Development Watch: RIP, Albee Square Mall (Garage)
The end of the year coincided with the end of the Albee Square Mall’s 31-year life. Built in 1977 on the site of the former Albee Square Theater, the mall’s popularity (See, to me this mall is like number one, and any other shoppers that try to compare—there ain’t no way they could hang out…
The end of the year coincided with the end of the Albee Square Mall’s 31-year life. Built in 1977 on the site of the former Albee Square Theater, the mall’s popularity (See, to me this mall is like number one, and any other shoppers that try to compare—there ain’t no way they could hang out with Albee Square, sang Biz Markie) was ultimately no match for the march of real estate progress down Flatbush Avenue. The new mixed-use development rising on the site (rendered at right) will have 650 units of residential space in addition to 475,000 square feet of retail and more than 100,000 square feet of Class A office space. Sounds like a party.
Development Watch: Acadia Starts Albee Demo [Brownstoner] GMAP
Albee Square Deal Closes, Fewer Apartments Planned [Brownstoner]
I for one will miss the kiosk that did custom embroidery on things. Anyone know where there’s another place like that? Maybe King’s Plaza???
sorry, 1:20, should have said “asshat.” And remember, you played the MORON card, so spare me the whining.
“Top Potato?” Now we’re talking! Hey, 1:23, it’s anonymous so tell us when you started at LIU.
Gabba, Gabba, hey! We except you, we, except you, one of us!
I practically grew up in the Albee Square Mall. Every weekend, my mom would take me to the Barnes & Nobles there and then downstairs to the arcade and Top Potato for lunch. It certainly has sucked since the 90’s, but it was great in the 80’s just like Biz says
Albee was built when I started at LIU (directly across the street). Although it was definitely a downscale mall, it was a familiar friend right through to grauduation. I distinctly remember a double date at Wendy’s, as well as the day the professor of my “History of Radio” class ended a midterm exam by announcing the space shuttle Challenger had just exploded. We all went over to an electronics store at Albee Square to watch the news coverage. Quite fitting Biz Markie should honor the place with a tune, and thanks Brownstoner for posting.
I moved here when they were finishing up the mall, so I never saw the original Albee Theatre. I heard it was very cool. Too bad they replaced it with this 70’s idea of an urban mall. It was one of the highlights of the “New Fulton Street”, coinciding with the closing of Fulton to regular traffic and the refurb of the streets, lighting, mall signage, and the idea to make Downtown Fulton St a pedestrial shopping mall.
This mall never had much going for it beyond having the only indoor food court in the area, the highlight being Wendy’s as its anchor. The stores on the lower level were always dark and depressing, and changed every other month. The shops on the upper 2 levels weren’t much better, and as time went by, the goods got cheaper and cheaper, as the people got fewer and fewer.
Frankly, it always looked low rent. Interior finishes were cheap, roof probably leaked, escalators and elevators never worked for too long, and downstairs retail always looked like storage rooms that they decided to rent. Toys R Us was probably the only profitable store in the entire place. Even Wendy’s left. They could have done much better. I was always left with the feeling that the developers threw this at the community, which they saw as lower income anyway, and said “Here, we gave you a mall.”
I won’t miss it.
Preservationista
12:45 – sorry for the wrong word usage although I must ask- what is missing in your life that you have time to proofread blog postings and use the word “fucktard”
RIP is a good word for this garage. Interesting shot, but it’s misleading because it makes it look like the whole Albee Sq is all gone. The galeria building is still there in all its uselessness and drab. Good riddance to all the eyesore that made the corner a dangerous crosswalk for one thing. Do you know that cops turn a blind eye on motorists who make constant illegal turns along Flatbush extension?
From my experience, the multiple vendors there, as well as electronic/shoe shops, etc. were very popular. If not for competition fro moutside Fulton Mall, it’d have been even more so. The “main” stores were ill conceived from the start. They simply weren’t what the main customers there wanted.
But of course, the new stores they plan to add there won’t be popular amongst the current demographic either. So I guess we should scrap the plans?