So did Raiders of the Lost Ark, the 1st Indiana Jones film.
Unfortunately, this was also a day when a baseball strike began.
Two days ago, the Brunswick Square Mall closed.
I can't say "the Brunswick Square Mall as I knew it," because that was over a long time ago.
It opened on April 5, 1973, at the intersection of New Jersey Route 18 and Rues Lane (County Route 617). The 1st anchor store, the New Jersey institution Bamberger's, had already been open since September 10, 1970. The new Mall opened with just 16 stores.
Among the few debut stores were Walden Books, pharmacy CVS, and clothing stores Jeans West and Chess King. Eventually, they would be joined by Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby Shop, McCrory's, Kinney Shoes, The GAP Store (the first one to open in New Jersey), record stores Sam Goody and Harmony Hut, Spencer Gifts (the oldest store left in the Mall at the end, but by then in its 5th different location), and many more tenants. JCPenney opened in the Autumn of that year, as the Mall's 2nd anchor store.
In the early days, the Mall had a tropical paradise-themed atmosphere, with many trees planted throughout the building, as well as fountains near the entrance. In 1975, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor opened as the Mall's 1st major restaurant tenant, following smaller stores such as Bun-n-Burger, Orange Julius, Bresler's Ice Cream (advertising themselves as having 33 flavors, as opposed to Baskin-Robbins' 31), and Hot Sam pretzels, where my mother worked for a time.
Farrell's was followed by a cheap steak place called the Highlander, replaced by a York Steak House. On the grounds, but not attached to the main building, there would be a British railroad-themed restaurant called Victoria Station, which was eventually replaced by an Olive Garden. The only major burger chain ever to call the Mall home was Roy Rogers.
Aside from shopping and eating, the Mall provided some amenities to keep the experience a satisfying one, such as the two-screen Brunswick Square Cinema, as well as its ever-popular arcade, Fun-N-Games. The Mall was basically the anchor for much of the Route 18 corridor.
I grew up a mile down the hill from the Mall. If I had back half the quarters I pumped into the arcade games at Fun-N-Games... I could probably afford dinner and a movie at a mall now.
In 1986, after just 13 years, the golden age came to an end, as far as I was concerned, when Bamberger's was absorbed by parent company Macy's. I was between my junior and senior years at East Brunswick High School, and the Mall was a convenient halfway point between school and home. If I left the Mall at sunset, the orange glow from the Bamberger's sign would match the color of the sky perfectly. But when that sign was replaced by a Macy's sign, lit up in white, the effect just wasn't the same.
On May 6, 1993, the two-screen Brunswick Square Cinema shut down after General Cinema Corporation decided not to renew its lease. It then became the five-screen Movies at the Brunswick Square. Also, that same year, Ruby Tuesday opened, replacing Farrell's. By that point, Fun-N-Games and Kay-Bee were also gone. If there were truly glory days at Brunswick Square, they were irrevocably over.
The Mall was built, owned and operated by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, based in Youngstown, Ohio. Edward DeBartolo Sr. owned the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, and his son Eddie owned the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
In 1996, the EJD Corporation was bought by the Simon Property Group, owned by brothers Melvin and Herbert Simon, who owned the NBA's Indiana Pacers. (As of April 5, 2022, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is still alive, but had to sell the 49ers to his sister, Denise DeBartolo York; while Herbert Simon is still alive, and the sole owner of the Pacers.)
In 1999, an expansion took place, which added eight extra screens to the movie theater that became Mega Movies. A third anchor store was added, which was Barnes & Noble, which was necessary, since both Walden Books and B. Dalton Bookseller had gone out of business. In 2000, the physical interior of the Mall was renovated, which added new flooring, new skylights, and a mini-food court that was formerly occupied by Kinney Shoes.
In 2011, Mega Movies was bought out by Starplex Cinemas, which has been bought out by AMC Theaters. This theater includes new recliner seating. Starplex was also the first movie theater in New Jersey to test out seats that would move along with the action of the film.
In 2013, a new entrance was added, which opened up a Panera Bread, Tilted Kilt, and GoWireless. In 2016, Ruby Tuesday closed, and in its place are the restaurants Bar Louie and Red Robin. Also, that same year, Simon Property Group sold the mall to WP Glimcher. Tilted Kilt -- a weak knockoff of Bennigan's Irish pub theme and Hooters' skimpy-outfits-on-the-waitresses theme -- was a victim of COVID, and was replaced by The Twisted Crab.
Brunswick Square was never a top-tier mall -- and not just because, as a single-level facility, it doesn't have a top tier. (Macy's has 3 floors, and Penney's 2, but the rest of the Mall, only 1.) It has never been the equal of Middlesex County's other 2 malls, Menlo Park in Edison and Woodbridge Center. But for people in East Brunswick, South River, Old Bridge, Spotswood, Monroe, North Brunswick and Milltown, it has been an inescapable part of public life for half a century.
In 2025, as more and more stores, including the restaurants Red Robin and Bar Louie, left due to rising rents, the Township of East Brunswick approved a plan to redesign the Mall, giving it a more open feel, with residential buildings on the grounds. A similar plan is currently under construction with the Monmouth Mall, 25 miles to the southeast in Eatontown.
Ironically, Monmouth, Menlo Park, and Garden State Plaza in Paramus all had that original idea, but each replaced it with a fully-enclosed mall. The idea is to give Brunswick Square a "downtown shopping district" feel. East Brunswick has never really had a downtown. It has a Main Street, but it's hardly a main street, the way it is further down for the Boroughs of Spotswood and Helmetta.
On January 10, 2026 -- 52 years, 9 months and 5 days after the complex as a whole opened -- the Mall's interior closed. The conversion is underway. During it, Macy's, JCPenney, Barnes & Noble, and the theater will remain open.
I'm reminded of the words of Kris Kristofferson, in his song "For the Good Times":
Don't look so sad.
I know it's over.
But life goes on
and this old world
will keep on turning.
Let's just be glad
we had some time
to spend together.
There's no need to watch
the bridges that we're burning.
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