Wayne, New Jersey - 1973
Willowbrook looked nice in those days! Not sure what it's like today (generic and banal like all the rest?). I really dig that cool lighting fixture over by the phones, too. That's a beauty. The mall is still around and their current website is right here.
It's all about that light fixture.
ReplyDeleteWillowbrook was revamped sometime in the mid-80s. Couldn't tell you the exact year, but it was after the big flood in '84 (the mall is in a 100-year floodplain, and there were newscasts done from boats in the parking lot) and before I started high school in '87.
ReplyDeleteYes, Lerner is a national chain and they also have a catalog division (Still called Lerner).
ReplyDeleteTheir retail/mall division has been retitled 'New York & Co", and has seen a return to some malls it left in past years while still under the "Lerner / Lerner New York" banners.
I live in Wayne and I go to Willowbrook a lot, although I'd rather go to Bridgewater Commons or the Garden State Plaza. It is a very crowded mall and very hard to get a parking space. The Lord and Taylor is very busy, and so is the new Bloomingdales that took over when Sterns got taken over by Macy's three years ago. The Sears and the Macy's are also very popular.
ReplyDeleteI use to work in that mall in 1989 was the remodel. I worked for a jewelery store called Litman's Jewelers. I do enjpy the new look but still liked the older look better
ReplyDeleteYou need to find a picture of the original center mall fountains. Lot's of water with bridges and stairs and random ledges throughout.
ReplyDeleteWHEN THE MALL WAS REDEISGNED IN THE EIGHTIES THEY PUT TWO FOUNTAINS IN THE CENTER COURT THEY JUST RECENTLY REMOVED ONE OF THE FOUNTAINS THAT WAS SITTING BELOW A STAIRCASE
ReplyDeleteI USED TO WORK IN MACY'S AND ISIDE THE STOCKROOM THERE ARE DOORS THAT STILL HAVE THE NAME BAMBERGERS WRITTEN ON THEM
ReplyDelete(yes, i am totally late to this party.) there were so many wonderful things about willowbrook mall, not the least of which was Smuggler's Attic, a head shop, that sold bongs, pipes, screens, etc (along with home decor such as candles, stretched pepsi bottles, and beaded doorway thingies). a head shop at the mall...I miss the 70's!
ReplyDeleteI.worked.in Smugglers Attic.it was by far the best job I ever had
DeleteI remember the "old" Willowbrook Mall from the 80's. I can still see the blue fountain that was in the middle of the mall and I do remember the little blue fountain that was over by Sterns. That was the one that was under the staircase. If anyone can get those pics.... post them! The mall has changed a lot over the years and to be honest, I miss the the old design and decor of the 70's and 80's.
ReplyDeleteI remember hanging out in Willowbrook back in 1969-1970 and someone putting Mr Bubble in the fountain!
ReplyDeleteOHHH - I remember those phone banks too! they were the precursor of your current "social networking" craze. When you couldn't get to the mall to hang out you would just call and talk to whoever answered. Lots of hookups happened that way! They eventually changed the phones so they could not receive calls, and then removed them completely. I never could figure why they would need dozens of pay phones in a shopping mall anyway!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have pictures of the cookie factory? I remember the yellow pipe that ran along the wall half way through the mall. It was a big tease for me as a kid in the 70's to follow the pipes where the cookie dough was being pumped through to the actual store. (cookie dough 'did' go through the piping to the store right? :))
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Cookie Factory cookies. But didn't it used to be called the Cookie Machine. I remember when it used to be in a bigger store on the corner and not in the middle of the hall. Their cookies were sooo good. They were more like cookie morsels than flat cookies. They were usually served warm and when you split them chocolate would ooze out. Even when they were cooled off, they were delicious. You got them in this Brown wax lined bag. My mom would buy them by the dozen. I really do wish it was still around. :(
ReplyDeleteAnyone know of the cookie machine recipe for chocolate chip? . I can still taste them. Gooey inside crispy outside. Never found anything that came close.
DeleteI totally agree about the coockie machine!!! I used to work in the mall n used to get them. they were the best cookies ever!!! they were on the corner connected to the croissant place. the best cookies ever!!! mrs fields comes close but not better!
ReplyDeleteLoved those fountains with the stairs and the ledges! Used to eat at Zum Zum hot dog restaurant on the second floor overlooking the fountain.
ReplyDeleteThey had a Children's Place store with a funny mirror and a tunnel you could crawl through.
Ohrbachs, Korvettes, Smugglers Attic
We also used to eat at Zum Zum's everytime we went shopping there. I used to go shopping at Willowbrook Mall in the '60's on through the '70's. Once in a blue moon, we will stop in there for stroll around.
ReplyDeleteWillowbrook Mall Smuggler's Attic and the Cookie Machine. Oh my gosh to go back In time to the 70's and 80's one can only wish. The best times of my life!!!
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody remember seeing birds flying around in Willowbrook Mall?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 12 or 13, my friends and I would steal parakeets from Woolworth's pet department and let them loose inside the mall. Hahaha!
Nike Lunar Haze Black Pink Women Shoes
ReplyDeleteNike Lunar Haze Cyan Black Yellow Women Shoes
Nike Lunar Haze Grey Blue Black Women Shoes
Nike Lunar Haze Grey Light Blue Women Shoes
Nike Lunar Haze White Pink Grey Women Shoes
I remember the center court ceiling of Willowbrook Mall in the early 1970's. It was painted matte black and had "fluorescent" colored "tie dye" designs on three dimensional square tiles. Something that you would use with a blacklight. Very psychedelic motif representing the time period. Would love to see pics of that again.
ReplyDeleteI met my wife on those telephones. We've been married since 1973!
ReplyDeleteWillowbrook Mall had the BEST Pizza around... Sgarlatos... where Cheesecake Factory is today. I'd kill for one of their pizzas today!
ReplyDeleteHey all of us Hippie Chicks of the 70's. I remember walking around the mall with my felt black hat on and bell bottoms. Used to hang at the record store at Willow brook Mall I can't recall the name, it was a large store with hundreds of records. Who could forget Pants Place & Pants Place Plus???? Definitely a time I wish we were in again. Love & Peace.....
ReplyDeleteThat record store was Harmony Hut.
ReplyDeleteWillowbrook Mall in the early 70’s was a great place to hang out. I was in my teens back then and in retrospect, quite a dick! Would like to go into the section of Harmony Hut where they had rack upon rack of stereo receivers/amps, etc and when no one was looking would switch off many of the amps, then turn the volume knob up all the way, then sneak away and wait for the next unsuspecting sole to turn it on. Lots of fun to watch their frantic reactions!
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