Why do we call it a shopping mall?

[moonshadow]

Because you dont shop at one....

You shop at...

TheMall!

[Stevie D]

Shopping malls are awful, corporate places which I avoid as far as possible. I much prefer to get my groceries, clothes and other items at ordinary 'proper' shops or market stalls.

We do have a shopping mall in Sheffield - Meadowhall - built on a huge site formerly occupied by steel works and factories closed in the 1980s as a result of Thatcher's obnoxious policies. Needless to say, it gets known as 'MeadowHELL'.

[Fred in Skirts]

We have a mall but it is closing down. Most all of the businesses have moved to new locations or have gone out of business. They say they are going to tear it down and build a "Shopping Plaza" there which will be open air and separate shops.
I hated shopping there as did most of the people in the area. Who knows what the Plaza will bring.

[dillon]

The mall is becoming a relic of the eighties, aside from those who feature almost exclusively high-end retailers. Then shopping becomes a status symbol, not about common sense economics, but about wretched excess, about immediate gratification without regard to cost.

I don’t shop at malls, being one of the online consumers who have precipitated the demise of the institution. But I can’t help considering the parody of Menotti’s one act opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” In this case “A Mall and the Night Visitors.” Instead of guiding the three kings to the Christ child, they are led off for last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve, only to be greeted by a security guard who informs, after a grand oratory about the visitors’ mission “Mall’s closed, kid. Come back on the 26th.”

[Kirbstone]

The 'Mall' concept works well here with our generally wretched weather. Putting a roof over a group of shops is far cheaper than erecting a geodesic dome over the entire country, which would be the alternative!

Tom

[Jim]

I like the National Mall much better. It's open and green.


This is the mall I am used to. I was very disappointed when the other kind came out and they turned out to be just big buildings.

[denimini]

I have always called them shopping complexes, although the term equally applies to the psychology of the people in them.
When I visit a city, the stores that interest me are never in Malls.

[Ralph]

I like the National Mall much better. It's open and green.

Yeah, but it doesn't have a GNC, JC Penneys, or GameStop. How can you call that a mall?

[Kirbstone]

Jim,
Splendid aerial view of Washington DC's Mall. We have nothing remotely like it here, of course. I spent some time in London however, where they have their historic Mall running Westwards from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, past Horesguards Parade and St James's Park &c. and which is frequently used as a Royal processional route.

It is totally devoid of any sort of retail outlet, of course and very green

I submit two aerial views, one of which gives a great look at London showing most of the important landmarks therein and their relationship to each other.

Rs Jason Hawkes London view.jpg

Rs London Mall looking Westwards.jpg

Tom

[Jim]

I like the National Mall much better. It's open and green.

Yeah, but it doesn't have a GNC, JC Penneys, or GameStop. How can you call that a mall?

It's a REAL mall, not one of those new-fangled pretenders!

[FranTastic444]

The nearest shopping mall of any size near my place back in the UK is Merry Hill - often known by the name of Merry Hell