Thinking about what constitutes "worst", I'd say that Triangle Town Center in Raleigh is among the worst because it was built to be a more or less '80s mid-market mall surrounded by a sea of parking, despite evolution/improvement in retail developments overall since then. These days I'd expect that a new mall would be pedestrian-friendly, with a mass transit connection, and at least with a better lifestyle/outdoor component than TTC has. Plus the stores aren't that great- apart from the Saks and a few others, nothing better than a typical '80s mid-market mall.
Worst Southern Mall?
Started by
mallguy
, Feb 23 2006 07:08 PM
126 replies to this topic
#122
davidals
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Posted 12 February 2007 - 05:04 PM
Eastland in Charlotte is getting to be unfortunate. I grew up near there in the 1980s, and it used to be the place to be. What a difference 20 years makes. It hung on reasonably well into the early 90s (if memory serves, they even got rid of that 70s Three's Company-style decor inside), but the slide over the last 10-12 years has been precipitous. We'll see if it goes the way of South Square or Carolina Circle. *Shudder*
South Square's decline was weirder, more dramatic. It hung on reasonably for years, until Southpoint opened; it just seemed that there was less of a protracted decline, and more of something like the mall equivalent of a black hole implosion - bang, and it's gone. Now there's a few big boxes out there. That road it's on - Bus 15/501 ain't exactly the prettiest piece of Durham either...though I love that seafood joint where the staff sings and dances around the room while you're eating...
It's not that bad - a little drowwwwsy for sure, but the store mix and anchors are getting to be fairly unique, in a good way.
Small-town malls are usually just dreary. I remember the malls in Lenoir and Wilkesboro (before they gave up the ghost) - cavernous, lotsa emptiness, people hanging out with no place to do anything, a few nail salons and the typical hair places...
South Square's decline was weirder, more dramatic. It hung on reasonably for years, until Southpoint opened; it just seemed that there was less of a protracted decline, and more of something like the mall equivalent of a black hole implosion - bang, and it's gone. Now there's a few big boxes out there. That road it's on - Bus 15/501 ain't exactly the prettiest piece of Durham either...though I love that seafood joint where the staff sings and dances around the room while you're eating...
Creasy336, on Mar 1 2006, 10:05 PM, said:
Chapel Hill's University Mall. I dreaded that mall as a kid
It's not that bad - a little drowwwwsy for sure, but the store mix and anchors are getting to be fairly unique, in a good way.
Scraper Enthusiast, on Mar 1 2006, 06:38 PM, said:
Pennrose has a Belk and a Peebles, two anchors also found at the Eden Mall. Doesn't the Eden Mall also have JC Penney?
The other stores in the Pennrose Mall include, if I'm not mistaken, a music store, a shoe store, an arcade, a putt-putt location, a U.S. Military Recruiting office, a few knick-knak shops, and maybe a few others.
The other stores in the Pennrose Mall include, if I'm not mistaken, a music store, a shoe store, an arcade, a putt-putt location, a U.S. Military Recruiting office, a few knick-knak shops, and maybe a few others.
Small-town malls are usually just dreary. I remember the malls in Lenoir and Wilkesboro (before they gave up the ghost) - cavernous, lotsa emptiness, people hanging out with no place to do anything, a few nail salons and the typical hair places...
#123
mallguy
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Burg
Posted 23 February 2007 - 06:20 PM
davidals, on Feb 12 2007, 06:04 PM, said:
Eastland in Charlotte is getting to be unfortunate. I grew up near there in the 1980s, and it used to be the place to be. What a difference 20 years makes. It hung on reasonably well into the early 90s (if memory serves, they even got rid of that 70s Three's Company-style decor inside), but the slide over the last 10-12 years has been precipitous. We'll see if it goes the way of South Square or Carolina Circle. *Shudder*
Eastland has gotten really bad lately- it used to be a semi-decent mall that just had safety problems, then the store mix became worse, combined with the safety problems, and now it's a dying ghetto mall. I liked South Square in Durham fine; it seemed to be more successful than Northgate- but then that changed all of a sudden!
#124
urbanvb
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Posted 27 February 2007 - 06:50 PM
davidals, on Feb 12 2007, 06:04 PM, said:
Small-town malls are usually just dreary. I remember the malls in Lenoir and Wilkesboro (before they gave up the ghost) - cavernous, lotsa emptiness, people hanging out with no place to do anything, a few nail salons and the typical hair places...
Edited by urbanvb, 27 February 2007 - 06:53 PM.
#125
mallguy
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Burg
Posted 28 February 2007 - 06:56 PM
For someone who likes even bad malls, this one might be worth a visit!
http://www.southgate...c.com/index.htm
Too bad Elizabeth City is so far away!
http://www.southgate...c.com/index.htm
Too bad Elizabeth City is so far away!
#126
Temeteron
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Burg
Posted 07 March 2007 - 11:31 PM
No no guys, you havent seen dead malls until youve seen Sumter Mall, in Sumter, SC and Dutch Square in Columbia, SC.....
#127
mallguy
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Burg
Posted 08 March 2007 - 08:00 PM
Temeteron, on Mar 8 2007, 12:31 AM, said:
No no guys, you havent seen dead malls until youve seen Sumter Mall, in Sumter, SC and Dutch Square in Columbia, SC.....
Has Dutch Square gone south? When I went 2 years ago it seemed to be a decent (low-end) neighborhood mall, although certainly not Phipps Plaza.
