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| Palm Beach Mall - 1980 |
Something else - a beautiful mall. Growing up in Southern Virginia, we had to drive miles to a shopping center and even more to an indoor mall. I have written about how I enjoy shopping and always have. My mother made a big deal of getting dressed up and going to “town” to shop, so I came by it naturally.
Upon arriving in Florida, The Palm Beach Mall quickly became my favorite place. Burdines, Jordan Marsh, and Richard’s were the anchor stores. There was even a Harvest House Cafeteria and the later addition of a food court. My office was right next door and on many days I would just walk over for lunch.
A while back I wrote about the Mall of America. It was a fun visit, however I had a feeling that the pinnacle has been reached and now we are in a time of rapid change. When I saw this cartoon it spoke volumes. The "You aren't here" hit home. My new shiny mall is The Gardens Mall. Built about 20 years ago it is beautiful, upscale, and a fun experience for any dedicated shopper. It too has been hard hit by changes in the shopping culture. Since Christmas the following stores have closed: BeBe, Bose, Nine West, The Limited, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Boston Proper, Justice and near closing, Sears. These are just the ones I remember seeing shuttered the other day - likely others.
There is a web site dedicated to Mall "Retail History" called Dead Malls. A place to reminisce and lookup your favorite gone-but-not-forgetting shopping haunt.
Please share you mall memories. What stores do you miss? As retail changes what are your favorite online virtual stores? Enough - Must stop writing now. Time to get my iPad, sit by the pool and shop. |
| The Palm Beach Mall before demolition |
Rhonda I was just at a big mall north of Montreal and I saw more stores closing than had ever seen before. It looks like the concept is slowly dying. I had a conversation with a young woman who was despondent over this since she loved her job but she noted that she herself often shops online..
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