The indoor carousal is Maplewood Mall's most memorable feature
Welcome to the Maplewood Mall – the main enclosed traditional mall serving the East Metro area. If you haven’t been here, you’re not missing out on anything. It’s just…a mall. In a suburb in Minnesota. It’s not as if Maplewood is headed down the road to ruin, but it just isn’t anything special. This isn’t even a ‘Dale, even though it holds its own. Then again, the “dales” just don’t give off that highfalutin’ shopping mecca vibe that they used to. Twenty years ago, shopping at the ‘dales used to MEAN something, but today, the ‘dales name is pretty much meaningless with some of the company they keep….ahem — Brookdale, I’m looking at you…and Southdale, you are next!
Maplewood Mall opened in 1974 and was renovated and expanded in 1988 . I can’t say I have any warm fuzzies about this mall. My parents never took us here as kids, probably because it was too far away and there really isn’t anything at this mall that we couldn’t find at Brookdale.
The first time I visited this mall was in the summer of 1996. My only reason for going to this mall was simply to check it out. Wanting a reprieve from Brookdale, I drove all the way out here by myself (back then, it seemed so far away!), looking for a trendy outfit to wear for my senior pictures. I ended up buying a jean skort at the County Seat and a logo tee from The Gap. Make no mistake about it, I was a paragon of ’90s vogue. These days, I usually only go here if I have a Forever 21 jones. It’s the only location I know of, other than the Mall of America location. Being that I am 30 years old, I’m probably far out of their demographic now (*sheds tear*) but sometimes a girl just needs a cheap, ‘steppin’ out on the town’ top or a Nanette Lepore knock-off. Still, I hate going in here. It’s so damn messy, chaotic and the OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ music gives me a headache. *starts waving cane again* Not to mention, their shitty return policy.
The stores here are your typical mall standbys — Victoria’s Secret, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, Yankee Candle, Lidz, Gap, Hallmark, Maurices, and so on. You won’t find any of the more upscale mall chains, like the Apple store,
White House/Black Market, Coach, Banana Republic, J Crew, and the like here. You’ll have to travel further down
Maplewood Mall has a sweet fleet of rentable kiddie mall cruisers. Denny Hecker's next business venture?
Highway 36 and shop at Rosedale for that.
So what’s the history behind this mediocre mall? Well, I can’t offer up much, other than regurgitating what information Wikipedia has on the history of the mall anchors –
Macy’s: This originally was Powers Dry Goods 1974, Donaldson’s in 1985, Carson Pirie Scott in 1987, Dayton’s in 1996, Marshall Fields in 2001.
Kohls: The Kohls anchor was part of the addition in 1988. It originally was a MainStreet, but all MainStreet locations turned into Kohls in ’88-89-ish, so it didn’t stay a MainStreet for long.
Sears: I believe this has always been a Sears.
JC Penny’s: The current JC Penny’s space was a Mervyn’s that opened in 1996, and at some point, turned into JCPenny.
As far as former non-anchor stores, all I know of are Ann Taylor and County Seat. See, what did I tell you? I’m not writin’ The Chronicles of Maplewood here. If you know somethin’, post in the comments!
Simon Properties purchased this mall in 2002 and talked about another renovation (it needs one — this mall is very darkly lit) and adding a megaplex cinema. Seven years later, there is no sign of either in sight. Simon Properties — why must you tease us so? *giggles*
Your average mall has your average issues, and Maplewood is no different. First off, the escaltor near the Victoria’s Secret always seems to be broken. Strike One. Strike two — I find that this mall has a lot more miscreant teens loitering around than some of the other Twin Cities malls — usually blocking certain entrances doing tricks on their skateboards or hanging out near the Aladdin’s Castle arcade.
Maplewood is also home to some of the peskiest, pushiest mall market researchers known to man. Strike THREE. These survey hustlers patrol the corridor near the Payless Shoes/Orange Julius/Dairy Queen, hold their cute lil’ clipboards and hound you for a ‘minute of your time, sir.’ What exactly are they trying to learn from people shopping at the mall? People like booze, sex, and money. Voila! I just saved your company billions of dollars. No need for a market research budget.
Also, this mall has an abundance of cell phone stores & kiosks. Out of all the malls in the Twin Cities, Maplewood has the most pesky, pushy cell phone dealers EVER. Especially The Mobile Phone Co. store, which was featured on an expose on of the local newsstation’s broadcast a few years ago, about their slimy sales tactics. When you walk by this store
Maplewood Mall -- The home of the hard-sell cell phone sales tactics
(located between Hollister and The Gap), there’s usually 2 or 3 slick-looking sales guys standing outside the store, holla-ing at everyone who walks by. These fuckers are worse than the Dead Sea Salt hawkers. No thanks, I don’t want a fucking Razr. I swear, these guys look like Jersey mobsters. I wonder if they play Mafia Wars on Facebook? JOIN MY MAFIA?
The mix of stores here really caters to the teen shoppers. A bunch of stores here that sell cheap polyester thug-in-tha-club clothes — Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, TwinsTown, DEB, Ragstock, Vanity, Wet Seal, Hot Topic, PacSun, Zumiez, The Edge — how many stores selling throwaway “BUY-ME-A-DRANK” skimpy party clothing does one mall need?
This could have something to do with all of the nightclubs located within walking distance from the mall. (I know…weird, right? Get the crew all together and go tear up a club….in Maplewood ???? Hey, it must be working because there’s like three nightclubs in this area). Those hunnies at The Myth are buying their pink glitter bras and ass-cheek grazing neon orange mini skirts somewhere. And Twins Town is a great resource for the club hoppin’ fellaz — great place to get a knock-off Gucci bandanna just like Soulja Boy’s or a pair of stunna shades.
In case you’re wondering, the nightclubs in this area are –
The Myth: Supposed to be pretty “dope”. I’m not into the club scene so I haven’t been here and probably never will. KDWB has the hots for this place — or at least they used to. It seemed like every event sponsored by this local top-40 radion station was held here. Star Parties, Jingle Balls, that really trashy Halloween party with the human petting zoo, that Valentine’s Day lingerie costume contest…hell, at some point, they probably hosted a Booty Cruise here. It’s on a boat, I know, but they probably somehow figured out a way to do this! 
Maplewood Mall offers a great selection of scene clothes for tonight's mixer at The Myth
Dive Bar: Formerly The Bird nightclub. I remember going here a few times (when it was The Bird) when KDWB hosted their Saturday Night Party Zone here. My friend Deb and I would only come here when Michael Knight was hosting because I had a mad crush on him. (good god, why am I admitting this? He wasn’t even that good looking and the dude was probably twice my age. Thinking back, Ton E Fly was probably cuter, but I had to have the hots for Michael freakin’ Knight?!) Those were the days though… Anyway, this isn’t even a real dive bar. Real dive bars don’t name themselves “Dive Bar.” Dive bars = dirty bathrooms, flies on the food, beer served out of an Igloo cooler, blood stains on the walls from the nightly fights, cracked vinyl booths with the foam poking out, and a slobbery dog behind the counter. I’ve never been in here since the late ’90s, but I’m guessing this is not a real “dive bar.”
I think there’s another nightclub across White Bear Avenue, near that strip mall with the Old Country Buffet, but I can’t remember its name.
With all that said, Maplewood Mall does have one big redeeming factor — it has a giant carousal in the middle of the mall. You might be thinking, “Who the fuck cares? The Mall of America has Camp Snoopy-The Park at MOA-SpongebobLand feat. Dora the Explorer-Nick At Night Universe, or whatever the fuck it’s called these days — it’s a full-blown amusement park! And Maplewood has one carousal?”
But the Maplewood carousal isn’t just a place to get some cheap $2 thrills. This ride is an original Venetian double-
The Maplewood Best Buy up and left this location and moved down the road. My fond memory of this place? In 2001, a coworker set me up on a blind date. The dude took me to this Best Buy for our first date. We looked at car stereo equipment. No joke. Obviously, that first date was our last.
decker carousal from the 1800′s, with beautiful hand-painted murals. Definitely not something you’d find in your average suburban mall, or let alone any ol’ amusement park, for that matter. It’s worth checking out, if you find yourself shopping at this mall.
And this mall still has fountains. I like mall fountains. You don’t see them all that much these days.
If you have any memories to share or any information about former tenants/etc, feel free to post in the comments!
All photos taken June 2009. (I’m trying out the photo gallery feature on WordPress…so this looks a little funky. I’ll try to get it right on my next post! Sorry for the sloppiness!)
#1 by D. Kendall on July 7, 2009 - 9:12 pm
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Awww yeah, this was my mall growing up. I used to work at Daytons back in 1998. There used to be a Kay-Bee Toys there, I believe before the renovation the food court was on the first floor and I do remember window shopping at Carson Pirie Scott. It was “too expensive” for my parents, but my grandparents shopped there. The Myth used to be an old Just For Feet I think, and there used to be a Childrens Palace around there where Toys R Us is now.
#2 by Dave on July 9, 2009 - 5:04 am
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I haven’t been in Maplewood since 1999. Doesn’t sound like it’s changed much. At the time there wasn’t a JCP so it must have came in after the great Mervin’s Massacre of 2004.
Dave
#3 by Ally on July 12, 2009 - 10:44 pm
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My main complaint is that the food court here is always FILTHY!!!! and they’re constantly changing restaurants and what not.
In addition to what the precious posters said, there used to be a Mr. Bulky, a Wicks and Sticks (or whatever it was), an Applebee’s, and this place that sold a wide variety of crystal things (ornaments, flowers, birds, etc)
I live less than 10 minutes from the mall, but usually venture the 20 down to Rosedale…it’s cleaner and nicer and has less creepy kids walking around. The only reason I really have for going to Maplewood is the Old Navy.
#4 by Pseudo3D on July 14, 2009 - 8:29 pm
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How is Southdale bad? It has a vacant Mervyn’s but there’s an H&M coming up, and…
#5 by JPEG on July 22, 2009 - 8:57 pm
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I just had to spend 2 hours at Maplewood Mall today, and I agree 100% with the “rough” teenagers, although they tend to assemble in predictable areas. The whole mall was very busy, guess that’s a good sign.
My favorite Maplewood memory came during the renovation in the early 90′s. They had a few all-glass stores in the center atrium, and also a few glass stores built out overlooking the common area. I think one of the 2nd level stores was a tax place… I know there was a video game store called Captron in the lower area.
I seem to recall several Pet Stores, a Software ETC., and a upper level Walgreens.
Dumpy, thank MinnPosts’ BlogCabin, that’s how several of my friends and I learned learned of your site. You should do a piece on Shinders…
Applebee’s = Perkins for high school kids that have more money to blow.
#6 by LH on July 25, 2009 - 9:53 am
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The carousel is awesome, i always take my little boy on it and the lady who runs it, Mary Ann, is really sweet. This mall does blow, though.
#7 by k-tine on August 6, 2009 - 7:36 am
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One thing that I feel is very important to note…the Circus Circus of my childhood was there! It shut down in the early or mid 90′s, but it also had the creepy, robotic gorrilla on the keyboard and his band. That gorilla terrified me as a child.
Love this blog!
-K
#8 by Brooks Rownd on August 15, 2009 - 1:10 am
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MM was my main mall. It was OK in the 1980′s. It had all the staples like Great American Music, Musicland, Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, Walgreens, Spencers, KayBee Toys…I forget what the 1980′s mall electronics stores were called since they all went out of business so suddenly. MM wasn’t as exciting as Southdale or Rosedale, but it wasn’t as sleepy as Northtown and Har Mar. There was a knife store by Waldenbooks where as young ruffians we bought throwing stars and looked longingly at the big knives. The surrounding strip malls and fast food satellites made up for what wasn’t inside the main mall.
I hated the remodelling. I liked the old dark layout with the “food dungeon” and the big rampways in the middle. Malls were dying by then anyhow.
Didn’t MM have two different movie theaters at opposite edges of the parking lot at one time?
Circus Circus…I vaguely remember that… They gave us free arcade game tokens for every “A” on our report cards…? I had forgotten about that!
#9 by Brooks Rownd on August 15, 2009 - 1:16 am
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Wooo, now I remember they also had a detached/satellite Children’s Palace store. That was a big deal when I was in 3rd grade. There was an Esteban’s or Chi Chi’s, too. It’s all coming back to me now….
#10 by Jazz on August 30, 2009 - 3:47 pm
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what time does it close on sundays???
#11 by Jake on August 30, 2009 - 10:38 pm
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Maplewood did have two theatres. The one that I know was torn down was on beam ave near Sears and the other one was next to the now defunct Circut City. I saw Blair Witch 2 at the one on Beam Ave.
#12 by Jake on September 4, 2009 - 9:56 pm
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Well, I heard that Myth Nightclub is now shuttered. It seems someone dumped a ton of cash into this place they didn’t have and there other financial problems that led to its demise.
Maybe someone will turn it into a giant shoe store.
#13 by Tony on September 25, 2009 - 2:04 am
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This is a funny thread… I remember back in the day there was a Sbarro where Forever 21 is now. There also used to be a Sam Goody and a Musicland…. RIP mall music stores. I also remember the 2 level somewhat cabana feeling glass stores near the elevator… I think one was a bead store… oh and there was also a Woolworths… it was like a drug store but without the drugs!
#14 by Dan on October 5, 2009 - 9:51 am
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This was my local mall growing up–so I have plenty of fond memories of this suburban nightmare. It may be of use to note that there were two movie theaters (razed circa 2000), Maplewood I (in the parking lot where BBW now stands, approximately) and Maplewood II (where the MetroTransit station is now located), which were the place to go for a movie growing up, but lost their business as new movie theaters were built with stadium seating and other creature comforts. The nightclub you’re referring to across the street is The Rock, which is a mess. And in addition to the mall itself, there are two noteworthy strip malls on either side of it. Plaza 3000 (to the east) is a classic dumpy strip mall. It has been a dump since I was in middle school and I have fond memories of going to the OCB there and looking for old porno magazines in the Schinder’s dumpster out back. On the western side of the mall is Birch Run Station, home to Marshalls, Half Price Books, Catherine’s Plus Sizes, and a few other exclusive retailers.
But a job well done on this post! It’s great to see my childhood mall in all its glory!
#15 by oldpink on October 25, 2009 - 3:06 pm
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the old “food dungeon” was the best!! I spent many afternoons hanging out there – you could still smoke indoors back then. I am hoping to find old photos of the place online. Remember the different colors above each entrance? My friend used to call them french fries “let’s park near the blue french fries”
#16 by Luis on December 19, 2009 - 12:21 pm
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I remember this mall quite well. I grew up in Saint Pauls East Side and my brother and I used to have our mom drop us off here. In the mid 80′s there was a “Chess King” teen boy clothing store in the first floor. The knife store had swords on the 2nd floor, and they used to have (may still do) a software etc.. one of the OLD software stores to ever hit retail malls. Circus Circus is where dayton’s is/was and it WAS the spot if you were a teen. they used to have Teen dance nights fridays (or saturdays) and have pizza. that damn clown, and used to have all the best games. Mervyn’s opened up in the mid 90′s and shortly closed, the applebee’s was a spot as well. I used to ride my bike around that area as an early teen and remember the shinder’s near the mall, old country buffett, and T-birds which turned into THE BIRD, then whatever it is now. I used to work at the best buy before they moved wherever they did. The area seemed to have more money than now and was a not less-diverse people wise. Seems there are more asians, and hispanics than ever and the stores have changed there to be more “cell phone” and “whatever else”. Not what it used to be.
#17 by Brandon on February 9, 2010 - 12:39 pm
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The Children’s Palace became Circuit City. Toys R Us was built next it a few years before it was closed down. What’s weird is that they built strip malls stores attached to Children’s Palace with a similar palace facade. It seemed nonsensical afterwards when the store was turned into the giant Circuit City logo.
I barely remember that the entire middle of the mall was a combination of food court and large, red-carpeted (maybe yellow?) handicap accessible ramps. I loved running up and down them. They may not have really been that large, but I was four.
My weirdest member of Circus Pizza was a staff member saying “Hey, if we’re still here in five years, you can still redeem this coupon for tokens.” I swear they actually closed five years later. Now it’s a Barnes and Noble and some stores that aren’t accessible from within the mall.
#18 by dan on August 9, 2010 - 11:31 pm
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Many memories of this place. I remember my dad buying one of the 1st projection -”big screen” tv’s from Sears in the early 80s. Sears always had The Halloween Shop set up in between the lower level escalators in the fall. The mall also had 2 sunken bench areas adorned with plants on each end of the mall. Teenagers would always be smoking there. I used to get clothes from Chess King & Hals (the handwriting sign looked like it said dtals) I remember eating at Duff’s (a smorgusbord) and York Steak House in the mall. My mom always used to drag me into Braun’s and my older sister would go into GIGI next door. Other places they’d spend time in no longer there: Nina B, 2 plus 2, Willow Creek, Stuart’s (I would go across to where Sbarro’s was at the time when they went there) Lerner’s of New York, Buster Browns, the mall had a restaurant where Applebees used to be that had sand like a beach on the floor….I forgot the name. I also remeber sneaking into the back hallways behind the stores, What a maze that is. And the time I snuck up on the roof of Sears in the winter. I would just wander and try doors I wasn’t supposed to go in. Now most every thing is locked.