CLOSED - A Visit to Pembroke Mall

Pembroke Mall. One of the earlier malls in the Tidewater VA region. Now partially demolished & slowly being redeveloped. The interior lacks much flair, and I expect the interior to be downsized overtime.
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[@Melanie220]

I worked at the drugstore in this mall for a number of years in the mid 70s to early 80s. It was a busy mall then, with a great mix of stores and services. Miller and Rhoads was a very old-school traditional upscale-ish women's clothing store; I got my first credit card there and loved shopping their sales. My parents bought just about everything they needed at Sears from the 60s onward. And the movie theaters out back were awesome--2 huge round white buildings with enormous screens that were perfect for blockbusters like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pembroke was pretty great at one time, but that time is long, long gone, and now it's completely closed up. Sad to see it go. 😢

[@misterrbl5156]

Pembroke mall has been on its last legs for the last 20 years. If it wasn't for down town VA Beach that mall would have died years ago. It's a shame though they had a really good Chinese buffet, when it went I was basically done with that mall.

[@vanessapazmino1886]

I’m from vb, this place has always felt like a cold hospital and you captured that perfectly. I want to make a mini do on it but from the perspective of the folks that grew up here. Thanks for featuring it.

[@ShadowKing1993]

This was my mall in the 2000s. Always loved how dead it always was compared to the crowed Lynnhaven Mall.

[@shmabadu]

The redesign in the later 2000s left the mall without any atmosphere. There was a feel to Pembroke Mall that was very comforting and cozy, afterward it felt sterile and lifeless.

[@josejrolando2]

Wow. I used to live in Virginia Beach from 2008 to 2010. I used to visit Pembroke Mall from the latter half of 2009 to the former half of 2010. I used to always carry around a backpack and hang out in the food court to write poems, short stories, and draw pictures. If I wasn't doing that, I was in the GameStop getting down on Guitar Hero Van Halen and Rock Band 2. I actually remember hearing the news that Michael Jackson passed away as I was playing Rock Band 2. Everybody crowded the Cox kiosk where the large television was to watch the breaking news story. I also used to hang out with a bunch of juggalo kids, they were the coolest bunch of people that I ever got to hang out with and made my time worth while there. After moving in May 2010, I never looked back until recently. So much has changed and all that's left behind are the memories that I'll never forget.

[@ALECXANDER.]

They are supposed to be adding 2 new high rise apartment buildings attached and a upscale 16 story hotel soon I wonder if they are just going to remove the middle part and make way for streets

[@MarksKicksOnRoute66]

Nice job! At least the entry doors look modern.

[@TheSuperdude60]

interesting to see you at one of my local malls. nice video !

[@WhittyPics]

Dying but not the deadest mall I have seen

[@namco003]

You should look at Military Circle. It's like 4 miles from this mall. Out of over a hundred spaces, only maybe 1/4 of them are occupied

[@alexsummy7509]

I worked in Pembroke Mall from 2007 to 2009. I worked at the Pearle Vision when it was still thriving. The eye doctor left and took 2 opticians with and all the receptionists with him shortly after I left. They all work at Eye Care Optometry, which you see before the play area and Target. Pearle Vision stuck around for another decade with very few customers. The mall was in worse shape back then. Pembroke had always played second fiddle to the Lynnhaven Mall and there used to be a 2nd wing of the mall that was demolished about 15 years ago since it was completely empty save 2 stores. When I worked there, mall management was an absolute joke. They expected the White Horse Pub to adhere to mall hours and open their doors at 10AM, which is completely ridiculous for a bar, and ran the venerable institution out of business. The disgruntled owner slipped a few stink bombs under the door to their office. They sent the marketing director to a convention with a displayed that showed a bunch of high end designer items, which cost the mall $30K in licensing fees. This mall manager was later fired for getting drunk at one of the outparcel restaurants (Smokey Bones, I think , but I could be wrong). Here's the crazy part: the bar tender tried to cut off the manager and she said something to the effect of "do you know who I am" and the bartender called the parent company and got here fired.

[@amyyoung2830]

White Horse Pub was done very dirty by mall management. It was a fun place, loved the painting of a bulldog wearing a Royal Navy admiral's uniform, and had a good feel of a traditional pub to it, from sports artifacts to the seating. Very sad to see it go.

[@alexsummy7509]

@@amyyoung2830 I was too. The manager was a really decent guy.

[@wyndy77]

This mall is closing for good in one week. The last stores are packing up right now.

[@Danerboots]

Heeey! It's my mall! XD

[@markvolpe2305]

The outside of the mall looks rather nice and modern.

[@chrisburke1573]

It really looks so much much different when I hung out here as a teenager in the 90’s Such great memories here. BTW Space Port was amazing along with. Chic fila

[@nancydarling4918]

Good video.Thanks!

[@garychen7081]

Intimately familiar with this mall in the past :) there was a pretty big renovation around 2013 or so. Sad to see it didn't really catch.

[@mazzycollins9856]

This area is being redeveloped now.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

Doomie great work as always. Soneday I'd love to see you do a ranking or tier list of malls you've visited. :)

[@hm12460]

Visited this mall frequently through the 80's. Last visited in 2009 after not being in there since 1991 or 1992. Didn't care much for it in 2009 but still sorry to see it failing.

[@giantrobot9000]

Unrecognizable from the early 1990s when I saw it last.

[@releasedrehab]

Very good info bro

[@campermike8879]

I was going to say you either been holding onto this footage a long time or they are really pushing easter early this year. 🤣

[@jeffyboy004]

nice foretelling of the current storm at the end....

[@Danerboots]

I wish you could have seen the children's art exhibit.

[@jeee1074]

The interior of this mall will be closing next Monday.

[@namco003]

This mall has always had a reputation for being dead. That was the only other mall I used to go to back in the early 80s, besides Military Circle. My brother and I used to bike to Pembroke, back in the day to play at the arcade Space Port. It was the same mall that had outside movie theater pods, before they built a theater inside the mall. We watched Return of the Jedi at the movie pod. Across the inside theater was a sort of Jungle Golf and arcade. I used to play Dance Dance Revolution there on my breaks in the early 2000s.

[@johnbelvin5216]

I did not always have a reputation of being dead. I was going to it since I was a kid when it opened in '66. it's always had good business until the late 90s From that point on it started slowly losing foot traffic. I was always crowded on Saturdays in the 60s and 70s. I grew up with that mall, lived only three blocks away.

[@namco003]

90s sound about right. I rarely went there by then. Mainly for the movie theater and the arcade, but I didn't drive and by the time I did, my job was across the street from Lynnhaven Mall, and my second job not long after was in the shops on the opposite side of the mall

[@pslay9324]

I MISS PEMBROKE MALL FROM 1981-1986 WHEN GOING TO PRINCESS ANNE HIGH AS A TEENAGER. LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT

[@RangerRickTV]

What kind of camera are you using here doomie?

[@jeremiahmullikin]

You think he'll ever answer?

[@PhantomofDB]

Even when malls were thriving nobody liked this mall

[@Tiknuttle]

One of my least favorite malls. I never go there

[@patricksaxon3983]

It is a beautiful mall, but one level malls do not very well.

[@anotherasian3514]

idk if this counts since lynnhaven mall used to be a two story mall, but even now that it’s a one story mall, it’s one of the most successful malls i’ve EVER seen, if not the most successful i’ve ever been to.

[@patricksaxon3983]

Another Asian Most one level malls really do not do very well like they used, due to competition with other multi level malls and new shopping centers that has become so popular.

[@MetalPete_the_metalfan]

I know a few thriving one level malls in Wisconsin I been to. First off Brookfield Square in the Milwaukee area, both East and West Towne in Madison and Fox River in Appleton.

[@17z483]

Koki: Williamsburg, Virginia 1/31/16

[@blandmalls]

Ah yes, Goodmorning America. A good choice of music.

[@kevinbeck5912]

Any Music CD LP shops or book shops. Only fye exist they suck highest prices in the world don't shop fye.