The Dying Days of Exton Square Mall

Exton Square Mall, where I worked for Electronics Boutique after college, is closing for good next week.

Here’s a walkthrough video of the almost abandoned mall.

At 2:17, the Waldenbooks. I did a book signing there.

By the way, I loved the kiosks at Exton.

At 3:00, we have the old Auntie Anne’s shop.

At 3:04, the upstairs entrance to Strawbridges. I don’t remember precisely which department was there, but my mom worked there for a time.

At 3:30, the Disney store.

At 3:55, the entrance of J.C. Penney’s. She didn’t show it, but Wizards of the Coast was next to it on the left.

At 4:30, give or take, she walked past where EB Kids was.

At 8:11, there’s the Sam Goody. I bought so many CDs there. It honestly looks the same as it did in 2002.

At 9:57, Babbage’s was on the right. It looks like GameStop remodeled it, because it used to have an all white facade.

At 11:00, my sister and I had our picture taken with Santa Claus there.

At 13:30, that was Kirkland’s.

At 17:00, yes, that was the fountain.

At 18:00, Victoria’s Secret.

At 21:00, that was my hall. The jewelry store was, IIRC, a Gordon’s. There was a Zale’s right above it.

At 21:07, the Shoe Mall on the left used to be a Shoe Dept, and beyond it was a hobby shop, then a Radio Shack. On the right was a Nokia store and then a mattress store.

At 21:21, Gold Buyers used to be a tobacco shop, though they also sold other things, like chess sets. And, just beyond it, my Electronics Boutique.

At 21:30, on the left, Lens Crafters. Or maybe it was Pearle Vision. But I think it was Lens Crafters. The shop at the base of the escalator was a barber shop.

At 21:34, that patch of carpet. There was more carpeting there (it was pulled up and replaced with tile at some point) and two leather couches. I did so many interviews there.

At 22:07, that was Cinnabon.

At 24:21, I came out of that parking garage entrance in 2000 on a snowy, icy day, hit the pavement, and did a 720 in the road. How I did not wreck or kill someone I do now know.

That’s a trip down memory lane. Pour one out for the Exton Square Mall

Published by Allyn Gibson

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over fifteen years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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