The short film and interviews

Monday, August 8, 2011

One fleeting glimpse of Albert caught on camera

I thought this was an empty shot of the Mall until I looked closely at it.

Another example of change


The interior of the Mall has slowly been coming back to life especially on the weekends. This seating area has been cleaned up enough to support a support meeting for the male members of The Crown of Life Ministries. Elder C.J. Clinkscales (first on left) leads the group and the Church which I had the pleasure of attending both a service and a Bible study.

Changes don't take long



In just a few months the interior of the Mall has been changing. This is The Way of Life Gospel Church space which has transformed the space since last November when the space was vacant.  The inspiring doorway steadies some cement board which will enter to continue to improve the Church.
I hope to talk with Pastor Jeffrey Charles Jackson about his Church someday soon.

A few exteriors



The Mall is a sprawling complex which has a minimal facade and structure common in the style of the 1970s. The buildings enormity is only enhanced by the absence of cars and people during the week. The details of the building that have worn over the years are seem to drop away when it is viewed from certain angles. Its prestigious design still speaks out toward a society and future that seems to have simply vanished or chosen a different path than the reality we exist in. Although the exterior is static and stoic; the interior is beging to speak out and redefine what the exterior has said to the world for the last thirty years. Each day the mall is changng and being purposed to house a few stores and an ever expanding number of Churches. There are about twenty spaces that have been atlered to allow the retail stores to become places of public assembly and worship. The Churches all exists along side each other and the empty stores. The empty stores are in the majority but it doesn't seem unlikely that that will change.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Realty Marketing Associates and Security

Entering the mall on the office side

The Office door

Rosemary Luksic looking lovely and smiling because she is about to get some rest from my questions

The keys to all the spaces in the mall office

The Mall Sound System which hasn't been switched on in years.
Realty Marketing Associates is the company that manages the mall. The company is helmed by Kevin F. Cooney and anchored by the day to day operations manager Rosemary Luksic. Their offices are in the North West entrance to the mall across from the Euclidian Room. It is more of a hall which they rent out for weddings, Cichlid Society gatherings, and an annual K-9 cop event. The office functions as the nerve center of operations. The Security offices, interior and exterior maintenance crews, and space rentals all emanate from this small and Spartan office. It is hard to find a day when the office is not bustling with activity unless, of course, everyone is out onsite fixing a a problem or simply maintaining the mall. The total mall staff is never much more than five people dealing very effectively with everything. Rosemary spends her time working closely with the tenants, showing spaces to the ever expanding number of Churches, renting the Euclidian Room, and bringing in events to utilize the vast parking lots. The moment she begins to speak you realize she is a living and breathing history of Euclid Square Mall and one of its great history makers. She has introduced and walked me through corners of the mall that most never see or hear. The Security staff is constantly addressing issues that arise from this strange landscape they monitor. One of the guards, Albert seems to have the ability to appear and vanish and reappear instantly inside or outside all over the mall grounds.  Albert stopped my sister and me from photographing on our first Sunday in the mall. He politely ask me to refrain from what I was doing unless I had clearance from the Realty Marketing Offices. He walked me down to the Juanita Watkins Community Center and introduced me to them suggesting I simply talk with the people renting spaces until I could get clearance to document the mall. It is extraordinary that a solitary human can move so quickly and calmly manage such a Herculean task especially on Sundays when the mall is full of life and worship. Unfortunately, he moves with such stealth that it has been hard to capture him on camera.