Circle Centre Mall: Nearly Vaporware

[@ukiahsguitarsolos3436]

I remember when it opened. It was shoulder to shoulder people. Now, you can't find too many people. Sad.

[@jestercinti]

It's great to have you back! In the early 2000s there was a large entertainment area on the upper floor called World Mardi Gras that I used to hang out at just about every weekend when I lived in Indianapolis. It had 3 or so other bars connected to it including an 80s theme called Flashbacks. I believe it was the closed area next to the Tilt location in your video.

[@indylivin7597]

I was at the grand opening of this mall. I was sitting in my car at IUPUI, the university on the west side of downtown, listening to the radio when I heard that the opening was that day, in about twenty minutes. Having about two hours before class, I decided to go. It was packed. Parking at the mall garages was cheap (and still is) so often when I'd go downtown I'd park at one of the mall garages. I liked checking out Circle Centre and visited often for probably the first ten years. My wife would meet me for lunch when I worked downtown and we'd often grab food from the food court and eat in the Arts Garden. With the standard changes of personal finance as one ages, my disposable spending became limited and thus trips to the mall (which included parking, gas, etc. as I was 17 miles away) became very limited. A few things happened which has caused the mall to trend downward. First, the overall metro area didn't stop mall building and expansion. While Lafayette Sq., Washington Sq., and Eastgate malls essentially died, Castleton, Greenwood, and the Fashion Mall expanded. We also had three outdoor malls built in the suburbs of Plainfield, Carmel, and Noblesville/Fishers. A second issue was problems with unsupervised teens at the mall causing issues. This was mostly a weekend issue. Just enough trouble makers getting into fights, flashing gang signs, and in some cases, firing off guns. This issue drove locals away from the mall. Simon and those in control didn't seem interested in making a chaperone rule because we had so many conventions popular with teens such as FFA, GENCON, various sports, high school band competitions, etc. that they wanted these kids to be able to shop without having to have adult supervision. Lastly, the development of residential downtown Indy was about ten years too late. Over the last decade we've had numerous apartment and condo buildings built in the downtown area. However, we also developed those neighborhoods as well, bringing in shopping and dining at street level. If all shopping and dining had been confined to the mall, or area around the mall, that might have helped drive more traffic into the mall which might have driven sales and kept certain national chains from leaving. I'll also add that some claimed that in order to lure Nordstrom they city actually had to make any shortage of revenue the store had on a month-to-month basis. It was rumored that for the most part the store did OK, but it was a pricey place given the stage the city and personal income in the area was at during the mid 90s into early 2000s. I've always wondered if there was any truth to that rumor and if maybe this is one of the reasons the store eventually closed if the city decided to stop with the incentive. Simon has now fully pulled out of the mall. The city is now looking at what to do with the space. There has been talk of a mix residential, office, and commercial type remodel. Really, the only thing missing now is the residential part. The next twenty years will be interesting for sure.

[@johncolvin2234]

I worked there in HS at a store called "Structure" as kids, this was the Pinnacle of Indy malls. My hometown mall was Washington square but Circle Center was very ahead of its time imo, it has stores that carried the most expensive stuff you could buy sitting around like it was no big deal. I can remember walking around Nordstrom & Parisian thinking "wow, one day I'll be able to have stuff like that" and eventually did, but it never seemed as cool as an adult as it did walking through there young and just entering life. #bringbackmalllife

[@youtuber3328]

to be COMPLETELY honest i still EQUALLY really really LOVE lafayette square mall keystone at the crossing and you tube ALMOST as much as washington square mall castleton square mall greenwood park mall and circle centre mall

[@raksekamta2808]

I don’t think I’ve anticipated a youtube video to upload as much as this one in years. THANK YOU! The Indianapolis saga showcased some of the most interesting malls I’ve seen on your channel so far. Especially the Washington Square mall and this one. Neither seem to be dead, at least not in the way people have come to think of dead malls. However, their purpose have clearly changed, or rather is going to change in the case of this mall. I always find ones like these more interesting, hopeful even, than just another mall that lost all it’s tenants and will eventually get demolished.

[@UniCommProductions]

Thanks! There’s definitely something to be said for changing things up and going to a mall that has a more complicated situation than “Well, Sears left.”

[@davis6123]

Nordstrom did very, very well at this location until they opened their north side store in 2008. The new store, combined with the recession killed the downtown store. Parisian did well both downtown and on the north side, but for some reason Nordstrom couldn’t make both stores work. Parisian did well here, but when Carson’s took over, they removed all the upscale merchandise and sales plummeted. By the 2010s, Carson’s did less than $10 million annually at this location. The only reason they lasted through 2018 was the massive tax incentives the city gave to keep them.

[@elizabethply7889]

This is one of my childhood malls! I remember driving down from Lafayette to shop here at all the cool stores. Loved the Forever 21 branch off called For Love 21 on the third floor when it existed, and I remember eating at the Johnny Rockets every time we visited. My mom and I would occasionally stay at the Omni and make it an overnighter.

[@Schyler]

My last trip there I saw Isle of Dogs in the little theater. Banger movie! I miss going here often as a kiddo

[@andytaylor5476]

Extraordinary, quite beautiful and unique. Congratulations to architects and designers. I hope this mall prospers and maintains it's magnificent style.

[@dannyhassler9008]

Glad you are back. Spent some time over the last 3 months watching your videos while recovering from COVID in the hospital then a nursing home.

[@UniCommProductions]

I’m glad you’re here to watch with us! I hope you make a full recovery.

[@tommycscat]

I actually just went to the American Dream Mall in NJ last week when I was visiting family in the US. To my surprise, it was booming. Really, unexpectedly, I was more than impressed. Especially considering that we went on a Tuesday, it was pretty packed with people with shopping bags. We did the indoor skiing there too. Again, an unexpected success. I did expect to pay for parking, however parking is free. There is a fee to park, but only when the Giants of Jets are playing at home. Security told me that it's only 16 days out of the year that you have to pay.

[@Cerstani]

Woohoo, glad you're back!

[@mst3kanita]

It's like these days a mall with a parking garage is either going to be an amazing mall, or a eeeghghg mall. No inbetweenies. I’d love to see opening day coverage of this place.

[@runner4life551]

There is! If you look towards the end of the video below you can see people walking around on opening day. It was BIG for the city of Indianapolis, brought some new upscale retailers and branded stores like Nordstrom, Parisian, Warner Bros Studio Store & the Disney Store, among others. Sadly they are all closed down and we're left with a shell of what it once was. It still gets heavily trafficked though which is interesting, I guess the crime and theft has caused a lot of the major retailers to leave. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4LRapqajNqepJo

[@TurboGibby-bh8bu]

Goodness, this place used to be nice, and frankly, it still does have its good parts! Sadly, it's practically a ghost mall these days. I used to review those very elevators! I miss it. Probably won't be going back soon. Not with the crime skyrocketing, etc. Last time we went someone got shot in the same parking garage (you were in that one) when we went 2 years ago a couple days after we went. But thanks for the tour! I'm discovering things I haven't known already!

[@Doongie4ever]

Great to have you back and love this mall.

[@jamesdavis8463]

1 of the best malls ever!... Shop, Eat, & Watch?! Yes, 1 of the best.

[@jasonb8569]

It so great that you're back and feeling better. Always enjoy your videos

[@justin5743]

“the burgeoning fiasco that is the American Dream Mall”

[@LiquidCucumber]

Walked under this place several times when I attended Gencon, gonna have to actually go in to fully appreciate the opulence. Thanks, Kristin!

[@skyla611]

Welcome back! Loved seeing a new video in my feed.

[@Zynyster]

Wow! I am so glad you went back and redo this Mall - it's Beautiful!!! and that Pool is so nice!

[@honushi9315]

So cool to see you cover malls from both of my home bases: Cincinnati and Indianapolis!

[@PsicoShadow84]

So nice to see you're back! hope you're doing well and thanks for sharing this gem :)

[@JeffreyJakucyk]

I've been to Circle Centre just a few times around 2004-2006 while at conventions. I remember it being pretty nice, and it's holding up alright. I also used it in my senior architecture thesis as an example of OK but flawed historic facade retention on Meridian Street. My main criticism at the time was that the facades were mostly blanked out with frosted glass, or occupied by utilitarian stairwells. While Nordstrom did use some of it for cafes and restaurants at some point, there was still a lot of blanked out window. It's heartening to see that they've opened most of them up, at least at street level, to more varied uses.

[@CWRURoss]

It’s so great to see you back!

[@WhisperWebb]

What a beautiful mall, glad your back! Excellent work as always 👏

[@JazzyBabe56]

beautiful space - and nice to have you back! ♥

[@jasburger]

I'm glad you're back and I hope things are going alright. Your videos are very comforting for me and I'm glad they're back, as school is stressful to me.

[@UniCommProductions]

I’m much much better these days!

[@jasburger]

@@UniCommProductions Well that's good, I'm glad things are better.

[@george.h5530]

Great to have you back!

[@kimmers220]

Loved it!! So glad you are back!!! 💕

[@coreyruple2541]

Glad to have you back, we missed you!

[@charlesconnolly8435]

never knew that the mall itself had gone through such a long and complicated history involved from it's planning to it's construction phase. I appreciate the in depth research on this video who knew i mean.

[@BuffaloChicken]

Glad you're back I missed your vids!🦄

[@SynchroSk8]

Fantastic video. Always love your detailed history and video. Thank you!

[@Ben77788]

I worked downtown about 10 years ago. The mall back then was still pretty full. Carson’s and Nordstroms were still there. We used to eat and shop there all the time. It’s a real shame, Amazon really did a number on all these retail stores.

[@Roz-90]

That glass block fountain is amazing! Welcome Back Kristin!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you! It’s good to be back!

[@noahr4951]

Awesome video. Thanks Kristin. Hope you really are good to go.

[@tempestfrost]

Welcome back you two! I hope everything's okay and you and yours are all safe and well:)♥

[@UniCommProductions]

You too! We are doing great; here’s hoping for no more setbacks!

[@theretromillennial]

Oh man! I can’t believe the arcade is still up there! I lived about an hour away from Indy in the late 90s and early 00s and had some great times there. Back then, they had a side room full of Mech Warrior pods and it was the coolest thing ever! 😂

[@anthonyxdaniel2218]

I worked here just recently closing a store. It’s even worse now. I suggest you go back before the supposed remodel begins. It’s a sad place to work or even go but it’s a beautiful mall.

[@nancydarling4918]

Excellent video. Mall is beautiful. Thanks.

[@chrissasandlin8344]

Love those frogs and that blue cast of light! I think all the fountains in the malls around me have been removed, much to their aesthetic detriment. Glad to see it's not like that elsewhere.

[@tailsfan10]

Ah, my downtown mall... I came up here to see a couple of movies and get some shows before! This may not be my #1 mall, it's still a part of my childhood. I never actually acknowledged the interior design as much

[@craigjensen6853]

Like "American Dream" and Pittsburgh Mills, they had _SO_ many chances to pump the brakes and stop for a second and question "What the hell are we doing here?" but this seems like another one that suffered from completion bias, "Well, we're already this far into it, there's no turning back now." The tragedy is that public money and sales taxes were used which hurts the poor the most. But I guess at least it wasn't the 3.5M square foot version, can you imagine what that would be like today? I was there in 2012, I went through Union Station (that place was already super depressing with most of it closed off) and I saw a movie at this mall. I didn't see the whole mall though, I didn't realize it was so large or the history behind it. I don't know quite what to think about Simon. I can't understand how they are surviving, I think they are _grossly_ overvalued. Buying out their tenants to keep them open seems like a shell game that won't end well. Buying out Taubman seems the same. You can't buy your way out of this mess. Billy and Bobby Taubman sure did make the deal of a century though and got out at just the right time. I bet if you called a bank and asked for a loan to build a mall today, they would laugh so hard it would blow the speaker out on the phone. Malls are like the bath houses of yesteryear. Grand and elaborate but obsoleted by what you can now do in your own home. I don't like it, but it's reality. I hope Bezos someday gets lost in space, Amazon is an awful, horrible company but (like Facebook), people are addicted to it.

[@runner4life551]

Yeah... I mean, the mall was a really cool concept but it just didn't make sense for Indianapolis at the time. There were already so many competitors with the Castleton Square and Keystone malls up north (which already fit middle-class and upscale clientele) as well as Greenwood Park down south. Its location is also just... difficult to get to. Parking is not easy by any means. I'm surprised it has lasted so long without being completely repurposed.

[@adventuresofscottandmichel9864]

Neat downtown mall! Beautiful! Thanks for showing us the mall!

[@WhitfieldProductionsTV]

I just got back to indy several months ago, I had not had a chance to get back to ccm yet, ty for this.

[@timothywalker4563]

Glad you’re back and had fun with your sister, there’s nothing like spending time with family😎 this mall’s columns and atrium like feel like, something that might have been built in Europe.

[@UniCommProductions]

That’s a really good observation! That hadn’t occurred to me but you’re absolutely right it does!

[@snakeboren4814]

THE CUTEST CRUISE DIRECTIOR IS BAC!!!!!!!

[@UniCommProductions]

Aw shucks Snake

[@snakeboren4814]

@@UniCommProductions I AIN'T NICE....BUT I CALL IT LIKE I C IT!!!! I SEEN PLAY GAME AT A MALL AND U WON A DOLL OR A STUFFED ANIMAL KRISTIN!!!

[@snakeboren4814]

IT LOOKS LIKE U LOST WEIGHT KRISTIN!

[@UniCommProductions]

@@snakeboren4814 I’ve lost a lot of weight-90 pounds so far!

[@snakeboren4814]

@@UniCommProductions U LOOK GOOD GIRL!!!! U LOOKED GOOD B...4...2!!!

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Absolutely fantastic video and welcome back, I’m glad to see your uploads back! Having visited this mall in 2018 (it was June and I got to walk through a maze of walls and directional signage in the old Bon-Ton) I can safely say that this is one of the coolest malls I’ve ever been to! Providence Place Mall is a lot like Circle Center but doing way better and also is super cool!😸

[@mapoatlas]

The Bon-Ton as you call it was Carsons

[@ryanfrisby7389]

@@mapoatlas ah, thanks!

[@syxepop]

Kristin, THANK GOD YOU'RE BACK!!!! 😀😀😀 At least we now know you're at least close to 👌🏻. As I was trying to say at the end of the livestream... One of my local malls, The Mall of San Juan (near the SJU airport) has one of their former department store anchors (were Nordstrom and Saks) converted into a TV studio (now in use for at least a daily game show) for Channel 11, which I suppose they'll move in totally very soon. This is another option for "vacant space" in malls.

[@charlesconnolly8435]

great video on the circle centre mall i wish they could redevelop for the long term malls have always had a spotty track record. Ive seen circle centre go through it's up's and down's im hoping they can make it a better mall again through some kind of new plans.

[@MrJamieBattle]

I still have their directory booklets from the mid 2000s. Simon just sold the mall weeks ago :/ but it opened exactly on my 4th bday.

[@pinkubusXtreme]

Oh yeah I was out here a couple years ago while me and my buddy were arcade hopping, the parking was packed and I ended up scraping the side of my car on a pillar when this massive truck was coming towards us and I was trying to get out of the way

[@ThrillMouseMoto]

Dang, ..my malls are 🗑️ compared to this one, Haha. Just subbed and looking forward to seeing more! This will all be pretty new to me, Thanks! ✌️💯🐭

[@LifeOfMasson]

Thanks for documenting

[@robertrichter1361]

So sad to see it like this. I lived in Indianapolis back in '95-'97. This mall was always packed when it first opened. I bought my first Kipling bag in that mall, lol. Good times.

[@UniCommProductions]

I do love me a good Kipling bag. I just had to retire one I’d been carrying around for about a decade.

[@allent7118]

Lots of natural light

[@MRVISTA-wz7vj]

I was in this mall right after it opened. It was hopping. To see it now is sad and shocking.

[@youtuber3328]

to be COMPLETELY honest i did do and will really really LOVE circle centre mall

[@RangerRickTV]

omg this mall is beautiful!

[@dgrombach1]

Got to thinking about you as I haven’t heard from you in a while. Missed hearing your lovely voice.

[@Daniel_s444]

Kristin: The huge hanging artworks at either end of the mall, the sun and the moon, signified the parking garage (moon garage and sun garage) at Nordstrom and Parisians end of the mall. I wish you could have seen it in it's heyday. Was there a reason why you did not go into the Arts Garden? It's STILL an awesome space (day or night.) I drag food in there to eat when I am visiting downtown.

[@UniCommProductions]

There was an event going on in there that day and I didn’t want anyone to think I was being a creep.

[@Daniel_s444]

@@UniCommProductions Gotcha! I just wanted to make sure you knew it was there! It's soooo cool!

[@WhittyPics]

They built a mall in the middle of Louisville KY and it didn't do well either. I think they ended up reopening 4th street where it was located. People just don't want to deal with downtown

[@WhittyPics]

This mall doesn't appear to be completely dead yet, though it seems to be struggling a little.

[@UniCommProductions]

A big part of it across the board seems to be getting people to be willing to pay to park-this particular mall and a lot of urban malls have a connected parking garage so shoppers don’t have to go outside or park blocks away-but it’s a hard sell in a lot of cases to get people to be on board with having to pay to park when they can go to a suburban mall and shop at the same stores with free parking. Cincinnati, St Louis and Atlanta also had urban malls that failed for similar reasons. Even with urban malls that manage to survive the paid parking thing is a major sticking point.

[@jdfreebyme1092]

I have been to the circle center mall when they have club at the third floor.

[@S1LLY_KAL1_LOV3R]

Your Mall Videos Are Great, And I Love Vaporwave And Your Just A Great Mall Walker In General.

[@UniCommProductions]

Aww thanks!

[@Wesley_C]

I see there arcade is alive, nice. 13:40

[@markstrouse3101]

Great video Kristen

[@ERA_Productions]

Great video!

[@Nikkisweeets]

Shes BACK LIKE RETURN OF THA MACK!!! *Siri Play Mark Morrison* you are my fave dead mall cruise 🚢 director. Thank You for all the great content

[@gmanandhislady]

I've missed your videos!

[@VeeFL]

Since Simon manages the mall, and they now co-own JCPenney, they could stick a Penney's in the former Carson's space if they wanted to.

[@UniCommProductions]

A new Penney’s location. That’s definitely an idea.

[@craiggillett5985]

Growing up in the malls of the 80’s and living the boom and now bust, I seem to find all malls incredibly boring. The last place I would ever go to to buy something in person. No matter where you go, what ever country in the world, they are all the same generic …. Meh. I really do think the mall is over as a thing. As the world has opened up to air travel there’s some incredible investments going on within international airports, and I wonder if international travel and the mega mall experience has become the new face to face special occasion for the mid 21 century ?

[@coreycoyle9548]

I really the Fountain!!!!! Great Video!!!!! F+L, Corey

[@aromalrays6530]

What’s the song in the intro?

[@UniCommProductions]

It’s a song called Self Made Woman that came from a music service for creators called Epidemic Sound…a lot of their tracks are on Spotify though!

[@stickynorth]

I find it sad when downtown malls fail because if you can't even make your downtown succeed what hopes do you have for the rest of the metro? I say that has my hometown went from having briefly in the late 1980's, 4 anchor city-centre malls like Circle Centre to having only 0.5 of a zombie mall in 2022... It doesn't have 1 anchor tenant despite a billion dollar arena/skyscraper development built literally next door... RIP, Edmonton City Centre...

[@UniCommProductions]

Downtown malls are, or at least were, a very tough sell to get people to come down from the suburbs, I feel like if they had been built in the mid-2000s when a lot of downtowns were experiencing a rebirth they may have done better, if only because more people actually lived downtown vs 10 years earlier.

[@tommyspike1969]

There is a 600 million dollar renovation coming soon.

[@Steve.Cutler]

One thing I've noticed about these dead or dying malls is not may people carrying shopping bags from purchases. It's mind boggling how these dead malls can even keep the doors open. How does less than 20% or 30% occupancy pay the bills? This mall sounds like another forced build..should have never happened.

[@AAAA-nv5cf]

Used to be a cool mall but once Nordstrom started to leave I knew the mall was heading towards trouble.

[@rapidfire3914]

You misspelled the city name it's Indianapolis

[@UniCommProductions]

Oh God that’s embarrassing. It’s a typo-I promise I know how to spell it. I may have to fix that and reupload. Thanks for letting me know

[@rapidfire3914]

@@UniCommProductions no big deal just thought I would point it out

[@robertmiller2104]

Redevelop it looks busy and doing well what?

[@UniCommProductions]

It was exceptionally busy on the afternoon we were there because there was a cheerleading competition going on in the Convention Center next door. It was lunch time, so a lot of families had gone to the mall during the break. One issue they're having is that many of the occupied spaces are independent stores that can't command the rent or traffic that a national chain would, so the mall isn't making as much money as they'd like off the tenants they do have. This is definitely not a dire situation, though, I agree; most of the malls I cover would love to have even half the number of tenants they have. I think it's that it's considered a prime location that they don't want to languish in the city center like that.

[@bradklingensmith]

Pgh Mills, 20 years and still a mistake.

[@TurboGibby-bh8bu]

Ugh this place is a dump! I do not plan on ever going back.

[@UniCommProductions]

It's probably not going to be around much longer, so that probably wont be an option anyway.

[@jonathand6231]

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖒 🏃

[@joeyloyer2366]

My for fom s uppcim a homg

[@joeyloyer2366]

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[@paulabrannan1111]

An outdated concept by the time it finished, at taxpayers expense. Worst waste of tax money. I pity clueless citizens of Indiana