As a student in choir at Medinah Middle, we sang at the mall. I remember having a birthday party at Farrells. Probably was 79 or 78. Good times. No smash and grabs to worry about.
What a great find. It was a magnificent mall then. I lived there only in 1985-86 but I loved that area and still miss it. Also be sure not to miss the all-too-fleeting glimpse of a fabulous movie theater -- the Woodfield Cinemas I & II -- at the beginning.
I worked on the construction of that mall. Massive undertaking in the middle of a corn field. It attracted all the construction that happened around it so it worked out for the good even though it closed down. I was just out of high school. My best friend and I were carpenter and concrete laborers. We worked mostly on the fountains that were all over that place. I comment to my friend that it was stupid that they were burying the water supply pipes so deep below the concrete floor that they would have to abandon the fountains rather than fix them if any failures happened. As decades went by I watched those fountains disappear one by one. An 18 year old with common sense is better than some Engineers with degrees.
My mom used to take us to a place in the mall called "The Skewer". It's where I had my first gyro. SO good! I loved looking through the window at the meat being shaved off of the spit.
Hung out there quite a bit in the 80s. I remember eating at a burger place called Roy Rogers. Also remember a Hello Kitty store, an Aca Joe and an outdoors place called Erehwon near Sears.
Late 70's for me. My parents would go to the 'head shop' and my brother and I would play on the bricks. Wasn't there a giant yellow and orange water tower outside?
I remember the ice skating rink, which you could view through a window in John’s Garage restaurant. Later, Woodfield had a Mars 2112 restaurant that was a cool gimmick. To get to the restaurant, you would hop in this VR spaceship. The restaurant itself looked like you were on the surface of Mars, with its own unique Martian cuisine.
I love how it’s like wow so cool I love the lobby and the fountains to chill for a min. Let’s go it’s fun! End of the video, “Wait wait!! I forgot about the parking lot from hell!!” Jk love the mall 😎
Early 80’s when the middle class was strong and had money to spend! I used to go to the Eddie Bauer on the upper level. The last time I went, the Sears was gone and the mall looked like the United Nations! Malls are all dying now, much like our major cities, and our country.
It's still in pretty good shape. As far as most malls go. On one of the floors of Sears Primark has moved in. My wife and I go there for a 2-mile walk during inclement weather, the place is so big. It's pretty easy to get 2 mi walking through there.
Developmental cycle of a white, Chicago area yuppie: 1. Graduate high school 2. Graduate from U of IL 3. Move to Lincoln Park or Lakeview, pay $5000/month for a roach hotel. 4. Grad school at UIC/DePaul 5. Get married and move to Schaumburg
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I worked at a music store there in the 80s. Part of the time I was a "front pumper," the guy playing the organ to drum up customers.
This is where I spent my weekends growing up. I remember all of this.
The mall had a great Gyro and Pretzel place.
Great clip!! I remember walking under the waterfall in the center court growing up!
Thanks alot mate!
I remember that too
Makes me miss Marshall Field's even more.😢 Freaking Macy's...
Macys is definitely no Marshall Fields
As a student in choir at Medinah Middle, we sang at the mall. I remember having a birthday party at Farrells. Probably was 79 or 78. Good times. No smash and grabs to worry about.
Wow, I was not expecting to see that there used to be a skating rink there.
I used to go there a lot and forgot about it.
I spent alot of chill/study time on those red steps in between classes in college. Great times.
What a great find. It was a magnificent mall then. I lived there only in 1985-86 but I loved that area and still miss it. Also be sure not to miss the all-too-fleeting glimpse of a fabulous movie theater -- the Woodfield Cinemas I & II -- at the beginning.
I worked on the construction of that mall. Massive undertaking in the middle of a corn field. It attracted all the construction that happened around it so it worked out for the good even though it closed down. I was just out of high school. My best friend and I were carpenter and concrete laborers. We worked mostly on the fountains that were all over that place. I comment to my friend that it was stupid that they were burying the water supply pipes so deep below the concrete floor that they would have to abandon the fountains rather than fix them if any failures happened. As decades went by I watched those fountains disappear one by one. An 18 year old with common sense is better than some Engineers with degrees.
My mom used to take us to a place in the mall called "The Skewer". It's where I had my first gyro. SO good!
I loved looking through the window at the meat being shaved off of the spit.
I love the vintage camera look.
Does anyone remember the aquarium under this structure? Free entertainment
Beautiful, can't wait till we can time travel.
Hung out there quite a bit in the 80s. I remember eating at a burger place called Roy Rogers. Also remember a Hello Kitty store, an Aca Joe and an outdoors place called Erehwon near Sears.
Late 70's for me. My parents would go to the 'head shop' and my brother and I would play on the bricks. Wasn't there a giant yellow and orange water tower outside?
I remember the ice skating rink, which you could view through a window in John’s Garage restaurant.
Later, Woodfield had a Mars 2112 restaurant that was a cool gimmick. To get to the restaurant, you would hop in this VR spaceship. The restaurant itself looked like you were on the surface of Mars, with its own unique Martian cuisine.
Went here as a kid in the 90’s! The animatronics tree in the rainforest cafe freaked me out!
I miss the A&W inside the mall. Even McDonald's is gone. But it still has a lot going on with the food court and arcades.
Back when even folks who went to a mall, did so with grace and dignity.
Was the best..late 80's/early 90's...
Ate at John’s Garage.
I drank at John’s Garage😃
I worked at John's Garage🙂
Woodfield had, and maybe still has the most retail space of any mall in the country.
Until “Mall of America” came around and took the title
Randall park mall surpassed it. Then mall of America came along
Ah, Yes! Those were the days!
I was only 3 when this was taken but went here a decent amt in late 90s and 2000s.
Is that the same John’s Garage that used to be at Ford City Mall? I never knew they had more than one location if it is.
I love how it’s like wow so cool I love the lobby and the fountains to chill for a min. Let’s go it’s fun! End of the video, “Wait wait!! I forgot about the parking lot from hell!!” Jk love the mall 😎
It pretty much looks unchanged from this layout to this day.
Also holds up very nice, probably Ektachrome 160.
This mall is still super nice these days
Haven't been there since the early 80s. What's it like now?
Oh you wouldnt believe it haha. Went there last week
Song name?
When did they take out the skating rink?
Lawyers likely
Seems like yesterday
Early 80’s when the middle class was strong and had money to spend! I used to go to the Eddie Bauer on the upper level. The last time I went, the Sears was gone and the mall looked like the United Nations! Malls are all dying now, much like our major cities, and our country.
Well, a guy from your country founded Amazon and now that‘s where the money goes, that used to be spent in malls. 🤷♂️
It's still in pretty good shape. As far as most malls go. On one of the floors of Sears Primark has moved in. My wife and I go there for a 2-mile walk during inclement weather, the place is so big. It's pretty easy to get 2 mi walking through there.
Online shopping destroyed malls. Just like malls destroyed shopping the downtown areas of cities.
Typical doomer. “Everything is dying”. Please shut up.
Can you tell people WHY Sears is gone??? (Hedge Funds and BAD Management)
I’ve only been there in 2018? I forget which year
Developmental cycle of a white, Chicago area yuppie:
1. Graduate high school
2. Graduate from U of IL
3. Move to Lincoln Park or Lakeview, pay $5000/month for a roach hotel.
4. Grad school at UIC/DePaul
5. Get married and move to Schaumburg
Iseen kiss there in 1974 They had there kissing contest there
Wow… 90’s baby here..used to go here late 90’s early 2k’s to shop lift LoL and hang with the grills. Would be impossible to steal during that time.