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Visiting the Northland mall in Southfield on Sunday seemed a bit like attending a wake for a dead relative you hadn't seen in a while. There was a pervasive sense of sadness and loss.
Macy's -- once home to Hudson's -- closed at the end of day on Sunday for good. Most of the shelves were empty. Fixtures were up for sale. Some folks were hunting for last minute bargains. Others were strolling around, soaking up the nostalgia.
Outside of Macy's, some stores in the mall have already folded. Others are expected to be gone by April 1, and others by April 8, or possibly a day or two later. Some store owners said business had been good, and they were sad to see the mall go, and they are moving to other locations.
Construction for the mall began in 1952 and it opened on March 22, 1954. The mall went through many incarnations over the decades.
In February, an Oakland County judge gave the green light for a court appointed receiver, who had asked for permission to shut the mall down. Ashkenazy Acquisition, which bought the mall in 2008, defaulted on a $31 million payment last year, and the mall continued to rack up losses monthly. John Polderman, an attorney for the receiver, said Monday he expected to have a definite date for the mall closing later in the week.
I used to go to Northland in junior high, hang out with friends, get a bite to eat, grab an ice cream cone, walk through Hudson's and Hughes and Hatcher. When I was in elementary school I bought a crab from the pet store there. My next door neighbor, Irvin, stuck his hand in the jar, complaining that the crab was too listless. The crab clamped onto his finger, he screamed, and in the process of trying to get the crab to let go, he killed it.
I remember the Coney Island in the basement of the mall, near a shoe repair. The smell of coney dogs clashed with the scent of shoe polish. And to this day, I use the technique I saw the cooks at the Coney Island use for grilled cheese: They would place a glass bowl atop the sandwich while grilling it to weigh it down.
As I got older I would drop by and see friends who worked at the mall. My old next door neighbors, Ira and his dad Gary, owned an upscale clothing store there, and other friends, Morrie and Eddie, worked at other clothing stores.
On Sunday, I walked around and talked to customers and store owners. The word "sad" kept popping up in the conversation.
"It's a shame, first mall in the city and it's gone," said customer Jessica Bolden.
Gone, but not forgotten.
Darrel Hasty, a worker at Hutch's Jewelry, said business was "booming, better than ever. He said it "sucks" that the mall is closing.
Harold Roberts takes a photo of Jessica Bolden in front of the kid-on-the-bear statue.
The mural stood out at the mall.
The landmark sign at Northland.
An elevator at Macy's.
Employee Sade Hughes (right) at the Doll house and Alexis Turner who works across the hall at Heart & Sole. Turner says she used to hang out at the mall when she was in junior high.
There's no shortage of empty stores at Northland.
Art McDaniel had been a long-time employee at the mall.
Wild horses out in the courtyard of the mall -- sort of.
Jacqueline Pearson of Detroit takes a selfie at the mall. She said she worked at the Hudson's downtown before working at the one at Northland. She said she loves Northland. "I'm going to miss it, it's my home."
A sign calling out for last-minute bargains.
"Tairy," the owner of Premier Tuxedo, says the mall closing is "very sad. It's something unbelievable." He said business has been good, and he'll move to a location nearby.
This would be a nice souvenir to have.
Nareg Tcholakian, manager of Craftsman Jewelry, says "we always do good." He said a lot of people are upset about the closing. They plan to relocate.
Most of the display cases at Macy's were empty.
