There weren't any shopping malls in my area when I was growing up, so no nostalgia there. As an adult, I used to do quite a bit of shopping in the mall department stores. I mostly shop online now. I can't remember the last time I was in a shopping mall. I don't miss them at all.
Well, at least you have a mall to go to! The one in Concord closest to me has been closed and fenced off for a while now. I liked the fact that there was a variety of stores there and also in its prime the Food Court had a many choices.
Yes, Spencer's has always been "like that", even (especially?) during the early '70s when I first encountered it at Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, NY. My mother always gave the place the side eye and was always nervous about letting me go in there, which of course made it all the more interesting! I was fascinated by all the black light stuff, but was young enough that I didn't understand why Mom thought the place was sketchy. By the time I got to college and had friends who could explain it to me, the place had gone downhill a bit, and seemed like it was probably going to just fade away. I was amused to see that Spencer's is not only still around, but that it also seems to be making a comeback...?
Oh, Dan: the Spencer's in the Thruway Mall we used to hang out in was DEFINITELY just like that: I think the reason we don't remember is that we probably were a wee bit too dorky at the time to have picked up on the double entendre merchandise, and were only just beginning to see the reason for the pinup posters and the blacklight merch. Going to Spencer's was like listening to Big Kids having a conversation: you weren't always sure what they were talking about, but you always felt like you'd be that much cooler if you did. 😅
I think Spencer's were always like that, but probably "that" stuff was more in the back of the store.
I really, really miss malls of old. I considered them like community centers. There were times I would go to the mall just to wander around if I felt down and I would invariably run into a few neighbors for a good cheerful chat.
When we first moved to NH from CT, we would go to the Steeplegate Mall in Concord and were so impressed. We were so sad that it closed. It was a beautiful mall. Now we go to the mall in Manchester at holiday time still an hour south of us. It is very typical of the malls I loved in days of old. I miss those good old malls.
We went back to family in CT for Thanksgiving and went to Westfarms Mall on the Saturday after. It is a FABULOUS mall. Good to see a surviving mall!
I remember going to the first mall in NJ in the 60's. It was warm and you actually ran into friends and had stores for all ages. The big thing was it gave jobs to teens and college students. Now the mall seems to have only seniors working and caters to younger generations. Oh well.
There weren't any shopping malls in my area when I was growing up, so no nostalgia there. As an adult, I used to do quite a bit of shopping in the mall department stores. I mostly shop online now. I can't remember the last time I was in a shopping mall. I don't miss them at all.
The mall is a "can do without" for me. Only thing I would miss is Bath & Body Works, specifically the semi-annual sales.
Well, at least you have a mall to go to! The one in Concord closest to me has been closed and fenced off for a while now. I liked the fact that there was a variety of stores there and also in its prime the Food Court had a many choices.
Yes, Spencer's has always been "like that", even (especially?) during the early '70s when I first encountered it at Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, NY. My mother always gave the place the side eye and was always nervous about letting me go in there, which of course made it all the more interesting! I was fascinated by all the black light stuff, but was young enough that I didn't understand why Mom thought the place was sketchy. By the time I got to college and had friends who could explain it to me, the place had gone downhill a bit, and seemed like it was probably going to just fade away. I was amused to see that Spencer's is not only still around, but that it also seems to be making a comeback...?
Oh, Dan: the Spencer's in the Thruway Mall we used to hang out in was DEFINITELY just like that: I think the reason we don't remember is that we probably were a wee bit too dorky at the time to have picked up on the double entendre merchandise, and were only just beginning to see the reason for the pinup posters and the blacklight merch. Going to Spencer's was like listening to Big Kids having a conversation: you weren't always sure what they were talking about, but you always felt like you'd be that much cooler if you did. 😅
I think you're right LOL
I think Spencer's were always like that, but probably "that" stuff was more in the back of the store.
I really, really miss malls of old. I considered them like community centers. There were times I would go to the mall just to wander around if I felt down and I would invariably run into a few neighbors for a good cheerful chat.
When we first moved to NH from CT, we would go to the Steeplegate Mall in Concord and were so impressed. We were so sad that it closed. It was a beautiful mall. Now we go to the mall in Manchester at holiday time still an hour south of us. It is very typical of the malls I loved in days of old. I miss those good old malls.
We went back to family in CT for Thanksgiving and went to Westfarms Mall on the Saturday after. It is a FABULOUS mall. Good to see a surviving mall!
I remember going to the first mall in NJ in the 60's. It was warm and you actually ran into friends and had stores for all ages. The big thing was it gave jobs to teens and college students. Now the mall seems to have only seniors working and caters to younger generations. Oh well.