Yesterday and Today

[nvmbrsdoom5]

The SEARS that I grew up with is still standing thankfully (Calumet City, IL.), though the area has really changed and become rundown, as a result the store itself isn't so hot, poorly stocked and managed, it's a shame. But I will still shop there occasionally just because of loyalty and nostalgia, in fact it still smells like it did when I was a kid, which really brings back memories. I have great, fond memories of going there with my grandparents and my dad, all of whom have passed on now, so for that reason alone I still like to visit there.

[jwyblejr]

The biggest nail in any mall's coffin was the death of KBs.

[ScottA]

Montgomery Mall - closed and empty
Eastdall Mall - anchored by Sears, JCPenny, Belks and Dillards. KayBee is gone. Has Spencers, Hallmark, jewelery and clothes.
K-Mart #1 - empty building
K-Mart #2 - torn down and a Publix was built on site
TG&Y - torn down and HQ built. That was torn down and Burlington Coat Factory was built.
Gaylords (like Ames) - now a flea market
Gayfers (Montgomery Fair) - now a flea market
Toby's Toys - now a uniforms store
Bellas Hess - empty building
Sears - gone now

[UnderdogDJLSW]

^That sounds like a cool place to go.

The one thing I miss about malls when is the unique flavor they once had, now it's all chains and they contain the same stores/selection the mall closest to your home does.

No kidding. Of the malls still here in the state, I think all but one are owned by the same company. Even the tile looks the same.

[VintageMike]

For me, back in the 70's "the mall" was like going to Disneyland

Today, it's a super chore I try to avoid at all costs.

My local mall is basically a collection of small overpriced clothing stores.

I miss record stores, comic shops, video stores, head shops and toy stores.

My local mall lost them all --- it dont even have a pizza place and arcade anymore

The nearest malls near me are pretty much still jumping because where they are located is one of biggest shopping areas in the world. That said I've watched many a great mall become not so great. For me it a "great" mall should be somewhere I could basically spend the afternoon at. The last one within a reasonable driving distance I considered "great" also got ruined a couple of years ago.
Up until then it had a classic styled Movie theater (actually the last remaining Cineplex Odeon in NJ), Great food choices and a nice little arcade across from the movie theater. Them AMC (which actually owned the theater) decided to convert it to it's upscale "dine-in" concept and as condition for this "reward" the arcade was forced to close.
The last great mall (by my standards) is now 2 hours away so it's when I'm in the area only.
That mall (Deptford Mall, Deptford, NJ) has great food choices, two movie theaters on the property, an arcade (including a classic Centipede machine you can still play for a quarter!) AND a cart where comics are sold.

[MysteryWho]

I think about this stuff a lot, probably because I treasured certain stores as a kid and as an adult I've worked in several of them.
Here in Hamilton, a few of the malls have been ripped down in favour of big individual stores grouped together. In most cases,
it was time for something to be done. The Centre Mall, for instance, was in sad shape. It had been home to one of the oldest
Sears locations in Canada. I actually worked there while they were moving to Eastgate Square (Another mall on the decline,
particularly now that Walmart has departed). Being behind the scenes in that old Sears was very interesting, despite the
asbestos abatement going in various sections. It really was a time capsule.
Another store chain that I miss is Towers, especially the Aldershot location in Burlington. It's gone now, with condos coming
up on the empty lot. One day I should buy a condo there as close to where I think the toy section was located. Instead of
Poltergeists it will be haunted by legions Mego Mxyzptlks that languished on clearance until a manager hid them in the deepest
regions of the stockroom. They are probably still in the ground there!
Here is a link to a great site about Towers!

http://www.towersdepartmentstores.info/index.htm

[Mikey]

Around here K-Mart is a shell of it once was.

I can't believe they're still in business considering their only customers are a few old people loitering around their restaurant - which DOES still make a good burger

[wayne foundation 07]

Thats to cool, a great pc of the past with a found memory. The building still looks good, hopefully someone will make good use out of it. Would make for a great skate park or the likes of.

[ddgaff1132]

The K-mart we had here in the 70's is still here. Also I believe the Sears my parents sometimes shopped is still a Sears (At far as I know from my last trip there). I had a Mall within walking distance from my house though, BUt it has been levelled since the 90's. My Mego purchase experience is limited to a Wards Store in a strip Mall type place that still stands. Sadly, I tried to reminisce with Mom about the day she bought me my Batman, Robin and Batmobile on my one birthday. She can no longer remember the store or that particular event. That Wards is now a Servicestar Hardware store.
On a happier note though, If ever I want to re-live memorys of a Mall I visited a few times in my youth. I can just pop in the original "Dawn of the Dead" in the DVD player. The Monroeville Mall is still operating and in buisness. But The one in the Movie is the Mall of my youth. Too bad they did'nt film a lot action in the toy ailses!

[palitoy]

Yeah, I hate setting foot in the place myself. Our local mall used to have a "Sunrise Records" and they carried action figures, books on horror movies and cult DVDs. So if my wife wanted to make the trek, she just deposited me in there for a half hour. They closed up last year and I think I've been to the mall three times since. Each time I was dragged.

[Mikey]

For me, back in the 70's "the mall" was like going to Disneyland

Today, it's a super chore I try to avoid at all costs.

My local mall is basically a collection of small overpriced clothing stores.

I miss record stores, comic shops, video stores, head shops and toy stores.

My local mall lost them all --- it dont even have a pizza place and arcade anymore

[palitoy]

I'm sure our parents generation lamented the fall of downtowns with the advent of malls, our kids will likely miss the "box store" concept when that becomes passe.

The one thing I miss about malls when is the unique flavor they once had, now it's all chains and they contain the same stores/selection the mall closest to your home does.

[megocrazy]

The mall is a dying breed. The things I see surviving would be clothes, home improvement, jewelry. You can't try on online clothing. 12' wood doesn't squeeze into a box too easily. Who's gonna buy an engagement ring online. I'm sure some other stuff as well. Electronics, DVD's, tools, all can be bought online nationwide and shipped from one or two warehouses, versus multiple brick and mortar stores. The overhead is just no where near the same. We're losing two malls within 35 miles of my house in the very near future, and there are at least two more that I suspect will be gone within the next two years. Every time I go into them they're ghost towns. Hundreds of stores and thousands of jobs gone. They are talking about converting one to a casino.

[UnderdogDJLSW]

Sad to see it go. They are tearing down the local indoor shopping mall near us and are going to replace it with an outdoor shopping experience. My wife and I were trying to fathom why people would rather have a "mall" where you can be rained on or cold, etc compared to one where you could go on a bad weather day. Of course, if it is good weather I guess you get more business, I don't know...

[MIB41]

The sad part is Sears will soon be gone completely. The franchise continues to lose hundreds of millions of dollar a quarter and the current CEO is in the process of selling off anything of value. He currently is taking bids for well known brand names like Craftsman. Now, you know when Sears is letting go of Craftsman it's all over. The days of catalog shopping and walking through department stores are quickly becoming a thing of the past. I hear that Amazon is going to build enough warehouse space to eventually compete with Walmart for top retailer. When a mail order company is pushing aside a behemoth like Walmart, that is certainly a shift in consumer habits. Of course I can't argue against it. I utilize Amazon and Ebay alot. And often find significantly better deals for common items than I could going to a store. Times are ah changing...