The Bazaar of All Nations in Clifton Heights Documentary

Glad to see this finally came online. I've been following it on Facebook now for a few months.

By Matt Hasson

Town Talk Correspondent

For three decades, the Bazaar of All Nations was a sprawling retail and entertainment mecca, a familiar place to shop, eat, attend a movie or play miniature golf. The landmark, prototypical shopping mall on Baltimore Pike in Clifton Heights closed in 1993 and was later replaced by a Home Depot and sporting goods store.

  But every Delaware Countian remembers The Bazaar. It opened on Nov. 8, 1960, and closed at the end of 1993.

  The Bazaar’s long tenure was not well documented until three young film-makers embarked on a documentary. Co-producers, Delco natives Patrick Manley and Brendan O’Riordan, joined forces with cinematographer/director Melissa Whiteley, of White Lyte Productions in Trenton, N.J.

  The idea was conceived when Manley reflected that there was no real documentation of the Bazaar. He and O’Riordan, members of Monsignor Bonner High School’s Class of 1995, embarked on the project and enlisted Whitley to direct, shoot and edit film footage.

  “The general theme is that if you can’t find it at the Bazaar, you’re not going to find it,” O’Riordan said.

   O’Riordan, a resident of Media, is doing much of the research to drive the documentary.

   “My expertise is being able to retain and recall information,” O’Riordan said. “We’d like this to be the definitive source of information about the Bazaar, all in one place.”

   Gathering facts, photos and first-hand recollections of the Bazaar is a daunting but rewarding task.

  “There are certain touchstone events that occurred in the Bazaar’s 33-year existence,” O’Riordan said. “It’s taking pieces of the interviews and dropping them into place.”

  Manley spoke of the challenge of including a wealth of material in the documentary.
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My wife and I lived at 5309 Delmar Rd directly across from the Bazaar for a few years and watched it being torn down. i videotaped some of the demolition, but have yet to find it. If your on Facebook, you can become a fan of the Bazaar of all Nations and view the video here. I remember the soft pretzels (Bernies), the haircuts as a kid, the sporting goods store (Herman's)? Hell the army/Navy store where I was bought my first parka, and the list goes on and on.

I miss the place, now occupied by The Home Depot and the "new" Acme.

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