Letter: Glendale Sears has been important to many locals’ lives over the years
Re: “Sears in Glendale to shutter after 85 years.”
As the neighborhood around Sears has changed, many have said it was time for Sears to go. The millennials and newcomers to Glendale have been envisioning a new modern building, possibly a mixed-use development with a nice bistro where one can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.
They will never know what the Sears building has meant to the longtime Glendale residents and their families who have been shopping there for the last 85 years. Sears in Glendale was the Amazon.com of its time. Before the opening of the Glendale Galleria in 1976, Sears was a one-stop shopping center for clothing to lawn mowers and the only place in town to buy your home appliances. They even had a refreshment stand that offered candies and drinks.
Sears truly offered a shopping experience for its time, and the many shoppers that have been in this Sears over the last 85 years will have a lasting memory or story about one of their many visits.
Over the last 20 years, the internet and corporate misdeeds started the demise of Sears, which caused the retailer to lose its focus on its customers and the shopping needs of the communities it serves. Change was inevitable, and we will have to wait and see what is to come with the Sears site in Glendale. The Galleria and the Americana will be 85 years old in 2061 and 2093 respectfully, and we can only speculate on how our world, Glendale and our way of shopping will have changed by then.
Ken Walsh
Eagle Rock