St. Louis Mills - Requiem for a Fever Dream

[@kenziefrances5365]

The architecture is just beautiful. I remember being a kid and loving how magical it looked. I can’t believe tht this beautiful mall is soon to be torn down😞

[@unknown_guy5366]

Transformed into a sport complex, then into a church.😊

[@SwingMan1938]

"I never knew until I visited this mall that fire could be so pink!.....I personally love it, but then again, I have pink hair and I run a KZbin channel that has a unicorn for a logo - so, there's that." LMAO! Perfect. :)

[@UniCommProductions]

That is the pinkest place in any mall, anywhere.

[@SwingMan1938]

@@UniCommProductions LOL! I hear ya. Overall, the place might be tolerable if it didn't look like Nickelodeon waltzed in the place and puked its brains out. I guess that's my main gripe about Cincinnati Mills/Forest Fair Mall too, although the food court there looks something like what would've come from the creators of Spongebob. Hell, I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm a dyed-in-the-wool '80's kid that I can't stand that type of saccharine overthetopness - I mean, if I were to see any pink in a mall I used to frequent, I'd probably be ok with it if it were pink neon backed with chrome than anything else. I guess I can appreciate and respect how the designers were able to operate untethered in trying to create some sort of an artistic spectacle - I just can't dig the end result at all.

[@Hels_Angels]

SwingMan1938 Yes, it all looks like a gigantic Kindergarten. I grew up in the black/white/silver Colani design of the late 60s and early 70s and to this day, can’t abide the color tsunami of the 90s 😎

[@UniCommProductions]

SwingMan1938 it reads as very theme park-ish which is to say that it’s more appealing to children (and definitely one of my gripes about Forest Fair as well, especially as someone who remembers what it looked like before the current design.) The overly colorful design just feels very plastic, and I think people want to feel like they’re in a “fancier” place when they go to the mall.

[@SwingMan1938]

@@UniCommProductions Yep - plastic/saccharine. The day I went to see Graceland in Memphis in September, 2011, after I got back to the hotel, showered, changed and hoofed it down to Beale Street, I went into the first bar I came across, sat down and said "Gimme a rum & coke, will ya? I just got back from Graceland and I've gotta have something to wash all that sugar out of my mouth." LOL! On the other hand, I guess we can be grateful that, as kids, we never needed scenery like that in malls we hung out at. Especially me, whose usual mall itinerary back in the 1980's was thusly: Record shop, "Hot Dawg" for a foot-long draped in cheese, video arcade. 4-6 hours burned, every time. And, in 1989, "Pacific Eyes & T's" due to several pairs of Ray-Ban Wayfarers (shades - think Jake in "The Blues Brothers") I tended to lose that summer. LOL!

[@jordana4910]

Because I've actually been to this mall in better times, this is probably the most haunting dead mall video I've ever seen (or at least tied with Dan Bell's old Rolling Acres one.) Great work!

[@UniCommProductions]

Wow! I consider that to be gold-standard praise being compared to the OG of dead mall videos...thank you so much!

[@spookkook]

I grew up in Florrissant MO. I went here a lot as a kid. A lot of liminal spaces feel haunting, nostalgic, and weird but this just hits different.

[@haberbro5282]

This was my childhood mall, I remembered it being like an indoor theme park but thought I just imagined it, turns out it was as intricate as I remembered

[@MrButch-ls8vl]

Exceptional quality ... wonderful to watch! The photography and music is top notch, but it is your commentary, Kristen, that make this so interesting and educational. Congrats on a fine video!!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you so much!

[@kennyjohnson8148]

This is peak Millennium aesthetic. I am so glad to have known this mall, even if through this video.

[@UniCommProductions]

It's loud, it's tacky, and I just love it.

[@BGNOLA]

2003...I would've guessed it was 10 years earlier.

[@missiworld]

I have so many memories of hanging out at this mall in its infancy when I was a teenager. It had a bowling alley, laser tag, mini golf, and all of the stores a 15 year old could want. But it was in an awful location: a literal flood plain on a highway used mostly by truckers and commuters. Even when it was being built, we discussed how it was a strange location. We also spoke a lot about how the massive size of the loop made it nearly impossible to walk the full mall's space, meaning that unless you had some serious time and stamina, you really couldn't visit the entire mall. Also, people got lost in that mall a lot because of it being a loop with few reference points that actually made any sense. There were problems from the start that the company should have seen. However, I will be sad to see the whimsical art go. It was something I always loved and appreciated. Public art installations in malls as an architectural feature should be encouraged.

[@UniCommProductions]

It didn't occur to me that it was easy to get lost in, but you're right, I can absolutely see how that's possible if I was looking for a store (maybe they should have color coded the map...) I agree on public art--it was once very commonplace for malls to have big sculptures in the center court/sitting areas, and a lot of those pieces have now been lost to time (you should check out a video our friend Sal produced about Burlington Center Mall in NJ that featured a beautiful bronze statue of a boy riding an elephant--the mall is closed and being torn down but the statue is being moved to a local park.)

[@BoratWanksta]

@@UniCommProductions Funny you mention the comment about getting lost, since Gurnee Mills is SO BIG, that you easily could get lost inside that mall! Plus it unusually(for whatever reason at Gurnee) has 2 food courts, for whatever reason. ETA that I assume one of the 2 food courts(the more north food court of the 2 there at Gurnee), is probably to serve patrons going over to either the Marcus multiplex theater there, or to the ice rink on the very north end of that mall. Yes, BOTH Gurnee Mills and St. Louis Mills had ice rinks inside the mall!

[@postitsandpens]

As a St. Louis girl, I can say with probably 99.9% certainty that people didn't actually miss the Hot Topic specifically. It was positioned directly across from the Food Court, which was directly across from the theatre. Pretty good placement, tbh! I totally agree with your comments about the color scheme, though. It was ... a lot. The biggest issue was, as you said, its size; people would just park outside the "anchor" they wanted to visit and not meander through the rest of the mall. Also as you noted, it's literally in the middle of nowhere and is hard to get to. There were restaurants as out parcels, but those closed down as the mall started to decline. There isn't even a gas station anywhere close by. PowerPlex have started the renovations inside, and the church is being allowed to stay. They're currently doing Drive-In movies and concerts right now due to Covid, and also hosted several local high schools' graduation ceremonies, which I thought was a pretty cool move. Great video! I love getting inside looks at malls I'm extremely familiar with. I'm glad this one is seemingly going to be saved an awful fate.

[@UniCommProductions]

I'd much rather they throw in the towel and remodel before it turns into an abandoned eyesore like Jamestown did. The drive-in movies are a neat idea--did you see how much they're charging, though (it's a lot, like $50 a car)? I wonder how that is working for them.

[@postitsandpens]

@@UniCommProductions Folks are turning out for it, so, so far so good! I know several people who've gone and they seem to be selling out, or at least have sold out several events already. I follow the group on FB and they're pretty transparent about their prices and events, which I appreciate. And agreed about Jamestown. That was my mall growing up and it physically hurts me that they didn't manage to do anything with the property and are now just going to have to tear it down because it's so unsafe. If, you know, they can even come to a consensus to do that.

[@JRMcDowell]

This one hit kinda hard.. so much beauty and great design, just lost. SAD, very Sad. Thank you for reminding us why we cant seem to have nice things. And for capturing this wonderful place.

[@dougonodera8764]

Wow! Awesome video of what is (was) indeed a unique mall. You should be proud of where you’ve brought this channel in such a short period of time. Looking forward to what lies ahead. Thanks!

[@UniCommProductions]

Wow thank you Doug! That’s a really sweet thing to say. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video.

[@NightSprinter]

The design of this outlet mall gives me vibes of vintage pre-80s Disney parks, and EPCOT Center of the 80s. Especially the pavilion known as "The Land".

[@UniCommProductions]

I can’t believe I never made that connection but I definitely get some Sunshine Seasons vibes from that food court.

[@ac_spicywingz3627]

The interior reminds me of the Great Mall in Milpitas, CA which is currently very occupied and busy and it was once a Mills mall.

[@BoratWanksta]

It's weird, I never knew that used to be a Mills mall! First time I'd heard that fact, myself.

[@cameron2035]

It's crazy to hear how early the problems started here. I spent so much time here as a kid and I never processed that it was going downhill until pretty far into its demise.

[@UniCommProductions]

Based on what I read from a lot of locals, that is a really common viewpoint. No one really went there that often and didn't realize there were issues until it started to REALLY clear out.

[@Hels_Angels]

As always, I really enjoyed this mall cruise with kool Kristen. 💕💕💕 „Mills at its millsiest“ 🤣👍 Thank you so much. Have a great Sunday! Love from Bavaria 🍺🥨

[@UniCommProductions]

Enjoy an authentic pretzel for me! :) Thanks for watching!

[@Hels_Angels]

UniComm Productions You know where I ate the tastiest pretzel ever? In Osaka. No joke. And it was not a German bakery either, it was a regular Japanese restaurant. Dear Kristen, I wish you and yours a great Sunday! 💕🥨💕🥨💕🥨

[@UniCommProductions]

From Hel That’s another destination abroad I need to add to my list!

[@jeslowe72401]

Great video. Brings back memories. My family went on a vacation to st louis around 2011 and went to this mall specifically for the nascar go cart track. The mall was huge, colorful, and family friendly. I remember 3-4 different kids play yards throughout the mall.

[@UniCommProductions]

Was one of the play yards in that middle section the video starts at? That was the only part that struck me as being uncharacteristically bare and empty.

[@jeslowe72401]

@@UniCommProductions there was the main big one by the food court, a smaller one on the concourse that went from Cabela's towards the ice rink. One was down by where the church is now and one was between the go cart place and movie theater. The last 2 were the coin rides, with each area having like 8-10 machines.

[@wubbzyandsesamestreetfangirl]

The pbs kids one ?

[@katier.m.4088]

😞 So sad this is gone. I moved to STL right after The Mills opened - it was nice, but very out of the way. Its location on 370 was just...desolate. St. Louis County kept talking about how all of this development was going to happen in the area but it never did. The go-cart track, ice skating, movie theater and glow golf were always pretty busy, even if the retailers weren’t. I worked near the mall in Earth City for a bit and spent several lunch hours in the Books-a-Million (the space occupied by the church). Sad I’ll never see it in person again, but thank you for preserving its memory.

[@UniCommProductions]

I think their plan for what to do with it could work-because a lot of the “recreational” stuff is going to stay. They seem to be off to a slow start but that’s to be expected with the economy as it is

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

What a beautiful mall,, I love how steady your video is also, left a Huge Like n Shared with our Playlist

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you, Rome!

[@sixflagsshowspast9616]

I'm sad to see this mall close. It was a beautiful mall,brightly colored and great architecture.If they don't revitalize it,it'd make a great homeless shelter or fall out shelter.

[@a.h.s5152]

Thanks for all these beautiful videos I enjoy watching them

[@RangerRickTV]

Oh shit! this mall is probably the most gorgeous mall I've ever seen. Definitely plan a trip.

[@UniCommProductions]

Do it soon if you go, you have about 3 weeks left.

[@yotsubafanfan]

I went there a few times right after it opened to meet my Mom's favorite Nascar driver. He was super nice and the mall was super lively. Not a ton of stores were open (because it was super early in the morning when we got there) but I remember playing on the PBS kids playground and I remember the Blues practice arena too.

[@UniCommProductions]

This place had to have been something to see when it was lively and full.

[@erics.5123]

My uncle was an electrician that worked on the STL mills when it was being built. As I watched your video it brought back many memories of shopping trips with the family as well as hanging out with friends on the weekends at the Regal Cinema/food court/NASCAR Speed park and the relatively short lived Lucky Strike Bowling. I could also picture what each store front looked like back when it was busy, so it’s eerie to see what has become of it. Thanks for the awesome video!

[@camcordernonsense5264]

I can only imagine being someone like your uncle. get the job done get paid. i helped make something that will be around long after I'm gone. later go shopping. remember, I cut my finger there. I shocked myself there. I laughed at my buddy's dumb joke there. then a couple decades later find out it's going away. drats!

[@psp420bam]

The mall I grew up(45 now) with in Worthington MN is gone but I as able to find some footage of it, so I appreciate such efforts in preserving these era's/memories. Pink can be classy and your work is top notch.

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you so much!

[@davidewald7338]

I think it would make a great petting zoo for the kids with all the colors. And maybe hands on science for all the little brainiacs. It's way to imaginative for me as a shopper unless I'm cookie or candy shopping Chuck E Cheese as an actor? Thanks great video 👍

[@UniCommProductions]

You know I hadn't thought until now how much it resembles a children's museum but you're absolutely right. Thank you for watching!

[@adammartin5809]

Fascinating. I live a half hour away from Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills/Cincinnati Mall and it is interesting to see another former Mills property. Tacky but interesting interior design. Like your work especially the camera work and commentary history.

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you very much...this mall makes Cincy Mills look understated in comparison!

[@ragingnight7246]

OMG 6:21 is a big nostalgia hit because our family would drive over an hour to either watch the Blues practice or skate. Atleast the ice rink is the most I can remember going for. Considering I'm 18 now and was so young then. Rip this place man, will never forget it!

[@UniCommProductions]

The ice rink is part of the new concept, too! It's not going away. :)

[@ragingnight7246]

@@UniCommProductions Very nice!

[@BoratWanksta]

@@UniCommProductions I should note, the Saint Louis Blues' ice practice rink was moving over to Maryland Heights, MO. I talked to someone who worked there while I visited in June 2019, and that's what she told me when I visited the mall that day. Which coincidentally my visit was THE same day, as the StL Blues' Stanley Cup championship rally occurred!

[@DeadMallWalking]

Crazy how reminiscent this place is of Cincinnati Mills/Mall! Very peaceful video, really enjoyed this one.

[@UniCommProductions]

It was really a unique design. Full of surprises. Thank you very much for watching!

[@hangtimedangjang]

Wow, thanks for this video. We used to take our son there all the time when he was little and let him run around in the play area, and eat lunch at the Chevy's there. He's 10 now, and can still point out where certain shops used to be. It's sad to see this place where we spent all those Saturdays go away 😔

[@UniCommProductions]

It really is. I know if I had been a kid when I went there I never would have wanted to leave.

[@jimreilly917]

I'm from STL. Mills was a fine example of IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME developers philosophy. Without doing accurate market research for feasible success. Wrong area, little advertising and promotion , duplication of stores offered in well established malls in the STL County area. And like all malls, the internet has caused mass implosion.

[@x10sam]

I grew up in rural, southern Illinois. We always went to the St. Louis area to go shopping. It hadn't been too long after seeing Opry Mills that this one was announced. Tiny, teen me was so excited about seeing this mall and all its spectacle. The skate shop, the NASCAR store, a Sanrio store...there was so much I didn't normally have access to back in the days when internet shopping was far less common. I remember eating at Johnny Rockets there before going to an Evanescence concert and my dad driving in the NASCAR simulator. The last time I went, in maybe 2009, it already felt like something was wrong. Seeing it completely dead is strange and sad, but also a bit comforting in a nostalgic sense. Thank you

[@UniCommProductions]

It didn't change much during the time it was open--it probably looks the same as you remember but without people. I'm hoping the people who are converting it to its new use don't completely take out everything.

[@tomgcooktown5019]

I'm not a mall person .. But this mall had character.. I like the ambiance .. Strong colors .. BOLD design .. TgT

[@russellmurray3964]

This mall had some great things. For starters, there was no better mall in the St. Louis area for walking. My wife would shop and I would hike loops there, a nice flat circuit that must have been at least a mile. Back in the 00's, we had out-of-town friends with young children visiting regularly and we would take them there for a day, more for the kids than anything else. Between the NASCAR go karts, glow-in-the-dark mini-golf, the skate park, the ice rink, and the food court, those were some tuckered-out (but happy) kids at the end of the day (I heard from one of the parents a year or two ago, and one of the kids - all grown up now - was disappointed to hear of the demise of the mall). The point made in the video and comments about this mall being overly tailored to children is perhaps echoed in my observations on how the children reacted so joyfully to it. Near the Saks Off 5th entrance, they had a Bailey's Nuts and Cream cafe that was really enjoyable, I liked hanging out there with family and friends having a coffee and pecan pie (what happened to Bailey's? It just seemed to disappear from St. Louis a little over a decade ago. Last one I remember was at West County Mall). So some good memories, but the decline had become so noticeable that by 2010 we were hardly ever going there. I think our last visit was somewhere around 2011, and it was very depressing as it seemed that half the mall was closed down.

[@justindekock7211]

I used to love coming to this mall when I was a kid. I live in south county (lemay, about 5 minutes from south city) so we didn't get to go there too often because of the drive. It was always a treat when we got to go, and I'll never forget the first time I went there. It was like nothing I had ever seen. A few years ago, a few friends and I were bored and looking for things to do. We came across a coupon for putting edge, and we decided to go. I was heartbroken when I stepped in the mall and saw how rundown it had become. I remembered how popping it was in the mid 2000s. It was always crowded and kids were always having fun. It was a very depressing experience to see how rundown it was, especially when I expected to see a similar atmosphere to what I experienced in 2005.

[@UniCommProductions]

I can relate to that feeling--while this was my one and only visit to St Louis Mills I grew up going to Cincinnati Mills and to see it empty and falling apart is incredibly weird and unsettling.

[@sarahdiane359]

Nice work! I watch many of these mall type videos and I enjoy your style. Lots of interesting facts/info with a little bit of quirkiness. Kept my attention and relaxed me 👍🏻😌

[@UniCommProductions]

THAT is the sort of vibe I'm going for and it's so nice to hear you "get us"! :) Thank you for checking us out!

[@derrickstovall8694]

This was my favorite mall it's such a shame that it fell into this state of mind they are going make hotel's restaurants and a sports complex and a waterpark and much much more by 2022 it's going to be more like a outdoor mall

[@UniCommProductions]

Whatever they end up doing, I hope it's more successful than this was.

[@jimreilly917]

They'll try. Better marketing would help.

[@wynterbelle2962]

I remember when I was really young I would play on the pbs playground by myself and by the end of my stay I would have like 10 friends lol😭

[@UniCommProductions]

Sometimes I miss how easy it was to make friends when I was little. Every kid on a playground was a new friend!

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Ah yes, that Mills early 2000s aesthetic. So bright, so colorful, so gaudy! 😁

[@catrinag.9262]

Your videos are nicely done. These malls are so pretty. It's a shame they're going to waste! I'm fascinated with abandoned places and their histories.

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you, Catrina! They're very interesting to research and find out why they failed. Usually it's a combination of bad business decisions and too much competition.

[@nancydarling4918]

Good video. Great commentary and footage. Thanks for filming.

[@beastlygota]

Oh wow, not even Wetzel’s Pretzels is still there? I went there two weeks before this was filmed and that was still open. Amazing video and thanks for providing me with more information than I could find on this mall.

[@UniCommProductions]

Neither Wetzel's Pretzels! (We know another dead maller who is a pretzel enthusiast who was pretty disappointed by this.) It took some digging--this one having such a short history compared with some of the others didn't yield a wealth of material right off the bat.

[@BoratWanksta]

When I visited on Saturday, June 15th, 2019, the Wetzel's Pretzels right by the Ice Zone practice arena was still open. Of course I remember spotting there was another Wetzel's kiosk somewhere else in this mall, that already had closed some time back before my June 2019 visit. My educated guess is that the Wetzel's next to the StL Blues' practice ice arena, probably closed at the end of June 2019.

[@TheNASCARJeff]

I have been to Discover Mills in Georgia, Concord Mills in North Carolina, Cincinnati Mills in Ohio, Great Lakes Crossing in Michigan and Deazerlnd Park in Orlando.. The one thing all of these Mills Malls have in common is a Bass Pro Shop... Oh and they have nice heard wood floors too.

[@UniCommProductions]

I like the wood floors in them. They give the space a nice warmth.

[@jessismore4393]

Once upon a time, in the circus of fire area, that big flower in the middle (8:30) had a wheel on it and you could spin it and the flower on top would spin around. Talk about the Mills being Mills-y. at 8:49 you can see where the hole for the wheel was on the base.

[@UniCommProductions]

That’s so cool! I wish I’d gotten to see that. I’ll have to look up some older videos and see if I can find a clip of it!

[@stamatispelekanos650]

I have been to this mall so many times. Its a shame that it shut down.

[@UniCommProductions]

You’d think it would have been a slam dunk but I blame the location. It seems to be on the way to nothing, which is ironically part of the reason Pittsburgh Mills failed too.

[@jenniferbarton8310]

Amazing mall - lots of color

[@Emeraldant92]

Great video you guys! I'm going to try and make it back myself before it closes

[@UniCommProductions]

If you can it's definitely one of those malls that is one of a kind.

[@Emeraldant92]

@@UniCommProductions it sure is. I'm still amazed as you are of how good of condition the property is!

[@savagesn]

Concord Mills mall, about a 15 minute drive from me, is still alive and doing well. Opening in 1999, the mall had similar theming to this mall prior to the Simon takeover. Now it's a lot of white and beige in true Simon style. I personally preferred the wacky Mills look.

[@UniCommProductions]

I did too. Overall the Mills properties were more hits than misses; they built 18 of their “landmark” malls like this one and Concord mills and only 3 have failed. The others all seem to be going strong.

[@sludgebeastt]

i used to go here when i was a kid. it was always so fun!

[@mst3kanita]

I almost spit my evian out when I saw this place opened in 2003. D: It also doesn't help that these mills properties all look like something out of 1997.

[@UniCommProductions]

It has to be one of the fastest falls from busy to failure around. I agree; it makes you wonder in 2003 if this decor looked dated already. It's got a very late-90's vibe to it.

[@BoratWanksta]

@@UniCommProductions When did Pittsburgh Mills open? IIRC, I thought that was 2 years later, but am not 100% sure. Yep, it is surprising how quickly this mall and also Pittsburgh Mills, started to struggle. Also to me, I've always thought Mills malls were built a tad too large, vs. the slightly smaller square footage they should've been built more like.

[@UniCommProductions]

You are correct on both counts! Pittsburgh Mills opened in 2005. It’s hard to fill 2m square feet no matter where you are!

[@drumhog89]

@@UniCommProductions It really was an extremely fast decline. I was going to this mall on a regular basis as a teenager and by the time I became an adult with my first car it was already half empty. Through my 20's I knew it's time would come to an end and as it grew more and more into a ghost mall I would stop by when I had time, throw headphones in and just walk around. Also, being a die-hard Blues fan (They finally won their first cup!), I would stop by and catch their practices and shake hands with the players. When I was separated from my son for 4 months, the kids park at the beginning of this video is where I was finally reunited with him. So many life long memories took place at this mall. It is sad to see it go.

[@scottuncfan]

Wow!!! Great video. I've been to Concord Mills in Concord NC in Charlotte. It's always so packed it's shame this one couldn't be like Concord Mills

[@scottuncfan]

@Aimee Webber dang that stinks for sure. I don't get there as much as I want

[@jordana4910]

Haven't been to this mall since '05. Same goes for most everyone I know...

[@UniCommProductions]

It seems to be a very common thing with this mall; it’s the Place Time Forgot in many ways

[@jordana4910]

@@UniCommProductions I have doubts that any developer will have success with the place unfortunately. I've always heard that it was just built in the wrong spot. Seems to be the case and sadly, hard to overcome.

[@UniCommProductions]

I was reading a bit more about what Big Sports Entertainment's plans are, and it's an interesting concept--they're basically building what could be called a Convention Center for Sports Tournaments. They're wanting to attract big youth sports competitions with accomodations for the teams their parents and their fans on-site alongside restaurants, some sports-oriented shopping like Cabelas (who have 5 years left on their lease), etc. It's ambitious and as far as I know something that hasn't been tried before. Basically they're trying to make it into a place where sports families can make the tournament weekend into a mini-vacation.

[@jordana4910]

@@UniCommProductions I wish them luck with it. It's a shame to have all of that space just sitting there empty.

[@BoratWanksta]

@@UniCommProductions I just read another article, that says the Cabela's lease here is until sometime in 2022. That's the sad thing. Since unfortunately there's a Bass store 7 miles away from here, and that Bass and Cabela's have merged, sadly I worry for all I know this could be the odd store out(of these 2 stores) that shuts down that year. I do hope the PowerPlex sports courts plan is successful here, but we'll see what happens. Was Wetzel's Pretzels right by the ice rink still open, when you visited in July 2019? It was open surprisingly enough, and the ONLY place open where you could eat, when I visited in June 2019.

[@craigwillowood5605]

These videos are so awesome.

[@filet-o-frisch]

18:49 I once worked at that Goodwill just over 2 years ago. Surprisingly, for the area, they make very good business. It's a Goodwill Outlet, ironically, so it's the last Outlet store to survive in the area, as well.

[@UniCommProductions]

It sounds like it's one of those things people would go out of their way to visit no matter where it is.

[@Idelia412]

Gee...can we say dead! Opened 2003, some lost a bundle on this mall! Well done video! How can a mall stay open with so few stores?

[@mclovin5198]

I remember when this mall opened. We went there quite often and I do believe this is where my wife and I made out for the first time (in grade school) lol. Last time I was there was maybe 10-12 years ago in highscool and that was just to go to Cabelas.

[@TheVintageSpacesChannel]

absolutely fantastic!

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you!!!

[@fpickett4579]

Wow great video...mall nostalgia is interesting when I think of how many climbing turtles and horses on carriage springs my mom had me campout on while she went shopping 😇

[@UniCommProductions]

I feel like a lot of us who grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s spent a big portion of our childhood in the mall, and its really surreal to see that they could be coming to an end.

[@jl8981]

Sad to see this close. I'm in the military. Every time I came home on leave...I would take my son to the Nascar experience. We would always ride with me...until the day came when he was tall enough to drive on his own. A little tear to my eye... but seeing him drive... with his own sense of freedom... was still worth it. The last time we went... his mom forgot to tell me the mall was in serious trouble. It was a shell already.

[@UniCommProductions]

joseph layman what a sweet story-I wish we had captured some footage of the NASCAR track which is still standing. Reading a bit about what the new owners plans are makes me wonder if it won’t reopen when PowerPlex is done. They’re making it into a sort of “convention center” for youth sports families and they’ve said they’re going to have some entertainment options. A go-Kart track seems like a good addition. (...And thank you for your service! My co-pilot is an Army veteran himself.)

[@jl8981]

@@UniCommProductions Roller Derby???? That would be sweet.

[@UniCommProductions]

@@jl8981 that would be one BIG roller derby track but that would be sweet! (We had an old hockey arena here in town that was converted into hosting a Roller Derby league and it did quite well!)

[@ChelseaEBird]

That one shot of the lone, sad, plant…🥺

[@sarcadam88]

You guys are my favorites. Anything on the horizon in the tristate area?

[@UniCommProductions]

Awww thank you! We have a few ideas for things locally. :)

[@fancieterrell2977]

It would be a dream to skate through a dead mall like this! 🛼

[@sprkl5d]

I absolutely love this mall. It looks like Cincinnati's dead mall. Maybe built by same person. Heartbreaking this mall couldn't be saved.

[@UniCommProductions]

They were designed by the same group-the one in Cincinnati was a heavy remodel and this was a new build a year apart

[@sprkl5d]

@@UniCommProductions Just watched this again. I love this mall so much as well as Cinn Mills. I wish i could buy this mall and just live in it. I know...its a Mall lol. But I can just imagine turning part of it into a place to live and just every day wandering these beautiful halls. Sounds crazy i know. It breaks my heart whats happened to these malls. This mall...are they tearing it down or using it for their new venture? I wish i had the chance to see it.

[@UniCommProductions]

@@sprkl5d They are closing on 8/23 to remodel heavily. I'm not sure how much of the existing structure is being kept--more than I thought, but the inside will not look the same as it did.

[@z400b]

Superb video, excellent filming inside and out, well researched and a must see dead mall video. Its amazing these places were ever built, times change quickly. We don't have any malls like it in the UK.(not as colourful anyway) Retail here is not good but I don't think we have as many malls in a given area. Keep up the great work. 😎

[@UniCommProductions]

Thank you so much! :) I would love to visit malls in other countries to see what they’re like.

[@kellylewisfischer181]

It's completely empty now except for the cabelas and the church. The sportsplex wasn't there long. We went shopping for my daughter's first prom dress there.

[@jeffdillon1972]

I had to check and make sure I didn't take the wrong meds when I started watching this. This must be what shrooms are like. WOW, that is a trip - a mall design only my triplet toddlers could love. Yuck, what a design mess. great video tho - keep it up, Kristen!

[@UniCommProductions]

It’s a “fun” design but it’s so far from timeless and it’s jarring-color has such a profound effect on mood and I imagine when that place was busy that all the crazy colors stressed people out! Thank you for watching!

[@jeepguy220]

production quality even better, like fine wine it just keeps getting more superb!! that mall makes me think of alice in wonderland , the interior designers must have injected some serious acid!! not mall like to me, I like late 1960s Sears architecture, old school proprietary signage and and differing store facades!! this mall is like going down the rabbit hole!

[@UniCommProductions]

I think “Sensory Overload” is a good way to describe it lol and thank you for watching!

[@WhittyPics]

It looks very similar to Concord Mills in Concord NC. I assume both were built by the same developer. Concord Mills stays packed and all the spaces stay full. You can't get in that place on the weekend. I guess it all comes down to location. They have pulled up most of the hardwood floors that were there when it opened. I hate that. I thought the hardwood floors is what made the place.

[@WhittyPics]

Carolina Mall in Concord is DYING. They have dry walled over a lot of the empty stores. The Sears space hasn't been walled over and you can look inside the former store

[@kriscynical]

I live in DFW (Arlington specifically) where we still have a booming mall with The Parks at Arlington, but apparently our Grapevine Mills is still doing okay, too.

[@UniCommProductions]

I really want to visit one that is thriving, because I’ve only been to their 3 misfires!

[@kriscynical]

@@UniCommProductions You'll have to try and make it down here sometime! Our Mills property is actually getting a brand new Meow Wolf location next month, too. It's a shame you weren't able to see the two Arlington malls that The Parks slaughtered, Forum Mall and Six Flags Mall, in their dead stages, morphing, and ultimate demolition. Forum in particular was one of those dark, low ceiling cave malls that was just... creepy. A few years before it was demolished, it turned into a flea market called Festival Marketplace that was a haven for knockoffs and stolen stuff to the point that in high school we always said they had the "hottest deals in town". The Dillard's that was still attached to the mall became a Dillard's outlet which was colloquially known as "Dirty Dillard's". 😂

[@meepinandmorpin]

My first three jobs were at a Mills mall; Arundel Mills near Baltimore.

[@patriickbmartin]

I worked in a mills property from open for 3 years. It’s so weird how similar they look even this far in age

[@3229343]

Really Nice video!

[@jimgoodwin45]

I live about 30 min from the Mills and it was a favorite place to go in the holiday season. So sad to see how far it's fallen.

[@UniCommProductions]

I hope they can find success with this new concept but I think its days as a "shopping destination" are over.

[@nintenprincess4947]

I grew up with this mall along with the chesterfield mall and it is so sad to see it go... I remember it wasn’t doing so great back in summer of 2017 and we decided to visit one final time. This mall is so pretty and it will be missed.

[@UniCommProductions]

It’s really unique and I’m glad we got to preserve it for posterity

[@chall32]

Loving the drone footage 👍

[@UniCommProductions]

We have a pretty inexpensive drone and it did not disappoint! We’ve been very happy with it so far.

[@mike_mcgregor]

I lived close to the Pgh Mills and that makes this look like Sid and Marty Krofft designed this one. Same huge racetrack design problem where if you were at one end of the mall you really didn't want to walk to the other end but at least they toned it down a bit when they got to Pgh but the main complaint that it wasn't a Mills mall with the outlets go karts and all the other stuff they lied about but a regular mall. I missed the shots in the car at the beginning, that's my favorite part.

[@UniCommProductions]

They’ll be back! Honestly what happened this time was that I left the camera we use for those shots in the back of the car, and kept forgetting to get it back out when we stopped. :( I miss them too! This trip was a bit of a marathon 36 hours! As far as the mall’s design I think that stuck out to me with both PGH and STL Mills too-they’re a long haul around that place (I did a total of two full rotations around the mall while we were at each). If they’d doubled it on top of itself and made it two levels perhaps they would have fared better. Especially if you were dragging a toddler through there or were disabled in any way, that’s a LONG walk!

[@mike_mcgregor]

UniComm Productions Funny thing is that Zamias wanted to build a 2 story mall with half the footprint since the early 80s but they could never come up with the money until they scammed the mills into paying for most of it. Glad to hear that the car shots are coming back.

[@UniCommProductions]

Zamias built some gorgeous malls in PA!

[@Wotinnsstudiosproductioninc.]

3:49 there's a mirror art on the wall is a part of a theme food court and i take a photo of it in 2019

[@youtubasoarus]

I thought that mall looked very familiar, neighborhoods and everything. We have a mall up here in Canada in Vaughan, Ontario named Vaughan Mills... looks exactly the same. Turns out, same company! Always very busy up here though.

[@UniCommProductions]

There were 18 of what the Mills company called their “Landmark” collection which were the ones with “Mills” in the name, and to my knowledge 3 have been failures, a few more are what you’d say are performing only OK, and the rest are still doing fairly well (although Simon retained ownership and has been keeping those updated)

[@youtubasoarus]

@@UniCommProductions Very interesting. Just thought it was funny how the mall up here looks EXACTLY like that one. Haha. Literally copy - paste.

[@blandmalls]

The neighborhood at 11:20 is what this mall would look like if sold to Hull Property Group.

[@UniCommProductions]

I think the people at Hull might dissolve on contact if they set foot in this place.

[@syxepop]

Kristin (sorry I misspelled your name last time), it seems the mall that you were talking about in 10:52 (the one in The Meadowlands, NJ that The Mills tried to originate way back when) is finally opening in stages now in 2020. It is the mall I've wrote that would drop my local Plaza Las Americas into 16th largest In US. But what I, and probably you've read as well, is that the new owners are STILL having environmental issues (along with the not-so-ideal retail brick and mortar scene for individual chains to attract) to open one of the very few large new mall opened in US in the 21st Century.

[@UniCommProductions]

I unfortunately don’t have a lot of faith that the American Dream mall will succeed long term. The owners have had a lot of issues getting it completely full at opening, and that could end up being a turnoff for people

[@syxepop]

@@UniCommProductions - That's what I've read as well. They should've taken the hint from the late George Steinbrenner (back then owner of the NY Yankees) when someone tried to put an MLB team in that same Meadowlands neighborhood: FUGGETABOUIT!!! (the stadium was to be ~ 15 minutes S of Yankee Stadium, maybe even on the same lot as the American Dream / Xanadu Mall).

[@syxepop]

@@UniCommProductions - Kristin, it seems Jake Williams (Bright Sun Films - Toronto, ON) took the American Dream Mall as ABANDONED and gave it an update ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHa2oqeJhqybnqc ) with the proper treatment. Since we were conversing several months about that mall I wanted you (and our audience who've stumble upon this) to see it, if you haven't already.... Even MORE PROBLEMATIC is that its' owner (same as the The Mall Of America ADM just passed in size) will start building one soon in Hialeah Gardens, FL (one of the two Cuban-centric towns inside Miami) and are ALREADY IN A FINANCIAL PICKLE. Sound familiar???

[@russellmurray3964]

@@UniCommProductions Not to mention that it opened just as COVID hit, a textbook example of unfortunate bad timing. It didn't have that great of a chance in the best of circumstances, and the broadside it has taken from COVID probably takes its chance of survival down to nearly zero.

[@jeee1074]

It is so crazy that Simon went to extreme white from the multicolored scheme that Mills Malls started with. Sadly the few untouched Mills Malls like this one are dead.

[@UniCommProductions]

Unfortunately. The three I know of that are still Super Mills are all dying/dead.

[@jeee1074]

@@UniCommProductions I live about 45 minutes from Katy Mills. They bleached the entire mall interior except for the bathrooms. It is crazy that the parts of the mall that needs the most attention, is still intact. The interior mall still looked very good before the remodel except for the restrooms.

[@BrandonClaridge]

​@@jeee1074 The same thing happened with Grapevine Mills as well, with respect to changing the color scheme to something more neutered. Both Katy and Grapevine are great examples of thriving Mills malls, of course.

[@ambervictoria11]

2000s aesthetic

[@jeffbarnes54]

It would be great if on that digital sign at the beginning it said "Now Playing" Revenge of the Nerds 2

[@le351a]

Namdar Realty Group Sounds like a spin off of moonbeam Capital investment group!

[@UniCommProductions]

They’re nearly as bad

[@w.s8676]

Amazing something so huge like a mall can die so slowly and painfully

[@tammybrown4901]

Northwest plaza was a great mall now

[@tammybrown4901]

Never got to go

[@Johnnybomb1]

Remixed version of Labirinth Zone at the ending ! 😁

[@UniCommProductions]

Sonic the Hedgehog had THE BEST music

[@porshawalker5298]

They should move this Mall To CHICAGO this is a good Looking Mall tho.

[@UniCommProductions]

The Chicago Metro has a mall similar to this it’s called Gurnee Mills

[@wooo9279]

I find it so interesting to see all these failing mills malls. It’s sad don’t get me wrong, but super intriguing to see how the failure of this company affected people all around the country. It seems like they created amazing memories for those of us that could experience the malls at their peaks. I practically lived at the Pittsburgh Mills (worked there and just spent my free time there) and the build/look is so similar to this I feel like I could almost say I’ve been to this mall! I can’t lie, I think the look of these malls are awesome, but I can see where other people don’t like it.

[@UniCommProductions]

It feels like the Mills malls are kind of tied to us as Millennials because they opened during our prime mall-going years. This one was so over the top; I recognize that's tacky and impractical but I just love the hell out of it.

[@wooo9279]

UniComm Productions Oh my goodness no I completely agree with you I have the same feelings towards it

[@BrandonClaridge]

I'll admit, the interior of this mall reminds me of my local Mills mall, Grapevine Mills, before Simon changed the color scheme as part of a renovation a few years ago. It still looked a lot like this, color-wise (albeit as a thriving mall), when I remember visiting during my college years (mid-2010s).

[@ryanj8456]

This looks a lot like the Pittsburgh mills mall, same shape and similar colors

[@Wesley_C]

Oh wow, now it feels like a ghost mall, that's why, these stores are all retiring.

[@UniCommProductions]

It’s been closed for about a year; this video was shot in summer 2019

[@wubbzyandsesamestreetfangirl]

I love the pbs kids area

[@jimmyjoseph51]

There are many different reasons why these Malls fail. For some it's financial, others it's cultural surroundings and the one that more than likely killed The Mills... Location. This Mall was built in the middle of nowhere and was too out-of-the-way for most people to enjoy. Had it been built closer to the central population of St. Louis County it may have survived. Really sad to see these Malls fall victim to poor decisions.

[@CadetBoneSpurs]

What I don’t get is why even have it open? If there are zero retail? Isn’t it just an insurance liability at that point ?

[@UniCommProductions]

It’s not really open anymore to my knowledge; they’ve begun converting it into a sort of “kids sports convention center”

[@CadetBoneSpurs]

@@UniCommProductions I have a sorted history with Mills malls… 😆😆 Katy Mills mall was built 4 years after I left for college( I was in college for 6 years whatever!), but I can still remember hearing my dad tell me on the phone how big and amazing it was inside when he went to the first opening…and I only ever went back maybe a hand full of times, and then moved to Grapevine and got to experience Grapevine Mills, if you could call it that 😆 ….we moved to Oregon in 2016..and the last time I’d been to GMM was probably 5 years prior and it was all but dead then..on a Saturday no less.

[@alexlenada9185]

What brings you to MO?

[@UniCommProductions]

This mall! :D

[@alexlenada9185]

Did you check out any other dead malls on the way here?

[@UniCommProductions]

We did, between Ohio and STL there are several! I wish we’d had more time but we both are M-F folks!

[@snakeboren4814]

KZbinR MALL AHOLIC TOLD ME A JOKE.. WHAT DO U CALL 365 CONDOMS??.. A GOODYEAR!!!

[@UniCommProductions]

LMAO! MallAholic is on our discord too!

[@snakeboren4814]

@@UniCommProductions 👍!!! 🎸... ROCK ON!!!!

[@snakeboren4814]

👍👍!!!

[@dirtypaws6328]

Gurnee Mills ain't so millzy

[@anthonyroman11]

Can I still go throughout the mall?

[@UniCommProductions]

I was just discussing that with someone and to be honest, I'm not sure. It is officially closed for remodeling but since I'm not local I couldnt say if it's possible or not for someone to sneak in there or not.

[@fritzfaust3644]

@@UniCommProductions I'm not sure, I've never tried to get in the last few times I've been around it but there seems to be minimal if any work on this rumored sports complex when just gazing through the windows.

[@danielmarsala849]

Simon-sensible

[@christinacope562]

So the wrecking ball has begun demolishing here already? Looks in way better shape than Cincinnati's. So many retail stores, malls going under as there's no more disposable income as the middle class shrinks. And most mass produced merchandise is meh.

[@UniCommProductions]

It will at the end of August. It’s closing on August 31st.

[@Kevincrow420]

Plus we buy all of our stuff on Amazon now so we don't even have to get out of our pajamas!! Yeah!

[@tammybrown4901]

How did it not last 17 yrs.short lived