Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.
Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.
There are so many physical places I wish still existed!
When I was a kid, there was a dollar theatre in one of the towns we moved to. I believe it closed down a year or two after we arrived there, but for a little while we could see older movies there for only $1 per person.
I miss record stores, too. They were a great place to browse and find new music. The one I visited was always playing various records as background music, so you could also discover new artists and songs just by asking the employees what was currently playing.
Chain bookstores still exist in my city, but many secondhand, niche, and indie bookstores have long since shut down, especially since 2020. You could find so many unique books in them, and they had a much calmer ambiance than the places that also sold, say, home decor and candles.
Now some clothing stores are sadly disappearing, too. One of the ones I shopped at for many years is trying to get all of their customers to order online, so I’ve switched to other stores that have my size in stock so I can see how clothes fit and feel before buying them. Clothing and shoes are two things I avoid ordering online due to how much variation there can be in size and feel from one brand to the next. There is no consistency there.
When I was a teenager, I used to walk laps in the mall with my friends. From what I’ve read, many of today’s teens don’t do that much anymore because some malls no longer allow unaccompanied minors in them and because parenting standards for when kids should be allowed to go out by themselves have shifted in many families.
Some of the malls in my city are busy, but others are terribly quiet or have even shut down. I wish the culture would shift back to a time when it was okay for teens to hang out at malls when they’re not in school. There’s nothing wrong with online interactions, but I think many people of all ages could do with more in-person socializing as well.
These are a few of the places I miss. How about all of you?
Ahhh I forgot about record stores! It’s hard to think there was a time before everything was streamed.
Yes, it sure is! It feels so long ago now.
I never really encountered a record store — the closest I had was “fye”, which I think was a chain of some kind that sold cds and records in the big-city mall. Going to the mall on a weekend used to be an interesting exercise in people-watching!
Oh, that’s interesting. Now I’m not sure if the record store I visited was part of a chain or not. I can’t remember its name. 🙂
We are really lucky here because we are seeing a resurgence in indie bookstores and record stores popping up again. I’ve been thinking of opening a bookstore myself (a dream, but still there).
We have one big mall in the area, but the others have closed down and been turned into strip plazas instead. No idea why that concept works better than a mall.
Forgot all about theaters. We only have a couple. All the others have failed, especially after the pandemic and the popularity of streaming.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Lydia!
I’m so happy for you that you’re seeing a resurgence of book stores!
And you’re welcome.
I would walk the mall when I was pregnant with both of my girls. My husband had a part-time job at Gamestop so I’d get my exercise in and get to see him.
Buying clothes online is such a chore. The only place I’ll do it is Old Navy, because I’ve been wearing their clothes for so many years that I pretty much know what I’m getting.
I’ve been lucky – we have a lot of used bookstores here now. There’s even a rare bookstore in one of the casinos. Which is just crazy. Haha.
Here is my post.
That’s a very unique place to have a used bookstore. Wow.
And what a nice way to pass the time. 🙂
Those chairs look super uncomfortable but you can’t beat $1 !!! The two local bookstores closest to me closed down too which really sucks!
I’m sorry to hear that!
Oh, the book and record stores of the Awesome Eighties!
For sure. 🙂
I miss record stores too!
If only we still had them!