A Grant County News page on Facebook with 60,000 followers and a 96% recommendation rate says that the Roses discount department store at Marion’s shuttered Five Points Mall has closed for good1. If true, the news follows a lengthy temporary closure as store and mall management dealt with the aging building’s condition. Given the state of Five Points, I can’t say I’m shocked.
Continue reading “Pour one out for Marion’s Roses?”
My brother and I were greeted by a loud hum when we rolled up to Lafayette Square Mall’s Shoppers World. Two enormous generators sat near the loading docks, while a sign inside said the restrooms were unavailable. Apparently, the last store at Indianapolis’ otherwise-empty mall was running on its own! Surrounded by about 800,000 square feet of vacant retail and fifty acres of parking, it’s crazy that the place remains open.
Continue reading “The last store at Lafayette Square”
When I was a kid, I remember heading toward my dad’s house near Elkhart and passing a Walmart on the right just as another Walmart appeared on the left. To my young mind, Goshen must have been some kind of booming metropolis if it needed two of the superstores practically across the street from each other! Before long, though, the older one was replaced by a movie theater. Today, that same building is a church. It’s funny how places reinvent themselves.
Continue reading “From Walmart to Hollywood to Hallelujah”
Muncie isn’t just home to a super-rare vintage McDonald’s arch. Over on Wheeling Avenue, we’ve still got one of Arby’s classic ten-gallon hat signs standing tall, too. It’s a genuine roadside landmark! Unlike some landmarks, this one backs up its reputation: Arby’s roast beef is delicious.
Continue reading “Arby’s giant Muncie cowboy hat”
I wrote about the forlorn, mostly vacant Washington Square Mall back in April, and my verdict wasn’t pretty. Since then, though, a months-long effort to imagine a future for the property has reached its first major milestone. Monday evening, planners unveiled an ambitious vision for the property’s future. Could one of Indiana’s most troubled malls actually have one of those?
Continue reading “Can Washington Square Mall be fixed?”
Soon after I wrote about the hidden remains of Holiday Inn’s old Great Sign in New Castle, reader decotriumph reminded me that the H&K Motel in Anderson was another old Holiday Inn. I used to pass it every day on the way to work and was aware of its provenance, but I’d never paid attention to the sign out front. D’oh! It, too, is another heavily-modified Great Sign.
Continue reading “More remnants of another Holiday Inn “Great Sign””
Muncie Mall is coming down. The three-screen cinema is already gone, reduced to a bare concrete pad. Outside the old Sears Auto Center, a mountain of broken concrete hints that the interior of the 129,000-square-foot department store1 has already been gutted. Now, all signs point to JCPenney as the next casualty.
Continue reading “Muncie’s JCPenney waits for the wrecking ball”
I was browsing a used bookstore in Anderson’s Southdale Plaza when I realized I was only a couple of doors away from a flea market in a former Marsh Supermarket. That was all the excuse I needed to take a look! I went in curious to see whether any evidence of the building’s grocery-store past still lingered beneath the flea market shelves. Here’s a look at what remains, along with the story behind the building.
Continue reading “Traces of Marsh inside Anderson’s Southdale Plaza”
Last I checked in on Elkhart’s old Pierre Moran Mall, the future of what’s now known as Woodland Crossing seemed to be shifting: city officials announced plans to purchase the stagnant site for $5 million. The plan intended to transform the property into a new “neighborhood hub” with expanded healthcare and job training services through a partnership with Heart City Health and Goodwill Industries1. Back in April, I drove up to Elkhart see what the site looks like today.
Continue reading “Pierre Moran -Woodland Crossing- was supposed to be saved”
Whether you’re craving biscuits and gravy, a three-egg omelet, a western skillet, or warm cinnamon-raisin biscuits buried beneath a blanket of icing, Muncie’s fast food connoisseurs know exactly where to go for breakfast. Around here, the gold standard doesn’t come on fine china. Instead, it arrives piping hot in a humble foam takeout container from Mac’s! For generations, the best breakfast in town has been a Mac’s breakfast.
Continue reading “The best breakfast is a Mac’s breakfast. Lunch isn’t bad either.”