Carolina Circle Mall Tribute
by sLiPpY | Published on July 27th, 2011, 8:43 pm | Greensboro
| Billy Coore of McCleansville collects Carolina Circle Mall Memorabilia. He's put together an interesting blog to share his collection with the public. 2009 Article from the News & Record http://www.news-record.com/content/2009 ... ircle_mall Carolina Circle City Blogspot http://ccmallcity.blogspot.com/2010/08/ ... ircle.html Greensboring.com's "A Last Ode to Carolina Circle Mall viewtopic.php?f=19&t=769 Like many I went with my family on opening day in 1976. It was the only Ice Rink in Greensboro, and this nine year old's first attempt at a new life experience. During the late 1980's, the movie theatre ran the Rocky Horror Picture show late at night religiously. People would dress up in costumes and interact. On a summer break from college, I worked at Annabelle's waiting tables. The "yuppie" era had come to a close and "grunge" was emerging in Greensboro. The clientelle had fallen off, and a few were left who'd speak of the evenings when it was packed and "the" place to go. Even though I could have made more somewhere else; it was still a cool place and I enjoyed the view of the ice rink from the resturant windows. Who could ever forget the hideous signature burnt orange carpet of Montgomery Wards? Even on opening day, it was obvious the elements that would lead to the mall's eventual demise. The location was out of the way. The sewage treatment plant smelled bad. The architecture was dated, two years after it opened. It didn't feel like a safe area. But there was something about it, that made it a "good energy space." It had a whole different feel vs. other malls in the area. There are a lot of dying or abandoned malls in America today. Carolina Circle and several other NC, and National Malls are featured at http://deadmalls.com/ It's interesting to think about a Mall as being a societal institution, just as surely as a church, a school, or any other structured activities people collectively gather together to do. FYI Friendly Center almost became an enclosed Mall, and it's a very good thing they scrapped the renovation plans. Being public preference shifted back to the Shopping Center model. |
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