I would have been 11 when this happened but i was still a Vietnamese boy living in Vietnam then. I have been to this mall so many times because i live here in san Antonio. It is so weird to see things in the past but i feel so nostalgic to this.
I love looking at retro videos from the 1980s and 1990s. I moved to San Antonio Tx around 2 years ago, from El Paso Texas. It’s a great city with great people. I’m proud to call San Antonio my second home.
It was so beautiful, the first few years. I think in (very) recent years, its been getting better, or at least on its way. Who knew after the 80's malls would be used for "wasting time" and not actually shopping. I think this is what has made La Cantera or other outdoor malls more successful.
It is interesting to notice that Rivercenter had Lord & Taylor as an anchor for a brief period in the late 1980s. I know L&T tried expanding into Texas for a time, and I do remember seeing that they had a store at the Houston Galleria in 2003, and that Houston location closed in 2005. But the Rivercenter location did not last very long, since in 1989 it was converted to a Foley's, another store owned by May Department Stores at the time. That said, I do wonder why Rivercenter lost Lord & Taylor so quickly; I suspect them being a bit more upscale could have been an issue, but you would think that an upscale store would be attractive to (some) tourists, Marriott Rivercenter guests, and downtown workers. There have been renovations, but overall I believe Rivercenter has kept its original appearance (aside from a new paint job) pretty well. I only visited it once in 2003, but I have seen plenty of photos and videos of that mall in recent years. My own hometown of Fort Worth had a downtown mall that opened 10 years before Rivercenter did (the Tandy Center that opened in 1978), but it declined pretty hard, spent its final years as an outlet mall, and then shut down in the mid-2000s. These days, many retailers prefer outdoor lifestyle centers instead of enclosed malls, and downtowns can be easily adapted to have a "lifestyle" component (think about Sundance Square in Fort Worth; San Antonio's Riverwalk is another example but much more intentional rather than something readily converted for that purpose). I don't really think enclosed malls in downtowns are ideal anymore, although during the 1980s it would have been a different story with the 1970s and 1980s shopping mall boom.
@@rosgill6 Lord & Taylor is a department store, on a similar price point with Nordstrom I believe. They primarily operate in the Northeastern states now, but not for much longer. L&T is about to liquidate their remaining stores, soon to join the graveyard of other great department stores that have vanished over the years. The Rivercenter location (1988-1989) was where the Macy's is now; this was previously a Foley's from 1989 to 2006. This was actually before my time (I'm not even 30 yet); I just know a lot about malls. It just surprised me that Lord & Taylor did not last long at Rivercenter, there was a bit of an economic downturn in the late 1980s I believe. That said, the golden age of the shopping mall continued through the 1990s, and I was glad I got to experience a part of that in my childhood.
@@LGM94 I don't live in (nor have lived in) San Antonio, so I don't know, not to mention I was born in the early 1990s, so I could have no personal experience with something that happened in 1988... aside from what I have been told from people older than me.
Horton Plaza Mall in downtown San Diego reminded me of River Center except that it was outdoors and didn't have a river. But Horton Plaza didn't thrive like RiverCenter did.
I bet this was a hell of a time. And San Antonio ruined it and our future to compete with other big cities. Not even the spurs winning could help this sad city. Waiting for better days ):
Ryan C Maybe back in 2009 when it was on the brink of dying. That’s when I saw lots of sketchy gangster-looking people along the Commerce Street side. But ever since the mall was renovated and food joints opened on the outer rim of the mall on Commerce Street a couple years ago, I don’t see them that much anymore. The increased tourist traffic at street level of the mall seemed to have run most gang activity off to near I-37 and Houston.
Yeah, really it's not. They just recently opened Lego Land which my son loves and soon the SeaLife aquarium. I work at the nearby competition and I can tell you they are in it to win it.
I love my city! Born and raised! Born in 1979 pushing 45 in August
I would have been 11 when this happened but i was still a Vietnamese boy living in Vietnam then. I have been to this mall so many times because i live here in san Antonio. It is so weird to see things in the past but i feel so nostalgic to this.
You still vist?
I love looking at retro videos from the 1980s and 1990s. I moved to San Antonio Tx around 2 years ago, from El Paso Texas. It’s a great city with great people. I’m proud to call San Antonio my second home.
Same here, from the valley, moved here in 2018
San Antonio has change lot since 1988. I miss old San Antonio
Wow; 1988 was one hell of a year for San Antonio. Sea World, RiverCenter Mall and Pope John Paul II.
Everything was excitement back then.
My first job was at Foley's River Center in 1990. I enjoyed eating my lunch outside and people watching. Today, malls are relics of the past...
How do you build a mall? Just add water!
Oh my god the mall looks the same
I just turned 9 that year and I remeber going there it was lile a fantasy land its still there and yes 42 year old me still shop there
I am pushing 44 and I just went to get me some ray-bans lol
i would have loved to see Sonny Melendrez's mailbox back in the 80s and 90's. that guy was invited to everything back then!
I’ve seen him numerous times at my elementary school when I was a kid in the 80’s
@@retrocity392 what does he do now?
It was so beautiful, the first few years. I think in (very) recent years, its been getting better, or at least on its way. Who knew after the 80's malls would be used for "wasting time" and not actually shopping. I think this is what has made La Cantera or other outdoor malls more successful.
This opened years before I was born
Omg that song
I still remember when it opened. Wow it's been that long. I am 44 years old. I wonder where I can see the full grand opening video.
I had forgotten about Kim Benson. I hadn't heard or seen her name in many years.
Garcia's Mexican Restaurant had a BEAUTIFUL Mahogany serpentine bar.
Today its now the shops at rivercenter.
Still call it Rivercenter, just like Durango is Durango
It is interesting to notice that Rivercenter had Lord & Taylor as an anchor for a brief period in the late 1980s. I know L&T tried expanding into Texas for a time, and I do remember seeing that they had a store at the Houston Galleria in 2003, and that Houston location closed in 2005. But the Rivercenter location did not last very long, since in 1989 it was converted to a Foley's, another store owned by May Department Stores at the time. That said, I do wonder why Rivercenter lost Lord & Taylor so quickly; I suspect them being a bit more upscale could have been an issue, but you would think that an upscale store would be attractive to (some) tourists, Marriott Rivercenter guests, and downtown workers.
There have been renovations, but overall I believe Rivercenter has kept its original appearance (aside from a new paint job) pretty well. I only visited it once in 2003, but I have seen plenty of photos and videos of that mall in recent years. My own hometown of Fort Worth had a downtown mall that opened 10 years before Rivercenter did (the Tandy Center that opened in 1978), but it declined pretty hard, spent its final years as an outlet mall, and then shut down in the mid-2000s. These days, many retailers prefer outdoor lifestyle centers instead of enclosed malls, and downtowns can be easily adapted to have a "lifestyle" component (think about Sundance Square in Fort Worth; San Antonio's Riverwalk is another example but much more intentional rather than something readily converted for that purpose). I don't really think enclosed malls in downtowns are ideal anymore, although during the 1980s it would have been a different story with the 1970s and 1980s shopping mall boom.
i don't remember that store at all. what did they sell?
@@rosgill6 Lord & Taylor is a department store, on a similar price point with Nordstrom I believe. They primarily operate in the Northeastern states now, but not for much longer. L&T is about to liquidate their remaining stores, soon to join the graveyard of other great department stores that have vanished over the years.
The Rivercenter location (1988-1989) was where the Macy's is now; this was previously a Foley's from 1989 to 2006.
This was actually before my time (I'm not even 30 yet); I just know a lot about malls. It just surprised me that Lord & Taylor did not last long at Rivercenter, there was a bit of an economic downturn in the late 1980s I believe. That said, the golden age of the shopping mall continued through the 1990s, and I was glad I got to experience a part of that in my childhood.
@@BrandonClaridge cool! thank you :)
@@BrandonClaridge you remember when The Disney Store opened up there? Was it with the opening of the mall or added later on
@@LGM94 I don't live in (nor have lived in) San Antonio, so I don't know, not to mention I was born in the early 1990s, so I could have no personal experience with something that happened in 1988... aside from what I have been told from people older than me.
Horton Plaza Mall in downtown San Diego reminded me of River Center except that it was outdoors and didn't have a river. But Horton Plaza didn't thrive like RiverCenter did.
I bet this was a hell of a time. And San Antonio ruined it and our future to compete with other big cities. Not even the spurs winning could help this sad city. Waiting for better days ):
Does anyone know when both the AMC and The Disney Store open up there?
So The Disney Store opened in 1989!? Wow now all need to know is when both North Star and Ingram opened. Thanks been needing this info
@@mattrodriguez1105 yeah too bad the Disney store closed down from Rivercenter
I found out it opened (The Disney Store) on April 13, 1993
Quickly turned into gangland
Ryan C Nah, that’s South Park and North Star malls.
Tinsote rivercenter was a gang infested shithole for
Many years
Ryan C Maybe back in 2009 when it was on the brink of dying. That’s when I saw lots of sketchy gangster-looking people along the Commerce Street side. But ever since the mall was renovated and food joints opened on the outer rim of the mall on Commerce Street a couple years ago, I don’t see them that much anymore. The increased tourist traffic at street level of the mall seemed to have run most gang activity off to near I-37 and Houston.
Tinsote late 90s
@@tinsote7176 east side always been gangsta
You just add water!!! But now you just add criminals!!!! Ya
Hellcat Hooligan That’s a great description of South Park Mall! 😝
@@tinsote7176 lol
@A.A. V Gonna cry?
River Center, just add waterrrrrrrr........and now it's dead!
Delius Lyndon Rivercenter is far from dead now that they’ve expanded into the adjacent Joske’s building.
Yeah, really it's not. They just recently opened Lego Land which my son loves and soon the SeaLife aquarium. I work at the nearby competition and I can tell you they are in it to win it.
Hell no its more alive than ever ingram on the other hand.
Yeah I agree last time I was there most of all the stores already closing down