Remember Laurel Mall?The one over on 119 in Dunbar,Pa.I decided to make a post on this inspired by deadmalls.com (a great site,check it out).I used to frequent this mall with my Mom when I was small and went on my first date there to see 16 Candles in 1984!
I stopped by and shot some pix today to submit to the deadmalls site.I thought you bloggers would get a kick out of the pix.I still don't fully understand why malls are dying while GD Wal-Mart continues to pop up on every freakin' block,but thats another discussion altogether.
i dig the 70s-80s vibe in these places and remember most of the old stores.They had a cool Camelot Records I got my first 45 RPM record at.Turn to Stone by ELO...the Ames was a Murphy's Mart which kicked Ames ass....in my opinion...
Dave Dursa built bicycles at this Ames the same time I built bicycles at the Waynesburg Ames...coincidence? I think not...
We saw Dirty Dancing there too, Randy Miller was with us. How funny...Randy at a Patrick Swayze flick! He probably blocked it from his memory! :) Yeah, I spent many an hour at that Monkey Wards there, while my mother charged it up with her Monkey Wards credit card (that one went to a collection agency after they folded!)
ReplyDeleteAnd...no...not a coincidence that you & Dursa were both building bikes at the same time. Did you ever hear of a little word called "destiny"?
Melinda
First movie da e there too....Fast Times at Ridgemont High. That was a good mall then.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I spent a lot of time at this mall when I was growing up...it was an every Saturday place to go! It saddens me every time I pass it and think about what it used to be...
ReplyDeleteActually,since I originally posted this the mall has had a bit of a comeback.They still have the flea markets on the weekends and Peachin's have their store in the old Montgomery Wards.But,you gotta stop at Peachin's Firehouse Restaurant! GREAT food!You can even follow the Mall on Facebook!
ReplyDeleteMy first 2 jobs were there. I worked at the movie theater in high school, and then, I worked at the Montgomery Wards for 3 years. Me and a friend could spend hours there. I remember it pretty vividly. One of my favorite things was the round display case outside the Singer store at the cinemas end of the mall. I am pretty certain that the record store was a National Record Mart (long before it became NRM). It was near the center and had an "L" shaped spot.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely a National Record Mart..
DeleteCheck out Laurel Mall "Now & Then" on Facebook and share your memories of the mall there.
ReplyDeleteI worked at the National Record Mart in 1971. Great fun!
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