Vestige of Norwalk Kmart "Hanging" In There

Does anyone remember a Kmart at 330 Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk?

"There's always something there to remind me."

At least that's what the U.K. new-wave group Naked Eyes said in 1983, earning their chart topper which was likely once available on cassette at this long fallen former Kmart site on the Route 1 strip in Norwalk.

A plaza whose since lured a few tenants to occupy what was once home to a Fairfield-area Kmart, partitioned within the ailing vestige of Kmart's shadow -- with nothing but one of their signature mid-70's-era rooflines hanging above a dark sidewalk, sandwiched between future occupants TJ Maxx and Best Buy.

Upon an investigation, we had discovered the site at 330 Connecticut Avenue, which also goes by the name of "Norwalk Plaza," was in fact once anchored by Kmart entirely -- but not for too long. A heritage has apparently never left the plaza.

Here's where it gets stranger.

Best Buy, who succeeded now internet-banished, New York-based Nobody Beats The Wiz, or known in later years as simply "The Wiz" (which will share eternal fame on the count of many a Seinfeld re-run) removed only a couple of the "roof plys" on the right end to accommodate remodeling for the Best Buy store, a task The Wiz neglected.

Both retailers were negligent in removing the entire facade, including Best Buy who only sought to remove less than half of it.

A Kmart "roof ply," representing each segment on the overall roof facade which began rolling out in 1975 until 1980s iterations of the chain's look.

Beneath the forgotten scaffold roof, which just hangs there, is a walled off, former tight-squeeze entrance/ways and showroom windows many discount department stores were well known for before the advent of mega-sized vestibules (to possibly accommodate mega people, mega items) and sliding doors. Upon visiting a Kmart these days, you'll be notice the doorways and the rich, chime of age old motors working too hard to open the swinging doors as you squeeze yourself and your cart through to get inside the store.

The entire site is nothing short of an oddity today, serving no purpose, largely unquestioned by the many patrons of the plaza today. There's even an interesting elderly "Fire Lane" sign.

As seen in this earlier set of photos, likely taken during the later 1990's, by the ever-resourceful property management outfit SiteRide, one can see the once signature five-ply roof scaffold comparatively bogged down to just the three it retains today. Why not just take the whole thing down?

The world may never know.

But you may know. Perhaps someone might be able to fill us in on when the Kmart opened, when it closed and how long it was closed for. It obviously was not successful, believed to have been over 15+ years within vacancy.

Currently, there are a good handful of vacant, original Kmart stores left behind in recent years' waves of closings and other retail use which include Orange, Manchester and East Haven. A former site in Derby was recently cleared away for an incoming Lowe's Home Improvement. Norwalk further bolsters the fact, adding yet another chapter of shame in that the New Haven-Fairfield market is not a good one for the Kresge Company.

Beginning of The End of The Bristol Centre Mall, Job Lot Saga

The Bristol Centre Mall is finally coming down. No really. It is (or has begun to).

A couple weeks ago, The City of Bristol got its act together and finally threw the ball through the mall -- at Bristol Centre.

The first knock in the wall dealt with everything that gave the City a headache for over a year plus -- beginning on the far-right end where a stubborn Job Lot held the mall's impending destruction up for years. But it was not without complete and total silliness on the part of an involved Mayor Art Ward himself reenacting some "Rocky" (we're not sure why) masquerading, in a height of melodrama, the first pockmark was made. We did not make it there on that day (though in hindsight, and for rare, live downtown Bristol comic value, we wish we had).

So roughly 30 degrees warmer and beneath wonderful, lush blue skies of one late February afternoon in which one would, if not for the chills of Winter, find contrails galore above, we stopped by and took some snowcapped pictures of the partially wrecked mall, which has officially begun in its demolition phase -- striking hard on The City's most difficult angle of the mall or the plot formerly held by fleabag retailer Ocean State Job Lot, which attempted to stop the presses, and the world's spinning, held it up in courts for over a year plus.

Job Lot snubs final day customers on January 20, ceasing operations days earlier than originally predicted -- empirically does entire City of Bristol, seagulls a great service.

With this glaring news for the Rhode Island-based cockroach cabinet (no really, we like Job Lot) another former Job Lot in town is getting the axe and grind after it ceased operations late January at the very same time -- and the future tenant who may remain unknown is getting to work on ripping down an ages old, former Super Stop & Shop facade.

Dedicated Bristol Plaza seagulls unimpressed with demolition efforts, vacancy remains almost comparable to when Job Lot was actually in business at the former Route 6 site.


Seagulls hoping future tenant keeps unwanted motorists off their parking lot/basking territory.

Bristol, which had two Job Lots this time one year ago now has none and currently has no plans to reopen (or repossess a faltering, old retail complex) a location within town. Rumors persist of TJX Companies TJ Maxx, located across the plaza in the space once held by D&L, and its desire to migrate to the space formerly held by Job Lot and mostly Stop & Shop since 1960 until 2002.

You can read all about what happened on the ground breaking ceremony here, but you can view our wonderful photo gallery on Flickr. We expect more "progress" on The City's future when the weather patterns become more steady but until then, we'll provide regular, sporadic updates regarding the slow departure of the mall which has ways to go.

As for the future of the site? Could be used again for retail...

Thanks for memories, Bristol! Here's to hoping we can find another former supermarket to inhabit/inhibit elsewhere!

After the mall is destroyed, perhaps The City might get working on the level of obnoxious stop 'n go traffic lights on the North Main (and 6) strips, maybe consider more flashing yellows after 11PM?

If you missed it under our ramblings, here's the photo gallery. All photos were taken February 24, 2008.

Bradlees: Evolution of Logos

Here's a history unearthed of many logos used by the late Bradlees department store throughout its life. As with many retailers in the days of print-dominant media, retailers would display and mainstream their week's sales and specials through the monochromes of newspapers.

After an experimental decade, Bradlees finally settled on a destined iconic, groovy logo far beyond the limits of groove's allowance (which is almost precisely the year disco refused to leave, becoming a subculture). As it turns out, the 1970s-centric logo we all knew would become the company's image all the way up until the dark day of defeat. Kind of told a story about the retailer who endured troubled times in the final decade of its life.

Upon looking through these, you'll find throughout the 1960's, the company began to craft a style they has branded as iconic: notably an arrow within the 'B'. It was then, in 1973 they had realized they had their own sleek, modern alternative to Caldor's "hip" rainbow motif.

1960: Before "Stop & Shop"


November 1960: Bristol Plaza; Bristol, Conn.


December 1960


1960-1961


1962


1962


"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968


"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968


"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968


"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968


1969


1970-1973


1973-1992


1979


1979-1992

Stay tuned for the relaunching of the Bradlees Store Locator and related Bradlees updates in the near future. If you've not already, be sure to explore our findings of former Bradlees locations including our newest find in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Caldor Rainbow meets The Hartford Courant

And we're sharing the same page as The Spice Girls.

The Caldor Rainbow has made its first media appearance on Monday February 18. 2008 in the Life section, courtesy of The Hartford Courant.

We would like to welcome newcomers to the site -- we hope you'll participate, contribute and make our site more content rich and relevant. Explore our backlogs on the sidebar (yes, I know it's not entirely user-friendly), and our many original photos on Flickr.

We would like to thank Courant reporter Daniela Altimari; who originally approached us last year about doing a story, Carolyn Moreau; for her online video segment, and Shana Sureck for the "album cover" photographs.

Additionally, our true thanks goes to our retail enthusiasts circle which includes Chris Fontaine, of Ames Fan Club, Daniel "d_fife" Fife (an abundant poster at the Ames Fan Club forums) whose compelled us to take distant road trips, Jason Damas (Caldor) and Ross Schendel (Prange Way) of Labelscar, Keith Milford of Malls of America (still alive, Keith?) and of course the pioneers Pete Blackbird and Brian Florence at Dead Malls Dot Com, who I like to think inspired many of us to keep our eyes on dying retail from the start. Without you guys, I might not have been here sharing similar passions.

Golden thanks is reserved for family; my mother Rose, my father Nick, and my brother Michael whose driven us places and Renee Morrisett, who insists upon coming along for every one of the missions.

If you just stumbled across the site, you can read all about it on The Courant's online mirror, or go grab a copy of the print edition at your local newsstand/supermarket (where we are proudly displayed next to The Spice Girls).

If you've got questions or comments, you can drop us an e-mail at XISMZERO@yahoo.com.

Last Remaining Vacant Bradlees Found In Foxborough

Thanks to some research by us, with great help to Microsoft Live Maps, we've confirmed a lone, surviving former Bradlees department store nestled within Foxborough, Massachusetts -- which is also the last vestige of a completely in-tact, vacant Bradlees within the state.

For some time now, we've been fascinated at the marvel that is Live Search Maps apart of Virtual Earth here at the Caldor Rainbow. When we began using the program created by Microsoft last year, there weren't many advancements in Microsoft's satellite imagery program that hadn't already raised eyebrows since Google's own Satellite feature.

BRADLEES AT 30 COMMERCIAL STREET; FOXBORO, MASS AS SEEN ON MICROSOFT LIVE MAPS

But now, we see many states are now apart of the most impressive feature the program sanctions: Birdseye Imagery.

Because of these impressive steps, we're now able to make researching far outside our scope more convenient. While not absolute and often times uncertain, our range of visual research has been extended to further investigate sites we don't always have local watchdogs to scope out.

As we've trumpeted before, the New London, Conn.-based Bradlees department store chain was beloved among northeasterners before it shuttered all remaining locations in early 2001 following a day-after-Christmas 2000 announcement of ceasing to continue business after a half of decade of retailing. In its later years, Bradlees housed it's corporate affairs within Braintree, Mass., roughly ten miles outside the state's capital of Boston.

In 2001, Bradlees left a hefty 33 vacant properties within Massachusetts as opposed to only 17 in its neighboring, origin state of Connecticut. By 2008, all but one property has been swallowed by today retailers which have included Wal-Mart, Kohl's and Burlington Coat Factory -- but not Foxboro.

While taking almost ten years to almost fully secure new homes for the former holes left by Bradlees, the question remains: Why doesn't anyone want the empty Foxboro location at 30 Commercial Street?

About a mile off Interstate 95, along (MA) Route 140, the secluded Foxboro Bradlees sits vacantly beside a somewhat dried up, islandic Foxborough Plaza, anchored by the bargain bazaar Ocean State Job Lot, a handful of smaller stores and an outparcel Papa Gino's restaurant.

Bradlees opened its Foxboro location at the height of its expansive years on April 22, 1982 and made it all the way to the chain's finish line in 2000. It has since been banking of eight years of vacancy.

The store is a true relic apart being brown-draped, with brown-and-caramel toned counters and a rarer white-faced logo, escaping the typical red used by the chain throughout the 1970s until the end. With inexplicable recent Stop & Shop bags seen at the checkouts, we suspect the husk was recently used by the former parent for limited use/training facility despite the plexiglas Bradlees logo still up there.

The Caldor Rainbow took the trip in early January (on a surprisingly balmy afternoon for early Winter), so we hope maybe some of our southeastern Mass'ers can tell us more about Foxborough Plaza, and maybe a little more background on what was here before Bradlees took over. There's a label scar of sorts, but it's largely indecipherable so we're hoping you can help.

UPDATE: April 2009. Believed to have originally been a King's, became Bradlees 1982. Lease was purchased by Stop & Shop in 2001.

You can see the entire gallery of photos taken on January 8, 2008 on our Flickr.

West Hartford-Elmwood 'Swept Wing' Caldor Dismantled

What's going on over at 983 New Britain Avenue in the Elmwood section of West Hartford?

Reader Jude of the Caldor Rainbow and local resident who runs a site of her own, "Scenic Root" swung by the oddly-sloped facade building of fallen retailer Caldor at the former "Piper Brook" area to notice it surprisingly being dismantled and felt compelled to inform us.

Chances are, if you're local, you've seen or remembered having shopped the now time-warped, weather-damaged, pockmarked stucco-nightmare which has been hailed as a infamous town blight and a continual haunt to residents in a plaza whose pavement is akin to shattered glass -- and shattered [dollar] dreams.

Surrounded by those signature yellow cranes, the building is apparently finally being "taken down," piece-by parallelogram-piece.

The Caldor Rainbow has taken a trip to the gravesite this Sunday morning, and brings you these pictures -- the final images of Connecticut's final memory trip to the golden age of Caldor expansion.

------------------------

Locals have questioned for years about the usage of the site, who hasn't seen much success after Ames left it vacant in 2003. An area of much distress, includes the dual-tenanted plaza. A dollar-centric "Dollar Dreams;" a neighboring the vacant husk continued operation out of an equally crippled store space held by Waldbaum's and before it, Stop 'n Save. Then in late 2007, word came about of a phantom supermarket chain hoping to dominate the long distressed space, and it might happen soon enough.

Late last year, we suggested if someone didn't rip it down, it might fall down given the hazardous, withering condition it has suffered and endured since before and after the end days of late retailer Caldor, who crafted the iconic, yet equally bizarre "swept wing" look that became synonymous with the then rising retailer in 1972.

A typical Star's spot advertising questionable "Around The Clock" business, shown in The Hartford Courant in November 1972.

Before Caldor took it over, renovating it extensively, the site hadn't much long-endured success when it was Star's Family Fair and a Popular Supermarket, which opened in September 1962. In it's later years, Star's Discount, who practiced business unusually was oddly open around the clock only in Elmwood, offered just about every odd and end. When it closed the Elmwood location in the early 1970's, retailer Caldor snatched up the space and had decades of success until the chain closed up.

Star's Discount, who later became known as Nu-Star's, had two other regularly operated locations apart the closed 24-hour Elmwood location in Wallingford and Torrington. The chain closed up for good in the late 1990's.

WEST HARTFORD-ELMWOOD as it looked, pictured on MAY 30, 2006.

On November 2, 1972, the Caldor Corporation crafted what's referred to as the "swept wing" facade look on its proud 21st Anniversary, 21st chainwide store on Farmington Avenue in New Britain. The company then unveiled the ever-reminiscent rainbow-motif to go along with the angled facade look spawning an experimental and certainly distinct look for the ever-popular department retail chain.

Others like it spread to this West Hartford-Elmwood location as well as Southington in 1973. All but this lonely location has been snatched up by Wal-Mart in 2000.

When Caldor met its chainwide closure in 1999, the building was quickly swept up by the overzealous Ames, who met ends with its expansion ills in 2003 when they announced their own chainwide closure. Despite the building's enormous volume, a good percentage unused by Ames' needs, the building's deteriorating state wasn't much a concern for the acquisition.

With the site at 983 New Britain Avenue coming down, there's only one former Caldor left in Connecticut in Groton, which is currently under use by the Pfizer Corporation (you can find details on that one here and here).

We honor the former site as a window into the distant past -- the rich heritage of Caldor. Ever since the early days of 2008, the building served as a floodgate for memories long beyond what it was built for. We'll certainly miss it, but hope the site sees prosperity in the near future.

If you haven't already, please review our premium Caldor Store Locator and our report on the now late site at 983 New Britain Avenue.

UPDATE / FEBRUARY 5, 2008. The former Caldor site will become a PriceRite discount supermarket. Existing land which includes demolition of the vacant, outparcel Piper Brook Restaurant will be "a new building that would house either a retailer or a bank." Also, wondering what happened to the "swept wings?" Appearently, they were "...knocked down... because it was a safety hazard." Read more on The Hartford Courant.

Westfield 'Meriden Square' CVS Closes After 36+ Years

Well folks, January is the most dead time of the new year. Like any new year, and winter itself, among the post-Christmas exhale it's a season of closures, a time to loosen the ol' belt for some companies.

Upon walking into a long-time tenant of the mall for a couple of towering $.99 cans of Arizonas, a simple sheet of computer paper said it all in a modest font/size sign at the gate. Thanking patrons for years of service, the chain urges its veteran customers to seek out the newer, other stand-alone stores in Meriden; on East and West Main Streets.

CVS inside the Westfield Meriden shopping mall, formerly known as Meriden Square, will have it's last day of sale on Sunday, January 6.

CVS OPENS AT MERIDEN SQUARE; OCTOBER 1971
(Photo: Hartford Courant)

CVS, a leading national drugstore chain based out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island opened its mall-side CVS store in 1971 in conjunction with the opening of the Meriden Square, a premiere enclosed shopping mall at the edge of Meriden, Connecticut whose since changed its name and size since by the Westfield Group. Back then, the chain was more humbly known by its real identity "Consumer Value Stores," but most widely known by its acronym, CVS.

Having survived a trio of decades plus in action inside Meriden's premiere mall, CVS retained itself as the mall's eldest tenant. By today's standard, its last remodel, which pre-dates back to its 1980's-rich facade of striped grays and reds shows in-and-out. Its indoor features are rapidly deteriorating and distressed, including rotting, falling-down ceiling boards in a bunkered, cramped setting apart recently replaced aisle signage.

The chain now has three locations in Meriden; two on East Main Street, and one on West Main, excluding the soon-to-be-closed mall location.

CVS, like many other chains including its rivals, want their own stores on their their own sites.

Stores that are larger, brighter, and located at bustling junctions are what they're after these days and polar what company strategy sought no more than ten years prior. CVS, like its counter Walgreens and two lessers Rite Aid and Brooks Pharmacy, have begun to thrive post-millennial, beginning a takeover of the long coming pharmacy chains including Eckerd, having many locations rebranded into Rite Aid stores. Other ghosts of past include Genovese and Heartland Drug; both of which faded by the mid-90's.

Keeping their competitive edge in these times with the mammoth Walgreens, whose been popping brand-new locations up left and right, CVS hopes to phase out many of its aging locations within strip and indoor malls for these new-aged, XL/big box-styled stores that are far from what most CVS stores have historically been about.

CVS at WESTFIELD MERIDEN on SEPTEMBER 1, 2006.

Part of the move seeks out diminishing these smaller, indoor mall locations -- especially when the chain has since aimed to place two to three stores per town. Unlike the voluptuous, clean and vital looking locations down the road from the aging mall site, the Meriden Square CVS hadn't ever a pharmacy, like most mall-side stores which is now and evermore a staple in the CVS chain's marketing campaign, which seeks to promote a friendly, knowledgeable staff of pharmacists (to remedy, if you will, recent controversy surrounding the uncertainty of distributed medicine at shops).

CVS continues to operate various locations within major shopping malls in the state including Danbury Fair Mall, Crystal Mall and The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. Stores in Enfield Square and Westfarms Mall may be long gone and there's no word if any of the aforementioned will be closed soon along with Meriden and Trumbull (at Westfield Trumbull).

Yours truly worked as a CVS employee and could tell you of another dire, dire store in Unionville, Conn...

UPDATE (1-5-08): Westfield Trumbull store closing (are we detecting a trend?).
UPDATE (1-6-08): Recent photos added, title image replaced.

All newspaper advertisements courtesy Hartford Courant. All original/on-site photos by The Caldor Rainbow.

Westport Toys 'R' Us To Close End of January

Toys 'R' Us in Westport, Connecticut will be closing on January 31, 2008.

One of our readers and Connecticut resident, George Ligouri, drove up to the Route 1 strip mall location along Post Road East in Westport upon a late December day and was baffled upon finding "20-40% store closing" signage which greeted him upon a unsuspecting lunch break. Store associates informed just one of many sad, long-time customers of the store's month-to-live, citing its terminal stage.

Remaining stock that won't be sold off in the various markdowns will likely be exported to sister stores. Closure cites no other reason than what appears to have been a struggling, underperforming store.

The Westport store which opened in 1992, succeeded a fallen Child World, a once rival toy retailer who dominated the market long before Toys 'R' Us stole the thunder throughout the 1980's, expanding rapidly into the 1990's with its own large selection of high-quality brand-name toys and games.

Child World declared its closure in 1992, selling off most of its assets and locations, some of which in many states became future sites of Toys 'R' Us shortly after.

The Caldor Rainbow believes the company had planned to shutter the Westport store months prior the post-Holiday shopping season announcement, springing the news on December 26 and after a season of frenzied Christmas shopping -- an otherwise popular time to announce store closures without hindering the shopping season.

Uncertainy in unsafe toys and recalls have lead (pardon the pun) the defeat of toy sales this year apart trends dictating a sad, sorry end to strictly-based toy retailers. Fellow toy retailer K-B Toys is believed to also be at its wit's end, which had plans shutter a bulk of the company's stores months before the holiday shopping foray.

The Westport store, which followed in a hardship of being within a misplaced setting, distant from a major shopping mall, countered conventional company strategy of placing stores within thriving near-mall markets. Apart the company's own woes, to which it has been suffering for a good decade, the Westport store hadn't an adjacent Babies 'R' Us, which is otherwise the company's profiteer these days.

There's been no word on any other stores slated to join in closure. The Norwalk location, also no neighbor to any malls and located along US-1, continue to remain open along the state's other 7 locations in West Hartford, Waterford, Waterbury, Danbury, Manchester, Milford, Newington and Hamden.

Historically, the Toys 'R' Us chain has had a successful run in Connecticut, with most stores kept well in accordance with remodeling efforts. Having only ever closed one store, East Haven and one relocated in Waterbury, the company prides Connecticut as a continually healthy market for the company.

East Haven, doomed from the start, operated out of a former Stop & Shop, marred by its troublesome, "sinking" land was eventually forced to close in 2002. The late East Haven store was reportedly one of the company's most notoriously troubled locations for its being located along the often hectic Frontage Road. The location has since been razed and bolstered for a CarMax used car emporium in 2006.

Waterbury, which was home to the state's first store opening in 1980, closed its longtime original Wolcott Street location in 1998 at the fallout of the Naugatuck Valley Mall and relocated following the opening of the new Brass Mill Center, relocating to the Brass Mill Commons strip plaza, adjacent the new mall. Waterbury, aside being the state's premiere location, was rewarded with the state's first "Concept 2000" model, which prompted many others around it soon follow.

Will more closings ensue? Following a mass closure which saw an end to 87 stores statewide in January 2006, the company has been keeping its remaining 586 U.S. locations vital since. Connecticut was one of the rare, few states that hadn't suffered any closures.

The company's CEO, Jerry Storch hopes to revive a staggering company. You saw some of what's in store for Toys 'R' Us following a new marketing campaign unveiled this past Fall/Autumn, but Storch has a plan beyond ads and an aspiration to bond Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us stores (like the former Toys 'R' Us and Kids 'R' Us joining) into one and like a few already displayed in Auburn, Mass. and Johnson City, N.Y. You can read up on that recent story on ABCNews.com.

De-Malls of Connecticut Chronicle: Charter Oak Mall

The Caldor Rainbow presents...

The De-Malls of Connecticut Chronicle featuring the late Charter Oak Mall in East Hartford.

In this segment, we'd like to explore malls that once were, and are no more or have been dramatically reformatted for today's landscape.

Charter Oak Mall; East Hartford
940 Silver Lane

Opened on April 12, 1976 (Bradlees opened on March 15, Stop & Shop, Medi-Mart opened on April 12)
Dimensions: 200,000 sq. ft. enclosed/sidewalk mall
Original Anchors: Bradlees, Stop & Shop, Medi-Mart
Current Anchors: Aaron's, Burlington Coat Factory, Super Stop & Shop, Big Lots
Known Today As: Super Stop & Shop-Burlington Coat Factory Plaza

Opened on April 12, 1976, the Charter Oak Mall was a roughly 200,000 square foot small enclosed shopping mall in East Hartford, shortly off Interstate 84 as well as (then) I-86, along the town's shopping district and direct artery into Manchester, Silver Lane. Anchored within the boundary of a typical strip-style complex, flanked by Stop & Shop Companies on each end beginning from left-to-right; Bradlees department store, Stop & Shop supermarket, and Medi-Mart drug store (within Stop & Shop). Shortly after opening, a four-screen Showcase Cinemas, which had currently existed, became recognized as apart of the mall's left-end as a supplemental outparcel.

Today, Showcase Cinemas, which has managed its conquest to more than triple its space into 14-screens since its original 4 at opening, is entirely closed as of 2006 as is still standing vacant.

In 1976, the mall featured the usual array of mixed chains, local and nationally known, from Radio Shack, Fayva (shoes), Sackett's Hallmark and even the Massachusetts-based Papa Gino's Restaurant, all of which today are no more. Shortly after a contest of restaurants attempted to move in including Red Lobster, which was much ballyhooed citing traffic overflow in local papers and across the way Denny's, who had their restaurant on the outskirts of the mall property, near Silver Lane which has since become occupied by office space.

Today, the Charter Oak Mall is no more. Locals know it well as the Charter Oak Mall, but its property owners have dropped the name altogether, simply identifiable through the plaza's anchors.

Retrospectively, it's hard to throw the blame on its two original anchors fleeing for the failure of the mall. When the state decided to seal up access from I-84/86 via Forbes Street, mainline access became crippled. Regardless, strong anchorage of Bradlees and Stop & Shop kept patronage and parking spaces filled -- for most of its life even those who've vanished since the 70's: Medi-Mart, an heir appearent akin to today's successful Walgreens (once a competitor to Stop & Shop's drugstore-pharmacy branch, later sold to them), is inherently integrated into today's Super Stop & Shops as Walgreens succeeds the former Red Lobster space near Silver Lane today.

Bradlees, a discounter who needs no jog in memory remembering from their prime ages of the 70s and 80s into their 2000 collapse, had a difficult time finding a new anchor after its early closure in the mid-1990s, eventually urged Burlington Coat Factory to move up the street from its former placement along Silver Lane.

A good idea of what Bradlees looked like at the Charter Oak Mall upon its March 15, 1976 opening

As any one who's studied the landscape of smaller malls existing today will know the current day rarity of the dying breed of shopping center. The faddist indoor mall of the 1960's-1970's have largely demalled in many markets, eclipsed by regional mammoths and big box-power centers that have replaced them in today's retail landscape. If the concepts haven't swung into opportunist discount arrangements, keeping their mold like East Brook Mall in Willimantic, Hawley Lane Mall in Trumbull they've converted them into outdoor centers like New London Mall, or like in East Hartford's case, they've been decimated into mere strip plazas or entirely vacant power centers like the neighboring town's Manchester Parkade.

While the vestigial land is largely held together by a thrice remodeled, triumphant Super Stop & Shop, the supermarket chain eventually took over most of the formerly, withering enclosed mall portion containing the once small handful of shops and restaurants, leaving its original placement to succeeding closeout discount anchor Big Lots on the far-right end, while the fallen Bradlees on the far-left of the mall is now headed by a subdivided building: Aaron's (Rents) and Burlington Coat Factory. Remaining strip store space is held by smaller shops, including Dollar Tree.

The year-plus loss and inability to fulfill the landspace of the Showcase Cinema to a neighboring Manchester complex caused its parent company to shutter the age-old East Hartford adjacent mall location in mid-2006 setting harder times against the continual sponging sprawl of the Buckland Hills-Manchester area, which continues to devastate both towns' historic districts of forgotten retail, including a once centerpiece Manchester Parkade.

Vestiges of a Ghost Mall
Looking closer, the ghost of the mall still exist. Apart from the architecture being roughly the same for both former anchor spots, upon entering the mall from Silver Lane, one can find a truck sign for "Mall Delivery." On the building's far-right end side, aside the original Stop & Shop (currently Big Lots), is a small Bradlees label scar hiding under the wall's paint. Most noteworthy, visibly off the interstate is a vintage Stop & Shop trailer, doning the 1970's logo, which seems to be immobile, and is a staple artifact on the site hearkening back to the former mall days.

A genuine Bradlees label scar on the far-right building side of Big Lots


"Mall Delivery" sign, visible from the Silver Lane entrance

Got anything on the Charter Oak Mall? Send us an e-mail or leave a comment about your experiences. Make sure you head over to Dead Malls and read Jim Sawhill's testimony on the late mall, a Connecticut local who seems to have a solid recollection.

All newspaper advertisements courtesy of The Hartford Courant. All digital images property of The Caldor Rainbow.