Strip mall or shopping center I can’t tell

With the introduction of the automobile in the early 20th century it seems that the commercial districts that once thrived, have now started to decline due to the introduction of the drive in market. Unlike the commercial districts which could be found in town centers the drive in market is a shopping complex that can be found closer to the neighborhood that you live in. “With the market as its anchor tenant and a drug store as a major support, the neighborhood center was an integrated facility planned to meet the every day shoppers needs” (Longstreth 41). The new shopping ideal was partly fueled by the automobile. Most of the new drive in markets feature auto centers in which your car can be repaired or serviced while you shop at the adjacent stores.

One example of a drive in market was called Chapman Park. It was considered an area wide attraction. They used billboards to advertise, which during this time period was relatively unheard of. It contained three food stores, which each sold something different, and an additional eight store units which contained office and studio spaces. The ideal was to appeal to the masses by offering food outlets and specialty shops to draw customers in. It was also one of earliest drive in markets to first offer interior parking, which gave the customers easy access to the all the store fronts.

The Chapman Park was an early example of what we today see all over the country. Shopping centers like Fayetteville town square and Marketplace Outlet Mall are the Chapman Park’s of the present day. They offer a variety of shops, restaurants, and even grocery stores to appeal to the people who live in the areas that they serve. These new drive in markets in some areas have also replaced the large shopping malls that we have also come accustomed to visiting. This goes to show that bigger is not all ways better and that convenience is the key in the retail environment.