The Midway Mall opened in 1966 with Three Department Store; Higbee's, Sears Roebuck, and JCPenny's as well as Woolworth's a Discount Store. Higbee's Became Dillard's and then closed. Woolworth's was located in the store now used as Best Buy.
The Majority of the smaller stores in the mall relocated from Downtown Elyria as well as the Major Stores; JCPenny, Sears Roebuck, and Woolworth's. The Downtown district was the main shopping district in town before the Mall opened. The Higbee's was a new store not previously open in Elyria.
The original Anchor Store in this wing was Higbee's. The Higbee's Became Dillard's in 1992. Dillard's brefly became a Dillard's Outlet store before closing due to poor sales in august 2007. Steve & Barry's closed in Late 2008 when the Company first declared Bankruptcy. I have Noticed that this Wing is becoming vacant at a very quick rate. Most stores in this wing left after Steve & Barry's and Dillard's left. I know Payless Shoes is still open in this Wing.
Relocation From Downtown
The Majority of the smaller stores in the mall relocated from Downtown Elyria as well as the Major Stores; JCPenny, Sears Roebuck, and Woolworth's. The Downtown district was the main shopping district in town before the Mall opened. The Higbee's was a new store not previously open in Elyria.
The East Wing
The original Anchor Store in this wing was Higbee's. The Higbee's Became Dillard's in 1992. Dillard's brefly became a Dillard's Outlet store before closing due to poor sales in august 2007. Steve & Barry's closed in Late 2008 when the Company first declared Bankruptcy. I have Noticed that this Wing is becoming vacant at a very quick rate. Most stores in this wing left after Steve & Barry's and Dillard's left. I know Payless Shoes is still open in this Wing.
The West Wing
The Anchor Stores in this wing were originally Sears and Woolworth's. Woolworth's Closed during the chain's liquidation in 1994. Best Buy currently occupies the space formerly inhabited by Woolworth's. Sears does not appear to be doing well. I honestly have saw only five cars in the parking lot before. I have saw Red Lobster have more cars in the Sears Parking lot than Sears had. The Red Lobster (not connected to the mall) appears to do very well. A lot of times their parked cars overfill into Sears parking lot. This Red Lobster was remodeled in September - November of 2011.
In 1990 the South Wing (including a Food Court and May Company) was added. The Food Court includes space for ten Restaurants (I believe Eight or Nine of these are currently used). However, Auntie Ann's Pretzels is not located in the Food Court, but nearby. May Company relocated from Sheffield Centre in nearby Sheffield, Ohio. The Sheffield Store is still mostly vacant. A section of it is used where the employee parking lot is fenced in; making pictures from that angle hard to get. I plan on taking pictures of the Former May Company. Back on topic, The Midway Mall May Company later became a Kaufman's. In late 2006 Macy's Acquired Kuafmann's and re-branded all stores to Macy's. In some places the Kaufmann's stores were closed. The Midway Mall store is one that was rebranded as Macy's.
The Midway Mall currently is home to 90 Businesses and is 1,100,000 square feet of Mall. Some of those places are located in detached buildings on the Mall's property and range from High-end stores, Churches, Department stores, and a Variety of Restaurants. This Mall's anchor stores are currently Sears, JCPenny, Macy's, and Best Buy. The mall's management said that around four Million people visit the mall yearly (to me that seems a little high). I have realized that most new stores that open are owned by families. This is also found in the Food Court. Sbarro, Charley's Grilled Subs, Taco Bell, Yihi Japan, JJ BBQ and Grill, and Auntie Ann's are the only food chains in the Food Court. Hotels seem to do a good business by the mall. When I drive by in the day no cars are in their parking lots, but at night most are filled almost to capacity. The Mall has had a two percent increase in sales from last year!
Centro Properties planned to have a complete overhaul done to the mall, but then they said they were pulling out of America. The mall is still listed as being owned by Centro and for lease signs say Centro on them. Centro owns the Midway Mall, Midway Crossings Shopping Center, and Midway Market Square shopping centers in Elyria. One of the Current rumors is that the owners are considering reshaping the Midway Mall as an outlet mall with lower prices, but still recognizable store brands.
The Midway Mall is sandwiched between Interstate 90 and Interstate 80, just East of the Interstate 80 / 90 split on the north side of town. Interstate 90 is to the North and Interstate 80 is to the South. On the East side of the Mall is West River Road (this road is the main road for traveling between the Mall and nearby Shopping Centers). To the West is State route 57. Route 57 is how Shoppers get in from both interstates as well as from Lorain, Ohio and Sections of Elyria, Ohio.
Some shopping places that are taking the Mall's business is the Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, Avon Commons in Avon, Crocker Park in Westlake, and South Park Mall in Strongsville.
Some stores that closed in the area are Circuit City, Walmart, Sofa Express, Dillard's, Steve & Barry's, T.J. Maxx, and Kids R Us (now Planet Fitness). Some Restaurants that closed are Hometown Buffet (has since been three different Asian buffets; none were successful), Eatza Pizza, Bennigan's (now Ground Round), Smokey Bones (now Olive Garden), Tokyo Steakhouse (now Wasabi Steakhouse), Red Robin (torn down and Key bank was built on the site), Fazoli's (now Mezcal Tequila), Eat N' Park, Lone Star Steakhouse, T.G.I. Fridays, and one of two McDonald's nearby.
The South Wing
Current Information
The Midway Mall currently is home to 90 Businesses and is 1,100,000 square feet of Mall. Some of those places are located in detached buildings on the Mall's property and range from High-end stores, Churches, Department stores, and a Variety of Restaurants. This Mall's anchor stores are currently Sears, JCPenny, Macy's, and Best Buy. The mall's management said that around four Million people visit the mall yearly (to me that seems a little high). I have realized that most new stores that open are owned by families. This is also found in the Food Court. Sbarro, Charley's Grilled Subs, Taco Bell, Yihi Japan, JJ BBQ and Grill, and Auntie Ann's are the only food chains in the Food Court. Hotels seem to do a good business by the mall. When I drive by in the day no cars are in their parking lots, but at night most are filled almost to capacity. The Mall has had a two percent increase in sales from last year!
Rumors of a Major Overhaul
Centro Properties planned to have a complete overhaul done to the mall, but then they said they were pulling out of America. The mall is still listed as being owned by Centro and for lease signs say Centro on them. Centro owns the Midway Mall, Midway Crossings Shopping Center, and Midway Market Square shopping centers in Elyria. One of the Current rumors is that the owners are considering reshaping the Midway Mall as an outlet mall with lower prices, but still recognizable store brands.
Location
Competition
Some shopping places that are taking the Mall's business is the Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, Avon Commons in Avon, Crocker Park in Westlake, and South Park Mall in Strongsville.
Closed Stores and Restaurants that are Nearby or Connected to the Mall
Some stores that closed in the area are Circuit City, Walmart, Sofa Express, Dillard's, Steve & Barry's, T.J. Maxx, and Kids R Us (now Planet Fitness). Some Restaurants that closed are Hometown Buffet (has since been three different Asian buffets; none were successful), Eatza Pizza, Bennigan's (now Ground Round), Smokey Bones (now Olive Garden), Tokyo Steakhouse (now Wasabi Steakhouse), Red Robin (torn down and Key bank was built on the site), Fazoli's (now Mezcal Tequila), Eat N' Park, Lone Star Steakhouse, T.G.I. Fridays, and one of two McDonald's nearby.
How the Midway Mall looks from state route 57.
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| Sears Department Store as of 2 - 3 - 12. The visible cars are parked for Red Lobster, but Sears did seem busier than normal. |
Here are my own pictures of this Mall. These pictures are from 12 - 21 - 11. I will get more pictures later.
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| The Best Buy Mall Entrance |
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| Looking towards the Sears entrance |
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| A Mall Entrance by Sears (Right) |
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| Mall Directory |
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| Inside of Sears looking towards the abandoned Sears Garden Center. Part of the detached Sears Auto Center is visible in this Photo. |
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| The interior of the Sears tool area. |
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| The closed up Entrance to Dillard's |
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| A Mall Entrance near the former Higbee's / Dillard's store (Left) |
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| Pac Sun is leaving Midway. |
Two anchors that are closed in the same wing almost always spells trouble for a mall. Does the Best Buy have a mall entrance?
ReplyDeleteBest Buy does have a Mall entrance. It did not originally have one, but one was installed a few years ago with checkouts in the back of the store. Woolworth's did not have a Mall entrance. The wing where Dillard's and Steve & Barry's closed is now very deserted. The most recent time I was in there pretty much all stores left that wing but a few. Payless is still in the wing. Amazing, just five or six years ago the mall had NO vacancies.
ReplyDeleteWoolworths did have a mall entrance and a exit on north side going to parking lot. I been going to the mall since early 70s get your facts straight, theres only 4 operating places to eat in food court and i counted 24 abandoned store fronts as of yesterday
DeleteYes, you're correct. Woolworths did have a mall entrance on the north side. My sister worked at Woolworth's diner in the 1970s. I distinctly remember the entrance. Harvest House restaurant was next door to Woolworths. The "Sidewalk Cafe" was across from Woolworths. Seven Seas nearby.
DeleteThe north side leads to the parking lot, the mall entrance was on the south side into the mall.
DeleteActually, all attached building have a mall entrance. Even Steve & Barry's had one. One time I went on a trip to the mall with someone and I asked if they wanted to go to Best Buy. They said no because they did not feel like walking outside. I then told them there was a mall entrance; they did not believe me. I then showed them it and spent over $80 in the store.
ReplyDeleteThey put a circuit city in a few malls here before the company closed with mall entrances. I really liked the idea but Circuit City closed a little more than a year after these locations opened.
ReplyDeleteWoolworth did have a mall entrance....and most of ure story was taken off an article I wrote 5 years ago....do ure own column and get facts correct because the mall is not looking to turn it into an outlet center....that rumor was taken out of the local paper last week that someone suggested should happen
ReplyDeleteYes, the plan to change Midway Mall to an Outlet Mall is a rumor. A Couple years ago Centro did say that they had big plans for the Mall, but did not say much else. I was not around to see Woolworth's myself, but family members have told me that there was no mall entrance for Woolworth's. I Believe the reason that they built their store attached to the mall with no mall entrance is that at the time the Mall was the only place zoned business in the area. The first nearby shopping Centers were not built until the late 70s. Those included stores that directly competed with Woolworth's such as Gold Circle (closed in 1988 and reopened as Kmart. Kmart relocated in 2001 with Sam's Club to a different area. This store is now Marc's, Family Christian Store, and Bed Bath And Beyond), Zayre (rebranded Ames in 1989, then later torn down for the construction of Lowe's), and Sam's Club (later relocated away from the mall area).
ReplyDeleteThe appearance of the church in the mall, to me, signals the beginning of the end.
ReplyDeleteThe church does seem to symbolize an end, but on my trip to get pictures before Christmas the mall was very busy, it took me almost two hours to get shots that had no one in them and that no one saw me take. The center of the mall was almost full of tenants and people, due to the high number of people I got no shots of this area and the food court. I am pretty certain the church was kind of close to Sears and Best Buy in a semi vacated part of the wing. I found places that said Westfield Shoppingtown and other signs that once said Westfield, but now have a sticker slapped over it with the Mall's current logo. I have heard recently that America's Centro properties are now owned by Brixmor.
ReplyDeleteYes, Midway can be very busy. It's strange. The atmosphere has changed so much in 15 years, stores are closed, mom and pops and a church pop up... but to say it'll be dead in a certain number of years isn't a sure thing. Often a business takes longer to die than anyone expects. Things decline but there's still foot traffic and one day it's worse but hey, they've still got a couple of anchors... The question I ask is, if the entire mall was shuttered tomorrow, would anyone notice? Besides the workers losing jobs and the obvious newspaper articles about such a sudden event. I mean, would there be a real void, a retail void, remaining? I don't think so. I can't think of anything I need that I can only get, without excessive driving, at that mall. And yet it's a surprisingly good location. You'd think it would never decline. Speaking of which -- how the heck does Dunham's in Elyria stay in business? Or any Radio Shack anywhere?
ReplyDeleteJacobs sure got out at the right time. Do you know if they were really foresighted, or just lucky?
ReplyDeleteI do not Know how the Dunham's in Elyria stays open. I was in there recently and no one else was in there, about half of the ceiling tiles were missing, and the roof was leaking badly. Also, there were only two employees(that I saw)in the store. I have no idea how the Sears stays open either. In the last few years numerous entrances were closed off. The last time I was there(right before Christmas)the store was still trying to clear out their grills from Spring and Summer. This store was very dead for being so close to Christmas, so it was kind of easy for me to get pictures in the store, honestly I am surprised it is not one of the 80 stores that Sears Holdings is closing. I have saw this store so dead that Red Lobster had more cars overflowing into Sears Parking lot, than the cars that were actually parked for Sears. I have been into a Radio Shack and the whole time I was in there people were entering and leaving quickly with one or two items. I think Jacobs sold their malls to Westfield because they did not want to operate malls anymore.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that the charley's grilled subs at Midway Mall was closed.
ReplyDeleteIt was closed around January 1st from what I heard, but I am not certain of the exact closure date.
ReplyDeleteAm writing this to announce another Midway Mall area closure. I recently found out that the Deal$ store in the West River Square shopping center closed. I did not hear anything about this closure, but when I was by this store Febuary 2nd the entire store was empty and all exterior signage was removed. Deal$ is a chain owned by Dollar Tree stores. The Dollar Tree store In that same shopping center is still open. It seems the West River Square shopping center is becoming more and more vacant. Walmart closed their store in that shopping center in 2010, Micheal's arts and crafts also left that same year. Many smaller shops in the center remain vacant as well (EB Games, Eatza Pizza, and Cookies by Design to name a few). The major stores that are still at this shoppong center are Petsmart, Office Max, Famous Footware, and Dollar Tree. I predict that Office Max will not be able to stay open much longer since that store always seems empty and also has the competition of the nearby Staples and Best Buy stores.
ReplyDeleteWoolworth had a mall entrance. It was actually a lunch counter right at the entrance. Not the most inviting, but the original Woolworth was accessible from the interior. Across the way was the Cinema. There was a photo booth at the entrance too. I was an employee of the Mall management in 1973-74.
ReplyDeleteIt is a sorry place that needs to come down. Like most of its era it has outlived its usefulness. Replaced by big box retail.
Yes. I remember the lunch counter by the mall entrance. When you walked past the lunch counter toward the back of the stoor, and took the first right, I used to buy fish for my aquarium there. What struck me as odd about woolworth was the fact that they were one of the only non-anchor stores that actually did had an outside entrance. Just a small doorway that wasn't very obvious from outside.
ReplyDeleteWoolworth's had a Mall entrance and a restaurant near the entrance called "Harvest House". Directly across from Woolworth's inside the mall was the Midway Mall Cinema which had 2 screens.
ReplyDeleteHarvest house buffet! Hough bakeries!!
ReplyDeleteWoolworth's restaurant had the best cheesecake. And yes....there was access to the store from the interior of the mall.
ReplyDeleteRiver Street Square also used to have a Just Closeouts (which gave way to Odd Job) in the space now housing Dollar Tree. 1/2 Off Card Shop was the original tenant in the space which housed Eatza Pizza. Famous Footwear packed up shop and moved to Lighthouse Village, following in the footsteps of Walmart. I suspect Dots will be next, since the new one there should be ready to open in a month or two. EB Games (formerly Video Game Exchange/It's About Games/EB Game World) gave way to GameStop, which kept the old FuncoLand location open post-merger. (Babbage's in the mall would close shortly thereafter.) Pier 1 Imports closed at some point, and Buyback$ is currently in their old building. I think the Original Mattress Factory store used to be a Community Health Partners office, which closed up at one point. Deal$/BW3/Avenue used to be Sun TV & Appliance. I think there was also a National Cash Advance there, too, which closed when the check-cashing regulations took effect.
ReplyDeleteTo add another one to the list- Mezcal Tequila is now closed also. Went over there last week and there was a sign on the door saying 'Closed due to nonpayment of rent'. Im old enough to remember the mall when it was alive. As a child I went there on a field trip, as a teenager I lived close enough to walk and spent most of my time there- I even met my ex husband there. Its a very sad and even spooky to walk through there now and feel the emptiness. Does anyone else remember The Attic restaurant? I believe it was upstairs in Higbees. I remember it being a very classy place.
ReplyDeleteYes, The Attic. Their signature salad was the Maurice. I loved their grilled reuben sandwich. Did The Attic also serve a french onion soup? The more modest snack stop inside Higbees was The Gazebo on the main floor. As I recall it was actually slightly sunken.
DeleteI worked at the Attic Restaurant ,the second floor thru the Crystal, I started out under the head cook as her prep then moved over to Sandwiches finally the restaurant closed and I got chosen to help pack up the items and give the final cleaning. We used to have Rarebit, Pot Pies, great hamburgers off the broiler, plus muffins and garden salads at dinner time. We used to have two menus one for tea time (between 3 and 4 when the shift changes occurred) and one for the rest of the day.
DeleteI remember The Attic fondly. My mother and I went there all the time and she ALWAYS ordered the Maurice salad, although I don't remember what was in it. The best part of eating there was at Christmastime when they had these little cardboard stoves they served food in. The main item was chicken a la king and I hated it, but always ordered the stove meal regardless.
DeleteDoes anyone remember a hair salon located to the rear of a womens clothing store...late 70's early 80's? if you were heading to Sears from Penneys it was on the left between the 2...getting a headache trying to remember
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DeleteThe Ground Round - formerly Bennigan's, built on the space occupied years ago by Rini-Rego Stop-n-Shop (which was subdivided into Staples and, much later, Bennigan's) - is closed, probably due to nonpayment of rent as well. I stopped past just to see what everything on the door said, and there's a legal summons for the owner to appear in court taped to the door, along with a note: "TENANT - TO GAIN ACCESS TO PREMISES, PLEASE CONTACT [phone number]. THANKS, LANDLORD"
ReplyDeleteI'm going to call to see if I can snatch that "Play the Ohio Lottery here!" stanchion sign to put out in front of our store. I'd just outright take the thing, but I want to go about it the right way. Centro was listed on the summons as the plaintiff in the suit, so I think they do still own the mall. I imagine the company that leased out Bennigan's to put Ground Round in has skipped town and will never be seen again.
Oh, yeah, and OfficeMax is definitely closing down now. All of the "Store Closing" signage is up, weeks after they started stamping the receipts "ALL SALES FINAL" and had their secret barcode at the registers to scan for a total 10% off of your purchase. Now, I'm stuck going to Westlake for my printing needs.
DeleteAnother update: Jo-Ann Fabrics is relocating from Midway Crossings to Midway Market Square, into the old Sofa Express store next to Dick's and Giant Eagle. While it's progress at one strip, it's another death knell to the other, which is left with this small list of tenants and a LOT of vacancies:
ReplyDelete- Toys "R" Us
- Chiropractic and Rehabilitation (relocated from MMS next to Target, which is now Nicole Kay's from inside the mall)
- one or two vacant storefronts
- the humongous Party Place/Costume Place
- soon-to-be-vacant Jo-Ann Fabrics (moving, former US Merchandise)
- vacant former D&K Stores storefront
- Sally Beauty Supply
- vacant former Allcare Dental & Dentures
- vacant former TJ Maxx, perennial haunted house every October
- vacant former Bridal Shop
- vacant former Shoe Carnival / Mattress Matters (relocated from the old Coconuts outbuilding in front, which is currently VZW)
- vacant former Hometown Buffet
- Tropical Heat Tanning
- vacant former Blimpie Subs / one of the cash advance chains
- vacant Randstad offices
- vacant Dunham's Discount Sporting Goods (relocated to Midway's former Steve & Barry's storefront)
- Planet Fitness (former Kids "R" Us store, sat empty for YEARS minus one Christmas when the LCCC kids opened a holiday store)
I haven't heard about JoAnn moving. I am actually surprised that has stayed open all this time. I believe all D&K stores closed. I miss Old Country / Hometown; it is interesting that 7 of the 9 Cleveland area ones closed.
DeleteHow about the River Street Square too? That shopping center has gone downhill too. The busiest place there is Buffalo Wild Wings!
-OfficeMax (closing)
-Michaels (closed)
-PetSmart (still open though some other PetSmart stores in the Cleveland area closed in the last few years)
-Sun TV / Deal$ (closed)
-Buffalo Wild Wings (remodeled, appears to do well)
-Avenue (seems to be the last one on the west side of Cleveland)
-Famous Hair (still open)
-Cookies by Design (closed)
-EB Games (consolidated with the GameStop nearby)
-Famous Footwear (moved to Lorain)
-Dots (still open)
-Eatza Pizza (closed slightly before entire chain completely fell apart)
-Odd Job / Dollar Tree (still open but building is leaking badly)
-Pier 1 / Buy Back$ (still open)
-Walmart (moved to Lorain)
can somebody tell me what year sun appliance went out of business at midway mall
ReplyDeleteI think late 1994-early 1995
DeleteWal~Mart moved to Chestnut Crossing and yes they built one near Lorain but the one by the mall moved because of the Chestnut Crossing one
ReplyDeleteSorry should have said it moved to become the one at Chestnut Crossing
DeleteSad to see how far Midway has fallen. I haven't been there in 5 years or so, but I have many wonderful memories of the place from the mid-late 80s and early 90s. Great place at that time.
ReplyDeleteFirst mall I ever went to, shortly after it opened -- mid 60s.... I remember the Harvest House, and the Attic, and the cafeteria attached to Sears. Seems like we were in Sears at the hardware, auto center, or something almost every week.
ReplyDeleteWal mart was originally supposed to move just across the street and to the right, where that big property is that is all fenced off, it is an old school building, Wal-mart actually owns that property and for whatever reason after buying it they decided to go to lorain, so now there is a big ugly vacant eyesore. thanks wal-mart!
ReplyDeleteAfter calling around one other place (at leas 30% more expensive for same/comparable size unit), I found this storage place and the reviews were awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe food court there is a joke now. Only one side is still open all the other side is boarded up. They just have like 4 places. Taco Bell, J & J BBQ (Oriental) , Steak USA (took the spot of Chalie's), Soruku Japan (spelling?), No more pizza there either, One took over for Sbarro's then it closed too. It's so sad.
ReplyDeleteTaco Bell is now gone. The only food court restaurants left are J & J BBQ, Yihi Japan and Steak USA. The Wasabi Steakhouse and Harry Buffalo are still at the main front entrance.
DeleteI worked at the mall in 1993. I remember most of the original foot court restaurants. Taco Bell, Tasty Basket, Sakio Japan (I think), The Great Steak and Potato Company, Sbarro, McDonald's, Arby's, A & W Hot Dogs and a Dairy Queen/Orange Julius. There also was a Mrs Fields Cookies next to Taco Bell. The A&W later became a Quiznos. I know I'm forgetting one. Does anyone know what was between Arby's and A&W?
That may have been Chao Praya.
DeleteAh Midway Mall. I've known you from the time you had an in mall cinema and Harvest House, but good friend, it's time for you to close and make way for a nice residential district perhaps?. No one wants you anymore. Until Lorain and Elyria get on board with the economic times and people who live there take some pride in themselves and their respective cities there's not much hope for any retail, let alone a mall. Sad but what can change after things have been so far gone for too many years.
ReplyDeleteTrue, so true.
DeleteI live in Lorain, but not been in the mall in 10 years.
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DeleteNo doubt this mall is in trouble. I was born about the same time it was built and also have fond memories like sitting thru Raiders of the Lost Ark twice at the movie theater. Twin Cinemas? The shoe store that had a monkey in a cage along the back wall. The artsie deco wires with oil dripping down them illuminated by colored lights. The fountains. The diner in Woolworth and the other one sunken in the floor, in Higbees I think? The candy counter at Sears. I also remember people saying what a shame it was that it drew business out of the downtown area.
ReplyDeleteDeb is closing areopostal closed maybe things will change when they get the new intersection on rout 57 finished but I doubt it. Centro charges to much for rent so business can't last long this mall was the pride of elyria now it's just another getto mall. Walmart moving really hurt the area.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about Hough bakery! I remember my mom loved their lady locks.
ReplyDeleteGround Round and Taco Bell have now closed
ReplyDeleteI have also been told recently there have been plans to build a new multi-story mall.
I worked at the mall for about 6 months in 2014
Which shoe store had a monkey in the back, I don't remember that. In 1977, there was a movie theater inside the mall, I think it might have been where Lenscrafters is now. there was also a restaurant inside Sears that was inside a round gazebo that was sunken in the floor so you walked down to get into it. They also used to have a Forever 21 shop and a wonderful Hobby Toy store that had unusual toys, Thom McCann shoes...Red Robin clothing store, Dairy Queen, McDonalds....do very sad. I haven't been through the whole mall lately, but I don't think there are any more hair salons except Penneys and they used to have three cards stores....zero now.... :(
ReplyDeleteThe rest aran in Sears was actually back near the hardware area, on the north west corner of the store. Very close to the former garden center area. After they closed it, it became a parts area where you could go get parts for appliances and mowers and such. It seems that there was something else in that "room" also but I can't remember what. The sunken restaurant was in Higbees. It was green and kind of had a french decor with some type of ornate green pillars around the outside and a center round column in the middle. I remember my grandma always getting black coffee there.
DeleteI correct myself. The dining area/ cafeteria was NOT back by the former
DeleteGarden center. It was located on the north west corner of Sears, right next to an entrance. It's across from Red Lobster.
I loved dining at the Attic in Higbees! There have been recent rumors that the Cleveland Clinic will either take over the mall or build close by. Anyone else heard this?
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the area.. Very few people remember the monkey in the shoe store. It was the highlight of shopping trips. The fancy water displays and I had forgotten the oil driping from the wires...that was so cool. Special birthday dinners at Highers Attic....kids meals in the card board ovens. There also was a smorgasbord restaurant next to Woolworth. Later I spent much of my money at Ups and Downs clothing store.
ReplyDeleteMost recently they filmed scenes from The Bronze in the mall. I happen to be in J Penney while they were filming. .. no security needed.. no one was shopping.
VERY SAD TO SEE IT NOW....
I remember my mom taking me to the mall weekly. Thinking about Woolworths, the entrance from the mall was actually rather wide. As you walked in from the mall, there was a large u-shaped counter that sold ice cream, frozen cokes, cotton candy, soft pretzels, etc. Directly behind this counter was the restaurant area, where you could get the club sandwiches as mentioned above. I remember there was a pay toilet just past the restaurant area, with a black door. I think it was like a dime to get the door to open. Down the middle aisle, heading from the mall to the north doors, there were often parakeets in cages for sale. As a kid, that was so cool to see all of those multicolored loud chirping birds. Was there a second entrance into the mall also?? I seem to remember a second aisle running from the mall toward the north about a third of the way across the store. Am I imagining this other entrance? I seem to remember a glass "storefront" between the two door openings, with the cash registers spanning the distance from door to door, just inside of this glass front. Didn't the restaurant area have 1 inch square black and white tile on the floor also. The harvest house restaurant was indeed to the right of the Woolworth entrance. At one point, there was a Fredericks of Hollywood straight across from the Woolworths, right next to the Louis Cohn clothing store. The cinema was originally a single screen facility. At some point, thy built a wall down the middle and made it two screens. The seating still had the oiginal arc based off of one screen. I remember it being real strange looking. Melody manor was the only music store in the mall. I remember taking guitar lessons there. They also had this talking Christmas tree thing at Christmas. It was a pyramidal shaped thing and the whole mouth moved up and down. I remember hoping it didn't "see" me because it had a loudspeaker driven voice. Intimidating as a kid. It was always, maybe not ALWAYS, right outside of Penneys, just to the left of the entrance (where that Proactive display is now). As someone mentioned above, that oil running down the strings display was mesmerizing. There was one right in the center, in front of Penneys that went from floor to ceiling. I believe there was another smaller one down at one of the ends of the mall, either near Sears or near Higbees.Funny how this is all coming back to me. The mall was the place to go. It's sad to walk through the generally empty halls now.
ReplyDeleteI remember Ted Jacobs. It had a second floor in it I think. It was near Higbees I believe, right on the corner there. Lots of women's fashions. It was a respectable clothing store. I think the store with the monkey was on the north side, about halfway down heading to Higbees. If not there, it was towards sears, but I think it was east of where the current Victoria Secret is.
ReplyDelete