5. Write about the first time you went to a shopping mall without supervision.
OK SO, I don’t know if this memory truly is the first time, but it’s certainly one I remember.
We had two malls that were nearly equidistant from my house: the Hollywood Mall and the Hollywood Fashion Center, which is where my mom worked nights in the gift wrap department of Jordan Marsh. The other mall was the one I recall having a cool old-fashioned soda shop, a German deli/restaurant, and a place that sold cigars and coffee beans in huge barrels and it smelled heavenly. See below.
The fashion center is where my dad took us after dinner sometimes and we’d get Orange Julius and visit my mom. For a time she worked at this little candy kiosk in her store and would give us each a treat – my sister and I. The only photos left of that one are after its demise, sadly.
When I got to middle school, my friends and I always chose the Hollywood mall, for some reason. The time I’m remembering is when they were having a comic show. Dealers/stores would set up in the middle area of the mall and I would take my allowance and buy comics and cards. I specifically recall the wing I got dropped off at, kind of in the back and who the heck knows why! To this day it baffles me because this mall, friends, is where Adam Walsh was abducted from. You may not recall this story but I sure as hell do! If nothing else, you probably know the tv show, America’s Most Wanted, which his dad began and hosted after his son’s murder.
Anywho, by the time I was in middle school, 10 years had passed so I guess they were ok with me meeting friends at the mall. This particular time, I remember meeting up with my friend Tracy, perusing all the long boxes of comics, and finally tracking down the first appearance of Gambit; I was so excited!
After blowing almost all our money on comics and cards, we went to the food court and had tacos at Taco Viva. I recall the food court looking like the below, though as it rounded on either side it had steps so it was kind of an amphitheater shape.
Of course, I was allowed to go to malls alone after I got my driver’s license and it’s funny because now that I am a parent, I am always making sure my kids are with someone and aware of their surroundings. I specifically recall never even thinking about personal safety in the 80s and 90s, which is pretty nutty!
incognitusscriptor.com 
My mom didn’t drive so I remember my daddy taking us to Eastwood Mall. He would sit near the fountain and people watch while we did whatever we needed to do. When my kids were in middle school and early high school, I remember taking them to the mall (The Galleria) and I would take a book to read while they roamed around. They had to check in with me every so often. I can’t remember the first time I was allowed to go to the mall by myself. I’m assuming it was after I turned 16. I’m not sure I was totally alone in a mall until after high school. That is weird!
Hey, seems like your parents were a lot more worried and that’s not a bad thing! I will say, I have another memory of getting fingerprinted as a kid and I recently asked my mom why. It was because of that murder that our community offered it for free at the grocery store.
There are a couple of channels on YouTube where people find their way into defunct malls and videotape their walk through them. Kind of depressing, but at the same time kind of interesting. You see all these once elegant stores painted up with graffiti and stuff that was left behind scattered all over the floor, and walls broken down where they’ve taken the copper wire out of them. Kind of like that picture of Hollywood Mall you put in…
I wasn’t aware that Hollywood Mall was the one from which Adam Walsh was taken, but I’ve seen his father’s shows and remember the stories. Pretty horrifying stuff…
Good memories nonetheless, especially of your mom giving you and your sister a treat…
Malls were the place to be back in the 80s! We didn’t have one in the town where I grew up, so it wasn’t until I was driving age I ever went without parents.
Being dropped off at the mall of Adam Walsh – kinda eerie.
I used to love going to the mall, but they’ve really changed and don’t draw the crowds they once did, at least not the one nearest us (which isn’t super near). I think the outdoor plaza style are more popular. It was a treat to go to the mall with friends as a teenager. Have a nice weekend!
Cool memories. Whenever we went to the Searstown Mall in Titusville I’d beg my step-mom for an Orange Julius. She always caved. That’s also where I received my first real grownup haircut. Grownup because I got to chose the style myself. I felt so adult. *lol* We went to movies at the cinema inside, bought clothes, vinyl records and everything else sold there. Such fun. 💙