The Southtown History as Told at Labelscar

Labelscar is a website that catalogues failed retail sites across America. One of the posts at Labelscar is today's FWOb recommended reading.

Last month, Ross Schendel,one of the authors of Labelscar, posted a story of Fort Wayne's Southtown Mall. Mr. Schendel brought some personal history to the task. He wrote:

My very first visit to Fort Wayne, Indiana yielded this mall in June 2001. Gas was just north of a dollar a gallon, and I was a teen with few cares in the world other than driving around and exploring new areas. I had never been to Fort Wayne despite the unlikely kinship that existed between the city and my hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. Located about five hours apart, both cities were General Motors factory towns, and growing up I remember many families who set off to Fort Wayne in search of better jobs when the plant opened there in the '80's.  In the end, the ties between the two cities dissolved, as General Motors ceased production in my hometown, abandoning it, though the more modern Fort Wayne facility continues to operate.

Mr. Pranger illustrates his post with numerous photos he took that day in June, 2001.

By the way, for those who are wondering about the meaning of the title "Labelscar", the authors describe it this way:

If you’ve ever seen a store go out of business and remove the signage from their old building, then you’ve seen a labelscar. It’s more or less the equivalent of a watch tan – the mark left on a building where the elements didn’t take their toll on the facade. But it’s more than that, too. A labelscar is also a metaphor for the changing world of retailing in general, and a fitting title for this blog.

Photo credit: Ross Schendel (Prange Way) at Labelscar.

 

Comments

[Kristina Frazier-Henry]

Thanks for posting this Mitch

Ed. note: The Labelscar entry on Southtown also has a link to some of your photographs of Southtown on Flickr.

[Roger McNeill]

I always marveled at the Southtown Mall logo with the prominent arrow pointing straight down. I loved the mall, but the logo was certainly prophetic.

[Bob Gaul]

Mitch:
Kudos to you and to Ross Schendel for a look into one of our lost jewels down here.

There's not a day that passes that I don't miss being able to go there.

There used to be a website called LOST MALLS and it featured Southtown.

I would love to see more pictures of it in it's heyday.
I came here around 1997, and thought it was very nice (coming from the east coast aka mall-city USA)
And had I known THEN what I know NOW, I would have certainly taken my share of pictures.
I did snap some inside the (cornucopia) SCOTT'S on Decatur Rd. before it closed.

Excellent post.