13 ms·

Dead Malls

139 points by wallflower 7y ago

bovermyer 7y ago
I have occasionally toyed with the idea of buying a dead/abandoned mall and turning it into an enormous adult playground.
- jasoncartwright 7y ago
  They seem to be popular with airsoft players https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrGdr537jCw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrGdr537jCw
  - Merrill 7y ago
    Drone racing would be good too.
Apfel 7y ago
Sidenote: isn't it a bit odd that they have a merchandise page? https://www.cafepress.com/deadmalls https://www.cafepress.com/deadmalls
- cj 7y ago
  I had a niche site like this back in the day, and I also has a merchandise page built on Cafepress. I didn't sell a single shirt, but I had fun by the idea that I might. Cafepress pages take at most 30 minutes to create.
  - SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
    Heh, me too, and some random guy on the other side of the world actually bought a clock with my logo on it. Other than a few mugs for myself that was literally the only sale I ever made. I often ponder what became of that clock.
    - phasetransition 7y ago
      Did you ever try to track it down? A documentary connecting buyers and sellers of low-quantity sale cafepress items might be lovely.
      - jacobush 7y ago
        Cafepress should automate that connection.
Hates_ 7y ago
Retail Archaelogy is another great YouTube channel on the same subject: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2LNeZSqINp0WTd_eWCIGg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2LNeZSqINp0WTd_eWCIGg
thatgerhard 7y ago
It just needs galleries, I'm not going to read a blog post about a defunct mall without any pictures..
- kalleboo 7y ago
  The YouTuber Dan Bell has a series where he explores dying or abandoned malls, juxtaposed with archive video from when they were alive and vaporwave music. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx...
  - StavrosK 7y ago
    Those videos have a very interesting aesthetic, it kind of reminds me of what happens when someone who doesn't know how to make videos (and thus doesn't know the current trends) starts making them, in the process inventing their own, totally new style.
    - jcims 7y ago
      Some are pretty trippy. I like it.
    - Macross8299 7y ago
      Vaporwave aesthetics are pretty interesting. The late 80s - mid 90s period of pop culture seems to have a lot of nostalgic and pseudo-nostalgic appeal for a lot of people.
      - coldtea 7y ago
        Well, for tons of people at theirs 40s/30s or close they were kids or teenagers then, it makes sense for them to be nostalgic about it. As for younger people, it's a period before the web/mobile/social media rise (and pre 9/11), so it's quite distinct from their own present today and thus can be interesting. It's also a period of relative growth and optimism, as opposed to today...
      - 7y ago
earino 7y ago
Some unexpected racism in the story for the Harding Mall in Nashville, TN: > Throughout the many years, this mall really saw the tenants come and go. It was no big deal until foreign language people and gangs took over this part of Nashville.
- mieseratte 7y ago
  I fail to see racism in the quote, it seems to be describing demographic shift of the mall as it fell out of popularity. > Then just as Harding Mall thought it was the end, it was not. Due to the high levels of foreign people and foreign languages, a local enteprenuer saw hope in the old mall cinema. He leased the space and ran movies that cost about 50% less than what other theaters charge today and they were all foreign speaking films.
  - timwis 7y ago
    As a fluent speaker of foreign I can confirm that is racist.
    - iamnotacrook 7y ago
      Ah, but you can also speak English. There's something about speaking any number of languages but not English which predisposes one to crime.
      - etatoby 7y ago
        I see your irony, but that's actually a specific case of a more general rule. Not speaking the predominant language of the place you live in will make your life more difficult and cut you off from the people and culture around you. It doesn't take much to see it as a precursor to crime, statistically speaking of course.
        distant_hat 7y ago
        In many developing countries it is the other way round, expat enclaves where hardly anyone speaks the local language can be safer than the surrounding areas.
kellengreen 7y ago
Bright Sun Films on YouTube should get a shout out here. He produces a series called Abandoned, which covers topics like this. https://www.youtube.com/user/BrightSunGaming https://www.youtube.com/user/BrightSunGaming
taneq 7y ago
We should fill them with internet-connected theme parks filled with 3D printed displays.
erikig 7y ago
The truth is, every mall right now is a dead mall. Just like every mechanical watch is an inaccurate watch - it seems that most people opt to use malls primarily for emotional reasons. With Amazon and Walmart now offering next day delivery for almost nothing and the changes in many American neighborhoods - the countdown is on for these vestiges of 1980’s Americana.
- Spooky23 7y ago
  I’m flipping the other way. Online is not cheaper anymore, sales tax is a thing and fake and fucked up stuff is too common. I stopped my Amazon Prime last month. The last straw was 4/6 orders were screwed up (poor quality, damaged by brain dead packaging, fake, repackaged return) and the return process is a pain in the ass. My wife was scammed by two different fake instagram companies this year. Online commerce is a pit. I can drive to the mall and get the same stuff at same or better prices. It’s not fake and you avoid most of the other issues by physically looking at the item. If I’m in a rush, I can literally punch in an order at Target now and pull up in as little as 15m and have someone bring it to me. You should try giving retail another try and truly evaluating it against the slop that Amazon is dishing out.
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  The higher end higher income targetted "boutique" malls are doing very well actually. They may be emotional reasons but that doesn't make their current success less real. Major urban city ones seem to be doing better as well last I checked - although one component is shopping tourism over lower prices. (Not entirely sure how the border security theater's arbitrary invasiveness, and travel warnings over incidents like shootings, civil forfeiture, etc.). Apparently the ones dependent upon "service" as opposed to commodities thrive - even if that service is to be fashionable instead of expertise or convenience.
- mcphage 7y ago
  > it seems that most people opt to use malls primarily for emotional reasons People also like to try on clothes before they buy them, to make sure they fit.
black_puppydog 7y ago
I said it before and I'll say it again: the fact that malls are (justifiably) regarded as a treasured social institution in communities seems ridiculous to me. It's a statement on the failure of a society to provide places for meaningful interaction beyond consumption, or places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security.
- cobbzilla 7y ago
  Yeah, and fuck the Forum in Rome too. Treasured institution? Crass commercialism at its finest, I say.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    The Forum in Rome (and the agora in Greek cities) was the total opposite to malls... Small producers with unique offerings and shops (as opposed to chain franchises), directly integrated within the city (as opposed to an isolated space existing outside of it), a vibrant place for social and political interaction (as opposed to a place for bored teens to shop and eat fast food where nothing political ever happens and citizens are isolated consumers), plus each was unique to the city (as opposed to finding an identical (or nearly identical) mall, with the same shops, in every town in the states... So the irony is misguided to say the least... Not to mention that 2000+ years later one would think we could do better than Rome...
    - cobbzilla 7y ago
      “it’s massively popular but I think it’s dumb so I’m not going to try to understand anything more” is kinda how I read the comment I was replying to. Sorry I got snarky, I’m somewhat surprised I wasn’t downvoted to oblivion. I’m not a fan of malls personally, but that attitude seems overly dismissive of a phenomenon that engaged a significant portion of the population. Clearly there is something important going on there, even if we might not like it.
      - coldtea 7y ago
JacKTrocinskI 7y ago
Google is leasing the Westside Pavilion in LA, looks really nice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkggQS0eTSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkggQS0eTSw
Merrill 7y ago
One of the local "dead malls" is thriving as a collection of about 3 strip malls surrounding the common parking lot. Each "strip mall" has one or two big box stores and a couple have a line of smaller stores. Of course, the two story mall itself, with its internal hallways and rows of boutique stores, is gone.
- technothrasher 7y ago
  One of the places I remember most vividly from my childhood Christmas times was the "Shopper's World" mall in Framingham, MA (which is indeed listed in the above Dead Malls website). It was a two story mall that was wrapped around and open to a central grassy area. While incredibly dated now looking at pictures, the architecture was pretty cool and memorable. They tore it down in the mid 90's and replaced it with a very boring big-box plaza mall that looks exactly like every other one in existence. It still does a fine business. Makes me sad any time I go there now. Additionally nostalgic, the local Hostess bakery was across the street pumping its exhaust into the air. Whenever you went to the Shopper's World mall, the whole area smelled like Wonder Bread.
wil421 7y ago
There’s a dead mall by an old office I used to work at. Stranger Things Season 3 rented a side of the mall and transformed it into an 80s mall. This mall should die anyway. It has an H Mart and a Macy’s no one goes to. https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/multimedia/photos-stranger-things-season-at-gwinnett-place-mall/collection_f2d9b7f2-9df0-11e9-a599-2b125d10940d.html https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/multimedia/photos-stranger...
- abrugsch 7y ago
  WOW! that site slurps up so much personal data they won't even allow me to view it from Europe in case they violate GDPR... "451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time."
ksangeelee 7y ago
The Dead Malls site links to another treasure trove of retail history - http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/ http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/ For example, the clip in this post is a fascinating glimpse of Los Angeles in 1954. http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/2012/02/shopping-in-los-angeles-1950s.html http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/2012/02/shopping-...
jasoncartwright 7y ago
Hosting co Rackspace's HQ is a former mall in San Antonio, Texas https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rackspace-revitalizes-a-defunct-mall-into-an-unorthodox-tech-campus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rac...
- tlynchpin 7y ago
  AboveNet built out a datacenter in a mostly derelict mall in the middle of downtown San Jose. At the time the irony of ecommerce servers in an abandoned mall was fresh and surreal.
your-nanny 7y ago
Dead malls should become foodie plazas with childcare for diners.
gerbilly 7y ago
In cold climates, why not turn dead malls into giant indoor parks? That way people could go jogging in a T-shirt in February. Especially the malls that have big skylights, you could plant trees and greenery inside. Maybe install a few pools.
codingdave 7y ago
I still think a dead mall would be a great startup incubator - each small group gets its own office, tons of shared space to interact with each other, food court for local restaurants to cater to everyone, some big anchor spaces for the larger companies (or even a local data center), and even some built-in back offices for the property managers.
- noer 7y ago
  I think that's (sort of) happened at Allegheny Center Mall in Pittsburgh. It's not a startup incubator, but a bunch of the retail space has been converted to office space.
- tomatotomato37 7y ago
  I feel like malls have potential as massive culinary incubators, with the tired chain clothes store replaced with massive arrays of experimental restaurants and bars. This is anecdotal, but every 1-2 weeks I go to a mall I work near for lunch, yet for the two years I have been doing this I have yet to purchase any non-food merchandise (though I got close when browsing one of the bookstores).
  - bpyne 7y ago
    I could get behind this. But it has to be different from current mall fare. I hate chain restaurants. Food courts tend to be sandwiches or fried crap passed off as ethnic. When I lived in Boston there was a place in Chinatown called the Eatery. When you walked into the main room it had probably 15 different stalls, all with different types of Asian food. Everything was made to order. A mall converted into something like that I could get behind.
    - lonelappde 7y ago
      Sorry to say, the restaurants you despise are there because most people prefer them. There are fancy malls with fancy food courts for rich people, like Seattle Armory.
helen___keller 7y ago
In my opinion, the suburban mall has always been an aberration and a contradiction. In the dispersed urban system that is the suburbs, malls attempted to offer the synergy and community that the dense city can offer - a walkable (from within) "city center" to buy what you need, for people to meet up and socialize, and so on. And yet they weren't - they were sprawling monoliths only accessible via car. They weren't integrated meaningfully into existing city centers or the existing communities of the city. They were erected and expected to produce their own mini-city and mini-community, which they did faithfully for some years as they filled a niche that is otherwise unavailable to suburbanites. But they don't make sense, not in the traditional city that can be navigated without a car, nor in the modern city that is thoughtfully designed with cars as a secondary concern and not as the first class citizen. The final token that big box stores offered - a variety of goods that cannot be matched by smaller local stores - is mostly extinguished by the convenience of e-commerce which gives us access to nearly any product straight to our door. This is why the most successful remaining big box stores are those that offer products that can be troublesome or impossible to ship - Home Depot, Ikea, etc
- mdip 7y ago
  They were erected and expected to produce their own mini-city and mini-community, which they did faithfully for some years as they filled a niche that is otherwise unavailable to suburbanites. That's dead on. All of the other things that malls were "supposed to be" were marketing and to the extent that they occurred, existed to feed the "mini-city/mini-community" which were the rent-payers who were there to sell their goods to the largest audience they could have available to them given the technology of the day. They were the non-Internet world's answer to Amazon with a lot of the same problems. We drove 15 miles to the mall a few times a year for holiday/general shopping -- it was the only "hope" for handling Christmas in one trip (on the 24th of December where you could lift your feet off the ground and have the people all around you carry you to each store). Plus a nice play area where Dad could fall asleep while the kids beat each-other up and mom had time to get all of the shopping done[0] I live next to two malls. One is an 80s, still-alive-but-barely, mall that will likely be on this site at some point. The other is a brand-new, outdoor mall with a variety of non-commercial attractions (live bands spring-fall Fri-Sun, a mini-splash pad for the kids and a larger play area). If I couldn't walk to the nice mall[1], I wouldn't visit either. Neither of them have any stores I'm interested in -- I've probably spent a total of $50 there in the 7 years since it's been around. It's hard enough to find things online with a search bar, let alone walking through miles of stores who don't make enough money to employ the staff required to provide the service that warrants the higher cost. [0] Yes, that's an intentional exaggeration of gender roles for the purpose of being silly, not offending; my parents were nothing like this. [1] When I moved here, it was a lousy par-3 golf course. This is a little more fun to walk to, and it's really neat listening to (some incredible) local bands for free, but a lot less fun to live next to at Christmas.
mdip 7y ago
I live next door to a large, modern, outdoor mall (which is very popular; it's a horrible pain in the butt around Christmas). These are obviously not the "dead malls" that the site is referring to. As a kid from the 90s living two miles from a near-dead mall and within 25 miles of 3 completely dead ones, I'd love to see them convert the walking areas into a large skating rink[0]. Heck, I just ordered a Onewheel and live in an area that is regularly covered in snow -- that'd be a hell of a venue to roll around in. Granted, it's a terribly inefficient use of the land, after insurance/marketing/staffing costs, etc, it'd probably be impossible in most places to charge a ticket fee that would be profitable. [0] I have to believe this has been done somewhere, already. The Lions used to play at this horrible venue called The Silverdome in Auburn Hills, Michigan. After they moved to the new stadium in Detroit, they used to do open skating on the weekends around the outer concession area (the large ring you walk through to get to your seats). It was a few bucks plus rental fees and was always busy.
- tfandango 7y ago
  There's a medium sized mall in my town and it's doing very well, it is always quite busy. Similarly there are huge malls in OKC and Tulsa which are doing great, they are full and have the most expensive retail space in the state. However Crossroads Mall in OKC became completely abandoned. I feel like there are lots of other factors involved in the success and failure of malls.
stevespang 7y ago
All his vids are malls in the NE USA.
_bxg1 7y ago
I've always been drawn to weird, haunting, empty urban spaces. I also feel an affinity for vast spaces with huge, elaborate skylights like you find in malls. Throw in some nostalgia and I'm enjoying this YouTube channel.
zw123456 7y ago
Maybe they should advertise their dead mall as a fun hide and seek venue :)
- smileysteve 7y ago
  this is pleasantly relevant given today's Ikea Ireland news
  - zw123456 7y ago
    It seemed synergistic to me :)
pkaye 7y ago
Here in California I've noticed the newer open outdoor malls are doing better.
aatharuv 7y ago
Andrew Yang has thought of this (like seemingly everything else). He's calling for amongst other things matching federal grants for helping repurposes dead malls (and the 300 malls he says will likely close over the next 4 years) for other purposes. https://www.yang2020.com/policies/american-mall-act/ https://www.yang2020.com/policies/american-mall-act/

139 points by wallflower 7y ago

I have occasionally toyed with the idea of buying a dead/abandoned mall and turning it into an enormous adult playground.

jasoncartwright 7y ago
They seem to be popular with airsoft players https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrGdr537jCw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrGdr537jCw
- Merrill 7y ago
  Drone racing would be good too.

Apfel 7y ago

Sidenote: isn't it a bit odd that they have a merchandise page? https://www.cafepress.com/deadmalls https://www.cafepress.com/deadmalls

cj 7y ago
I had a niche site like this back in the day, and I also has a merchandise page built on Cafepress. I didn't sell a single shirt, but I had fun by the idea that I might. Cafepress pages take at most 30 minutes to create.
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
  Heh, me too, and some random guy on the other side of the world actually bought a clock with my logo on it. Other than a few mugs for myself that was literally the only sale I ever made. I often ponder what became of that clock.
  - phasetransition 7y ago
    Did you ever try to track it down? A documentary connecting buyers and sellers of low-quantity sale cafepress items might be lovely.
    - jacobush 7y ago
      Cafepress should automate that connection.

Hates_ 7y ago

Retail Archaelogy is another great YouTube channel on the same subject: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2LNeZSqINp0WTd_eWCIGg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2LNeZSqINp0WTd_eWCIGg

thatgerhard 7y ago

It just needs galleries, I'm not going to read a blog post about a defunct mall without any pictures..

kalleboo 7y ago
The YouTuber Dan Bell has a series where he explores dying or abandoned malls, juxtaposed with archive video from when they were alive and vaporwave music. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx...
- StavrosK 7y ago
  Those videos have a very interesting aesthetic, it kind of reminds me of what happens when someone who doesn't know how to make videos (and thus doesn't know the current trends) starts making them, in the process inventing their own, totally new style.
  - jcims 7y ago
    Some are pretty trippy. I like it.
  - Macross8299 7y ago
    Vaporwave aesthetics are pretty interesting. The late 80s - mid 90s period of pop culture seems to have a lot of nostalgic and pseudo-nostalgic appeal for a lot of people.
    - coldtea 7y ago
      Well, for tons of people at theirs 40s/30s or close they were kids or teenagers then, it makes sense for them to be nostalgic about it. As for younger people, it's a period before the web/mobile/social media rise (and pre 9/11), so it's quite distinct from their own present today and thus can be interesting. It's also a period of relative growth and optimism, as opposed to today...
    - 7y ago

earino 7y ago

Some unexpected racism in the story for the Harding Mall in Nashville, TN: > Throughout the many years, this mall really saw the tenants come and go. It was no big deal until foreign language people and gangs took over this part of Nashville.

mieseratte 7y ago
I fail to see racism in the quote, it seems to be describing demographic shift of the mall as it fell out of popularity. > Then just as Harding Mall thought it was the end, it was not. Due to the high levels of foreign people and foreign languages, a local enteprenuer saw hope in the old mall cinema. He leased the space and ran movies that cost about 50% less than what other theaters charge today and they were all foreign speaking films.
- timwis 7y ago
  As a fluent speaker of foreign I can confirm that is racist.
  - iamnotacrook 7y ago
    Ah, but you can also speak English. There's something about speaking any number of languages but not English which predisposes one to crime.
    - etatoby 7y ago
      I see your irony, but that's actually a specific case of a more general rule. Not speaking the predominant language of the place you live in will make your life more difficult and cut you off from the people and culture around you. It doesn't take much to see it as a precursor to crime, statistically speaking of course.
      - distant_hat 7y ago
        In many developing countries it is the other way round, expat enclaves where hardly anyone speaks the local language can be safer than the surrounding areas.

kellengreen 7y ago

Bright Sun Films on YouTube should get a shout out here. He produces a series called Abandoned, which covers topics like this. https://www.youtube.com/user/BrightSunGaming https://www.youtube.com/user/BrightSunGaming

taneq 7y ago

We should fill them with internet-connected theme parks filled with 3D printed displays.

erikig 7y ago

The truth is, every mall right now is a dead mall. Just like every mechanical watch is an inaccurate watch - it seems that most people opt to use malls primarily for emotional reasons. With Amazon and Walmart now offering next day delivery for almost nothing and the changes in many American neighborhoods - the countdown is on for these vestiges of 1980’s Americana.

Spooky23 7y ago
I’m flipping the other way. Online is not cheaper anymore, sales tax is a thing and fake and fucked up stuff is too common. I stopped my Amazon Prime last month. The last straw was 4/6 orders were screwed up (poor quality, damaged by brain dead packaging, fake, repackaged return) and the return process is a pain in the ass. My wife was scammed by two different fake instagram companies this year. Online commerce is a pit. I can drive to the mall and get the same stuff at same or better prices. It’s not fake and you avoid most of the other issues by physically looking at the item. If I’m in a rush, I can literally punch in an order at Target now and pull up in as little as 15m and have someone bring it to me. You should try giving retail another try and truly evaluating it against the slop that Amazon is dishing out.
Nasrudith 7y ago
The higher end higher income targetted "boutique" malls are doing very well actually. They may be emotional reasons but that doesn't make their current success less real. Major urban city ones seem to be doing better as well last I checked - although one component is shopping tourism over lower prices. (Not entirely sure how the border security theater's arbitrary invasiveness, and travel warnings over incidents like shootings, civil forfeiture, etc.). Apparently the ones dependent upon "service" as opposed to commodities thrive - even if that service is to be fashionable instead of expertise or convenience.
mcphage 7y ago
> it seems that most people opt to use malls primarily for emotional reasons People also like to try on clothes before they buy them, to make sure they fit.

black_puppydog 7y ago

I said it before and I'll say it again: the fact that malls are (justifiably) regarded as a treasured social institution in communities seems ridiculous to me. It's a statement on the failure of a society to provide places for meaningful interaction beyond consumption, or places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security.

cobbzilla 7y ago
Yeah, and fuck the Forum in Rome too. Treasured institution? Crass commercialism at its finest, I say.
- coldtea 7y ago
  The Forum in Rome (and the agora in Greek cities) was the total opposite to malls... Small producers with unique offerings and shops (as opposed to chain franchises), directly integrated within the city (as opposed to an isolated space existing outside of it), a vibrant place for social and political interaction (as opposed to a place for bored teens to shop and eat fast food where nothing political ever happens and citizens are isolated consumers), plus each was unique to the city (as opposed to finding an identical (or nearly identical) mall, with the same shops, in every town in the states... So the irony is misguided to say the least... Not to mention that 2000+ years later one would think we could do better than Rome...
  - cobbzilla 7y ago
    “it’s massively popular but I think it’s dumb so I’m not going to try to understand anything more” is kinda how I read the comment I was replying to. Sorry I got snarky, I’m somewhat surprised I wasn’t downvoted to oblivion. I’m not a fan of malls personally, but that attitude seems overly dismissive of a phenomenon that engaged a significant portion of the population. Clearly there is something important going on there, even if we might not like it.
    - coldtea 7y ago

JacKTrocinskI 7y ago

Google is leasing the Westside Pavilion in LA, looks really nice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkggQS0eTSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkggQS0eTSw

Merrill 7y ago

One of the local "dead malls" is thriving as a collection of about 3 strip malls surrounding the common parking lot. Each "strip mall" has one or two big box stores and a couple have a line of smaller stores. Of course, the two story mall itself, with its internal hallways and rows of boutique stores, is gone.

technothrasher 7y ago
One of the places I remember most vividly from my childhood Christmas times was the "Shopper's World" mall in Framingham, MA (which is indeed listed in the above Dead Malls website). It was a two story mall that was wrapped around and open to a central grassy area. While incredibly dated now looking at pictures, the architecture was pretty cool and memorable. They tore it down in the mid 90's and replaced it with a very boring big-box plaza mall that looks exactly like every other one in existence. It still does a fine business. Makes me sad any time I go there now. Additionally nostalgic, the local Hostess bakery was across the street pumping its exhaust into the air. Whenever you went to the Shopper's World mall, the whole area smelled like Wonder Bread.

wil421 7y ago

There’s a dead mall by an old office I used to work at. Stranger Things Season 3 rented a side of the mall and transformed it into an 80s mall. This mall should die anyway. It has an H Mart and a Macy’s no one goes to. https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/multimedia/photos-stranger-things-season-at-gwinnett-place-mall/collection_f2d9b7f2-9df0-11e9-a599-2b125d10940d.html https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/multimedia/photos-stranger...

abrugsch 7y ago
WOW! that site slurps up so much personal data they won't even allow me to view it from Europe in case they violate GDPR... "451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time."

ksangeelee 7y ago

The Dead Malls site links to another treasure trove of retail history - http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/ http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/ For example, the clip in this post is a fascinating glimpse of Los Angeles in 1954. http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/2012/02/shopping-in-los-angeles-1950s.html http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/2012/02/shopping-...

jasoncartwright 7y ago

Hosting co Rackspace's HQ is a former mall in San Antonio, Texas https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rackspace-revitalizes-a-defunct-mall-into-an-unorthodox-tech-campus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rac...

tlynchpin 7y ago
AboveNet built out a datacenter in a mostly derelict mall in the middle of downtown San Jose. At the time the irony of ecommerce servers in an abandoned mall was fresh and surreal.

your-nanny 7y ago

Dead malls should become foodie plazas with childcare for diners.

gerbilly 7y ago

In cold climates, why not turn dead malls into giant indoor parks? That way people could go jogging in a T-shirt in February. Especially the malls that have big skylights, you could plant trees and greenery inside. Maybe install a few pools.

codingdave 7y ago

I still think a dead mall would be a great startup incubator - each small group gets its own office, tons of shared space to interact with each other, food court for local restaurants to cater to everyone, some big anchor spaces for the larger companies (or even a local data center), and even some built-in back offices for the property managers.

noer 7y ago
I think that's (sort of) happened at Allegheny Center Mall in Pittsburgh. It's not a startup incubator, but a bunch of the retail space has been converted to office space.
tomatotomato37 7y ago
I feel like malls have potential as massive culinary incubators, with the tired chain clothes store replaced with massive arrays of experimental restaurants and bars. This is anecdotal, but every 1-2 weeks I go to a mall I work near for lunch, yet for the two years I have been doing this I have yet to purchase any non-food merchandise (though I got close when browsing one of the bookstores).
- bpyne 7y ago
  I could get behind this. But it has to be different from current mall fare. I hate chain restaurants. Food courts tend to be sandwiches or fried crap passed off as ethnic. When I lived in Boston there was a place in Chinatown called the Eatery. When you walked into the main room it had probably 15 different stalls, all with different types of Asian food. Everything was made to order. A mall converted into something like that I could get behind.
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    Sorry to say, the restaurants you despise are there because most people prefer them. There are fancy malls with fancy food courts for rich people, like Seattle Armory.

helen___keller 7y ago

In my opinion, the suburban mall has always been an aberration and a contradiction. In the dispersed urban system that is the suburbs, malls attempted to offer the synergy and community that the dense city can offer - a walkable (from within) "city center" to buy what you need, for people to meet up and socialize, and so on. And yet they weren't - they were sprawling monoliths only accessible via car. They weren't integrated meaningfully into existing city centers or the existing communities of the city. They were erected and expected to produce their own mini-city and mini-community, which they did faithfully for some years as they filled a niche that is otherwise unavailable to suburbanites. But they don't make sense, not in the traditional city that can be navigated without a car, nor in the modern city that is thoughtfully designed with cars as a secondary concern and not as the first class citizen. The final token that big box stores offered - a variety of goods that cannot be matched by smaller local stores - is mostly extinguished by the convenience of e-commerce which gives us access to nearly any product straight to our door. This is why the most successful remaining big box stores are those that offer products that can be troublesome or impossible to ship - Home Depot, Ikea, etc

mdip 7y ago
They were erected and expected to produce their own mini-city and mini-community, which they did faithfully for some years as they filled a niche that is otherwise unavailable to suburbanites. That's dead on. All of the other things that malls were "supposed to be" were marketing and to the extent that they occurred, existed to feed the "mini-city/mini-community" which were the rent-payers who were there to sell their goods to the largest audience they could have available to them given the technology of the day. They were the non-Internet world's answer to Amazon with a lot of the same problems. We drove 15 miles to the mall a few times a year for holiday/general shopping -- it was the only "hope" for handling Christmas in one trip (on the 24th of December where you could lift your feet off the ground and have the people all around you carry you to each store). Plus a nice play area where Dad could fall asleep while the kids beat each-other up and mom had time to get all of the shopping done[0] I live next to two malls. One is an 80s, still-alive-but-barely, mall that will likely be on this site at some point. The other is a brand-new, outdoor mall with a variety of non-commercial attractions (live bands spring-fall Fri-Sun, a mini-splash pad for the kids and a larger play area). If I couldn't walk to the nice mall[1], I wouldn't visit either. Neither of them have any stores I'm interested in -- I've probably spent a total of $50 there in the 7 years since it's been around. It's hard enough to find things online with a search bar, let alone walking through miles of stores who don't make enough money to employ the staff required to provide the service that warrants the higher cost. [0] Yes, that's an intentional exaggeration of gender roles for the purpose of being silly, not offending; my parents were nothing like this. [1] When I moved here, it was a lousy par-3 golf course. This is a little more fun to walk to, and it's really neat listening to (some incredible) local bands for free, but a lot less fun to live next to at Christmas.

mdip 7y ago

I live next door to a large, modern, outdoor mall (which is very popular; it's a horrible pain in the butt around Christmas). These are obviously not the "dead malls" that the site is referring to. As a kid from the 90s living two miles from a near-dead mall and within 25 miles of 3 completely dead ones, I'd love to see them convert the walking areas into a large skating rink[0]. Heck, I just ordered a Onewheel and live in an area that is regularly covered in snow -- that'd be a hell of a venue to roll around in. Granted, it's a terribly inefficient use of the land, after insurance/marketing/staffing costs, etc, it'd probably be impossible in most places to charge a ticket fee that would be profitable. [0] I have to believe this has been done somewhere, already. The Lions used to play at this horrible venue called The Silverdome in Auburn Hills, Michigan. After they moved to the new stadium in Detroit, they used to do open skating on the weekends around the outer concession area (the large ring you walk through to get to your seats). It was a few bucks plus rental fees and was always busy.

tfandango 7y ago
There's a medium sized mall in my town and it's doing very well, it is always quite busy. Similarly there are huge malls in OKC and Tulsa which are doing great, they are full and have the most expensive retail space in the state. However Crossroads Mall in OKC became completely abandoned. I feel like there are lots of other factors involved in the success and failure of malls.

stevespang 7y ago

All his vids are malls in the NE USA.

_bxg1 7y ago

I've always been drawn to weird, haunting, empty urban spaces. I also feel an affinity for vast spaces with huge, elaborate skylights like you find in malls. Throw in some nostalgia and I'm enjoying this YouTube channel.

zw123456 7y ago

Maybe they should advertise their dead mall as a fun hide and seek venue :)

smileysteve 7y ago
this is pleasantly relevant given today's Ikea Ireland news
- zw123456 7y ago
  It seemed synergistic to me :)

pkaye 7y ago

Here in California I've noticed the newer open outdoor malls are doing better.

aatharuv 7y ago

Andrew Yang has thought of this (like seemingly everything else). He's calling for amongst other things matching federal grants for helping repurposes dead malls (and the 300 malls he says will likely close over the next 4 years) for other purposes. https://www.yang2020.com/policies/american-mall-act/ https://www.yang2020.com/policies/american-mall-act/