The Untimely Demise of Mill No. 5: A Mall Like No Other! Lowell, Massachusetts.
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Join me as I take a look at Mill No. 5, an amazing and unique mall you've probably never heard of in Lowell, Massachusetts.
This mall closed its doors forever on February 2, 2025, which is when this video was filmed.
If you liked this video, please give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel! Thanks!
Source of information:
millno5.com/ab...
www.masslive.c...
www.masslive.c...
www.masslive.c...
www.masslive.c...
#deadmall #deadmalls #mall #malls #massachusetts #lowell #lowellma #shoppingmall #shoppingmalls #retail #nostalgia #fleabittenadventures #oldmill #mills
Thank you for giving them such a nice send off! Lowell is my hometown and Mill No. 5 was one of my favorite locations! I love these old spaces being given new life outside of apartment complexes. The Luna Theater and the Dows Soda Fountain really made that space unique and I'm sad to see it go.
Heartbroken that this place is gone. Thanks for making this video so I can send it to others and remember this special place forever.
This makes me sad all over again, this was one of my favorite places to go. I'm glad you captured this, even though it looks like a lot of these stores have emptied out most of their stuff. Where those red stools were, there was an old fashioned soda fountain shop and counter that made sodas and ice cream sundaes. That closed up area on the top floor is where they would hold concerts for local bands in the evenings and on Saturdays they would have marketplaces for small and independent makers and business owner selling their stuff. I went to that movie theater many times. This place was so unique, I would often take people here as it was always an interesting place to spend a few hours. What a loss for Lowell that this place closed down.
Also, it's too bad you missed the staircase to go to the ground floor. It's a bit hidden but it was a work of art in itself.
Where was that?
Thanks for the info and for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures Its down a hallway near where the elevator is. It's very hidden and I use it because sometimes that elevator takes forever. I will try to find a link to an image of the stairs
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Wow! Thanks for giving us a tour of this really cool place. I definitely would support this kind of market place. This is the type of malls I would like to see thriving.
This place felt like it had a soul to it completely absent from the generic corporate malls. Watching your video I could just feel that this mall was a community for people and it’s tragic that places like this fail to survive.
Yes, totally different vibe than a traditional mall.
Absolutely. I actually don’t like the large generic malls. And am frankly happy seeing them disappear and close. This place is really unique and irreplaceable
Hello Tom and friends.
Ohhhh, I see,, it's one of those Arcade Style Malls. 😊
Take care guys.
Lowell, Mass. is where I was born, but I have not been back there in many years. From there, we ended up in Connecticut. Those mills were closing and my father ended up at Pratt & Whitney. I wish I had know about that place. It looks really interesting. Thanks for the tour, Tom. 🙂🙃🙂
I don't live to far from Lowell but never heard of this. What a cool place!! This is a shame it's closing. 😢 Steeped in history. Sad.
This was sad to see. Mill no.5 was a very special place for me when I first moved to Lowell. So many memories here. Thank you for the video. This was a nice send off!
Why is it closing? I don't know if he said in the video, I didn't hear it if he did...
I just don’t understand how a place like this can fold and disappear… Great concept, lots of personality, etc. Who wouldn’t want to shop there? So sad to see a worthy dream die.
I have been watching a lot of your videos lately and they are amazing. Keep up the great work ^^
Thank you so much!
Holy cow!! So happy you posted this. I actually tabled at a convention there this past October. I was on the second floor where the large black doors and green walls were (that’s actually like a rental space for events). It was run by the game shop that used to be there (pop cultured). I was heart broken when the game shop messaged everyone on discord about it. The owner of this mall literally notified everyone the day of Christmas to be out come the new year. It’s so sucky to these small and indie businesses. It’s not like target or macys when they lose a store, these are these peoples livelihoods.
The convention was the first time I ever visited this mall and it was so cool! They had so many events and I feel so bad for the community and artists who made this place special. They made this building so nice and lively.
This looks rad! I'd love to have a shop/love to shop here.
Hell, I'd love to have an apartment in a building that looks like this.
For sure!
Hi Tom, I really like the mall that you were at there. I wish we had miles like that around. We used to have called marketplace mall and I had a variety different shops and I used to go there a lot and there isn’t anything in there anymore and it’s too bad, but thanks again, Tom I enjoyed it. I like the I guess I would call the mom and pop shops again thanks again Tom I enjoy all your videos take care and God bless.
Great place. We had a similar place called Country Village. But when the owner hit 90 years old the family made him sell the property to apt. Developers.
That's too bad. Sounds like a similar situation here.
North of Seattle? I loved that place!
That's a shame, looks like a cool place! I hadn't heard of it until this showed up in my feed but it reminds me a bit of the Galleria in Red Bank, NJ.
I'll add it to my list. Thanks.
Love places like this. Thank you for sharing this with us. That was pretty awesome 😊😊
OMG this place is so neat, it's a shame they are closing.
I agree totally.
Wow! What an amazing place!!!
I thought so too! I could just hang out there for the ambiance alone.
Thanks for the upload !! Looks like.fun. Can you do a outside tour of The old Manchester Parkade in Manchester Ct. Even thought it sits abandoned ??
Loved the look of this mall. It has so much character.
Looks nice where each vendor has a little stand or a store. The outdoor village look was good. They're going to move to a new location soon. Thanks.
You should really try the Western avenue lofts also in Lowell the next time you're there. 5 floors of artists in their own stores. I'm so happy you captured this before it went away
Really every city should have something like this that is also owned by the town, subcontracted management and used only for local businesses! An actual community gathering place for retail. In essence this is Main Street USA… just inside.
That would be nice. Sadly, I doubt it will happen. I think there are some similar places to this in Connecticut that I may check out soon.
I had no idea this place existed either. I definitely would have checked it out. Sad to see it go :(
It's amazing how places like this can go under the radar.
This was a cool place indeed.
I think so. Thanks for watching!
sad it only lasted 11 years 😔
Yes, it closed far too soon.
There was a similar type of "mall" in Portland, Maine on Exchange Street in the Old Port section, which also had an art house movie theater.
It's gone now?
LoL, the Stan Lee action-figure had me rolling on the floor.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I feel devastated that Mill No. 5 has closed down. I went there twice for steampunk events. The last time I went, my daughter was a baby. It was possibly 9 years ago. Back then, the place didn't have all those shops in it. For steampunk events, vendors sold their items both in the shop spaces and in the outer hall. One large space was a common room with couches and chairs to sit on and talk with people. There were a few shops that were permanent fixtures at the time, but they most likely moved out of there long before you visited. I knew quite a few artists who sold their creations there, whether during a steampunk event or some other event they were having (there used to be other themed events, like a fantasy event). I'm really going to miss it there, especially the facades (the Tudor - style one is my favorite). I'm not sure if steampunk events will still happen somewhere else in Lowell. I don't know why no one I know who vended here told me this was closing down.
Plenty of foot traffic, full occupancy or at least close, and they still couldn't make out. The overhead for small malls like that can be sky high. There were places like these 40 years ago, but they're almost all gone. 14:22 CLEE-coat (silent t) - not soda, champagne. French, and the good stuff. Veuve Cliquot to be precise.
I'm not sure if it was always that busy, or just because it was the closing day... Thanks for the info too.
So sad that this is closing. I am in Lowell at least on once a month and had not heard of this.
Hey Tom, you should make a trip to the Pez Factory in Orange CT and do a video there. Cheers!
Wow! If more malls were like this. I’m sorry it’s closing. I’d take that mall over some clinical shades of white Simon mall any day of the week.
@@kittyannamanx1206 Have you also checked out Western Aver Studios and Brush Art Gallery as well ?
I don’t live too far from this place and I’m upset I never knew about it. It’s a really cool concept and it’s a shame it’s closing.
Wow, looks really nice, at 15:00 randomly playing Triste (sad) by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim
It was very enjoyable. I need to find more places like this.
I don't know if you mentioned it (wife and I are watching this on mute while we work), but it looks like it was built by the same people who built Thornes in Northampton.
I didn't mention it in the video, but I was thinking about it. Thornes Marketplace is definitely the closest comparison that I can think of. I think it's totally separate from Thornes, but similar idea.
What?! This is actually an amazing looking place! Sad
I've been here twice (August 2019 and June 2024). I loved the character - local shops, old elevators, creaky floors and the like. Sadly, this mall is emblematic of Lowell as a whole. It has pockets of life, but in aggregate, the city is dying. I've read (on more than one occasion) that decent establishments (such as Mill No. 5) struggle to sustain themselves in Lowell long term because the foot traffic isn't there. Lowell isn't a destination tourists seek out - as nobody wants to visit one of the dirtiest and most crime-ridden cities on the east coast.
It’s really a shame. Seems like it was a nice city in its day.
Yea too bad I've never gone here.
By the way you should visit the Bangor Mall in Bangor Maine. That mall is owned by the same company that owns the Enfield Square Mall and the town of Bangor is suing Namdar on the mall while the state is seeking eminent domain of the mall.
I will get out to Bangor Mall sometime this year, it's just so far!!!
I'm struggling to figure out how buying dying malls and letting them to hell in a hand basket is a good business plan. You're not collecting rent because there's no tenants. An empty mall itself has almost no value. How do they make money? And they piss off every town they're in!
Hey man can you do a video on the mall at bay plaza in co-op city in the Bronx NY?
I also live not too far from Lowell and had never heard of this place. Does anyone know why it failed?
My mind kept screamin': "go in the record store!"
And I did. Thanks for watching!
this reminds me of Thorne's Market in Northampton MA
Damn, wish I’d known about this place. Definitely my kinda vibe.
I live up the road in Nashua; it was right under my nose the whole time. Well, at least I got to see what I missed
Reminds me of The Velvet Mill in Stonington CT.
Didnt know you repped ATG, can i hit the subscribe button twice?😂🤟
Oh yeah, I got into melodic death metal and then Swedish death metal in general in the late 90's. I was really into early In Flames (Clayman and earlier) and Dark Tranquility, etc. Good stuff.
Clicquot is pronounced CLEE co! Love the video!
Thought you should know, the Macy's at the Kingston Collection (in Kingston, MA) is closing.
Too bad it's closing. I've never been there but it reminds me of The Streets of Shops antique mall in Lewisburg PA. Has a somewhat similar look to me.
I love his nall, it is sad it had to close.
I agree. Thanks for watching.
This is the type of place everyone says they want in there community - quaint, local feel, no big commercial stores, etc. - and then once it is built the people do not support it by shopping there. Such a shame.
Such a shame.
For sure.
I wish I got to go there
I hear stores are all relocating in the city with the exception of two.
Yes, I believe so.
why did it close?
2:35 wow, I'm not going to mention the name because I don't want to incur the wrath of yt's irrational c.r. algorithm upon your video, but I just listened to the album that song in the background is on for the first time in probably over a decade the other day. Which in itself is an odd coincidence. But the lyrics of that song are also quite fitting for a mall about to close as well =/
did you or your mother buy anything from these stores before this beautiful mall closed forever?
Sure did, at the book store and the candy store.
Have you visited any malls in Utah? If not, may I recommend City Creek?
Not yet. I'm pretty much stuck in the northeast for now.
Western ave studios is also awesome. It's a don't call it a mall place. Brush studios is an arcade of art shops than a gallery.
They shut down Mill No 5!? No way!
The overhead costs kill places like this due to the prices the dealers have to pass on to the customer. The atmosphere is nice, but what I saw for sale, I can see why this place is going out of business.
It was definitely not a discount mall, but it was still pretty cool.
It’s so wild to me how so many malls in MA & RI & CT are going under yet everything else is booming.
Nothing else is booming.
Not sure what you are talking about. Wakefield Mall, RI Mall and Warwick Mall are still going strong here in Rhode Island.
For some reason indoor malls aren't doing as well as outdoor malls / strip malls. It's too bad because it was bout 10 degrees when I visited this mall. It would have been far less enjoyable if it were outside.
I wonder why this mall failed? Thornes Marketplace in Northampton Ma. (of which this place reminds me of) has been around almost 50 years with this concept and is still going strong. Maybe Mill No.5 was simply too big?
We used to get Turkish Taffy and smack the package on the sidewalk to break it up. I liked banana.
PS…I have that Poco album.
I should have probably frozen it because the one I got was partially melted and stuck to the cardboard.
A lot of people a couple of months ago, "The owner should..", "How dare they....", "I've been there a few times and ....". OPM. Other People's Money. If Y'all thought it was great, how often did you shop there? How often did you drive past it? Everyone deserves a payday except the property owner.
Looks like there was a lot of effort put in to build this place. Sad
Neat concept, but I can see why this closed. These are niche businesses that don't have enough customer base to make any money. It's nothing I'd go out of my way for.
Tom is one of my favorite UA-camrs! I respect his decision not to appear in his videos, but I find it unfortunate. I wonder if this choice affects his subscription numbers due to a diminished sense of connection from his viewers.
If something that beautiful, unique in design and that highlighting businesses other than chain stores can't make it I highly doubt any of these older saying they are going to be reimagined will work. A real shame. The reality is we are still oversaturated with stores and as much as we like small independent stores selling handcrafted and artisan type merchandise they are usually higher priced. Things are really difficult out here. If it was possible Id only do business with small businesses and places that sold only made in America. Just not possible for me. Especially men's clothing.
Clee-Ko
Maby you should do a video about Yankee candle village in F9GM+6W South Deerfield, Deerfield, MA Ho He Ha
It’s really too bad this mall/complex was not financially viable. It’s a wonderful concept but takes much today for retail businesses to thrive. When I see commercial real estate prices, I think you have to have x number of people getting haircuts a day or sell x number of donuts to break even.
Not sure if this qualifies as a 'mall' in the modern sense, but definitely a cool shopping experience. I've seen many of these converts/restored buildings, many out west. They're like a museum shopping hybrid. It's too bad the retail apocalypse /changing times have decreased the likelihood of seeing them.
I lived a couple of streets over from here. I went a few times and it was cool. Not really the type of place is going to be booming with business for years. It's very niche for the hipster liberal crowd.
Hi omg I’m first
Huh?
Thanks for watching!
17:18
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