Looking to create a website about the Middletown Mall. (Charleston: neighborhoods, income)

[appalachiangirl]

I heard that when Morgantown mall was built it was a big blow to Middletown mall. You have Morgantown mall to the north and Meadowbrook mall to the south ---both larger malls. Bridgeport/Clarksburg area has become quite a shopping mecca for towns their size. I imagine it's partly due to the location right off I-79.
I remember the Sweet Williams restaurant as a child--delicious ice cream!

[Threerun]

Co-worker sent me this link: deadmalls DOT com

Middletown Mall (and Mountaineer Mall and Martinsburg Mall) is on the list.

I never knew there was a blog centered on mall macabre.

[David Kennedy]

Its just economic evolution and time change...bigger and better...with a little more flash always gets the buck...

In a few years all the malls will be a thing of the past...all electronic with delivery...the exception being items that must be serviced as wear items...clothing, tires, ect...

Most everything in our virtual world can be seen and shipped to the door..the next phase would be particulate matter transfer and recovery...

'Beam me up, Scotty'

Wonder if we will have virtual hotdogs and sex...but I've heard the experts are working on the 'virtual sex thing...think a market exists and is untapped already..

Some things should never change but stay the same...

[Threerun]

Okay well THAT I can agree with, lol.

I was talking to a fellow bus rider yesterday about the potential for a resurgence in downtown shopping. Not just cottage industry shops, but back to basics shopping. With utility and fuel costs getting higher, maybe there is some value in upgrading the smaller downtown shops to be more efficient and not pay the cost to heat and cool an indoor city like a mall.

Old stores are cheap to buy, a little more costly to renovate, but if situated where people can conveniently get to them, may be a cost effective measure.

I forgot what the lease costs were for Martinsburg mall, but I know per sq./ft costs downtown are a lot cheaper. Do away with the B&O, raze a few of the eyesores for parking or make mass transit attractive and affordable...

[LilyLaLa]

On my last visit, I read a newspaper article about this very idea making a comeback--the idea of "town centre" shopping and revitalising the nation's Main Streets, a sort of pendulum-swing back away from taking the superhighway to the supermall.


THAT would be nice (my preference, anyhow). I imagine too that high fuel prices will *ahem* fuel that trend, if it's real.

I would love to run a bookshop-cafe in a small town one day; more for the fun and the discount than for any hopes of making a living wage from it.
LOL

[tbailey1138]

Originally Posted by LilyLaLa

On my last visit, I read a newspaper article about this very idea making a comeback--the idea of "town centre" shopping and revitalising the nation's Main Streets, a sort of pendulum-swing back away from taking the superhighway to the supermall.


THAT would be nice (my preference, anyhow). I imagine too that high fuel prices will *ahem* fuel that trend, if it's real.

This is exactly what Pullman Square is for Huntington. It's an open air shopping, eating and entertainment center (referred to as a lifestyle center) that is right in the middle of downtown. This has become the new place to have the gatherings, festivals and concerts. This has really helped to revitalize downtown and it just has such a nice atmosphere.

[FmntGirl]

Aladdin's Castle was the name of the game room/arcade. I am currently holding a token I went and retrieved from my oldest son's token tube, (he still has from one of his birthday parties there), and it has a genie's lamp on the back with the words "The Ultimate Party Place". That was the best place to have a kid's party; You could rent the place for 2 or 3 hours on a Sunday after they closed the mall at 5:00PM and they dropped the gate to the entry/exit to go out into the mall area. So only the little side door was open and parents could sit there at the table by the door and socialize and the kids were safe and happily playing games and getting little trinkets. Tokens were cheap, each party-go-er got a tube with 25 tokens for $5, and each game only took 1 with a few, rare games taking 2. Parents supplied all the food so cost was kept down. My 24 year-old son still talks about his great parties there!

Stone and Thomas was my Mom's favorite store to window shop in and check for sales. (They also had public restrooms back by the hair salon! Every parent and grandparent who has ever taken a child shopping quickly learns where those are!)They eventually became Elder-Beerman.

Sears was on the end where the hardware store is located now.

[Kommunica]

I posted this a long time ago, but I just now got the Middletown Mall site up and running.

Home (Middletown Mall Memories)

I started a Facebook group and it is nearing 1,000 so I thought since everyone else was having a fun time talking about it, I may as well create a site. Hope you guys enjoy.

Here is a link to the Facebook group:

Middletown Mall Memories | Facebook

[David Kennedy]

I have our office in Middletown Mall...It is a deal and a steal.
The Mall has few stores, but what is there work well.
What is happening? It's becoming an oasis for travelers...hotels and eateries...It is a great peice of real estate, but completely filled with offices.
It may be dead from a retail standpoint, but it's filled with over 800 office people and has no open rental space.

[Kommunica]

I'm sure the mall is all well and nice for offices and such but so are office buildings. I work at a hotel and people are excited that a mall is so close but I inform them that it is Fairmont's largest hallway and I have to quickly direct them to a city north or south of us. People who live here miss the mall, which may be rented completely, but also depressing as hell to walk in. What is wrong with Fairmont/Whitehall and why can't we have anywhere to shop besides Wal-Mart. I am sure the residents agree that traveling 20 minutes to Clarksburg and Morgantown gets old.