Hill & Dale Mall; Northampton, Massachusetts

I first saw the Hill & Dale Mall while looking for food (or a Papa Ginos) on the way back up to New Hampshire via I-91. Located along the uppermost retail drag on King Street / Route 5 in Northampton, right off the interstate (but not visible), and not even a mile away from that unusual plaza, the Hill & Dale Mall is sits along the bustling road beside some smaller active businesses a completely vacant eyesore. By definition, the mall sits dead as any sign of commerce has vacated the vegetated property for what seems to be many years.

Do not be misunderstood, like the name says, this mall doesn't fit the definition of a typical shopping mall, but more or less a strip mall lacking the volume of a conventional indoor mall containing only a few parcels along a strip. While Northampton itself doesn't have any nearby mall competitors, aside from the neighboring mammoth Holyoke Mall at Ingleside in Holyoke and the "twilight-era" Hampshire Mall in Hadley (which is about five miles off the interstate), reasoning for the mall's demise isn't quite certain.

While there's not too much history on the bygones of the Hill & Dale Mall, it was at one point, host to two anchor stores; a Price Chopper Super Market, what looks to be a restaurant and maybe some smaller stores with plenty vestige of decay. After one of the plaza anchors called it quits, a flea market moved into one of the available properties on the lot which shuttered in late 2003 for some obvious reasons. The property now provides relief for truckers, which is prohibited but not exactly enforced. It appears there were rumors to move in a conventional strip mall with some recognizable chains, but that idea seems a little far off now.

Here's more pictures, all taken a few days ago while passing through Northampton.

The left side of the beaten down strip mall and it's mystery former anchor.


The left side of the building shows a considerable withering paint job.


The left side entrance to an unknown anchor.


A former Price Chopper Super Market onced operated business in this rather cramped space.


Seen faintly behind a troublesome out-of-control tree was a sunroom-style area.


More of the sunroom, blocked heavily by overgrownness.


Seemingly crashed-in and boarded up area which might've been a window. Unusual roofing and such predates this building back to the 1970's.


A former restaurant?


A black tarp covers something over the Price Chopper space.


"South Entrance" into the unknown.


Remaining plaza signage, as seen from the road.

If anyone remembers Hill & Dale Mall, and what it might've been, by all means feedback provide some insight.

History of Westfarms Mall

In lieu of the recent Macy’s changeover at my local hometown mall, The Westfarms Mall, I began thinking about the history of the many eras the mall and I have gone through. I began thinking about stores that used to be in the there within childhood memories and the expansion wing which never made the mall feel completely the same as the removal of the center court fountain in 2001. After doing some brief searching on anything I could find about the mall, I came across a page I must've missed upon recent browsing on fellow Blogger and mall enthusiast Keith Milford and his Malls of America website and found an incredible photo of the Westfarms Mall around it’s conception in the mid-1970’s. Has much changed? I surely remember that black "information" tower and the now hidden "Westfarms" emblem on it still at the mal albeit scattered all throughout inside and out.

If you'll note, see the angle this picture was taken (on the former second level, in front of the former Sage-Allen now Macy's Men's/Furniture) and spot the differences from then and now. See the beloved fountain behind where the old stage was; now a seating area. Thom McAnn (shoe store) where Build-a-Bear is now. A store named Vanguard is where one of the billion jewelry stores is at the mall. Two unknown stores are now filled by the double-sized Abercrombie & Fitch, while Susan Terry is now Bebe. The Lord & Taylor wing is completely nonexistant as it was built in the early 80's and the information tower has relocated to the Macy's side of the mall instead of inside the center court. While I remember those wooden-handle bars and red carpeting, the green floor tiles I do not, while the center court's I do, as they were replaced not too long ago. What you can't see in this photo is the movie theater this mall once had across from Hakky Shoe Repair, one of the mall's longest running active tenants today.

Update: You can see how Westfarms looks today compared to how it looked then by a postcard we received from dating back to the mid-1970s.

Page updated, links added: July 17, 2007.

From May to Macy's

May Department Stores was once responsible for many popular mall-anchored department stores such as Lord & Taylor, Filene’s (Boston-based) and their many acquisitions of regional offsprings such as Hecht’s, and Kaufmann’s (New York-based) over the last century plus. In 2005, May Department Stores were acquired by Federated Department Stores, another once rival giant who owns the more upscale Macy’s, and the even more upscale Bloomingdale’s. As a result of the acquisition, Federated prompty chose to brand all of May’s string of department store chains and names which includes Filene’s and names under one successor: Macy’s. If you’ve shopped a Filene’s, then-owned by May Department Stores, the company who acquired the former G. Fox and Sage-Allen locations (which originated right here in Hartford), you’re basically shopping at the same stores as you’ve been going to all along. But there are some differences within...

Farewell to Filene's; taken weeks before the transformation.

What’s the real difference with the merger? Store interior designs have changed a bit; mostly in regards to Macy’s promotional banners and signage in and out of the stores. Facades have been repainted and some restructured (although varied in some locations) and prices aren’t quite as heavy as Macy’s have been known to charge in the past. Selection? The same trendy brands Filene’s has been offering over the past years. Presentation wise, you might not be able to tell anything beyond marginal differences here and there. The personality of many of these stores, including Filene’s, some of which many people including myself have grown up with have now been uniformly rebranded in Macy’s name which kicked off officially on September 9, 2006.

The Westfarms Mall; located between Farmington and West Hartford, Connecticut was host to original Hartford-originated G. Fox and Sage-Allen stores before their fallouts in the early 90's.

The final weeks of Filene's brand, originally G. Fox in front of one of the two monuments built here since the 1974 opening.


Macy's now operating at the former Filene's, originally G. Fox.


Macy's main exterior entrance.


Macy's upper-level entrance.


The Filene's Men's Store/Furniture Gallery operating in the former Sage-Allen space. This photo was taken after mall closing hours and months before the Macy's rebrand.


Overlooking Westfarms center court, Macy's now operates in the former Filene's Men's/Furniture, originally Sage-Allen.

Macy's Men's Store upper-level entrance, brown facade unchanged from the Sage-Allen era.


Macy's Furniture Gallery entrance, brown facade also unchanged from Sage-Allen.


Macy's Men's/Furniture entrance with original "sky-rise" style window facade.


Macy's Men's/Furniture entrance with original flare.


Then: Filene's Men's Store/Furniture Gallery exterior entrance.


Now: Macy's Men's/Furniture entrance as of September 9.

Danbury Fair Mall; Danbury, Connecticut

The now vacant Filene's at the Danbury Fair Mall; a mall which hosts an original Macy's. Photo taken earlier this year, the building now features stripped away signage.


An original Macy's at Danbury Fair Mall also one of only original stores in any mall in Connecticut.


Macy's mall entrance at Danbury Fair Mall.


The former Filene's at Danbury Fair Mall still without a known replacement anchor.

Stamford Town Center; Stamford, Connecticut


Connecticut's first original Macy's and it's grandiose exterior at the other Connecticut Taubman Center; Stamford Town Center.


Interior the Stamford Town Center Macy's

Enfield Square; Enfield, Connecticut


Macy's sign being assembled outside the former Filene's Men's Store exterior entrance.



Macy's sign being assembled at the former Filene's Men's Store at the Enfield Square (formerly known as Westfield Shoppingtown at Enfield).


Another exterior entrance with "rainbow" arch entrance throwback to original 1960's design of the mall.


A Filene's tarp just before pre-unveiling the company's uniform brand outside the exterior entrance.



An unusual "rainbow" style facade on a former G. Fox, to Filene's, and now Macy's inside the one-level Enfield Square.

Some Other Malls...

Soon to be removed signage at the Auburn Mall in Auburn, Massachusetts.


The last notion of Filene's on this road pilon at the Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, Massachusetts.


An unusual Macy's facade at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, New York (Long Island) which was not Filene's before (Photo credit: Michael DiMaio).

Big Canadian Attack

Tim Hortons Opens Eleventh Connecticut Store

Back in July, the lot beside Walgreens on the cross between Routes 10 and 372 in Plainville was slowly showing progress of something on the former, and long departed site of Pilgrim Furniture. No more than a month later, Canadian-based coffee house chain Tim Hortons announced they were to open a store right in in the center of Plainville. Tim Hortons, which has very few stores in the northeastern portions of Connecticut in Meriden and New London areas, decided that Plainville would be the next elusive store to enter the Connecticut marketplace being one of the only stores in Hartford-area Connecticut. No more than just a few summer months, Tim Hortons opened on Friday, September 15, 2006 to a public of which who may have never even heard of the “Always Fresh” coffee and pastery chain.

Tim Hortons now competes with various Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Donut World all of which located a few miles away.

Tim Hortons doesn’t just serve up coffee, instead, they offer a bevy of both breakfast, lunch, and dessert menu items from doughnuts, turkey sandwiches, soup, and even iced beverages. Around the same time as Hortons conception in Plainville, franchise-owner GAD, Inc. opened yet another Dunkin’ Donuts right on the former site of Just Java on Farmington Avenue/Route 10, of a now bankrupt independent coffee house, to possibly counter the traffic of cars seen at the lunchtime crowd of Tim Hortons today. GAD, who franchise owns many Dunkin’ Donuts shops in Farmington, New Britain, and Plainville will see a new challenger with fresh new concepts beyond breakfast sandwiches, sweets and sometimes, stale coffee.

Tim Hortons is open 24 hours and contains a Drive Thru to ensure convenience despite how much I despise them.

Seeing as Dunkin’ Donuts holds my favorite coffee, when brewed correctly and fresh (two of which have a hard time meeting consistency), I set foot into Tim Hortons for the second time in my life and walked away very much pleased. A reasonable $1.45 for a medium coffee versus GAD's Dunkin' Donuts medium $1.83 (some franchisees price differently) that’s fresh, hot, and friendly-served to me is something I’ll remember when I’m on the prowl for a good coffee and am sick of Dunkin’ Donuts problematic employees and sometimes dissatisfying coffee. Having been a former Dunkin’ employee, and long-time frequenter, I’m not being irrational more or less testimonial.

Swing by if you're in the area, as they're open 24 Hours (in competition with the nearby Dunkin' Donuts) even if you must pass ten Dunkin' stores and discover why Tim Hortons is refreshingly different from Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks. What better face-name recognition to serve up hot coffee than a native hockey playing Canadian?!

Here's some photos of Tim Hortons during construction. Photos taken July 2006.

Construction workers for Hortons caught red-dead handed leaving a Dunkin' Donuts bag on site.

Rocking Heart

Being the gamer I proclaim to be, I’ve been slacking a lot in keeping up with games. Being the up-to-date, avid game music listener I am, I am unyielding to proclaiming my burning anticipation for an upcoming arrangement album from the Wild Arms series with WILD ARMS Music the Best -rocking heart-. The album is not only packed with 17 select arrangements from the five Wild Arms games but has incorporated famed Falcom composer and arranger Ryo Yonemitsu (to name a familiar name) to arrange them along with some personal favorite musicians MASA on guitars (Shin Sangokumosou 3, 4 to name a few), Masato Honda (T-Square, Rockman X arrange album) and Mitsuru Kanekuni on Sax (Double Dragon II, V’ Ball arrange albums) in a foray of rock and fusion elements.

Don’t feel absent; I’ve never played a Wild Arms game nor am I very familiar with any of the original soundtracks. The website has samples, even if you don’t listen to game music casually or mostly (as I), the music generally invites music and melody lovers alike. My senses are already melting over “FATE BREAKER” so give those a listen by clicking on the little headphones logo; you won’t be disappointed.