Mall Memories

America started to build shopping malls in the early 1950s. The first one opened in Indiana in 1953. And for most of the 20th and early 21st centuries, they became a staple of American life. The large, free parking and the pleasant indoor spaces that offered almost everything were exciting and welcoming. They were the places were hung out at for the first time by ourselves as young people. They were the places where we might have had a first kiss or went on a first date. However, they are slowly being torn down or heavily redeveloped. This is for many reasons like changing tax structures and consumer tastes but this post is dedicated to all those amazing memories of going to “the mall.”

Malls Were Magical Places

I remember when they built the first big, California-style malls in Colorado. Malls before then were small, one story affairs and most of the malls around Denver were built in the 1970s and by the time I came of age in the late 90s and early 2000s, they were old, sad, and dying. However, then they built Park Meadows Mall. It had 2 stories and was bright, new and modern and had modern stores and shops. Then they built Flatiron Crossing which boasted the same thing for those of us who lived on the west side of the city or near Boulder. The construction of both made local news and local choppers would pass overhead each day to update everyone on how construction was going and when these new and exciting shopping experiences would be open for us to gawk at.

Malls were magical that way. They featured some truly interesting design that wasn’t always good but it was never boring. Malls featured massive food courts with a variety of foods and restaurants that often only existed in malls (especially in Colorado). Malls featured all sorts of styles and products that weren’t commonly found and that just added to the magic.

There was also the milieu of the place. In our car-centric culture, there weren’t many places where you could be walking around and seeing that many people. The clothes, conversations, and just being in a space with actual humans was also part of the mall appeal. In other day and time when we all walked around on the streets, this was a daily occurrence. But if you think about it, you can exist in the world without walking around with a crowd of people. Grocery stores are an exception, but most of the time we’re in our cars. Malls had the magic of a crowd. As a sheltered young person, this was valuable to me. It was one time to actually see people.

They Were a Place to Meet People

The people of a mall were the best part. Malls are nothing without the shoppers which is why many malls are dying. However, they served as great places for meeting your friends or meeting new people. The man who created the original mall concept thought of them as that primarily which is why he advocated for housing to be included with shopping malls. He conceived of indoor town squares where people could visit other people.

Fully 3 generations of suburban kids used the mall as a safe meeting space. When kids were old enough, their parents could drop them off knowing that they would be relatively safe to hang out, do some shopping, or just hang out with friends. Their wide open hallways and food courts were just the place to actually interact with other people.

They Were Community Centers

The loss of the local mall really reveals something we don’t often have in our society: community gathering places. As malls have closed, we’ve lost that place to gather as a group. We’ve lost an important meeting place. Of course, it is 2019 and now much of that conversation has moved online. I suspect that is part of the difference. Our community forum is now the internet. However, personal interaction is also important and we should continue to build spaces where the in-person community can occur and our world is lacking in these spaces. Connecting online (as we are right now) is important and serves the public discourse, but nothing replaces in-person interaction. For that, I will miss the mall.

Farewell to the Mall

With major retailers like Sears and JCPenney going under, mostly due to the failing middle class which is another discussion, I doubt malls will be hanging on for much longer. Some malls, which cater to luxury goods and sport big brands are likely to survive but the regular malls with the regular retail outlets that some of us grew up with are going away in favor of online shopping and cheaper goods available elsewhere. I suppose this is really my own farewell to the mall. For all that it was and all the magic, they brought to our lives. I encourage you to check out Dan Bell for video footage of dying malls and great vaporwave music!