Tucson has generally always had pretty nice malls. Happy to see Park Mall is still going strong. The key nowadays with malls, I think, is quality and not having too many for the immediate surrounding population in any part of a given metro area.
Author — Nordic Sonoran
This made me smile. It’s great to see a mall that’s doing very well. I personally think that malls won’t go completely extinct.
Author — Gabreya Bradley
I'm proud to call this beautiful mall my hometown mall. Also, not sure if you knew, but there used to be a KB toys next to the Victoria's secret store and a Border's book store right by Sears(which is now the Total Wine shop). Those were two of my favorite shops to go in back in the 2000s. Also, before the 01 renovation, I believe there used to be an arcade in the mall(I think it used to be right by the food court area, not sure though.)
Author — nWoreviewer
I spent a good amount of my youth in this mall. It was called just Park Mall back then. I also worked in this mall (Dillard's) for several years in the mid to late 80s. The mall looks dramatically different now and was much smaller back then. The entire food court and theaters were built where the Dillard's and a Furr's Cafeteria originally stood. Thanks for the great stroll down memory lane!
Author — Jim Hart
I agree that there were too many malls built. I work in the food court at the Wiregrass Commons Mall in Dothan, Alabama, and it does well because it is the only indoor mall in about an 80-100 mile area. It gets really busy especially during the weekends. So I guess that it is an example that malls aren't necessarily dying out, its just that we built too many of them too close together. The further away the malls are from each other, the better chance they have at surviving (if they are managed properly). Hence the term "over-malled"
Author — mefurd98
Manassas Mall in Virginia is another mall that's thriving in today's tough environment. They were struggling about ten years ago, but managed to come back in part thanks to a Walmart anchor, an At Home that replaced JC Penny, and an entertainment wing that includes a bowling alley and indoor go cart track. Interestingly, the only two remaining traditional department store anchors left are Macy's and Sears, the two stores you called out as struggling. They certainly are clouds looming over both Manassas and Park Place Malls, but Manassas Mall especially has been creative in replacing vacant anchors quickly. Hopefully both malls are preparing for the possibility that their Sears and Macy's anchors might not be around much longer.
Author — simpsonfanboy
Wow, travelling back in time. Especially the beginning with the teen boy carrying the bag as he walked behind his parents. Food court then mall, or nearby restaurant then mall as aperitif was how we did our Friday nights as a family.
Author — Pope Corky XXIV
Man, I love that you reviewed Park Place. Seriously, it’s just a mall everyone knows about, and hangs out at. But at the same time, there’s not much else to do in Tucson, so I guess that’s a factor too 😅.
I just have so many memories of growing up with this mall, like when I was using heelys to ride through the halls when I was a lil kid, coming here for movies with all kinds of friends, and going shopping for clothes at the beginning of the school year.
Every part of this place is just imbedded in my memories, and I really hope it never becomes a dead mall.
Ever.
Author — TheTailor
Beautiful Mall and I was surprised to actually see people going in to the Sears too. It's always nice to see a mall doing well, thats one of the reasons I made a video on my channel of the Fashion Place Mall in Utah.
Author — LethaWolf Studios
Oh man, I saw that Teavana and, knowing that it's going away soon, can only imagine what we'll tell kids 10-20 years from now: "You know, there used to be a store called 'Teavana' in malls across the nation that gave out unlimited free tea. We used to get a whole cup full of refreshments while in the mall. Good times."
Author — Frank Yu
A mall near me that is doing well and is gorgeous is the Riverchase Galleria here in Birmingham Alabama. If you can’t visit, check out some pictures and videos online.. it has a stunning food court in my opinion
Author — iVolkswagen
I love this mall. I love the quintessentially "Tucson" vibe I get whenever I'm in there. I have a lot of great memories there, especially with their movie theater. I always enjoy going to this mall :)
Author — Justin H. Music
You need to visit Rivertown Crossing Mall in Grand Rapids Michigan. It has six anchor stores, a movie theater, two stories, & is usually slightly busy to extremely busy depending on time, season, & weather. The mall is also surrounded by other retail locations competing for business, making it more remarkable how well it's doing.
Author — Robert Uzarski
I'm happy to see Park Place (formerly Park Mall) is still around. I've been shopping there since the early 70s (with my parents at the time) and have seen many changes. I worked in the Radio Shack in the early 90's when it was located on the Broadway entrance side of the building. Of course, Radio Shack is sadly no longer.
Author — Seth Williams
this is my local mall!! i have never noticed the beautiful murals inside, guess i just took them for granted, status update: the sears did close as of early 2018.
Author — Andrew Hoffman
Thank you for sharing this! I use spend hours and hours in this mall, have some really great memories there. A little piece of home was just what I was needing. I miss all of Tucson pretty much everyday. Hope to move back home soon.
Author — Ophelia Whitney
For me, West County Mall in Des Peres, MO is one of those few malls that stays alive and incredibly busy. The fact it has a Lush automatically makes it my favorite. My all-time favorite was the Crestwood Mall, but that is now demolished and there are huge piles of rubble of where it used to be. I grew up going to that one, and I'll forever miss it. :(
Author — Falhalterra
I work in a very busy af mall in Indianapolis (Castleton Square) and yes malls are dying out and then I think about where I work and it's like.... there are exceptions. And as far as I know, Castleton is the ONLY largest mall in Indy.
Author — Trista Hemphill
That’s right! Some malls operate at a good pace, They are called “Thriving Malls”.
Author — Gustavo Ceballos
I totally agree with you about documenting thriving malls. I always take lots of pictures whenever I visit my local malls because someday, you never know when it could dying or closed.
