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Suburban mall on Back Bay/South End line to get renovations
By adamg on Tue, 09/01/2015 - 10:52am
The Boston Business Journal reports on renovations to Copley Place, one of two 1980's Boston malls designed to let suburbanites experience a taste of life in the city without actually having to interact with it (the other being the failed Lafayette Place downtown). The work is part of an overall mall upgrade that includes "upgraded escalators and glass handrails" and a 52-story residential tower.
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Comments
If Copley Place really wants to get shoppers to linger,
maybe they should convince the Au Bon Pain to switch to a brand of cheese that smells less like feet wrapped in leathery, burnt bacon. The stench of that stuff pervades the whole Westin-end side of the mall. I always double-time it through there, holding my breath as much as possible.
Or
They could allow some "average" stores to open.
You know? Ones that don't require a trust fund or a second mortgage to purchase something.
Thats what the Pru is for.
Thats what the Pru is for.
BTW, Gap and Banana don't exactly require trust funds....
Those were for the employees of other expensive stores
So they could buy uniforms for work.
Did you read?
Did you read?
Aw the cheese doesn't smell
Aw the cheese doesn't smell as bad as Vader stuck in his TIE fighter.
Somebody
Somebody sure has a bug up his ass about suburbanites.
Somebody needs to be sure you
Somebody needs to be sure you know that he's better than someone else. You know, those people.
Or...
Somebody is just bitter about the Natick Mall being dumped in the Back Bay. You know, those malls.
people need to lighten up...
Keep up the good work, Adam! I think your little jabs are amusing.
Generally I would agree, but
Generally I would agree, but it definitely beats a big ol' uncovered train yard :)
BTW, why is the Pru not included in you urban suburban malls list ?
I think the Pru replaced the train yard
While Copley Place replaced a gigantic grass circle (which, granted, probably was part of the train yard back in the day).
As for the Pru mall, good point, but it pre-dates the era that gave us the Copley and Lafayette malls. In its own way, it was also miserable (remember when it wasn't enclosed?), and part of a giant FU to the surrounding city. Yes, as you said, it replaced a large train yard, but rather than stitching the Back Bay and the South End together the Pru was, in its own way, a giant raised fortress with its walls turned towards the city. And yes, there were certain issues involved with building on top of a deck on top of a highway, but still, it represents some of the worst features of 1950s/1960s urban "renewal."
It's definitely an urban blog
It's definitely an urban blog with an urban perspective on urban issues in urban Boston. Disparaging suburban malls may ruffle suburban feathers, but it plays to the UHub base.
oh good
Maybe they can get rid the "1984 looks like it barfed in here" look. Gold/quartz tile...barf
I dunno every time I walk thru Copley Place, I get this feeling like I stepped onto an early set of Dynasty or Dallas or one of those "glam dramas" of the rich from the early 1980s.
(or as I call it the "$ale of the Century" look.... which was a really tacky game show from 1984)
Donald Trump LOVES it there.
It reminds him of home.
OMG YES
I thought of this too. Trump when he was married to Ivana in the 80s was on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and they showed the interior of his house. It is like copley place..
tacky!
For me, it will always be 1985 at Copley...for different reasons
Walking by the newsstand that used to be right in the middle, at age 11, seeing the cover of the Penthouse that promised pictures of Madonna without any clothes on....yeah, that moment isn't burned into my memory forever and ever
Madonna
I have copies of those pictures.. trust me, you didn't miss much.
Ummm
n/t
Better with Joe
I preferred the 1970's version of Sale of the Century hosted by Joe Garagiola.
Wow! Glass Handrails — How Luxurious!
Interior Pictures of lafayette place mall
I can't find any images but that building, its colossal failure, and the prospect of some abandonedporn makes me hope someone can find a few from the mid 80s...or even the 90s.
Lafayette Place
I don't have any pictures- but I worked at the Swissotel (now Hyatt) attached to it in the mid-90's- we had keys to go between the hotel and abandoned mall and used to take smoke breaks wandering around it- sated my desire to wander around an empty/ abandoned mall
Will be curious to see how Copley Place renovation turns out- that mall is one of the few things that's relatively unchanged from my 90's stretch working downtown
My favorite Copley Place
My favorite Copley Place memories were in the 80's when the nouveau riche women decided that full length fur coats were perfect to wear to the mall. This coincided with the rise of PETA, who regularly would hold protest marches outside of Needless Markup and loudly chant, "don't wear fur" at the nervous swells as they marched by.
Occasionally the protesters would make it past the security guards and get inside the mall resulting a flury of activity as the Simon security forces in there smoky, the bear hats, would swarm the PETA folk, telling them it was private property and escorting them outside.
Good Times.
Loew's
Lowe's (thank you for coming to Lowe's, relax and enjoy the show) or whoever ran those theaters at Copley Place, is a fond memory. I remember when they first opened back in the 80's, it always seemed decadent to me that you could see a movie at 10 AM. Went to that morning show on Saturday's for years. Used to get a big coffee and a muffin from Dunkin Donuts. One of the less fond memories was too much coffee and waiting for Mozart to die in "Amadeus" so the movie would end. I was OCD about movies, and like Alvy Singer in "Annie Hall" who would not see a movie that he had seen before if the credits started, I would not leave a movie for any reason. The first movie I saw there was "The Dresser", the last was "Ray". By that time the place had deteriorated; the picture cut out for 10 minutes and no one seemed to care.
But it was a very convenient place to see a movie despite the postage stamp screens which were a regular feature in multi-plexes at that time. That was all I found interesting at Copley Place.
I saw "Sneakers" there, if
I saw "Sneakers" there, if memory serves.
If you liked postage-stamped screens
you went to the Circle cinema. Last movie I ever saw there was basically shown on one of those bulky 60" tvs. I expected a VHS player in the console below.
Yes
Circle was the worst. Good riddance.
Mulholland Drive
I saw the David Lynch film Mulholland drive there. The theater contained myself, a friend, and about five other people. Someone started to snore loudly and continued for most of the movie. Another patron brought his aging Mother who would loudly ask "What's going on" every few minutes and then shouted out "Oh my god!" during the brief lesbian scene.
Great movie all around.
the cinema chain was called Loew's
Lowe's is a hardware store.
When Copley Place opened, it was a Sack Theatre. Later it merged with another chain to become USACinemas, then Loew's bought the combined chain. By the time AMC completed the purchase of Loew's, this place was hopelessly out of fashion and out of date, and it had already closed.
Ugh, the Copley theaters were
Ugh, the Copley theaters were the worst. The Cheri was where it was at.
Since we're sharing 80s memories.....
.....remember the fountains that used to spill down from overhead as you came up the escalator? A friend's mom from out of town said, "It's like a thousand men peeing." To this day, every time I come in through that entrance, I think: A thousand men, peeing.