Sunday, August 28, 2005

Moorestown Mall

Moorestown, New Jersey


1960's

Stunning shot of the golden eagle fountain in front of the John Wanamaker store!


1960's (see enlarged monkey detail below!)

I posted this postcard of the monkey cage before, but this is a nicer version.

Bonus monkey cage porn! It's a little difficult to pick out the actual monkeys in the wider shot above, but those suckers are definitely in there. So I blew that photo up and zoomed in so we could see our furry little Moorestown friends a little better. Click the photo and sit close to the monitor so you can pretend you're a kid again and you're standing there peering into the cage while mom is off shopping elsewhere in the mall! ;)

I can spot two here, both near the top. There's one hanging down on the left by both arms, and one on the right hanging by one arm. Can you see them? I have no idea if there were actually more in this cage (the bottom portion is tough to make out), but at least we can make out two of them for sure. I think the keeper's door is right there facing us.

On a side note, you can't tell me kids (and probably some adults, too) didn't throw popcorn and junk in there to the monkeys all the time. I bet those guys ate all kinds of things they shouldn't have. I'm pretty sure popcorn and wads of cotton candy aren't a part of their normal diet in the jungles of South America. At least, I don't think it is.

Moorestown's current website.

12 comments:

  1. I agree with cora--the fountain is fabulous. And that jade-colored, gold lettering on the storefront, you'd feel like dropping a couple of dollars in an environment like that!

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  2. A friend and I were just talking about that monkey cage, and I said, "Yes, back when animals in cages was considered entertainment!"

    I wonder what happened to the monkeys...

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  3. i once got lost in the Moorestown Mall (1977, i was 4). i remember looking at the eagle, and my mom disappearing. security put us back together in 20 minutes. (just a random reader...) cheers.

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  4. I was an employed by Wanamakers Moorestown two weeks prior to opening until I went into the Army in 1965. The thing that stands out for me was the Air Show in 1964. The light poles in the rear parking lot were lowered and some planes were taking off or landing in the parking lot while others were on display.

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  5. We used to go to the Moorestown and Cheery Hill Malls all the time when I was a kid. One time the monkeys (actually, I believe they were gibbons) escaped fromn the cage, and some people were bitten. I think the monkey cage was taken out after that incident.

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  6. They were Gibbon Apes. I worked @ Flagg Bros.from 1968-1972.
    Tobacco Village
    Spencer Gifts
    Woolworth's
    Harvest House
    Holiday Shoes
    "The" Bakery
    Plaza Movie Theater
    Shop-Rite
    Florsheim
    Can anyone add more??

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  7. Moorestown Mall had a stream running thru the center (from what is now Boscov's up to Macy's) with bridges & lots of ducks... the waterfowl posed a health issue & were removed abruptly...

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  8. Got to your link via a YouTube video of Rochester NY ad...do you have any more 1960's YouTube video/ads of Malls? I remember from growing up in the Phila. area that there was a radio ad for Cherry Hill Mall..."Cherry Hill on the Mall on the Cherry Hill Mall...it's Spring in the Summer, Winter or Fall...you can shop, you can stroll...." Cherry Hill Cherry Hill the .....wonderland...!" Would LOVE to hear that song again!

    Beth

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  9. I worked at Baker's Shoes in the Moorestown Mall during 1972. If anyone remembers me feel free to email.

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  10. My father and I used to go to the Harvest House to eat and see the monkeys. These pictures are such a blast from the past

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  11. The Duck waterway with ducks was Operational for quite a many years. There were bridges that crossed over the "river" - it was quite magical. What I remember was not so much the health issue as it was a safty issue FOR the ducks. Kids were throwing cigarette butts and other stuff at the ducks, or feeding them soft pretzels and other crap, for the ducks to eat . It was a sad day when they removed the ducks and paved over the "river".

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