tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post7200912570913520335..comments2024-03-26T21:06:08.519-07:00Comments on Sky City: Retail History: Eastland Mall (Farewell Part 2): Charlotte, NCJ.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04208881715255029485noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-89929396654371983872013-10-14T09:42:57.294-07:002013-10-14T09:42:57.294-07:00They've demolished the J.C. Penney store at Ea...They've demolished the J.C. Penney store at Eastland, and are in the process of demolishing the rest of the mall as well. Heartbreaking, to say the least.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-54911310124379905132010-07-02T17:53:34.924-07:002010-07-02T17:53:34.924-07:003 thoughts:
* I miss the Eastland Christmas ornam...3 thoughts:<br /><br />* I miss the Eastland Christmas ornaments in the mid-2000s- above the ice rink (which by then was covered in brown sand, which became brown mud when it somehow got wet), there were 3 large ornaments hanging from the ceiling- one a gift box and 2 round ones (I think). They weren't fully inflated and so they were kind of like half-filled balloons, just hanging there. That's all the mall seemed to have for Christmas decorations. It was pitiful.<br /><br />* Eastland never seemed to have a shortage of customers. The problem just seemed to be that the customers were short of funds.<br /><br />* Northlake Mall is the next Eastland.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-55840408888638222262010-07-01T06:50:30.767-07:002010-07-01T06:50:30.767-07:00You've got to give credit to Eastland for keep...You've got to give credit to Eastland for keeping the ice rink open so long, though.Pseudo3Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-78808116994081105392010-06-30T22:52:38.750-07:002010-06-30T22:52:38.750-07:00Great, very thorough post--I see now why you split...Great, very thorough post--I see now why you split it in two! Thanks also to Mr. Richardson for the photos and renderings; it's obvious the mall holds a special place in your heart. My only question is why those awesome chandeliers are lit up in most of the pics. Was that much natural light coming in above the ice rink most of the time?Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11282032996233546700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-69994692225852592802010-06-30T19:01:58.471-07:002010-06-30T19:01:58.471-07:00I'd have to respectfully disagree about the en...I'd have to respectfully disagree about the entrances- with that sun logo above them, mold growing all over the brick walls and the dinky doors, I was always pretty turned off. And I remember driving up to the Belk store right before it closed, and seeing the yellow glow through the glass at the entrances. Eastland, I felt sorry for you in your dying days, but especially after that Dillard's closed, there was no reason to go to you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-4539611681494583302010-06-30T14:21:03.485-07:002010-06-30T14:21:03.485-07:00Continuation of prior post....
The problem with ...Continuation of prior post....<br /><br /><br />The problem with malls is that once they die, they don't come back. You can refresh or enlarge a basically functional mall with decent demographics. You can have a mall that limps along with non-national stores (which often have a different clientele than the anchors). But a dead mall needs a new purpose in life and so do many of the "limp alongs" because the local stores won't generate enough revenue to justify upgrades. Eastland sounds like it it's truly dead and will be difficult to repurpose. Perhaps some of the space could be a church or a clinic. Maybe some govt offices, although that probably just hurts downtown and any non-private, profitmalking owner will be bad for the taxbase. The location sounds like it has no future in retail. Ethnic malls are a gamble and tend to need a very large population base or a small mall to work. The site would need significant demolition to be something viable and useful to the taxbase like light industry or an office park. The advantage of old, pre-mall retail forms is that they easily could become something else--there are dead downtowns that manage okay as office-oriented employment centers with some nightlife and restaurants in spots. The original retail center of NYC was along Broadway and 6th Avenue from about 14th to 23rd--the 6th Ave part was known as the Ladies' Mile. When the department stores moved to Midtown, much of it reverted to loft manufacturing and various other uses like publishing and wholesaling. The retail that remained was low end and sometimes innovative, including early discounters like S Klein and the big ABC Carpet & Furniture store (no longer discount), but for about 80 years, no one really went there to shop unless they thought they could get a real bargain. Now, it's filled with big boxes, home furnishings, and on the side streets some quirky, interesting stores and things have come full circle. It's doubtful you could do that with a mall. Malls were built with one purpose in mind and that purpose requires a lot of money to be changed. For all the knocking of lifestyle centers, I've noticed that they do movie nights (outdoors), band concerts, etc.--things that wouldn't work in a mall and which create more community than malls ever really did. There will be a new generation of memories and they will belong to a type of development that probably will be a lot easier to repurpose when it dies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047095566316955789.post-48101265339283084612010-06-30T14:21:03.486-07:002010-06-30T14:21:03.486-07:00You capture the initial appeal of malls (one stop ...You capture the initial appeal of malls (one stop shopping) and the pull of even terminally bland malls on people (the "hang out" for their generation). Although I spent enough of my formative years in malls, I'm more Darwinian than most posters. Even fairly early in the development of malls, it was obvious that they were overcome with sameness and blandness. I also spent time working in downtown retail and experiencing the last really good years of that where I lived. Downtown/neighborhood forms were always more interesting and the ability of neighborhood shopping districts to recreate themsleves is something that malls can't replicate.<br /><br />You indirectly hit on a big factor in the ultimate decline of malls, which was their ever narrowing focus. First, it was non-apparrel that was elbowed out. Then it was less expensive stores that left--many of them via bankruptcy. they were replaced with stores that generally were more expensive and less utilitarian in what they sold. It's important to remember that malls originally were populated by a lot of respectable but basically low-end stores that sold cheap fashionable clothing for women (Lerner, the Petrie chains) or basic and somewhat dressy clothing for men (Bond's Richman's, National Shirt) and shoe stores that fell along the same lines (Thom McAn, Kinney and regional chains like Nobil). In addition, the department stores often had "budget" or basement stores that provided a lot of volume. Variety stores were common, too, even in upscale malls although they became less welcome as the 70s wore on. The low end stuff disappeared through the 80s and malls became much less affordable to many of their regular shoppers. This made mid-market malls more vulnerable to the effects of better competition, demographic change, etc. This became apparent esp. in the last 10-15 years in most places. Apparel, esp. the upscale variety, provides better rents than other categories and the short-term push for higher rent tenants gave those stores an upper hand. The public areas, except for food courts disappeared and were filled with kiosks. Video game arcades went quickly as they attracted teenagers who didn't spend much money and were viewed as problematic. The lower end stuff is now what you'd find at a big box or off-price retailers and those places usually aren't in a mall (except maybe Burlington Coat Factory).<br /><br />The irony is that if you go to an upscale mall like Lenox or a somewhat upscale regional megamall like Tysons Corner, there's a very diverse store base--you can buy furniture, kitchen stuff, candy, etc. and perhaps find a nice sitdown restaurant. It's all much more expensive than the non-apparel stuff in malls of old, but the diversity is sustained in those places (and also in many lifestyle centers).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com