Awesome video. Sad to see it especially seeing the old arcade. I like that you included old photos of what the stores used to look like. Thanks, take care.
Thanks for posting. We would go to this mall when going to Kraynaks for the holiday displays. Also, Hot Head Burrito across the street was really good!
Dude, this was epic. You certainly conveyed you have a ton of memories with that mall. That smell, Its like just the right amount of popcorn and floor cleaner. We had a similar sized mall in the small town I grew up in. Fond memories for sure. Unfortunately we never had a KB but it had a Waldenbooks small movie theatre and a Hills. Those brown floor tiles in the closed off area - nearly identical to the mall floor we had. Nice work
Very cool video! I've been meaning to expand to more personal things as well. Glad to see someone else is doing it as well. I miss my mall. It's been closed for years. There's actually cool videos on UA-cam showing the state it's in and looks like something from the walking dead. Montgomery Mall in Montgomery, AL if you want to search it.
Go for it! I know my channel is vintage toys first and foremost, but I thought some people might also appreciate the old mall tour. Sorry to hear about your mall, buddy.
Always fascinating, fun and sad to see these time capsule places abandoned decades later. Mind blowing to retrace your exact steps on probably what is the same tiling and storefronts from when you were a kid. Great walkthrough buddy - keep these coming!
Thanks man, I appreciate it. It was a little emotional for me making this video. Having little money, it was always a special treat to go to the mall and maybe follow it up with a visit to Pizza Hut.
What an interesting idea for a video. I think it's great that you're expanding this channel to include other types of videos besides just figure hunts.
Matt ive been enjoying your videos for over a year now and wanted to thank you for something. I had been searching over 24+years for a toy line i had from the early 90s that my dad and i purchased from i believe lionel playworld in Houston texas(a toilet bowl i might add im originally from Austin) and because of your videos finally found them!! It ended up being GUTS!! By Mattel. Specifically it was the green beret ones of the toy line. And because of you it unlocked my memories of kenner Mega Force toys,which my dad and i also collected (close to micro machines military which we loved). I just wanted to say thank you for unlocking those memories and hope to get into collecting again soon. Be well buddy 🤘
This is heart warming to hear. I really appreciate your kind words and support of the channel. It means a lot. And I’m glad that you finally found out what those toys were!!
Just came across this video & related to every word and every step. My childhood mall in Olean, NY is basically deserted. The glory days of the anchor stores of Hills and Ames long gone except in memories. I also had to go back and walk the mall one last time when I visited the parents.
Surprised you still had a JC Penney's, ours shut down a few years ago. My mall has a Target, so that keeps it open for now. But everything else is dead or dying. It's unrecognizable to me now, except for two things. The guy who works at FYE has been there since it was The Wall in the late 1990s. And the pizza place has been run by the same Italian guys since the eighties. Everything else is weird knick-knack stores that come and go in six months, or just empty space. Seems like the country is going to have a big problem to solve in a few years because there's a lot of empty commercial real estate that nobody wants.
That hidden wing is a bit of a rabbit hole, there are several stories and theories as to why the wing was suddenly shuttered in 1997. The story I've heard the most often is that Pocketchange Park, which was the biggest attraction back there, closed around Christmas 1996. At the same time, Sears was looking to expand, so in February 1997 they evicted the remaining stores (Dollar Tree was relocated elsewhere in the mall, other stores like a coffee shop, a convenience store, and a vacuum dealer called Shenango Sweeper weren't so lucky), permanently locked the outdoor entrance and sealed the inline entrance (which was between GNC and Rave, those two storefronts are now one space occupied by Maurice's). From there, the story gets murky. All I know is Sears ultimately never went through with the expansion and in March 2004 the mall built a new corridor linking the restroom hallway to the hidden hallway, opening it to the public once again (please note these dates are accurate but I have no idea how accurate this version of events is, it's just the version I've heard from the most people. If anyone has more information please reply).After the 2004 unsealing there were two businesses back there: Twice Loved Appliances, which had previously been located in the recently vacated antique shop, and a Mercer County government office. Over the next few years a handful of businesses would try leasing space back there (hopefully for cheaper rent than on the main concourse lol) and the mall opened a community room back there in the old mall office in 2005. The longest running tenant back there after the reopen was actually a karate school which lasted about 3 years before finally giving up the ghost in early 2010, they were the last tenant to try it back there.
I just found this video as well as your UA-cam page. New Subscriber, Btw. Yeah, I can sympathize with you. I grew up in Steubenville, Ohio and now reside in Erie, Pa. When I go back home to visit my remaining family, I get sad to see how a lot of places, from better times, are now gone. Our old mall is practically dead and the Hills Department Store...😥 It's been gone forever. I feel the "technology" in the 21st century helped push this change even further.
That is exactly how I feel when I go to the Puente Hills Mall here in southern California. Same mall where they filmed Back to the Future. That’s where I would buy my Star Wars, Sectaurs etc.
@@ReeYeesRetroToys not for long. It’s basically a ghost town functioning at about 15%. The only thing barely keeping it alive is that they attached a movie theater to it about 20 years ago.
Always is so sad to see what malls have become.. They were such an integral part of our childhood and teenage years growing up in the 80’s and 90’s…
Absolutely. So many memories of actual shopping and socializing. Not just pointing, clicking, and ordering.
Awesome video. Sad to see it especially seeing the old arcade. I like that you included old photos of what the stores used to look like. Thanks, take care.
Glad you enjoyed this one! Definitely a nostalgia rush walking these halls again.
Thanks for posting. We would go to this mall when going to Kraynaks for the holiday displays. Also, Hot Head Burrito across the street was really good!
Glad you enjoyed it! We still go to Kraynak’s for the holiday displays!
Dude, this was epic. You certainly conveyed you have a ton of memories with that mall. That smell, Its like just the right amount of popcorn and floor cleaner. We had a similar sized mall in the small town I grew up in. Fond memories for sure. Unfortunately we never had a KB but it had a Waldenbooks small movie theatre and a Hills. Those brown floor tiles in the closed off area - nearly identical to the mall floor we had. Nice work
Glad you enjoyed the walk through buddy. At least we have the memories of how our malls once were. What a time to be a kid!
Great video Matt! Love the more personal themed videos.
Thanks man, I appreciate it!
Very cool video! I've been meaning to expand to more personal things as well. Glad to see someone else is doing it as well. I miss my mall. It's been closed for years. There's actually cool videos on UA-cam showing the state it's in and looks like something from the walking dead. Montgomery Mall in Montgomery, AL if you want to search it.
Go for it! I know my channel is vintage toys first and foremost, but I thought some people might also appreciate the old mall tour. Sorry to hear about your mall, buddy.
Always fascinating, fun and sad to see these time capsule places abandoned decades later. Mind blowing to retrace your exact steps on probably what is the same tiling and storefronts from when you were a kid. Great walkthrough buddy - keep these coming!
Thanks man, I appreciate it. It was a little emotional for me making this video. Having little money, it was always a special treat to go to the mall and maybe follow it up with a visit to Pizza Hut.
The elevator was probably the same brand and age as the one in Monroeville for the movie! 😂
I had a sneaking suspicion. 😂
What an interesting idea for a video. I think it's great that you're expanding this channel to include other types of videos besides just figure hunts.
Thanks buddy! Just thought I’d try something a little different. But vintage toys will always be the main content!
Matt ive been enjoying your videos for over a year now and wanted to thank you for something. I had been searching over 24+years for a toy line i had from the early 90s that my dad and i purchased from i believe lionel playworld in Houston texas(a toilet bowl i might add im originally from Austin) and because of your videos finally found them!! It ended up being GUTS!! By Mattel. Specifically it was the green beret ones of the toy line. And because of you it unlocked my memories of kenner Mega Force toys,which my dad and i also collected (close to micro machines military which we loved). I just wanted to say thank you for unlocking those memories and hope to get into collecting again soon. Be well buddy 🤘
This is heart warming to hear. I really appreciate your kind words and support of the channel. It means a lot. And I’m glad that you finally found out what those toys were!!
Wonder how long those gumballs have been sitting in those machines 😁
Long enough to send you to the dentist pretty quickly. Haha
Oh, and your footsteps when walking into the mall gave me Resident Evil (PS) vibes. Lol
😮omg.. I was thinking the same thing!! How funny🤣👌🏽
😂😂 I can definitely understand this.
Great.
Thank you!!
Here's to a bygone era.
Absolutely
Just came across this video & related to every word and every step. My childhood mall in Olean, NY is basically deserted. The glory days of the anchor stores of Hills and Ames long gone except in memories. I also had to go back and walk the mall one last time when I visited the parents.
Surprised you still had a JC Penney's, ours shut down a few years ago. My mall has a Target, so that keeps it open for now. But everything else is dead or dying. It's unrecognizable to me now, except for two things. The guy who works at FYE has been there since it was The Wall in the late 1990s. And the pizza place has been run by the same Italian guys since the eighties. Everything else is weird knick-knack stores that come and go in six months, or just empty space. Seems like the country is going to have a big problem to solve in a few years because there's a lot of empty commercial real estate that nobody wants.
Agreed. It’s weird though because some malls are still thriving. It’s the little local ones that seem to be hit the hardest.
That hidden wing is a bit of a rabbit hole, there are several stories and theories as to why the wing was suddenly shuttered in 1997. The story I've heard the most often is that Pocketchange Park, which was the biggest attraction back there, closed around Christmas 1996. At the same time, Sears was looking to expand, so in February 1997 they evicted the remaining stores (Dollar Tree was relocated elsewhere in the mall, other stores like a coffee shop, a convenience store, and a vacuum dealer called Shenango Sweeper weren't so lucky), permanently locked the outdoor entrance and sealed the inline entrance (which was between GNC and Rave, those two storefronts are now one space occupied by Maurice's). From there, the story gets murky. All I know is Sears ultimately never went through with the expansion and in March 2004 the mall built a new corridor linking the restroom hallway to the hidden hallway, opening it to the public once again (please note these dates are accurate but I have no idea how accurate this version of events is, it's just the version I've heard from the most people. If anyone has more information please reply).After the 2004 unsealing there were two businesses back there: Twice Loved Appliances, which had previously been located in the recently vacated antique shop, and a Mercer County government office. Over the next few years a handful of businesses would try leasing space back there (hopefully for cheaper rent than on the main concourse lol) and the mall opened a community room back there in the old mall office in 2005. The longest running tenant back there after the reopen was actually a karate school which lasted about 3 years before finally giving up the ghost in early 2010, they were the last tenant to try it back there.
I just found this video as well as your UA-cam page. New Subscriber, Btw. Yeah, I can sympathize with you. I grew up in Steubenville, Ohio and now reside in Erie, Pa. When I go back home to visit my remaining family, I get sad to see how a lot of places, from better times, are now gone. Our old mall is practically dead and the Hills Department Store...😥 It's been gone forever. I feel the "technology" in the 21st century helped push this change even further.
That is exactly how I feel when I go to the Puente Hills Mall here in southern California. Same mall where they filmed Back to the Future.
That’s where I would buy my Star Wars, Sectaurs etc.
Glad you still have your childhood mall. I just got word that they will be demolishing mine sometime this year after closing. 🙁
@@ReeYeesRetroToys not for long. It’s basically a ghost town functioning at about 15%. The only thing barely keeping it alive is that they attached a movie theater to it about 20 years ago.