Crystal City Underground | Liminal Spaces & Stale Retail Directly Under Amazon.com HQ2 | ExLog 75

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Happy Halloween, everyone! This episode is a treasure, and I'm so glad I can finally bring this place to you all. Liminal spaces are one of the most haunted aspects of the internet, and the shops at Crystal City...or the Crystal City Mall, formerly known as the Crystal Mall...this place is amazing. Come get lost in the liminal space with ma.
#exlog #deadmall #halloween

[@sal]

Happy Halloween, everyone! Do you have any spooky liminal spaces around you? Let me know if you want to book the fake octopus for your next birthday party, I get a discount.

[@Decade8Media]

Sal, my mom just passed a few days ago. Much, much too young. As a kid, I spent countless hours with her traversing the many amazing malls and department stores that existed back in the day here in Calgary. Some of my best memories of her are of time we spent in these places. These videos bring to mind those awesome, magical retail wonders and remind me of her.

[@adventureswithjose9739]

Loving those Terazzo floors. That's a very mid-century aesthetic. The ceramic tiles scream 90s.

[@PaperMario64]

Thank you for making this video. I worked in Crystal City with my sister for a few years during the late 90s. I lived with her and her shift started really early. We would get there around 6:00 am and walk the tunnels for exercise. Back then there wasn’t many extensive maps, so we would stumble upon new tunnels and shops all the time. It was great. I still dream of exploring those corridors. Back then, we had a small Safeway and could grab groceries at lunch. We also had a bookstore to hang out in and a comic book shop. Crystal City shops had everything you could possibly need. The old movie “Logan’s Run” reminds me of Crystal City. Also, if you watch any Backrooms videos, they remind me of Crystal City as well. I love how different the sections are. It wasn’t until after I changed jobs that I found out there is a stairway that leads to a little above ground park.

[@LeahLeah222]

I was in a long distance relationship with someone who lived in Richmond, Va. Spent many weekends in the Marriott above this mall. We also visited the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond, Va. So you reading this poem is like serendipitous for me.

[@alimaleki217]

Sal, this really brings back memories! Crystal City Mall was one of the first malls I visited after moving to VA 30 years ago. Unlike other area malls I never had a reason to go back. It seemed much smaller then and not particularly nice!

[@minttulatte]

The Raven is one of the creepiest poems I've ever heard. Gives me chills every time😱

[@Rogue849]

After about a year of binge watching Retail Archaeology, Dan Bell and The proper people, I was looking for another mall related channel. After watching a few vids here and there, I'm adding your channel to my list of dead mall stuff. You have another faithful viewer here!

[@kimh659]

Perfect spooky underground exploration of days gone by. The elevator alone was the creepiest thing ever. Amazing as usual!

[@RhondaO]

Your videos are so soothing with nostalgia...I absolutely love to sit quietly while watching and feel the sense of calm wash over me. Thank you for sharing and inviting us in.

[@districtline]

I worked at the KB Crystal City Twin Cinemas in 1977. Distinctly remember the "clack-clack" of my heels down those long, spooky hallways that seemed to go nowhere. Just when you thought you were lost, a massive space would open up. No wonder the theatre closed.

[@FIXTREME]

Man, Crystal City! So in case y'all didn't know, Arlington is kind of

[@aca2983]

I have walked this place from end to end many times, and I still find corners I hadn't seen before. As an urban planner, it fascinates me endlessly, and its a snapshot of a very specific place, time, economy, etc. It's changing already, so parts of it are going away. At the Morton's, you used to be able to go left and there was a Starbucks on that corner, more stores, a FedEx Kinko's, and a Hamburger Hamlet restaurant. I thought that access farther north was blocked, but you can go around another way following the signs towards the Earth Treks place. (BTW, Earth Treks used to be Sport & Health gym, and I had a corporate membership back in the mid-90's, which is how I first discovered CC). The part which is blocked is where the Alamo theater will be I think. There used to be 1, maybe 2 places where there were "habitrail" overpasses that crossed Crystal Drive, but I think they came down in the 90's. There used to be an Apple store, in the late 80's/early 90's before Apple even had their own stores. It was an independent store specializing in Apple computers, printers, repairs. Had cool neon lighting. "The Landing" had tables & chairs but these were removed b/c covid when you were there, but they are back now. There is always a contingent of nerds there practically 24/7 playing board games and doing nerd stuff. One of the awesome highlights you missed is some mixed-media painted windows in the corridors around Synetic Theater. They are exterior scenes of buildings around Crystal City in the glorious 70's/80's heyday. A very North Korea kind of vibe. The ones nearest the theater are covered over with vinyl graphics for the theater, but there are some close by- I don't think you went down those halls or you would certainly have shown them. To me, those windows are like the sacred spiritual center of the underground. I always go see them when I am there, and when they go away to me that will be the final end of the "old" Crystal City.

[@W0lfB0y1981]

Interesting to see how much this mall has changed over time. Strangely this mall is one of my earliest memories. My parents would often take weekend work "vacations" for seminars/meetings and stay at the Crystal City Marriott often. The mall had such a dark feeling with red brick flooring, exposed black ceiling and tight hallways compared to the local mall I was use to going to. I swear "the landing" area you passed by was a food court in the 80s. There was an arcade on the corner not far from it where I would blow through my allowance. So long ago but I still remember it so well. This place had such a vibe, and it was so busy that's hard to forget. Thank you for uploading this, I haven't seen this mall in about 30 years now. This was a nice treat to see how it's been updated (for the worse) and it's current condition.

[@kamaltv6048]

So I used to frequently walk around the Crystal City Underground when I lived in the area from 2015 to 2017. It was also the place that I would go through whenever I would hit a rough patch. There's just a vibe there that I can't put my finger on, that puts me at ease. Funny story - one time I walked past "Relaxation Station" (

[@connerhannon]

This is my favorite youtube video of all time

[@00maytals]

That movie escalated quickly, from a rock rolling down a hill, octopus wrestling, to nuclear annihilation!

[@aLittleBitter.]

Sure brings back a ton of great memories. I was stationed at Fort Myer in the early to mid 90's. This place was so alive & unique when I was there.

[@robertschaefer3223]

There is another Crystal City Underground in Crystal City Missouri. It's an old underground mine that's used for different things.

[@meepthirteen]

This video has everything that is good. Bela Lugosi, the Raven recital, cavernous deserted mall, the Overlook references, pretty decorations, liminal space explanation! Thanks again 😍