The numbers show that our readers are enjoying the PhotoCentral series on Reidsville’s decrepit Pennrose Mall, so let’s keep going with Part #3 in the series. We’ve already published Part #1 & Part #2, so let’s keep wandering around and laughing (and/or crying).
We left off at the far end of Pennrose Mall where all hope has been abandoned. We’ll start to walk back towards the stores that are still open.
None of the ceiling tiles at the JC Penney end of the mall have fallen out, but the roof is still leaking badly.
Behold the skeleton of a Peanut Shack, complete with a prison-like iron gate. And a water bucket in the floor, of course.
“Try it on” in the Lost In The 80’s Cato’s fitting room. Cato’s moved out of the mall a long time ago
There is hope ahead. We’re approaching stores that are still open for business in Pennrose Mall. The floor isn’t really leaning to the side, but I’ve lost my desire to do much editing to these photos. Heh.
Roses was an original tenant, and they have display items for sale outside the store.
Here’s a display window right beside the mall entrance. I have absolutely no explanation for the random garage sale type items inside.
Roses has fake Christmas trees already on clearance. I’m pretty sure that somebody could just take a tree, walk away with it and nobody would notice. Inflatable Frosty the Snowman’s hand photobombed this one, but I didn’t care.
Bob Adams is long gone, but his old florist business is doing pretty good under the new ownership of Scott Adams (Bob’s son).
If memory serves me right, this solarium used to be a small restaurant. Now the florist shop uses it for display. Mark Childrey tells us that Bob Adams Florist built the solarium for their own use. The restaurant I was thinking about was called “The Old Miner” and was operated by Roberta Penn, daughter of Frank Penn who built the mall.
Roses and Bob Adams Florist are two of the four businesses still open in Pennrose Mall. In Part #4, we’ll keep our bizarre journey going.
[…] The Dead Pennrose Mall – Part #3 […]
I think I saw ghost of a pack of 80’s Valley Girls in the Cato mirror…
So sad! The last time I was there, I was interviewing people and taking their pictures for the Reidsville Review’s question-of-the-week feature. That was about 1997.
Oh wow. The Review has gone though at least 8 reporters in the last three years.
“If memory serves me right, this solarium used to be a small restaurant. Now the florist shop uses it for display.”
Even though you crossed it off, the minute I saw it, I thought “might’a been a Wendy’s?”