It amazes me how a mall that only really lasted for about 35 years, with all the money spent on building supplies and land and everything else, how people can just write it off. I live on a 200 year old farm and I will never sell it. Just amazing how much money was lost.
I remember the ads for Century III from visits to my parents in Pittsburgh back in the late 1970's and 1980's. They lived on the North Side, so Century III was too far of a trip for them, especially since all the same stores could be found in the North Hills. Still, if you were in Pittsburgh at the time, Century III was hard to forget.
Need to add the Century 3 Chevrolet jingle. “Century 3 Chevrolet, Lebanon Church Rd, Pittsburgh… minutes from the mall”. Every Pittsburgher will remember it.
That was my mall growing up just down the road. It was wonderfull throughout the 80's. Met my wife of now 35 years there at Wilsons Leather and Suede back in 84, right out of high school. Sorry to see that the demo is underway. Gread video, thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I was just talking to my dad about how the loss of 3rd and 4th places (like malls, bars, parks, etc) is making it nearly impossible to date as a young man without using apps. It’s so hard, nobody talks in public anymore, nobody even sees each other anymore
I was in middle school when it opened and spent a lot of time there with friends hanging out at the food court, National Record Mart, and Kaufmans. It was one of the best parts growing up in the 80s.
Our recent heatwave reminded me how nice it was to have a big indoor space nearby to go walking on a hot day. I think the last time I was in there was around 2014 or so. Only a few stores were open and the atmosphere felt so weird I never went back. 🙁
What’s interesting is back in this malls hey day nobody bothered to record on video a walk thru of it. In the 80s and 90s everybody just assumed these malls would be here forever. Nobody even contemplated that these once great malls would die. Sadly, all we seem to have left to reminisce of them in their glory days is still photos. If only we knew back then.
They would have had to do it with a big home video recorder on their shoulder as there weren’t phones to easily record video.I remember those days well..
I think the parking decks failing is what really started killing the mall, driving under a concrete building held to gether with fencing and wood did make it feel safe, i believe it was built on bad ground and had major setling issues as did the mall that over looked the city in green tree that is now gone
I really miss the malls of this design and style, I usually as a kid couldn't stand shopping trips for hours but interesting malls like this were an exception where I could walk for hours.
Really good memories in that mall during the early-mid 80's. My parents would take me and a carload of my friends (about an hour drive) there just to hangout, shop, meet girls, and just be curious teenagers. It was really an event for us considering the place was like a small city. RIP C3!!!
I remember going to century III when I was young in the early 2000s during Christmas time. Even though it’s been so long I still remember many of the parts you showed. What a hit of nostalgia.
@@MrHeadbanger366 😂 I bet they played it a lot. I remember watching it on KDKA outside of Pittsburgh and WTRF in Wheeling. When I moved to Fairmont it was “To the right to the right, of the Morgantown Mall!”
That mall used to have fountains back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Used to be beautiful and crazy busy during Christmas time. My mom passed away two years ago and this video brought back memories. Thanks for the video.
The thing that's absolutely *terrible* about this mall is the ONLY connector road in between Clairton Rd and Clairton Blvd is the Century III access road that runs alongside the site. As far as I can tell it's a part of the property and hasn't seen any service in YEARS. It is absolutely a suspension breaker nowadays. Unfortunately you have to go WELL out of your way to avoid it.
About this road. I have to use it running deliveries to from 51 & the other side. In july 2022 I hit a crater that was close to 8ft wide AND 10 inches deep! Broke a forged aluminum rim, shredded new tire at the bead, snapped oem swaybar end link in half, borked hub bearing, & tie rod end damage on that side. Somewhere around $650 in damage. July 4, 2024 got new tires. July 21st hit pot hole again at less than 25mph tire was leaking air. Rim shattered at bead! City hall just gives the run around about how they dont own it. Im like how many millions in damage to motorists have to take before they just repave then damn road. I told W. Mifflin city hall they took Moonbeam Capitals bait, so theyre guilty too! Excuses all around.
I don’t know how an actual road way can be privately owned. It’s frustrating. It’s like the mills mall which failed but all the roads around it are in shambles. The remaining stores still get business but getting there almost needs a four wheel drive
Got my first credit card in college, 1991. Promptly took the bus from school to Century Three mall for a shopping trip. Sad to see it this way. Being demolished now.
As a Pittsburgh resident in 1979 (which was the year both the Steelers and the Pirates won their respective championships), Century III was a huge deal. It was a great mall, if a little inconvenient from where we lived out by the airport). Sad to see it such decay.
As someone who worked at malls from 1975 to 2009 it's really sad how quickly many malls just rot away. Along with so many of the mall stores. Dangerous to walk around them. I've personally visited many dead malls in Texas, Florida and the Carolina's.
It happened in Washington, PA too just 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh. The Washington Mall and the Franklin Mall (Washington Crown Center) saw the same fate. But the Tanger Outlet is thriving. It's a tourist attraction being across the street from the casino/harness racing track.
So sad to see these malls closing up at an exponential rate. I’m lucky the mall here in Fredericksburg, VA is still doing okay, but certainly nothing like it used to. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. Christmas just won’t be the same without a trip to the mall.
All these malls were opening and brand new when i was a kid. Now they're gone, and I'm still here, a little worse for wear, but still looking much better than they are! 😂
Oh My God I watch every century III vid because I worked there for a short but memorable time. In that salon with the water leak!!! Thank you for going there. It wasn’t my fav salon to work at. I was in fx school so I found work closer to,school. But that salon haunts me I loved it especially the comic book store on 3rd floor.
I loved many things about this mall growing up, but my favorite was that the floors appeared as though they were platforms, with stairs all over the place. It was like if M. C. Escher designed a mall.
@@TechTokOffical It has happened to at least one mall in every U.S. city. It happened in my city. Blax started moving in. Crime at the mall went up. People stopped going and moved to less dark areas.
I moved from Pittsburgh in the summer of 1979, the Century Three Mall was still under construction at that point. I came back to Pittsburgh in 1991 and at one point worked nearby. It was still a thriving mall in the early nineties, and I shopped there pretty often during that period. I moved out of the area again for work in 2003, the mall had declined quite a bit by then, although it was still pretty busy at Christmas time. I retired and moved back into the area in 2010. I think that I visited it once or twice to buy Craftsman tools at Sears. It was in sad shape by then. I wasn't surprised that it closed, I was more surprised that it lasted as long as it did.
I remember going there as a kid, South hills village was much closer but CIII was like the special trip for when mom and dad were feeling adventurous. There was a smallish area on the first floor that had cobble stone. There was an ice cream store and a few other food places like a mini food court. As a kid it was soo cool. In high school however, all i remember was crime, and always having to be on point to not get mugged. That is probably the main reason the mall died, the area has started coming back in reascent years, a mall like that might have been able to make a comeback. SHV is still there and doing fine as far a i know.
Century 3 had a Sears and Sears Automotive on the bottom floor at one point. Also being a South Hills resident of Pittsburgh my whole life, we went to a few malls around the area. Parkway Center, closed; Century 3, Closed; and South Hills Village, Thriving. People say the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead killed Century 3, it was the crime that did it.
Truth. When Port Authority made Century III Mall a transfer spot for bus routes to the ghettos, that was the beginning of the end. Homestead, where the Waterfront was built, had a higher crime rate than West Mifflin. I grew up in the South Hills. As a teenager in the mid 80s, it was safe to go to Century III. I preferred South Hills Village because it was closer and less crowded. I no longer live around there but understand South Hills Village, which was built before I was born, is thriving. I can remember when Century III opened. Now it’s all but gone.
@@mikee2923 I havent lost any sleep over it. When I came in 2019 It was coughing its last few breaths. What are ya'll so whiny about? It was built on a toxic waste dump!
I had no clue this once awesome place was closed and abandoned. I haven’t been up that way in 20+ years. Pretty sad. That was such an experience for a small town West Virginia fella.
7:30 OH MY GOD, of all the places, that's Phillip Pelusi, I remember running around that place while my mother dyed her hair back in 94. There was a lovely woman from England named Carrie who I'd always chat with back then. I hope she and my mother's stylist Tina are doing well.
We would always hit Chi Chi's across the street before heading into the mall. So many cool stores. I remember one store with a suit of armor but can't remember what they sold there. I want to say cigars and pipe tobacco but that might be far off. Great memories!
I worked at century III Mall for 2 years at Kaufman's and went through the conversion of Macy's do I still remember my keys going up to the Macy's furniture on the top level storage room saying horns department signage and bags
I worked here right out of high school. Back then every store was occupied and the place was packed almost every day of the week. I truly hope that they can re purpose that property in a way that helps the entire area it used to serve.
Typical extravagant waste that takes place in America. It was too big and clearly not maintained with a lack of diversification to maintain it as being a hub. South Africa Johannesburg was very clever with malls. They all had financial and banking, hotels, medical suites, and office towers. This meant you never had to leave it was literally one stop shop and still is. They also added residential apartments and gated townhouses to some to ensure their survival. America has always had this strange habit of building disconnected places where you literally need to drive to the next store or even the same building because that's quicker than walking.
No. Basically what happened is globalism. Pittsburgh was the steel capital of the world when this mall was initially planned. It had a large middle class to support something like this at the time. There were several large steel mills within a 30 minute drive to this mall. During construction of this mall, the steel industry collapsed. Pittsburgh was decimated by that and has yet to fully recover to what it once was. My guess is it probably never will as the United States has been in a free fall since then. Middle class manufacturing jobs that once were everywhere that could support a family are basically nonexistent anymore. This is evidenced by the swathes of abandoned buildings, businesses and homes that dot a large portion of our country while we are presently experiencing record homelessness. It’s yet another symbol of the decline of the United States. I’m actually surprised this mall lasted and thrived as long as it did.
The real tragedy is that the Mall could of been restored and used but West Mifflin's local government had some kind of shady shit with Moonbeam. Another firm tried to buy the Mall originally and displayed plans for it to be converted to an inclusive gated community with condos and apartments. They were going to anchor a Grocery store and allow commercial spots for a internal convenience store. They planned for an indoor playground and other amenities for residents. The inside would be only accessible by tennents. It was a cool concept and they had plans to put a call center and office space at the other end.
It is so awesome that you add videos and pictures from the past of the places you explore. I love history and watching videos of abandon places. Bravo and well done. I will be checking out your older videos you posted and look forward for new ones. Great job.
i dunno if anyone posted this in the comments yet but that wasn't a sbaro, it was an Italian village pizza shop. used to love getting pizza from there. :)
i cut the local walmart that overlooks the mall, it’s sad every week when i look down that massive hill and see more and more of it tore down. all those memories just wiped away like nothing (edit: ill send some clips if wanted)
These are great videos !! Really enjoy how thorough you are with the history of the malls you show . I’m Laura from Canada and here malls are still very popular places to shop . Also Bug Box store such as Wal Mart. But Malls here in Canada are booming still . Seems opposite in the US ?? Strange . ❤😊👍🏻🙌🏻
Back in the early 80s, when I was fresh out of high school and fancied myself a photographer, I went to our local mall one day, around Christmas time, and took a roll of 35mm 400 ASA film of just images of the mall and the decorations and what not. That mall was torn down in 2005. I still have those photos tucked away somewhere.
Hobby Store with the Remote Helicopter That wished for X-mas so many times and i don't think it ever sold, sad. this was my childhood growing up here in Western PA. Last time i shopped there, I bought Tools At closing Sears .
these malls are the closest thing to a time machine for me, I love dated malls, I used to make jokes about "run down malls" but often the ones still in business have some of the best businesses around...or the worst, but the ones I go to are awesome
My childhood mall closes this month. I remember being bored out of my mind waiting for my family to finish Christmas shopping. Now I would go back in a heartbeat to walk around it when it was alive.
The Penguins displayed the Stanley Cup there as well as eight Super Bowls (San Francisco and Pittsburgh), a World Series trophy, a Heiden Trophy and more.
I have seen a lot of youtube videos on abandoned places but this is one of the first times I have seen one on a place I knew very well. This hurts my heart.
I live in the Pittsburgh area, and I was there many times. What a shame, it really was a beautiful mall. I knew a guy that was showing off for some girls and he jumped from the top level and broke both of his legs really bad. I remember.
@@dieseldragon6756 I'm not sure if the Arndale centre is still open in central Manchester. It's tiny in comparison but last time I was there ,which was years ago,it was half empty and in a state of disrepair
Spent most of my high school years there in the early 80’s. Left for the military then went back there while home for leave in the 90’s and was shocked with how bad it was and how much was gone. Now, living near Columbus, OH, the same thing is happening here. Tanger and Polaris are all that’s left and that ain’t saying much.
Project Prom was run by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services for teens, girls and boys, who were eligible to receive the free gowns and accessories to attend prom.
It is the largest mall to go broke and to be abandoned It is the largest failed shopping mall in the world .The others are too big to fail ! (All thanks to the outcome of the 1980 and 1984 national elections.)
When I was a kid during the late 80s, this was my hangout. We lived close enough for a quick bike ride or a 20-min walk. Great memories at that mall, and I'm sad to see it go. During the holidays, it used to be jam packed. So many people, commerce was through the roof. I've got a tour on my channel in 2017, when it was on its last legs.
I remember this Mall being constructed , And now witnessing it being torn down . Time brings down the biggest of mountains . I am sure this land will have new and exciting things to come .
I can actually remember walking around century three as a kid and young teenager, i remember sitting at the food court with my moms boyfriend, and i remember the big Z shaped ramp that lead upstairs that had a pet store nearby. Its so depressing getting older and seeing your childhood literally in ruins like this. I'm only 27 years old but i definitely understand when older people get so caught up with their past because it really is a sad feeling seeing things you used to literally frolic in as a child decay and rot away.
did i miss the part where you mentioned that this mall is in pennsylvania. i didn't hear it mentioned in the beginning, but could guess it was in pennsylvania only because i know the historic call letters KDKA. it helps to give us info on the location when you ID a place by name. and perhaps you did, and i simply missed it. i often watch with one eye when i stream videos like this. great work on the video. including local newscasts, old commercials and images of the mall, as well as nods to its history, is greatly appreciated. i get that you can't always provide history about an abandoned house, and not all commercial businesses have good info online about their history. but too many urbex videos just show video with weak narration, and leave it at that. your efforts in this video stand out. i'll definitely check out more of your content.
If you want to explore a really dead mall we have one in Meriden CT called Meriden Mall. I wish I could have the stars from this mall. If they were not so arrest happy right now I would love to explore this place.
As a fat American I love your breads and cake. Look up Dixie Square mall, I went before the demolition, unfortunate and interesting story behind the place.
It was the best mall in the area by far. When the Waterfront opened, all the big chains decided to head there and Century II closed down. I much prefer a nice mall over the Waterfront, which is drive to each store, park and go in. There are some close enough to park once and shop a few, but parking is a pain by those few stores. Whoever decided to let Century III go in my opinion was a fool.
It is not demolished yet, they only took down the parking decks, the building is still standing... The local news just did an update yesterday and there are no immediate plans to demo the tsructure as moonbeam, property owners, do not have the $20 mil in capital needed to demo the mall itself, so they are adding concrete blocks to seal off all the entrances until capital can be raised to level it.
Moonbeam sucked they're the reason why the mall got run into the ground they're the reason why all their malls fall apart where is multiple opportunities for new stores
Simon didn't help either. Spent all that money to remodel but ended up not paying on the mall loan since it didn't fit their portfolio as a high end mall
No. You can actually thank the Port Authority of Allegheny County for this mall’s early decline. They made this mall a transfer point for the bus lines that went to the ghettos. That is the real cause for its early decline that few people talk about. But you can ultimately thank radical environmentalists for its and really Pittsburgh’s and the rest of the rust belt’s downfall.
@@mikee2923 Bingo the mall was already on its deathbed when Moonbeam bought it, Tyrone and Jamal from Clairton walked around the mall liked they owned it and caused trouble causing normal decent people to not go back or drive down the road to South Hills Village
This video was definitely shot before April 2023 as the power was shut off around that time. I get that videos people shot a while back will start to come out now as this beautiful mall awaits the demolition crews. As soon as they're done with the parking deck, it's the mall next 😭😭 although the thumbnail would've made one think it was a current video 👀 stunning presentation of the century 3 mall though.. 👌🏼👌🏼
Once you get the gangs and shootings the mall is done. I lived in a town that had a thriving mall and then people from the city started coming in to shop and they destroyed the mall with shoplifting and crime.
Last comment since this mall was near to my heart... as a teen boy in the 90s, we trolled for girls at malls, as most did. South Hills Village was known for the girls you pick up to make your girlfriend, prom date, take home to mom. Century 3 was known for the girls that would, um, go all the way! LOL
I didn’t know we had that reputation but now that I hear it, I’m not surprised 😆 My friends and I hung out at Century III every weekend in the late 80s-early 90s
At one point century III Mall had Kauffman's department gimbels Montgomery wards Sears and JCPenney then later they had Montgomery Ward's became horns dep then to Kauffman's furniture gimbels split at one point it was TJ Maxx and wickes furniture before it became dicks then Kaufman's converted to Macy's it was a beautiful mall will never have another one like it
at the 12:48 second mark he makes a comment about cults with the spray paint circle on the floor, that is actually from Gravity Falls if you look closely you can make out some of the symbols...LOL
We had a large strip mall in Cleveland OH that was built on an old dump sight. Anchor stores were Giant Eagle grocery and a Walmart. Within months of opening, Walmart closed and all the other 12+ stores closed due to dangerous levels of methane gas leaking in and foundations seriously cracking and breaking away!
It amazes me how a mall that only really lasted for about 35 years, with all the money spent on building supplies and land and everything else, how people can just write it off. I live on a 200 year old farm and I will never sell it. Just amazing how much money was lost.
I remember the ads for Century III from visits to my parents in Pittsburgh back in the late 1970's and 1980's. They lived on the North Side, so Century III was too far of a trip for them, especially since all the same stores could be found in the North Hills. Still, if you were in Pittsburgh at the time, Century III was hard to forget.
Need to add the Century 3 Chevrolet jingle. “Century 3 Chevrolet, Lebanon Church Rd, Pittsburgh… minutes from the mall”. Every Pittsburgher will remember it.
Thank you for the earworm 😜
She frequented a bar I went to, when people would yell it out or bring it up she would get irritated.
@@sarah_757 Welcome! lmao
Remember Willie's 🎿 shop? They had 8-10 locations at 1 point- 1960s to 2000s.
Yes sir. I remember that ad from when I was in high school in Greentree
That was my mall growing up just down the road. It was wonderfull throughout the 80's. Met my wife of now 35 years there at Wilsons Leather and Suede back in 84, right out of high school. Sorry to see that the demo is underway. Gread video, thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I was just talking to my dad about how the loss of 3rd and 4th places (like malls, bars, parks, etc) is making it nearly impossible to date as a young man without using apps. It’s so hard, nobody talks in public anymore, nobody even sees each other anymore
I was in middle school when it opened and spent a lot of time there with friends hanging out at the food court, National Record Mart, and Kaufmans. It was one of the best parts growing up in the 80s.
Our recent heatwave reminded me how nice it was to have a big indoor space nearby to go walking on a hot day. I think the last time I was in there was around 2014 or so. Only a few stores were open and the atmosphere felt so weird I never went back. 🙁
What’s interesting is back in this malls hey day nobody bothered to record on video a walk thru of it. In the 80s and 90s everybody just assumed these malls would be here forever. Nobody even contemplated that these once great malls would die. Sadly, all we seem to have left to reminisce of them in their glory days is still photos. If only we knew back then.
They would have had to do it with a big home video recorder on their shoulder as there weren’t phones to easily record video.I remember those days well..
I think the parking decks failing is what really started killing the mall, driving under a concrete building held to gether with fencing and wood did make it feel safe, i believe it was built on bad ground and had major setling issues as did the mall that over looked the city in green tree that is now gone
I really miss the malls of this design and style, I usually as a kid couldn't stand shopping trips for hours but interesting malls like this were an exception where I could walk for hours.
The mall was awesome in it's day. Nobody would have imagined that it wound up as it did.
@schallrd1 I drove by the other night, and it was pitch black. I remember when the parking lots were full and lit up. Especially at Christmas.
Really good memories in that mall during the early-mid 80's. My parents would take me and a carload of my friends (about an hour drive) there just to hangout, shop, meet girls, and just be curious teenagers. It was really an event for us considering the place was like a small city. RIP C3!!!
I remember going to century III when I was young in the early 2000s during Christmas time. Even though it’s been so long I still remember many of the parts you showed. What a hit of nostalgia.
Century III is in the news more now than when it was open. Sad.
@@MrHeadbanger366 😂 I bet they played it a lot. I remember watching it on KDKA outside of Pittsburgh and WTRF in Wheeling. When I moved to Fairmont it was “To the right to the right, of the Morgantown Mall!”
@@MsThorne2009 I watch WPXI myself, that's where I kept seeing the news reports.
That mall used to have fountains back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Used to be beautiful and crazy busy during Christmas time. My mom passed away two years ago and this video brought back memories. Thanks for the video.
Before the internet and Amazon... put a kick in the ass to these once great malls
The thing that's absolutely *terrible* about this mall is the ONLY connector road in between Clairton Rd and Clairton Blvd is the Century III access road that runs alongside the site. As far as I can tell it's a part of the property and hasn't seen any service in YEARS. It is absolutely a suspension breaker nowadays. Unfortunately you have to go WELL out of your way to avoid it.
About this road. I have to use it running deliveries to from 51 & the other side. In july 2022 I hit a crater that was close to 8ft wide AND 10 inches deep! Broke a forged aluminum rim, shredded new tire at the bead, snapped oem swaybar end link in half, borked hub bearing, & tie rod end damage on that side. Somewhere around $650 in damage. July 4, 2024 got new tires. July 21st hit pot hole again at less than 25mph tire was leaking air. Rim shattered at bead! City hall just gives the run around about how they dont own it. Im like how many millions in damage to motorists have to take before they just repave then damn road. I told W. Mifflin city hall they took Moonbeam Capitals bait, so theyre guilty too! Excuses all around.
The worst road in all of Allegheny County, which is saying a lot
I don’t know how an actual road way can be privately owned. It’s frustrating. It’s like the mills mall which failed but all the roads around it are in shambles. The remaining stores still get business but getting there almost needs a four wheel drive
Got my first credit card in college, 1991. Promptly took the bus from school to Century Three mall for a shopping trip. Sad to see it this way. Being demolished now.
Great narration, with intermittent music and transitions to historical photography and back in the day news casts. 👍🏼
I seriously need to build a time machine.
As a Pittsburgh resident in 1979 (which was the year both the Steelers and the Pirates won their respective championships), Century III was a huge deal. It was a great mall, if a little inconvenient from where we lived out by the airport). Sad to see it such decay.
I think Pittsburgh first used the sports term; City of Champions 🏆. I think the Pirates 🏴☠️ & NHL Penguins won too. 1992 or 1991.
@@DavidLLambertmobile The Penguins won in 91 and 92. The Pirates haven’t won or even been to the World Series since 1979.
As someone who worked at malls from 1975 to 2009 it's really sad how quickly many malls just rot away. Along with so many of the mall stores. Dangerous to walk around them. I've personally visited many dead malls in Texas, Florida and the Carolina's.
It happened in Washington, PA too just 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh. The Washington Mall and the Franklin Mall (Washington Crown Center) saw the same fate. But the Tanger Outlet is thriving. It's a tourist attraction being across the street from the casino/harness racing track.
So sad to see these malls closing up at an exponential rate.
I’m lucky the mall here in Fredericksburg, VA is still doing okay, but certainly nothing like it used to.
I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
Christmas just won’t be the same without a trip to the mall.
All these malls were opening and brand new when i was a kid. Now they're gone, and I'm still here, a little worse for wear, but still looking much better than they are! 😂
@TheBigdog868 In the end its only an old BLDG that served its purpose. Moonbeam did this same thing with Voorhees Town Ctr mall" Voorhees, nj.
I have so many memories of this mall from going with my grandparents in the 2000s. Definitely a sad state it’s been left in
Oh My God I watch every century III vid because I worked there for a short but memorable time. In that salon with the water leak!!! Thank you for going there. It wasn’t my fav salon to work at. I was in fx school so I found work closer to,school. But that salon haunts me I loved it especially the comic book store on 3rd floor.
I loved many things about this mall growing up, but my favorite was that the floors appeared as though they were platforms, with stairs all over the place. It was like if M. C. Escher designed a mall.
As soon as you said Moonbeam, it was obvious why the mall died. Moonbeam is the kiss of death for malls.
Sadly, violence and crime have destroyed so many places and it has only become worse as time goes on.
Now it’s south side
It's black rule
Lol that had nothing to do with this mall closing
@@TechTokOffical It has happened to at least one mall in every U.S. city. It happened in my city. Blax started moving in. Crime at the mall went up. People stopped going and moved to less dark areas.
@@derp8575 again black people had nothing to do with the mall closing more like the utter mismanagement of Moonbean
Miss that mall I watched them build it from the ground up now they are ripping it down so 😔
That last commercial was also used at other malls. I remember that commercial from when I lived in the SF Bay Area back in the 80's/90's.
I moved from Pittsburgh in the summer of 1979, the Century Three Mall was still under construction at that point. I came back to Pittsburgh in 1991 and at one point worked nearby. It was still a thriving mall in the early nineties, and I shopped there pretty often during that period. I moved out of the area again for work in 2003, the mall had declined quite a bit by then, although it was still pretty busy at Christmas time. I retired and moved back into the area in 2010. I think that I visited it once or twice to buy Craftsman tools at Sears. It was in sad shape by then. I wasn't surprised that it closed, I was more surprised that it lasted as long as it did.
It was amazing being in there after the fire occurred. Such a waste of space, had potential if on line sales killed it.
I remember going there as a kid, South hills village was much closer but CIII was like the special trip for when mom and dad were feeling adventurous. There was a smallish area on the first floor that had cobble stone. There was an ice cream store and a few other food places like a mini food court. As a kid it was soo cool. In high school however, all i remember was crime, and always having to be on point to not get mugged. That is probably the main reason the mall died, the area has started coming back in reascent years, a mall like that might have been able to make a comeback. SHV is still there and doing fine as far a i know.
Century 3 had a Sears and Sears Automotive on the bottom floor at one point. Also being a South Hills resident of Pittsburgh my whole life, we went to a few malls around the area. Parkway Center, closed; Century 3, Closed; and South Hills Village, Thriving. People say the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead killed Century 3, it was the crime that did it.
I went to Monroeville Mall mainly. I rarely went to Century lll. I was never big on the Waterfront site.
Truth. When Port Authority made Century III Mall a transfer spot for bus routes to the ghettos, that was the beginning of the end. Homestead, where the Waterfront was built, had a higher crime rate than West Mifflin. I grew up in the South Hills. As a teenager in the mid 80s, it was safe to go to Century III. I preferred South Hills Village because it was closer and less crowded. I no longer live around there but understand South Hills Village, which was built before I was born, is thriving. I can remember when Century III opened. Now it’s all but gone.
@@mikee2923 I havent lost any sleep over it. When I came in 2019 It was coughing its last few breaths. What are ya'll so whiny about? It was built on a toxic waste dump!
@@mikee2923 That happened in every U.S. city. Seems deliberate in my opinion.
Definitely the crime
Great video! Thank you for being respectful, unlike so many other people. Century III will be missed, but it’s definitely time to let it go.
No matter how many videos I've watched on this mall it's getting sadder each time. too much trashing of the place
I had no clue this once awesome place was closed and abandoned. I haven’t been up that way in 20+ years. Pretty sad. That was such an experience for a small town West Virginia fella.
7:30 OH MY GOD, of all the places, that's Phillip Pelusi, I remember running around that place while my mother dyed her hair back in 94. There was a lovely woman from England named Carrie who I'd always chat with back then. I hope she and my mother's stylist Tina are doing well.
We would always hit Chi Chi's across the street before heading into the mall. So many cool stores. I remember one store with a suit of armor but can't remember what they sold there. I want to say cigars and pipe tobacco but that might be far off. Great memories!
I worked at century III Mall for 2 years at Kaufman's and went through the conversion of Macy's do I still remember my keys going up to the Macy's furniture on the top level storage room saying horns department signage and bags
I worked here right out of high school. Back then every store was occupied and the place was packed almost every day of the week. I truly hope that they can re purpose that property in a way that helps the entire area it used to serve.
I agree because that would be nice!
@@john15207 Saw recently that the old building is being demolished. I'm sorry I never got to see the old place one more time.
Typical extravagant waste that takes place in America. It was too big and clearly not maintained with a lack of diversification to maintain it as being a hub. South Africa Johannesburg was very clever with malls. They all had financial and banking, hotels, medical suites, and office towers. This meant you never had to leave it was literally one stop shop and still is. They also added residential apartments and gated townhouses to some to ensure their survival. America has always had this strange habit of building disconnected places where you literally need to drive to the next store or even the same building because that's quicker than walking.
No. Basically what happened is globalism. Pittsburgh was the steel capital of the world when this mall was initially planned. It had a large middle class to support something like this at the time. There were several large steel mills within a 30 minute drive to this mall. During construction of this mall, the steel industry collapsed. Pittsburgh was decimated by that and has yet to fully recover to what it once was. My guess is it probably never will as the United States has been in a free fall since then. Middle class manufacturing jobs that once were everywhere that could support a family are basically nonexistent anymore. This is evidenced by the swathes of abandoned buildings, businesses and homes that dot a large portion of our country while we are presently experiencing record homelessness. It’s yet another symbol of the decline of the United States. I’m actually surprised this mall lasted and thrived as long as it did.
The real tragedy is that the Mall could of been restored and used but West Mifflin's local government had some kind of shady shit with Moonbeam. Another firm tried to buy the Mall originally and displayed plans for it to be converted to an inclusive gated community with condos and apartments. They were going to anchor a Grocery store and allow commercial spots for a internal convenience store. They planned for an indoor playground and other amenities for residents. The inside would be only accessible by tennents. It was a cool concept and they had plans to put a call center and office space at the other end.
It is so awesome that you add videos and pictures from the past of the places you explore. I love history and watching videos of abandon places. Bravo and well done. I will be checking out your older videos you posted and look forward for new ones. Great job.
Such memories! I miss that mall especially during Christmas
It’s sad that some people only seek to destroy things and cause trouble. They are a complete and utter waste of oxygen.
i dunno if anyone posted this in the comments yet but that wasn't a sbaro, it was an Italian village pizza shop. used to love getting pizza from there. :)
It was originally named Scotto's pizza..."Stretch" Lyons worked there for what seems like an eternity
Spent my Friday nights in high school here in late 90s/early 2001s. This place was amazing, miss it dearly. Lots of memories here
i cut the local walmart that overlooks the mall, it’s sad every week when i look down that massive hill and see more and more of it tore down. all those memories just wiped away like nothing (edit: ill send some clips if wanted)
These are great videos !! Really enjoy how thorough you are with the history of the malls you show . I’m Laura from Canada and here malls are still very popular places to shop . Also Bug Box store such as Wal Mart. But Malls here in Canada are booming still . Seems opposite in the US ?? Strange . ❤😊👍🏻🙌🏻
Depends on where. Where im at there are a couple still doing well. But they are dwindling.
Here in Atlanta, Cumberland Mall is doing absolutely wonderful and packed daily
Probably do to much less crime in Canada....But, Turkey Headed Trudeau will change that.
Back in the early 80s, when I was fresh out of high school and fancied myself a photographer, I went to our local mall one day, around Christmas time, and took a roll of 35mm 400 ASA film of just images of the mall and the decorations and what not. That mall was torn down in 2005. I still have those photos tucked away somewhere.
What's crazy is you unlocking a core memory with that last xmas ad in the video 😅
Hobby Store with the Remote Helicopter That wished for X-mas so many times and i don't think it ever sold, sad. this was my childhood growing up here in Western PA. Last time i shopped there, I bought Tools At closing Sears .
A lot of people today have no idea how amazing those food courts smelled. 🤩
these malls are the closest thing to a time machine for me, I love dated malls, I used to make jokes about "run down malls" but often the ones still in business have some of the best businesses around...or the worst, but the ones I go to are awesome
My childhood mall closes this month. I remember being bored out of my mind waiting for my family to finish Christmas shopping. Now I would go back in a heartbeat to walk around it when it was alive.
@@RuinRoad Video is only 22 mins. REDO and SLOW IT DOWN. The pictures are in time with the beat. Why????
The Penguins displayed the Stanley Cup there as well as eight Super Bowls (San Francisco and Pittsburgh), a World Series trophy, a Heiden Trophy and more.
Me and my Dad took pictures when those trophies were on display there.
I live 2 hours away from century 3 mall and I’ve heard a lot about it on the news I’ve never been to the mall before
I have seen a lot of youtube videos on abandoned places but this is one of the first times I have seen one on a place I knew very well. This hurts my heart.
I peed my pants in that mall the day my grandma died.
I live in the Pittsburgh area, and I was there many times. What a shame, it really was a beautiful mall. I knew a guy that was showing off for some girls and he jumped from the top level and broke both of his legs really bad. I remember.
From the UK .This is sad to see
Also from the UK, and can say that some of our centres of similar vintage could be facing similar fates... 🏚
@@dieseldragon6756 I'm not sure if the Arndale centre is still open in central Manchester. It's tiny in comparison but last time I was there ,which was years ago,it was half empty and in a state of disrepair
Loved this place as a kid. I’ll never forget the smells and sounds. ❤
Spent most of my high school years there in the early 80’s. Left for the military then went back there while home for leave in the 90’s and was shocked with how bad it was and how much was gone. Now, living near Columbus, OH, the same thing is happening here. Tanger and Polaris are all that’s left and that ain’t saying much.
Project Prom was run by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services for teens, girls and boys, who were eligible to receive the free gowns and accessories to attend prom.
It’s kinda weird that the air conditioning is still working in that place
At the time of its construction it was the 3rd largest shopping mall in the world, not the largest.
It is the largest mall to go broke and to be abandoned It is the largest failed shopping mall in the world .The others are too big to fail ! (All thanks to the outcome of the 1980 and 1984 national elections.)
When I was a kid during the late 80s, this was my hangout. We lived close enough for a quick bike ride or a 20-min walk. Great memories at that mall, and I'm sad to see it go. During the holidays, it used to be jam packed. So many people, commerce was through the roof. I've got a tour on my channel in 2017, when it was on its last legs.
Spent so much time here as a kid.. this is incredibly sad for me
i blame online shopping for this as well
I remember this Mall being constructed , And now witnessing it being torn down . Time brings down the biggest of mountains . I am sure this land will have new and exciting things to come .
I can actually remember walking around century three as a kid and young teenager, i remember sitting at the food court with my moms boyfriend, and i remember the big Z shaped ramp that lead upstairs that had a pet store nearby. Its so depressing getting older and seeing your childhood literally in ruins like this. I'm only 27 years old but i definitely understand when older people get so caught up with their past because it really is a sad feeling seeing things you used to literally frolic in as a child decay and rot away.
Project Prom used to be Foot Locker before it moved downstairs by Steve and Barry’s
did i miss the part where you mentioned that this mall is in pennsylvania. i didn't hear it mentioned in the beginning, but could guess it was in pennsylvania only because i know the historic call letters KDKA. it helps to give us info on the location when you ID a place by name. and perhaps you did, and i simply missed it. i often watch with one eye when i stream videos like this.
great work on the video. including local newscasts, old commercials and images of the mall, as well as nods to its history, is greatly appreciated. i get that you can't always provide history about an abandoned house, and not all commercial businesses have good info online about their history. but too many urbex videos just show video with weak narration, and leave it at that. your efforts in this video stand out.
i'll definitely check out more of your content.
If you want to explore a really dead mall we have one in Meriden CT called Meriden Mall. I wish I could have the stars from this mall. If they were not so arrest happy right now I would love to explore this place.
As a Brit I love learning about your shopping malls he really looked awsome
As a fat American I love your breads and cake. Look up Dixie Square mall, I went before the demolition, unfortunate and interesting story behind the place.
It was. I'm three years older than the mall. We lived on the other side of the city, so it was a treat to go to Century III.
It was the best mall in the area by far. When the Waterfront opened, all the big chains decided to head there and Century II closed down. I much prefer a nice mall over the Waterfront, which is drive to each store, park and go in. There are some close enough to park once and shop a few, but parking is a pain by those few stores. Whoever decided to let Century III go in my opinion was a fool.
It is not demolished yet, they only took down the parking decks, the building is still standing... The local news just did an update yesterday and there are no immediate plans to demo the tsructure as moonbeam, property owners, do not have the $20 mil in capital needed to demo the mall itself, so they are adding concrete blocks to seal off all the entrances until capital can be raised to level it.
Moonbeam short of capital, what a surprise!
@@augustneverends How can they spend $20 million or more to buy these properties but can't pony up $10 million to flatten them when they get derelict
The wayback machine. ;). Thanks for video.
It was such a nice mall. I remember Richard Simmons being there lol
Moonbeam sucked they're the reason why the mall got run into the ground they're the reason why all their malls fall apart where is multiple opportunities for new stores
Simon didn't help either. Spent all that money to remodel but ended up not paying on the mall loan since it didn't fit their portfolio as a high end mall
No. You can actually thank the Port Authority of Allegheny County for this mall’s early decline. They made this mall a transfer point for the bus lines that went to the ghettos. That is the real cause for its early decline that few people talk about. But you can ultimately thank radical environmentalists for its and really Pittsburgh’s and the rest of the rust belt’s downfall.
Absolutely right!! The ghettos are the reasons malls, amusement parks and gorgeous old movie theatre's closed !! They destroy everything they touch !!
@@mikee2923 Bingo
the mall was already on its deathbed when Moonbeam bought it, Tyrone and Jamal from Clairton walked around the mall liked they owned it and caused trouble causing normal decent people to not go back or drive down the road to South Hills Village
That was such a fun place back in the 80's.
This video was definitely shot before April 2023 as the power was shut off around that time. I get that videos people shot a while back will start to come out now as this beautiful mall awaits the demolition crews. As soon as they're done with the parking deck, it's the mall next 😭😭 although the thumbnail would've made one think it was a current video 👀 stunning presentation of the century 3 mall though.. 👌🏼👌🏼
Once you get the gangs and shootings the mall is done. I lived in a town that had a thriving mall and then people from the city started coming in to shop and they destroyed the mall with shoplifting and crime.
CHURRO STAND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ESCALATOR!!!
Also, anyone remember Bill & Walt’s hobby shop? That’s where my comic book love began.
I miss the malls of the 80s and early-mid 90s
Last comment since this mall was near to my heart... as a teen boy in the 90s, we trolled for girls at malls, as most did. South Hills Village was known for the girls you pick up to make your girlfriend, prom date, take home to mom. Century 3 was known for the girls that would, um, go all the way! LOL
I didn’t know we had that reputation but now that I hear it, I’m not surprised 😆 My friends and I hung out at Century III every weekend in the late 80s-early 90s
Spent many of Friday and Saturday night there as a teenager.
As always great job guys....
greetsz from holland....max
Was that Liz Miles in the Xmas ad? 🎄
Is that woman in the Century III commercial during the opening actually saying, "Centuwy Thwee?" It sure sounds like it...
I enjoyed that mall back in the day. Miss it terribly.
At one point century III Mall had Kauffman's department gimbels Montgomery wards Sears and JCPenney then later they had Montgomery Ward's became horns dep then to Kauffman's furniture gimbels split at one point it was TJ Maxx and wickes furniture before it became dicks then Kaufman's converted to Macy's it was a beautiful mall will never have another one like it
at the 12:48 second mark he makes a comment about cults with the spray paint circle on the floor, that is actually from Gravity Falls if you look closely you can make out some of the symbols...LOL
Crazy I used to love going to this mall. It’s wild how stuff changes
We had a large strip mall in Cleveland OH that was built on an old dump sight. Anchor stores were Giant Eagle grocery and a Walmart. Within months of opening, Walmart closed and all the other 12+ stores closed due to dangerous levels of methane gas leaking in and foundations seriously cracking and breaking away!
This is so underrated
12:50 that’s the Bill Cipher zodiac from the show Gravity Falls
All good things come to an end. Sad.
9:55 That beeping you hear is the elevator. It's the sensor that detects things in between the doors.
Miss those days of walking that mall. Time is depressing