Death Hag of Legend
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Thanks for the link...Boy do I remember the mall growing up! My friends would call me up with "Let's go to the mall!"...off to go to shower and change into something I had bought at Chess King (at the mall) just a few days before cuz you never know who you'd meet
Checking out Hasting's looking for the latest Aerosmith album (cassettes - no CDs back then), going into Spencer's looking at the posters of very scantily clad women, playing video games, and hanging out in the parking lot with friends watching girls that would walk by, asking them if they wanted to see a movie..not a date..just a movie (maybe I'd get a phone number, maybe not) and waiting for the movie to start at 9:30...memories!
I went to the mall that I used to hang out at as a teenager and it's a shell of its former glory. My favorite hangout stores are long gone and if you stick around in the parking lot long enough, you can get a date for $100.
You can't go home again, I guess...
Last edited by Armcast; 08-18-2008 at 12:25 PM.
Renowned Death Hag
The mall really holds no interest for me except they do have a kiosk that can put batteries in my watch out and add or delete links. But that's about it. Oh and Nordstroms when my Mom needs perfume.
Wanna see my grandkids?
Renowned Death Hag
The only stores I'd go to the malls was Spencer's, record stores, book stores and the head shops.
We had a two malls where I live at the same time The Villiage and The Cleveland Mall they were both alot of fun when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s well the Village was the older mall it just died slowly one or two stores at the time. It seems to be making a comeback of late it seems like more up scale places to eat and an H&R Block a few other shops. There was a little bake shope on the corner of the mall that has been there for years and for years it was the only thing open in this big outdoor mall, Im glad it is still open. but the Cleveland Mall died within months of the new mall opening in the early 90s, it was sad because that is really the place my teenage years took place playind video games, hanging out with my friends really felt like I grew up there but now the new mall is going through the same thing because a Super Wal - Mart moved in. I don't have the fond memories at that place I had at the others but I am sure someday some kid will grow up and talk about how great place it was. I hope the mall never dies but it looks like with the Wal-Marts and Targets it just might sad,sad,sad....
The mall where I grew up was pathetic. We loved it when we'd make the trek to Erie, Pa to go to the mall there.LOL I only wanted to go to the record stores, and Spencer's. Now I live close to a freaking huge mall and I avoid it like the plague! lol
They tore down "The" mall in my hometown.It was was built in 1981 and we practically lived there as teens.
The coolest mall ever opened in 2003... It's like walking into another world. I went there a few days ago and they've finally started building what is supposed to be the "new" city nearby, which is something I've been waiting for ever since the demise of the original began.
I remember when I was a kid and would go with my grandmother and she would be covered with furs and diamonds. Later on, she would remark about how terrified people were to walk around the city dressed like that. A lot of the rich people moved out and then malls came about and in safe locations.
I love going to the mall. I spent 4 hours there the other day just walking around, they had a band playing 50s and 60s music so my dad was happy about that... lol.
My hometown mall still exists and I really miss it. It's been around since the 70's and many of the original stores are still there. Noah's Arcade, Circus World, Camelot Music, Spencer's Gifts and Sears were always my favorites when I was young. Radio Shack was also pretty cool back in the very early 1980's...
Ahh you guys are taking me down memory lane!
Death Hag Extraordinaire
Hanging out at malls was always an American thing, nasty places really
I am a sick puppy....woof woof!!!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Carping the living shit out of the Diem. - Me!!
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Renowned Death Hag
Well I can remember before there was malls. It is kinda weird you guys are talking about how malls are getting to be a thing of the past. When I am thinking about how "main street" is a thing of the past. I remember when I was a wee little tot and my grandparents would take me with them on a Sunday to (when town was closed on Sundays and they pulled the sidewalks up at 5pm weekdays) to go *window shopping* I miss those days.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
I hate the mall. HATE it.
The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.
- R.H. Sin
The internet pretty much killed the indoor shopping mall !!
Record/CD Stores.....today you can download songs online and don't have to pay $15 for a CD with only one or two good songs on it.
Books/Videos...thanks to Amazon and the like...one can pretty much find anything they want there. Greeting card stores...why buy a card when one can make their own...on their pc !!
Spencers...back then it was fun to shop and browse looking at those "naughty" gifts..today go online and one can find stuff..well far more dirty LOL Same thing applies to those adult book stores too. Why bother going to one of those places when one can download all the porn they want..at home !!!
Clothes/shoes....maybe this is one area that really hasn't been hurt all that much by the internet. Back in the 80s designer jeans and shoes were in ( Jordache for example ), the name of the store where you and/or your parents bought them were as important as the clothes themselves. Today's kids for the most part I don't think really care about that.
Toys ( KB for example )...the big box stores killed those !!!
Also there are fewer and fewer department stores nowadays. Macys took over many of them and closed quite a few of them as well and a number of regional chains like Boscovs, The Bon-Ton, Mervyns are having serious money woes right now. JC Penney is now starting to build stores away from malls ( they got that idea directly from Kohls heck some of their stores could pass as Kohls ).
Sears..I would NOT at all be surprised if we woke up one day and they would be gone. Remember what happened to Montgomery Ward?
Of course stores like Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman-Marcus are still around doing the malls but many of them have gotten kickbacks from local governements over the years to keep them going while others like Lord & Taylor which did not..well they left a number of cities due to that and the fact they opened up in questionable areas. If the money isn't there, can't expect them to last.
Renowned Death Hag
I used to hang out at the mall all the time as a teen. I loved it there, it was a real social center. I remember going to Express and the Limited, the Gap and Au Coton. Then we'd go to the food court, or the Burger King (it was not in the food court, but upstairs next to an entrance) and hang out. It was good times.
This is interesting. I do hope when the Malls die the downtowns will come back. Now that you mention it, last time I was as the Mall, I did notice that it doesn't seem to be the hangout for teens anymore. Wonder where they are? A few years ago there were tons of them at the Mall. They are probably at home communicating on My Space.
I really enjoy this website. Has my favorite dead mall, Southwyck Mall in Toledo, OH. It makes me sad to see the pictures, but I suppose time moves on.Originally Posted by ichabodius
Administrator
I too remember when there were no malls. Most everyone patronized the little downtown shops and the mom and pop super market. My family usually shopped down towards Atanta--bix box stores like Sears, J.C. Penny's, Treasure Island, GEX, etc. I was a young teenager before the malls came and the closest one was in a western city. We seldom went and it was always a treat. When I became an adult I loved to go to the malls and just look and walk around. We have a huge mall in our city now and i seldom go. Why should I, when I can buy just about anything I want Online.
Our downtowned died back in the 80s, but now it has become an artist colony, with a few nice restaurants, a martial arts studio, and drug store. They have bricked all the sidewalks and installed old-timey street lights that resemble the gas lights of many years ago.
Last edited by cindyt; 08-18-2008 at 08:42 PM.
Damned that stupid Myspace! I hate that place more and more each day!... Whew, now I feel better for getting that off my chest.
Oh what the hell, I'm happy for the teenage life I lived... I wouldn't trade it for anything. If they want to waste their life on a computer then let them... When they get to be adults, they'll look back and realize what they wasted away.
"Teens" is a word the newspapers in my town use. Todays journalists have to be vague when writing about crime.
I wouldn't trade my early years and teen years for nothing. I'll never forget how much fun I had sneaking in to see 'RAMBO: First Blook Part II' with my buddies at the mall. I'm so happy that my mall is still there...and that I'll get to see it when I go home soon. I probably spent 30% of my childhood at the mall.
OMG Chess King-I remember buying some embarassing clothes there!!! (hangs my head in shame)Thanks for the link...Boy do I remember the mall growing up! My friends would call me up with "Let's go to the mall!"...off to go to shower and change into something I had bought at Chess King (at the mall) just a few days before cuz you never know who you'd meet
Checking out Hasting's looking for the latest Aerosmith album (cassettes - no CDs back then), going into Spencer's looking at the posters of very scantily clad women, playing video games, and hanging out in the parking lot with friends watching girls that would walk by, asking them if they wanted to see a movie..not a date..just a movie (maybe I'd get a phone number, maybe not) and waiting for the movie to start at 9:30...memories!
I went to the mall that I used to hang out at as a teenager and it's a shell of its former glory. My favorite hangout stores are long gone and if you stick around in the parking lot long enough, you can get a date for $100.
You can't go home again, I guess...
Wow the first mall I ever went to was in Richfield mn AND THAT WAS LIKE 1960!
Actually I hate to shop and I really hate malls. I remember going on the bus down town and going to all the stores, whole day of shopping with my mother. My first Xmas up north we went and it ws colder then a polar bears tit outside. Dragging me thru the snow and cold lol but when we got downtown every store there was all lighted up and it really seemed like Xmas because Santa would really be coming in a sleigh lol I like gong to San Francisco at xmas or the small city shopping here in Sunyvale all little stores and not that crowd of people all walking around inside a mall. There just seems to be a difference being outside and looking thru the windows, to me at least.
Senior Death Hag
Ah yes, Southwyck is a ghost town. I lived across town and it was always a treat to go the different malls. We always had to go to "Deadville" or Woodville Mall. It was definately more fun to go to Northtowne, Southwyck or Franklin Park. Franklin Park (aka Westfield Shopping Centre) is the only one worth going to now. I go the movies there, but I HATE shopping there. I despise it actually!
Shopping at malls always sucked for me...unless I was looking for a Gumby t-shirt at Spencer's Gifts. I always preferred hanging out and scoping out the girls. The arcade and theater were the best places to meet hot chicks in my hometown...this is also where the experienced "trailer park girls" hung out...
theres a mall on there from my town lol
i remember goin to the malls n shopping from susie shier fearwethers n all those places ive grown out of scince then
our down town where our ded mall is is ded too the street used to be filled with store fronts n now theres very lil left
Renowned Death Hag
Wow memory lane! We used to hang out at a mall in San Bernardino, CA in the early 80's called The Central City Mall" (It's now Carousel Mall) Every freaking saturday we'd get dropped off and hand out alll freaking day. As an above poster said, it is now a former shell of itself. It's like a ghost town there. One part of the mall was sold to the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. I have alot of great memories there.
If we wanted to go BIG TIME we went to the Sherman Oaks Galleria or Fox Hills Mall in L.A. I miss those days.
Who the heck goes to the mall to shop anyway?!Shopping at malls always sucked for me...unless I was looking for a Gumby t-shirt at Spencer's Gifts. I always preferred hanging out and scoping out the girls. The arcade and theater were the best places to meet hot chicks in my hometown...this is also where the experienced "trailer park girls" hung out...
Death Hag of Legend
Me! I always have an agenda as well. What stores I'm going to hit and the shortest route possible including where to park. I hate all the ugly nasty little thugs, shit who am I kidding the thugs range from their teens to their 50s. Nasty people with noe excuse to exist. I avoid the malls but some shops exist only inside of them and have some great sales. I used to be one of those obnoxious mall kids up until I was like 20. Thats when there were several shootings and I was accosted repeatedly by gangstas and skinheads and started avoiding them.Who the heck goes to the mall to shop anyway?!
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
great thread. One of the biggest culture shocks of my life when we moved back to Europe was the lack of a mall. There was one in the town we lived in in Germany that got built much later (late 80s I think). What a joke, five shops, a butcher, a hairdresser and that was it. But it *was* covered lol.
What got me when I was living in Hungary in the mid-late 90s was that all of a sudden all these malls were springing up. It's a great place, Budapest, but not somewhere you'd instantly associate with malls. They used to have a small one and then all of a sudden the big ones came in, at the rate of one per month, it seemed. Tall about bringing back memories. Oh, if any of you ever plan on going to Paris, plan for a day at La Défense. You'll find pretty much everything there and most likely cheaper than most tourist places. And it's worth sightseeing there, too.
AS a kid and throughout my teens I would go to the with friends. It was fun. I seem to enjoy it more now. The whole mall style.
When I was a kid there was a mall here in Colorado it was one of the malls closest to me, it was called Westland Mall. There use to be a May D & F, Sears there. I don't remember so much about it cause I was so young. They tore it down, which is now just a Sears, they built resturants nearby and little shopettes.
THe next closest mall was one called Lakeside Mall, and that mall I noticed started falling apart when I was about 17, 18. I remember it had a Montgomery Ward in it. In fact in 1998-1999 that whole mall was done with and all was left was a Target that I guess recently was torn down.
The next closest mall was called Villa Italia, and that went caput. Now what?????????? I go to Westminster to the Westminster Mall, which currently falling apart, go all the way to Cherry Creek to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Go to Littleton where Southwest Plaza Mall is, which is one of my favorite malls. Haven't drove out to Flat Irons yet.
In 2002 I was in heaven when the Colorado Mills opened. It is near the neighborhood where I grew up, near me now. I like it alot. Matter of fact it is where Don Vito got busted at. VITOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have quite a bit stores that you won't see in regular malls. One of my favorite stores is called Earthbound. They sell like Asian stuff, those Asian hanging lights, and incense. I usually buy my incense in their. They have a Saks Fifth Ave as well.
Sometimes I'll go to Southwest Plaza and pick up my cologne at Macy's.
Yes all of those, and the I.M.P. ("International Market Place) stores...oh the mobiles, blacklight posters, that place was heaven in the 70s. HEAVEN.
Thanks for the links! There was a mall from my old hometown listed as well.. but they need to update some info--the mall has since become a remodeled community college and started to turn the area around a bit--well hopefully anyway
malls are fun--nothing beats an orange julius
I was a teenager in the 80's and always loved going to the malls. I still love to go to the big malls, but so many of them have such a high number of vacancies that they are sad looking and depressing. I've spent a lot of time on the dead malls website and just today, I found a Facebook page for dead malls that has some really good pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/113883645298062/
Senior Death Hag
I remember that mall culture was still pretty big around here until around the time I started middle school. (1999)
By then stripmalls and shopping centers started opening up around here. And, Lexington lost 2 of it's 4 malls. There's only two still open now. A very small mall (Lexington Green). And, a huge mall called Fayette Mall. It gets alot of business because it has Macy's, MAC, Buckle, Coach and a bunch of other high end retailers.
I remember when I was a kid. My parents used to take me to the mall and we'd go catch a movie there and I'd look around in KB Toys and Spencer Gifts. Also. I loved the arcade!
The early 90s seem so long ago.
By the way. I love that DeadMalls site. I think Lexington Mall is on there. Yep. I just linked it.
*Cry* Here's the mall I went to as a kid. They had a theatre there and it's where I saw Mrs. Doubtfire, What About Bob, Home Alone, and Jurassic Park. Plus countless others.
http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/lexington_mall.html
Also. Last time I was at a mall. 2010. My friend and I went over to the last big one in Lexington (Fayette Mall) and went to Macy's and Sephora. The only reason I went over there was to go to MAC (in Macy's) and exchange depotted eyeshadow containers for free lipstick (Thank God for Back2MAC). Scratch that. Last time was 2011. My mom went near that area for acupunture (sp?) So, we stopped at the mall and had Sushi for lunch and she gave me $90 to spend at Sephora.
Last edited by Dr. Fishhead; 08-27-2012 at 11:09 AM.
You robbed an international house of pancakes. How waffle-Harry T. Stone
Twitter: @rchamberlain87 Follow me if you want. Just play nice.
Only the good die young....
I didn't have a mall super close to home when I was growing up, but the nearest one was the Monroeville Mall, which some Death hags may remember as the setting of "Dawn of the Dead". The highlight of the movie for me was watching the zombies sliding around on the same ice skating rink where I took lessons
Century III is pretty much going to hell too.I didn't have a mall super close to home when I was growing up, but the nearest one was the Monroeville Mall, which some Death hags may remember as the setting of "Dawn of the Dead". The highlight of the movie for me was watching the zombies sliding around on the same ice skating rink where I took lessons
Renowned Death Hag
You got that right !!
The Pittsburgh area mall I can remember going to back in the day was the old Allegheny Center Mall. The website reelradio.com even has an old commercial for this place as part of an old KQV-FM broadcast that was taped off air back in 1968. KQV-FM is today known as WDVE, Unfortunately reelradio requires one to pay to listen so its really no point on putting a link to it here but its there if one is interested..and has the extra cash to spend for such a thing.
Deadmalls.com is a great site. Wish they would update it more often but I guess the webmasters who have the site do it as a hobby and they have more important things to do. Kinda like the old amusement park site defunctparks.com. Great site but the webmaster who had it was also I believe a pilot for American Airlines and with that airline now in bankruptcy and they are cutting jobs, ah not surprised to find out that website is now defunct.
Last edited by choff; 08-27-2012 at 01:41 PM.
Administrator
Good thing it's dying out. I never liked the mall. Besides, we never had any good malls by us growing up. I enjoy my online shopping.
My formative years were spent on a main street shopping area. When I was well into my teens the first mall sprang up and it was so modern and glossy. Now the malls are losing customers and the downtown areas are being revived. In another 60 years we will be back to the mall again
Today we very seldom "mall it" except for the Asian malls that have interesting stores and restaurants.
I'm glad to see that there are other posters here who are interested in dead malls. My husband and I have been together for over twenty years and going to different malls was a big part of our entertainment when we first got together. We used to go to the River Falls Mall in Clarkville, Indiana quite a bit. There are a few pictures of it on the dead malls site. The lower level had the stores and the upper level had a food court, putt putt golf, arcade games, a train, a carousel, and much more. The mall also had a theater. The mall opened in 1991 and was demalled in 2005. There is now a Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop, and a few other stores, but the place is nothing like it was before and all of the good stuff is gone. I'm sentimental about the place and it makes me sad. There is a mall in Evansville, Indiana that has far more empty stores than tenants and it is sad looking and depressing. I was looking at pictures on deadmalls.com and came across a lot of pictures of a mall called Forest Fair Mall that is in Cincinnati. It is so weird seeing such a huge, beautiful mall just sitting there practically empty. I wish I could have seen it in it's early days.
http://www.labelscar.com/ohio/forest...incinnati-ohio
Last edited by Mammy; 08-27-2012 at 05:49 PM.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
I went mall crawling yesterday just for kicks. Its in its death throes but still a few things open. Like walking through a corpse. Crossroads is the name.
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
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Aw, that's a shame because I clearly remember that when Century III opened I thought it was just so beautiful! It also had the first food court I had ever seen.
Renowned Death Hag
Our family did the same thing as well. Going to various malls in various other cities was always not only a treat but even a learning experience too.
The death of mall culture one can actually write a book on this and still not cover everything. Between online shopping, the many of malls who no longer for one reason or another allow those under 17 to enter without an adult, the nutrition police screaming about poor quality mall food, anchor stores such as JC Penney now building stand along stores or in those so-called outside "life style centers", the number of malls who no longer allow local media inside to do live broadcasts in order to drive in traffic, the high cost of insurance to offer such things such as a carousel or even putt putt golf, the bankruptcy of so many of the mall stores we can remember, politics..etc...etc..so many reasons.
Sadly the writing has been on the wall for sometime now. I miss those days.
www.deadmalls.com - love this site - I even follow them on facebook!
I can get lost on the deadmalls website for hours. Cindy, you're welcome for the link. It's a good site, but I do wish they would update it more often. I've been interested in the Dixie Square Mall for the past few months. It is the mall that "The Blues Brothers" filmed the movie's police chase in. The mall opened in 1968 and was only in business somewhere around ten years. Since then, the mall has stood abandoned for over 30 years and left to rot away. It is finally being torn down this year.
http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogsp...uare-mall.html
This link has a lot of pictures of the mall and it's state of disrepair.
http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/dixie_square_mall/
Last edited by Mammy; 08-28-2012 at 05:54 PM.
Administrator
Until this thread, I had forgotten about mall crawling with Sissy. We were young adults, not teenagers, though. Her husband worked swing shifts, and when he was on nights, she'd call and we'd go shopping at Perimeter Mall or Cumberland Mall down toward Atlanta. We'd eat in the food courts. I think it was at Cumberland where there was a walkin restaurant called Around the Corner. There was a phone at each table which you used to order your food and then they called you when to come pick it up. As far as I know those mall's are still there.
My grandmother liked Lakeshore Mall in Gainesville. She's call us and say "Let's go to the maw!" Lol.
We have a mini mall in my city. It must have opened in the early 70s because it hadn't been there long when daddy left us. It had a single theater screen and a Family Dollar--or some such, and stores no one cared about, so it died quick. there are stores there, Subway, a Golden Buddah Chinese restaurant, and some other stores, all accessable from the outside. I don't know if you can even go inside anymore. It's hard to believe what a big deal it was when it opened.
We have two malls here in Gwinnett County. The first, Gwinnett Place, opened back in the late 70s/early 80s and it was THE place to shop. It's dying now and riddled with crime. I wouldn't go there for anything. The second, Mall of Georgia, opened in the late 90s, early 2000s. It is nice, and as far as I know doing good business.
But I just love shopping online. It's easier. It does cost more with added shipping, but I don't care. You can buy anything you want online. If I was really rich, I'd live in a penthouse somewhere, order everything online, including groceries, and never step outside my door, except for doctors and meds. I wish I could do that now, but we are so behind there isn't a grocery which delivers. To be fair, Kroger did until it proved not to be profitable because no once used the service. I'll stop now.
Last edited by cindyt; 08-28-2012 at 08:13 PM.
My daughter and I went to the Century III when we were visiting in Monroeville in 2001. We got lost on the way and ended up going past Kenny Wood amusement park. Had no idea Monroeville had a mall, let alone that it had been the setting for a movie. Didn't find out about the zombie thing until about 2 years ago. My husband and I were visiting a friend in Monroeville last year and she told us that the zombie store in the mall had just closed.
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