Bentley Mall — Attraction in Fairbanks

Considering small malls are dying out in the rest of the country, and that Fairbanks has winters that are a tad bit snowier and colder than most of the Lower 48 where indoor shopping is a delight, we're lucky to have it. If Fairbanks could support a big mall there'd be one, but even communities much larger than AK's second city are losing theirs, and that means that stores that have specialized in mall locations are antsy about expanding further. This is the land of the midnight sun, where most communities have a landing strip instead of a highway and run their homes off fuel tanks. Bentley Hall is a Godsend, if you view it from the right...

It's a small shopping center. It has a bit of everything you'd expect in a mall; but the stores inside are pretty high-quality. You have a Hot Topic; a Gamestop; Icing; 2 jewlery stores; a salon; and a Michael's attached.

Why 5 stars; you may ask? Upon entering; it might not seem much; but it's a lovely place for the community of Faribanks. They hold their holiday events here; they have flea markets here; some vote here. It is small; yes; but I find it to be a quaint shopping center that's very clean and quiet; and the Safeway attached...

The locals call this place "the hallway" because that's literally all there is. The good news is that there is a Michaels in town. The bad news is that Michaels and Safeway are the anchor stores. Otherwise, you have icing and like American Eagle to shop, which is convenient when you are talking 6 hours to the next closest mall. No food court. It's not really a mall by Lower 48 standards, but it does the job. They always do a Halloween thing for the kids, which is fun since it's freezing cold outside...