Grossmont Center: A 1961 Dead Mall Gem | Retail Archaeology

[@situationmoney]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Grossmont Center was always packed with people. This was once the "main" shopping center for East San Diego County. In the early 1980s, I used to spend every Friday and Saturday there at the Starport Arcade. Sad to see it's not that busy anymore...

[@RetailArchaeology]

The Starport Arcade sounds rad as hell 🙂

[@stphinkle]

It was packed even into the 1990s.

[@tomji7415]

I know so few people that remember Starport! What an original aracade.

[@joels9263]

I didn't move to La Mesa until 93 at that time there was a Namco arcade, across from a comic book store called good guys bad guys. I would have loved to have been around in the Starport days, do you have pictures of it?

[@museumandtravel]

not one stain or piece of garbage or sign of neglect very nice property management

[@celsovera91]

999,999 SUBSCRIBERS At least they don’t live up to their name: GROSSmont

[@vanivalentine5564]

That mall is weird, it gets so much mixed traffic from the hospital across the street.Some people looking for gifts to send to their loved ones in the hospital and others to kill time.I was the general manager of the comic store there for about 5 months. If you go back check the comic shop cause it used to be a older gentlemen’s store with a creepy basement they use for D&D . The paneling is outrageously 70’s . Best place to see movies if all other theaters are sold out. They always have a seat. Also that’s the Walmart that always smells like bologna, don’t know why but it always does.

[@tomji7415]

Situationmoney mentioned the "Starport Arcade" in Grossmont Center, and I thought I'd describe it. First, a little background: There were a ton of arcades in the late 70's to very early 80's in the La Mesa area- where Grossmont Center is located. Growing up in the area, there was a Miniature Golf about a mile from Grossmont Center that had 2 arcades and one of them was probably the biggest in San Diego. There was also an arcade less than a 1/2 mile from the Miniature Golf, in the Severin Shopping Center. Even with those great options close to home, Starport was a place worth visiting. First, the place had no windows, it was in the front of the shopping center, where the theater is now, and you entered through this long curving hallway, the walls and ceiling covered with corrugated galvanized steel panels. The only lighting was some colored strip lights along the corners of the ceiling. When you got in to the Arcade itself, it was like walking onto the bridge on Star Trek. Along the ceiling, mounted at a 45 degree angle, were these rectangular screens, mounted in frames to look like windows, that showed stars and asteroids passing by- mimicking the movement of being on a ship going through space! The arcade was dimly lit, and there were large platforms of different heights, and shapes, that the games were on. It was a large open area, with galvanized corrugated steel panels on the walls. It looked like a command center of a spaceship with the screens of asteroids flying by. Directly off of the command center were a couple of elevated platforms of different shapes with games on them. Never seen anything like it before, or since. It was a great time growing up in San Diego!

[@mstiefan6996]

That train club set-up looks amazing. So many tiny details in everything. Really cool the mall owners allow them to have all that in a building.

[@methos101]

Wow I haven’t been to that mall in forever. Talk about a blast from the past. Thanks for posting 😊.

[@electriceyeslide5959]

I grew up in La Mesa and lived less than a mile from it. I can tell you all about it’s heyday in the 1980s when I spent nearly everyday there. My Mom worked there and I ended up working there. It was a fantastic mall in the ‘80s and today it’s a shell of what it once was.

[@lmRestaino]

Same here! I lived on Jackson drive ‘79-‘82. I worked in the food court at “Mexicatessan” the good ‘ol days!

[@JediHobbit89]

As someone from San Diego, I loved your videos for this, Horton Plaza, and Parkway Plaza! If you're ever out there again, check out Seaport Village. It's been under threat of destruction for years now.

[@ScenicMirage]

I've been to Grossmont Center several times and didn't actually know that this was a mall. I thought this was just a strip mall. The Walmart and Target definitely distracted me from noticing that there was a whole mall there. I think that may be a contributing factor to it's demise. It's beautiful nevertheless.

[@ThePrelude84]

The Wal-Mart building in Grossmont Center used to be a Montgomery Ward.

[@Catmannj1]

Great video. At least the operators are trying to keep up the mall with regular cleaning and the flowers and plants. The Macy's had to be a Broadway or other Federated Department store before Macys came in and converted all of them to its nameplate. Best part of your video is the model train exhibition. That can be one way to use dead retail space because there are probably millions of model train fans out there. Wish I had the room for one.

[@Leroset]

Catman Mark Blanchard I was just thinking that all different kinds of hobby clubs could probably rent out retail space and show off their hobbies, not just model train fans! It's a really good idea!

[@UncleFeedle]

That food court is pretty amazing. It's like traveling 25 years back in time.

[@davidc.pierce9631]

What a shame! A beautiful locale. Let us hope for renewed traffic in this mall.

[@zombiejedimaster]

Man I stumbled across your channel and I am so glad I did. Your videos are very therapeutic and I really dig the love for 90's nostalgia. Huge fan here in Kansas City. 👍

[@SynchroSk8]

You had me at Star Trek!

[@sokiecribbs5881]

Wow, the fact you mentioned The Broadway and Bullock’s just made my day (you rarely hear any mention of those two). Oh, the memories of those stores which were very nice Department Stores back in the day. We used to have both of those here at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA. Great vid!

[@KoubuPilot]

Sokie Cribbs Both existed here in Phoenix. Only one Broadway location is still open and not torn down and it operates as Macy's at Biltmore Fashion Park. The Bullock's in Scottsdale anchored Camelview Plaza. Scottsdale Fashion Square gained a roof, an upper level, and became conjoined via mall bridge with Camelview Plaza. The Bullock's and Camelview Plaza were repurposed into the single largest Dillard's location. A few remnants of the store and mall still remain.

[@gagemoss1075]

The other large retailers at Camelview was Sakowitz (based in Houston) and a Saks 5th Avenue. Both of these stores seem to always get left out of Fashion Square lore.

[@KoubuPilot]

Gage Moss Sakowitz would become Dillard's Women and then Neiman Marcus. Was Saks in Camelview before Biltmore?

[@0MG]

You should definitely checkout "The shoppes at Carlsbad" (previously Westfield Carlsbad). They're trying to revitalize the mall on the outside, but I would say 75% of the shops inside are closed (at least it feels like it!).

[@Hopeguz3]

That’s a pretty unique mall. I love that fountain so beautiful.

[@user736176]

I used to go to this mall and Horton Plaza a lot when I was younger. It's kinda sad to see them like this. Grossmont Center used to have a store in the plaza called Good Guys where my family for our first computer. Beside Target was a Software Etc where we spent about $500 for 4 MEGS of RAM! I even remember when that Target was put in. It wasn't always a part of the mall. There was also a Border's Bookstore there that had a big protest in front of it around 1997 or 1998. I forgot what the protest was even about. I didn't expect KZbin's recommendations to show me videos on the state of two malls I used to frequent but have not been to in years. Thanks for making these.

[@chrisparks2136]

My bro talks about when he used to handle some purchasing for a local company. He was tasked with buying 75MB of data storage. Cost - $75,000. $1000 per MB.

[@outerspaceman7534]

You gotta see Plaza Bonita down south in National City. Another dead mall that was pretty awesome in the 80s and 90s.

[@XvNoahvX24]

Plaza bonita is busy most of the days still

[@BloopADoop]

I go here all the time and just love the style and design of it all. so much history in one place and its a nice little hang out spot that I hope lasts for a long time.

[@marves7960]

As kids, our parents would drag us to go to this very mall! We would complain about the "boring" stores at this mall and tried to sneak off to Radio Shack every chance. We dreaded going to Bullocks and Dillard's. Years later, this mall was the perfect low key spot to meet friends and dates! In contrast to Parkway Plaza which is a few exits East on the 8 Highway, this place holds a lot of charm and sentimentality to a lot of folks that live in East County.

[@craig0769]

Grossmont Center was always packed back in the day. The anchor stores were Montgomery Wards, Bollocks, Buffums, The Broadway. Went Christmas shopping in 2016 and the little shops were pretty tacky. There are lots of details that definitely tell you is mall is ancient. You should have checked out the vintage 1961 escalator in Macy's. When it was the Broadway it was like stepping back in time. It was barely remodeled when Macy's took over. The mall seems to keep a steady stream of customers but we would just hit it up because of Walmart and the Verizon store. Lots of shops are on the outside of the main center part which get most of the foot traffic.

[@josephtafur]

Yes a new dead mall video

[@caseykain7708]

Joseph Tafur it’s not dead those of us who walked through it and lived it in the 1990’s

[@SteveMatley]

The Macy's was originally built as a Marston's, a San Diego based department store which was bought by Broadway. This was Marston's first store outside of downtown San Diego and was a high end department store. It would have been the flagship of this mall. This mall was built when the downtown shopping areas was dying and stores moved to the suburbs. The Wal-Mart was a Montgomery Ward. There used to be a great higher end smorgasboard (buffet nowadays) on the south side of the mall near the Macy's building. That building became a Trophies sports bar in the early 2000's. My grandparents lived in nearby Mt. Helix so they took us here often.

[@lagatitabruja]

You are doing all the malls near me! I used to terrorize this mall as a teenager taking photos with security guards, kicking bouncy balls on the roof, wading in the fountains at night. This was always a very unbusy mall. People come here more for the anchor stores like macys, target, barnes and noble and walmart. I don't really ever remember if people came here for the smaller stores. Its always been like this from what I can remember. I also loved the candy store in the food court, but the food court was always empty. People go more to the restaurants on the perimeter of the mall like rubios and panera. That BFF restaurant in the food court used to be an A & W! I have never even seen the outdoor part of the food court and I have been coming here my entire life. Fun fact, the gym thats in the mall was once invested in by one of the real housewives of orange county and her rich older husband but that went out of business and a new chain gym opened about 5 years ago. But honestly I don't think this is that much of a dead mall. It does get extremely busy at night especially for all the restaurants and the movie theater. The Macys also isn't as dead as you made it seem lol. I go there all the time and it is less busy than other ones in town but only because this mall is in east county which is more suburban and less populated than other malls but still a thriving mall at least from the stores that do get business, not so sure about the small shops. I guess you could say the actual mall interior is dead but the outside stores and restaurants that are on the perimeter or not attached are definitely thriving :)

[@thokim84]

Also California mall shoppers are late afternoon/evening shoppers anyway. With the weather who wants to be in a mall in the middle of the day on a weekend? I used to come here all the time when I was a kid. I was actually born at Grossmont Hospital.

[@erikjs]

That restaurant at 7:00 called “BFF” was originally an A&W Rootbeer restaurant. You can still see some of the original design elements from when it was an A&W.

[@victorrodriguez6608]

I live in San Diego and this has been a “dead” mall since the 90’s. Its been like this for at least 20+ years now. It’s never really gotten better or worse. It’s just always been slow and empty. Not sure if it classifies as a true dead mall.

[@pilotgrrl1]

Victor Rodriguez It's not dead, it's a zombie.

[@soulwarsnerd]

20 years and it still hasnt gone under, thats pretty oustanding. I live in OC and i wanan check out the food court. Def blast from the past.

[@endlessdrive8421]

I think this must be something of a CA thing "undead malls". Up in Northern California, I have a local mall called Newpark Mall which is "alive" and have 98% occupancy, but have about 10% guest capacity at any given point in time, weekend or weekday. After 3 other local malls grew into popularity (Great Mall, Valleyfair Mall, Stoneridge Mall)...Newpark Mall was basically ignored due to it's outdated layout and aging aesthetic compared to the other 3 malls. Somehow though, it still keeps kicking and manages to remain relatively steady. It was on it's tip toes in the 2008 recession, but luckily it managed to pull itself through those tough times.

[@electriceyeslide5959]

I don’t agree with that. It hasn’t been dead since the 1990s. It’s been dead since the 2000s though. I grew up in La Mesa and lived less than a mile away from it though out the 1980s and remember it well in both the ‘80s and ‘90s.

[@ShawnDowler]

I was at Grossmont Center last weekend at around 4:00pm on a Saturday and the outdoor area with the astroturf and fountains was really busy. It was difficult to find a place to sit. We walked over to the Coldstone and it was busy. Granted, I didn't walk around the mall much. Just back to the Coldstone, See's Candies, and then back out again. Maybe it was deader than usual when you went or busier than usual when I went.

[@seanseanseanseansean]

Shopping is in our nature. I LOL'd.

[@IBSkinnyB]

There used to be a Wolworth there too which was located next to the Montgomery Wards.

[@RealChiliConQueso]

I drove through here a few months back and immediately recognized the Macy's building as being a Welton Becket design. Would love to see what this place originally looked like in the early '60s.

[@82FutureWorld]

The Cinema Grossmont was also designed by Becket.

[@luissdstuff6381]

I don't think it was packed because it was too cold...at least for CA. There's more traffic on the north side just across from Grossmont Hospital. And you're right. There's a lot of empty store fronts. Years ago, there used to be a woolworths, and I love going there. And I used to work at the Bullock's years ago. It was considered high-end. As for the wedding shop, it just opened. I was at Grossmont just this morning at the Walmart. The Target that took over the Bullocks was considered one of the first to have two stories. I don't go to the food court because honestly there's a lot of weird people, homeless etc. Grossmont gets crowded during the summer when they offer free concerts in the front of Macy's which used to be a Broadway. I work there briefly before everyone got fired and the store closed. And you're right, Macy's looks old and dated and has that weird, funny smell. The escalator is old. One time, I went on it and it suddenly stopped for a second. Everyone on it nearly fell backwards so I made a promise never to go on it again. I like the mall at lot. I mainly go to the Walmart, Target, Panda Express, Barnes and Noble, the Starbucks, World Market, and the movie theater. So I don't think it's a dying mall per se. But there's so many empty store fronts that I think they will never be filled. The place will never had much traffic except for Christmas time.

[@gordontaylor2815]

A lot of what the management seems to be doing is keeping up appearances - there probably isn't the money for a full overhaul. And with so many empty store spaces, it might be one recession or natural disaster impact away from a death spiral...

[@Bigjoe2050]

Sometime i go to that mall to eat or go walk around to see how it is and sometime with my friends.

[@skgoode75]

Thank you for sharing this amazing mall and what a greatful sound of the jazz songs 🎵on your KZbin channel sending me more of your amazing stories about all kinds dead malls on my KZbin channel ♥ great job showing this amazing stories about this amazing mall and great music 🎶

[@user-ho3dx3od9y]

Great video!

[@Dommer75]

Just watched your video on Grossmont Center and it brought back some memories. I used to work there until 2012 when I had to move back east. Happy that Villa's is still there. Ate there at least three times a week. It's funny that you mentioned that closed Italian in that little courtyard outside that food court. For the almost 9 years I worked there that particular location has always had trouble keeping something in business, almost as if it was cursed. On the other hand the ceramics place has always been busy. It's nice to see that even with the decline in malls that they're actually keeping up appearances at that one considering the situation.

[@johnkelly7757]

I bought my first VCR(REMEMBER those?) At the Broadway.

[@Dyaxxis]

Oh no! That shopping centre is fading as well. I remember over 20 years ago going to Grossmont a few times and it's very strange seeing it in this condition. Thanks for going through and documenting.

[@Murrlin27]

OK I am officially in love with that model railroad shop

[@collin4215]

Very nice video. I absolutely love that food court. Are their any other large shopping centers near this? Because I don’t see a good reason that this place would be struggling. It looks like the Target and Wal-Mart have drained lots of the smaller stores out.

[@tk421dr]

I used to go here when I was a teen. Mostly went to the movies, I think there was a wizards of the coast here too. I liked that it was right next to a trolley stop so real easy to get to by public transit.

[@devonwhitley4958]

It's very incorrect to call Grossmont Center a "dead mall," I go there very often and have for several years, and it is a very busy mall. It's probably one of the more busy malls that you find that is this dated. Everything around that mall is kept up well, and there are plenty of stores still thriving there. One element that probably keeps them going is the fact it is bookend by a Walmart and Target. It would be more appropriate to call this a dated, preserve mall, rather than a dead mall.

[@johnkelly7757]

This was a favorite mall for me from 1989 to 2007 when I moved away. Never as busy as parkway plaza 8-10 miles away(the other mall with a 2 storey Wal-Mart) it still was a favorite of mine- from Grossmont Nutrition, a mom & Pop vitamin store with a very wide range of brands to the Barnes and Noble, the Rubios next store and the Radio Shack & A & W(in the food court), great memories.

[@LauraNelsonMartiniBombshell]

When this mall was built, it was the first- and most expensive- major development in San Diego’s East County. My mom and uncle drove their Ford Ranchero through the mall in the 70’s, and I as a kid loved using the child-size toilet and stall inside the women’s restroom in the Buffum’s. The place in the food court used to be an A&W, hence why the mustang front end.

[@arielsarino2823]

I worked at Grossmont Hospital for a couple of years in the mid-90s and honestly, I can't remember ever stepping foot at Grossmont Center. I remember eating often at Fuddruckers and Claim Jumper though, which were also nearby, during my lunch break.

[@fairymay7486]

Yes! Love your dead mall videos ✌🏼

[@82FutureWorld]

In the 1970s and 1980s, this Place was bustling and definitely a notch above mid-tier, with significant department store anchors and every storefront filled. It was a great suburban mall, and always very well maintained. I think there were three department store anchors: The Broadway (now Macy’s), Montgomery Ward (now Walmart) and Bullocks, which is now a sporting goods store, I think? Bullocks had a table-service cafe, and the mall’s food court was across from the entrance to the triplex theater (now the rear side of the existing theater). One of the biggest anchors was the 900-seat Cinema Grossmont, which played major A-list movies and had an enormous marquee that could be seen from the freeway, along with a beautiful, glass-enclosed circular lobby - it’s now a gym. The whole place was quite well-designed and had a SoCal vibe. It’s great to see the greenery and flowers have been maintained, but development and additions over the years have left it feeling a little haphazard and the Macy’s definitely feels like an odd relic, though it probably has some beauty and glory underneath its sad, unkempt surface. Loved finding this video!

[@Angel-np7wj]

I go to this mall to see a movie somewhat often these days. In the early 2000s when I was a kid the food court was packed last time I remembered. That ceramic cafe use to be a big pet store and you could see the puppies from the windows

[@TheLion227]

good vid man....love the saxophone music at around 7:15

[@madamhummingbird]

I cannot believe this outdoor mall was build in 1961. It's beautiful and in such great shape. I really love the outdoor patio area with fountain. Such a great spot to take a break to enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack in the warm sun. Oh, and I love the mid-century designed Macy's with its retro parquet wood flooring. So incredibly chic and charming. Sadly, here in the NJ/NYC area, these type of old school retro building designs in our malls are all just a faded memory now. Sigh. Again all very sad 😞

[@devianb]

I like the wall art covering up the vacant shops.

[@anindrapratama]

1:43 i still remember when Tutti Frutti used to exist where i live...

[@1u1u89]

I've been going here since last yr & each time I go it's pretty packed.

[@cloud39]

I worked in the Macy’s store when it was the Broadway in the very early 80s. Before the Broadway It was a Marstons and if you notice you can still see some of the detail from Marston’s days namely the marble floor on the first level and some of the metal and marble panels around the escalator. I remember there used to be a very large Mural either a tapestry or painting on the second floor about San Diego history which was spectacular and a lot of the ironwork and fixtures had some gold leaving but that Is now long gone. At Christmas time Santa used to set up shop in the display window facing the interior of the mall. This was exciting for us as kids in the 60s. The store, when it was built, was actually very elegant but unfortunately now has fallen into disrepair.

[@talesfromthelotuspodcast]

Love those 90s aesthetics boi!!

[@FaeDruid]

Excellent video.

[@videomaniac108]

When I lived in San Diego I used to stop by that place occasionally, as my ex worked at a Community college out in east county. I remember it being much busier when I was there, in the early to mid-90s.

[@christariter6646]

The outlet mall in Crossville, TN also has a model railroad club, the mall is also dead. The Railroad display is always cool to look at because it's so intricate and detailed.

[@SuperHighTechGamer]

I worked in this mall back in the mid 90's. There was an arcade called Cyber Station right next to that food court. Super Street Fighter 2 was a brand new game then! What a sight to see, but at least the mall is kept up and doesn't feel neglected.

[@satelliteolove]

i essentially grew up at grossmont mall. It's been dead since the 90s and that is why it's the best

[@DubbRubiHeart]

I was there on Friday afternoon last year after I got off work around 4:30. Place was relatively busy especially on that Barnes and noble side! And of course the Target and Walmart sides as well! Check out Plaza Bonita Mall in San Diego/National City, CA when you can! Not really a dying mall but it’s interesting to look at after its facelift from its 90s look!

[@mpneeb]

This one isn't as dead as you'd think, the store on the outside (Target, WalMart, the Food Court) show a lot of life but once you get past that stuff... It gets real quiet. Still, the movie theater is pretty good.

[@Archbishop_of_the_Noodle]

I should have visited this place when I went to San Diego. It's gorgeous.

[@NathanDavisVideos]

I KNEW THAT MACY'S STORE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO LOOK AT! I LOVE THOSE OVERHEAD LIGHTS! SCREAMS OF THE '50s AND EARLY '60s! That has GOT to be original from 1961 when the mall opened. I mean look at that brickwork on it! You don't see department store structures (let alone any structures) like that being built today!

[@guppy2816]

The weird thing about this mall is that I don't think it's ever been particularly busy. It wasn't *this* dead when I was a kid but it was always the least busy out of all the malls (with the exception of Horton Plaza). I was a mall rat in middle school and we all avoided this mall like the plague. It was a very "uncool" spot. P.S. That "wedding dress shop" is just an extension of the store across from it. It's just extra storage for their dresses. They take up 3 stores for their dresses but only one is the actual store where you'll find employees if that makes sense.

[@metalmugen]

Guppy It really is kind of uncool

[@lagatitabruja]

haha I used to frequent barnes and noble and target as a teenager late night

[@metalmugen]

lagatitabruja Exactly, when we go to that mall we usually just go to Barnes and Target .

[@lagatitabruja]

yup! especially as a teenager when they were open until midnight and there was nothing to do just wander the mall at night and read books and drink coffee lol. i think fashion valley was always the 'cool' mall

[@RetailArchaeology]

lagatitabruja We still do the same thing except for it a borders bookstore near Fiesta Mall in Arizona. Fiesta mall is closed now, my earliest videos were filmed their.

[@Skyvator92]

That Macy's used to be Marston's. I love that store! It's so Vintage and retro. The elevator was modernized, but the freight elevator is 100% original. I plan to film it next time I'm there. That mall overall has neat elevators.

[@kurtkensson2059]

IIRC, one of the men responsible for building that mall, Hal Logan, was married to a Marston. (His wife, Lilla.) He also built the Alpine Creek Center.

[@cleny217]

Yet another mall i have went to. In fact my father bought his and my step mothers rings there. Also have a couple videos of it when we used to go there when i was in high school.

[@alexanderbanos8125]

The Target store at Grossmont Center was formerly Bullock's since 1995. It actually replaced a nearby Target store across the I-8 freeway which was formerly FedMart (now Hobby Lobby and Walmart Neighborhood Market).

[@mikelee980]

It’s something to give old people something to do, that’s why it’s only staffed a few days a week!!

[@jordanrhind3070]

It looks gorgeous

[@VeXis101]

Looks like a really clean mall.

[@thomaslograsso9448]

Love grossmont perfect local mall

[@Rogue849]

You enter the food court. I see it and say "this is so 1992". You go "the food court was built in 1993". Felt kind of proud. My 80's and 90's eye is getting better XD

[@Lurker1979]

As a Washingtonion, a outdoor mall would be insane, thanks to our weather and climate. That is why itblows my mind seeing something like this anyplace in the US. Even in California. So feign to me.

[@Musikat92]

Ahaha I just watched one of your other videos and thought of Grossmont center! Then this video popped up!

[@nematube]

The satellite image shows that it's part of an urban center surrounded by large middle-class residential areas (detached houses, often with swimming pool), good infrastructure.

[@WhittyPics]

Pretty cool place. Thanks for sharing.

[@yessenia7643]

I love Grossmont Center I have some great memories there

[@yessenia7643]

They actually had a haunted house on top of the target parking lot for Halloween one year that was pretty busy

[@danacantu6714]

Love your dead mall videos. 👍🏻

[@jadapedron2029]

My mother used to take my brother and I to grossmont center for the Jamba Juice and Barnes and noble. We used to spend hours just in Barnes and noble alone. Something I’ve notice is that the outside retailers are fine, it’s just that we have no incentive to go into the actual mall. Also that Italian restaurant, if I remember what my mother told me correctly , used to be a geppetto’s.

[@NathanDavisVideos]

Also that food court is sure something. It's look like '90s *a* *e* *s* *t* *h* *i* *c* *s* galor; *I LOVE IT!*

[@johnkelly7757]

That(Macy's) was a Broadway's- the change came in the early 90's. Also, the Target was a Bullocks and the sports Authority was a Buffums- all went under during the early 90's recession.

[@lagatitabruja]

i knew the first two but a Buffums! I never even heard of that before

[@CourtneyROlds]

Great video!!!! 😊😊😊

[@gregorylunsford3991]

Macy's was first Marston's -then Broadway and Macy's. I worked at a Men's and Women's upscale clothing store "Harris & Frank" from 1962 to 1967 - at 16 my first real job as Sales Associate.

[@kurtkensson2059]

I worked at a Fox Photo that used to be there in the 1990s. Always lots of foot traffic then, and great people watching through the front window as we worked. Santa pictures at Christmas time was always crazy.

[@chrisparks2136]

I forgot about the Fox Photo. Where was it? Funny thing there was that my niece was a really cute youngster, and had her photo taken by a photographer in Aberdeen, WA in the 90's. One visit to Grossmont Center and her family found my niece's pic as an advertisement on the counter. My sis-in-law was pissed! 🙂

[@kurtkensson2059]

@@chrisparks2136 It was on the northeast side, in one of the "300s" suites across from what is now the Reading Cinemas. (A little west of the old Montgomery Wards.) Was your niece in a Fox Photo ad? If so, I probably saw it. I may have even had it in my store, when I managed the El Cajon Fox Photo location. (The fine print in those "model releases" may have given the rights to the image to the photographer. Still, it must have been a surprise to see the picture used professionally!)

[@foxzonenredstudio7501]

:) NICE WORK Retail Archaeology

[@groton27]

Hit this mall and Parkway plaza a ton in the late 90's to early 00's when I lived out there.

[@rebeccasmith3837]

Southland Mall, in Michigan is thriving, but it doesnt have a food court. It used to but they turned the space into a Best Buy and there are few places to eat scattered throughout the mall

[@sterlingmaxima101]

Check out Merchants Square Mall it is very odd located in Allentown PA. They have a whole section of model trains with a rain show and mountain scene. The guy who bought the space bought it to house his model trains and has train shows. I think you would like it. Cheers,

[@RyDawg084]

Great upload dude

[@SouthCalifas619]

Ive noticed a trend of mall salvations, seems buffalo wild wings and AMCs are mall savers now days

[@jenh9003]

They always make the empty storefronts so colorful and noticeable in these malls like... you don't want attention to be on the empty stores, right?? bc when I go to a mall with so many of those eye-catching empty storefronts like at 9:28 I get worried it's gonna close soon 😅

[@LeofromFreo]

If I lived there, I’d shop there. Looks human-scale and nicer than the huge shopping centres. And yes that’s the Australian and British way of spelling centre!

[@lunayoshi]

I saw the thumbnail and was like "OH BOY, A MALL I KNOW! ...Wait, I didn't know it was dying." Then I watched the video and noticed it's much more busy than other dead mall exploration videos. That made more sense. But if it's dying, it's dying. Sucks for La Mesa. But it's not like they' can't go 5 miles down the freeway and find another one. I don't know if you noticed while you were down here, but San Diego has Fashion Valley, a decent sized outdoor mall, and Mission Valley, another pretty decent sized outdoor mall, two exits down the freeway from each other. Parking in there is terrible. Dying malls in this area just doesn't click in my head because they're all always so packed.

[@remainseatedplease]

the food court is a e s t h e t i c s. the only place more so was college grove's food court. i love the neon and those vague signs that hang.

[@bert.alberta]

We actually had a dead mall in Edmonton that had a dirt track and remote control trucks to race in one of the units they could never lease out. Capilano Mall. It was dead ever since I was young kid in the 90s... Upstairs was a library among other services I believe. Set up like a T with a Walmart, Safeway and bank/library anchors. Somehow overtime the mall got so dead and meh that Safeway and Walmart closed their mall entrances off. By the end mostly all of the interior tenants were independent stores with various junk. They finally closed most of the interior and demolished that closed section to put up a strip mall with big name tenants. I do miss that old mess of a mall though. A small section of it still exists oddly enough, right where the access is to the second floor library that stayed.

[@Sula_Mareska]

Can we just appreciate the Classic LEGO in the intro? Ah....

[@amirmoradi9595]

It's the nearest mall to where I live. I can walk to it in about 15 minutes. Yeah the mall has been able to stay alive along it's main strip between Target and Wal Mart. But just about everything that extends to the west side of the mall mostly died off. The little eastern extension with the Panda Express and Railroad club is still doing ok, but that's probably because it is used as an entrance by many visitors that park on that side of the mall. Yes, I agree this mall always looks nice and is kept in tip top shape. In fact if you follow the mall's social media pages and website they are constantly throwing events like the one you saw in the video, sometimes with live music or activities for kids. This of course helps draw in people too. Pro tip: Grossmont Mall theater has one of the best movie deals in the San Diego area. You can see a movie in their Titan XC room for only $10 flat. And any movie before noon is just $7.

[@Shwalker07]

Cool model train place, a lot of dying malls should have some type community events in their empty store spaces to bring in traffic. Those smaller circular air vents in the Macy's remind me of the larger ones in older Kmart's.

[@metamorphicorder]

There was a model train club at one of the dead malls in my area.