Is It A Dead Mall? The Buckland Hills Mall, Manchester, Connecticut. September 2022. Full Walkthru!

Join me as I take a full walkthrough of The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, aka The Buckland Hills Mall, aka The Pavilions at Buckland Hills.
Would you call this a dead mall? Personally, I would not, but some people are telling me it is. What do you think?
If you have been to this mall before or remember what it was like back in the 90's, let me know in the comments!
This video was filmed on 09/06/2022 at approximately 2:00pm.
If you liked this video, please don't forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel. I plan to have more dead mall videos in the future. Thanks for watching!
Source of information: Wikipedia.
Link: en.wikipedia.o...
Music Credit: KZbin Music Library
#mall #connecticut #mansfield #shoppingmall #retail #malls #mallshopping

[@maryannefeyer6332]

1:05: My late husband and I got our then-kitten Maggie at that pet store in 2007. I literally just said goodbye to her four months ago, six days shy of her 16th birthday. The people at the store said she was from a local person who didn’t want to surrender her to a shelter. She had her first vet visit, shots, and tests; we couldn’t even take her home until her tests came back. We figured what we paid for her was for all of that; they even knocked 1/3 off her coat because they felt badly for us having to wait. She was the best cat I’ve ever had. 7:07: The day after my husband died, I went to that Build-a-Bear and had a bear made withy husband’s voice in the paw. It brings me such comfort when I miss him the most. 12:40: I love that shoe store! Great selection and prices. 18:34: The security guard at Macy’s did survive, and the perp was arrested after a day or two. I believe he was from Windsor Locks.

[@brakromlord5197]

For anyone who cares, two new shops recently opened in this mall, an anime store and a retro game store, they’re right across the hall from the Newbury

[@scotchsour]

Thanks, I usually go Westfarms if i need to go. This video was a recommendation and I always looking for those stores.

[@wilfredoortiz3820]

I know theres was a retro game store that closed.... but i wasnt aware another one opened!

[@Raiinbowrave]

Both stores are very cool

[@xtcbct]

Ohh the memories! The pet store in the beginning of your video was either at the vacant store with the green/white colors, or the Lucky7 Nails and Spa. I remember seeing it when coming down the escalator. It was there until early 2000s. Also totally remember Babbages! I remember as a kid the cash registers being high up in the center of the store...and the bright fluorescent lighting in there. At 2:30 is a former Friendly's. At 4:25, is the old Brookstone store. They always had neat stuff in there. At 6:45, that used to be FYE, if I recall correctly. At 8:00, that was an Abercrombie & Fitch for many years. At 8:10, that was Hollister. Very expensive preppy teen clothing at the time. At 10:41, that was an American Eagle clothing store. 11:23, used to be a Best Buy Mobile phone store....wish I could remember what it originally was though. They closed around 2018. 12:25 was Radio Shack for the longest time...I think they closed in the early 2010s. At 15:13 where Carousel is...you are right about the wall...The arcade was called Timeout. 18:33, This Macys used to be a Filene's. 19:41, This Macy's used to be Lord & Taylor. 21:18, remember this very well for Ruby Tuesday's. First place I ever had cheese sticks.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Wow! Thanks for all the info and thanks for watching!

[@crimsoncomet2209]

I live in Connecticut, my friends and I go here all the time. It’s usually never this dead tbh.

[@josephdoxy8670]

In early 1980 buckland street was a small country road going by that area . When they widen rte 84 , the growth was incredible

[@garrisonfjord]

Also back in the day they had the best arcade behind the food court. First place I ever played a VR game. It was like 3 minutes for $5 but man was it crazy. And the Mad Dog McCree game! Man I miss that arcade.

[@BarrCode674]

This was my childhood mall. The Newbury Comics was definitely a Suncoast store. And then next to that was KB Toys and CVS. I also remember the food court arcade and was sad when it closed and became the carousel. That's had to have been there for at least the last 20 years. The Shoe Dept. was formerly some kind of PC gaming area in the mid 2000s. On the lower level next to the former Dick's was an old Friendly's restaurant. Brookstone used to be near JC Penney. Can't remember what's there now. They also used to have a Disney Store next to Filene's/Macy's. Soma's Clothiers used to be The Gap.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I remember the KayBee now that you mention it. Also, I think Brookstone was right next to The Sharper Image, but I forget exactly where that was. Thanks for watching!

[@wyattmund9286]

I remember the KB Toys (don’t think I ever went in, but Iwanted Bionicles!) and absolutely the Friendly’s. There also was a big play area out in the open area near either the Barnes and Noble, or the closest main opening near there. I have a lot of memories of taking my shoes off and running around a big plastic-soft tree, logs and mock pond. Looked a little similar to the newer play area near the carousel. I’m a little younger than you probably (1998), so I have no memory of an arcade where the merry go round is, but my Dad mentioned it having existed.

[@PeevedPigeon]

I’d say during the week this mall is pretty dead, but during the weekends its actually quite busy, but overall it is kinda sad to see the mall dying especially being one of my childhood malls :(

[@wubbablewow]

ive been going to this mall every week ever since that one tiny shop next to macys existed, i can kinda agree with you but atleast the visitors are rising now

[@whimsiclaw]

I frequented this mall with my friends until the pandemic! It's faced a huge hit since 2020 and I think you went when I started slowly going back lol. I don't go nearly as frequently anymore but it's still pretty popular among locals! Especially the Barnes n Noble.

[@alexistaylor7483]

Lmaooo I never thought the day someone would post my teen/ childhood mall it's definitely dying got my first job here

[@PeevedPigeon]

I remember having a picture of me on that carousel in the foodcourt in like 2005, so if anything, it has been around for a while so maybe the arcade was replaced sometime before then?

[@travilpowell4086]

Remember right above the upper level of the pet store there used to be a Sam Goody's in the 90s to early 2000s? Remember when Sam Goody's had that "CD listening station" with headphone so you can hear music before you by them? Man i miss those days.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I do remember Sam Goody's and the listening station back in the 1990's. Remember when CD's came in long boxes? Those were the good days! Thanks for watching!

[@xscorpx]

Those headphones were greasy and full of lice.

[@matthewkeefe1377]

I still go to this mall once in awhile, thought it's not what it once was.. When it first opened, the anchor store below the food court was a local shop called D&L, whose original location was in the Manchester Parkade. I also remember the Sam Goody/Suncoast Video at the Sears end. Dick's is now reopened at the Burr Corners plaza

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yeah, I may have said this in the video, but this was the mall I went to most back in the late 1990's. I definitely remember all those stores you mentioned. Suncoast Video was one of my favorites! Good times! Thanks for watching.

[@JohnSmith-om3ei]

I enjoyed the walk through, thx! Haven't been to Buckland Hills in over a decade but was surprised to see it wasn't as desolate as I thought it would be. To the contrary of the Crystal mall near where I'm at in Waterford, CT. Would love to see a follow up at Christmas time with all the decorations up!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it. I actually just filmed the Crystal Mall today. I'll probably have that video up next week. The Crystal Mall is definitely a dead mall. It's not as bad as the Enfield Square Mall, but it's bad.

[@merylew4969]

I think the babyboomers when they were in their 20s to 50s kept the malls going cause they had the spending money. The younger ones growing up had the computer age Now that they are middle age it is comfortable for them to buy on line. The baby boomers are on fixed incomes and don't frequent the malls as they used to. Now very young people go straight to the computer and to them malls are a thing of the past and don't care if they are gone. Shame baby boomers don't spend like they used to. This helped the decline of the mall

[@John_Locke_108]

I remember when this mall was new. The size of it blew my mind as a kid from Northwest Connecticut.

[@toyaliens]

My local mall! Used to come here all the time as a kid. Haven’t returned since like 2015 besides a restaurant or two

[@MrCraigblaze]

That is one large Sears ma entrance !! Thanks for the upload That is the ONLY Newbury comics outside of Massachusetts You are The only Man in a Arcade room Mall .. Nice !!

[@eleanormurray3886]

Very helpful! Every time I look for Macy's, West Farms is recommended which is another 30 minutes away for me. I just moved to CT, so seeing your post was beneficial. Thanks!

[@fleabittenadventures]

I'm glad I could help! Thanks for watching!

[@jacobblanck7481]

That's my hometown (not exactly hometown but it's the closest mall from my house although I live in Vernon (next to Manchester) but it's only 10+ mins. away from me) mall! That wasn't surprising when Sears closed down our store permanently in early 2021. Dick's at least was a little bit surprising though I don't like buildings put in high rent. Believe me, that mall seems more lonelier than in the mid 2010s but still better than Meriden Square, Brass Mill Center in Waterbury and even Crystal Mall in Waterford. At least it's a good thing that a couple of new businesses are opening for the first time in that mall but that doesn't mean that it's all the way back in true form of normalcy. I like this mall and even more to this day since it still has Barnes And Noble (thankfully since I enjoy reading books), Macy's and JCPenney. I also like the carousel enabled in the mall too. Buckland, like most malls isn't busier on normal days than what it used to be. For myself personally, malls outpace affordable housing favorably.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for watching! Buckland definitely still has some things going for it, but I would be shocked if it's not in dead mall status or closed in the next 10 years. We'll see I guess.

[@carsonwilliams642]

bro I used to live in Vernon to I now live in Manchester did you go to center road school and if so what year I may know you and you may know me

[@SweetSirenia]

Dicks actually wanted to stay at Buckland Hills, but there was an issue with the loading dock that they weren't able to solve. They wanted a bigger dock space and the mall wasn't willing or able to do the construction needed. (This is according to the Journal Inquirer.) So now Dicks is in Burr Corners and Bob's is in their old space.

[@bryan-po8dn]

Buckland Hills was the high-end mall compared to the Enfield Mall, back in the 80s when I was going there. They had a Hammacher Schlemmer store!

[@Mrdancefloordj]

I worked in maintenance there 2013 to 2015. lots of new stores. Good to see the place again! I liked that job. Thanks for posting the video!

[@henripapineau1610]

The music stores - Getting the better part of $20 for a CD when I was making $4.50/hr as a kid. On the other hand, I did love to browse them...

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, remember when the cd's were in long boxes?

[@henripapineau1610]

I remember the long boxes! Or the plastic wraparounds!

[@YoKirby706]

I believe the carousels at least been around 10-15 years; I used to ride it as a kid

[@fleabittenadventures]

I guess that shows how infrequently I go there... thanks for watching!

[@toyaliens]

Definitely the early 2000s. Wasn’t there in the 90s

[@hateferlife]

I remember those little foil-covered cardboard ashtrays at the tables in the food court. Spent a lot of time there in the LAN gaming store, I forget the name of it but Counter Strike was the game for sure!

[@miorandmior]

This is a beautiful mall. Looks like a pretty nice place to come to shop or just unwind, be around your fellow humans in cosy and comfortable surroundings. May be the answer to the preservation of malls like this is to avoid anchor tenants because once they leave, everything starts falling apart. Also as with malls where I live they have a constant schedule of a variety of events and festivals to attract visitors. So Unless its for reasons along the lines of the rise of another mall near it or shift in traffic, closure of surrounding employment, migration of population etc there should be no reason for places like this to decline.

[@raymondjones5909]

I use to play arcades here all during the 90s until 2001 when the mall did away with arcades and put a carousel in place of it in the food court.

[@simonpaul1296]

That was a good arcade. Was bummed when it closed.

[@carolyn8401]

You are absolutely correct about Suncoast, which is now Newbury Comics. The Sam Goody was upstairs one or two storefronts away from Sears. I believe at one point the Track 23 was Suncoast and Suncoast and Sam Goody had a cutout in the interior wall where you could go between the two? There was also a Media Play down the street (I worked at Media Play;all three were owned by Musicland Corp) Glad to see an arcade back in the mall; there used to be one upstairs in the food court area. The Funny Bone area was added sometime probably in the mid-2000s. I think the old Babbages became an Electronics Boutique, so there were two EBs. And then at least the upstairs EB became a Funcoland.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I remember the arcade in the food court. I think it was where the carousel is today, right? I miss the old Electronics Boutique (before it was EB Games) and Babbage's. I was at one or both of those stores every week back in the mid to late 90's.... Good times. Thanks for watching!

[@The3rdHaney]

I stopped by the food court for EA Teriyaki (Sarku Japan) recently on a Thursday and it actually had a decent crowd of folks in it. definitely not as busy as it was when I was a kid in the early 2000's.

[@Thriceee]

Wow I remember Sarku Japan, the guy was always giving out free samples of teriyaki chicken - got me hooked on that and the rice in a big ole Styrofoam container lol

[@necroticdoctor]

I first discovered your videos to get tips for Brimfield that I attended for the first time yesterday. I love your footage of this video. It's like a modern day FPS version of police quest or leisure suit larry game with the nice settle screen bouncing as you walk. Love it.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Glad you liked it! It did kind of feel like a game watching for an avoiding security.

[@handicappedtraveler]

I cn't say I am sorry that the pet store selling puppies closed.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I agree. Back in the 90's I didn't think anything of it, but today I would feel differently. Thanks for watching!

[@riproar11]

The last time I visited this mall was during the early 2000s and it's nice to see how the interior was updated and made more elaborate. In some online photos you can see how the interior was rather simple and those added-on ironwork arches give it a nice, classic look similar to the former Penn Station in New York City.

[@DeathSpellXVI]

This mall used to be packed back in the days. Just a few years ago it didn’t look as dead as it does now though

[@Raiinbowrave]

I live down the street from here. Always busy on friday or saturday

[@MediocreEverything]

Shoe Dept. at 23:52 used to be an Internet Cafe called The Battlegrounds. Mid 2000s, the owner Mike was essentially forced out of the mall due to an increase in rent.

[@mikefromct5415]

I remember this once thriving mall , they had 2 video game stores Babbages and Electronic's boutique in the day and a gamestop, this mall is completely dying it has barely any stores on the weekend sure its ok but weekdays its dead!

[@pattiborrego5164]

At the very start, your memory of the store was incorrect. The Nail Spa was the pet store, the store to the left was, " Things Remembered " , An engraving store.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Oh, OK. Thanks for the info. It's been awhile. I knew it was in that general area. It's kind of ironic that I forgot about a store called "Things Remembered". Thanks for watching!

[@maryannefeyer6332]

We got the gifts for our honor attendants, as well as our cake-cutting knife, for our wedding at Things Remembered. Sad to see it gone.

[@nole8923]

It seems JCPenny and Macy’s are the last two traditional mall anchor stores left in malls today. They may have to do what Belk and Kohls has done and look more towards local strip malls instead of the traditional big enclosed malls if they want to survive. One factor that most people haven’t considered for the decline of malls is the increase in the amount of people who now work from home. Working from home means you don’t have to go into the office which means you don’t have to buy as many nice clothes. I’m in that category. The only places I really shop at any more are the grocery store and the hardware store. About once a year I will go to a specialty store like DXL for clothes. I don’t think most Americans are that much into fashion anymore. I can see people who have kids in middle school and high school still going to malls, but people simply aren’t having that many children any more. Unfortunately there are economic factors for that. Blaming online shopping for the decline of malls is kind of a cop out way the mainstream media avoids talking about the real reason malls are dying. Because of economic policies that a bought off Congress had adopted since the 80s which favor the wealthy stockholder class over the working class the middle class has dramatically shrunk over the decades. People can’t afford to buy a house, therefore they don’t have kids, therefore they don’t have a need to shop at malls. Online shopping? I don’t shop for clothes online because I don’t know if the clothes will fit without trying them on. I buy things like pots and pans online because Walmart kitchenware is garbage. The main reason for the decline of malls is economic as well as malls being in a location that is a pain to get to.

[@obstipuit]

as someone else said, that pet store was definitely there in the 2000s, my family got a puppy there when i was six in 2001 (and maybe again in 2003 idr if it was the same store)

[@mikefromct5415]

yup remember the pet store

[@circuitcity5738]

8:15 That store was definitely a Hollister Co. location. My local Hollister at the Southern Park Mall, in Youngstown Ohio, has looked like that since around 1999. So I am assuming that location opened in the mid to late 90s.

[@alexpaar2708]

All shopping centers are destined to disappear, sooner or later, I am 55 years old and I remember in the 80s when the malls were filled to the brim and it was the distraction of the weekends, the truth is that our generation has already passed and the new generation does not leave their homes and computers, they have no social life , in return also the system changed our way of life for our generation😢

[@TheFarmallfarmer]

I have a social life. I'm always getting into some type of shenanigans. 55 is still young. Your 5 years older than my dad. He is 53.

[@alexpaar2708]

@@TheFarmallfarmer good for you , but majority of young people are not like you 😊

[@brakromlord5197]

@@alexpaar2708uld argue my generation (gen z) still goes out quite a bit, it’s just that when we do, we have specific places in mind, we don’t go to a place just to walk around since we just chat during the car ride to wherever we’re going, so we just go to more specialized places that we want to go to that day, though I am worried about what the later part of gen z will end up like since they’ve never had malls or most places like mini golf, lazer tag, arcades, or go-cart places so they have less reason to want those kinds of things

[@markpowell4705]

Stumbled upon this and really enjoyed it. Haven’t been there in ages.

[@PeevedPigeon]

At 13:32 where that painting on the wall is, I’m pretty sure used to be this pretty decent size clothing store but obviously they closed down.

[@AmandaB102087]

That was Against All Odds, which is now on the Macy's end of the upper level.

[@PeevedPigeon]

@@AmandaB102087 oh yeahhh i remember now, didnt know they just switch locations

[@lifestyle936]

I went to the Meriden mall, I saw that arcade. The skeeball thing was broken. I saw the candy machine you had used but got spooked and ran away. No candy

[@Zickcermacity]

My last visit to Buckland Hills was in the '90s, with a carload of dorm mates from UCONN! Thanks Flea, for explaining the background bed on your mall videos! Sounds more like the shopping mall ambience I'm used to, vs the contemporarry 'hits' blasting out of the mall PA system nowadays. 3:09 - A clue on the right as to who might be closing soon! 3:32 - "Carousel" Cafe?? I'm afraid Danbury Fair has a lock anything carousel-related! 6:15 - You can thank smart phones for that! They're killing off both in-person arcades and home game consoles. 12:10 - A sad sight indeed... Along with the demise of Woolworth, Kresges, and locally Bradlees and Caldor. 15:52 - So Buckland recently did try to steal some of Danbury's thunder, with an actual merry-go-round. Also visible to far right is a food outlet 'Burger Class'? Letters look a lot like those on the outside of a more 'royal' Burger chain..!

[@AmandaB102087]

The pet store was to the right of the nail salon at the start of the video. The former Dick's, which moved to Burr Corner (at least the upper level of it) is now a Bob's Stores.

[@Dauwis]

I remember when it opened, New mall it's huge !

[@Thriceee]

Wow I remember coming here so much around the same time period.... holy hell lol

[@simonpaul1296]

Sam Goody was where the Newbury Comics store is today, I think. And KB Hobby was next door.

[@snaphead1235]

I love how I see this video and immediately got confused since this mall is the top hang out spot with my friends with the retro game store, Newbury comics and anime store

[@simonpaul1296]

Suncoast video was originally located on the 2nd floor next to the Sears. It’s now a clothing store.

[@fartemisfartmallow8647]

I think that mysterious “store on the right” used to be an Abercrombie and fitch…

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!

[@pattimaia1]

@@fleabittenadventures actually I think it was Hollister

[@michaeldelemos1789]

You should have seen how wild that place was 😂

[@brettbegley5570]

I’m from Agawam definitely remember the pet store

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yeah, that's one of few stores I remember very clearly from back in the 90's, other than the video game stores. Thanks for watching!

[@Eduardo-us2zm]

I try not to look at more than I need at the grocery store but I looked at an open refrigerator thing with a shelf of beer with the cute labels because why not and then I'm like wow they are telling a story with the product selection here I don't want to know anymore and then I try to move on and look normal shopping

[@fleabittenadventures]

Same here. Thanks for watching!

[@Sybrss]

This place has gone on the deep end. I hear from store owners around that the place is increasing pricing for owning a shop, but if you have a better reason why its empty please tell me.

[@chillenchelz]

That store on the right where you thought it was a restaurant, that was Hollister.

[@fredWaxBeans11111]

I used to go there rather frequently. When it first opened, I hated the modern-art decorations/architecture inside. Those large Gaudy neon blue/orange structures throughout the mall. I was happy when they removed it all, and went with a more traditional vibe. I remember the arcade back behind the food court area (mid 1990s) There was also a tiny room in lower level of Sears that had arcade games. I would play Smash TV in there lol. Good memories. Thanks for another awesome video! 👍 P.S. I love the jazz music you chose for this video! nice.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!

[@MillerVanDotTV]

It was neon purple and teal. Very 90’s colors. The theme was “pavilions” or tented opaque roofs that are still somewhat evident in the ceiling design. The old food court arcade was awesome back in the mid 90’s. The Sears mini arcade was a well kept secret and has a really good mix of games. A lot of people in town lamented the increased bus service to the mall and the entrances adjacent to the bus stops were understood to be avoided (mall entrance near Macys (formerly foxes) Mens upper level ). Miss the optimistic 90’s era here but glad that downtown is clawing back now that the overly retailed buckland area is dying (taxes never went down as a result of increased tax rolls from the mall area either, imagine that!)

[@timkillian1469]

I probably spent 100+ hours in the LAN store that used to be above where Newbury is now.

[@garrisonfjord]

I spent a lot of my child hood in the Electronics Boutique there, and Spencer's and Sam Goody on the second floor. Hell I remember when people could smoke in the mall. As a preeteen and then later a teenager I hung out in that mall every chance I could get. But yeah these days it's a ghost town compared to the mid and late 90s, which is when I spent most of my time there.

[@piperbird7193]

I spent a huge amount of my teen years here in the 90s. I got my pet rat out of that pet store. 😅 The arcade used to be up behind the food court. I spent a lot of time there as well. Waldenbooks, Suncost, EB Games, Spencers, and that weird new store Hot Topic. Maybe stop and get another ear piercing from a sketchy booth in the middle.

[@DizzyEyes94]

Newbury Comics and Charley's Philly Steaks are the best parts of this mall and it's tough to find stuff to do here otherwise since around 2010. Nice new headshop in there though, definitely worth checking out for hippies/stoners.

[@kristoferkalinauskas5800]

I don't go to buckland hills mall anymore

[@WhittyPics]

I see a few empty stores scattered around.

[@Dauwis]

Yes ! Arcade was where the carousel is now..

[@charlie-jy2cq]

the storefront at 8:12 was either a hollister or abercrombie and fitch. you’d walk in and get punched in the face with cologne and deafening cali pop punk while you stumble through the dark bc they were so gung ho on the ambience.

[@silverchan9999]

I feel like i been in the mall... Like i do have family in Connecticut they live in Bridgeport so driving up to Manchester is simple for them, so i think i was taken there sometimes as a child, i can't remember tho

[@jenniferinsalaco5790]

You need to do the Connecticut post mall in milford.

[@SweetSirenia]

Definitely not dead. The occupancy rate is still well above average, but a lot of the spaces are shifting to providing services instead of being traditional shops, so it means less foot traffic. It's actually a good survival strategy...gotta rent the spaces somehow, so if you can get non-retail in there, you might as well.

[@mikecif4123]

That Newberry Comics was a K.B. Toy and Hobby.

[@markaugello7170]

Square footage wise, Buckland is a huge mall compared to some others

[@vc9732]

Looks like the CT Post Mall in Milford.

[@Daddyezee]

I was a just there yesterday the mall is dead a lot of store are not there anymore GameStop was turned into a airsoft shooting range the retro store is still there the T-Mobile store used to be Sprint and the T-mobile store used to be next to JCPenney/Macy’s on the 1st level they added the trampoline in 2021 when Covid started they always had it around Christmas time Santa used to be there. Dicks is still there but have a diff name there still selling the normal but trying to get rid of everything as there new location is next to the smaller mall next to BJ and roosters pizza that was shown on Man Vs Food

[@simonpaul1296]

And Dicks moved out of the mall. Probably for cheaper rent. Not sure if they decreased their square footage at the same time.

[@Dretrue1127]

Dicks moved around the corner. And a Bobs store reboot is now at the former Dicks location in the mall.

[@zacharybabcock7809]

Im pretty sure that empty store was a holister they remodeled holister at my local mall

[@LotsOfLove4Music]

the store on the right at 8:09 might have been a hollister? or something similar. i’ve seen that storefront design at other hollisters in malls

[@fleabittenadventures]

Could be. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!

[@SwitchSilver]

Yeah it was a Hollister. I was a teenager in 2010 and it was hoppin.

[@kimberlyabbe6868]

@@fleabittenadventures yup! hollister! i used to work at abercrombie and fitch (also closed now) at that mall, and hollister was right down the way

[@optimal_key]

This is my go too mall. I wouldn't consider it dead really, js nit as populated as it was 3-5 years ago

[@HalfEatenMedia]

Newberry was once Strawberry’s music way back

[@Eduardo-us2zm]

That video ad in front of lens crafters on the vertical screen was the first thing I noticed about the storefront I'm like what store is selling that bra?

[@fleabittenadventures]

Exactly. Thanks for watching!

[@MarkNapper439]

I haven’t been here since before the pandemic 😷.

[@fleabittenadventures]

This was my first visit since the start of the pandemic. I'm sure the pandemic has not helped the mall at all. It's still going somehow though. Thanks for watching!

[@MarkNapper439]

@@fleabittenadventures I actually went there last month with my brother and dad.

[@MillerVanDotTV]

I don’t bother and just go to Westfarms. Or put the car on autopilot and head over to White Plains if I want to visit “nice” malls.

[@gregguess5248]

What’s Manchester like , I’m moving to the Hartford area in December .

[@fleabittenadventures]

Overall, Manchester is a nice area, especially compared to Hartford. Thanks for watching!

[@MillerVanDotTV]

It has a little bit of everything really. It’s nicer now than it was 5 or 10 years ago, I grew up there but would have a hard time living there now. My tastes are for the more upscale West Hartford or Glastonbury. Your perspective may vary. But it was a great town to grow up in. The then glitzy mall area killed downtown in the 90’s, but now that the mall is dying, the downtown has fresh life again. Very refreshing to see. Good sense of community there. It still feels like “home” even though I rarely visit it.

[@optimal_key]

I live in East Hartford, and I've been in Hartford and Manchester plenty of times to know what it's like in those areas. The majority of Hartford is pretty crappy with only a few decent areas, west Hartford is pretty decent. East Hartford to me is home sweet home, and it's not too bad here either, Manchester is kind of like west Hartford? Altho a big part of Manchester is where most of the shopping is done, it's pretty nice there though

[@mikefromct5415]

@@optimal_key From East Hartford too lived here my entire life , but E Hartford is now a shithole and most of Manchester is

[@timscully4250]

pls do winter video with christmas lights

[@HarrisonHanson-hy7or]

Wait! There was a Hollywood video inside a mall??? Nah, I worked at a Hollywood for about 4/5 years & we never had a location inside of a mall.

[@TheFarmallfarmer]

Wow Panera bread is gone. It used to be to the right of the comedy club.

[@bubblebass420]

Nah bro, the pet store was definitely there in the mid-late 2000's

[@optimal_key]

Its odd how emoty it looks in this video, its not normally this empty

[@YuukitheMighty1]

I live down the street from this mall lol

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for watching. Would you consider this a dead mall? I wouldn't, but some people are telling me it is.

[@krissykk1618]

@@fleabittenadventuresI would consider it a slowly dying mall, I grew up in Manchester and I’ve seen the visitor numbers dwindle more every year, and the mysterious store on the right was an Abercrombie and Fitch

[@krissykk1618]

@@fleabittenadventuresI would consider it a slowly dying mall, I grew up in Manchester and I’ve seen the visitor numbers dwindle more every year, and the mysterious store on the right was an Abercrombie and Fitch

[@toddgelineau6536]

The carousel has been there for decades.

[@jenniferinsalaco5790]

Are you from the north east

[@jenniferinsalaco5790]

I'm from Connecticut never went

[@natebaker72]

Yea it's pretty dead...went there a couple of months ago and it was pretty much the same ....surprised it's still around...with all the online shopping options, it's probably just a matter of time before all malls meet their fate

[@wayne8276]

These dying malls look clean , well lit , nice. But there time is about up . How can they be profitable ?

[@MillerVanDotTV]

They can’t. They need to either become subsidized to serve the public and integrate community functions, or get shut down when they become insolvent. In the case of Manchester, the town already has invested heavily in the community in older downtown buildings, or scattered mill / industrial buildings. The mall area in buckland is too far removed from the core residential areas of Manchester (it’s close to the southwest Windsor and Vernon town lines). There are substantial apartment residents near the mall, but more itinerant residents don’t have the community commitment that home owners Town needs to continue to concentrate on rebuilding in it’s historical sections and just put buckland in placeholder status so it doesn’t become a wasteland. Then hopefully, after a generation or two, another boom cycle brings buckland up with it.

[@NotSettlingForSecondBest]

@@MillerVanDotTV The town could buy one of the anchor spaces and use it to hold school events, like plays, concerts, and assemblies.

[@user-ht6yv2qf4w]

Man shit has changed. It used to be the place to be.

[@optimal_key]

Anyone here from east Hartford?

[@mikefromct5415]

Yup near South windsor , like 2 miles from Buckland , near East Hartford golf course

[@AbcDef-iq4no]

I would like to see a youtuber challenge a mall in regard to filming. Technically this is a public space even though privately owned.

[@fizzyu]

Westfarms is just better with more store options especially for the younger generation. This mall is just ghetto now

[@TyConSherriM]

Nowhere near dead

[@georgemalley6414]

You have to be insane to live Connecticut. Besides being massively extremely expensive to live there, the taxes are ridiculously outrageous, and on top of that IT'S FREEZING COLD!!

[@optimal_key]

Actually that's js wrong. I've lived here ever since I was Born for 17 years ,and not everywhere is extremely expensive, also, we have all four seasons so it's only rly cold when it's late fall-winter, it's hot as hell right now and it's been like that since mid spring

[@mikefromct5415]

Yeah its extremely hot in the summer and its cold in the winter but it is not that cold

[@joem4827]

It was good at one time. I live 10 minutes away but a lot of trash shops there