Against that ambition to read more to flesh out my knowledge
in this area I picked up Meet Me By the Fountain by Alexandra Lange.
On one level this is a history of the mall development from
the Victor Gruen days of the 1950s, through to the various incarnations of T, L
and strip malls that were designed by various architects un the 1960s and 70s
that were built across the US in the suburbs of numerous cities.
Going through the history reveals the strength of the car
and the role of government to support the growth of a world dependent on
personal mobility, with Freeway Acts and zoning policies to drive the
development of suburbia after the Second World War. Once out in their suburbs
people needed places to shop, meet and have fun. The Mall was created to
provide a place for retail, rest and entertainment. An air conditioned, weather
free world that was safe and secure enticed generations of shoppers.
Over the years the
Mall came under attack architecturally, with it being seen as a low form of
building, as well as from social critics who argued it operated as a private
space masquerading as a public one. Protests, certain groups of people and
increasingly youths were all prevented from enjoying the mall or found their
activities heavily controlled by security.
Ultimately the end for many malls came as a result of poor
management, the decline of the anchors - with most having relied heavily on the
likes of Sears and J C Penny - as well as changes happening in the suburbs that
took people increasingly back into the cities and away from the malls. Many
point the finger at Amazon and other etailers but in many respects that is
overblown with those web-based outlets only controlling a relatively low
percentage of sales. Other more structural problems have done the real damage.
The future for many Malls seems to be as mixed housing,
retail and public spaces, offering the mall as a community hub. Others continue
to survive because of smart management and an ability to keep retailers on
site. Local retailers, pop-up stores and boutiques selling handmade goods have
proved to be a popular lifeline. Even with internet shopping there should be
enough sales for the bricks and mortar operations to still enjoy.
The history ends with a look elsewhere, with malls thriving
in places like Brazil and Nigeria, showing that the model can still work.
But this book also operates on a personal level. Lange has
her own mall memories that add to the sadness around the fate of some of her
childhood haunts. Then there are the movies, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and
the TV shows, including Stranger Things, that have depicted the
importance of the mall to 1980s youth culture, providing jobs, a place to hang
out and fall in love plus for those keen to show a commitment to a 'tribe' as
an arena to be seen.
The curiosity about abandoned malls has spawned numerous YouTube
channels, with Lange recommending Dan Bell's Abandoned
Malls series and Retail
Archaeology as two good ones to check out. Plus it has also attracted a
number of photographers who chart
the decline in eerie images. Then there is the music, mallware and vaporware, that pine for
those days you would walk round a busy mall with tinny music playing out of
speakers, both inside and outside the stores.
On a personal level the rise and fall of the malls is one
that provokes the most emotional response. You remember trips to malls and
wonder as you walk around your local examples like BlueWater and see the empty
units and talk by the owners of becoming more of a 'lifestyle centre', just
what the future holds for those operations in the UK.
This is a serious history and as a result sometimes it can
bog you down in detail but overall, it explains why the malls were built, how
they tried to adapt and why so many failed. Behind it all there is a sense that
the car and the re-emergence of the city are much more powerful factors than
Amazon and etailing. People no longer want to drive so far and walking a few
blocks in a bustling city is now seen as much more attractive.
Still, if I was given the chance to revisit Sam Goody to
flick through the records and hang out by the fountain I'd be there like a
shot.
