Century III Pictures from the 80s/90s (Pittsburgh, Greensburg: movie theater, school)

[charisb]

Originally Posted by LIRefugee

Why "Century III"? Was the original owner a fan of the Barracks Emperors?

I read that the mall was opened the year of the bicentennial and the name refers to the "3rd century" of the U.S.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by tclifton

Not sure if anyone has ever posted this before or not, but I found this online today:

Flickriver: Most interesting photos from C3Nostalgia - Century III Mall pool

Why yes, just this morning, as a matter of fact:
//www.city-data.com/forum/33469175-post64.html

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by charisb

I read that the mall was opened the year of the bicentennial and the name refers to the "3rd century" of the U.S.

The mall opened in 1979, not 1976, so I don't know if that's true. Debartolo is the one who built the mall.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Velvet Jones

It's funny, but even in those days this mall was starting to get a "reputation" for have a problem with hoodlums. I worked with a woman who had previously worked at a store in Century III. This was around 1987. She said she always had one of the guards escort her out at night when leaving as there had been so many muggings and attempted rapes in the parking lot. Still, I remember this place when it first opened in the 1979. It was like some sort of wonder of the world. It is now a shell of its former self.

Wasn't it the second or third largest mall in the US when it opened? I remember even in the mid 90s. Century III was the mall to go to in the area, but it quickly went downhill once the Waterfront opened up.

[Copanut]

I grew up in the Greater Wilmerding-Turtle Creek-Pitcairn Area, other wise known as the Turtle Creek Valley. Back in the 60's you could see the sky light up as they dumped slag from the mills on to the Century III site. Ah, the good all bad days, we all made money, but killed our lungs.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Wasn't it the second or third largest mall in the US when it opened? I remember even in the mid 90s. Century III was the mall to go to in the area, but it quickly went downhill once the Waterfront opened up.

i think it was the largest in the US....then surpassed by the Mall of America...then the King of Prussia Mall put on an extension which tied it with a nearby shopping center - that now-added space propelled it to the biggest in Pennsylvania.

i never really developed a fondness for the mall, except for the record stores - but then, there were the indys i liked better (Paul's, Eide's, etc.) because they were much cheaper, and had harder to find (for that era) items. plus, i would somehow end up in some sort of teen age drama with kids from the other side of the tracks. so "west side story".

hard to believe it was this center of life for such a wide geographical region. i wonder if people in and around USC went there instead of the one down there....for the life of me i cant remember ITS name anymore!

[Bert Peters]

^by USC, Upper St Clair? You mean South Hills Village Mall?

Hnnnnnnng, I nostalgia'd hard. Thanks OP.

Century III Mall used to be epic. You know your mall is a big deal when Richard freaking Simmons comes to it. Man, all the stores... Wicks n Sticks... the flashy design... dat fountain. I used to love Hickory Farms for some cheese, crackers, and summer sausages. I wish I went to it when Horne's and Gimbel were there, too.

Sad to see what it has become.

[Caladium]

So I'm curious--are those of you who have fond memories going to check it out again after the $13 million renovation? And if so, will it be just a single visit to see how it turned out, or do you think you might be interested in shopping at it again?

[charisb]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

The mall opened in 1979, not 1976, so I don't know if that's true. Debartolo is the one who built the mall.

FWIW, the wiki page supports this (although that's not where I originally learned this) and says that the name was conceived during the bicentennial. I guess it makes as much sense as anything!

[JimboPGH]

Looks like pretty much every other mall in the 80's and 90's.

The Wall didn't have record stores around here, did they? Because The Wall was pretty sweet as far as record chains went.

It's kinda awesome that most the chain record stores have died off, while independent record stores that actually carry vinyl records seem to actually have a stronger base of support than they did 20 years ago.