Columbus' failed attempt at an international shopping experience...

 

 

Starting off in the "French Quarter"

 

 

 

 

Just like the narrow streets of Europe

 

 

 

 

 

Easton didn't have to try hard

 

 

*BONUS*

Not too far away, the New Market Mall

 

Dead Malls.com entry: http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/new_market_mall.html

 

 

 

MOAR!

^^ I worked at the Media Play at New Market Mall back in th 90's while attending OSU.  That mini-mall sucked from the beginning.

 

I remember another little mall in Westerville behind the Denny's on Westerville Rd/270 - I assume that's dead too.  Having a Gold Circle as an anchor tenant probably wasn't a good sign...

Or how about the just-as-dead Brice Mall off I-70?

 

Ah, the Continent...Weston.

When they first built the Continent in the 70s it was quite different than what remains today.  Included was the French Market, and the buildings were in much better shape.  The market was pretty good for a few years, but did not last.

 

Seeing it the last time I was in Columbus was pretty shocking. It is less than a shadow of its former self, and several  buildings seem to have been torn down, and it suffers from that  "deferred maintenance" look.  In its heyday there was very nice landscaping....and no hideous paint jobs. Nothing lasts forever. 

Or how about the just-as-dead Brice Mall off I-70?

 

Didn't you hear? It is now a flea market:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/07/06/former-brice-mall-to-transform-into-flea-market.html

Well, that's useful...

It is a sad area, though there is a decent place to Pho nearby. The only Westerville retail that is really abandoned at this point is where the Lazarus was (and even that is really only missing a couple stores though it looks much worse). The other mall is basically just a strip now w/ Kohl's, Office Max, and a grocery store.

Where is this?

Damn, we used to head to the bars at the Continent back in the mid 90's when I was a student at OSU.  There was apartments nearby where students lived and there were a few bars in that development that were a big draw...

Where is this?

 

I-71 and SR 161 on the north side of Columbus.

New Market Mall and that little mall they just tore down in Norwood were quite similar, though New Market has more of that "Post-remodel Double Deuce" (from Road House) look to it.

I worked at Gordon St. John (men's clothing store) at the Continent during its glory days in the early to mid 80's.  Every storefront was occupied, the apartments were in high demand and across the street was a Bombay Bicycle Club where all the young singles met!  Good times!!!

The Continent was a lifestyle center before lifestyle centers were ever popular.  When I arrived in Columbus in the early 90's it was still doing ok.  The 90's weren't kind to it though with the openings of Tuttle Mall, Easton, and Polaris. 

I remember when the Continent and city center were the places to visit in Columbus....Too bad.

 

 

 

When were these photos taken?

 

Nice! ;)

Anybody remember Crazy Louie's and the Yucatan?  That was the place to be in 1999/2000.

When were these photos taken?

 

Three weekends ago on a Saturday afternoon.

unless I'm hallucinating, I remember this place from the late 70's (when it first opened, right?). It seemed sort of cool at the time, the first official Columbus gathering spot for the "brie & Chablis crowd," as Phil Donahue used to call them. I guess at the time no one thought of how bland and uninspired the "architecture" was. Then again, it was the 70's! lol

 

    I found that area by accident a few years ago. I was walking in a sprawl area because I didn't have a car and the Continent happend to be right on my path. It had an active Post Office at that time, which was attracting a little bit of foot traffic but otherwise seemed to be abandoned. It is surrounded by a sea of parking lots.

 

    The narrow streets and architecture are not bad, and would do well if it happened to be on a natural pedestrian path in an urban area. But in a sprawl area?  :?

 

 

The narrow streets and architecture are not bad, and would do well if it happened to be on a natural pedestrian path in an urban area. But in a sprawl area?  :?

 

Easton basically operates under the same premises and seems to do ok.  Makes you wonder was Easton will be like 20 or 30 years from now.

^ Unless there's a dramatic improvement in Columbus Public Schools, the suburbs will continue to have the allure they have today for young families.  I wouldn't write off the suburbs of Columbus quite yet.

I think saying it failed is a bit too harsh.  It was ahead of its time.

Easton was just bigger and newer

Anybody remember Crazy Louie's and the Yucatan?  That was the place to be in 1999/2000.

 

The Yucatan Liquor Stand?  They used to advertise that place all the time on WNCI.  I wonder if The Continent could be revived with reinvestment...  stick a big Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in the old French Market.  Get a couple of local chefs to open up outposts, as well as some of the well known chains.  Stick a movie theatre and bowling alley in there.  Get some boutique clothing shops with low rents.

Being Dayton-centric I never heard anything about "The Continent". It looks really cool for its place and time.

 

What is so different about this from The Greene or Easton? To me it looks like precisely the same formula, just built in a different time. What's to prevent these newer centers from eventually becoming passe' in 35 years? And why does something like "The Continent" not get renewed/remodeled and just becomes out of date?

The biggest difference is that Easton has the backing of a local guy worth $2.6 billion. As long as Easton is controlled by Wexner, he'll continue to rehab and renovate and upgrade before he lets it spiral downward.

 

If anything, I think Tuttle Mall (owned by an out-of-town group) will fail before Easton will.

Rusty, from what I remember of the Continent, it didn't really go after typical mall stores.  Northland mall was nearby.  It wanted specialty retailers, offering unique things to Ohio...Euro crap.

Anywho, they used to have great Friday night after work concerts there it was a really cool place to be.  It also had apartments, which again, were cool at the time.

 

I never really thought about it, but I was in the C-bus from 93-01 and at about the time Easton opened up, the Continent was struggling.  Easton may have pushed it over, but the whole Morse rd / 161 area was suffering from "inner ring suburb" type problems at that time.  Too far from the city core, not far enough out to be a suburban wonderland.

 

Northland mall nosedived at the same time, the continent had a softer landing, but it looks like it went to the same place.

 

Walker, you are a C-bus mover and shaker, at least according to my favorite former employer, Michelle Hill.  Maybe your posse has some ideas for the place.  High tech company incubator?  Silicon village?

lol my first 'official' apt in columbus after college!

 

wow ive heard a lot about the downslide of this place -- thx for the thread.

 

if i am looking at this shot correctly i think my place was in the upper apt on the corner to the left of this yellow/orange building (which used to be a comedy club). the bottom of that corner was a restaurant, but it looks like its just another apt now.

 

the continent was quite hopping at that time, end of the 80's. they had local bands and afterwork parties around the fountain that were nice. the shops were mostly nick-knacky stuff, i never bought anything, but the place was always full of shoppers or at least strollers. the french market was usually busy and had a good indian food stand i used to like a lot.

 

downsides were obvious, the apts were crap, the construction was all cheap crap and the place had an icky mall vibe. i only lived there briefly, but my best memory of living there was walking over to a the budweiser plant all the time for free beer and to see the clydesdales.

 

still, all in all the place really doesnt get enough cred for being an original modern lifestyle mall inspiration. what is to become of it? i cant really tell, is it still even open? any plans to fix it up or knock it down? thx if you know.

 

Walker, you are a C-bus mover and shaker, at least according to my favorite former employer, Michelle Hill.  Maybe your posse has some ideas for the place.  High tech company incubator?  Silicon village?

 

Ha! Thanks. ;) Yeah, I'm sure it would be easy to come up with 100 good ideas for this space. Getting the right money and people behind one of those ideas is a whole other story. ;)

 

Personally, I'd rather see properties located closer to the city redeveloped with those good ideas first. It doesn't seem like too many people are suffering too much from the current state of The Continent. It could probably sit vacant for another 30 years and it wouldn't make a huge difference.

Trying to remember the name of one of the bars. It was a disco club. I won a dance contest there doing "The Hustle"

CDM and I were just at New Market Mall last weekend looking for a dumpster (don't ask). The larger part at the end on the right has been demoed and the rest is a school. There were a bunch of new cars from adjoining dealerships parked on the site.

more from 2017:

 

https://radio.wosu.org/post/curious-cbus-what-was-continent-its-heyday#stream/0