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!)

In no particular order…

County Seat: This store was was a ’90s staple. The ’90s style was all about “casual fashions” and County Seat took full advantage of it. It was FLANNEL FLANNEL, EVERYWHERE. The “nicer” clothing was located at the front of the store – the itchy sweaters, wrap-around skirts, denim shirts, khakis, and long, shapeless button-down floral “Elaine from Seinfeld”-style dresses.

A typical sweater found in a County Seat store. Your typical '90s girl would pair it with a white turtleneck underneath and a velvet choker.

The denim was located in the back of the store. Most of the denim was displayed in cubby holes on the walls, arranged by size and color (yeah County Seat sold colored denim…remember, this WAS the ’90s. I had a pair of purple jeans…yeah! That’s right! Color me BADD!). The sale merchandise was displayed on the racks.

If you were looking for ANYTHING denim, County Seat had it. Denim button-down shirts, “jorts” (jean shorts, for those of you not in the know), lots of high waist, tapered leg jeans…which looked fab when paired with my tucked-in “Figure Skating is Life. The Rest is Just Details” t-shirt.

And you can’t forget denim overalls! County Seat had those, too.  You didn’t DARE wear them with both straps up. Oh no. You wore them with ONE strap up and a flannel shirt tied around your waist. Popularized by ’90s rap music, this fad took over my junior high and resulted in scrawny white kids from a Minnesota suburb thinking they were from the Wu Tang Clan.

The County Seat store where I shopped (the Crystal location), closed in 1997. I think most County Seat stores closed around that time.

Ben Franklin: I think Ben Franklin is still around in some small towns, but it does not have a presence in the Twin Cities, so on the list it goes. My mom used to take me to the Ben Franklin in the Village North Shopping Center. I loved this place. Ben Franklin was every do-it-yourself hobbyist’s DREAM. Latch hook kits, silk flowers, matchbox cars, wall-to-wall fabric, and my favorites – EMBROIDERY THREAD and BEADS.

I was a very creative, enterprising child, and made friendship bracelets, beaded necklaces, and fabric headbands – NOT for my BFFs, but FOR FUCKING PROFIT. As a damn 11-year old! So Ben Franklin was an important part in my business plan.

I’d safety-pin some embroidery thread to my pants (yeah, these days I would’ve had OSHA on my ass for a safety violation) and start braiding away, friendship-style, creating my “inventory” while watching Picket Fences and eating Giggles cookies (bought with my petty cash, of course). My handmade accessories were sold at neighborhood garage sales, to my BFFs (they’re not getting that shit for free!), door-to-door in the neighborhood, and even at craft shows (yes, I had my mom rent out a booth at a CRAFT SHOW for me to sell my wares!). A lot of the times, I’d end up keeping the handmade accessories for myself because they WERE JUST SOOOO CUTE OMG. (apparently, I hadn’t heard of the phrase “never get high on your own supply” yet. Live ‘n learn, right?).

St. Paul Book & Stationary: There was a location in Brooklyn Center, near Brookdale, but I’m sure there were more.  I’m guessing this place went out of business sometime in the early ’90s. It sold mostly art and office supplies. I was a crafty kid so any artsy store was right up my alley. They sold it all – puffy t-shirt paint,  whimsical stickers, peg-loom potholder kits, pens with 15 colors of ink, and any color of play-dough you could imagine. Mmm. Play-Dough. I would totally GRUB on that shit! And then chase it with a crayon. Oh come now, I know I’m not the only one!

Mr Bulky: Bulk candy at its finest, this place would make Willy Wonka blush. The Gene Wilder Wonka, not the Johnny Depp Wonka. Mr. Bulky was located in shopping malls and sold, well, BULK CANDY. No icky Brachs candy here – Mr. Bulky sold the good stuff, like Jelly Bellies, Runts, and designer gummy worms. Bulk candy is an enigma in itself though. How many grubby hands have been in that bin??? Who touched the scooper?? And when did it last fall onto the floor?? Bulk candy is still found in grocery stores these days, so sanitary reasons are not why this place went under. Not sure what happened. I mean, there’s all those studies out there saying candy is GOOD for you! …After all, my “small square” of dark chocolate will go nicely with my “moderate amounts” of red wine.

B Dalton: It was located next to Stuarts at Brookdale, so if I was patient enough while my mom shopped for clothes and not start throwing a whining fit, I was allowed to get the new Babysitters Club book (that is, if I didn’t already have it on order from the Troll Book Club) and read about Claudia Kishi hiding candy in her room (can you imagine the bugs & rodents she probably had in that room? DISGUSTING).

B Dalton was, well, just a bookstore. You don’t see that very often these days, with the presence of Barnes and Noble or a Borders. A bookstore is like a hangout place these days. Kind of like a libary, without all the strict rules.  At least at a B&N, you can sip coffee, page through a magazine, have a conversation, and not get harrased by bitchy librarians on a power trip.

There’s no way could you read read an entire book at B Dalton, the way you can at B&N. There was no coffee shop inside. No chairs or tables.  Just books. I miss bookstores like that.

Inside a McGlynn's store

McGlynn’s Bakery: They used to have a presence in most Target and grocery stores. I’d always, always beg for a large frosted cookie whenever we’d shop at the Crystal Target, but MOM SAID NO! (frequent readers of this blog probably think my mom deprived me of every joy of childhood, the way my poor mom is written about in this blog – so far, she’s deprived me of a slushie in Kmart...movies, and a wood-paneled mini van. But no, that’s really not the case )

Mom might’ve said no, but GRANDMA said yes! After all, Grandma didn’t mind if I was loaded up with sugar – I’d be out of her hair in about 10 minutes. After we were done at Target, we’d drop Grandma off at her house, and I’d have my mom to pester and annoy while on my sugar high from that damn cookie.

I worked at a McGlynn’s Bakery for about 3 days when I was in high school. I took the job expecting to, you know, BAKE stuff. Cookies! cakes! Bread! Oh how I LOVE the smell of baking bread! You can keep your meth; there’s no better high.

To my utter disappointment, I found out that all of McGlynn’s products were “baked” offsite and sent to the stores. Nothing was fresh. All you did is heat it up in the toaster oven, Applebees-style. It forever ruined McGlynn’s bakeries for me. I was expecting to decorate cakes and bake cookies, but no, all I did was shove stuff into toaster ovens and pull cakes out of the fridge, even though I had to wear the plastic white chef hat and apron.  I can only imagine what a TGIFriday’s “chef” feels like. McGlynn’s closed in December 2003

Builders Square: Whenever we’d shop for lumber for the cabin, it was either here or Menards, never Knox. My parents hated Knox for some reason. My mom did all the shopping for the supplies instead of my dad, and she would always write the check out to “Builders” and then draw a square. It always caused the cashier to LOL. The Brooklyn Center location was located next to a County Market grocery store. The whole strip center was razed though, sometime in the ’90s when the Rainbow Foods came to

Builders Square logo

town (which is now closed). I think Builders Square went out of business in the late ’90s, around ’97 or so. I know why, too. They didn’t have a decent candy section, like the other home improvement stores. I don’t know about you, but Menards has a damn good candy and beef jerky selection! I’ll go there just for the candy sometimes.

Contempo Casuals:  Contempo died out long ago – around the time Britney Spears was carousing around in a Catholic school girl’s uniform….that she probably bought at Contempo. They sold that sort of shit there.  This is where ALL the girls in high school got their wardrobe. Backless shirts, asymmetrical skirts, pleather jackets with shoulder pads, plaid flannel babydoll dresses with matching t-shirts to wear underneath, velvet chokers, plaid mini skirts, and BODY SUITS – those always confused me – how are you supposed to go to the bathroom?? Snaps on the crotch area, but that’s a lot of fiddling around to do…

Contempo Casuals is now Wet Seal. It just isn’t the same.

Two + Two: PLASTIC JEWELRY AHOY! The jewelry this place sold could be compared to the stuff you’d find in the Perkins Wishing Well. This is where you bought those plastic charm necklaces that were so popular

I don't think my friend in the diamond business would approve...

back in the ’80s. It was a neon-colored plastic chain-link necklace and you’d buy random colorful plastic charms to hook onto it. The charms were very random. I had baseball bat charm, a strawberry, an eagle, a hairdryer. a soda pop bottle…it really didn’t matter what the charm was – the more charms on your necklace, the cooler you were. The 2+2 I went to was located in the Brookdale Mall, in a tent-like structure in the middle of the mall, right outside of Dayton’s and next to the Piercing Pagoda (also in a tent).

LaBelle’s/BEST: This store was a catalog showroom. They sold a lot of glass knick-knacks, bridge sets, household items, and jewelry – TONS of jewelry. This is the place where you’d get a gadget for $19.99 and only use once before it ends up forgotten in a storage closet. They’d have a display model out on the shelf, and if you wanted it, you’d take a ticket to a store employee who would give it to somebody in the “back” and your purchase would be rolled out of the stockroom. It was kind of cool – my mom worked there for a little while, so we bought a lot of stuff there with her discount. The LaBelle’s/BEST store in Brooklyn Center is now the Best Buy.

RUNNER UP: Abercromie & Fitch: I only miss OLD SKOOL A&F. Back in the old days when they sold camping supplies, pop-up bathtubs, and guns. It had a men’s smoking room type feel to the place. Now you step into the place and walk out with a pounding headache, smelling like a whorehouse.

With MGM Liquor as a neighbor, the Northtown Mall gives off that high class, puttin' on the Ritz kind of vibe.

Now that the Minnesota State Fair is over, us Minnesotans will have to wait an entire YEAR before we can see Minnesota’s best mullets, rat-tails, and muffin-tops on parade.

Don’t deny it – we all know you’re not going to the fair to oogle the riding lawnmowers or fawn over all that informerical shit in the bazaar. Quit kidding yourself; you go there for the PEOPLE WATCHING. And when the Minnesota State Fair shuts down for the season, the people-watching side show also shuts down. So how’s a people-watching afficiando supposed to get their jollies the other 50 weeks of the year? Well folks, I have the answer.

Come to the Northtown Mall.

Along with Billy Big Mouth Bass and mounted deer heads, these moving light pictures are a popular fixture in the local homes

Normally, you'd see several Camaros with flamed-out paint jobs in the parking lot. I must've visited on an off day

Serving the exquisite north suburban communities of Spring Lake Park, Fridley, Coon Rapids, and Blaine, the Northtown Mall naturally attracts some very interesting clientele. Common creatures include -

• Mulleted men in wife-beaters with a round can popping out of the back pocket of the wranglers (Chicks dig that)
• Pregnant teens
• Toby Keith fans
• Middle-aged ladies with bottle-blonde frizz, teased mall bangs standing 8 inches high, hot-pink nails, and a stained NASCAR t-shirt pushing a stroller with 5 screaming brats fighting over a bag of rapidly cooling Burger King french fries.

Burlington Coat Factory sells CLASS and STYLE to Northtown Mall shoppers

See, it’s just like the people-watching at the state fair! Only in an enclosed, climate-controlled enviroment, open year-round! What fun.

110 stores? Really? I think someone's doing a little fuzzy math here... (photo taken August, 2007)

OH NOES! (2008, Herberger's remodel)

Herberger's is coming to save the mall! And hopefully help the Northtown shoppers dress like they're from this decade)

Northtown Mall is a one-level mall, which opened in 1972 with a whopping 33 stores. It was remodeled in 1988 and, at the time, had 120 stores. Prior to this renovation, I’ve read that this mall was very dark & dreary (probably very Brookdale-esque), but I never visited this mall until 1992. I was a tween in 1992, and the best part about going to the Northtown Mall was checking out Spencer Gifts, Mr. Bulky, and Woolworth’s for their selection of “RUSS” Troll Dolls. Actually, I shouldn’t include Woolworth’s on that list – they only sold the “Treasure Troll” brand Troll Dolls, which weren’t as desirable as the Russ trolls. Anyway.

So if Brookdale is the Twin Cities’ ghetto mall, then Northtown is its trashy counterpart. I wouldn’t quite say it’s in Brookdale Center dead mall territory yet, but it has seen its better days. This isn’t a mall around which you’d plan your entire afternoon – unless you’re people-watching.

A popular smoke break hangout for Northtown Mall workers

Northtown’s anchors have seen a lot of turnaround. Here’s how some of the anchors have changed (I am going completely by memory – if you have corrections, please let me know!)
Donaldsons (closed early 90s) > Carson Piere Scott (closed early 90′s) > Mervyn’s (Closed 2004) > empty space/hallway/Banks (sealed off early 2008) > Herbergers
MainStreet (closed 1989) > Kohls (closed Summer 2004) > Burlington Coat Factory
HomeGoods (Closed 2001) > Steve & Barry’s (opened 2003)
Montgomery Wards (closed 2001) > sealed off > demolished to make way for Home Depot
Woolworth (closed early ’90s) > Best Buy

Ahoy, mateys!

Another view of old skool Northtown signage

Other former non-anchor stores in the Northtown Mall include:
Applebee’s (now moved to a location in the middle of the mall parking lot)
Petite Sophisticate
Casual Corner
First Barber Stylists
Some pet store, next to the hair salon
Mr. Bulky
Picadelly Circus Arcade
Kay Bee Toys
…I honestly can’t remember any other stores. If you know of any, please let me know!

The old Mervyn's location was converted into a mall hallway. This was sealed up in 2008 to make room for the Herbergers

Another view of the creepy hallway, July 2007

In 2006, this was a "Banks" store for a little while

Today, Northtown mall keeps chuggin’ along. In the past year, LA Fitness and Home Depot have set up shop, as well as a new Herberger’s store that’s expected to open within the month. Sure, it’s a trashy mall, but it has character, which many of the new malls simply do not have. In all honesty, it might not be the prettiest place, but it’s an okay-place to shop. It’s safe, has your typical mall offerings, and it usually isn’t terribly crowded (especially when NASCAR races are on the boob tube).

Enjoy the rest of the photos! (Photos taken August 2008)

This way to Steve & Barry's!!! Hurry, quick! Ill-fitting highwater olive green chinos are on sale! ONLY $8.98 (or less!) Supplies are limited!

Northtown Mall has a kids play area with equipment that looks like a giant piece of dog shit atop a blue bowl

Creepy mall hallways have been frightening Northtown shoppers for decades

Lockers at the mall. WTF. I suppose if all the lockers at LA Fitness are in use, you can stuff your gym bag in here

Applebee's is closed. You'll have to walk across the parking lot to get your microwaved dinner, folks

Another view of the dead Applebee's

Ladies, if you're looking to flirt with the Federline-type, pick up a man at the Northtown Best Buy! Hubba, hubba!

The Northtown Bath & Body Works still uses the old store front

Speaking of old store fronts, Express hasn't updated its signage since 1986! A rare sight indeed! "Camgainge Internationale"

This shiny blue tiled wall once housed the Picadelly Circus arcade, ripping off thousands of teens back in its heyday

At Victoria's Secret, they just don't leave you alone until they've chased you around the store a few times and forced a black shopping bag in your hand

Seduce your man by picking up some new polka dot lingerie at Victoria's Secret. That's hot.

Upon entering Victoria's Secret, a perky sales associate will chase you around the store, pestering you to apply for an Angels card

Radio Shack is still in business. I bet you could even find a VHS deck inside, if you looked hard enough!

A picturesque view of the cosmopolitan food court

Northtown's recently renovated food court

Which way to the Dollar Tree?

Nothing says "class" better than an outfit from DEB

This is where Kohls used to be.

Even though the mall logo was updated, Brookdale keeps it real by hanging on to its original sign

When it comes to Minnesota Malls, (other than the MOA), Minnesota is known for its “dales” – Ridgedale, Rosedale, Southdale…and then there’s Brookdale, the black sheep of the “Dales” family. While the other ‘Dales are known for their massive amounts of stores and stylish decor, this miscreant mall is known more for its perception of criminal activity than it is for its shopping activity.

You know your mall's in trouble when "The Mobile Phone Co." is listed on your giant sign

Growing up in Brooklyn Center, this is where we shopped. Even with its dowdy, dreary decor and strange coffee smell wafting through the air, I thought this place was the be-it-all, end-it-all of malls. I didn’t know any better – my parents never took us to Southdale or Rosedale because “they’re too far away.” I guess when you live in Brooklyn Park, a 10 mile drive to Edina is just too remote of a trek to go to a mall when there’s Brookdale in your backyard. Brookdale is the smallest of the ‘dales with only one level (because it was built over a swamp), so when my parents finally took me to Southdale, I thought I was in fucking Disneyland.

Brookdale was known for its giant wooden rafters and faux cobblestone flooring *photo courtesy of MN HistSociety*

I don't know what the hell this decoration is supposed to be. It looks like a faux stone/cement intermix retaining wall with a fountain in the middle. Except there's no water. Note to Brookdale architects: Leave the fountain shit to the Bellagiao.

The Sears exterior, in the 1960s *photo courtesy of MN HistSociety*

Brookdale never had the glowing reputation that, say, Southdale did, but it was a safe, decent place to shop. It had between 70-80 stores, a few restaurants, strong anchor stores, and up until 1992, you could smoke in designated areas within the mall. Dad could light up a ciggy and puff away to his lungs’ content, on a bench in the commons outside of Dayton’s while Mom and the kids shopped for back-to-school clothes! Yep. Brookdale Center was fun for the whole family.

How Sears stays in business is beyond me

Take your ride in for a tune-up at the Sears Auto Center. They'll get you in & out quickly, so you can get back on the road & ridin' dirty

Throughout the ’90s, the suburb’s demographics changed dramatically, and as a result, Brookdale tenants started deserting the mall. At the beginning of the ’90s, Brookdale was a passable place to spend an afternoon with a good selection of stores. At the end of the ’90s, it had turned into a creepy, dreary locale. If you absolutely HAD to go to Brookdale, you didn’t want to spend any time “hanging out” – get in, get out, and make sure not to leave any valuables in your car. Thank goodness Brookdale has lockers.

Don't want your four-finger ring to get ganked? Detain your valuables in Brookdale's rusty 1960's lockers.

In case you get lost...

A major renovation was completed in 2004, including an addition to the mall. This transformation was supposed to help the mall get back on its feet. The tiles and the ceilings were given a makeover to help give the mall a brighter ambiance. The renovation draw new tenants to the mall – among those were Gap, Old Navy, and Barnes & Noble – but it didn’t help. Stores continued to vacate the property.

More empty storefronts of this woebegone shopping center

Prior to its renovation, the mall did not have a food court. Restaurants were scattered all around the mall, so if you were there with a group of friends, and one person wanted Rocky Rococo, one wanted Baskin Robbins, and another wanted Subway, your group would have to branch out all around the mall.

That said, the closet Brookdale had to a food court was a Taco Bell and a frozen yogurt stand (I think it was owned by Daytons) in the middle of the mall, near the tent stores – 2+2 and Piercing Pagoda, and some stationary store) They had a few tables and chairs, but it certainly was not your traditional food court.

Brookdale boasts of having a Kohls store. As if! Time to come back from Make-Believe Land, Brookdale! In reality, the Kohls store is across the street.

Today, there is no reason to go to the Brookdale Mall, unless you have a taste for danger and like urbanwear, fake “gold” that will turn your skin green, dollar store shit, and knockoff sunglasses. You won’t even find many of your typical mall chain stores here. Many of the stores are shady local businesses lured into the mall by the cheap rent.

Fashion-forward Steve & Barry's will make your whole family look straight out of 1998

Amazingly, two of the mall’s anchors – Macy’s (formerly Dayton’s/Marshall Fields) and Sears – are still around today.

Brookdale isn’t much of a destination for shopping anymore as it is for loitering and mall walking. Early in the morning, you can see elderly people holding 1lb neon handweights walking laps around the mall. As the day goes on, Grandma leaves to go play Canasta and in come the baby mamas, teens skipping school, and hoodlums packing heat.

Nothing to see here - just your typical day at the Brookdale Mall *photo courtesy of WCCO*

The perception of crime at Brookdale is probably worse than ACTUAL crime. It stays out of the local 10pm newscasts, so I guess that’s a good thing. In recent years, the only newsworthy item from the mall was in 2005, when a tween riot broke out over some boyband no one’s ever heard of.

Helpful parking lot animals will direct you to your car

I’ve read articles of yet ANOTHER renovation coming Brookdale’s way, with perhaps a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and an LA Fitness coming to save the day. In my opinion, Brookdale’s day in the sun has come and gone. No amount of home improvement centers or chain gyms is going to save it, so might as well tear it down and build some condos

Just outside the mall, Applebees tempts shoppers with their delicious menu of reheated entrees

A list of FORMER stores in Brookdale:
1 Potato 2
American Eagle
Arby’s
An arcade
B. Dalton:
Bachman’s: Closed 1994
Bakers Shoe Store: Closed prior to 1990
Baskin Robbins
Bath & Body Works: Opened in 1996, closed in winter 2008.
Brauns
Bridgeman’s Ice Cream
Brookdale Pet Center: Closed prior to 1990
Burger King: Closed in 1995
Carlton Cards
Champs
Contempo Casuals
Daytons/Marshall Fields
Dejaiz (young men’s clothing)
Donaldsons: Turned into a Carson Pierie Scott in 1987, then later into a Mervyn’s in 1995. Mervyn’s closed in 2004 and has remained empty since.
Duling Optical
Fanny Farmer
Foot Locker
Forever 21: Opened 2004, closed 2008
Fredelle Shoes: Closed prior to 1990
FYE
Ganger’s Hobby Store
Gantos: Closed 1991
GAP: Opened ’00s, closed 2005
Glamour Shots: Closed in 1995
Gloria Jeans Coffee Beans: This place alone gave the Brookdale Mall its distinct smell of day-old coffee
Golddiggers
Gordan’s Jewelers
Hal’s (men’s wear): Closed prior to 1990
Hallmark: Closed early ’00s
Haugland’s for Kids: Closed prior to 1990
Helzberg Diamonds
J. Riggans
Jarman Shoes
JC Penny’s: Currently a Steve & Barry’s. Went out of business in Feb. 2004
Jo-Ann Fabrics: Closed prior to 1990
Kay Bee Toys: Closed in 1995
Lady Foot Locker
Lechters Housewares
Limited: Closed Summer 2007
Maurices
Milton’s Bridal: Closed prior to 1990
Mr. Bulky: Opened around 1992/1993. Closed: ??
Musicland
National Uniform: Closed prior to 1990
Northern Reflections: Closed 2001
Old Navy: Opened ’00s. Closed 2006
Piercing Pagoda
Pinstripes Petites
Pipe Seller: Closed prior to 1990
The Record Shop
Rocky Rococo Pizza: Closed prior to 1990. It was awesome – 2 stories tall!
Sbarro: Closed in 1995
Snyders: Closed in 1991.
Stride Rite
Stuarts
Susie’s Casuals: Closed prior to 1990
The Closet
The Eye Guys
The Limited: Closed August 2007
The Wooden Bird
Things Remembered
Trade Secrets Salon
Two Plus Two
Wicks N Sticks
Wilson’s Leather
Wonderful World of Pets
Wrangler Roost

This used to be the Old Navy. Brookdale shoppers will now need to go to Maple Grove to get some Performance Fleece

A few of the CURRENT stores in Brookdale:
AJ LOMAX Famous Labels
Barnes & Noble
Big Harry Deals (WTF??)
Boba Café
Champs Sports
Charlotte Russe
d.e.m.o
Footlocker
GNC
Golden Razor
Journeys
K Fashion
Macy’s
Orange Julius
Payless Shoe Source
Sears
Steve & Barry’s
T-Moblie
TwinsTown
Victoria’s Secret

ENJOY the rest of the photos!

***Updated 9.2.08: Steve & Barry’s is closing, but no word yet on an exact date. Another one bites the dust!

Inside the entrance at the Brookdale Mall

Wet Seal, in the former Contempo Casuals location

From a distance, this mall looks quite quaint

Lord knows what lurks down the creepy yellow hallway...

The closed Mervyn's store

Brookdale Mall: Duck & Cover

Barnes & Noble is the busiest store at the mall

Sears has been in this mall since Day 1. Now that's loyalty!

Best thing about the Brookdale Mall? There are no "Dead Sea Salt" people to harass you

You will not find an Abercrombie & Fitch lurking around the corner in this mall

It's no surprise that this cell phone kiosk is the busiest spot in the mall. In the background, a Forever 21 (now closed. Formerly MAURICES) *photo courtesy of T-Mobile*

Shop at Steve & Barry's for the $8 fashions of Sarah Jessica Parker.

The Brookdale Food Court has plenty of tables, just in case.

Another view of the spacious food court

Bath & Body Works is closed, depriving Brookdale's DOZENS of shoppers of the joys of Cucumber Melon and Sun Ripened Raspberry

Victoria's Secret is one of the few national chains still left in this mall

To my surprise, TwinsTown is closed.

A labelscar of the Brookdale Mervyn's

Updated 12.15.08 – NEW PHOTO! Found this in one of my old photo albums and thought my readers would like to see this – note the slight change in the mall exterior. Sears now has a white exterior, JC Penny’s is now an empty Steve and Barry’s, and the blue & white building (an auto repair place) has since been demolished)

July, 1994 at Centerbrook Golf Course (the golfer is my brother). Brookdale Mall is in the background

UPDATE: 01.09.09: The Brookdale Macy’s is closing. No word yet on an exact date. With another anchor leaving, Brookdale Center is headed for the guillotine.