Saying Goodbye to Lakeforest Mall: Honoring Its Enduring Legacy from Past to Present

As Lakeforest Mall’s time comes to a close, many are reminiscing about good times past at the mall.

After seeing one such post on twitter by Harry Lichtman, we asked if he’d like to write a little piece on Lakeforest and his pictures and he obliged:

Throughout my life, I have enjoyed visiting shopping malls. The stores, restaurants, decor, etc. Growing up in Montgomery County, the three main malls I went to were Westfield Montgomery, Lakeforest Mall, and the now-demolished White Flint Mall.

Though Montgomery Mall has always been my closest mall, my family would often visit Lakeforest from time to time. Back when I was a kid in the early 2000s, I loved the big play area in the middle of the mall near the main elevator. I also remember old stores like KB Toys, FYE, EB Games, Beyond Comics, Waldenbooks, and Sears, as well as Food Court restaurants like McDonald’s, Sbarro, Subway, and Panda Express.

Last month, my family and I visited Lakeforest one last time after hearing that the mall will be closing at the end of March. We took tons of pictures by various parts of the mall, including the four different colorful entrances: Blue Snowflake, Green Flower, Yellow Sun, and Red Leaf.

Most recently, I found an old SD card that had pictures of 11-year-old me posing by each of those entrances in the summer of 2007, so I figured that posting comparison pics on social media would be cool and show how much has changed in 15+ years.

While it is sad to another piece of my childhood disappear, I’ll never forget visiting Lakeforest Mall many times throughout my life. Thanks for the memories.