I drove there today to do some Christmas shopping only to discover that the mall is pretty much empty. What a sad sight! This mall used to be vibrant place not too long ago, but apparently COVID wiped it out. The occupancy is probably only 10% now. I knew the movie theater inside had closed about two years ago, but I had no idea that it had gotten so bad that there is practically nothing there now. There's a food court still, but no people.

It's unfortunate people have not supported it and have chosen to do their shopping elsewhere. I always thought the architecture of the building from the inside was neat, with woodwork all over the place and windows on the ceiling. The mall used to have decent higher-end stores like Macy's and earlier, Marshall Fields.

Sad, same thing happened to Fox Valley. They have actually tried re-imagining it by building apartments within the ring road. Surprised Macy's is still holding on.

_________________

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Yorktown is trying something similar in it's northwest corner. They still have to knock down the annex where the furniture store and Frankie's were and build something useful there.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

I think I read they are turning where Carson's was into apartment or condos too. I don't understand what they are going for with this.

Old Orchard and Northbrook Court are doing the same thing.

I think the only mall doing well is Oak Brook.

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I paid $15 for today’s Chicago Tribune and Lincicome wasn’t in it.

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You know me like that.

Thanks Bezos

A Service Merchandise style store with 3-D printed-on-demand products is the future of brick and mortar retail.


macy's is hit or miss. the Macy's in Somerset Mall is always good for buying a suit. Macy's in the dying Oakland Mall appears to exist mostly to give middle aged divorcees something to do during the day.

Macy's can also be good for buying Levi's. Although when I went to the Macy's in the Cool Springs Mall south of Nashville last month in search of a new pair of black levi's the pickings were slim---like only small-waisted, skinny jeans on hand. Either they sold out of actual male style/sized jeans or only anorexic twinks shop at that Macy's. And there was no one staffing that section of the store. I ended up being mistaken for an employee enough that I finally decided to just work the men's department for an hour on a charity basis. Asking shoppers if they needed help and then when they asked for a fitting room sending them to the other side of the store. Good times, good times.

And fuck Amazon, I have a prime membership and anything I order now won't be coming till after Christmas, that's what guys do, we shop at the last minute. What fucking good is Amazon to me in that case? Orland Square mall seems to be going strong still as I was there yesterday. Hi Frank

Stores stock things people buy. Anorexic twinks must be buying up all the black denim otherwise destined for people who watch too much Yellowstone.

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Dude, that mall has been circling the drain for 10-15 years. Live in the now!

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This "progress" is pretty sad though. Do we really have a society if everyone stays in their respective homes and orders cheap Chinese goods online?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Maybe it means the "public square" revolves around something other than shopping. Consumerism arguably fuels a lot of outdoor activity and if that's going to move online - though not completely online - maybe it means society repurposes all this abandoned retail space for something better.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

So what does the "public square" revolve around? Call of Duty 10?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Old Orchard still is pretty strong from what I read

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think women shop without buying. It's a social event that includes friends and a meal.

I'm surgical when I shop. No browsing. Get what you need and go.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Once a year I enjoy going to a busy mall at Christmas time, never to shop, just to walk around and browse and people watch and remember what a mall used to be like. This year we went to Woodfield a couple weeks back and it really was nice, we just window shopped, grabbed some dinner and drove home. When I have real shopping to do it is totally search and destroy, no browsing, get my shit and GTFO.

it's the parking that kills the sentimentality for me. i realized when i saw "avatar" i was going to a theater that was part of the mall and had to deal with mall traffic until i could get into one of the garages.

i guess if i had nothing to do it wouldn't have bothered me that much. i also like to visit a mall during christmas just to walk around and watch people who are still looking for gifts.

twitter = public square.

online communities seems stronger, more long-lasting than irl social clubs.

altho the strongest communities i've experienced are irl groups that have adopted an online presence to supplement the off-line activities.

no one's ever taken a 7.62 mm round to the temple from a right-wing wing-nut while browsing amazon.com

43x30 energy.

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They’re going to dump $100m into it to make the north end a giant mixed used space.

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I would hope not but we've got online public squares as Hussra mentioned where people believe they're communicating with other people who are probably bots. I don't think that's going well. People and companies have this notion of converting obsolete parking lots into public parks but I'm not sure if that's going to work. It's like the more we go online the more we're afraid/skeptical/fearful of those around us IRL, so not sure if going out in public is as desirable as it once was. Public activity is going to take on really interesting shapes in the near future since what was considered fun/fun-ish public activity (window shopping, people watching, etc., like others mention above) is going to be so foreign to those born in maybe 2000 and after whose formative years were spent adding things to cart online instead of browsing stores outside. If digitizing the shopping experience creates more time in our lives by eliminating the need to commute and browse, then we've got to figure out how people are going to use that extra time and repurpose all that extra space. That's maybe where society's values come into more definition - what are you going to devote those spaces to - and I guess we'll learn more about ourselves based on which visions for these spaces defeat others.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

It revolves around Twitter.

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You read Bowling Alone?

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I wish my wife would try that tactic on occasion.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

I read reviews but not the actual book (yet). I generally find the premise convincing, I mean I'm basically repeating it indirectly here. It's similar to the conversation about automation and robotics taking jobs away - what are people who've been replaced by robots going to do. More broadly, how are people going to live meaningfully if the jobs or vocations that once provided gainful employment to many are now no longer available. Then this gets into universal basic income and whatever. I see it as different parts of the same interconnected conversation.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

I don't think the "public square" has existed for many decades. You simply have people who occupy the same space as you for a time and then they go away and you pretty much don't see them again. A select few become lifelong friends but the rest disappear with minimal contact.

I'm sure it was different when most people lived their whole life in the same town or right near the same town that they were born in but people move around so much now that even the people I know who stayed in the same area I grew up in don't have an experience like that unless they head to the townie bar.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I don't think a public square requires continuity of specific people as much as it requires a sustained place where citizens, whoever they are, engage one another. People engage one another online now but it's far more destructive I think. The worst comes out since anonymity allows you to troll and harass with impunity whereas engagement IRL [many times] actually builds relationships.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

mixed use is logical for a horizontal mall. The sky is free space and it insures foot traffic. Those condos/rentals will move quickly with its proximity to the expressway and amenities. They would be attractive to both old and young buyers

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.