The New York Times has a story about the Landmark Mall, in Alexandria, Virginia:
“Opened in 1965, the mall housed the region’s most fashionable department stores, Hecht’s, Woodward & Lothrop and Sears & Roebuck. Boys came to buy their first suit at the haberdasher, and teenage girls could get their shoes dyed to match the color of their prom dress … Landmark tried to adapt over the years. It began as an open-air shopping center and went through an overhaul in the 1980s to enclose the property.”
The Times writes that “Landmark’s original anchor stores either have been bought out, went bankrupt or are clinging to life — like many in the retail business. Last year, 6,985 stores closed in the United States, a record number, according to Coresight Research, a retail analysis and advisory firm. This year, retailers are on a pace to close roughly 10,000 stores.”
One of the Landmark stores that has closed was Macy’s. Fifteen months ago, it shut its doors for good.
But recently, some of its doors have been reopened, and a corner of the store now is being used for something different.
It is a homeless shelter, providing “60 beds, hot meals and showers for families and for single men and women who are having trouble finding a place to live in a city with a scarcity of affordable housing.” The Times interviewed one of the women who is living there, who finds it to be somewhat disquieting - she used to work at the Macy’s, and now is living there.
“Opened in 1965, the mall housed the region’s most fashionable department stores, Hecht’s, Woodward & Lothrop and Sears & Roebuck. Boys came to buy their first suit at the haberdasher, and teenage girls could get their shoes dyed to match the color of their prom dress … Landmark tried to adapt over the years. It began as an open-air shopping center and went through an overhaul in the 1980s to enclose the property.”
The Times writes that “Landmark’s original anchor stores either have been bought out, went bankrupt or are clinging to life — like many in the retail business. Last year, 6,985 stores closed in the United States, a record number, according to Coresight Research, a retail analysis and advisory firm. This year, retailers are on a pace to close roughly 10,000 stores.”
One of the Landmark stores that has closed was Macy’s. Fifteen months ago, it shut its doors for good.
But recently, some of its doors have been reopened, and a corner of the store now is being used for something different.
It is a homeless shelter, providing “60 beds, hot meals and showers for families and for single men and women who are having trouble finding a place to live in a city with a scarcity of affordable housing.” The Times interviewed one of the women who is living there, who finds it to be somewhat disquieting - she used to work at the Macy’s, and now is living there.
- KC's View:
-
The Times notes that the mall is not entirely vacant. A movie company has rented out a large portion of it to film a sequel to Wonder Woman, last year’s hit movie.
And there is one major retailer still open, still hanging on.
Sears.
Go figure.
