Charles Kuralt video from 1982 about the rise of shopping malls.

MarkinPhx

Well-known Member
Location
Phoenix
My favorite shopping mall is being torn down in a few weeks. I have shopped at the mall for nearly 40 years but in the past few years shops have closed down or have gone bankrupt (Sears, Macy's). I guess they are planning to build condos at the location and keep the Costco that is close to the mall. So when this video from 1982 popped up on my suggested watch on Youtube I decided to watch it. It is a CBS special from 1982 and about the booming popularity of shopping malls and how it might affect our culture in the future. Watching it 40 years later is interesting, at least to me, especially since the demise of shopping malls is happening all across the United States. So thought I would share it for those who might find it interesting. It is 45 minutes long but worth a look if you are interested in taking a look back at pop culture back in 1982 and compare it to what is happening now.

 

Shopping malls are quickly becoming obsolete. Internet/online shopping is putting retailers at a disadvantage, and this Virus is only adding to the demise of these centers. When you factor in the costs....utilities, maintenance, property taxes, etc.,etc. that these shopping centers pay....which are largely passed on to the customers....it doesn't make much sense for a frugal shopper to patronize these malls.
 

I remember on my sixteenth birthday going to the first pedestrian shopping precinct in Coventry. I got my first pair of high heeled shoes. It was so nice to concentrate on shopping and not have to dodge traffic.
 
We had a large mall in our area. When we first moved here in the mid 70's, it was an "outdoor" mall with several large anchor stores and lots of small stores. In the late 80 's they enclosed it so it was a more typical mall. Then about 2006 they decided to make it an outdoor mall again but that never happened. It closed completely in 2017. I don't remember when I went there for the last time but it was a sad, depressing place with hardly any stores left.
 


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