Olean Center Mall: A Ghost Town

Рет қаралды 3,247

4 ай бұрын

The Olean Center Mall in Olean, New York, is facing challenges as it navigates through changing consumer preferences and economic shifts. The mall is now grappling with declining foot traffic, vacant storefronts, and a struggle to adapt to the evolving retail landscape. It has changed and become a ghost town.
With the rise of e-commerce and shifting consumer habits, traditional malls like Olean Center are in need of change. Many beloved stores have closed their doors, leaving behind empty spaces and a sense of uncertainty.
While the future of the Olean Center Mall may be in limbo, its legacy as a cherished third space for the community endures. As we explore the mall's current state, let's reflect on the memories made within these walls and envision a future where the mall once again thrives as a vibrant destination for generations to come.

Пікірлер: 33

@rebeccareyes4260 2 ай бұрын

Wow! Thank you for making this video. I was kid in the 80s that was driven 45 minutes with my parents many Saturdays to get to the Olean Mall because we lived in Houghton, NY! In the 80s it was the place to be! Renna’s is literally the last man standing and looks EXACTLY like it did in the 80s still. Next to it or near it was a Baskin Robins which boasted 31 flavors of ice cream which was a big deal back then. Across from Renna’s was a video arcade where a lot of high school boys hung out playing games like pac man, frogger, and mortal combat. The salon next to the arcade was where I first had my hair dyed blond (in the 90s). Next to the Aunt Aunnie’s pretzel place was an eye glasses and exam place. Then if you walk down that hall and turn to the right, all the way to the end at the one side of the mall, it was a Hills Department Store that always smelled like popcorn because there was an area at the entrance of hills (the parking lot entrance) which sold freshly popped popcorn, blue and red slushies in big styrofoam cups with dome plastic lids, and hot dogs spinning in a warmer. I still remember the jingle at Christmas time…”Hills is Where the Toys Are.” That’s where my mom purchased my Barbie’s at Christmas and one of my first ballet leotards. If you walked out of Hills and looked to the immediate left, there was a GNC store. To the right was a subway but before subway, it was a jewelry store I believe. Going down farther was a CVS on the right. The store that has that weird entrance that’s almost like a v shape with two pillars was a teenage clothing store that sold cK1 (Calvin Klein t-shirts) and they had televisions on the wall blaring music videos from the 90s mtv. There was a Walden book store featuring New York Times Best sellers. On the other side, that one store that you show that has almost paths on the floor, was this amazing 80s prom dress store with lots of bright bulbs, mirrors, dresses with big puffy sleeves that were bright colored and satin (like something you would see in 16 candles). I was a kid in the 80s and teen in the 90s so my memories at the mall vacillate between decades. On the other side was AM&A’s which had really nice department store brands. We often entered from that store. When you came out of the store you were immediately hit with the smell of popcorn and sound of the running water off the rocks and everything seemed brighter because of the skylight. On each side as you’re leaving AM&A’s was a movie theater. They were very classy theaters and clean. All of the theater attendants wore long slacks and had matching vests which I remember being black and burgundy. They worked behind a glass box which looked like a classic box office. I saw the movie “Twister” there. I remember when the movie, “The Body Guard” came out with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner and seeing the commercials for that movie up in the glass windows of the theaters. The theaters sort of slanted up when you walked in. On the left side there was a store called “The Blue Danube” which was sort of like an 80s version of Spencer’s. A little farther down was a store called G&G fashion I believe which I only can describe as carrying the type of outfits that looked like what Kelly Kapowski on “Saved By the Bell” wore. Like an aqua stretchy skirt and tube tops with stretchy polka dot shorts with a giant belt. I dyed to wear this clothing at age 10 which my parents informed me was “too mature” at that age. In the 90s I strolled the mall with my two friends and we looked for boys that had a grunge style because we were obsessed with Nirvana. The music store “The Wall” (now fye) was the first place I saw the album “Nevermind”. I used to walk around the mall with a white thermal long sleeved shirt and a Nirvana t-shirt over it with the lyrics from Lithium “The Sun is gone but I have a light.” Along with carhart baggy jeans and red converse. I bought beautiful dresses for my high school formals at that mall. I have SO many memories there when it was THE thriving place to be. I hope it can be revived 🥹🥰

@TheGoblina 2 ай бұрын

I’m so happy I could capture the mall to share with you! It’s amazing how much of a cultural hub malls were at one point. I would have never predicted that so many of them are now nearly abandoned. Thank you for sharing your vivid memories of this location in its prime :)

@rebeccareyes4260 2 ай бұрын

@@TheGoblina absolutely! It was really “the” place to be. Thanks for posting. I was having such nostalgia about it and I was so excited to see your video. You’re right.. it’s see eerie and strange to see what has happened to malls.

@tonywellington7854 3 ай бұрын

phenomenal footage great music and excellent rundown of the history of the town and mall

@christrojak9951 4 ай бұрын

Another quality dead mall video, well done and thanks. Wow that mall is truly desolate, one of the deadest i have ever seen without being truly abandoned yet. The state of that bed of plants was sad, though that other tree looked healthy. They even had the plant species names, you dont see that often anymore. Possibly the saddest selection of gumballs left ever, probablyeft over and not restocked from the mid 90s, no one wanted the green ones, no sour apple fans in Olean I guess! That weird geometric shape sculpture near the tree was cool and I liked the tile mosaics near the pizza shop entrance, looked lime 8 bit graphics. Nice capture of a mall in need of a miracle

@TheOppl 4 ай бұрын

As a 1993 UK baby who spent every summer in the USA as a kid and loved these malls, the decline of them really saddens me. They are a huge nostalgia thing for me. For some reason, in my country, malls have managed to survive repeated declines, economic recessions and now Covid lockdowns. I can still go for a walk through two large malls in my city which are 90% and 85% occupied with great footfall. I'm not sure why they survive here because we have the same changes in consumer habits as you - internet shopping being the biggest (Amazon dominate our logistics and delivery chain here). I hope they can survive a bit longer. Being dropped off at the mall with my friends to hang out for the day was a big part of my childhood and every time I see videos like this it feels like one step closer to that all being gone for good. Thank you for the video, you have a great voice for narration so I'm sure this channel will eventually hit an algorithm bounce and get rolling.

@TheGoblina 4 ай бұрын

I hadn’t really considered UK vs USA malls before but I think one reason for the decline in American malls over UK malls is the land density difference between the two countries. Where as islands can support a more limited number of shopping areas, the vendors may be swapped out but the core buildings stay more or less stable, where as in the states I believe they have more space for building new projects or sprawling from an older shopping area and creating more shopping plazas heavily focused on centralized parking with more perimeter shopping that are stand alone and not internally connected like a mall usually is. There is also a looming threat of commercial real estate collapsing in America similar to the 2008 mortgage crisis. Thank you for your perspective on this, I’m glad you have fond memories visiting American malls in their prime

@TheOppl 4 ай бұрын

@@TheGoblina that’s probably it, you know. I sometimes forget just how tiny this island is compared to the continent-sized nation of the USA. We don’t have the same space available to build new things versus continually-repurposing existing things. Land development in countryside (rural) areas is also not that easy here.

@trizumafk 3 ай бұрын

I love this pls more Idk why but I love malls they give off such a nostaligic vibe

@larrylaffer3246 4 ай бұрын

Hopefully something gets done with this property other than demolition. This is one of the cleanest Dead Malls I've ever seen. Well relatively clean given its age and lack of businesses to upkeep it. Honestly that residential-mixed use idea probably is the best case scenario; Hopefully it just doesn't involve tearing down the building in the process.

@slaquehogue 3 ай бұрын

The city is about to let a developer from out of town ruin it.

@danielgomezjr 4 ай бұрын

I love vids like this, reminds me of my local mall of Vallco mall that closed not too long ago. Subscribed.

@TheGoblina 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comment! Sorry to hear your mall closed, I hope someone documented it before it was made inaccessible.

@SgtMiller 3 ай бұрын

Would make me crazy nervous to work in a mall like that. Every mall that we've had around GA has turned into a pit of crime, vi,olence and drug activity. It's sad over the way our world has fallen.

@matthewfarmer2520 Ай бұрын

Im from the south we have dead malls as well, please check them out, i never been to this mall never been to New York lol. Thanks for sharing this.

@jerrysanders9101 3 ай бұрын

Cutco interesting. I have a couple nice Cutco knives.

@joshuaupham5993 4 ай бұрын

We are adding a huge sports complex to our local mall.

@TheGoblina 4 ай бұрын

I could see that keeping a mall alive longer! I’ve seen a mall open a skate park within it and it seems to have definitely helped. It’s interesting to see what areas can be repurposed for other than shopping.

@tonywellington7854 3 ай бұрын

make more videos!

@Flatlower 2 күн бұрын

mid 90's this was a really nice place. Had a decent movie theater, poor cow leather shop, radio shack, EB games, Subway......It was all down hill after they lost movie theater. Before you could make a night out of going to the mall early eating, movie and then shopping. I guess Kohl and jc penny are closed now.

@TheGoblina 2 күн бұрын

I bet it was great in its prime! I’m not surprised to hear more of the tenants have closed/left. I wonder what this mall will turn into going forward, it feels like it’s being whittled down to nothing currently.