The entrance arch has a real 80s/90s look to it, which doesn't fit in with the rest of the mall very well -- for the most part, the only recognizable architectural era here is the 60s, with the interior being far too bland to really put an era on it. I'm guessing this was put on at the same time as the Sears addition, one of the only major changes made to this mall since it was built (along with another addition on the other side of the mall that happened very soon after its initial construction).
Given how tacky that sign looks (not just because it is tacked on either), I'm guessing the 1990s or even early 2000s. Yeah, that wasn't a golden era of design, not in my opinion at least!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that some of the stores here have exterior entrances like the Jamba Juice. Do they have mall entrances as well? Some stores now like having exterior entrances like that if they are in a mall, but others might view it as a security hassle to have to monitor two entrances at a small store. I guess it just depends on the stores.
This is completely off-topic and it is a shameless plug, but be sure to check out this month's The Year of Kroger post featuring one of the strangest Kroger interior designs you'll see at a store that originally opened as a Kroger. Of course, this is a former Kroger Family Center so it is kind of like Kroger's attempt at running a Fred Meyer decades before they actually owned Fred Meyer. Plus, there is a bizarre implementation of Banner here. So, yeah, I think you'll like this! Link: https://houstonhistoricretail.com/2023/06/07/over-50-years-later-baytowns-kroger-family-center-is-still-one-of-the-houston-areas-most-unique-kroger-stores/
I had guessed 90s too, but Historic Aerials seems to show it in place by 1990, so it seems to be a product of the 80s!
DeleteThat exterior entrance thing is a staple of Allied's three Seattle-area malls -- some of the stores have interior entrances too, but some don't. I suspect it started because Northgate wasn't originally an enclosed mall, then they brought it to Tacoma and Southcenter as well.
Cool stuff, and interesting to see Banner in a store like that! I guess Coos Bay isn't the only place to have a LiveNaturally Banner wall sign! Fred Meyer definitely did a better job with theirs, though, and it is actually in the natural foods section, unlike the Baytown one.