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Posted by RWF6 Comments on A second Burlington mall? Hell yes! 50 Years Ago This Month

A second Burlington mall? Hell yes!

One mall ain’t enough, so here comes Burlington Mall number two, just four years after the first mall opened, and just a half-mile down the Turnpike, on the Burlington/Lexington border.

  • Size: 300,000 square feet
  • Number of stores: 25-30
  • Parking spaces: 1,500
  • Developer: Martin Bernard
  • Land owner: Realty Development Corp. of Burlington
  • Targeted opening: Summer 1973

Before

The pits before Middlesex Commons, Burlington MA early 1960s
THE PITS on the Burlington/Lexington line the early 1960s.
Form in Teak Burlington MA
FUTURE MALL ENTRANCE — Form in Teak became Metropolitan Furniture and now Furniture Consignment Gallery. That little adjacent house was serving as a weigh station for trucks carrying sand from the sand pit behind it.

After

Caldor Mall Burlington MA
THE SECOND MALL on Middlesex Turnpike. It was called Burlington Village for a while, and also Burlington Arcade. Here are some ads from the second mall:

 

Middlesex Mall grand opening pencils
Middlesex Mall grand opening pencils

And now

Middlesex Commons Burlington, MA
It’s been de-malled and turned into Middlesex Commons, a plaza with no connecting “mall” hallway.

 

In other news from 50 years ago this month —

  • Cable TV started with 30 homes in the Winnmere section (that’s the neighborhood near Sammy’s Deli and Morandi’s Barber Shop) and would soon expand under the town’s supplier, Continental Cable Vision.
  • A town traffic committee recommended left-turn-only lanes for Bedford Street and Cambridge Street at their junction near the common. Bedford Street has them even now.
  • Lightning struck the home of Sal Turco at 267 Cambridge Street and burned it while the family was away on vacation.
  • Residents near Winona Road and Rahway complained to the Board of Health about this abandoned house on the corner:

Feral house at Winona and Rahway, Burlington MA 1972

 

These residents made the local news in June of ’72

Adele Nunno, Burlington MA Italy exchange student 1972
Adele Nunno embarks on a trip to Italy, part of the Community Ambassador program. She’ll spend the summer with an Italian family. Waving goodbye are Ed Doyle, Lucia Fulco, Gayle Rubin and Phil Young. Looks like the young ambassador is experiencing something less than a rush of excitement.

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6 thoughts on “A second Burlington mall? Hell yes!” Leave a comment ›

  1. Fun looking at all the photos…looking for people from the past. Also the sand pits…forgot about that. We have come a long way…for sure!
    Thanks for remembering the old Burlington!

    Reply

  4. Good old Mr Donut a chain long before Dunks. Better donuts too! I believe a Mr McNevin owned it a WW2 marine vet.

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  5. I have very good memories of that Mall. The original Barnes & Noble was in there next to Kotliars cards and gifts. I worked at B&N for a few years as a clerk and later as a night/weekend manager. Our crew closed the store down when the new larger store across from the Burlington Mall was ready to open.

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