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Tour of Cortana Mall on the last day visitors were allowed inside
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:31 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:31 am
All remaining businesses in the mall were evicted as Amazon begins the process of taking over the entire mall property.
There is a slide show of the photo tour on the WAFB article linked above.
quote:
PHOTOS: Two men tour empty Cortana Mall on the last day visitors were allowed inside
LINK
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - As tenants continue packing up shop and exiting the Cortana Mall, visitors will no longer be able to walk through it.
A new sign taped to the front doors of the Cortana Mall says that mall walking has ended as of Tuesday, Sept. 3.
quote:
Daily Report, an online newspaper, says it has confirmed that plans are in the works to re-purpose the mall into a regional distribution and fulfillment center for Amazon.
The Louisiana Economic Development Secretary refused to comment on current or potential prospects for “competitive reason and to protect confidential information.”
There is a slide show of the photo tour on the WAFB article linked above.
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 6:38 am
14
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:34 am to member12
It's in a lot better condition than I would have expected.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:42 am to member12
quote:
Amazon begins the process of taking over the entire mall property.
What's going to happen to the place they have next to Costco down the road?
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:48 am to Sentrius
This is a before/after of what Amazon did to a similar mall outside Cleveland. Note: What Amazon is looking to build at Cortana will be even larger than what they did with the Randal Mall property in Ohio.
Randal Mall at its peak:
New 855,000 square foot Amazon fulfillment center at Randal Mall property:
It’s probably a good thing that Amazon isn’t looking to keep any of the existing structure of the Cortana mall. It’s likely going to be completely leveled and replaced with what might be Louisiana’s largest distribution center. Even some out-parcels will probably get repurposed.
Randal Mall at its peak:
New 855,000 square foot Amazon fulfillment center at Randal Mall property:
It’s probably a good thing that Amazon isn’t looking to keep any of the existing structure of the Cortana mall. It’s likely going to be completely leveled and replaced with what might be Louisiana’s largest distribution center. Even some out-parcels will probably get repurposed.
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 6:58 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:52 am to Sentrius
A lot of memories in that mall. I worked there through high school and can remember as a child my mom taking us to shop. I don’t live in BR anymore but passed by yesterday and saw that the old Bennigans was just a slab. My wife and I had our 1st date there. Times they are a changing.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:55 am to pdubya76
space port and urnge julius 
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 6:56 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 6:59 am to member12
Looked a lot better on the inside than I thought that it would after all this time. Forgot how nice it was on the inside it was when Cortana was thriving back in the day.
Very sad.
Very sad.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:10 am to YouAre8Up
I forgot just how big Cortana mall was. I haven’t been there since 2005 or 2006.
I remember going there a lot in the 1990s and 1980s. Many catalog-ordered Christmas gifts were picked up every year by my mother and grandmother at that JCPenny’s and Sears.
I remember going there a lot in the 1990s and 1980s. Many catalog-ordered Christmas gifts were picked up every year by my mother and grandmother at that JCPenny’s and Sears.
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 7:11 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:15 am to Jimmy2shoes
quote:
space port and urnge julius
Spent many hours in Space Port as a kid. I hated the taste of the drinks but Orange Julius was a staple of that place for many many years.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:19 am to Rossberg02
It was a cultural harvest center right before it took a nose dive and new plans for another mall was announced.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:20 am to member12
These pictures hit me in the feels
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:24 am to member12
I have already lamented the passing of this memorial to my childhood/teenage years.
An interesting discussion about it with my wife with our daughter in the room (no pics). She (daughter) was amazed that going to the mall had been such an integral part of our social existence when we were in high school. We explained that "meeting at the mall" was the current equivalent of Snapchat and Facetime all rolled into one, with the added benefit of actual socialization and interaction. People actually getting out of their houses and being around other people.
Something definitely missing these days.
An interesting discussion about it with my wife with our daughter in the room (no pics). She (daughter) was amazed that going to the mall had been such an integral part of our social existence when we were in high school. We explained that "meeting at the mall" was the current equivalent of Snapchat and Facetime all rolled into one, with the added benefit of actual socialization and interaction. People actually getting out of their houses and being around other people.
Something definitely missing these days.
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 7:29 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:26 am to udtiger
quote:
actual socialization and interaction. People actually getting out of their houses and being around other people
Exactly
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:30 am to YouAre8Up
Weird how if you go back to the early 20th century, people would go downtown for entertainment and have groceries (eggs, milk, etc.) and gifts delivered to our house. Places like Cortana didn’t exist yet.
Then we went to shopping malls and completely abandoned downtown for about 40 years. Places like Cortana thrived.
Now we go downtown for entertainment and have our groceries and gifts delivered to our houses again. Places like Cortana get bulldozed.
Then we went to shopping malls and completely abandoned downtown for about 40 years. Places like Cortana thrived.
Now we go downtown for entertainment and have our groceries and gifts delivered to our houses again. Places like Cortana get bulldozed.
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 7:36 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:39 am to LSUBoo
quote:
It's in a lot better condition than I would have expected.
It was built in 1975 and the interior was completely renovated in 1991. I did an extensive amount of work on both scopes. The property was bought by Milton Womack and Frank Sullivan the road contractor and Womack was the GC that built it. They were minority owners with Mall Properties who was the developer.It was a farm prior to that and for a few years the State Fair was held there after it moved from the Downtown Airport on East Airport Drive.
Mall of Louisiana then Town Center as well as demographics did it in but that happens all over the country. Baton Rouge is no exception. And as above, word is it will be demolished and Amazon will build from the ground up. It’s not a facility that lends itself to refurbishment into distribution. Cheaper to start from scratch.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:46 am to Martini
quote:
Mall of Louisiana then Town Center as well as demographics did it in but that happens all over the country.
True, although I think e-commerce is killing a lot more retail than evolving neighborhoods.
We don’t build malls anymore because the merchants that usually occupy those spaces are dying. Sears, Lord and Taylor, Macy’s, Penny’s, Nordstrom, etc. are all getting curb-stomped by Amazon, which has doubled its retail market share in just 10 years.
Even the best neighborhoods have too damn much space devoted to retail. We need to figure out how to repurpose big box stores like Borders, Orvis, Best Buy, Toys R Us, and Barnes and Noble, etc. It will eventually happen to healthier ones like Academy and Dicks sporting goods.
I honestly can’t believe Barnes and Noble is still around.
This post was edited on 9/5/19 at 7:48 am
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:48 am to Martini
quote:
It was built in 1975 and the interior was completely renovated in 1991
Yes, but with a building like that, a little neglect and it can deteriorate fast, especially if there are roof leaks or climate control issues.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 7:58 am to Jimmy2shoes
Mama Brava's was always my favorite.
Posted on 9/5/19 at 8:13 am to member12
quote:
Best Buy
What’s wrong with Best Buy? They aren’t going anywhere.
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