Dead Mall: Boulevard Mall - Amherst, NY

Dead Mall: Boulevard Mall - Amherst, NY. Built in 1962, this was the Buffalo area's first enclosed shopping mall. It did quite well until the Walden Galleria opened its doors. This mall still did well for years but still saw a decline. Within the last few years, there have been plans to redevelop this property, and as a result, leases have not been renewed, and little by little, the tenants are leaving. In January 2024, Boulevard Mall was empty. Majority of the people in the mall were mall walkers. There were 2 stores actively closing their locations at the time of my visit as well.
If you enjoy my content and wish to help make my channel grow, become a Patron! You can make a contribution at / wallieb26 .
There is no obligation, and I'm not asking you to! All proceeds go toward expenses involved in traveling to film for you guys. I do not make a profit. Thank you!
#deadmall #boulevardmall #buffalo

[@jasonwilliams6005]

My mall growing up. Worked at JC Penney there in the mid 90s and met my wife there.

[@WallieB26]

That's great to hear. I'm just sorry the mall will be closing in a way. Hopefully the plans will actually go through to keep it alive. I'm sure this mall was great in its heyday. Glad to hear about you meeting your wife there!

[@BuffaloChicken]

My Mall was McKinley.

[@SarahCScherer]

That was my late 90s mall too! Almost half my Sweet Home class left town for lack of jobs, including me. I didn't know how bad it got :(

[@jasonwilliams6005]

@@SarahCScherer I also went to SH. And as far as jobs, there are plenty. Just not at the mall 😁

[@melodybeitzel5378]

​@@WallieB26 There used to be a Carolina Circle Mall back in the 80s or so but it's been closed up for years but luckily we still have Four Seasons Town Center that's 3 floors

[@ronhoover5516]

Great video Wallie. I think, in general, the early 2000s were kind of the end of the golden years for many malls. The Great Recession of 2008, followed by the massive switch to online retail, and finally COVID were the body blows which did in malls such as these. I miss what these malls had for us and to this day there is an unfilled void that these places used to occupy. Maybe I'm overstating things but malls used to convey a warmth and sense of hope that seems somewhat missing these days. EDIT: Now I'm an old person who wants to be a mall-walker and now thee malls are disappearing left and right! I always thought I'd be that old guy having a McDonald coffee in the food court after my walk, but the food court (and the mall) are gone. Life's not fair I guess! LOL. Thanks for the video as always.

[@mrockstar4christ]

Nice comment sir, great way to view life. Back in the day everything was better, music, tv shows, even malls and whatnot.

[@kevin07817]

Mall is closing on Sunday April 28, both this mall and the eastern hills mall a few miles away meant a lot to me growing up. Thank you Boulevard Mall and Eastern Hills mall…gone, but never forgotten

[@peteyoung3124]

Moved here 6 years ago and there was still enough there. I knew it was on life support but I only just learned today that it's closed as of today. It's a real shame all that's gone from Amherst in the last several years - Friendly's, Scotch & Serloin, the entire Boulevard Mall...

[@Lisa-uz4ot]

I hung out every weekend at this mall in the 80’s. It’s so sad to see everything gone.

[@ICsucks]

I wish that we still had malls to shop at. I really liked shopping at a mall. It was always a treat for me to be able to get to go to a mall and spend some money at cool stores

[@christineflejter7242]

We have tons of malls here in WI

[@annastasia4403]

We also have a lot of malls in nj

[@davemartino5997]

Yep , we have a million strip malls now

[@buffaloarearailfan9928]

Great Video! This Mall was my Childhood! Spent many hours hanging around this place over the years. Very sad to see it in the shape it is now.

[@johnp.weiksnar6861]

A nicely comprehensive timeline! It was only missing the Boulevard Mall theaters, a small multiplex across the street on Alberta. I believe it closed around 1990 when Chase-Pitkin went in, and later became Wegmans after they moved from the present Ashley Furniture location.

[@FrankTech]

Yea.. Galleria is the only one left. Eastern hills is closed, Mckinnley I think closed and now Boulevard...

[@lils6410]

We have the Fashion Outlets as well

[@FrankTech]

Yea I forget about that one.. don’t get up to the falls area that often..

[@jasonwilliams6005]

Sounds like the same plans they have for the Eastern Hills Mall. I'd be surprised if either actually gets completed

[@alanlough638]

A great video, Wallie! It's really sad that the mall is closing. Online companies starting with Amazon are to blame for the demise of indoor shopping malls. Companies like Moonbeam is also a wrench in the works for causing the demise of indoor shopping malls and Century 3 Mall is an example of that.

[@lindamikel1842]

That's sad Dead Mail was pretty Gone and I Like That good Music on Songs Relaxing for Quite of bit Awesome Video Wallie

[@reneastle8447]

It's a good thing the Retro Decade Revival Project is gonna turn the tables around. We can spread the word, raise funds to restore it, and reopen all the old stores.

[@Urban_nation.]

Awesome video. So sad to see these dead malls. Love the video wallie. Thanks for sharing

[@loridamico3368]

We would shop there all the time. I have good memories of Christmas shopping and visiting Santa Claus in the mid 1960s. We would still go downtown but it was easier to go to the mall from where we lived. It was a busy place for a long time. Sad to see it like this!

[@justinmorrison321]

Another fantastic mall tour, Wallie!

[@WallieB26]

Thank you very much!

[@davemartino5997]

I remember this mall used to THE PLACE to go shopping when I was younger in the 80s and 90s

[@jaimienichols5649]

Awesome Wallie

[@12HpyPaws]

Love the mall videos. Thanks Wallie

[@andrewbuchanan1230]

Thanks for that video. It's so sad. I remember walking around in that mall as a kid. Hate to see it go to this

[@shannonyoast6906]

As always great video 👍

[@collinvesperman6069]

Thanks for the great video Wallie. My Aunt used to work at the JCPenney back in the 90’s. Such a shame to see this mall this way. This is what happens when online shopping takes over.

[@Optopolis]

Nice to see a twist on the mall that might actually make it survive for a while.

[@jake21494]

Awesome video Wallie

[@MrTodh]

Thank-You. Well Done As Always !!

[@TheCubeTube]

That’s an old mall! Great video!

[@jet34thehawk]

Awesome video

[@JasonPlays22]

Amazing video! Great work as always very enjoyable!

[@WallieB26]

Thank you!

[@lisafreeman4222]

Awesome video love that song

[@krislee9402]

I always loved going to that mall, and it was always so alive and packed with people shopping. Miss those days. Sad it'll probably never be revived :( was definitely a major area land mark around here.

[@JbJb-we9rb]

Love the mall videos!

[@dianejoy1753]

Eastern hills mall just a short distance away is even more dead.

[@WallieB26]

It's closed now. I did a video there as well. I uploaded it a little over a month ago.

[@BrandonFlores-1041]

Dude I’m glad that some anchors are still open for a dead mall that’s amazing to see but prob not for long cuz of a new project coming

[@GeneralGorillaSonicOC]

The food court being removed for Dick's Sporting Goods was a death sentence for the mall. No one wants to go to a mall with no food court.

[@BuffaloChicken]

I was there in June,ate at the TGI Friday's!

[@peterjszerszen]

That's an awesome early-70s brutalist-era JCPenney. Same sort of shape but different color scheme than the ones built in Michigan during that time. Also has to be the longest Sears store I ever saw.

[@zikemdg]

More than shopping, hanging out too

[@claudespeed277]

These mall videos have been hard to watch after my childhood mall suddenly closed after it was deemed a health and fire risk. And becuase the mall was already losing money every year since 2017 they decided the best course of action was to give a 6 day notice to the tenants that their closing permanently.

[@jamesgarasiun5082]

Nice !!!!!! Mall vidz !!!!! 🫡👍👍

[@MarshalaYams]

I used to go to this mall as a kid. I remember the carousel + the food court before it got annihilated. Now barely any stores remain, and the only place that I liked there closed down. 😢

[@GeneralGorillaSonicOC]

Them removing the food court for Dick's Sporting Goods was its demise.

[@MarshalaYams]

@@GeneralGorillaSonicOC right... I used to get pizza from the food court all the time and it was beautiful and well maintained. Last time we went 90% of the stores were gone or had random small businesses

[@tommyostrander]

I grew up going to that mall. Sad that it’s like that

[@coreycoyle9548]

Wonderful Video!!!!! I Love the Fountain!!!! F+L, Corey

[@KevinRichards-my5oj]

You don't see many malls around anymore like you use to back in the days before internet & i-phones.

[@Peq92]

You should do a video on the willobrook mall in Wayne nj. It’s thriving and has all anchors filled (the jcppeny hasn’t opened yet tho)

[@alexweinsheimer2984]

First one to comment so glad put another local mall on video so sad to see it dead

[@alaurenmarie3453]

If you come back to Michigan you have to do Fairlane mall in Dearborn. Or the Westland mall. Both dying malls.

[@WallieB26]

Fairlane is on my bucket list!

[@davemartino5997]

Dearborn isn’t that full of Muslims ?

[@703am]

seems kind of spooky seeing a mall in that good of shape and no people

[@MarshalaYams]

Cuz it sucks, there's barely any stores and essentially nowhere to eat. (At least the last time i went)

[@official_johnnys_journey]

Wallie you should make a movie a real movie like this and put it on your channel ❤

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

I bought my Nintendo Wii here at launch. I couldn't figure out which storefront. Probably one of the generic looking black ones. I remember the food court being nice but way out of the way in the back right corner of the mall. I dont remember much else noteworthy so i never went back and then i moved. But it'll always hold a special place for that one night/morning waiting in line in the mall at GameStop.

[@macrosense]

Our financial, tax, and accounting conventions favored building an excess of malls. And there are certain cultural conventions in the United states. As Chris Rock said, “there are two kinds of malls….”

[@alexweinsheimer2984]

Also since recording the Spencer’s has now closed

[@OfficialTOXICO]

Go BILLS

[@mxr572]

WHY????? Yorkdale, Toronto is packed with shoppers.

[@charliebuzik9317]

31 million is alot of money from the state im sure pockets were lined for them to give that money out that money could of gone to somewhere else that would help the state more

[@trixnunya3442]

I use to love going to the boulevard every weekend from my teens till it’s unfortunate demise . Shopping online is so impersonal and unexciting.. I wish we could bring back malls ..

[@carlolarussa6072]

I don't understand how it makes sense for them to let the entire mall practically go vacant rather than give decent lease opportunities I'm assuming this is a benderson development. I could be wrong but they would rather lose millions of dollars to make a point that rents going up and you can like it or leave.

[@ronhoover5516]

It would be interesting to know how much of a longterm effect, if any, COVID19 had on malls- or if the die had been cast already by then. I would imagine it would be a pretty difficult thing to actually determine.

[@davemartino5997]

Internet shopping hurts malls too

[@adrianavillalba84]

Early

[@Larkinchance]

A mall night be a good place for a university and re-education for high tech trades... Tell me how we are going to compete with the rest of the world without education?