It's Over-Northland to Close

[Onthe405]

It was torn down for the Lowes back in the early/mid 2000s. . .Eastland also had an indoor movie theatre in its far east wing near the original food court.

Even earlier, the section east of Hudson's had a large, multi-story B. Siegel store, Robinson's furniture, and a Stouffer's restaurant capping the far east end. My Dad always met his sister there for lunch, since it was the ideal geographical half-way point between our place and hers in GP Farms [[Stouffer's also mixed a tasty martini--always a plus in my Dad's book).

There was also a Kroger on the south side [[facing Webber Dr). In keeping with the post-war new found suburban affluence & embrace of "the latest modern conveniences", the Kroger had a conveyor belt system. The cashier would ring up the order, it was bagged and then placed on the moving belt, where it was held in a pick up area. The customer pulled their car around to the loading area, opened the trunk, presented their receipt, and a bag boy would load the car.

Very 'Jetsons!'

[EastsideAl]

Oh wow, pictures of the Eastland Stouffer's! My aunt worked there [[and at the downtown one on Washington Blvd.) while pursuing her art "career". I remember going "way out there to Eastland" with my grandmother to sit in her section for lunch and "cheer her up". I had an exotic open-faced roast beef sandwich and felt so grown up in my clip-on bowtie. My grandma left her a huge $3 tip.

[softailrider]

There was a movie theater that sat a half mile from Northland for decades which preceded it in death -- killed off by the Star Theater. They have managed to find a good reuse of the land where it sat. I have no doubt that Southfield will do something useful with the Northland property. The city has been pretty efficient about de-industrializing itself...

The Americana died WAY before that Star Theater was built, like decades before.

[Detroit500]

It's the end of n erA. SADLY this will not be the last.....

[cmubryan]

The Americana died WAY before that Star Theater was built, like decades before.

Not true. The Star Opened circa 1998, the Americana closed circa 2001.

[iheartthed]

The Americana died WAY before that Star Theater was built, like decades before.

No, it didn't. The Americana closed some time after 9/11.

[softailrider]

Not true. The Star Opened circa 1998, the Americana closed circa 2001.

You are absolutely correct. I was thinking of the Northland Theater. I got confused.

[G-DDT]

Went over to Northland two days before Macy's closed up. The surrounding stores were having discounts up to 90% off. Some stores were gated, dark, and empty except for hints of the reflective decor or angular design they once boasted. Macy's, itself, was vastly vacant, with little areas to sell floor rugs, random furs, odd clothing leftovers, etc. They were mostly trying to get rid of the many store fixtures [[racks, dresser-like displays and odd, monolithic, multi-tiered post-modern-looking tables-chips and all on them) for $5 each. Probably would've been great for a fledgling store or garage sale or dingy club/coffeehouse.

An odd crowd ambled about in a daze, but nothing menacing brewed, despite the weird feeling in the air. I was one of a few folks skulking about snapping pictures [[got "Boy on Bear" and "Crowd"-which a little birdie told me Southfield may be purchasing to keep in the city of Southfield). I even got into the little outdoor courtyard area in the center part to take shots of the many Pegasus, a fish fountain, and other oddities.

The scenes in the vacant Macy's was odd. None of the staff cared that I was taking photos. Each area had this empty motif to it asking to be some art installation. Just strange to see all that glitzy set-up [[especially in the pristine brilliant white area where make-up and jewelery are kept-wish I could've gotten one of the retro-lettered dressing room signs that hung from the ceiling) all displayed and vacant. I hope to post these shots soon.

As I've stated on other threads. We grew up between Southfield and Evergreen, so, the two major malls we were between were Northland and Fairlane Towncenter. Hudson's at Northland used to have an amazing bookstore, electronics area, commisserie/diner, and amazing Christmas displays. All that is gone, like so much else from my past [[schools, hang-outs, former places of employment, etc).

[G-DDT]

Thanks for the images and photos you guys have posted so far, and if you got more, keep them coming, please.

[sumas]

Strangely I do feel sad. Did retail for maybe 25 yrs, some of it in that mall.

Hate retail, hate stores. Fake crap, inflated prices. Not mourning, just a little sad. It had history but gone now.

[FormerEastsider]

@sumas....History is foreve!!!

[hybridy]

not news to most here...
City of Southfield to buy empty Northland Center mall
http://www.freep.com/story/money/bus...mall/73508628/

"the sale price was $2.4 million. The city intends to demolish the 1.4-million-square-foot mall structure, then sell the acreage to a developer for a potential future mixed-use development"

"A $31-million mortgage lien on the Northland property will be extinguished once the city closes on the purchase deal."

How much did Ashkenazy Acquisition purchase the mall for?

[Onthe405]

Once again, this untrue myth is repeated in the FP article:

"The nation's first regional shopping mall, Northland opened in 1954"

1. Northland was not a "mall" when it opened. It wasn't enclosed until the 1970s.
2. Even as an open-air shopping plaza, it was not the first regional shopping center [[partial list):

1922 COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA - Kansas City, MO
1931 HIGHLAND PARK VILLAGE - Dallas, TX
1946 BELLEVUE SHOPPING SQUARE - Bellevue, WA
1946 TOWN & COUNTRY VILLAGE -Sacramento, CA
1950 NORTHGATE CENTER - Seattle, WA
1951 LAKEWOOD CENTER - Lakewood, CA
1951 SHOPPER'S WORLD - Framingham, MA
1952 STONESTOWN CENTER - San Francisco, CA

[DetroitBoy]

What I find so fascinating about Northland and other malls of this era are that they were designed as havens in the event of a nuclear attack. In addition to being a shopping fantasy for customers in that era, the designed was created to make these customers forget about the constant threat of nuclear attack which was of primary concern during the Cold War. They were located outside of the central city by 8 to 10 miles - this was the blast radius for atomic bombs of that vintage. They featured fall out shelters, food shopping, post offices, near hospitals, churches etc which could make them self contained villages in the event the center city was attacked. This article on Victor Gruen is fascinating about this background:

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/1...ican-malls.php

Here is a map of the Northland fall out shelters and information on the role it had in civil defense:


http://www.michigancivildefense.com/...outhfield.html

It is true when people say that Northland was more than a place to shop. It's really a part of history that will soon disappear.

[bust]

What I find so fascinating about Northland and other malls of this era are that they were designed as havens in the event of a nuclear attack. In addition to being a shopping fantasy for customers in that era, the designed was created to make these customers forget about the constant threat of nuclear attack which was of primary concern during the Cold War. They were located outside of the central city by 8 to 10 miles - this was the blast radius for atomic bombs of that vintage. They featured fall out shelters, food shopping, mail, near hospitals, etc which could make them self contained villages in the event the center city was attacked. This article on Victor Gruen is fascinating about this background:

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/1...ican-malls.php

Here is a map of the northland fall out shelters and information on the role it had in civil defense:


http://www.michigancivildefense.com/...outhfield.html

It is true when people say that Northland was more than a place to shop. It's really a part of history that will soon disappear.

That's really interesting. I didn't know that, but it makes perfect sense.

Northland opened in 1954, the same year they changed the pledge of allegiance to include the unintended religious reference "Under God", a year before "In God We Trust" was added to paper currency, and two years before it replaced "E. Pluribus Unim" as our national motto.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...ce.single.html

These betrayals of the intentions of our founding fathers happened in the middle of McCartyism, when politics dictated we fear the "Red Scare". And a large part of the justification was to differentiate the U.S. from the "godless commies".

Detroit saw its peak in population during those years, but its best years had already passed. We lived through worse later, but I'm glad I wasn't around to be brainwashed back then.

By no means am I a "godless commie". But I definitely don't want to return to the 50's either.

It's sad Northland and probably Eastland are closing. But it's sad not because they represented a good model. They epitomize misguided mid 20th Century urban planning. Rather because suburban Detroit was designed around those bad plans, and now the region has lots of work to reconfigure itself after their demise. It's ludicrous some people drive all the way to places like Partidge Creek because there are not comparable shopping options downtown, or closer.

As mentioned, Northland was one of first shopping malls in history. Victor Gruen was the planner who concocted the design. And even he recanted and spent the last years of his life campaigning against his own model, having had chance to see what they'd become.

This podcast is really worth a listen:

http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-gruen-effect/

[Ray1936]

Well, I was a teenager right after the war and into the early 50's. The propaganda against 'godless communisim' was pretty well brainwashed into all students at the time. Hit its peak in the McCarthy years, of course.

Recently, however, I've become an addict on YouTube, watching Russian car and truck crashes. The way those people drive has made me realize they aren't a threat to anyone but themselves.

This post is half tongue-in-cheek; but half in "hey, that's for real!"

[bust]

Well, I was a teenager right after the war and into the early 50's.

Ray, I'm sure you've got some great stories to tell.