Downtown Goes West
Posted on July 21st, 2005 by Jeff, Copywriter // 4 Comments »
I was at the Beverly Center yesterday. I kind of love that mall (although I also kind of hate it, especially after yesterday–see below). That’s where I saw Gary Coleman at Brookstone, and he was there as a shopper, no less, not a security guard. He had a minder with him, some tall woman (comparatively, anyway) who communicated with him mostly by yelling across the store. It was funny enough when she started shouting at the massage chair, but then I about lost it when I saw little Arnold come stalking out from behind it, brandishing a combination umbrella/nose hair trimmer/world-band radio/garage door opener.
More to the point, though, the Beverly Center underwent a major renovation a few years back. Among other things, they added a bunch of lounge areas with modern sofas, chairs, and tables. People actually use them, too, like the three men I saw sleeping in various unflattering poses. The bar area in the center of the mall was also redone. The designers put a giant screen of LightBlocks up against the elevator bank (see photos). If the name LightBlocks sounds familiar, good–they were one of the companies exhibiting at Design Downtown in May. They look great in the installation, as you may or may not be able to tell from the camera-phone pictures.
(P.S. One of the reasons I kind of hate that mall is the parking situation. We got there much too close to closing time yesterday, and it took us about forty-five minutes to exit the lowest floor of parking. We spent longer getting out of the garage than we did in the mall. I feel sorry for the poor folks parked on floor 6!)
Filed in General, LA, Local Design | 4 Comments
July 22nd, 2005 at 11:10 am (#)
LOL. What you say is true (especially about the people in unflattering positions). I like the new furniture that I’ve seen when lacking the unhappy spouses. And the light blocks are a nice touch. If you haven’t seen the mall lately, you should check it out.
July 25th, 2005 at 1:27 pm (#)
Whadjutalkin’ ’bout Jeff? I can’t believe you saw Arnold. The only recent celebrity sightings I’ve had are Sinbad and Evander Holyfield (not together), both at the Atlanta airport baggage claim, powerlessly waiting around for luggage like the rest of us schmos.
Is The Beverly Center the same mall in the Woody Allen/Bette Midler movie where they are stuck in the parking lot forever? I think it was called “Scenes from a Mall” or something like that. I hate malls. They make me dizzy, mostly because of the crowds and the terrible lighting. I think the lightbox wall would be a major improvement upon flourescents. I know flourescents are more energy efficient and thus cheaper and blah blah blah, but they give me migranes.
I think it’s funny that the first mall was literally an enclosed former strip mall, and now they are tearing down those malls to make faux Main Street USA strip malls (like Mashpee Commons on Cape Cod, or the Derby Street Shops in Hingham MA) that have huge parking lots in the middle or around the borders behind Panera Bread and Borders Books. It all comes full circle. Who knows, perhaps in another 25 years people will actually shop at the charming, within-walking-distance, currently deserted business district real Main Streets that the shopping centers are modeled after. Stranger things have happened.
August 1st, 2005 at 2:10 am (#)
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August 7th, 2009 at 12:53 am (#)
I have just come across this blog and its pretty cool. I enjoyed reading this post, I cant remember when last I went to a shopping mall that has more than one floor, I suppose I have just stayed away from these places due to the fact that I have no spare cash to go spending on stuff, I just wish that the economy would start picking up, so that I can go shopping.