A Very Dead Mall Christmas | Retail Archaeology

[@DMS-pq8]

I can remember back around Christmas time in the 80s and even the 90s when my local mall would be so crowded you could barely move through it

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Florida Mall in 2008 would be so packed, you could not get a open parking spot! 2018 it was about a 40% drop in holiday consumer shops, mall traffic. Orlando Florida

[@ijustdidahugeshit]

@@DavidLLambertmobile I am an alcoholic

[@nicholasshade]

@@ijustdidahugeshit that's ok. Just don't stop doing things like Dancing with Poop. 💩 Don't stop watching awesome things like The Dead Mall Series. Don't stop watching the kind of things I love to watch like this. Don't stop commenting and replying. Love and light from Oklahoma.♏

[@ijustdidahugeshit]

@@nicholasshade Thank you. I plan to.

[@w.s.mcgallis7731]

And people would be smoking on the concourse..... At least in Michigan.

[@Akotski-ys9rr]

Santa Claus is like “this is the easiest shift I’ve ever had”

[@GreenAppelPie]

But when you’re not busy, time passes so slowly

[@nickmoney]

You've never worked retail, have you? When it's slow and nothing to do, it's worse because space-time contium some how drags like it's been Armstrong. When you're busy and have a lot to do then you don't even know your shift is over.

[@SockyNoob]

@@nickmoney yup!

[@nickmoney]

@@SockyNoob Busy retail employees thought at 10 pm after getting home after busy day......"I think I forgot to eat anything today" or look down at watch on a slow day and see how long you have left and see you've only been there for barely two hours.

[@nickhill8612]

@@pedanticmrpender Bad Santa

[@Negative13Prod]

Even non-dead malls don’t seem to decorate like they use to.

[@halo12345678ful]

I agree

[@craigbenting687]

I think it's because all malls are dying, and have been for at least five years. The only exceptions are really the ultra elite malls that cater to high income people. Almost every "outlet"/discount mall is suffering massively, *except* the ones that cater to international tourists. I know of plenty of Europeans and Chinese who flock to them for the discounts, and usually the main purpose of their trips is that shopping. Americans buy from Amazon and eBay sellers these days.

[@PikaChu-to7pj]

Well you have people who don't like the religion that holidays come from and the people who complain that they have a hoilday that the US does not celebrate. Also the easily offended people who will sue the mall for some dumb reason of the imagination.

[@IaconDawnshire]

Doesn't help when they're putting up decorations earlier and earlier every year.

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

After ten years of dead malls phenomenon, they finally gave up the fight.

[@TheStoneWhisperer]

It is crazy to see how much decorating time got put into that last mall and yet nobody is visiting Santa. Kinda sad... :(

[@HighOnLife1985]

I know. Trying so hard to make something possible when it's all a fantasy in the end

[@Johnnyy832]

Probably due to covid

[@SSubZero]

My young daughter learned to walk at a dead mall. It had clean floors, a few three-step stairs to practice, and the sparse population meant we had huge swaths of the place to ourselves. The guy at the Pretzelmaker was always happy to see us and gave us extra food. Broke my heart when it finally closed and they started demolishing it.

[@chickpea]

The amount of dedication of decorating such a place

[@BillysMom]

I think malls are decorated by special decorators hired by the mall management.

[@DeanStrickson]

You know what Arizona mall isn’t dead? Arrowhead! I had to go there yesterday to get a pizza I’d ordered, and it was insanely busy. It was like I’d traveled back in time to the 1990s.

[@jaubuchon28]

Nypd?

[@ZanDogg]

Sbarros?

[@piroshk1968]

Arrowhead is probably one of the best of the ones in the area.

[@DeanStrickson]

@@jaubuchon28 Nope, they have a Fired Pie there now.

[@jaubuchon28]

@@DeanStrickson well shoot I live 5 minutes away and had no idea lol

[@TominoCabana]

For everyone reading this, have a merry Christmas and a great 2021

[@Karemaker]

thanks, you too. 2020 has been a tough year.

[@Shannon_Vlogs]

Thanks! You too!

[@GreenAppelPie]

Back at you, I’m so glad to be home for a change

[@OtterloopB]

Woo! It's gonna get worse!

[@TheRalphie2020]

Thank you! You too!

[@Tara4753]

I live in Long Island NY. We have a dead “mall” called the Sunvet Mall. It was a dying mall in the 90’s and it’s still open. They have the funniest Twitter ever. You should check it out.

[@TheRalphie2020]

It’s hilarious! Thanks for that!😆

[@SockyNoob]

@@TheRalphie2020 agreed

[@Menaceblue3]

@@TheRalphie2020 I doubt that it's a official account. Nonetheless it's still funny as frick!😁

[@R32R38]

I'm not too far from Sunvet and it's definitely in bad shape. Though it's better off than the former Kmart plaza in Sayville. That's depressing just to look at. At least Smith Haven Mall is doing well.

[@TheRalphie2020]

@@Menaceblue3 I know right! 🤣

[@Shannon_Vlogs]

I like that you gave them props for their decorations. They do look nice

[@qcriderbrandon9047]

Its crazy to think that when I was younger, I had to wait hours to meet Santa at Superstition Springs Mall!

[@Karemaker]

I have fond memories of going to the mall with my Mom when I was a kid and Christmas was coming. She would take each of my siblings on a different day to buy gifts for the other family members. Mall's are actually doing well where I live in Canada, and every time I go in one of ours I get that same nostalgic feeling. It always feels like I'm back in the 90's when I'm in a mall, lol. They just have that same timeless quality, does anyone agree? I hope we never entirely lose physical shopping (as opposed to online shopping). It's important that we as a society retain some traditions and social interaction I believe.

[@katec9893]

I feel the same way, when I visit malls it feels like I'm back in the 90s. It doesn't feel good to me though, as I remember the 90s to be a time of hope and prosperity and good fortune and I used to feel so excited going shopping there with my mum. Now I remember that I'm an adult and that society is going through some very dark times. It's good that malls are still doing well in Canada. I agree that it would be tragic to lose physical shopping.

[@flyjum]

I went to superstition springs mall recently for the first time in a long while and I am very surprised at how nice it actually looks. Its not that extreme modern look a lot of places go for these days but it feels more cozy tbh. Also it was super busy especially the food court. The japanese place had a line with like 20+ people in it.

[@eabcool]

i swear it doesn't seem that long since Paradise Valley was a bustling mall, and there's tons of stores around it that are doing well.

[@masterofthemash5310]

the one thing i def enjoyed about malls was the christmas decorations esp the big treee

[@BigSlotter]

great video! One difference with Paradise Valley Mall is that Macerich has purposely been killing it for the past decade. Not that it was what it used to be or would be, but it would be on par today with Superstition- moderately busy with a decent amount of national retail and some mom and pops. They had started planning a redevelopment and de-leasing of the mall, as in not leasing long term to any new tenants or renewing the existing ones by more than a year at a time. That would allow them to do their new plan of an outdoor mall like Kierland, Scottsdale Quarter, etc. Can't do that with retailers with long term leases in the way. The problem though is they started focusing on the high performing malls and PV was kind of forgotten about and deteriorated quickly with no new retail coming in, and the existing retailers didn't update their stores if they were still open. It looks like finally that plan will be starting in the next year. Getting Dillards and Chompies out of the way will allow them to start on the east phase and work from there. I have seen the plan and it looks pretty neat, will be exciting to see some progress finally there.

[@jaquitavulpix3418]

As a European, I already think these meet and greet-santa-photo-things are kinda weird, but seeing it in a dead mall during a pandemic takes it to a whole new level of weird American consumerist culture. Thanks for covering this, I've kinda been binging your channel the last few days. American retail is really fascinating to me.

[@greenelephant6539]

As an American, I'm fascinated with European consumerism. The US is a weird, confusing place.

[@IP0Monsturd]

I visited the Mall in my town yesterday. Our mall Santa was wearing a full plexiglass face shield. A whole new level of weirdness.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

Apparently it's a thing in Canada as well according to my partner.

[@chocolatechipslime]

I wish there was a European mall version of this, I’d definitely watch that.

[@Vlad2319]

America is pretty much most early 2000s dystopian movies by now. NGL

[@INWMI]

the morbid pleasure of watching the 70-90's temples of consumption crumbling, great video, cheers from Spain

[@INWMI]

​@@cornstar1253 sadly is our reality i don't know where are we going with this changes, nothing remains thats for sure. In the future something completly different will come for Amazon style of shopping. Because i don't think anything makes a come back, i don't see horse charriots on the streets anymore for example, i can't see what will be but even online shopping is a temporary thing. Newer generations socialice different now, in a way older can't understand at all.

[@utharkruna1116]

The one mall near me is rather sad when it comes to decorating. The little they've put up is so old and sunbleached.

[@paulknight532]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Birmingham UK, look forward to more great videos next year.

[@warj.3577]

I really like how you're periodically covering Paradise Valley Mall! It's like something of a case study of dead malls, with having video of it every year or two.

[@Ram-2112]

Superstition Springs was my mall to go to on weekends back in the early 2000's happy to see its still doing okay as far as malls are concerned.

[@AsrielDreemurr56]

Hurts to know Superstition Springs is dying, I grew up out in Gold Canyon and this was the mall we went to

[@mstiefan6996]

You have feel sorry for those mall Santas. One on hand, no shrieking, restless, crying children, but on the other hand...when that's part of the job... I honestly feel this might be the last Christmas for a lot of malls across the country.

[@gordontaylor2815]

Mall Santas are going to be an endangered species soon, no two ways about it.

[@arbutuswatcher]

Back in the early 1990's, I worked two different jobs, at one of our local malls - Radio Shack (1991) & Bergner's (1993). The mall scene was so different then. More families, busy stores, & people smiling... More than 25-years have passed, and both of my former employers are history. Well, Radio Shack seems to still exist through a few Dealership/Franchise stores which remain, as well as the 'Express' Stores inside select HobbyTown locations - still a shadow of their former self. Bergner's was a seasonal job, during the Christmas Holiday. I 'wore' several hats, while working there. I worked Floor Sales (Domestics & Housewares, China/Bridal Registry, & Children's Wear), Customer Service... as in the guy that carried-out the 6-10-piece Samsonite Luggage sets to the customer's car in the parking lot, Building Maintenance (changing-out light bulbs, cleaning-out the trash compactor, etc...), and my favorite.... dressing-up as Tyler Ted - a big Teddy Bear, with glasses & blue bib overalls. As Tyler Ted, my job was to greet parents & kids in our store, give-out candy, and occasionally give a big (but gentle) bear hug or too - just no talking. We had a mall entrance, directly across from Santa’s Little Village & his line of patiently waiting children. During one interesting occasion, I was walking by our mall entrance, and a number of little kids saw me. They left Santa's line, and ran over to get candy & hugs from Tyler Ted. One little girl (probably 3 or 4 years-old) hung-on tight, and her mom decided it was a good opportunity to take a picture. Apparently, Santa was more than curious, why some of his ‘customers’ were leaving his line in haste. He actually got out of his big chair & looked over just to see what the big ‘draw’ was. Who knew kids loved a big soft teddy bear (with candy), over a bearded guy in a red suit? My only complaint was how hot the bear suit was to walk around in. About every 20-30 minutes, I had to take a break, if nothing else than to take the bear head off in our break room, so I could breathe & get some fresh air. Oh, and I found it safer to take the elevator over the escalator, when going between floors. Furry paws tend to get caught at the base of the escalator, or so I was told! :o

[@Nickotron]

I would love to buy some of those Christmas decorations from Metrocenter Mall. Sadly I don’t live in Arizona. 😥

[@stetson999]

Best Christmas Special ever.

[@JHamilton791]

These vids are like a train wreck, it's kind of depressing and yet I can't take my eyes off of it.

[@darktetsuya]

wow honestly did not expect the cameo appearance at the beginning! riggs does some great retro stuff though highly recommended!

[@crowmigration8245]

The last one has an Orange Julius. Not even close to dead.

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

Orange Julius still open means the mall still has the pulse?

[@crowmigration8245]

@@thanakonpraepanich4284 they are rare, must be doing something right.

[@jamesbraun9842]

I think it's good they are still having decorating for the holidays

[@onewaydk]

I just recently moved to TN from Mesa. I too grew up in Superstion Springs Mall. Every black Friday and Christmas season I have shopped here for 32 years. This of course is the first one I cant now having moved out of state. It truly is sad to me to miss the decor. Thanks for posting this as it some how oddly made my Christmas a little better and more complete even though I still miss it so much.

[@1MHCS]

Major props to the employees who are setting up decorations in that first mall. I mean like why bother if nobody is coming in? But they still clearly put a lot of effort into it.

[@thejuiceisloose]

Eating knish from Chompies is one of my favorite things. Hope they find a lot of success in the new stand-alone.

[@TallyWackaTha2nd]

Bro who decorated this I feel upset for them

[@thecommenter578]

They better at least got they paycheck in time

[@jazzypire9953]

I remembered you cover the Prescott gate way mall not too long ago. I was just in that mall the other day. And was surprised to see it decorated for Christmas. They even had the big fireplace going. A few people in the food court and shopping.

[@lo1bo2]

That was a surprise name drop of John Riggs at the end. Like when you realize two of your friends already know each other.

[@ThomasPurcell]

The weekend before Christmas these malls used to be shoulder to shoulder when I first lived here in the 90's. Tragic.

[@jtlovescodelyoko]

Erik Thank You the fantastic content this year, your channel and many KZbinr have help me though during this awful year when I have been mostly at home, So I wish you and Your Family A Safe and Healthy Christmas, and I can't wait for More Retail Archaeology Content in 2021.

[@Moonbeam143]

It was always nice to see the mall decked out in Christmas stuff.

[@adrianmontelongo9707]

Beautiful Christmas decorations in dead shopping mall. It beautiful good shape in the mall, don't look like dead mall.

[@chickendog3042]

I loved PV mall I grow up there and I have a lot of memories there.

[@TheStoneWhisperer]

Merry Christmas to you too! Glad to see you squeezed out one more retail mall therapy before Christmas! We'll see you next year! 😘🙏

[@fouresterofthetrees287]

Approximately 1/2 of a mall in a neighboring town was converted into a charter school last year. Other ideas:. Senior living center with attached doctor offices and hospital annex or a community recreation center.

[@Silvafootfamily525]

Merry Christmas to you and your family as well.

[@slarson8044]

It’s so sad to see these malls dying. Maybe they just built too many of them. In my area outside of Philadelphia, Pa, a few of the largest malls will survive. Thank you for sharing such great videos. I wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday.

[@JacksonShredder138]

I used to work as a mall security guard for a macerich owned mall in Modesto CA . Back in the mid to late 90's It was called Vintage Faire Mall its also dying . Paradise valley has that macerich look just like vintage faire the tile and the poinsettias.

[@matthewschoerverth4566]

Hello. I have watch this dead malls of the south states this year. I love your experiences in a dead mall. Keep working on it in 2021.

[@kevlarandchrome]

The Christmas special was nice. Merry Christmas to you and your's.

[@FelineSublime]

So happy not only did you start with PV Mall, but at the old Luby's entrance on the east side facing Tatum. This was the entrance we almost always came in from unless we were seeing a movie or coming in with friends and hitting the food court first. Christmas in the 90s was an event at this place, and the decorations now are a shadow of what they once were some 20-30 years ago. They would hang lush pine garlands across the corridors with red and silver (likely plastic) bells and ornaments along with wreaths and giant ponderosa pine cones as big as footballs. The photos with Santa setup was at the JCPenny's side well across the mall, and the donations tree was in the atrium where you'd split off between Sears and the Food Court, then head west for Penny's. Of all the shops, I think Dillard's went the most all out for their in store holiday decor. The two book stores, Kay Bee's and Hobby Bench were regular stops back then.

[@KhurtKhave669]

They're on the third auction for Metrocenter and they haven't put any of the Christmas stuff up yet!?!? I might score the Santa playing card or the giant viewmaster if they put them up. Thanks for making the vid and reminding me!

[@crj198]

Do you know who to contact about purchasing the decorations. I'd love those penguins and polar bears!

[@RetailArchaeology]

They're already sold, that portion of the fixture auction was a few weeks ago.

[@crj198]

@@RetailArchaeology Rats! Thanks for the update. Always love watching your videos. Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year!

[@anitarichmond8930]

Thanks for this,I was a mall rat in the 80th & it's sad to see what's become of should a beloved place. 🛍

[@berniecolling3697]

I use to love Paradise Valley Mall

[@kittikoko]

Enjoy your well-deserved break - thank you for another amazing year of content. 💙

[@Vic_Coco]

I found your channel randomly yesterday and have been watching your videos nonstop! Your voice is great and calming and it’s great to watch at work as background noise and learning fun and cool things. Wish you’d come to the east coast more! We have tons of abandoned malls especially in New York and tri-state area

[@DarkMachineNation]

I'm just finding all your videos now, I love it. I love seeing malls during christmas, I'm a sucker for cheesy decor. Keep up the good content!

[@alponca5943]

Thanks for making the time and filming all the footage on the Malls, however it is so very sad seeing how most Malls are decaying! Earlier in my life I will wonder how and abandoned ruin got to that point but watching all these gives you some kind of perspective. It will be interesting to see what the Retail Landscape is going to look like a decade from now. Great job with all the videos Mister!

[@KezFromAus]

Merry Christmas from western Australia! Thank you for some great entertainment throughout the year!

[@Jojosiiwa]

I feel like you made this video just for me. I lived in Phoenix as a kid and this was my mall. I now live in Buffalo. Thanks for the memories.

[@Ozzy_2014]

Thanks for sharing the ghists of xmas's past.

[@CodyKloepfer]

I knew the voiceover from the introduction sounded familiar! I live in Yakima, WA! Wow, it’s a small world.

[@PepperTreeVilla]

It’s all so surreal. The trees for sale at the Metrocenter Liquidation is something we would like at PTV. It would be an awesome addition to our Christmas Forest.

[@NikateeN]

It’s sad to see so many dead malls. I live near Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento and surprisingly it’s still always busy, despite the pandemic, multiple shootings, and online shopping taking over. With that being said, 5 minutes in the other direction you have Country Club Mall which has been slowly dying for the last 20 years.

[@daveerhardt1879]

Hope you have a Merry Christmas too! I used to live in Phoenix back in the 80's but I still have memories of Metro Center. My wife and I watched Tootsie at their movie theater back in 1982. Enjoy your videos.

[@SLone3251]

Love your vids and am happy to have seen your channel grow this year; to bigger things ahead and even greater expansion! 🥂

[@tylerbrunton7696]

LED Christmas lights have fuses in the plug head. New strings usually come with a couple extra fuses. Look for a sliding panel or some such thing on the plug, open it up and easily swap the burned out fuse.

[@Cristini8]

I loved seeing those old Christmas decorations! They are so huge!!!

[@TralfazConstruction]

These were the de facto town squares of their day. Twenty or thirty years ago it wasn't difficult to spend many hours at the mall. I miss those times as do many who remember.

[@JonnyMac420]

Nostalgia: Christmas at the mall

[@jopat87]

2:31 “Perhaps The Croods 2 or Freaky has dollar tickets or something.” Lol King of Wishful Thinking. And don’t even get me started on HBO Max Wonder Woman.

[@Lameashellcosplay]

@the cutest snail there's just something fun about going to a movie theatre with friends, even if streaming is easier and cheaper

[@cyberi4a]

The decorations at the first mall were very nice, and I would have wanted all those large Christmas props at the closed mall.

[@johnmurphy9127]

I first started watching Dan Bell, then Sal Amadeo and that led me onto you and TBH I enjoy your escapades the best! Many thanks ;)

[@sonicmoremusic1]

Great video, loved all of those old Christmas decorations at the closed Metrocenter Mall. Merry Christmas Erik to you and the family! Joe and Ben Orillia, Ontario, Canada

[@mrbiggz8526]

The best Christmas vibes and decorations in the 80z was christown mall , it was so beautiful and luxurious.

[@DoomPlague]

I watch a lot of dead mall videos, including this channel, and a lot of retro gaming videos, including John Riggs. I feel like my worlds are colliding.

[@SenileOtaku]

11:20 Makes me think of what could be an interesting song or band name: "Dead Mall Santa".

[@SRW_]

Merry christmas retail archeology. Stay safe

[@SuV33358]

Ha!!! Lots more dead than malls at Christmas time in the 1980s, when life was so much better.

[@nicholasshade]

I love the floor. I love the tilework.♏

[@actipton80]

My local mall didn't put up their big tree out front this year. They used the same red and silver Santa photo set that they have used the last couple years, but they didn't hang the moon, stars, or twinkly green lights from the ceiling. They didn't hang any of the other ceiling greenery or lights this year either. I went over a couple weeks ago just to get out of the house, and there was not a line to see Santa at all.

[@tylarrolnik2932]

You should do an updated video closer to Christmas... I was just at Superstition yesterday 12/19/2020 and almost every store had a line out front to get in. It was fantastic made me feel like it was the 90’s all over again people everywhere!

[@comancheviperrrr]

I would love to have all the playing card decorations and the Santa chair. That would just be awesome. I was trying to find when they were going up for sale online. I did find result of the fixture auction from December 4. That was when they sold the cave he signs and the Cinnabon along with benches and trash cans and track lighting from the spencers. Stuff like that. I just can’t find any listings for the Christmas decorations.

[@UnwrittenSpade]

They cards the wagon and a few other of the “large” objects were so cool

[@alexthetiger7806]

Waited for Christmas to watch this one. Merry Christmas, Erik, and everyone else watching here 💙

[@SHUPIRATE1991]

Happy holidays, merry Christmas to you at retail archaeology ! I really enjoy all your videos. John Riggs is the man, I have followed him on KZbin for years. Thanks for all you do. Happy new year!

[@garydedderson4988]

I go to Target tonight and as I'm leaving I look through the grates into the mall that was. It is a Dead Mall Christmas

[@SweetAshori]

That giant ViewMaster had me squealing. I knew that I could never get it (and by the time I'm seeing it now with the video, I'm sure it already sold), but man... it looked so neat!

[@breeslilcorner]

Have a great holiday RA! Its nice to see the malls go all out for Christmas decorations. I plan to visit my mall after Christmas to see if the after Christmas sales bring in the customers.

[@herbiethekat3637]

I worked in malls 90s-2006. It’s so sad. I loved it. It was crazy and tiring but I miss malls.

[@ryannt]

I love love love dead mall. It's good for a stroll

[@robfreedman6496]

Huge bummer to see PV Mall like this and I remember back in the 90s there use to be a long line to see Santa.

[@zugdarr]

I love that you review the malls in MY STATE! I actually went and visited the Prescott mall because of your review. Unfortunately I live next to PV mall, that thing's been dead for years, just wondering when they'll raze it.

[@crashercrusher]

The new Chompies is going to be on 32nd street and Cactus

[@rogambite]

i'm sad for the Santa just hanging about

[@behindthesea7143]

Eh, Santa’s make some big bucks lol. He might be thrilled to get paid for just sitting around

[@jessebeeghly3608]

I remember going into the Macys at my local mall as a kid. And the decorations were always so cool. Sadly Macys left and the mall only has about 6 stores left in a two story mall.

[@mshollydolly2013]

I was gonna say Dang! No fiesta huh? But then I remembered it’s closed 😔 I love your vids! Especially the thrift store visits!

[@cazman2580]

i was in scottsdale for thanksgiving ( live in chicagoland now)..fashion square seemed lively..the dazzle was nice...went to superstition had some traffic...not like the mid 90"s when i lived nearby...great videos...thanks and merry christmas to all...

[@PikaChu-to7pj]

Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year! To you too!🎄

[@thomasball3658]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,I really like your channel it brings back memories of the glory days of the mall concept,great job.

[@bentstrider]

Actually thought the announcer at the end and beginning was archived footage. That dude's awesome!! I definitely would've grabbed some of those penguins!!