May 2012 update: Blog post was originally published Sept. 2010. I could only recover two photos from 2010. The rest are from 2012. It looks like the Golden Valley Shopping Center got a paint job since I last visited, but other than that, it’s pretty much the same. Enjoy the updated photos!
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Welcome to the Golden Valley Shopping Center!
Comin’ atcha from the 1950′s, a time when women actually stayed in the kitchen, is the Golden Valley Shopping Center. Built in the 1950′s, the Golden Valley Shopping Center was one of the Twin Cities’ first strip malls. Oddly enough, it’s still standing with most of its spaces rented out, despite all the redevelopment in this area off of Highway 55.
The architecture might say malt shoppes and saddle shoes, but the stores are your average 2010′s strip mall tenants.
Today’s tenants include:
Down in the Valley: A used CD store that I’ve never been in. Never mind the fact that I haven’t bought a CD since 2001 (Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers, if you must know), I won’t shop here because I feel like I need to drive a van with smoke coming through the windows and be a regular reader of the City Pages and not wash my hair in order to fit in at this place.
Can't say I like their pizza...
Godfather’s Pizza
Curves for Women
Jimmy Johns: I had to shop here to get a Turkey Tom (hold the mayo) when I was here…their sandwich artists get a little too mayo-happy and they don’t offer a low-fat mayo option. The sandwich was fast, but I didn’t freak. It’s almost disturbing how fast they make the sandwiches. This place also seems to have a hipster attitude, with the dumb fake retro signs and loud music. It’s asandwich shop, why the need to be trendy? Anyway, at least I can leave here without an offensive smell absorbing in my clothes (Subway, I am looking at you).
Golden Valley Center - August 2010
Ace Hardware: How does this place stay in business? Ace is the Place for high prices.
Lui’s Chow Mien, a used sporting goods shop, an auto parts store and a few other forgettable tenants make the rest of the Golden Valley Shopping Center store lineup.
The only former tenant I know of was a Red Owl grocery store, and Schuler Shoes. Schuler Shoes only recently went out of business–it would’ve had to have been sometime this year.
Apparently, there was a movie theater around here and a few gas stations. You can see some old pictures on this PDF document from the City of Golden Valley. Don’t get too excited; it’s nothing worth peeing your pants over. The pictures are tiny, and you can’t see much. If you’re looking for some light reading material, feel free to read about the boring tax details and redevelopment history included in the document.
Lemme level with ‘ya–I don’t have much else to say about this mall. No memories getting pinned by a boy in the parking lot or having sex in the back of a ’57 Chevy outside the Red Owl while listening to Rock Around the Clock. Every time I drive by this place, I’m always amazed that something like this is still here without getting modernized. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad something like this is still here. It’s just odd that it IS here, ya know? I mean, it still has flags on the top of the building! After doing research on dead malls, I guess putting flags on the top of strip malls was a trend back in the day.
Memories of the Golden Valley Shopping Center? Post in the comments. Y’all probably have better and more entertaining information on this mall than what I can produce.
Most photos taken May 2012
If I remember correctly, the paint job happened not too long after your original article was posted in 2010. Coincidence or embarrassment?
The Red Owl was actually in the strip mall across the street.
That Ragstock store used to be Valley Drug. I remember going there as a kid and picking up prescriptions.
Besides the Radio Shack, there was also a large Radio Shack Computer Store selling crappy dot matrix printers and your favorite version of he TRS-80. The Simek’s store went out of business in the early 2000s and is still vacant. The Chipolte/Morts Deli in the parking lot used to be B. Dalton Booksellers, and before that, the Golden Valley Bank. Also, the last remaining round glass Midwest Federal is still standing, now as a lighting store, on the North end of the mall. (If you get a chance to try Lui’s Kung Pow Chicken, it is awesome!)
[...] all outside-facing shops. If you look at this photo, Knollwood Mall looked an awful lot like the Golden Valley Shopping Center still does today. Just looking at this photo makes me want to buy a TimeLife “Malt Shop [...]
Dont knock Lui’s Chow Mien, they are actually really good! Sorta tucked back in there, but definitely one of my favorite places for inexpensive takeout.
My strongest memory of this place is of this Mexican family (dad, mom and two young kids) looking at the outdoor display in front of the used sporting equipment place. It looked like the dad wanted to buy something for one of his kids. Well one of the young workers from inside the store ran out all excited and saw the Mexican guy checking out a piece of equipment on his knees (with his kids next to him). I guess he didn’t see the Mexican guy’s kid’s or his wife from inside the shop so he must have thought he was by himself and when he lost sight of him from inside the store, probably thought the guy had made off with some equipment. Anyway, the guy running out of the store spooked the dad and he and his family got back in their car and drove away. The worker made no accusations or anything so it was all alright from that perspective. Just kind of a sad memory as I had a wife and two kids at the time. Must be hard to be different.
As I Golden Valley resident, I go to this mall often. It houses a great guitar/music shop, my favorite liquor store with great selection & prices and the Ace Hardware, where I can always get good service and the little stuff I need.
I don’t remember the last time I went to the “undumpy” mall across the street. Small shops where the owners still watch over things and hire kids from the neighborhood don’t have a lot of great lower rent options in the ‘burbs. This place is one of them.
When I was 13, 14, 15 almost 20 years ago, I’d bike to Down in the Valley from my house near Armstrong HS (and Four Seasons Mall; another dumpy mall profiled on this site) to purchase the latest metal release on cassette (!) and look at the bongs–whose purpose I did not understand.
There was a store called Sport Card Emporium there. Me and my friends would go there every weekend for Booster Draft and Friday Night Magic tournaments. The place was a lot of fun. Too bad it’s gone now