Northcross Mall Video

I found this video on you tube and found it to be a good summarizing of why I am interested in malls. Most teenage boys go to malls to meet and look at girls. When we were younger our parents dragged us there to look at things for hours, and to pass the time we got into trouble. Me and my friends are the reason that the nearby mall installed bumps in the middle of the escalators to stop people from sliding down in between the railings. We also would take our skateboards and ride in the parking lot to impress our girlfriends of the day. (Credit to freekpath on you tube for the video.)

Northcross mall featured in this video was once a bustling mall in Austin. It was anchored by Bealls and Oshman's (later Sports Authority). The mall had an ice skating rink by the food court. On a trip to Austin in the early 1990's me and a friend were dropped off in this mall for a few hours, and I had a chance to see it in its hayday. I did not return to this mall until 2005, and the mall was nearly empty. Bealls, comic book shops, the ice rink, and some offices were all that was left. In most malls the anchors are clearly facing the mall, but in this mall you had to make a right turn at the two ends of the mall to enter the anchors. In 2008 we returned to the mall to find only a small hallway left with a guitar center, a training school and the ice skating rink left. The old Oshman's has been demolished and there is a Wal-Mart scheduled to begin construction on that portion of the mall property. If any readers have any more information about this mall please add a comment.

Dead Best Buy and Circuit City together.

This is an empty shopping center located directly across the street from Almeda Mall. Best Buy, Payless Shoes, and Circuit City were all together here. I do not remember what the fourth store was. The whole shopping center emptied out in 2007 when the Circuit City,Payless Shoes, and Best Buy moved out. This area is a perfect example of the blight created when Wal-Mart sucks the life out of a retail district. All of the shopping centers and the mall in the area have declined since the Wal-Mart opened up in 2006.

Almeda Mall May 09, 2009 Update to Labelscar post.

Welcome to Almeda Mall the update.




The former JCPenney




Macy's is coming back to this mall in September 2009. The building was damaged by Hurricane Ike just like at Northwest, but Northwest will probably not reopen.



Here are some more shots of the outside. I will go inside one of these days when I have more time. Since I was in the neighborhood; I decided to get some photos.

Pasadena Town Square Pasadena Texas

Welcome to Pasadena Town Square the update.

Originally posted on the now closed Mall History site by me in 2006. (Updated July 15, 2009)

• Located at Southmore and Pasadena Blvd this mall once boasted Joske's, Walgreens, Palais Royal and Foley's as anchors. Joske's was taken over and renamed a Dillard's in 1989 and a Sears was built as a new anchor in the mid 1990s. Across the street was a stand alone Mervyn's store. This mall was built in an older section of the Pasadena area, and opened on May 5th 1982 and the area has gone through some major population shifts. The population of the area has become more working class due to the expansion of several nearby refineries. During the last ten years the 12 story bank building in the front of the mall closed as well as the major hospital down the street on Southmore. The mall tenants have changed and many chain stores have left. A major blow to the mall came when Dillard's announced they would close their store at the mall in early 2006. Dillard's is the most visible anchor that the mall has. Mervyn's across the street closed in 2006 as well when the chain left Houston and a Steve and Barry's replaced half of the closed Mervyn's. The Steve and Barry's only lasted a year and closed during the bankruptcy. At this point the mall is 75% occupied. In the summer of 2006 on a Friday night foot traffic was sparse during the prime hours of 7-9 pm even with the closing sale going on at Dillard's. Southeast Houston is over malled with San Jacinto, Pasadena Town Square, Baybrook, Almeda, and Mall of the Mainland. Out of those malls, only Baybrook Mall is the most successful with a 95% occupancy rate. A sixth southeast Houston mall Gulfgate closed in the year 2000 and has since been turned into a shopping center of the same name. The whole Dillard's corridor is empty with the exception of a Worksource but, the rest of the mall is doing well.

Macy's formerly Foley's


The former Dillard's, closed in 2006.




Sears (Formerly located on the corner of Shaver and Southmore). The former Sears location is now a Wal-Mart Super center.





Here are a couple of shots from the outside of the mall.





This building has been abandoned for years and sits directly in front of the mall. Several windows were broken during the Hurricane and there are little prospects for the building to reopen.




Steve and Barry's center.

This center was once anchored by Mervyn's and is located across Southmore from the mall. Office Depot is the lone store still in business here. Next to Steve and Barry's, construction has been halted on a new anchor store that would have filled the center up. The construction was halted around the time Circuit City went bankrupt, so I speculate that may have been a future Circuit City store.




Interior and Food court photos.


















Here some 2006 pictures of the former Foley's and Dillard's at Pasadena Town Square.

Northwest Mall Houston Texas

Welcome to Northwest Mall



Northwest Mall is located on I-610 and Hempstead road in northwest Houston. Opened in the 1960's with Foley's and JcPenney as anchors. This mall and Almeda Mall were built at the same time with nearly identical floor plans. The opening anchors were the same at both mall's as well. This mall is in a depressed area of Houston and there are too many nearby malls to take away business. Memorial City and The Galleria are about 10 minutes away without traffic. Northwest Mall currently has about 75% of the in-line space filled; even without any large anchors. I first visited this mall in 1999 before the JCPenney's closed and this mall was very busy. The JCPenney had not been updated for many years and was in poor condition prior to the closing. Hurricane Ike damaged that store in 2008 and Macy's still has not decided if they want to re-open the store. On our visit May 4, 2009 the mall did not have many customers. The food court area is doing well and the whole corridor to Macy's is nearly full, but the lack of shoppers that afternoon concerned me. If Macy's or a replacement does not reopen; this mall will be in trouble. Palais Royal is the only junior anchor open at Northwest Mall.






JCPenney closed since 2001






Macy's closed since Hurricane Ike in 2008. The signs on the door read "Macy's Northwest temporarily closed". The signs are still up, but the store may not reopen.




Interior photos