A Closer Look at the Carousel Controversy

Today, I thought we would take a closer look at the Ice Rink Vs. Carousel issue and try to make some sense out of all this.

As you all know, Sunshine Properties bought Carolina Circle Mall in August 1986 and hired Strouse Greenberg to renovate the mall in 1987. June of 1988 brought the unveiling of the new Carolina Circle Mall which included a new color scheme, brighter lighting, the famous Circle Crescent Emblem, and most importantly, a new Carousel.

You also probably know that the new Carousel and Food Court required the removal of the Ice Chalet.

And this is where the problem occurs. You see; a lot of people came to the mall for the rink. People loved to watch people ice skate, catch an ice show, and even participate in the skating. From what I've heard, it was pretty awesome.

Carolina Circle Mall's Ice Rink at the time was the only rink in Greensboro. And when the rink was removed in 1988 and replaced with the Carousel, people simply boycotted this new situation.

In television terms, people have decided that this is the point in the mall's history where it "jumped the shark".

People who know me know that I have always preferred the Carousel Era over the Ice Rink Era. However, I try to show respect for the Ice Rink Era as well. The main reason why I prefer the Carousel Era is because it's the era I grew up in. I missed the Ice Rink by about a year and a half.

I believe that the Carousel Era had as much luster as the Ice Rink Era did, but in its own special way.

According to my research at the library and the Internet, many special events occurred during the Carousel Era that could have passed during the Ice Rink Era. Famous people such as Dale Earnhardt, Richard Simmons, and The Muppets visited the mall during the Carousel Era during the 1990s.

Also, other special events during the 1990s included Santa Claus parachuting to the mall in 1993, at least one 4th of July fireworks show in 1994, sports card shows, and Halloween Trick or Treat parties that occurred until at least 1995.

In conclusion, I simply believe the Carousel Era doesn't get the respect it deserves. Don't get me wrong though. The Ice Rink Era was pretty awesome from videos, pictures, and stories I've seen. Gotta love that Cheshire Cat. Any opinions?

Great Moments in Roadgeek History Part Deux

Alright, time for me to speak my mind about everyone's favorite icon. And I don't mean ice cream.

The carousel at Australia Circle Mall spun in the other direction.

And remember folks, if your restroom sign says "Carolina Circle Mall", that means it's from Carolina Circle Mall. Duh!

Here's how you can tell that this picture was taken in 2005. If this were 1995, there would be a lot more people in there, and the health inspector would have shut the place down in a heart-beat if he saw that mess.

Great Moments in Roadgeek History

I'm going to show off some pictures of certain locations of the mall where I did certain things. Also, I'm going to let off my opinions. ;-)

This is the part of the mall where I'd always enter from. This is the door to Eckerd Drug.

Tisk tisk. Vandallism is SERIOUSLY an ugly thing.

Squares? Uh, this is Carolina CIRCLE Mall, not Carolina Square Mall.

Is Carolina Circle Mall Underappreciated?

Is it just me, or does Carolina Circle Mall not receive the respect it deserves?

There are many many dead malls in the world that receive plently attention. In fact, there are a number of dead malls in North Carolina that receive respect.

However, the dead mall Carolina Circle Mall doesn't receive its fair share of respect. That's one of the many reasons why I started Carolina Circle City.

Dead Malls.com is one of my favorite websites. It gives me information on everything except Carolina Circle Mall, but it only gives you a link to another website.

Wikipedia.com is another great source. Well, sometimes. No one needs to know that some guy needs to quit correcting the spelling of the other guy. Anyway, the articles for Carolina Circle Mall are always deleted off of Wikipedia. Why? Because they say no one cares about an old defunct mall. But still, there are plently of other articles about other dead malls. I'm confused.

Recent Popularity

I've noticed something throughout my online journey for info about Carolina Circle Mall. I've noticed that just like a famous person, the mall has gained more popularity after its death.

People are finally realizing that was a great mall. If it was this popular 10 years ago, the copyright date on the mall would be 2005.

I am very happy about this boom in Carolina Circle popularity.

But, I was on one site that said nothing but bad things about the mall. I was disgusted. An old defunct mall? Uh, hello? That mall supposebly had a great ice rink and it certainly had a great carousel that put it in the book. Well, that was one site.