BigJoeTX

Resurrecting a screename I haven’t logged into in 15 years here… I beg to differ on the decline of Mall of the Mainland being because of Baybrook, Baybrook was always the better mall to go to (and it was built in 1978 I believe). I was born and raised in Galveston and we frequently drove right past Galvez and Mall of the Mainland to go to Baybrook. It’s a testament to Baybrook’s strength as a mall, that even these days, in a era where malls are have become a bygone relic, Baybrook is bigger and stronger than ever, having added an outdoor mall area too. I would describe Mall of the Mainland as a blip, it was never “the place” to be, it really only had about 5-10 year heyday if you could call it that. As a Galvestonian the main reason to go to Mall of the Mainland was the movie theater (or sheer laziness if you were shopping and didn’t want to drive 12 more mins to Baybrook), which after the closure of the Broadway Theater and Galvez Mall theaters became the closest theater. This even fell off after the megaplexes came into fashion in the late 90s. Suddenly, rather than bother with the dinky old 12 screen at Mall of the Mainland you’d drive 20-30 miles to go to the AMC 30 at the beltway or Cinemark in Webster. Then they built the small theater in Galveston which was good enough and left pretty much no reason to go to Mall of the Mainland at all.

I'm a little surprised this thread hasn't gotten a greater response. I guess there's a reason this mall went under right? No one ever went. The restaurant is called Mario's. I had totally forgotten about the Gold's Gym, it was there until it moved to its current location at 47th and Seawall. I seem to remember it had some very 60s-70s looking white arches in front of it? Other things started coming to me as I thought about the old mall, I remember a couple of fountains too, one big one straight in from the main entrance with a large skylight which is where I think they had the Santa Claus during the holidays, and a smaller one where the hall to the movie theater intersects the main corridor. I found that dead mall website too, ironically, Mall of the Mainland is on it which is the mall that stole the Sears anchor and much of the smaller stores from Galvez back in the early 90s. Assuming I don't forget, when I get back home for the holidays I'm going to see if I can find old pictures of the mall. I went to enough birthday parties and cub scout functions there that my dad is bound to have some somewhere.

OK... this has interested me enough that I drew a map of the mall as well as I remember it. Feel free to correct or add. I know for sure the cafeteria was a Wyatt's, it was my favorite place to eat when I was a kid. It may have been something else before that, I was born in 1982 so of course my memory only begins somewhere around 1987 or 1988. I also remember when I was in a 6th grade we got sleet / snow (it didn't stick). I remember my mom taking me to Wyatt's Cafeteria after the snow stopped, that was in 1993 I think. This was the last time I remember eating there so I imagine the mall closed shortly after. Now that I'm looking at it I think there was book store near the Sam Goody, I can remember buying "Where's Waldo" books there. Edit: I asked a friend and confirmed that it was a B. Dalton bookstore. Though we couldn't come up with an exact location.

I'm surprised this hasn't come up on this board before (or maybe it has and I missed it), but the other night I had a dream that was set in the Galvez Mall. I woke up and told myself, "what the hell was that?". I can't even remember when Galvez Mall closed... I'm 24 now and I'm guessing it closed when I was a 10 or 11. So of course I have start this thread: Galvez Mall memories. Post your memories and if you have any pictures those too. Does anyone remember the stores there or the configuration of the mall? Bonus points for someone who can come up with a map of the mall. For me: - Pinewood Derby races outside of the Sears when I was a cub scout. - Birthday parties at the Aladdin's Castle arcade across from the movie theater I remember there was a Sears on one end and an Eibands on the other. In between, there was a Wyatt's Cafeteria, a Shwartz(I think?), maybe a Bealls?, and of course your standard mall shops like GNC and Sam Goody. What else do y'all remember? P.S. For those who don't know, Galvez Mall was a small shopping mall located at 61st street and IH-45 in Galveston. It sits on the same land that has the Home Depot and Target now.