ROLLING ACRES MALL: BEFORE & AFTER

[@wbed11]

The 'Waterfront Dining' tunes transitioning from full-on to faded-out, to match the visuals. Very cool.

[@Carmenn123]

Don't know why I'm attached to this mall and I'm not even from the US. I've watched so many abandoned places but I'm mostly saddened by this mall . Has anyone found footage of the fountain working? Thanks for sharing xo

[@bobbymiller5297]

when I was kid everyone would throw coins in the fountain and it was always full of coins. Alot of childhood memories here

[@MarcABrown-tt1fp]

@Jason Sommers Dixie square mall was relatively popular before rolling acres was discovered and had been abandoned for nearly three times it's time in operation. Too bad that mall was damaged beyond recognition by the late 90s lol.

[@amazingjana]

Me too! I live in the US, and I would’ve love to visit the mall if I wasn’t born in the 2000s. It disappoints me on how it closed down! 😣

[@davidchereneimmel8820]

Spent so much time here when I was in high school, would get most of my clothes there. Then when my kids were born when there 2 times a month to Shop and sometimes just to "get out " it was sad to see it head down you could see it coming over time. All but a memory now.

[@jerrysanders9101]

@@davidchereneimmel8820 sad. What was the main reason for the decline if you don’t mind?

[@joanesdale5362]

Everytime I see a Rolling Acres video I just think it’s very sad how it ended in such a dreadful way...torn apart, destroyed and then pulled down...videos like these are living memories of a time gone by

[@Isa-cr7fd]

Blame that on the United States and how middle class are too scared to leave their house to shop due to gangs with guns who purchased them from Walmart. Blame it on how the United States allowed Walmart (a store that sells everything) and amazon for helping contribute to the malls decline. America was murdered by those in power who didn’t actually care. Like who thinks “oh yes a store that sells everything!” Was a great idea? It choked out any smaller businesses and even chained retailers are suffering.

[@jdmitchell2]

Sad when you think of all the good times that are gone & lost forever. It's that way with any dead mall

[@MarcABrown-tt1fp]

@@Isa-cr7fd Background cheeks have mostly eliminated the ability of felons to buy firearms. Now it's just felons who steal such weapons, sometimes on foot or house break in's that is the issue.

[@Wald4267]

Joan Esdale why didn’t they keep it what happened

[@DavidSmith-oh3re]

@@Isa-cr7fd I'd rather buy things from Walmart where they're much cheaper and Walmart will always be around for those of us living in rural areas to shop at.

[@itrack4u]

Anthony, I was never at the Rolling Acres Mall. After watching your video, I feel as if I was. I am saddened by the closing of my childhood malls. Excellent blend of the living with the dead. Love your music selection. Thank you.

[@AcesAdventures1]

Suze Glesky thanks so much!!!

[@jamesbennettackland]

@@AcesAdventures1 What are the names and artists of the two songs? I realise you had to distort them so you didn't get pulled up for copyright. They sound so familiar and it's driving me nuts. Thanks heaps!

[@applepro1089]

Me too

[@jdmitchell2]

Sad when you think of all the good times that are gone & lost forever. It's that way with any dead mall

[@jdmitchell2]

@@jamesbennettackland Waterfront Dining (As enn at 3:02)

[@stevemcgowen]

Rampant crime killed Rolling Acres. The city of Akron even sent out letters to their employees saying they should not go to Rolling Acres because it wasn't safe. At that time, years and years ago, when I was in college, I worked at a Subway and the owner had a location across the street from Rolling Acres. I filled in there for a week when the manager was out and was told to call the police after I closed and was about to leave so they could send a car to make sure I don't get mugged in the parking lot...

[@mas5867]

I feel like the dead malls explorers never focused on crime and the hoodlums that walked the malls as being a reason many of these malls met their demise years before they would have otherwise.

[@TheNiiickster]

This was amazing. I am a die hard Rolling Acres fan, almost cried when it got demolished. Seeing old footage compared to just before it was demolished was so satisfying! Thanks again, Ace! You and Dan Bell are the best.

[@Compucore]

I personally don't live in the States here. It's shame how some companies that own these malls let them run down to a state like this where it looks like it is no longer feasible to keep them running. And had missed the boat in rejuvenate them back to what they were once were. But yes it's good to have some kind memories of these place what they were be and what they look like now.

[@JenniferJones-qn6lg]

Love, love, love this! I really liked the comparison editing between the then and now, makes it more real, especially with the vaporwave music added in. Just awesome. Thanks for doing this! :)

[@Karmy.]

It's insane seeing footage of this mall when it was still open and wasn't destroyed by vandals

[@WallieB26]

Great video as always, man! This makes miss not going to the mall before the demo even more.

[@calebginsberg5224]

I used to think danbell had it all, but know I realize that he focuses less on malls and more on dirty motel rooms, I have been watching ace for almost a year now and he has never failed to disappoint me or any of my friends. Great video!

[@1rockcrawford]

Yeah, Dan Bell's content, outside of Hotel Rooms, has gotten pretty sloppy over time. Also his friends are kind of....weird.

[@cmlsx1016]

QR One but that what makes it funny

[@cmlsx1016]

QR One not everyone has to be like you

[@djrun4kover]

Love the music ace!

[@nancydarling4918]

Great video, Ace, on my favorite abandoned mall! Thank you for your efforts in constructing all these mall videos.

[@vanessavercoe8331]

My grandmother would take me here every weekend as a small child in the mid-80s. We would get ice cream, ride the elevator. She'd give me a penny to make a wish in the red fountain 😢

[@monicarenee7949]

I grew up in Akron and it’s crazy thinking of how we used to walk up here pretty much weekly and we used to go to the arcade, food court, didn’t really have money to shop at that time lol. All good things must come to an end I guess. It’s sad!

[@boylesterminalshops6841]

I saw Rolling Acres and immediately clicked

[@averywilt2348]

John Alexander same😂

[@as6110]

Video of my favorite abandoned mall on my birthday? Yes please!

[@aarbamlel]

Congrats!! for you!!

[@leannbrooks218]

Great before and after coverage! Loved this

[@7JANEWAY]

Can someone tell me why I keep coming back to THIS mall and its various videos, when there are plenty of other dead mall videos of other dead malls out there???!! Rolling Acres in its day (and I've never been there, and obviously, I can't go there now), as shown in the 2003 footage, was, even though the decline had already started, a lively place where people would go, sometimes just to hang out. That's true of every other mall, but there was just something about RA that drew you, and keeps drawing you to the videos of it--even the dead ones. Everyone blames the internet for its demise, but I don't think the answer's that simple. I believe it was the relatively poor economy around Akron and the rest of Ohio that really killed RA off. The proof of this is the fact that RA closed permanently on Oct. 31 (Halloween, no less), 2008--right at the crux of the 2008 recession--a recession that we still are feeling effects from even today. The internet just added another nail in the coffin. Long live Rolling Acres.....

[@bloocifer]

i grew up here and my mom worked at the mall my whole childhood. it went out of business partially becuase of interent shopping but also because it became a big ghetto and got robbed blind every day and the area was so bad stores couldnt afford to stay there anymore. akron is still a ghetto and awful place to live.

[@stevenfetzer4911]

Akron is in the rust belt and has the same erie feeling as the rest, for example Pennsylvania and Michigan. Since the great depression our government has propped up the economy through artificial ways however it only lasts 30=45 years. 2008 was an end as was 2020. The effects are seen physically through places like this.

[@aaronasmr8833]

Crazy that 2003 was almost 15 years ago

[@jacquimayton2466]

Aaronasmr 883 What gets me is back in the early '00s it seemed much more modern than it looks now, lol. It was all still close to the 90s I guess 🤷

[@fabez83]

Aaronasmr 883 it's crazy that ur comment was 16 hrs ago lol

[@grand_vacation]

What's really crazy is we're closer to 2030 than we are to 2003.

[@jacquimayton2466]

SGDevotee Good God. That's the year my 5 year old will graduate from high school 🤦

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

Jacqui Mayton I think the fact that it was filmed on tape makes it look older than it really is.

[@CONRAIL1991]

A shame this place is gone. I live a few counties away from this place. Never went to it and never got to experience it. Except watching video's and documentaries about it. Only way to truly experience it is make a VR game of it or a world of it in Minecraft like some people have done. Its sad it died hard. Rest In Peace Rolling Acres 1975-2008 We will never forget you.

[@EarlFaulk]

3:26 Some say that man's ghost still sweeps the area where the fountain was located......

[@Catmannj1]

Your best yet. Can't believe how malls can die so fast like this one.

[@Official_ry_Nirvana]

Ace I gotta tell you bro. This video out beats everyone else's video on this mall. Hands down I am so proud of you for how far you have came along here on youtube.

[@jimharley4112]

Back in the 80’s this was ‘the’ place to hangout. Seems shopping malls ran their short course in our history.

[@davidpearson9345]

Brilliantly put together. Nice work

[@Jim_Norcross]

Love your stuff, man...this was great.

[@erikpotts1453]

This is possibly the best video on KZbin. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@jayuhaszhdvproductions8677]

I shot the original footage (CJYinc Productions) back in 2002-2003, as of July 2018 reports are that Amazon is building a 700000 sq ft facility on the site.

[@eugenius3302]

It must have been a sight to see it open but slowly dying.

[@leeanndowns7239]

Amazing footage, great tribute to a beautiful place, thank you! Never been there but makes me wish I had :( Most beautiful mall I've ever seen though for sure

[@peytonbloom4123]

Well I didn't expect laughing and ugly crying to be on my list of things to do today... My mom and uncle grew up with this mall, and I have a lot of early childhood memories here with my precious grama and grampa. They've been gone for a number of years now, but this unearthed forgotten memories of being a very small child running around with my grampa, grama, and my mom. As I sit here even just trying to type this barely able to see through the tears thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you. Because of you I got to feel an echo of being with them here one more time.

[@7JANEWAY]

PS--I also think that they should make a little park by the Amazon plant and call it "Rolling Acres park"--which I think would be a PERFECT tribute to the place.

[@marshto1]

7JANEWAY good idea for a Rolling Acres park by the Amazon Fulfillment Center.

[@elijahtorres2688]

It’s not a bad idea, but I guess because of the crime that occurred in this area, it didn’t happen.

[@phil34nc]

Great tribute video!! RIP Rolling Acres Mall!!

[@thomashouse6090]

I went there all the time when I was in high school in the 80s so sad

[@Dreams-uu5uj]

Wow looking back in 2003 and now it makes a big difference

[@user-py6td6kg5w]

Nice, before and after shots are my favorite.

[@Carmenn123]

Has anyone seen footage of the fountain while it was working?

[@troyking6156]

Great video, especially with the cuts back and forth with the music.

[@WhisperWebb]

Awesome video, thank you It was so cool to look back to when it was actually open

[@jasonpearce6968]

the second I saw rolling acres mall I clicked on it . . good work man :-)

[@averywilt2348]

I miss this mall even tho i have never been in it, my dad and grandparents had atleast one job here, mostly sears.

[@nancydarling4918]

I can't believe that they have now demolished the Penny's. Wonder when they will demolish the infamous Rolling Acres entrance portico?

[@Lurker1979]

Still like that red water fountain.

[@morriganwitch]

The snow on the escalators burnt in my mind and I live in the U.K. xxx

[@thernn14]

Great vid ace!

[@AmatterofPat]

Can we have the name and artist of the first song?

[@mikelara4626]

"waterfront dining - dream", this is the song played in the video, the original version is "roberta grace - a dream"

[@creekandseminole]

Sounds like Vaporwave

[@mikeukb5]

The music featured in this video is from Waterfront Dining's Night Lights in Japan album.

[@JessieCarty]

That is actually noted on part of the older video but the use of the music as louder and softer depending on whether Anthony was using older or newer footage was very cool.

[@lyndarussell3537]

I loved rolling acres, spent alot of time there !

[@ujmrider]

I remember when the land was cleared, and watching with anticipation as Rolling Acres was built. I saw a lot of movies there while my mom and friends shopped on Saturdays, lunch in the food court. Always had to visit KayBee store. Chapel Hill mall was the place before that. Anyone remember pictures with Santa there in 70's ? Im not in Ohio these days, but i think Chapel Hill is still open - go figure.

[@mattmaverick703]

Chapel Hill is vacant and abandoned now! Was dying back in 2013 even. I remember going there back in the early 90s as a little kid with my parents and brother and sister to see Santa around the holidays. Miss the 90s and being a carefree kid with nothing but school to worry about! Now I have to worry about surviving in this awful economy now and having enough to make ends meet on my own

[@marcfield1234]

Well as of right now an Amazon distribution center sits on the property. How Ironic. Replaced by the very thing that took it out.

[@andrewd511]

I live in the UK but have seen so many video's i feel like i knew and miss this mall. This one and fiesta mall.

[@DrDank.2006]

What waterfront dining song is this?

[@AluminumOxide]

True Promises

[@deez5595]

I’m kinda sad that I never got to experience going to this mall when it was open. I didn’t even know it existed when it was open.

[@amazingjana]

Me too! I would’ve loved it in the 90s! Especially the arcade!

[@EnhansBlogspotRB]

I worked at this mall my last two years of high school 😢 always hoped it would revive

[@baldi-central10101]

Never happened, never will

[@SusieSynth]

Love the music as always

[@havenstover7409]

Does anyone remember the name of the kids shoes store with the ship in the middles you could play on. Circa 1980s Dillards wing

[@gregkarris6869]

Great vid as always - when will you be in Chicago next?

[@MEXICANMOOSE1976]

Keep coming back to this video...Its more than a homage..its a "love letter" to the dead mall/abandoned genre!! Only you Anthony could have Aced it (Pun intended) !!! Forget all the other content creators..they are dust...just like Rolling Oaks Mall!!!

[@meily2004]

Wow great video ace

[@KevinPlaysGuitar]

Great footage! I can't believe 9 year anniversary of this mall closure is coming up on Halloween day.

[@Archmetal06]

Bannister Mall which once used to exist in South Kansas City was very similar to Rolling Acres. Was torn down back in 2009.

[@RealWhatamelon]

Australia is going strong, although if it closed on Halloween 2008 you could go there and use the space as a makeshift haunted house if you were allowed :) nice video as always ace

[@corz299]

I miss the 90s and before even though I was born in 2006...

[@amazingjana]

Same! I was born in 2001.

[@Daniel28021991]

Awesome work!!!

[@user-ho3dx3od9y]

Well done. Another sad end to what was once a thriving shopping experience. It’s unfortunate that shoppers did not support the place more. :(

[@shifty330]

When it became damgerous to go to the Mall, that's when people stopped going. It wasn't the shoppers who brought the Mall to it's knees. It was the degenerate part of the community that drove the stake. Gangs, thieves, hoodlums etc. Nobody wanted to deal with it anymore. Everyone started to go to Summit Mall which was not overrun by the degenerates.

[@jsm2165]

I love the music and the video, thanks!!

[@pamelaparrish6837]

Just added this to my Rolling Acres Mall list.... That place was creepy as all hell....

[@Deltarii]

Song at 4:43?

[@UMAMIMAMU]

Music sounds like it's from Tim and Eric Awesome Show (Great Job!)

[@juanpabloarena2724]

Holaaa! Alguien sabe el título de la segunda canción??(4:43) Suena como a Gapul...

[@AcesAdventures1]

JUAN PABLO ARENA uhhhh si

[@Tonyhfl]

1:15 name music? Plzzz

[@Mike0N0ike57]

Song is Dreams by Waterfront dining

[@Johnnybomb1]

@@Mike0N0ike57 Except ruined in a "vaporwave" remix. 🤢🤢🤢

[@altereggo8081]

Someone on Tik Tok got at Rolling Acres Mall's elevator and had to go thru 50 levels of just darkness and demons. Idk if he made it out I do know he got clawed in the knee

[@valjones8948]

I was only at Rolling Acres once and thought it was a gorgeous mall. I'm a Canton Gal so spent most of my mall rat days at either Mellett or Belden Village. But once I saw Rolling Acres, I thought it was even more beautiful than Belden Village. This video is so very sad to see Rolling Acres in such a ruin.

[@mikez1701e]

The transitions are really good and sad

[@robertsisson1262]

Great video thank you so much

[@MeetLeAnne]

Why am I so sad, watching this? I feel so much despair.......

[@jordana4910]

Anyone got track titles for the songs used in the video?

[@scottw2755]

darude sandstorm

[@MEXICANMOOSE1976]

1:Dreams 2: One Night Stand 3:True Promises All by Waterfront Dining

[@jordana4910]

Thanks!

[@KimmyLove6932]

Dude you use “Only One Night” by The Hurricanes in this. Friggin awesome

[@mayspondmogul]

Sad to see rad malls close! I live in Seattle and malls are still going strong I make my way to the mall once a week hit up the foodcourt. I order some stuff on Amazon like 80s movies and posters nostalgia stuff they dont have at the mall but I buy all my clothes at the mall. Keep up the sweet vids bro!

[@MEXICANMOOSE1976]

What is that track at 4:40??? That is KILLER Vaporwave!! :O

[@AcesAdventures1]

MEXICANMOOSE1976 waterfront dining

[@Swanty32eMachineVideos]

It's called "One Night Stand"

[@MEXICANMOOSE1976]

Swanty32e - Machine & Truck Videos From Norway Thank you!!

[@jerseytomato100]

What's the song @8:37?

[@LG633TV]

jerseytomato100 True Promises by Waterfront Dining

[@djtwirlz4000]

Today marks 9 years without Rolling Acres 😩

[@bellamartino730]

After 9/11 it seemed most malls died. 2001-2003 ish you saw malls become a dying breed.

[@markbarbarello1312]

what is the music called?

[@kimberlystatzer4767]

Getting like that in all towns around, so very sad.😓

[@joshteshek1155]

What do you recon happened to the sign at the entry?

[@BurtBowers]

Strange how many malls across America have folded when in California yet going very strong...

[@neoleomedia1676]

Burt Bowers, well we have malls. But they are not as busy and are slowly declining. For instance the mall near me has had the JCP close down and all in all foot traffic has reduced. Texas as far as I know is still very strong. But my state of California is not.

[@loagonn6205]

Here in South Florida, every mall I've been to has still been doing very well and they're usually packed with customers. (before the corona virus obviously) But that's most likely just because of the large population and high amount of travelers down here, much like California or Texas. So it sorta makes sense that California, Florida and Texas would still have malls that aren't dying.

[@1rockcrawford]

Yeah, if you notice, most of these dying/dilapidated malls, are in the US Mid Atlantic/Rust Belt (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Any area in Virginia/Maryland that isn't near DC.) Man of these areas experienced heavy job loss during aging populations, Reaganomics destroying American jobs, Millenials moving out of the Northeast/Midwest, and moving West or South, and general lack of tourism of these areas.

[@liamosc]

Music at 8:29?

[@jasont9294]

*removed* Did you ever find out?

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

What a huge contrast

[@taylorkane4906]

I wish there was older footage in here too. I went here a lot growing up. After the 90s it suuuuuper died and wasn't really what it was like originally.

[@latoyawinston1007]

whats the day and date and year it opened and closed thanks

[@trock0067]

I think mid 70s when it's open Closed in October 31, 2008 Completely Dead in November 2013

[@elijahtorres2688]

The mall opened on August 6, 1975, and closed on October 31, 2008.

[@puffnstuff4004]

NIce job on the video!

[@RushWaggonerwindyshadow32]

Is the part at 6:10 really the same place as the one right before? The one before looks like a jewelry place while the one after looks like a customer service desk. Still a wonderful video nonetheless, keep up the great work ace!

[@patsflysfan2]

Does anybody know how Rolling Acres became the most infamous dead mall? Just wondering.

[@thisissarah815]

Yeah I was wondering that too. It doesn't seem all that great

[@GgrimrodD]

I like the way you compared the before and after shots

[@osupandaboyfriend]

Whats the song at 7:15

[@drummeralbertrivera9577]

What’s the second song in the background?

[@vinceroscoe4906]

What is the name of the first song?

[@xaviere2008]

We both need it.

[@GreatGarloo]

What really surprises me is that hipsters haven't taken over malls but then again they don't buy anything. lol. It is sad that malls are disappearing. In my high school yearbook our then new mall was featured heavily. It's fountain, escalator and promenade all there. Now it's gone having been bulldozed under but there is a new shopping center there even though it recently lost it's key anchor store: Wal-mart.

[@edwardsr70]

Walmart anchored to a mall?!?

[@miraclegirl1694]

Fantastic video!

[@garbage854]

Cool video :)