Waxing nostalgic over the fabulous shopping malls of the 1970s and 1980s has become such a phenomenon, they've invented a word for it: Mallstalgia. But it's not just the stores members of my generation miss - it's the whole mall experience. Back in the days before online shopping, malls were where you went to buy pretty much everything, from Craftman tools to novelty candles, Lacoste shirts to Chic jeans, fish to fashion. In the days before social media, they were where you hung out with your friends. In the days before video games, they were neon temples of stimulation and instant gratification. The following list attempts to capture specific moments of shopping mall magic. Did I miss anything? Add your own contributions in the comments section!
- Dining at the Kmart or Woolworth's lunch counter. Those menus with full color pictures of the 5-6 meals they served (grilled cheese was always one of them), those spinny stools, those old-timey glass straw dispensers! This was the bribe that my mom used to use to keep my sister and I in line on especially boring shopping trips.
- Perky Kinneys or Thom McAn salesmen measuring your feet with their mysterious metal gizmos before disappearing into the back room to prospect for boxes containing the desired styles and sizes.
- Being dazzled by elaborate mall Christmas displays! Back in the day, malls invested in massive light displays, vast garlands, towering decorated trees, giant snowflakes, and jolly Santas with cottonball beards seated in thrones. They were magical!
- Elaborate displays of kitschy holiday decorations at the Woolworths. Remember when Woolworths was the go-to destination for cheap plastic Halloween costumes and crepe paper Christmas fireplaces?
- Flipping through record albums at the Sam Goody/Tower Records/Musicland, or checking out the listening stations in search of new music.
- Stopping in the Hickory Farms store for free samples of sausage-shaped mystery meats, cubes of cheese, and oyster crackers dipped in cheesy spreads.
- Sneaking into the Spencers gift store to gape at the naughty products and drug paraphernalia.
- Stopping by the teeshirt shop to pick out an iron-on design from the hundreds of options on display. I can still smell the scent of those plastisol images being steam-transferred onto cotton teeshirts!
- Wasting hours (and quarters) at the mall arcade on pinball and early video arcade games (Pacman, Galaga). To this day I still associate the sound of pinball machines with the scent of under-deodorized teen boys, soda being slurped through straws, and the clink of money-changing machines dispensing quarters.
- Stopping by the Radio Shack to play with the RC cars and watch the miniature train display.
- Catching a movie at the mall multiplex with friends, then stopping by the Orange Julius afterwards because it was the only store in the mall that stayed open late.
- Flopping down in one of the big, open atrium areas to enjoy the elaborate water features, potted palms, enormous aquariums, or aviaries full of live birds. Some malls even had ice skating rinks. You have to admire that level of commitment that used to go into creating delightful shopping experiences.
- Groups of girls coming out of the Glamour Shots store, their hair teased into cotton candy confections, their faces streaked with layers of sparkly neon beauty products.
- Circling the parking lot looking for a spot the week before Christmas, back in the days when malls were the place to do all your holiday shopping.
- Mixed-gender groups of teenagers promenading around the mall, laughing, shouting, shoving each other, and engaging in other traditional teen mating behaviours.
- Automobile/wedding dress/art/piano shows on the weekends. Because apparently it was common practice to rent the atrium and promenade areas out to all manner of galleries, dealerships, and boutiques to show off their wares.
- Live performances by local bands or choirs - especially around the holidays. Malls used "invite" a different high school musical arts program to provide free entertainment every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Live performances/appearances by celebrities - singers, Olympic athletes, local meteorologists, TV/soap opera stars. Surprisingly "primo" entertainers - singer Rick Springfield, gymnast Mary Lou Retten, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin - used to do the shopping mall circuit.
- Stashing your purchases in a locker so you didn't have to keep hauling them from store to store. Such a great idea - I'm not sure when or why shopping malls gave this up.
- Listening to live musicians tickling the ivories at the Steinway and Hammond Organ stores.
- Gaping at the wall of televisions all tuned to the same station at The Wiz. (Mostly because there weren't a lot of TV stations to choose from back then.)
- Admiring exotic department store window displays. Stores used to put so much more effort into their window displays back then - mannequins disporting themselves on beaches, dashing through rainclouds beneath umbrellas, swimming through coral reefs ....
- That muted muzak soundtracks, imperceptible during the busiest hours but eerily, offputtingly loud if you were shopping during a lull.
- Throwing coins into the water fountain or feature - because all the malls had some sort of water feature, ranging from simple fountains to elaborate spouts and waterfalls, didn't they?
- Women getting their makeup done at the makeup counters of the high-end department stores: Bloomingdales, Macys, Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus.
- Groups of moms happily gossiping as they pilot their baby carriages down the corridors, grateful for any opportunity to get out of the house (and maybe stock up on junk food at one of the snack shops - Karmelkorn, The Original Cookie Company).
- Groups of seniors in track suits (track suits being a thing back then) and sneakers getting their exercise on.
- Exotic aromas wafting from the Wicks 'n' Sticks candle store.
- Windows full of prom dresses in search of insecure high school girls.
- Getting your ears pierced at the Claires as a half-score other teenage girls watched on to see if you were going to cry.
- Glittery neon signs shedding their warm electric glow over passing groups of shoppers.
- Little kids chasing each other in the atrium areas, burning off steam as their exhausted parents collapsed on the fashionable but oddly uncomfortable bench seats.
- Elaborately themed stores: Hickory Farm stores that looked like barns, Banana Republic stores that looked like jungle-themed mini-golf courses.
- Sculpted concrete edifices: curving walls, soaring ramps, terraced planters, sculptural benches, trash cans so solid that you could detonate bombs in them. The 1970s had a bit of an obsession with concrete, and malls built at that time were prime opportunities for architectural experimentation.
- Authors sitting awkwardly behind tables at the B. Daltons or WaldenBooks, waiting to autograph copies of their books. Inside, you could peruse new releases, select one of the 200 magazines they stocked, or check out the "sale books" sections for deals on 10 yr-old best sellers.
- High school students wrapping Christmas gifts in the atrium to raise funds for their schools or clubs.
- Watching puppies and kittens playing in the windows at the mall pet stores - long before the term "puppy mills" was coined.
- Stopping by Circus World or KayBee to check out the toys.
- Planters full of suspiciously perky plants - still unsure how they were kept alive given that they got zero sun and were constantly fondled by curious toddlers. Maybe they were just switched out every couple of months?
- Stocking up on solids at Eddie Bauer, ESprit, or The United Colors of Bennetton. Solids were very big in the late 70s and 80s - still, in retrospect, three stores with the same aesthetic seems a little excessive.
- Stopping by Blockbusters, Hollywood Video, or West Coast Videos with your family or friends to rent movies for the weekend.
- Stopping by the Farrells Ice Cream Parlor for a shot of faux 1920s nostalgia, bags of candy from their sprawling candy shop, and over-the-top ice cream concoctions.
- Visiting the Sears "outdoor furniture" store to check out the many enticing jungle gyms on display.
- Exploring the eclectic wares of novelty retailers: Discovery Channel Store, Disney Store, Natural Wonders, World Bazaar. Before internet, these stores are where you went if you wanted to buy something a little unique.
- Stopping into Brookstones or Sharper Image to take turns sitting in the massage chairs and admiring the scores of electronic gadgets we all secretly wished we'd thought of inventing first.
- Doing lunch (or early dinner) with the family at one of those great mall cafeterias: Morrisons, Harvest House, Hot Shoppes. Formica tables, a selection of fried entrees, entire elaborate displays of jello desserts - what wasn't to love?
- Clothing stores with spacious changing rooms and three-way mirrors for seeing how you looked from every possible angle. Okay, so maybe I don't miss seeing myself from every possible angle.
- Families in matching outfits leaving the Olan Mills store or Sears photo studio. Formal photo studio portraits were practically required during the 70s and 80s.
- Scoping out the latest fashions at the trendiest boutiques: Limited, Merry-Go-Round, The Gap.
- Buying engraved bracelets or necklaces at Things Remembered. In my day, this was the go-to gift for presenting to your boyfriend/girlfriend du jour - thoughtful and jewelry-adjacent, but also relatively cheap.
- Parents dragging their bored kids through Sears, Montgomery Wards, or Service Merchandise - those bastions of middle class consumerism.
- Stuffing yourself into a photo booth for candids with your inamorata or friend group - because Gen X didn't actually invent selfies.
- The rattle of gates and grills being pulled down and fastened as stores closed for the night.
