Just picture it...walking down a path just minding your own business, as several hairy ghouls spekaing in demonic tongues try to get your attention, and at all sides of you are members of several satanic cults demanding you give money to them...only this week everything is 30% off.
No? This doesn't paint an image you can picture? What if I threw in a food court?
Ah I can see the elated horror on your face now. Indeed, I am referring to a shopping fare that is, in my opinion, on its last legs. And it is really a shame, for the modern American shopping mall has enjoyed several decades in the pop culture mainstream. In fact, the mall itself has been the go-to for maintaining one's status in keeping up with the ever-changing pop culture landscape, from shoes to clothes to music to toys, the mall was for a long time the go-to place for families to shop and teens to terrorize mall security.
Yesterday we went to the Meadows Mall to get Natalie an eye exam and order her new glasses at VisionWorks. Afterward, Natalie wanted to go walk around and check out clothing deals along with getting something to eat. As we walked down the tiled lanes avoiding the hairy ghouls, I glanced around and saw that there were actually more open stores than the last time we were there. How long that will last, who knows?
At one point, that mall was anchored by 4 department stores: Sears, JC Penney, Macy's and Dillards. Macy's and JC Penney are still in full operation, Dillard's is only one story, and Sears is all gone. That one made me sad, for Sears had a lot of memories for me as a kid. Meadows Mall iteself is farily small as malls go. I remember the first time I was there almost 21 years ago, I was buying some Christmas related items and couldn't get over how fast I was able to get through the whole length, top and bottom floors. The food court has gone through many changes, the only constant being the teriyaki joint all this time.
Oh no, the blurry vision has taken hold like an old Hall's cough drop ad and landed me in...1983! Not only that, it's 1983 in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania! Yup, I am in the Berkshire Mall!
To me it is kind of amazing that Berks County got this place because as regions go, that county used to pride itself on its sense of individuality and locally owned shops and eateries, and when the Berkshire Mall opened in 1976, that sense of pride in place and time was big. It wasn't until after I moved away that the meh American mainstream retail market had fully invaded the Reading area...2 examples being a strip mall with a Taco Bell where the drive in theater once was, and Chili's. Believe me, when Chili's hits your town, the bandwagon is fully loaded!
Yes I digress, don't you know me by now? Anyway, back to Berkshire Mall in 1983, a text tour if you will. At the southwest corner was John Wanamaker's, a Philadelphia-based department store. In fact, as one drove northeast on the Warren Street Bypass, Wanamaker's was the store you saw first. On the northeast end was Sear's with its classic overpriced auto repair shop. In the middle was another Philadelphia classic department store called Pomeroy's. The store itself wasn't particularly notable, but I remember the store's name in blue neon lighting outisde at night looking pretty neat.
There was no food court in the modern sense, though eateries were all around. One side corridor had an Arby's, a pizza store, and a Taco Casa. Adjacent to that corridor at one point had been a 1-room movie theater which turned into a Chuck-E-Cheese for a time. In the middle across from the Pomeroy's was a barber shop, a Radio Shack, and a pretty cool video arcade.
Strewn throughout the mall itself was a donut place, a pretty awesome record store, a K-B Toys, Waldenbooks AND B-Dalton's...people read in those days. I think my favorite place for a few years was York Steakhouse, where we ate on many a Friday night. Many clothing and shoe stores were also interspersed, particularly a Foot Locker where I got many a pair of sneakers for years. Interestingly, Foot Locker has stayed alive all this time as a company!
Years later, the mall went through a few changes. The upstairs in the middle was redone to accomodate a food court, Pomeroy's was replaced with the Bon Ton, and York Steakhouse went out.
A few miles away to the north of downtown Reading, there was another place called Fairgrounds Square Mall. It was decent, with a similar theme of shops and eateries along with a pretty good movie theater, but it didin't have the same feel as Berkshire to me. Fairgrounds Square shut down some time ago, I heard.
When we moved to San Diego (a much larger metro area than Reading), I got to know a few malls: North County Fair in Escondido, Fashion Valley Mall, Mission Valley Mall, and Horton Plaza. My mom worked for a short time at Robinson-May in Plaza Camino Royal in Carlsbad. When I lived in Sonoma County, there was Santa Rosa Plaza and Coddingtown, though at that point I preferred the cozy local style of outdoor Montgomery Village better.
Over time, styles and tastes change. Music stores eventually died out as the online streaming and MP3 formats came in. For a time there were stores that sold VHS and DVD movies, and to me Suncoast was the place to find all sorts of goodies during the VHS era.
And the change that will eventually phase out malls is the online shopping. Add into that the gigantic rentals that the mall owners charge (which is why many stores go under in a short time) and before long the malls will become vacant lots rife for skating and criminal activity. I see it in so many vacant strip mall acreages all over Las Vegas as it is.
However, I will bask in my memories of a juicy piece of chicken with fries at York, getting a current 45 record by J Geils or some other 80s group at Wall to Wall records, a glazed donut at Donuts Galore, and if I had a few quarters, play some games at Supercade.
The memories won't go, at least until years of poor diet bring on the Alzheimer's...sort of joking, but I know reality when it hits.
Until then, a Happy 4th, and try not to launch anything into your hand.
