In the following section, we'll discuss a few -perhaps forgotten- facets of mid-20th century Americana. This was the so-called "baby boom" era, in which the shopping mall was born. 

TELEPHONE

Until the late 1970s, it was -in essence- illegal to physically own your phone. All hardware was provided, and possessed, by the respective phone company (there was but a single, major one back then). Everyone was charged a "rental fee" on their monthly bill for their standard, wall or Princess model.

The Princess Phone, marketed to the ladies, was introduced in 1959. On the left is the standard, rotary-dialing model. A more modern version, utilizing touch-tone telephony, is seen on the right.

Photo from Wikipedia / "Mcheath"

The phone you would have rented at your local shopping mall "Ma Bell" store would have utilized analogue "rotary-dialing." "Touch Tone" telephony first appeared in 1963 and did not become commonplace until the mid-1970s. The telephone answering machine was developed in the 1930s and perfected in the 1960s. However, such devices didn't come into prominence until the late 1970s. 

Oh yes, no one had a cellular phone until the mid-1980s, and these were large, clunky things...nothing like the super-miniaturized models of today. 

TELEVISION

Back in the vacuum tube era, tvs, radios and record players did not come on instantly after the "on" button was pressed. There would be a pause of a minute or two, while the set "warmed up." The "instant on" feature was something to "ooo" and "ahh" over, when "solid-state" (transistorized) televisions became popular in the early 1970s. By the mid-1970s, tube sets, and vacuum tube electronics in general, were quickly becoming a thing of the past. 

The self-service "Tube Tester" was a common fixture in the olden days shopping mall Safeway, Food Fair, or A & P. Back in the day, when the family set went on the blink, dad might open up the back and check for any tubes that looked too black. These would be removed and taken to the local grocery to be analyzed and -possibly- replaced.

Photo from www.tuberadios.com