Frandor

The Frandor shopping center was built in the mid-fifties between Lansing and East Lansing, Michigan. It was a large and bustling retail center with a long L-shaped parade of stores and several freestanding operations. At various times there were two grocery stores (Wrigley's and Kroger), a large Sears, a 3-story bank, a beloved little independent cinema, a tiki bar (the Boom-Boom Room), an army surplus store, a hobby shop, two dimestores (Kresge's and Woolworth's), a drugstore, many clothing and shoe stores, and much, much more. Growing up in East Lansing, I knew the place well. Like many shopping centers, it took a hit when the malls arrived. During the 80s and 90s, Frandor went into a slow decline. In the late 90s, the place was transformed. Almost every store there now is new. Some outbuildings were leveled, and new ones added. The layout was altered, and the facades were all changed to coordinate. Saddest of all, this beauful old sign was cast off. During the time Frandor was being remade, I wrote to the owners imploring them to save the sign. I also wrote to a columnist at the Lansing paper asking him to write about the issue. He did -- in dismissive tones. Americans have a fetish for preserving old cars (and I'm glad). But we have a blind spot when it comes to historic signs and buildings. The new Frandor sign is an ugly piece of generic crap. But it's new (good), and the old one was, well, old (bad). Obviously, I have sentimental attachment to this sign, so I miss it. But signs like this all over the country are disappearing because so few people recognize their beauty and their significance.

Done