tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post8288146485919013161..comments2024-03-21T01:17:34.038-05:00Comments on Pleasant Family Shopping: The Randhurst Story - Available Now!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-23969068861041014902012-07-09T02:03:54.973-05:002012-07-09T02:03:54.973-05:00I worked at "photography by Eades" in th...I worked at "photography by Eades" in the mid 70's as a teen developing passport pictures. I also played Santa as he jumped up from atop the mall while "RINGMASTER NED" announced, "I think i hear him now", as the real Santa was too old to get up there. I then took Pictures of kids with Santa during the Christmas season.What a great time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-166479746497495812012-02-23T09:57:00.231-06:002012-02-23T09:57:00.231-06:00I need to get this book.
Also, I still need to fi...I need to get this book.<br /><br />Also, I still need to figure out the insane parking lot of the new Randhurst Village. I avoid it like the plague b/c I'm convinced I'll get in an accident or get a ticket driving there. Poor design that is now a local joke.amiehartnettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-42573902750493956072011-09-19T11:37:04.553-05:002011-09-19T11:37:04.553-05:00Pseudo3D - Good to hear you've gotten the Rand...Pseudo3D - Good to hear you've gotten the Randhurst book! I though that Greg did a superb job with it.<br /><br />About the foreword, thanks! It was great to be asked to write about a place that meant so much to me growing up.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-62433952528503312872011-09-13T14:12:47.431-05:002011-09-13T14:12:47.431-05:00It arrived a day early! (well, the "regular&q...It arrived a day early! (well, the "regular" schedule was a day late...) Reading it now! The forward was pretty cool...Pseudo3Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-88951651942751013632011-09-13T11:15:42.011-05:002011-09-13T11:15:42.011-05:00I ordered that book! It's going to be delivere...I ordered that book! It's going to be delivered tomorrow. I just hope that I'm there to pick it up.Pseudo3Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-84002995581971880192011-06-07T15:40:31.442-05:002011-06-07T15:40:31.442-05:00Doug,
The Carson's that retained its original ...Doug,<br />The Carson's that retained its original logo (and its complete 1971 facade, for that matter) was Lakehurst in Waukegan, which was also designed by Gruen. That mall met the wreckers in 2004.Jon Revellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01638162512472815222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-16200505263312852002011-05-03T21:29:49.275-05:002011-05-03T21:29:49.275-05:00Looks great. This'll give me ideas of where I ...Looks great. This'll give me ideas of where I want to live when Virtual Reality is perfected in 20-25 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-57638045395738614062011-05-03T09:34:51.675-05:002011-05-03T09:34:51.675-05:00congrats on the foreword Dave! Sounds like a truly...congrats on the foreword Dave! Sounds like a truly great, research effort. Did you know I am writing a book called "Classic Diners of Massachusetts"?Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05830053424679597542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-19619730053796944642011-05-01T22:09:42.395-05:002011-05-01T22:09:42.395-05:00I lived in Despains for 17 years and it was my fav...I lived in Despains for 17 years and it was my favorite place to go shopping I was sad to see it gone last year when i went back for a visit.flowerpowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265345034396277572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-7107895010535903002011-04-29T11:15:14.199-05:002011-04-29T11:15:14.199-05:00i dont think a lawsuit was ever considered but i r...i dont think a lawsuit was ever considered but i remember a security guard taking me to a room and putting rubbing alcahol on some gauze and putting it on my chin(ouch) then going to Holy Family to get stitchesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-58283177846426732912011-04-29T07:41:29.384-05:002011-04-29T07:41:29.384-05:00Richard – Thanks, glad you enjoyed this. I agree t...Richard – Thanks, glad you enjoyed this. I agree that malls are definitely an important part of Americana. As time rolls on and the malls change (and disappear in some cases) more and people are realizing that. Thanks again!<br /><br />Paul – I was actually thinking of another photo when I wrote the bit about the police show – I should have said “held over several years” instead of just specifying 1962. Thanks for catching that!<br /><br />The Country Squire shot is great, for sure. Every year, Randhurst was host to auto shows, boat shows and mind-blowing antique shows (the latter would be unimaginable in malls today). It truly was an exhibition hall in addition to its role as a premier shopping destination.<br /><br />Doug – I’m sorry you missed out on the original Randhurst. When Carsons moved out of their original store to take over the defunct Wieboldt’s space in the mid-80’s, their updated script logo appeared on their new home. This was updated later on to the current logo. I believe the classic 50’s/60’s logo shown in the photos here may have existed on the original store for the duration of its existence as a Carsons. Thanks!<br /><br />Anonymous – I’ll bet there are more than a few who can say that, and that you probably continued to play on them after your chin was stitched up! ;) You never heard much about insurance liability in those days.<br /><br />Matt – Wow, thanks for sharing that! <br /><br />In fact, that is the very theme of my written foreword to the book, the sequence of visuals as you approached and entered Randhurst, and the feelings they sparked. In my case it was during the mall’s early years and I was very young. It stays with you!<br /><br />I think you’d enjoy the book very much. <br /><br />Scott – It is awesome! And I really hope it’s the start of a trend. Although Randhurst was historic in some unique ways, I can name 20 malls with zero effort at all that deserve to have their story told in book form, and the treasured memories of others across the country would no doubt increase that number by multiples. It’s a powerful combination of history and nostalgia.<br /><br />One of the most interesting features of the book is diagram of the mall floor plan showing the locations of the sculptures, the names of the individual pieces, and the names of the artists who created them. I didn’t see Mr. Bufano listed among them.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-49495500689604741812011-04-28T13:11:53.523-05:002011-04-28T13:11:53.523-05:00That is one awesome book! I wish more malls would ...That is one awesome book! I wish more malls would do that. I'd have a library by now.<br />Does anyone know who the artist is behind the sculptures? It looks like it could be Beniamino Bufano?<br />ScptottScott Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10967375949115515071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-27472759958901082492011-04-27T22:21:10.850-05:002011-04-27T22:21:10.850-05:00I sitll have vivid memories of this mall, even if ...I sitll have vivid memories of this mall, even if I didn't make it there until 2005.....its twilight years.<br /><br />The way the Carson's looked...old and grand....and I thought it was always located there, until doing some research online.<br /><br />I entered the mall via Carson's side entry near the north mall entrance. The mallway looked typical of old malls....wide hall, low ceiling. I can't describe the feeling though once the triangular-shaped atrium came into view with its four levels and maze of stairs and escalators.<br /><br />Awe-struck? Nah, too tame.<br /><br />I'll eventually be fetching a copy of this book though. I've thankfully gotten to see Randhurst in person and in many photos and videos online (also have my own video of the exterior somewhere). Now I want to read about its inception and the 'behind the scenes' goings-on throughout the years.<br /><br />Everything's cyclical....we may or may not see something like this again, but who knows. From what I've read though online by other folks' accounts who WERE around for Randhurst's glory days of the 1960s and again in the 1980s-1990s, I would love to find that time machine to go back and experience it. Sounds like it was "the place to be" then.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16995028308806276177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-71872672272729076172011-04-27T16:00:41.509-05:002011-04-27T16:00:41.509-05:00i still have a scar on my chin where i split it pl...i still have a scar on my chin where i split it playing on one of those seal statues at Randhurst in the 1960sAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-50558074476608266162011-04-26T17:14:39.856-05:002011-04-26T17:14:39.856-05:00Sigh. Randhurst is one of those places (along with...Sigh. Randhurst is one of those places (along with the Brickyard and Ford City) that I only ever heard of and never went to. From home, my folks were never willing to go any further than Fox Valley in Aurora or Stratford Square in Bloomingdale (and they needed a good reason to be talked into going to either of those). I think we went to Woodfield once when I was in high school, and that was a big production. By the time I could drive I was too busy with school, moved, etc. <br /><br />Didn't Randhurst have the old school Carson Pirie Scott logo outside till the end? Or am I imagining that.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155864890687070702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-54831507102387571512011-04-25T13:22:30.589-05:002011-04-25T13:22:30.589-05:00No, that Niles patrol car is a 1965 Olds...like th...No, that Niles patrol car is a 1965 Olds...like the Fords in front of Carson, Pririe Scott (AND Company). That's a great shot...you can see the window sticker on the Country Squire.Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-44557500875921733962011-04-25T09:18:20.374-05:002011-04-25T09:18:20.374-05:00This is one incredible post Dave. Fantastic pictur...This is one incredible post Dave. Fantastic pictures. As Americana as it gets. Nice job. Thanks, Richard.The Viewliner Limitedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730924067419581447noreply@blogger.com