tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post113009224487283909..comments2024-03-15T06:35:49.711-04:00Comments on Carolina Circle City: Remembering Carolina Circle MallBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04833357672653250112noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-87437639374661462702011-06-15T00:54:42.593-04:002011-06-15T00:54:42.593-04:00I was there in the late 90's I believe on vaca...I was there in the late 90's I believe on vacation. We stopped off the highway and decided to check it out. We didnt normally stop at malls as my dad didnt like them that much, but, it was quite the trip. It was DEAD inside. Plenty of empty stores and not many shoppers. I recall a guy either at a kiosk or at the carousel, smoking inside the mall. I recall seeing a Montgomery Ward, though i dont remember a Belk, and we went into the Toys R Us.Mike Kazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12454800834122639276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-52007433358167168262011-06-15T00:54:13.496-04:002011-06-15T00:54:13.496-04:00I was there in the late 90's I believe on vaca...I was there in the late 90's I believe on vacation. We stopped off the highway and decided to check it out. We didnt normally stop at malls as my dad didnt like them that much, but, it was quite the trip. It was DEAD inside. Plenty of empty stores and not many shoppers. I recall a guy either at a kiosk or at the carousel, smoking inside the mall. I recall seeing a Montgomery Ward, though i dont remember a Belk, and we went into the Toys R Us.Mike Kazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12454800834122639276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-50578667024958652802010-08-22T10:56:22.290-04:002010-08-22T10:56:22.290-04:00Skate Park! I'm so glad you mentioned that. I ...Skate Park! I'm so glad you mentioned that. I thought I was making it up in my mind. I think I saw the skate park just before it was removed, so I never knew if it had really been there.Sandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00808265699532021768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-71552455103834439692010-08-22T10:54:02.470-04:002010-08-22T10:54:02.470-04:00Skate Park! I'm so glad you mentioned that. I ...Skate Park! I'm so glad you mentioned that. I thought I was making it up in my mind. I think I saw the skate park just before it was removed, so I never knew if it had really been there.<br />SandraSandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00808265699532021768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-41595463294027421982010-03-19T23:08:36.835-04:002010-03-19T23:08:36.835-04:00I used to go to the skate park behind the mall, i ...I used to go to the skate park behind the mall, i was like in the 6th or 7th grade and it seemed so big. i remember the huge snake run with the gigantic wave at the end. does any one have pics of that park. man i miss that hit me up mefoxco@yahooMike Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898365705080170487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-91285334033682254412009-12-31T14:30:33.081-05:002009-12-31T14:30:33.081-05:00Great web site. I have many great memories of CCM...Great web site. I have many great memories of CCM and checking out Billy's web sites really sent me back to my childhood. Thanks Billy!<br /><br />I remember sitting in the parking lot on July 4th watching fireworks. The arcade at the ice rink and later the carousel was always my favorite stop. Camelot music was my favorite place in Greensboro to buy music. Anyone remember the water slide at CCM? Lots of fun! Also, for several years, it was the best place to see movies. I agree that the crime killed the place. When the crime reports increased, I stopped going there. I grew up closer to Four Seasons Mall but always enjoyed CCM. I do still miss McDonalds and McCroy's (with the arcade in the back) at Four Seasons.scottcpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00247126590115331664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-71677102842007011722009-10-31T12:45:42.245-04:002009-10-31T12:45:42.245-04:00My biggest memory of CCM is buying a Sega Saturn v...My biggest memory of CCM is buying a Sega Saturn video game system at Montgomery Ward in 1995. My parents along with me would drive from Burlinton to CCM on the weekends. After visiting the mall, we went to Toys R Us. Can't forget eating at piccadilly! Someone told me about it being demolished and a Wal-mart being put in its place so I road up there and checked it out. Sadly, the crime destroyed CCM and similar situations are happening with Four Seasons. Burlington Sqaure Mall, the mall I grew up in Burlington NC, is fading away too :(Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-52866156894896008112009-09-03T19:14:03.355-04:002009-09-03T19:14:03.355-04:00having grown up right across the street from the m...having grown up right across the street from the mall... i remember the farm and all the cows that were out in the pasture, before it became a mall.. i used to sit on the front porch with binoculars and watch people walking into mw's or remember( ivey's) before it became dillards........it was a great mall and lots of fun times where had there in my youth and into adulthood......i now live just outside los angles, ca....but do visit my hometown 4 times a year....the house i grew up in right across the highway from the mall is still owned by a familt relative....but very shocked to see the mall gone and a walmart there now....times sure change but memories live on........jan marounnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-25337927388927685892009-07-22T20:16:11.349-04:002009-07-22T20:16:11.349-04:00Jaime D: It was Four Seasons that had the McDonald...Jaime D: It was Four Seasons that had the McDonald's. It was where that Mr. Dunderbak's German restaurant is now.Billyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04833357672653250112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-63344131943379497752009-07-22T19:16:38.194-04:002009-07-22T19:16:38.194-04:00Was it CCM or Four Seasons that had the McDonalds ...Was it CCM or Four Seasons that had the McDonalds on the first floor? I remember the large statue of Ronald at the entrance. If there was one memory from my childhood I could revisit, it would be CCM.Jamie D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03165223324932657451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-18346937196615351572009-07-02T15:17:13.177-04:002009-07-02T15:17:13.177-04:00wow..cool site. I'm definitely a fan of the I...wow..cool site. I'm definitely a fan of the Ice Rink era. CCM was by far the cooler of the two G'boro malls in its heyday. In addition to the Ice Rink, they had a kick-butt video arcade and the K&K Toys had a much better selection of stuff. <br /><br />My parents were always partial to Four Seaons Mall, so, it was always a treat for me to go out to Carolina Circle. My last visit out there , I think, was in 1991 to see "The Doors" movie. I also remember taking trips out there to see "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Return of the Jedi" the weekend each of those movies opened. The place was packed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-90274041173291539252009-04-07T12:18:00.000-04:002009-04-07T12:18:00.000-04:00Wow this really brings back memories...I actually ...Wow this really brings back memories...I actually worked 2 jobs through High School in CCM..One job at the Chippery (the cookie shop) downstairs by the food court and the other was the lil wooden name keychain stand in the open area in front of the food court. I practically lived in CCM from 1993-1997. Thanks for the site!<BR/>MelissaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-61824097335166489302009-03-30T19:24:00.000-04:002009-03-30T19:24:00.000-04:00I remember coming to Carolina Circle Mall Every Fr...I remember coming to Carolina Circle Mall Every Friday Night with my grandparents to eat at Piccadilly. When I would finish I would go and play video games in the arcade. I also remember seeing all three original Star Wars Movies at the theater.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07845755932954081476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-51418054452484520872009-01-10T15:19:00.000-05:002009-01-10T15:19:00.000-05:00I vividly remember ice skating at CCM when I was a...I vividly remember ice skating at CCM when I was a pre-teen in the 70's. It was truly a great place. As a teenager I worked for Belk at Westchester Mall in High Point. Later down the road, after college, I began working for Belk again, this time as a member of management. Back then all full-time and part-time employees were sent to CCM to be trained in Belk's training room which would later become the flea market. Now all training is done in the store using video, etc. What a change! I still work for Belk all these years later and miss both CCM and Westchester Mall.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-7982764008943143122009-01-10T14:20:00.000-05:002009-01-10T14:20:00.000-05:00i used to love to go to the restaurant that overlo...i used to love to go to the restaurant that overlooked the skating rink. i liked their onion soup and i always hoped to get one of the tables overlooking the rink.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-45432213650077648892009-01-10T12:19:00.000-05:002009-01-10T12:19:00.000-05:00Ice skating to the sweet sounds of New Edition, di...Ice skating to the sweet sounds of New Edition, dining at Annabelles overlooking the rink, man good times. I also saw T2 featuring the governator at the theater. This is a great blogAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-2817298182003518742009-01-10T11:22:00.000-05:002009-01-10T11:22:00.000-05:00I worked at Montgomery Ward from 1976 to 1979 as d...I worked at Montgomery Ward from 1976 to 1979 as dept manager of the men's clothing dept. I transferred here from the Montgomery Ward store in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland in 1976. I have good memories of the store as well as the whole mall.Gary Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16141944549512947155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-72554592117764383142008-12-03T23:43:00.000-05:002008-12-03T23:43:00.000-05:00I'm so happy that so many people remember CCM as f...I'm so happy that so many people remember CCM as fondly as I do. One of the more vivid memories I have is eating breakfast at Chick fil a and seeing mall walkers and wondering what they were doing walking around the mall when most of the stores weren't even open yet. I remember seeing Troll dolls for the very first time at a store in the mall, and seeing a CD for the very first time after see the Lion King and wanting the soundtrack my mom and I went to the music store and bought one, but we had no idea what it was so we had to go back and exchange it for a cassette tape.<BR/>I don't remember the ice rink but the carousel has stayed with me so much it's developed into an obsession all on it's on.<BR/>Then I remember not going to the mall for a few years and then having to do a school report that need travel brochures I went back and it was so sad and scary to walk in and have maybe ten stores open in the whole of the mall and even more distressing was that the carousel was gone. Then to walk into MWs in it's final days and the store wasn't even half the area it used to occupy.<BR/>More fondly I remember that staircase that you could walk up to the second level and I always thought I would fall through the openings because the steps weren't backed just one board above the other.<BR/>One last thing, a question. There was a store on the second level I want to say near the center of the mall but I could be off, to my young mind it was huge, it had a gold interior and and only windows on the front of the store. I want to say it was a lingerie store but it was probably just woman's apparel. Does anyone remember the name? I spent a lot of time hanging out on the white chairs in there while my mom shopped.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-46550421724269237722008-11-02T19:10:00.000-05:002008-11-02T19:10:00.000-05:00As I mentioned above, I worked at Montgomery Wards...As I mentioned above, I worked at Montgomery Wards in CCM from 1978-1982. It's interesting to me that many of the aspects of the mall that others here remember, I have no recollection of. For example, for the life of me, I don't remember a skating rink. And I worked there full-time for the better part of four years. My roommate at the time owned and managed the Gingiss Formalwear store at the exact opposite end of the mall. I walked the length of the mall several times a week to see him, have lunch, etc. But I don't remember a skating rink. I do remember once in 1979, I believe, that the mall had on display the Pontiac Firebird that James Garner drove in the television show The Rockford Files. If there are any other former employees from that time who are reading this, feel free to email me at dcraine56@comcast.net. I'd be interested to share stories and catch up.David Crainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17215201717059264518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-16644143988393351292008-10-02T16:52:00.000-04:002008-10-02T16:52:00.000-04:00I worked at Montgomery Ward in Carolina Circle Mal...I worked at Montgomery Ward in Carolina Circle Mall from 1978-1982 in the TV/stereo, sporting goods, lawn and garden, and major appliance departments and I have some fond memories of the place and the people I worked with. I'm kinda testing the waters here - I could write a fairly lengthy piece on those memories. I think I have a picture or two from that time. Is there is any interest?<BR/><BR/>October 1, 2008 6:55 PMDavid Crainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17215201717059264518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-28994424202815168992008-07-04T17:00:00.000-04:002008-07-04T17:00:00.000-04:00Wow! Thanks so much for making this site!This just...Wow! Thanks so much for making this site!<BR/><BR/>This just answered a question I've had for 30yrs. <BR/>Why do I vividly remember the Mad Hatter scaring the hell out of me in my stroller @ the mall?? LOL! I knew it happened at "the Circle", but had know idea Alice n Wonderland was the mall's theme. <BR/>Quite intresting.<BR/><BR/>I used to love coming to the Circle to shop. It was always so pretty. Loved Iveys and Wards! <BR/><BR/>Back in 93 my first job was at Starship Music. The best and must fun job of my life...I worked there twice! I'd quit a long time before the mall closed but I did see it coming during my time there.<BR/><BR/>Reports of purse robbing, assults...all in the new Pyrimids Village have been in the news here and there since Wally World opened. <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately there are some unruly,gangster mentalitied people;a lot in walking distance;living or loafing around the vicinity. Until the cops can help crackdown on these happenings, many people will take their business elsewhere. I know I do. I reside about 3 miles away, but choose to go to other Wal-Marts. <BR/><BR/>On the otherhand, Wal-Mart is going to get business regardless, so that is probably the best store to go on that property.<BR/><BR/>Overall, I do wish Carolina Circle Mall could of made it. I do have fond memories though and this site to cherish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-63349866592521009802008-06-15T20:40:00.000-04:002008-06-15T20:40:00.000-04:00I remember CCM from the early 80's as the place to...I remember CCM from the early 80's as the place to go for throwing stars and nunchucks (East West Gifts) and, of course, for Rocky Horror. Junior and Senior years, many Saturdays, I was part of a group that would for Rocky. I think that's where the AMC actually made their money at the time...we could see the degradation starting. <BR/><BR/>By the way, does anyone remember the skate park out back ca.1980? Wasn't that where it was?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-7283133701682704442008-05-27T15:19:00.000-04:002008-05-27T15:19:00.000-04:00I posted the following addition on the Wiki site:C...I posted the following addition on the Wiki site:<BR/>Carolina Circle Mall was a "kid friendly mall" with an ice rink, game room, toy stores and a "Teen Disco" called Current Events. In the early eighties a restaurant/bar that overlooked the ice rink named Annabelle's was the place for the "yuppie crowd" of northern Greensboro. With glass windows that allowed diners to watch ice skaters as they enjoyed an adult beverage and a good meal,and decor reminiscent of an old Inn the restaraunt was packed most nights.<BR/><BR/>The addition of a skate park on the eastern mall property near the waterslide also contributed to the "kid friendly" atmosphere. Teens could be regularly seen "cruising" in search of "dates" in the parking lot at the rear exit as well as inside the mall itself. Many a romance was begun by a young lad yelling from a car at a girl sitting on the wall outside the theater exit.<BR/><BR/>The demise of the mall can be traced to the low income apartments that were located behind the Kmart store near the mall and off White Street to the southeast. Older shoppers no longer felt safe going to the mall due to packs of roaming thugs and incidents of crime in the parking lot. Consequently, affluent shoppers began to stay away and returned to Friendly Shopping Center. But they also would not allow there children to venture to the mall on Friday and Saturday nights as had been customary, thus causing a mass exodus of retailers the likes of which has not been seen since the Israelites left Egypt.<BR/><BR/>The Greensboro Police took up satellite offices inside the mall which was believed to be a solution to the conditions mentioned above. But this only reinforced the apparent decline of the area. Roaming hooligans and a terrible odor from a waste water treatment plant nearby sealed the malls fate.<BR/><BR/>Today a WalMart Supercenter stands on the parcel that was once Carolina Circle Mall. The loss prevention reports from this WalMart show the area has not changed. According to confidentail corporate reports this store has one of the highest reports of pilferage in the region and will be slated for shutdown if it does not decrease dramatically.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-57206194426001640852007-11-19T01:06:00.000-05:002007-11-19T01:06:00.000-05:00The mall was the place I wanted to go as a small k...The mall was the place I wanted to go as a small kid. I used to love to play at the arcade (Electronic America, if I rememebr right). My mom would go shopping and I played at the arcade until I ran out of quarters. Remmeber how the change machines were on the side wall closest to the Orange Julius? Then there was the toy store right across from the skating rink. I prowled those three aisles a million times. As I got older, I went on dates to Annabelle's(that was one of the names, I can't rememebr what it was before that). One time, my date touched the huge glass globe in one of the downstairs booths back by the kitchen. The light bulb sparked and the whole section went dark as the breaker tripped. We ate a bunch of meals there. winding up that huge wodeen staircase and getting a seat near the windows so you could watch the skaters and the zamboni. I never see a zamboni that I don't think about that rink. Anyone remember the sasparilla drink? Camelot music was where I bought one of my first cassette tapes. I remember going to East-West and looking at the ninja stars. I don't remember buying one, only looking. <BR/>I distinctly rmemeber going to one of the department stores to buy Pac Man for the Atari(waaaay before it was called a 2600). No Best Buys back then. They were out of stock and we had to come back a week or so later.<BR/><BR/>Some of the photos here really bring back memories. Thanks for the effort.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16332240.post-38212593867643101182007-11-05T21:44:00.000-05:002007-11-05T21:44:00.000-05:00weel its good to hear great memories from the past...weel its good to hear great memories from the past i went to ne guilford and lived off n church street i rember going to the mall infact it was the first place in my life that my parents would drop my friends and i off alone i also remember staying with friends of mine and walking accross the stink pipe in efforts to get to the arcade i hated to see the death of carolina circle mall it was like loosing a child hood friend i evan had my first traffic accident in the parking lot of belk in 1993Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com