She grew up knowing that she could meet Santa Claus and get her picture taken with him in the beautiful recessed fountain area where happy families relaxed after a day of fun shopping in the 60-plus stores of the 1970s.
She remembers the awesome “Trick or Treat” nights where she could fill a pillow case with treats from all the friendly store employees. She recalls, as we do, the fantastic judging of Halloween costumes, worn by children who paraded across the stage, showing off their original and unique outfits.
Unlike her parents who had to brave the cold, the snow and the rain while shopping downtown, she remembers a climate-controlled mall where she could hang out with her friends, no matter what the weather.
When asked what she recalled most about the mall, here’s what she said:
“I remember all the stores that used to be there, especially the ones at which I worked: Rite Aid in 1989, when I was just 17, and County Seat, one of the first ones to bite the dust, out of the ’90s, and the Sunglass Hut. The game room was a huge memory for me. And the candy store, Murray Bros. I used to like hanging out at the mall and running into so many people I hadn’t seen in awhile.
“I could say so much about Towne Mall. I loved tossing pennies in the fountain and making wishes. And I also took my sons, Braedon and Seth, there to see Santa and to trick or treat on Beggars Night.”
The Towne Mall has, in reality, been a “family affair” for us. Jennifer’s brother, Donnie, worked at the Camelot Music store and her brother, Lee, worked at the Kay Bee toy store at the mall.
In 2007, plans were announced to redevelop Towne Mall into an open-air lifestyle center.
The owner, CBL, had sought funding from Middletown and Warren County toward the $26 million project. When the city and the county balked, plans were postponed indefinitely.
Since then, many stores have closed, including Dillard’s, which opened as McAlpin’s, its original anchor store. The other two anchor stores, Sears and Elder-Beerman, remain open.
Renovation plans and proposed enterprise zone and job creation tax abatements for the project have been placed on indefinite hold as well.
“Towne Mall is not a dead mall,” said CBL spokeswoman Katie Reinsmidt in a written statement. “There are numerous quantitative and qualitative factors that go into evaluating a mall. Sales per square foot, although a part of equation, is just one component to the overall success of a center.”
“Towne Mall continues to make a vital contribution to the overall economy in Middletown and the surrounding community and we look forward to serving our customers for many years to come,” she said.
Old downtown Middletown once bustled with shops in the 1940s and ’50s. Its decline accelerated when Towne Mall was opened as a full mall on Feb. 9, 1977.
Middletown prospered along the Great Miami River more than 200 years ago because the river was used to ship goods in and out of town. Since then, Middletown has constantly grown to the east because that’s where the transportation arteries grew — first, the Miami-Erie Canal, then the big four railroad and finally Interstate 75 — all east of the old city.
Ironically and sadly, the mall that helped to put old downtown Middletown out of business is now dying. My daughter and I now share equal sadness over the death of both of our “downtowns” that we grew up loving.
Frank Frisch is a retired Middletown resident.