Thursday, June 23, 2011
Circuit City Story Good to Great A Documentary
Here is a link to an awesome documentary describing the entire history of Wards TV which became Circuit City. The Documentary is very interesting and worth checking out; there is so much information that can help any company from repeating the mistakes that ultimately led to the demise of Circuit City. The documentary is available through Amazon.com and has a second disc of additional footage including commercials. Make sure to check out the comments section on Amazon for additional reviews.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
San Jacinto Mall Update June 2011
This article was down to add more photos from my collection, enjoy.
From the nearly empty Mervyn's Wing
"Shop San Jacinto Where there's more in Store!", but you have to walk for a while past this sign until you find an open store.
Inside the Mervyn's from the mall view.
Once this wall was put up separating this wing from the rest of the mall; I thought it was being closed like the other section of the mall. The A/C was off or cut very low in this wing so they might be saving electricity here. Only one actual store remains here with a bingo hall and school offices.
Sears and Marshall's.
Waldenbooks in the Sears wing.
These are from the east mall entrance of JCPenney and the corridor.
Mirrored Glass fitting for this mall that still looks like the 1980's.
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Some patchwork in the JCPenney wing.
The Macy's wing.
The food court
I was inspired to take a trip back to the San Jacinto Mall after seeing the "Tears for a Mall" you tube video. All of the images were taken by peeking in windows around the mall.
Former Service Merchandise that opened as a Wilsons.
The Premier Cinemas
The Casa Ole advertised on this sign is closed.
Former Mervyn's
The doors are locked but anyone can see right in; these photos were taken from the outside of the mall looking in.
This is all that you can see of the closed Montgomery Ward wing. The entire wing died off when Montgomery Ward closed in 2001 and the majority of the wing was walled off. Walgreens and the entrance to Bealls were in this wing. Hallmark was also here as well but their store moved to the Macy's wing. Sam Goody and Pacsun were still operating in the small part of this wing that was not walled off, but the only business left is a small power wheel track for the kids. All of the photos below are from the section of the mall that was part of the redevelopment plan that never got off of the ground. This part of the mall has been left to rot away for now with no sign of change.
Through the door of an old (restaurant?) in the closed off wing.
This is a close up of the fountain that was still running up until this wing was closed off.
This is about the only modernization that this Montgomery Wards had before it closed; Wards stickers with the updated logo on the entrances. Montgomery Ward lost their identity in the 1990's and never regained their former retail dominance. As a kid in the 1980's I preferred to go to Montgomery Wards because they had a better toy section than any other department store. Electric Avenue (The electronics department) also had video game displays to try out. Montgomery Wards was very similar to Sears with many similarities such as huge appliance and tool sections.
It is hard to believe that Montgomery Wards closed 10 years ago already.
The store is beginning to age rapidly; many sections of brick are cracked and this section of the entrance is beginning to come down.
Montgomery Ward stores of the 1970's and 1980's such as this one usually were made to look larger on the outside than they were on the inside.
The garage of the former Montgomery Wards. Notice the boat parked inside and the Tire Sale sign on the left wall.
Inside of the waiting area for package pickup. Unfortunately this was the only spot where you can see inside of the store. The rest of the entrances are covered up or the double doors have too much reflection to get a photo :(.
The entrance to the package pickup.
You have to enjoy the nostalgia with these door handles.
An older picture of the Wards wing taken though an open spot in the wall.
Ike or neglect? Former Bealls store closed in 2001 (I think). This store is located in the closed off Montgomery Wards wing. In some of the shots to the left you can see the edge of the former Walgreens store inside of the mall. All sales were final.
From the nearly empty Mervyn's Wing
"Shop San Jacinto Where there's more in Store!", but you have to walk for a while past this sign until you find an open store.
Waldenbooks in the Sears wing.
The wall partially blocking the Mervy's wing is in the distance.
This is all that you can see of the closed Montgomery Ward wing. The entire wing died off when Montgomery Ward closed in 2001 and the majority of the wing was walled off. Walgreens and the entrance to Bealls were in this wing. Hallmark was also here as well but their store moved to the Macy's wing. Sam Goody and Pacsun were still operating in the small part of this wing that was not walled off, but the only business left is a small power wheel track for the kids. All of the photos below are from the section of the mall that was part of the redevelopment plan that never got off of the ground. This part of the mall has been left to rot away for now with no sign of change.
Through the door of an old (restaurant?) in the closed off wing.
This may have been the garden center of Wards; it looks like you can see into the store through this opening.
The garage of the former Montgomery Wards. Notice the boat parked inside and the Tire Sale sign on the left wall.
Inside of the waiting area for package pickup. Unfortunately this was the only spot where you can see inside of the store. The rest of the entrances are covered up or the double doors have too much reflection to get a photo :(.
Ike or neglect? Former Bealls store closed in 2001 (I think). This store is located in the closed off Montgomery Wards wing. In some of the shots to the left you can see the edge of the former Walgreens store inside of the mall. All sales were final.
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