topic Re: Long Term Shopping Malls in Community Chat

Long Term Shopping Malls

jannabelle1 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:40:41 GMT

My Iowa cousin sent me an email today that she did some shopping at a local mall in Des Moines (Merle Hay for any Iowans here). That mall was a favorite of mine when I was in high school in the 1960s, and it's still in business....that's at least 60 years! Of course the mall has changed over the years with stores closing and new ones opening, but I think it's amazing that they've been able to stay relevant for so long. We have a couple of malls here in the St. Louis area that have been around for a long time, but I think those are the exception rather than the norm. Do any of you have shopping malls that have been around forever?

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

SilleeMee — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:50:51 GMT

There's one here, built in 1970, and it's still got stores in it. I haven't been inside in decades so I have no idea what those are. There's a JCP, Burlington and Dillard's there plus an huge food court in the mall.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

tucsongal — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:53:17 GMT

@jannabelle1 believe it or not, I grew up about a mile away from Merle Hay! In junior high, a friend and I would walk to the mall every Saturday, stop at Bishop’s Buffet for a piece of chocolate pie and window shop. I also remember getting warm peanuts in little paper bags at Younkers. Hmm, a lot of my memories are food related 🙂.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

NickNack — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:54:41 GMT

We still have a Mall that was built in 1972. A few stores have closed, but most are still open.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

tucsongal — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:55:28 GMT

@jannabelle1 I wonder if there’s still a bowling alley in the basement 🎳.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

jannabelle1 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:59:53 GMT

@tucsongal, oh how I remember Bakers Cafeteria....and Younkers and Bakers Shoes. We were almost neighbors back then - I lived off Franklin Avenue. You must have gone to North or Roosevelt! Back to mall though - it was one of the first "open air" malls in the midwest from what I remember. Younkers is now Macy's, and Sears has changed to Kohl's, but at least it's still open!

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

tucsongal — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 01:31:52 GMT

@jannabelle1 wrote:
@tucsongal, oh how I remember Bakers Cafeteria....and Younkers and Bakers Shoes. We were almost neighbors back then - I lived off Franklin Avenue. You must have gone to North or Roosevelt! Back to mall though - it was one of the first "open air" malls in the midwest from what I remember. Younkers is now Macy's, and Sears has changed to Kohl's, but at least it's still open!

——————

We were almost neighbors because I went to Franklin junior high in the early 70’s, then we were all split up between Hoover, Roosevelt and North. To keep it shopping related however, do you remember the Place store? I think that was the name, a five and ten cent store. And Heaven to Seven? Wow, what a trip down memory lane!

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

Cal22 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 01:34:41 GMT

@jannabelle1 @tucsongal

Another Des Moines gal here-grew up there -high school in the 50s. LIved in Beaverdale area. Merle Hay was bought from a monastery that owned the land and developed into shopping mall.

Thanks for the memories of Baker's Cafeteria, Bishop's Buffet and Younkers.

Happy to hear Merle Hay is still thriving!

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

jannabelle1 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 01:42:15 GMT

@tucsongal, I went to Franklin JH as well....but in the early 60s, so I'm a bit older. And yes, I do remember Place's....it was a great store for anything and everything! I went to TRHS and graduated in '66. Such good memories of DM!

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

jannabelle1 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 01:46:56 GMT

@Cal22, thanks for the comment and memories...I didn't know that the mall had been purchased from a monastery! I do remember Bishops Cafeteria, and the Beaverdale area. My mother managed a beauty shop on Beaver Ave. Merle Hay Mall is still thriving - not the same one we grew up with, but I'm glad it's still there!

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

lovesrecess — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 03:20:29 GMT

We have only one now in our entire area that has managed to stay busy and popular. Every store is high-end and that keeps the throngs of roaming teens away, which is a mall-killer. One other mall not far from us is a huge one that is more of a tourist attraction so I stay clear of it as much as I can. Almost all stores closed during the lockdown in March unless they had an outside entrance, which was only a few. The restaurants there remain pickup only.
Our other malls have closed down and have given way to strip malls, if anything. We had a beautiful mall a mile from us when we moved here. Neiman Marcus was the anchor store. It had an ice skating rink and every store you can think of. Now it is a super Walmart and a few low-end junky places I don’t frequent. I think what malls were already closing, the pandemic finished off.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

Grade1Teach — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 09:57:06 GMT

I grew up (and still live) on Long Island. I live on the east end now, but Roosevelt Field was my go-to for my entire life until I got married and moved to where I am now. Our parents still live over there, but they don't shop there anymore. It has become too big, too loud, too commercial, and too busy. People come from all over Long Island and Queens just to go to that mall. It was always a busy place, but it's out of control now. It's very difficult for residents to drive in that area during the holidays. There is a tremendous amount of traffic and congestion. My parents still complain over it. I'm glad I don't have to deal with it anymore.

I think malls are still relevant because they have always been a place where teens would go and hang out with their friends. I don't know how much revenue they bring to the stores, but malls have always been the best hangouts. Before I could drive, my parents would drop me off there so I could meet up with my friends. We would spend a little money, have lunch in the food court, and hang out. There used to be a great movie theatre attached to that mall as well, but I think it recently closed.

I am now 41 years old and I really don't have any use for the mall anymore. We have a smaller mall near my house that we go to on occasion. They have a few stores and restaurants that we like. We never go to just "hang out" though. We always have an agenda.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

ninjawife — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 13:01:57 GMT

My family was in the steel business and their company built our local mall in the late 1970s. I was in 6th grade and was bused into the city for school. My dad would drive my neighbor and I to school and stop by the mall to check on the progress. A few stores were already open and one was a doughnut shop. He would get us doughnuts for breakfast to eat on the way to school.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

Foxxee — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 14:27:18 GMT

Two built in 1960 still going strong, except one might be iffy since Macy's left a few months ago. No tenant I know of is interested in that space yet.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 14:56:22 GMT

The one we used to go to in the early seventies was built in the late 1950's and was an outdoor mall. They did enclose it and it is one of the largest malls in the area.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

traveler — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 15:07:59 GMT

We just had an old enclosed mall close permanently. Burlington Coat has its own outdoor entrance so it is still open.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

goldensrbest — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 15:11:13 GMT

My husband worked in one for many years, they were nice back then, we still have it,i just do not go because it makes me sad,not seeing him there.I use to do most of the christmas shopping there,when my boys were teens,even my late son worked there,we would meet for lunch,i really miss those times.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

ScrapHappy — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 15:58:38 GMT

The mall is still open for business where I grew up in NJ. It was Bamberger's before it was Macy's. It's from the 70's.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

beckyb1012 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 16:25:36 GMT

Ours built and opened in 1975, so not as old as some. JCP and Dillards are still the flagships they were in the beginning. Sadly back at the end of 2019 Sears was completely demolished for more parking area and a few smaller stores inside.

Re: Long Term Shopping Malls

wilma — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 16:29:50 GMT

We have 2 large indoor malls in my city. The first one was built in 1962. Tennants have come & gone, but both are still open with most store spaces filled. Both malls are on the same road a few miles apart. That road is horribly congested during peak shopping days. They have to use traffic cops to get people in and out of the parking lots in an orderly manner.

ETA: There is a third indoor mall in a totally different part of the city that is struggling. It lost its anchor stores. The last time I was there, there were lots of vacant store spaces.