In my opinion, this is one of the few modern renovations of a mall that doesn’t feel like a soul-removing bleaching. The mall is colorful, vibrant, and seems welcoming. Most malls today just have the same stark white feeling. I really do hope we see more malls like this. It just seems like a fun place to be.
If you seen what it looked like in the 90s and 2000s you'd think what it looks like now is a downgrade. I wish I could share images in the comments here. They also used to have a water fountain and a waterfall. There were also colored lights in the shape of squares on the ceiling and popcorn looking light poles in the food court similar to the ones that were at the KC Metro North Mall but they were a gold color at East Hills
Your episodes keep getting better and better. I think the saddest thing in this video was that big beautiful carousel, all lit up, and no children to enjoy it.
Yes! Same thing happened at century 3. They brought in a huge 2 tier carousel and it sat dead for years before they finally carted it away in the final years of the mall. Even if you went to ride it, there was usually no one there to operate it.😢
The Crossroads Mall where I live had a 2 tire Carousel got rid of it a few years ago in the food court which is dead only 2 places are open in the food court. Which is a dead mall.
Current Saint Joseph resident here. The mall use to be THE hangout for everyone. Poor mall management has run that place into the ground. Store have left and gone up to the North Shoppes where they stand a chance at thriving. I have many fond memories of East Hills mall and its beyond sad to see its current state
As a former St. Joseph News-Press reporter, I gotta say you did an excellent job researching this. I feel like outsiders normally come to The Joe and say “This place sucks!” without doing any digging into the cool stuff it does have and had. Was pleasantly surprised you gave the city and the mall’s history a fair shake. I will also say that it’s pretty funny the mall’s history hallway ends with “Yeah, we had a commercial that sucked so bad that people around the world made fun of it. The end!”
theres something so sad about these videos. i always think of how busy these places once were, with families, kids, etc. i cant help but feel that times were simpler where places like this could be appreciated.
The ‘long hallway’ of empty store fronts were where most of the cool stores, salons, our favorite pizza place and more were. That stretch was actually the life of the mall.
Haha, I helped co-direct and cast the first commercial with producer Chris Fleck. My little sister is the little girl singing. I also produced the beat for the second mall commercial. RIP Jeff Jones Sad to see the mall in its current state. I have so many fun childhood memories there.
The empty place at time mark 16:19 used to be Taco John's. I walked out there for several years starting in 2000-2001. Had a friend who used to sit at the tables there in the morning with a cup of coffee and watch everyone go by. I was born and raised in St. Joseph and moved about 30 min south after my husband passed 10 years ago. It is sad to see how empty East Hills is now. Many good memories there including Christmas time and all the decorations, taking sewing lessons at Singer's when I was young and hearing Joe Walsh sing with the St. James grade school kids in January 2001. (He used to be a St. James student.) Thanks for the wonderful job you did on this video. 😊
Its crazy to think that commercial was only 10 years ago. Its very sad but I still have hope some company will take over these malls one day and bring them back to the glory days.
Strange Cdog how the Time Line Continuum takes a beautiful lady into her old age often with only the eyes left with the fairness of her youth. Like a rock, Bob Seeger once was, now ,grey and weathered with little hint of the handsome,well built man I saw as a child,with only his magical voice as a reminder. Nothing moves our emotions as does time and change, and the older I become the more I understand what people mean by" I cherish these memories".❤
I absolutely LOVE the carousel in this mall!!! It's absolutely beautiful!!!! It reminds me of the beautiful carousel in the Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis. Thanks again North for such a beautiful mall and a wonderful video with excellent music!!! Take care and have a wonderful Sunday and weekend!!!! 👍🏻😃
@@novelist99 That's so cool and awesome he painted it by hand!!! It's a beautiful carousel so I can see that. Thanks for letting us know. What a beautiful carousel!!! 👍🏻😃
That mall is in great shape. I love the light fixtures. The history timeline was really cool with all the old stores. Your music choice always brings me back to my teens. Those commercials were funny. Thanks for another one. Hope you have a good weekend.
Thank you for doing this video. I was born in st.joe in 1981, I grew up going to the mall. My parents have pictures of themselves with the mall construction behind them back in the 70's. There used to be a fresh flower shop in the middle of the floor just outside the food court. it looked like a big black tent. every time we went my mom let me get a carnation or two. right outside Woolworths there was a child size ferris wheel that my grandpa would let me go on. On Halloween all the kids in town went to the mall and walked on the stage with the water around it in their costumes to see who would win after they had walked around to every store who gave out candy. I got 2nd place one year with my dancing flower costume ( old toy that would move and make noise when you made noise at it). the boy who won that year had a ufo on suspenders that lit up. KB Toys, A&W for mini corndogs and root beer were the best places to go. As a teen we all had to go to genos pizza, Mr. Bulkys ( they had every candy you could think of, we often went in to see him he was an awesome guy) and Debs is where all the girls got their prom dresses. that mystery wall with the question mark used to be taco Johns another teen hang out in 1999-2000. this video brought back some memories. Steve Craig plans to make it into a sports complex as far as I know. not sure when. Its so very sad to see it fade away like this. But all good things must come to an end. The mall in Kansas city with the hot air balloons was hard to see go too. thanks again for the walk down memory lane.
I remember when the East Hill Mall first opened, Kids from all over the city would take the city bus there on Sat mornings to hang out and watch a movie at the Fox Theater, that was over 50 years ago. Thank you for the memories. "The Fox East Hills Theatre was located in the East Hills Mall in the east of St. Joseph, MO. It opened on November 3, 1965 with John Wayne in “The Sons of Katie Elder”. It was running movies, mainly B-pictures and double features. It was closed on August 9, 1990 with the animation adventure “DuckTales The Movie:Treasure of the Lost Lamp”
I'm not a native of St Joe, but I've lived here for almost 6 years and when I first moved here in 2019 I worked in that mall, at Rue21, which is now, sadly gone like so many others before her. I obviously never got to see East Hills in it's Hay Day, and, man, I wish I would have, but even in 2019 it was still pretty poppin! Obviously that was pre-pandemic and after Covid everything started really going downhill. I think since I've lived here we've lost roughly 20 stores and food court restaurants and probably a few more smaller pop ups that I can't even remember (probably more, I just can't keep track). It's really sad to see it like this. And I'm honestly surprised the few stores that are still there are still there, ya know! Idk how much longer East Hills has, but this video made me wanna go and give it some love before it's gone.
Current St Joe resident here and let me say that this mall used to be THE spot to hang out! I graduated high school in 2011 and it’s been so sad seeing the sight of this place now. Around a year ago, the owner doubled everyone’s leases and ran them out as fast as he could. So sad. 😢
I had worked at VS/Pink from the summer of 2019-2020. Some co-workers, myself, and including some mall staff noticed an uptick in traffic in the fall and winter. I can't remember which one, a restraint did come to the food court during the fall of 19. It felt like the mall was actually turning around. Then the pandemic hit by March Victorias Secret closed us and other mall locations permanently. I do remember getting a picture with Santa in the old food court in 94.
That mall in the late 90s was iconic. I spent a lot of time in my teens there, talking to girls and hanging out with friends. I performed with my school choir at Christmastime several times at center stage at the fountain, and played in a bad that got to play there too. So many memories for me that it makes it hard to even go in there now, except I have kids who love to ride the carousel and play in the kids area. Great video!
This mall has it all: Unique Layout, Actually nice modern renovation, takes pride in it's history with that BEAUTIFUL historic wall, and a working carousel. Shame it's biting the dust like so many other beautiful properties, all for more bland big-box retail. Great documentation as always! Did you 🎵get yourself an outfit🎵 there? 😂
Former resident of St Joe and still go back home every now and again. Family still lives there. I used to love going to the mall. And I had actually forgotten that there was a stage with a fountain till this video. The part where you said Former ? In the video, the entry way with a small arch. I believe that had been a Taco John's in the early 2000's. I can't remember what, or even if it became something else afterwards. But thank you for this trip down memory lane and for giving the respect that it deserves. I love St Joe but it gets a bad wrap. So thank you!
I grew up going to East Hills Mall. I went there probably a month ago to Penneys. t's so sad to see it almost empty. Rumor has it, is that the owner has ran it into the ground with extremely high lease costs.
I’ve heard the current owner has been just running the remaining tenants leases out, then plans to close and demolish the mall shortly after.. :( it really is sad
Last time I set foot in this mall (and NW Missouri) was 1997. Back then you couldn’t find a parking spot - the place was packed every day! Just sad to see this mall a shell of its former self.
Just wanted to say you do an exceptional job! Great content! Very interesting, very cool. It takes a lot of work to make such a great video. It’s not easy and very time consuming. You deserve some accolades. Been watching for quite a while. You add so much and with music, the camera work. Haha…thanks man…I really enjoy! Keep going!
Hi North!!! The mall in Canada is New Horizon Mall in Calgary Alberta Canada. They built it directly across from another mall Cross Iron Mills Mall. Thanks so very much for the wonderful videos!!! This was an excellent video as always!! Take care and have a wonderful Sunday and weekend!!!! 👍🏻😃
Cdog is the absolute best of the archives historians. One would think he has a whole staff at his disposal ehen examining the quality of his finished products, by far the most professionally done. I believe he and others who do this type of work are historical journalist with which future generations may look back and actually " feel" what the past was actually like, not just be able to view an old postcard! I have every regard for his safety and do not want to see him in dangerous environments, but I do wish he would or could begin to document many more places of historical interest ( and there are literally hundreds of thousands that are worth preservation). Maybe, one day when time has spun it's web, Cdog,if he covers his rights to his material well (a good lawyer) he might sell his volumes of historical content and be able to retire comfortably. Nothing but love for Cdog!❤
If you're ever in St Louis, check out South County Mall. Its tiny but the best example of a dead mall I've seen, actively in the death throes. Every time we pass by Im amazed its open
@@NorthCdogg22 food court down to 2 places last we saw. so bad they've pulled up all but 2 of those kiosks in the main walk way. Upstairs is just the jewelry store now and walled off at the overhang
i remember my grandma taking me here all the time when i was little. we would first go to dillards so she could shop, then we would go to justice so i could get new clothes, then we would get taco johns and auntie annes, then go to the play place, then bath and body since she worked there and got a discount, and shop that entire hallway that looks so dead now. the saddest thing for me about this video is the play place being completely empty. i used to play there everytime i went to the mall and there were kids playing all over the play place.
It's such a shame so many Malls are closed or closing, It Wasn't just about shopping it was about socialising, a lot people say amazon and online retail is to blame but it's also a lot of the stores having to pay overpriced rent, people not having as much disposable income, increased crime, the crash of 2008, the lockdowns of 2020, also there are a lot of areas which built too many malls in close proximity which caused over saturation, bit like Starbucks. I just hope they find good uses for Malls that are closing as so much time, effort, and money went into building these Malls.
Used to live in Cedar Falls in 93 and visited family once a year until 02. Sad what happened to College Square. Heard Crossroads in Waterloo is almost dead too. Would like to see you do a video of that mall
@@NorthCdogg22 I found it. It's so creepy and sad to see College Square and Crossroads now. It's like someone took a memory of your youth and stomped it to pieces while laughing at you 😪
I remember in the 70s and 80s my mom and her sister would travel to St. Joe to shop at a clothing store called Einbenders, which I believe was located in the downtown district.
I work at KQ2 making ads for the local businesses. We neighbor the mall. (I actually filmed the recent eclipse from the mall parking lot) I think one of my predecessors made that ad. It's in our archives. Dated from 2015. We used to have a Halloween trick or treat event with our reporters etc before Covid. I've thought it would be fun for us to start that up again...but I don't think it's going to happen.
It's a nice looking mall and it appears to be in great condition. What the heck happened to malls in America? I live in Vietnam. The malls here are jam packed with people. I live about 3/4 mile from Aeon Mall Canary, Binh Duong. You can look it up online. However, if you want to experience peak mall culture, you should go to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The malls there are incredible. Amazing selection of stores and reasonable prices.
It’s nice that malls in other parts of the world are able to work out so well, I hope to get to experience that one day! America unfortunately is just built to SUCH an excess, that these places.. no matter how nice, are just empty..
The only thing I didn't hear spoken about is the downstairs area this place had! I used to come out here when I was little with my grandparents all the time, and there was a downstairs area that had restrooms, but also had a gym, and then some office buildings. It's where the food court is now, but used to be to the right of the stage/fountain area. I had SO many choir performances out here as a kid. They also used to have a reindeer petting zoo during the holidays, and the yearly sidewalk sale that everyone absolutely loved. Many of us tried the Mr. and Mrs. East Hills contests which were kiddo beauty pageants. They used to have photos lining the walls of kids who were past winners. Santa was out here too and I think JMcBee would take the photos for it.
It's just a matter of time before the music and lights go dark forever I believe! I didn't even know that they had any JC Penney left open. I wonder how the owner can afford to even pay for the electricity 🔌
Most of the old timers in St Jo would tell you that the East Hill mall was not the reason that downtown died, what Killed downtown St Jo was Urban Renewal, or so we believe. :) I was in middle then High school back then. "The Urban Renewal Project Mo R-92 The program, described as "Project Mo R-92", had been finalized on August 7, 1969 On June 26, 1970 an ordinance was passed by the City Council authorizing a cooperation agreement between the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority for the City of St. Joseph and the City of St. Joseph - over 100 buildings were razed The urban renewal program caused the demise of the downtown area. The majority of businesses moved out of the downtown area or went out of business totally. During the urban renewal period, we lost many of our historic buildings to demolition Downtown Felix Street had been turned into a walking pedestrian mall several times Numerous times, the streets were changed to one-way making driving a bit confusing The pedestrian mall was finally removed as well as many parking meters After 45 years, downtown is beginning to slowly come back to life"
I think it's a combination of the economy, COVID, and the Shoppes at the North Village clear out on the very far north belt insides city limits, this just blows my mind
The last time I was at this mall it was back around 8 or 9 or 10 years ago and at that time it was full of people and children I had my son who was around a year or 2 years old and he loved the play area this just blows my mind I'm just flabbergasted
The Canadian mall you're thinking of is the New Horizon Mall outside Calgary, Alberta. It's an Asian-style shopping centre with a focus on local shops, but has has really struggled to attract tenants. It's a shame, since it's a relatively young mall that only opened in 2019.
Yes that’s it! I remembered seeing a video about it awhile back and that small area in EH reminded me so much of it. It’s a shame it wasn’t able to work up there..
Back in the day last time I shopped in the mall. Monkey wards, Penny’s, Hershey’s, Katty’s drug store. A shoe store, clothing stores. 1986 it was doing very well. 2013 it seemed to be empty now it’s worse.
Next to the kids play area.. there was a part that you put a caption “former ?” that was a Taco John’s before the latest remodel and addition of a “food court” it moved to that area and that was made into an area with vending machines and seating
On the tail end of the pandemic, I met a friend in St Joe. After we were done hanging out, I went to the mall as I needed a new suit jacket, and I figured the Dillard's Clearance Center would be a good place to look (and I found my jacket.) I recall seeing a pizza place in the food court that looked good, I saw a couple people come into the mall just to pick up pizza from there. However I had just eaten before coming to the mall so I passed. That one hallway is very dark, I would argue a bit too dark, but I totally dug the cozy feeling it had.
It was renovated a few years back, because some money was invested in it long ago, which matured. They had to use it or lose it. The owner's son wants to make it into a sports park; thus it's the mall's demise.
Those curtains on the food court countertops are just begging for a little kid to rip them down and the bar comes crashing down. It’s like letting the kids sit on the escalator before they get caught in the treads like in Mallrats. 😮
Please please tell me what songs you used, I have severe anxiety and these videos make me feel so much better but the music is even better. Please could you tell me what songs you use? Love your channel and I will continue to support!❤
I’m glad you enjoy them! Whenever a song plays, I always show the song title/artist in a little banner at the bottom left of the screen. But just look up mallsoft playlists on YT that’s usually where I find it all🙌
Oh snap, East Hills, classic commercial!
🎶Boots and Pants and Boots and Pants🎶
Get to the mall, y'all!
Backpacks, backpacks. Come get your backpacks.
New shoes!!,
Get yourself an o u t f i t
Get yourself an outfit
In my opinion, this is one of the few modern renovations of a mall that doesn’t feel like a soul-removing bleaching. The mall is colorful, vibrant, and seems welcoming. Most malls today just have the same stark white feeling. I really do hope we see more malls like this. It just seems like a fun place to be.
I grew up in st joe ! And still go to the mall , I have high hopes that we can all still use it and hopefully turn it into something better !
If you seen what it looked like in the 90s and 2000s you'd think what it looks like now is a downgrade. I wish I could share images in the comments here. They also used to have a water fountain and a waterfall. There were also colored lights in the shape of squares on the ceiling and popcorn looking light poles in the food court similar to the ones that were at the KC Metro North Mall but they were a gold color at East Hills
Your episodes keep getting better and better. I think the saddest thing in this video was that big beautiful carousel, all lit up, and no children to enjoy it.
It hurts to see! :( and it’s SUCH a beautiful place, I just wish more people would use it all..
Yes! Same thing happened at century 3. They brought in a huge 2 tier carousel and it sat dead for years before they finally carted it away in the final years of the mall. Even if you went to ride it, there was usually no one there to operate it.😢
The Crossroads Mall where I live had a 2 tire Carousel got rid of it a few years ago in the food court which is dead only 2 places are open in the food court. Which is a dead mall.
Current Saint Joseph resident here. The mall use to be THE hangout for everyone. Poor mall management has run that place into the ground. Store have left and gone up to the North Shoppes where they stand a chance at thriving. I have many fond memories of East Hills mall and its beyond sad to see its current state
If you listen closely you can still hear "Backpacks, backpacks, come get your backpacks!" echo through the vacant corridors.
The East Hills commercial. EPIC!!!
Boots and pants and boots and pants.
🤣🤣🤣
It’s ICONIC!😂😂
As a former St. Joseph News-Press reporter, I gotta say you did an excellent job researching this. I feel like outsiders normally come to The Joe and say “This place sucks!” without doing any digging into the cool stuff it does have and had. Was pleasantly surprised you gave the city and the mall’s history a fair shake.
I will also say that it’s pretty funny the mall’s history hallway ends with “Yeah, we had a commercial that sucked so bad that people around the world made fun of it. The end!”
Hey thanks! I put a lot of effort into making sure I can get the history to a T, and yeah that is pretty funny how that wall ends😅
Do you happen to know if one of our people here at KQ2 made that ad? It's in our archives.
@@TheSpiderPan Chris Fleck created it and works at KQ. He should have it.
theres something so sad about these videos. i always think of how busy these places once were, with families, kids, etc. i cant help but feel that times were simpler where places like this could be appreciated.
I can't help but think of that every time I watch ...but it's also so strangely comforting....
The ‘long hallway’ of empty store fronts were where most of the cool stores, salons, our favorite pizza place and more were. That stretch was actually the life of the mall.
Haha, I helped co-direct and cast the first commercial with producer Chris Fleck. My little sister is the little girl singing.
I also produced the beat for the second mall commercial.
RIP Jeff Jones
Sad to see the mall in its current state. I have so many fun childhood memories there.
You got to be part of something pretty historic! Those commercials will forever live on!!
The empty place at time mark 16:19 used to be Taco John's. I walked out there for several years starting in 2000-2001. Had a friend who used to sit at the tables there in the morning with a cup of coffee and watch everyone go by. I was born and raised in St. Joseph and moved about 30 min south after my husband passed 10 years ago. It is sad to see how empty East Hills is now. Many good memories there including Christmas time and all the decorations, taking sewing lessons at Singer's when I was young and hearing Joe Walsh sing with the St. James grade school kids in January 2001. (He used to be a St. James student.) Thanks for the wonderful job you did on this video. 😊
Those sound like great memories, thank you for sharing, and thanks for watching!
@@NorthCdogg22 You're most welcome! 🙂
Its crazy to think that commercial was only 10 years ago. Its very sad but I still have hope some company will take over these malls one day and bring them back to the glory days.
I grew up in St. Joe in the 90’s and it’s so sad to see East Hills in this state. Really enjoyed your coverage of the history of it!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!
Strange Cdog how the Time Line Continuum takes a beautiful lady into her old age often with only the eyes left with the fairness of her youth. Like a rock, Bob Seeger once was, now ,grey and weathered with little hint of the handsome,well built man I saw as a child,with only his magical voice as a reminder. Nothing moves our emotions as does time and change, and the older I become the more I understand what people mean by" I cherish these memories".❤
I absolutely LOVE the carousel in this mall!!! It's absolutely beautiful!!!! It reminds me of the beautiful carousel in the Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis.
Thanks again North for such a beautiful mall and a wonderful video with excellent music!!!
Take care and have a wonderful Sunday and weekend!!!! 👍🏻😃
I totally agree! Have a great weekend Michelle!
It's an old one. The man who fixed it up painted it all by hand. His last name was White.
@@novelist99 That's so cool and awesome he painted it by hand!!! It's a beautiful carousel so I can see that. Thanks for letting us know. What a beautiful carousel!!! 👍🏻😃
Sad about dying malls. I remember when they were the epitome of fun and shopping 🛍
That mall is in great shape. I love the light fixtures. The history timeline was really cool with all the old stores. Your music choice always brings me back to my teens. Those commercials were funny. Thanks for another one. Hope you have a good weekend.
Thanks for watching SeaBee! You have a great weekend too!
Thank you for doing this video. I was born in st.joe in 1981, I grew up going to the mall. My parents have pictures of themselves with the mall construction behind them back in the 70's. There used to be a fresh flower shop in the middle of the floor just outside the food court. it looked like a big black tent. every time we went my mom let me get a carnation or two. right outside Woolworths there was a child size ferris wheel that my grandpa would let me go on.
On Halloween all the kids in town went to the mall and walked on the stage with the water around it in their costumes to see who would win after they had walked around to every store who gave out candy. I got 2nd place one year with my dancing flower costume ( old toy that would move and make noise when you made noise at it). the boy who won that year had a ufo on suspenders that lit up.
KB Toys, A&W for mini corndogs and root beer were the best places to go. As a teen we all had to go to genos pizza, Mr. Bulkys ( they had every candy you could think of, we often went in to see him he was an awesome guy) and Debs is where all the girls got their prom dresses. that mystery wall with the question mark used to be taco Johns another teen hang out in 1999-2000. this video brought back some memories. Steve Craig plans to make it into a sports complex as far as I know. not sure when. Its so very sad to see it fade away like this. But all good things must come to an end. The mall in Kansas city with the hot air balloons was hard to see go too. thanks again for the walk down memory lane.
I remember when the East Hill Mall first opened, Kids from all over the city would take the city bus there on Sat mornings to hang out and watch a movie at the Fox Theater, that was over 50 years ago. Thank you for the memories.
"The Fox East Hills Theatre was located in the East Hills Mall in the east of St. Joseph, MO. It opened on November 3, 1965 with John Wayne in “The Sons of Katie Elder”. It was running movies, mainly B-pictures and double features. It was closed on August 9, 1990 with the animation adventure “DuckTales The Movie:Treasure of the Lost Lamp”
Great work with this exploration of East Hills. I would love to see it in person!
I felt sorry for that big cute teddy bear with the big red bow tie in the store window just sitting there looking out to an empty mall.😢
Me too :( poor guy will be stuck there until it’s all torn down..
I'm not a native of St Joe, but I've lived here for almost 6 years and when I first moved here in 2019 I worked in that mall, at Rue21, which is now, sadly gone like so many others before her. I obviously never got to see East Hills in it's Hay Day, and, man, I wish I would have, but even in 2019 it was still pretty poppin! Obviously that was pre-pandemic and after Covid everything started really going downhill. I think since I've lived here we've lost roughly 20 stores and food court restaurants and probably a few more smaller pop ups that I can't even remember (probably more, I just can't keep track). It's really sad to see it like this. And I'm honestly surprised the few stores that are still there are still there, ya know! Idk how much longer East Hills has, but this video made me wanna go and give it some love before it's gone.
Current St Joe resident here and let me say that this mall used to be THE spot to hang out! I graduated high school in 2011 and it’s been so sad seeing the sight of this place now. Around a year ago, the owner doubled everyone’s leases and ran them out as fast as he could. So sad. 😢
Suburbs of the Windy City... Dixie Square?? Kidding, kidding, LOL! Great vid as always!
Thank you!! And I wish I could’ve seen that one!😅
I grew up going to this mall so it is a bit sad to see but you did a great job on this min-documentary. Well Done!!
Thank you!
I had worked at VS/Pink from the summer of 2019-2020. Some co-workers, myself, and including some mall staff noticed an uptick in traffic in the fall and winter. I can't remember which one, a restraint did come to the food court during the fall of 19. It felt like the mall was actually turning around. Then the pandemic hit by March Victorias Secret closed us and other mall locations permanently. I do remember getting a picture with Santa in the old food court in 94.
That mall in the late 90s was iconic. I spent a lot of time in my teens there, talking to girls and hanging out with friends. I performed with my school choir at Christmastime several times at center stage at the fountain, and played in a bad that got to play there too. So many memories for me that it makes it hard to even go in there now, except I have kids who love to ride the carousel and play in the kids area. Great video!
This brings back so many memories my grandma and I would walk laps around the entire mall now she is gone and this just hurts my heart and soul
This mall has it all: Unique Layout, Actually nice modern renovation, takes pride in it's history with that BEAUTIFUL historic wall, and a working carousel. Shame it's biting the dust like so many other beautiful properties, all for more bland big-box retail. Great documentation as always! Did you 🎵get yourself an outfit🎵 there? 😂
No but I should’ve!😅😅 thanks for watching man!
Love your videos, especially the music!❤
Thank you so much!
Former resident of St Joe and still go back home every now and again. Family still lives there. I used to love going to the mall. And I had actually forgotten that there was a stage with a fountain till this video. The part where you said Former ? In the video, the entry way with a small arch. I believe that had been a Taco John's in the early 2000's. I can't remember what, or even if it became something else afterwards. But thank you for this trip down memory lane and for giving the respect that it deserves. I love St Joe but it gets a bad wrap. So thank you!
I grew up going to East Hills Mall. I went there probably a month ago to Penneys. t's so sad to see it almost empty. Rumor has it, is that the owner has ran it into the ground with extremely high lease costs.
I’ve heard the current owner has been just running the remaining tenants leases out, then plans to close and demolish the mall shortly after.. :( it really is sad
Can finally sleep well tonight with new Saturday video
Last time I set foot in this mall (and NW Missouri) was 1997. Back then you couldn’t find a parking spot - the place was packed every day! Just sad to see this mall a shell of its former self.
I could definitely vibe in this mall. Great video!!
Thanks man!
Just wanted to say you do an exceptional job! Great content! Very interesting, very cool. It takes a lot of work to make such a great video. It’s not easy and very time consuming. You deserve some accolades. Been watching for quite a while. You add so much and with music, the camera work. Haha…thanks man…I really enjoy! Keep going!
Thank you very much!
Amazing Video as always
Hi North!!! The mall in Canada is New Horizon Mall in Calgary Alberta Canada. They built it directly across from another mall Cross Iron Mills Mall.
Thanks so very much for the wonderful videos!!! This was an excellent video as always!!
Take care and have a wonderful Sunday and weekend!!!! 👍🏻😃
Yes that’s the one! Thanks for watching!
Yep just like my Barrie Ontario malls 2 clustered together and walls of vacancy 👀
another great cozy vid 👏🏻
Awesome, you're too good at this 👍
This is sad. I have so many memories of this mall.
Cdog is the absolute best of the archives historians. One would think he has a whole staff at his disposal ehen examining the quality of his finished products, by far the most professionally done. I believe he and others who do this type of work are historical journalist with which future generations may look back and actually " feel" what the past was actually like, not just be able to view an old postcard! I have every regard for his safety and do not want to see him in dangerous environments, but I do wish he would or could begin to document many more places of historical interest ( and there are literally hundreds of thousands that are worth preservation). Maybe, one day when time has spun it's web, Cdog,if he covers his rights to his material well (a good lawyer) he might sell his volumes of historical content and be able to retire comfortably. Nothing but love for Cdog!❤
EXCELLENT VIDEO❤
Man, you caught it just in time. Thank-you for this! (i love malls)
Glad you enjoyed!
You just keep getting better and better with your videos! Keep up the good work😊!
PS: Good job on your transitions!
I'm so excited for this one. This is my local mall. 😊❤🎉
Hope you like it!
If you're ever in St Louis, check out South County Mall. Its tiny but the best example of a dead mall I've seen, actively in the death throes. Every time we pass by Im amazed its open
I’ve been before! Back in 2020 it still seemed to be doing fairly well, but I’ll have to check it out out next time I’m down!
@@NorthCdogg22 food court down to 2 places last we saw. so bad they've pulled up all but 2 of those kiosks in the main walk way. Upstairs is just the jewelry store now and walled off at the overhang
What a beautiful mall, it's so sad to see it decline.
Amazing channel
Thanks!
A nice classic Mall, and i'm sad that Mall's are dying.
Amazing video North!
i remember my grandma taking me here all the time when i was little. we would first go to dillards so she could shop, then we would go to justice so i could get new clothes, then we would get taco johns and auntie annes, then go to the play place, then bath and body since she worked there and got a discount, and shop that entire hallway that looks so dead now. the saddest thing for me about this video is the play place being completely empty. i used to play there everytime i went to the mall and there were kids playing all over the play place.
It's such a shame so many Malls are closed or closing, It Wasn't just about shopping it was about socialising, a lot people say amazon and online retail is to blame but it's also a lot of the stores having to pay overpriced rent, people not having as much disposable income, increased crime, the crash of 2008, the lockdowns of 2020, also there are a lot of areas which built too many malls in close proximity which caused over saturation, bit like Starbucks. I just hope they find good uses for Malls that are closing as so much time, effort, and money went into building these Malls.
Amazing 👏🏽👏🏽
They were spittin' hot fire on the mall commercial 😅😅
hot FIRE
The hair stylist was clearly enjoying it more than boots & pants guy
@@innercityprepperHAIR CUTTT!!!
Lmao locals make fun of that commercial😂
Great video. Thanks.
Glad you liked it!
Used to live in Cedar Falls in 93 and visited family once a year until 02. Sad what happened to College Square. Heard Crossroads in Waterloo is almost dead too. Would like to see you do a video of that mall
@@CheapestBigSpender I’ve actually have a video on that mall already!
@@NorthCdogg22 I found it. It's so creepy and sad to see College Square and Crossroads now. It's like someone took a memory of your youth and stomped it to pieces while laughing at you 😪
Currently live here it is very sad to watch it die I had a lot of fond memories there growing up
I remember in the 70s and 80s my mom and her sister would travel to St. Joe to shop at a clothing store called Einbenders, which I believe was located in the downtown district.
You do a awesome job with these videos. Funny that they put the names of their former tenants since they don't have many actual stores.
That mall is awesome. Between the North Shop's development and Steve Craig's rent prices, it drove everyone out
I play that easy hills mall commercial every year when back to school starts😂😂😂
I work at KQ2 making ads for the local businesses. We neighbor the mall. (I actually filmed the recent eclipse from the mall parking lot) I think one of my predecessors made that ad. It's in our archives. Dated from 2015. We used to have a Halloween trick or treat event with our reporters etc before Covid. I've thought it would be fun for us to start that up again...but I don't think it's going to happen.
It's a nice looking mall and it appears to be in great condition. What the heck happened to malls in America? I live in Vietnam. The malls here are jam packed with people. I live about 3/4 mile from Aeon Mall Canary, Binh Duong. You can look it up online. However, if you want to experience peak mall culture, you should go to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The malls there are incredible. Amazing selection of stores and reasonable prices.
It’s nice that malls in other parts of the world are able to work out so well, I hope to get to experience that one day! America unfortunately is just built to SUCH an excess, that these places.. no matter how nice, are just empty..
The only thing I didn't hear spoken about is the downstairs area this place had! I used to come out here when I was little with my grandparents all the time, and there was a downstairs area that had restrooms, but also had a gym, and then some office buildings. It's where the food court is now, but used to be to the right of the stage/fountain area. I had SO many choir performances out here as a kid.
They also used to have a reindeer petting zoo during the holidays, and the yearly sidewalk sale that everyone absolutely loved.
Many of us tried the Mr. and Mrs. East Hills contests which were kiddo beauty pageants. They used to have photos lining the walls of kids who were past winners. Santa was out here too and I think JMcBee would take the photos for it.
It's just a matter of time before the music and lights go dark forever I believe! I didn't even know that they had any JC Penney left open. I wonder how the owner can afford to even pay for the electricity 🔌
Most of the old timers in St Jo would tell you that the East Hill mall was not the reason that downtown died, what Killed downtown St Jo was Urban Renewal, or so we believe. :) I was in middle then High school back then.
"The Urban Renewal Project Mo R-92
The program, described as "Project Mo R-92", had been finalized on August 7, 1969
On June 26, 1970 an ordinance was passed by the City Council authorizing a cooperation agreement between the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority for the City of St. Joseph and the City of St. Joseph - over 100 buildings were razed
The urban renewal program caused the demise of the downtown area. The majority of businesses moved out of the downtown area or went out of business totally. During the urban renewal period, we lost many of our historic buildings to demolition
Downtown Felix Street had been turned into a walking pedestrian mall several times
Numerous times, the streets were changed to one-way making driving a bit confusing
The pedestrian mall was finally removed as well as many parking meters
After 45 years, downtown is beginning to slowly come back to life"
Beautiful video man
Thanks man!
@NorthCdogg22 yea man 🤘
I think it's a combination of the economy, COVID, and the Shoppes at the North Village clear out on the very far north belt insides city limits, this just blows my mind
Is it the New Horizon Mall in Clagary, Alberta that you are talking about, North?
Yes that’s the one!
The last time I was at this mall it was back around 8 or 9 or 10 years ago and at that time it was full of people and children I had my son who was around a year or 2 years old and he loved the play area this just blows my mind I'm just flabbergasted
The guy that has a crazy eye @ 25:05 reminds me of someone.🤔🤔🤔
😂😂😂
Your film work is excellent, this mall appears to be on its last legs.
The Canadian mall you're thinking of is the New Horizon Mall outside Calgary, Alberta. It's an Asian-style shopping centre with a focus on local shops, but has has really struggled to attract tenants. It's a shame, since it's a relatively young mall that only opened in 2019.
Yes that’s it! I remembered seeing a video about it awhile back and that small area in EH reminded me so much of it. It’s a shame it wasn’t able to work up there..
remarkably upbeat timeline judging by the look of things. that merry-go-round is surreal in the dead mall, surreal even
This mall has cozy coffee shop at night vibes.
freakytown mall in freakytown next?
Yes
18:23 I'm pretty sure the sears closed in 2013 or 14.
it closed in 2017
23:11 that is the carousel from Southwyck Mall
Really?? I did not know that that’s absolutely fascinating
Back in the day last time I shopped in the mall.
Monkey wards, Penny’s, Hershey’s, Katty’s drug store. A shoe store, clothing stores. 1986 it was doing very well. 2013 it seemed to be empty now it’s worse.
Minus the colored tubes, the overhead wood and geometric shapes in this mall are a bit of Frank Lloyd Wright inspired design.
Next to the kids play area.. there was a part that you put a caption “former ?” that was a Taco John’s before the latest remodel and addition of a “food court” it moved to that area and that was made into an area with vending machines and seating
Admin reveal @35:58!
🫣🫣
On the tail end of the pandemic, I met a friend in St Joe. After we were done hanging out, I went to the mall as I needed a new suit jacket, and I figured the Dillard's Clearance Center would be a good place to look (and I found my jacket.) I recall seeing a pizza place in the food court that looked good, I saw a couple people come into the mall just to pick up pizza from there. However I had just eaten before coming to the mall so I passed. That one hallway is very dark, I would argue a bit too dark, but I totally dug the cozy feeling it had.
Stratford Square next?
Yep you got it!
almost choked on my food, Boots & Pants & Boots & Pants 🤣😂 Brilliant video by the way
This mall used to be the place to go. I miss what it used to be, and now you're lucky if you find a real life person in there.
Do the Northpark Mall Joplin Missouri!
It was renovated a few years back, because some money was invested in it long ago, which matured. They had to use it or lose it. The owner's son wants to make it into a sports park; thus it's the mall's demise.
These videos are great, but I wonder how large the drop off rate for watches is as it takes nearly three minutes into the video to get to the topic.
I believe the Canadian mall you're referring to is New Horizons mall in Calgary, Alberta
Those curtains on the food court countertops are just begging for a little kid to rip them down and the bar comes crashing down.
It’s like letting the kids sit on the escalator before they get caught in the treads like in Mallrats. 😮
It’s going to happen one of these days 🫣 especially since there is little supervision here..
My hubby lived in St Joe Mo for awhile when growing up.
Stratford square in Bloomingdale Illinois?
Please please tell me what songs you used, I have severe anxiety and these videos make me feel so much better but the music is even better. Please could you tell me what songs you use? Love your channel and I will continue to support!❤
I’m glad you enjoy them! Whenever a song plays, I always show the song title/artist in a little banner at the bottom left of the screen. But just look up mallsoft playlists on YT that’s usually where I find it all🙌
Amazing Video! Now where are you gonna get your haircut? 😂
It looks beautiful inside. Maybe business would use it as office space?
🎶 Haircuts 🎶
Wonderful video! I am going to guess Stratford Square Mall :).
It is!
@@NorthCdogg22: If you announce it, you can just say Molly if it's easier.
Hey north, i have a question, do you have a channel maskot?? Like a character?? I wanna make fanart but idk what to draw
I do not! But if you think up something feel free to send me an insta DM!
@@NorthCdogg22 shoot I don't have insta but I'll @ you on yt