Will they update the directory since Albertson's shut down?
RIP Albertsons; this store closed in February 2012.
Transcom just before closing Jan 2012.
This entrance is close to the Stage court of the mall.
This is the entrance to the center court.
The center court of the mall.
Anna's Linens used to be a K and B.
Down the hall from Anna's Linens.
The view of the main mall corridor.
Footaction.
Another view of the center court. Most of the stores are located here or by the Stage entrance.
The four clothing stores on the right are all connected together.
The former Montgomery Ward entrance.
Visited this mall today. Very eerie. There were some shoppers and people hanging out but idk how this place makes money. The stores that are open have full inventories and are very modern for the most part.
ReplyDeleteThe recruitment center for the military is closed as are all the eatery locations. There was still a sign lit up for Transcom and the lights were on but maybe somebody forgot to flip the switch. A LEO was sitting in the nicer boutique that sells watches. Can't believe this place is open and that chains such as Foot Locker bother staying open here, blowing money on salary and rent with zero foot traffic
Hi,
ReplyDeleteGreat site! I'm trying to find an email address to contact you on to ask if you would please consider adding a link to my website. I'd really appreciate if you could email me back.
Thanks and have a great day!
What's your website? I'm just curious. If it's something like this site...then I'm interested in taking a look...
DeleteAll requests please send to southernmalls@gmail.com thank you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Stage has indeed closed the entrance into the mall. There is a sign apologizing for the "inconvenience"
ReplyDeleteI imagine that when Foot Locker / Footaction's leases run out they'll be long gone. Ditto with Hibbett Sports. A record store opened in the FAR end of the mall, near where the recruitment center was located.
My verdict? Stick a fork in this mall. Its done. It may carry on serving the community with local stores / mom-n-pop ventures, but it will never be a traditional mall with inline stores again.
Maybe parts of the mall can be revitalized as a medical center. All of the retail outlets can be brought to the middle of the mall and the former Albertsons can be converted into another grocery store with a mall entrance. The part of the mall towards the former Service Merchandise/ Transcom including the anchor except for Stage can become medical offices or a small hospital. Does anyone else have any ideas for redevelopment?
ReplyDeleteThis mall looks awesome! I've driven right by it but didn't know it was there at the time. I hope they can lure just about 6 or 7 new inline stores and somebody to replace Albertsons and Transcom. I can actually appreciate an old mall that still has somewhat of an old look to it. I think most of the people that come here to comment are total snobs and are part of the mentality that causes a mall to die in the 1st place. F**ing Wal Mart shoppers!
ReplyDeleteAnyway...this place reminds me a little of 2 old malls that are now closed in West Monroe and Monroe. One of them still has part of it that looks like it did in 1980. The other half has just recently been remodeled. I have a friend that knows the owners and I've been trying to get inside to take pics. We found someone who has the keys. You could always come with your camera and join us.
I hate the medical mall idea. They took another old mall around here and did that and it bugs the hell outa me. I'd rather see it vacent or torn down. But that's partly b/c of who bought it.
I stumbled upon this mall in the 1990's on a trip to Lafayette. The mall still had JCPenney, Service Merchandise, and Montgomery Ward at that point and the inline stores were full. I did not visit this mall again until 2007 and I was surprised at the changes. All of the anchors pulled out at around the same time, but the owners were able to bring new businesses in. This mall has continued to evolve and will hopefully see many new stores soon.
DeleteThe malls in the Monroe area sound interesting, I will let you know if I ever have the chance to make it down there.
Cool. You may see a redundant post about the Mall(s) in Monroe. I just saw this response.
DeleteYou say "down there"...where do you live now?
DeleteI live in Southeast Texas near Houston. It is a long trek to Northeast Louisiana from here.
Deletehere is a nice training video for Montgomery wards with video of different departments.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNtFuR-4eqk
Thanks for the video link. This was a fairly modern looking store featured in the video. I wish I could go back in time and see these stores as they were.
DeleteVisited this place a few days ago! It's so dead! maybe 2-3 stores still operating, but you can;t get to most of them from the inside, the doors are locked. you have to use the outter entrance. It's very creepy though, it was my first time ever going to this place, I heard some rumors it was a bad place, but I came to love it once I saw how creepy it looked.
ReplyDeleteHuge fascination for abandoned buildings here.
It;s as if you could make a horror movie out of the place! I never knew it existed behind the large Depot store on the other side of Lafayette! Just wow! I wouldn't mind staying there for the day.
The mall used to really stand out when the Montgomery Ward building was still there. Now the Home Depot takes all of the attention away from the mall and it is somewhat hidden unless you are looking for it. I wonder if they are planning on keeping the mall open? I read that the former Albertson's is going to be remodeled into a charter school.
DeleteI was the manager of Jean Nicole back in the early 80s at Northgate, my first store as a manager. I took over the store after the current manager was robbed at gunpoint and quit. Back then, we sold rabbit fur coats, which were zip tied to the faceouts and 4-arms. The coats would be stolen while I was taking my dinner break. Even so, I made top sales in a 10 store district for the two months I stayed. I, too, saw the writing on the wall.
ReplyDeleteGetting robbed at gunpoint would be the final straw for me as well. That is very scary especially in a mall where most people would feel safe. Thanks for sharing your memories of the mall.
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