Buckingham Square Mall

Buckingham Square was first announced in 1965 when The Denver Business Journal announced that the Joslins Department store chain planned to build a two million dollar store in a fifteen-acre site at Mississippi and Havana streets in Aurora Colorado. The developer Robert Hayutin proposed that the development would include major department stores as well as other retail, offices and restaurants. In late 1970 plans were also announced for The Aurora Mall on East Alameda and Exposition Avenue, which would soon become Buckingham Square's lifetime competitor. The Rocky Mountain News warned that Buckingham may eventually displace Aurora East Colfax and become Aurora's new downtown. Buckingham Square was sold as a 24-hour a day community where Aurora would live, work and shop. In November 1970 the first of two office buildings was started. Called Camelot I it was eight stories tall and was Aurora's first high rise. The buildings twin was finished in 1973 called Camelot II during this time the Sherwood Apartments were built on the north west side of the mall site. The mall itself opened on August 5, 1971 The building, designed by architects Kenneth Boyle and William Wilson of Overland Park, Kansas was expected to provide over 1,500 jobs for the community. The mall had the latest technology and elegances available at its opening including 4,000 parking places, living and artificial plants, fountains and acoustical plaster ceilings accented by walnut inlay. Additionally, the mall was climate controlled, allowing shoppers to browse the stores in seventy-two degree comfort. 
 The Lancelot Restaurant was in operation a full four months before the mall opened because Hayutin felt a fine restaurant to serve the residents of Village East should be a priority. The building itself, which stood in the parking lot west of the mall, featured a main dining room with seating for 200 people and a large fireplace as well as a separate lounge with leather furnishings and a second fireplace. This building went through several changes through the years including becoming a part of the Broker chain of fine restaurants in the 1980s and a Beau Jo's pizza in the 1990s. Eventually, the building was razed to make way for a McDonald's.
http://deadmalls.com/malls/buckingham_square_mall.html

The area southeast of Havana & Mississippi once had ambitions of being Aurora's downtown.  It was elegant and futuristic and climate-controlled. It was British-themed and you could listen to Scottish bagpipes and pretend you were in an English village shopping for a kilt before you stop off in The Lancelot for a spot of tea.

Today?  You could shop at Toys'R'Us or Petco, or pay your bill at Comcast before eating at McDonald's  The high-rise buildings are mostly empty, but just scored by getting the Guatemalan consulate to locate there.  The most exciting thing going on there today may be yogurt shop.  I'm sure people living 50 years ago thought the future would be more exciting than it is today.