originally posted on 8/25/2025
The concept of the shopping mall predates my existence in this world, and so does the divisiveness that accompanied it. Primarily constructed in suburban areas where people were migrating to at the time, they were often blamed for the death of town centers — Main Street U.S.A., if you will — and the small, family-owned businesses that occupied their charming storefronts. While the “Shop Local” movement of recent years is no doubt a much-delayed but successful response to this, the tendency of things coming full circle has resulted in a wave of nostalgia for the now-dying suburban mall, where children like me shopped with their parents at Macy’s and Sears and later spent time as teenagers at their movie theaters and video game arcades.
I’ve always considered theme parks to have many parallels to shopping malls — many came about in the same era. Although they weren’t often responsible for killing traditional amusement parks that existed within town and city limits, one could be mistaken for assuming that had been the case. Theme parks were larger than traditional amusement parks, and while they solved many of the “problems” associated with their predecessors by offering modern ride experiences, real estate for expansion and ample parking, there’s no doubt charm was often lost in the name of progress. I recall a time when many amusement park enthusiasts looked down on theme parks, and only in recent years have they been appreciated for what they are, albeit not entirely.
Of course with that comes sadness, frustration and even confusion when enthusiasts are confronted with the pending loss of theme parks. In a few years, it is very possible California’s Great America in Santa Clara will shut its gates one last time to make way for a warehouse complex, and earlier this year it was announced the 2025 season would be the last for Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The latter is a particularly challenging situation to unpack because before it was a theme park, it was known as Wild World, where the classic Giant Coaster from Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts, had found a new home as Wild One. When Six Flags America ceases operations, it is likely a shining symbol of preservation will be lost, along with the rest of a business that exists to make people happy. If only there was an amusement industry version of the Shop Local movement to stimulate the rebuilding of amusement parks in towns and cities, like Pittsburgh’s West View Park and Chicago’s Riverview. Maybe that would soften the blow related to these losses.
With that, I’ll completely change topics and announce this to be my last column as ACE News editor. Two and a half years flew by in the blink of an eye, but it is now time for me to hand the task back to Lee Ann Draud, who, in addition to having served as ACE News editor in the past is ACE’s previous publications director and current ACE News managing editor. As for me, I am simply moving across ACE’s invisible hallway to the editor’s desk of RollerCoaster!, where I will try mightily to fill the shoes of the departing (and irreplaceable) Tim Baldwin.
Thanks to my amazing staff of Lee Ann and Tim as well as Rus Ozana, John Gerard, Elizabeth Werth, Michaela Boros and Mac Rush — you all made my life so much easier and will continue doing so for Lee Ann. And thanks to all of you for listening to me — I hope you’ll continue listening, because the best is yet to come.
— Rob Ascough, ACE News Editor
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