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.”
I’ve spent the past year documenting the slow destruction of one of East Central Indiana’s most recognizable retail landmarks- Muncie Mall. I stop by to see what’s changed as often as I can! Sometimes the differences are dramatic, like the demolition of old cinema. Other times they’re more subtle. My latest visit found plenty of those transformations.
Continue reading “More updates as Muncie Mall meets its maker”
I’m curious about places where people once gathered. That interest often leads me to schoolhouses and courthouses, but I’ve got a soft spot for movie theaters, too. They don’t even have to be particularly old to catch my eye, and case in point is the long-shuttered Holiday I and II in Elkhart. I found myself slowing down there on my last visit, camera in hand. I couldn’t resist grabbing a few photos of a place that once flickered with life.
Continue reading “Elkhart’s old Holiday I and II”
A few days ago, Lost Muncie member Tom Stark sent me a tip about a growing mound of concrete debris and detritus near the former Sears Auto Center at Muncie Mall. Construction fencing has surrounded both Sears and JCPenney since last October, but after the three-screen cinema was recently demolished, that fresh activity suggests Sears could be next.
Continue reading “It looks like Sears is next on the chopping block”