<p>At one time, it boasted a bank, a movie theater, rental apartments and a bowling alley with a cocktail lounge complete with a band that did a respectable rendition of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.”</p><p>R-r-r-r-r-r-rowww!</p><p>Ford City Mall was something to roar about back in the day, indeed a tiny city of sorts dedicated to our love of buying stuff.</p><p>Like all shopping malls, it had plenty of A-list retailers over the years — most notably Wieboldt’s, JCPenney, Chas A. Stevens, Carson’s and Sears.</p><p>But it was the smaller shops that made it, offering everything from hymn books to hash pipes.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-3b0000" name="module-3b0000"></a> <div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Commentary bug</div> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Commentary</h2></div> </div><p>Candle shops, record stores, a place that just sold leather jackets and coats, a magic shop, a Christian bookstore and an underground clothing store fittingly called “The Nickel Bag.”</p><p>But now more than 60 years after it first opened, Ford City is scheduled to <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate/2026/05/15/ford-city-mall-southwest-side-judge-ordered-close-june-22" >close by June 22</a>. High noon, no less.</p><p>Yes, times change.
30d signal volume