It's amazing to see that a Costco, Wal-mart and a target can coexist in a mall. Also the fact that a Jc Penny can survive there with a Walmart and target is very interesting
Strange indeed, I'm not sure who was there first, but if it was Walmart you would think they would have pushed to have a Sam's Club, but I know Walmart, Target, and Costco have had a bit of downturn, so I guess they are doing whatever it takes to keep business on the up, and up.
@@beawareprepare5348 Well Walmart's online has been loosing $1 billion a year, so I'm sure that does not help their overall bottom lines, they are closing Sam's Clubs across the country due to poor sales, and repurposing some into distribution centers, Target recently had their entire register system go down in all stores for over 2 hours, due to out of date software, which caused them to loose millions in sales, then before that was the security hack stealing customer info again due to out of date software, and as of May 30th Costco's stock dropped, and some market analyst gave it a downgrade. So take that for what you will.
Pretty sure JC Penny is barely surviving as a company, and Costco and Wal-mart/Target don't really compete directly with each other. CostCo generally has higher quality, bulk goods. Wal-mart, lower quality, variety of cheap goods, some bulk but not as high quality as most of Costco stuff.
Orlando FL Orlando.gov by the Mall of Millenia area, they put in a full Costco AND a BJs wholesale club. You could walk approx 200ft to get to each. 🙄.
H99351/Evan martinson BJs is more like a huge supermarket in a way. They have things you’d find in a normal grocery store but in bulk. Costco and Sams are more traditional warehouse stores. At least near me in the north east.
@H99351/Evan martinson I rarely go into BJs club. They are a lot like Costco or Sam's Club. It's odd theyd stick a location so close to a different brand but in central FL about 90% of CVS stores are within 100 yards of a Wal Greens. Lol... 😁
We used to go here a lot when I was a kid living in Phoenix. That was in the early-mid Seventies. I wouldn't necessarily have recognised it, but as I watched this video, those arched ceilings did, indeed trip memories. And I definitely remember the original JCPenney as shown in the photograph. For my birthday one year, we went there and I saw a movie by myself (the Disney "Alice in Wonderland" IIRC) while my parents shopped, and afterward, we went to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.
I was the assistant garden and pet department manager at Montgomery Ward in the early 70's here. Most won't believe it, but we had an actual plant nursery on the west side of the building which was always busy, and the pet department sold fish, birds and even puppies and kittens at the time. (Remember, this was WAY before Home Depots and PetSmarts). I left there in 74, as I met and married my first wife who also worked there, and we couldn't both work in the same store, so I went to work a local family owned nursery and landscaping firm, staying in the business for over 30 years. Oh, the memories! Thanks for this upbeat and historic look at this great mall!
Up until 2001, the mall would host car clubs, letting us display our historic vehicles. I was part of the Studebaker Drivers Club and park my pristine 1963 Studebaker Hawk in the corridor. The mall would hold about 30 classic cars. Our club was a local favorite, second only to the Corvette Club. The new mall ownership deemed vehicles too dangerous and stopped the practice. Those were the days
I was going to Christown mall in the 80's through the 90's. There used to be a small kiosk there near the main entrance that sold Indian tacos. As well as Indian bread. Yum!
Hes lucky no cops saw him He committed a serious traffic offense on camera. Failure to yield to pedestrian. Apparently Arizona is rated number 1 in pedestrian deaths so there trying to cut down
The first time I visited christown was in the spring of 1962 my Grandmothers art club was having a show and sale there fellow artists did a charcol portrait of myself and brothers that still hangs in my moms house today. it was great to see the old pictures and I think I will be visiting there again soon.
Here's a fun fact, more fun than most fun facts! The movie Empire Records was written by an employee who worked at Christown's Tower Records, characters based on their former co-workers and experiences! :)
I remember coming to this mall all the time when I was a child. Mostly around the early 90's. They used to have these amazing sand sculptures throughout the mall.
I read that due to high demand some 🇲🇽 Coca Cola plants may switch to a high fructose corn syrup version too. I'd check the label 😉. BTW, Mexican Coke is ✔. Wahlburgers 🍔 offers it.
I grew up a few blocks from Christown Mall in the late 80's to mid 90's. I would hop on my BMX on the weekends and go to the arcade and to the baseball card store. They also would have huge trading card events every so often and have people set up tables almost like a flea market. There was a small Chinese restaurant next to the arcade that would sell "egg rolls on a stick"! Good stuff. So many memories of that place. There was even a bar located in the basement, believe it or not (not that I ever got the chance to see inside as I was just a youngin'! Brings me back.
This mall may be one of the oldest malls in the United States that is still in business. Allot of other malls built in the 60s & 70s have failed and have shut down or been demolished.
King of Prussia opened in 1963 and it's currently duking it out with Mall of America as the number 1 mall in America. I don't think there's much if any of the original mall design left, though.
There is a mall in Tennessee called Hamilton place mall that was built in the mid 80s and is one of the lucky ones that are still open and has not died most its age are long gone.
In Houston we have Sharpstown mall now PlazAmericas. Opened as the first climate controlled mall in Houston in 1961. Architecture wise it has not been modernized at all and retains its original aesthetic. The area is not great but has seems a little better lately. The mall now focuses on the Hispanic community with Mexican markets and such. The Burlington actually occupies both floors of the old Montgomery Wards there.
I remember decades ago the old Walgreens inside the mall had a "Wags" diner, as well. The floor in the common areas of the mall was a drab red-orange, square quarry tile with gray grout, and some of the planters were lined with square yellow quarry tile.
Awww, my first job when I arrived in Phoenix and I was little youngin was at the Gordon Jewelers that use to be in this mall and my boyfriend use to work at the Game Stop. I remember there used to be a big fountain near that entrance, but it wasn't working back then if I remember right. I also remember them having the best Vietnamese restaurant in the area called Little Saigon. It had the neatest tables and a cool layout as well.
it is i had a security guard friend take me down there a few years ago its still has the bar and all the bench seats, everything is copper and leather.
Cool, I was just at that Costco yesterday! Always neat to view a video of a place you know personally. Forgot to mention: I shopped inside that Walmart once. Never again.
I worked at Christown at Montgomery Wards and Leonard's Luggage. I remember getting the employee of the quarter certificate which had a quarter attached to it. I have very fond memories of this mall; Pizza D'Amore, Judy's, Miracle Mile Deli, taking the elevator up to the UA Cinemas. I also worked at the Tower Records that was just south of the mall on 19th Ave & Missouri.
it's so good to see a historic mall that's not dead. most older malls like this I've seen are usually dead. Dutch Square mall, which was the first enclosed mall in my region is kinda dead (in my opinion due to an empty anchor), but I still hold out hope that it could recover because there is a nice movie theatre and many nice mom and pop shops.
The Christown mall used to have sand sculpture near the main entrance next to the Military offices. During the 90's when the first live action Flintstones movie came out they had a sand sculpture of the Flintstone's and the other one I remember was a giant shoe for the nursery rhyme for the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.
I grew up in Phoenix and went to this mall so much!! I remember the movie theater used to have an elevator to go up to it. I also remember the day the Walmart opened. And TMI, bought my first bra at the original JCPenney. 🤣🤣I also remember when they used to put sandcastles in the mall. I bought my NES and all my games at the Kay b toys. It really was a great mall!!
Worked at the Costco that relocated to Surprise Az . Very interesting mall for sure . Lots of good times there . Hope the place does okay after our exit . When I visited a couple of weeks ago the JC Penny was gone , and the fixtures and steel inside my old Costco warehouse were completely gone . As a staple for almost 20 years the fact of wasn’t there any longer was very sad and bittersweet. Thank you for covering this nice place in central Phoenix.
Even LOS Arcos in the 90s didn’t have AC. My mom would complain at Red Robin all the time. At Christown we actually met the cast from Saved by the Bell
I grew up in Az and went to Christown Mall quite often. I remember one year and this was still when Montgomery Wards was still there, They had huge sand castle displays running down the middle of the mall for a few months. I used to go there with my mom. She would go to the doll collectors store and I would hit Walden Books that was right next to the London Fog store. I have the best memories of me and my mom shopping there back in the day. Thank you for this video.
Grew up in Phoenix, now I live in the Midwest. I spent my childhood in Metrocenter, Chris-Town, and other malls, so I JUST discovered this channel and it means sooooooooo much to me, thank you! I remember the Walgreens in Chris-Town, I'd get cheap snacks there before a movie.
I grew up three blocks from Christown and lived at our home for 40 years. We were there before Christown opened. I remember we were in Kingman, AZ when it opened coming back from a summer trip. Apparently the mall made front page news. This mall is so much of my childhood history. We used to walk the three blocks as kids in the canal that ran down 15th Ave during the summers to hang out there. We loved to hang out at Bill’s Records where they had booths so you could play an album before you bought it. There was a Woolworths down by the Montgomery Wards where we cooled off with a chocolate malt at the in store food counter. Woolworth’s sold great 5 and dime stuff along with live baby turtles, baby alligators, and canaries. Canaries were about $5.00. We bought turtles and a canary there for my mom. I wouldn’t agree with that practice today, but as children, we didn’t know any better. Loved running into Mike Condello in Woolworths once after he did a Wallace and Ladmo show on Saturday night at the Fox Theater outside the mall. Loved the Miracle Mile Deli where my mom used to buy rye bread and my first taste of kosher hot dogs. In the later years, they had sand sculptures throughout the mall that were just incredible! So many memories!
My mother, someone who was born and lived in Phoenix as a kid, should enjoy that Christown bounced back. She didn’t seem too happy about the name change when I worked in Phoenix for a summer job in 2008.
6:58, 9:00: I love that when you go to malls, you either get something to drink or eat, or use one of these arcade/machine thingies. I feel like it's a way of giving back to the malls. Also, it feels more real, like we get to live more of the mall.
That place next to xi clothing was a bbb fashion and closed in april: i have a video on the payless in the start of the liquidation and a other in pheonix. Great video man!
Went with my father to Christown when I was 10 years old back in the 1960's. He shopped Montgomery Wards, one of my favorites as a kid because they had mini bikes and go carts for sale. Very busy mall during that time. I also went there many times after graduating from high school in the 70's just to hang out until Metro Center opened which was much closer to where I lived.
This is probably the most close to home video you've done, because I live just a few minutes away from this mall lol. This place was a huge part of my childhood, I knew it when it was still Christown, didn't care for the Spectrum name change, and I'm glad they found a middle ground with that. I used to come here to take pictures with Santa or the Easter Bunny and that Gamestop was also a frequent place I shopped at. I remember there used to be like a small bakery/pastry shop outside just to the right of the entrance (left if you're viewing from the perspective of leaving the mall).
Very nice to see the Christown Mall again. I lived for a while in Phoenix when it was smaller than today, in 1976, and visited again in 2003, and still saw the apartment near 16th St., and Colter, near where the Squaw Peak Expressway was built when we were back to visit in 2003. Our rent for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath ground floor apt was $225.00 a month back in 1976. It was a Schultz apartment development, and the only Oldsmobile dealer in Phoenix then was named Edward's. My parents bought a new 1976 Olds Cutlass, my parents had for nine years until 1985. We Also shopped at Metrocenter, of which it was pretty new then. I do remember the Goldwaters dept. store in Phoenix too, from the late Senator Goldwater's family. Yes, I think in 2003, Christown Mall had been renamed to Spectrum Mall, when we visited it. I remember seeing in 2003 that the Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale was torn down by then. I remember going to South Mountain, below Phoenix, where the TV and FM transmitter towers for Phoenix are located, it being Summer, was about 116 degrees out! Well, now being much older I and my spouse are located in Delray Beach, Florida, where now it's hot, about 90 in daytime and 80 at night, but no more NY winters to worry about, except the Hurricane's threats maybe late Summer, into Fall. The Boynton Beach Mall, near here, seems old, and has like most, closed stores. There was a Sears, it recently closed as did it last year at Boca Town Center, an upscale mall to our south, in Boca Raton. There is a J C Penney, ana Dillards at Boynton's mall, with a 14 screen Cinemark next to it. There is more to shop West Palm Beach to the north of us. We are in a modern, about six year old apartment building in the City of Delray Beach, with a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit, a large pool, Central AC, and a parking garage too. Rent these days is closer to $2000.00 a month.
I remember being a kid in the 80's and going to Woolworths and wards at christown. I never called it spectrum. I also remember shopping at the Dillard's clearance center where target is now. I remember drug stores were a normal thing in malls but they all vacated.
this was a lovely little explore for us - what I like about your vids is that you have just the right amount of knowledge of your subject and that you don't just feature dead malls.....there's not always enough of interest in just dead malls for me - I need a good balance of positive as well as negative and your vids provide this for me - and in an interesting format! thanx for this! ♥
I grew up in this mall, it was so cool. The floors and planters were all red brick. Also the only mall with a basement bar I have ever seen. Saw Santa there every year.
My mom and I used to frequent this mall and the TOWN & COUNTRY shopping center down the street. Near the main entrance used to be a KAY B TOYS where I got so many of my video games, toys, etc. Some of which I still own. There was also I believe a chinese restaurant here, a SUNCOAST and/or SAM GOODY here where I bought the casette tape of the MORTAL KOMBAT soundtrack and the last movies I remember seeing in the theater here were MORTAL KOMBAT and US MARSHALLS. Im trying to remember if there was a HOMETOWN BUFFT too. So many good memories but we had to ride the bus here which was time consuming but worth it. Great job on this episode!
I have no idea why, but it's always heartbreaking to watch a mall slowly die. I guess I'm too nostalgic. We have so few of these indoor malls left here in Birmingham, AL, and the ones we do have have fewer and fewer reasons to visit. It almost...ALMOST...makes me hate the internet. So many memories finding new malls and seeking out the record stores, the toy stores, the pet stores, and video game/software stores. These things are portals to my childhood and the feelings that evokes. Makes me wonder if I can find that CD I'm missing from my collection, or which Transformers I can find in stock.
I worked security here when this was filmed. And the manager ripped us a new asshole when he saw this video. Christown has a policy against filming on property. Thanks a lot Retail Archaeology.
"Policy" isn't Law...tell your manager where he can stick it. Until the government openly declares the U.S. is following fascism, the U.S. Constitution _still_ dictates citizen rights.
@@malcolmdrake6137 It is still private property. You have to follow the rules. If you continue to film when asked not to you can be trespassed from the property.
I’m a born and raised Phoenician, i always love seeing what history of Phoenix that has been recorded or preserved in a sense. Lot of old Phoenix is long gone at this point. Honestly sad.
I Wonder if Gina the Gypsy really reads one's hands and eyes or if it is just a random number generator inside with some pre-made phrases in its ROM that it retrieves.
Most likely it reads your finger pulses, then gathers phrases (PCM samples) and outcomes from the machine's ROM, while the coin mech sits over a power switch. Most arcades had their coin chutes used for credit switches until they all just became computers in cabinets.
I lived in Phoenix in the 90s. Christown did have a food court and it was also where one of the entrances to the Harkins Theaters were. The Walmart was there as well, although not a Super Walmart I worked at the mall at a place called Pretzelmaker, Walmart and a diner called Spoons Cafe which was around the corner from WalMart.
I was the store manager at the Christown Miller’s Outpost in 1980. This was the first Miller’s store in Phoenix. I returned in 1983 as the District Manager for Miller’s responsible for half of AZ. I could tell you a lot about the malls in AZ.
This was great to see. There is an extensive, well-done historical website about this mall which I'm sure you've been to, which was one of the first vintage mall things I ever came across online probably 15 or more years ago now. I visited just now for the first time in a long time and they continue to add to it and maintain it nicely. Great pictures from a time I will always miss. As for the modern day, I like the idea that they've kept the newer style "anchor" stores accessible into the mall interior. Often they don't in these situations and I think "what's the point then?" Hopefully in so doing they can keep it going into the future.
I had worked there for at that time? My youth group pastors wife. She was my boss, I worked at things remembered. During the Christmas Holiday Rush. Great memories, great fun, great friends.
In that end where Harkins theatre is at there used to be a food court with a 6 screen theatre above the food court. You had to take an escalator up to the theatre after you bought your ticket.
If you are after malls that have a walmart that are attached to malls there are 3 on the west side of Phoenix. One is Christown mall , Metro center mall and the 3rd one that I am aware of is maryvale mall
This was my local mall from moving here from the UK almost 20 years ago and the M Ward was one of the first stores I shopped and bought stuff for the new house. Feels kind of strange remembering part of history now gone.
We went to this mall a lot when we would come to the valley as it was close to my granmothers house. I remember as a kid one time in that first main area they had a huge lego display that was amazing.
Spent a good portion of the 80s there. It wasn't "my mall," but my dad worked there and when I wen to work with him, I used to walk to the mall to see movies. I also attended a summer program not too far away and we would walk over to Christown all the time.
Who else remembers the guy with the monkey that would take coins from you and tip his hat? I loved the sidewalk when I was a kid... it looked like gold flakes in the concrete, and I would wonder how I could get the gold out and go to Farrells with the money.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane. Used to live in the area and visited that mall time to time! Your videos make me nostalgic for the desert again as always.
This mall brought back so many memories from when I really really little. I remember going with my dad to buy a fridge at Montgomery Ward, and I remember seeing weird costumed Charlie Brown performers in the entry area. This was probably 1989.
I remember going to this mall as a kid back in the late 90's. It was freaking huge! At one point they had two harkins theater, which later the one that was inside on theeee 2nd floor!! turned into into those $2 discount theaters and the one out side of 19th ave! later got demolished due to the light rail lol. They used to have a Dillards lmao ! or some other department stores.
I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time at Chris Town in the 80's when it still retained the majority of it's "old-school" charm. It had the fountains, sand castles, anchor stores, was busy. I especially remember Miracle Mile Deli, The Janitor's Closet (an underground bar), Woolworth's, Radio Shack..... Although CT still exists, it's really sad to see it's current condition.
I REALLY miss all of the fountains and greenery inside of the mall. It was such a huge part of its identity and I was so upset when they started those early 2000s renos. Like you said, though, I'm glad they didn't level it.
It's breaking my heart seeing the state of the mall now. I never got to see the full mall in its best days but I did at the tail end when I worked at the Yucca library when it was in the mall in the early 2000s as a teen. Getting the Costco put in. Seeing the food original food court demolished. Then seeing it after west rear wing got demolished. Seeing the mall at the basic state its at now where most of all the shops are now. Seeing all the empty shops and that payless being closed just kills me inside. Such is the change in life though.
Awesome video, very well done! Was waiting for you to do one on this mall. You mentioned about the Petsmart and Ross only occupying the first floors of the building and in fact, yes there is still open space there that the mall is actually trying reopen. I saw sketches on how they plan to do this and its quite interesting. The mall is also trying to open up the main atrium to outside space with two restaurants occupying the sides, hence the small construction you saw to the right of you as you walked in the main entrance.
I like your mall vids. It brings me back to growing up in a mall called Laurel Plaza Mall it was in North Hollywood CA. Was damaged really bad in the Northridge Earthquake and they knocked it down, with my teenage memories ! It's had a ice rink and all that. So it was the mall to hang out at in the 60-70s
I don't know if you remember Tri City Mall in Mesa, but it was like a smaller version of Christown. Same entry way directly in JC Penneys like that. I remember the floor being a red brick/tile instead of what's there now.
In the 90's they had those sand sculptures all throughout. We used to eat at Miracle Mile deli because it was the only location at the time then walk around and see the sand designs.
Remember this mall was on life support in the early 2000's and I recall the sand sculptures throughout the mall. It's interesting to see the recruiting stations are still on the second floor. That Harkins had the best auditorium for a theater since they closed the Cine Capri when it was outside of the mall.
My favorite memories are Charlie's House Of Fun, the old blue fiberglass skateboard park in the parking lot that later went to Thrasherland... Miller's Outpost... and the downstairs bar?
Great video, thanks for doing it. My memories are blurry but when I was pretty young 5-7-ish years old, in the late 80s, my family lived a block or so from Christown. I was actually born in a hospital diagonally across the street. My dad and I used to walk to the mall and grab some food, I believe from a Carls Jr and walk the air conditioned mall of course. Very nostalgic for me even though my memories are so blurry. Really want to stop by there some day again now that I moved back to Phoenix. Unfortunately Costco has now left (and I think other stores) and it seems it's dying. Though recently (as in the last couple days as far as some articles that have come up) they seem to be proposing to turn it into a retail, commercial, living location. I'm all for that if it keeps it serving a purpose and they can keep some of the original parts. Better than just dying and being fully torn down or something.
That picture at 11:23 captures some mandela Effect residue...it has the 'S' in the name JC Pennys. Even in the classic Blues Brothers movie chase scene the mall sign now says JC Penney. and most people are not remembering the 'S' and there is no record of there ever being an S in the name...but this photo proves those of us that remember there being an S at the end before the reality shift change
I used to be a regional manager for Broadway back in the 80's. The two Broadway stores in AZ were included in my region which was Los Angeles. Used to travel to AZ to visit these stores twice a year, and they were always a treat-- I eventually settled here.
This mall will probably reach its 60th birthday, but it's an open question how much of a future this mall will have without the Costco and JCPenney anchors...
I once delivered to the Radio Shack here in 2000...the guy recieving was so drunk I almost fell over from the fumes...sad now I used to love that store and all the electronic gizmos
In Orlando FL, the common design is to set Payless locations in strip malls or locations by a larger mall. Only 2-3 area malls had Payless stores inside enclosed malls.
I remember bugging a friend of mine to drive me out to this mall from Gilbert back in high school because I had a Tower Records gift card I needed to use up.
It's amazing to see that a Costco, Wal-mart and a target can coexist in a mall. Also the fact that a Jc Penny can survive there with a Walmart and target is very interesting
Seeing a Costco in a Mall is a weird sight but also interesting
Strange indeed, I'm not sure who was there first, but if it was Walmart you would think they would have pushed to have a Sam's Club, but I know Walmart, Target, and Costco have had a bit of downturn, so I guess they are doing whatever it takes to keep business on the up, and up.
@@CommodoreFan64 I'm not sure about target but Walmart and Costco have been killing it lately, big numbers, huge gain on their stocks.
@@beawareprepare5348 Well Walmart's online has been loosing $1 billion a year, so I'm sure that does not help their overall bottom lines, they are closing Sam's Clubs across the country due to poor sales, and repurposing some into distribution centers, Target recently had their entire register system go down in all stores for over 2 hours, due to out of date software, which caused them to loose millions in sales, then before that was the security hack stealing customer info again due to out of date software, and as of May 30th Costco's stock dropped, and some market analyst gave it a downgrade.
So take that for what you will.
Pretty sure JC Penny is barely surviving as a company, and Costco and Wal-mart/Target don't really compete directly with each other. CostCo generally has higher quality, bulk goods. Wal-mart, lower quality, variety of cheap goods, some bulk but not as high quality as most of Costco stuff.
There's a Walmart AND a Target. I'd never have to leave. LOL
SueBobChicVid and its a Super Target which is even better
Orlando FL Orlando.gov by the Mall of Millenia area, they put in a full Costco AND a BJs wholesale club. You could walk approx 200ft to get to each. 🙄.
H99351/Evan martinson BJs is more like a huge supermarket in a way. They have things you’d find in a normal grocery store but in bulk. Costco and Sams are more traditional warehouse stores. At least near me in the north east.
@H99351/Evan martinson I rarely go into BJs club. They are a lot like Costco or Sam's Club. It's odd theyd stick a location so close to a different brand but in central FL about 90% of CVS stores are within 100 yards of a Wal Greens. Lol... 😁
*I LOVE THE HISTORIC PICTURES OF THIS MALL..FINALLY A MALL THAT UNDERSTANDS THAT THERE IS VALUE IN THEIR HISTORY!* Nice job mall management!
Hey you got your comments back, congrats!!! :D
Larry Bundy Jr Well, HELLO, YOU!
Hey, fancy seeing you here. I thought this was an obscure channel about places in my city and then BOOM mr bundy shows up.
@@kasuraga right?
I remember they used to have amazing sand castle/sculptures all the time. Those were always awesome to see.
Yeah, I remember one was a dragon that was reading books to children
We used to go here a lot when I was a kid living in Phoenix. That was in the early-mid Seventies. I wouldn't necessarily have recognised it, but as I watched this video, those arched ceilings did, indeed trip memories. And I definitely remember the original JCPenney as shown in the photograph. For my birthday one year, we went there and I saw a movie by myself (the Disney "Alice in Wonderland" IIRC) while my parents shopped, and afterward, we went to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.
I was the assistant garden and pet department manager at Montgomery Ward in the early 70's here. Most won't believe it, but we had an actual plant nursery on the west side of the building which was always busy, and the pet department sold fish, birds and even puppies and kittens at the time. (Remember, this was WAY before Home Depots and PetSmarts). I left there in 74, as I met and married my first wife who also worked there, and we couldn't both work in the same store, so I went to work a local family owned nursery and landscaping firm, staying in the business for over 30 years. Oh, the memories! Thanks for this upbeat and historic look at this great mall!
Up until 2001, the mall would host car clubs, letting us display our historic vehicles. I was part of the Studebaker Drivers Club and park my pristine 1963 Studebaker Hawk in the corridor. The mall would hold about 30 classic cars.
Our club was a local favorite, second only to the Corvette Club.
The new mall ownership deemed vehicles too dangerous and stopped the practice.
Those were the days
i remember that, they should do that again
I remember looking at the cars there when the car club had their event.
I was going to Christown mall in the 80's through the 90's. There used to be a small kiosk there near the main entrance that sold Indian tacos. As well as Indian bread. Yum!
Watching the guy at the beginning get pissed off at the car that stopped in the middle of the cross walk.
Lol, people really don't pay attention when driving here.
What? ... 😏... I missed that. He seems to walk to the side. I, HAVE gone 🦍 poo on cars, SUVs that do that. 😁
@Retail Archaeology Here in Oregon either. I've almost been run over a few times, still to this day the closest call was from a police labeled car.
Hes lucky no cops saw him
He committed a serious traffic offense on camera.
Failure to yield to pedestrian.
Apparently Arizona is rated number 1 in pedestrian deaths so there trying to cut down
@@dkecskes2199 same here in Wisconsin. People won't even let you finish crossing in the crosswalk before they speed off
Thanks for the video. That's a real interesting combination of stores, especially the Costco.
The first time I visited christown was in the spring of 1962 my Grandmothers art club was having a show and sale there fellow artists did a charcol portrait of myself and brothers that still hangs in my moms house today. it was great to see the old pictures and I think I will be visiting there again soon.
Here's a fun fact, more fun than most fun facts! The movie Empire Records was written by an employee who worked at Christown's Tower Records, characters based on their former co-workers and experiences! :)
I remember coming to this mall all the time when I was a child. Mostly around the early 90's. They used to have these amazing sand sculptures throughout the mall.
I remember United Artist Movie Theatre.
And my uncle worked as a mechanic at Montgomery Wards.
Didn't it have an escalator to it? Or was that a Harkins?
Worked at Broadway Southwest, Montgomery Ward, Swiss Colony, and Radio Shack in this mall.
I miss The Broadway.
@@seand2711 me too!!
Swiss Colony!!! Loved those when I was growing up.
Mexican Coke is made with actual cane sugar not that high fructose corn syrup stuff.
I read that due to high demand some 🇲🇽 Coca Cola plants may switch to a high fructose corn syrup version too. I'd check the label 😉. BTW, Mexican Coke is ✔. Wahlburgers 🍔 offers it.
Get British Coke if that's the case, that's made from cane sugar.
Exactly! Which is why it taste better than the Coca-Cola here in the States.
@Keith Gatlin yeah it's probably closer to the original recipe. Minus the actual coke/cocaine that was originally first put in
They offer it in the States in a green labeled glass bottle. At least for a while they did.
I grew up a few blocks from Christown Mall in the late 80's to mid 90's. I would hop on my BMX on the weekends and go to the arcade and to the baseball card store. They also would have huge trading card events every so often and have people set up tables almost like a flea market. There was a small Chinese restaurant next to the arcade that would sell "egg rolls on a stick"! Good stuff. So many memories of that place. There was even a bar located in the basement, believe it or not (not that I ever got the chance to see inside as I was just a youngin'! Brings me back.
This mall may be one of the oldest malls in the United States that is still in business. Allot of other malls built in the 60s & 70s have failed and have shut down or been demolished.
King of Prussia opened in 1963 and it's currently duking it out with Mall of America as the number 1 mall in America. I don't think there's much if any of the original mall design left, though.
There is a mall in Tennessee called Hamilton place mall that was built in the mid 80s and is one of the lucky ones that are still open and has not died most its age are long gone.
In Houston we have Sharpstown mall now PlazAmericas. Opened as the first climate controlled mall in Houston in 1961. Architecture wise it has not been modernized at all and retains its original aesthetic. The area is not great but has seems a little better lately. The mall now focuses on the Hispanic community with Mexican markets and such. The Burlington actually occupies both floors of the old Montgomery Wards there.
I remember decades ago the old Walgreens inside the mall had a "Wags" diner, as well. The floor in the common areas of the mall was a drab red-orange, square quarry tile with gray grout, and some of the planters were lined with square yellow quarry tile.
Awww, my first job when I arrived in Phoenix and I was little youngin was at the Gordon Jewelers that use to be in this mall and my boyfriend use to work at the Game Stop. I remember there used to be a big fountain near that entrance, but it wasn't working back then if I remember right. I also remember them having the best Vietnamese restaurant in the area called Little Saigon. It had the neatest tables and a cool layout as well.
There used to be a basement-level bar there called The Janitor’s Closet. I wonder if that space still exists.
it is i had a security guard friend take me down there a few years ago its still has the bar and all the bench seats, everything is copper and leather.
Amazing.
Does anyone here remember the name of the video arcade that was where Costco is now? thanks.
That ceiling is gorgeous!
Cool, I was just at that Costco yesterday! Always neat to view a video of a place you know personally. Forgot to mention: I shopped inside that Walmart once. Never again.
I worked at Christown at Montgomery Wards and Leonard's Luggage. I remember getting the employee of the quarter certificate which had a quarter attached to it. I have very fond memories of this mall; Pizza D'Amore, Judy's, Miracle Mile Deli, taking the elevator up to the UA Cinemas. I also worked at the Tower Records that was just south of the mall on 19th Ave & Missouri.
it's so good to see a historic mall that's not dead. most older malls like this I've seen are usually dead. Dutch Square mall, which was the first enclosed mall in my region is kinda dead (in my opinion due to an empty anchor), but I still hold out hope that it could recover because there is a nice movie theatre and many nice mom and pop shops.
Holy cow! That quesadilla looks awesome! I wish the video had smellovision for that alone! Now I want a quesadilla. Another epic video, Erick!
The Christown mall used to have sand sculpture near the main entrance next to the Military offices. During the 90's when the first live action Flintstones movie came out they had a sand sculpture of the Flintstone's and the other one I remember was a giant shoe for the nursery rhyme for the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.
I grew up in Phoenix and went to this mall so much!! I remember the movie theater used to have an elevator to go up to it. I also remember the day the Walmart opened. And TMI, bought my first bra at the original JCPenney. 🤣🤣I also remember when they used to put sandcastles in the mall. I bought my NES and all my games at the Kay b toys. It really was a great mall!!
Worked at the Costco that relocated to Surprise Az .
Very interesting mall for sure .
Lots of good times there .
Hope the place does okay after our exit .
When I visited a couple of weeks ago the JC Penny was gone , and the fixtures and steel inside my old Costco warehouse were completely gone .
As a staple for almost 20 years the fact of wasn’t there any longer was very sad and bittersweet.
Thank you for covering this nice place in central Phoenix.
Even LOS Arcos in the 90s didn’t have AC. My mom would complain at Red Robin all the time. At Christown we actually met the cast from Saved by the Bell
I grew up in Az and went to Christown Mall quite often. I remember one year and this was still when Montgomery Wards was still there, They had huge sand castle displays running down the middle of the mall for a few months. I used to go there with my mom. She would go to the doll collectors store and I would hit Walden Books that was right next to the London Fog store. I have the best memories of me and my mom shopping there back in the day. Thank you for this video.
Grew up in Phoenix, now I live in the Midwest. I spent my childhood in Metrocenter, Chris-Town, and other malls, so I JUST discovered this channel and it means sooooooooo much to me, thank you! I remember the Walgreens in Chris-Town, I'd get cheap snacks there before a movie.
I grew up three blocks from Christown and lived at our home for 40 years. We were there before Christown opened. I remember we were in Kingman, AZ when it opened coming back from a summer trip. Apparently the mall made front page news. This mall is so much of my childhood history. We used to walk the three blocks as kids in the canal that ran down 15th Ave during the summers to hang out there. We loved to hang out at Bill’s Records where they had booths so you could play an album before you bought it. There was a Woolworths down by the Montgomery Wards where we cooled off with a chocolate malt at the in store food counter. Woolworth’s sold great 5 and dime stuff along with live baby turtles, baby alligators, and canaries. Canaries were about $5.00. We bought turtles and a canary there for my mom. I wouldn’t agree with that practice today, but as children, we didn’t know any better. Loved running into Mike Condello in Woolworths once after he did a Wallace and Ladmo show on Saturday night at the Fox Theater outside the mall. Loved the Miracle Mile Deli where my mom used to buy rye bread and my first taste of kosher hot dogs. In the later years, they had sand sculptures throughout the mall that were just incredible! So many memories!
My mother, someone who was born and lived in Phoenix as a kid, should enjoy that Christown bounced back. She didn’t seem too happy about the name change when I worked in Phoenix for a summer job in 2008.
Definitely a nice piece to watch,
Peace out everyone and keep looking at your shopping centers 👍
Great video, those vintage pics are awesome
I love this mall! I started hanging out here in the 70s! There used to be a fun ice cream parlor here called Farrell's. Any of you remember it?
Steven Som Yes!
Yup. Remember Charlie's House of Fun on the outside?
The Farrell’s at Metrocenter was way better
@@danieldaniels7571 you're crazy
Thank you. I enjoyed this mall when I lived in Phoenix. It was my go to mall and favorite mall. Thank you
6:58, 9:00: I love that when you go to malls, you either get something to drink or eat, or use one of these arcade/machine thingies. I feel like it's a way of giving back to the malls. Also, it feels more real, like we get to live more of the mall.
I went to Christown mall as a child, every year they had sand sculptures throughout the mall, they were so cool.
When they tear one of these down is it spelled demolished or de-mall-ished?
That place next to xi clothing was a bbb fashion and closed in april: i have a video on the payless in the start of the liquidation and a other in pheonix. Great video man!
Went with my father to Christown when I was 10 years old back in the 1960's. He shopped Montgomery Wards, one of my favorites as a kid because they had mini bikes and go carts for sale. Very busy mall during that time. I also went there many times after graduating from high school in the 70's just to hang out until Metro Center opened which was much closer to where I lived.
Fun fact: There was a person that ran a rickshaw at this mall when it opened and was featured on an episode of What's my line in 1963
I went to star wars "a new hope " in I think 1997 , in the old move theater at this mall.
Me too!
This is probably the most close to home video you've done, because I live just a few minutes away from this mall lol. This place was a huge part of my childhood, I knew it when it was still Christown, didn't care for the Spectrum name change, and I'm glad they found a middle ground with that. I used to come here to take pictures with Santa or the Easter Bunny and that Gamestop was also a frequent place I shopped at.
I remember there used to be like a small bakery/pastry shop outside just to the right of the entrance (left if you're viewing from the perspective of leaving the mall).
Very nice to see the Christown Mall
again. I lived for a while in Phoenix
when it was smaller than today, in
1976, and visited again in 2003, and
still saw the apartment near 16th St.,
and Colter, near where the Squaw Peak
Expressway was built when we were back to visit in 2003. Our rent for a 2
bedroom, 1 bath ground floor apt was
$225.00 a month back in 1976. It was
a Schultz apartment development, and
the only Oldsmobile dealer in Phoenix
then was named Edward's. My parents bought a new 1976 Olds Cutlass, my
parents had for nine years until 1985.
We Also shopped at Metrocenter, of
which it was pretty new then. I do remember the Goldwaters dept. store
in Phoenix too, from the late Senator
Goldwater's family. Yes, I think in 2003,
Christown Mall had been renamed to
Spectrum Mall, when we visited it. I
remember seeing in 2003 that the Los
Arcos Mall in Scottsdale was torn down by then. I remember going to
South Mountain, below Phoenix, where
the TV and FM transmitter towers for
Phoenix are located, it being Summer,
was about 116 degrees out! Well, now
being much older I and my spouse are
located in Delray Beach, Florida, where
now it's hot, about 90 in daytime and
80 at night, but no more NY winters to
worry about, except the Hurricane's threats maybe late Summer, into Fall.
The Boynton Beach Mall, near here, seems old, and has like most, closed
stores. There was a Sears, it recently
closed as did it last year at Boca Town
Center, an upscale mall to our south, in
Boca Raton. There is a J C Penney, ana Dillards at Boynton's mall, with a 14 screen Cinemark next to it. There is more to shop West Palm Beach to the
north of us. We are in a modern, about
six year old apartment building in the
City of Delray Beach, with a 2 bedroom,
2 bath unit, a large pool, Central AC, and a parking garage too. Rent these
days is closer to $2000.00 a month.
I remember being a kid in the 80's and going to Woolworths and wards at christown. I never called it spectrum. I also remember shopping at the Dillard's clearance center where target is now. I remember drug stores were a normal thing in malls but they all vacated.
No Phoenix natives ever call it Spectrum
this was a lovely little explore for us - what I like about your vids is that you have just the right amount of knowledge of your subject and that you don't just feature dead malls.....there's not always enough of interest in just dead malls for me - I need a good balance of positive as well as negative and your vids provide this for me - and in an interesting format! thanx for this! ♥
I grew up in this mall, it was so cool. The floors and planters were all red brick. Also the only mall with a basement bar I have ever seen.
Saw Santa there every year.
My mom and I used to frequent this mall and the TOWN & COUNTRY shopping center down the street. Near the main entrance used to be a KAY B TOYS where I got so many of my video games, toys, etc. Some of which I still own. There was also I believe a chinese restaurant here, a SUNCOAST and/or SAM GOODY here where I bought the casette tape of the MORTAL KOMBAT soundtrack and the last movies I remember seeing in the theater here were MORTAL KOMBAT and US MARSHALLS. Im trying to remember if there was a HOMETOWN BUFFT too. So many good memories but we had to ride the bus here which was time consuming but worth it.
Great job on this episode!
Chinese restaurant was called Yang Dynasty
I have no idea why, but it's always heartbreaking to watch a mall slowly die. I guess I'm too nostalgic. We have so few of these indoor malls left here in Birmingham, AL, and the ones we do have have fewer and fewer reasons to visit. It almost...ALMOST...makes me hate the internet. So many memories finding new malls and seeking out the record stores, the toy stores, the pet stores, and video game/software stores. These things are portals to my childhood and the feelings that evokes. Makes me wonder if I can find that CD I'm missing from my collection, or which Transformers I can find in stock.
I worked security here when this was filmed. And the manager ripped us a new asshole when he saw this video. Christown has a policy against filming on property. Thanks a lot Retail Archaeology.
"Policy" isn't Law...tell your manager where he can stick it. Until the government openly declares the U.S. is following fascism, the U.S. Constitution _still_ dictates citizen rights.
@@malcolmdrake6137 It is still private property. You have to follow the rules. If you continue to film when asked not to you can be trespassed from the property.
I’m a born and raised Phoenician, i always love seeing what history of Phoenix that has been recorded or preserved in a sense. Lot of old Phoenix is long gone at this point. Honestly sad.
Loved your comment on 'all those vintage cars!'
I Wonder if Gina the Gypsy really reads one's hands and eyes or if it is just a random number generator inside with some pre-made phrases in its ROM that it retrieves.
Most likely it reads your finger pulses, then gathers phrases (PCM samples) and outcomes from the machine's ROM, while the coin mech sits over a power switch. Most arcades had their coin chutes used for credit switches until they all just became computers in cabinets.
The music was almost identical to a portion of "The Twilight Zone" theme. 🤔
I had memories there their used to be a BBBs fasions and acco but those two stores closed
I lived in Phoenix in the 90s. Christown did have a food court and it was also where one of the entrances to the Harkins Theaters were. The Walmart was there as well, although not a Super Walmart I worked at the mall at a place called Pretzelmaker, Walmart and a diner called Spoons Cafe which was around the corner from WalMart.
My favorite thing about this mall was coming here for Trick-or-treating on Halloween as a child. :'( Will be missed.
I was the store manager at the Christown Miller’s Outpost in 1980. This was the first Miller’s store in Phoenix. I returned in 1983 as the District Manager for Miller’s responsible for half of AZ. I could tell you a lot about the malls in AZ.
I used to work there in the early 90’s! I now frequent the Costco and take a walk down memory lane each time. 😊
This was great to see. There is an extensive, well-done historical website about this mall which I'm sure you've been to, which was one of the first vintage mall things I ever came across online probably 15 or more years ago now. I visited just now for the first time in a long time and they continue to add to it and maintain it nicely. Great pictures from a time I will always miss. As for the modern day, I like the idea that they've kept the newer style "anchor" stores accessible into the mall interior. Often they don't in these situations and I think "what's the point then?" Hopefully in so doing they can keep it going into the future.
I had worked there for at that time? My youth group pastors wife. She was my boss, I worked at things remembered. During the Christmas Holiday Rush.
Great memories, great fun, great friends.
In that end where Harkins theatre is at there used to be a food court with a 6 screen theatre above the food court. You had to take an escalator up to the theatre after you bought your ticket.
If you are after malls that have a walmart that are attached to malls there are 3 on the west side of Phoenix. One is Christown mall , Metro center mall and the 3rd one that I am aware of is maryvale mall
Thank you for sharing that! I wondered what part of the mall that theater was located.
This was my local mall from moving here from the UK almost 20 years ago and the M Ward was one of the first stores I shopped and bought stuff for the new house. Feels kind of strange remembering part of history now gone.
Great mall so many memories! I remember they had an arcade store / repair! I was always wishing.
We went to this mall a lot when we would come to the valley as it was close to my granmothers house. I remember as a kid one time in that first main area they had a huge lego display that was amazing.
Did lots of Christmas photos here with Santa in the early 80s. Good to see it still around.
Spent a good portion of the 80s there. It wasn't "my mall," but my dad worked there and when I wen to work with him, I used to walk to the mall to see movies. I also attended a summer program not too far away and we would walk over to Christown all the time.
I worked at that jcp from 2010 to 2014 , great memories at that mall
Who else remembers the guy with the monkey that would take coins from you and tip his hat? I loved the sidewalk when I was a kid... it looked like gold flakes in the concrete, and I would wonder how I could get the gold out and go to Farrells with the money.
Ha! Just posted the same question. Yea, I remember the monkey. Probably be frowned upon now.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane. Used to live in the area and visited that mall time to time! Your videos make me nostalgic for the desert again as always.
Another great video!
This mall brought back so many memories from when I really really little. I remember going with my dad to buy a fridge at Montgomery Ward, and I remember seeing weird costumed Charlie Brown performers in the entry area. This was probably 1989.
I remember going to this mall as a kid back in the late 90's. It was freaking huge! At one point they had two harkins theater, which later the one that was inside on theeee 2nd floor!! turned into into those $2 discount theaters and the one out side of 19th ave! later got demolished due to the light rail lol. They used to have a Dillards lmao ! or some other department stores.
This was such a great video. Thanks for bringing us along!
I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time at Chris Town in the 80's when it still retained the majority of it's "old-school" charm. It had the fountains, sand castles, anchor stores, was busy. I especially remember Miracle Mile Deli, The Janitor's Closet (an underground bar), Woolworth's, Radio Shack.....
Although CT still exists, it's really sad to see it's current condition.
Good video!! Was there in 1982 on vacation. Was a great native American Indian store: Godbers, got great Santa Clara black pottery!! What fun!!
Great tour of an awsome looking mall I loved how that place look I woul absolutely shop there if I lived in the area.
I REALLY miss all of the fountains and greenery inside of the mall. It was such a huge part of its identity and I was so upset when they started those early 2000s renos. Like you said, though, I'm glad they didn't level it.
It's breaking my heart seeing the state of the mall now. I never got to see the full mall in its best days but I did at the tail end when I worked at the Yucca library when it was in the mall in the early 2000s as a teen. Getting the Costco put in. Seeing the food original food court demolished. Then seeing it after west rear wing got demolished. Seeing the mall at the basic state its at now where most of all the shops are now. Seeing all the empty shops and that payless being closed just kills me inside. Such is the change in life though.
Awesome video, very well done! Was waiting for you to do one on this mall. You mentioned about the Petsmart and Ross only occupying the first floors of the building and in fact, yes there is still open space there that the mall is actually trying reopen. I saw sketches on how they plan to do this and its quite interesting. The mall is also trying to open up the main atrium to outside space with two restaurants occupying the sides, hence the small construction you saw to the right of you as you walked in the main entrance.
I like your mall vids. It brings me back to growing up in a mall called Laurel
Plaza Mall it was in North Hollywood CA. Was damaged really bad in the Northridge Earthquake and they knocked it down, with my teenage memories ! It's had a ice rink and all that. So it was the mall to hang out at in the 60-70s
When I was little, in the mid 80's, the Wallgreens here had a cafe attached. My grandma would take me there for lunch.
I don't know if you remember Tri City Mall in Mesa, but it was like a smaller version of Christown. Same entry way directly in JC Penneys like that. I remember the floor being a red brick/tile instead of what's there now.
In the 90's they had those sand sculptures all throughout. We used to eat at Miracle Mile deli because it was the only location at the time then walk around and see the sand designs.
Remember this mall was on life support in the early 2000's and I recall the sand sculptures throughout the mall. It's interesting to see the recruiting stations are still on the second floor. That Harkins had the best auditorium for a theater since they closed the Cine Capri when it was outside of the mall.
My favorite memories are Charlie's House Of Fun, the old blue fiberglass skateboard park in the parking lot that later went to Thrasherland... Miller's Outpost... and the downstairs bar?
This was great coverage, I enjoyed it very much. Thank you
Great video, thanks for doing it. My memories are blurry but when I was pretty young 5-7-ish years old, in the late 80s, my family lived a block or so from Christown. I was actually born in a hospital diagonally across the street. My dad and I used to walk to the mall and grab some food, I believe from a Carls Jr and walk the air conditioned mall of course. Very nostalgic for me even though my memories are so blurry. Really want to stop by there some day again now that I moved back to Phoenix.
Unfortunately Costco has now left (and I think other stores) and it seems it's dying. Though recently (as in the last couple days as far as some articles that have come up) they seem to be proposing to turn it into a retail, commercial, living location. I'm all for that if it keeps it serving a purpose and they can keep some of the original parts. Better than just dying and being fully torn down or something.
That picture at 11:23 captures some mandela Effect residue...it has the 'S' in the name JC Pennys. Even in the classic Blues Brothers movie chase scene the mall sign now says JC Penney. and most people are not remembering the 'S' and there is no record of there ever being an S in the name...but this photo proves those of us that remember there being an S at the end before the reality shift change
I love the history of the mall. ♥️ And the picture of the 1950s/60s cars.
I used to be a regional manager for Broadway back in the 80's. The two Broadway stores in AZ were included in my region which was Los Angeles. Used to travel to AZ to visit these stores twice a year, and they were always a treat-- I eventually settled here.
This mall used to be PACKED with shoppers back in the 80's
I didn't realize not all the Broadway's in AZ were under the Broadway Southwest Division. Just assumed they were.
I spent a great portion of my teenage existence at this mall back in the mid 1980s. It is nice to see that it continues.
This mall will probably reach its 60th birthday, but it's an open question how much of a future this mall will have without the Costco and JCPenney anchors...
I once delivered to the Radio Shack here in 2000...the guy recieving was so drunk I almost fell over from the fumes...sad now I used to love that store and all the electronic gizmos
Literally clicked on this video in 0.115 seconds
I remember visiting Christown every year as a kid for the sand sculpture contest. I think it was around Christmas if memory serves.
Some Payless Shoe stores all mall still have the old logo and some others have the new design.
In Orlando FL, the common design is to set Payless locations in strip malls or locations by a larger mall. Only 2-3 area malls had Payless stores inside enclosed malls.
I remember bugging a friend of mine to drive me out to this mall from Gilbert back in high school because I had a Tower Records gift card I needed to use up.
Tower Records was my Favorite place to be when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s, in CA though.