The remaining stores were an incongruous mix, seemingly at odds with one another. If memory serves me, the spot where Time Out entertained and (pick-pocketed) so many young people is now a battery store tended by a fat, surly guy who seemed to be marking time until the end of his shift, maybe of his whole job. The French Quarter was long gone, as was the food court. We visited Tanglewood, and while I had already seen it with the fountains removed, I was shocked at how many of the store fronts were empty and papered over. In 2009, I took my girlfriend to Roanoke to show her where I grew up. Talk about inviting, especially to a kid who had just walked in out of the heat and had allowance money to spend! The arcades, especially the long-standing Time Out, also helped relieve me of those allowance dollars. They also had a much needed humidifying effect in winter.īest of all was the combined odor of the water and assorted retail establishments, especially the Baskin & Robbins ice cream located by the entrance Mom and I most often used. What a nice effect those fountains had to one who just came in out of the heat! The touch of moisture they added balanced the air conditioning, which made the air seem more like a cool outdoor breeze than the bone dry, freezing air common to most malls nowadays. We would walk a mile or so to the mall, often on hot days. They had a really strong discharge, often 10 feet high or more, which cooled the air around them and had somewhat of an ionizing effect, giving the air the clean, humid scent similar to the smell after a good rain.Īt the time I last resided in Roanoke, I was 13 and my mother did not drive. They were the kind of fountains you don't see too often in malls anymore. There were 3 large fountains in Tanglewood, with 1 located by each of the 2 main entrances. But what I will always remember most vividly was the atmosphere and smell of that mall. In its heyday in the mid-80's (before the opening of Valley View) the mall had a thriving mix of upscale and discount retailers and national chains. Growing up in Roanoke Virginia, Tanglewood defined my perception of malls. Jay Belfiore's Commentary: Posted (user submitted September 16, 2010) (pic taken of this mall's killer, Valley View mall, by Brian from nearby Chick Fil-A Parking lot June 19, 2003)
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