Today marks the end of an era. No, I am not writing about the 102 years it has been since both Chicago MLB teams were last in the playoffs. I will leave that blog post to a more sports-interested blogger. I am referring to the end of Randhurst Mall. Today was the last day for all the stores inside the mall. According to the article I read they will soon start tearing it down inside, but the reconstuction won’t begin in earnest until next year (as the anchor stores that remain open breathe a sigh of relief for the holidays). I wan’t alive when it first opened in the sixties, but I do remember going there as a child. I remember the Kresge’s that used to be there a long time ago. I remember before they rebuilt the center and replaced the merry-go-round with a food court. I remember as a teen visiting the arcade known as Supercade. I even worked at two stores over there at different times- Circuit City and Software Etc. All gone now. I knew about this day coming and I could kick myself for not getting over there to take some pictures. I got busy and forgot I guess. Oh well. It’s not as if I’ve never visited a virtual ghost-town mall before- I remember the last days of Meadows Mall before they tore it down to make way for a Walmart and Sam’s Club- but I should have gotten pictures for this blog. They say the new so-called “lifestyle center” will be completed in 2010. I’ll probably visit it once just to see, but it just won’t be the same.
They are moving the movie theaters in the process, so I wonder what they will do to improve them, as I’m sure AMC won’t miss the opportunity. They didn’t build the theaters after all, merely purchased General Cinemas, who had the original theaters there. They were already rebuilt once after large-capacity theaters went out of style and they replaced four theaters with sixteen smaller ones. I wonder what AMC will do to put their own mark on it?
Well, I guess you will be wanting a link to the story I mentioned. It even contains a few pictures that I fully do not take credit for as I missed my opportunity. 😛
Randhurst Shopping Center reaches the end
