I WENT TO THE MALL THE OTHER DAY
I went to the mall the other day. Things have changed. Almost as much as me. As a kid going to the brand-spankin’ new indoor mega-malls, I never envisioned being back in one as a grandpa.
I rode the escalators, ran down the “Up” and up the “Down”, in the mall in San Bernardino CA. I was mesmerized by them like I was a ride at Disneyland.
It was in ’73 or ’74 when I went with a friend’s family to Phoenix. Metro Center, what was then the northwest edge of town, was sparkling new. A few years later we wound up living just over two miles away from Metro Center.
Mega-malls were like magnets for kids. Metro not only had the state of the art theatres, it had an ice skating rink and an amusement park with a humongous arcade. Pinball heaven.
Add a couple more years and a driver’s license on top of a muscle car I wish I’d never sold, and Metro had become the place to cruise. The 300 plus acre site was jammed with teenagers and gas fumes on Friday and Saturday nights.
But time changes as do people. Toss several more years into the history of mall going, like Metro Center and its sister mega mall Paradise Valley Mall, on the northeast part of the valley, and I didn’t have the same priority and I was of age… but that’s a story for another time.
By that point in my life, I was a consumer. I was one of the young adults that frequented the hip shoe and clothing stores that blared obnoxious music. It was the eighties and thin leather ties that matched shoes were the rage… I’m glad I don’t have too many pictures to remind me of what a fool I was.
a tired parking lot that used to be wall to wall cars
By the time the kids were teenagers, they didn’t hang at the mega malls like we once did. Times had changed.
Mr. B, my grandson’s nickname, loves the mall like I did as a kid. He glares wide-eyed at the escalators and the enormity of the mega-mall space. When I set him down his little legs carry him faster than I can walk.
I’m still getting a kick out of mega malls, but for vastly different reasons.
Our grandkids won’t be passing down memories of the mega malls. The malls are just about extinct.
I looked around PV mall. Almost half of the stores are empty now. As we walked out, Mr. B cradled on my right forearm, my wife pointed out the Fortune Teller store by the exit. The rent’s cheap and the landlord is desperate.
It cost a hundred million to build Metro Center in 1970. It sold last in 2012 for twelve million… more than an 88% drop in value.
Trends change and people change, but the only truly valuable things we have in this life can’t be measured by a number or location.
I went to the mall the other day.
Sunday, November 5, 2017 @ 12:51 pm
Malls are dead, thanks to Walmart and Amazon. Kids still cruise though. Where to? I don’t know. There’s a curfew in place here on the Las Vegas Strip, and even that has lost it’s appeal. The only kid hang out seems to be in the Gamestop electronics store. But as you said what we do have can’t be measured! I love that!
Sunday, November 5, 2017 @ 8:04 pm
Our city has a new large WalMart – so big I hate to go in lest I get lost. Usually it is easier for me to order on line unless I need it like today. Chico has more of a complex than a Mall in one area. and the large mall is as you say loosing some of their renters. It still has Penny’s and a food court and small shops, with Sears at one end. Sears is in trouble and I hope they can pull out of it. Your posts always bring up memories and thanks for another great post.
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 4:10 am
“Let’s go to the Mall,” used to be heard in our house every week. It was a trip I thoroughly enjoyed with my daughter–the hustle and bustle of tons of people, the lure of store after store. It is strange to me to walk thru the mall–any mall–today and realize I can almost hear the echo of my shoes on the shiny tile floor.
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 5:17 am
Yes, the times certainly have changed when it comes to going to the mall. I do recall how excited I would be as a kid when we would go on occasion and as a teen with babysitting money to “burn.” I remember my daughter loved to go with me when she was young, too. Those times are gone, but there are always the memories . . .
Blessings, Floyd!
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 7:09 am
I so relate to this, Floyd. Our brand new “hot” mall in 1984 was totally razed to the ground this year. They’re building a multi-use facility there now, including a golf batting cage thing, which totally ruins the skyline with its huge nets. Life is always evolving, for better or worse. I love hearing about your grandbaby! Makes me so excited for mine to get here soon. Today marks the beginning of the third trimester for Morgan.
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 11:21 am
I am so past mall, indoor or outdoors, unless my grandchildren want to go for a special event hosted by a mall. The small town girl in me always gets overwhelmed at the amount of choices at the malls. But watching the eyes of your grandchild light up in awe will cause this old…older women to brave whatever it takes to see that light. Seeing anything through the eyes of our grand children gives us the much needed resolve to keep ourselves healthy so we can even walk with them in a mall. Good post brother.
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 1:12 pm
Hmmm. Your last sentence sounds like a certain Bible verse SOMEONE once said. 🙂
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 3:37 pm
Wow, this took me down memory lane…my mall was the Dayton mall, and my best friend, Tammy, and I used to have our Moms and Dads drop us off, so we could spend hours walking through the stores. Believe it or not, it is still there. We saw it when we were up there last year. Seeing it brought back of host of memories…it’s funny how seeing or hearing something can transport us back in time to those young, carefree days. Thanks for reminding me, Floyd. I am always so blessed here. God bless you a hundred fold.
Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 4:13 pm
Malls have changed for sure. It feels like ghost city when I visit those few stores that are still open in the Village of Oak Creek Factory Outlets. An era once lived, but times have changed! Your story was a great trip down memory lane!
Sunday, November 12, 2017 @ 6:06 pm
We didn’t have big malls where I grew up, so visiting the cousins in the bigger towns that did was always a treat! We are definitely a more polarized society these days. Do kids even go out crusin’ anymore? Or just sit at home and text? Great memories, Floyd!