DEAD MALL SERIES REMASTERED Back to the 80s : The Gallery in Philadelphia (aka Fashion District)

[@cathpeterson1944]

I was at The Gallery and Wanamaker Department store in 1989 it was so classic back then and it was super busy, I miss those days

[@Tunatim1]

Dan this is awesome as usual….I meant to comment on the original but forgot. I went to high school about 10 blocks away from the gallery. There is actually a massive under ground city beneath where you were. I got a job as a messenger at a law firm on arch street about 5 blocks away…..they taught us how to use the underground labyrinth so we could make it to city hall faster to file court documents. That would be an instant classic if you did a video exploring the underground city. It’s truly another world down there. They’re are shops, cafes, dunkin, tons of pan handlers playing various instruments. The best thing is you could explore it during the day when tons of people are passing through, it will still look dark out. After about 7-8pm you would not want to be down there lol.

[@penguincamp]

Shoot, I think YOU have to make this video now!

[@zbdot73]

Love the tired sounding 80s mall music in the background, really adds to the dead mall 'ambiance'.

[@conflictmagazine]

Yeah, that would be called Mall Soft, which is a sub-genre of Vaporwave. Yes, there is an entire genre of music devoted to dead malls :-)

[@EleventhHourPower]

It's also art and videos and games. kind of a like a multimedia way of thinking that's serious and a joke at the same time

[@caitthesinisterginger7603]

The Layout of this mall reminds me so much of the Toronto Eatons Center. Even down to it being attached to a station.

[@NicCageForPresident2024]

80s and 90s were the pinnacle and golden age of the mall. I was a kid in the 80s and teen in the 90s and the mall was the kick it spot.

[@Homegrown_Values]

Especially the arcade!

[@kirstenskog7809]

My family used to lived in Philly in the 80s. We shopped at the Gallery all the time. Sweet Memories.

[@TownieGirl1974]

0:20 - 1:45 Still remains my favorite *Dead Mall Series* opening of all of your Dead Mall Series openings. The music, the clips from the movie & the footage of the mall all fit together perfectly.

[@GaryCalhounnufftalon]

This was my childhood mall I rode those same trains and ate at the food courts was awesome and the footlocker always had a live dj playing good times. Thanks for the footage.

[@tedberner1461]

I worked in Philly for about a decade and remember the gallery at its peak in the '90s. It was impressive.

[@LethaWolf30]

I know it’s not really what you do Dan but I’d love to see what this place looks like now that all the renovations are done.

[@FaceIntoKeyboard]

Man, growing up in South Jersey, it was always so awesome to go to the Gallery. I remember those neon signs in the food court so well and Gallery II was always so impressive looking around Christmas time.

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

This place was like a special treat for me as a kid. It felt more special than the Moorestown and Cherry Hill Malls I’d regularly go to.

[@WilhelminaAlston]

Thanks for doing a video on the gallery. I use to work there in the late 80's it was a fun time 😊

[@dronetwister8956]

My favorite episode from the series! So glad to see it remastered

[@kristoferluck7095]

Another awesome video Dan! Thank you for remastering these. I love the amazing tile work on the ground floor as you look down from the 4th floor. It looks like a work of art. Nice that they incorporated the train station inside the mall. I also love the vintage "theatre" lights (tiny bulbs) they have in the corridors on the ceiling. A very 80s/90s feel. The mirror boxes hanging from the ceiling is also a nice touch. Another amazing video. Thank you again Dan!

[@elmobolan4274]

"Shop til u drop" was the eighties motto.... Man, back in the day, retailers and credit card business were living the dream feeding us an unrealistic fantasy that we could never catch....

[@WilhelminaAlston]

I here you!😅

[@WilhelminaAlston]

I here you!😅

[@ed10523]

Dan..You are A Genius..Love These Remastered Videos. Take Care!

[@jujuguy2323]

I remember malls in the eighties. Always a lot of people. People actually talking to each other and not buried in a cell phone. Wonderful days. I loved browsing in the record stores. And all the video game machines. Wow. Today malls are so boring. Maybe one day a time machine will enable us to go back to those days. 😀😀

[@erikflynn3376]

Malls became boring after the 90s to me.

[@pierreklee8032]

Another great video Dan. I grew up with Malls and loved going there for various reasons. I miss those days but with our society getting worse by the day - I have no problem staying home. First it was the steel industry, then the car industry, then the clothing industry, then furniture, tech companies and even lots of tourist places/parks. It is not looking good for America's future.

[@alanbeckham9093]

@ Pierre Klee. I agree with you completely. I grew up with the malls being a meeting place. Those malls are gone now, and I feel our great country being given away. Thanks for letting me share.

[@jamescook9661]

Sure doesn't seem like 43 years that i lived in Philadelphia and remember this and The Court stores at King of Prussia being built

[@TanyaM420]

I love the Night of the Comet footage!

[@genesiskeglar6372]

This was the first dead Mall video I ever saw. Late 2015. Good memories.

[@cameronmallory5807]

That movie was before it's time. I loved it. Can't forget weird science mall scenes

[@kethsharakhlok1976]

Interesting past of what you can share with us, Mr. Bell. Thank you. I only saw historical sites as 1st-time tourist years ago in Philadelphia where I felt it was a place of layering human vibes as much as one's pulses can be counted if this makes sense at all.

[@ZaffyKake]

Awe I grew up in South Philly and the whole family made many trips to the Gallery! It seems so different with all the fountains running. There was even a fountain underneath the glass elevator that made it look like you were in the water!

[@luvjxnakajen]

Love this one! The music is perfect!

[@blipblip88]

Dying mall prerequisites: Bath and Body Works (check), Burlington Coat Factory (check), Sears (check), JC Penney (check)..also; plants disappearing, fountains drying up, sudden colorful panels covering empty store spaces, old people still walking around...shitty kiosks selling crap at 75% more than you could get from ebay or Amzn.

[@emilysangmeister]

I grew up going to this mall! The 9D Cinema was an arcade with some other weird stuff in it beyond arcade cabinets. There was also a bit on the third floor on the west side that had a walk-through Christmas exhibit with Byers Choice looking animatronics. The main thing I remember about the food court was the Sbarros because ugh, Sbarros. That side always felt weird and cramped compared to Gallery II. I still remember walking out of the train station to just be in the middle of a mall? This was all in the early 90s.

[@tinastanbaugh]

I thought I had seen all of the dead malls but apparently I haven’t. Thanks for rereleasing these Dan!

[@philiphied]

There is so much security because people getting robbed down there all the gd time. Also this was one of the original spots for flash mobs to form during the craze a few years back.

[@erikflynn3376]

Too many bored people is why it was always something about this place as Gallery and the new name.

[@gtasick322]

One of my favorite movies love watching in the early morning great day starter!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@kimmers220]

One of the best! Happy Birthday Dan!!

[@yerabbit]

So many of the malls in this series have died after attempted renovations, it's nice to hear that one actually got to have a comeback.

[@chrissalynn4276]

@danbell isn’t this where they filed fast times?

[@Minnesotaqueen1969]

i remember seeing that movie as a teen in the 80's and thinking it would be so cool to have all the clothes lol

[@tamiajackson5782]

So many memories in the gallery center city was a whole different place back then

[@WilhelminaAlston]

I'm glad to hear so many positive comments about the old gallery. ❤😊

[@RageingMuffin]

I live here and pass through this place every day when I go to work. It really is a different place now. Very nice, very clean, but I do miss this little super market I used to visit when I got off the Orange Line. It's a strange feeling being there now, especially during the pandemic

[@sthread9096]

Mall management should’ve let you in the basement especially since you’re actually taking an interest in their mall, while very few others are. It’s that sort of mentality from leadership that helps put malls out of business

[@SHS854EVER]

This reminds me kind like the Cambridge side Gallery mall in Cambridge mass.When it first opened it was 3 floors of shopping and restaurants.So with in the past 2 or so years they have changed the mall to 2 floors and the 3rd floor they change it to office space .The one in Cambridge Mass is like this mall it’s still kind of a ghost town .I have also been in this mall and it’s way to big and they just need to close down this mall totally.I enjoy your videos very much Dan Bell nice work

[@ScatteredCollector]

I used to shop here a lot when it was "The Gallery" and despite it being technically a dead mall, it at least had stores such as 2 Game Stops (this is important) and a Books A Million. The Fashion District on the other-hand, well, lets just say that its lacking in the store department a little too much - 1 GameStop (ground level), and doesnt really have much outside of that if you're not much into spending money on clothes/sneakers every paycheck. Oh, also, its confusing as hell to navigate. 12:05 Fashion District has an even more increase of security; in fact, more than ever

[@erikflynn3376]

Two Radio Shacks, GameStop's, Sam Goody's, The Wall, FYE, Old Navy as seen on this. Funcoland was two stores I think?

[@ScatteredCollector]

@@erikflynn3376 I wasn’t going through when Funcoland existed, actually I don’t think I was born yet…

[@chelseasyrek9792]

Does anyone know the name of the song at the beginning?

[@craigbrown8984]

Towards the end the two escalators brought back memories.

[@TheOneKEA]

This is the second best episode of the Dead Mall Series. The music curation is PERFECTION and matches the 80s aesthetic so well!

[@TheNumbasign2]

I was just here at the gallery mall this past week. Shopping at Nike. Not a dead mall. It’s remodeled. But no where near the attraction it used to be.

[@Rumpsee]

What’s the music @ 5:00 ?

[@kryptonian5416]

Fun fact: The Gallery mall was mentioned in the hit song "parents just dont understand" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince!

[@tamiajackson5782]

Damn the good old days

[@WilhelminaAlston]

Hell yeah it was the good old days. I want to go back! If only if could click my heels three times and go back 👟👟😊

[@avalonjustin]

That mall opened a month before I was born. Still a nice place, what a shame to see it slowly fade away.

[@PU238Wave]

Ah, I miss the 80's.

[@WilhelminaAlston]

So do I 😢

[@Mythosidhe]

When I was a kid in the early 80s this mall was AMAZING. Really depressing to see how derelict it's become over the intervening decades. I was in the renovated portion last summer to go to the movie theater, and honestly despite all the money they've dumped into it, it hasn't improved much.

[@WilhelminaAlston]

What happened to t gallery is on line shopping 🛍️😢

[@kathiejohns1418]

The mall has problems that even a renovation will not really solve

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

Mainly Amazon, it sucks how much internet convenience has ruined community. Video stores too.

[@devonboulden2496]

To me, the Dead Mall series is Dan's attempt to recapture and a way to remarket his old series. 1 dead mall is amazing. 10 dead malls is interesting. 100 dead malls is redundant and dull. A train station inside the mall creates a whole new problem. It makes the mall land public property. That means you have to deal with the homeless and gangs. It's important to create the private property barrier for these problems so you can police the problems off of your property.

[@jeremyud]

When they were revamping the mall they wanted to open it up more with more windows and were basically told no because of the trains.

[@jimfaust6342]

I loved this mall. I havent been there since 2018 but I want to go back. I used to go the there when I visited One liberty Place.

[@wolfy1987]

This was a really cool one. Remodel has no personality or joy at all. What else is new though. Every new thing they build in that city these days is a miserable soulless box.

[@lowres_144p]

I went to this mall as a kid once while my family was travelling and to this day, I still have this crazy fever-like dream that takes place inside this mall. Holy shit.

[@blackluxurians6062]

What's the name of this song!? Love it 😀

[@stevew270]

Catherine Mary Stewart and Night Of The Comet, ahh the 80's!

[@majikglustik9704]

NIGHT OF THE COMET! YEA! nice touch, Dan! So, if it is no longer The Gallery, wouldn't that make The Gallery 1 the...uh... The Gap?

[@Mr_Green1017]

Philadelphia mills aka Franklin Mills is on life support also

[@chadhobin6944]

The Gallery For LEANING not Learning as that old store sign says missing an R, lol.

[@gmcenroe]

The only real estate where rents go down as you go up a floor.

[@jeffjeannette9364]

The Gallery has always been a bit sketchy. Any mall leading to a metro is, and no it's not going to be different after a remodel.

[@Roz-90]

I hate to think of all that gorgeous neon getting ripped out, but that's the world we live in 🙄

[@phillychick9060]

I haven't been to the gallery in ages...

[@Saymeow_Kay]

Can you do a remastered version of the Century 3 Mall, it closed in 2019 because it was noted that the building was unsafe (Condemned.) Of what I know on why the building was Condemned was because of a non-working sprinkler system, and no heat. We should also add damaged roof, as "C & P explores" went to the mall and found out that police officers, a ambulance, and fire trucks were near the parking garage. Somebody commented on the video that they were a volunteer for the fire department, and told us that the roof had collapsed. And water damaged??? IDK, but that building is very dangrous now!

[@NostalgiaFix81]

I went to this mall once in 2012. Thought it looked pretty cool at the time, but even then parts were looking a little shabby.

[@michaelgould9577]

The dark floor tiles just suck all the light out of the place.

[@JoelMcLaughlin]

Been to this mall in the late 90s

[@smokeybear5460]

This is how the malls are next to me.. Hardly anyone uses them to actually shop, they just go in to look around and honestly just sit and look at their phones to kill time.

[@americangirlNJ]

Dan I’d be curious to see what you’d make of the new mall by me. American dream in Rutherford nj. Look it up

[@bex.jackalope]

Night of the Comet ☄️ LOVE LOVE LOVE!! 🧟‍♂️🧟🧟‍♀️✨🎟📽

[@Zahnclassof95]

Me to I love that movie .it brings me back to the 80s I grow up in .I am guessing the shots in the video of the movie was filmed at this video

[@bex.jackalope]

@@Zahnclassof95 me too!

[@rogopdp7c]

All these malls look like maps in post apocalyptic video games.

[@Blktxdom2004]

I remember the gallery (or “the gallery mall,” as Will Smith put it), I was a junior in High School when it opened. I remember returning from Marine Corps Boot Camp and got off at the station running under the mall. (Also when I came home for leave after Desert Shield/Storm.) those bricks made me feel like royalty as I walked on them to catch ground buses to home. Sad that this iconic Philly location is not bustling. 😭

[@PhayzinOut]

I gotta ask. Did you start bugging at the clothes your mom bought? 😂

[@Blktxdom2004]

@@PhayzinOut - better...I scoffed at the ideas she gave. I was in the Marines at the time...so I had expert advice from the Sgt.Maj.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Real estate building is usually some form of money laundering or tax evasion, a way to sell some thing and buy it at the same time, all "legal like," usually filtering the money through international banks. Car washes, gas stations, condos, strip malls, and even indoor malls. They are all built with "questionable assets."

[@lisawalker8014]

This mall was actually mentioned in a hit song which was parents just don't understand by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince oh well I guess it's Glory Days Are Over but at least Paul Blart and the other Mall Cops still have jobs there overall it is pretty damn depressing

[@johnnyf8227]

Was an amazing mall in its day.

[@dangerzone24]

I liked the "Gallery for Leaning" lol. Ironic the R fell off...

[@clifforddean232]

Who's the girl at 1:07 ?

[@leatherman88ch]

Burlington is where JCPenney's was Kmart was the center and I believe that the other end was a huge major strawbrides

[@jebronlames7789]

So anyone in comments know what happened to this mall and why so much security?? Seems beautiful to me

[@MacXpert74]

I guess the term ‘dead mall’ is taken a bit liberally here as it was being renovated and still exists.

[@ImpetuouslyInsane]

I saw the thumbnail to this video and I knew exactly what movie you were referencing in the beginning. It's really kind of sad that nobody else is familiar with this b tier movie. It's kind of a shame.

[@nickyjames1985]

Reminds me of the mall from Fast Times

[@Rod-bp8ow]

This is not a DEAD mall, the developers knows what they are doing, it is to update the designs of the mall for it to be invigorating, since this mall dates back 80s, the developers already has saved enough resources for the development of the mall, to cater to bigger needs and standards. It is also good that it is situated near the transport services, though it does not have much tenants and leasers for now, one can never tell, since it is anticipation always. The businesses also opens accordingly once its back from its statistics/demographics per daily customer/passenger attendance. Keep going in doing the renovations and updates, 3 decades of planned renovation is to be a certainty according to time that is 22nd century, 2022 onwards, with newer approach for products, goods, deliveries/services as anticipated, providing and is to provide employment/businesses. Respectively:SMEs/.../.../.../.../.../G.M Industries. DON'T DELETE THIS POST, this is to INFORM. GDP Growth is preservation of the details of it all.

[@wiedietie]

🔥🔥😎👍

[@rolandmagic2750]

Hypedddd

[@leatherman88ch]

But they need for years that they were going to get remodeled and sold so that's why they let the place go to crap the number four to five years before they announced the changeover and remodels maintenance just went to zero

[@lukeshaul4932]

If you have no customers you will have no stores.

[@Brickyarddeuce]

I don’t know what he’s talking about it’s a good mall

[@rayizm3]

They destroyed this mall. Fashion District is nothing.

[@aagc1988]

again not remastered just upscaled... shame

[@ZeroFische]

4K bro

[@PhayzinOut]

Bruh, really? 🙄