OVERMALLED: CINCINNATI. Episode 3: 1981 - Now

[@LuisHColon]

This is one of the greatest things I’ve watched on KZbin!

[@ryandal666]

Great series! I appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into this.

[@UniCommProductions]

Much appreciated!

[@zacharyking3374]

This was a very informative and nostalgic trip through a very small section of my memories, but it was an enjoyable none nonetheless. Being 32 and absolutely hating shopping as a kid, it's nice to be able to go back and look at all the things I missed out on through the eyes of an outgoing adult, instead of those of a reserved child/pre-teen. I REALLY appreciate what you've done here, and I look forward to exploring your channel more.

[@johnkelly6942]

Outstanding job on this mall history! I was the project manager for the 1992 Northgate Mall renovation (along with Valley View Mall in Dallas as well as Sharpstown Mall in Houston). All I can say is it seemed like a good idea at the time).

[@Crobinso2508]

10/10. It all saddens the 90s mall rat in me, but I loved seeing all my old haunts and some new places I hadn't even heard of. Thank you!

[@UniCommProductions]

A few of them were around for such a short time they’re mostly forgotten. Thank YOU for watching!

[@dougonodera8764]

Fantastic! You really nailed this one! Well done! Just “binge watched” all 3 episodes. (I had no idea about CUT’s flirtation will being a “mall,” and you’re so right as to that saving it.) You and Sal over at ExLog set the standard for the research and care taken to document not just video, but the entire stories behind the malls. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@UniCommProductions]

I appreciate that. I know both Sal and I take a lot of pride in trying to tell the whole story when making videos. It's a lot of work but it pays off when I get to read comments like this. Thank you very much.

[@AnMuiren]

I'm 66 and lived in Madisonville during the late 1950s and early 1960s, just down the hill from Kenwood, where I had my first mall experiences. Across the street was the first McDonald's I ever saw. To be honest, I preferred Frisch's Big Boy next to Madison Bowl. Most of the first films I ever saw were at the Twin Drive-in Theater also just up the road from Madisonville, and catching the B&O from Oakley Station was the fastest, cheapest, least stressful way to get to Cincinnati without a car. If was I good, my Grandma would stop at Aglamesis Brothers and buy us kids ice cream sodas. Anyway, thanks for the memories and insights. Well done.

[@awoglyshipper1900]

Damn, that ending gave me chills. Keep up the good work!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you very much!

[@imgonnaplum]

whole series, bravo...the nostalgia is palpable

[@adventuresofscottandmichel9864]

We watched all three of your overmalled episodes and loved them! You should do one about Chicago and other cities too!

[@scottlight9155]

Great series! I really enjoyed it and seeing pictures of things from my childhood growing up in the late ‘60s and the 1970’s. The yearly school shopping at Manley & Carew, Shillitos, and Pogues were some of my fondest memories. Thank you.

[@cincy9381]

These videos are excellent! This should be shown on TV. Really appreciate the effort you put in these videos, and really enjoyed all the info and retro photos.

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you, Matthew! It was a lot of work but in the end it was well worth being able to uncover all those old photos.

[@alancranford3398]

I liked this series. I'm a business school graduate and I have worked in contract security for three decades. The business plan for malls dooms those projects, sometimes before groundbreaking. Mall security can drive off the customer base. Retail business is gambling--worse than Las Vegas casino games. Malls require mass quantities of paying customers. Mall owners, mall management, and the retailers leasing mall space all have different goals, sometimes in opposition to each other. It's cheaper and there's less red tape to erect a new mall on old farmland or even wilderness than to demolish old city centers and rebuild--with the added problems of historic buildings or traffic congestion in urban areas. Building on virgin land usually means building away from population centers--and relying on the automobile and the road network to fill the mall with customers. Disneyland is a pedestrian mall that features retail shops and dining plus rides and shows. The fact is that the modern shopping mall is a show, is entertainment--thinking of malls as mere retailers constricts. Clothing sales seems to be the number one merchandise sold in malls, and if social nudity ever takes hold, most malls will go out of business. One of the draws of the old marketplace dating back to at least 3000 years was socialization. People would meet each other at the marketplace. I took a guided tour at Disneyland and the official tour guide asked my tour group, "who is Disney's competition?" My answer was "everybody." Even just taking a nap was competition. Understanding the product, the goods or services put on the market, can be more than a blind guess. Load those dice. As for the security problem, we humans thrive on a degree of chaos, yet we need safety as well. There's a lot to protect. Protection can throttle business. Malls NEED bunches of kids who have money wandering the mall areas, but most malls prohibit more than three teens from forming. The flash mob was an answer to over policing the mall in the name of safety--and peace, and order. No mall can afford to have a force of 500 uniformed security along with the undercover loss prevention personnel--uneconomical. Cell phones and bored kids can mass hundreds on a specific place in a very short time--and then disperse after damaging or looting. Bad things happen at malls and that's bad for business, among other things.

[@mattrost2574]

Great series! When I was was younger, I bartended the "Grand Opening Gala staring Marie Osmond" at Forest Fair Mall. During the catered meal for 500+, I was a server. Everyone got a tossed salad, prime rib, a baked potato, broccoli and cheesecake. It was a formal affair.

[@UniCommProductions]

What I wouldn’t give to have been there!

[@mattrost2574]

@@UniCommProductions - Staff were allowed to "finish" the raw bar after the event, and we all got stinking drunk at the unauthorized afterparty. Security drank with us. Those were the days!

[@timothywalker4563]

Kirstin that was a good closing statement🧐

[@chriscalridge4616]

You're the first person that has accurately touched-on, what I stated years ago, to all people I knew: eBay and Amazon are NOT the main villains in this story. We simply had/have a super-saturation of mall space.

[@sangomoon5456]

I really enjoyed this series. Thank you

[@EMA616yo]

Great video series! I visited many of these places in the early ‘90s as a UC student and it was great to see all the old stomping grounds again. I went on one of my first dates with my future husband to the movies at the Forest Fair Mall. That place seemed so fancy when it first opened. I wondered about Newport on the Levee, and also Liberty Center, although that one may be too new, or may be more of the “outdoor lifestyle” concept, which Cincinnati still seems to have too many of. I also never knew about Union Terminal’s brief mall past. Good thing it kept that building from being demolished, it’s a real treasure! Thanks again for the trip down memory lane!

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Fantastic series Kristin. You're a natural at this. Really enjoyed learning about all of the malls that the Cincinnati area has had over the years. I have been to three or four of them (can't remember). Sad how they are looking now (well, except Kenwood since as you said, it seems to be doing just fine).

[@kelly3014]

The only Cincinnati mall I visited was Tower Place back in 97’. It was a cool mall! I loved that the mall, hotel, and convention center was all connected by sky walk. It’s sad to see it gone...

[@UniCommProductions]

We mainly went there during the Christmas season and it always seemed so swanky to me as a kid!

[@jeee1074]

I apologize, I had to drop out of the livestream for a phone call. I really enjoyed this series, and I would love to see other cities covered in the future. There are so many malls that did not pass the test of time.

[@UniCommProductions]

I would love to--the amount of research required is pretty daunting but it's definitely something I can work on alongside my other content. Thanks for watching!

[@stephenshaul7788]

interesting series... when I return to the area to visit family, I'm amazed at the changes I've seen, and how the landmarks I once navigated by are long gone. I once had an idea of doing a series on Cincinnati-area neighborhoods, but that was way before KZbin or even digital video. Since I moved away over 25 years ago, it doesn't look like that will ever happen. Thanks for sharing!

[@averyolson3745]

this is such a thorough and well done series !! i’ve watched every video on this channel multiple times

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you, Avery! I loved putting this series together and am so excited that you have enjoyed it as well.

[@falldownhard]

I'm sorry I missed this before now. By far the very best documentary on brick & mortar retail I've ever seen. I especially appreciated the low-key, thorough narration without overdone sarcasm. I had no idea Cincinnati was as over-malled as Cleveland, and for that matter Ohio. Up here of course we have DeBartolo to "thank" for the disaster that was Randall Park, but there were plenty of other players. At age 56 I grew up in what I feel was the Peak Mall era of the 70s-80s, and by that I strictly mean enclosed shopping malls with middle class anchors (Sears, Penney's, etc). When they started to die it bothered me way more than I expected. I cannot stand "deathstyle centers" including Columbus(t)'s Easton. Of course who would have thought to preserve one of these old malls as a museum of sorts - even better one that is still actually in business. Anyway - thanks for such a masterfully done production!

[@markstrouse3101]

Great video as always. Couldn't ask for any better.

[@UniCommProductions]

Wow, thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[@markmatuga2595]

Kristin you did a heck of a job with this documentary.it really made me think and wish for a simpler time.back when I was a teenager again.we dealt with some pretty awful economic situations I never really realized this back when.

[@andytaylor5476]

Never seen Forest Fair, but it's one of my favorites for it's interior decoration. Visually, it's a treat.

[@nancydemoss7904]

I worked next to Market's International (becoming the GE training school) at one of the 4 GE office locations. We'd walk over for lunch all the time.

[@Caseytify]

I remember when part of Forest Fair opened, main the Biggs hypermarket. Man, I bought everything from clothes to groceries there. The clothes were pretty good, too. It was fairly busy when the full mall opened, but that didn't last long. Now it's a ghost town. Tri-County is nearly as bad, which makes me sad. I have so many good memories of that mall before they ruined it. Even Northgate Mall is struggling. I think you're right; over building killed the malls.

[@UniCommProductions]

Pretty much every mall in Cincinnati is struggling to some degree (even Eastgate and Florence are doing poorly; really it’s Kenwood alone that is still doing well). Tri County closed in May 2022 with Forest Fair following behind by the end of the year. I practically lived both of those places and it’s so weird I can’t go back and look around.

[@aakelly20]

This was fantastic. I hope whoever made this does more stuff. Even better if Cincinnati.

[@UniCommProductions]

I have no intention of stopping, don't you worry about that! :)

[@jeslowe72401]

AWESOME JOB! Great series! Plan on covering other cities? So interesting and informative.

[@UniCommProductions]

I’ve considered repeating the series with another city...but it will be a while!

[@mike_mcgregor]

Great stuff as always and so much research, thank again.

[@UniCommProductions]

This video was such a labor of love. Thank you so much for watching.

[@2doodledo]

Forest Fair Mall was magical at Christmas time. Always thought it was the dumbest idea though. Someone didn't do their homework putting that in between TriCounty Mall & Northgate Mall. Just stupid.

[@JeffreyJakucyk]

I was going to ask about the exclusion of Newport on the Levee but I see it's "not a mall" (wink). Great series!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you! The developers were very adamant that it is "not" a mall. It is currently being remodeled into something that resembles one even less!

[@Rudy57]

I thought that the first 2 episodes were fantastic, but this one is even better ! Loved the archive material and the drone shots.

[@UniCommProductions]

Putting that Forest Fair Village montage together made me tear up, I'm not gonna lie. So many memories. Thank you so much for watching!

[@fisitron7256]

This series was awesome. I'm hoping to strive for the level of research you did once I get things going for myself.

[@UniCommProductions]

You can do it! You know where to find me if you want help!

[@PhantasyStarved]

Bravo, really well done series! As a 47 year-old who worked mall retail over three decades though, I don't think that people today have significantly less time to roam a mall. Rather, there's just nowhere in these dying malls people want to visit anymore. The malls that are still thriving either tilt toward the bargain-hunter end with B-tier warehouse stores, or the luxury end with destination stores and high-end brands that you can't access anywhere else. These malls are always found in areas that still have money. Wealthy people still enjoy shopping luxury brands in person. But most local malls are filled with shoe stores and jewelry stores and mobile phone stores and crap that I don't care about. There's also nowhere to eat except that last remaining crappy Chinese joint. Now this isn't totally the mall's fault. I don't need to visit video game stores any more. I certainly don't need to visit music stores any more. I don't go to toy stores any more. I would go to a bookstore but they're all gone from the malls around me. I can't even find clothes that I wear regularly, you would think single-color front pocket men's T-shirts would be pretty basic and easy to find, but holy shit almost no one has them anymore, not even Penney and Kohls most times. Here's a fun mental exercise: think of all the existing store chains, big or small, mall or otherwise. How many of them would have to move into your local mall to lure you back to shop there regularly? I'm sure some people reading this would have at least a small list, but for me, I can't think of any. There isn't a store in the world that would get me perusing leisurely through mall corridors anymore. Anchor store exterior entrance only, thank you. Which brings us back to 'the why' and there's no avoiding looking at changes in technology, especially the internet. It hasn't just affected retail, it's affected every industry, hell, every type of social interaction in existence. Sure, modern internet and cell phones were the final nail in the coffin but there were technology advances even before the internet that killed off tenants. Look at that floor plan of Northgate Mall in your second episode around the 1:10 mark. I counted FOUR banks, haha. Banks in the main part of the mall would be almost completely gone even in 1990 thanks to the introduction of ATMs. Well, I've rambled long enough. Thanks again for all your work - your research and production quality is really quite astounding for a smaller channel. I hope you continue!

[@UniCommProductions]

The mall used to be a social place where you could absolutely spend your entire day (doing things like browsing books, record stores, etc) and a lot of these stores have been largely displaced by new technology, which is why stores that I'm sure you and I went to for things like CDs (Best Buy, etc) don't sell music at all anymore. I feel like there was a point that more malls could have survived if they had made an effort a) to differentiate themselves from each other, because I think the point I became disillusioned with shopping there was when they all started to look exactly the same and have all the same stores and b) to have worked harder to make people feel welcome spending time there. (Another channel, Brick Immortar, did a deep dive into the effect of "No Loitering" policies in malls and I think it's a really thought provoking video worth looking up.) I am currently gearing up for a second season that will be about the malls in Pittsburgh that should be out in late spring--It's a LOT of planning and research and to truly be able to create a quality production it will take that long, especially producing other content in the meantime. Thank you very much for your lengthy and well thought out comment--even if there were points I was incorrect about, I wanted this series to provoke conversations and comments like this make me feel like I accomplished that!

[@timbo389]

This is so accurate for the Cincinnati area. Even though I grew up there, and the malls I visited frequently make the list of thriving, dying, or dead, the same can be said about malls in other cities around the nation. Now having lived half my life just south of Cincinnati, the malls here have faced the same struggles. A mall’s biggest struggle is that it’s failures are so publicly obvious to patrons. Even if one store closes, people can take their business elsewhere. Malls will linger on, but their importance will diminish culturally.

[@UniCommProductions]

It’s hard to say. Things tend to be cyclical so it does make you wonder if there’s a breaking point where people will want to go out and buy things in person again, but if that’s the case I doubt it will be anytime soon.

[@UniCommProductions]

While Cincinnati has more than its fair share of dead malls, I used the city as a sort of case study because I grew up there and knew the places well. The scenario is absolutely not unique to us, though: Pittsburgh is equally bad if not even worse.

[@michaelranieri4481]

Great series. I mean this in the most not weird way, but you have such a soothing voice 😁

[@UniCommProductions]

:) thank you!

[@chadgoodin8015]

Use to work at biggs in forest fair back in the late 90's.. 2 of my dearly passed puppers came from the spca adoption center that was right next to biggs. Would of had more if I had the room at home lol. Forest Fairs problem was they geared it to young kids to come and have fun in a not so great area with not nearly enough security. I remember going there opening day and thought it was amazing though. God I was such a mall rat when I was a kid HAHAHHAAA. Now the thought of retail shopping gives me anxiety. Awesome videos though, brought back so many memories growing up in the 80's. It is a shame kids will not experience things like arcades and going to the food court to have so many "exotic" food options HAHAHA

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

Their other problem was building it right in between 2 already established malls, TriCounty and North Gate. I worked maintenance there from like 91 to 94 and it was losing anchor stores before I even started.

[@timothystockman7533]

I was at the Cincinnati (Forest Fair) Mall a few years ago during the holiday season. The had a fairly elaborate Christmas setup in one of the atriums. There was a Santa chair, but no Santa.

[@margaretfogler1848]

Markets International was SO COOL. My family moved to Cincinnati in 1981 and our old town didn't have any malls at the time. Tri-County was our go to mall, but Markets International was unlike anything I had ever seen before or since then. As an adult, I'd wondered about the exact location where it was. Last year I figured out it used to be located at the current site of the GE training center. The online information about the mail is scarce. I would love to see pictures or videos of it.

[@UniCommProductions]

I wasn’t able to find any videos and all the photos I found were in the video-I agree info is very scarce. My mom and I had a long running theory it never existed at all and we both made it up

[@margaretfogler1848]

Sometimes I wonder if I would be disappointed if I was able to go back. I bet I would think Jungle Jim's was more fun.

[@BrianMcKnight68]

I’ve lived on the Westside my whole life and was still in my teens when Forest Fair mall was announced. Even then, I knew it was the dumbest idea ever. Destined to fail.

[@noahr4951]

I just found your channel. I really like your stuff.

[@UniCommProductions]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for taking a chance on me!

[@SuperBlargle]

Obsessed with your videos. My name is Kristen also, and I’m also super interested in mall history, dead malls, and what caused them to fail. Found your channel with the St. Louis mills vid. The St. Louis area is an interesting case study as well. Keep up the good work!!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thanks, Fellow Kristen! It's a terribly interesting subject that I've been fascinated with for years. St Louis definitely had a really similar situation going on, with several abandoned and defunct properties littered through the area. I would love to make a trip back to see more of them.

[@HarvestmanMan]

Where in the world did you find that video footage of Forest Fair Mall? Shocked and pleasantly surprised to see that.

[@UniCommProductions]

It was tucked away on an episode of Waycross Media Business Report! I can’t take credit for finding it-I think Anthony from Ace’s Adventures is who showed it to me. It just made me wish there was so much more of it, though. I’ll admit to almost tearing up when I was editing it.

[@stillinhere]

My old fascination with dead factories has morphed into dead malls. Thanks for the documentaries.

[@UniCommProductions]

You're very welcome! Thank you for watching!

[@friedtomato9475]

Nice series!! I really enjoyed it!

[@pennylessplantation]

Wow, this was a great watch, would like to hear about the one there in Newport by the aquarium. This series contained more info about Crestview Hills mall than I have seen anywhere.

[@UniCommProductions]

I made an entire video about just Newport on the Levee in 2019. Crestview Hills always fascinated me because I wanted to know why it was almost empty

[@randalrichmond4358]

This was very interesting, thank you! At some point, I have been to each of these malls. Side note, Florence Mall just reverted to the bank, unable to pay the loans back.

[@UniCommProductions]

I don’t think Florence will close anytime soon but I am concerned it’s going to end up in the hands of the sort of mall holding company that neglects their properties. Thank you for taking the time to watch this series!

[@foxeni7174]

Fantastic wrap up to an interesting series. Makes me wish I had been in the area back in the early 80s. I remember the Continent in Columbus but I wish I could’ve seen the counterpart near TriCounty. How do you *not* have 1 million subscribers already? 👍🏻😎

[@UniCommProductions]

I ask myself that every day. :) These videos are really a lot of fun to make, and I truly enjoy getting to share them with my viewers. Thank you so much.

[@collin4215]

An amazing wrap up to a great series. You made a great point about Forest Fair that I had never heard before. I would argue that Forest Fair, despite its failure, was the reason for even more mall failure in the Cincinnati area. Forest Fair was the bully who talked big and tough, but was actually the opposite. I think that without Forest Fair then allot of other malls in the area would not have expanded and would not find themselves in the trouble they are today.

[@UniCommProductions]

I agree *completely*. It set off an arms race to see who could be the fanciest. If Tri County was still the same size it was in 1990, it would be over half occupied!

[@ezrqil]

Hey I loved this series!! What songs did you use?

[@amccoles]

Thank you for this amazing series of videos. My 42 year old self also worked in Sears (JR & SR year of high school) at Eastgate Mall! I have have SO MANY fond memories with family and also as being a Mall Rat. I need to step it up and visit it more to help try to keep it alive. I also hope and pray that Kroger's investment in the old Sears Space will help it survive

[@jqueen1380]

Very well done!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you very much!

[@dank628]

Awesome series. Never realized we had 17 malls. Would Newport on the Levee be #18 and the Liberty Center #19?

[@andykrew336]

Never thought I would see my office building on KZbin, I work in the former mall across from KI.

[@UniCommProductions]

It honestly always looked more like an office or warehouse than a mall.

[@andykrew336]

I barely believed it when I heard it, there is no evidence today except for an out of the way exterior door with the outline of an old Linens 'n Things label poking through peeling paint. Also apparently there used to be skylights but all are sealed over. I would love to have some daylight in here!

[@savagesn]

I feel fortunate to live near to one of the few successful Mills malls, Concord Mills in the Charlotte metro area. Indoor outlet shopping can be done successfully but only if the area is not overmalled!

[@americanpatriot7867]

I grew up in Sharonville. So Tri-County was the place to be in the 1970s and 1980' I miss it and the Jolly Roger Drive in just up the road.

[@saf4530]

I watched all three episodes. Good job. But you forgot two malls. In 1973, two Gold Circle Malls were opened, anchored by Gold Circle Discount Department Store. One was on Colerain Ave. It was torn down for Home Depot. The other on Ridge near I-71. I can confirm the Colerain location was and enclosed mall. Not sure about the Ridge location. But I think it was.

[@UniCommProductions]

I found out about the Gold Circle one AFTER that episode was produced and it was an unintentional omission-The one on Ridge wasn’t enclosed, that one I did do some digging on.

[@farfrompoo]

I was also going to ask about Gold Circle, in regards as to whether there were criteria for considering a structure as a mall to be covered. I was never very familiar with any of the locations other than Colerain. It was rather small, as far as malls go. Even though it wasn't an anchor, I recall the Colerain location having an attached toy store that I believe was much larger than any of the other mall stores. It was my favorite place to get Legos. The toy store was attached at the north, whereas it was the south end of Gold Circle that opened into the mall. I vaguely recall the mall having an arcade.

[@popsracer]

@@farfrompoo I remember that small mall on Colerain with the arcade and played pinball there until they got rid of my favorite machine. By the way, if your initials are TAP, I beat your high score on Smash TV in that arcade. If that wasn't you, my apologies. GRA

[@farfrompoo]

@@popsracer That wasn't me, and no need to apologize.

[@XFrankthetankX]

Bravo! Excellent series Kristen :) Are there plans to do other Overmalled cities/states? Be well stay safe XO

[@UniCommProductions]

I'm working on trying to research which city would be best to try first (Detroit or Pittsburgh seem like the obvious choices)

[@XFrankthetankX]

@@UniCommProductions Oh Detroit would certainly be a worthy deep dive. That city has so many fascinating layers to is prodigious abandonments. Where ever you choose Safe journeys, Cant wait to see whats next!

[@ericshernak7780]

St.Louis?????

[@0SuicideBoy0]

We're the same age-stands to reason. I imagine a lot of dead mall enthusiasts (though not all) are in their thirties or older. Years ago I thought I was alone in being so interested in dead corporations, retail outlets, and shopping malls, but now there are thousands of us. Thousands! It's still so odd to think that enclosed shopping malls, which were THE places to be right up through the early 2000s and were the site of so many movies (and the theme of toy sets and board games, etc.), are now an afterthought at best with no real place in the popular consciousness.

[@UniCommProductions]

It's odd--a big portion of dead mall enthusiasts are in their 30s but there is a big population of Gen-Z-ers that never really saw a lot of these places in their prime that love seeing this stuff (when I was their age in the 90s I went through a period where I was overly interested in 50s and 60s midcentury architecture so I suppose it's a similar thing.) Malls really hit critical mass in the 80s and 90s and they were really the center of our lives. It's very weird to think of a world where there isnt some sort of replacement for that in the "real world" vs online.

[@averyolson3745]

i’m 16 and i love learning about past retail eras. i’d love to be a teenager when malls were at their peak :)

[@MrSgm111]

A fantastic series, well done and thank you ! You do wonder why developers kept building... there are only so many retailers about and money to be spent..any new development would automatically cannibalise older centres. Here in the UK our planning regulations would not allow such over building .

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you for watching! I think a lot of places in the US have gotten smarter when dealing with overdevelopment (although we still have a long way to go) but we had to make the mistakes before we learned from them, unfortunately.

[@DynV]

7:32 The large poster, or whatever it's called, oozes late-90s-early-2000s. 7:54 Well, It could be the start of a chain of Bezos-land, with an "anchor" for deal-of-the-day and another for Whole Foods (as long as he own it), and their counterpart of GNC, Bath & Beyond, and other staples of dying malls. 10:54 I love that kind of architecture, from 50s I think.

[@UniCommProductions]

I've wondered if it may be time for the "catalog showroom" concept to come back and if so, if it might be something Amazon would roll out.

[@jacobhoffman5732]

I consistently think of the posters in this mall whenever I think of the early 2000's / my childhood. It's the go to image that pops in my head lol

[@superdave3506]

I moved from the Cincinnati suburbs( Williamsburg/Batavia and then Milford before I left), around 2011….I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, so Eastgate was the closest until we moved to Loveland in the late 90’s early 2000’s….I then worked at the Suncoast Video in Tri- County Mall my senior year of high school 97…I stopped going to Eastgate and primarily went to Tri-County and Kenwood….Seeing Tri-County mall close considering its size and aesthetic was very surreal…Forest Fair always felt like a giant mall with hardly any stores from the beginning 😂…What a sad and sobering commentary on the death of suburban malls…I now live close to Asheville in North Carolina and the Asheville Mall seems to still be doing well and their outdoor outlet mall as well…

[@UniCommProductions]

Our paths probably crossed before! I am Batavia class of 01!

[@superdave3506]

Ha ha…Small world….Mr. Ed Stewart was my High School history teacher…His kids went to Batavia….I hung out with the Beards back around mid 90’s….(Batavia). Great series btw…Excellent narration and production value…Yes, we probably crossed paths at some point…Cheers…

[@planthaver]

Considering your observation regarding the lack of cheap places to eat downtown... could you imagine the success of carew tower offering an international food court in its abandoned atrium? Sure, convincing real estate owners to lower their prices would be a big ask, but the economic revival and increased traffic that comes with lower rent would be a bigger net profit than targeting high-price investors that end up going bankrupt, right? Cincinnati is a working-class cosmopolitan center- people who own unoccupied retail space could rent it out at low prices and still make a net profit if we found a way to kick out real-estate investors who have huge pricetags and unattainable goals that end up falling through. how cool would it be to have an affordable, walkable urban hub that offered diasporic shops and restaurants aimed at middle- to working- class customers. it wouldn't just make it affordable, the low prices would endusre a huge customer base. not to mention offering aid to immigrant businesses would not just make it an affordable food hall but also but a showcase of Cincinnati's multiethnic heritage.

[@UniCommProductions]

Ironically last I heard they were considering putting something like that in the former Macy’s on Fountain Square.

[@spacevspitch4028]

Also, if you worked at Eastgate mall you must remember Bigg's Place Mall across the way? I remember when it opened with its huge food court that was later turned into a movie theater which it still is today. That was yet another example of total excess. 2 malls literally across the street from each other!

[@UniCommProductions]

I did! My parents met while working there, actually. While I didn’t include it in this series (and probably should have), I do have a two part series about Jungle Jim’s and part two is about Bigg’s Place including some old photos!

[@purpleprose1315]

Forest Fair Mall had a club, a bar, and restaurants doing decent business in the 2000s. The smoking ban was a major blow.

[@UniCommProductions]

The smoking ban in Ohio took effect in 2007 well after many of those establishments had closed and after Forest Fair had become Cincinnati Mills. By the time the old mall had prohibited indoor smoking in the mall, they were the last in Cincinnati to do so by a couple years.

[@mostlyjoe]

I'd be really interested in a video covering the lifestyle centers and how they're different.

[@UniCommProductions]

...that’s an interesting idea. My current theory is that they’re partially more appealing for landlord because they don’t have to pay to heat and cool the shared corridors but that doesn’t fully explain why they’re so popular with consumers especially in regions with inhospitable weather.

[@LindaFromSeaAtTull]

I'd love to see an Overmalled series about Phoenix malls.

[@UniCommProductions]

I’d love to see Phoenix!

[@bengalsfan97]

I remember in the early to mid 90’s a shopping mall was also proposed in Wilder Kentucky at I-275 and AA highway it was going to feature a Kroger along with 3 other anchors that I don’t remember if they were ever announced by the mid 90’s the mall development had fallen through

[@UniCommProductions]

I feel like Alexandria with their strip-mall JC Penney for many years was probably considering a mall at some point too.

[@jeepguy220]

mommy what's a mall? in the next 10 years that might be a valid question to a child. the 60s to the 80s onward and upwards the sky's the limit, more, bigger and better that was what we wanted then! but what goes up well we know the rest. the young are wanting a different direction from what we took, they cant understand what malls meant to us. they meet and communicate on line, we did that at the mall, it's where to be see and be seen. just tell your little ones the mall was good friends good food and all the stuff you want all under one roof! r.i.p Woolworths and harvest house cafeteria!

[@mirbill24]

I loved your videos but im curious, how come you didnt mention liberty center?

[@UniCommProductions]

I will be honest…I’ve never been there and at the time I was under the impresssion it was completely outdoors with no enclosed elements. It was an oversight on my part and if I were to make this series again it would be included.

[@etenterprises]

Great series and quarantine project. I miss malls but I also don't if that makes sense. I feel like this pandemic is going to wipe some of these malls and commercial real estate developments away for good. What will they become? Residential mixed use I've heard as an option. I've seen a dead mall here in Nashville become a community college campus. Rackspace hosting in San Antonio converted a dead mall into their corporate HQ. The mall nearest to me is all but dead. Non enclosed strip malls seem to be doing better. Opry Mills in Nashville seems to work because it's basically an enclosed outlet mall. Only anchor is a Bass Pro Shops and you have the Grand Ole Opry itself, Hotel & Convention Center on site. So it doesn't really draw from locals. It reminds me of what a mall used to be.

[@UniCommProductions]

Whatever it ends up being, we need to work on making sure we don't end up oversaturated with what they're replaced with. Most of the Mills properties are still going strong because they were positioned, as you said, as a sort of entertainment and outlet center.

[@spacevspitch4028]

I've been thinking lately about how sad it is that apparently no one expected the era of malls to die and as a result there is SO little media documenting the existence of these malls. People didn't feel the need to extensively photograph them or do full video tours until it was to late. And alas, I myself was too young to appreciate the full scope of what these places mean to do such a thing myself. I was just a kid that wanted to go _hang_ at the mall and wasn't the least bit concerned about what kinds of shops and how many there were and all that. I've been looking everywhere for photos of Eastgate mall in the 80's and 90's before the food court was built and it was renovated. Nowhere to be found. All I have are a few photos my parents took of me around '84/'85 when I was 5 years old. I figure MANY families must have photos from these malls from all eras so it might be an interesting project to collect photographs from them.

[@UniCommProductions]

I have been looking for photos of Eastgate Mall pre-remodel for YEARS.

[@spacevspitch4028]

@@UniCommProductions Hmmm. Well, I'll see if I can dig up mine. Do you have other social media that I could PM if I find some?

[@UniCommProductions]

I’m on Twitter and Instagram, and my email is [e-mail]

[@xaniiu]

I remember when Forest Fair first opened. It was like the best thing ever!!!!

[@UniCommProductions]

Especially if you were a kid! I remember thinking it was like an indoor Kings Island when I was little.

[@bobjones-sf7bn]

great job

[@joemiller2057]

If you do a story on the Cleveland Akron area I would like to see it

[@bootsdocsandconspiracies6589]

Some small omissions: Mid-town and City Centre Mall Middletown Compu center Mall Sharonville was at mosteller Rd. @ 275

[@UniCommProductions]

I intentionally left the two malls in Middletown out (they were mentioned briefly in this episode). They were really on the fence as to whether they were part of the "Cincinnati Metro" as they could just have easily been considered part of Dayton...MicroCenter Mall was extremely small and only had 5-6 stores in it, so that's why it wasn't included, however I was indeed aware of it. Similarly omitted was the Shapely Outlet Mall which is now a McSwain Carpet store only a few blocks away on Kemper.

[@bogueout]

What about Gold circle mall in Colerain? Its a post office now.

[@UniCommProductions]

That one was one I missed - I grew up on the East side of town and I didn't become aware of that one until after this video was completed (I found out about it from that Old Photos of Cincinnati facebook group!). At some point I may have to try to dig up some info on the place and do a little piece about it. Gold Circle was great; we used to go to the one at Beechmont Mall a lot when I was a kid.

[@Vampirebear13]

Kristin, I just found your channel & will need to check if you've explored Columbus yet. So much history & so much degradation. The Continent/French Market, Northland Mall, Eastland Mall, the massive JC Penney's outlet, City Center, the original Lazarus downtown (where my grandmother was a model in the 40's & 50's) & if you're going to be up this way, you should do a story about Richland Mall in Ontario. It was really something when it opened in 1968 (3 years behind schedule) & thru the years, with each remodel, it became progressively ugly, dank & "cookie cutter". I'd love to see pictures & video of the way it was in the 70's & 80's.

[@UniCommProductions]

I've done episodes on The Continent and Eastland Mall...I live in West Virginia now but another trip to the center of Ohio is coming very soon!

[@Vampirebear13]

@@UniCommProductions Yes I'm seeing that now I'm checking your page :-) I'm shocked you've even done a video in Marion!!! I hope to speak with you some time & give you my explanation of why malls have died. Are you on Facebook? I don't use Twitter & pay little attention to my Instagram. TYVM for replying !!!! Oh btw, you could probably make a 1/2 hour video, if not longer, about Richland Mall & the decline of Ontario/Mansfield, Ohio.

[@UniCommProductions]

@@Vampirebear13 Those are all excellent suggestions! We have a Facebook page for our channel where we can receive messages as well as a Twitter account for the channel @unicommvids, AND we're on Instagram! It sounds like I need to be planning a trip to Mansfield soon!

[@Vampirebear13]

@@UniCommProductions I hope you do. It'd be great to meet you & your crew, your hubby (if you're married) sounds like a funny guy. I'll friend you on FB :-)

[@jeffbarnes54]

The malls that converted to office space may yet again see a exodus of companies due to COVID and be a new generation of empty hulking spaces. Will they be bulldozed and returned to the land? Or could they use a phased system and redevelop the inside as housing for all income levels with some small shoppes, like a grocery, mailing center, drug store etc.

[@UniCommProductions]

It feels like the common thread among new developments is that they like to have a mix. Mason, where the former outlet mall is, is booming with young professionals so I imagine that particular plot of land would probably become apartments.

[@Idelia412]

Good series

[@daverhodus]

I wonder how casinos coming into the area effected the malls.

[@UniCommProductions]

Probably not by much. The ones we have in town are basically just places to gamble and drink and don’t offer much beyond that.

[@magadorspartacus]

Markets International was really cool!

[@shawnengle6801]

You forgot to mention Bigg's Place Mall, which opened in Eastgate in 1984. clermont-county-history.org/historical-articles/historical-articles/biggs-place.html

[@UniCommProductions]

You're right, I did, unfortunately...however I did do a video about Jungle Jims' Eastgate location a month or so ago that included a lot of old photos and a full rundown of the story of Bigg's.

[@joemiller2057]

To many malls not enough people with money to shop all of them they need to turn a lit of these places into green spaces or parks or something

[@UniCommProductions]

I agree with this sentiment entirely, however unfortunately it's a hard sell to most municipalities to convert something that in theory generates revenue for them into something that will not such as a park. Such, sadly, is the world we live in.

[@matttemplin1676]

It seems the people who has the money to build malls would too wise to keep one after another.

[@UniCommProductions]

You would think-but there was a time we couldn’t imagine there being “too many” malls.

[@lesliesteiner3928]

Please give us a Louisville version!

[@Mark-qw8lc]

I initially disagreed with your premise that Cincinnati was exceedingly overmalled by the 1970’s. My initial reaction was that the over-construction of shopping malls occurred much later in the mid-1990’s. However, upon further reflection, I have reached the conclusion that your assessment of the overmalled time demarcation within the 1970’s is precisely dead-on correct. To be sure, the documentation of this time frame is even contained within your video but it is not simply the mall count. The evidence is in the form of the scenes you inserted from the classic 1982 coming-of-age motion picture, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. Director Amy Heckerling insightfully captured the teenage mall scene of that era. I remember the movie’s contemporaneous release at the theater and being bowled over by how accurately she captured the teen interaction and overall cultural impact of the shopping mall. Hollywood has long track record of accurately identifying cultural phenomenon when they are far beyond their expiration dates. The poolroom billiards boom that occurred in the 1950’s was already dead and buried by the time 1961’s “The Hustler” with Paul Newman was being hailed with critical praise and winning awards. The Citizens Band two-way radio craze of the 1970’s was already passe and on its way to a rapid death by the time “Smokey and Bandit (1977)”, “Convoy (1978)”, and “BJ and the Bear (1979)” were playing to audiences. The movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” conclusively establishes that the ubiquitous shopping mall was last year’s news. By the time of this 1982 film’s release, Cincinnati (and most of the United States) had been overmalled for several years. In fact, the earliest motion picture reference I could find that featured a shopping mall in any significance was the 1980 musical-comedy, “The Blues Brothers”. In one brief sequence, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd spend a few minutes destroying a shopping mall interior with the Jake and Elwood Bluesmobile, just for laughs. In retrospect, writer and director John Landis, was perhaps more prescient about the future of shopping malls than even he could have ever realized.

[@UniCommProductions]

You know, I've never thought of it that way but you're right--in the 70s these places sustained themselves, but by the early 80s, a campaign was needed to express that the mall was still cool. They sealed their fate when they all doubled in size (or more) by the late 80s and early 90s. All the examples you provided were spot-on. Ironically, the mall from the Blues Brothers had been closed for a couple years already and was one of the earliest "Dead Malls" (Dixie Square, Harvey, IL).

[@saraenneking4652]

Correction.. Ann Taylor not the Loft

[@keirengaming]

Honestly. Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland should have only built 2-3 malls in the area. Small cities like Dayton, toledo etc… should have built only one. Building too many malls ALWAYS results in this

[@UniCommProductions]

I would say the number you gave is probably about right--unfortunately Cincinnati had 16, Dayton had 3, and Columbus had...*thinks* at least 7 or 8. Then you've got Pittsburgh that had at one point over 30 malls within a 50 mile radius with a similar population to Cincinnati.

[@keirengaming]

@@UniCommProductions yes. We should have NEVER built over 2-3 malls in cities besides cities with metros with 3million+

[@keirengaming]

@@UniCommProductions but holy crap 30 malls is more than most states should have

[@UniCommProductions]

@@keirengaming That's counting ones that have since been demalled/repurposed/torn down but yes at one point in the 80s Pittsburgh had 30 malls.

[@keirengaming]

@@UniCommProductions that’s insane. How much malls do you think per city

[@snakeboren4814]

FN''1ST!!! VERY COOL KRISTEN!!!!

[@UniCommProductions]

So glad you're joining us, Snake :)

[@snakeboren4814]

@@UniCommProductions 👍 ALWAYS WATCHING UR VIDEOS!!! AND LISTENING 2 THE CUTE AND 🎸 ROCKING CRUISE DIRECTOR!!!

[@joemiller2057]

Forest fair mall looks like a day care center or something resembles chucky cheese lol looks terrible

[@UniCommProductions]

It was so pretty when it opened, and it makes me so sad that there are very few photos/video it. I was never fond of the Nickelodeon set look.

[@QuietJ0Y]

😎

[@jamesleyrer3349]

Very interesting, thank you. But, please talk a little slower, my ears don’t hear so fast!

[@UniCommProductions]

I’m so sorry-talking too fast is a problem I’ve always had and I get a little better each time! Thank you for watching!

[@joemiller2057]

I think that's what happened they built to many Malls and over saturated the market building to many in a short distance away from each other they was competing against each other cincinnati looks worse than the Cleveland Akron area

[@UniCommProductions]

That is absolutely the thesis of this series-they couldn’t stop building until they started cannibalizing each other.

[@markjamesmeli2520]

Greed killed the mall.

[@fhwolthuis]

That's what happens with free enterprise and no city planning

[@UniCommProductions]

100%.