Thread by @Delafina777

I've read a lot of people talking about vanishing public spaces--how almost anywhere you go, you have to spend money to just... hang out there. And in tandem with that, even places devoted to commerce have become less friendly to just hanging out. (short thread)

Like, okay, malls have always been designed to get you to spend money.

But they've gotten a lot more "buy your stuff and get out." The sitting areas are uncomfortable, the restaurants are faster, and stuff to do that doesn't cost money is vanishing.

So, I grew up near a mall in Wisconsin called Mayfair. (I was *really* little when this stuff still existed, and for a while I thought I'd dreamed it or something, but in talking to other people from the area, nope, it was real.)

Mayfair, when I was little, was a wonderland.

There was a stream that ran the length of the mall, with fish in it! When my great-aunt and mom and I went to the mall, she'd smuggle in crushed crackers and we'd surreptitiously feed the fish (yes, I know that was a problem, but I was like 3 and it was the coolest thing then).

One of the anchor stores was Marshall Field's--the best department store there ever was--which had a restaurant called the Linden Room. White tablecloths, multiple forks, leisurely dining.

It's where my mom and great-aunt taught me most of my dining-out manners.

In the center of the mall was an ice rink.

Overlooking the ice rink was a McDonald's. It had Middle Eastern-looking tile decorations and antler chandeliers. It also had display cases with animatronic ballet figures (at least around the holidays).

And you could go spend a day at the mall and go into McDonald's and get a soft-serve and sit and watch the skaters. (You could do that from outside, too.) You could follow the fish the entire length of the mall. You could watch the animatronic window displays.

When I go there now, there are sitting areas in the center of the mall, but there's nothing to DO there that isn't shopping or going to a restaurant or going to a movie.

The restaurants are high-end chains, but they're not conducive to long, leisurely lunches.

There's nothing to do there that doesn't cost money, and everything is designed to accelerate the pace at which you spend money.

And this probably coincides with a lot fewer bored housewives wanting somewhere to spend their afternoons, but I also keep thinking what's it like to be a teenager today when the mall's somewhere you can't just comfortably hang out without spending more than a few bucks on food?

And I also can't help but think that it reflects a much more mechanistic view of customers. I think malls were influenced by the Marshall Field's model. He was trying to create a place that felt luxurious, that people would want to spend time.

He was still trying to sell stuff, obviously, but he was clearly okay with people spending time there *not* buying stuff.

And I feel like malls are increasingly not about people as people but people as profit generators. The idea of "if we create a pleasant environment, we can sell stuff there" has sort of lost the first half.

See also, lounges vanishing from bathrooms.

Like (related to a comment elsewhere on the thread) I've heard a lot of parents complaining that their kids don't want to go out and do stuff, they just want to sit home and play video games, but like I dunno, where are they supposed to go? We went to the mall or the park.

The park's budget has been slashed so it's mostly mud and garbage. The mall has nothing to *do* that isn't expensive.

I'd stay home and play video games over those options too.