What is/was your favorite part of your local mall. My mall, Century III , was completely demolished recently. It

[debm55]

brought back memories of the walking club inside the mall, the stage where I got to see Three Dog Night and other groups for free, the variety of stores, anchor and smaller stores that were Mall stores.and the glass elevator. What was your favorite part or memory of Your Mall?

[livetohike]

1. The ice skating rink. (Monroeville Mall). Loved watching people

of all ages skating. It was changed into a food court years ago. Now I read that WalMart bought it and the plans aren’t made public.

[debm55]

2. I read that too. The last time I was there was pre covid. I heard it was going downhill. I used to buy a hot dog and

watch people skate( I can't skate) Thank you livetohike. for sharing your memory with us.

[31st Street Bridge]

27. The independent retailers

... back when it was affordable for them to be in the big malls. Monroeville Mall had them at first.
And the variety at "Cench," which we called Century Three Mall.

[debm55]

34. Thank you for sharing your memories with us, 31st Street Bridge.Do you remember the Thomas Kincade store at Monroeville

Mall. It sold his paintings and had a fake fireplace inside,

[Dulcinea]

28. I skated there as a kid.

I grew up in Monroeville & lived there until I moved to Atlanta in 1989. One summer, I even worked as a food court cleaner. I would amuse myself by playing Name That Tune with the Muzak versions of pop & New Wave songs that they played there (this was in the mid-80s.)

I remember going to Century 3 Mall back in the day too. Ah, memories.

[debm55]

35. Thank you, Dulcinea. Tha memeories of the trees and fountains.too

[livetohike]

39. I grew up in Monroeville too ( in University Park).

My parents lived in the family home until their deaths 2004 and 2018. It was a great place to grow up.

[hlthe2b]

3. Those from childhood are undoubtedly all gone. But I went to the opening of Colorado's Park Meadows Mall

--south of Denver. It is a large mall, but what stands out for me (and I haven't been there in years, as it is quite some distance from me now, but I'm guessing it hasn't totally changed) is the enormous fireplace (like a ski chalet) in the food court that faces a wall of windows. While a lot changed in the years since it opened, I remember security guards on horseback-- in uniforms almost like Canadian Mounties-- during that first opening period. It was really wonderful. But, of course so many of those anchoring stores are gone and even those chain stores as well. But, I'm betting that great fireplace is still there in the food court.

[debm55]

4. Thank you very much hithe2b. That fireplace sounds wonderful.

[LoisB]

5. The piano in the food court. Galleria at South Bay. I haven't been there in years

since Nordstrom left.

[debm55]

6. Fantastic, Thank you so much for sharing with us, LoisB.

[House of Roberts]

7. The Sears and JC Penneys stores.

Neither is an option now in my city.

[debm55]

9. Thank you very much for sharing with us, House of Roberts.

[PJMcK]

8. I've never liked malls

They’re too crowded and noisy for me. Besides, parking can be a hassle!

[debm55]

10. Thank you very much, PJMcK for sharing. I remember the parking lot too.

[Niagara]

11. As a teenager my favorite locations at the mall were

The music stores like Musicland, On Cue and Sam Goody. I honestly don't remember all the names of the music stores as it was a long time ago.


I also liked the Merry-Go-Round clothing store.


And way, way, way before an autoimmune disorder reared it's ugly head, I loved enjoying Auntie Anne's in the food court.

[debm55]

12. Thank you very much, Niagara. I remember Auntie Annie's too

[pansypoo53219]

13. local chinese spot at food court. but i needed to be bribed to go. xmas worse. wongs wok sweet + sour chicken.

then i tried chicken + pea pod. now i can fake some chinese i like.

[debm55]

19. Thank you, very much for sharing with us, pansypoo53219. In our food court we had a woman who would give out samples of

Chinese food.

[JoseBalow]

14. Orange Julius

[debm55]

20. Thank you very much,JoseBalow. I loved Orange Julius.

[LogDog75]

15. The mall was like walking through a Sear catalog

Back in the 60s and 70s, when we get our Sear catalog, we'd sit and look through it at all the things we could buy. When malls became the go-to for shopping, we'd walk through the mall looking in the windows and stores seeing what we could buy. I still visit the Fashion Valley and Mission Valley malls, about one mile from each other, in San Diego but I rarely buy anything. I like walking around in them and see all the different things they sell.

[debm55]

21. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. LogDog75

[JMCKUSICK]

16. That's easy lol, the video game arcade.

[debm55]

22. Thank you , John. My son and his friends could be fould there and in the hat store.

[Mad_Dem_X]

17. The bookstore and the toy store

Neither one are there anymore at my local mall.

[debm55]

23. Thank you very much for sharing with us, Mad_Dem_X. We had 2 bookstores and 2 stores. They were long gone before the

Demolition,

[Nittersing]

18. Years ago... working at one!

I worked in general maintenance. The HVAC guy took me under his wing and mentored me into the trade.

Some fun memories.

There were bollards hung above the parking garage entrances to stop vehicles that were too tall for our parking structure. These were knocked down regularly... usually by over sized luggage racks. But one time a woman drove her husband's pickup in and the truck had a large, cast iron frame in the back, rising above the cab any number of feet. Anyway, the truck got jammed in pretty quickly. The security guys could usually get these types out by letting some air out of the vehicle tires... but not this time. So they called me on the radio. I (also a female driver) started laughing so hard as I walked up to this poor woman. I tried so hard not to. I kept covering my mouth 'cause I didn't want to upset her anymore... but then she started laughing too. I disassembled the rack and by the time I got back to our shop, she had delivered a box of Godiva chocolates!

We would hire extra security (local police) during the holidays... so most of Nov and Dec. One year, nerf guns were all the rage and I had frequent battles with the police. (This, obviously, preceded "regular" school shootings.)

The mall used to have a HUGE Christmas tree in the center court and the absolute best Santa Clause ever. Santa would join us in the break room for cigarettes. And his arms were almost solid tattoos.

As a shopper, my favorite store was a Warner Bros store that had a wonderful assortment of cartoon characters on any imaginable sort of products.

[debm55]

24. What wonderful memories. Thank you Nittersing for sharing with us.

[debm55]

25. Did anyone have a Glamour Shots at their mall?

[Niagara]

54. Yes, there was a Glamour Shots at my mall

I never once thought about walking in there or paying money to have something superficial done to me for the sake of having some photos taken.


I got say as well, it's a massive turn off when anyone posts either subtle or obvious thirst trap style photos on any social media because they need that dopamine fix or the superficial connections. These people who display these thirst trap type of photos generally have "friends" that are in the high hundreds and low thousands.


To me, it's just weird. lol

[debm55]

55. Thank you, Niagara. I thought it was strange to have this done. But for a time it was populara. Never went in or had it

done. Sort of sad.

[Niagara]

56. You're welcome, Debbie. You know one thing I wished I had done was the

Build A Bear workshops!

Oh well, I'll live however. lol

[debm55]

58. HAHHAHHAHHAHA. I did build one. I still have it. It's a Sailor Bear.

[Niagara]

59. Very nice

[some_of_us_are_sane]

26. Was (and still is) South Hills Village

I too used Century III, but I rememeber one Christmas season going out there after work (ugh!) and finding a spot waaaaaaay waaaaaaaay far from the entrances, walking around inside like a zombie with a crumpled list in my hand, not knowing WHAT to buy- almost having a BREAKDOWN from hunger, tiredness and confusion then taking break in one of their food places...sloooooooooowly getting my "sea legs" back and calling in a VICTORY when I picked out the first gift. Ahhhh.... happy times.

[debm55]

37. Thank you very much for sharing your memories. some_of _us_are_sane. I have been to South Hills Village. I liked their

choice of stores better then Century III.

[Ocelot II]

29. The first enclosed mall I remember is the first one anywhere, Southdale, in a Minneapolis suburb.

It's so f&cking cold here that enclosed malls are essential, and Southdale was quickly copied. By the time I was semi-mobile in the late 60s, there was a new one within bicycling distance called Har-Mar, which had the same big anchor stores as Southdale, but it was a lot closer. I mostly remember the bookstore and the pet shop. Later they added a couple of movie theaters. Both of these malls are still in operation. Then came the Mall of America, which is so insanely huge that I avoid it except if I need to go to the Apple Store.

[debm55]

38. Thank you very much for sharing your memories with us. I always wanted to go to the Mall of America . just for the heck

of it.

[Grim Chieftain]

30. I loved independent fashion stores and bookstores

I also liked record stores, but of course that dates me.

[debm55]

52. HAHAHAHAHAAH. it dates me too. Thank you for sharing your memories with us, Grim Chieftain.

[John1956PA]

31. The old malls had wide corridors and wide concourses.

Newer malls, such as Ross Park, have narrower open spaces.

[debm55]

51. Yes, I have been to Ross Park and the walkway is narrow. Thank you John1956PA

[TommieMommy]

32. Many years ago my husband and I would walk around the mall at Christmas time.

The decorations were so pretty and they had a little kids train for them. So very relaxing. It was fun.

[debm55]

50. Thank you very much, TommieMommy. That sounds wonderful. I always liked the Mall at Christmas time.

[FalloutShelter]

33. The Food Court at the Danbury Mall in CT...

Had a full-sized carousel... the kids loved it.

Carousel and Boardwalk Fries?...fun.

[debm55]

49. That sounds wonderful, FalloutShelter. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.

[enid602]

36. Newberry

The sandwich and soda counter at JJ Newberry in South Bay Center in Redondo Beach, Ca. Always a treat.

[debm55]

48. Thank you, so much for sharing your memories with us, enid602

[johnp3907]

40. Greengate Mall in Greensburg PA was my mall.

It had a huge bird cage in the food court. The cage didn’t seem to hold the birds very well, so there were always birds flying around in the mall.

[debm55]

47. As a preteen and teen, we lived in North Huntington.( Irwin area) I loved Greengate Mall.Thank you, johnp3907

[NNadir]

41. When my wife was pregnant with my first son and after his birth...

...there was a store in the Princeton Marketfaire mall called "Pipsqueak and Wilfred." As anticipatory parents we went there often, thinking of toys that would be interesting and stimulating.

People who were parents thought we were nuts, and perhaps we were, but I remember the place fondly, very happy memories going there until he was five or six and the place closed.

My oldest son had a lot of surgeries as a preschooler, and before each one we'd take hints there to pick out a "treatment prize," to put some kind of positive spin on the process. We'd give the prize in the recovery room.

It seems weird I guess to remember that otherwise painful stuff in a positive light, but somehow I do.

The place closed probably more than two decades ago, but I remember it fondly.

I'd like to think that store had something to do, in a small way, with the fine man he grew up to be.

[debm55]

46. What a heart warming memory to share with us, NNadir.Blessings to you and your family.

[CanonRay]

42. I honestly never liked malls

I had to get dragged there and got out ASAP.

[debm55]

45. Thank you for sharing CanonRay. As I got older, I would park by the entrance near the store I wanted to go to, Go in and

come out.

[Phentex]

43. I lived in the arcade

It's where I perfected Galaga to the point of really only needing a few quarters to play for a long time.

Every weekend unless there was a football game (I was in the band)

I could not afford anything else in the mall but I did work there for a few years

[debm55]

44. Thank you very much for sharing your memories with us, Phentex.

[doc03]

53. When they had the new cars, boats and RV shows. They charged so much

they stopped having them. Example $8000 to enter the boat show and $1000 for each boat, the local dealer I knew had to
put up $17000 for 9 boats. I was always under the opinion it should have a lot less or free, it drew shoppers for all the stores.
About 25 years ago we had a Ponderosa the mall raised the rent from $8000 a month to $12000. They moved out and that store front has been empty for the last 25 years.

[debm55]

57. Thank you doc03. I didn't know that. At one time I was making teddy bears. I wanted to try and sell them at the Mall. It

cost $1.000 to get a space. Plus you had to have insurance. I decided to stay with the Craft shows at schools, churches and Fire Halls. Oh , yes, I remember Ponderosa.

[electric_blue68]

60. I never had a local mall except later in life in Brooklyn...while back in the day....

We'd drive out to 2 or 3 in Northern NJ in the 60's, early 70's.
There was one that had more ? modern design, maybe more interesting stores, more plantings. i liked that one!

In fact I did a report for my Art College's Architectural History class. Unless art history was taught what I considered well - I often was sooo bored with it ! So when I had a chance to take Architectural History instead....
I talked about the development of Malls, and i think then contrasted two malls. My dad was kind enough to drive me out do I could take slides.

When my presentation came I somehow loaded the slides wrong, or something. However I'd gone over everything a few times so I could wing it! My fellow classmates all architecture students kind of rolled their eyes as I started - how mundane!
But a few that I knew told me afterwards I did a good job.

[debm55]

62. Thank you very much for sharing with us, electric_blue 68

[u4ic]

61. Now, it's the exit door

I hate malls. But I will step inside to get some Purdy's chocolate, especially their milk chocolate and lemon bar.

As a kid, I loved the climbing blocks that kids would play on in the smaller mall near us. They would rotate and yes, kids fell off all the time. No one was seriously hurt and the mall was never sued as far as I know. Parents would leave the kids there, in the centre of the mall and do their shopping.

In the larger mall, there was a theatre that parents would leave their kids on Saturday mornings and shop. Plenty of cartoons and I'm sure I also watched the Pink Panther movies there too on those Saturday mornings.

As a teen, hanging out in the record store, in the Zellers restaurant with my friends (cheap and tasty fries and gravy,) and, of course, clothes shopping. Back then, stores in malls had actual Boxing Day sales, 70-90% off. You could take $50 and come back with a year's worth of clothing and shoes! Now the Boxing Day sales are maybe 25% off at best.

[debm55]

63. Thank you very much for sharing your memories with us, u4lc.