Article Contributed on: 3/15/2006 12:15:29 PM
Well, for all of my wishing that time could stand still - just for a bit, even - the end has come for Southglenn Mall. I swiped a sign on closing night, and it sits in my office now, thus confirming for posterity my status as an absolute dweeb.
It was long overdue, really, but Southglenn's demise still stings more than a little bit. I've a great time of time, energy, and money invested in the place, and, though its hulking shell remains in place, it, too, isn't long for our community.
I remember better days for the mall.
I remember the enchanting allure of the forbidden, when my mom refused to allow me to go to the arcade and play Shinobi without my older brothers; she was just sure that the place was crawling with kidnappers. I remember looking at (and coveting) toys that my $3/week allowance wouldn't get me anywhere near at Toys By Roy. I remember the joy of a Strawberry Julius on a hot August day, and the delight of the Sears Wishbook in September. We'd often pick one up in the store just as the school year started, thus kicking of my Christmas lusting. I remember my favorite Chinese food in all the land at Shanghai Garden, and am thrilled that they're simply relocating to the old Le Peep spot across University, rather than closing down altogether.
I remember Sundays at the mall, more than anything else. For a few years, my family and I ate lunch at Furr's after church nearly every week. I'd always check out the electonics at May D&F, and walk over to B. Dalton and Waldenbooks to peruse the newest comic books, and scour the racks for new Garfield collections, as befits my towering intellect.
The roster of stores changed pretty frequently, with anchors like The Denver and JC Penny coming and going at the center of the mall, and the mall's snacking possibilities taking their hits with the demise of Swenson's, Taco Bell, Round The Corner, and Cazolli's, but many things remained constant, too.
The free-standing restaurant location to the north of the mall? Like poison. Heck, the last place that tried to survive there - called Tropikai - closed so fast that I never confirmed that it actually opened. The ramps that ran down the center of the mall? Many nieces and nephews (and of late, a daughter) sent their giggles echoing off the walls while riding up and down them in their strollers.
In recent years, the mall started to show its age. The old Burger king location down by Pet City was never again occupied, and many of the big national chain stores started to close up shop, with their vacant spaces filled by cheesy knicknack peddlers. Still, it was our mall, and we were able to feel superior to the elitists of Park Meadows for a few years, ironically enough.
Those days have passed, however, and the city of Centennial (the creation of which I voted against, by the way. I stand by my decision, too, in case anyone wants to know...) has big plans for the Southglenn area. While I think things are looking up for the area, as a whole, and believe the new project to be a worthy one, it'll never be quite the same for me.
After all - my wife and I spent countless hours there together - even before we knew each other. The mall was a regional anchor point. It defined our area, and, not to get too carried away here, even our lives, to some extent.
I've got great memories of the mall. It wasn't pretty, or flashy, but it was ours. Like so many former landmarks of my youth, it's gone, now. I've got to accept it, but I don't have to like it.
As for the passage of time, and the enternal march of progress? They can go pound sand, for all I care.