Tripping Down Memory Lane
I just took a creepy, nostalgic tour of so-called “Dead Malls.”
Searching for something completely different, I stumbled upon an amazing site called DeadMalls.com. “Welcome to Retail History!!” the site proclaims (yes, they use double exclamation points).
Apparently, there is a fairly widespread and morbid fascination with the Decline of Western Civilization (also known as “The Mall”). This site is a bit contradictory, as it features loving recollections from mall aficionados, but they are often supplemented with images of the demolition of these retail oases (Note: the Webmaster is kind enough to use a little “camera” icon to denote Mall pages that feature photos! Look for ‘em!). There is even a map of the United States, with links to regional shopping mall recollections and photos.
I got absolutely caught up in this Web site, finding old photos of mall stores like this boarded up Montgomery Ward, which once thrived at the Regency Mall in Augusta, Georgia.
Being a Mego collector, I have a certain affinity for Montgomery Ward. Ward was the only catalog retailer to receive exclusive Mego Super-Heroes (the Secret Identity outfits in 1974 and Isis in 1976). Ward was the bomb. It’s wonderful to see an image of Ward, yet heartbreaking to view it in utter abandonment and disrepair.
I prefer to recall these vintage malls in a more romantic light. I found this picture, from the Northland Mall in Jennings, MO, which tapped into the deepest “pleasure” synapses of my brain.
Apparently, architects in Missouri read the same magazines as those who designed malls in my home state of Michigan. The enormous brick facade! That delicate, deco logo! A sensible, highly-legible script typeface with the “Sputnik” starbursts! It’s a logo seemingly ripped from a black-and-white 1960s automobile ad in Life magazine…
Sigh…
Looking at that picture, I can practically taste the Sander’s hot fudge they served at the Macy*s cafeteria in Birmingham, MI.
If you have some time to kill (seriously, it’s fucking addictive), I strongly urge you to check out:
benjamin