That's wasn't the one from The Blues Brothers, was it?
Posted on 02/20/2021 12:05:29 PM PST by SamAdams76
This is an excellent 1982 documentary of mall culture in America.
Could it have been so long ago (nearly 40 years!)?
Before the Internet. Before cell phones. MTV was just getting started and most youngsters didn't even know what it was, much less have it.
I remember those days well. The mall was the place for teens and young adults to hang out. It was where boys and girls dated. They'd start off at the Orange Julius at the food court and make their way to the multiplex, where they might see "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" or maybe "ET". Then they might end at the video arcade to sling a few quarters into Pac-Man and Space-Invaders before finding a makeout spot in the corridor where the Things Remembered and Radio Shack stores were while waiting for their parents to come pick them up.
Maybe you are thinking by now that I know of this mall culture all too well...anyway, check out this video. Excellent time capsule of American culture in the early 1980s, just as President Reagan was turning around the economy.
Yes they are. Back in the 1980s especially, there was much consternation over how malls were killing the classic American small towns. The mom and pop shops in particular.
Now many of us have similar consternation over how the Internet, and particularly Amazon, are killing those now iconic Americana shopping malls.
I find it sort of ironic.
Hair dryers, curling irons, hair crimpers and picks or combs to tease the hair into the desired height. Then massive amounts of Extra Super Hold Aqua Net was applied.
Blue Ridge Mall and Cool Crest in the 70s. Topsy’s sold popcorn and my grandparents liked that.
That's wasn't the one from The Blues Brothers, was it?
My initial impression of malls was higher prices. It was Korvettes, Goldblatts, or Sears (stand alone stores, not in mall) were the places to find bargains.
I prefer shopping at eBay over Amazon because I like bidding on auction items, good way to find a bargain. I was a frequent golf club switcher during my 50 years of playing golf, thinking a better game was just round the corner, the newest golf clubs should do it haha. Must have bought 15 new iron sets, and sold all of them on eBay as used clubs very quickly. Also, I don’t like Bezos.
The internet changed all that. Now people walk into the Gap, see a pair of jeans they like, maybe even try them on, and then order them online from their cellphones to be delivered to their house. Then they walk out of the store without buying anything.
I an guilty of the exact same thing with golf clubs. Hit a few balls in the practice net at the big golf stores, then find a cheaper price on eBay.
I shall never forget the unmistakable scent of letters being ironed on t-shirts
They had stores all over Jersey (the one near me growing up was in Woodbridge, NJ).
How they got their name:
They were selling “scratch and dent” TVs at a discount.
‘They had heard of their competitors whining, “We can’t compete with those two bastards from Harrison!” The Hubschmans wanted to use that as the store name to taunt the competition, but no newspaper would print it, so they settled on Two Guys from Harrison.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Guys
I lived in Kearney back in the 70s for a few years. Hazy days, especially on payday.
That’s wasn’t the one from The Blues Brothers, was it?
No. It was Dixie Mall in my hometown of Harvey, Illinois. They were going to demolish it anyway. I knew several people who were extras in the film.
Embarrassing teenage memories result from the above.
You would not believe the T-Shirts I wore to school back in the late 1970s. Even I don't want to believe it.
One of my earliest memories is Santa landing in a helicopter in the parking lot of Dixie Mall. Mind blown, still.
Malls aren’t safe any more.
It’s ironic that you mentioned that mall specifically. I lived in Charlotte for only a year but several of my friends loved to visit Charlotte and hit the ice rink at Eastland. Good times!
Probably the last time I was at Eastland was 1996 or 1997. I didn’t know until I looked it up because of your post that it was demolished years ago.
Riverbend Mall in Rome, GA is on the list. My Dad did his cardiac mile walk in that mall after he retired back there to the farm in the Johnson Community. The downfall of that mall was the Etowah River totally flooded it out and it was never the same after that as the article states. I remember thinking when I first saw it, that's a strange place for a mall, right on the bottom land along a muddy brown river.
I remember the Two Guys on Route 22. Union, maybe?
I was 13 at the time in eighth grade and I do remember those years without cell phones without anything much to do except be outside and have fun when I’m trying to train my kids the same way
My point of view is : re-create the 1970s!!
The great free wheeling no guilt no seatbelts 1970s
“Teenage girls wearing Blue Oyster Cult T-shirts.....”
I blame BOC for a good portion of my hearing loss.
3rd row just right of center stage. Secret Treaties tours IIRC.
L
Most retail stores don’t have anything. I buy online because the retail stores are out of everything.
Retail started dinging managers for having ‘excess” inventory that is taxed after the end of the year, so managers carry very little.
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