|
Post by americajr on Feb 28, 2003 22:43:21 GMT -5
I will miss Wonderland Mall. It has been an important part of Livonia for the past 40 years. I remember the days when it used to be popular. I can still remember the day when the eatery was remodeled. I remember going into Wards. Right now, the mall is in bad shape and is nearly compeltely vacant. I hope something nicer will replace the area at the corner of Plymouth and Middlebelt Roads.
|
|
|
Post by gloria on Mar 7, 2003 20:30:44 GMT -5
I also will miss Wonderland Mall. I used to love going there when I was a kid. It is just a skeleton of the mall it used to be. I also wish they would build something there that will make Livonia proud on the corner of Plymouth Rd. and Middlebelt.
|
|
|
Post by Bob on Mar 10, 2003 19:54:51 GMT -5
I haven't been there in a while and when I was there it didn't have anything worth while.
|
|
|
Post by native on Apr 22, 2003 16:58:35 GMT -5
The name of the eatery complex at the mall is actually "Boardwalk Cafe" (unless its owned by a "Lifestyles Cafe"--I believe the one at Fairlane goes by that name).
I suppose I could throw in my two nostalgic cents here as well. I can remember going there as a kid when the eatery was still "Eaton Place"--and it was packed with every restaurant from A&W to Taco Bell. Woolworth's was there for quite a while, too, and there used to be two Hallmark's stores.
I'm amazed that the little AMC 6 still gets enough business to stay open. It truly is a "ghost town" now. Last time I drove past, Bill Brown Ford was storing its vehicles in the parking lot in front of where Wards once was. I believe they were moved from another vacant lot right down the street--that of the former Mai Kai Theatre (closed as the George Burns Theatre for the Performing Arts), which will most likely be torn down this summer.
Does anyone know what Mayor Kirksey said in the comments he was supposed to make? There was a story that ran in the March 6 Livonia Observer, and although I recall the opinions of several council people, I don't remember reading any of Kirksey's comments. It'll be interesting to see what happens as yet another one of Livonia's landmarks is toppled...
|
|
|
Post by Psychomom on Jun 16, 2003 10:14:18 GMT -5
???I heard that Wonderland Mall may be redone so it may compete better with the newer malls such as Westland and Fairlane. I hope it is true, I used to shop at Wonderland all the time as a kid, and would love to keep the tradition alive with my kids. Nothing could replace Wonderland Mall, NOTHING. They just need to keep up with the times, get some feedback from the younger group as to why they go to the other malls instead of Wonderland Mall. I know one reason, the stores are smaller than at Westland, for example, Rave, it is only half the size, or smaller, than the one in Westland, therefore they can not keep the inventory as large. Make larger stores, more up to date stores, and people would return to Wonderland Mall. Losing Old Navy was a bad thing, they need to get them back.
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Dec 2, 2003 4:14:24 GMT -5
Just happened by Wonderland today (Dec. 1) and was shocked and saddened to find out it's closing for good at the first of the year. Since I seldom venture there these days, I'd neard nothing of it's impending closure. Practically every store is closed and moved out now. A few of the ones remaining until the bitter end are Foot Locker, Dunham's, Mazell's, K-Bee Toys, Office Max, and a Coney Island restaurant.
It was kind of spooky to walk around there. In fact, it resembled an old ghost town. The majority of the people there were there to walk for exercise.
Evidentally, once Montgomery Ward's shut down, the death of the mall was inevitable, as malls today just can't operate without an "anchor" type store such as Ward's, Sears or Marshall Field's (used to be Hudson's). When the K-Mart closed next door, that didn't help matters, either. KMart appears to still be vacant, but Target is staying on as they do enough business on their own to operate independantly from the mall.
Like everyone else, I have my own special memories of Wonderland. My parents used to take me there shopping when I was a kid back in the '70s. Back then, the mall was located outdoors and I recall they had animals on display there at certian times of the year. I also enjoyed shopping at Wonderland when it was outdoors and I cringed when I came back from college in the '80s to discover they'd put a roof on it and made it another "cookie cutter" shopping mall. The place lost a lot of its flavor when they put the roof on it.
Still, I continued to be a loyal Wonderland shopper as it wasn't nearly as crowded as Fairlane, which was closer to my house as I grew up in Dearborn.
If you want to take a last look at this landmark which opened in 1959, please get up there right away. From the people I've spoken too, it's closing for business on Jan. 2, 2004 and will be demolished soon after that. I'm not certain what's going up in it's spot but some people have told me a huge strip mall.
I was disappointed when they closed DRC and tore that down; then the old Mai Kai Theatre (later the George Burns Theatre) was torn down; I also discovered the Camelot dollar show was torn down and replaced with a car dealership, and now Wonderland is soon to go. Add that to all the Drive-In theatres which have closed, and the fact that the spot where Edgewater Park used to stand on Grand River is now a giant church, and it gets kind of depressing for those of us who harken back to the nostalgiac days of yesteryear.
Such is "progress", right?
|
|
|
Post by neo on Feb 19, 2004 20:30:21 GMT -5
Ahh crap I need to get in to take a look, is ther anyway i can get in there? PLZ!
|
|
|
Post by Young Buck on Aug 26, 2004 23:16:14 GMT -5
I think they should just have it remodeled like they did to Tel-Tweleve. I was over there back yonder and I seen they redid everything and made it nice. Soon meijer will be there and it will be an awesome shopping structure.
|
|
|
Post by Steve o on Jan 1, 2005 9:24:22 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by mark on Mar 15, 2008 12:09:09 GMT -5
The Eaton Place was the best! It had the Pizza and Sub Shop, Chinese Place, and later Taco Bell. That was the first arcade I had ever been to, used to go there every day during the summer of 82-84. I remember, the arcade moved, it used to be on the SE side of the food court, and then later moving to the SW side. That was my first experience with all the great games of it's time, PacMan, Asteroids, PUnchout, Rampage, you name it, they had it. A great place to pick up fellow 4th grade hotties as well. And the subs at the sub shop were incredible! Bring back the Eaton Place
|
|