Saginaw, Michigan - Late '60s early '70s
Dreamy vintage mall photo showing a rather spartan interior section of the Fort Saginaw Mall. Love this one! It really evokes vivid memories for me of what it was like back in those days, to walk the malls with my family when I was little. It captures the mood and feeling perfectly for me. And if you're from Michigan in the '60s or '70s, seeing that Scotts 5&10 store should also make you smile!
History: 1967 - mid '90s
http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgottenmi/fortsaginaw.html is a page I made about this mall; it features a larger version of this picture and a couple other pics.
ReplyDeleteThis mall was in a ghetto area even in the 1970's; it closed in the early 1990's except for the Kmart store (not visible, it was at the end of the hallway pictured). Kmart finally closed in 2004.
This mall was not in a ghetto. It was a working class neighborhood with 90% home owners! In.fact my father a retired skill trade electrician for GM still lives in his home and has since 1962
DeleteTyped the link again. Click on my name to view it.
ReplyDeleteBobby: Thanks for the extra info and the great link! I'll have to share a couple of your photos here eventually (if you don't mind). I love, especially, that it's Michigan stuff! Yaaayyy! :)
ReplyDeletePS: Are you the "Bobby" from my Vintage Detroit TV & Movie message board? The one I used to gab with a lot about vintage Detroit-area malls a few years back?
Thanks, you can use my photos if you want. And yes, I am that same Bobby of which you speak.
ReplyDeleteAh, I'm reminscing things I never had the pleasure of experiencing.
ReplyDeleteCool. Hope you're having fun, Trimac20! :)
ReplyDeleteBobby: Meant to say thanks (about using yer pix in the future), and I'm also glad to see ya here! Remember back in the old days on my Detroit board when I said I was planning to do a site someday devoted to vintage shopping malls? Here it is!! :)
ReplyDeletehey i grew up in saginaw and the mall was in buena vista area it was not in a getto area then it was a nice mall and i hated when it closed
ReplyDeleteHi I'm from Chicago, but my father was raised in Buena Vista. My family lived walking distance from this mall. According to my father, the neighborhood was not bad @ all. The mall just couldn't compete with Fashion Square mall. I'm only 23 and vaguely remember going inside the mall but only a few time with my grandmother. By the time I was older the only store that was still open was Kmart. I was heartbroken to findout that the Kmart is now closed. It's a shame, if I had the money I would purchase this mall. It seems like everything seems to be going bad in Saginaw :-(
ReplyDeleteI am looking for any other photos or information about the Scott 5-10 stores.
ReplyDeletefiveanddime1990@yahoo.com
I also, remember the movie theater not far from the Scotts store there by the 31 flavors ice cream store there. My brother and I would walk 2 miles to get there. Good memories.
ReplyDeleteGood News! Fort Saginaw is coming down!!!! Buena Vista Town Center is coming up!!!!! According to Mlive.com, the center will include a shopping center, housing, parks, and a civic center. Woo-Hoo go Buena Vista. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnyone that says Buena Vista isn't that bad is lying. Buena Vista is a nasty ghetto. I grew up there in the 80's and lived there into the 2000's. It was a ghetto before the 80's and it's still a ghetto. There's a reason Fort Saginaw closed down. It's pretty bad when the area can't even support a K-Mart, that says a lot. The people of Buena Vista probably destroyed the K-Mart.
ReplyDeleteNice picture, my father used to visit that mall.
ReplyDeleteBobby, I grew up in saginaw in the 60's and remember when the Fort Saginaw Mall was built. Contrary to comments posted it was not a ghetto area and at the time Buena vista was a desirable bedroom community to working class Saginaw.
ReplyDeleteThe mall was nicer than the mall on the west side of town Green acres ,which was an open mall,the fort saginaw was enclosed the first in the area!
Also does any body remember the Hot Wheels races they used to have Federals,The Music Planet ,or the cinema and the cool Black Exploitation films in the 70's ?
I miss the Mall I grew up around this mall its not a bad area know how you know if your in a bad area when you get out to get gas and can't leave your keys in the car that's how you know this area you can leave to car running and go in
ReplyDelete