Where to shop in New England>>>> Burlington Mall, Burlington, Massachusetts

Burlington Mall Reflections

Memories and current perspectives on the mall in Burlington, MA, that changed the way we shopped

by Eric H., lifelong New England native (posted on April 16, 2008)

To many, the Burlington Mall in Burlington, MA, might look like any other mall, but it will always have a special place in my heart.

As a child in 1968, I saw farmland and cows grazing on dense, green grass replaced by this huge shopping structure that, unlike the North Shore Shopping Mall in Peabody, MA, was built with an indoor corridor leading to all stores. What a concept!

Also, the absence of cows might have meant a shortage of milk for me to consume, which made the Burlington Mall seem even more appealing.  1968 soon became the "summer of love" for me when it came to what the mall would bring: lots of toys, better air conditioning than back home, and a nice Chinese or cafeteria-style meal.

Thinking of the Burlington Mall stores through the years nearly brings tears to my eyes, which is ironic since sometimes as a child, the thought of shopping there for hours -- and not having the shopping revolve around us -- brought tears to my eyes. As an adult,  I can now look back with fond memories of the slick clothing salesmen at Kennedy's trying to sell my Dad a cheap suit. I recall the revolving door of beloved  restaurants that never fostered long-term relationships, including the Hot Shoppe with it cafeteria-style food that was almost as good as the school lunches; York's Steak House where the steak tasted like fish and the sauteed onions transformed that awful allium food species into something good; the Pacific Hut where it was so dark that we nearly bumped into walls; and the restaurant at the former Jordan Marsh department store where the one-of-a-kind muffins had priority over the actual food.

Through the years, Music Land provided entertainment as we enjoyed being spoken down to by the angry young hippie employees who were probably making $4.00 an hour and clearly didn't like our short haircuts.  Or the fact that we liked David Gates and Bread and other musical groups that turned out melodies with the music. My brother worked at Herman's Sporting Goods, where he seemed to be the only customer-oriented employee. Spencer Gifts was full of hippie joy, joy buzzers and a few girls that were probably named Joy. It wasn't always a joyful place, however, with some mean-spirited and countercultural stuff that seemed incompatible with my David Gates and Bread albums.

Sears had Ted Williams as a spokesman, as well as golfer Johnny Miller, if my memory serves me correct. They lended some class to this huge store that we liked because they also had toys. My beloved late Uncle Lou shopped at the Sears in Rochester, NY, and always chose classy clothing. I tried to mimic him in that regard, but golf clothing on a 10-year-old kid just didn't seem to gel at the miniature golf course.

The aforementioned Jordan Marsh and Filene's (both, no longer there) served as the other anchors. We could always find parking on the Jordan Marsh side. This allowed us to walk through Jordan Marsh, ignore the merchandise and proceed to our preferred stores in the mall (gee, maybe by bypassing Jordan Marsh, we were solely responsible for that New England retail landmark going out of business?). We also didn't do much shopping at Filene's. It was nice to look at, but Marshall's in Bedford, MA, always had better deals for the same brand names. They still do, a real testimony to the concept that customers love a good bargain.

Lord and Taylor became the other Burlington Mall anchor in 1978. I remember buying a green winter jacket there in the early 90s, because it was heavily discounted. That green jacket lasted a long time, suggesting maybe I should give Lord and Taylor another try.

The Burlington Mall even had a two-screen cinema and a Stop and Shop supermarket in the early days. We saw a few Disney movies at the cinema but never went to Stop and Shop. It just didn't seem right to buy your groceries at a mall (today many supermarkets, however, resemble a mall with toys, gifts, music CDs, hardware items, etc.).

The Burlington Mall eventually built a second floor featuring many more specialty shops and a food court with a 775 person capacity. The Mall -- with more than 165 stores -- clearly became more upscale (perhaps best represented by Nordstrom's recent opening), but I still love going there. They have a Rainforest Cafe with all the rainforest "bells and whistles" in an incredibly realistic, yet hokey setting -- as well as serving pretty good food. The thunder storms, waterfalls and apes pounding their chests help create a jungle theme away from the jungle of shoppers buying so much more than we ever did growing up. Trying to navigate my way through cell phone talkers, people not fully or appropriately dressed, and those not looking where they are going (often the cell phone talkers) can be frustrating and seem superficial and shallow.  I guess you just have to ignore the excesses and enjoy what the Burlingon Mall has to offer.  As examples, I like Legal Sea Foods for some of the region's best seafood, Regina Pizzeria doing the same for pizza,, and Brookstone for gadgets.

Then there's Radio Shack, still around, and bringing me full circle to my warmest memories of shopping as a child. The fact that a store with a tradition can peacefully co-exist with a new generation of interesting stores makes me sort of glad that the farm and cows left Burlington. Those words might be hypocritical given I am generally mortified by the rapid development in the Boston area that's threatening our peace of mind. The Burlington Mall is exempt from my concern of overdevelopment, however. After all,  how can you knock a place that provided so much happiness and great memories as a child and seems to be doing the same for our current generation?

The Burlington Mall, 75 Middlesex Tpke,
Burlington, MA 01803. Tel. (781) 272-8667