Comments on: Northtown Mall: Blaine, MN

By: John

John — Sat, 08 May 2010 05:15:12 +0000

I remember I got my first job here when I was 15 in the womens shoe department that was just inside the front doors on the right (insert Al Bundy joke here). I was proud that I finally had my first job, after my long three hour shift on my first night I went home to watch the news to find out that Carsons was sold to Mervyn’s.

I was able to continue to work there as stock while the store unloaded all of their inventory (my mom made a killing with the employee discount plus 40-90% off going out of business discount). One other memory, women are disgusting…obviously the dressing room is the preferred location to “refresh” themselves. The older salesgirls thought it was a great idea to destroy my innocence by having me remove the dirty deed. Scarred still to this day.

By: chris

chris — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:43:37 +0000

Anyone remember the fountain in the commons outside of Carson Piere Scott in the early 90′s? I remember throwing coins into it every time I was there. Also, there used to be a dairy queen inside the mall near the current food court, always a highlight as a kid. I remember when Hobby Heroes was a store in the mall and all the kids would go there to get the latest beanie babies (circa 1997)

By: Reid

Reid — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:50:24 +0000

Northtown was my mall growing up. It is remarkable to think about the Bombay Bicycle Club and the Theatre, they were both really nice and torn down for no apparent reason. I remember Wards and how they were one of the last department stores to really sell everything, and how big the place was. Go there on a weekday afternoon in the summer and it was SO quiet, other times it could be quite busy. The early 90′s were a hot time for Northtown, lots of boomers and kids, teenagers. I remember Circus Pizza and all the kids and teenagers hanging out outside, it was just a different time when the first wave of kids, teenagers mostly born in the 70′s was in their prime in what was then the definition of middle class Minnesota suburbia. Things have gone downhill, but I’m glad to see Herbergers there. Some of my first memories are barely remembering Carson Pirie Scott and Woolworth’s when they were there.

By: GamesByJames

GamesByJames — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:30:13 +0000

I worked at the Games By James in Northtown mall 13 years ago and even in that short time it has really changed. I do like the new food court, expecially because I now own the Games By James. Munching customers now have a great view of my shop, so I am happy. Hopefully this mall won’t go the way of Brookdale, but, only time will tell.

James

By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:52:35 +0000

If TGI Fridays closed because of health code violations, I’d believe it. I ate there a couple of times…never failed to get the shits. It was closed for several years before they tore it down to build Home Depot. I remember several winters where you could tell they were still heating the empty building by the smoke/steam rising from the chimneys on the roof.

I hope Northtown keeps going, because I hate “navigating” through the quagmire that is Riverdale. Getting lost is not a pleasant part of the shopping experience.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:19:59 +0000

I worked at Northtown for a little over 3 years, 2006 until about a month ago, actually. It’s as bad as you’ve heard, and probably worse, if you haven’t been there for years. I’ve seen stores open & close. Luckily Journeys is the only place redneck kids want their Heely’s from, so they’re pretty set in that mall. I think when the DEMO opened & closed, oh & they opened Damien’s Sports Barber Shop, it’s pretty obvious that mall is dying faaast. Good riddens.

By: TheOldScowl

TheOldScowl — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:09:53 +0000

Dan:
Thank you for mentioning the Woolworths. I have a testament to the power of store raffles to change one’s life due to that Woolworths store. It goes like this:
One Saturday morning in 1983 I answer the telephone to find someone calling for me, and it was no one I knew. It turns out that my name was picked in a raffle held that day held at the Northtown Woolworths and I was the winner of one stereo system, complete with record turntable and dual cassette decks (anyone remember those media?)! This was second prize, mind you (first was a color TV) but a stereo was good as gold to me!
I asked my mom about it, and my parents had gone to a movie up there the night before (the now-gone theater has been mentioned in the Northtown entry), and while killing time they put my sisters name and my name into the raffle box. And I lucked out it.
Before 2PM came around I was up there to claim my loot, and the stereo has faithfully served me since for over a quarter century, surviving adolescence, college, marriage, children, divorce, my sister’s stereo and it’s own obsolescence in the face of the the integrated chip, lasers, and downloading music from the “Internet”.
I continue to laugh as I pick up 99 cent LPs at the thrift stores and listen to the Captain and Tenille, Bruce Hornsby, Danny Wilson, Dexies Midnight Runners, Bad Pumpkin, and all those forgotten musicians that have gone the way of the the 1, 2, 3, and 4 hit wonders, for I can now get the albums (and cassettes) dirt cheap, AND make them sound as if Alvin and the Chipmunks are making a “I Love the 80′s” comeback album (those 33/45rpm switches bring out the imp in me).
I will have to see where it was made, because I like to listen to the music and not just look at the pretty pictures on the covers.

By: Brooks Rownd

Brooks Rownd — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:45:34 +0000

Around 1980 I remember they added the cramped “food court”, with two narrow hallways to get from the main mall concourses to the food court. Or maybe it was already there and it was just remodelled…I can’t quite remember? One of the hallways was lined with small shops. One of the shops was a coin store where I spent way too much money in 4th grade on old coins during the gold and silver boom. The next year I got into Dungeons & Dragons and I sold all the coins back at a huge loss to buy D&D stuff from the Waldenbooks and the good hobby store over in the West wing of the mall.

Interesting to see the old brown tile is still on the floors. I walked on those tiles 30 years ago. …and the creepy hallways, heh.

Powers was the central anchor before they were bought by Donaldson’s

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:01:33 +0000

This is an amazing fine! There’s such a rich history with Northtown. I’m almost 30 and I remember being in that mall when I was in a stroller! While my grandmother worked as a waitress at the Woolworth Restaurant, my mom used to manage Deb. Various other relatives growing up as teens, had jobs all over the mall.

Adding on the list…Bejeweled, and Cinema I-II-III-IV were a couple of places I remember as well.

I remember when the tv show “Puttin’ on the Hits” had a contestant audition at the mall. It was just packed! For me, the 80s were the true hey days of the mall.

There was one gameshop(once occupied by a Texas Hold Em store) that opened last year, that tried to compete with Games by James. Rumor has it, that it was operated by a corrupt former employee of Games By James. Didn’t last a year, let alone six months.

Pasquales, as yes. They had the business to keep running. Northtown trying to attract more higher class customers, just didn’t want them around anymore. It was sad to see it go.

Nowadays, the mall is now a shell of its former self. Expensive leasing and the bad economy, has lead to a number of stores boarding up. Walking along some areas of the mall, it’s like a ghost town. Hopefully well see it rise again.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:42:27 +0000

These comments really made me laugh. I was raised in Cooon Rapids and worked at N-Town from 1979-1984. (Montgomery Ward, Woolworth store, Woolworth Coffee Shop and The Great Hot Dog Experience) (all sucked) I moved away in ’85 and only return to visit the parents. I remember all the stuff you guys mentioned and more. Remember how all the entrances were numbered with giant repeating numbers. I would tell my friend to pick me up at door 44444444. This door had the Titanic replica. And now I know what happened to it. Haha.