Evansville, Indiana Eastland Mall 1981 Photos

Do you remember going to Eastland Mall just for the Food Court? Where else could you get Long John Silver's and then Lic's Ice Cream for dessert all in the same place? Maybe you waited outside for Disk Jockey to open so you could be the first to buy that fresh new cassette or tickets to a concert at Roberts Stadium. If so, you will love this trip down Evansville's memory lane.

Eastland Mall 1981

Eastland Mall opened in 1981, and it has changed a lot through the years. JC. Penny still anchors the mall on one end, and what was Lazarus Department Store is now Macy's.

Andy Froehle

Generations of Memories

How cool would it be to have a ton of photos from the '80s like we have of literally everything today? Andy Froehle tells me that these photographs were taken by his Uncle Jim Froehle. Andy is going through a lot of his vintage photos and sharing them in the Facebook Group I Grew Up In Evansville, IN.

Center Stage

I remember wanting to perform on stage at the mall. Mall concerts were huge in the 80s. Tiffany did a whole tour in malls across the U.S.

Much Different Food Court

Lic's Ice cream was originally where Ben's Pretzels is now. Later it moved around the corner, and then out to the edge of the mall property where Starbucks is now.

Heidi Gish Bennett

"Thank you so much for sharing! I often wish I could remember exactly what it looked like then!"

Dale Carter

"Quick story. When Eastland Mall opened I was working in the news department at WKDQ. I was bragging I would go nowhere near Eastland Mall that day!! Ed Castiller was our News Director. Always a sense of humor... he said "Dale boy... I need you to cover the grand opening." I remember it was INSANE!!! Lots of memories of that place!!"

Stefani Miller

"I worked at Seifert’s in the mall my senior year, then JC Penney and Snyder’s. I also did still modeling for them. It was fun! Thanks for sharing these pics."

Lynn Stroud

"DeJong's always had beautiful window displays. As a teenager a couldn’t afford to shop in the store but I would always look shop."

Charles Walther

"When they remodeled in the 90s a few of those heavy wooden benches ended up in the main lobby of Central High School."

Pamela Jennings

"I helped to move The Luggage Shop to Eastland Mall. Preferred the Washington Square Mall, which is my favorite, because it brings back so many fond memories of my childhood."

Evansville's very own Washington Square Mall was the place to be when it opened in 1963. Check out the photo gallery below featuring Then & Now photos. If you walk through the mall today, you would never guess how alive the shops were, even through the 1980s.

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Then & Now - Evansville's Washington Square Mall Through the Years

Evansville is home to a lot of unique buildings including the first enclosed retail shopping center in Indiana. Yes, our very own Washington Square Mall was the place to be when it opened in 1963. If you walk through the mall today, you would never guess how alive the shops were, even through the 1980s. Enjoy this walk down memory lane I've put together, and maybe someday there will be new life inside 5011 Washington Ave.

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