urbanMSP

I still vividly remember the Duluth version of this promo (not available on YouTube). Apparently there were dozens of versions of this song made for local news stations around the country. As I recall, the video production values were much lower for the Duluth version.



1980's jingle goodness.

So true! I would pretty much only remember it from the 90s...even then it was like a "real mall"...pretty full and active. I have tried to find pics to no avail!

There are a handful of interior pics on Fotki:

The glory days! We'd skip school and go the food court and smoke cigarettes on the mezzanine above taco bell. (Ashtrays on every table, blegh.)

The City Center bathroom stalls lacked doors, right? Is that still the case? Don't want "undesirables" pooping in peace. #nostalgia

Nice, thanks!

The City Center bathroom stalls lacked doors, right? Is that still the case? Don't want "undesirables" pooping in peace. #nostalgia

What? I don't remember this at all. Felt very much like your typical mall to me...not really run down or anything...

Leeann chin is packing up. Looks like their new location is nearly ready

Leeann chin is packing up. Looks like their new location is nearly ready

Walking by yesterday I thought that LC would be opening soon. Maybe they close today and open on Monday in the new location.

Thanks for the photos. I spent an odd amount of my childhood at City Center.

Yes, those photos make it easier for me to understand why the place was even built in the first place.
What a mess they made out of it.

When the department store was open there was a lot less retail to fill. When individual stores had to start filling the empty department store space that was a tough haul. That is about the time that retail crashed in the downtown area. MOA was showing a lot of promise and some of the first high end waves leases were up so they were also closing their stores. Crate & Barrel, Ralph Lauren, the Conservatory was dying a slow death too. They did stupid desperate stuff that caused the decline to go only that much faster. Quick fixes instead of well thought out fixes that would have really been better. But they did not want to invest the money into the money pit.

The old Leeann Chin was closed today, but the new one was not open. They were bustling around inside, though, so it'll probably be within the next couple of days.

They've started painting those ugly panels that were are on the Sports Authority exterior. It's the same color but it makes a big difference in my eyes.

They've started painting those ugly panels that were are on the Sports Authority exterior. It's the same color but it makes a big difference in my eyes.

Think that it would have been better to have done some sort of murals to help liven up the ground floor exterior. Feed into the art work on the mall.

Sports Authority will be opening on October 9th.

Sports Authority will be opening on October 9th.

One more piece to the puzzle, yet so many yet to be found to get a full picture of retail health along Nicollet. What is the word on Sak's 5th opening date?

The signs in Saks say Spring 2016.

Anyone stop in Sports Authority?

Yes. I stuck to the mens athletic clothing and didn't explore the place. The selection of that stuff was similar to suburban big box sports authority stores. Winter gloves and hats were very prominently displayed. It looked like baseball, tennis and basketball merchandise was stuffed into an area smaller than the baseball section at their typical locations.

The place didn't have the strange unfinished vibe Walgreens still gives off.

Anyone stop in Sports Authority?

Yeah; pretty happy with how it turned out. Quality, large signage really makes a difference on the exterior. The store itself was clean and well organized. Not sure if this was the case before, but the ceiling is exposed (similar to how it is in Marshalls). Merchandise is mostly apparel, shoes and accessories. Much less equipment compared to a suburban location, but they did a good job with variety. My only major complaint is that they installed cheap vinyl flooring, including offending fake wood.