The Brookdale Macy’s is closing and Dumpy Strip Malls is there!
I paid a final visit to Macy’s last Friday afternoon.
It was just as I expected it to be — incredibly depressing. The store was pretty messy – it looked like a TJ Maxx at closing time. If you’re thinking of
This is a perfect time for me to recite my favorite Jurassic Park line: "That is one big pile of shit!"
checking it out one last time, I wouldn’t bother.
This is NOT like the other Macy’s in Minnesota, mang.
Vinyl clothing strewn everywhere. Jeans in the color scheme of a child’s fingerpainting project. Porn star formal wear. Dinnerware locked up in the jewelry cases. Anti-theft devices on bags of Whole Bean Starbucks Coffee
and boxes of Frango Mints.
Yep, it’s details like this that set the Brookdale Macy’s apart.
The prices on the merchandise weren’t anything to write home about. 30% off here, 40% off there. Meh. Give it a few weeks though and the prices will be good enough to tell Winona Ryder about this place – the clearance sale prices will likely be equal to stealing.
Most of the shit in this Macy’s I wouldn’t even take if it were free. See example below:
Even Missy Elliott, queen of the Obnoxious Parka, is going, "Oh, girl, NO."
The urban designers are the heavy hitters at the Brookdale Macy’s. If you’re trying to look like Master P, Fergie Ferg, Jenny from the Block, or that dude from the Sopranos who got whacked in the 3rd season, you’ll find a stockpile of blingity-bling-bling-blinged-out threads here.
Or, for this Halloween, if you’re thinking of going as Master P, Fergie Ferg, Jenny from the Block, or that dude from the Sopranos who got whacked in
I can't think of anything I'd rather wear than a plastic jacket that will crack after a few weeks of wear. In your choice of colors!
the 3rd season, you’ll find your supplies here. And at discount prices! Take THAT, Party City, and your ridiculously priced $70 adult costumes!
Macy’s wasn’t quite at the point of selling their in-store display cases and mannequins for cash quite yet, but they did have what looked like a raffle box set up at the front of the store where you could throw in your business card if you were interested in a headless mannequin or rolling rack.
I have a lot of memories of shopping at the Brookdale Macy’s…well, more like the Brookdale Dayton’s. I can’t say I ever really shopped here since it’s been a Macy’s or even Marshall Fields. My parents bought our Disneyworld vacation from Dayton’s travel. I got my first pair of jeans here when I was in elementary school – a pair of light blue stonewashed (but of course!) Levi jeans and I wore them on the first day of 2nd grade. Most of my back-to-school clothes came from here. I remember when I finally got old enough to shop in the Juniors department instead of the girls’ section. I was so excited! When Dayton’s decided to get rid of their electronic department, we got some cheap Nintendo games & accessories, including the Power Glove and the Power Pad. It came with Track & Field, and my mom also bought us Dance Aerobics, which was an incredible
She had dem Apple Bottom Jean (jeans)...
disappointment. Even though the Power Pad was like a prehistoric WII Fit, it never quite took off. Ahhh…so ahead of its time.
Probably my favorite memory of the Brookdale Macy’s was when my brother and I would play hide & seek inside the clothing racks when Mom would drag us clothes shopping. When she’d go in the dressing room to try on clothes, we’d hide out in the nearest rack to the fitting room door, and when she got out, we’d pop out and scare the shit out of her. Worked EVERY time. One time, we knocked over an entire rack of corduroy pants. After that, we had the choice of a week of no Nintendo or wearing one of those kid dog leashes every time we went shopping. She wasn’t kidding either – she had one for our little sister. It even reeled the kid in, like when fishing. *Zzzzzzzzzip!*
We went with the Nintendo option – even though taking away our gaming system hit us where it hurt, the public humiliation of being on a child
...Boots with the Fur. The whole club waz lookin' at herrr
safety harness was much, much worse.
We stopped hiding in the racks after corduroy pants capsizing incident. We took up another hobby instead: Whining. Because, as we learned, you can’t effectively whine at Mom to buy you toys if you’re hiding out in racks.
I haven’t shopped here in over 10 years, so I won’t miss Macy’s Brookdale as a shopping destination, but I will miss knowing that it’s there. Errr…that might sound strange. I guess I figure that if Macy’s can stay at Brookdale, then there’s some hope that the mall I grew up with as a child can stick around, and perhaps make a turnaround. But with Macy’s closing, it’s pretty much a death-blow to Brookdale.
Sure, I’ll poke fun at Brookdale, but do I really want a wrecking crew to bulldoze the place? No. I want someone to come save it. Will that happen? Highly unlikely, especially in this shit economy.
Reeboks with the Straps? The Brookdale Macy's is a triple threat for "getting low"! And check out those Laura Ingalls Wildler loafers in the foreground. My grandma would love those!
After visiting Macy’s, I decided to check out Brookdale again to see what’s changed. I last visited the Brookdale Mall in August 2008 – here’s my original post. In the short few months since I had last been there, there’s been some changes…
- Steve & Barry’s closed
- Macy’s is closing
- Victoria’s Secret is closed
- Pacific Sunwear is closed. I think Hot Topic is gone now too
- One of the jewelry stores closed.
- A slew of other stores closed & I can’t remember what they were
To my surprise, the mall was fairly busy (relatively speaking, of course) for a late afternoon on a Friday. I didn’t get harassed or threatened, but honestly, I did feel a bit unsafe. There were quite a few folks strolling through the mall who looked like they belonged on a police lineup . Lots of loitering teens “holla-ing” at each other.
I did witness a few interesting things though…
I overhead a little boy, probably not older than 6, singing “Love Lockdown.” I suppose it could’ve been worse. He could’ve been singing “One More Drink” by Ludacris.
I saw a group of teens (a few with red bandannas tied around their ankles)
I kept expecting zombies to pop out of nowhere.
talking to a friendly law enforcement official. Yeah, a real cop, not Paul Blart.
A mom with about a half dozen elementary school aged children in tow, loudly dropping f-bomb a dozen times after finding out that Victora’s Secret was closed.
Two elderly ladies talking about how this mall has gone to pit. Awww. I should’ve told them to come visit my blog. Then again, they might not enjoy it, with the harsh language, stupid jokes, and lame pop culture references and all…
I spent about 15 minutes total strolling through Brookdale, which was more than enough time that I wanted to spend there. I probably won’t be back until I see the wrecking ball and bulldozer in the parking lot.
Well, I’m going to have to cut this entry short. I have to get back to writing my “25 random things about me” note on Facebook. I need to let friends, coworkers, former coworkers, high school classmates I haven’t talked to in at least 10 years, and the dude who works at my neighborhood BP station, and other random acquantices know that I have double-jointed thumbs, I still listen to the Backstreet Boys (their comeback material is shit, but I love the stuff from the “Backstreet’s Back ALRIGHT” days), and my favorite cereal is Special K Chocolately Delight.
Enjoy the rest of the photos! (All photos taken Jan. 2009)
Check out the ORIGINAL Brookdale Mall post for more pictures and information about this mall.
MACYS:
- Too much orange and black in this pic. Reminds me of those orange & black wrapped peanut butter taffy horseshit candy that’s given out by all the neighborhood grumps on Halloween
Wow. NEON BLUE jeans with fading. Flashback to 2001, no? You know, I bet Tara Reid would still wear these, paired with a baby-t
20 years ago, I got a Swatch Watch at this counter. 
You know you're at the Brookdale Macy's when... Corelle dinnerware is locked up in the fine jewelry case
40% off??! And an extra 10% off if I use my Macy's card? Don't try to hard-sell me, bitch. 
First thought: "Luggage! Aha, something NORMAL." Second thought: "It's fire engine RED. Yuck." Why does everything here have to be in some obnoxious color??
- Maybe if Macy’s invested in a Bissel, they wouldn’t be going out of business.
- 60% off area rugs – I guess that’s not that bad of a deal. Those things are $$$$$!
30% off? Fuck that - I've got a friend in the diamond business. I'm sure he'll hooks me up.
BROOKDALE MALL:
Macy's is singing its swansong
Auntie Annie's Pretzels is closed.
- Big Harry Deals- a dollar store with an “urban” touch
- You know, would it be so bad if they tore down this mall and put in an In-N-Out burger? Mmm. Why can’t we have one in Minnesota??? So good.
- Another view of Brookdale
- Photo Gifts. Yep, just what I want. A grainy silk-screened picture of Grandma on 50/50 cotton poly blend.
This is where Stuarts, B. Dalton, and Maurices once were
The one good claim Brookdale can make is its "unique" selection of stores. Everything else seems to be Wal-Marted & Starbucked to death.
I love Brookdale's huge selection of stores!
Yay, the Brookdale Food Court. Don't bring anyone here on a date if you ever want to see them again
- I can haz government bailout?
Will anyone save the Brookdale Mall in its 11th hour?
"Come See the Softer Side of Sears." Sears MUST have a soft side. For Brookdale, that is. Sears probably stays at Brookdale out of pity.
Lots of Minnesotans think that Brookdale should be razed and a Vikings stadium should be built in its place. 'Cuz you know, the Vikes will move if we don't get a new stadium soon and without the Vikings, Minnesota will just be a Cold Omaha.
Okay. I will bite to make the first comment. Brookdale could perhaps revive itself as the world marketplace of the Dales of Minnesota. It could be an even broader manifest of the former NorthBrook shopping center’s aim of being ‘Hmong Shopping Center’ in Minnesota, which was razed a few years ago to open up space to possibly put in office buildings, which have not appeared.
Many businesses in the area (of Asian, Latino and African flavor) of the Brooklyn’s could find a place there, instead of being spread out among the strip malls of the burbs and even parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Or maybe they could be new additions to the original businesses. that could reinvent the indoor shopping mall’s purpose as a town square of commercialism. There could be space in the mall for things other then stores and restaurants. How about a West/East African immigrants advocacy center? Maybe a Southeast Asian social club (reminiscent of the Midwestern Club in Minneapolis I recall seeing before going through one of the Skyways). Possibilities are there to reinvent Brookdale to the city’s changing cultural makeup, which the Strib recently stated as being 49 point something percent.
There might be grounds for some grad student of socialogy to write a dissertation on a ‘Reinterpretation of a European Construct of Marketplace–on the Prairie’.
The last time I was in Brookdale was right after they added Old Navy and Barnes & Noble (Macy’s was still Dayton’s and Penny’s and Mervyn’s were still there) and it was still quite vibrant. It’s quite sad to see how quickly the mall’s gone downhill after seeing pics of the inside in its current “Apache Plaza circa 2001″ state.
I like Old Scowl’s idea. Look how amazingly well that plan worked when they redeveloped the old Sears building on Lake Street.
And we’ll never get In-N-Out Burgers up here. I asked the manager at one of the INOB’s off of the Vegas Strip what their deal was, and he said they wouldn’t be able to maintain their high standards of fresh beef, vegetables, and dairy products if they switched to a nation-wide distribution network. They would have to freeze the food stock to achieve this, and shipping out frozen patties and fries would make them just another McDonald’s wannabe. This is the reason they don’t have any restaurants outside of California and Nevada. But good gawd do they have the absolute best tasting fast food on earth, or what? I’m sure if they built one here, the lines would stretch 4-5 times as far as they did when that first Sonic opened last summer!
Wow, so there IS an actual legitimate reason why we don’t have In-N-Outs here. Thanks for the info – I had no idea. Last time I ate at In-N-Out is when I was in LA in 2001 so it’s been a while!
I haven’t had a chance to try Sonic yet, but it looks good!
Damn. That Macy’s looks straight-up like the Marshall’s in the Hub in Richfield! That’s hilarious.
Last person to leave Brookdale, turn out the light… but turn the gas on & blow that puppy sky high.
Actually, the review was pretty kind, even with all the Urban references. You don’t even notice the hallway to nowhere, that used to lead to the old Mervyn’s.
At this point, it doesn’t even matter why it failed, it just has to go.
I think there’s still a B&N there, but I have one across the street from where I work downtown, too.
Eeh, Sonic isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Their food is mediocre at best. I’d take Culver’s over Sonic any day (for the food, anyway.) The main reason to go to Sonic, however, is for their drink selection. Snice Dairy Queen stopped serving Orange Mr. Misty’s, I go to Sonic for my Orange Mr. Misty Freeze (orange slushie blended with vanilla soft serve) fix.
BTW, the north metro is getting a Sonic soon. I read in the Strib last week that they’re building a Sonic in Clumsy Heights right next to the Toxic Hell on 49th & Central. Yaaay, no more driving to Elk River!!!
Hi there! I love your blog! Which is obvious, since I posted to my blog roll. Someone emailed me and asked me a question about strip malls and I don’t know the answer. Here is the question and maybe you can answer it for him. Thank you!
Jeanie Hoholik
hiya,.
i am not sure if you manage the dumpy strip mall blog but wanted to
find out if you know of any shuttered strip mall cinemas around the
twin cities.
cheers!
tim massett
timmassett@gmail.com
I will let him know that I sent this to you. Thank you!
Love your site
I went to Brookdale yesterday, Saturday, with my DSLR to take some photos of it before it gets demo’d. Got asked to leave, rather told to leave. And even got walked out by 3 rent a cops.
I’m guessing you used a cell camera or Point and shoot to do the photos.
Dave – Plymouth
Sears owns their building. That is why they are still there.
Great post!