This morning I took my kids to downtown Rochester to see
Midtown Plaza. We parked in the underground garage (but didn't drive down into the depths), took the escalator up into the shopping plaza and looked around a little bit. It was sadly empty with many vacant stores. Not too much to do or see, but Santa was there and several groups of children were riding the monorail. We waved to them as they went over our heads. We checked out the silent Clock of the Nations and then decided to go on with our shopping trip. I paid 40 cents for parking on my way out and the attendant said it had been that way all morning. It was a trip for nostalgia's sake.
When my sisters and I were little girls, we looked forward to the annual Christmas shopping trip to Midtown. It was in the heart of the city and we usually went at night after supper. The snow would be drifting down when we crossed the street to go in Sibley's department store. The parking garage was mysterious, the clock intriguing, and the fountains playful, but the best part of the trip was going through the Christmas tunnel in Sibley's. It was a darkened maze of Christmas scenes with moving figures. It always depicted A Christmas Carol or some other holiday story and was crowded with friendly shoppers. At the end of the tunnel, Santa was waiting to meet the children, many of whom had traveled into the city with their parents like we did. About 20 years ago Sibley's closed their downtown location and the tunnel was gone for good. Too bad, because it was so much fun and made such wonderful memories.
This morning I took my kids to downtown Rochester to see Midtown Plaza. We parked in the underground garage (but didn't drive down into the depths), took the escalator up into the shopping plaza and looked around a little bit. It was sadly empty with many vacant stores. Not too much to do or see, but Santa was there and several groups of children were riding the monorail. We waved to them as they went over our heads. We checked out the silent Clock of the Nations and then decided to go on with our shopping trip. I paid 40 cents for parking on my way out and the attendant said it had been that way all morning. It was a trip for nostalgia's sake.
When my sisters and I were little girls, we looked forward to the annual Christmas shopping trip to Midtown. It was in the heart of the city and we usually went at night after supper. The snow would be drifting down when we crossed the street to go in Sibley's department store. The parking garage was mysterious, the clock intriguing, and the fountains playful, but the best part of the trip was going through the Christmas tunnel in Sibley's. It was a darkened maze of Christmas scenes with moving figures. It always depicted A Christmas Carol or some other holiday story and was crowded with friendly shoppers. At the end of the tunnel, Santa was waiting to meet the children, many of whom had traveled into the city with their parents like we did. About 20 years ago Sibley's closed their downtown location and the tunnel was gone for good. Too bad, because it was so much fun and made such wonderful memories.
:(, sorry its gone. But I know you and your sisters share wonderful memories of that time.
ReplyDeleteMy memories of this are vague, I must've been quite young when we stopped going. For some reason my memories of taking the bus into the city with mom to buy what I thought looked like "boys shoes"(special shoes for my bad arches), are much more clear. I was quite young then too, but I must have been scarred by it. Lol! I can remember walking to the village with her to catch the bus, except I was really running to keep up with her walk.
ReplyDeleteI recently wrote about my memories of the monorail in Syracuse and mentioned the one in Midtown Plaza because the one in Syracuse is long gone. I had no idea about the clock until I read this and watched the video that Priscilla found. When you say silent, do you mean it no longer works? That's sad. I had thought about taking my grandkids to Midtown this year just to ride the monorail, because my memories are so strong, but I decided that it was too far and they probably wouldn't find it nearly the thrill that I did as a child.
ReplyDeleteApple, I don't know whether or not the clock still works but it was quiet and still while we were there. We didn't stay long.
ReplyDeleteBrett says that it's been crazy busy with kids during the day. I guess schools are doing field trips there before the mall is gone for good.
ReplyDeleteI remember a post from someone about this mall and the big clock last year. It sounds like an interesting piece and a nice family tradition.
ReplyDeleteThat was my blog, Tracy. Click on "Midtown Plaza" in Martha's first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteYeah, those are good memories, but I'm afraid they are just that: Memories. I think the clock still worked while I was in teller training at Chase Lincoln First bank in 1989.
It looks like such a neat place. Wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteWow! I was just at our local mall last night, but it doesn't even compare.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that you paid your old mall a visit before it will close. I was never there....
ReplyDeleteI was hoping to get to Midtown one more time before it closed, but I never made it. I have to say that the monorail was my favorite part. The last time I was there was ten years ago in high school, when I realized that the monorail was much smaller than I had remembered from previous visits.
ReplyDeleteI never rode the monorail, but I liked the excitement of being in the city and the bustling shoppers. There isn't much left there now.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the memory. We too used to put our kids on the monorail back in the 80's, and, come to think of it, I recall that Sibleys tunnel back when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were in kindergarten their classes took field trips to Midtown. We rode up and down in a glass evelvator operated by one of the dads in the group. No one was waiting in line so we just kept on riding.
ReplyDelete