplyDeletewow that is really cool site ..
ReplyDeleteMade To Measure Curtains
Rolling Acres was a great mall. I used to think it was once of the biggest malls in Ohio back in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteBelden Village had a really good arcade "Aladdin's Castle" as well.
anyone remember the sports store in belden back in the 80's, owner was dick cunningham, possibly. nba player from canton south? started with a "f" maybe!?!?
ReplyDeleteBelden Village is called Belden Village again.
ReplyDelete