Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Stores

Väla Centrum – A Kitschy Swedish Shopping Mall

Väla Centrum is a shopping mall located in southern Sweden just outside of Helsingborg. This is the mall I grew up with. Many, many Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons were spent here as I took the car south going shopping with my family as a kid back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Väla Centrum was built in 1974 and was at its opening...

Video

This is a cut from a educational promotion film that explains some aspects on why Täby Centrum was built. The film is in Swedish and narrated by the architect of the center who explains some particulars about it. If you look closely you will see the Domus sign in the background on the second floor of the mall. Domus was one of the typical anchor...

Shopping Spree – Part 5 (Southdale Center)

Time for another peek at past shopping experiences. This time we are leaving Scandinavia to have a look at some photos from an American shopping center. Since most of the mid-century Swedish malls and shopping centers took their inspiration from their American counterpart, I thought it would be a good idea to compare the design and architecture of them. This is Southdale Center Mall in...

Shopping Spree – Part 4
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 4

Time again to visit the yesteryear’s shopping experience. Here are some fresh assorted postcards from two different shopping centers in Sweden, one from Stockholm and the other one from Gothenburg. I have only visited the latter a couple of times, and it is still there – but it looks slightly different today (as many other things from the past)....

Shopping Spree – Part 3
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 3

Shopping in Luleå in the northern parts of Sweden was the first indoor shopping mall in Europe. Built in 1955 and designed by the famous architect Ralph Erskine, who wanted to create a mall for people to enjoy and socialize – even with the cold winter climate of northern Sweden. Apparently he got the idea while visiting a outdoor shopping mall in Canada, during the...

Shopping Spree – Part 2
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 2

Time for another visit to yesteryears shopping malls in Sweden, this time focusing on a gem located in the suburbs of Gothenburg in the southwest parts of Sweden. The Frölunda Torg mall was built in 1966 and was by its completion the biggest mall in Europe. It took seven years and 80 million Swedish Krona (approx. $10 000 000) to complete it. In 1974, another...

Shopping Spree – Part 1
Written by Christopher in Stores

Shopping Spree – Part 1

Postcards from various shopping centers, malls and department stores in Sweden from the 1960s and 1970s. Pay attention to the plethora of plants, swanky architecture and earthy colours....

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