The smell of the retail, the roar of the mall!

Death of malls in the new century

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It's been a minute since we posted..

But here is a great site.. the Gone Ton.. and the Fairlane Village dead mall in Pottsville PA..

THE GONE·TON

Storefronts and mall plants at Fairlane Village Mall

I recall when this place was something--it even had a Greek store with different coffees and desserts daily... POST 2002.

The rest... is history.

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California eyes shuttered malls, stores for new housing

California state lawmakers are grappling with a particularly 21st-century problem: What to do with the growing number of shopping malls and big box retail stores left empty by consumers shifting their purchases to the web.

A possible answer in crowded California cities is to build housing on these sites, which already have ample parking and are close to existing neighborhoods.

But local zoning laws often don't allow housing at these locations. Changing the zoning is such a hassle that many developers don't bother trying. And it's often not worth it for local governments to change the designations. They would prefer to find new retailers because sales taxes produce more revenue than residential property taxes

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Waking through the mall.. Walkman on your head

This is the anniversary of the Walkman.. 40 years strong ..

The Japanese electronics giant chose the name partly because of the popularity of Superman at the time and the fact it was based on an existing audio recorder called the "Pressman."

The word "Walkman" has since entered everyday language but the device was initially called "Soundabout", "Stowaway" or "Freestyle" in some parts of the world.

"The Walkman is my youth," said Katsuya Kumagai, now 51, as he browsed an exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of the first edition.

More.. https://www.france24.com/en/20190811-hit-rewind-sony-walkman-triggers-nostalgia-40th-birthday

Hit rewind: Sony Walkman triggers nostalgia on 40th birthday

Hit rewind: Sony Walkman triggers nostalgia on 40th birthday

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About that STRANGER THINGS mall

It’s been a while since we forayed into the blogosphere // if that’s even a word anymore. Times change by the hour on this planet lately.. I haven’t checked my Urban Dictionary enough as of late.

The latest season of STRANGER THINGS was amazing. Number 3 proved that the show still has creativity and a beautiful coupling of horror, Soviet spies, and 80s nostalgia.

There were a number of seasons where that nostalgia was deep -- the full mall of people in their 80s attire, stores that have been long shuttered, and a the spirit of newness that the 80s mall was all about.

The show however did something intelligent.. Yes,it was about malls and the glory days that the shopping centers once had, but it also went deeper. Notice who never went to the mall once? Chief Hopper and Joyce. And to a degree Dustin, but camp and his new love Suzie changed him enough to sing the Neverending Story.   

But notice who, of all the characters, did not morph into different people or personalities? Joyce and Hopper.. 

There were a few scenes in STRANGER THINGS 3 where main street stores were becoming vacant and people were protesting their livelihoods falling behind because of the STAR COURT MALL -- this was a real thing in the 80s and symbolic of the economic change at the time.

The characters who went to the mall, the teens in the story, all became different.. the experiences of capitalism and materialism changed them immensely. And with that change came a more gritty and a caustic series of snippy personalities. The mall did that, maybe?

Because those who ignored the new mall stayed the same.. they were still the same characters we met in the first season.

Perhaps that is the real story of the mall in the season. Not to celebrate a mall but instead realize how the destruction of main street and 80s greed changed us all .. 

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This is a major blast from the past.. major being before even shopping malls killed main street USA.

This is an image of Joe Popson’s store in Centralia, PA.. meat, groceries.. tobacco. 

Eventually the town of Centralia got destroyed by a coal mine fire, the coal region main street stores got killed by the Schuylkill Mall. And today? The Schuylkill Mall is wreckage on the ground, torn down to make way for a distribution center.

As the economy changes...

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The Schuylkill Mall in Frackville, PA, being knocked down, and being replaced by a distribution center.. 

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This report on shopping malls struggling to survive was from two years ago now, 2014.. 

Since 2014, about 15 more stores in my local mall have closed leaving about only 10 or so remaining–in a massive mall that used to house over 100.

Also closed since: BON TON. TOYS R US. JC PENNEY. Lot’s more.

The entire culture has changed in only a short time.. Online shopping.. No more brick and mortar.. It is all different.

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DEADMALLS has some good photos of the last operational Super Kmart, located in Warren, OH

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TOTO playing in an empty mall. Oldie but goodie and still a sheer beauty.

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CHOPPIPNG BLOCK: Bed Bath and Beyond

Joining the crowded list of retail fails, here’s the newest addition:

Th struggling retailer issued a lousy outlook last week, sending the stock to a nearly 10-year low.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on Bed Bath & Beyond late Tuesday to a BBB- level, the lowest that S&P still considers investment grade. S&P warned that it could soon downgrade Bed Bath & Beyond’s bonds to junk, if “the company cannot stabilize operating performance in the face of continued intense competition from online retailers.”

That could make it more difficult for Bed Bath & Beyond to borrow more money and will likely increase the amount of interest it has to pay on its existing long-term debt load, which stood at about $1.5 billion as of the end of its most recent quarter.

The company was not immediately available for comment about the recent downgrades.

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welcome to the mall

Fixate yourself on the retail that abounds! The beauty of the mall! The hallways of amazing products and services.. Auntie Anne’s! Kay B Toys! Waldenbooks! The Bon Ton has gift wrapping in their offices for free. While you wait stop at the food court and try some new amazing Dippin-Dots--the ice cream of the future!

While you wait for your car to get done at Sears, be sure to visit our beautiful outdoor garden section at K-Mart. 

And finally, before your trip home, stop by our pet store and meet the next addition to your family.

....OF THIS CAN BE FOUND IN THE 20TH CENTURY.

In this new age of modern technology and internet purchasing, retail has been hell. The mall has been killed. And the modern age has turned its back on the nostalgia of big hair and shoulder pads.

All of our memories are up in smoke like old men puffing on cigars in center court. 

Welcome to the mall.