Look Forward Not Back: The Old ‘Bangor Mall’ Sign Is Down, Making Way For Something New

In it's heyday, the Bangor Mall was THE place to go, not just for shopping but as a social rite of passage.

I remember a time when you could visit a Bath & Body Works, The Limited, Banana Republic, Spencer's Gifts, and Payless ShoeSource store, to name just a few, while shopping at the flagships of Sears, JCPenney, and Porteous.

The food court was always bustling with folks lining up outside of the different restaurants (I still miss the DQ inside the mall).

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It was the place to be and be seen in the 80s, 90s, and even the early 2000s.

Now it's eerily empty in there. And most of what's in there now doesn't really make sense to anyone.

I couldn't even tell you the name of one shop left in there.

And for the past few years, many of the stores that used to reside inside the mall have either moved locations or closed up shop for good.

Read More: Sewer Line Break at the Bangor Mall has been Leaking Human Waste

While the occupancy of the mall has changed several times in the last 2 decades, that old Bangor Mall sign has remained the same.

For the past several years, as mall management seemed to duke it out with the City of Bangor with reports that there were issues with the structure and the plumbing, even the roadways and parking lots surrounding the building.

Read More: Maine's Bangor Mall is Being Sued By the City Over Code Issues

The sign seemed to reflect the dalapidated nature of the building, with only half of the actual letters in the word "Bangor" remaining.

That iconic mall sign, that's stood looming, for better or worse, along Hogan road for years is no longer there today. It was recently taken down by the company that's owned the mall since 2019, Namdar Realty Group.

Tearing down that sign is only one of many improvements the owners of the mall will need to make, according to the City's requests.

What does that mean for the mall? Well, probably not a lot in the immediate future. But it's a step in the right direction.

The location has potential for a number of different things, but extensive repairs will be needed to bring the facility up to code before anything happens.

There are still signs all along the building advertising space for lease, but no formal announcements have been made as to what, if anything, management has for the space going forward.

Here's hoping the improvements will be made, and some life breathed back into the facility that was once the heartbeat of Hogan Road.

Fingers crossed.