Punk Rock Art Photos: "Dead Malls Don't Talk Back"

<Take I: The Squawker>

Now, we come to a different sort of view. Your favorite teenage go-to spot, a/ka The Local Mall, is having tough times these days. The town I used to live is no exception, as The Squawker and I found out on our visit here a couple months ago, while driving past this mall that's been around since 1979-ish, give or take a year. 

Nature seems to be gradually reclaiming this once grand go-to spot. Note the grass growing through cracks in the concrete, an unthinkable sight, I suspect, during the mall's '80s and '90s heyday. Squawker shot these photos outside the recently shuttered Sears, near the loading dock. 

<Take II: The Squawker>

The weirdest thing is seeing the truck with its door hanging askew. It's truly a surreal but sinister sight, that begs the question...What happened to the driver? Did somebody just yank that person out, and apply some bareknuckled street justice, like the LA rioters gave to that poor trucker back in 1992? But the surrealism didn't end there.

<Take III: The Squawker>

The strangest sight of all, which inspired us to snap these photos, is the orphaned dishwasher, waiting patiently, it seems, for someone to pick it up and give it a good home. That didn't happen after Sears closed, obviously. Note the additional grass and weeds in the background, growing through those proverbial cracks in the sidewalk. The brick facade still looks good, but the concrete? It's like driving over a lunar landscape.

<Take IV: The Squawker>

According to the locals, Sears was the third of four anchor stores to close after Carson's and JC Penney went belly up last spring and this summer, respectively. Only Kohl's is hanging on. (Kohl's comes up just before Sears, which is why it's not in this sequence of photos.) That makes sense, since they're now the nation's second largest retailer, based on sales...though it's fair to ask how long they can keep this particular high wire balancing going here. 

<Take V: The Squawker>

As you'll see here, the seagulls are having a grand time socializing in a largely empty parking lot. On this day, a Wednesday or Thursday, we counted a couple dozen cars, most probably belonging to the employees (the ones that still have a job, at any rate). Once upon a time, I imagine, this lot would have filled to the rafters.

Many reasons have been tossed around for the decline of malls, including lack of novelty. In America, the mall -- or shopping center, perhaps -- has existed since the 1920s, so periodic reinvention is undoubtedly necessary. Other pundits suggest that, as more and more people shop online, they feel less need, and less inclined, to actually step inside a store.

"Stuff and nonsense!" shouts a third faction of analysts, who point out that high-end malls -- and, to some degree, smaller, more compact strip malls -- are holding their own in the most turbulent retail climate in decades. They also note that significant numbers of people resist the siren song of e-commerce, citing security and privacy issues (a fear undoubtedly magnified by Facebook's string of public blunders on both scores, to name one example.)

Still other experts, naturally, cite the pressures on consumers' wallets. U.S. Census Bureau figures released today showed the median household income at $63,179 for 2018, barely a blip above the $62,626 logged in 2017. The number of uninsured Americans also rose to 27.5 million over the same period (from 7.9 to 8.5%, or two million more people overall).

Judging by these two figures, not everyone is benefiting from the largest run of economic growth in American history. On that evidence alone, the seagulls will be dancing in an empty parking lot for some time to come. -- The Reckoner

PS The Squawker and I went back a couple weeks ago. The truck and its open door are still there, but the dishwasher is gone...having a good home, at last.

Links To Go
Hurry, Hurry (See How 
Ancient Civilizations Lived):

Rush: "Subdivisions" (1982 Video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYYdQB0mkEU&list=RDEYYdQB0mkEU&index=1

Punk Rock Art Photos: "Looking Out OverThe Ramp" X 3

<Take I:The Squawker>

The Squawker and I recently took some time out from the old scheduling grind to visit the town I used to live, see a couple old friends, get some R&R, see the sights, that sort of thing. As usual. of course, we took the camera along, and got it out when the opportunity presented itself. Here's the best one, right off the bat, right in front of where one of our friends lives -- I love how you can every ounce of weathered metal here. Pretty amazing, I thought.

<Take II: The Squawker>

And now, we come to this image, shot as we were heading out the front entrance. I love the view that Squawker got here, looking down the ramp. You almost feel like you're standing at a higher point, and not the ramp itself, even though that isn't quite the case.

<Take III: The Squawker>

Here's the view as we're getting ready to pull out -- same front area, just shot from a slightly different angle, but again, it's one that gives you a slightly disembodied feeling as you're looking from the passenger's side, as Squawker did here. 

It's similar to what the best music and movies from the psychedelic era, where you start on the common ground of normality, only to get rapidly disoriented as the scene (or song) progresses, and you find yourself thinking, Hang on, that's not how we started out! Or is it? You'll see what I mean when you look at our next round of pictures. --The Reckoner