Vintage Malls of America Slideshow - Trip down Memory Lane 1950s-1980s!!

[@BillWillyBillyBill]

You showed my mall twice! The Willowbrook Mall was incredible in the 70s and 80s.

[@80sDECADEshouldNEVERLEFT]

Nice music and pictures😀😀

[@msredherring]

Did you notice how people dressed up to go shopping? Now people shop in their pajamas and sweats, yes a lost era in many ways.....

[@steelstreet3765]

msredherring I've seen some women shop in their panties but I don't report them

[@BillWillyBillyBill]

You bring up a good point. Back then, the mall sort of took the place of the town square as meeting place. Now, it's just about getting in and getting out.

[@reverendbluejeans1748]

Everyone is having fun.

[@wantingoneangel8976]

I remember 4 of those Malls from the 70s and 80s as a Child. I remember the Cherry Hill Mall because this Mall had a cage with birds inside it and one time there were animals on display in which my brother and I rode on the back of a large Turtle. Oh, what fun it all was:)! I also have fond memories of having Dinner with my Late Dad, Mom, and Brother in the Woolworth's Cafeteria in the Cherry Hill Mall. The hot cup of Egg Custard was my favorite dessert at Woolworth's Cafeteria:). I also remember the Valley Forge Mall with the "Wicks and Sticks" Shop in which my Late Grandparents bought me a Pink Unicorn Candle and a Cat Candle for my Birthday:). I just hope and pray that Online Shopping does not discontinue Malls of the 21st Century.

[@Meschell113]

What a FANTASTIC collection of malls, and not a single THUG in sight!

[@brianpan6453]

+Meschell113 , those two ladies with glasses, wearing brooches on their cloth coats and both carrying handbags had just robbed Woolworths.

[@alison2649]

Though sadly if you were young black or Hispanic kid unaccompanied by an adult they just sort of automatically singled you out & told you to leave. And we white folks were none the wiser.

[@ravvyj]

I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation.

[@alison2649]

I love love love this! I saw two of my home town malls in this,Lakewood & Cerritos Malls here in Southern California! The music was fun too,good job. I only wish the photos didn’t flash by so quickly.

[@ravvyj5403]

Alison H sorry....I did my best making this. I guess you could pause the video on the pictures you like best. Glad you enjoy it.

[@morbius109]

Shopping and just going to stores to look around were both much more fun in the days when I was a kid, back when shopping centers and malls like these were open and far more common. All those old, great department stores and smaller shops. Thanks lots, Walmart, for totally ruining retail in America, and what used to be a fun thing to do.

[@hebneh]

Unlike a lot of American shopping malls, Ala Moana Center in Honolulu continues to thrive and grow. But that's because it's in the middle of a densely populated city that hasn't collapsed because of the shutdown of a particular industry.

[@gravijiga]

My mother used to work at McCurdys in downtown Rochester. I used to got to Midtown all the time when i was little. So many nostalgic and surreal memories.

[@julieerin115]

The Mall---childhood memories

[@shannonm75]

Liking the music. 👍 I went to Big Town Mall a lot.

[@largol33t1]

1:10 - so many nice cars in the parking lot. I sometimes wish I had lived in the 1960s. If time travel was possible, I'd go back to that decade.

[@erikjohnson2976]

Cinderella City was definitely a product of the 1960's, but the photo you show of CinCity actually hails from about 1984 or so, if I remember correctly. I remember the reopening after an extensive remodeling, and the various parts of the mall were festooned with balloons, etc. This is when the fountain succumbed to the food court on the lower level, adjacent Cinder Alley. CinCity was very busy and vibrant around the time of the re-opening but quickly caved to other malls such as Southglenn Mall and Southwest Plaza. A decade later, and it would be dead. I spent an hour walking through the mall about a week before the place closed and it was like a ghost town, with only a handful (maybe 10) shops still operating. How times have changed.

[@TonyMontoya]

Erik Johnson Plus not to mention Cinderella City Was In Colorado Not California! As it says!

[@whitewitchoz]

Wow...that blew my mind...not only was the 1950s - the 1980s the most prosperous era of our time. The music and the architecture went through a Renaissance as well. ....My screensaver is the picture of the Altamont Springs Mall........

[@ravvyj]

@Dunes I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've realized that there is a cult following for vintage malls. I miss the great era of malls. I only got to enjoy it as far back as the 80s. I too miss Woolworths!!

[@gli7utubeo]

Excellent collection!! Thanks!

[@MisterEsoteric]

Wow..Watching this collection play through was a sad, melancholy experience. Really bespeaks of a fading era, a time of great prosperity in post war America. We all took it for granted, but the shopping mall became an integral part of American life. Malls alre largely responsible for the erosion of Small town central business districts. Now, Walmart is doing the same thing to Malls. The relentless tempo of the disco music aids in the sadness of this forgotten aspect of consumer culture

[@markruane3660]

the architecture of some of these malls are incredible the people who built these malls really wanted to make an impression on people when they walked in.

[@brianpan6453]

Woolworth's always had the best lunch counters with fantastic food. Almost all department stores had restaurants (usually called tea rooms) on the top floor that also served delicious food served by waitresses wearing the stereotype white apron and peaked cap. This all disappeared in the very early 80s. I really miss those days - you could eat quite well for not very much money. The stores made their money by pulling their customers up to the top, then back down to the first floor after lunch with opportunities to shop on every floor.

[@honorheroismo7308]

memories

[@juelzm149]

That was awesome! Just wished the pics went by a touch slower so I could look a little longer 😊

[@Sp00kyBlueGhost]

Adjust your speed settings

[@bizzo518]

pause it, lol

[@alfyryan6949]

put it this way, it matches the '70s soundtrack 😂

[@jimcook2715]

I lived right next to King of Prussia Mall in 80 81 literally 100 yards from the entrance. Made many friends there before I moved back to Chicago. Who are still friends to this day even though the mall has changed a great deal

[@matthewnorman3411]

cool music.

[@lindseym9535]

Great video, thanks for putting it together! Very cool!

[@MrGchiasson]

I grew up in the 60's...young worker in the 70s and 80s...then the mid 90s hit and things began to unravel. We took so much for granted...such as 'jobs would always be plentiful, money & pay raises were expected... We thought we knew what was going on... then we saw a lot of jobs disappear, recessions, sub prime loan scams, etc etc etc... We took 'the good life' for granted. We wee watch as it all simply goes away with the bulldozers. In the Atlanta, Ga.area, they're spending a lot of money trying to upgrade some local malls..but it isn't working. The shoppers go to look,rather then spend money...

[@ravvyj]

That's really sad. Truly a death to retail. Those were the good ol days in the 50s to 80s. In the 90s...it all went downhill.

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

ravvyj in some cases, it started earlier. Dixie Square, where the Blues Brothers was filmed, was closed in late 70's, due to "external depreciation." That means the area around it went to hell, and is considered incurable in real estate. The mall was only open 15 years, and abandoned for 25 more.

[@felix121984]

You wore smelly Sperry Docksiders/Topider deck/boat shoes in the eighties ?

[@leannbrooks218]

I love the music with this! Good job on all of it :)

[@ravvyj5403]

Leann Brooks thank you. I did my best to use music to capture the era. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@luisbohorquez7096]

GQ "Disco Night"

[@gli7utubeo]

GREAT COLLECTION!!! Loved to see the open air Garden State Plaza. (Lorrys!)

[@ravvyj]

Hi Julia - thanks for enjoying my video. To answer all your questions; I found nearly all of these pics on a website Blog called Vintage Malls of America. It hasn't been updated since 2007. I'm not aware of any book on the subject either. But essentially, all I did was put the pics in a slideshow and add music to it. I love malls too! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

ravvyj there IS a photography book on the disintegration of Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. It was closed two years prior to the Blues Brothers movie. Watch it frame-by-frame, and you'll see how low-bubgetly you can make a fake functional mall.

[@brianpan6453]

The 60s and 70s were such innocent times. I bet you could use any bathroom you wanted to in these malls.

[@notsoseriousmoonlight]

I worked at the Southland Mall from '89 - '92. Great vid!!

[@dadgonegamer2654]

Gulfgate mall was abandoned and demolished and now is a strip center with an Old Navy and a big chain grocery store and several stores surrounding it. The last experience I had at Gulfgate was when Service Merchandise was having a liquidation sale.

[@erykasfamilyblog5073]

love this

[@Dunes]

Wow,great slideshow you got there. It must've been great to shop at malls like that back then. Some of them even had a woolworth's(I miss that store along with a few others.)great trip down retro lane.

[@dharmaseed]

03:10, upper level, Musicland. Bought my first LP there in 1980, The Beatles' 'Rock 'n' Roll Music, Volume 2. Unfortunately, Lakeside Mall is now a hollow shell of its former self, thanks to another shopping mall down the street. Somerset Mall in Troy is now closed, and Fairlane Town Center is not far behind. Thanks very much for the memories.

[@PC-bh9te]

Thanks this slideshow is great! I didn't know Garden State Plaza had an open air area in the 1970s! And Willowbrook Mall in Wayne NJ-- They had those round payphone kiosks all over that mall. Those phones would ring at random and me and my friends would answer them-- it would usually be prank callers. We'd also copy down some of those phones numbers and call ourselves when we were home and bored out of our minds. A few times we ended up making friends with the teenagers who answered and they'd come over to our house. I guess this was the late 1970s version of texting etc. Willowbrook also had a great arcade called "Fun 'n' Games" and a smaller arcade inside the mall. Basically if you were a teenager in Northern NJ before the internet & smartphones Willowbrook Mall was the place to hang out.

[@ravvyj]

Glad you enjoy the slideshow!!

[@blakeadonna1970]

There was this place in Ohio, Westland Mall. By the time I was born, the place was already a shell of its former self, but me and my friends still hung out there, with half the stores closed and all but one anchor mall still remaining. It was kinda fun, running around the mall with barely anyone else around. Now it's shut off to the public, and all there's left is a giant empty mall and a Sears.

[@MK_337]

Great video. Thanks for posting

[@ravvyj5403]

Matt glad you enjoyed it!!

[@candievermeulen3709]

Great job on this

[@ravvyj5403]

CANDIE VERMEULEN thank you!

[@angieperez6152]

I'm from Waco, Tx and the lake air mall was where my parents would take me shopping as a baby at the Golstein-Miguel store. There's a couple other pictures of it that I've seen back when it was in its heyday- it really was a beautiful mall! There was also a theater attached to it. Now there's a tiny struggling strip mall anchored by a Super Target in its place. The old structure was demolished about ten years ago. :(

[@mitsysjewlery]

Southdale is not the same as it used to be, but I am glad you included it because it was the first fully enclosed air conditioned shopping mall which was created by the Dayton Corporation.

[@SouthOCmixdown]

I get that Boards make hard choices &for the sake of profits &progress, sometimes the bulldozers must come. But, looking @some of these shots~ The architecture, the futuristic, mind-bendingly avante-garde design in the landings, beaming, lights, planters &fountains. The impact malls had on our cultural landscape is incalculable. They were essential timepieces that were ultimately valued less, than a damn Danish coffee table or swag lamp some hipster pays $1500 for now. What a lack of foresight.

[@enterprisingcaptian875]

It's amazing how fast most of these "upscale suburban neighborhoods" spiraled downward. About 15 years or so after Metrocenter in Phoenix was built it became a less than desirable area.

[@Polarcupcheck]

That is everything. None of these things were sustainable.

[@erikbaran7197]

Southdale Mall in Edina, MN, the first covered mall in the US, is still going strong.

[@ravvyj5403]

Erik Baran I think you may be mistaken. My understanding is the first covered mall in America is Northgate Mall in Seattle, Washington.

[@teddyjam8134]

Really enjoyed the video. The images move a little too quickly, but still really enjoyable.

[@ravvyj]

Sorry, I was quite new to this process of making slideshows when I made this.

[@teddyjam8134]

@@ravvyj no problem thanks for posting. 👍

[@mk202]

4:10 Northshore Mall is still going strong. I worked at a Benetton store there when I was 18. I miss Filenes!

[@hebneh]

A quick view of the evolution of American retailing. See how many Woolworth's there were? From a huge number of stores down to zero stores. And this also was the time of local department stores, which often ruled the retail scene in their respective cities, starting downtown, then shifting to suburban shopping centers, then closing down or being bought out. So it goes; nothing stays the same, and things change for all kinds of reasons.

[@Fersomling]

As opposed to "shopping centers," the first mall I was in was Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach in late 1966. It's also the first time I ever saw push-button phones.

[@markrocovich2234]

If you could have found any images of Northland Mall in Southfield No. from the 1960s, you would have seen an open-air mall that was one of the Flagship malls in the suburbs of Detroit...

[@jong2368]

Simpler times when consumers had money.

[@ravvyj]

@MisterEsoteric - So you enjoyed the show? I hope you did. It makes me sad too. But better sad than forgotten.

[@butterboiii9810]

What sucks is that most of these malls are now dead.

[@FerdinandMagellan08]

I loved the wonderfalls that you included at 6:17. I know they were featured at Dixie Square Mall but I didn't know if they ever went into any other mall or not.

[@Rlotpir1972]

Plymouth Meeting Mall: Fountain (Near Strawbridge and Clothier; Now Macy's) is still there.

[@jimcook2715]

Used to eat at The York steakhouse at Plymouth meeting Mall when I lived in Philly

[@vigo894]

0:43= Memories. 3:42= That mall still exists. Except, that Dillard's is now a Forever 21. And there's a Marble Slab near it's front at this moment.

[@Mylatenightvids]

The rent is too damn high !!!

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

Baystate West with offices(Dr. Paul McKenna, Orthodontist), Chauncy's(Tea Room) Steiger's.

[@BrettHornby]

Simply the glory days of the shopping mall and the kind or architecture seen then. All is now lost today with both internet shopping and peoples incomes not keeping up with inflation and cost of living.

[@ravvyj]

@retrounderground1 -- I think I've already joined it. If not, I will. Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed the slide show.

[@xtsubarublazin]

FYI, the image of Cinderella City Mall is not circa 1960s. The mall was built in 1968, but that picture is from the late 1980s.

[@aliec2689]

West farms mall Farmington ct has changed over the years

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

The former Omni International had an ice-skating rink!

[@PatrickMcCardell]

you should have The Mall in Columbia on here vary retro back till the 1999 but still have some of there vintage stuff like the big fountains and pointsetta tree around christmas

[@goodman68446]

nice

[@TheAudreyhorne77]

where did you find all these brilliant pictures? are there a photography book of the subject and if so which is the best? loving this video. i love malls!!!

[@SenileOtaku]

I am wondering though what is the dividing line between "shopping mall" as opposed to "shopping center/plaza"? Would a "mall" suggest inward-facing storefronts to a common corridor, atrium, etc? As opposed to stores facing outwards, usually only on one side of the complex, and individual entrances?

[@Dunes]

Hey,I just thought what great song would go with another of these flashbacks malls slide show. "Let's go to the mall today!"by Robin Sparkles,from the tv show How I met your mother. That would be a gas!

[@Imintune...]

Just changing with the times. Before it was shopping downtown before people moved to to burbs. Now online shopping dominated people spending habits.

[@exil3dlivecom]

Everything was taken for granted when everyone was little running with mommy in the mall. Damn... Meanwhile in Nigeria .... a prince wants to gimme free money!

[@ChristiRich]

The empty space between the stores of indoor malls is a lost art in modern retail. Now, every inch of the store has to have product or advertisment.

[@shawndavis6172]

i really miss dixie square mall

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

Are you sure about that? There was crime there right after it opened in 1968. It was barely open 15 years, and abandoned for 32. Rapes and murder took place directly on the property. It closed from "external depreciation." Meaning the area went to hell. It's considered incurable.

[@ravvyj]

@trancenode - I know! I was tying too fast and made a typo!! Hope you enjoyed the show!

[@2bin]

Man, Woolworth's was BOSS back then. How many malls can you count in the video that had it?

[@butterboiii9810]

2bin almost all of them. Even my local mall in Maine did. It’s now an old navy’s

[@72coronet10]

Alemonte Mall looks like Randall Park Mall.

[@buoyant69]

Conclusion: the Walgreens logo hasn’t changed a bit in 60 years.

[@steelstreet3765]

Why can't you hang out at the mall now a days it seems that security is always looking at people that hang around too long !!

[@Choices2aa]

Those were the days best times to be alive and I was an 80s kid the mall was the place to go and now everything is shit! There is nothing left and the internet killed everything and now malls are gone and pretty soon movie theaters! You can watch the movie even before it comes out! Every mall is dead! I miss the good days when everyone was alive and everyone had jobs and money! Now everything is stressful very stressful! I hate the new generation and they suck b/c they don't know how good we had it back then! So many memories faded and gone! SAD and Scary at the same time! What is happening to this country? Tower Records, Sam Goody, were my favorite stores now they are gone and I wish I had a time machine to go back in time I hate the 21st century!

[@ravvyj]

Fully agree with you! Malls are sad now -- but it wasn't always that way. I used to LOVE going from mall to mall. I still enjoy it, but the enjoyment has gone down. Walmarts, Powercenters, Amazon, Internet, and millennials have ruined what was once a great thing! Don't forget: Camelot Music, County Seat, numerous department stores, Montgomery Ward, etc etc etc.

[@nativetexanful]

I agree with you. I'm 52 years old, and remember the 70s and 80s vividly. They sure were better times. I want to go back so badly.

[@ravvyj5403]

nativetexanful what were the malls like in the 1970s? I do remember in the early 1980s, they were dim, Serene looking, and had a nice disco Ambiance to them. But suddenly in the mid-1980s, the change went to brighter more neon looking malls. What was it like in the 1970s when you start going?

[@nativetexanful]

Back then, they had more conservative décor. There also were more high end stores. Malls always had bookstores in them, which they don't have any more. Department stores had better displays in the windows and on the floors. They were done by real professionals in the old days. Also, people dressed up when they went shopping back then.

[@QBCNetwork]

Willowbrook's in Houston as well.

[@WisconsinCentralProductions]

S.S.Kresge (KMart) 3:57

[@verabrown2281]

these old empty malls can be made into apts. for homeless folks on our streets

[@doitperfect9420]

Where is greenspoint mall???!!!😧

[@erikbaran7197]

You think this was going to be every mall in the US? Here's yer sign.

[@TheWaxworker]

Great concept for a video, but the images move too fast. Not enough time to really digest the information or the images.

[@ravvyj]

Sorry about that, I'm fairly new to this. I did my best. I'll keep that in mind for next time I make a video. But just hit the space bar to pause it if you want to read the comments.

[@VolkswagenNut1969]

Great pics, but goes by way too fast! Can't really look at any of it.

[@ravvyj5403]

Just hit the spacebar to pause. That way you can take as long as you want to look at each picture.

[@retrounderground1]

I am luv Luv LUVVIN' this video! Please join our Facebook group: Dead Mall Enthusiasts. It is posted there. Thank you!

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

retrounderground1 note to dead mall enthusiasts and others, a broken escalator is NOT a set of stairs. Bad things can happen when you use them as such. They can lose brakes, sending you moving very fast backwards. They can collapse, see the poor woman in China who got eaten by one while with her kid. It's here somewhere. Not bloody. She was small, she just vanishes under the plates at the top of the stairs. The Chinese must be something else. When I found long video with audio, no one, including the woman getting eaten by an escalator, even raises her voice. Scared of escalators now? Most accidents are by workers or someone doing something stupid, like bring a large sheet of drywall on one. It got caught on the ceiling, the stairs split open, and that was the end of that guy. Didn't take nearly as long as Final Destination 3. Drunk people get it more often than not. But if escalators eat 27 people a year, elevator kill about half that, use regular stairs... only regular stairs kill 1,600 people a year! :)

[@iramoser6136]

But at least you get some exercise! ;)

[@miketwocoat]

Before corporations took over

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

stain n finish That's kind of inaccurate, don't you think? If people complain, then spend all their money at Wal-Mart or Costco, and online, whose fault is it really? :) Same with the concept of "Buy American."

[@iramoser6136]

I'm totally guilty of helping the local mall's decline. I practically *live* on Amazon. No worries about weather, parking or, dealing with other shoppers. Amazon was a lifesaver for me last year after I broke my ankle in late October. I not only ordered stuff like a walker (rollator type) and a cane, but also covers to keep the walker clean, and essential things like cat food that I just couldn't get otherwise. Last year I used it as a lifeline for goods, but most of the time, I'm just too lazy to go out to get what I want. ( I'm 57, so I know what the thriving mall culture was like in the late 70s to 80s.)

[@tak178]

I can tell you're a real peach at a party.

[@charliedavisthearchitect3874]

then weres Dixie square mall

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

I know quite a bit about that mall because of the Blues Brothers. It was closed and abandoned 2 years before the film. George Lucas trashed it, and the wing that was still being used never got fixed because Lucas screwed them out of the 90k, and I'm assuming fixing the damage. Of course, Harvey has a long history of corruption, which is saying a lot, being a 'burb of cheerfully corrupt Chicago, and Illinois. So maybe the money just walked off. However, in photos you can see all the damage clearly done by a car for yourself. Tire marks in the floor from the Dodge and so on...someday I'll ask a serious car dork of that matches the tires of a 74 Dodge sedan. None of the stores shown were in the original mall, minus David's Shoes, with the original sign (good trick, I thought, getting it to work :). I think they may have shown a Jewel's on exterior approach, which was there. The Toys 'R Us was a Walgreen's in reality. Hard to find are photos of the yellow, green, red and blue striped walls of the set, but they exist. The "Do you gave a Miss Piggy?" guy was the stunt coordinator. People were raped and murdered on. The. Premises. From what I understand in its later years. Only open about 15 years. Employees looted the place on the last day. The only items left were three waterlogged LP'S of "The Last Waltz," by the Band. If you're unfamiliar with Chicago or the area, it's not possible to be in Park Ridge (where they get stopped) and be in Harvey in 5 seconds. They're quite a ways apart. The grammar school they stole the PA speaker from was Oscar F. Mayer (still open, been open many years; yes, the meat company) in Lincoln Park.

[@SeanMauer]

music clashes with images.

[@ravvyj]

I'm sorry you feel that way. I thought the music was a good reflection of the era of these photos.

[@rezn66]

Wow way to just slap a slideshow together with categorical similarity... waste of data

[@slytherinstorm91]

What is Woolworths? It's in almost every video.... also most of these are sparsely populated... The malls I went to growing up were packed with people

[@KattyKoo-g5n]

Woolworth's was like a drug store. It had a lunch counter/cafe too. They pretty much used to refer to it as a dime store. Like a big version of Walgreen's, at least that's how I remember it.

[@KattyKoo-g5n]

Here's an old commercial...kind of a department store too lol kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWLEfnyVfMRoa6c

[@hebneh]

Woolworth's was the largest of what were called "five and ten cent stores", "dime stores" or in later years, "variety stores". These were chains that extended throughout many states and carried a big variety of inexpensive merchandise, mostly housewares. They usually also had food service, either at a counter or a sit-down restaurant. They started in the early 1900s in downtowns, then spread to shopping centers starting in the '50s, and today are all gone. But in their time they were major retailers throughout the USA, and very familiar to millions of people.

[@johnellizz]

yeah no. They didn't have malls in the 60's. It's a mandela effect.

[@charliedavisthearchitect3874]

dead malls

[@arizonagreg6965]

Not being disrespectful but where are all the blacks and Mexicans?

[@doitperfect9420]

Planet earth.

[@brianpan6453]

+Arizona Greg , in Mexico and Blacko.

[@elizabethtorresmoreno3886]

Doing lots of shopping in other countries and watching malls dissapear in the US !!!!

[@elizabethtorresmoreno3886]

+Brian Pan , living in European countries !!

[@alison2649]

Arizona Greg exactly