"Construction of a major new shopping center, the largest to date in the Oneonta area, will get underway this spring in Oneonta's fast-growing East End."
This was the big story of the day in The Oneonta Star on Friday, Feb. 18, 1972, as officials of the Syracuse-based Pyramid Investors Corp. said the day before that they would build a fully enclosed, air-conditioned shopping mall. Many will remember this as the Pyramid Mall, today's FoxCare Center.
The East End was considered fast-growing because Jamesway had built a discount department store in the nearby area in 1962 and The Oneonta Plaza, which housed a Grant's, Victory Market and Carl's Drug Store, had opened in 1966.
Plans called for the mall to have "anchor" stores, including an 80,000-square-foot department store and a 22,000-square-foot grocery chain store, with several other small stores between them. No specific names were revealed at the time.
Construction got under way once the wintery weather subsided in May. Finishing touches on the enclosed mall were being made in early October.
A large display ad appeared in The Star on Monday, Oct. 2, that read, "The new kid comes to Oneonta! White Modell Grand Opening, Tuesday, Oct. 17."
A news article about a week later told how White Modell would employ nearly 300 people and estimated the local payroll at about $250,000 per year, depending on sales.
"Also occupying the Pyramid Mall," the article explained, "will be Loblaws supermarket, Fay's Drugs, an assortment of smaller shops, and branches of the Oneonta Savings and Loan Association and Mechanics Exchange bank." The latter was in an outside building, now a branch of Community Bank. Parking was available at the mall for 692 cars.
Other original tenants at the mall's opening Oct. 17 were Brandow's Barber Shop, Ardy's Snack Bar, Quality Cleaners, Barbara Briggs Beauty Shop, The Oneonta General Store, Coddington Florist and Friar Tuck Book Store.
According to The Star of Wednesday, Oct. 18, "The mall opened at 9:30 Tuesday morning with a series of brief speeches by Pyramid and White Modell executives."
"County Representative Richard Schlee, of Oneonta, cut the ribbon and shoppers waiting at the door since 9 a.m. poured into the mall."
"By the end of the day, White Modell officials estimated nearly 12,000 shoppers visited their store, and indicated throughout the sales throughout the day were good."
As many shoppers may recall, The Star described the mall ceiling having skylights and the interior sides painted in green, blue and yellow pastels.
The mall had a good run of success, but things began to fade around 1983, when the Southside Mall opened. In addition to the White Modell anchor department store at the Pyramid Mall, others included King's, Barker's and Nichols, with the latter closing in 1990.
Only a drug store and barber shop remained in the mall when it closed for the final time Oct. 31, 1993.
The Pyramid Mall sat vacant for just over a year, until Bettiol Enterprises confirmed in the closing days of December 1994 that it had purchased the property. It hadn't been decided what would be done with the property.
It was announced Friday, June 28, 1996, that A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital had agreed to purchase the former mall for $1.5 million and had $4.5 million in plans for renovations to expand its outpatient services.
"(We are) excited and happy about this move," Fox President John R. Remillard said. "This new facility will position Fox to provide health care for the future," noting an increasing shift away from hospital inpatient care.
Renovations began and by Monday, Aug. 4, 1997, the Outpatient Service Center opened in the new facility. A grand opening was set for Saturday, Sept. 6.
This weekend: Time and time again during the 19th century, a series of Otsego and Delaware county towns wanted to form a new county, called Susquehanna County.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Mark Simonson
Oneonta's first shopping mall, Pyramid Mall, opened in 1972
- Mark Simonson
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A Main Street facelift for Oneonta in the 1920s
It has been just a little over 30 years, 1980 in fact, that Main Street in Oneonta went through a major transformation in appearance. Even now I'll hear mixed comments about the changes, which included antique style lamps, trees, planters and brick trim. Some liked the changes while others liked the wider street with the even-sized sidewalks.
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
Oneonta became a settlement and has been a place to do one's "trading," whether it was the 18th century, or 2012, because of the five valleys that converge here. Only the places of doing the "trading" have changed a bit over the last 100 years, and Oneonta remains a place that attracts visitors and has always been a decent place to live and work.
100 Years Ago -
Recalling the Hindenburg, John D. Rockefeller in May 1937
A young person of 75 years ago may still recall where they were or what they were doing in the month of May, as two big news events took place. They were the Hindenburg disaster and the passing of billionaire John D. Rockefeller. There were some local connections with both news items.
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Oneonta residents had diversions aplenty in the spring of 1952
It is always good to keep up with current events. However, it is starting to become an unwritten requirement to seek some diversions from staying up to date on news, as for some it can become overwhelming or depressing.
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Damaschke essential to ensuring Oneonta baseball in 1927
Oftentimes, in the distant past, the place you worked for became a social nucleus in the village or town. Employees at large companies such as Endicott-Johnson Shoe Co. or IBM in the Binghamton area took part in activities after work such as sports, music and theater, both in and out of town, to represent their company.
- Monday, May 7, 2012
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Area tunes to WONT in November 1972
As a youngster growing up in the area and having a fascination with radio broadcasting, I used to consider it a part-time hobby to put the earphone into my transistor radio and go exploring what was out there to listen to, up and down the dial. It was indeed a long-distance journey at night when listening to AM radio, as you could hear live and locally staffed stations from Chicago, Windsor/Detroit, Atlanta and New Orleans, to name a few cities. I never spent a lot of time listening to FM radio 40 years ago, simply because there wasn't the same "excitement" of the long-distance journey. Little did I realize, things were changing locally on that "other" band of radio frequencies that included decimal points.
- Saturday, May 5, 2012
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Congressman Fairchild added downtown growth in 1912
Another case of wandering imagination struck this historian recently, while learning about the building at 244-248 Main St. in Oneonta, storefronts for the Autumn Café and Razzle Dazzle. This structure is known as the Fairchild block, and it turns 100 this year.
- Monday, April 30, 2012
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From no TV to saving eagles, it was life in April 1982
No television. No place to pay the phone bill. No more Spaulding's baked goods. Possibly no more Center Street School. While these were some of the noes in the news of our area in April 1982, there were some yeses as well, including a new structure at Corning Inc. of Oneonta and help to save bald eagles.
- Saturday, April 28, 2012
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A daily newspaper for Oneonta was an achievement in 1887
Depending on the electronic device you have these days, accessing news can be made nearly as soon as something happens. Oneontans of 125 years ago got their news on a weekly basis, courtesy of The Oneonta Herald.
- Monday, April 23, 2012
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Area saw Hollywood stars up close in April 1952
It has been a mighty long time since Greer Garson, Victor Jory, Don Taylor and Audrey Totter drew big numbers of people at the box office of our local movie theaters. Make it 60 years, in fact. Now generations removed from popularity, some are still able to remember the names of these four movie stars who paid a visit to our area in late April 1952.
- Saturday, April 21, 2012
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Spring tree plantings were numerous in 1927
None of my calendars at home or at my other workplaces show that April 27 of this year is Arbor Day.
- Monday, April 16, 2012
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Nuclear weapon debates were plentiful in April 1982
Plan for a nuclear war -- or seek a nuclear weapons freeze. That was a frequent debate going on in our region during the month of April 1982.
- Saturday, April 14, 2012
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A Titanic survivor stopped in Oneonta days after disaster
Edward Bean was one amongst the lucky one-third of the passengers aboard the Titanic who lived to tell about the disaster of the ill-fated ship that sank after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Only about a week after the disaster, Bean was in Oneonta, on his way home to Cincinnati.
- Monday, April 9, 2012
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Simonson: April 1952 brought educational developments in Oneonta
There were some interesting new developments in education in Oneonta during the month of April 1952. These took place in the public and private schools, as well as on the Hartwick College campus.
- Saturday, April 7, 2012
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Oneonta's first automobile exhibition took place in April 1917
An automobile show as large as those in Albany or Utica. That was the heady claim of the organizers of Oneonta's first such show, set for early April 1917.
- Monday, April 2, 2012
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Thruway bridge collapsed 25 years ago into Schoharie Creek
I had just started my evening music shift at a Binghamton radio station on Sunday evening, April 5, 1987, with a network newscast at the top of the hour.
- Saturday, March 31, 2012
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Oneonta responded to declaration of World War I
"President Asks For War."
- Monday, March 26, 2012
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Devastating fire, loss in sports status, education made major area news in March 1982
A fire destroyed a foundry in Morris, Hartwick College basketball dropped a division level, two schools considered a merger, and a local Odyssey of the Mind was born. These news items and more made for a busy month in March 1982.
- Saturday, March 24, 2012
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Useful advice for farmers came to the area in 1912
It is practically a rite of autumn for high school students, or college students looking to transfer to a different college.
- Monday, March 19, 2012
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St. Mary's Church of Oneonta dedicated 55 years ago
"With solemn, historic pageantry, the Most Rev. William A. Scully, bishop of Albany, yesterday dedicated the new St. Mary's Church."
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A Main Street facelift for Oneonta in the 1920s
