January 8, 2008
Adieu Buckingham Square Mall, Aurora Colorado
The demise of the classic Buckingham Square Mall at Mississippi and Havana in Aurora has begun. The mall, active from 1971 to 2007, has started demolition to make room for a new flavor urban mixture of retail and town homes called “The Gardens on Havana,” a public gathering place.
Many fond youth memories do I have at Buckingham, one of them being the 2 green tube waterslides placed upon the roof of the old Safeway store. They were the HydroTubes! I spent countless hours climbing up the yellow metal stairs listening to “Drive” by The Cars before sliding in a loop-de-loop whilst banging my head on the sides of the tubes and plummeting semi-conscious into the pool below, a childhood adventure. The waterslide stayed open for less than a year. There was Mile High Comics also. Sweet Mile High Comics… And God Fathers Pizza if I recall.
There are a lot of Pumpkin Lord James’ images in the official memory book of the mall. He’s a dead mall historian. Here are his pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76967529@N00/sets/72157594364548505/
The demolition ceremony/celebration was fun. The Aurora Sentinel newspaper interviewed Pumpkin Lord James. The media scrum was there. As was I, a reprehensive of radhole. The Overland High School choir performed. The mayor of Aurora, Ed Tauer, was there.
Buckingham Square Mall Demolition Celebration
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
1306 South Havana
Aurora, Colorado 80012