Eastland Mall in North Versailles (Pittsburgh area), PA, circa 1963, its first holiday season. Gimbels closed along with the rest of the chain in 1986, and the mall was eventually torn down some twenty years later. Duquesne Light Company photo. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Family Shopping on FacebookSubmitted by AxlCobainVedder t3_z91ews in pittsburgh
icestormsurfing t1_iyegbbu wrote
Wasn't that mall a fleamarket for a while?
TremorChristPJ t1_iyen01z wrote
It was the best flea market ever. So many records, video games, cds etc were purchased there in the 1990s and early 2000s. I really wish it was still there.
MPIS t1_iyf83fh wrote
Totally the best, lots of nostalgia! Trying to remember the name of the inside vendor that sold bootleg PC 5.25" games back in the mid 90s for $0.99 - man, those were the days
44problems t1_iyeqfdr wrote
It was the place to get Pogs back in the day
Excelius t1_iyeq33d wrote
I'm not old enough to remember the actual mall, but my parents took me to the flea market semi-regularly.
It was interesting though because it was half indoor and half out in the parking lot, and there were a fair number of semi-permanent vendors setup inside.
Maybe it's just the rose colored glasses of youth, but it seemed like there was actually some good stuff for sale. Compare it to the flea market nearby in the old movie theater next to the Walmart, which is just sad and depressing.
C_DallasMultipass5 t1_iyeqinr wrote
It was a weekly trip for us. I miss it. I agree with the rose colored glasses, but I love getting toys and fake Gucci coats whenever I was younger lol. It was there, I was introduced to chicken on a stick and sriracha.
Excelius t1_iyes3bh wrote
Seemed like a lot of the vendors back then were semi-permanent semi-professional operations.
Closer to the people you might see setting up booths at a convention or something. They just maybe couldn't afford the rent for a traditional retail space.
I guess those kinds of folks are probably running eBay or Etsy shops now.
C_DallasMultipass5 t1_iyeza4o wrote
I agree. Most were definitely permanent fixtures there. I remember the one guy in the inside had two tables of various baseball cards and sometimes fake Pokémon cards. Used to get made fun of for having them lol. Great times.
the1999person t1_iyf7mia wrote
Is that movie theater Rossi Market still open?
[deleted] t1_iyfdww3 wrote
The one in Blairsville is kind of like that too. Part of it's outside and part is inside. It's in an old car dealership.
sopabe6197 t1_iyen7nf wrote
A good number of years. It was pretty happening in the early flea market days. People had makeshift stores open inside for a while and the main Gimbles floors were packed with people and vendors. In the summer it was a large outdoor flea market too. Eventually the building started to fall apart with roof leaks everywhere. Rain buckets and barrels were a common sight. At one point I was laughing because they had a huge inflatable childrens swimming pool to catch all the water but even the pool had sprung a leak! During the better times they even had a DJ playing music for the flea market and he stopped the music for an announcement. He said there was a dog locked and a car and the owner better return soon because "people are about to take matters into their own hands". Honestly the flea market traffic dwarfed the mall traffic at one point.
Almost forgot about Beer World!
44problems t1_iyeqlt8 wrote
ventorun t1_iyeu2c8 wrote
Dammit…now that’s stuck in my head.
Lil_Phantoms_Lawyer t1_iyejli7 wrote
It's an Amazon distribution center now.
GargantuanWitch t1_iyem6sy wrote
Yeah, there was a flea market for awhile, in the decrepit carcass of the mall that was left at the time. Last time I went inside was probably 1994 or so, and it was barely functional then.
They finally razed the entire thing when Amazon showed up.
Excelius t1_iyeqiiy wrote
> They finally razed the entire thing when Amazon showed up.
It was an empty demolished lot for over a decade before Amazon showed up.
I've heard (but have not personally driven by) that Amazon finally broke ground, but Street View doesn't even have any recent enough photos to show that.
Google Street View - Sept 2021
Edit: At least according to Wikipedia, the flea market shuttered in 2005 and the mall was demolished in 2007. So it was an empty lot for quite a while before Amazon finally came around.
Jef_Wheaton t1_iyeygi6 wrote
Amazon's building is up, the parking lot is paved, and they're doing the landscaping. It should be open pretty soon.
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