American Shopping Malls, 1989

[Ben]

My first thought was, "How is 1989 retro? Oh wait, I'm old."
Second thought: "Oh God, the hair".
My third thought was that everyone was looking where they were going and no one was talking on a phone (The first Motorola Microtac cell phones had just come out).

http://mashable.com/2014/12/02/80s-shopping-malls/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

[AJ Dual]

My kids think of the 1980's like I think of the 1950's...  

More random thoughts:

We've crossed the point where almost anything that's identifiable film photography might look "dated" just by virtue of emulsion/grain.

There are still some identifiable sub-cultures from 1989, or their ancestors anyway, that are still going strong today. Hip Hop, Goth etc...

[Doggy Daddy]

Thanks!  That was one hell of a time-trip.

[wmenorr67]

Wow, while I didn't recognize anyone of those places in particular everything was still familiar in a way.

[K Frame]

Wow. Freaking wow.

I've not set foot in a mall in a couple of years, so I really don't know what they're like anymore, but I some of those stores...

Fannie Farmer candy (gone), Merry Go Round (gone), Lane Bryant (still operating), Zales (still around), B. Dalton (gone)...

What really startled me is the pictures of people smoking in the malls. I had forgotten that that wsa still allowed, to a limited degree, in 1989.

[MillCreek]

Another major difference is that in the malls of today, a much larger percentage of the population is significantly obese.

[charby]

Must have only been 3 architectural firms in the 70s and 80s that designed malls.

And one supplier of the brown floor tiles. :)

I miss cruising the mall in the late 80s, but I can't believe I wore those jeans (and pinched rolled them) and had a mullet. 

[HankB]

Notice the banners advertising "Buy American - Buy Sears" ?   Reminds me of the WalMart ad campaign touting all the "Made in USA" merchandise they used to sell.

The main reason large enclosed malls fell out of favor (aside from costs) is that they became gathering places for "urban youts" who caused problems.

[lee n. field]

Wow. Freaking wow.

I've not set foot in a mall in a couple of years, so I really don't know what they're like anymore, but I some of those stores...

Not a single thing I want in the malls I can get to easily from here.  I even have trouble finding anything I want to buy in Barnes & Noble.

[brimic]

Those pictures look like they could have come out of eastern europe today.

[Viking]

Those pictures look like they could have come out of eastern europe today.

Not enough tracksuits. Not enough squatting.

[K Frame]

" and had a mullet."

I have absolutely NO problem believing that you had a mullet...

[Ben]

" and had a mullet."

I have absolutely NO problem believing that you had a mullet...

Me neither, but I think we should ban him for the jeans. 

Millcreek - spot on. It would be interesting to have a compare and contrast photoset of "mall walkers" then and today.

[T.O.M.]

Funny how odd it now looks to see people smoking inside, when it was so common then.

Also, I miss music stores, flipping through stacks of records and tapes.  All of the cool album cover art...

[Ben]

Also, I miss music stores, flipping through stacks of records and tapes.  All of the cool album cover art...

I spent a lot of time in the mall music stores as a teen / young adult. I remember what a bummer it was when they went from vinyl to CD because the album art was half the fun of browsing music.

I can't remember the last time I set foot in a mall. Do they even still have music stores that sell CDs or anything? I would imagine them being more like standalone used bookstores now - where you find them in the old or funky parts of town and where you can buy old used vinyl and stuff.

[T.O.M.]

I spent a lot of time in the mall music stores as a teen / young adult. I remember what a bummer it was when they went from vinyl to CD because the album art was half the fun of browsing music.

I can't remember the last time I set foot in a mall. Do they even still have music stores that sell CDs or anything? I would imagine them being more like standalone used bookstores now - where you find them in the old or funky parts of town and where you can buy old used vinyl and stuff.

I did as well.  And, I have two teen sons, so I spend more time than I would like in malls.  There are no more music stores.  if you want to buy a CD, you need to go to Target or WalMart.  Even best buy carries very few CDs anymore.  It's all about the downloads, streaming, and "the Cloud."  Sometimes, you can find eclectic music stores that carry something other than Top 40 albums and real vinyl.  An aside, I played a real record at home the other week.  My 12 year old son asked me how you skip tracks or repeat a track.  It was funny to watch him shake his head when i told him you listened to the record the way it was put out by the artist.

[charby]

Me neither, but I think we should ban him for the jeans. 

You wore those jeans also.

[Ben]

You wore those jeans also.

Think again Herbert. I may have been caught out in public in t-shirts with the sleeves ripped off, but I have never worn, let alone rolled up, a pair of designer jeans in my life.

[wmenorr67]

Every mall had the movie theater.  Not a lot of the stand alone ones like we have now.


I don't go to the malls but maybe once or twice a year now myself.  

[charby]

Think again Herbert. I may have been caught out in public in t-shirts with the sleeves ripped off, but I have never worn, let alone rolled up, a pair of designer jeans in my life.

Even the generic brands were stone/acid washed by the late 1980s.

I only wore Levi's then, well still only wear Levi's. I don't consider Levi's designer jeans.

[Ben]

I only wore Levi's then, well still only wear Levi's. I don't consider Levi's designer jeans.

Your mom wears Levis.

[makattak]

I did as well.  And, I have two teen sons, so I spend more time than I would like in malls.  There are no more music stores.  if you want to buy a CD, you need to go to Target or WalMart.  Even best buy carries very few CDs anymore.  It's all about the downloads, streaming, and "the Cloud."  Sometimes, you can find eclectic music stores that carry something other than Top 40 albums and real vinyl.  An aside, I played a real record at home the other week.  My 12 year old son asked me how you skip tracks or repeat a track.  It was funny to watch him shake his head when i told him you listened to the record the way it was put out by the artist.

They haven't quite been completely run out of business. One of the malls within an hour (as in, none of the nearby malls, but the next city over) still has an F.Y.E. there.

Not just CDs, but the vast majority of their stock is CDs.

But, yes, of the three nearest malls, only one has a "music" store. They are dying.

[charby]

Your mom wears Levis.

She did when she was younger.

[AJ Dual]

Every mall had the movie theater.  Not a lot of the stand alone ones like we have now.
 

Which is odd, because IIRC, none of the malls in the Milwaukee metro had attached theaters. It was kind of a "new concept" when the one premier mall that's still got the "mojo" in town added one on in the late 90's or early 2000's.

Instead of boosting the mall, it became another magnet for the troublesome urban youths that are one known cause of mall death.

[brimic]

Instead of boosting the mall, it became another magnet for the troublesome urban youths that are one known cause of mall death.

Yes, and if the mall/movie theater operators refuse to put on one of the Tyler Perry yute-magnet movies, they are called racists.