The food court at Mobile’s Bel Air Mall.

The “talking” reindeer near the fountain in Montgomery Mall’s Christmas display.

Teenagers “cruisin'” at Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza on the weekends back in the day.

Shopping malls still occupy a large part of American life, though the number of them is diminishing nationwide. Online shopping, changing retail habits and other factors are making the enclosed shopping mall a thing of nostalgia for some. We asked AL.com readers via social media for some of their memories of Alabama’s shopping malls, and they responded.

Reminiscences ranged from holiday shopping, to food, to the unique experiences to be found in each city, and at each mall. Many childhoods were shaped in food courts and arcades and while standing in line to whisper wishes in Santa’s ear.

22 Birmingham malls

A trip to the Gadsden Mall back in the 1970s might be an all-day event, Alice Minyard remembered.

Friends would gather there on the weekend. There were samples at Hickory Farms of summer sausage and cheese. Maybe a drink at Orange Julius or a hot dog or slice of pizza at The Orange Bowl. If you had a little change, you might play a video game at Aladdin’s Castle, or catch a movie.

“We didn’t have cell phones, so no one could get in touch with us,” Minyard remembered. “They had to just take us at our word we were where they dropped us off. If we remembered we needed to tell one of our friends something exciting, we rushed around until we found them. At 8:50 p.m., someone would announce, ‘The Gadsden Mall will be closing in ten minutes,’ and we would all slowly begin to make our way to the exit we were to be picked up at.”

As one might expect, many memories of traditional enclosed malls centered around Christmas. Donna Richards recalled mall decorations.

“The fondest memories for me are always larger-then-life Santa wonderland scenes,” Richards said. “Compared to what decorations are today, they look sad, but as a child, I was always thrilled to see the rolls of puffy white cotton and the big gold chair with burgundy velvet cushions, because I knew Santa was close.”

Lisa Bonds recalled taking her children to see real reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh, as well as the Saturday Children’s Club, at Muscle Shoals’ Southgate Mall.

Angie Gardner Davenport had fond memories as a child of shopping trips to Birmingham’s malls with her grandmother. Ann Vise remembered driving to Birmingham with a group to shop the Friday after Thanksgiving. But there were so many people in line to get in at one particular mall, they left, she said.

Derrick Crutcher, living in Athens, had to drive to Huntsville or Decatur to satisfy his "mall fix.”

“I miss hanging out at Madison Square Mall with my friends when we were at UAH,” Crutcher said.

22 Birmingham malls

Carla Davis started working at Brookwood Village’s Rich’s just before it opened, where she helped set up the Casual Living Department.

“I recall stepping over the guys sitting in the floor laying the hardwood parquet floor piece-by-piece,” she said. “We were all on a fast-approaching deadline to get the store ready before it opened. Fun times!"

Weekends hangin’ out

Many memories centered around two Birmingham institutions - Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza. Eastwood Mall opened in 1960 and closed in 2006, when it was demolished and replaced by a Walmart Supercenter and other stores. Century Plaza opened in 1974 and closed in 2009, remaining vacant today.

Rose Johnson said Eastwood had “everything you needed" and was a “great place for everyone.” She recalled the Service Merchandise store, Alands, Parisian, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, Woolworth, as well as the library, laundromat, food court and bowling alley across the parking lot.

Carol Wolf Damsky worked at Parisian there and enjoyed going to the movies. Wendylyn Winnifred “would give anything for the Christmas garland they hung with the candy” at Eastwood Mall. Many others remembered weekends there as teenagers. Mary Phillips Taylor said both Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza were hangouts, where people congregated at the food courts and record stores.

Century Plaza occupied the childhoods of others. Jay Ling “loved the big Lego displays they used to have in the middle of Century Plaza” and spent his teenage years working at Camelot Music. On off days, he would hang out there with friends.

Daniel Pope and Michael Allen, who were teenagers from Gadsden in the 1980s, remembered being left behind at Century Plaza while in town for a field trip. “My mom had to come pick us up,” Pope said. “Can you imagine if that happened today?”

Lori Loftis enjoyed trips to Body Shop, Merry-Go-Round, Jewelry Jungle and Foxmoor Casuals. Dylan Watson had fond memories of Aladdin’s Castle.

“That was the era of arcades when you put money in a machine to give you tokens, then you took those tokens and put them into games to play,” Watson said. “I still have some from Diamond Jim’s and Aladdin’s Castle. I spent fortunes in there I’m sure.”

‘Free food all day’

Thinking about shopping malls got many people hungry. Tiffany Boothe, for example, remembered skipping school and hanging out in the back halls behind the mall food court. “Free food all day,” she said.

Orange Julius was a favorite of several. Lori Hughes said the one at Parkway City Mall in Huntsville had food that “tasted so much better then than the OJ shops they have in some malls today. The hotdogs were soooo good. And I was mostly vegetarian then.” Laura Bolton Patterson enjoyed the Orange Julius at Florence’s Regency Square Mall. And Alicia Berry Jenne had good meal memories at Morrison’s in Florence.

Karen Kougasian Cagle enjoyed the dishes served at Montgomery Mall’s The Pub. Montgomery Mall closed in 2008. Shasta McCormick savored the cheesesticks with bread at Quintard Mall’s Pizza Boy.

Tyler Jenkins said he spent “every birthday” of his childhood at Brookwood Village’s Farrell’s. Elaine McAliley Bryan sampled the fare at Gyro Wrap and Yogurt Culture there too. Bev Parnell has fond memories of Black Forest cakes at Pizitz. Audrey Aycock Avery remembered the caramel corn store in Eastwood Mall. “The whole place smelled warm and wonderful!” she said.

Charlene Grable, commenting on Bel Air Mall’s Facebook page, remembered getting a hand-dipped corn dog at the mall food court when her water broke. Sherry Walker said that was the place where she learned to love chili and cheese baked potatoes.

Others remembered stores that have left the scene. Neana Saint enjoyed the Disney Store at the Riverchase Galleria, while Brett Lane missed the basketball court at Just For Feet, located on the Galleria complex.

‘American experience’

For other readers, just the experience of shopping in one central location, with stores under one roof, was something they still enjoy - and miss.

“I feel like a lot of my childhood weekends were spent walking around Century Plaza and Eastwood Mall,” said Leigh Whitten Wheeler. “Even now when I go to a city I’ve never been to, I always want to check out their mall, but unfortunately there aren’t as many as there used to be.”

McFarland Mall in Tuscaloosa was where Debbie Barnes Jacobi loved shopping. “It was amazing,” she said. She expects malls to make a resurgence.

Beth Glass Mosher said she carried her then-four-year-old daughter to Huntsville’s Madison Square Mall just before it closed in 2017. She said she wanted to show her what the experience was like “before the culture completely goes away.”

“They were comfortable places to shop with affordable eating options,” she said. “It was a social experience too.”

Brynna Schiller said the enclosed mall is “far better than the sprawling strip malls that are trending now.”

“I hear people say malls are dinosaurs and need to go away...but I absolutely disagree,” Schiller said. “I think the end of malls is a sad thing that removes yet one more American experience."