The original part of this mall (like pretty much every mall around here) is a standard single-story design, but the newer (south) part is two levels, with a small third story near the food court. The overall layout of the mall is more or less a figure-8 shape, with the Macy's court providing the middle connection, including escalators where the new and old connect at the original main mall entrance.
The Container Store! I know specialty retail isn't your thing, especially of the expensive kind which The Container Store 'fits' given the type of items they sell, but they do have neat stores. At least they sell neat items. I think they're probably the only B&M store around here which still sells CD storage items! They're also a Texas-based retailer (from the Dallas area, where most of the non-bankrupt retail worth discussing is from in Texas) and were founded by two Montgomery Ward paint department employees. Maybe they're worth checking out if you have not done so already as they are the type of neat retailer which will likely go out of business in the next 10-20 years.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of strange to see a The Container Store in a mall. The Container Store is located in Baybrook Mall in the Houston area, but they're in the newer outdoor 'lifestyle' part of the mall which I don't really consider to be a mall at all since it is designed like a power center. I guess it isn't as strange as seeing Sears on that sign and realizing it isn't an out-of-date sign since the Sears is still there! The Container Store nearest to me is across from my local Randall's. That probably ought to tell you the demographics who shop at The Container Store, lol, mostly the wealthier set. That location where The Container Store is used to be a Rice Epicurean supermarket, a high-end local supermarket chain which is now defunct, but Randall's crushed them at that location back in the mid-1990s in a battle of the higher-end stores (at that point, the Randall's was a legitimate Flagship Randall's location) and I think that particular Rice Epicurean only lasted about a year. We're obviously talking about the pre-Safeway days!
Unrelated to anything, but I think I'm already way off script on this comment anyway, lol. Check out this house which recently went up for sale just down the road from the aforementioned local Randall's! It is a time capsule from 1973! It really stood out to me because it very closely reminds me of the Randall's which opened in 1974 (it was originally a Handy Andy, so I should probably give credit to them) with the flagstone, gable-heavy design and a lot of other things (some of which is still at the Randall's as you've seen before).
This house is really neat, except for the odd rooms up front which have been renovated for some strange reason (given that area, it is likely the front rooms were flooded during Hurricane Harvey and had to be remodeled). Terrazzo floors, wood paneling with an integrated clock, sunken floors, a home intercom, wallpaper bathrooms...how 1970s can it get! Given how nice this house is, and how big it is, you might think this house is exceptionally cheap and, really, it is cheap even by Houston standards. I suspect this is because it is assumed the buyer will significantly remodel the house and so it is being sold for cheap due to it being a 'project'. What a shame if that happens! Link: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5518-Kingswick-Ct_Houston_TX_77069_M80718-23752
Yeah, The Container Store really isn't my kind of place -- it's basically an upscale Ikea, and I prefer real Ikea! Where else can you get a set of 4 (real glass) drinking glasses for $3?? I've heard that before about Container Stores not normally being in malls, since both of the ones around here are (the other is in one of the satellite malls connected to Bellevue Square).
DeleteWow, that sure is something! If I ever decide to do a major remodel on my condo (which seems like a lot of effort...), terrazzo floors are at the top of my wish list, at least for the kitchen! That does seem bizarrely cheap, but I'm used to Queen Anne house prices, where I've seen burned-out shells of a similar size go for several million dollars! (If I ever buy a real house, which is quite unlikely, there's no way it's going to be in my current neighborhood!)