2 Warps to Neptune

Northglenn Mall, Colorado, November 27, 1968. (Photo: Denver Post)

During his stay at the shopping center, Santa and his crew will give free rides to children in the 65-passenger craft. Candy will be distributed to the passengers, and their conversations with Santa will be broadcast around the parking lot.

I also found this awkward but quaint video from 1977 showing the interior of the mall during the holidays.

Northglenn was demolished in 1998.

(Image source: Big Ole Photos)

(Video Source: ultimessence)

A downright iconic shot via traffic sounds/Flickr. The photo’s (non-cardboard) subject says this was taken in the West Covina Fashion Plaza (now a Westfield) in 1987, but it looks like the Puente Hills Mall to me.

Here’s a bus promotion at Puente Hills Mall from 1984 (from a previous post). Note the Florsheim behind the tree. Also, in the first shot, you can make out a disco ball pillar in the background. I think those were too hip (insert KLOS bumper sticker graphic) for Fashion Plaza.

Disco ball pillars!

(Photo via orlov777/Flickr)

Northgate Mall, Christmas, 1950. (Seattlepi.com File/SL)

Northgate Mall, Christmas, 1965. (Seattlepi.com File/SL)

Northgate Mall Directory, 1971. (Seattlepi.com File/SL)

Northgate Mall, December, 1974. (Seattlepi.com File/SL)

Northgate Mall during remodeling, 1997. (Seattlepi.com File)

Northgate Mall, July, 2011. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)

These shots are from a Seattle Post-Intelligencer photo history of Northgate Mall, from its opening on April 30, 1950, to present. The last photo above is taken from the same spot as the first photo.

These exquisite shots are via Frederick Barr’s Flickr (modern_fred). The last two are particularly spacy and enigmatic. Barr also has a number of absolutely killer sci-fi photosets, including toys in space, kaiju eiga, anderson is go (images from the shows of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson), fantasy worlds of irwin allen (I’m a huge fan of Allen’s stuff, especially Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), to boldly go—you get the picture. Now go check them out.

Sharpstown Mall, Sept. 16, 1988. (Buster Dean : Houston Chronicle file)

Sharpstown Mall, June 1981. (Buster Dean : Houston Chronicle file)

Sharpstown Mall in preparation, late 1950s. (Houston Chronicle file).

These are from a Houston Chronicle story on the 50th anniversary of Sharpstown Shopping Center. I love the old press release they dug up that appeared just before the mall opened on September 14, 1961:

There is pedestrian traffic only on the “streets” of Sharpstown Center and shoppers are free to move from store to store at perfect temperature levels regardless of outside weather.

The spacious, park-like setting of the 45,000 square-foot central mall features colorful and attractive store fronts, changeable planter box arrangements, and quiet zones where shoppers may sit down and rest their feet in a peaceful setting.

It’s hot in Texas, folks, so the AC is definitely a huge selling point. But changeable planter box arrangements?