Very cheeky, Coliseum Mall, but who would still be open and alive 20 years later?
February 8, 2024
December 9, 2020
424. Black Friday though the years (Hampton/Newport News, VA), part 2, 1990-1999 (crosspost from my “history” blog)
A reminder of the movers and shakers and failures of the retail landscape of Hampton and Newport News back then:
Newmarket North / Newmarket Fair Mall
Bart is the star of 1990′s coverage. My mom loved Everything’s a $1.00 back then. It felt like we were at the Newmarket location every weekend when I was in the first grade. I found a copy of the Simpsons Christmas book there. K&K Toys was an unfortunate name for a store.
Oh boy, this is the beginning of the end of Newmarket Fair Mall (formerly known as Newmarket North). They had just finished 10 months of remodeling, just to have several stores leave after their leases expired, and one of the anchor stores, Miller & Rhoads closed the year before. This is the final time in Daily Press history that Newmarket Fair Mall is mentioned in Black Friday coverage.
1991
The Fisher-Price Game table! With the commercial where the boys played games on the table all day and half the night!
This was the first year that Kmart decided to be redic. and stay open on Thanksgiving. My mom and I were there that day! This was the thanksgiving that my dad was out to sea, and mom decided that we would just eat at Piccadilly Cafeteria at Coliseum Mall that day and hit KMart later to pick up Home Alone on VHS.
Note that Newmarket Fair wasn’t mentioned!
President Bush bought some Reeboks and slime for the grandkids.
1992
1992′s coverage was sparse. Rollerblade dolls were hot.
1993
Roses got a shout out. This was right before they turned into a dump. Still a dump in 2020! Newmarket Fair which was one foot in the grave at this point, only receiving a quick Sears mention. Above is a Proffitt’s ad from 1996 that shows what the Cracker Jack sale was all about. Proffitt’s didn’t last long at Coliseum, closed in 1997 and then Dillard’s moved in.
1994
This was the first year my paper went to WalMart, which is strange considering WalMart opened around 1991 in Hampton. Took them three years to get there. Maybe the Newport News location was new in 1994. There was a $139 VCR on sale at WalMart if you got there at six am.
The Cracker Jack promo was back at Proffitt’s. I forgot that they had two separate stores in Coliseum Mall, because they took over the old Children’s Palace and Hess’s store. So if you needed women’s clothes and men’s clothes, you had to go clear across the mall for the men’s clothes.
Our Super KMart got a mention too.
1995
1995 feels like the first year that the discount stores beat the malls in popularity on Black Friday. Hills, which had just opened in Hampton was the the star in 1995. By January of 1997, they were toast. The store stayed vacant from 1997-2017 when an At Home store finally moved in.
My mom and I actually went to Coliseum Mall on Black Friday that year. The first time I had ever been to the stores that day. I don’t remember it being that crazy.
1995 was also the last year someone said they were excited to go to Montgomery Ward.
1996
Aw, weeks before Hills closed, and months after we got our first Target. Brenda forgot her shoes! Jeanie got her Tickle Me Elmo! Internet greetings at Patrick Henry Mall! People fought over a dinky gift bag at Target!:
1997
Daily Press didn’t have the 1997 newspaper.
I saved this paper when I was 15! I’m surprised Montgomery Ward carried Furby.
1999
Barely any mall coverage in 1999, mostly focusing on stores like Toys R Us and the guy who hoarded all those monitors at CompUSA. Check out Carol and her walkie talkie!
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December 7, 2020
424. Black Friday though the years (Hampton/Newport News, VA), part 1, 1980-1989 [crosspost]
(cross post from my “history” blog)
I know everything is going wrong right now, and I know, priorities, but sometimes I really just miss going to the store. I didn’t do Black Friday in person this year, due to the obvious. I only went grocery shopping for my mom on Black Friday this year.
(Woolco, 1980 or 1981)
So beginning with the parade on Thanksgiving, I hopped on ProQuest and began looking at my local newspapers for their Black Friday coverage in the 80s and 90s.
I’ll try and set up the retail landscape of the area to the best of my ability and using my retail blog for assistance. Here’s all my information about Newmarket North / Newmarket Fair Mall. It started dying in 1989 when local retailer Miller & Rhoads shut down. By 1994 it was pretty much toast other than Sears, and around 1997, the former anchor stores were renovated into offices. Now the mall is all offices, except for the empty Sears which closed in 2018 and was one of the last locations in the state, and the Piccadilly cafeteria.
Coliseum Mall was the mall in the area until about 2003? when Burlington Coat Factory moved in at the old Montgomery Wards, and Dillards moved out. After that, things went downhill fast, and by 2007 the mall was town down, and was rebuilt into an open air shopping area with apartments and a big Target and a rebuilt JCPenney.
1980
Shopping was “fast and furious” at Newmarket by 11am. The stores opened at … 8am. Toys R Us and Lionel Playworld were new to the area.
1981
This is the only photo I’ve seen of this JCPenney location that was almost across the street from Newmarket North Mall, at the Newmarket South Shopping Center. I was surprised that it was still open in 1981, considering that Coliseum Mall had a giant JCPenney just a five minute drive away.
1982
Five people had to direct traffic at Coliseum Mall!
Unfortunately, ProQuest did not have the 1983 paper. Which I’m so mad about because I was born in 1983.
1984
Back when there was traffic on Mercury Blvd. Also, can’t you imagine a giant six kid family coming out of that giant van in the parking lot?
1985
1985′s coverage was half-rear ended. It’s truly bizarre to me to picture Newmarket North being busy. By the time my first real memories begin in 1988, 1989, I never remembered the mall being “busy”.
1986
Okay, so I had no clue that Sears was still selling real fur coats in their stores in 1986. I didn’t think Sears old fur coats all, even in the catalogs at this point. Miller & Rhoads had an on site fur vault at their Newmarket location. I wonder why those ladies weren’t picketing that.
1987
How could I forget 1987?! That was the year that the next town over, Newport News got their own mall: Patrick Henry Mall. Although in the beginning things seemed awfully slow according to this article.
Check out the Fisher Price vacuum cleaner a couple is buying at the Children’s Palace toy store at Coliseum Mall. I had one of those!
1988
As I said earlier, my earliest memories begin in 1988, 1989. My parents did NOT go to Coliseum Mall back then, citing that it was always so crowded. So I have no memories of that mall until the mid 90s.
Nintendo Computer Games
1989
Wendy just wanted the 106 fm Wild Money Man.
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May 6, 2020
Thalhimers Coliseum Mall location grand opening, 10-17-1977
Announcement, 1/12/1977
They got it 💯!
Hold up, they had tarantulas? You could buy a dog at Thalhimers?
Giant ads under the cut:
April 26, 2020
April 25, 2020
Coliseum Mall Photos, October 2006
I remember this day, dad took me to LensCrafters to get new lenses. There was probably about 100 parking spots left at the main entrance?
Hecht’s had just received its Macy’s sign.
I miss this building so much. Macys closed in 2017, and was town down a short time later. There’s an Element motel and a Floor and Decor on the land now.
April 18, 2020
Coliseum Mall Original Plans, July 9, 1970
two years later, construction finally started:
April 29, 2016
2 pics of the closed Macys in Hampton
A comment I screened last night with inaccurate information about the Peninsula Town Center reminded me that I forgot to post these. I took these almost a month ago. I went to buy a pair of shoes at Sneakers in the Town Center and rolled by Macys to take two last shots:
The person who made the inaccurate comment thought that this was a brand new building, it’s not — It was built as a Thalhimers in the early 1970s.
I just read rhat First Watch, a brunch kind of place is planning on opening soon at the town center. Noodles and Co. is coming soon as well.
January 6, 2016
Macys at old Coliseum Mall Location to Close
(2007)
This didn’t surprise me at all. It’s an old location, the parking lot is never busy on Saturdays, and the store didn’t have a MAC counter.
(2010)
(2005)
I’ve never shopped in this Macys. I go to the one in Colonial Heights for the Calvin Klein plus size dress selection, or the one in Newport News for their MAC counter.
Macy’s plans to close three stores in Hampton Roads, including its store at Peninsula Town Center, by early spring, the company announced today.
The closure of the 173,000-square-foot store at Peninsula Town Center will affect 109 employees, according to a Wednesday news release.
The closure of stores at Military Circle Mall in Norfolk and Chesapeake Square in Chesapeake will affect 164 employees, according to the announcement.
Macy’s said it closed four stores last year and plans to close 36 more stores, including six in Virginia, over the next few months. Final clearance sales at those stores begin Jan. 11.
About 3,000 positions will be affected nationwide, the company reported.
Other stores closing in Virginia are: Virginia Center Commons in Glen Allen and the main store and furniture store in Regency Square in Richmond.
(2010)
I’ve been to Regency Square a few times, their makeup department is upstairs which is strange. Several of my dreams have taken place up there.
October 24, 2015
Look Back: Christmas shopping – Daily Press
A long-standing holiday tradition – shopping!
That Mall is sick and that Store is dead! 