Beaver Valley Mall 1970s

This is the mall I grew up near during the halcyon days of mall shopping. www.Timesonlin... writer Jeffrey Sneeden located these long lost photos of The Beaver Valley Mall in Monaca PA. Turtlenecks are optional. www.thefortyni...

[@ljr1200]

Spent a lot of time there growing up in the 1970s in Beaver County. The golden age- especially in re to how people dressed and how they acted toward each other. During the Christmas Holidays it was great. Growing up there before the mills shut down was special....ideal community in many ways, big close knit families, safe clean neighborhoods, etc.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Agreed, a great time and place to grow up.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

I recall Burt Ward signing autographs at the mall in the mid 70s. Wolfman Jack signed autographs by Gimbels while The Granati Bros performed, around 1976.

[@shawnatiu9676]

Wrapped gifts there near one of the fountains with my best friend from high school during Christmas holiday early 80s.. Guys buying gifts for their girlfriends wives, mothers, sisters would do last minute shopping and we would make a killing in tips. Spent all our money at Lerners, The Gap, Spencer’s, Record Mart and ate often at York Steak House.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Haha! Those were great days ! Early 80s, what a time. BV Mall was the center of the univ as a kid!

[@c.c.7687]

0:12 - Now THAT'S the Orange Julius decor I loved so much as a child! Devil mascot, torch lights, pitchforks on the back of the seats, creepy dungeon walls and that door in the back that looked like something from the set of an old Hammer Horror film. How cool were the 70's? So cool you could grab a bite to eat in a place designed to look like Hell.

[@realitylime4896]

Grew up at the BVM!!! Got all the Steelers autographs during the ‘73 season when they’d come out 4 or 5 at a time! Thanks for posting this!!

[@SuV33358]

Loved Hickory farms!! They used to give out samples of cheese and beef stick (summer sausage). The smell in there was amazing 🤩

[@larryd.9245]

Neat... Lots of memories at that mall... The wife worked at Pizza Boy back in the late 80's early 90's

[@markshea405]

LOL Pizza Boy was the best. And it was located between the Skiball Arcade and the Funland Arcade. It was one of my favorite junior high hang outs on wintery Friday nights. Space Invaders, Pacman, and Space Firebirds, what memories.

[@kucelkj]

I remember about 85% of the stores. What a great place/time!

[@nancymunroe3672]

I helped open Gimbel's when it was the ONLY store at the mall open, back in 1969!!! It was a big deal back then!! Back when people had class!!!

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Awesome, Yes, what a fun time! thanks for sharing,

[@moemcgovern7345]

I remember when Santa climbed the fire engine ladder, to enter Gimbels, in Philadelphia@ at Christmas time.

[@moemcgovern7345]

Yes, We called it Christmas.

[@joycadams]

my first job was at Foxmoor at this mall. this brought back so many memories. enjoyed it

[@carolineolsen556]

I loved Foxmoor in my home town, remember all the choices and the atmosphere.

[@guerralg63]

I'm from southern California, and even though we didn't have all of the same stores I did see some that we had out here. Parklane Hosiery was one, Kinney and Thom McKann and Bakers was Leeds shoes. Walden Books, Orange Julius, Frederick's and a few others. However, i do remember the vibe, or ambiance being the same. I miss many of the stores, and the relaxed feeling of shopping at the mall in the 70s. I would have liked to have visited this mall back then. It was another time.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

I was able to visit Sherman Oaks Galleria a lot during the 80s. SoCal malls remind me of home, and are always fun to visit.!

[@doloresanderson648]

wow...memories. I worked there at the beauty/wig salon. Nice clients, good employer so good memories of Pa.

[@brianhudson7822]

When I was about ten, World Bazaar was my favorite place to browse. It smelled so good. Those were the days.

[@sophiawish9772]

I worked at the Carousel. Still remember cleaning all of those parts to the ice cream machine, it was done every night! Also remember the rush of customers when we had coffee specials.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Great memory. Hoping that photos from former mall employees show up. Carousel was a great place to take a break and get some good food.

[@sophiawish9772]

@@thefortynineteens7090 Where else could you get: cotton candy, hot dogs, ice cream, coffee, and as much pump-vended cheese as you wanted?!

[@PhilipBarrett1]

Spent a lot of time at that mall growing up....

[@cmiller415]

Some of the store fronts are awesome!!!!

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Yes, lots of effort and time put in for sure.

[@randycoppola2069]

man we really screwed things up, didn't we?

[@ritaalways-alone4618]

The days before all the insanity. Man, I'd give several things right now to go back to the seventies and stay there. If only we knew how good we had it. 😔

[@carolbostic1562]

OH my goodness Debbie I remember all of those neat stores SUCH a shame what is left!!!!w

[@beachgirl468]

Wow, watching this along with the music took me right back to those days at BVM in the 70's and 80's growing up. I SO miss those times.....Thank you SO much for posting this! It was so fun and sparked a lot of sweet memories!

[@krisscanlon4051]

From the area and still go by there and this was a real cool throwback! BVM my work office is there!

[@sawboneiomc8809]

I remember that every mall I went to growing up there was a guy standing out front of a store saying..”give the gift of music to your family” and trying to sell electric organs. You could hear those things throughout the mall. As a little boy I was fascinated with the tombstone switches more than the music....there was a lot of them in different colors.

[@Mark.G475]

Interesting! I grew up around Chicago land. Not many of those stores in Pennsylvania were in Chicago land Malls. I went to the Oak Brook mall a lot.

[@hiridavidfeign]

Didn't know how good we had it then. Of course, this was after all the malls took the lives of downtown stores, so it's all fair game I suppose.

[@carolineolsen556]

Thank you for posting this.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

you're welcome

[@kevinmichael2538]

nice to see these things from different times

[@azona2463]

how nicely everyone dressed

[@roecollins6907]

I had forgotten about some of those stores and a few I don't remember at all.

[@failure2flinch876]

I was looking for Ciro’s top of the mall, and the best of them all “Pizza Boy”

[@shawnatiu9676]

Yeah Pizza Boy I remember had guys tossing dough in the air. It was down at the end of mall where Trombino’s Piano and Organs

[@douglasdixon524]

0:06 The Hallmark store in our local mall closed a couple of years ago. I moved here in the 1970s and Hallmark was always there, sad to see it go.

[@crowmigration8245]

Ahh so fast but so much amazing photos. The gimbels looks like a giant monster about to crush me.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

lol !

[@gojackets4894]

Great memories, great video. It's a shame that nowadays there's so many assaults and robberies at retail stores, that you can't have any fun anymore. It's just too dangerous.

[@rosannecastronovorobinson5285]

I remember every one of those businesses! Where is The Tux Shop and the Can Do Shop? Miss those days!

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Hopefully those and many more photos will be discovered. !!

[@hebneh]

Lots of shoe stores in this joint...also numerous wigs for sale, which is a good thing.

[@benshivd]

The BV Mall actually has made a pretty good comeback. It was all but written off not that long ago. I am glad to see it.

[@NikoKourouklis]

I made a documentary on it. I’m surprised it’s doing good amid the pandemic. Even JCPenney cancelled its closure there.

[@Degan1000]

A few that I remember that aren't in the video: Coach House Gifts, Dalton's Book Store, Musicland, Trombino Music (sold pianos and organs) Woolworth's and Woolworth's Coffee Shop. Oh and The Yum Yum Tree, a candy kiosk that had a roof like a tree.

[@87GeeTee]

Musicland was shown, and the Harvest House also (Woolworths coffee shop) kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKXJdWmKmdZsn7c kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKXJdWmKmdZsn7c

[@Degan1000]

You're right, I missed Musicland. Harvest House Cafeteria was shown, but they also had a separate little diner called the Harvest House Coffee Shop. It had a counter, and along the left hand side, you were looking right into Woolworths. I always liked the Coffee Shop better. Used to get breakfast there once a month.

[@sandratuttle]

@@Degan1000 I used to eat dinner there when I worked late shift at Craft Village. They had the best broccoli soup.

[@RCHK226]

I worked at coach house

[@orbitsun]

That's a lot of shoe stores. Wow.

[@Degan1000]

All of the shoe stores shown were not in operation at one time.

[@betabilly]

I went there the night that Chess King opened, and B.E. Taylor performed at closing time.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Wow, I'll bet the threads everyone wore for the show was one for the ages. I miss those days.

[@betabilly]

@@thefortynineteens7090 Yeah, I agree. My first purchase at Chess King was made on their opening night; A pair of bell bottom jeans with peace symbols bleached on. Now, that was late 1970 when the war in Vietnam was needlessly still raging on. Funny thing, 52 yrs later I still remember the distinctive smell of that store. Cruising that mall was almost as popular as cruising around Jerry's on a Friday night.

[@madman8535]

wow. just wow. i live near this mall and always went/go to it. crazy to see it like this compared to now. i will answer any questions about the mall

[@patriciapander2525]

I remember those days... loved it!

[@midcenturymodern9330]

Back then every store had its own look, feel and character. Every store was so different. Also, notice the lack of obese people in these pictures. In those days you had to get off the couch and leave the house to get things done. This meant walking, sometimes a lot of walking. Not seeing any people looking at their phones is also nice.

[@guerralg63]

Ditto!

[@CitrusThings]

The only pictures I recognized are ones that have the small fountain which looked way different than I've ever seen it, the sky view not having JC Penny's, and the Bank of Monaca seems to have kept its decor forever. Kings is still there!

[@thorfinthorfin3010]

I did not know what a Mall was until the the 1990s. Piggly Wiggly, the mom and pop hardware store, corner restaurant, farm feed store, pharmacy, Western Auto, 2 garages,a Greyhound bus stop, Sheriffs Office and a 76 gas station. That was our nearest " city " about 35 minutes from the farm. The Doctor came from his house to yours or you went to his house that had a treatment room. Best childhood ever.

[@JD-wn3cc]

Been a while since I've had a visit to beaver valley

[@robothunter1035]

Very few people are reborn in the fiery ritual of carousel.

[@thelodger1598]

He He

[@bellesogne]

"Logan's Run" was filmed in a Dallas shopping mall.

[@boedye]

There was a Fredericks of Hollywood in there!? Talk about scandalous!

[@gli7utubeo]

At 1:20, the sign says Win a "free" Triumph Sports Car.

[@Paul-up3pb]

Very cool ... and so are the Forty Nineteens. They have one of the best drummers in rock & roll. 😊👍

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Thanks Paul!

[@Paul-up3pb]

The Forty Nineteens Yup ... their drummer is almost as good as Keith Moon. 😉 (Deux sirloin tips ready! 😊)

[@luisreyes1963]

2:16 Best part of the mall! 😏

[@patricksaxon3983]

Does Singer sewing machines even exist any more or they made in China now? I know that back then, all of these products were American made and sadly, China got all of our assembly jobs. I am amazed that we don't see any organ stores in this mall.

[@guerralg63]

I saw 2 stores specializing in sewing in this video. I remember it was still something we did back then. I also noticed 3 shops that had wigs, and I remember going to the beauty supply and the wig sections they had. My mother owned 3 and 1 extension. Times do change!

[@edlightman4936]

that's when the mall looked good it had good lighting lots of stores .now it looks a basement, dim lighting uncoverd celling

[@MG-ze3lf]

Internet took that away.

[@googleblows4016]

@@MG-ze3lf Shitty trade policy favoring maoists took that away, not the internet. The goods still need to be warehoused somewhere. Why not a mall? Here's why: no one wants to pay for goods made by free people because goods made by maoist slaves are much, much cheaper, so they order from glorified Chinese drop-shippers like Amazon. It's not the internet; it's the trade policy.

[@pizzapartytime1826]

@@MG-ze3lf saddly it did. I only order online if I can’t get it in store if not I go in store to buy it.

[@meditationrosewicks278]

Macy's took over many a great store

[@Clubtender]

It was truly better before it's redesign.

[@tommyboy1653]

No smash and grabs,I would gladly go back to the 70s.

[@paulcarlsen4088]

The music👍

[@heywoodjablomi719]

I remember being dropped off at the mall by your parents or a friends parent and you'd just wander around for hours. You had maybe enough money to get something to eat but you certainly weren't buying anything else. Still good times until you or one of your friends were able to drive and had access to a car. Then a whole other can of worms opened up.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Yes, mall shenanigans every time. Especially anyone that worked at a mall!

[@benjaminvella2736]

Who sings the soundtrack in this video? 2 songs....groovy. I swear a Sears store was playing this in 2019.

[@HALWG51]

Seemed like a good idea at the time. Today, not so much. And so many shoe stores.

[@emeraldkimble7602]

Joe Namath is from b v

[@loopygurl2]

I used to love charlie chans lollllll. Im 48

[@dylanrupp8214]

Never heard of it.

[@wadeunderwood5907]

This mall had a lot of wig stores...

[@brycewalat5321]

There used to be a barber shop there that was called Mickey’s...there was an ox yoke and I think saddles hanging in the window.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

If you follow Jeffrey Sneedens FB page, I recall seeing a picture of Mickey's.

[@thefortynineteens7090]

I found a picture of Mickeys Ye Olde Ox Yoke Barber Shop, Harold Medved aka Mickey

[@sandratuttle]

I miss Horne's.

[@ed9492]

Likely one of those times where it looks better in black and white.

[@cmdrfunk]

A beautiful mall once upon a time without a fat person in sight

[@jameskonzek8892]

I like beaver.

[@jimeagle1155]

How many shoe stores can a mall have?

[@guerralg63]

Noy enough!

[@rayinpau.s.a.6351]

Now I understand why Mall's are going out of business ! . people just do not care what they look like anymore . clothes , wigs , shoes , Who needs them !

[@jimcook2715]

The only one I know still open is Cheesy Spencer Gifts

[@davidconley3610]

I think every mall had a Spencer’s Gifts !!

[@christianrokicki]

Everything was so nice before Reagan.

[@robertdavidson2681]

I did not realize how many shoe stores there were........jeez

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Yes, any and every shoe !

[@mart7789]

How many shoe stores can you need?

[@danielyoung6630]

HISTORY AND LONG AGO THINGS NOT DONE ANYMORE ONLINE THE NEW WAY?

[@thefortynineteens7090]

Yes, it seems online is the new mall experience. Though malls in California are doing well.

[@phillippullion3486]

@@thefortynineteens7090 not that much more anymore. lots of stores changing too often, sears are gone from most of them and some macy's

[@t-bo2734]

2:02 Parklane Hosiery! Wish women still wore pantyhose (just not the granny kind).

[@bamboojenkins8]

Who gets married at a mall???

[@thefortynineteens7090]

I think it was a local DJ’s that met his future wife at the mall .

[@user-cz1vz1qv3g]

Sad

[@WhiteRabbitDreams]

Something about this is just morbid to me. Also, are any of these businesses still open?

[@ronh.798]

Only one, Spencer's Gifts, believe it or not.

[@nithlx]

Now it’s crap