It turns out that many of you have Mall memories. I’ve been excited to read them as they come in. I’m both fascinated and confused by the Columbia concept of Mall as Main Street so I’m always willing to learn more from folks who have been here longer than I have.
That being said, the memories submitted so far are fairly well divided between recollections of businesses past and personal experiences. See if these spark any memories for you:
Lots of food and friends memories: Barry’s Pizza, Taco Laredo, All you Can Eat Shrimp at________(blanking on the name); Bun Penny, seeing the bands/artists there before and after concerts at Merriweather, and knowing nearly everyone we passed walking from Hecht’s to Woodies.
The Girl Scout Columbia Mall Sleep-In.
My favorite mall memory is not really a specific time or place but I have always enjoyed walking around a mall and just "window shopping" so when my children we just babies/toddlers I took them always with me. We would never spend a dime - just look around, play in the children's play area, and get whatever free samples the vendors handed out. It was many a day that my kids would prefer to go to the mall and get "free sample" - I think they thought it was the actual name of a smoothie until they were well into middle school.
I’ll share what I hope is one from my daughter: when we moved to Columbia our family was young and she was under 5 years old. Our neighbor across the street ran a child care facility that we would use several days each week. Thursdays were Family Fun Days and the child care owner would pack all her wee charges into her mini van with the multi-seat stroller and take them to the mall for puppet shows, playing in the kids area, demos from Build a Bear, crafts, whatever. I was never able to attend since I worked outside of the home. I would have liked to see the child care pro navigate the mall with everyone!
The 80s- Potowmack Toys was such a favorite for my kids. But it was so hard to help them to transition out of the store!
I always used to look forward to family dinners at the Jade Palace. And birthday parties at the Mall McDonald's!
Probably my most memorable experience - I was Christmas shopping with my son - he was probably 4. We were in the Disney store; he was watching videos in the "movie pit" and I took my eyes off him for a minute. He was gone! We looked everywhere. I often dressed him in tie dye when we went to the mall or other crowded spaces so I could pick him out easily. And the mall was very familiar space to him, not only because I went there a lot but because my sister worked there. Anyway, I started freaking out and just was asking anybody if they saw a little boy in a tie dye. One lady was coming in and said she thought she saw him heading towards the escalator.. Long story short I had promised him that we would go see Santa when we were done shopping and lo and behold that is where I found him; downstairs, standing in line to see Santa!
Being the Easter Bunny. I even got a letter from a fan.
And here’s one from someone who came along later, like me:
As someone who came here 7 years ago, I found it strange that the community’s downtown was a mall. I came from communities where everyone was trying to save the traditional downtowns, urban centers, from the growing suburban malls. It still feels strange.
I tend to forget what a new “cutting edge” experience malls were at the time that Columbia was founded. The choice to put a mall at the center of the new community was not unlike the amenities we see Howard Hughes focusing on in the Merriweather District. The Columbia Mall was the precursor to the “Lifestyle Plaza.”
And before that? What lay at the heart of earlier communities? Village greens. Town squares. Still going strong in many places.
I wonder what our memories of the Merriweather District will be in fifty years.
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