North Dekalb Mall (Abandoned | Documentary)

[@triciabramblett1409]

I grew up hanging out at this mall through the major renovation and then working at it for several years in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It was a great place to be. This video makes me so sad. ❤

[@kima8670]

I lived on both N. Druid Hills Rd and Clairmont Rd in the 80s and have been here many times back when it was really nice. Man, do I miss Rich's...no department store can ever compare!

[@WLBarton4466]

Part of Clairmont considered part of Virginia Highlands was a nice area to live. I left in 1996 so i bet it's gone downhill now

[@jaywestbrook2169]

It's being demolished today

[@rushionsapp9858]

I feel ya

[@Linda-gr8lt]

It’s called macys!

[@WLBarton4466]

@@kima8670 I remember the Christmas tree lighting Rich's had every year.

[@dashasmith30]

Wow! this was so nostalgic, I loved shopping at N. Dekalb. It was always quiet, I could get in and out and they had nice clean stores.

[@undergroundretail]

Glad you enjoyed it! What a time to be alive back then for sure

[@KelliDowning]

I went to Shamrock high School near this mall. I also worked at this mall during my teens and 20's. So many memories.

[@undergroundretail]

Which store?

[@KelliDowning]

@@undergroundretail Bath & Body Works, Mervyn's, The 99 cent store and Beauty Express.

[@jatall2797]

Man, my elementary school chorus would sing Christmas Carols every year at night as an annual field trip! I remember being such an excited second, third, fourth grader etc. Children love Christmas.., and it would be so exciting to dress up and sing for everyone! My mom always took me every year, such sweet memories! I was in elementary school from ‘74-‘81. Been shopping there up until the end, I still go to that Marshalls sometimes, stayed at that Burlingtons until it closed, still go to that AMC every now and then. I live in the Lavista/Druid Hills area.. 55 now.. God has kept me.., God is Good.., great memories :-)…….

[@undergroundretail]

That is an amazing story. It’s awesome you stayed loyal to the shopping center your whole entire life 😃

[@bookerlo1977]

Damn. So many memories in that place.

[@undergroundretail]

Same here 🤟🏾

[@scpatl4now]

FYI, they began demolition of the mall on June 26th Marshall's and the AMC will be all that remains. The rest is being torn down as I am writing this.

[@blissauras]

So great to read everyone’s stories - I lived near by and later my kids too… best arcade growing up, I saw Rush Hour 1 and 2 and Money Talks at that AMC theater, so many dates and run in with friends from school, even after high school.... Saw all those stores come and go, great memories with my mom, family and kids… it was the best place to go shop without the big crowds… Good times good times; boy o boy I miss the old Atlanta! Thanks for the accurate story time. That was the best Marshalls to get stuff at so many summer fits came outta there!

[@donnap1208]

Great video!! Loved hearing the full history. Would have loved to have seen it in the early days!! I started going to North Dekalb @ 2000. I love older malls so really enjoyed shopping there. Liked the old school Macy's that had the most amazing staff. Sorry to see the condition it is in now. So many of their stores closed nationwide (Pharmor, Uptons, Lechmere, Rhodes). That made it really difficult. I loved this mall and shopped there up until Macy's closed. Still miss it.

[@PostMortar]

Quite the operation. Wow.

[@nae2987]

I love it! I tell my kids all the time about my fond memories at this mall! Many first were had at this mall!

[@JulietteAHawk]

My Bridesmaid luncheon was at Rich’s in 1967. I took my children there. Much of my furniture was bought there and there’s no way to count how many times we ate at the restaurants and in the food court. It was sad to see it decline.

[@eringreen2588]

Depressing. I loved North DeKalb Mall!

[@KelliDowning]

I agree 💯

[@LatitudeSky]

Used to haunt that mall in the early 90s. One of the original prototype DollarTree stores opened in that mall. And it had a PharMor. Really miss that chain.

[@KelliDowning]

Oh wow! I used to work at Mervyn's when Phar-more was there.

[@pastersnacks]

Im a student at a nearby university and so many students still go to the AMC 16 at the North Dekalb Mall even though the rest of the mall is falling into disrepair and abandoned

[@JulietteAHawk]

Enjoyed the history. Thanks.

[@undergroundretail]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😃

[@peterbradfield2805]

I moved to Decatur in 1994, and had lived near Northlake Mall (longest in this area for 20 years), Avondale Estates and currently near North DeKalb Mall on the other side of Lawrenceville Hwy. I do agree that even up into the 2000’s North DeKalb Mall was nice to visit (especially the theater and the bookstore), but even in the 2000’s that mall really was showing it’s age really badly (the last time I went there was June 2022 to see the 3D version of the last “Jurassic World” film). I know the pandemic also didn’t help - Northlake is also in a lot of trouble. I kind of like the current Lulah Hills plan, but that theater seems to be stubborn not to close. This area definitely needs new housing, green space, restaurants and retail options and NOT in a mall format.

[@annadaniel531]

I remember being a little delinquent in 2006ish playing hide and seek with MySpace friends in the furniture store. Lol. Also, sav on plants (no typo) was the spot to get yugioh cards, beanie babies a few years before the trading card boom. Walden books and KB toys were neighbors in the 90s and early 2000s. This mall never rivaled Lenox in my lifetime but it had enough stores and vibes to draw in a good mixed age crowd and I remember it fondly

[@maleahthompson6412]

I used to work in Kids Footlocker there. Literally helped put the fixtures on the walls in the early 2000's. They also had our high-school cheerleaders pictures hanging up in the Applebee's. That mall used to be the hangout spot back then. 😢

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

DHHS?! 😊

[@dem20233]

My whole family shopped at this mall for years. Rich's, Friedman's Jewelers, and Upton's were my mother's go to store. My father and myself had our stores. Woolworth's, Challenges arcade/comic book store, sometimes K-B toys, Burlington Coat Factory for my church clothes, and AMC Theatres 16 . Soon as my mother died in 2002, then Upton's and Macy's closed its doors and my father passed in 2018. Then the mall started dying slowly. I wish the mall didn't have to come to the end. I'm not sure how this Lulah Hills will turn out. In God's will if I live around in the year of 2028 to see it happen.

[@KJizzleMAne]

This is where I watch most of my movies!!

[@sabishiihito]

I used to love coming here to Challenges arcade, which I later found out was a Capcom test site and would get the latest 2D fighters pretty early in the 90s.

[@Lawrence-ho9eq]

Dipper DAN ICE CREAM Parlor was apart of the mall , I worked at the Phar mor store In 1990 to 1993 , it was a favorite mall of my Mother and Grandmother , I was around 5 or at least 6 years old when this mall opened, I remember the Grand opening back in 1965.❤😂😊I still went there to shop at dollar tree , go to the movie cinema , and shop at Marshalls dept. Store and Ross and Burlington Coat factory. Also Play it again sports was there on the the Macy's end of the mall I ate at the Golden Corral at least 3 to 4 times during the week, I lived about 5 minutes away from the mall in Tucker Ga.😊❤🎉

[@08dguy]

I used to visit North Dekalb Mall when my brother lived in the area when he was in college. I went the comic book store and the AMC to watch movies. It's a bit sad to see it go.

[@EthanArtsAndStudios]

Wow, as a Loud House fan, I’m familiar with this place used for the filming location of A Loud House Christmas (a pilot to the then upcoming live-action TV series based on the cartoon, A Really Loud House).

[@EthanArtsAndStudios]

The Really Loud House I mean, the actual title based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, The Loud House. Now the series is filmed in Albuquerque, NM instead of Atlanta for the Christmas TV movie.

[@mx0x0]

Loved going to AMC and then Applebees after. Could hardly find a parking spot. Would grab lunch in the food court random days later on and loved the huge Burlington. Will miss it.

[@undergroundretail]

I enjoyed going to the AMC and ticket prices was always affordable! I never made it to the Applebees, but have had my share of eating in the Food Court.

[@shampooh8r]

We used to have two malls in Corpus Christ, TX. One is La Palmera, which used to be called Padre Staples, and it's still thriving, we even have a Dave and Busters and a Cheesecake Factory built in it. The other right across it was Sunrise Mall that was popular in the 80s since it was used in the movie "The Legend of Billie Jean", sadly Sunrise Mall closed down in 2013. You can find some videos about people exploring it on KZbin.

[@paigeallen6918]

I do not live near this mall!!! But if I did live near it I would shop in this mall when it first opened up!!! It looked like a nice place to shop at!!! I feel sorry for all the workers that worked at the mall!!! I hope they found another job to work at!!!❤

[@hank5747]

Loved going here as a kid! I liked seeing the hamsters in Woolworth and my mom would let me hang out at challenges. Finish it off with either chick fil a or potato bread from the food court

[@OutlawJJ80]

Needed more DEKA!

[@CynthiYahMichelleIsreal]

I use to go here on the daily basis they didn't do all they could to Dave it tbh... but a new development honestly can be good depending on what's placed there to draw attention.. now that the 2 major malls in that area are gone perimeter mall will increase shoppers

[@zenoslayer9618]

1967,68 69 my dad owned a enco gas station on n. Druid hills and a entrance street to the mall. Dekalb was dry county then. Later 80s and 90s I would stop at chick filet for lunch there.

[@mx0x0]

Traffic in ATLANTA is horrendous!! Not just one area of town. Kills me that one area of town feels they should be exempt over another without contributing to some sort of alternative mass transit option to substitute. Just pushing the problem to other areas of metro. Where do they think the cars go? But hey, not in "my neighborhood".

[@undergroundretail]

Agreed! I rather it be a Shopping Center and not just more apartments with little to no retail options.

[@lord.d1_]

My favorite pair of glasses were there, until at one point, some guy ran into them and broke them all. He was being chased down into the food court, where a huge karate beat down occurred there.

[@undergroundretail]

Oh My! What year was this?

[@lord.d1_]

@@undergroundretail I assume you never watched Cobra Kai before

[@PurplePuppy2006]

Thank you for doing a history on this mall… this is one of my childhood malls in the 2010s I still remember when the Macys and Burlington Coat Factory were still open… however as I’m glad that others are trying to turn this place around I’m actually really worried about Lulah Hills traffic in Dekalb county will be so bad!!! Also the name Lulah Hills sucks I don’t like it honestly… I think this project is gonna have major problems when it finally comes around… otherwise great video. You know you should do a history video explaining every Georgia Mall including thriving ones too List of the enclosed shopping malls in Atlanta Georgia from 1959 - 2001 Perimeter Mall (1971) Northlake Mall (1971) North Point Mall (1993) Augusta Mall (1978) Arbor Place (1999) Southlake Mall (1976) Lenox Square (1959) Phipps Plaza (1969) Town Center At Cobb (1986) Mall Of Georgia (1999) Mall At Stonecrest (2001) Sugarloaf Mills (2001) Savanna Mall (1990) Olglethorpe Mall (1969) Galleria At South Dekalb (1968) Valdosta Mall (1973)

[@mybigfatpolishlife]

I don't think the Valdosta mall is in atlanta

[@jeffoldknow]

I saw the spy who loved me at the theater. Those were the days

[@davidcouch6514]

The Rich’s building looks identical to Rich’s at Greenbriar; there were five floors but only three were utilized. The areas around each mall went to hell.

[@normandy25houz]

Lulah Hills? What an odd name.

[@undergroundretail]

Agreed!

[@mx0x0]

Omg..like a retiree home! Also want to change an unincoprated part of Dekalb to Lavista hills.

[@hurtspublishing3906]

Man i go to north DeKalb mall once month. The cheapest theatre in atl. You can get a ticket for $8. I hope whoever osns ot now they mordernize it. I like the old school feel to it. Maybe they need to lower the rent to get more stores in it. Bit its a pretty mall

[@undergroundretail]

They probably will make it a Dine in AMC with high prices someone recently told me.

[@jeffcook6457]

Dang, I forgot about RICH'S 🤯!

[@rissykup]

Glad they didn’t tear down my Marshalls lol

[@undergroundretail]

@@rissykup IKR!!

[@jrussellcase]

I'd bet whoever built this mall also built the old Big Town Mall in Mesquite TX. The architecture looks the same, it looks like they even used the same floor tile and that same pattern. It was built in 1959 as well. Sadly, Big Town is no more.

[@play030]

I saw it get demolished

[@RemixUSA]

They are demolishing it now, the old Burlington is completely gone now.

[@aal862]

This is still one of my spots. Glad the AMC and Marshall’s are surviving.

[@mrfingerlakes8735]

What a shame and if they haven’t started demolishing the property bye now it’s never gonna happen

[@undergroundretail]

June 26 is the projected date decaturish.com/2024/06/demolition-day-set-for-north-dekalb-mall-setting-stage-for-lulah-hills/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2y0ELWw8ztPLf9vCLn3dnlHODmCcgMYbPe6XQp2sz-_3hEZtCUOLuiKFc_aem_AdnE3Akao6jMAdEAwOigGRe_TszAz-aFe3QqI-VZzsGqm8EdUt0kgNL3CV393A8XDKf7bR7ABZhiRfXe6L8xuGjH

[@ryank9782]

challenges arcade!!

[@marcuspatton3921]

It is not "in the heart of Decatur, Georgia."

[@undergroundretail]

Maybe the “Kidney” or the “Lungs” of Georgia 🙃

[@codybrandoncargle3129]

Honestly if the area didn’t go to hell: North Dekalb Mall like Cobb Center to Smyrna, Georgia could have been enclosed if better well kept it could have landed more than Macy’s: It could have attracted Dillard’s, Belk, Jcpenney’s in it’s prime, Kohl’s could have picked up this mall instead of the failed locations, and idk what the income was like for this area prior to now, it could have opened upscale stores such as: a third Bloomingdales, a forth Nordstrom’s could have also opened, a second Neiman Marcus, a second Saks Fifth Avenue, a fourth Von Maur to name a few and those malls could have been 2 to 3 stories, I used to live near Arbor Place Mall, Town Center at Cobb, and Cumberland Mall at one time, and 2 of those malls have also seen better days, now I live now near the abandoned Panama City Mall in the exact same situation as North Dekalb and Cobb Center, only difference Dillard’s and Jcpenney’s are still open, but again like Pier Park and Governor’s Square out of Tallahassee, they could have attracted Burdine’s that became Macy’s and like if the income in my area was higher like it is in the Florida Peninsula those same upscale stores I mentioned, a lot of mistakes with those stores, I am honestly more amazed that Mervyn’s at North Dekalb didn’t become Jcpenney’s or Parisians, shockingly enough I guess they thought the area went to hell already which sadly it did, but anyways the new development planning to replace it sounds good on paper but in long term it will just be like Atlantic Station no good! 😅

[@socksal]

Rich's was special. Macy's is trash.

[@Jerry-ok8gj]

I agree!!!!

[@JulietteAHawk]

The new plans sound nice, but the name does not reflect anything about DeKalb county. It is not at all appealing. There’s a farm community in Hall County named Lula. The name Lulah looks as if the person who thought it up wanted it to sound like a country bumpkin who doesn’t know how to spell, or it’s named for one of the developer’s family members. At least that wouldn’t sound made up.

[@undergroundretail]

Yeah… They definitely could’ve done a better job naming it 😭

[@deanquinto3207]

That mall and that area of Atlanta is ghetto. Costco dodged a bullet by not opening a location there. The lulah hills place will also be a flop. There is no saving that area.

[@scpatl4now]

That area isn't that bad at all. I think you have it confused with somewhere else.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

It's about to become Atlantic Station part 2.

[@omarrolle3842]

That area isn’t perfect but it’s a lot better than the areas south of Memorial Dr

[@learningearning8385]

There are worse areas of atlanta. The area is adjacent to north Druid hills and Emory is around the corner. That’s ghetto? Just because it’s not Dunwoody or Alpharetta doesn’t mean that this area is “ghetto”. It’s high income, multi cultural, has a high number of people with advanced degrees. It’s representative of Mercer and Emory.

[@bobgomez9481]

AI voice sucks as usual. It is 17 minutes long. Have a human read the script so it makes sense please.

[@undergroundretail]

@@bobgomez9481 This is a human btw… we do not use any AI on this channel.

[@undergroundretail]

@@bobgomez9481 We have a blog as well you can read.

[@bobgomez9481]

Well then, why do you say "Mervyn's CO" instead of "Mervyn's Company" which is what "Co." stands for as an abbreviation? No human says "Macy's CO" or "JC Penny KO" - the term is "company" when reading the printed text "Co."

[@bobgomez9481]

@@undergroundretail @1:50 "John Hancock CO" - incorrect human speech...

[@bigal5255]

The whole area went to shit. Crime went way up and people moved to the burbs.