Abandoned Dutchess Mall in Fishkill, NY

The Dutchess Mall was back in the day home to a ShopRite, Service Merchandise, Jamesway (which is now the abandoned Flea Market, not in the video) and a few other stores. Now it’s just rotting away and a dumping ground for people. Looks like squatters have made this a new home recently and even before that. The mall building itself was demolished and a Home Depot was built but the former Service Merchandise, Jamesway, ShopRite and the rest of the strip mall is still there.
#Abandoned #Mall #ShopRite #ServiceMerchandise #Jamesway #HomeDepot #McDonalds #CitizensBank #DutchessMall #Fishkill #NY

[@lolwithme36dd]

Wow.. what a trip.. So as an 11 year old kid this was my personal mall in the 90s. My father would come pick me and my best friend up in peekskill every Friday and usually Saturday too and we'd just love to hang out here. This place was sweet! On one side was a Jamesway, the other a Service Merchandise. Inbetween was the mall. We would eat at Mamma Brava Pizza and for me the absolute BEST part of coming here was the Dream Machine arcade. 2 levels of game heaven with a mirrored ceiling, right next door to the movie theater where I saw a number of films including the awful Mortal Kombat. This mall also had a pharmacy, Babbage's, Waldenbooks, which was my father's favorite, and a music store.. it was wonderful. The internet was in it's very infancy but I remember when Mortal Kombat 2 hit the arcade out of nowhere these 20-somethings had brought print-outs of the secret finishing moves which blew my mind and that was my introduction to the web as it was called then lol. From 92-96 we were regulars but in Feb of 96 I had moved out west, far from the wicked Winters this mall would warm us from. It was shortly after my move that this mall would be showing signs of the times and eventually flatline. Jamesway went out of business around that time I think, the smaller, less popular stores started shutting down in the last years when I was there but for the most part the mall was doing ok during the years I used to visit. One time I like to note, the Mamma Brava pizza/Italian restaurant I mentioned earlier also had about 3 arcade machines, which were Mortal Kombat, Alien vs Predator and I can't remember what the 3rd was but I was just this little blonde kid with a stupid mushroom dick haircut playing so much Mortal Kombat that one night I showed up and this fella and his girlfriend and another friend were jamming Mortal Kombat and I asked if I could challenge him.. well I got to discover Reptile, a secret fighter that can be found by winning 50 matches in a row. Lol he was a great sport and just kept pumping in quarters and I kept destroying him. Just thought maybe you would dig hearing about this once wonderful place.. oh, I had my nose broken here too.. that's another story though lol... Cheers 🥂

[@TimurD1905]

Thanks for the story, you took me back to the 90s lol. The Jamesway here turned into the Dutchess Community College. The Service Merchandise, ShopRite & several other stores are still abandoned and sitting here. I wonder when they will demolish them, it's quite sad seeing it like that. I wish I could go back into time!

[@lolwithme36dd]

@@TimurD1905 right on! Thank you for the video!

[@TimurD1905]

@@lolwithme36dd Np, I love filming old school retail like Service Merchandise & Jamesway

[@NY32986]

Mamma Brava wasn't that by the Pet Store? it does ring a bell

[@lolwithme36dd]

@@NY32986 my memory is not clear on the location of the pet store.. Mama brava was right at the middle entrance I believe..

[@gypsyninjette4734]

I used to go here with my grandma in the 80s and 90s. We could walk there from her house. Great memories. What a sad condition it’s in now.

[@TimurD1905]

Wow, that's pretty cool that you weren't that far from this place. Do you know when the ShopRite closed here? I'm assuming in the late 90s

[@fluffsternormalpaws1443]

Wow that really brings back memories. 1st summer job at Po’k Galleria when it 1st opened in ‘86, then again in ‘87. Then worked at the Dutchess Mall, summers of ‘88-‘89. It was called Mays Mall before that. Mays was the original anchor store closest to Rte 84. This was the only mall to go to as a kid before the South Hills Mall opened in the early 80’s. Thanks for making this vid!

[@TimurD1905]

No problem, glad you liked it. It's too bad that it looks desolate there now, hope there will be plans on improving the place like how the former Jamesway store turned into a college campus.

[@NY32986]

Yeah this is Sad. I used to go to Dutchess Mall all the way until very late 1999. I once went to the Flea Market when it was in the Service Merchandise building before it went to Jamesway (before the building became a Dutchess Community College building). The stores that stood out to me back then was WaldenSoftware, KayBee Toys, also the pet store & the fountain in the middle. I also loved going to Roy Rogers. The last stores I ever went to there were Drug World & Treasure Island because I used to get Beanie Babies & Mini MLB Bobblehead Keychains.

[@TimurD1905]

Damn I remember KayBee Toys, that was my childhood! There used to be one in Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ, that was the one I would always go to with my family back in the day, great times! I can't believe this place is still sitting there abandoned after all these years, especially the abandoned Service Merchandise. There was a Service Merchandise & Jamesway cart inside that place, K Danco filmed that place before but he longer has his channel up anymore unfortunately

[@markstrouse3101]

Great great great video

[@TimurD1905]

Thanks man!

[@NYMArts]

The stores to the very left used to be a Paint Store, a Furniture store, and can't remember the rest.....

[@TimurD1905]

Looks like there was a cleaners, liquor store and a pizzeria as well there

[@Brian-cr6rb]

Pergament, dry cleaner, liquor store, I think bakery, and shop rite

[@NY32986]

@@Brian-cr6rb apparently there's an 100 year clause on that Shop Rite portion of the Building. I don't remember when Shop Rite first came there but nobody can touch that portion until the 100 years come up

[@NY32986]

also once they really closed the Mall, Treasure Island was moved over there

[@ParLamberAverick]

After a few games of Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, or Killer Instinct at the Dream Machine..... some games would get pretty heated to the point of causing the back parking lot to become a little riled.

[@TimurD1905]

I can't even remember the last time I been to an arcade center, probably since the late 2000's. If I went now, it wouldn't feel the same way as I was when I was in my 20's.

[@ParLamberAverick]

@@TimurD1905 It certainly has changed. There are some pretty good establishments around though with a one time entry fee per day which is kind of nice. Some people just collect arcade cabinets and set them up for people with a great deal of nostalgia / retro gaming and competitions.

[@josephdipalma5989]

I was a maintenance man for the Mall around 1981 while in High School. That portion of the mall had Shop Rite, a bakery, The Roma Deli, a dry cleaner a liquor store and the north end was Pergament Home Center. The fenced in area was where the outdoor items were stored. In the 1980's it was a very busy mall. The Janeway was actually at the far end of the Mall that is now Dutchess Community College.

[@TimurD1905]

Thanks for the info, sounds like you know everything about the Dutchess Mall from back in the day. The actual mall I believe was where Home Depot is now, right?

[@josephdipalma5989]

@@TimurD1905 Yes, The original stores were Mays Department store where the college is now, and for a short time "Lucky Platt" Department store was at the south end, but closed quickly and was replaced by Service Merchandise which lasted for years. Eventually it became a flea market. There was a video on KZbin about it called Fishkill Flea.

[@TimurD1905]

@@josephdipalma5989 Yeah, I remember the Service Merchandise became a flea market for a while. Then it moved to the former Jamesway and then they closed down in 2019. Do you know any other abandoned places in NY I can film?

[@farmchick1115]

Remember so many shows family activities there.

[@TimurD1905]

Yeah, now it looks like a dump. Do you know if they have done anything with this place yet? It's been a while since I came back there

[@NYMArts]

Where's the Home Depot that was there ?

[@TimurD1905]

It's still there, I parked my car in their parking lot lol

[@davidhetherington3030]

I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back at the theater when it first came out, my brother and I took the loop bus from All Angel's Road out to see it

[@TimurD1905]

Omg, that was from the 80's. Pretty sure during that time, this place was doing so much better. Now, it looks like a dumping ground and just pretty sad to look at. I hope in the future, the place gets re-purposed for something useful

[@davidhetherington3030]

@@TimurD1905 that would be great

[@davidhetherington3030]

@@TimurD1905 It was pretty nice then.

[@TimurD1905]

@@davidhetherington3030 Yeah, I can only imagine!

[@CampsitePyro]

I saw ET with my grandma at the mall. I believe it was my first movie. I also got my first Transformer at Service Merchandise. It was one of the Decepticon jets named Skywarp. No idea why the Service Merchandise and Jamesway were never torn down when the Depot moved in.

[@cporteus968]

Jamesway was over to the right pass the Home Depot.

[@TimurD1905]

Yep and now they turned that place into a community college campus, interesting

[@dylanmanf6427]

Wow this was amazing!! You should try to go inside next time! I heard there’s pretty cool remnants from the stores

[@TimurD1905]

Seems like a great idea but I need a respirator and someone else to go with

[@dylanmanf6427]

@@TimurD1905 Agreed! What’s a respirator?

[@TimurD1905]

@@dylanmanf6427 A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres, including fumes, vapors, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne microorganisms.

[@dylanmanf6427]

@@TimurD1905 oh ok thank you for letting me know! That’s really smart since the buildings are old

[@TimurD1905]

@@dylanmanf6427 The Service Merchandise must have closed down in 2002 when the chain went defunct, so it's been abandoned for almost 20 years

[@farmchick1115]

70s child here. Macy s ? So many memories

[@TimurD1905]

Was Macy's really in this mall before? Seemed quite small back then

[@cporteus968]

Mays department store

[@farmchick1115]

@@cporteus968 yes

[@nooneatall1784]

Well, finally here's the one that was trashed with graffiti and homeless and garbage everywhere. Pretty shocking. Big property too. I would have liked to see more, but I can understand that you needed to be in and out of there fast. I don't think it would have even been safe to go inside no matter who was with you. I appreciate seeing this!

[@TimurD1905]

If I had respirators, someone to come along with and good flashlights, I would have done it

[@Brian-cr6rb]

I live here! I loved, and miss this mall!

[@TimurD1905]

Nice! It's a shame the place looks like this now, I don't know why the town hasn't done anything with it yet

[@NY32986]

@@TimurD1905 I know for the Shop Rite part of the plaza they have a 100 year Clause on it that nobody can touch that.

[@tashwill2083]

I wonder if they still have flea markets inthe parking lot

[@TimurD1905]

I doubt it, I've seen some other people film this area and I didn't see anything. I believe the flea market before was in the abandoned Jamesway building right? I didn't cover that building, I should have though. Maybe next time I come there I will

[@neilonicko1]

The mall is not really that abandoned now there is a Home Depot there now however where the Jamesway was they bought the building up to date but it’s still vacant..

[@TimurD1905]

They got a bank, McDonald's and Home Depot there yeah. But seeing the abandoned plaza to the left side and Service Merchandise really is an eye sore. It should be demolished, homeless people have been there obviously.

[@lisaotruba8974]

There's a Home Depot there now or maybe not anymore?!

[@TimurD1905]

Yeah, there is. It's been there for about 15 years now. The Dutchess Mall closed down there in 2001 and then got demolished in 2006 to make way for a Home Depot there.

[@garykos1308]

I thought Home Depot purchased all of that back in the early 2000's when the Flea Market got flooded.

[@TimurD1905]

Home Depot opened up there in July 2006. The Dutchess Mall closed down in 2001 and was demolished in 2006 for the Home Depot

[@says101]

a quiet place

[@TimurD1905]

Yeah and sad at the same time. Looks completely deserted compared to the Home Depot next to it, times have changed

[@lisaotruba8974]

i used to go to the flea market outdoors and inside here!!!!

[@TimurD1905]

Wow, that's pretty cool. Do you remember ShopRite, Jamesway and Service Merchandise here also? They all closed around the same time period in this shopping center

[@NY32986]

@@TimurD1905 Shop Rite closed first in the early 90s because they had the new Building on Route 9 & they moved it there (Where they have been since) Jamesway was mid 90s when the company went bankrupt & Service Merchandise was a couple years later

[@NYMArts]

Should be a geodesic dome to the right side of the old James Way.....

[@TimurD1905]

The abandoned Jamesway was all the way to the right side by Home Depot

[@benjaminmendenhall3104]

I seen inside of that place from a different KZbiner one time it’s was a few years ago when that video was up

[@TimurD1905]

Probably from K Danco, he had his channel on YT before but not anymore for personal reasons

[@benjaminmendenhall3104]

@@TimurD1905 I did some research about the James way building and it’s a college building now

[@NY32986]

@@benjaminmendenhall3104 Yeah, I last went there for one of the Flea Markets a few years ago. At that time it still had a lot of Jamesway Remnants there including on the Walls with the old Brand Logos where the "Auto" stuff was

[@anderstrejo-perez3855]

Not Bad

[@TimurD1905]

What's not bad? Lol

[@prebaned]

Service merchandise, Pergements hardware, shoprite and May's department store is all that stands. Home Depot demoed the center section of the mall to build thier store. Jamesway bought the old Mays building after Macys acquired all May's department stores, the USPS and the Commuity college bought the Mays building. Now it's a indoor gargage/flee market on weekends, recently stopped. That mall was brand new when I first walked into it and it was the best mall around. If you didn't find it atvthe dutchess mall, it didn't exist. Worked at plenty of the stores. Record world, Orange julius, Time out bar, Mama Brava pizzeria, Jamesway, KayBee toy and hobby, Dream Machine arcade, movie theater, ashtrays and garbage cans people used etc...

[@TimurD1905]

They had KB Toys there? I didn't know that, they were one of my childhood stores that I'll never forget!

[@NY32986]

@@TimurD1905 yes they did. I went there many times.