Dead Malls Season 3 Episode 6 - Valley West Mall Revisited
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Right along the bustling Interstate 235 in suburban Des Moines lies Valley West Mall, an aging 70s relic with beautiful unique architecture and a golden glow accompanied by an ocean of blue neons. This mall for the longest time has been on the downhill killed by a brother right across the interstate and this may be the final year for Valley West. With plans to only demolish Valley West it’s only a matter of time before this aging mall is gone forever. So join me today as we take a tour through the neons of Valley West Mall.
Music used
Calm Mall - TUPPERWAVE
Hello Earth - Windows 96
Kodak Cameo - Mirage
2nd Floor - Hentasi
ONLiNe - EarthNet
Thank you all for watching! Subscribe for more! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶
Visited just last week. Probably fewer than 15 stores remain. A couple of food stores. Mall walkers. But clean and empty.
Its sad because as far as dying malls go, it looks great. Everyone is just jumping ship. I only live 5 minutes away and I never go there. There's just nothing to go there for. I will miss it when it's gone.
These Dead Mall videos are bingeworthy - Gives me the feeling that I am exploring them myself. Also congratulations on 1k!
Thanks! Glad your enjoying them
As a kid this mall was the epitome of elegance. Christmas was THE event of the year, the amazing decorations and class oozed out with the train and Santa Claus. While Jordan Creek is very convenient it’s almost too big AND they just keep building more outlets..
I actually have some family tapes of me as a baby going to see Santa in '97. You can really get a feel for how alive the mall used to be. Not to mention how gorgeous their decorations were.
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This is basically Von Maur’s flagship store, they do incredibly well in Des Moines. They’ve been the only traffic draw to the mall for a long time now. Once they relocate, this place is done for.
OMG. That Adventureland commercial at the beginning unlocked a core memory for me. Blown away from the start.
Seeing that Panda Express in the old food court pic brought me back to the days when malls had REAL restaurants in their food courts. Not just mall staples like Sbarro, Great Steak & Potato, and of course always a Chinese place, but also Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's, Burger King, Long John Silver's, Hardees, and even Arby's. Hell, the mall near me even had a tiny, in-line Tumbleweed, at one time! I think food courts are one of the things about malls I miss most. They were for everyone. It didn't matter if you were a picky eater, or a vegetarian, if you wanted junk or if you wanted something healthy, or if you were in the mood for pizza or pasta or a burger or chicken or sometimes even fish. Everybody could get exactly what they wanted, no arguing over where to go, or anyone being disappointed. Everyone could be happy. And then you'd all sit together, with your purchases under your feet, and just talk and people watch. Malls were SO much more than just a shopping destination, when I (mid 40s) was growing up. They were a major part of our socialization. You'd go to the mall, pick something from the store that you wanted, then walk around, widow shop, people watch, maybe see someone you know and say hi, maybe take in an event or take part in some game or challenge they were hosting. Then you'd get dinner, and maybe even catch a movie. All in one place. Malls weren't just stores. They were a whole-ass experience. And when I was a teenager, the mall was where we hung out (I vividly remember hiding behind the bushes next to a mall entrance with a friend, smoking cigarettes stolen from someone's mom, lol), where we met our boy/girlfriends for dates (before we could drive; our parents would drop us off, let us roam for a while-yes, unsupervised-and then pick us up later) and the place EVERYONE wanted to work. If you had a job at the mall, you were the COOLEST, lol. I never worked at a mall, myself. I'm not cool, never was, never claimed to be, lol. But I wanted to, SO badly. I miss that stuff, all of it. But, like a lot of things, it was a combination of factors that no longer exist, that came together to create a magic that I don't think could ever be recaptured. Sad to see that, and to see all these beautiful malls go. But I'm so glad that videos like this and others are documenting these places, before they're gone forever, and capturing the memories and nostalgia within those walls, so that we never lose it. ❤❤
This is such a gorgeous mall, even mostly empty.
Wow it has really gotten desolate there!
:( I remembered this mall instantly once I saw the gorgeous architecture and neons
Von Maur is no longer there, they've relocated to Jordan Creek Town Center
Yeah this mall days is numbered once Von Maur leaves. You definitely get the vibe that this place feels vibrant with color but empty with people. Great video and congratulations on 1k subscribers!
Thanks for watching! And thank you!
Thanks for including my music on this awesome video!! ❤️🕊✨
Thanks I’m glad you enjoyed! Keep making more awesome music!
That empty food stall with a jet engine was a Taco John's at one point, years ago. There was also a McDonald's in it's prime. if I'm not mistaken, it's where the deli place you filmed in this video stood.
11:56 - Cacique... that is where my mom and dad tried to build their dreams with a store from 1978-1980. It was a modern gift shop. I remember spending many many hours in there as a kid while they setup the store and triedto run it. That whole area was a little set back loop. All of the businesses in there failed. Personal Touch, Chrome Concepts, 4 or 5 others... and us, Wahl. What a sad disaster. My brother and I knew that mall like the back of our hands. I can still smell the SciFi books in Coles book store and the Star Wars bubble gum from the trading cards we would buy at Walgreens right below us. I think my favourite was Smith's Hobby shop. Almost half a century ago. :/
10:07 The photo of Jordan Creek in 2001-2002 is just crazy. Look at the farmland. It is hard to imagine what it looked like before.
I know right!? And that was just 20 years ago, it’s crazy to think about how fast that whole area and the DSM metro has grown
@@NorthCdogg22 I lived in West Des Moines for two years (2017-2019) and even the stand alone HyVee Healthmarket (my first job living on my own) is no longer around on Jordan Creek Parkway. It closed for good on September 19, 2021 only having been open for three years. It was replaced by an upscaled Wall to Wall Wine & Spirits. The standalone Healthmarket was the first and only store of its type, when 50-60 were supposed to be built according to the CEO in 2018. Another one was supposed to be built in Kansas City, MO and Madison, WI. I don't believe either of those stores were built in 2019 as planned.
Awesome video!! Congratulations on 1k subs!
Hey thanks! Glad you enjoyed
I’m new to the channel! I love looking at the past in a light like this. It’s almost as if we are living in a sort of apocalyptic future. Everything is online and everything we loved is really all gone. All of the good times…. In the past……..
I’m glad you enjoy the content, stay tuned because there is a lot more planned, and yes it is almost like an apocalyptic future..
Holy shit. That map at 04:55. Nuts. What memories. My mom and dad opened a store in the mall in 1978. Upstairs in a little alcove. Near Brandeis. It failed. Fun.
I went here the other day for a throwback but everything I remember is gone. The T-Mobile store is gone. ALL of the restaurants in the food court are gone von maur is gone and I think there used to be an auntie Anne’s
Sad to see this mall dying since I grew up in such close proximity to it
I never miss your videos, they are ggggrrrrrrreat
Thanks!
at 14;20 it looks like a customer leaving a store. As usual the history of the mall that most others don't do with pictures of the past. Others mention history but you alone show pictures. good job at 1K
I met the V West leasing agent. He said the owners just were not willing to invest I’m it. Then it went into foreclosure so the bank has it now, in limbo. I actually take my grandkids to the Children’s Museum and there is a fantastic new BBQ place in the food court so it’s still hanging on…waiting for a new owner. In 2020-2022 we were very glad to have VWM for social distancing. WDSM planners have a proposed redevelopment plan if funding is found.
What is funny is that for years people thought merle hay was next.
First park fair, then south ridge, then it was suppose to be merle hay, but instead it was valley west!
Merle hay was saved by brew Flix dead center in the mall, now game day bar and arcade owns the bowling alley. Target and kohls stayed stable while not pushing much traffic directly into the mall. Now kohls moved into a new building right where sears was and the new hockey arena is suppose to be built where you younkers was. Merle hay is still pretty dead in the hallways itself, but the life support it has been given is nothing short of amazing.
a friend of mine and me worked the swing shift at this mall in '75. back then everything was new...we worked for the mall owners..not a tiny shop.
The empty Younkers building is in a state of rot, to the point it wasn't safe for spirit halloween to move into it last year, instead opting for the recently vacant Van Maur location
Good video. Nice mall. Thanks.
It's interesting coming back to this one. Looks like COVID smacked this place hard. It's a shame because the fountains and the fixtures are absolutely break. You can tell a lot of love went into its renovation, but all of that work is going to be forgotten.
I’ve gone to this mall growing up living less than 5 minutes from and everytime I walk through this mall it makes me feel sad because of all the memories in the mall
I was so sad when Hallmark left. That store had been there for as long as I could remember.
Odd I remember it as a dollar store in the late 1990s
❤ it's so verysad
I wish you went in the bargain cave. I am so curious.
It seems like most malls have a productive life of about 30 years. Then a slow decline lasting 10-15 years.
Exactly, each mall is different but it was usually the 2000s when all the demographics would start changing
Strangely enough, there has been a minor influx of new stores to this Mall, While it still isnt super popular last time I went it had quite a decent bit of folks.
So I’ve seen, I visited not too long ago for some pictures and to be honest it was quite busy. We’ll see how long that lasts when Von Maur leaves however
@@NorthCdogg22 Well, lets hope with the rise of a new generation in the neighborhoods bordering it, one of them being my home neighborhood; people begin to head back with these new openings. Despite the Von Maur situation, besides I hear they plan on possibly turning one of the anchors into an apartment complex.
WINDOWS 96 🔥
It's weird to see a mall with 2 big anchors still left and barely any stores open anywhere. Normally the death of the malls anchors spells doom for the mall.
Its a shame because even during the mid 2000' to early 2010's this mall was still pretty popular.
the bargain cave lmao
Lol at Lamb Bryani
I love this mall. Jcpenney caught fire recently.
Also the main glass elevator is an MEI.
Wow, this place has died off quite a bit since we were there, was the Blaze pizza 🍕 still open
Blaze pizza was still open surprisingly, I just wonder how much longer it has once Von Maur leaves
@@NorthCdogg22 true, valley west is a really nice place,
This video just made me depressed.
Very good looking mall, I wonder why ownership wants to see it die. They need to really work and get the tenant spots filled up.
I know right! If they put in the work this could be a booming mall again!
There's actually a lot of nuance, planning, and of course, politics, that amplified the failings of Valley West. The day the city government poured money not just into Jordan Creek, but into literally everything around it (for MILES). The corridor where Jordan Creek resides, is MASSIVE, and all was grown because of it's existence. They've poured hundreds of millions of tax dollars into the infrastructure in that area. The city understood that this mall wasn't located where the growth... and wealth, were moving to. Even the roads, traffic signals, etc., in the Jordan Creek area are VASTLY superior to the area around Valley West. Hell, the roads around Valley West are in horrible condition. It's clear as daylight. West Des Moines decided to abandon improvements and modernization of the entire area East of I-35, because they knew the growth, and the WEALTH, were moving West. Everyone knows not to start a business there, because the entire area is declining. Bed Bath and Beyond, Border's Books, Buy Buy Baby, Best Buy... that's what resided around that mall. All gone except Best Buy, that is somehow still open.
They were absolutely correct in doing so, and it has paid huge dividends. The area adjacent to Jordan Creek is still growing to this day. I know this, because I own a business located in a strip center directly adjacent to the Scheels Sporting Goods anchor at Jordan Creek. {There's a Dick's now too, and a Costco, and literally every other big box you could think of. I could throw a football and land it on Jordan Creek property. I'm torn by this, because I have a lot of memories and nostalgia from Valley West, as well as Merle Hay Mall, but as they say: "that's progress". West Des Moines hit it out of the park with Jordan Creek, and I'd argue, it's probably one of the more successful examples of the "legacy" mall still thriving today. They are busy 7 days a week year round, and drive a ton of revenue to my business. The Jordan Creek area is not only thriving, but almost experiencing a 1980s style renaissance. It's awesome to be a part of. You should do an episode on Merle Hay Mall. It's the oldest mall in this state, and has managed to re-invent itself and survive. It has a super interesting history that makes Valley West look like that "other mall" that came for a while, but didn't make it. It's still alive, though it has struggled. They were smarter though, and brought in the likes of a Target, dinner theater, and now a freaking hockey team. It's as if they saw the writing on the wall, while Valley West owners were delusional. Valley West and Jordan Creek are less than 10 minutes from each other. Everyone that is local knew from the start that Jordan Creek would kill Valley West, long before it opened.
Now this mall is facing foreclosure, its demise is near.
Waterloo mall and cedar falls mall are also dying. I grew up in the 80’s and shopping malls were thriving. What a waste this is happening. Greed kills.
I’ve actually covered both those malls in the past if you’re curious
But there are some live plants there…. Barely….
Do you know what the mall looked like pre renovation?
It’s hard to imagine because there are almost no pictures of it, but sprinkled throughout this video there are a few I think, it was much more boring looking however
i remember well..worked there on the janitorial crew..swing. back then there were 3 shifts keeping the place clean.
are you doing a video tonight if so how soon at what exact time ?
A new video will be coming out around 6:30
@@NorthCdogg22 so i have twenty minutes to go for a walk.
Idk how this guy gets away with using copyrighted music but it really adds a lot (not sarcasm)
I just don’t make money🤷♂️ doesn’t bother me lol
please bring back the minecraft highway videos :D
BARGAIN CAVE !!!!
Ehh valley west mall isnit that dead
I have no sympathy for dead or dying malls. Shopping malls, like suburbia, are ugly, monolithic eyesores, very poor uses of land, unsustainable and completely auto-centric. Malls ruined and destroyed perfectly viably, dynamic and sustainable downtown shopping areas and the downtowns themselves. I'm glad to see the malls go, and hopefully returned to much more productive use as farmland.
gonna plant corn or soybeans there, Skipper?