🚀 go-pugleaf

gary wrote:
> "Steve Hall" <tunnlhll@catt.com> wrote in message news:<bi9hau$t9v@library1.airnews.net>...
> 
> Obviously, these suffer from what developers laughingly refer to as
> "creeping jungleism" or "creeping spookism."
> 
> Gary
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>>One note on Riverbend Mall in Rome.  They may have stated they were
>>rebuilding it on filled ground, but they are already going up with buildings
>>with little or no filling.  I was through there just a few weeks ago.
>>
>>-- 
>>Steve Hall
>>Commander - Lt. Col. Wm. M. Luffman Camp #938 SCV - Chatsworth, GA
>>Moderator - Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans E-mail groups
>>
>><sjohnson1010@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>news:ac410029.0306051940.babca32@posting.google.com...
>>
>>>*I reposted this snipped topic hoping that a better name for the post
>>>would generate more interest, so here goes:*
>>>
>>><snip>
>>>
>>>Here's my take on local malls that appear to be facing a bleak future:
>>>
>>>Shannon Mall
>>>
>>>Change in demographics, median income and a high crime rate in the
>>>area is not faring well in this mall with two of four anchors gone and
>>>a portion of the mall closed.  If you look at the graveyard of boarded
>>>up outlots, it seems that the owners were too optomistic when they
>>>renovated a couple years ago.  I guess those of us who know where this
>>>place is may be looking at a Dixie Square in the future.  More
>>>importantly is that this mall, built in 1980, is suffering horribly
>>>from competition from the new Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville and
>>>from northside malls, such as Perimeter and Lenox.
>>>
>>>Cumberland Mall
>>>
>>>From what I understand, this was in its time the largest mall in the
>>>country.  Opened in 1973, it drew in customers from far away and
>>>subsequently destroyed nearby Cobb Centre Mall which was finally torn
>>>down in the late 1990's.  The irony these days is that Cumberland Mall
>>>has earned a reputation as the "black mall", and is beginning to see
>>>the effects that such a stigma has as the mall is loosing one of its
>>>strongest anchors.  As I spent many childhood years in this mall, I
>>>would hate to see it go, but I wonder what is ahead.  If it looses any
>>>more anchors, it might not be good news.
>>>
>>>Gwinnett Place Mall
>>>
>>>A mall I am not very familiar with, but it is in a similar situation
>>>with Cumberland, though it is more of a sister to Town Center than to
>>>Cumberland.  It now faces stiff competition from the Mall of Georgia
>>>and is in an area that has seen significant demographic change just in
>>>the past few years.  It is my guess that it will have to form its own
>>>niche to hold its own.
>>>
>>>Southlake Mall
>>>
>>>Don't know much about it, but I haven't heard that it's doing all that
>>>well.  It seems odd considering that there is a large population base
>>>that is starved for a mall in that area.  It almost seems that the
>>>region has chosen big box over mall in attempts to avoid these malls
>>>judging by the phenomenal complex built between GA 85 and GA 314 in
>>>Fayetteville.
>>>
>>>...and now for the totally dead and completely gone...
>>>
>>>Cobb Centre Mall (Smyrna)
>>>
>>>As one of the first regional malls outside Atlanta, Cobb Centre opened
>>>in the post WWII inner ring suburbs around Smyrna.  I understand it
>>>was very successful for many years after it opened in the 1960's
>>>featuring a two-level Rich's, W.T. Grant, Woolworths, Turtles, Davis
>>>Brothers Cafeteria, Dunaway Drugs and several other tenants.  It was
>>>also originally an open air mall as well.  The slow and painful death
>>>of this tiny mall began in the 1970's when Cumberland Mall opened.  In
>>>response, the mall was enclosed in some of the dreariest 70's stylin'
>>>ever seen.  I vaguely remember the architecture featured very dark
>>>wood and dim lighting and looked very dated by the late 1980's.  This
>>>is when the fatal death blow came: Town Center.  Opened in 1986, this
>>>mall effectively wiped out the regional customer base, which could not
>>>be matched with a local base.  In an attempt to save the mall itself,
>>>which was dying despite the fact that Rich's continued to do better,
>>>it was again renovated with a lighter more modern interior and
>>>redubbed "Four Seasons Mall".  Howard's moved from a local bar and
>>>grill into the old Davis Brothers and established itself as a bona
>>>fide restaurant.  Howard's relocated soon after to a former steakhouse
>>>and the movie theatre was getting in bad shape next to the mall.
>>>After Woolworth's left, the only remaining tenants included Eckerds
>>>and Friedmann's Jewerlry.  The mall was closed and finally gutted in
>>>the late 1990's.  After the demolition, all that remained was Rich's
>>>and the movie theaters.  The front entrance to the mall is now a strip
>>>mall with a Publix and only the Rich's remains, but now only as an
>>>outlet store and the future of this outlet store remains in doubt as
>>>the area continues to further decline despite the best efforts of the
>>>city of Smyrna.
>>>
>>>Riverbend Mall (Rome)
>>>
>>>This mall was a disaster area...literally.  It went from a small
>>>regional serving Rome, parts of Alabama and parts of NW GA into an
>>>empty shell within 10 years.  It would be reasonable to say it began
>>>when the whole mall was flooded by muddy brown water from Etowah
>>>River.  (photo of the flooding
>>>here)http://gaia.fc.peachnet.edu/geology/images/riverbend%20photo.jpg
>>>
>>>Built in the river's natural floodplain, it was a poor choice for a
>>>mall site, but it did well for about 15 years, opened sometime in the
>>>1970's with three anchors, a Belk Rhodes, JCPenney and Miller's.
>>>Miller's later became Hess's.  In the early 1990's, this mall was
>>>replaced with a very poorly located Mount Berry Square, but it
>>>effectively emptied this mall in one fellow swoop with Belk Rhodes and
>>>JCPenney opening larger, nicer stores at the new mall.  This was
>>>pretty rough considering the mall had just opened a new food court a
>>>few years earlier that included Chick Fil'A.  The old Belk's became a
>>>shared outlet with the west end of the store becoming a medical
>>>center.  The Hess's changed briefly to a very odd Bon-Ton (the only
>>>one I have ever seen in the Southeast) and at last Ford's Furniture.
>>>It is not known what happened in the interior, but CVS (formerly Reed
>>>Drugs and Revco) was one of the last tenants remaining, and it had an
>>>outside entrance as well.
>>>
>>>The mall as it was is now demolished in favor of new development built
>>>on filled higher ground including a Barnes and Noble, Ross, Outback
>>>Steakhouse and a new medical center to replace the old one located in
>>>the old Belk's.
>>>
>>>I would appreciate any additional details on this old mall-it is of
>>>great interest to me.
>>>
>>>Roswell Mall (Roswell)
>>>
>>>Opened in 1974 with Richway as its sole anchor, it was doomed from the
>>>start.  Nevertheless, it was at the time the only regional mall north
>>>of Perimeter.  It basically consisted of Richway, the mall itself, a
>>>movie theater and Morrison's Cafeteria.  Kmart came as a new anchor
>>>later and the mall became wedged in an uncomfortable position not
>>>visible from the highway.  Morrison's later closed and the mall,
>>>already basically empty in 1989, was completely dead by the 1990's
>>>except for an Upton's that opened next to the Target that replaced
>>>Richway.  In the 1990's, Upton's closed, Target changed to Value City
>>>and Kmart is now closed.  Even with the mall recently gutted and
>>>reconstructed with a better cinema, it still looks grim for this
>>>ill-fated plaza in an area that is beginning to decline.  Once again,
>>>further info appreciated on this mall.
>>>
>>>OTHER malls of curiosity:
>>>
>>>What did the Plaza Fiesta (obviously a Mexican shopping mall) used to
>>>be?  I noticed it on the news recently and was amazed that a bona fide
>>>shopping mall is now a mall with a unique niche.
>>>
>>>Avondale Mall: I hear this mall was very similar in its history to
>>>Cobb Centre.
>>>
>>>Walnut Square Mall (Dalton).  I wonder how this mall is doing in a
>>>city that is largely Hispanic.
>>>
>>>Lake Shore Mall (Gainesville): As the only mall in Hall County, this
>>>mall has always gotten a thriving business, but as Hall County is a
>>>major mecca for Mexican immigrants, it seems to have become a "Mexican
>>>Mall".  Does anyone know anything about this mall, anchored by Sears
>>>and Belk?  It looks to be very small but by no means dead.
>>>
>>>I would also LOVE to hear your other entries for dead, dying or sickly
>>>looking malls across the state of Georgia.  There are a few others I
>>>wanted to mention here, but avoided in fear of starting a flame war,
>>>because I could be dead wrong.


  You forgot Greenbriar Mall,in Atlanta (now blackbriar mall