HIDDEN VINTAGE MALL : BATAVIA CITY CENTRE

A nice little find in the heart of Western NY, Enjoy!

[@nicholaslord4495]

A little info about this mall (dates may be estimated). My family is all from Batavia and I was born and raised here and since moved. The mall was planned and built in the late 60's and early 70's as a part of urban renewal. Where it stands we're once turn of the century brick buildings fully occupied. Once torn down those business and restaurants relocated to the Genesee County Mall. The mall started it's decline in the mid 1980's and was mostly empty by the early 2000's. However it's state was never as bad as it's current state. This mall was dead long before online shopping came around. The main factors were larger malls built in the early 1980's. Look at Eastern Hills Mall about 25 minutes west in Clearance, Marketplace mall 30 minutes east in Henretta. By the early 90's the Walden Galleria mall in Buffalo was kicking in (190 stores with 10 anchors) and the Genesee Country Mall was doomed. Jc Penny was the anchor and a dipson theatre was located around the corner from it. The place with the keyboard on the wall was Roxy's music which has since re located a mile from the mall. At 3:33 on the left where it is boarded up with wood panneling was once a restaurant called gentleman Jim's. To the right of that was a candy store "palace of sweets" which closed around 2014. There is one remaining store like it in the McKinley mall about an hour away. The end hallway at 3:58 is Batavias new city hall added in 2003.

[@RetailArchaeology]

Holy shit, didn't realize the Kmart "ship my pants" commercial was part of the video. I thought it was a preroll ad and Kmart was recycling that old commercial. There wasn't anything else "Kmart" in the video so I didn't realize it until I was reading the comments, lol! How busy was the JCPenney? Is the JCPenney what's keeping it open?

[@JakeIDK87]

Retail Archaeology Me too LOL

[@FlustereDev]

JCPenney appears to be the last anchor store left, so it's pretty much undoubtedly keeping this mall open.

[@mikehough5717]

I live in this town. What keeps the mall open is that the city owns the concourse. The buckets you see is as a result of a dispute between the city and the store owners who own the rest of the building see on who is responsible for roof repairs.

[@dogerblx9346]

The JCPenney's has closed for good and now all there is is a antique shop, hair salon, bakery, an insurance company, and a dental offices the mall is still running fine just the roof leaked one of the skylights has shatters and there is a scene thing but over all the mall is fine from someone who lives in batavie

[@Christopher0817]

I remember when that ad ran on tv. that has to be one of the most awkward ads I have ever seen. Enjoyed the video as always.

[@the_gilded_age_phoenix8717]

It was in bad taste. The adman/adwoman that came up with that one should have been fired.

[@chadwickwhite6107]

A lot of people had to SHIP that day....

[@vanskizzy]

I like the videos with commentary about the malls history

[@jimster586]

I remember visiting this place as a kid in the early 80's on our way to Darien Lake.

[@b.rkingsley402]

I remember that old K-Mart commercial! Thanks for having such an active KZbin where you upload new dead mall content frequently :-)

[@AcesAdventures1]

Breanna Kingsley ty breanna!

[@frankyu553]

Great to see you adding vaporwave music to the background. It makes the video even more enjoyable. Gotta love that Dan Bell influence getting to you guys ;)

[@Jackey_Lee]

I just shit myself laughing at the intro

[@achristine6268]

I remember when that Kmart commercial first came out I couldn't stop watching it lmao I think it's hilarious... if only it would have worked and they wouldn't be going out of business now....

[@BoratWanksta]

If only Kmart and Sears weren't being run into the ground, maybe they'd stand a chance to survive as a company. Radio Shack also did a funny ad that was a flashback to the 80s during a Super Bowl a few years ago, and that didn't save them either from their 1st bankruptcy, just before they were bought by another company(think a private equity one?). They just filed for a 2nd one, in early 2017.

[@dalenewby1366]

I shipped my pants one time and had to leave the bingo game. Oh, great video by the way. I like your channel.

[@instaglam7508]

Very vintage I like the architectural details the terra-cotta tile flooring the metal guards over the tree bases not to mention the music is good to good vid

[@jriley1992]

I thought they were saying "Shit my pants".....

[@charliecoccia8875]

It sounds like it kind of.

[@frankyu553]

That's the point I think...

[@Daniel28021991]

Haha me too.

[@realazduffman]

Made you listen, didn't it!

[@shauncarson8732]

me three until the end !!! lol shows how well i pay attention ..

[@meatplunger3996]

I completely forgot about that K-Mart commercial hahaha I remember one of my teachers showing it to my class when it first started being aired!

[@carlklitzke9455]

maybe they could just use eavestroughs to route the water leaking through the roof right to the trees and cut out the buckets.

[@fixman88]

Carl Klitzke If they're so broke they can't even fix the roof it's highly unlikely they would bother with such a thing.

[@shauncarson8732]

cant wait for more videos from your self and dan bell are the best keep them coming guys !!! i absolutely love the awesome vintage commercials too !!!!

[@kellireeves4527]

Very retro!! This place screams 1970s...reminds me of shopping with the folks when I was a kid,picking up packages from the catalog department at Sears-rows and rows of cubbies holding Wish Book items for Christmas...

[@jc1979af]

For me it looks very early 80s. (I was born 1979). I noticed that back then they used a lot wood, dark reds/brown and red brick in the decor of that era. I guess they felt it looks classy.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

OMG that Kmart ad. Wonder if the genius that came up with that got a promotion. 🤣🤣🤣

[@Rahshu]

Song: "True Promises" by Waterfront Dining's album "Zombie." Original song: "I Promise" by Jamm, 1991. Man, you select great tracks! Long live the '80s and early '90s! It's kind of interesting that these old, forgotten soul and funk tracks are getting new life because they accompany the last moments of these dead malls. Time has an extremely interesting and vexing modus operandi.

[@reedcampbell5325]

So bright and airy

[@PinePowerLI]

What is the Vaporwave song playing in the background? Dan Bell usually credits them.

[@BREN153]

PinePowerLI exactly cmon dude let us the know the song

[@PinePowerLI]

Found it at last... "True Promises" by Waterfront Dining

[@Swanty32eMachineVideos]

Thanks! I've been searching for that song for a very long time..=)

[@NathanDavisVideos]

Hey PinePowerLI! I didn't know you were also into the whole "dead mall" kinda deal!

[@tileslasher]

man I really love that mall, that mall should thrive off of it's retro look and be booming with customers. These property managers need to figure out how to start using this retro stuff to their advantage.

[@chdreturns]

frank mathis First they need to get the legal situation sorted & fix the roof

[@Daniel28021991]

Very cool

[@nancydarling4918]

Very entertaining, well made video. I enjoyed the ship you pants add. Please keep making more dead mall videos! Thanks for uploading.

[@AcesAdventures1]

Nancy Darling thanks nancy! More on the way!

[@lynnclayton2748]

this is an awsome comercial

[@runnerrunner6410]

Does anyone have any idea exactly how many malls are currently abandoned in the U.S.?

[@nationdecay]

That is a gem !

[@yaywhewclips242]

This has been a dead mall for at least 30 years. There was weird kid telephone game that was coin op and told u kiddie stories.

[@shadowcidexz]

omg i have a friend that lives around that area and he said that mall is extremely dead. i never truly believed him until now. i cant believe I used to live near that ghost town 😂

[@lovelypastelpuppy1640]

Everyone laughing at the ship part of the commercial but I think Ir's so weird/funny how the family is hugging the Kmart guy lol! Like why? XD

[@mrp1924]

They chopped down all those trees, at the time was the best thing about the mall

[@BREN153]

The song is perfect for this

[@TheAskTrixieChannel]

Hasn't changed. I was there today, and shocked to find two restaurants in it! (Sunny's is closed, but there was a "Hawaiian cuisine" restaurant accessible from the outside, as well as a little snack bar-type place hidden inside the mall.)

[@danielgardnergardner4723]

It's so sad to see all these malls all around the US that are dead or close to it, here in Canada our malls are busy and doing well, it's strange how our malls thrive and yours are not doing well

[@markvolpe2305]

Wow! I thought they demolished this mall years ago! I was at that JCpenny's years ago and you couldn't access the mall, it was gated off and was dark. It looked tiny too.

[@Dodgecharger1212]

Nice to see it being repurposed, would have like to have seen that mall in its prime!

[@mikehough5717]

I remember going there when I was a little kid in the 80s. Every store was open and the mall was packed with people

[@samtovar2447]

nice job on the video

[@AcesAdventures1]

Sam Tovar thanks sam, a mini episode!

[@Jenniyd]

Nice video! May I ask what the song is that you used? I love it.

[@NostalgiaUnicorn]

It's some vaporwave distorted thing...

[@Jenniyd]

Ohh so it's not an actual track? So you don't know the sample?

[@PinePowerLI]

I dont know what the big deal is & why the person who made this video can't answer us. It's a Vaporwave song so knowing the song would help.

[@PinePowerLI]

True Promises...by Waterfront Dining waterfrontdining.bandcamp.com/album/zombie

[@Jenniyd]

Thank you so much! And I know right? Its a track by waterfront dining. It must be known!

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

hilarious ship my pants, loved the video!!

[@AcesAdventures1]

Its a Rome thing everyday lol thanks! I thought it was a funny ad to the video

[@christophercoleman1895]

lmao i thought they said i just shit my pants

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

christopher coleman me too, it was hilarious!!!

[@christophercoleman1895]

it sure is o.m.g lol i just shit my pants right here at kmart

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

Ace's Adventures your welcome, we always enjoy your videos

[@GardenerEarthGuy]

The future was going to be so bright, except nobody showed up....

[@fixman88]

Ship my pants? Wow, KMart, that just smacks of desperation...

[@brettdavis4]

Sadly, that ad is about 5 years old. :(

[@fixman88]

H.H. foxaddict I'm sure it's hilarious - if you're a fourth-grader...

[@aroundthefur]

fixy carey you must be so much fun at parties...

[@fixman88]

aroundthefur I'm just a little upset that Kmart is swirling the drain and 'potty humor' seems to be the most effective advertising counter-defense they can come up with. Apple Computer was in serious trouble in the late 1990s, they bring Steve Jobs back and they come up with 'Apple: Think Different'. The rest is history. Sadly, the people running Kmart don't appear to be anything close to the same caliber...

[@fixman88]

Fine then, I guess that makes everything just fine, I'll drop the subject.

[@miklosscus]

what a gem

[@crystalscan2002]

looking that mall has roof problem :/ aka that mall will decay really fast once it closes

[@theoriginaldayne]

I live 10 minutes from this mall (give or take with traffic)...it's not abandoned but it certainly is pretty dead. There are a few stores inside that are still open but don't do very well. Go to thebatavian.com and enter a search to learn a ton more about the legal stuff going on with this place. Agreed, it is an awesome little vintage mall!

[@chdreturns]

Dayne's Burroughs Just did they ran an article on this exact video www.thebatavian.com/howard-b-owens/video-batavias-vintage-mall/449098#comments To quote the article: "the producer seems to take a keen interest in old malls" And geez that is one hell of a legal battle... Ace should really do a follow up. Cause it would make a fantastic video.

[@sd02231]

You should have given us information about the mall. That would have helped this video.

[@AcesAdventures1]

sd02231 I usually do, this was a spur of the moment video

[@kingofrapture]

Great video dude, did you happen to find any History on this mall?

[@havfunwithit]

K Mart time to go. Just like this mall.

[@al0jzy638]

What song did you use?

[@HagarLoves]

music please????

[@crystalscan2002]

that mall looked closed sicne there nothing in it but great vintage gym

[@BoratWanksta]

How come you didn't do any talking when the vid footage began, inside your walk in this mall? It would've been nice to hear a little history on this mall, and I don't mind your talks mentioning the history of malls at the beginning of your videos. I know a few complain about that, but I don't mind you talking about the history of these malls myself. I'm impressed Penney's chose not to close this store in 2017, yet they're closing stores in other small town malls, and in a few bigger malls too(mainly King of Prussia, and Palisades). I wouldn't be surprised if this Penney's store, was exactly the size of other stores they also were closing down as of right now. Good job with this video, though. BTW this one may be a tad out of the way for you to visit, since it's in northern NY near the Canadian border. But when I looked this mall up(thank you Google maps, Wikipedia, and Bing maps), I was impressed Saint Lawrence Centre in Massena, NY is still open. It looks close to being totally dead from the info I could find online, and for its anchors only has Penney's and Bon-Ton left. It had an ice rink that recently closed too, since it needed a lot of repairs. Check the facebook reviews(besides Wikipedia), to get an idea of how sorry the shape of this mall is in: facebook.com/pg/shopstlawrence/reviews/

[@adriantardy205]

I shopped here

[@pedrosvlog1183]

No info ?

[@tylerkleinbach1646]

And it smells like shit in there

[@tylerkleinbach1646]

Hey buddy I live in Batavia it’s not hidden btw

[@transitdude3352]

Shame.