Lubbock Will Always Be A One Mall Town

The South Plains Mall opened in 1972. That was the same year that Roger Staubach led the Dallas Cowboys over the 49ers in Superbowl VI (that's 6 for those of you who don't read Roman Numerals).  President Nixon made a historic visit to China that year and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" had just come out.  In other words, it's been 42 years since the mall was new.

There's nothing wrong with what we call "the mall", after all there is no need to elaborate, everyone knows what you mean.  It's just a bit odd that we have one, and will probably never, ever have another one of any size or substance on the South Plains.  First off, malls in general are a thing of the past.  Malls are good for two things, socializing and being a "one-stop" destination.  Well, the internet has taken over both of those categories.  Next, our mall does all right servicing everyone's needs, so there is no economic reason for another mall to spring up.  So what brings all of this up?  Well I was thinking of how congested that part of Slide gets on a Saturday and how full the mall gets and I realized, that situation, will not get better, probably ever.  There's no need for a new mall, which would alleviate traffic, there's no room to widen the streets, and why put any real effort into a problem that really only exists for about eight hours once a week?

I couldn't even tell you what's inside the mall anymore.  I do go there, but when I do, it's the bookstore, the theater, the party store or even Sears, all of which have great outside access. That's okay, I'm a middle aged man. Malls aren't built for me.  So what about you?  What stores in the mall do you enjoy?  Do you think "one mall to server them all" is enough for Lubbock?  After all, we've grown quite a bit in 42 years.