Saturday, July 11, 2009

July 10, 2009 Video Update

1 comment:

DMD said...

Billy,

Hi, you are obviously deeply affected by the demise of Carolina Cirle. It is great you cherish its memories, but it is gone forever, physically anyway. I guess you realize it is far from being the only mall that had its heyday and no longer exists. Many shopping centers across the country from that era have already met the same fate, alarmingly so since the turn of the 21st century. In retrospect, it seems they had a life expectancy of about 30 years from grand opening till demolition. Just think, in a sense the tables were turned on the American icon of the mid-late 20th century known as the suburban shopping center, just as many of them initiated the decay and demise of their downtown main street predecessors decades earier.

I know you are partial to the history of Carolina Circle, but if you look around on the internet, and I'm sure you have by now as intelligent as you seem, similar vintage malls down south and all over the country have come and gone in a similar manner, so your beloved mall is not the novelty. Some were older, yet many were even newer. For example, we had a state of the art mall built in suburban Nashville in the early 90's (Bellevue Center). It is still standing, but has been abandoned for a few years already, so it's life was barely 15 years, not even old enough to necessitate at least one renovation before closing.

By slim case you're not aware, check out Dixie Square in Harvey, Illinios. The place opened in the mid 1960's, and was completely out of business by 1978. The car chase for The Blues Brothers movie was filmed there in 1979, after the mall was closed. The entire mall was rented by the film makers and dressed to appear as if it were still operational for filming. The ruins of it are amazingly still standing to this day, and Dixie Square has become the Holy Grail of all Dead Malls, a pop culture icon, and a destination spot for modern day archaeologists and for those similar to yourself who are fascinated by suburban decay and retail memories of yesteryear. It's on You Tube and other sites if you'll look.

It is nice you have fond memories of Carolina Circle, but you have to accept the fact that it is gone, just like our ancestors lost many of the old shops form their youth way back when. Enclosed massive malls are quickly becoming the retail outlets of the past with the advent of online shopping, and especially with WalMart gaining momentum with its overwhelming presence and agressive expansion. Also, the trend in architecture for retail outlets in the last decade has vastly shifted away from that of the sprawling enclosed suburban centers people 50 and under are so used to. Not much we can do about it except change with the times.

In closing, thanks for the history, and the passion, but I strongly recommend you get interested in something else soon, don't devote the rest of your life pining away over the memory of a dead mall. You are very young and you need to go forth instead of back.

Thank you for reading, and best wishes to you. Make a difference for all of us in the future! Best wishes to you and yours.

Danny