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bgh01

Member Since 13 Jan 2014
Offline Last Active Sep 18 2019 01:19 PM
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#121168 Are Enclosed Malls Dying?

Posted by bgh01 on 16 September 2019 - 03:37 PM

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I remember that malls had an enormous variety of stores. Every mall had several bookstores, record stores, maybe a pet shop, gift shops, toy stores, arcades, etc. Many of these stores have vanished- some due to the emergence of the digital world, some due to the changing economy. Many of the chains that I remember from my childhood are gone - B. Dalton Bookstores, Waldenbooks, Service Merchandise, Montgomery Ward, K.B.Toys are just a few.

 

And stores seemed to have a much wider variety of merchandise. If one store didn't suit your style or price range, another one would.

 

Now, it seems like the only things left in the malls are clothing and shoe stores, and they all carry virtually the same styles and poor quality. 




#101943 Shock: Radio Shack may leave FW!!!!

Posted by bgh01 on 28 March 2017 - 02:33 PM

I didn't realize the lease expires next year. Probably convenient timing... RS still has the two westernmost "towers", which is a decent chunk of space. Even if the May Owen center remains, more classrooms in the building do seem like a good thing for a lot of students/faculty.

Radio Shack only has one of the towers now. They cleared out of the other after the last bankruptcy. Since that time, the building has been under construction for offices and classrooms.




#91133 Ridgmar Mall

Posted by bgh01 on 16 April 2015 - 07:49 AM

That is interesting about the remodel. It could breathe new life into the place, or it could be the final nail in the coffin. Back in my youth (in the mid-1980s), my family would go to Abilene to shop. There were two malls at that time, and the Westgate Mall decided to remodel. In the process, most of the stores moved to the other mall, and even after the remodel was finished, they just never came back. The Westgate struggled for maybe another decade, before it was finally torn down and a strip mall was built in its place. It is certainly feasible that the same situation could happen here if a significant number of the stores decide to head over to Hulen or other areas. And looking at all of the empty strip malls around and behind Ridgmar and what a dead area it has become, I don't know that a remodel is really going to make much difference.