Lakeside Mall is the Ugliest Behemoth I've Ever Seen

[globe9]

I was driving past Lakeside on Causeway(street level, not overpass, which is where I usually drive past) and just could not believe how ugly this place has become. Big, hulking buildings tower over the original building. I always said that when they remodeled back in the early 90's, they should have done it right and added a 2nd floor for more stores. I always hated going to Lakeside anyway, but jeez, what an eyesore in the middle of Metairie.

Why doesn't anyone shop out at Esplanade Mall where there is plenty of room? I always go here at Xmas time b/c there is no one there. I found a parking spot 3 places away from the building on Dec. 23rd this year! Is it b/c it's so far away(relatively speaking) or b/c of the hoodlums that hang out there?

[PNG]

It is about as unattractive as the airport both inside and out.

[Pelican Six]

I was driving past Lakeside on Causeway(street level, not overpass, which is where I usually drive past) and just could not believe how ugly this place has become. Big, hulking buildings tower over the original building. I always said that when they remodeled back in the early 90's, they should have done it right and added a 2nd floor for more stores. I always hated going to Lakeside anyway, but jeez, what an eyesore in the middle of Metairie.

Why doesn't anyone shop out at Esplanade Mall where there is plenty of room? I always go here at Xmas time b/c there is no one there. I found a parking spot 3 places away from the building on Dec. 23rd this year! Is it b/c it's so far away(relatively speaking) or b/c of the hoodlums that hang out there?

Necessary evil. Macy's is building an outparcel facility at Lakeside, and they have built a parking garage to increase the lot's capacity - which was sorely needed. There are too few shopping options in the GNO area as it is.

As far as The Esplanade is concerned, Macy's is also coming back there, but their big problem since the storm has been an explosion of "Urban Fashion" stores, along with all of the lovely patrons they serve. How many leather "Scarface" jackets can you sell?

However, word on the street from a couple of local pols is that The Esplanade will shortly begin cleaning up it's act and courting more upscale retailers. That would be great - it's an attractive facility and very convenient to my home and work.

[buzd]

Why doesn't anyone shop out at Esplanade Mall where there is plenty of room? I always go here at Xmas time b/c there is no one there. I found a parking spot 3 places away from the building on Dec. 23rd this year! Is it b/c it's so far away(relatively speaking) or b/c of the hoodlums that hang out there?

It's the hoodlums. We went to Esplanade last Christmas and it was a nightmare. There are no cool shops left - it's virtually all "urban wear" (which is fine and has its place, but not exclusively). Nobody was in a good mood - parents yelling at their kids, po'ed thugs, and everyone was pretty much miserable. I'm miserable at Christmas too, but sheesh.

[Suzy Wong]

What is a Macy's outparcel facility?

Lakeside has some good stores, BUT TOO MANY PEOPLE:eek:.

It's a hulking gray monster that ATE the mall.

It looks like a prison.

[BTG]

I can't stand going to Lakeside. The flow of traffic in and around there is a pain in the ass and malls generally get on my nerves.
There really aren't any good malls in and around N.O., so it is the best option of you are going to one for now.

I am heading to Lagers in a few minutes for some beer and maybe a bite to eat and I am always wishing they were in a better location away from the mall so I would feel like going more often.

[Admin]

What is a Macy's outparcel facility?

Means it's not really connected to the mall other than, in this case, by a cover over the driveway between it and the store. Kind of like the typical auto store out in the far corner of the parking lot, but way closer. Malls have to maintain a certain number of parking spaces per square foot of retail space, so if you plant a 3-story Macy's where a parking lot was before, you have to make up for what was lost, plus more.

[Pelican Six]

I think the new building is beautiful because it represents COMMERCE and INVESTMENT in the area. The fact that Macy's is committing to such a large capital outlay is an encouraging sign for our area.

I spent several years growing up in Gentilly and the place to go for shopping at the time was The Plaza in N.O. East. It was state of the art, with an ice-skating rink in the center. Anybody remember what happened to it? The same thing that happened to Gentilly. Now it's a pile of rubble.

Lakeside has some good stores, but personally, Household Six and I prefer the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Nice stores, better clientele, and much improved traffic flow since the completion of the new ramps at the Bluebonnet exit.

[BTG]

I Household Six and I prefer the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Nice stores, better clientele, and much improved traffic flow since the completion of the new ramps at the Bluebonnet exit.

That place is very nice. It is sad that you could never have anything like that within 50 miles of the city because people would beat the developer up and down and drive them away.
I know the land issue is different, but there is so much anti anything nice in the city for the sake of preservation.

[Suzy Wong]

Thanks for the answers.

I don't think Lakeside is suffering from lack of business.

Thanks! I live in Gentilly;)

But you can keep Kenner. please JJ

Then Everyone's a happy camper.

[Pelican Six]

Agreed, BTG. The French Quarter Preservation Nazis are a case in point. There's a crumbling brick building next to Jax Brewery that has been abandoned for decades. Developers have proposed projects for it and been shot down by these buffoons who would rather wallow in decay than see economic development.

This provincial attitude has been holding New Orleans back from developing into anything resembling a vital city. One of the largest ports in the country (and the world) is a crumbling ****hole when it should be bustling with new developments, investment and commercial activity.

If tourism is all New Orleans has to offer the world, then it is already doomed. Yet, preserving our "uniqueness" seems to take priority over improving quality of life.

Crabs in a box, the lot of them.

[BTG]

Thanks for the answers.

I don't think Lakeside is suffering from lack of business.

Thanks! I live in Gentilly;)

But you can keep Kenner. please JJ

Then Everyone's a happy camper.

Honestly Suzy, the view of the area bothers me alot less than the traffic does. I do think if they could have put that parking garage on the other side of where the new Macys is going to be that it would have looked alot better than being next to Veterans. The best part of that scenerio is that it would have ment that they would have had to demolish the Red Lobster.

[buzd]

I've found that as long as you stay off Vets, the traffic isn't too bad. I can get in and out of the mall by going 17th -> Severn -> the top of the new garage (always spaces available) and in through JC Penny. As long as I know what I'm buying, I can be in and out in 10 minutes.

[Suzy Wong]

BTG,
AHHAA I don't like Red Lobster either (because of their dealing with Canada)

Lakeside is like Pamela Anderson, just, too much. TOO MUCH of a good thing, becomes, GROSS.

It's too crowded, WAY TOO crowded, besdies I am not a fan of people, so it's not the place for me.
and most of the stores can be bought from online.

buzd,
That's how I enter the mall, I pretend not to see the hulking gray dinosaur, the 3 or 4 times a year I go. Also I go right when they open, so it's not so bad, and I don't linger.

[buzd]

buzd,
That's how I enter the mall, I pretend not to see the hulking gray dinosaur, the 3 or 4 times a year I go. Also I go right when they open, so it's not so bad, and I don't linger.

The gray dinosaur is now a very bright white.

[Suzy Wong]

They should paint it pink, as in the pink elephant in the room.....

Maybe they will add another wonderbread chain restaurant the masses can make their mecca;)

[Pelican Six]

They should paint it pink, as in the pink elephant in the room.....

Maybe they will add another wonderbread chain restaurant the masses can make their mecca;)

So, how's the vibrant dining scene in Gentilly these days?

Here's the latest score according to Tom Fitzmorris' list of restaurants by neighborhood:

Kenner - 42

Gentilly - 4

[Schuarta]

BTG,
AHHAA I don't like Red Lobster either (because of their dealing with Canada)



What are Canada and Red Lobster up to?

[bam bam]

I haven't set foot inside the Lakeside Mall in at least 5 years.

[Suzy Wong]

If you're trying to charm me, it's working!

Not even to watch young chicks fold t-shirts at A&F?


I haven't set foot inside the Lakeside Mall in at least 5 years.

[Mac da Knife]

She was the Beauty Contest Winner after the Katrina Oakwood looting.

[Suzy Wong]

I don't think I ever said it was a dining destination.

But I love my house, I love the architecture of N.O. that isn;t as easily found in the suburbs, and I live 5 minutes from a great ethnic (Vietnamese) coummunity in one direction, and maybe 6 minutes in the other direction I can be in the F.Q. and 5 to mid city. So that makes me happy.

Kind of like hulking McMansions, some people, love reproductions, I prefer antiques, scratches and all. We are all entitled to our likes and dislikes.

So, you keep Kenner, I am sure it will be on the historical list one day, as it no doubt becomes a cultural and culinary mecca and I will keep my neighborhood or as you so elegantly put it, my

pile of rubble.;)




So, how's the vibrant dining scene in Gentilly these days?

Here's the latest score according to Tom Fitzmorris' list of restaurants by neighborhood:

Kenner - 42

Gentilly - 4

[JudiB]

I live in the heart of Metry, so that monstrosity is crampin' my style. The traffic is a NIGHTMARE.

I was with some friends the other day, craaaaawling along Metairie Road, and the driver kept insisting that we go back to Vets. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was driving...

Well... of course, Vets was worse. And I had to LOOK at that horrid thing most of the time, lol. Can't get it out of your view when you're stuck in traffic.

Having said that - I'm thrilled that Macy's is returning to the area. I'm not a "shopper", don't like malls etc... but I love that store.

[Dilfan]

Pretty much once you get to Causeway, the best way to get through Metairie, westbound, is via W. Napoleon.

[Pelican Six]

Just loving you like a mirror, Suzy. What you fail to realize is that I've lived in Gentilly. I know what it once was and what it has become. You, on the other hand are completely ignorant of my neighborhood. Get a clue - there is no neighborhood called Kenner. It's comprised of many neighborhoods, some of them quite beautiful. Your snark about "keep Kenner" and a "mecca for the masses" reflects very poorly on you. I could live anywhere I choose. I CHOSE to live here in Kenner. It's beautiful, clean, safe & yes, even unique. I send my kids to schools in New Orleans. Because that's what's best for me and them.I don't **** on others for choosing what's in their best interests and don't feel it enhances my New Orleans "street cred" to denigrate someone's neighborhood. And before you go thinking you've offended me, don't worry - you don't have that kind of power.Now that we know where we stand, why would you care what is built in an area you wouldn't be caught dead living in, that services a clientele you wouldn't lower yourself to rub shoulders with?
btw, I said THE PLAZA is a pile of rubble, not Gentilly. It was bulldozed into A PILE OF RUBBLE. put yer eyes on, MawMaw.

[DoctorB]

I understood the original Gentilly/Plaza comment to mean not "Gentilly was turned into a pile of rubble just like the Plaza," but "Gentilly, like the Plaza, was overrun by black people and thus became undesirable." Was I mistaken?

[cstoehr]

I can't stand going to Lakeside. The flow of traffic in and around there is a pain in the ass and malls generally get on my nerves.
There really aren't any good malls in and around N.O., so it is the best option of you are going to one for now.

I am heading to Lagers in a few minutes for some beer and maybe a bite to eat and I am always wishing they were in a better location away from the mall so I would feel like going more often.


I hate the parking at Lagers!!!

[Pelican Six]

I understood the original Gentilly/Plaza comment to mean not "Gentilly was turned into a pile of rubble just like the Plaza," but "Gentilly, like the Plaza, was overrun by black people and thus became undesirable." Was I mistaken?


Nope. Although that is somewhat of an oversimplification. Along with a massive black influx came increases in drug dealing, violent crime, and murders, thus becoming undesirable. Standing by for charges of racism in 3...2...1...

[PNG]

"Standing by for charges of racism in 3...2...1..."

Someone used the racist term "white trash" in another thread. I am outraged.

[Suzy Wong]

Actually the former pile of rubble which was the Plaza was cleared and is now a mega Lowe's......

[bdavid]

What are Canada and Red Lobster up to?

I'd like to know the answer to that one too!