Largest Abandoned Mall in the World - Century III Mall - A Documentary *Demolished*

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When it opened in 1979, Century III was the third largest mall in the entire world. It would appear in several films and TV shows before closing in 2019 and demolished in 2024.
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Music Miami 1983 by Karl Casey ‪@WhiteBatAudio‬
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#abandoned #deadmall #retailarchaeology #urbanexploration

[@Roger-vz7ol]

Sadly, violence and crime have destroyed so many places and it has only become worse as time goes on.

[@brl0522]

Not it’s south side

[@MrHeadbanger366]

Century III is in the news more now than when it was open. Sad.

[@dropautoparts]

Century 3 had a Sears and Sears Automotive on the bottom floor at one point. Also being a South Hills resident of Pittsburgh my whole life, we went to a few malls around the area. Parkway Center, closed; Century 3, Closed; and South Hills Village, Thriving. People say the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead killed Century 3, it was the crime that did it.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

I went to Monroeville Mall mainly. I rarely went to Century lll. I was never big on the Waterfront site.

[@mikee2923]

Truth. When Port Authority made Century III Mall a transfer spot for bus routes to the ghettos, that was the beginning of the end. Homestead, where the Waterfront was built, had a higher crime rate than West Mifflin. I grew up in the South Hills. As a teenager in the mid 80s, it was safe to go to Century III. I preferred South Hills Village because it was closer and less crowded. I no longer live around there but understand South Hills Village, which was built before I was born, is thriving. I can remember when Century III opened. Now it’s all but gone.

[@dropautoparts]

Need to add the Century 3 Chevrolet jingle. “Century 3 Chevrolet, Lebanon Church Rd, Pittsburgh… minutes from the mall”. Every Pittsburgher will remember it.

[@sarah_757]

Thank you for the earworm 😜

[@golfgod11]

She frequented a bar I went to, when people would yell it out or bring it up she would get irritated.

[@dropautoparts]

@@sarah_757 Welcome! lmao

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Remember Willie's 🎿 shop? They had 8-10 locations at 1 point- 1960s to 2000s.

[@TheSkittlesmcgee]

The thing that's absolutely *terrible* about this mall is the ONLY connector road in between Clairton Rd and Clairton Blvd is the Century III access road that runs alongside the site. As far as I can tell it's a part of the property and hasn't seen any service in YEARS. It is absolutely a suspension breaker nowadays. Unfortunately you have to go WELL out of your way to avoid it.

[@TheBigdog868]

All these malls were opening and brand new when i was a kid. Now they're gone, and I'm still here, a little worse for wear, but still looking much better than they are! 😂

[@dogcowrph]

The Penguins displayed the Stanley Cup there as well as eight Super Bowls (San Francisco and Pittsburgh), a World Series trophy, a Heiden Trophy and more.

[@HondaWagovan]

I really miss the malls of this design and style, I usually as a kid couldn't stand shopping trips for hours but interesting malls like this were an exception where I could walk for hours.

[@luicalibre6665]

Spent most of my high school years there in the early 80’s. Left for the military then went back there while home for leave in the 90’s and was shocked with how bad it was and how much was gone. Now, living near Columbus, OH, the same thing is happening here. Tanger and Polaris are all that’s left and that ain’t saying much.

[@josephikrakowski1137]

I have so many memories of this mall from going with my grandparents in the 2000s. Definitely a sad state it’s been left in

[@key2827]

Great narration, with intermittent music and transitions to historical photography and back in the day news casts. 👍🏼

[@badwolfpro1]

At the time of its construction it was the 3rd largest shopping mall in the world, not the largest.

[@kcindc5539]

As a Pittsburgh resident in 1979 (which was the year both the Steelers and the Pirates won their respective championships), Century III was a huge deal. It was a great mall, if a little inconvenient from where we lived out by the airport). Sad to see it such decay.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

I think Pittsburgh first used the sports term; City of Champions 🏆. I think the Pirates 🏴‍☠️ & NHL Penguins won too. 1992 or 1991.

[@mikee2923]

@@DavidLLambertmobile The Penguins won in 91 and 92. The Pirates haven’t won or even been to the World Series since 1979.

[@CallowXayne]

Our recent heatwave reminded me how nice it was to have a big indoor space nearby to go walking on a hot day. I think the last time I was in there was around 2014 or so. Only a few stores were open and the atmosphere felt so weird I never went back. 🙁

[@Whatchamawhozit]

It is not demolished yet, they only took down the parking decks, the building is still standing... The local news just did an update yesterday and there are no immediate plans to demo the tsructure as moonbeam, property owners, do not have the $20 mil in capital needed to demo the mall itself, so they are adding concrete blocks to seal off all the entrances until capital can be raised to level it.

[@augustneverends]

Moonbeam short of capital, what a surprise!

[@leatherman88ch]

I worked at century III Mall for 2 years at Kaufman's and went through the conversion of Macy's do I still remember my keys going up to the Macy's furniture on the top level storage room saying horns department signage and bags

[@user-sg6ji2kk3u]

These are great videos !! Really enjoy how thorough you are with the history of the malls you show . I’m Laura from Canada and here malls are still very popular places to shop . Also Bug Box store such as Wal Mart. But Malls here in Canada are booming still . Seems opposite in the US ?? Strange . ❤😊👍🏻🙌🏻

[@silence19999]

Depends on where. Where im at there are a couple still doing well. But they are dwindling.

[@gregd4633]

Here in Atlanta, Cumberland Mall is doing absolutely wonderful and packed daily

[@pigdroppings]

Probably do to much less crime in Canada....But, Turkey Headed Trudeau will change that.

[@michaelmartin2276]

As someone who worked at malls from 1975 to 2009 it's really sad how quickly many malls just rot away. Along with so many of the mall stores. Dangerous to walk around them. I've personally visited many dead malls in Texas, Florida and the Carolina's.

[@WeloveyouDave]

From the UK .This is sad to see

[@dieseldragon6756]

Also from the UK, and can say that some of our centres of similar vintage could be facing similar fates... 🏚

[@WeloveyouDave]

@@dieseldragon6756 I'm not sure if the Arndale centre is still open in central Manchester. It's tiny in comparison but last time I was there ,which was years ago,it was half empty and in a state of disrepair

[@TheCubeTube]

Great video! Thank you for being respectful, unlike so many other people. Century III will be missed, but it’s definitely time to let it go.

[@buda3d2007]

these malls are the closest thing to a time machine for me, I love dated malls, I used to make jokes about "run down malls" but often the ones still in business have some of the best businesses around...or the worst, but the ones I go to are awesome

[@RuinRoad]

My childhood mall closes this month. I remember being bored out of my mind waiting for my family to finish Christmas shopping. Now I would go back in a heartbeat to walk around it when it was alive.

[@filmit2694]

If you want to explore a really dead mall we have one in Meriden CT called Meriden Mall. I wish I could have the stars from this mall. If they were not so arrest happy right now I would love to explore this place.

[@stevensims3342]

A lot of people today have no idea how amazing those food courts smelled. 🤩

[@sonnie6210]

Typical extravagant waste that takes place in America. It was too big and clearly not maintained with a lack of diversification to maintain it as being a hub. South Africa Johannesburg was very clever with malls. They all had financial and banking, hotels, medical suites, and office towers. This meant you never had to leave it was literally one stop shop and still is. They also added residential apartments and gated townhouses to some to ensure their survival. America has always had this strange habit of building disconnected places where you literally need to drive to the next store or even the same building because that's quicker than walking.

[@mikee2923]

No. Basically what happened is globalism. Pittsburgh was the steel capital of the world when this mall was initially planned. It had a large middle class to support something like this at the time. There were several large steel mills within a 30 minute drive to this mall. During construction of this mall, the steel industry collapsed. Pittsburgh was decimated by that and has yet to fully recover to what it once was. My guess is it probably never will as the United States has been in a free fall since then. Middle class manufacturing jobs that once were everywhere that could support a family are basically nonexistent anymore. This is evidenced by the swathes of abandoned buildings, businesses and homes that dot a large portion of our country while we are presently experiencing record homelessness. It’s yet another symbol of the decline of the United States. I’m actually surprised this mall lasted and thrived as long as it did.

[@leatherman88ch]

At one point century III Mall had Kauffman's department gimbels Montgomery wards Sears and JCPenney then later they had Montgomery Ward's became horns dep then to Kauffman's furniture gimbels split at one point it was TJ Maxx and wickes furniture before it became dicks then Kaufman's converted to Macy's it was a beautiful mall will never have another one like it

[@chrishintz1077]

The wayback machine. ;). Thanks for video.

[@Maxdekriek]

As always great job guys.... greetsz from holland....max

[@fayecox9401]

As a Brit I love learning about your shopping malls he really looked awsome

[@milesdyson]

As a fat American I love your breads and cake. Look up Dixie Square mall, I went before the demolition, unfortunate and interesting story behind the place.

[@pghrpg4065]

It was. I'm three years older than the mall. We lived on the other side of the city, so it was a treat to go to Century III.

[@Jumphurd6145]

Project Prom used to be Foot Locker before it moved downstairs by Steve and Barry’s

[@melbrown6019]

Great tribute to C3.

[@kjquinn7856]

I remember the ads for Century III from visits to my parents in Pittsburgh back in the late 1970's and 1980's. They lived on the North Side, so Century III was too far of a trip for them, especially since all the same stores could be found in the North Hills. Still, if you were in Pittsburgh at the time, Century III was hard to forget.

[@DionnaNalls]

Project Prom was run by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services for teens, girls and boys, who were eligible to receive the free gowns and accessories to attend prom.

[@leatherman88ch]

Moonbeam sucked they're the reason why the mall got run into the ground they're the reason why all their malls fall apart where is multiple opportunities for new stores

[@kster1971]

Simon didn't help either. Spent all that money to remodel but ended up not paying on the mall loan since it didn't fit their portfolio as a high end mall

[@mikee2923]

No. You can actually thank the Port Authority of Allegheny County for this mall’s early decline. They made this mall a transfer point for the bus lines that went to the ghettos. That is the real cause for its early decline that few people talk about. But you can ultimately thank radical environmentalists for its and really Pittsburgh’s and the rest of the rust belt’s downfall.

[@brl0522]

It was such a nice mall. I remember Richard Simmons being there lol

[@zafarshaik3101]

This video was definitely shot before April 2023 as the power was shut off around that time. I get that videos people shot a while back will start to come out now as this beautiful mall awaits the demolition crews. As soon as they're done with the parking deck, it's the mall next 😭😭 although the thumbnail would've made one think it was a current video 👀 stunning presentation of the century 3 mall though.. 👌🏼👌🏼

[@brl0522]

Spent so much time here as a kid.. this is incredibly sad for me

[@megmcguigan3857]

That last commercial was also used at other malls. I remember that commercial from when I lived in the SF Bay Area back in the 80's/90's.

[@KRhythm2013]

No matter how many videos I've watched on this mall it's getting sadder each time. too much trashing of the place

[@4got102c]

Pittsburgh had the Monroeville Mall. Wasn't that adequate for everybody or was this huge behemoth of a mall needed. Ambitious but short-sighted.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

376 had all kinds of casual dining spots, stores, Monroeville Mall, movie theater. Evergreens 🥡 buffet was ✅️.

[@mikee2923]

@4got102c obviously you aren’t familiar with Pittsburgh. Although the downtown “Golden Triangle” business district is small compared to other cities, the suburbs are actually quite sprawling. Navigating the area is a nightmare even if you’re familiar with it. The road infrastructure of this area has hardly changed since the 1930s. For the people who live near where this mall is located it would probably take about 45 minutes or longer to get to Monroeville.

[@Glen-mk7ks]

All good things come to an end. Sad.

[@djm5k]

There is nothing more spooky than a dead or abandoned mall!

[@jonathangamer7606]

So did they actually start demoing this mall?

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Yes, about a month ago. The parking deck is almost gone and they have been clearing out the inside for next steps bringing down the stores.

[@gregsz1ful]

Hated going there Xmas shopping, too crowded. Lot full.

[@garyscole]

Time changes everything but Love.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Great video but bad idea posting this with West Mifflin still going after trespassers. A court date is not worth the chase for a few clicks.

[@slackingpacking]

Maybe this footage is from 2022.. 🤔.

[@zafarshaik3101]

​@@slackingpacking it was definitely recorded before April 2023 because in this video, the mall still has power and we know that the power to the mall was shut off around mid March or early April 2023 after that fire.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

@@zafarshaik3101I just don’t want RR to get the attention from the West Mifflin… the prosecutor might not care when it was filmed versus when it was posted. Either way, great video. I lived near c3 for a decade before it closed.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

@@slackingpackingit does look like earlier footage, but the prosecutor might care when it was posted versus when it was filmed. RR does some great vids. Just don’t want to see click chasing wind up in court.

[@slackingpacking]

@@charlestonpinballarcade actually if the statue limitation is up. They cannot do anything about it , that’s how Big Bankz charges were acquitted. I talked to him personally. Trespassing in the state of Pennsylvania is two years.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Was that Liz Miles in the Xmas ad? 🎄

[@kingnothingliveson6062]

For those wondering, the song at the beginning and end of the video; Karl Casey - Miami 1983 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWbJhqyiZrmeo8ksi=_FTHzDdvYwILcuh-

[@viktorakhmedov3442]

Are they selling those parking lot lights? I want a couple for my front yard and driveway.

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

🐊 I used to buy Izod Lacoste men's shirts that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing today at Century lll Mall.

[@josephbaker7956]

What song for the picture montage

[@slackingpacking]

Great exploration dude! Just be careful when posting videos of C3.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

100% West Mifflin just nailed 5 more trespassers last week. Posting evidence like this is still a risk.

[@fayecox9401]

Why’s that

[@TheCubeTube]

@@fayecox9401 West Mifflin government loves arresting or at least charging trespassers and taking them to court, regardless of whether they were being respectful to the property, like in this video, or not.

[@fayecox9401]

@@TheCubeTube thankyou for explaining

[@slackingpacking]

@@TheCubeTubeyeah they are insane

[@jenniferburchill3658]

How much mold was in that place???

[@leatherman88ch]

8.53 village Pizza that was there since

[@esotericmedium]

I recognize that narrators voice 😆

[@ysbtoby]

1:30 is not C3

[@4got102c]

Built in 1979-kind of late to build a mall. Late 90s more & more people got home computers, thus began the huge online shopping boom (eBay, Amazon, etc.). No indoor malls have been built since 2003 or 2004. I hope nobody's sad about this closure. Malls decimated downtown businesses as materialistic morons shuffled off to waste their cash on the crud peddled in shopping malls.

[@mikee2923]

How old are you? Nobody imagined back in the early 1970s when this mall was planned that it would fail due to online shopping.

[@kyleorwig8696]

at the 12:48 second mark he makes a comment about cults with the spray paint circle on the floor, that is actually from Gravity Falls if you look closely you can make out some of the symbols...LOL

[@dropautoparts]

Last comment since this mall was near to my heart... as a teen boy in the 90s, we trolled for girls at malls, as most did. South Hills Village was known for the girls you pick up to make your girlfriend, prom date, take home to mom. Century 3 was known for the girls that would, um, go all the way! LOL

[@scottyc7739]

Five minutes in before finding out this is inear Pittsburgh, PA? Really? Poor.

[@hunterericson6782]

oh you had to wait FIVE MINUTES ,.. OH THE AGONY

[@viktorakhmedov3442]

UR MOM SHOPPED AT CENTURY III

[@gusbean]

Dude your sponsor plug time is longer than a CVS receipt! I waited over an hour before ABANDONING your channel

[@hunterericson6782]

OH THE AGONY

[@davidthompson3415]

Wow, this looks like a before and after version of, 1st republican managed and then democrat managed 😢

[@dieseldragon6756]

Opened in 1979, a good first 35 years...And then it all starts going to rot because of cost-saving practices and refusal to keep up with maintenance, leading to forced closure in 2019 because the building is no longer sound. 💥 This scares the living 💩 out of me for what I think is a good reason: One of my local shopping malls was built around the same period, and probably with the same techniques. Last September spalling became visible in one of the supporting walls of the building, but despite e-mails to the management nothing seems to have been done about it. According to some local folks, the only real interest the centre management have is collecting rents and not giving a monkeys about the structural condition of the building. 🏚💰🙈 The local council are now aware, but also seem to be rather quiet in response despite the reasonable concerns over what's being seen and what part of the structure it's being seen in... 🤔

[@mikee2923]

Don’t know where you’re from but this mall died for numerous reasons. It was lucky to thrive and survive as long as it did. It was planned when Pittsburgh was still the steel capital of the world. The steel industry started to decline during its construction. This first big crack came in 1977 in DeBartolo’s (the one who built this mall) hometown of Youngstown, Ohio when a large steel mill there shut down with little warning. It took until the early 80s for it to be felt in Pittsburgh but by the mid 80s it was all but over. This mall continued to thrive despite the steel industry’s collapse. Then in the 90s the county public transit system decided to make it the transfer hub for all the busses that go to the ghettos of the Pittsburgh area. Shortly after the vacancy rate started to climb with the crime rates in the area. It was already in serious decline when on line shopping started to affect malls. Its value continued to plummet until it was bought by Moonbeam who finished it off. As someone who has dealt with shopping mall and department store maintenance for over 30 years, I can tell you that all of them spent as little as possible to maintain or improve their buildings as possible even when times for them were good. They just took the profits and pocketed them instead of improving or even maintaining their property.

[@dieseldragon6756]

@@mikee2923 South eastern UK. Around the time both malls were constructed I think there was a lot of technological interchange between the UK and US, mainly for cold-war collaboration. ☢ The structural bit I'm concerned about is a load-bearing wall which has an integrated ledge (All reinforced concrete) supporting a ~500mm (~19") floor slab, a design/technique I believe is American. British design tends to favour simple (And thicker) walls supporting floor beams with a thinner floor sat on top of them. 🚧 I had another look at the roof deck above the bit of issue (Which is the centers service area) and there's a steel plate sat over a void that's clearly been there for a few years...And clear signs that water is seeping under it. I think we've found the _cause_ ...But still not a sausage from center management. They're clearly the wurst, like you say. 🌭 (The local authority are now aware though, and though not seeing it an immediate concern I think they'll keep their eye on it. 👍)

[@scarpfish]

When you have to read the comments to find the city and state. 🌎🫤

[@hunterericson6782]

or , uhm IWONDER WHAT “KDKA” MEANS?!

[@kster1971]

@@hunterericson6782 KDKA is 1 of our news channels in Pittsburgh PA the others are WPXI and WTAE

[@kster1971]

@@hunterericson6782KDKA is the first licensed commercial radio station in the USA, located in Pittsburgh, PA. The call letters "KDKA" were assigned from a roster maintained to provide identification for ships and marine shore stations. The abbreviation has no specific meaning.