Hello
Speaking of dead malls we have one in Middle Georgia. Houston Mall in Warner Robins (off Watson Boulevard across from Suntrust) was built in 1972. On the north end was Grant's and Belk's anchored the west end. Sears was on the Watson Boulevard side. In 1994 its anchors left it a nearly empty hulk. Manager Laverne Norris and the owners struggle to keep it alive.
I swung by Houston Mall two days ago. The facility is trying to fill up empty holes but I do not see this as meaningful. I saw a doctor's office, an outpatient annex for the hospital up the road, a Primerica office, a used office furniture dealer, a beauty supply place, a furniture store, a softlines/home decor outlet, and a billing office for the hospital mentioned above. I whirled around back and saw the old Belk's entrance which is the front door for the Air Force Reserve Band's offices.
Last year I saw an Asian-made junk store and an art gallery. At the old Grant's end was a clothing store whose owner is too stubborn to give up. Where the bookstore was at the north court is Municipal Court.
The Telegraph article from July has management gloating at its 85% occupancy. Sad to say but these will not stay for long. The mall's owner is unable to grasp one rule of marketing; have a goal for what you want for your business. He seems to want to fill space with whatever comes his way.
The best that the Houston Mall can hope for is to become an office mall or a government center. Forget about being a power center near a slum area. I would advise ripping down the center section and leaving the old Grant's and the adjacent strips as well as the old Sears building. There is no reason to air-condition five or six people walking around in in thousands of square feet of space in the common area. A patched parking lot looks horrible as does an old road sign that is more of a tombstone.
Belk's is talking with the owners of the Bass Road power center and Dillard's has all but committed itself as an anchor. This will suck Macon Mall dry if both choose to move away. It would make sense as I have heard there is lower occupancy of the mall and people tell each other not to visit MM at night. The ghetto has surrounded almost all of the mall.
More on this and other malls in days to come.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Dead and Dying Malls
Hello
I've been looking at dead and dying malls on the Web.
Your homework; visit
http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/2005/12/macon-mall.html There I have posted words on the Macon Mall and Westgate Mall. Below is a picture of the back end of Westgate dating to 1971
http://www.deadmalls.com
http://georgiaretailmemories.blogspot.com
Google for "Dixie Square Mall Harvey Illinois" which is a still-standing dead mall.
Also google for "Houston Mall Warner Robins" and see the Telegraph article
Enjoy while I go to bed.
KT
Dead Malls
Hello
I have been reading websites about dead malls and dying malls. I will fill you in on this later but here's some homework to do.
Visit the above link as per Macon Mall. I made a comment on this and Westgate Mall. Here is an external, from 1971, of the rear of Westgate.
Also see below:
http://www.deadmalls.com
http://georgiaretailmemories.blogspot.com
Also Google for Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. It is a mall in which the car chase in "The Blues Brothers" was filmed. Not to worry; almost all of the mall is still standing. Empty. For over 25 years. Someone has done videos of the abandoned mall.
Finally look for an article on Houston Mall in Warner Robins. Read it then drive by for a few laughs.
We tend to wrinkle our noses at recent history but those who forget the past are condemned to my ire.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Been out for a few days
Hello
I've been off the blog for a few days. I have been trying a medicine for my sleep issue and the first one I tried made my heart beat too strongly. The next one seems to be causing me to stay in a sleepy state. I just want it to alleviate my issue of falling asleep after work.
I'll give the Strattera another chance before I give up. I like the idea of an SSRI but not if it will make me sleep like a bear- and at the wrong time.
Visit this link; deadmalls.com
I've been off the blog for a few days. I have been trying a medicine for my sleep issue and the first one I tried made my heart beat too strongly. The next one seems to be causing me to stay in a sleepy state. I just want it to alleviate my issue of falling asleep after work.
I'll give the Strattera another chance before I give up. I like the idea of an SSRI but not if it will make me sleep like a bear- and at the wrong time.
Visit this link; deadmalls.com
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
What did I do the morning of 9/11/01
I don't know if I've written down what I did on 9/11/01 but it cannot be too much of a good thing to write it down again. The big thought I had was to make sure our leaders and our country would not pull any punches. We haven't done all we can but we are surely safer.
It was ten minutes after 9 and I was in bed getting ready to go to work. I lay there to get primed for the work day at the computer store. I was listening to WMAC-AM and Kenny Bee told us to stand by for a report on a terrorist attack- or an airplane crash, or both. I wish I had his words written down earlier. I didn't know if it were an airliner or a small craft. I remembered the B-25 that crashed into the Empire State Building during WWII. Reports from ABC initially indicated there was a plane crash. Later it seemed the reports talked of terrorism. I made my way to the store.
Our store was in a bigger facility at Mercer Crossing and I had a back room almost to myself for doing service work. I did almost nothing but service work. We had more manpower back then. We didn't have "same day next day" service yet but I took my job seriously.
I had a television tuned to Fox as we had cable internet run to the store. I got to see the pictures run over and over again of the planes crashing into the towers. I got to see an almost live picture of the towers crash. I say these pictures were almost live because the Fox staff indicated no surprise and said "here's some video of the tower crashing". Later the Pentagon fell prey and a plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
News wasn't entirely instantaneous though some live video showed us what was going on. Much of the video was looped and from other sources. Journalists have to confirm and reconfirm their stories before going public. It is still faster than having to wait for days or weeks as many in our nation did after the Declaration was signed.
Only a token few customers came into the store and the phone was relatively quiet. The nation seemed to stop; there was almost no activity in the shopping center. I heard that the Colonial Mall (later called Macon Mall) was evacuated in the wake of a bomb threat. My sister, who travels to many places in her job, called Mom and Dad later that night to tell us everyone was doing fine and that people were sent home from work due to having nothing to do.
I had heard stories of Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy Assasination. I wondered if we in our dumbed-down generation would trivialize this event and worse, insist on political correctness and forget what kind of stuff we as Americans were and are supposed to be.
I would be more infuriated with American attitudes than our goverment if nobody did anything about the terrorists. The generation after ours knew less about history or government and fell prey to the media and those who want to throw oru nation's principles out the window. I think the new adults very well have a chance to redeem themselves.
It was ten minutes after 9 and I was in bed getting ready to go to work. I lay there to get primed for the work day at the computer store. I was listening to WMAC-AM and Kenny Bee told us to stand by for a report on a terrorist attack- or an airplane crash, or both. I wish I had his words written down earlier. I didn't know if it were an airliner or a small craft. I remembered the B-25 that crashed into the Empire State Building during WWII. Reports from ABC initially indicated there was a plane crash. Later it seemed the reports talked of terrorism. I made my way to the store.
Our store was in a bigger facility at Mercer Crossing and I had a back room almost to myself for doing service work. I did almost nothing but service work. We had more manpower back then. We didn't have "same day next day" service yet but I took my job seriously.
I had a television tuned to Fox as we had cable internet run to the store. I got to see the pictures run over and over again of the planes crashing into the towers. I got to see an almost live picture of the towers crash. I say these pictures were almost live because the Fox staff indicated no surprise and said "here's some video of the tower crashing". Later the Pentagon fell prey and a plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
News wasn't entirely instantaneous though some live video showed us what was going on. Much of the video was looped and from other sources. Journalists have to confirm and reconfirm their stories before going public. It is still faster than having to wait for days or weeks as many in our nation did after the Declaration was signed.
Only a token few customers came into the store and the phone was relatively quiet. The nation seemed to stop; there was almost no activity in the shopping center. I heard that the Colonial Mall (later called Macon Mall) was evacuated in the wake of a bomb threat. My sister, who travels to many places in her job, called Mom and Dad later that night to tell us everyone was doing fine and that people were sent home from work due to having nothing to do.
I had heard stories of Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy Assasination. I wondered if we in our dumbed-down generation would trivialize this event and worse, insist on political correctness and forget what kind of stuff we as Americans were and are supposed to be.
I would be more infuriated with American attitudes than our goverment if nobody did anything about the terrorists. The generation after ours knew less about history or government and fell prey to the media and those who want to throw oru nation's principles out the window. I think the new adults very well have a chance to redeem themselves.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Been out due to boss' baby
Hello
I've been out because of my boss' wife giving birth but my mind has still been active.
I updated the Nike Hercules page at http://home.earthlink.net/~kturnerga/robinsnike. I am too cheap to buy a domain name so this long-drawn-out URL will have to do. Someone from the Byron Area Historical Society sent a picture of a sign that adorned the Byron Nike Hercules Base in the Sixties. The present property is now a restaurant fixture business and a pyrotechnics facility. Hopefully I can jazz up the web page to make it a showpiece but I am learning more about networking and not so much about web authoring.
The mayor of Macon wants nobody but his spokesperson, Ron Wildman, to respond to any press inquiries. Likely the public safety staff will be able to answer questions on events dealing in breaches of safety but everything else is under Mayor Ellis' lid. It's that simple: we in unincorporated Bibb must consolidate or break off ties with the City of Macon. The big fear is taking on the city's debt and having North and South Bibb become rich uncle to the rest of the county.
Now I did finally get the General Tso's brakes to behave. Or Kubia's Auto Center did. I got the rear brake shoes replaced a few months ago but the brakes were still spongy. I tried bleeding them with the 5.00 gizmo that allows one person to bleed them. I did more harm than good and there was air in the line. Next I propped the pedal with a sawn board and bled the lines in the back. I saw improved results but was not happy. The rear brakes were adjusted at Kubia's. At first the brakes would intermittently require me to hit metal to get to a complete stop at slow speeds. I tried backing up and hitting the brakes several times and voila they work fine.
The next task on the General is to change the oil and shampoo the rug on the driver's side. It still smells of manure when I first start it and the blower kicks in. I will insert some room deodorizer pads in an attempt to alleviate the smell. Should this fail I want to get a Haynes book and go further into the blower intake to make the machine smell better.
We have two window air conditioners in the living room. The big A/C (13000BTU) died so my uncle had one A/C that he didn't need. He and my sister bought another one. Each unit is 5000BTU and 8000BTU respectively. As the big A/C window unit is under warranty we will actually gain two instead of losing one A/C. I just wish that years ago the family had acquired high-velocity ducting and central air. This is if we had known that six window A/C's were to cool 1500 SQFT of space. Some of the units are unused but most tick along all the time. I may be wrong about the square feet of house; I will check with the Board of Tax Assessor's web site (so I read the headlines on Macon-Bibb's BOTA; big deal!).
I have lost a little weight just from judging by the girth I have. Some Tommy Hilfiger pants I got for a song and a dance manage to fit. My belly protrudes less. I attribute this to a small breakfast every morning and sometimes missing a meal. It wreaks havoc with my mood and my sleep cycle is going to pot. I wake up still sleepy at 9:15 and have a small snack. At 3:00 I have lunch and at 8:00 or 9:00 I take a nap. I wake up come 12:00 and shortly thereafter I will have dinner.
I am not getting richer nor am I doing a good job search to build up my piggy bank. I sleep and do a little playing and lots of housework. I want to take Brainbench's Windows 2003 Server exam (free) come October. I don't care if I am seeking a non-computer related career; I want to stay on track and do something with my life.
Dad is getting better and is doing more around the house thank goodness. His sleep cycle is slowly improving. Everyone's thoughts and prayers have been greatly appreciated.
I've been out because of my boss' wife giving birth but my mind has still been active.
I updated the Nike Hercules page at http://home.earthlink.net/~kturnerga/robinsnike. I am too cheap to buy a domain name so this long-drawn-out URL will have to do. Someone from the Byron Area Historical Society sent a picture of a sign that adorned the Byron Nike Hercules Base in the Sixties. The present property is now a restaurant fixture business and a pyrotechnics facility. Hopefully I can jazz up the web page to make it a showpiece but I am learning more about networking and not so much about web authoring.
The mayor of Macon wants nobody but his spokesperson, Ron Wildman, to respond to any press inquiries. Likely the public safety staff will be able to answer questions on events dealing in breaches of safety but everything else is under Mayor Ellis' lid. It's that simple: we in unincorporated Bibb must consolidate or break off ties with the City of Macon. The big fear is taking on the city's debt and having North and South Bibb become rich uncle to the rest of the county.
Now I did finally get the General Tso's brakes to behave. Or Kubia's Auto Center did. I got the rear brake shoes replaced a few months ago but the brakes were still spongy. I tried bleeding them with the 5.00 gizmo that allows one person to bleed them. I did more harm than good and there was air in the line. Next I propped the pedal with a sawn board and bled the lines in the back. I saw improved results but was not happy. The rear brakes were adjusted at Kubia's. At first the brakes would intermittently require me to hit metal to get to a complete stop at slow speeds. I tried backing up and hitting the brakes several times and voila they work fine.
The next task on the General is to change the oil and shampoo the rug on the driver's side. It still smells of manure when I first start it and the blower kicks in. I will insert some room deodorizer pads in an attempt to alleviate the smell. Should this fail I want to get a Haynes book and go further into the blower intake to make the machine smell better.
We have two window air conditioners in the living room. The big A/C (13000BTU) died so my uncle had one A/C that he didn't need. He and my sister bought another one. Each unit is 5000BTU and 8000BTU respectively. As the big A/C window unit is under warranty we will actually gain two instead of losing one A/C. I just wish that years ago the family had acquired high-velocity ducting and central air. This is if we had known that six window A/C's were to cool 1500 SQFT of space. Some of the units are unused but most tick along all the time. I may be wrong about the square feet of house; I will check with the Board of Tax Assessor's web site (so I read the headlines on Macon-Bibb's BOTA; big deal!).
I have lost a little weight just from judging by the girth I have. Some Tommy Hilfiger pants I got for a song and a dance manage to fit. My belly protrudes less. I attribute this to a small breakfast every morning and sometimes missing a meal. It wreaks havoc with my mood and my sleep cycle is going to pot. I wake up still sleepy at 9:15 and have a small snack. At 3:00 I have lunch and at 8:00 or 9:00 I take a nap. I wake up come 12:00 and shortly thereafter I will have dinner.
I am not getting richer nor am I doing a good job search to build up my piggy bank. I sleep and do a little playing and lots of housework. I want to take Brainbench's Windows 2003 Server exam (free) come October. I don't care if I am seeking a non-computer related career; I want to stay on track and do something with my life.
Dad is getting better and is doing more around the house thank goodness. His sleep cycle is slowly improving. Everyone's thoughts and prayers have been greatly appreciated.
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