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| Photo, obviously, courtesy Westchester Historical Society |
So I told you about my drive home last night. Though I worried about the rain and how I was thrashed about as headed to Brunswick, the drive home was purely uneventful.
Hold that thought.
I made it out of Greenwich and climbed NY Route 120, connected with 22, and grabbed 128 at Armonk. I moved along 117 through Mount Kisco to Bedford Hills. I crawled along Cherry Street* and turned left on 35.
*"Crawled" is the right word. They don't like being a cut-through so there are speed bumps galore.
I merged onto 100 and floated onto 139 before driving US 202 to NY 118. I was so pleased that I stopped and picked up dinner in Baldwin Place.
By the way, does anyone call it Baldwin Place anymore? Baldwin Place is a hamlet in Somers, literally on the Westchester County line. The shopping center there is known as Somers Commons but no one my age can even think of that property without calling it the Baldwin Place Mall.
I know, this is a wild diversion, but hang with me. The Baldwin Place Mall was -- for a time -- our spot. It was part-indoor mall and part-outdoor shopping center. There was no true "anchor" store, if you will, though I suppose the grocery store (Pantry Pride or whatever it was at a given time) was the largest parcel on the site.
There was a men's store (Robert Hall) and shoes (Kinney) and a bakery and a Sears catalog store. Not a full store. Just a few showcase items and a counter to place catalog orders.
There was a dry cleaner there also but we're best to not discuss that due to the contamination that blew the whole thing up. Well, that and the proliferation of larger shopping enclaves in Danbury, Poughkeepsie, and White Plains. Most notably, and closer to home, the Jefferson Valley Mall opened in 1983 and fate was sealed for Baldwin Place.
Oh but back to the memories. The mall really did have a lot of things, including the fantastic Book and Record which was a store of, well, that. Books! Records! HEAVEN!
There was a Radio Shack and Joe's Pizza and a couple of women's stores to bore growing boys who then made sure to go to Book and Record.
There was a movie theater that became a roller skating rink (no shock: you didn't find me there often) and a steakhouse (The Bum Steer) and Nescott Drugs and Embassy which was, theoretically, a "five and dime." You know, a variety store.
Plus there was the Studio Deli, which my father liked. The hot dogs were tasty.
McDonald's was also nearby among other amenities.
Eventually "the mall" fell into disrepair and became an eyesore. That's why it's almost shopping that Somers Commons is there today. While you can still find signs that say "Baldwin Place" on them (and a post office...located in Mahopac) I often feel like nobody calls the actual location that anymore.
It felt like with the decline of the mall that the name became passé.
Maybe not.
Wow. Big digression there.
Anyway, I was going to tell you how I discovered some water in the basement last night and that I had a flat tire.
I counted my blessings. While annoying, I'm getting tires on Monday and I was able to reinflate for the moment. Let's face it, I got home. Let's start with being happy about that.
However, Brunswick has thrown a game on the calendar tomorrow and I have my booster scheduled (spare me the politics).
Oh, yeah, and the water. By this morning, I was standing in my robe vacuuming the small amount that was now a lot more. In fact, it was four-plus shop vac buckets full of more.
The balance of the day was consumed with a deposition where the witness didn't show up and menial tasks around the house. The rain, er, ice made it easy to just stay home.
That, and the tire.
Tomorrow's another day.
So much for a quiet weekend.
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| That was the Studio Deli at one time. |
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