It's not the biggest or the brightest, but Auckland's now 60-year-old LynnMall, the country's first modern shopping mall, has a loyal community determined to keep it on the retail landscape.
And that's not just because it serves a community. In the eyes of many, it is a community.
"Society now is very fragmented," said retailer Andrew Yee, who has run a coffee shop in the West Auckland mall for a year.
"But if they come to a mall like this one - especially this one - it holds a lot of memories for people, and they can connect, and they belong."
A stunning example of belonging to the mall came from Karla Robertson, who showed us a newspaper clipping of her in a baby show at the mall in the 1970s.
"I didn't win because my mum said all I did was sleep through the final," she said. A few decades later, Karla Robertson is the marketing manager at LynnMall for its owners, Kiwi Property Group.
"It's quite surreal. And it's actually very cool," she told 1News.
The mall opened in 1963, touted as New Zealand's first American style shopping venue. Over the years it's upgraded its facilities with an adjoining dining precinct and cinema complex, but compared to Sylvia Park, another Kiwi Property Group mall, it's relatively humble in its scale.
That's just what some visitors like.
Keeping things regular
Karen Searle is a regular visitor.
"I've lived in this area for 64 years," she said. "So this is my mall. It's always been here for me." She liked the fact that the mall is a little quieter than some.
"You can usually hear yourself talk, which is not always what happens in some places," she said.
Another shopper, Gloria, echoed that sentiment.
"It's the most relaxing mall. I don't have streams of people to push through."
While most shops are familiar franchises to be seen in many malls, there are still one or two independently owned. The oldest is David Keefe Jewellers, established in 1971. Another local retail owner is Rahul Kumar, who runs a Kodak Express.
"I've been here almost 16 years now, and honestly, it's been a pleasure," he said.
His customers? "They have become a family to me."
Kiwi Property Group said the building of new housing in the area, and the focus on New Lynn as a transport hub, means a new generation of customers is building. And that may mean the mall could offer more than retail in the future.
"We could have offices. Could have residential," said marketing manager Karla Roberston. "We could have apartments."
One group has already made use of LynnMall in a different way. Eighty-year-old Fay Vizor set up a walking group 26 years ago. They have been allowed to meet inside the mall before the shops open for their early morning exercise.
"It's good because you can get out and you're not isolated. And you do meet other people and it's good for you.
"Then we go and have a hot chocolate," she added with a big grin.
On the week of the mall's 60th birthday, those keener on caffeine have had a treat - coffees could be bought for 1963 prices, at 35 cents a cup.
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