Friday Potpourri: 10 January 2025

Apologies in Advance

Normally I would be doing snark and humor because it’s Friday. But I saw an article in the Post, and the memories just flooded back, and so, stream of consciousness. I respectfully request your indulgence.

In Arlington, Virginia, a few miles south of DC, below Crystal City, was, until this month, The Crystal City Underground. You can read the article and see the pictures here.

But let’s back up. Crystal City is a “neighborhood” of high rises which also includes National Airport¹. Construction for the high rises was begun in the 60’s and continued for about 10 years, and changed the wind patterns at the airport. A desolate industrial area became a bustling hub of office buildings, apartments and hotels. In the late 70’s, “The Underground” was built out - a delightful maze of interesting shops and restaurants and services.

My dad worked at “the paperclip building”² a few blocks away. When I would go to DC to visit him, we would always go to The Underground for lunch. I’d get there a few hours early to be able to window shop before our appointed lunch time. Because many of the places were independent, you could find things (like interesting jewelry, unique clothing, and puppets) you couldn’t find anywhere else.

For someone like me, a dedicated mall rat, it was remarkable that you could live, work and shop without ever having to go outside. As someone who had studied Urban Planning, I was fascinated since it wasn’t an actual “Planned Community”.³

So my stream of consciousness has led me to think about malls, what they used to be, and what they could be in the future.

Malls have a long and storied history. While the ancient Greek agoras didn’t sell anything - they were a confined space for people to exchange ideas, so kinda sorta a mall precursor. Trajan's Market (likely the very first mall) was built in Damascus around 100 AD. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was built in the 1400’s, still stands today, and is the largest indoor market in the world.

The “mall concept” has thus been around for at least 2,000 years; so I’m obviously not the only mall rat.

For those of you too young to know, malls (and the large shopping centers that were eventually enclosed as malls) provided not just shopping back in the day, but entertainment (movies and bowling alleys, for example), benches to sit on and chat with friends, a place to walk around and get your steps in during times of inclement weather. It was FUN!

Sadly, malls have been stratified, aligning with the skewed national income distribution. Malls which had anchor stores like Sears, Montgomery Ward, Penney’s and the like have died. They are empty shells of their former selves. Often they are amended with satellite health care facilities, overpriced apartments with terrible architecture, and community facilities. Mostly though, it’s depressing to walk around a dead mall - so many empty spaces.

Meanwhile, the malls with stores like Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Tiffany, Chanel, Versace, Balenciaga and the like are going gangbusters. Brightly lit, lots of amenities, and you can find whatever you’re looking for. At my local upscale mall, you can still get a watch repaired, eat an outrageously overpriced pretzel⁴, and even buy a car.

While I’m cognizant of many of the multitude of potential options for dead malls (a few listed here) I’m instead hoping that society changes enough that malls can come back to their glory days.

Sure, a lot would have to happen. First, there’s a need to solve the crime problems related to shoplifting, employee theft, and assault. Even at the safest malls, there are crimes. For example, King of Prussia (PA) is the safest mall in the country, and there have been shootings⁵.

The bigger issue is that people would need to want to connect with one another again. I am encouraged by the fact that people are exchanging dating apps for meeting people in person. Especially Gen Z. I hope this starts a trend where people actually interact instead of relying on texts and social media.

Maybe people will go on dates at malls. When I was 13, I went on my first double date. My best friend and I went with two boys we’d met at summer camp. And yeah, our parents drove us there and picked us up. We met at what was then a giant shopping center and is now an enclosed mall. We had something to eat, and then we went bowling. A sweet reminisce of what life used to be.

Of course, the paramount issue is how to make malls financially viable. And that seems insurmountable for all but the upscale malls.

I sit here in reverie, thinking about malls. Memories of malls. The Mall of America the day it held its soft opening (by special invitation). The Houston Galleria with its massive staircases. I could go on, but trust me, there are scads I’ve visited throughout the US of A. I even had a fun job at the mall as a protocol expert⁶ for Bloomingdales.

When I had cancer, I couldn’t go anywhere, especially not a place as crowded as a mall. I would have dreams of walking around the local mall when I recovered. Finally, after several years, I was well enough to go (fully masked) to the mall. My foot on the smooth tile, appreciating the sun coming through the skylight, imagining what it must smell like at the perfume counters. Gleeful to walk around and leave my fingerprints on things I considered buying. Thrilled to be with my baby cousin who had called dibs on my first mall foray. Able to drop off my necklace for repair. Left with a jacket I needed (yes, needed. Really.) Also a new phone that I only wanted. Pure joy! And someday I’ll go back again.

Thanks for your indulgence.

On Sunday, back to politics with a post on how we handle facts now that the fact checkers are basically gone from most places.

1. I refuse to use the proper name because Ronnie broke PATCO, and ATC hasn’t recovered in the intervening 40+ years. Adding his name is an abomination. I also still refer to Myanmar as Burma.

2. It looked like giant paperclips from the outside. It’s since been redesigned. Link.

3. I am a huge believer in planned communities. Because of that belief, I lived for several years in Greenbelt, MD, the second (of four) planned communities developed by FDR’s Brain Trust. Eleanor Roosevelt herself helped lay out the town. When I lived there in the 80’s, the original houses and infrastructure were still there. When one became a Greenbelt resident, they received a “Greenbelt Co-op Card”. In addition to being able to use it as a library card, you received discounts at the local gas station, supermarket, furniture store, and a few other places. Also, free admission to the town swimming pool and other community activities that non-residents had to pay for.

4. SEVEN DOLLARS!!!!

5. My personal opinion is that if we had not only “reasonable gun control measures’” but actually BANNED GUNS this would solve a ton of problems - not only at malls, but schools, movie theaters, supermarkets, concerts and oh hell EVERYWHERE.

6. Bloomingdales, in their heyday, used to provide things for their best patrons that Bloomingdales didn’t sell. My job was to meet with the client, find out what they wanted, figure out from where to procure it, go get it, and deliver it with a note and flowers. It was an AWESOME job.