As hard as it might be to believe, there was a time when Springfield Mall was a vibrant, happening place, full of happy middle-class and upper middle-class consumers with money to burn.
It was twice as good as any other mall in the area. By that, I mean it had two movie theaters. It had two arcades. It had two food courts. It had two toy stores. It had a Ruby Tuesday and a Bennigan's. At one point, it had four bookstores. Hell, for a while, it even had a comic book store. I practically grew up in that mall.
Now it looks like this:
The mall is in the process of shutting down in order to turn the above photo into this. Which aside from looking a hell of a lot nicer, will also hopefully mean that there's no longer a significant danger of getting carjacked in the parking garage.
But then I realized that it probably won't just be Springfield Mall that gets torn down and rebuilt. It'll likely be all the surrounding property, as well. Specifically, it'll be this place:
It doesn't look like much, but this was one of my favorite places in the world when I was a kid. While my parents were shopping at the mall, I'd walk over to the news stand, and just browse through comic books and back issues of Starlog and Fangoria until they came to get me. The place had a great selection, and the best thing was that the proprietors (who were not from this country) either didn't know or didn't care that old comics and magazines go up in value, so you could find some real gems for cover price or less. It was awesome.
The store also had a back room full of porn.
I've never seen the inside of the porn room. There was a curtain separating it from the front part of the store, and I was obviously too young to go in there. I'd get a dirty look from the clerk if I even got within five feet of the curtain. Evidently, he didn't believe I'd taken a legitimate interest in the bridal magazines that were located right by the porn room entrance.
But every single time I was there, some guy would inevitably walk into the store (occasionally giving me an alarmed look, as if thinking, "Oh, fuck. What the hell is that kid doing here? Is it even legal for me to look at porn when he's nearby? Shit!"), and then quickly make his way behind the curtain. I can't remember my reaction to this at the time. Mild awkwardness, I guess, but more worry that when my parents would come to get me, they'd finally figure out what that curtain was for and not let me go in there by myself anymore.
Eventually, it became a moot point, as I stopped going to the news stand on my own, because A) I got more discerning about my comic book reading, and started going to comic book stores, as opposed to just buying them anywhere, B) I'd cleaned the place out of all the Fangoria back issues I wanted, and it was more convenient to buy new issues elsewhere, and C) I was still too young to go into the porn room.
When I was driving by over the weekend, though, I suddenly got nostalgic, and thought about going in there for the first time in almost 20 years. No, not to check out the porn room. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure what's more pathetic: A man going into a news stand to look at porn, or a man going into a news stand to look at comic books and Fangoria? ("They're both equally pathetic, you loser," is a valid answer.)
Then I thought about how many times I've tried to recapture some great memory from my childhood, like watching a movie that I remembered really enjoying as a kid, or going on some of the rides at Disney World, and how as an adult, they just fell flat. And really, what would have been the point of going in there? They weren't going to have any comics I hadn't already seen, and I don't read Fangoria anymore. I guess I could have finally found out what the porn room looked like, but some things are probably best left to the imagination. So I just kept driving.
It'll be a shame if the news stand does get torn down, though. I like to think there are still plenty of kids who would get a kick out of discovering a hidden treasure trove of comic books and genre magazines. And I have no doubt there are plenty of adults who would get a kick out of discovering a hidden treasure trove of pornography.
To me, it seems nice that there's one place where these two groups can intersect. Creepy. But nice.
But then I realized that it probably won't just be Springfield Mall that gets torn down and rebuilt. It'll likely be all the surrounding property, as well. Specifically, it'll be this place:
It doesn't look like much, but this was one of my favorite places in the world when I was a kid. While my parents were shopping at the mall, I'd walk over to the news stand, and just browse through comic books and back issues of Starlog and Fangoria until they came to get me. The place had a great selection, and the best thing was that the proprietors (who were not from this country) either didn't know or didn't care that old comics and magazines go up in value, so you could find some real gems for cover price or less. It was awesome.
The store also had a back room full of porn.
I've never seen the inside of the porn room. There was a curtain separating it from the front part of the store, and I was obviously too young to go in there. I'd get a dirty look from the clerk if I even got within five feet of the curtain. Evidently, he didn't believe I'd taken a legitimate interest in the bridal magazines that were located right by the porn room entrance.
But every single time I was there, some guy would inevitably walk into the store (occasionally giving me an alarmed look, as if thinking, "Oh, fuck. What the hell is that kid doing here? Is it even legal for me to look at porn when he's nearby? Shit!"), and then quickly make his way behind the curtain. I can't remember my reaction to this at the time. Mild awkwardness, I guess, but more worry that when my parents would come to get me, they'd finally figure out what that curtain was for and not let me go in there by myself anymore.
Eventually, it became a moot point, as I stopped going to the news stand on my own, because A) I got more discerning about my comic book reading, and started going to comic book stores, as opposed to just buying them anywhere, B) I'd cleaned the place out of all the Fangoria back issues I wanted, and it was more convenient to buy new issues elsewhere, and C) I was still too young to go into the porn room.
When I was driving by over the weekend, though, I suddenly got nostalgic, and thought about going in there for the first time in almost 20 years. No, not to check out the porn room. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure what's more pathetic: A man going into a news stand to look at porn, or a man going into a news stand to look at comic books and Fangoria? ("They're both equally pathetic, you loser," is a valid answer.)
Then I thought about how many times I've tried to recapture some great memory from my childhood, like watching a movie that I remembered really enjoying as a kid, or going on some of the rides at Disney World, and how as an adult, they just fell flat. And really, what would have been the point of going in there? They weren't going to have any comics I hadn't already seen, and I don't read Fangoria anymore. I guess I could have finally found out what the porn room looked like, but some things are probably best left to the imagination. So I just kept driving.
It'll be a shame if the news stand does get torn down, though. I like to think there are still plenty of kids who would get a kick out of discovering a hidden treasure trove of comic books and genre magazines. And I have no doubt there are plenty of adults who would get a kick out of discovering a hidden treasure trove of pornography.
To me, it seems nice that there's one place where these two groups can intersect. Creepy. But nice.
6 comments:
Pretty decent sushi place in that little strip as well.
I was in Springfield Mall last weekend. It's one of the most depressing places I'd ever been. I would have rather been walking through the terminal wing of a children's hospital.
I'm glad they're doing something with Springfield Mall. It's been slipping down for years and years. No more "down" to go.
I actually didn't know they were tearing the Mall down and building something else(sad since I live like 2 minutes from it), although the scent was definitely in the air. I was there at Macy's(the only place were going to in there other than the Food Court) and the Mall is just a ghost town. It was the friggin' weekend, and not even the 13 year old junior hoods were hangin' around waiting for the next old lady to rob. It was just sad. Oh well. No more Time-Out, Another Universe, and that weird little taco place near Montgomery Ward's that I used to love so much. Thanks for the memories!
Spaceway Raceway, Harmony Hut the strange quasi-Asian gift store with the awesome 70's vintage posters, Korvettes. Memories! And Taco Laredo was the bomb.
agreed. the sushi place in that strip mall is delicious and has $1 sushi on mondays (i think). yum.
the only thing the springfield mall is good for is providing a ride to the metro for a quarter, thus saving my ass on rainy/snowy days from walking. oh, and the two-story target.
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