Wednesday, April 08, 2009

22-Year "Danbury Fair" Mall Neon Sign Replaced


Welcome to the new Danbury Fair Mall.

As we've mused before, the emblematic vintage neon "Danbury Fair" sign is now gone.

The funky sign, which was erected (shortly after this preview sign) at the opening of the Danbury Fair Mall in late 1986 once stood at the outskirts of Danbury Fair Mall and once conceptual three-level Macy*s area has been removed after twenty plus years of the mall's lifespan. The staple of the two-level regional shopping mall acquired by the Macerich property group in 2001 from its originator, Wilmorite Properties, slated a long overdue remodel on the interior of the aging mall as planned with many of its existing and acquired properties back in mid-2007 which sought to do away with the mall's aged tones of browns and tans.


Danbury Fair Mall, built upon the fairgrounds of the once Danbury Fair was modeled after the Danbury Fair with like colors, tent-like architectural mirror inside and other "fairly" reminscent design elements including bulb-lighting stroon about the mall's stretching double corridor's length of shopping terrain. The nexus of the mall's homage, located within the food court, is the carousel, formerly used at the Fair.

In late 2007, developer Macerich announced a major year-plus interior remodel, which sought to do away with much of the mall's aging 80's decor including the mall's olympic-sized (as Labelscar might refer to it as) concourse fountain and stage area. The move, which sought to add an earthtoned vibe to the center also attracted a bevy of new upscale tenants, rumors of a decaying vacant Filene's to find life as Nordstrom's (still unconfirmed) driving some veteran ones out, in order to raise the cliente a la what Taubman has done with Westfarms recently.

Here are some visuals into the new era of Danbury Fair Mall, taken (almost exactly one year ago!) April 2008. For a detailed photographic transition of the Danbury Fair Mall's original look, head over to our Flickr for many photos from 2007, right before the remodel.





The Caldor Rainbow caught a night glimpse upon a passing on I-84 by in mid-January 2009. Last year, we raised awareness for the mall's management to at least considering saving the historic sign, which by today's standards might not be much but we'd just hate to see any identity with neon flare go away.

We made attempts to contact Macerich for a story we prepared back in December 2007, but never received a response (bureaucracies).

We instead got a cold response upon our arrival to Danbury Fair Mall on March 27, 2009 for our pictures of the new sign.

Shortly after we took our shots, we were greeted by a security SUV who immediately inquired about our camera-toting activities. After a brief, routine exchange of being reprimanded, we complied with the [unwritten] no photography rule and went on our marry way.

But he wasn't done.

The guard, who incited further argumentative fracas didn't care for our failure to explain our motives or the contents of our digital media suddenly ordered an increasingly annoyed yours truly to leave -- no "get out" of the mall's property (followed by him following my car off the property). The guard (who will remain unnamed) tried to explain his reprimand by claiming "private property" universally bans any kind of photography, even if it's open to public invitation. Respectfully, we left but not without a fight.

Next time, if Macerich (or any other private outlet who allows the public for any reason onto its property) has a problem with people snapping leisurely photos on its property, you might want to put up signs or some kind of notice on your website or something before calling your clip-on tie wearing bullies. As a long-time guest of this mall, and one whose taken a bevy of photos here in the past is ashamed of Macerich and it's unprofessional, thuggish staff.

If any of you know when the original sign was taken down, had a similar run-in with security, throw down a comment or two.

33 comments:

Pseudo3D said...

Look for a sign boneyard somewhere in the area. There's a warehouse in Houston that has, like, old McDonald's and Burger King signs lying around.

Anonymous said...

Security at Danbury Fair is anal about photography on the property. I've been taking photos at the annual carnival in the parking lot and been asked to stop, unless I was taking "family photographs". They really don't want people taking pictures. Period.

mandy_Reeves said...

I need to check and see if Freehold Raceway mall in Freehold, NJ is made by the same developer as Danbury. They look eerily similar. In fact, I was just glancing at the pics without looking at the title and I was like"oh wow a story on freehold mall!" Even the tan leather chairs in the one picture are the exact same

Jeff M. said...

Funny -- I took some photos of the former Filene's building a year or two ago, and posted them on RememberingRetail. Nobody paid any attention to me. Of course, I didn't get out of my car; I just stopped in the parking lot, which was pretty empty, and snapped away from my open window.

Joseph Rifkin said...

After the renovation, the security has turned more anal than how they use to be when Wilmorite owned the mall into the early Macerich days.

Anonymous said...

I live in the next town over from Danbury Fair, when I am home from school I frequent the mall on a regular basis. I have been going there friday nights for years and was there through the entire rennovation. The sign came down in mid October. I noticed it was gone while taking the highway home from school. It isn't nearly as bright or visually pleasing as the iconic neon predecessor. It will be missed.

Mike

Mark said...

I like it! it looks clean and modern, much more impressive than the concept sign they were planning.

This sign makes the old Danbury Mall sign look old and dated. The poor sign looked tired, it seems it WAS a time for a change. Plus I like the symbol in the back, it reminds me a bit of the Naugatuck Valley Mall sign which also used a symbol somewhat similar to that,it was a flower like pattern. Sorry I never took pictures of it *kicks himself repeatedly in the butt*

I wish I was closer to this mall so I could experience the renovations for myself.

Keep up the good work.

Pseudo3D said...

It's been two months since you posted. You OK?

planckzoo said...

a

greg8370 said...

Nick--throw up a random pic of something so we know you're still with us....

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I am really Glad i ran across this blog.Added thecaldorrainbow.blogspot.com to my bookmark!

Anonymous said...

There are numerous various pastime suggestions and activities that you could enjoy either in your own or as part of a group.
[url=http://www.listofhobbies.org/]radio controlled helicopter[/url]

Anonymous said...

Free Article Directory for submitting press relese and articles

Anonymous said...

[URL=http://pc-rus.ru/music/9940-kerry-ellis-anthems-2010.html]Kerry Ellis - Anthems (2010) [/URL] Погоня Сделано на небесах Дорогой ценой
http://pc-rus.ru/music/10232-mohombi-feat-nelly-miss-me.html Mohombi feat. Nelly - Miss Me (2010) 3GP клип Дядя Ваня Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2 Terminator Salvation
[URL=http://pc-rus.ru/music/9449-vladimir-kuz-min-moya-lyubov.html]Владимир Кузьмин - Моя любовь (1987) [/URL] FIFA Street 2 Водный мир: Корпорация Зоопарк Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 – The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood
http://pc-rus.ru/music/8939-emma-marrone-oltre-2010.html Emma Marrone - Oltre (2010) Допрос Фома Опискин Extreme Mountain Biking
[URL=http://pc-rus.ru/music/10537-kelis-brave-2010-klip-onl.html]Kelis - Brave (2010) клип + онлайн [/URL] Годзилла и пришелец из космоса Dragonshard Sam & Max Hit the Road
http://pc-rus.ru/music/9442-aleksandr-malinin-lunnaya-son.html Александр Малинин - Лунная Соната (1994) Красота Hurricane German Railroads Volume 2
[URL=http://pc-rus.ru/music/10186-ciara-speechless-2010-3gp-k.html]Ciara - Speechless (2010) 3GP клип [/URL] Европейские каникулы Bermuda Syndrome Конспиратор
http://pc-rus.ru/music/9500-xxxl-diskoteka-5-2010.html XXXL Дискотека 5 (2010) ЦРУ: Операция "Алекса" Леденец Conquest 2: The Vyrium Uprising

Anonymous said...

ххх видео онлайн скачать бесплатно [url=http://pornfreetube.ru/]Бесплатное порно видео онлайн[/url] как писать рецензию на фильм
Порно видео онлайн негритянки. Смотреть русское порно видео онлайн. Порно видео анал онлайн.

Anonymous said...

how to unlock iphone 4
unlock iphone 4
unlock iphone 4

http://www.biotechinstitute.org/node/1464 http://www.webvertization.com/?guid=20051209093056
okay so the other day this program SpyEraser popped up saying that i have a virus. but the problem is that i did not even downlaod this spyware and i dont know how to get rid of it! and it pops up like every minute. and ever since it first showed up, my computer has been running very slow! HELP!
iphone 4 unlock iphone 4 unlock

unlock iphone 4 [url=http://unlockiphone44.com]how to unlock iphone 4[/url] unlock iphone 4 unlock iphone 4

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.kamagrashop.pl]potencja[/url], balk my site. If you are interested in entourage, be aware [url=http://www.4uescort.de]huren[/url] or [url=http://www.escort4u.pl]ogloszenia towarzyskie[/url]

as seen on tv said...

Nothing gonna change here