In my memory it wasn't that long ago when the very first mall, The Cottonwood Mall, was built in Salt Lake City. I was a teen then and it was our favorite place to go. It was far more exciting to visit the mall than to go downtown Salt Lake City where all the stores were spaced so far apart. Actually, Salt Lake suffered from that mall because shoppers on the east side would flock to the mall for ease of parking and no parking fees.
It was about 20 years ago that someone bought the mall intending to update it to compete with the now five malls in the Salt Lake valley. We all waited and waited and nothing happened. They tore down all the buildings except for ZCMI which is now Macy's.
I took a little drive over there a couple of weeks ago to see what was left and sure enough, Macy's was there all by itself with a large parking lot.
Beyond the fence is the area where the rest of the mall used to be, now only weeds. So sad!
In the background is grand Mt. Olympus at 9,026 feet.
I tried taking a photo into the sun; hard to see the fence but it is there by those trees. This area used to be the prima donna of the valley because there were so many trees and beautiful homes.
Linking to: Good Fences
and weekend Reflections
Driving in traffic, I wanted to get a photo of that red car but that is even harder than texting in the car which I don't do.
It was about 20 years ago that someone bought the mall intending to update it to compete with the now five malls in the Salt Lake valley. We all waited and waited and nothing happened. They tore down all the buildings except for ZCMI which is now Macy's.
I took a little drive over there a couple of weeks ago to see what was left and sure enough, Macy's was there all by itself with a large parking lot.
Linking to: Good Fences
and weekend Reflections
16 comments:
Change is hard. I have to say that is a beautiful mountain view without a mall in front of it, even though I never saw it with one in front:) Take care. B
I had no idea that Cottonwood Mall had closed and been torn down! Back in late '81, early '82, I lived in Evanston, WY. We often drove to Salt Lake City just to go to the Mall. One time when we made that trip, I remember seeing a little blond headed boy, wandering around, all alone. I don't know his age but he was very young and it struck me as strange that nobody was around him but I went on shopping and looking around at all the pretties. Once we returned home, we were listening to the news and heard that a young blond boy had been kidnapped from Cottonwood Mall. I was in shock and to this day, I wish I had stopped to find his Mom. That haunted me for years. I never knew if he was found and returned to his family. We are foster parents and back in the early part of 2016, I got a call from DHS requesting that we take in a young boy who had been kidnapped by his grandmother, from somewhere in Utah, and was found here in Oklahoma. I said yes. Come to find out, that little boy also had blond hair and being from Utah...well, needless to say, taking in this child, until his mama could fly in from Utah, to pick him up, brought the image of that little blond boy at the mall! Once again, I am haunted by the image, forever, engraved in my head, of a sweet little blond headed boy, wandering around a mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, but I feel as if God brought our little foster son for a reason. Strange feeling knowing that the mall is gone, now. Maybe it is time to put that day, to rest.
Grace & Peace,
Pam
mountain Olympus looks fantastic
We have such a mall area here in our own town. They tore down the old one, started to build a new one, they went bankrupt, another company bought the property but it still sits vacant. - Sad like you said.
Sad to see the change. The view of the mountain is really grand.
I love your mountain photo. We have no mountains in our country so I like it really to see one on your blog.
I would never tire of seeing those mountains!
wow. gone. i remember my local 'city' getting its mall, too.
It is incredible the number of businesses that have had to close. So sad. Many empty lots in our nearby towns too. That mountains is beautiful, and I do like photos that are taken into the sun because you get all those wonderful rays in your photo. I hope you have a nice evening, Ruth.
Change is always sad, especially when nothing happens.
The mountain is handsome and I like the reflection of the red car.
Have a nice weekend.
Love the red car!
Hello Dian!:)
Shame that the plans to further enlarge your Mall didn't come to fruition, but the view of the mountain is beautiful. I'm only answering comments until the end of this week, as I'm on a blogging break. Have a good weekend!:)
Hello, it seems like the malls are having a hard time lately. Maybe more people are buying online? I love the view of the mountain and prefer this lovely natural view over looking at buildings. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
it is very sad and every city has these old malls that have died out. our mall here was the first mall ever seen within 50 miles of our town, built and opened in 1972 and it thrived because it was the only one in town and the only place to shop. it is now dead and empty. When they built the first Wal-Mart it started to die and now we have 5 within 10 miles of us in any direction. I can drive to one 3 miles, 6, 8, 9 and 10 miles and they built a big sprawling outlet mall about 10 miles away. also the area around the mall now has died and no one wants to go there because of the neighborhood. a sad story of our country. love the car
That is interesting about the mall - it always seems to be the opposite, more and more malls. The area is very pretty - as someone who is not a big shopper - I probably would like it better the way it is, but I can understand how inconvenient is might be to have to go downtown to do shopping. You got a good shot of the red car! I can't do anything while I'm driving - just watching the road is about all I can handle.
Oh, too bad about your mall! I've just read in my newspaper that malls are having a hard time due to internet sales. Ah.....they call it 'progress'. I like to actually try on my clothes and see what I am buying in person. Lovely scenery on your drive with the pretty mountains and autumn trees. xx Karen
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