The Spirit of the 1980s Lives on at the Wakefield Mall! It's Like a Time Capsule!

[@Dwoalin]

Wakefield Mall! I grew up going to this store 🥰 Walden Books, KB Toys, etc. I remember where Jennifer's Chocolate is would be where you could buy balloons, etc. POW! used to be the KB Toys and then Walden across from there. I think that former Olympia Sports store was a music store called Record Town. I remember the last time I went there was maybe around 2007. I remember picking up a copy of Mike Tyson's Punch Out from there during my childhood if I recall. I believe the Cherry & Web was where the Nail & Spa location was. I haven't been in the Wakefield Mall in probably close to 20 years. This was nice to see and thank you for exploring it ❤

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for the info and for watching!

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

I want a mall hallway style like this to visit in my area so bad!!!! These smaller “stuck in time” malls are amazing! 🎉

[@cairnmom3228]

You were in my neck of the woods! Yes, Critter Hut was a pet supply store. Used to have a nice record store there. Glad you enjoyed the visit.

[@fleabittenadventures]

It was fun to visit a mall that didn't look like every other mall I've been to.

[@sarahdanielle7591]

I’ll admit I’m addicted. lol I love everything you do on here. :) Definitely my speed and my kinds of things too :)

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks! I appreciate it!

[@charlenecarpenterfb8277]

I watch you every night! Thank you for all the great videos.

[@fleabittenadventures]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching

[@brittl1414]

I believe the sports goods store used to be an FYE store, and before that, it was Record Town! 🤩 You could buy all sorts of music there, thinking about it brings back great childhood memories ❤

[@timothyryan7234]

Hi Tom, thank you for showing. That mall is awesome. Just the kind I like and that’s great that the owners are taking good care of them. I would love to have one of those around here. Well, thanks again. Tom appreciate your videos all of them. I enjoy all of them. I just started watching the your other channel there where you’re walking on the trails through the state park I believe so thanks again take care God bless

[@BlackArroToons]

An interesting smaller scale mall but looks like a lot of stores along the way during that Christmas 2024 season. Good video, thanks Tom. Glad to see the book store there too.

[@envylawnlandscapes181]

Me and my Wife Grew up in Wakefield and Used to Meet Up there When we were kids'. There Used to be One of those Piture booths in the Mall we took Pitures in. My Wife Kept the pics all these years until we meet up again 20 yrs later and Got back Together! Lots a Good Memories at The Wakefield Mall'. Thank You For Coming Here and Doing the Video'.. Aaron & Sunshine" 👨‍❤️‍👨

[@georgef551]

That's the second smallest mall I've seen, although it's Mall of America size compared to the smallest. I mentioned it before, it's where Marshall's is 1 mile west of Whitney Field on Route 2/ 12 intersection, forgot the name, because it closed in the 80s. It had a whopping FIVE stores. Marshall's the anchor, two stores on the right (ultimately became Blockbuster Video, walled off, now a medical clinic), two on the left, first store being Prime Value Mart (same company as Service Merchandise), and one in my life was always vacant. It became another junior anchor, and walled off from the mall. Ultimately, the mall's corridor became the entry, and checkout for Marshall's itself, still to this day. When you enter the door, it's narrow, then opens up to the store itself. The narrow section was the tiny mall, probably 60 feet from the front door, to where Marshall's original entry was.

[@fleabittenadventures]

That is small! Central Vermont Marketplace / Berlin Mall in Vermont is pretty small too, the mall part that is, not including the anchor stores.

[@johnfronczek2658]

I knew the Wakefield Mall very well. In the summers of 2000 thru 2002, I worked at that Shaw’s Supermarket. I also used to shop at the Waldenbooks and F.Y.E./ Record Town stores. I am glad this mall is doing well.

[@feelerino]

This guy has no idea how much happier he makes my lunchtime

[@fleabittenadventures]

I do now. Thanks for watching!

[@PandoricaLost]

What a nice little mall! I love all the nicely decorated trees...definitely gives a retro vibe.

[@deathminder9206]

So funny. That is exactly where I went to in the book store. Sci Fi then over to the sports section.

[@Bigdreamer83]

I love this mall tom such a nostalgic feeling that I crave thank you for making this video.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@BMadden225]

I love the ceiling mirrors! The Jefferson Valley Mall used to have a mirrored ceiling in the food court. My friends and I used them to have mirror fights. No looking down! Fond memories :) Great work, love your channel

[@wbride]

I used to go here in the 80's and my favorite stops were Walden Books and Woolworth's, which you could enter from the Mall, just where you pointed out the wall for the Shaw's supermarket is now. I also remember the pet store and there was a CVS there at the time. How nice to see a nicely maintained little mall with customers! Thank you for this trip.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks! These little malls are getting very hard to find nowadays!

[@agoodlifelived]

What a great little mall! Thanks for the great video 🙂

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for watching!

[@dillonthekid]

love these mall videos!!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy them!

[@TheHORRORman]

I love this window display! This was a nice blast from the past! I haven't been to this mall in years. Last time I went, there was still an FYE. Had to be nearly 20 years ago. This was so cool to see. Great video!

[@BasementBrandon]

Before Critter Hut they also used to have a collectible toy store (and maybe comics) there. Can’t recall the name offhand.

[@matthewdegraide2875]

A couple of years ago my son attended a birthday party for a friend at POW Science. Very cool place!

[@nutmegcollectables1746]

The Hallmark store Westfarms Mall is closing and had 75% off ornaments. I saw plenty of Star Trek there a few days ago.

[@AragornArathorn-s6d]

Never heard of this mall and I've lived in RI my entire life

[@fleabittenadventures]

It seems to be a very local mall.

[@Mark-1111-]

where Planet Fitness is that used to be Stop & Shop and on the opposite side was Woolworth as anchor stores. Both were open to the mall too! back in the mid-80s I worked at Stop & Shop on my summer vacations. they had stores like Chess King, Weathervane and Walden Books which still may be there as I haven't finished watching your video yet. Thanks 🙏 so much for sharing and bringing back great memories

[@ruthmarland835]

I loved The Weathervane! I couldn’t remember the store thanks for posting it! 1870~1987 loved residing in Narragansett, RI❤

[@ruthmarland835]

*1972😅

[@Mark-1111-]

@@ruthmarland835 I remember those years too as a child and young adult it was a seasonal Town not year round like it is now.

[@DarcTsukichi]

There used to be a Waldenbooks there too

[@michaelseymour7211]

I freaking love this mall! It's inviting, it feels like home,it sports a quaintness that is endearing and I'd spend hours just drinking it's atmosphere. It few stores I'd be interested in but as it sits it has a decent balance of stores and very little in repetition. I give it a five out of five yet with consideration for improvement. I feel it just a tad too small and that anesthetized hallway really needs improvement though keeping their Bulletin Boards. I now something on a bucket list.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I agree! It's a great little mall.

[@lynnekern3998]

Pow Science is a wonderful store for children interested in the sciences. Their first store was in Middletown, RI, and we use to get alot of things there for our youngest child. I happy to see they're still going strong.

[@nicholaskalogris9985]

I love this video! We had similar malls which later turned into strip malls.

[@timothybrandriff6499]

Holy cow a Paper Store! I haven't seen one of those in at least 5 years!

[@PatSimmons-g4r]

The book shop looks great. I really liked the look of this mall.

[@fleabittenadventures]

It felt a lot like one of my local malls that sadly got turned into a strip mall in the late 90s.

[@peterpanini7877]

Fashion bug and a bookstore was in there. A smoke vendor

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for the info and for watching!

[@thomasmillet3933]

Yes, you could enter the Woolworth throught the mall. There was a radio shack where the toy store is. The very last store was NHD.

[@vincently1995]

Oh boy, what a amazing place!

[@madmerlot841]

Very well maintained mall if a bit dated. Great video.

[@jenniferburchill3658]

I just enjoy the ambient sounds from the mall itself!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Me too, except when it's drowned out by music. Luckily that wasn't the case here.

[@Foxonian]

You could have asked if they could have sold you the display Excelsior you had in your hand. I noticed that several other display ornaments were missing, so might might have been able to get it.

[@Madness832]

I think you should've done a walkthrough of that POW Science store.

[@RomanDiaries]

Agree, it looked amazing!

[@moflow99]

Was going to make this same comment 😄

[@fleabittenadventures]

Next time....

[@phoenixaki3458]

That bookstore is cool! The problem I have is that since so much of the world is digital and online now, I find it hard to disconnect and just read something physical, especially since a lot of the time, the stuff that exists in physical printed books can be found online easily. I sort of wish I grew up in the era before internet so that I could more easily experience the feeling of needing to buy a book to read what's in it without having the option of googling around instead. (I'm 29, for reference, iPhones and whatnot came into existence when I was entering high school)

[@Slane583]

I like how the toy store is called POW! Science! I also like the brick facia along with the shaped brick framing around the windows. The 80's feel inside is nice and it's maintained. Newer malls with their modern design and clean looks aren't bad but they can get boring after a while. Some older malls, while dated, still have an awesome look to them. But some malls just looked ugly from the start. When our mall still had a Service Merchandise store in it they had the coolest entrance IMO. It was a big mirrored arch with red neon lighting it up. :)

[@fleabittenadventures]

It really did feel like being back at the mall in the 80's or early 90s.

[@Slane583]

​@@fleabittenadventures I bet it had a good nostalgia feeling to it. Our mall still has its' same pink marble from when it first opened in the 80's. But they've tried to freshen it up here and there over the years. Still not as many fun stores like it had when I was growing up though.

[@danielboguse4249]

This reminds me of the original outlet mall the we had here in Kenosha Wisconsin.

[@zabukazar]

Up until about 2020 there were some vintage 1980's era booths along the windows down by The Planet Fitness. Probably a remnant from Papa Ginos.

[@fleabittenadventures]

That would make sense if there was a Papa Gino's there. They probably took them out because there aren't any restaurants left.

[@moflow99]

That place really puts the mall in small 😉

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes. It's easily in the top 3 smallest malls I've ever been to.

[@GoldmineVideoLoot]

I like that Mall Tom! Thats my kinda mall!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Me too!

[@johnnydice]

The Paper Store used to be a CVS/pharmacy. CVS would move to a free-standing location with drive-thru nearby. The Planet Fitness was an NHD Hardware Store in the 80s.

[@ezrawilson6986]

Go back the day after Christmas and you’ll find a vast difference in the prices of the ornaments.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, but sadly all the ones I wanted were sold out. I'm sure I'll find them at a flea market some day for $3.

[@0525ohhwell]

That is a very interesting mall. It sorta looks like they originaly made a strip mall but enclosed the front of it for the cold weather

[@fleabittenadventures]

I think that's what they did originally, then added the other stores in 1980.

[@dewyduster]

You should speak more about the smells of the mall... That's a big memory trigger for me. The smell of carmel corn gives me flashbacks to the Chapel Square Mall in New Haven.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Interesting. I never really thought of that. Most of them smell like nothing at all....

[@enigmagreg]

Crazy how these videos remind me of Bland and Bankrupt's travels through ex-soviet Russia

[@fleabittenadventures]

I wish my videos got as many views as his do.

[@designyourcards]

We no longer have any stationery stores in my area that paper store looked awesome.

[@fleabittenadventures]

We have very view. I haven't seen a Hallmark store, or one like it, for a while.

[@TheSkittlesrock]

It's awesome.. paper store in Wakefield mall is getting a remodel right now.

[@Feaster1026Productions]

Fleabitten Adventures Tom, why do you think Barnes and Noble is the only major bookstore in your area? What if you included Books-a-Million?

[@fleabittenadventures]

We don't have Books a Million where I'm from, at least not that I've ever seen. I'm in Connecticut.

[@OriginalNethead]

FYI - Namdar just bought Buckland Hills. It WAS in trouble. Now it's in big trouble. Hallmark ornament prices have gone crazy. They were bad 20 years ago when I stopped even looking for them. I never bought anything in a Hallmark store until after Christmas. Wakefield looks like someone actually cares. That's how it's going to survive.

[@Cureguy1]

I frequent this mall a lot. Paper store is good along with Wakefield Books. I think its very small size is also a contributing factor to its success. The public bathrooms however need a serious overhaul.The last time I went in there it was a s*%$storm of epic proportions. It was literally everywhere, and pretty traumatizing. Use the Panera Bread bathroom if you really need to go while you're there. Very clean.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I did use the bathrooms and they could have been nicer. That was the only downside.

[@Cureguy1]

@ I agree and really like going to this mall. Got to spend some cash on refurbishing them though, really no excuse for them being that bad.

[@danieldesiata5560]

Where second time around sports is, the half of the store closest to planet fitness was an FYE in the early 2000's. That's where I would buy my cds.

[@Ericsportstechpro]

I remember going to this mall for my birthday party in 2nd grade in 2011 at Pow! Science and been to pow science a few other times. Even though I’m from RI, I don’t typically go down to the Narragansett area as I prefer Newport

[@RomanDiaries]

I like this mall, it has a good vibe.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I thought so. Thanks for watching!

[@harrisonhanson2998]

You can order em online now for 1/2 the price

[@fleabittenadventures]

I looked, but the ones I'm looking for are sold out.

[@rhombusm3657]

Do Lincoln Mall (renamed to Lincoln Commons) in Lincoln, RI next.

[@davemoffett3657]

my Wife and I live in Madison Wisconsin. We worked for Jeff.

[@adamcromwell2898]

Yes I'm a Star Trek fan also I could keep going but I think thats enough.

[@Tech_and_cats_and_bits]

The Fox Run Mall in Newington NH had a mirrored ceiling like that in the food court during the 80's/90's. Thanks for these videos.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I didn't know that the Fox Run Mall had a ceiling like that. Cool! Thanks for watching!

[@stphinkle]

At Time 5:39, you mention "Unlike some other mall owners I wouldn't mention". I have a guess who those might be: Moonbeam, Namdar, Kohan, CBL, et al.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Good guess

[@stphinkle]

@@fleabittenadventures The reason I guessed those are they are considered the "slumlords" of the shopping mall industry by a lot of dead mall channels including Fleabitten Adventures, Ace's Adventures, Sal, Doomie Grunt, This is Dan Bell, WallieB26, and others by the number of malls that they let fail. I would put Moonbeam on the top of the slumlord list because many of their malls are not doing well, and three of them they ran into the ground and let rot, and the malls had to be demolished with taxpayer dollars. The others seem to do a poor job at filling their spacs.

[@emocobra666]

My dad got t the st ship and I get most of the star ones each year

[@fleabittenadventures]

I'll probably find it at a flea market eventually.

[@adamjkel7]

It’s more of a plaza/tannery, not so much a “mall”. Neat little place though! 😊

[@danieldesiata5560]

My first ever job in high school was at the mcdonalds in the parking lot of this mall.

[@JDonahue79]

I’m sure Namdar is one of these companies that don’t care about the malls they run. If Enfield Mall was owned by a local business like this mall is, I’m sure Enfield mall would have been different and as successful as this one.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Good guess. Yeah, things would be different if someone else owned Enfield Square Mall.

[@SHADOSTRYKR]

Actually 🤓 it’s the Enterprise B! Haha. Not cheap at $35. I have gotten into collecting the older Hallmark Star Trek ornaments that plug into a string of lights instead of battery powered. The detail on the new ones is much better though

[@fleabittenadventures]

You're correct, but it is an Excelsior class ship, so I'm not completely wrong.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Had to watch this one three times now! These types of old school hall malls are so hard to find!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yeah, the only other one i think I've filmed is the Central Vermont Marketplace / Berlin Mall. I think most of them have been demalled.

[@livonian]

11:50 "could order them online.." 🙄T F dude, buy something, support the mall 💪

[@fleabittenadventures]

They didn't have the one i wanted in stock. Buying it there was not an option

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Tom! Do you remember the Johnson smith things you never knew existed novelty catalog? All those little novelty toys were awesome! Johnson smith went out of biz a few years ago. Now Archie McPhee is the place for all those cheapo gag toys. If you ever come down to Myrtle beach… go to the magic shop at Broadway on the beach. The entire store is all that stuff! 🎉🎉🎉

[@fleabittenadventures]

Oh yes, I remember those catalogs. It was fun to see what ridiculous stuff they were selling, like the "personal massagers". Ha ha. I'll take a look if I'm ever down there. Thanks.

[@harrisonhanson2998]

Thats not a mall! It’s got like 3 indoor stores; a sports store, a paper store, & some science mall. Correction*** Olympias not even there anymore. Once it lost FYE & Hallmark was forced into being a paper store it wasn’t worth going to anymore.

[@fleabittenadventures]

It's a mall, just a very small one. They also call themselves a mall, so i say it qualifies.

[@joekopel]

So the sports store use to be a FYE and a Strawberries before that. Papa Gino's would have been located in the food court which now is shaws..