When I was a kid, going to the mall was an adventure.
Some of my earliest memories were of getting family/kids only photos taken at JC Penney. The department store seemed like an enormous and fancy place to shop, although due to my parents' relatively indigent circumstances, no actual shopping was done there. At least, not that I can remember.
There were other stores that I can remember. My mother would collect green stamps for the Sprouse-Reitz. I remember shopping at the Alpha-Beta supermarkets with my dad. But none of these really could compare with the mall.
I first became aware of the mall when I was in junior high. I didn't go very often, but the size of the place - the University Mall in Orem - was enormous. And they had everything one could want - from toy stores (Kaybee was where I bought my first chess set) to the video game arcade (hours spent in the Fun-uv-it) to the movie theater. It was awesome - a great place to be. I didn't realize at the time that it was a very ancient concept, stretching back to the Greek agora. I also didn't realize that the very basic function of these places was to get money out of my pocket. It didn't matter, though. I still loved it.
I still kind of do.
I came across this article this morning:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140411-is-the-shopping-mall-dead
The reasons behind the demise of malls across America are explored, but I think in a real/practical sense, the reason why they failed wasn't gangs or prices or on-line shopping. I think that Americans subscribe to a large extent to the cult of the new. We want our places to be shiny, bustling, charming areas where shopping can happen, but where the main activity is the promenade. And a shabby, dated, and worn-out environment is potentially indicative of the relative affluence of those who go there - if a place looks like a trailer park, only trailer park people will go there.
I know that there are new and creative solutions to the "mall problem". But what I love about the University Mall is that it has found a way to remain relevant, to keep up the interior spaces with some investment in decoration and things, and to address the problems with excessive parking and the exterior of the building. I can remember walking around the mall as a kid looking for an entrance. It seemed impossible! Long stretches of back doors and unwelcoming facades were broken only rarely by an actual entrance to the mall. Now, they've moved more entrances to the outside - some only open to the outside (!) - and made the exterior of the building feel inviting and engaging. It's a nice effect, and it works. They've also put restaurants and things out in the acres and acres of previously unused parking areas. This serves to utilize unproductive parking areas, to make the parking lots less of a wasteland, and to make the parking lot feel more occupied/less empty. All of which is subtle and helpful.
And expensive. And risky.
As malls across the country strive to rebrand themselves, cues can be drawn from this kind of renovation - making a place feel new without actually being new. It's not perfect, but it can help prolong the life of these kinds of spaces.
Some of my earliest memories were of getting family/kids only photos taken at JC Penney. The department store seemed like an enormous and fancy place to shop, although due to my parents' relatively indigent circumstances, no actual shopping was done there. At least, not that I can remember.
There were other stores that I can remember. My mother would collect green stamps for the Sprouse-Reitz. I remember shopping at the Alpha-Beta supermarkets with my dad. But none of these really could compare with the mall.
I first became aware of the mall when I was in junior high. I didn't go very often, but the size of the place - the University Mall in Orem - was enormous. And they had everything one could want - from toy stores (Kaybee was where I bought my first chess set) to the video game arcade (hours spent in the Fun-uv-it) to the movie theater. It was awesome - a great place to be. I didn't realize at the time that it was a very ancient concept, stretching back to the Greek agora. I also didn't realize that the very basic function of these places was to get money out of my pocket. It didn't matter, though. I still loved it.
I still kind of do.
I came across this article this morning:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140411-is-the-shopping-mall-dead
The reasons behind the demise of malls across America are explored, but I think in a real/practical sense, the reason why they failed wasn't gangs or prices or on-line shopping. I think that Americans subscribe to a large extent to the cult of the new. We want our places to be shiny, bustling, charming areas where shopping can happen, but where the main activity is the promenade. And a shabby, dated, and worn-out environment is potentially indicative of the relative affluence of those who go there - if a place looks like a trailer park, only trailer park people will go there.
I know that there are new and creative solutions to the "mall problem". But what I love about the University Mall is that it has found a way to remain relevant, to keep up the interior spaces with some investment in decoration and things, and to address the problems with excessive parking and the exterior of the building. I can remember walking around the mall as a kid looking for an entrance. It seemed impossible! Long stretches of back doors and unwelcoming facades were broken only rarely by an actual entrance to the mall. Now, they've moved more entrances to the outside - some only open to the outside (!) - and made the exterior of the building feel inviting and engaging. It's a nice effect, and it works. They've also put restaurants and things out in the acres and acres of previously unused parking areas. This serves to utilize unproductive parking areas, to make the parking lots less of a wasteland, and to make the parking lot feel more occupied/less empty. All of which is subtle and helpful.
And expensive. And risky.
As malls across the country strive to rebrand themselves, cues can be drawn from this kind of renovation - making a place feel new without actually being new. It's not perfect, but it can help prolong the life of these kinds of spaces.
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