Christown Spectrum — Attraction in Phoenix

It's a mall with an ongoing (generally poor) reputation as a joke with a current name no one actually uses. And the parking for the entire complex is a jambled, frantic nightmare concocted by the most diabolical evils ever spawned from the worst pit of darkness.

Christown Mall carries the bizarre mix of economic groups due to its location and the ongoing sprawl of gentrification in the area. It tends to carry a bit of everything and thanks to its big anchor tenants (Walmart, Costco and Target) it adds a measure of security to every store brave enough to open their doors here.

That doesn't mean your fave boutique has staying power so, if you have something you love here you better support it while you can. Because for everything that IS here, there's the signs of departed businesses that haunt it after they've perished or escaped.

For the record, everything I loved here moved to greener pastures and for one reason or another never came back. It used to be a very crime riddled area, but as the bigger stores moved in and the noted gentrifying began, it became a less scary place to visit.

However, it's not like the surrounding area has wholly changed. The mall and its surrounding area has fought long and hard for its "hood" status and it hasn't lost that membership card yet. So it's encouraged that you play it safe in this neighborhood. Lock your car doors, watch for creepers, etc. Just be careful, STAY IN THE LIGHT and practice frequent awareness of your environment.

Or just don't go here. Ever. It's a "popular" place compared to some of Phoenix's other malls like Metro center, but it's largely due to its centralized location and competing anchor tenants. That's really the only distinction as everything else is like most malls with businesses shutting down and often less enticing businesses taking their place.

Frankly, where our biggest successes in terms of "malls" comes in seems to be with our weird, outdoor malls that are more like monster strip malls.

Christown carries a lot of history within our fair firebird city and it has fought it was into moderate, sorta relevance, but unless you're strictly looking for a big chain you can find anywhere else then maybe look for...

Hello - friends of this mall from it's heyday may not be as satisfied with the inside of the mall as they are the outside. Noticeably apparently gone is Red Barron, whose video games, pinball machines and state of the art sit-down space adventures by Exidy and other manufacturers/developers are no where to be seen. They used to have a spin cycle racing game with real cycles attached. When yutes (youths) found out you could slam the top of it and receive free games (when they didn't exit or trespass you), their solution was to put nails through shipping tape standing on-end to teach the young ones using pain, what happens when you steal entertainment. Years later, kids pirated music and movies, which was much less painful for them and hurt a whole industry rather than their sensitive young paws. Makes you wonder what the moral of the story is. Anyway, go e as well is "Monkey Wards" and the deli and other stuff that we loved. The Gap and Orange Julius are gone and other places have appeared even where Radio Shack was. The highlight of the mall is a cool place to buy great dollar rings and also missing is the Barbizon School of Modeling, which taught female empowerment along with the perception that all women are smart and beautiful. This is the mall of the next generation, with a great chicken joint before you enter Wallmart from the inside of the mall (it has a giant Batman videogame in it) and accepts EBT cards as of this writing. Also delicious is the Chinese Buffet and Korean Barbecue with outstanding prices and very clean and delicious food (and the best ice cream of any buffet in town served in individual cups.) There is a Dollar Tree, a Movie Theatre, and it is a great place to bring the family and get reacquainted with and share memories with your family. Leave out the part where you had to walk 25 miles to get there in the snow barefoot. They will hardly believe Tony from Peter Piper Pizza used to sell Large Pepperoni pizzas for $3.99...and people used to think that was too high! :-) Have...

This mall has been around for as long as I can remember.... I definitely thought that Christown AKA Phoenix Spectrum mall would have been one of the 1st to go but it sure is hanging in there. A very thin string is what it hangs on to though. The atmosphere is very lonely and not very inviting. I'm pretty sure the Walmart is the only reason why Christown is still open. Very generic stores, no food court and lots of empty stores..... That being said, I visit this mall on a very frequent weekly basis. Everything I need is here so I only have to drive once and I'll get everything I need. You got your Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Ulta Beauty, GameStop, Super cut and I have got my hair cut here numerous times, Famous Footwear, Big 5, America's Best, 2 banks, Walgreens, Ross and Foot Locker among many more.... Outside, but in the same parking lot you also have Taco Bell, KFC, Carl's Jr and an All You Can Eat Buffet but I can't for the life of me remember it's name, Olive Garden, Phoenix Public Library and a big Park. For the most part it's an ok experience but it's in a not so good part of Phoenix so there is always something going on at any point of time. Lots of homeless and most of the stores struggle with high volumes of theft from the time they open till close. I used to work at this mall not to long ago and it's not a very safe establishment. But all the bad aside, as long as I mind my own business and go with the flow of traffic, I always make it home with no problems. Been hittin up Christown since I was a kid and now my grown kids are there all the time, I don't see this mall closing...