The Green Mountain Mall in St. Johnsbury has seen better days.
They lost their anchor tenant, JCPenney, about three years ago.
And there’s still a sign up for RadioShack, a company that filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
But for a few hours Monday, the mall parking lot was bustling like it was the week before Christmas, as people traveled from around the country to park in the lot and witness the total solar eclipse.
Gloria Kessler’s family decided weeks ago to travel somewhere to see the eclipse.
And in the days leading up to the big event, she was keeping a close watch on the weather reports around the country from her home in northern Virginia.
“We looked and we saw that the cloud cover was going to be minimal here, it was going to be more sunshine,” Kessler said. “And we considered Houston, and then Ohio, and then we thought this would be the best chance of getting to see it well.”
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The family had never done a camping trip before, and Kessler said when she imagined hitting the road with her family, she didn’t think their first night would be spent in a rental recreational vehicle in a cold shopping mall parking in Vermont.
“I think the next (eclipse) is going to be 17 years away, and we’ve always wanted to try traveling in an RV anyway,” Kessler said. “And so this seemed like a great opportunity. We could be flexible, you know, if the cloud cover was bad in one place. And so that’s how we ended up here.”
About a dozen families spent $60 each to park their RVs in the mall parking lot, and early in the morning Monday, day users began streaming in and paying $20 for their own spot.
By midday, the cars were lined up waiting while mall owner Mark Healy collected money and directed traffic.
Healy has been going before the local planning commission to rezone his property, and he said he’s got some big plans in the works to bring some life back to the Green Mountain Mall.
Find more of Vermont Public's solar eclipse coverage here
And Monday’s perfect alignment between the Earth, moon and sun marks what he hopes is a new chapter for the shopping center.
“It’s been a long celestial path,” Healy said. “The redevelopment has been as long as this eclipse people have been waiting for. But it is finally coming together and we’re excited to bring a vibrant place to the town of St. Johnsbury and the surrounding area of the Northeast Kingdom.”
As the day progressed and the eclipse drew near, the parking lot took on the feel of a part-tailgating event, part-Grateful Dead preshow party and part-science fair.
“It just seemed like a good organized place, you know, rather than trying to, you know, jam yourself into here or there, this has a nice feeling to it. So, um, yeah … Here we are in the great parking lot of St. Johnsbury."Jeff Beaudry, University of Southern Maine professor
Kids hula hooped and tossed footballs, while the adults played board games and toasted the approaching eclipse with prosecco and salami.
Jeff Beaudry is a professor at the University of Southern Maine, and he was there with a high powered telescope set up offering views to anyone who stopped by and asked.
Beaudry drove over from Maine, met up with some family in New Hampshire and rendezvoused with other family members who live in Vermont.
So for him, a wide open mall parking lot was the perfect place to set up a telescope, play with his grandkids and witness his first total solar eclipse.
“It just seemed like a good, organized place, you know, rather than trying to, you know, jam yourself into here or there, this has a nice feeling to it," Beaudry said. "So, um, yeah … Here we are in the great parking lot of St. Johnsbury."
As it turns out, a mall parking lot isn’t the best place to watch a solar eclipse.
The automatic overhead lights came on as the sky darkened, dulling the experience somewhat.
Still, for one brief afternoon, the Green Mountain Mall pulsated with excitement, energy and hope.
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