The History of Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix Arizona.

Metrocenter was a regional enclosed shopping mall in northwest Phoenix, Arizona. It was bounded by Interstate 17, 31st, Dunlap and Peoria Avenues. Before its closure, the three most recently open anchor stores were Harkins Theatres, Walmart Supercenter, and Dillard's Clearance Center; three additional vacant anchor stores included former Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's locations. The mall featured 100 stores, a 12 screen movie theater, and a food court. Since January 2021, the mall had been owned by the Carlyle Development Group based in New York City. The mall officially closed on June 30, 2020.

[@scottdunn2178]

Lots of great memories hanging out at Metrocenter and Golf & Stuff in the 70's and 80's...

[@jackietatum2245]

I drove past there about 6 months ago and zero demolition has begun.. the architecture at that mall is so grand! and, that weird building that is shaped like the "I Dream of Jeanie" bottle is still there! Iconic!!

[@Boarder4892]

Yeah I went there several times during the 2000s at least, and demolition was supposed to have started around summer last year, but what irritates me is and kind of bothers me as well. Is the Texas Roadhouse in that area I still every now and then go to when I order a meal through the app and when I drive around on that road by castles and coasters And I drive to Texas Roadhouse, it bothers me that it’s still a big, empty, and vacant building with no activity going around that’s still standing. It upsets me more to see it not demolished yet, and even though a degree of me will be incrementally sad when there is nothing but clear view across the entire way, I might actually feel better when it’s gone because I’m not driving by a big mall that is inside, that is still standing. I would rather be demolished and out of there to just have memories afterwards of, rather than just seeing it lifeless and inactive, and becoming more and more decrepit with no demolishing going on.

[@darynrussell2898]

News said demo begins in July 24,,asbestos stuff.

[@mmeter3]

I was in high school when they cleared out the cabbage field to start construction. Metrocenter was the place to hang out. 50 years ago.....

[@russberg900]

Chess King was my favorite in the 70’s!

[@gayle9428]

Saw the mall being built as we lived north of there. Used to shop at Christown before Metro openned. I remember how packed the parking lots were after they openned and every Christmas season. After about the mid-90s. Lots of Walmarts opened and noticed the mall traffic dropped a lot. A new demographic moved in or frequented around Metro, and the crime increased. Pretty much stopped going when favorite stores closed and it just wasn't fun to shop anymore. Had gone in maybe 5 times after moving closer to that area but it was after that first sale- around 2006. The stores had definately gone down-scale from there and a lot of storefronts stayed empty. A nice memory was me and my sister, or a friend, would stop at Cinnabons for coffee and a bun when shopping. Fave stores were Lerner's, 5-7&9, Butlers or Bakers Shoes, Goldwaters, Diamonds, Casual Corner, the Food Court. After Walmart was built out by our home, I would go there or Target and Kmart. I don't even go to those, now, unless I absolutely have to.😁Thanks for your detailed video!

[@echang1976]

thanks for sharing your memories

[@mikehenry4743]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="220">3:40</a>, Spencer's was one of the coolest stores with all the black light posters in the back.

[@shereekern6801]

So many great memories in this mall. The food court, the ice skating rink, golf n stuff eventually castles and coasters. My first kiss right in that castles and coasters arcade. The nostalgia will be with me forever. Thank you for this video ❤️❤️

[@echang1976]

thanks for sharing your memories

[@shereekern6801]

@@echang1976 ❤️❤️❤️

[@88detour]

Even though the Metrocenter neighborhood started to change economically. It still thrived through much of the nineties. I remember in the early 2000's the stores were packed especially during Black Friday. Most of the development around the mall started to die off around this time. Circuit City closed and Best Buy relocated to Thunderbird Rd in the mid to late 2000's.

[@bradbassett1240]

Metrocenter Cruising was EPIC!....Go Rockets!

[@jaymeswier1727]

The malls remains, still remain... the one thing I needed to stay was the movie theater. Now there are no movies to see in the neighborhood.

[@curteye22]

Not explained in the video: one big change the mall experienced in the early 90s was the ice skating rink was converted to a gigantic arcade. I rode my bike there many days during the summer just to hang out in the arcade.

[@jonaslynch1138]

Miss metro center 1981 ❤😊😢❤

[@Boarder4892]

I’ll be 42 in September and one of my closest friends for a little bit over 20 years now since I met him when I was around 18 and getting into skateboarding, coincidentally not too far around the time when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater came out. We went. I handful of times in the 2000s to Metrocenter to get food from the food court, we would visit Spencer’s, Hot Topic and Game Stop at least. Me and him had another friend of ours who I don’t remember why or when we stopped hanging out, but I think he eventually moved out of the neighborhood, but me and my friend Josh mentioned had a another Josh I believe a handful of years was a professional skateboarder, and then my Josh tells me that a handful of years ago he got out of that and got into designing skate parks themselves, but I want to say at least somewhere between the mid 2000 to early 2010, there was a two-story place in the mall called either Skate or Park or Skate Park 😂, and me and Josh I remember spending a short 10 to 15 minutes in there watching all of these other skaters that were anywhere from amateur and just starting out whether they be a little kids, teenagers or adults to people that obviously knew what they were doing 😄, and Josh thought it was too much for us, I don’t remember us staying that long, but I do remember years later at some point down the road, at some point in time I handful of years later after that, I remember me and him hanging out there for some reason, and I remember the handful of stores by that point in time they were closed and there was maybe a third of the stores closed at that point in time or just a smidge more than a third. A friend of mine who moved out of state a handful of years ago, but I’m still friends with them on Facebook and I still chat with them every now and then, I remember me and her seeing Isn’t it Romantic with Rebel Wilson and Jigsaw at the Harkins. The last time is doing anything in any kind of building attached to the mall itself. Now, if I’m ever around that area, seeing as I live in the middle of the city, and that several miles from where I live, even though a bar that I regularly go to on Saturday nights is not too far distance from that mall area, the only time I’m ever near the mall is when I’m picking up an order from Texas Roadhouse at the place itself that I ordered on the app prior, but I haven’t done that in a handful of months now. Construction was supposed to start last year after the, a fond farewell, last time festivity event which I was at and got a large shirt from along with that evening two final viewings of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but what upsets me more is because they’re behind on starting the demolition, it would actually, even though there would be a breaking down of knowing there’s no building there after demolition has ceased, and it’s just Clearview across the way, it actually upsets and bothers me more that the building is still standing because it’s lifeless and inactive and quickly, but surely becoming decrepit, especially with the homeless genre of people being around that area, I would honestly rather it be gone and just keep it in my memory and instead of driving past this huge building that was great, still standing there no activity going on with it.

[@MagnumMike44]

It's a shame all of the anchor stores that had occupied the larger spaces of the mall are no longer there. I also remember the Metro Lounge, it was a bar shaped like a TWA airliner fuselage on the second level above where the ice-skating rink was.

[@chicofromph33nix64]

I remember in 1999 me and a group of friends ditched Carl Hayden hs and jumped on the 35th ave bus to metro center. We took some lsd before we left school and kicked in on the bus. It felt like I was cruising in a huge toilet paper roll.. by the time we got there,we were all tripping and thought this was a good idea. We got inside and lasted a few minutes. We started freaking out thinking everyone in there knew we were frying. So we did what any normal person would do and started running while screaming our heads off.. we all got seperatated and lost,had to take bus home alone while peaking. Fun times.

[@echang1976]

Good times my friend

[@42luke93]

I went to Paradise Valley Mall. Sad it is demolished. People should spend their time outside shopping it is more fun than online.

[@Boarder4892]

Pardon me for asking because I’ve heard of them all before, and probably been to it at least once in my adult life, but where was Paradise Valley Mall located?

[@markandbettyjohnson5703]

@@Boarder4892 NW corner of Cactus and Tatum. Totally demolished now and renovations well under way for an urban village similar to what is planned for Metro but much smaller.

[@missfirenice1421]

I live up the street. It’s still standing.

[@Slash_rng]

My mom used to work there😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭