Dead Malls Season 4 Episode 9 - Forest Fair Village

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  • Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
  • This mall needs no explanation.. Everyone knows about Forest Fair, it’s the dead mall king. A 1.5 million square foot nightmare of dreamy liminal aesthetic. But what you might not know is just how far this mall fell.. The horrible mismanagement over the years and the many, many, many failed attempts to make this 500 million dollar disaster work. Join me today as we explore Forest Fair Village in its final days and tell its story, and what happened to this giant..
    Thank you all for watching! Subscribe for more! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶
    Links
    Instagram - / the_northern_films_insta
    Patreon - / northernfilms
    #northcdogg22 #deadmall #deadmalls #northernfilms

КОМЕНТАРІ • 310

  • @stevebayt145
    @stevebayt145 Рік тому +71

    Everyone has done this mall. But none do it as good as NorthCdogg22 as expected. You pretty much do every thing better than everyone else.

  • @Fluoride_Jones
    @Fluoride_Jones Рік тому +46

    They could use these malls to film post-apocalyptic movies. They could even film during the daytime while the malls are open, because it wouldn't affect the outcome of the film at all. It's not like they'd have to worry about anyone wondering onto set while they're filming! 😂

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +5

      It would be perfect!😂

    • @alecstarkey7835
      @alecstarkey7835 Рік тому +7

      It would be perfect except the security guard threatening to call the cops to the cast.

    • @Fluoride_Jones
      @Fluoride_Jones Рік тому +4

      @@NorthCdogg22 Right! That's one way to keep these malls in business.

    • @Fluoride_Jones
      @Fluoride_Jones Рік тому +4

      @@alecstarkey7835 Nah, they could just cast him as a zombie. At least he'd have something to do!

    • @jamesdavis5096
      @jamesdavis5096 9 місяців тому +2

      Film producing GENIUS!!!

  • @jm20105
    @jm20105 Рік тому +24

    You nailed it. Gen X'er here, the malls are dying and we accept it and forget about the time we spent there. Sad to see these iconic landscapes die.
    Didn't realize you were a fellow Iowan. Nice job.

  • @pamelaaverrett5848
    @pamelaaverrett5848 Рік тому +48

    This mall has been covered so many times by other creators, but this was so much better!
    Cinematic perfection!

  • @affee10
    @affee10 Рік тому +9

    i grew up right next to this mall, played on the PBS kids playground almost every weekend. every childhood birthday at that wonderpark. as a teenager i went to the arcade countless weekends and climbed the parking garage and onto the roof. now that its permanently closed and rumored for demolition im so grateful that this video exists, those hallways and the central area and food courts and theaters hold so many memories for me and to be able to return to this video to see that place again means a lot. thank you for making this video
    and thank you for using beach house

  • @stot2614
    @stot2614 Рік тому +18

    Holy flying pig pavilions... I think you covered every square inch of this mall! This should be considered the gold standard of this mall's dead mall videos! All the history, the music selections and even a bucket counting competition all rolled into one massive video. Thanks for the grand tour, NorthCdogg22!

  • @blackviper354
    @blackviper354 Рік тому +7

    As a person who lives very close to this mall, I didn’t realize how big of a deal this mall is. I didn’t really grow up with it but I did enjoy arcade legacy while it was there. I will miss this mall when it fully closes.

  • @turnpiketed6383
    @turnpiketed6383 Рік тому +16

    The gold standard in mall vlogs. Awesome presentation and an eerie soundtrack concluding the video. It's such a travesty that people abandoned the joy of getting out, walking through the mall and possibly buying some needed items on the day. What a magnificent structure it is, so clean and well maintained, how can the population turn their backs on something like this? Oh sorry, it's called sitting at home and living one's life through a keyboard. C'mon down to Australia, to see what the mall culture is all about. Yes we still go out to shop, to socialize and enjoy some great food. Malls will never die, only continue to grow.

    • @ASnowWhiteElephant
      @ASnowWhiteElephant Рік тому +4

      I grew up next to Forest Park (Fairfield) and spent my childhood and teen years frequenting this mall- a lot of happy memories. That said, there were so many factors that went into the demise of this place. Mostly the fault of an eccentric developer who tried to build a high-end mall in a working class neighborhood.

    • @ace49722
      @ace49722 Рік тому +2

      "well maintained" me, listening to the relaxing but oddly sad sound of the water leaking into the buckets when the storm hits

    • @user-gs8jv4oq6w
      @user-gs8jv4oq6w Рік тому

      Malls suck

  • @dene7063
    @dene7063 Рік тому +13

    This channel is by far the best dead mall coverage on UA-cam. Good work!

  • @QuintusAntonious
    @QuintusAntonious Рік тому +11

    Whenever I see these dead malls, especially when they are this vibrant and not much vandalism or removal of old store fronts has occurred, it reminds me of Steven King's The Langoliers--it's like you've accidentally gone back in time a few minutes while the rest of us have moved forward in time and it's all just waiting for the langoliers to appear and consume it.

    • @RemoWilliams1227
      @RemoWilliams1227 Рік тому

      Very good comparison, like very good. Same feeling precisely in my opinion.

  • @evealex72
    @evealex72 Рік тому +10

    I visited here in 1993 and 1999. I’m from the UK so malls like this were absolutely amazing to me. When it was forest fair and seeing a full sized carousel in it was mind blowing. Then I spent NYE ‘99 in the Cheyenne Cattle Co bar and nightclub. My parents moved to Kentucky in 2005 and both passed in 2021, so this kinda hits quite sad for me as I didn’t even know both this and tri-county had closed. I googled the malls for some memories as it’s coming up to their two year anniversary’s so was really gutted to see how deserted they were 😢.

  • @alliemarie2005
    @alliemarie2005 Рік тому +9

    What a strange looking mall, almost cartoonish. I think the malls in the west are designed very differently. Awesome video!

    • @ASnowWhiteElephant
      @ASnowWhiteElephant Рік тому +2

      The cartoonish appearance was due to the Mills renovation in the early 2000s. In it’s heyday it used to be smothered in 80s deco and neon.

    • @brockthompson_
      @brockthompson_ Рік тому

      @@ASnowWhiteElephant I honestly prefer the colourful cartoonish mills look over the 80s neon style, it’s really nice to look at

  • @Mapmaker1559
    @Mapmaker1559 Рік тому +23

    Nice one man! This is definitely your best video so far. Awesome production, awesome timeline and filmography, just an awesome video! And with it being nearly an hour long, this was more than just a typical dead mall video, this was basically a documentary. Awesome work!!

  • @Brahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrah
    @Brahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrah Рік тому +6

    I remember coming here as a kid when it was in its heyday and later on until the Guitar Center left in the late 2000's, Steve Tucker who is the bass player and vocalist for Morbid Angel worked there and he was a really cool guy to talk to. I went back a few years ago and it was such an eerie experience to hear the absolute blaring silence of the place and seeing how desolate it was compared to when I was a child.

  • @Andy-hl7gh
    @Andy-hl7gh Рік тому +5

    The music you're playing makes the videos so surreal. And your voice is perfectly fine, I was watching your older videos and was missing the commentary, that makes it really interesting, especially for people who have no connection to a certain place and don't know the history.

  • @retAFcop98
    @retAFcop98 Рік тому +13

    As always, I truly enjoys your uploads. Thank you for another nostalgic adventure!

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +1

      Your welcoming thank you for watching!

  • @LostDepartments
    @LostDepartments Рік тому +8

    Great Video!!!! This was really well done and easy to follow! I also loved the use of Space Song at the end.

  • @MrPoke
    @MrPoke Рік тому +5

    The security here are just gangsters that the owner hired from his local convenience store. Great video, loved the music. 31 buckets?

  • @Knightguy200
    @Knightguy200 Рік тому +5

    I leave down the road from the mall. We had a pretty successful arcade in there for the longest time. You just skirted around it in the video, but during the pandemic the owner would post games on facebook you could buy and pick up in store. So I ended up doing that and having to get escorted through the bowels of the building to the store. It was insane, very silly and just showed how a dead mall had the tiniest breath of life still in it. Thank you for the video and all the old photos you found, reminds me of my youth.

  • @evboi5140
    @evboi5140 Рік тому +10

    You deserve way more subscribers for making this amazing of a video! You have earned a new subscriber, and a new fan!

  • @stevebayt145
    @stevebayt145 Рік тому +9

    Brilliant narration. great history including news footage, brilliant use of silence. I am running out of things to say positive. especially the drive around. no one does drive arounds

  • @marknelizabeth6527
    @marknelizabeth6527 Рік тому +7

    The thunderstorm part is a whole MOOD 🙌🏼 Very nicely done video!!

  • @Nomed38
    @Nomed38 Рік тому +5

    At 12:50 the picture over "Neighborhood B" is original from the early days as is the triangle decorations on the columns near it and at other locations. The American flag decorations near the old Biggs entrance are also original. The odd hanging cones and cone floor sculptures are also original. I just thought someone might find in interesting. Thanks for the video documentary and a trip down memory lane.

  • @stefanleonard7947
    @stefanleonard7947 Рік тому +5

    I love this mall the us flags The Colors I love Everything Mills did With the remodel Thank you so much for making this video I really enjoyed it I really like your contact

  • @iworkout6912
    @iworkout6912 Рік тому +8

    I happen to drive by the Amazon Fulfillment center not far from my house around 9:30 am and a whole parade of Amazon vans were leaving. Must have be at least 25-30 heading in all directions. Maybe Amazon isn't the cause of mall failures, but seeing all the vans in one place was something I had never seen before. Anyway a great video, and I love the way you present such a place with history of the mall at various places in the video. And maybe the history of the mall era coming to the end all over the US. With the water damage, I expect as you said, "its quietly waiting for the wreaking ball".

    • @R32R38
      @R32R38 Рік тому

      It's more likely a delivery station. Semitrailers from the fulfillment centers (750,000 square feet on up) unload packages at delivery stations (~150,000 square feet) for sorting and transfer to the delivery vans. I work for Amazon.

    • @iworkout6912
      @iworkout6912 Рік тому +1

      @@R32R38 There is a new 2.5 million sq ft fulfillment center about 3 miles west of where I saw all the vans on the street. They haven't opened it yet, but it is a huge white building. Its one of several building like that in a place where Walmart and other companies have buildings like that. The new Amazon building is larger than the local mall which is big, and still has a Macy's and JC Penny..For how long, who knows.

  • @VladisRed
    @VladisRed Рік тому +5

    You need to make chaotic mega compilation of dead malls 2h long

  • @adrianmontelongo9707
    @adrianmontelongo9707 Рік тому +4

    As always, I am enjoyed watching this video this mall. Thanks a lot friend 👍

  • @JoJo-ie8sl
    @JoJo-ie8sl Рік тому +3

    when we were there, we stopped counting after the 16th bucket.

  • @wallyinwa700
    @wallyinwa700 Рік тому +5

    Great episode! Well done. Easily one of if not the best dead mall video.
    101 buckets.

  • @justin5743
    @justin5743 Рік тому +2

    This place is such a wonder, living only a few miles away it’s been a staple in a lot of our lives growing up. Everyone’s been yelled at by security for taking pictures at least once, but how can you not when the place is as magnificent as it is! Great video dude.

  • @mavohq
    @mavohq Рік тому +6

    your videos are incredible! you go so in depth and the camera work/music choices add so much to it!! i wish the dead/abandoned mall that started my obsession (Summit Place Mall in Waterford Township, MI) was still standing because i know you’d make a great video on it! i’m only 20 but i remember being around 6 years old and walking around the mall with my grandma a few months before it closed for good and the huge, empty dark space was just mesmerizing to me. would’ve just been an interesting experience to anyone else but i have autism so of course i had to research everything i could and talk about it to anyone who was around me 24/7 lol

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому

      Thank you so much! I may not have gotten to see summit place sadly but next season (very soon) I do check out almost every other mall in Michigan, so hope you stick around for those!

  • @420TitsMagee
    @420TitsMagee Рік тому +3

    Strapped up ready for the ride!!!

  • @mrsone2000
    @mrsone2000 Рік тому +4

    Wow this was a very well made dead mall video. I was missing this type of video on UA-cam and this one delivered. I don't get why they don't want people to show these dead malls off. Nostalgia is all that is left of them.

  • @420TitsMagee
    @420TitsMagee Рік тому +10

    I’m back to say this was an absolute banger of a video! I love your content you inspire a dead mall enthusiast like me 🖤

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +4

      Thank you! I’m glad I can inspire you!

  • @alecstarkey7835
    @alecstarkey7835 Рік тому +7

    Awesome video I’ve been waiting to watch this. I’ve been watching other videos on this mall and this is absolutely the best one. I’ve done a lot of research on this mall and you’ve even told me more history that I didn’t even find out about. I’ll be visiting this mall sometime in October hopefully the doors will open after a 4 hour drive. Thanks for the hour entertainment of my favorite “dead mall”. This mall is not like no other it’s unique and has color while modern malls today are white and gray. Have a wonderful night and Thanks for the video (:

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +1

      Thank you sir! I’m glad you enjoyed and good luck on your travels to this amazing mall!

  • @hgwells2837
    @hgwells2837 Рік тому +3

    You outdid yourself again with this great video! I'm glad you were able to get this footage!
    117 buckets

  • @Mswegs
    @Mswegs Рік тому +1

    I just found this video. But boy do I remember this mall. I spent practically every birthday at wonderpark until it closed. I remember being so devastated.
    The PBS playground is where I met one of my best childhood friends. And I remember spending practically every weekend at one of the movie theaters with my mom.
    I came here after my first ever tetanus shot. I had an bad reaction and my mom had to buy me a tank top to wear.
    Eventually we just stopped going and I never knew why because I was still fairly young.
    Eventually though I knew it was dead other than a few odds and ends. I spent many days at Arcade Legacy, and honestly my friends and I used to play Dungeons and Dragons in the food court until it got too dark.
    I never truly got to enjoy this mall as a Mall. I spent my Teen Years in Kenwood mall, because that’s where I lived. But I made so many memories here. It’s sad to see it like this.

  • @lionelwilliams1285
    @lionelwilliams1285 5 місяців тому

    Great job with this! Watching this transported me way back in time. I remember walking into this mall as a kid when it first opened back in the 80’s thinking it was the greatest mall in the world. The mall stayed jammed-packed with shoppers for many, many years. I spent my all teenage years shopping and enjoying “Time Out” (i.e., putt-putt, the rides, the arcade, and Super Saver Cinemas). It is so sad to see how much deterioration there’s been in not just this mall but all of the Tri-County area. Everything seems so post-apocalyptic, with random “mom-and-pop” stores and fast food chains everywhere. C’mon Cincy! Only Kenwood and Liberty for shopping now? Get it together.

  • @ItsaRomethingeveryday
    @ItsaRomethingeveryday Рік тому +3

    Just got here a few minutes ago and am already enjoying it, am watching all of it now!! Excellent 👌👍💯 Fullview, This video is spot on!

  • @BoratWanksta
    @BoratWanksta Рік тому +5

    I just finished watching this now, and it was such a good video! I'm surprised this mall briefly hit 95% occupancy, after Mills Corp. took over this mall. Not surprised Simon didn't keep Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills, after Simon bought Mills after they went into bankruptcy. No doubt some of Mills' debt, was trying to build and plan what later went on to become the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. That one now being owned by Triple Five, the owner of Mall of America. And another one day dead mall disaster, I see coming for that mall. I bet you'd do a good video on American Dream, were you ever to cover that mall.

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому

      I’d love to cover American Dream, maybe one day if I’m ever able to trip out to New York

  • @ericmatthews3024
    @ericmatthews3024 Рік тому +3

    made it to Cincinnati Mills mall. it was 5 min to 7 pm. a security guard told me it was closing in 2 mins. (he seem pretty chill when i talked to him) (young guy) i asked when it will close. THE SECURITY GUARD HAS NO FURTHER INFORMATION ON WHEN IT WILL CLOSE ITS DOORS FOR GOOD. DONT LET THE INTERNET FOOL YOU! if you can visit it. i highly recommend visiting. for the short amount of time i had in there. i was blown away! its truly breathtaking. going back (the next two days)

    • @jodywight3948
      @jodywight3948 Рік тому

      I just read its on Governor DeWine's demolition list. Sad,..

    • @ericmatthews3024
      @ericmatthews3024 Рік тому +1

      @@jodywight3948 no one kept up on maintenance. funny how it can be a hazard to the public (over night) when i was there 2 months before.

    • @jodywight3948
      @jodywight3948 Рік тому +1

      @@ericmatthews3024 I love the aesthetics in some of the long closed malls. Unfortunately I had worked at two in Northeast Ohio! I worked at both Randall Park (3.5 years) and Euclid Square Mall (6 years). I also filled in at Chapel Hill and have been to Rolling Acres . All left in a shambles. Sad in many ways......

  • @dream-sn5op
    @dream-sn5op Рік тому +1

    29:04 that vending machine has a pretty cool aesthetic. The whole mall is basically one big colorful liminal space, I liked it.

  • @kitw76
    @kitw76 Рік тому +3

    Great video!

  • @paposwing2925
    @paposwing2925 Рік тому +1

    Fill all those spaces with medical and labs offices, public libraries. Bring in city offices and several upscale restaurants. Stuff that people really need.

    • @MrRobertRue
      @MrRobertRue Рік тому +1

      It’s offfically “closed” it most likely will never reopen as it’s plan to be demolished and it’s closed early since it’s plan…… very sad what has happened

  • @ericmatthews3024
    @ericmatthews3024 Рік тому +5

    thank you NorthCdogg22 for this video. As you know im going this mall on 9/23/22. this was a very informed video. just watching this vid. im going to be there for a few hrs. (its so huge) hopefully i wont get into an argument with security. (again) my most sincere thanks for this vid. (maybe ill see you there. since you like this mall so much)

    • @R32R38
      @R32R38 Рік тому

      With the arcade now closed it might no longer be open, though you might be able to see some of it from inside the Outdoor World and the Kohl's.

    • @ericmatthews3024
      @ericmatthews3024 Рік тому +1

      @@R32R38 ive looked at news articles, google and seen the latest youtube vids. (minus this vid) they all tell me. its open until further notice. i had a choice to go to this mall or military circle mall in norfolk, va. (sadly that mall closes in january 2023) i choose cincinnati mills mall. i was in norfolk (twice) 5 years ago. every time i paid my respects to military circle mall.

  • @LeoMidori
    @LeoMidori Рік тому +1

    Man, I'm just floored and dismayed. This building is beautiful, fun and interesting with a lot of cool if kitschy features! I'd die for malls or public spaces near me to look this good. What a terrible waste. :(

  • @MajinCollectibles
    @MajinCollectibles Рік тому +5

    Congrats on the video. I've seen many other videos on this specific mall, but none as thorough as yours. There´s something with that colorful interiors, (kinda late 90s/early 00s feel) that really takes me throught time and strucks me with nostalgia. I'm from Argentina, we used to have a somewhat similar themed mall in the late 90s which is still open, but changed name, closed wings, and it's completely dead and most importantly lost all of that late 90s colorful and somewhat cartooney styling that takes me to another time of my life when I used to go there with my parents.
    Thanks for the video, and gosh, that music, the reverberance and distant sound really fits fantastically with how inmense the place feels and how it must have been when it had background music playing. By the way, speaking of music, I tried to "shazam" some of the songs for a Dead Mall Playlist I have but I wasn't really lucky. Is there any chance of getting a tracklist or at least the artist's names? Thanks, once again!!!

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +3

      I’m glad you enjoyed and thank you for commenting! Some of my songs I used here, a lot of them came from the artist Disconscious, I would definitely check out his music

    • @MajinCollectibles
      @MajinCollectibles Рік тому +2

      @@NorthCdogg22 Do you happen to remember the name of the track @ 4:19 ? Found others but that one has been impossible to ID.

  • @ERA_Productions
    @ERA_Productions Рік тому +5

    This video was absolutely incredible!! Amazing job!!

  • @chito651
    @chito651 9 місяців тому +2

    This video is amazing, starting and ending with beach house so smoothly. I’m in love with it. Has to be my favorite video of yours atm

  • @CoolCatProductions-365
    @CoolCatProductions-365 Рік тому +8

    An stunning visual experience that kept me at the edge of seat for 58 minutes . I usually don’t watch an 58 minute long yt video but, I made an exception for yours. This is by far your best video yet and it ranks up there with Aces Adventures and Sal I truly believe. Your next video is most certainly Eastgate Mall since you said southeastern metro because that is the only mall in that area that is dying.

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +1

      Thank you so much! and yes we will be heading down to Eastgate next.

  • @blanejr1
    @blanejr1 Рік тому +2

    21:22 "Better malls like Tri County" - That one closed recently too.

  • @stevebayt145
    @stevebayt145 Рік тому +3

    This might be the longest dead mall video, surpassing American Dream and Unicomm Northridge.

  • @DiyDadFL
    @DiyDadFL Рік тому +1

    I love hearing the stories of how malls started and how they ended up dead.

  • @amley3748
    @amley3748 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for this awesome video! It is so sad to see what it has become from having a birthday party at the arcade when I was only 9 (early 90s) and my husband and I spending time here as teenagers. Seems like a lifetime ago!

  • @joshuakeller7525
    @joshuakeller7525 Рік тому +4

    wish you would able to go into some of those shops

  • @AbcDef-iq4no
    @AbcDef-iq4no Рік тому +2

    The sad truth about these ailing malls is that once the upkeep stops these malls are destined to be demolished. The main thing to always go first is upkeep of the roofs and skylights, which then means that all of the mall's myriad of walls, ceilings and nooks and crannies fill up with moisture, black mold and mildew. Once this happens too much damage is done for a mall to be refurbished so it just ends up getting torn down. It is sad that this mall being so large represents such a loss in terms of the cost of building the mall and many attempts at refurbing it. It is also a huge loss in terms of the closing of each individual business when you look at what each business cost to start up and maintain. What people may not consider is that many of these stores do not relocate but close for good when a mall fails, closes and then gets torn down.

  • @TheCubeTube
    @TheCubeTube 5 місяців тому

    This video is absolutely incredible, just like this mall. I really hope I can visit the structure before it’s demolished, but that likely won’t happen. Thank you so much for preserving it as a video, so I can feel like I’m able to visit myself!

  • @scalebuildersguild
    @scalebuildersguild Рік тому +2

    Thanks for spending so much time here, you did an excellent job of detailing it!

  • @jamief1749
    @jamief1749 Рік тому +4

    Love watching your videos much love from uk be safe in these places keep up the brilliant content

  • @TheePrincessPurple
    @TheePrincessPurple 5 місяців тому +1

    I'm a new subscriber. I love your channel and how you present the content, Your voice is absolutely fine, trust me nothing wrong with how you sound. Keep up the good work and doing what brings you Joy, that's what life is all about!! Love from Michigan ❤​👋​

  • @PurplePuppy2006
    @PurplePuppy2006 Рік тому +1

    You do the best coverage of these malls. So Forest Fair Village opened in 1989 and would be a complete failure and was only successful for year before things started to go down. I looked at old pictures of this place I don’t understand how people couldn’t have liked it. It was so colorful and it had a Farris wheel. It was bought by the Mills corporation in 2002, and it reopened as Cincinnati Mills in 2004 and would shed light to the mall as it revived once again even adding a PBS Kids play area near the food court. Sadly this would last long as by 2007 the mills cooperation was defunct, major retailers began to leave from 2007 - 2009 and the pbs kids theming for the playground was removed in 2008. The mall continued to decline as the years went in and began many different names. A lot of UA-camrs tried to record this place but for some reason Mall cops just had to be so mean. There were only 4 things to do left in the mall which was a Kohls, Bass Pro Shops, Arcade, and Bouncy House. And finally on December 2nd 2022 the mall closed for good to the public for redevelopment who knows what will come to this big place time will tell.

  • @SomeExistite
    @SomeExistite Рік тому +3

    This video was so good. Just... everything. I'm surprised I didn't find your channel sooner. Definitely subscribing.

  • @markstrouse3101
    @markstrouse3101 Рік тому +1

    100's & 100's of videos on this mall but yours is the greatest of all

  • @bwware
    @bwware Рік тому +3

    The lower level movie theater was ALWAYS a dollar theater just with a different name. Started at $1 then went to $1.50. I was at this mall opening weekend. Shoulder to shoulder in some parts.

    • @katiekear220
      @katiekear220 5 місяців тому

      Banburry! Or something like that

  • @Sniff_Jenkem
    @Sniff_Jenkem Рік тому

    Seeing both of my home malls on there hurts. Bay City and Hampton Square. Plus Fashion square and Midland... That's the jackpot right there.

  • @ace49722
    @ace49722 Рік тому +2

    others have said it, but the music inclusion really makes this. this is like the gold standard. i love that i can watch this and listen to the mallsoft, your relaxing narration, and some of the ambient sounds you kept in from the mall.......the lights at the end are incredible. your bravery in the face of the aggro security guard, thank you

  • @davidtropps4380
    @davidtropps4380 Рік тому +2

    Don't know why, but the number 124 hit me for the bucket count.

  • @noahvoris3637
    @noahvoris3637 Рік тому +3

    Eastgate Mall next! The other dead mall here in the metro.

  • @patrick39432
    @patrick39432 4 місяці тому

    That background music is eerie! And perfect! I live in Cincinnati, spent a lot of time in this mall. But outside of Biggs and Kohl's, we walked it but didn't buy much. Pretty useless anchor stores initially. Certainly, they were in the wrong neighborhood!

  • @katiekear220
    @katiekear220 5 місяців тому

    I’m watching this as I’m sitting in the parking lot of this exact dead mall!

  • @sunsetrecords2548
    @sunsetrecords2548 Рік тому +2

    I have not seen this mall in three years and it looks just as sad what a shame that 3 revitalization could not save this behemoth of a place sadly it's the end for the forest fair mall I just see not coming back. Great long and descriptive video!

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +1

      Thank you for watching, and yes it’s so sad. I wish they could’ve saved this place somehow.

    • @sunsetrecords2548
      @sunsetrecords2548 Рік тому +1

      @@NorthCdogg22 I mean the only course of action is mixed use. Part retail part recreational and part entertainment. Like just imagine an indoor go cart track where the old Biggs was that would be awesome

  • @Oceanblue_Art_
    @Oceanblue_Art_ Рік тому

    I love seeing the orange piggies whenever I watch videos about this place, they're so perfectly surreal

  • @linkfan95
    @linkfan95 Рік тому +2

    Just found out this mall is finally on the demolition chopping block. Damn shame. Place had alot of potential but unfortunately Ohio can't seem to keep any of its malls open.

  • @jeee1074
    @jeee1074 Рік тому +1

    This was a great tour of the mall. I thought I have seen everything there is to see from this property, but you managed to document some things I haven't seen before. Going in late at night, and then back out to the dark parking lot had to have been surreal. I certainly looking forward to your next video. Thanks for the shout out by the way!

  • @nancydarling4918
    @nancydarling4918 Рік тому +2

    Really good video! Thanks for filming.

  • @gooddogson
    @gooddogson Рік тому +1

    DUDE , Are we the same person? I love this mall, i live about 40 minutes away from it. Love your channel, and the way you opened up this video with that Depression Cherry Cassette and "Levitation" playing was Perfect. Beach house is my absolute favorite band and I own that album on cassette as well! As soon as this video started I knew I was in the right spot.

  • @JohnJohnson-yl9of
    @JohnJohnson-yl9of 8 місяців тому

    That’s literally how the security guard is at St. Louis Mills!!! I used to skate at the park there all the time and he was on such a power trip!!! LOL you handled that really well though those guards can be so rude!!!

  • @christineromannoodles9616
    @christineromannoodles9616 3 місяці тому

    It’s so nice to see that no one has put graffiti in it or destroyed anything.

  • @boardammo1593
    @boardammo1593 Рік тому +4

    OMG what a waste of a mall. If it was in trouble I would've set up a money chamber where people grab floating $1 bills to bring in a ton of traffic to the mall at the lowest cost! Once a mall is seen as dying it's hard to revive it so you have to hype people up before it's too late!

  • @angelm2655
    @angelm2655 Рік тому +1

    This is amazing coverage of Forest Fair Village. You did great getting all this footage considering the crazy mall security here. Anyway your content is great, you are my favorite on YT. Keep it up.

  • @SynchroSk8
    @SynchroSk8 Рік тому

    I came here a few times while I was in college in Ohio. My first trip was late 1999, my roommate suggested we go because of Parisian, she didn’t know they had closed (so funny to think of how we utilized the internet and didn’t even have a smart phone!) But I remember walking around the big mall. We came back later when there was a Steve & Barry’s - so funny to think I never saw the version of the mall its known for. The mid 2000s Mills style. This style takes me back to over the top, just like the Hummers on the road back then. Forest Fair never had a chance, but its crazy to think how much money was sunk into this one… just wild. Thank you for taking the time to cover it.

  • @jonathangamer7606
    @jonathangamer7606 Рік тому +3

    Wow...that mall is so dead that even the gumball machines are empty.

  • @texasscott8381
    @texasscott8381 9 місяців тому

    I’m so glad I found this video!! 6, 7 an 8th grade was 89-92 for me. We spent so many hours at the Super Saver, Mini golf and the arcade! Some great memories of that time.

  • @justinankeney6344
    @justinankeney6344 Рік тому +1

    Great coverage, looking forward to Eastgate next!

  • @user-nu5br1bm3k
    @user-nu5br1bm3k Рік тому +2

    One of the best dead mall videos out there

  • @doublearonbatteries9312
    @doublearonbatteries9312 Рік тому +3

    Just found your channel, hugely underrated! Honestly great content with an in depth summary. Great Job!

  • @nelsonnoname001
    @nelsonnoname001 Рік тому

    I was a kid during the 1st run, and a teenager during the 2nd - last time I was there was a decade ago, only thing then was Aunt Annies Pretzels... see that's now gone too - This is like looking at fragments of a memory

  • @Mx.Alheimsins
    @Mx.Alheimsins Рік тому +2

    Just found you're channel! Love this documentary! The music combined with you're amazing commentary and the beautiful but deserted mall in the background, it's amazing to see the work you put into this! New subscriber gained!

  • @jaredtruth6918
    @jaredtruth6918 Рік тому

    I grew up right near this mall and spent many weekends at the movies, arcades, or grocery shopping at Biggs. It’s wild to see the nostalgia here.

  • @tylerthunder2001
    @tylerthunder2001 Рік тому +1

    Good vid I subbed! It's sad to see these dying malls. I was born in 2001 so was not alive during the golden era of malls. But I want malls to make a giant return same with video stores and other things that people miss. Watching these vids from people like you makes me learn a lot. Love watching these kind of vids. Malls and stores should always be around they are special.

  • @lucrecer
    @lucrecer День тому

    I remember what a big deal this mall was when the rest of the mall opened after Biggs. They never ever filled all those stores and that was baffling. It was definitely set up to fail along with all those different owners. When Biggs left, I knew that was it. Media Play was the spot and that leaving was so bad for the mall.

  • @juliaroberts7974
    @juliaroberts7974 Рік тому

    Ohio person here! I use to travel from
    Columbus to play super smash bros at the arcade was always eerie to walk past the flying pigs, that and the kids play place that was very deflated. As a lady my friend taught me that there was one “decent” to use bathroom. Going here every month started my fascination with dead and abandoned malls. Thanks for the great content

  • @cynthiaj.simmons870
    @cynthiaj.simmons870 Рік тому +1

    Excellent very excellent video of this mall!!! I enjoyed your documentation of it along with the photos and videos too!!! I seen lots of videos of this mall and you put a very well together documentary of the mall very, very well done!!! 🤗👏❤️
    And the number of buckets I say 200

  • @jenniferflanders9635
    @jenniferflanders9635 Рік тому +2

    I loved the video thank you for making am going to guess 67 buckets filled with water

    • @NorthCdogg22
      @NorthCdogg22  Рік тому +2

      Bingo Jennifer! 67 buckets is correct!

    • @jenniferflanders9635
      @jenniferflanders9635 Рік тому +1

      @@NorthCdogg22 that is so sad that there is that many.It looked like it could be made into usable mall again one day. Makes me sad to see malls like this I grew up going to the malls with my friends. My mall is a dead mall too :(

  • @pepsi_man4962
    @pepsi_man4962 Рік тому +4

    Yayyyyy this is amazing!!! One of your best. You always do an awesome job bro. Telling the story of the American mall. Telling a piece of each of our life stories. And what you said about people forgetting malls even existed is so so so true. It kinda made my eyes water. Just remembering how much malls were the pinnacle of Christmas shopping and shopping in general. All the smiling faces and crowds of people slowly fading away in my mind as a memory of a by gone forgotten normal time.

    • @turnpiketed6383
      @turnpiketed6383 Рік тому +2

      Very sad people have forgotten how to interact and socialize. Can't believe the immaculate state it's in. So clean and honestly looks like it was just constructed. I'd shop there just to marvel at the aesthetics.

    • @pepsi_man4962
      @pepsi_man4962 Рік тому +2

      @@turnpiketed6383 same here friend. I grew up in the Buffalo NY area. And let me tell ya. I had good times in the malls around here. Some of the most beautiful spaces you’ll ever find. Now Buffalo is just a mall ghost town. All you ever see is dilapidated factories and near empty crumbling 70s and 80s malls. It’s so so sad. I remember as a little kid throwing Pennie’s in the fountains, seeing Santa in the foodcourt, going school shopping at JCPenny, than going across the street to Toys R Us………. Good times. Totally different time.

    • @turnpiketed6383
      @turnpiketed6383 Рік тому +2

      @@pepsi_man4962 I am following a dude called "Lord Spoda", he's doing a 50 State voyage across the country off the Interstate, gotta tell you the country ain't looking too flash. Town after town, totally deserted, boarded up downtowns, few cars on the streets, but no folks to be seen. What happened to America?

    • @pepsi_man4962
      @pepsi_man4962 Рік тому +2

      @@turnpiketed6383 America has totally crumbled. It is now a shell of what it was from 1980-2010. People aren’t the same anymore either. Everyone is nasty and irritable. Everything is political. All my generation cares about now is sex, vaping, weed, drinking, partying, etc etc. Its sad. Very sad. America is not the same America we grew up in. Retail has completely fallen apart obviously as well. No more Kmart, Sears, Toys R Us, Circuit City, Blockbuster, Hollywood video, KayBee toys, no more of a lot of things………. I’m also checking out Lord Spoda. I subbed.

    • @turnpiketed6383
      @turnpiketed6383 Рік тому +2

      @@pepsi_man4962 I hear ya, so sad to see, always thought it was the opposite. These malls are marvels, places to shop, to take a leisurely walk around the centre, grab a bite to eat, catch up with folks in the food court and maybe grab a bargain or watch a show (fashion or music) then head off home. Now that's all gone, along with enjoying life outdoors. Seems the lure of that keyboard and couch reigns supreme.

  • @Bloods2006
    @Bloods2006 11 місяців тому

    I am from indiana but went to this mall with my family in 2005 and I remember it being so much fun. It was easily the biggest mall I’d ever been to. My mom and sister spent all day there shopping and it allowed my dad and I go to stores that were usually not at malls like Steve and Barry’s and Bass Pro.
    I actually was trying to kill time with my fiancée in Cincinnati before a reds game and we decided to go to just any old mall. The moment we entered this mall (in 2017) I was flooded with nostalgia and it hit me. That I had been there before. It was very sad and almost post-apocalyptic. There was music playing but not a soul in the building. The food court was completely gutted and we only saw a few stores that were open. It’s amazing to me that this mall could go from crowded in 2005 to completely dead just 10 years later.

  • @JackMenace
    @JackMenace Рік тому

    I've lived here all my life and I never knew it was the 2nd largest mall. That's crazy, took it for granted.

  • @not-a-lot-2004
    @not-a-lot-2004 Рік тому +1

    you just made a Oscar worthy dead mall video. the final boss of malls

    • @not-a-lot-2004
      @not-a-lot-2004 Рік тому

      since you made this video, the arcade has already left. How long ago did you film this ?

  • @MrElectricwave
    @MrElectricwave 6 місяців тому

    I bet is very relaxing walking around that mall.

  • @SithRacer66
    @SithRacer66 Рік тому

    So I grew up in Cincinnati, I was born in the late 80's. I have vivid memories of my mom taking my brother and I there in 1990, it was always so much fun. The bumper cars, mini golf if I remember right. Then one day we just didn't go much anymore.
    I remember when we moved out of the area we went back just to go to Biggs and yes it was massively massive. We spent hours there buying who knows what. I remember going to Bass Pro Shops when it opened with my Grandpa, while the rest of the mall was being renovated. There was this like hallway with drywall that acted as like a corridor that you walked through to get to Burlington where I got a coat in like 8th grade.
    I got my $100 suit for my Senior pictures there.
    Then in my teens the Mall came back, I was there all the time at like 18-20 I loved it then, it was so awesome we got so much stuff from Steve and Barry's and still have some of it. The last time I was there when it seemed to be at the height of it's renovated glory was Christmas season 2007. There were no real signs that there was about to be a giant fall at least externally. Then several months later I went back and started to see stores closed, there was a Restaurant you have in video near Bass Pro Shops by the mall entrance, that was the first thing I saw closed and then it just spiraled from there.
    I am a hockey player and I remember the rumors about the rink and at the time I worked at a rink and I went and looked into the Biggs entrances which were just covered by plastic and gates and thought there was work going on in there but yeah I don't think so.
    I don't live there anymore, but I went back seven or eight years ago and haven't been since. I'd like to see it one last time, it holds a very special place in my heart. I frequented Tri County too, but this place was my favorite. Thanks for doing this video.