Liberty Tree

I am a child of the 80’s. Like so many of us, I came of age at the local mall. Liberty Tree Mall was the coolest of the cool.

It was anchored at one end by a local discount retailer called Ann & Hope, and at the other by local electronics legend Lechemere. It had three fountains and a large tree sculpture, and it was the place to be on a Friday night.

Ann & Hope sold everything, and they paid well. $6+ an hour kept fuel in my car through my college summers. Lechemere was a Boston phenomenon, the Jordan Marsh of electronics and appliances.

In the mid-80s the mall added a food court. It featured lots of carpet, blond wood, and plants in the best style of the time. There was a raised seating pavilion in the center. They sold everything and featured all of the big chains: Orange Julius, McDonalds, Sbarro pizza, plus Chinese and Indian food. It was amazing.

Time marches on. A&H and Lechemere are both gone. The fountains are gone. Even the RMV closed their doors and moved to someplace livelier. There is a Best Buy at one end. There is a Kohls and a Target, but they both open directly onto the parking lot.

I was there today. The food court shambles on, serving only no-name pizza. Even Dunkin Donuts has fled.

Bring on the bulldozers. Put it out of its misery and let it be reborn as The Shops At Liberty Tree or some such modern nonsense. My teenage memories don’t deserve this.