Modern ABANDONED Mall With Terrifying Sears

With our modern retail landscape rapidly changing, the malls of our past have been closing down at a shocking rate. Today we're looking inside a mall at a local scale, something that was integral to the community and is now a forgotten and an increasingly distant memory. We'll look inside a recently closed JCPenny, the small stores that populated the concourse and a truly horrific Sears store.
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[@packman4664]

These malls seemed magical as a kid, especially during the holiday seasons with all the Christmas decorations up, such vibrant childhood memories. These videos aren’t so much creepy to me as they are outright depressing.

[@serenity8295]

agreed

[@oooof6861]

Yeah. That’s where we went as young kids to see Santa clause and as teenagers to meet girls. A time when social interaction was the norm. Maybe the next billionaire in waiting will be the one who finds a way for people to come out and be social in person again.

[@APickleForAPea]

Time to come out of Babylon, Fam!

[@robopiplup5193]

Yep. These malls were the place EVERYONE would go to, no matter your social or monetary standing. Even if you didn't want to buy anything (except maybe some grub from the food court) you were welcome there to hang out or window shop. Friends, family, solo... didn't matter. No cost to get in except gas or physical exertion to walk there if you lived close. That's why I'll always have extremely fond memories of these indoor malls, and why I just can't feel the same about modern venues that are micro-monetized to hell and back.

[@denny3059]

I totally agree!👍

[@Mr__Jack]

Honestly, the saddest part of this is that these perfectly good buildings are being left to rot. That’s so wasteful. They could easily be turned into something else. I’ve always thought of what if they could be used as some sort of super homeless shelters with food, beds, doctors, schooling, etc. to get people back on their feet.

[@Hammy750]

i currently live in wilson, and pass by this mall all the time and went to it . Its sad to see it rot but they fear to destroy it because of "Asbestosis". There's also homeless ppl that are in the area living in or near the mall. My friends went to explore the other day, the mall is beyond repair.

[@jackmomma7481]

I think much of the reason why these malls haven't been converted into large homeless centers is because I believe our government wants these people to suffer by letting nature and the elements kill them off. Large numbers of homeless people lowers property values. So you just know that they're not going to allow that to happen! There was a serial killer recently who was going all around in various areas of New York City targeting homeless people. One of them was even in his sleeping bag asleep when he was doused in gasoline, then set ablaze. But as soon as heard about these murders on television, my initial thought was, "that's no serial killer... that's the work of hired hit men" Similar happened in London some years back when abnormally increased numbers of homeless people were all dying from overdoses. Someone was moving some bad heroin around on the streets, and a lot of it. A suspect was eventually taken into custody. During his interro gasoline, he told investigatiors that some prominent people within the city and police department made him distribute this tainted heroin. I don't know all the details as to how he came into contact with these people, but it sounds like he was definitely a patsie. One who thy might have given him 2 choices - community service. Or prison for a crime he was about to be charged with, but would be swept under the rug upon chosing to do community service. And just as I mentioned before, the intended purpose was to thin out the numbers, then let property values increase back their market rates. i don't think there was ever an update as to what came of it all in the future. But if that could happen in a city like London, then it can happen here in the US as well. There is no love for the homeless in the US

[@jerseyjoyride1316]

@@Hammy750 agreed, people may think these places could be used but in reality they're full of dangerous chemicals as well as water damage and mold. I just don't see how the city allows them to rot away when they will come after us if we don't mow our lawn for a week.

[@t436]

The amount of money needed to facilitate that facility for that, will make the buyers homeless.

[@LOVE-iv2pw]

You'd think they'd convert these places into apartment complexes instead of building new ones. I know people in my home province who converted several old run down stores, strip malls, and even an entire stadiums for other uses; apartments, warehouses, etc. One convenience store/video rental place I used to go to all the time as a kid was eventually repurposed into an apartment complex (and a pretty well priced one at that, considering they kept the attached laundromat). Although, go look up Memorial Stadium Dominion in St. John's, Newfoundland if you want a more famous example; its an old hockey arena repurposed into a grocery store!

[@lrm223]

Some of my fondest memories from middle school were getting dropped off at the mall with my friends. We felt sooo grown up that our parents would let us shop without them at the mall. We would eat at the food court, hit up all the best stores, and then use the pay phone to call our parents to come get us. What a time!

[@PraveenSriram]

Same here I grew up in the mid 90s

[@KnickKnacksPlasticPlanet]

My Dad was a Sears store manager back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. I basically grew up in malls. I can remember going to work with him on Sunday mornings as he would open the store and being able to sprint the shiny linoleum floors the with nothing but the security lights reflecting off the surfaces. The distinct smells of the varying departments from the rich, scented perfume isle to the smell of leather shoes and the rich odor of brand new rubber emanating from the tires of pristine, brand new snowblowers and tractor mowers (which I also got to sit on - a HUGE treat) I honestly kind of hate these video. Yes, they are infinitely fascinating to see the decay of bygone years - but to me, as a someone in my mid to late 40s they represent the feeling of watching a symbol of my youth rot into dust.

[@usernames68619]

Abandoned places are depressing

[@PraveenSriram]

@@usernames68619they are full of old ghosts who roam around the property

[@diabeteo2890]

My grandpa used to be a manager for Sears in the 60s and 70s

[@DBlake864]

When I was a kid, our town was small, so we only had a catalog store to pick up orders. It was a treat to get to go to the big Sears in another town. At Christmas time, they had a huge toy department. I loved it. Years later, my husband and I bought a lot of the things for our daughter’s nursery there because they carried Winnie the Pooh merchandise.

[@dougfredricks2017]

​@@DBlake864I remember growing up the big Sears and JCPenney even JC Whitney catalogs😊

[@CallMeMicahT]

Back in the day, going to malls was such an amazing experience. It's hard to see it like this.

[@12Mantis]

Indeed, I remember being able to spend nearly a whole day at the mall looking at the shops, granted, back in the 80's and 90's there was a wider variety of stores to peruse and lose yourself in......not to mention the arcades :) That said it's still bizarre to me that this is happening, not the changes to the retail sector in the wake of online shopping, but rather, that decently solid structures with existing utilities and quite a bit of available space (both inside AND outside) are just being allowed to.......decay into ruin instead of finding new life. Yeah, while low rent housing is one possibility I'm not sure if the surrounding areas economy would support that plan or not......and let's face it......if that mall were rebuilt into low rent housing it'd probably be bought up by one of those creepy faceless corporations that keep calling to ask us if we want to sale our homes.

[@Arz2003]

I remember going to Montgomery Ward and playing Nintendo 64 while parents were shopping 🛒 Now it is different times

[@vintagedreams3589]

A museum into the past ....thanks for this video sure did enjoy that nostalgia feeling.

[@12Mantis]

@Patrick Brannon Huh, hadn't heard about them buying apartments.....though if they're pricing out the current renters......I wonder what % of their apartment properties are actually being rented out as opposed to standing empty. Like so many of those storefronts in New York City.

[@chriscarswell450]

@Patrick Brannon pure evil

[@thomasina6623]

What’s crazy to me is how many hours and memories customers and employees logged here. How many friendships were made between coworkers, lunch breaks at their favorite spots, jittery first day of school shopping for kids and mall walking routines for the elderly. And now it’s all reduced to a pile of moldy rubble. My junior prom was held in a semi-abandoned mall, right in front of a shuttered JC Penny’s. It was fantastically creepy. I think that’s where my love of dead and dying malls began. All those memories.

[@knightwind6628]

🤟😔

[@archangelliii2536]

NOTHING lasts forever here on earth. Who would've thought, just 15 years ago, that Sears would now be history??!!!

[@fromthehaven94]

@@archangelliii2536 I know a Sears store was the last anchor store to close at all three of the Columbus, Ohio malls I grew up with in the 80's and 90's: Northland, Eastland, and Westland.

[@RobMathMiller]

Your excellent comment shows why we as a society need to question whether the smart phone and internet society we have created is really a good thing. There are values much higher than convenience.

[@chazzas3469]

Love your comment about hours and memories its so true and your junior Prom sounds really cool!

[@inhobiswinecellar9571]

Deteriorated places will never not fascinate me. If those decaying walls could talk, imagine all the stories they’ve heard. A women coddling her crying toddler, a couple arguing, a couple having their first kiss, a man eating a comfort pretzel in a food court because his child is terminally ill. Deteriorated places that once bustled with life and purpose feel whimsical not because the buildings are echoes of what they once were, but rather the walls themselves are aching for company once more.

[@Frankie5Angels150]

If those walls could talk it would be creepy as f*ck!

[@havasubooo8840]

@@Frankie5Angels150 but spy balloons are not....LOL

[@jessihawkins9116]

stupid 😒

[@rhetz1562]

Iv never heard it said better

[@BrennanBarrier]

Why is this comment so beautiful to me?

[@munsters2]

Sad to see what happened to Sears. It used to be the biggest retail store in America, selling just about anything you could want, including houses.

[@drummer_zay9493]

What goes up must come down..

[@scottr3484]

Sears sucked glad they are GONE!

[@JustARandomBlueE2]

@@scottr3484actually, it’s the opposite 🤓

[@professorstokes6596]

​@@scottr3484Damn, Mr. Happy...bet you're a load of fun to have around.

[@charlieerardi4221]

I grew up in this area and grew up during Parkwood Mall’s heyday. It’s so heartbreaking to see a critical part of my childhood in such bad shape. Thank you for doing this video. I have so many memories there. Keep up the great work. Stay safe.

[@dalhousiekid]

Yes indeed. Everything is Amazon or Walmart etc. -- online stores which are convenient but local stores should be used too.

[@tylerrusnak7736]

@@dalhousiekid Well, retail will always be a thing. I work in hardware retail and trust me, most of the big stuff cant be done online. Beacuse usually its FUBAR by the time it gets to your doorstep! Even my stores online delivery (handled by 3rd party) sent some poor guy a mangled tool chest.

[@tylerrusnak7736]

@Safwaan F-ed up beyond all recognition. It's an acronym

[@lucsmith2092]

@@tylerrusnak7736 ah thanks for that. Now to use FUBAR around the house as much as I can to annoy the kidults🤪

[@mirlana3254]

Your comment moved me deeply, Charlie! You just described exactly what I feel. Though I didn't grow up in that area and never really heard of that Mall.. but when looking at abandoned and devastated places scattered around the world, we are reminded of how quickly paint cracks and peels, and people, too, grow old and fade away. At times we just look back at places from the past, and what we have is just a handful of living, breathing memories..

[@LDBoone]

Having work 11 years as mall maintenance I can honestly say that the amount of scrap and recyclable material in these buildings is phenomenal. Stores moved out and left a lot. Printers, shelving, stationary, vacuums, cctv, sound systems and speakers. Not to mention the amount of copper wiring, stainless steel, and metal that is recyclable. A store moved out and I would be tasked to demo it for an incoming store. I cashed in instead of putting things in the landfill. After 10 years i still have metal beams and posts, carpet, tiles, shelving, and hardwood seating benches I still use. We'd make thousands on copper alone.

[@michaeldelio1870]

Good for you L.D. they were going to waste it, and you made use of it. Some people have too much, and dont appreciate it

[@FilosophicalPharmer]

A business "controller" comes from accounting, not maintenance. As long as the numbers look good, recycling and upcycling is an unnecessary expense. Hooray Capitalism!!

[@FilosophicalPharmer]

Blue collar humans can appreciate the things that gave them callouses. White collar humans avoid labor because it would mean scheduling an extra trip to the nail salon this week.

[@FilosophicalPharmer]

Look up Goodhart's Law. It will explain why capitalism has failed good, hardworking Americans - ALL Americans, regardless of ethnicity.

[@FilosophicalPharmer]

@@michaeldelio1870 Now that I've rambled, please let me make it up to you all by coming back around and pointing out how the central bank of our country reduced copper in pennies about 40 years ago to save on the cost of making pennies on behalf of the Treasury. The people own the treasury but a privately owned bank prints the currency we call "money", thereby devaluing the pennies it complains of having to make.

[@AndyB718]

The excitement of the Mall on a Saturday was priceless for us as kids.

[@FurryWrecker911]

Going to GameStop/EB Games, and if it was a good work week for mom (online sales pre-amazon era) it also meant stopping at Subway for lunch.

[@Damone7653]

Queens Mall in Queens, New York is still pretty nice.

[@SJHFoto]

@@Damone7653 I think NYC is so BIG (as in population) that malls can still survive (I went to Kings Plaza in Brooklyn on a visit there and it was packed). But I think that when you see the dynamic in medium sized places in North America, malls are going the way of the dinosaur (I say "medium sized" because the mall where I grew up in Marathon Ontario is still around-but it is basically the shopping centre to go to for 100sqkm or more)

[@jaxonfenn6976]

This mall is actually in my hometown of Wilson, North Carolina. It definitely was the cornerstone of our small community of 50,000+ in its hayday. Eventually a new shopping center across town was erected and that kind of led to the death if Parkwood. As of literally yesterday, the City Council has purchased it and plans to demolish it and build a new shopping development. Hate to see it go but i'm glad that my hometown is going to get some new life. Thanks for this video. I'm sure those in my hometown will enjoy this.

[@flyingtoast27]

I wonder how bad the Kroger over across it is looking inside

[@CocoCece08]

I'd like to see either an indoor go kart track or maybe RC track.

[@IndianOutlaw1870]

heyday

[@thomasmcguire9100]

I knew this place looked familiar so close to home sadly

[@neoanderson726]

um the city council did not buy your tax dollars bought it without anyone voting on it

[@sukhdeepubhi4062]

I remember 12 years ago working at a Sears at Ford City Mall near Midway airport that was closing down. As the liquidators came in, the store gradually became more and more empty day by day…. I had only worked there for 5 years but it was like watching a good friend get sick and die and all you could do was watch…so depressing to watch malls deteriorate.

[@bradjohnston8193]

I worked for 2 different Sears stores back in the 'eighties. I was very sad to see Sears die. It was a great company once and a good place to work.

[@sukhdeepubhi4062]

The sad thing with Sears was that they were so innovative because they brought the store to peoples homes via their catalogs. If they had only had a little more intelligence and put that catalog online, they would’ve beat Amazon to the game. But what a sad thing that they didn’t connect the dots.

[@jenniferdellacalce5617]

I always liked penneys more then sears growing up but to see both of them die a slow death when I grew up as a kid in the 90s,it deeply saddens me these two shopping icons won't be there for future generations to see.

[@InspectorSplatter]

@@sukhdeepubhi4062 Sears sounds cooler than Amazon too. And the Sears Tower probably wouldn't have been sold and renamed to "Willis Tower" in Chicago.

[@ryansheehan9462]

I worked for a grocery store that was on its way out. I totally agree on it being similar to watching someone get sick and pass. The shelves getting emptier and emptier. I stayed right up to the last day. It was so sad.

[@jennifer_peters]

Sears has a special place in my heart and I am devastated to see their demise. They helped to pay for my education through a fund they founded after my dad passed away so I am forever grateful for them and everything they did to help our family during such a heartbreaking time.

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

Back in the day they delivered a rifle straight toy grandpa's door.

[@tampabaybuccaneer10]

Eddie Lampert doesn't care about Sears or it's workers. It's sad.

[@tomrogers9467]

@@tampabaybuccaneer10 In Canada the executives gutted the employee’s pension plan. Staff who contributed from their own paycheques for years were left with nothing when they were laid off. CRIMINAL!

[@jennifer_peters]

@@tampabaybuccaneer10 it's so sad! I worked for Kmart when I was 17 and didn't even recognize the place when I went back years later before they closed that location.

[@6Haunted-Days]

@@Gr3nadgr3gory they delivered HOUSES!

[@MZ-bl6wg]

As a child of the 80’s the Shopping mall was such a great memory of my childhood. My mom passed away from brain cancer recently and as I look back at the happy times with my amazing mom, there were SO many at the mall, Christmas shopping, school clothes shopping , going to the mall as a family because it was free and my family didn’t have money we had so much fun just running around there. It’s so sad to see them closing! I’m greatful I’ve been able to take my Angel daughters to a local mall here that’s somehow still afloat. Sad to see them closing and stores like JC penny that were a staple of my childhood with my mom. 😢

[@Kill0trocity]

I’m so sorry. May your mom rest in peace, I’m sure you two had so much fun in these places as did I. God bless your heart and merry Christmas!!🎄🎁

[@hopelessspaghetti5310]

m z's mom really went like: 💀

[@charlesr24]

Sorry for your loss 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@Trex91818]

I feel sorry for you. Losing a loved one is tough and depressing. I know what your feeling. May your mother rest in peace.

[@vertigo2894]

:( Bless you

[@SuperBrowndog1]

It’s sad to see malls replaced with online shopping. I’m glad I was born at a time when I got to experience mall shopping, especially during the holidays. We have a mall here in Victorville California and there is so much theft and violence, I’m almost positive our mall will be shutting the doors soon. The next generations will never know the fun of shopping at the mall.

[@truckvlogs1346]

two favorite places at the mall that I like have to be Game stop and the arcade.

[@tjminimoto]

Some malls will still be around

[@tjminimoto]

What’s the name of the mall

[@gregoryhagen8801]

@@truckvlogs1346 & the food court.🌮🍕🍔

[@truckvlogs1346]

@@gregoryhagen8801 that’s a good place

[@NinthShinigami]

It’s always sad to see these abandoned places. So much money and materials are used for them.

[@mmfrogi]

Yes and all these new structures being built when businesses could take existing ones over

[@Michael-zf1ko]

@@mmfrogi That's the real tragedy. Taking more natural land away to build Amazon Warehouses and housing when abandoned malls on huge plots of land exist.

[@Viking_Luchador]

Fuck Amazon!

[@jacobevenson8702]

@@Michael-zf1ko All about money. Costs way too much to clear land like that, especially if its a massive abandoned mall.

[@samholdsworth420]

@@mmfrogi it's cheaper to build a new building than to renovate some piece of crap building that's been forgotten

[@JMBWizard84]

I lived in Wilson most of my life. That Rose's used to be the Belks, my grandmother worked there for years as the switchboard operator. Our school chorus used to set up bleachers infront of the Belks for a Christmas performance because they would always doll the store entrance up with garland and lights for the holidays. The KB toy store used to be next to the Flowers shoe store. I still to this day have a card in my wallet from one of the jewelry stores that gives me lifetime battery replacement in my watches. On the day of my Grandmothers funeral I found a tear in the pants of my suit and stopped into the JCPenny to get a new suit in a hurry. It's weird cause I can watch your video and tell you almost where every store used to be.

[@ladyrazorsharp]

A family friend was the voice of Sears in our local mall; we could often hear her pre-recorded ads over the PA system. She's recently passed away but I think she used to run the switchboard as well. I remember the 2nd floor entrance was for the catalog pick-up! MANY years ago (we're talking at least 45) there was a cafeteria at Sears my mom and I used to go to before we went shopping! My three-year-old self loved the chocolate pudding, lol. I worked at See's Candies several Christmases and there were many musicians and choirs that used to perform, it was fun to get to listen to them. Ah, good times.

[@mapesdhs597]

Your comment is a good example of why the posts below YT videos should be preserved, and why YT should not be able to delete them and especially not erase entire channels. People are creating a new archive of memory, a way of recording what was and what it meant to those who lived through such times. I wish YT videos included a "download all comments" button. Thankyou both for taking the time to write, such personal recollections I find fascinating. Something intrigues me: in the video where he says the number of visitors to the mall began to decline, what would you say were the primary causes of this? Bound to be more than one factor at work I expect.

[@trevonpernell0814]

Same here my friend.

[@Hakysak89]

Where was this?

[@trevonpernell0814]

@@Hakysak89 Wilson, North Carolina. Small town east of Raleigh.

[@Jah_LEASE_yah]

It's so crazy that these buildings can't be repurposed for something useful. it's so sad that they are just sitting abandoned and empty.

[@lucyterrier7905]

They do get repurposed. These are multimillion dollar structures & property. Our community has taken the local mall & totally deconstructed it to outdoor shopping, senior living & a park & movie theatre.

[@Jah_LEASE_yah]

@@lucyterrier7905 that is awesome. But there are still a lot that are sitting vacant. They should all be repurposed like this and turned into low income housing.

[@Raptorman0909]

Online retailers like Amazon played a role, but many malls were in decline long before online was a thing. For many middle class families during the 60's and 70's they aspired to shop at these upscale retail outlets and malls boomed. The 70's saw the rise of the Galleria Malls that were more upscale than the older malls and, once again, the middle class went there when they could. But, in the 80's, these malls began to be undercut by the discount places like Walmart and Cosco so long before the internet was a thing for the average person and long before online retail was a thing the middle class had to transition away from aspiring to shop at upscale retail outlets and, instead, had to make do with less. The internet came along and by about 1995 the tools needed to browse the internet became available and then, by the late 90's, companies like Amazon were the nail in the coffin.

[@Richardcontramundum]

Excellent points most people don't see

[@dicky7600]

The one by me closed due to rising crime. Car thefts, fights, shoplifting, etc.

[@SteveFlanigan]

Spending a great deal of my youth, (teens) wandering the local Malls, every time I watch one of these videos, I realize that the death of a Mall is in reality, portrays a little death of my youth.

[@jjano2320]

I don't think people bought too much. They kind of just hung out and walked around.

[@dchawk81]

Yep, we're old buddy.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Don't look back. Look to the future! "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind" (Isaiah 65:17, KJV).

[@nicholasbstone]

@@davidlafleche1142 Is it "the lion and the lamb" or is it "the wolf and the lamb"? I challenge you to look this up in your oldest, most personal Bible. You may be surprised at what you see, and how that compares to what you thought you knew. Then ponder the implications of the conundrum before you.

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@nicholasbstone Here are the references: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 65:25). Okay, what about them?

[@annieheir147]

I can't imagine what it would be like to have been a long time employee at places like this, working years or possibly decades and see what all that dedication ultimately lead to. All that time, all the missed plans, all the picked up shifts, all the stress over sales quotas, all the 'I can't I have to go to work'. All that to see that time amounting to this. Sobering.

[@tomrogers9467]

When Sears shut in Canada it was found the executives had gutted the employee’s pension plan and the staff was left with nothing! Even the money they had contributed themselves!

[@paulvazur8540]

@@tomrogers9467 that’s horrible

[@annieheir147]

@@tomrogers9467 Wow what a nightmare. Sadly that's not surprising.

[@theusbac]

True sobering... I think that should gives us a lesson about not stressing over everything and that nothing is permanent.

[@sparkles999rose2]

@@tomrogers9467 really that’s terrible

[@evldedgrl]

As someone who was a teen in the 90's, this gets me right in the feels. Makes me want to ugly cry in my Orange Julius and stuff my face with Auntie Anne's pretzels

[@hallenebrooks5630]

With the cheese topping!!

[@alanosterman7130]

I was born in 1953, only one mall near me as a kid, named Randhurst near north west Chicago. It was really magical going there, especially at Christmas time. Other places like Golf Mill were a series of separate stores close together with covered walkways between them. Then later converted into a huge mall. Then the mammoth mall Woodfield was built in Schaumburg IL. These places were so special. A real experience to go to. Now, we just do this on line and wait for a delivery. Really sad. What will a person like you, be filming 50 years from now ?

[@standardnerd9840]

This just made me feel old! I was an 80s mallrat and I'm now nostalgic for the days of arcades and Saturdays with friends.

[@blackhawk6695]

Yes Sir me 2 those was the days! Saturday mornings cartoons and arcades..

[@jayyearwood4587]

The local malls used to be great places to go for unusual items. Now you can sit behind a computer and shop the world. But it was a special time nonetheless.

[@tbury2516]

Best times ever! One of my first jobs was with Circus World toys in North Valley Mall in Thornton Colorado (one of the few still standing in Denver, all though repurposed along time ago).

[@waterheaterservices]

@@tbury2516 Sweet memories of that mall and those times, also of Cinderella City in Englewood and Buckingham Mall in Aurora.

[@tbury2516]

@@waterheaterservices Cinderella City was the best! Don't forget Villa Italia, Westminster Northglenn, Southglenn and Southwest Plaza.

[@anthonyc70]

I remember when I used to go to the malls. So bright and full of life... people everywhere and purchasing. It's so sad.

[@lamarravery4094]

It's the state of our economy. Everything is plain to see, you can't hide what us going on.

[@deadofnighthaunts6969]

This gives me an indescribable feeling a mix of sadness and something I can't explain

[@daynasafranek7807]

I have a feeling like that. It’s overwhelming just slightly

[@Frankie5Angels150]

Look up “liminal spaces”, “back rooms,” and “uncanny valley” on the Why Files” KZbin page for your answers.

[@leah5580]

I work security in a still pretty healthy mall. What you said about the quiet is true, they sound proof spaces really well. You can't even hear the music that plays in the common areas in the security office or service halls. It's honestly incredible.

[@kentslocum]

The Gateway Mall in Springfield, Oregon saved itself from this fate by literally turning itself inside out. Originally an indoor mall, it was remodeled to make most of the stores outward-facing, becoming a glorified strip mall with a theater anchoring the small remaining indoor section. While abandoned places are fascinating, I think places that narrowly avoided abandonment are even more fascinating.

[@noxirs7059]

I was thinking that the mall could've been saved if it went back to an open concept. Prior reading your message.

[@lilshaz8378]

We had a small enclosed mall that eventually opened up into an outside shopping venue only to have it enclosed again. New investors reopened it and made it like a little Main St promenade. Been like that ever since and is busier than heck with restaurants, movie theaters, retail and grocery stores

[@largol33t1]

I doubt it saved itself. Like all malls, it's living on borrowed time, especially with gas price gouging. Are you really going to drive to the mall 5 miles away when you're paying $6 a gallon for gas?

[@riproar11]

Last week I had to drive through Upstate New York and drove through Poughkeepsie, NY. I thought the South Hills Mall would have the same fate as the Dutchess Mall in nearby Fishkill. Dutchess was torn down and replaced with a Home Depot and some adjacent stores to the left of it are abandoned and decaying with a large parking lot with weeds growing through cracks. South Hills Mall became like Gateway as a newly renovated outdoor plaza with At Home furniture, Burlington, Hobby Lobby, Bob's Discount furniture, Christmas Shops, ShopRite grocery, etc. South Hills Mall was an unusual story that really enjoyed the 1980s and declined by the end of the decade when a much larger Poughkeepsie Galleria would open in 1987. It didn't have a food court so in 1985 developers built a cool, modern addition with high ceilings and the majority was glass-enclosed. It was all mid-1980s styling with art deco glass blocks, curvy long neon lights hanging from the ceiling and walls in red, blue, yellow and magenta. It was the first food court ever in the county area and had Panda Express type Chinese food place too. Strangely, during a college break in 1992, I worked a short gig in construction and on my first day I saw that the whole food court addition was demolished, and a large store was being built in its place, Service Merchandise. The small, new food court was dismal and depressing with four corner food shops.

[@Hernandezl31]

That's so smart. I avoid mall be cause I HATE walking to get to what I need. My back injury makes it hard. If I can get in and out, I'd be happy.

[@retromechanicalengineer]

Strange to see. Those types of malls were very much how we viewed America during the 70s and 80s, on TV shows and movies. In fact, in Britain we copied them to some degree. Now they are closing on both sides of the Atlantic.

[@fredyllanos8972]

@Andy Wylde Malls in NYC are still doing fine. At least in Queens & Long Island.

[@iamjackscompletelackofsurp9606]

As a kid back in the 70s and 80s a trip to the mall was an event, and they were always packed! Incredible how things have changed!

[@elizabethgillespie1031]

I’m a 2000s kid, so I didn’t grow up in the era of malls, but I have found memories of my grandmother taking me to the mall in Muncie, Indiana. The Muncie Mall is slowly dying now, with Sears, JCPenny, Macy’s, and Carson’s closed, and it is sad to see, because my dad grew up hanging out there, but now it’s just a few stores left.

[@broadpath]

I love ruins of all types: Anasazi ruins, Salton Sea, and old abandoned malls and shops where people were so happy to get a job, where lots of emotions were felt. The person who removed the Flowers sign and put it on a shelf. Were they the last out the door? Were they the owner who was so proud on the day the shop opened years ago?

[@duncandmcgrath6290]

It really does make you think about it ...ruins of the 20th century laying in silence.

[@gr.vo.3058]

You may want to check out the album "A Farewll to Kings"...from 1977. The Album cover will draw you in, and expose you to a profound musical journey of a fallen civilization.

[@Silas-lc9op]

I always think about that too. What was the story there. Especially abandoned run down houses and stuff. Were once brand new and someone moved in, to now. What kind of history and stories took place

[@jacksonmorganfroghin4815]

Steely Dan or maybe it's just Fagen does a song about the last mall in America. On the Everything Must Go album. Came out maybe ten years ago. Would be a great background score for this creepy yet interesting film.

[@Texass117]

Check out some Prothean ruins

[@lizzieb9650]

Time to make malls popular again. They were way more fun than online shopping.

[@sharonjackson268]

Too dangerous today, people like to do crazy things. I'm good with online shopping.

[@debbiem9218]

So true, you could actually look at something before you bought it. Exchanges were easier as they were done in store and not by having to post something back to the realtor and you got out amongst people.

[@agoo7581]

Disagree. Malls are an ugly part of our history in the 70s and 80s when we thought abandoning the historic/culturally rich downtown areas in lieu of building bland big box stores in the suburbs was the "future". Thank god, these fads have faded into irrelevance as city centers are gaining favor again.

[@baelevatorsmore728]

@@agoo7581 I’d agree with you but we still have big box stores consistently growing such as Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.

[@Funrunner008]

@@agoo7581 Now we have an ugly gigantic parking structure to replace ours because there is hardly any parking around these little businesses that where once in a mall

[@englishincontext4025]

It also represents a time when people were in social contact, rather than today where increasingly we remain at home purchasing items from Amazon and having them delivered. We are becoming increasingly isolated.

[@gregoryhagen8801]

In 15 yrs. There won't be any brick & mortar stores left.

[@basketballjones6782]

Have you not been around the younger generations lately? Isolating ones self from them is a good thing.

[@ariastroke9692]

​@@basketballjones6782i don't think thinking like that helps anybody nor the isolation issue

[@SirBumRush]

It’s happening to my mall as well. It’s an extremely slow bleed, with the renovation of its food court and adding a arcade, but it’s still not enough to save it. Kids just don’t really want to go to malls, and as humans of a bygone era, we’re slowly dying too. Funnily enough, a recent development of a outdoor shopping area popped up, and is currently thriving. I’m guessing people just want to feel alive while shopping, instead of just being in a huge building full of people. (And the annoying show cleaner vendors in the middle of the mall’s walkway)

[@ella_danae]

I'm only 15, but I have so many memories at my old mall. All the old people who would populate the mall passed away, and it eventually had at most 10 customers per week. Most stores were already shut down and there were only a couple food places and an arcade. They had built a Wal-Mart right next to it, so everyone would go there. I remember Christmas shopping at the mall and when I heard it shut down it broke my heart. It was now bought by a different company, and it's going to be an apartment complex and mall. Hopefully they recapture the 80s style and restore some of the best features there.

[@daynasafranek7807]

It’s interesting your outdoor mall is thriving as well. I grew up in three large cities and the mall was always something special and fun. I didn’t get to go shopping all of the time and it was always and occasion to go. I remember riding the city bus into the next city to go to the mall. Those were good times and so dear to me. I am so sad those malls have become nearly empty retail and food court space. At least one mall renovated a lot of the space into office space. Maybe that is the answer for the future. Our outdoor mall in the area thrives. It’s always busy. It’s not the same feeling, but it’s still nice to people watch. It makes me so sad to see some of these malls just completely in ruins. I think of the people that they employed, the help they provided to the economy as a whole along with all of the great memories that people who remember and appreciate these old malls have. It reminds me that the m older and that times, along with people are different. You can’t go home again… that’s the perfect example of this.

[@kylebennett789]

My mall is thriving as well. A super big arcade called Round 1, a Pokemon store with a manga store, hot topic, and bustling food court every time I go there. Not every mall is going extinct, they just keep evolving to keep them in the public mind and draw in certain groups of people

[@intruderdude]

im a teenager and i got a mall close to where i live and i love going to it a lot of other people do too i see a lot of other teens there but theres another mall near where i live that almost no one goes to or at least not near as many people as the other one kinda sad but i hope malls never fully die out because i love going to them so much

[@anthonybautista3585]

Yup the pandemic affected alot of things

[@horatiobeaker]

Up until the late 70’s, I believe, SEARS was the largest retailer in the world. And now, it’s a shell of itself. But, then again, as a kid I remember the lunch counters at Grant’s and Woolworth.

[@carmenceballos9762]

High interest rates don't help.

[@chrismacdonald102]

Ah yes the lunch counter at Woolworth, loved the orange drink fountain

[@Theshark15z]

Yup and don't forget Montgomery Ward.

[@goodmorningsundaymorning4533]

Boycott walmart

[@jbjacobs9514]

I loved Woolworth and their restaurant too - Harvest House!

[@RockDragoness82]

As someone who was born in 1982, seeing you walk through these old malls that are frozen in time and look just like the mall that I used to go to every week with my mom and grandma as a kid what I feel is ... Hard to describe, it's like ... Sadness mixed with nostalgia 😢😢😢😢

[@willbigelow472]

I was also born in 1982 and can totally relate to your feelings.

[@michaelt3308]

I graduated HS in 82 so I've seen my share of malls around the Country. I simply don't see a need for them anymore. I do 90% of my shopping online like most

[@AvenueD417]

@@michaelt3308 shopping online made us lazy and shuttered from the outside world. I worked customer service for 13 years so I’m comfortable talking to strangers, that itself is becoming rare after the whole COVID nightmare.

[@michaelt3308]

@@AvenueD417 Agree to a point. Been in sales 40 yrs so talking and interacting with others is not an issue. You don't need a mall for social interaction. But Social Media and the internet has definitely dumbed us down and made society socially awkward IMO. ( I'm not so sure this was done unintentionally)

[@jborden18]

I know exactly what you mean, I too was born in 1982. Malls actually ment and represented something to us as kids.

[@Sleezax]

Creepy how the music is still playing in the background In places

[@MrOarson]

That's how I'd add atmosphere to the experience: a muffled, distant '80s soundtrack playing like a fading memory.

[@ConsensualThrust]

WOW, you did a great job with the music because it creeped me out so bad when I saw this video a few days ago and didn't hear you mention it. I had to come back here and read through the comments just to have some closure lol Really well done and haunting as hell 🤯😂

[@mauriciojaralopez2878]

its really sad and nostalgic to see abandoned malls, its seeing a time of your life full of memories and an entire era just going away

[@ds_the_rn]

This actually made me really sad. As an 80’s kid, I spent my formative years in malls.

[@mapesdhs597]

That being the case, it got me wondering what kids do these days instead to socialise, where do they go? Or they just staring at phone screens?

[@billybeemus3929]

@@mapesdhs597 - As the father of a teenager, I can assure your that 95% of their free time is spent on their phone. Even when together, right next to each other, they text instead of talk.

[@painkillerjones6232]

@@billybeemus3929 I know. I guess it helps keep them out of trouble....

[@billybeemus3929]

@@oldiesmusic76 - I said "free time". You can't control someone 24 hours per day. If you try, make sure you have saved up for your kids therapy sessions first. they will need it.

[@virginiaconnor8350]

I used to work at Lenox Sq. Mall in the early '90s at B.Dalton Bookstore. I loved it, except for some folks wandering in to beg for money, steal and show off body parts to others. Now, with shootings, looting, robberies, and ripping off customers as they walk to their cars, the stores are closing up their doors and/ or moving elsewhere. It's not just the Internet's fault anymore.

[@ethanhenrichs5677]

As someone who would go to malls when I was a little kid in the 2000s, it's sad to see malls go out of business.

[@timothybaldwin5643]

And that was just at the start of the death of malls.

[@kirkwahmmett1666]

Same bro. I'm lucky that the mall of my childhood is still thriving but it certainly isn't the same for many others.

[@jrwheeler81]

LOL, the 2000s is when the demise of American shopping malls began. Try being a kid in the 80s and 90s like I was. That was the PRIME shopping mall era.

[@ethanhenrichs5677]

@@jrwheeler81 True, but my mall was still pretty busy around 2009 to 2012.

[@eyeseer1]

Watching arcades go into decline after the recession of 2007 and the dissolve of video stores from social media is a bitter pill to swallow.

[@wulfnite4520]

As a former 70s/80s teenage mall rat, seeing malls as literal ruins makes me feel ancient. I can't lament too much though considering I'm part of the problem. For years I've only shopped at my local mall about six times a year.

[@leechjim8023]

That's a lot more than many others, including myself.

[@adamb89]

Yeah I don't even remember the last time I visited my local mall. lt was probably a decade ago, or more. But I remember as a kid that's where all the action was. Ride the bus to the mall, spend like all day milling about, wandering back and forth between the arcade and Orange Julius or whatever. Checking out KB Toys to see if they got any new NES games in.

[@havasubooo8840]

There is no local mall where I live now.

[@douglascouchot3541]

My hometown (Piqua, OH) had its first mall in 1969. Another was opened but is dying as well. I may be a relic of the past, but I hate to see these old stores closing.

[@thesuperiorgolem5357]

Piqua is a great place! I had family who lived up there. Thats sad to hear that.

[@gideondingle9363]

I'm in Los Angeles,and I totally agree with U.

[@conejitaaa]

I have no idea how you guys got in here. I live an hour from Wilson and have tried getting in to this mall and 99% of the time homeless people are at all entrances and everything is nailed shut. There's also cops that are driving around constantly. The best I've been able to do is take pictures through a window. I've always wanted to be able to explore inside, guess videos will have to suffice.

[@garethjames1300]

No reply with answer shocker !

[@Bluecewe]

He may have secured special access.

[@mattb9664]

Jake has connections!

[@jxchamb]

@@Bluecewe That's my assumption. Even still, pretty crazy that they'd still give him access given how dangerous these places can be.

[@lisaharger3235]

I've watched in a different video channel they usually get like a special clearance.

[@joelynott7360]

Before my Sears met it’s demise it was like stepping back in time to the 1980’s! It literally was the mall’s time capsule. They never did a thing to update their brand or their stores or anything. Once Craftsmen sold out to China that was it for me. Going into Sears for me in the end days was like going to visit a old friend I haven’t seen in years that was successful and had the world by the balls, only to find him living in a trailer park wearing a nasty bathrobe and slippers, greasy unkept hair and a five o’clock shadow reeking of Marlboro cigarettes.

[@h.mandelene3279]

"Once Craftsmen sold out to China that was it for me." Yep! Why pay 3x more when I can get a chinese tool at Harbor Freight???

[@joelynott7360]

@@h.mandelene3279 Because I am willing to pay the extra amount for tools and other items that won’t fall apart. I purchased two sets of ratchet wrenches from Lowes..both Craftsman. Went to use one of them on a nut on my vehicle, applied very minimal pressure and it fell apart.

[@htennek1]

What blew my mind was. Sears already had the infrastructure to do what Amazon went on to dominate in. But, for whatever reason the powers that be decided not to pursue that and therefore refused to evolve and adapt and.. well You see what happened with Sears. I wish I could remember the name of the Particular CEO

[@joelynott7360]

@@htennek1 exactly… I can’t remember what the CEOs name was either but he ran seers into the ground on purpose. I guess they were done with it and in the end just decided to MoveOn. But they could’ve moved the catalog online closed all their brick and mortar stores and competed directly with Amazon. Why they didn’t is completely beyond me. They should’ve done away with their clothes in the late 70s and focused on appliances tires electronics and stuff like that. But like I said they just got to the point where I think they just didn’t give a shit anymore.

[@Scooter30FTW]

@@joelynott7360 The CEO's name was Eddie Lampert.

[@rafaelallenblock]

I remember shopping in Denver's now abandoned and razed "Cinderella City" mall after all the anchors had vacated and there were just two or three small shops open in each hallway, to the point where sometimes you would be completely out of sight of an open store. Super creepy.

[@lifecloud2]

I love abandoned spaces like this. They're our modern-day ruins.

[@Xygdl]

Same here, I find abandoned places fascinating.

[@wubstep420]

this is both cool and depressing at the same time

[@lifecloud2]

It has that wistful melancholy feel to it ... sort of like seeing the ruins of childhood.@@wubstep420

[@wellyngtonmatheus9803]

The b a c k r o o m s

[@ljphoenix4341]

Got to wonder what it's like to be a worker at that Roses, literally having a massive abandoned and deteriorating space just on the other side of the back wall of the store. Probably don't think much of it, but crazy nonetheless. Great video!

[@carolharris2357]

I never heard of Roses department store. But I'm sure nobody heard of Harris's in San Bernardino area. We had our senior photos taken there.

[@Karmy.]

Same with the JCP Outlet that was at Rolling Acres

[@pauls9082]

@Carol Harris: I not only heard of Harris’, but I used to work there in the Book Dept! Does that make me nobody? 😜😀

[@scotsmith2391]

@@carolharris2357 Roses is actually a discount store like KMart and Walmart we have had them in Florida for decades. I thought it was weird that they would be an anchor store.

[@jc1979af]

@@scotsmith2391 there is a Rose's as an anchor store in the Sumter Mall (Sumter, SC). The other two anchors are Belk and JCP

[@murdoch3396]

Being somebody who works at a mid to high level for a small retail chain that JCPenney was actually pretty sad to see. 50 years, and you could tell it was a beautiful store when it was operating. The way the light came through. It reminds me of how sad the employees were when the Kmart that was open for 45 years near me closed. One of the oldest ladies had worked there since it opened and was crying on the final day, the way she kept referring to the store as “my Kmart” and hearing about how she remembered every remodel and reset made it quite heartbreaking actually. It was a GEM among Kmarts too, the employees put a lot of effort into keeping it nice even in its final years with no help from corporate. I think people assume that all retail people hate their jobs, but a real family does develop in these places and a store closing does feel like a genuine sad loss when you’ve worked there for years with the same crew of familiar faces.

[@josuebenitez6983]

Whoever ran this place probably was heaven sent because people normally leave in a little bit time

[@charliesample8490]

So true I work at Kmart to I think it's sad when all the good retail stores closed and all these people loose their jobs. Things are already bad enough the government doesn't care about how Some of these elderly people are going to make it.

[@escobarsadventures6607]

For real, similar to leaving a nostalgic class on the last day feeling

[@staringcorgi6475]

It depends on who works in the management

[@inhobiswinecellar9571]

Retail and fast food workers over the age of 25 are some of the most dedicated individuals. So kind and happy all the time too. I’m convinced people who take that life path are old souls because they’re so content with what they have. God bless them.

[@JSchaffer214]

This mall reminds me of my local mall. Our three anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears and Castner Knott (today it is a Dillard's). When my friends and I were between the ages of 13-15 (92-95), our mothers would drop us off here in the evening where we'd walk around until a late showing at the theater next door where we'd be picked up after watching a movie. Everything was so drastically different back then compared to today. I wouldn't change my youth and the time I was raised for anything in the world! To anyone in that age bracket who may be reading this; cherish every moment, make lots of friends and have fun! Once your youth is gone, it's gone for good. There will be no going back to change anything so enjoy it while you can.

[@Jerry-ok8gj]

I miss Castner Knott! I grew up in Antioch TN. Hickory Hollow was my home away from home!😢

[@falconm9792]

I'm not American, but I spent five years there in the 1990s seeing it as one of my best times. I can't believe that the big stores that were so famous at that time like Sears, JCP, Toys RS, Radio Shack, K-Mart are all gone. What is happening to America?

[@basketballjones6782]

California and New York.

[@scottr3484]

@@basketballjones6782 You missed New Jersey

[@scottmayer4010]

Wow as someone who's old 65+ it's weird to see all the old shopping malls just being abandoned and left to rot in northern Ohio we have several malls that have closed and sit like idle dinosaurs that are prime real estate that could be redeveloped into something else. The same thing with old amusement parks. !!!

[@robshnob123]

Live about an hour from Columbus! And yeah it's really sad to see the malls being left to rot. I'm a skateboarder and I always thought to turn them into giant indoor parks. Just such a waste of space. Fun fact by the way, Ohio has the most abandoned malls in the country! Maybe the world but I'm not sure.

[@Johnnyboi1986]

I’m 35 and live around Cincinnati. Growing up there were several malls around here but the only one that’s left is Kenwood. The rest are mostly abandoned. There’s an Eastgate mall on the East side that’s about 25% occupied but it’s dying slowly. So sad what’s happened to Ohio, on purpose at that. Our factories, industry, malls, have all been shut down and closed. We ended up with heroin and drugs in its place.

[@robshnob123]

@@Johnnyboi1986 Yeah I always feel bad about the heroin flooding the state. I saw reports that it was coming through PA from Newark, NJ. NJ is my home state. Sad...

[@Johnnyboi1986]

@@robshnob123 yep, most people probably know someone who’s overdosed and died at this point around here. It’s infuriating, because many of us have realized it’s not on accident. I will say, having the amount of abandoned malls we do, they are cool to explore. There’s a mall nearby called Cincinnati Mills that has 1 store left in it, there are some vids of it on YT, it’s a neat place. There are buckets every 10 feet it seems like to catch leaks. Pretty run down but still has that modern look. I checked it out about a month ago.

[@Jennchannel24]

I’m 22 and didn’t live through this I feel like an old soul sometimes like my soul craves genuine things not just social media fake stuff but when I was a teen my dad found a mall like this we went in to buy some school shopping like clothes and shoes and it was almost empty inside I loved it because I don’t like being around much people and it was so nice in there it was huge and it looked bigger since barely anyone was there. I honestly thought it was the coolest thing and probably a year later I remembered the mall and told my dad to take me there and it was getting destroyed I felt so sad and thought to myself that I was weird for caring to much over an old mall but I couldn’t stop the feeling of sadness and dread of modern malls but now that I see this video and many people feel the same I understand now why I felt that way.

[@maxwedge5683]

Did an assessment on an abandoned hospital. It had only been shut down for a couple weeks and was shut down abruptly so everything was still in its place just as though patients were still there. I spent several days in that large 7 story building with no electricity or lights, going from room to room. I was never so scared in my life. Really creeped me out. I had nightmares for weeks afterward. Never again...

[@karelpipa]

would extremely interested in seeing some photos of it!

[@1slies]

What did you really see

[@thebendet24]

Never again. 😂

[@syckles]

Yeah, I want to see lol

[@irisheyesofbelfast]

Why were you there then? Was it work related or hobby? I say that because there are several KZbin channels that explore such places.

[@rollingarchives]

the free candy w the the tent was actually horrifying... like, not a whole lot u can do in that story line

[@vivdiva]

Those store fronts are huge. I would totally live in one if they cleaned up the mall

[@chrislaws4785]

I REALLY miss the malls of the 90s, I grew up in the arcades, eating hot "mall pretzels", hanging out with my friends, going the movie theaters and even shopping at Hot Topic in my mid teens. The mall was THE place you went to find anything you needed and a place for you to hang out with friends. With how everything else from the 80s and 90s seemingly coming back, I REALLY wish malls would see a revival as well.

[@left4speed519]

This type of malls looked so futuristic! Thats why i love them.

[@chrislaws4785]

@@left4speed519 I know right, a lot of malls like this one always had this sort of futuristic look to them, as if you were traveling somewhere new everytime you walked through the doors.

[@lucasjohnstone6419]

I miss it so much

[@luxthedopestar9073]

Yeah man, those were the days. We are now the old guys saying “things were better when i was your age”

[@chrislaws4785]

@@luxthedopestar9073 Dude, I know. I'll be talking to my son about something and he will laugh and poke fun at me by going "Yeah, back in my day in 1892..." I'm like Im not THAT damn old yet.....lol.

[@jerryclasby9628]

Being a 50's 60's 73 year old I remember how malls like this destroyed my beloved downtown Tacoma. Now malls are seeing a decline. What irony.

[@agentorange2554]

The Mom and Pop stores revenge!!!!

[@rpsmith2990]

@@agentorange2554 If only that were the case. What we get for the most part these days are big chain stores in strip malls. It's more and more places to choose from fewer choices.

[@viper3378]

Same thing happened to our city, Brockton, MA. We were assurd, " oh no, the mall won't have any effect on downtown and the mom and pop stores". Within a year downtown was ghosted, the many small stores were closed and the whole downtown went into decline. Now the most of downtown is court houses and family services. Their answer to downtown restoration. Very sad indeed!!

[@DoubleBarrelDarrell]

Amazon, WalMart, and globalization has killed them all.

[@stevesestrich5143]

And people have come back to downtown Tacoma.

[@slavyslav]

I grew up loving malls, especially stores like GameStop as a 2003 kid. Now being 19, I feel blessed to have been able to experience malls just before they completely declined. When I see abandoned malls, I don’t feel scared, I feel sad. My childhood and most of my ds and old nintendo games I still have a decade later came from here. Rest In Peace to Americas town hall…

[@avanunes1563]

I agree. I’m 19 as well, and it’s honestly pretty sad. When I was a kid walking through my local mall with my parents, I couldn’t wait to be a teenager and shop around with my friends. The mall began to decline in 2011, and is now an empty husk with nothing more than a Von Maur and a movie theater. Crazy how quickly things changed.

[@Antny.25]

Boooy you know I hit GameStop up soon as GTA Liberty City Stories released back in 2005.

[@orchidposa]

i’m also 19. there used to be a game stop near where i grew up, and the location at where it was is now a furniture store. i remember buying mario kart 7 from there and nintendogs + cats for my 3DS. that was around 2012-2013.

[@Justin-wk5cs]

One day, the social media apps we use are gonna be abandoned, we’re going to come back and look at pictures from 40+ years ago when we get older.

[@waverlyking6045]

That's why I collect good books. They wax and wane in popularity but they never completely go out of style.

[@who_cares848]

Myspace lol

[@clemclemson9259]

good i cant wait...

[@annalisahartmann5661]

Jake, I always appreciate how respectful you are towards the buildings and the items left in them, as well as your reminders of how they were once part of the community.

[@dcamnc1]

I worked for Sears for 15 years in the 90's & 00's. Sears was so cheap, they didn't pay for preventative maintenance, our HVAC was always down because they didn't want to pay the PM contract. I'm not surprised it is especially rough, they didn't take care of things.

[@capthawkeye8010]

These shopping centers were as cheap as the merchandise they sold. It was all expendable. That people anchor their nostalgia to late-stage capitalism is pretty sad.

[@Craxin01]

Not surprised. Sears didn't make its money selling stuff, it made its money selling franchises. Greed destroys everything.

[@deeree1037]

Should have shorted the company with a % of your paycheck every week. You had the inside baseball scoop.

[@FNCR_ChristianOnYT]

As A child In the 1980s seeing these mall's being shuttered and closed throughout the world, has given us huge sorrow. We need to preserve these memories and keep these malls alive. People are treating these closed malls horribly they need to preserve them and keep them as pure memories instead of destroying and vandalizing. As A Child I had Visited The Dixie Square Mall, many times to see the mall be vandalized horribly and now demolished is just pure wrong. Same thing with Rolling Acres. All malls Are Treated Horribly! They Need To Be Preserved!

[@thebeaz1]

And exactly who is it that is going to pay the bill?

[@FNCR_ChristianOnYT]

I understand the importance of that aspect, but there is another crucial factor to consider. If we prioritize boarding up the area and diligently maintain it, we can ensure a positive outcome.

[@AudioAndroid]

4:09 This mall is near my town. I've been in it many times. When I turned 21, I had my first beer in public at the Mall Grill at 4:09. I think these malls can be saved by refreshing them to house Medical Facilities. Maybe have your Eye Doctor and Glasses/Contact provider in side by side shops with other medical providers using the same method of grouping, a Medical Mall.

[@chrisc6857]

0:49 There's something poignant about the forgotten toy, never owned. Kind of encapsulates the entire situation.

[@suestabile1262]

Yeah...felt bad when saw it.😞

[@zaram131]

😢😢😢

[@Craxin01]

What's worse is that a good cleaning and that thing could still be perfectly usable. Run it through the washing machine and some kid could enjoy that for years.

[@ddivincenzo1194]

I would have taken it and given it a good cleaning. I have donated many almost new toys to "Toys for Tots". I refurbish them to a "new" state.

[@warlordofbritannia]

“Bunny doll, never held”

[@glennmorris1807]

Depressing beyond words- I feel like its more than the mall that's in decline

[@AStri-zg5xc]

So true. These buildings are like The Picture of Dorian Grey. We're deteriorating as a civilization but the malls are showing the age, sickness and neglect.

[@JackIronwood]

Your feelings are correct.

[@goodmorningsundaymorning4533]

With our current administration ALL of America will look like this by the next 2 years. A third world sh*thole is what they're aiming for.

[@Watchmyplaylist]

Agenda 21

[@BeneGesseritSaya]

OUR NATION IS ON HOSPICE DEAR. Death is near.

[@CanYouRememberWhen]

It's been a while, but I remember seeing a story about an old mall turned into a small living area with small apartments on the upper level, overlooking the ground floor that had small shops selling everything from food to clothing, restaurants, and some kind of activity areas. Wish I'd taken more notice of it now.

[@markcornish2519]

Worked in 5 malls that are either gone or just hanging on. Worked at Sears in Crestwood mall the last five years they were there. In may 2012, there were only a post office and lens crafters left. It was creepy walking past all the abandoned stores to mail something

[@sneaks01]

Great job as always!! Being a 70s/80s kid, the mall was the true place to gather! It’s sad to see them fall by the wayside but we are in a new age. It’s good to see downtowns gaining some strength again with smaller, privately owned businesses finding a new place in retail.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

for sure !

[@sparkplug1018]

Yeah, not to upset about the changes.

[@lynnpayne9519]

We have seen many unique stores open near us. We have yoga places and smoothie shops next to pipe stores and bicycle repair spots. It's much better then the malls and walmart.

[@mothratemporalradio517]

what does "we are in a new age" mean? Americans shop for primarily Chinese goods online instead of shopping locally? i don't think people realise what they're allowing to decline in their own country. First manufacturing and now shops. A lot of that cheap online stuff has pumped huge amounts of cash into a totalitarian state. Not the best idea.

[@mothratemporalradio517]

@@lynnpayne9519 why is it much better? Would the same businesses be lesser if they rented a space in a mall? It's just s group of businesses. If the main focus of your pocal community is yoga, smoothies and bikes, my guess is it's a boho neighbourhood and the lack of corporate branding is seen as more charming . But that's just a taste. Malls are functionally useful, especially for people with limited transport or mobility or people with their children (especially as malls usually have toilet facilities - which not all individual stores offer patrons). Basically, I don't think communities allowing bricks and mortar stores to die off as being a sensible thing. These stores haven't necessarily relocated or been replaced by others.

[@TheNextDecade]

FULL CIRCLE! You have no idea how wild this is for me and my fiancé, we started urban exploring BECAUSE of your videos! Wilson Mall was our first UX site! The Bath & Bodyworks tiles were bending upwards from the water damage, Crazy to see how they look now. Only a few popped up, seeing that many of them loose is crazy. Dont remember as many plants, but I definitely remember all the mold, super bad. Bummed the mannequins I set near the exits arent there anymore tho.... This is absolutely crazy, thanks for visiting and thanks for giving us a update to the damages!!

[@jjano2320]

I wouldn't poke around in abandoned buildings. Who knows who you might run in to.

[@TenchiFox]

Happy hunting on your UX escapades! If a random stranger on the internet can make a small request, could you please leave things as you found them? Particularly if they seem to be where they were. While it's always amusing to have an "I am Legend" moment seeing a group of mannequins randomly standing around, it's always much cooler to see things as they were when the building was abandoned. Thanks, and stay safe!

[@oddjuice404]

this reminds me of the mall in my city. the two biggest stores, macys and sears, closed many years ago but yet it’s still open. i don’t expect it to flourish again, but it’s sad. i have so many memories there from singing in my elementary choir to watching movies in the theater and having birthday parties. rip oviedo mall, even though you are not dead yet.

[@houstoner]

Crazy to think I was a teenager in the 90s and malls were a hangout spot. Sad to see them abandoned, but also really cool to see. Reminds me of backrooms footage or something.

[@lucasjohnstone6419]

I miss shopping malls as a child....especially during Holliday seasons The music on the overhead speakers All the decorations Socks it's now just a distant memory.....

[@MarshmallowMadnesss]

Amazing. Everyone can remember going to malls just like this in their teenage years or with their parents as a little kid. Surreal to see abandoned malls today. Sad.

[@glennso47]

Cherryvale Mall in Rockford Illinois is like this. There are some stores that are still in business, but some former anchor stores such as Sears are gone. There have been shootings and violence there. Its unbelievable how much the mall has deteriorated.

[@cherylpesutimassie5010]

It really is sad. For those of us that frequented the malls and remember.

[@nealbaker2132]

@@cherylpesutimassie5010 Some people take guns into the malls to have gangs fights. Anything good they try to destroy it.

[@doomjuice.1652]

“Their is no god the end is -NEAR- “

[@rickECU]

Thank you for this video. .I stumbled onto it by accident but it has special meaning to me because right after I graduated in 1984 from college (ECU) with an accounting degree, I took a job as a manager trainee at Roses. Had grown up about an hour from Wilson where this mall was located and when I accepted the job with Roses, ended up being placed at the Parkwood mall that is in your video. Retail was not really for me and only remained about 5 months before I moved on to a different job in banking but I did spend those five months at that mall and remember the various stores that were there at that time. But of course as your video indicated the mall went through a renovation several years after I left and a lot of the stores that I remember from my time there had changed or moved out. Even the Roses Store that I worked had gotten a full renovation and didn't look like it did when I worked there. Remember there being a restaurant called Something Different that was one of my favorite places to eat and there was also a K&W Cafeteria in that mall as well as a donut shop called Shelley's (sp), prounounced She-Lees, donuts. There was a JCPenney, the Roses and Belks Stores but I do not remember the Sears store being there at that time. It was my first experience working retail and it was amazing how well you get to know not only the people in the store that you work but the other Mall workers as well sort of like a family.

[@dianakotchounian257]

Thank you so much for doing this video and sharing it. I grew up shopping in mostly indoor malls. Once on a while I would go to an outdoor mall when it summertime. Thank you so much for bringing back memories. It’s so sad to see malls closed down like this now.

[@shorty42able]

seeing videos like this make me sad. especially all the vandalism. I remember going to the mall when I was a kid with my sister. Sears has been open forever, and just recently closed in the last few years. Every time I think of Sears, I think of my dad, because he was a service tech, and he repaired washers and dryers for over 40 years.

[@d1c186]

got alot of respect for service techs they could fix anything what skill!

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

Back when they were WORTH fixing. Lol

[@TheChrisWoolard]

I worked at this mall in the 90's for about 3 years and in two different stories. The Diner that you went into was an Andy's Cheeseburgers and Cheese Steaks at that point, which was where I mainly worked. I also worked at a record store called Camelot Music. I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in that mall at work and had friends who worked at many of the stores you toured. Growing up in Wilson we went there all the time when I was kid: Played at the arcade, shopped in the stores, got my haircut, and even got my first cell phone plan at the Radio Shack there. So wild to see it now.

[@ohmy5016]

Sounds like a grand ol time Chris

[@pinkpigletparker8703]

Back then the burgers were so much better too!

[@shaironnie]

OMG...I used to work at the Radio Shack in the late 90s until about 2001. I ate at that Andy's all the time and Catos was right beside us. This is wild. I had no idea this mall closed.

[@EvilSpeakOfficial]

That plant room is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

[@cyndyrn1]

Truly sad to see all these malls going away. Growing up in the age of the first malls was an awesome experience. Seeing that Pennys and Sears brings back so many memories of each August when momma would take us school clothes shopping. Back then we only got school clothes once a year and it was a very big deal. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. If you see a functioning mall still out there somewhere please go shop so they can stay open 😊

[@BansheeNeet]

The garden growing inside of the mall entrance was genuinely breathtaking.

[@MrRockZero1]

You're breathtaking

[@SUPERNOVA0360]

@@MrRockZero1 You are too.

[@chutcentral]

Wouldn't call that a garden 😂🤣. More like random patch of invasive nuisance weeds

[@lifecloud2]

It shows you how nature reclaims its space.

[@michellevill6467]

@@chutcentral lol 😅

[@straightgrrrrrizzly]

i''ll never understand why struggling malls end up carpeting their corridors over any original tiling. doesn't it just make more work to maintain it for the staff they can't afford to keep? and it just ends up looking nasty.

[@officersquarehead]

Carpeting is gross.

[@MMA-mh9uv]

carpet is the cheapest floor covering to install to freshen the look.

[@officersquarehead]

@@MMA-mh9uv And it causes the most allergies (I think).

[@eily_b]

@@MMA-mh9uv Only short term...

[@mycosys]

dont have to pull up the tiles so its cheaper

[@thespeaker8722]

Fun fact: one of the malls I’ve been to, the woodfield mall in Schaumburg, is still going good and sees lots of shoppers daily due to Schaumburg’s large population and I don’t think it’s going anywhere for a very long time

[@absolutelydisgusted3319]

So many memories for many of us. It was another world back then. This is heartbreaking to see it like this, but at least we were there. I feel bad for these kids who have no idea why we feel such nostalgia for these places and times gone by. They were much happier times than now.

[@ButteredToastie]

These always hit me in the feels, it's crazy to see things from my childhood in shambles. Love what you do and keep it up!!!!

[@Adrian-zd4cs]

It's tough. I'm almost 40 and I feel like I've gone through stages of this! 😫🤣 I remember losing our Toys-R-Us. I remember losing Eastwood Mall where my Mom, granny, me and my sister would go walking in. I remember losing or 3rd important mall - Century Plaza... All early 90s on. I've moved on, travelled the country as a nurse... But certain stores, staples of my youth - get me in the feels 💕

[@ocoolwow]

Corporate stores have you in your feelings... Some people...

[@Adrian-zd4cs]

@@ocoolwow no. My childhood memories of family, friends and holidays do. Take your toxicity elsewhere.

[@ButteredToastie]

@@Adrian-zd4cs This is exacrly what I meant. It's not the stores themselves or the companies represented, it's seeing the places where I made so many memories decayed and abbandoned.

[@SavageBunnyGetMoney]

@@ocoolwow I mean Black Fridays and Christmas Shopping yeah sure but we was a Community there a thing you did when you had to actually Socialized with people remember that? you know talking to Human Beings?

[@KC-ed1dj]

I bought the very first Caboodle (cosmetic storage bin) they ever made at Sears before heading to college. I have a Sears branded mini blowdryer I also bought in the late '80s and it STILL WORKS! Sears was a staple in the 1980s. It was never a "sexy" store, but you could always rely on it for necessities. And who else grew up with the Sears Dream Book catalog? That book was what childhood dreams were made of. 😁 R.I.P. Sears. You were much loved.

[@mrsmile3128]

Watching malls deteriorate feels like a loss of memory,like each time the mall gets older and more decrept it feels like dementia unrecognizable.

[@mudkow5092]

Awesome! Great production quality, narration, and editing. Mesmerizing video!

[@moparedtn]

For those wondering: Parkwood Mall/Wilson Mall: Wilson, NC

[@MultiSweener]

I'm in NC. Oak Hollow mall in High Point was built in 95. Been closed for many years.

[@UnchartedTravel]

Yeah the Sears was definitely creepy to explore! Great video man!

[@tomrogers9467]

The stores in Canada were more creepy as they “renovated” and liquidated at the same time. You could smell death as soon as you walked in!

[@skandarc2810]

We miss you buddy 🥲🤗

[@bigtex4058]

Stephen King could write a book about this place.

[@carlosrivas1629]

Like family guy which made me laugh lol!!

[@citylockapolytechnikeyllcc7936]

More creepy were K Marts, BEFORE they closed.

[@denellelloyd1280]

I grow up in the time where the mall was the place to be on weekends, a teenagers meetup place. Spend hours there and not buy a thing. It is sad to see them closing.

[@jeremiahrose4681]

We live in a family small town where I'm at and they opened a mall in October 1999 - it was so fun neat stores, now it's a shell of it's former self. Sure there's some stores still functioning and the Cinemark Theatre keeps it on life support also. Being a 80's teen malls were where everyone went, until online shopping killed them. Too bad, fun memories.

[@Spaceflightlover2010]

I remember going to sears to look at computers which were a new thing back in the Early 80s. They were one of the few outlets that sold them back then. How ironic that they played an integral part in the stores demise.

[@FirstnameLastname-qc3xx]

The death of malls make me sad. I always loved the in person shopping experience. I try and keep it that way. I feel like humans are just making life too accessible and too easy. There’s art to a mall.

[@levvisbalhare1780]

Thank the liberal left. They ruin everything.

[@michaelhines1891]

Anyone else waiting for the zombies to show up in one of those darkened corners?

[@rickluque6429]

Very sad and depressing. This video does take me back to the days of our malls. Thanks for sharing. Your a lot braver person than I am … that’s for sure. 👍👍. Well done,

[@BrooksBrown36830]

Question for the filmmakers: did you all actually hear the song “Relax” while exploring the mall? It sounds like it’s playing from a far-off speaker. If so, that adds a whole new level of creepiness.

[@monicagienochio4769]

Heard it also!

[@suzyqualcast6269]

Yes, thought they'd added it.

[@ontheroad5317]

Yes, I heard that too. I wonder if was coming from the one remaining open store, that only had access from the outside. It’s possible that it could be heard through the walled-over former mall entrance, if they were standing near there.

[@williamrogers7974]

Interesting choice for Franky goes to Hollywood for a venue, from arenas to abandoned malls. Frankie Says

[@joelynott7360]

It was haunting. An 80’s song playing in an abandoned mall whose heyday way in the 80’s! It was like the mall’s “death rattle”. Clinging to life as it was breathing it’s last breath of air.

[@brandonlewis3379]

Man what a trip damn shame malls are closing all over the country it's all internet and shop online now sometimes I wish I could go back to the 80's even mid 70's when I grew up and stay there.

[@ninaorozco2869]

It's a lonelier world out there ...

[@doomdude69]

In other words, stay as a kid. Everything is better when you were a kid.

[@ChristineFisher123]

You will need a time machine.

[@bangsquadvrg1193]

Click your stack shoes together 16 times and say something magical and BAM!! Back to Bell Bottoms, Disco, and Loads of Pubes!

[@NavyGunnersMateMan]

Good thing the malls where I live are still open. Cause unlike some people the owners actually know how to operate a business

[@baconbap]

Very eerie. Thank you!

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very nicely put together video and very entertaining as well. Thanks for posting this.