Here is a post with random photos and mini-updates that are too small for update posts by themselves. Some of these photos may have been used before, but there are a lot from 2020. Radio Shack, Sears, a closed off Dillard's second floor and many more are here in this post.
2020 was a challenging year for all of us. I hope each and every one of you has a much better 2021. Thankfully for the blog, we were able to cover a lot of ground before and after the Covid lockdowns. While I fell short on the list of malls that I planned to visit in 2020, only a couple of malls didn't make the cut for one reason or another. 2020 also marked the end of the Kmart era in Texas, and January 2021 will mark the end of the Sears era in Houston. I have also added some new content to my Youtube channel you can find by clicking here.
As always feel free to leave me a comment below or email me at southernmalls@gmail.com. I do accept guest retail posts if you would like to submit something for the blog.
Radio Shack sign, but the store is no longer a Radio Shack. Victoria Texas October 2020.
Shops at Houston Center Radio Shack during the closing sale. Summer 2017.
Deerbrook Mall Radio Shack closed in 2015.
Memorial City Mall Radio Shack closed in 2016.
Inglewood Mall Summer 2018 update.
Dillard's West Oaks Mall
Exclusive photos of the long closed off second floor. Sent in by an anonymous source, thanks again for the photos. This is a rare look into how a Dillard's clearance store operates after the merchandise is removed from the second floor of a location.
Random neon Specs sign Westheimer Rd.
Victoria Mall update January 2020 post Sears closure.
The former Sears entrance has been walled off completely.
Toys R Us McAllen Texas March 2020
The back of the store had a lot of trash.
Store signage in the pile of rubbish.
Suncoast Beaumont Texas Summer 2019.
A Summer night out at Greenspoint Mall and the North Shepherd Sears. July 2020.
Covered up graffiti, sad.
Still dark, hopefully the new owners will light the sign up again.
Palais Royal Uvalde Rd. prior to closing July 2020.
Longview Mall Summer 2020 exterior update.
Sears in the process of being gutted for redevelopment. Conn's Home Plus and Homegoods were mentioned in the Longview News-Journal as the new tenants.
Radio Shack Elgin Texas October 2020.
Deauville Mall Spring interior photo August 2020.
Kmart Lufkin Texas update July 2020.
Radio Shack Cleveland Texas July 2020.
Cleveland Texas Sears Hometown store. August 2020
Cleveland Texas Palais Royal August 2020.
Barton Creek Square Mall update October 2020. Sears is being gutted for redevelopment.
Old school Gamestop with neon. Barton Creek Square Mall.
Those are some great images of RadioShacks past and present! I know there was some question about where exactly the Cleveland RadioShack is. Google Maps indicated that it was in some shack looking place, but the RadioShack website indicated that it was in a shopping center. I suppose, and this isn't a surprise, that the RadioShack website was correct. It's nice that the owners of that shop think enough of RadioShack in modern times to continue being a part of their network even after they seemingly moved. I love those signs with the retro logo as well. For many people, that's what they think of when they think about RadioShack. As I mentioned in the other reply in the Fry's NASA post, the RadioShack website is carrying the vintage t-shirts once again.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Elgin a number of times over the years, but it's been a while since I've been there. I used to stop in Elgin when I used to go to Austin. That used to happen more in the past than in recent times, but I'll probably stop at the Elgin RadioShack if I'm in the area. That store looks like a conventional RadioShack, but perhaps with some added R/C toys and such.
While RadioShack seems to be doing what they can to stay alive after their bankruptcies, I'm not sure if the same can be said about Sears. Given that, I wonder how that Sears franchise store can stay in business unless they're getting inventory from outside the Sears system. Anyway, it's nice to see a Sears Hometown store. Those franchise stores are about as close as we're going to get to Sears retail stores here going forward.
Those are some great shots of the West Oaks Dillard's second floor. Thanks to the person who sent those to you, that's some great inside information. It looks like that area is in decent condition. The Pasadena Macy's second floor was in worse shape a few years ago when it was still open to the public.
Greenspoint Mall is looking quite sad these days. That N. Shepherd store with the covered graffiti wasn't looking so nice either, but at least the Keyshop was looking great! I'm glad you were able to get a photo of that. I'll miss stuff like that. It's about as close to a Fotomat as we had in current times, lol.
I wonder if the Walkman woman is still alive in the back of that Lufkin Kmart, lol. That store was the topic of many great discussions on this blog 6-7 years ago. The same is true of the Spring Deauville Fashion Mall. It's great to see it once again. That photo is a great addition to the older ones we have of the place that you took earlier.
I remember reading that post about the Inglewood Mall. That's a unique place. It's nice to see that it seems to be surviving even if it's far from thriving.
I'm glad you got one of those vintage animated Spec's signs! Those are one of those Houston icons from the past that are easy to forget now. Spec's has a lot of tough competition these days from Total Wines & More. Total Wines runs a pretty good operation and it's always busy when I've been there. They're certainly a much tougher competitor than Bert Wheeler's was back in the day.
It's been quite a year for many negative reasons, but I think it's been a good year for the blog. Passing the 1 million mark was great and it was nice looking back at some of the great blog posts from the past. It was great going back and re-reading some of those older posts and conversations. The comments area has been busy this year as well. There were also some great posts this year including the Amigoland Mall one, the Fry's posts, continued coverage of Mexican retail, and so forth. There's a lot in your backlog still to cover in 2021 as well so there's a lot to look forward to even though, unfortunately, Sears and Kmart are just about gone from this area.
I am going to get one of those Radio Shack shirts, I haven't decided on which one yet. It will be a good addition to my collection of Sears, Kmart, Sports Authority, and Toys R Us shirts.
DeleteThese photos are a good topic of their own. I collect updated images from time to time, but not enough to warrant a new blog post. Updating the older articles would be too time consuming and most people would not see the update anyway.
I have been holding onto the Dillard's photos for a few years now. I had not figured out a good way to mix them into a post until now. There are some photos I did not put in the article from random shopping centers and retailers, but I will do another similar post in the future. I just found some older photos to sort out.
Judging by the look of the Kmart, I am sure the Kmart Walkman lady is still inside. You can't tell from my photo, but there was a group of people huddled up by the entrance. I did not pay too much attention to what they were doing there, but it was probably the most attention that site has seen in a log time. The rest of the shopping center is doing well, but the Kmart vacancy is a huge void.
I did my best to keep the blog going this past year. My backlog helped me get through the months when most malls were shut down. I am very glad that I made it to the last Texas Kmart not once, but twice this year. If I had not taken that trip in March, I would have missed the final days of the store. Amigoland was a strange experience for sure. It was especially strange because of the timing of the visit as the country was in the beginning of the uncertainties of the pandemic. I still have a massive backlog that could probably take me all the way through 2021 just on those posts.
Those people you are talking about that were huddled by the entrance are probably either retail enthusiasts, or people reminiscing about when the store was open.
DeleteI was just glad that they were not spray painting the building. The Kmart is the only vacant part of the shopping center so it would be easy to hide there in the dark.
DeleteMerry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well! It sounds like you were still able to accomplish a lot of what you wanted to for the blog this year, so that's good. I hope everything else in your life also continued to go well and wasn't too adversely affected by everything that took place this year.
ReplyDeleteThe RadioShack pictures are cool to see, especially the still operating ones! That's wild to see one holding a grand opening in 2020! Even seeing the years-ago liquidations again is a neat blast from the past, though.
I'm surprised to see how intact that TRU customer service sign is, especially sitting outside amongst the rest of the rubble like that. I wonder if you or anyone else wound up picking that up. Also, at the Suncoast, it's amusing to see the TVs on the left side of the storefront showing what I assume is a permanent loop of the FYE logo. I'll definitely take that over actually replacing the Suncoast signage, however!
Those glimpses into the shuttered second floor of the Dillard's are awesome! Thanks to the contributor who sent those in. I think hidden/blocked off portions of stores like that are often one of retail's greatest mysteries, so it's neat to see behind the curtain, so to speak :P I got to experience Dillard's Clearance for the first time earlier this year, but that store was only ever one level anyway, so it doesn't have any off-limits parts to it unlike most of the ones out there. (It's actually a former Wal-Mart, which is an interesting conversion in and of itself. I'll have a blog post on it eventually.)
Finally, I sure hope that retro Sears sign gets to stay, and lights up again someday! It's a great piece of history and I would love for it to survive the store's closure. I'm sure you'll keep us updated on that :)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well. We fared alright in 2020. How about yourself?
DeleteRadio Shack still has a presence across the USA but it is hard to find one these days. The Cleveland Texas store has moved a few times, but this location is new. I need to make it down there when the store is open. Radio Shack had a huge presence in Texas, it was sad to see these stores go.
I really wanted to pull that Toys R Us sign. It was too big for my little car though. We had already stacked up with Kmart stuff so the trunk was full as well. That Suncoast location is timeless, I hope it continues to stay open. It is the last FYE store in our region, all of the other stores are 3 hours away or more. This one is a little more than an hour away from us in Houston.
I have been sitting on those Dillard's photos for a few years. I figured that now would be a great time to feature them in an article. I really need to do an update of West Oaks, things have really taken a turn for the worst over there.
I really hope they keep the sign at the old Sears. The Main Street Sears which closed in 2018 was completely gutted and renovated. All of the neon signage was pulled and most of the exterior is unrecognizable. That store was nearly 80 years old so it was a huge loss for retail enthusiasts in the area. Both of those Sears stores will be fully covered on the blog one day. I went to both on the last day they were open.
Thanks! That's good to hear. Despite a lot of negatives for the world as a whole, I had a pretty good year also, thankfully. The pandemic actually helped in some ways where my college classes are concerned.
DeleteI looked for the RadioShack nearest me and found it is in Arkansas. A bit of a far drive just for that, but good to know it's there at least. There's also a store in Mississippi, but not anywhere I've been to before.
Ah, I see. I wasn't sure how big it was based on the image alone. I definitely understand that feeling! I always say a picture is the next best thing, though :)
I understand that feeling about FYE as well -- we don't have any stores at all in the Memphis area anymore. There are three other stores that are all about the same distance of 3 and a half hours away each. Never been to any of those, though.
That's unfortunate to hear about West Oaks, and the Main Street Sears. Glad you at least have gotten both of the Sears stores documented though.
My apologies for the delay in response. I am way behind on comments at the moment.
DeleteGlad to hear that your studies are going well. I did the whole college thing several years ago, but I actually work in a way different field than my college degree was in these days.
I have been working on documenting the final Sears store in the Houston area. It closes on Sunday January 24 later this week. I was able to see the final day and minutes of the North Shepherd Sears in Houston which was over 70 years old at the time of closing. The closest full sized Sears to me will be 4 hours away either in Dallas or Baton Rouge. It really doesn't matter much these days because Sears is just a terrible, sad place to shop these days.
No worries -- I totally understand!
DeleteThank you! I already have a job lined up in this field, thankfully, but I truly have no idea if I'll be doing it forever. We'll see. This particular semester (my last) is shaping up to be insanely busy, but I'm hoping I'll make it through successfully.
Oh wow, that's today as I write this -- perhaps you're at that Sears scoping it out again, then! Either way, glad you've gotten it documented, and I look forward to seeing your coverage. It is a shame to see the stores closing with so much history to them, as well as to see Sears leaving such major areas, but I totally agree -- with the way Sears is these days, it almost feels like the closures are finally putting the stores out of their misery.
Another closure I just found out about that I wanted to mention to you (and will also comment at the related post) is that both of the experimental new Toys "R" Us stores seem to be closing, which is sad to hear :(
Glad you have things lined up once you finish up school. There are so many uncertainties in the job market these days for graduates.
DeleteI was at the Sears later that day to document the last minutes of the business.
It is not the complete end of Sears since have a Hometown store about 30 minutes away from me. There are now have 8 empty Sears anchors in the Houston area. Baybrook, Deerbrook, Willowbrook, West Oaks, North Shepherd, Macroplaza, Greenspoint, and Mall of the Mainland. Add another 6 closed stores from malls within 120 miles of the Houston area. Lake Charles, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lufkin, College Station, and Victoria are all still vacant. It is a ton of retail space just from Sears. Lake Charles and Lufkin also have vacant Kmart buildings.
I can't believe that Toys R Us store closed so fast. We were there in early December and nothing seemed strange. The store was actually pretty well stocked. I did document the store right after it opened so you will get to see it here. There were so many interactive displays to touch and try out products along with a treehouse for the kids. They couldn't have had worse luck with the timing of these store concepts with the Covid lockdowns and social distancing standards. The store was built for person to person interaction.
Thanks! That's absolutely the truth... very sad.
DeleteGlad you were able to be there for the last minutes of the store! It's good that you have a Sears Hometown still relatively close as well. Yep, I agree, Sears and Kmart closings have certainly created a glut of vacant real estate.
I was shocked to learn about that as well. Glad it will be covered on the blog, even if it has since closed. You're right that they had really bad timing -- very unfortunate. Hopefully this won't be the end of the brand, though. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
These are certainly challenging times, more and more brands are disappearing faster than ever. Locally a shopping center lost Sears Hardware a few years back. The Sears Hardware was replaced with Dollar Tree and Aldi. Then Stein Mart and Palais Royal closed within weeks of each other so now there are 2 more vacant husks to fill.
DeleteI think that the Houston-area has the most vacant Sears buildings in the United States.
DeleteThat is very possible. Thankfully, some Sears buildings have been converted into other uses. The Main Street Sears has been completely remade into what is called the ION. Westwood is now Monument BMW, San Jacinto and Memorial City were demolished. Also the Woodlands Mall store was converted into Nordstrom. Spirit Halloween will probably take up the brook mall empty stores this Summer. I can see the North Shepherd store getting redeveloped next, it is a prime property.
DeleteHere's an addition to the comments I had earlier. I found a great video from 1987 where someone did a detailed tour of two California Radio Shack stores. One is a shopping center location which seemed to have the kind of decor that most 1990s RadioShacks had and the other is a mall location at a very 1980s looking mall. The uploader believes the mall is the Buena Park Mall. The video includes some footage from the mall corridor showing a vintage The Wild Pair store, a Software Etc. store, and a mirrored mall entrance JCPenney. Here's a link to the video.
ReplyDeleteThe mall store certainly has a more vintage look for a Radio Shack, but I must say that the store looked quite nice. It certainly fit in with the earthtones decor of the mall itself. It seemed the manager of the store wanted to get the store on tape as a 'before' image of the place before renovations.
Thanks for sending that over, I will definitely check out the video. I wonder if any of the Radio Shack stores that still exist have any 1980's elements still in place.
Delete