These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Monday, October 19, 2009

Goodbye, Bannister Mall

























































Caroline sent me this link. If you live(d) in Kansas City, out in my 'hood, you remember Bannister Mall. If you visited, I probably took you there. It was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It was a thriving, lively place with some of the best stores in the world. After 15 or 20 years of success and luring other really good businesses into the surrounding area, it went down hill, and what/who's to blame is debatable. Urban blight, lack of security, poor planning by community leaders, whatever. It was demolished this year.

The steps in this photo are where we sat to watch my kids, well, Terri, and several of my grandchildren wait to talk to Santa Claus. This is where we watched Scott and the choir perform. Terri and I sat on these steps or the many benches in the mall, and "people watched," often eating a Cinnabon or some other sinful treat.

The Mall was is awful shape for the last few years I lived there. It was abandoned or nearly so, vandalized. It became a scary place, sad after the years of life we enjoyed there. I have really, really good memories of it, and I hate to see this.

What a loss.

8 comments:

  1. It is soo sad what has happened to that mall. I remember when I was a teenager and was into going to the mall I always thought Bannister Mall was just HUGE. Even when I moved into the area in 1998 the mall was still doing really good and they had the best Mexican resturant...Annie's. Oh, that was some good food. But once the mall closed (May 2007) I knew there were people going inside and just destroying it. So sad.

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  2. I am sorry its a shame when good space goes to waste due to vandalism or just unkempt. They just tore a mall in our area down from lack of business and upkeep.

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  3. our local mall is in bankruptcy but still chugging along.

    on the south side is a mall i used to frequent as a child. now it is abandoned. lots of building lots of parking lots left empty. when the mighty fall they leave a big mess of nothing that needs to be redeveloped. it will cost someone lots of money to tear it down or redesign that much building. perhaps malls will not survive and we will go back to local mom & pop stores!

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  4. This story reminds me of a mall near here. When I moved to NJ over 30 years ago, the Echelon Mall was a busy happening place. It was THE place to go. A few years ago, the Sears and JC Penney stores left that mall. After their departure, other smaller stores were leaving to the point where one whole end of the mall was DEAD. It was creepy just walking there. Since then, they've torn that half the mall down and have built some new stores outside of "the mall". They've renamed it the Voorhees Town Center. They are also building I think condominiums on part of what used to be the mall property. I suppose it's progress, but it is still sad to think that that mall was so prosperous at one time. I'm thinking perhaps it's poor management.

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  5. I was sad when I heard about this and when I was in town back in Aug I saw it first hand. I don't know if you remember but, the class of 1980 from HMHS all signed mirrored disks that hung on a sculpture at one end of the mall. So, I thought that I had left my mark in ole KC. I am now left wondering what landfill now has my mark in/on it?

    DJ

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  6. DJ, I didn't know (remember?) the mirrored disks. That makes it extra sad, I think. I've known for quite a long time that the mall was doomed, but it is hard to accept it being gone. It was so much a part of our lives, wasn't it?

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  7. hello i,am from maracaibo,venezuela we has a mall called palafito center mall who was created in the 90s and closed in 2000 the mall was closed by the cause of robbery in shops my mother and grandma has a baby things shop and now i seen the mall and its very horrible

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    Replies
    1. Hello! And thank you for visiting my blog. It is very sad to see this happen, isn't it? I don't understand why people must do damaging things where others are trying to make a living.

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