Man, you have to appreciate what is so you never regret what was. We as a society never stop to really appreciate what we have while it's still accessible. Great video, my friend. Thank you!
This was my all-time favorite mall from the 70’s to maybe the early 00’s, with JC Penney and Macy’s the stores I most frequented. It was always full of people and sound. Sad to see it a ghost town now, but I guess I’m an example of the many shoppers who abandoned the mall in the 21st century. Thank you for the look back.
Always like those stairs outside of JC Penney for some reason. For a good number of years they were orange and not grey. The Woolworths with the narrow escalator to the basement level was a favorite place for me.
That's a shame... that Mall is in better shape than I expected. Sucks they are converting it to open air... doubt it will bring in more customers in the Winter.
@@raymondmcmillan788Who wants to be they won't even bother with building ANYTHING on the site after it's all said and done. That's what they did to the former White Flint Mall outside of DC.
I lived about 3 miles from that mall until about 18 months ago. That mall began going downhill when I was first stationed at Fort Monmouth (about a mile away) in 2001. The escalators next to the food court used to go down to a big electronics store which then became a workout place.
Thanks for the tour. As a mallrat in the late 70s and early 80s, this was one of my malls. Sad to see it like this. I go to Premium Outlets which is a nearby outdoor shopping centef owned by Simon Properties. As nice as it is, its not much fun shopping outside in the rain, snow, cold or heat. I don't get the demalling of malls.
@@ryanthomas49I remember when Freehold Raceway Mall was built in the 90s. Beautiful mall with a carousel. Across the street from that retro ice cream place I don't remember the name of.
Was just discussing this. I think the only appeal of the Outlet mall is just that.. that they have high-end discount stores. Other than that I do not see where they are getting their statistics that young people love shopping outdoors.
Monmouth Mall use to be THEE place to go to. Before the "modern" redo, the mall itself use to glow and attract tons people. Always packed. Always a good time.
this was my childhood mall in the 70s and 80s - grew up in Long Branch. I remember the original outdoor mall. Montgomery Wards/Alexanders was right at the end of the original corridor, likely where AMC is now. There was a huge Woolworths where Old Navy is/was. Bamberger's Clearance was where Barnes & Noble is. Thanks for the video tour, which was surreal - I could name many of the original stores, long erased beneath other storefronts.
Across from Lord and Taylor on the 2nd floor was Friendly's, One the 2nd floor going in the opposite direction was the KB Toy store and the gap and the baby gap. On the second floor to the right of Boscovs was the Cookie store Mrs. Fields.
The place you mentioned was a Ruby Tuesday and remember going there several times over the years and my dad and his friend would often go shopping 🛍️ there and it's such a shame they are turning into a outdoor mall once again
Especially during the Christmas season with all of the beautiful decorations and music and Santa. I am also in Jersey so I don't want to be outside shopping in November/December. The mall I have gone to for decades has been sold. They said there will be stores. So maybe it's the same deal. Maybe even the same buyer/developers. I would love for the Boscov's to stay.
Miss the days where you could look for cool stuff in mall stores instead of having to know exactly what you're looking for/being disappointed with online shopping.
@mmgpearl That's an aspect of things that younger people really haven't really experienced much, stumbling upon a surprise find that you didn't know you wanted! No surprises with internet searches at least in the past decade or so.
@@fleabittenadventures The scary part of losing community shopping centers and malls is that people aren't exposed to as much socialization and it increases the isolation people feel. When you shopped at malls like this it wasn't just about commerce but also about being part of a community too! The concept of modern malls was primarily about community, then about commerce when they were first being considered to replace the town hall or town square in earlier times.
Im 32 born raised and still living in Eatontown and i weekend in monmouth mall well through my years and to have this video means so much. Thank you for visiting 😢😢❤🎉 EATONTOWN is growing 🙏🏾
Just down from Monmouth was Seaview mall that died a number of years ago. They took down most of the mall and and turned what survived into independent stores. Most are doing ok.
I worked there at Steinbachs and The Merry Go Round Bruce Springsteen would come in and buy everything in a size 7/8. We would take turns helping him since we got a commission!
@@urwithjazz Steinbachs was a favorite of mine. I also remember the pet shop on the 2nd floor and the Beehive entrance to the bank. Back in the 80's my then girlfriend loved the Foxmoors there and a shoe store I just can't recall.
I’ve never really got the whole idea of strip, malls and shopping outdoors! I’m from the Midwest where it gets bitterly cold during the winter and an outdoor mall would be the last place I would want to go to shopping… I like interior malls that are completely climate controlled, nice skylights, plants and fountains.
It may work in Florida. There's these new large open air malls where you just walk outside and it's like blocks of stores down the pathways. It's quite unpleasant in Summer, or 7-8 months of the year here though. Basically going inside stores solely to get out of the heat at points, haha.
@@jonny-b4954very unpleasant in the summer. The last place I'd want to be is walking around an outdoor strip mall in 98 degree heat that feels like 2 105 in the scorching sun with that hellish humidity. Not even if you paid me.
Thanks for taking us along on your the walk through. This mall looks to be in great shape. It’s a pity they are demolishing it in favor of open air use which doesn’t make sense for the climate.
Thanks for posting. As a construction worker having built a lot of these stores, when a dollar bought you plenty breaks my heart. These malls were full of life back than. Online shopping and crime decimated malls across the nation.
This was such a great account of the current situation at Monmouth Mall. I have been going there since it was Monmouth Shopping Center in the 60s.Its come full circle and is now going back to its former self as an open air market.Your video covered everything in its entirety and was very accurate and informative. Thank you so much. My last trip was a few months ago and was quite depressing, as I remember it in its heyday. Enjoyed watching this bittersweet goodbye.
The top floor in that wing was just the same at the end of 2023. I remember saying to my friend we could get mugged here and nobody would hear us or be around to help.
i grew up with this version mall my entire life and it's so upsetting that it's going to be gone. i visited here in February before they completely closed it, gamestop was gone :( and that Toys Here store would never sell anything lol. i will also miss the AMC, last movie i watched there was Saw X last year. Thank you for documenting the mall before it's gone. Update: Most of the mall is torn down, The Barnes and Noble has moved, and the AMC is thankfully still operational. I saw Sonic 3 on Christmas
The escalators going down used to lead to a Planet Fitness. After that left, I think there was some Nerf gun place down there. The arcade was a frozen yogurt store a few years back. The food court had a Burger King and a Chik Fil A.
Yes! Frozen Peaks- best froyo ever. They had an iPad at every table so you could play games while you ate. Would always play Goat Simulator before catching a movie at AMC. Good times
born in 79' , I grew up spending childhood shopping time there all through the mid 80s and worked at the AMC theatre originally called " Sony theaters AMC " in 1997-98 ...it would be so packed there on the weekends I easily saw thousands a day ushering and cleaning the theaters, back in those days we wore the bow tie tux uniforms...the Master wok and Burger King @8:19 have been there since 97 when I worked at the theater.... there was also a Chick-fil-A there at that time, the food court would be packed with Lines....now just shadows of the past
Seems really strange that the Macys sign @ 31:32 Is not centered above the entryway and way to the left. So sad to see many of these malls becoming obsolete and disappearing at a rapid rate.
I used to work for the management company. I recall them drawing up plans and updating the office on the bottom floor to be home base for the corporate folk for when construction starts. Going to be mixed use property. Mall and residental units. You should see the basement! vast area that goes underneith the entirity of the mall and used for storage. Small rooms. HUGE rooms. You can throw a rave down there. There's even hotel room mock-ups of other hotels that they own in the area.
I grew up in Brick Town in the 60's / 70's and my Parents always took my sister and I to the Monmouth Mall. Back when it was an Open Mall and also once it was all enclosed with the added addition to it with the couple of levels where by the looks of it in the video that is completely vacant now. Back before the addition Bamberger's was there as was an outlet of Bamberger's as their cheaper alternative. One of my memories would be shopping at Alexander's and purchasing the double vinyl album 'Goodbye Yellowbrick Road' by Elton John (I think my parents had a fit because it was around $14) and I also remember purchasing 'Permanent Waves' on vinyl by Rush at one of the record stores that was located down a little from Alexander's. What a great Mall in its heyday. The Food Court was never there when we went and either was it the last time I visited back around 1980 or so. Even at that time the Mall was bustling and I can remember a Sam Goody on the lower level of the new section. What a shame that it's become a ghost mall like so many others across the country. Thank COVID & the good ol' Internet for this.
Spent many days at this mall! There was a crepe place next to the elevator on the bottom floor and I think a shoe repair spot. Also remember spending a lot of time at the Sam Goody and as someone mentioned the Wiz which is where the escalators went down to back then. Feels like a lifetime ago!
The Toddler play area at 19:25 was really depressing. A child could play there and have a blast, blissfully unaware of all the adults problems and societal pressures that have led to this once-vibrant mall becoming dead and slated for demolition. What a beautiful display of innocence lost.
I think the last time I went to Monmouth Mall had to have been in the 1990s, and I hardly recognize anything in this video. In fact, I have clearer memories of the original open-air shopping center, which I visited several times with my parents when I was a child in the 1960s. Thank you for a final look at it!
When you got to the split escalators and went down, on the left-hand side in the 80s was a Sam goodys. Also, down at the end by the old Abraham and Strauss, On the left hand side was a hallway to outside. On the left corner of that hallway was a French bistro restaurant called Le’ Crape’.
Great mall to visit as a kid in the 80’s had everything you could ask for in a 80s mall experience . This place used to get so packed it was like walking down a crowded Manhattan sidewalk . Numerous arcades ,dark and full of wonder as a young kid. Now we can all do our shopping online to buy stuff we really don’t need or clothes to wear and have nowhere to go ( like a mall) . In the end all we have is our memories , thanks for the memories Monmouth mall , you should go back in 5 to 10 years to see how open air shopping and over priced housing doesn’t work .
I used to hang out around the old Sam goodies on the lower level. We would all meet up around the seating area. Still remember the old banks of phones right outside the store. 70's was awesome. Remember going into the Ground Round on Saturdays and drinking cheap pictures of beer at 16 and throwing peanut shells on the floor. 3 stooges playing as well. Drinking age being 18 was never asked for ID.
I really miss arcades. Especially mall arcades. Sadly I bet it cost more to maintain and replace the games than the money they generate. Plus, with their being so much crime in malls now, you really don’t want places where people start hanging out where there’s no supervision.
In many malls now they dont let teens in non chaperoned after 5pm & some after 2pm!! Very badly behaved young people today, compared to much more of them that were in malls in '70s & '80s behaved. Gotta be due to demographic changes, social media, & smart phone.
@@utuBrV1oIUnfortunately, have to agree with you. The teens are wild, loud, leave a mess, take up all the seating for dining without buying anything and are very disrespectful towards adults when they're on their own in public places. My kids would have been grounded for behaving like that, but they never would have behaved that way. Not impressed with how parents AREN'T parenting teens these days.
i grew up going to Freehold Raceway Mall but my grandma took me here sometimes to get away from our 'normal' routine. Last I was here with her was in 2020 after the quarantine was lifted. The mall still had most of its stores even then! I don't have many memories of this mall, but it's still sad to see it being demolished. I just hope FRM and Ocean County won't be going anytime soon!!
So sad to be hearing of this! I grew up in Tinton Falls and the Monmouth Mall and Freehold Raceway Mall were both my go-to malls. I remember when Monmouth Mall had JC Penney, Macy's, Abraham and Strauss, and Bamberger's, just to name a few. So many painful memories.
11:59- Charlotte Russe, Pacsun was across the way, and there was a Cotton On next to that. And you’re right about the Express- next to that was Justice (formerly Limited Too)
The Montgomery Wards store was located where the AMC theater is located. Both Wards and Alexanders were two levels, the ground level and a lower level. After Alexander's closed in early 1983, the upper level became the Caldor and the lower level became the Nobody Beats The Wiz.
I believe the closed-off escalators by the food court are the inside entrance to the lower level space. There is also, IIRC, and elevator which was part of the MW.
In the upper level of the dead wing was a Suncoast video, I got to check it out in June of 2021 (three years went by quick) right before its closure. The store felt like the 90s, all the way down to the smell. The store even had Star Wars The Phantom Menace playing on the overhead TVs.
My guess would be the 9x9 tiles that JCP might've had. If they're intact, they're fine. If it's insulation on pipes, fine if not messed with. This is probably why the stuff stayed all this time.
This mall is about 20-25 minutes from me so I didnt go a lot but I definitely went several times. The best thing about this mall is that had a Suncoast that was opened until just a few years ago. I love Suncoast and that was probably the only one left. They had such a good deals.
I got sad watching it. Mall had become such a stable in my life for last 30 years. I knew it had gotten bad but no clue how much it was a ghost town. I still go to movies there as still ones in the area. Sad fact second floor had last suncoast until 2022.
Wow. Last time I was there was in 2018 after coming back to area that I once called home. Gone are the Lord & Taylor, and JC Penney’s plus many other shops. Strange that malls in America are dead, yet in SE Asia where I reside now, they are more popular. Amazing how Boscov’s still hangs on.
I can’t believe how the mighty Monmouth Mall has fallen. I spent a lot of time there in the late 90s and early 2000s as a teenager and young adult. It was always packed and always my go to hang out.
I live right across the Mall and use to work at Ruby Tuesday's in the late 90s worked at Lord and Taylor and Boscov's. I also have been filming ad well and send it to my brother who lives in Okinawa.
i dont mind the moldly ones being taken down but i hate seeing really great looking malls taken it down for no reason. I mean there has to be ways of repurposing some of these places ... like have libraries at the anchor store ... maybe a fitness center or something at another anchor store ... there has to be ways to keep the food courts open too I rather be inside during the summer and winter ... i think they are grasping at straws to find a reason to justify what they are doing
In Charlotte North Carolina, there was a mall of about the same era called Eastland Mall. People got scared of going there because of gangs being menacing. The mall ceased operations in 2010 and was taken over by the city of Charlotte then demolished completely in 2013 without any plan what to do with the land. Offering the land for sale to the highest bidder without restrictions was not an option. Finally in 2022, they started building some housing on a portion of the land. A lot of the land is still vacant.
The escalators going down used to be the entrance to "Nobody Beats The Wiz" which was located down there. That part of the mall was heavily renovated in the mid-late 90's like you stated. Next to AMC used to be men's clothing store called "Braddocks". Buffalo Wild Wings is now located there.
This was my mall growing up. My grandparents house was across the street from it so we'd walk to the mall all the time. That big staircase used to be a lot more elaborate. It had multiple landings and outcroppings where you could stand and people-watch from above. Also, the first store on the left side when you went down the escalator used to be a Sam Goody. Back in the 80s there were two record stores, the other being Record Town which was down by where the Caldor used to be pre-food court. There was also a large arcade that was not attached to the mall called Supe-r-cade where we'd hang out all the time. The old parking garage was always run down as long as I can remember - hardly anyone would ever dare park in it. Sad to see it in such a state today - so many great memories of it.
Great video, thanks. Agreed, that card system to play arcade games seems unusual compared to just having a change machine for quarters in there. Malls are fun buildings to walk through with nice scenery of the structures, even if most stores were for clothes..
They're not even gone and I'm missing malls already. None super close to me so just popping over to my local mall now involves a 45 minute trek- 90 minutes round trip-kind of puts a damper on mall hopping when you're time-strapped as most people are these days.
Wow. I used to were at the Gap back in the late 90's. Crazy. If they throw a Whole Foods in there and build some townhouses, that place will be unstoppable. All those New Yorkers looking for places in NJ since covid
Very sad and depressing. An open mall in extreme weather is stupid. Did you figure out where those stairs going down went to? And where will B&N move to?
@@BreakTime10101 The section of the mall around the food court isn’t planned to be demolished. They’re gutting the spot I mentioned previously because it was two different spaces. Now they’re trying to combine it into one.
The asbestos was surely 'sealed' long ago. Its safer to cover it, than to remove it. But, if you're tearing the building down, it has to be carefully removed during deconstruction.
You are right on the money! But the stores you were talking about was not where Old Navy is but where the Escalators were behind the gait, the store right next to AMC !
I remei remember the eeird set up of the short escalators and stairs between the levels. I remember Caldors and when Bsmbergers became Macys after Federated bought them all. Beyond that, don't remember much else.
Fixed costs are significantly lower in an outdoor mall. Outdoor area cleaning is much cheaper and there are no costs for air conditioning for common area. Stores may also potentially decide on their opening hours more independently.
The escalator down went to Nobody beats the wiz. When they added the food court "the wiz" was below it. Old Navy was added when they added the food court.
@fleabittenadventures You're welcome. I've been going to that mall since I was a little kid. In my mind, that food court is still new. I remember them renovating it when I was in college and then putting The Wiz in that awkward spot with the down escalator.
@11:31 at the escalator top level on the left hand side where the potted trees are, that was a Suncoast Video store that had been there over the last 20 years ...better shot of it @28:28 on the right hand side Suncoast Motion Picture Company
13:35 If I remember correctly, because I was at this Lord & Taylor once at age 10 in Aug 2007, I remember the Lord & Taylor logos were on the SIDE WALLS as well, not only on the usual entry/exit walls like every other L&T.
When it was Monmouth Shopping Center in the late 60s/early70s, there were several stores outside. The malls killed business in local town shops - now it's in reverse mode. Lots of history, and many good memories here.
This was my mall growing up in the 70s-80s. I still go there to get my hair done. At the beginning of the video (right past Barnes & Noble) is where the salon is. I go once every six weeks and I never go into the rest of the mall now. What's the point, right?
In the 1970's & 80's there was a 2 floor Woolworths somewhere opposite the current food court that had an escalator down to a basement level. My friend's father owned a sign company and made many of the original signs for that mall in the very early days.
A real shame that section is being torn down. The apartments might help generate foot traffic for the remaining stores though? I guess we'll see in a few years after more mixed use community properties have gone up where malls used to be.
The odd staircase used to be orange for sometime and for some reason I was drawn to it and used it every time to go to the lower level verse the escalator.
Outdoor malls only make sense in climates where it is in the 50's to 80 all year round like San Diego. I can't imagine wanting to spend a lot of time in an outdoor mall where the weather is brutally hot or freezing cold.
Man, you have to appreciate what is so you never regret what was. We as a society never stop to really appreciate what we have while it's still accessible. Great video, my friend. Thank you!
This was my all-time favorite mall from the 70’s to maybe the early 00’s, with JC Penney and Macy’s the stores I most frequented. It was always full of people and sound. Sad to see it a ghost town now, but I guess I’m an example of the many shoppers who abandoned the mall in the 21st century. Thank you for the look back.
Amazon killed the mall. And corona killed what was left of them.
Always like those stairs outside of JC Penney for some reason. For a good number of years they were orange and not grey. The Woolworths with the narrow escalator to the basement level was a favorite place for me.
That's a shame... that Mall is in better shape than I expected. Sucks they are converting it to open air... doubt it will bring in more customers in the Winter.
Yes, I doubt it. Maybe they'll make enough money from the residential apartments. Hard to say.
IT won't
You know what's ironic about it being converted to an open-air kinda deal? This originally DID open-up as an open-air mall back in circa 1959/'60.
@@raymondmcmillan788Who wants to be they won't even bother with building ANYTHING on the site after it's all said and done. That's what they did to the former White Flint Mall outside of DC.
It might work. I’ve seen open air malls doing well in the winter. It just feels like a mini city strip but with more available parking.
I lived about 3 miles from that mall until about 18 months ago. That mall began going downhill when I was first stationed at Fort Monmouth (about a mile away) in 2001. The escalators next to the food court used to go down to a big electronics store which then became a workout place.
Thanks for the tour. As a mallrat in the late 70s and early 80s, this was one of my malls. Sad to see it like this. I go to Premium Outlets which is a nearby outdoor shopping centef owned by Simon Properties. As nice as it is, its not much fun shopping outside in the rain, snow, cold or heat. I don't get the demalling of malls.
Just go to Freehold Raceway. It's a little further away but it's a great indoor mall. Are you from Tinton Falls by any chance?
@@ryanthomas49I remember when Freehold Raceway Mall was built in the 90s. Beautiful mall with a carousel. Across the street from that retro ice cream place I don't remember the name of.
@@elizabethwitt2621. Jersey Freeze ?
Was just discussing this. I think the only appeal of the Outlet mall is just that.. that they have high-end discount stores. Other than that I do not see where they are getting their statistics that young people love shopping outdoors.
@@elizabethwitt2621 Yes! Jersey Freeze and it’s still there, always busy!
Thanks for posting this one! This was one of my local malls when I grew up in central NJ. This was always a money mall, lots of good stores.
Thanks! Glad you liked it! It looks like it was a great mall!
Going to malls in New Jersey and Los Angeles area and having a burger is classic American culture
Monmouth Mall use to be THEE place to go to. Before the "modern" redo, the mall itself use to glow and attract tons people.
Always packed. Always a good time.
Looks like it was great mall once! Thanks for watching!
THE not THEE. One E.
I remember cars parked in the front all the way right up to Rt 36 and the mall sign.
this was my childhood mall in the 70s and 80s - grew up in Long Branch. I remember the original outdoor mall. Montgomery Wards/Alexanders was right at the end of the original corridor, likely where AMC is now. There was a huge Woolworths where Old Navy is/was. Bamberger's Clearance was where Barnes & Noble is. Thanks for the video tour, which was surreal - I could name many of the original stores, long erased beneath other storefronts.
Yup Brighton Ave long branch here grew up in that mall till 1987 looks way different than what I remember it
I remember in the '70s when you could go to the ground Round,and throw the peanut shells on the floor..
The Woolworths with the lower level. I remember Seaview Square Mall too a few minutes south on Rt 35.
Ah....CALDOR...........always liked going to that store in Manchester, CT.....i think they closed there, many moons ago............good vid
Thanks! I don't remember the Caldor in Manchester, but I used to go to the one in Avon, CT all the time!
Across from Lord and Taylor on the 2nd floor was Friendly's, One the 2nd floor going in the opposite direction was the KB Toy store and the gap and the baby gap. On the second floor to the right of Boscovs was the Cookie store Mrs. Fields.
The place you mentioned was a Ruby Tuesday and remember going there several times over the years and my dad and his friend would often go shopping 🛍️ there and it's such a shame they are turning into a outdoor mall once again
I know people give Ruby Tuesday a hard time, but I love that place!
@@fleabittenadventures I do agree and they are few locations left in existence
1:45 Ruby Tuesday's
As much as I love being outside in the spring and summer, I always prefer shopping inside.
Same here.
Especially during the Christmas season with all of the beautiful decorations and music and Santa. I am also in Jersey so I don't want to be outside shopping in November/December. The mall I have gone to for decades has been sold. They said there will be stores. So maybe it's the same deal. Maybe even the same buyer/developers. I would love for the Boscov's to stay.
@@lauraann7816 Boscov’s is staying!
@@rickyn1320 YAY 🙌
Miss the days where you could look for cool stuff in mall stores instead of having to know exactly what you're looking for/being disappointed with online shopping.
Shopping was so different before the internet....
@mmgpearl
That's an aspect of things that younger people really haven't really experienced much, stumbling upon a surprise find that you didn't know you wanted! No surprises with internet searches at least in the past decade or so.
@@fleabittenadventures
The scary part of losing community shopping centers and malls is that people aren't exposed to as much socialization and it increases the isolation people feel. When you shopped at malls like this it wasn't just about commerce but also about being part of a community too! The concept of modern malls was primarily about community, then about commerce when they were first being considered to replace the town hall or town square in earlier times.
Same
I've never shopped online. I can't understand people who are buying guitars and other musical instruments online.
Im 32 born raised and still living in Eatontown and i weekend in monmouth mall well through my years and to have this video means so much. Thank you for visiting 😢😢❤🎉 EATONTOWN is growing 🙏🏾
Just down from Monmouth was Seaview mall that died a number of years ago. They took down most of the mall and and turned what survived into independent stores. Most are doing ok.
I worked there at Steinbachs and The Merry Go Round Bruce Springsteen would come in and buy everything in a size 7/8. We would take turns helping him since we got a commission!
@@urwithjazz Steinbachs was a favorite of mine. I also remember the pet shop on the 2nd floor and the Beehive entrance to the bank. Back in the 80's my then girlfriend loved the Foxmoors there and a shoe store I just can't recall.
when you go down the escalator in the old mall, on the left it was a Sam goodys. I used to by records there a lot in the 70s.
Thanks for the info!
Then they moved up next to A&S (Boscov's). Later was Model's sports
Monmouth mall was my entire childhood. Thank you so much for making this video!
I’ve never really got the whole idea of strip, malls and shopping outdoors! I’m from the Midwest where it gets bitterly cold during the winter and an outdoor mall would be the last place I would want to go to shopping…
I like interior malls that are completely climate controlled, nice skylights, plants and fountains.
Exactly!
I am with you guys. I would never shop at an outdoor mall.
It may work in Florida. There's these new large open air malls where you just walk outside and it's like blocks of stores down the pathways. It's quite unpleasant in Summer, or 7-8 months of the year here though. Basically going inside stores solely to get out of the heat at points, haha.
@@jonny-b4954very unpleasant in the summer. The last place I'd want to be is walking around an outdoor strip mall in 98 degree heat that feels like 2
105 in the scorching sun with that hellish humidity. Not even if you paid me.
Well, with global warming, the winters really don’t get that brutally cold anymore here in the Northeast.
Thanks for taking us along on your the walk through. This mall looks to be in great shape. It’s a pity they are demolishing it in favor of open air use which doesn’t make sense for the climate.
Yes, physically it's in great shape. They did a major renovation less than 15 years ago. They just want to change it for the sake of change.
Thanks for posting. As a construction worker having built a lot of these stores, when a dollar bought you plenty breaks my heart. These malls were full of life back than. Online shopping and crime decimated malls across the nation.
This was such a great account of the current situation at Monmouth Mall. I have been going there since it was Monmouth Shopping Center in the 60s.Its come full circle and is now going back to its former self as an open air market.Your video covered everything in its entirety and was very accurate and informative. Thank you so much. My last trip was a few months ago and was quite depressing, as I remember it in its heyday.
Enjoyed watching this bittersweet goodbye.
Thanks!
Great video! That bottom in that mall is soo creepy
Thanks! It was a very strange feeling seeing no one in any direction while I was at a mall. Kind of felt like I broke into a closed mall.
The top floor in that wing was just the same at the end of 2023. I remember saying to my friend we could get mugged here and nobody would hear us or be around to help.
Just want to say, Fleabitten Adventures... You and your channel have gotten me through some dark times. Thank you so much.
That's great to hear! I'm glad I could help! Thanks for watching!
i grew up with this version mall my entire life and it's so upsetting that it's going to be gone. i visited here in February before they completely closed it, gamestop was gone :( and that Toys Here store would never sell anything lol. i will also miss the AMC, last movie i watched there was Saw X last year. Thank you for documenting the mall before it's gone.
Update: Most of the mall is torn down, The Barnes and Noble has moved, and the AMC is thankfully still operational. I saw Sonic 3 on Christmas
I saw king Kong(2005 version) there and star wars revenge of the sith.
That mall had my favorite West Coast Video upstairs on the dead wing.
I've been to this mall many times in the past. Sad to see what happened to it.
Definitely so weird that they haven't blocked off the empty area.
I thought so. I'm sure it's open just to allow people to walk to Boscov's.
Wow! Surreal ,good vid and captured well 👍
The escalators going down used to lead to a Planet Fitness. After that left, I think there was some Nerf gun place down there. The arcade was a frozen yogurt store a few years back. The food court had a Burger King and a Chik Fil A.
Thanks for the info!
Yes! Frozen Peaks- best froyo ever. They had an iPad at every table so you could play games while you ate. Would always play Goat Simulator before catching a movie at AMC. Good times
born in 79' , I grew up spending childhood shopping time there all through the mid 80s and worked at the AMC theatre originally called " Sony theaters AMC " in 1997-98 ...it would be so packed there on the weekends I easily saw thousands a day ushering and cleaning the theaters, back in those days we wore the bow tie tux uniforms...the Master wok and Burger King @8:19 have been there since 97 when I worked at the theater.... there was also a Chick-fil-A there at that time, the food court would be packed with Lines....now just shadows of the past
Seems really strange that the Macys sign @ 31:32 Is not centered above the entryway and way to the left. So sad to see many of these malls becoming obsolete and disappearing at a rapid rate.
Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe it's supposed to be stylish???
I used to work for the management company. I recall them drawing up plans and updating the office on the bottom floor to be home base for the corporate folk for when construction starts. Going to be mixed use property. Mall and residental units. You should see the basement! vast area that goes underneith the entirity of the mall and used for storage. Small rooms. HUGE rooms. You can throw a rave down there. There's even hotel room mock-ups of other hotels that they own in the area.
I grew up in Brick Town in the 60's / 70's and my Parents always took my sister and I to the Monmouth Mall. Back when it was an Open Mall and also once it was all enclosed with the added addition to it with the couple of levels where by the looks of it in the video that is completely vacant now. Back before the addition Bamberger's was there as was an outlet of Bamberger's as their cheaper alternative. One of my memories would be shopping at Alexander's and purchasing the double vinyl album 'Goodbye Yellowbrick Road' by Elton John (I think my parents had a fit because it was around $14) and I also remember purchasing 'Permanent Waves' on vinyl by Rush at one of the record stores that was located down a little from Alexander's. What a great Mall in its heyday. The Food Court was never there when we went and either was it the last time I visited back around 1980 or so. Even at that time the Mall was bustling and I can remember a Sam Goody on the lower level of the new section. What a shame that it's become a ghost mall like so many others across the country. Thank COVID & the good ol' Internet for this.
Spent many days at this mall! There was a crepe place next to the elevator on the bottom floor and I think a shoe repair spot. Also remember spending a lot of time at the Sam Goody and as someone mentioned the Wiz which is where the escalators went down to back then. Feels like a lifetime ago!
The Toddler play area at 19:25 was really depressing. A child could play there and have a blast, blissfully unaware of all the adults problems and societal pressures that have led to this once-vibrant mall becoming dead and slated for demolition. What a beautiful display of innocence lost.
Great comment, I feel the same way.
I think the last time I went to Monmouth Mall had to have been in the 1990s, and I hardly recognize anything in this video. In fact, I have clearer memories of the original open-air shopping center, which I visited several times with my parents when I was a child in the 1960s. Thank you for a final look at it!
When you got to the split escalators and went down, on the left-hand side in the 80s was a Sam goodys. Also, down at the end by the old Abraham and Strauss, On the left hand side was a hallway to outside. On the left corner of that hallway was a French bistro restaurant called Le’ Crape’.
Those escalators used to go to planet fitness and a birthday party place I’ve been there it was fun
Very sad. I worked in this mall for 4 months in 2017. I really miss the Suncoast.
Looks like it was a great mall once. Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures unfortunately it was dying for a long time. Great video
That's what I was thinking of. I said West Coast Video in a response up above. Yes, on the 2nd floor to the left if going up where the levels split.
Great mall to visit as a kid in the 80’s had everything you could ask for in a 80s mall experience . This place used to get so packed it was like walking down a crowded Manhattan sidewalk . Numerous arcades ,dark and full of wonder as a young kid. Now we can all do our shopping online to buy stuff we really don’t need or clothes to wear and have nowhere to go ( like a mall) . In the end all we have is our memories , thanks for the memories Monmouth mall , you should go back in 5 to 10 years to see how open air shopping and over priced housing doesn’t work .
This is so relaxing to watch, thank you for all you do
Omg I used to always go there!😮
I used to hang out around the old Sam goodies on the lower level. We would all meet up around the seating area. Still remember the old banks of phones right outside the store. 70's was awesome. Remember going into the Ground Round on Saturdays and drinking cheap pictures of beer at 16 and throwing peanut shells on the floor. 3 stooges playing as well. Drinking age being 18 was never asked for ID.
I really miss arcades. Especially mall arcades. Sadly I bet it cost more to maintain and replace the games than the money they generate. Plus, with their being so much crime in malls now, you really don’t want places where people start hanging out where there’s no supervision.
They must be losing money on the electricity alone. I never see anyone playing the games.
In many malls now they dont let teens in non chaperoned after 5pm & some after 2pm!! Very badly behaved young people today, compared to much more of them that were in malls in '70s & '80s behaved.
Gotta be due to demographic changes, social media, & smart phone.
The arcade in Long Branch on the pier by the Haunted Mansion was the best in the 80s.
@@utuBrV1oIUnfortunately, have to agree with you. The teens are wild, loud, leave a mess, take up all the seating for dining without buying anything and are very disrespectful towards adults when they're on their own in public places. My kids would have been grounded for behaving like that, but they never would have behaved that way. Not impressed with how parents AREN'T parenting teens these days.
i grew up going to Freehold Raceway Mall but my grandma took me here sometimes to get away from our 'normal' routine. Last I was here with her was in 2020 after the quarantine was lifted. The mall still had most of its stores even then! I don't have many memories of this mall, but it's still sad to see it being demolished. I just hope FRM and Ocean County won't be going anytime soon!!
So sad to be hearing of this! I grew up in Tinton Falls and the Monmouth Mall and Freehold Raceway Mall were both my go-to malls. I remember when Monmouth Mall had JC Penney, Macy's, Abraham and Strauss, and Bamberger's, just to name a few. So many painful memories.
So did I, Wayne - I hear you on everything!
I worked at Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips in 1980 in the old wing. Thnx for the memories. It was the place to hang as kids.
I was part of the team that opened the Lord and Taylor store in 1990. What great memories and I’m so sad to see this mall demolished. 😢
11:59- Charlotte Russe, Pacsun was across the way, and there was a Cotton On next to that. And you’re right about the Express- next to that was Justice (formerly Limited Too)
The Montgomery Wards store was located where the AMC theater is located. Both Wards and Alexanders were two levels, the ground level and a lower level. After Alexander's closed in early 1983, the upper level became the Caldor and the lower level became the Nobody Beats The Wiz.
I believe the closed-off escalators by the food court are the inside entrance to the lower level space. There is also, IIRC, and elevator which was part of the MW.
Miss those stores! Long gone….
In the upper level of the dead wing was a Suncoast video, I got to check it out in June of 2021 (three years went by quick) right before its closure. The store felt like the 90s, all the way down to the smell. The store even had Star Wars The Phantom Menace playing on the overhead TVs.
Rowe-Manse department stores had a cards and candy store at the mall. Their other store was in Clifton,NJ.
My guess would be the 9x9 tiles that JCP might've had. If they're intact, they're fine. If it's insulation on pipes, fine if not messed with. This is probably why the stuff stayed all this time.
That makes sense.
This mall is about 20-25 minutes from me so I didnt go a lot but I definitely went several times. The best thing about this mall is that had a Suncoast that was opened until just a few years ago. I love Suncoast and that was probably the only one left. They had such a good deals.
I got sad watching it. Mall had become such a stable in my life for last 30 years. I knew it had gotten bad but no clue how much it was a ghost town. I still go to movies there as still ones in the area.
Sad fact second floor had last suncoast until 2022.
I remember when they had a Disney store and it was great
Wow. Last time I was there was in 2018 after coming back to area that I once called home. Gone are the Lord & Taylor, and JC Penney’s plus many other shops. Strange that malls in America are dead, yet in SE Asia where I reside now, they are more popular. Amazing how Boscov’s still hangs on.
Boscov’s is doing very well! They have stores from PA to Rhode Island!
The store on your right @ 28:32 was up until a couple of years ago the last remaining Suncoast video store in NJ.
Its actually a nice looking mall. What a waste
monmouth was the very first mall i went to as a kid growing up in freehold since raceway mall didn't exist for a decade it was packed back when
Looks like it was nice at one point! Thanks for watching!
Do you remember Manalapan Mall? Later it became Value City and then the whole Target, Marshall's, Wegman's was built on the property.
@@PocketChangeInspector of course went all the time my mom would get her hair done at steinbach the mall part was meh
I do like my recently conceived nickname for the store once known as “Forever 21” & that would be “Haven’t Been 21 in Like Forever”😂.
Forever isn't as long as it used to be.
I can’t believe how the mighty Monmouth Mall has fallen. I spent a lot of time there in the late 90s and early 2000s as a teenager and young adult. It was always packed and always my go to hang out.
I live right across the Mall and use to work at Ruby Tuesday's in the late 90s worked at Lord and Taylor and Boscov's. I also have been filming ad well and send it to my brother who lives in Okinawa.
I loved to take my toddlers there for a stroll and shop! They loved it! It was the perfect size too not too massive! Cannot wait to see it modernized!
i dont mind the moldly ones being taken down but i hate seeing really great looking malls taken it down for no reason. I mean there has to be ways of repurposing some of these places ... like have libraries at the anchor store ... maybe a fitness center or something at another anchor store ... there has to be ways to keep the food courts open too
I rather be inside during the summer and winter ... i think they are grasping at straws to find a reason to justify what they are doing
I agree. We'll see what happens. From what I read, it may be a couple of years before the renovation is done.
In Charlotte North Carolina, there was a mall of about the same era called Eastland Mall. People got scared of going there because of gangs being menacing. The mall ceased operations in 2010 and was taken over by the city of Charlotte then demolished completely in 2013 without any plan what to do with the land. Offering the land for sale to the highest bidder without restrictions was not an option. Finally in 2022, they started building some housing on a portion of the land. A lot of the land is still vacant.
The escalators going down used to be the entrance to "Nobody Beats The Wiz" which was located down there. That part of the mall was heavily renovated in the mid-late 90's like you stated. Next to AMC used to be men's clothing store called "Braddocks". Buffalo Wild Wings is now located there.
Yes, now I'm sure you also remember when Sebastian's Pub was down there.
For a dead mall, that place is in remarkably good shape (if you overlook the asbestos signs). Such a shame to see it die like this.
This was my mall growing up. My grandparents house was across the street from it so we'd walk to the mall all the time. That big staircase used to be a lot more elaborate. It had multiple landings and outcroppings where you could stand and people-watch from above. Also, the first store on the left side when you went down the escalator used to be a Sam Goody. Back in the 80s there were two record stores, the other being Record Town which was down by where the Caldor used to be pre-food court. There was also a large arcade that was not attached to the mall called Supe-r-cade where we'd hang out all the time. The old parking garage was always run down as long as I can remember - hardly anyone would ever dare park in it. Sad to see it in such a state today - so many great memories of it.
As I understand it, the area where they are currently doing demolition will become the new B&N location (current location to become the Whole Foods).
Every dead mall I've seen always looks eerily similar to the ruins of ancient Greece. Truly the end of an era.
Great video, thanks. Agreed, that card system to play arcade games seems unusual compared to just having a change machine for quarters in there. Malls are fun buildings to walk through with nice scenery of the structures, even if most stores were for clothes..
23:27 I was relaxing with all the white noise.. jeez.. that scared the 💩 out of me 😂
They're not even gone and I'm missing malls already. None super close to me so just popping over to my local mall now involves a 45 minute trek- 90 minutes round trip-kind of puts a damper on mall hopping when you're time-strapped as most people are these days.
Their days are numbered....
Wow. I used to were at the Gap back in the late 90's. Crazy. If they throw a Whole Foods in there and build some townhouses, that place will be unstoppable. All those New Yorkers looking for places in NJ since covid
Very sad and depressing.
An open mall in extreme weather is stupid.
Did you figure out where those stairs going down went to? And where will B&N move to?
40:18 That’s the spot where B&N will move to. Formerly Firebirds restaurant and la maison furniture
@@rl8429that looks like they’re tearing it down?
@@BreakTime10101 The section of the mall around the food court isn’t planned to be demolished. They’re gutting the spot I mentioned previously because it was two different spaces. Now they’re trying to combine it into one.
@@rl8429 Thanks
The asbestos was surely 'sealed' long ago. Its safer to cover it, than to remove it. But, if you're tearing the building down, it has to be carefully removed during deconstruction.
You are right on the money! But the stores you were talking about was not where Old Navy is but where the Escalators were behind the gait, the store right next to AMC !
I remei remember the eeird set up of the short escalators and stairs between the levels. I remember Caldors and when Bsmbergers became Macys after Federated bought them all. Beyond that, don't remember much else.
I don't think moving back to an outdoor mall will help unless the store size shrinks and the variety increases.
Fixed costs are significantly lower in an outdoor mall. Outdoor area cleaning is much cheaper and there are no costs for air conditioning for common area. Stores may also potentially decide on their opening hours more independently.
I agree. I guess we'll have to check back in a year or two and see if it works out.
Makes sense.
The escalator down went to Nobody beats the wiz. When they added the food court "the wiz" was below it. Old Navy was added when they added the food court.
Cool! Thanks for the info! It wasn't very clear online.
@fleabittenadventures You're welcome.
I've been going to that mall since I was a little kid. In my mind, that food court is still new. I remember them renovating it when I was in college and then putting The Wiz in that awkward spot with the down escalator.
@11:31 at the escalator top level on the left hand side where the potted trees are, that was a Suncoast Video store that had been there over the last 20 years ...better shot of it @28:28 on the right hand side Suncoast Motion Picture Company
Interesting video. Thanks. toronto canada.
Thanks for watching!
13:35 If I remember correctly, because I was at this Lord & Taylor once at age 10 in Aug 2007, I remember the Lord & Taylor logos were on the SIDE WALLS as well, not only on the usual entry/exit walls like every other L&T.
When it was Monmouth Shopping Center in the late 60s/early70s, there were several stores outside.
The malls killed business in local town shops - now it's in reverse mode.
Lots of history, and many good memories here.
Man, I had so many good memories as a teen at this mall. That empty restaurant was at one point an American Cafe and was amazing.
on the upper floor toward the end, there was a "La Crepe" restaurant, in the 70s
I had never been there and always wanted to try it out. One day we wanted to go to dinner there and were told it had just closed several days prior.
I remember that.
The Boscovs was a tennant, then closed down for a few years, and then reopened.
Love Hot Topic. Seems like that store is in every mall you go to. Even the dead malls that shop is usually one of the last stores.
This was my mall growing up in the 70s-80s. I still go there to get my hair done. At the beginning of the video (right past Barnes & Noble) is where the salon is. I go once every six weeks and I never go into the rest of the mall now. What's the point, right?
In the 1970's & 80's there was a 2 floor Woolworths somewhere opposite the current food court that had an escalator down to a basement level. My friend's father owned a sign company and made many of the original signs for that mall in the very early days.
I grew in that mall in the 80s this was THE mall of malls!!!!
Will they demolish the empty wing?
I believe so.
A real shame that section is being torn down. The apartments might help generate foot traffic for the remaining stores though? I guess we'll see in a few years after more mixed use community properties have gone up where malls used to be.
the store at the top of the stairs at 11:30 had a suncoast back in 2013ish which was odd cause they went under many years earlier
I used to go here all the time when I was younger and it was a blast
So sad Mall's are dying out. Call me old school but id rather go to a mall than a boring box store any day
Was probably only here one time. I kind of recall an odd staircase area. Looks like the food court WAS impressive.
The odd staircase used to be orange for sometime and for some reason I was drawn to it and used it every time to go to the lower level verse the escalator.
Outdoor malls only make sense in climates where it is in the 50's to 80 all year round like San Diego. I can't imagine wanting to spend a lot of time in an outdoor mall where the weather is brutally hot or freezing cold.
It’s really shameful that malls are closing down. I grew up on shopping at malls
I have only been here a few times but i remember that new area full of stores. Its weird seeing it empty. Last time I was there was pre-covid