Southridge Shopping Center

 

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Joe G.

Milwaukee, WI

4/3/2009

I guess shopping malls are "on their way out" according to various sources, in favor of smaller developments that can more conveniently place stores on parking lots for even more convenience...  if you're driving.

Well, Southridge is still a nice place to shop, even if it's a mall.  Greendale has done a lot to make Southridge very accessible, with multiple entrances controlled by stoplights, better turning lanes, and better traffic control than years ago.  The mall itself sports a large, 360-degree parking lot, meaning that you can easily pick an area that is close to a store you plan to visit, and park nearby.  Inside, the mall is clearly old but periodically refreshed through remodeling and regular cleaning and maintenance.  The main problem is that they have some difficulty attracting and retaining stores in the long run, including the southern anchor store, which started as Gimbels, became Marshall Field & Company, then Prange's, Younker's, and which has suffered along since in a variety of non-anchor store configurations (currently partially occupied by a World Market and a Linens N Things, except LNT is now closed).

The location has changed a lot over the years.  It used to sport a (semi-)small cinema, memorable as being the other place in Milwaukee that one could see Rocky Horror Picture Show, a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, and lots of other unusual and fun things.  These days, it is more or less just a standard mall, not too remarkable, but acceptable.

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