A Visit to Oglethorpe Mall

[@wanderinggentile]

Savannah Mall has one factor that is necessary besides the best location in the city: Savannah's climate. It gets to 100° in the summer with 412% humidity for 5 straight months. Cooled down to 72°, that's motive enough to go.

[@Mapmaker1559]

Man it's rare to see a thriving mall with nice aesthetics these days. Wish more mall developers would follow suit. Minimalism is not the way to go. Awesome video!

[@chm9935]

Mall developers like the interiors of their malls to resemble hospitals these days : (

[@ms.zelman3032]

@@chm9935 Yeah I know. Tell me about it. Here in Montreal, Quebec, they renovated the Montreal Eaton Centre and it looks like a hospital hallway. I am so mad that they destroyed the old architecture and aesthetics of this mall. I want to cry.

[@chm9935]

@@ms.zelman3032 deptford mall in nj another one that has had all its character removed from it. Now its white and gray tile and no fountains. It looks antiseptic

[@ms.zelman3032]

@@chm9935 That sucks.

[@darrylpeake2998]

We have been too this mall when we were on vacation as my wife is a mall freak and we enjoyed it. ---We are from Va Beach and we enjoy Lynnhaven Mall as it’s now the best mall we have. They keep it clean and basically full of stories being a good variety. We enjoy the assortment of rest

[@RubiconRunner]

Skylights and fountains are absolutely stunning. Gorgeous mall.

[@adamcaracci8726]

As a native Savannahian, here are a couple thoughts. 1) The Oglethorpe Mall succeeded because its lineup was more middle of the road and the location was convenient. 2) The mall has lost bigger names like Gap, Starbucks, Aldo, Nine West, etc. However, most of those were corporate downsizings, and Starbucks moved across the street to gain a drive-thru. 3) The section of mall that was the '74 addition is roughly the area around Hollister. The '82 addition is everything that zig zags from past Hollister / Buckle down to Penny's. The original entrance to Levy's is where the corridor turns by Penny's. Everything from H&M down to the Macy's court was built out of Levy's/Mass Brothers/Jordan Marsh. The Macy's court and Macy's itself were added in '92. 4) The KZbin channel Southpaw Frizzell has a great montage of historic photos from the mall including renovations and additions. Southpaw Frizzell also has a lot of old Savannah television commercials, many of which feature vintage commercials for Oglethorpe Mall, Savannah Mall, and their respective shops. Let me know if you want the links.

[@TheNewgreatlife]

Please comment any links about commercials for Savannah Mall that you can find. Thank you so much in advance. I remember the ‘90s and early 2000s commercials very well but haven’t found any other than one from 1991 featuring Body Shop and Jarrods.

[@scottusry]

i can remember in 1970 i was so bored with my mom at belks i walked out and walked all around the mall all the way to where sears was at, mom freaked out and people looking for me, i showed back up and all ended well, 2023 i retraced that day of adventure at 57 years old now and still remember that day

[@CoolCatProductions-365]

This is nice aesthetic pleasing mall that has a vibrant environment. No wonder this place is thriving.

[@TheRedDevil_NC]

Love these videos. Hopefully you will never be stopped!!

[@TheNewgreatlife]

As someone who grew up coming here and still visits often, what I can say keeps me coming back is one the lineup of stores is just awesome. Oglethorpe Mall has ALL of the big-name mid-market stores you’d want to see in a mall. The only exception may be rue21 (if you consider that a big name). Second, it is very convenient to in-town Savannah. Lastly, it has always felt vibrant. That energy definitely makes a difference in wanting to come to a mall. You’ll never feel depressed here like you can easily get at Savannah Mall.

[@jasoncinema]

I grew up in Savannah and lived there from 1987-2009, and just a slight correction - Piggly Wiggly was LONG closed by even the late ‘80s. The mall gutted prior store space for the new food court space. And I have a vivid memory of trick or treating in the mall in 1989 (I was 8), dressed as Freddy Krueger, and my mom, sister, and I stopped by McCrory and had a bite to eat in the restaurant/lunch counter area. I turn 42 this year and I think my generation is the last to remember the final years of five and dime chains like McCrory. ;) Getting back to Savannah, I’ll never understand how the myriad owners of Savannah Mall just let it fall downward into entropy. Hopefully the new owners DO something progressively cool with it. Hell, I worked at that Target attached to it (2007-2009) in the Electronics department and even by 2008, the writing was on the wall and had been for a while re: its downward spiral.

[@PaleOpal21]

Off the subject, but look online for the Mall of America lawsuit against the company that took over Sears' assets. MOA signed a hundred years lease with Sears with rent at $10 a year. There is 70 years left on the contract and MOA is suing the. company that took over Sears to void the lease. They now have control of one wing of the mall and will have to pay $700 for 70 years more of rent. It's nuts.

[@vass169]

Excellent oral history - narrated like you had lived here since the mall opened

[@Mom2my4blessings]

It’s nice to see a thriving mall. This mall reminds me of a mall by me in North Charleston called the Northwoods Mall. It’s thriving and busy.

[@patrickbowers1189]

I was born and grew up in Savannah and I have been to this mall so many times in my life because of its ease to get to. Thanks to the ease of getting here due to the Bus system and the short distance to other high profile businesses like Best Buy has made Oglethorpe Mall the main location for me to go to.

[@LethaWolf30]

I like it, it’s got a nice warm interior. Some of it also reminds me of the Westland Mall

[@mr.z_yt]

I remember going to this place when I was around 6 years old…

[@mr.horseshoe2301]

Yup, Oglethorpe is still thriving. If you want to visit a really dead mall, go to Savannah Mall a few miles away. Very sad.

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

I did visit Savannah Mall in 2020. I'm surprised it made it to the other side. Check the channel for that one.

[@ms.zelman3032]

Yeah, I've seen it on this channel. Very depressing.

[@mr.horseshoe2301]

@@DoomieGruntVentures Awesome, I'll check it out. The property was recently sold at auction. I'm guessing the whole thing will be demolished in the near future.

[@ebransc09]

All stores other than the anchors got the boot

[@patrickbowers1189]

Bad location and Oglethorpe Mall killed the Savannah Mall almost as soon as it opened.

[@bigcahuna42366]

I'm impressed how well this mall seems to be doing. Extremely few indoor malls have still sustained that 70s and 80s heyday atmosphere, and even though the Oglethorpe probably isn't one of them, it seems to be doing exceptionally well for 21st century standards. On an 80s scale, I would give them a "B". On a 2023 scale, I would give them an "A".

[@juliehoot3916]

Beautiful! Love seeing busy malls! 🤗

[@ms.zelman3032]

Yes, me too. It's always a good thing.

[@WhittyPics]

Pretty cool mall. It looks to be thriving

[@ms.zelman3032]

Overall an ok mall. Not my favourite and not ugly either. The fountains are really pretty and I love the palm trees. Those two things beautify the mall for me.

[@gregd4633]

I’m from Savannah Georgia and I grew up visiting Oglethorpe Mall or what us natives call “Old Mall” and I keep returning because my wife loves Ashley Stewart and I love Snipes and JD as well as Lids. I’m not going to lie, when I visit the mall I don’t really pay attention to the structure of the mall or anything else because my mind is set on where I’m going to shop at. I love Macy’s as well because it’s next to Ashley Stewart and I can waste time shopping for Ralph Lauren while my wife spends endless time in Ashley Stewart lol 😂. The Tanger Outlet in Pooler is very very beautiful and I thought once it opened it would affect the “Old Mall” but since the city saw massive growth in the last few decades, it could support both massive properties and possibly even more if someone firm comes along and revamp the “New Mall” or Savannah Mall because it’s stuck in 1996. The surrounding area of Savannah Mall used to be upscale until Godley Station was developed in Pooler and it went downhill afterwards. One particular shop in Oglethorpe Mall has been there since it was built in 1969 and that’s Andronika Jewelry (I Hope I Spelled It Correctly) and I’ve had my jewelry repaired there for years upon years. Andronika is next to Ashley Stewart in the Macy’s courtyard for years. Where DTLR is located it used to be a family owned designer shop which sold Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Versace, MCM, Vera Wang and other luxury items. The shop name was The Stein Shop (Or Steiner Brothers) but I was a huge customer Edit: It’s not the “Stein Shop” it was the “Stag Shop” just talked with my old friend yesterday lol 😂

[@patrickbowers1189]

I understand you correctly and agree with everything you said. I used to work at the Tilt Arcade at the Abercorn side of the Mall.

[@gregd4633]

@@patrickbowers1189 oh heck man I forgot about Tilt lol 😂. It used to be at the front of the mall. I used to love going there when I was a kid

[@LavonJackson-rb5zq]

It’s in a smaller market that’s probably mainly why it’s thriving. Leaving customers there with basically one option to shop

[@SherriWarden-zl9eq]

Hope you visited more than the malls. Savannah my home for many years.

[@BillThompson-b8v]

It's nice to see a mall that is doing very well it be nice if all malls would be doing well this days 😅ps it be nice if people could shopp on line an have a stores to go

[@nancydarling4918]

Interesting video. Thanks.

[@ms.zelman3032]

I used to be the biggest holiday person ever. Christmas used to be my favourite time of the year, but I researched the origins of Christmas and they crept me out. Same for the other holidays. But if anyone wants to celebrate, I recommend knowing the origins and not being rash like I was.

[@CourtJester1960]

Living just blocks behind the mall in Chippewa Terrace, I spent so much time in this mall in the mid 70s. It's a good flashback.

[@websurfer8670]

How has it changed over time

[@CourtJester1960]

@@websurfer8670 No longer there, left in 1980 or so.

[@websurfer8670]

@@CourtJester1960 yah never came back?

[@CourtJester1960]

@@websurfer8670 I've benn back a time or two but I'll probably never move back. Been gone too long.

[@Steve.Cutler]

We've been in a recession for months now. Why do people keep saying we're headed for a recession?

[@PinkAgaricus]

I would say we haven't really left 2008 in that regard. I think we're still kinda suffering with the remnants of that plus what happened over the past 2 years, which just added more on to what already existed. We're in an amplified remnant of the 2008 recession, that's probably been going on for almost 2 decades now. I feel like any positives we may have felt were probably just a placebo effect and didn't really exist. The negatives just kept snowballing until we got to this point.

[@Steve.Cutler]

@@PinkAgaricus I agree, Obama did way more damage than we know of. I do feel like we were in a slight recovery under Trump. The whole world just felt better. I know all this woke stuff was bubbling then, but I know my life was better. He wasn't as openly divisive as Biden or Obama. One thing is clear, we are headed in the most wrong direction we've ever been to right now. All of Washington on both sides have failed us miserably just to keep their money river flowing. They've ALL lived like royalty for decades. This has gone far beyond Democrat and republican. This is about the disgustingly rich, against the rest of us. As long as we keep fighting each other, they'll keep getting away with it.

[@ebransc09]

Had to pretend until after the election?

[@coolcat8867]

I love malls & Im glad to see a decent looking mall doing well: Moonbeam Take notes!!

[@pamelaharnage]

I'm from Georgia. I'm three hours from Savannah. I have been in this mall the last time I was in Savannah

[@badreligionnc]

Have you done Prince of Orange Mall in Orangeburg, SC? You might change your mind about Hull.

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Trust me. No I won't.

[@henryhyzer]

I would come to this mall to buy a few sci-fi books from Waldenbooks in the square next to the in mall entrance to Sears and then go over to Chic-fil-A there first mall location for some nuggets or the best Chicken Sandwich ever.

[@mightyshark5557]

Hill property group needs a lesson on how to make something look interesting

[@mightyshark5557]

Oops,I mean Hull

[@archiecraven6086]

@@mightyshark5557i grew up in Statesboro, so I know when a mall has been Hull-ed.

[@Merlynn132]

Well,aesthetics are nice but in the end,you need something to be there to do. Rampant consumerism can only bring in so much since stores like Wal-Mart offer so much for cheaper. So understanding a mall is where things happen and things can be done is a major help. Favor stores that offer goods and services you can't get at Wal-Mart. Some things I'd like to see at my local mall. A 3D printing shop,a woodworking shop,an arts and crafts store,a more modern take on Radio Shack/computer stores,a nice toy store,a dance hall,a grocery store. That kind of thing. Just "stuff you can't get/do at Wal-Mart" should be the first hurdle on filling a mall. But that's just my thinking. You have all this space. Use it.

[@gregd4633]

Walmart doesn’t offer Nike, Adidas, Puma, and other brands isn’t sold in Walmart. I don’t even like shopping at Walmart because I’m a “Target” man myself

[@Tuhley24]

Are there any bathrooms and how many is there a family bathroom for me and my family ?

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video

[@ms.zelman3032]

The name of this mall makes me think of my real name.😊

[@coreycoyle9548]

I love the Fountains!!!!! F+L, Corey

[@markstrouse3101]

First to comment to the #1 KZbinr

[@danielholden-zd5fy]

watching your videos makes me want to watch older 1990s movies lol.