This book about shopping malls will take you back in time

A photographer perfectly captured mall culture in 1989.

We’ve written time and time again about old stores and restaurants that only exist in our memories. Nostalgia for shopping malls and food courts is strong, especially when it comes to Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips. You all really like Arthur Treacher’s, too. MeTV readers aren’t the only ones who reserve a soft spot in their hearts for the malls of yesteryear.

Photographer Michael Galinsky is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund and print his latest book, The Decline of Mall Civilization.

Most of the photos in this book were taken in 1989, in about 15 malls in multiple different states. According to Galinsky on the Kickstarter page, “I was especially interested in considering the mall as something of a privatized public square. While I focused on the people, I thought about the way they interacted with each other and the space.”

The photos released in Galinsky's preview are so indicative of their time, from a photo in a record store with Madonna’s Who’s That Girl, Like a Prayer and You Can Dance records on the endcap to a group of young women shopping — one of which is wearing a Skid Row “Youth Gone Wild” tee. Filled with big hair and acid-washed jeans, this book will take you back in time.

When it comes to books about malls, this isn’t Galinsky’s first rodeo. Though he’s been working in film for decades, he came across his mall slides in 2010, so he published his first book of mall photography, titled Malls Across America, a few years later.  It was only in print for a short time, though and currently sells for more than $500.

At the time of publication, the Kickstarter had already made $10,626 of the $12,000 goal with 33 days left in the campaign. For a pledge of $44, you get the book itself, and the higher the pledge, the more goodies come with it.

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5 Comments

MalindaKnappStuart 57 months ago
Topanga Plaza mall in the "valley" in the lates 60's, early 70s, was an great hang out for us teens before the Valley/Valley girls fad in the 80's. The 60s and 70s were so much cooler.
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chairdesklamp 57 months ago
There are times where, out of boredom, I still find myself going to my nearest mall, but obviously, it's not the same. I'm not a teenager, an de there are no stores with tapes, records, and books vying for my attention. There's boutiques, salons, gourmet food. Not the same. So I always leave disappointed.

I do like the massage chairs they've been putting in now, though.
*and, not "an de." If anyone knows how to turn auto-predict off, I could use the help.
MarioSmith chairdesklamp 53 months ago
About the only time the malls are full is during the holiday season.
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