Jackson Jambalaya

Seen this myself and caught in the traffic mayhem it produced on County Line. So glad we have on-line now.

I remember that year. We drove by the mall and cars were parked everywhere. My dad commented that my mom was having a heyday getting lost in the deals. Wow how things changed.

It's sad that we can't have nice indoor malls any longer.

I remember our family coming over from Vicksburg to Christmas shop on a Black Friday at Metrocenter back then. Dad gave up on trying to find a parking space close and we ended up parking in one of the overflow lots on the Highway 80 side near McRae's. Got lots of steps in that day.

That's an unbelievable amount of holiday traffic, if Metrocenter shoppers caused congestion on County Line Rd.

Not to worry, as that nice lady is bringing the Metro Center Mall back to its glory days. Woo hoo.

look again 9:13 this was Metrocenter during its prime !

@9:13...This was at MetroCenter on Highway 80.

1983 to 2020. Actually it took only about 15 years after that photo was taken for people in the area to turn Metrocenter into a vast waste land. Given the opportunity they will have Dogwood and Renaissance looking the same way in 15-20 years.

Pretty sure County Line Toad was still gravel. Maybe a portion had been paved.

Today's headline would be. " Crime Spree hits Jackson again and again and again and again". Well you get the picture. I was there on the day it opened, March 1, 1978. Was a very nice mall.

Those County Line "Toads" are an endangered species. Don't step on them.

I know it's only been about 9 months of this pandemic, but my first, unwitting reaction to that photo was "I wouldn't want to be inside near that many people"

Different times from then....in a LOT of ways!

Perhaps the proposed metro center go kart track/ferris wheel will generate the same amount of traffic.

I remember that '83 Christmas season... people were going ape$#!t over those Cabbage Patch dolls.

North Park opened in 1984. Road was well paved and traveled by then.

"North Park opened in 1984. Road was well paved and traveled by then."

Yep. You're right.
I grew up out there.

County Line was paved from I-55 to Old Canton by the mid 70's.

During the 60's, the pavement stopped at what is today Wheatly. There was nothing but a Tote-Sum store there.

The next couple of miles, County Line Road was a gravel until it intersected Old Canton.

Where Northpark sits today was only scrubby land . . . not really suitable for cultivation.

Gawd how things had changed by 1984.

(Sorry to put everyone asleep with a Jackson history lesson).

Still no sidewalks along County Line Road for those who like to walk, even though there are at least 2 hotels whose occupants might like to stretch their legs - nothing to see, but still, there's a better than average chance they won't be robbed while on foot.

"Still no sidewalks along County Line Road for those who like to walk".

No offense, but why in the world would anyone wish to take a leisurely stroll on the side of County Line Road ?

" but still, there's a better than average chance they won't be robbed while on foot" .

????

Good gawd 5:21, you must have been out the Jackson area for 30 years.

10:20, that exodus won't happen until the counties adjoining Rankin and Madison counties dramatically improve. Whites, blacks, and others that can afford it have no where else desirable to flee within reasonable commuting distance.

That's Widow Watson's on the left. And the outside entrance to Ruby Tuesday to the right. This photo doesn't even include the Service Merchandise and Jitney-Jungle side facing Lynch Street.

I tell my young employees how times were so much different back then. Jackson was really nice. I really enjoyed the 70’s and 80’s. It was a great time to grow up. The 70’s had some great music. Nothing like this chatter crank garbage boom boom shyt you hear out of cars these days

With Northpark opening in 1984, was this the last hurrah of MetroCenter?

Who remembers the glory days of the Jackson Mall?

" Who remembers the glory days of the Jackson Mall?"

I remember.

It was a magical time for "us little provincials".

The smell of the Piccadilly Cafeteria, the sounds of the pinball arcade at that same west entrance was cool too.
Hell . . . the indoor water fountains were what mesmerized my little country self the most.

I also liked the bookstore.
That was the first time I saw naked women in hardback "art" books.

Gawd, how I miss those days !

What’s the Clarion Ledger?

I'm more curious about the vintage tech powering the drone that took that aerial image. I bet it was rocking a Zilog Z80!

Even though Greenville had a Sears Roebuck, we would drive all the way to Metro Center to shop. The escalator, the hallway going back to 'package pickup', all those Craftsman tools and the appliances, associates everywhere and cash registers ringing and the drive thru pick-up area. And Santa Claus out in the mall. Get a sack of Krystals and head home right fore dark.

Walk into JCP Northpark today and you might see two employees with one of them on a cell phone. Or, some days you can walk the entirety of that store and never see an employee.

Northpark never had a Sears and Metro never had a Penney's. I still miss Red, White and Blues BBQ off County Line or do I misremember the name?

@9:06 - Red,Hot and Blue BBQ

Etitwitchafangas