tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post6616262919503611024..comments2024-03-26T21:06:08.519-07:00Comments on Sky City: Retail History: Eastridge Mall: Gastonia, NCJ.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04208881715255029485noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-88213202425248753292016-08-24T03:06:52.667-07:002016-08-24T03:06:52.667-07:00I just want to say that I also have fond memories ...I just want to say that I also have fond memories of the 3rd floor. I must have been 4 or 5 years old, but Morrison's seemed like a nice restaurant to me. It was like K&W/J&S but inside the mall! Not many malls around here have a full fledged sit down restaurant. I'm not a big fan of eating in loud/busy food courts. I also remember Morrison's having very large windows so you could look out from the 3rd floor...always wanted to sit by the windows as a kid. I remember going to the movies, too...small but cozy. <br /><br />Anyway, it's a shame what the mall has become. If Morrison's and the movies were still there, I bet the place would get a lot more traffic. A person could essentially make a FULL day out of the mall...decent meal, some shopping and a movie. When you think about, it was stupid to disrupt things that went together like peas and carrots. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-45228980178128171182012-09-15T02:40:00.237-07:002012-09-15T02:40:00.237-07:00Wow. I grew up going with my family to Eastridge; ...Wow. I grew up going with my family to Eastridge; it was the exciting "big city" mall since we lived in nearby Shelby. We spent a lot of time there in the 1980s, but I probably haven't been back since my parents moved from Shelby in 1994.<br /><br />What a difference the time has made... I can't believe how bland and boring it looks now. And I'm floored they shut down the 3rd level. It was always booming; there was the cafeteria, Shoney's, a large arcade, and the standard food court fare (Chick-fil-a, Orange Julius, etc.). <br /><br />I can't believe they've fumbled this mall so badly. It really is a huge draw for all the outlying communities to the west and they've seemingly stripped away all of its visual appeal. It looks like the glass elevator in center court doesn't even operate anymore - it used to be lined with lights and surrounded by fountains and planters.<br /><br />Ah, the good old days!MCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-67471438015748984822011-04-16T08:13:04.371-07:002011-04-16T08:13:04.371-07:00This could be a great mall with a renovation. I gr...This could be a great mall with a renovation. I grew up with this mall and loved it as a kid...I agree about moving the food court upstairs and adding a nice (I-Max) movie theater...maybe a bowling alley as well. Beg Outback accross the street to take on of the outparcels to build on. An update to this mall could be a financial boon to the City, and a real benefit to the residents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-38249028574057060152011-04-08T06:49:03.822-07:002011-04-08T06:49:03.822-07:00I remember going to this mall alot during my child...I remember going to this mall alot during my childhood. My favorite part was the 3rd floor. Going to eat at Morrison's and playing in the Arcade. There also used to be a Shoney's restaurant beside Morrison's which I loved. I think it was WSOC channel 9 that had a studio there and did some live broadcasting and there was a post office in beside it. The movie theater from what I can remember had a very distinct 80's styling and I got to see quite a few movies there. There used to be a Eckerd drug store in the middle but didn't make it to the 2000's. There were little seating areas that were stepped down in the middle of the floors. The floors used to be a dark brick color before they remodeled it in 98. I could probably go on and on about this mall because I spent alot of time there in the late 80's since I was in preschool and would get out around lunch and have to wait on my brother to get out of elementary school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-62291495784964612132010-12-02T06:33:29.145-08:002010-12-02T06:33:29.145-08:00The third level of the mall was, as stated, origin...The third level of the mall was, as stated, originally a food court. It also housed a restaurant, Morrisons Cafeteria. There was also an arcade on the third floor, as I went there a few times as a child/young teenager in the early to mid 1980s. The cracks in the floor in the mall are a structural problem that surfaced not long after construction of the mall was completed. At one point, the cracks were so bad that there were rumors that the mall would collapse. The flooring of the second level of the mall was covered with carpet to conceal the cracks. I haven't been to this mall in years, but these are the things that I remember about it from back in the early/mid 1980s. I hope some of this information helps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-48498091630293997112010-07-31T21:24:30.836-07:002010-07-31T21:24:30.836-07:00Speaking as a person that was there while the mall...Speaking as a person that was there while the mall was being built (my father had a store on the second level), the mall looks NOTHING like the original. The only thing that could be original is the railing. BTW, does anyone remember the movie theater? Last time I was there it had been replaced with a much smaller food court. The original third level food court was better. Ah, great memories!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-39044446981877850952010-07-25T14:02:04.306-07:002010-07-25T14:02:04.306-07:00I went to this mall yesterday- around the Dillard&...I went to this mall yesterday- around the Dillard's/food court area, there were very few regular national chain stores, a few vacancies, and some former Eastland Mall stores (literally- Authentiks and Modeline), and the mall wasn't particularly crowded.<br /><br />Oh no!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-31369640405299808402010-06-21T20:53:53.535-07:002010-06-21T20:53:53.535-07:00JC Penney was using that exterior design a great d...JC Penney was using that exterior design a great deal in the mid-90s. The new replacement store they built at West Town in Knoxville, TN has the exact same design, I believe it was completed in '95.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17214103295194754748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-54230150400425417382010-06-20T04:44:17.675-07:002010-06-20T04:44:17.675-07:00Steven- you're correct.
From my view (having ...Steven- you're correct.<br /><br />From my view (having been there many times for a quick Chick-fil-A stop while driving down I-85), it's just a standard '70s regional mall that has been largely updated. Oddly enough, many of the '70s details are still there (such as the floor and some of the railings), and it has some vacancy issues. It probably serves its local community well but it's on my A-list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-54520073360110717232010-06-19T19:18:31.248-07:002010-06-19T19:18:31.248-07:00I've never been to this mall. It seems pleasan...I've never been to this mall. It seems pleasant enough but it's dated in a not so great way. It seems like most of the character has been remodeled away leaving a lot of very awkward '70s details and some standard-issue '90s department stores.Livemallshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-4541532627577231262010-06-18T19:51:53.816-07:002010-06-18T19:51:53.816-07:00This mall looked like it was hurting about a year ...This mall looked like it was hurting about a year ago in 2009, but it seems to have bounced back nicely. It's a decent mid-size mid-tier mall.<br /><br />That said, this thing -really- needs some love from its owners. Everywhere you look the paint is peeling, the floor is cracked, the ceiling is stained, etc. The outside doesn't look horrible or anything, but Westfield is very clearly not putting a dime into the center. Hell, in your pictures half of the lights are burnt out. (Though Jacobs group malls have a tendency to be dark...)<br /><br />Also, the food court is insultingly lame. That's all I have to say about that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-18842162731430968412010-06-18T11:43:29.548-07:002010-06-18T11:43:29.548-07:00I would say having a whole floor of the mall that ...I would say having a whole floor of the mall that is empty that they cannot figure out what to do with combined with a design that leaves a lot to be desired is part of it. Also, I noticed fewer kiosks in the mall. If those numbers come from a lack of kiosks, that to me is a GOOD thing. Probably the closure of Goody's also affected it...which has since reopened as Shoe Dept. Encore.J.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04208881715255029485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-11385138060617575832010-06-18T05:23:28.498-07:002010-06-18T05:23:28.498-07:00Eastridge Mall was listed in the Wall Street Journ...Eastridge Mall was listed in the Wall Street Journal in 2009 as one of America's lowest-performing malls, with low sales per square foot. I don't understand why- it's the only legitimate mall in the western suburbs of Charlotte.<br /><br />Gaston Mall has been demolished and repositioned into an outdoor center.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com