Absolutely... I would not be watching dead mall videos and found a whole new world of music if it weren't for the originator in my case, Mr. Dan Bell. Hats off! 🎇
If you're truly desperate for the mall experience and are for some reason flush with cash head to Singapore. A friend who lives there told me "shopping is Singapore's national sport" and it shows in the number of crazy malls they've got that are all still thriving.
Dead malls (and other buildings) fascinate me so much, because once upon a time each of those stores was a place where people made their living. They came there every day, clocked in, worked, followed rules, saw to upkeep, stocked the store - and now the place means nothing. All of that time and effort, now its just a shell. Something hauntingly endearing about that whole concept to me.
Back in the 80s and 90s it was unthinkable that these places would ever die, they were so vibrant with commerce. Movie theaters, video game parlors, record stores, Radio Shacks, novelty shops.
Back in 2012 I heard they were going to be tearing down the mall I had known since my early childhood. I started going a few times a week just to walk around and remember all the memories. Since 1969 when I was 3 it was the place to go. 43 years of back to school clothes, meeting friends and girl watching in high school, getting my hair cut by the same barber for 25 years, seeing movies and eating lunch, Christmas shopping, buying my wife’s engagement ring, buying home goods, pictures with Santa Claus with my kids. I never realized how hard it would hit me.
I am crying right now because this was my childhood. Many memories from being with my mom shopping as a kid, to being one of the mallrats into my my early college years. RIP, Lakeforest.
Thank you for this, Dan. This episode has everything I love about your Dead Mall series. The gentle sway of the camera as you stroll along is always so comforting to me.
I haven’t truly enjoyed UA-cam since your old days of regular Dead Mall series releases. It’s really great to see you back making content. If anyone was born to document these malls in a way we can all relate and enjoy, it’s you. Please, don’t stop making these, and hopefully, you can go back to making MANY of these on the regular. Dan Bell is the first thing anyone thinks of when we think of these old malls. You’re really a celebrity in this genre, and should run with it!
Best Dead Mall episode yet? That feeling you describe, of it's all over. Just like the last day of school, but with a bit of panic, depression, and desperation.
Yes, kind of like graduating H.S. and cleaning your locker out for the last time. This is it... it's over and done. This is all I've known for virtually all my life... Now what? Great analogy.
@@seththomas9105 oh god I just remembered my last day of High school and just how depressing it was. Cleaning out my locker and returning books etc, I also remember that not alot of students showed up as it wasn't mandatory to come so the school felt empty and sad because I would never see some of my friends again.
7:29 I love that diamond shaped glass elevator with the neon, it looks just like the ones on the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship. I was on that ship's final sailing last October, definitely had that weird It's all over feeling, knowing the giant ship your on is heading to the scrap yard to be destroyed right after you get off, still covered in neon, gold and mirrors.
Actually their LED strips that I installed that a color changing I leave it on colors for different seasons and holidays light blue was supposed to be for Christmas snow very mad with Dan about saying we are allowing people to break in and damage the place that is not true and anyone doing that will be arrested
Did Dan just invent... the Clothesrooms?!? I understand that feeling perfectly btw. It's sort of like, you took it granted all these years. Like "oh, I need a quick gift for someone, I'll just go to Macy's" and suddenly losing the option to just go do something like is undeniably strange. It's the world becoming less tactile in a way.
@@karnagefails333 AND laughing together about how WEIRD & abhorrent that wackadoodle David Gest is! It was so cringey listening to his ODD, sexual comments about her, trying a bit too hard...😩🥴🤭
This was my child hood mall in the early 90s. I bought so many rap cassettes and all my new school shoes there. I will never forget the recessed carpeted tiers they had in the center court so many people would sit there. Apparently they removed it in 2013. The small arcade took a lot of my money when Street Fighter 2 first came out. Babbage's was the spot for all the latest video games.
These malls are fascinating but also so depressing :( As someone who grew up in the 90s and spent a lot of time in malls, it is so sad. It makes me think of all of the people who had great times in these. Thanks for continuing this series, I love it!
Malls need anchors, anchors draw people to the other stores. Why not have the currently trendy restaurants open locations inside of malls? Chick Fila (ALWAYS has a line), Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, Five Guys, Chipotle, Texas Roadhouse, and every 10th spot a Starbucks? Most of those places are usually busy. They'd thrive if built on Love Canal.
Been waiting for this one for a while… and so glad Dan decided to document it. I too grew up in this mall in the early 80’s as a teen, learned to ice skate at the rink, my mother worked in the mall as well as my future wife I had not yet met. I took my two kids to see Santa here and play at the huge play area that was by the elevator. I’m 52 now and still live just minutes from the mall so I’ve seen it trough it’s glory days to it’s current state. It’s bitter sweet for me, so many incredible memories under one roof but it’s time for change…
@Shoe Slideshows, yes, it's definitely one of the best. He really touched on many things. I miss so much from my childhood like those family gatherings in the mall. We played the arcades, watched ice skaters and sometimes the Zamboni ride around on the ice skating rink. We went to the movies, shopped at tons of stores, had various snacks, those warm peanuts and huge, delicious warm chocolate chip cookies! Chick-Fil-A was always handing out free sample nuggets. The waterfalls were so nice to sit nearby and just relax, toss in some coins etc., and there were sometimes special events. With my dad having passed, then my Pops and now my mother last Thanksgiving after taking care of her the last 4 years... Thinking about the times we had together make the memories sweeter yet even more bitter because those times and they themselves are all gone. It's a reminder tho to make sure you show those whom you love, just how much you love them because you never know when it's the last time you'll have the opportunity to do so.
I grew up in Lakeforest mall and It makes me so sad its gonna be torn down. that mall represents my entire childhood. KB toys was a real treat after being with my mom all day at sears. Back then that space in the middle next to the elevator used to be like a playground for kids with plastic frogs and lotus flowers to jump on. We always went to the restaurants on the second floor instead of the food court they had a Ruby Tuesdays and American Café (my favorite restaurant as a 7yo I loved their mac&cheese). I would spend hours at the comic book store reading as many star wars comic as I could before we went back home. I bought a shit ton of CDs at the FYE store they had there it was huge back in the late 90s but got smaller over the years. I have so many memories from this mall I'd never finish posting this. I moved out of maryland years ago so thank you dan for this o n e l a s t g o o d b y e .
I grew up in Omaha in the 70s & 80s and have such great memories of the Southroads Mall in Bellevue Nebraska. It became a business park many years ago but the mall hasn’t changed…it’s just not a shopping mall anymore. I remember when Woolworths went out of business (several years before the mall closed) and it was so sad. There was an old woman who had worked there from the day it opened in the 60s until the day it closed.
Are you still in Omaha? Crossroads was torn down. I have fond memories of Southroads, too. That was the mall I went to most often, but damn if Backstage shoes at Westroads wasn't the greatest store of all time. "You can put them on layaway for a dollar!"
I moved to Gaithersburg in December 2007. This mall was right around the corner from my apartment. I first found this place within a few days of moving there & it became one of my favorite places to go. I moved away in summer 2011, & the last time I was in here- February 2022, it was so sad to see it in this state. The steel sculptures always fascinated me. At least I have the memories & these videos. I miss living there at times, but I did what I came to do. I'd love to visit again someday. At least the Rio is still there.
I unironically love that elevator, absolutely beautiful. I ironically love the completely empty Time Out Zone, just needs someone standing motionless in the middle of the floor. Or in one corner, facing the wall.
If you are going to go to a mall out west I recommend Prescott gateway mall in Prescott Arizona,it is only 21 years old and as of 2020 was a dying mall with tons of shops full of junk.
I love your work! I'm from Maryland and worked in production management/unit management at Discovery and Smithsonian Channels. One day, while walking to/from the Smithsonian Channel offices in Dupont Circle, I saw a utility man opening steel doors on the sidewalk. I looked down as I walked past (on my way to the Metro) and realized there were stairs that led to an enormous underground area. I did a little research and apparently there's an entire abandoned mall below Dupont Circle that's in pretty much pristine 80s condition. No one even knows it's down there. I'd love to learn more about it. I bet the food court looks just like Saved by the Bell. ☺️ BTW I got banned from Lakeforest when I was in 10th or 11th grade. LMAO 🤣😂
VPNs use the same ciphers web traffic is already encrypted with anyway. If the point is to hide which sites you visit, TorBrowser does that better, for free. Assume any major VPN that knows your real identity is compromised. And that the government tracks you the same ways ad companies do. If your goal is to bypass streaming service lockouts, you'd might as well pirate the content, because using a VPN is probably against the terms of service. Basically, for most use cases, a VPN is either not necessary or not sufficient.
Great video! I've been in retail management since 1987. Back then, if you told me that malls would be "Dead" one day, I wouldn't have believed it. They were so alive! From the Easter Bunny, to Santa, to Center Mall fashion shows and music. Malls had it all. I love the "backrooms" vibe you put in at the end! Thanks!
17:25 the backrooms moment here is terrifying. Trapped in a transdimensional void of clothing retail that extends infinitely in all directions, being chased by the demonic form of Liza Minnelli.
I was so glad he added that. I love dead malls because they feel like liminal spaces, which feel like the backrooms. I believe they're all connected, so seeing that was PERFECT! 😄
Hey Dan, thank you so much for this. I made a video on Lakeforest Mall a few years ago for a school project in my sophomore year of HS. You inspired me to make that video, & now you came to Lakeforest. It all comes full circle.
i appreciate your videos. i’m only 21 but these places felt nostalgic to me. after experiencing many deaths involving family i grew up and went on mall outings with these videos are bittersweet
Alfred Taubman admired and designed his malls meticulously around European bazaars and art. Heartbreaking to see what's been done here in its final days.
Dan I love your video's. There's a lot of people doing closed mall video's but your's are the best. You struck a nerve with me when you were talking about Sears. My Dad worked for Sears and Roebuck for 43 years. He had to quit for 4 years to go fight in WWII but when he got out Sears had his job waiting for him. Sears was the best employer in America. It's so sad to see what happened to them. I live in the metro Atlanta area and we have several malls closing or near closing that you may want to visit. Take care and keep up the great work..
Used to live in Gaithersburg, and got into Dan Bell's videos right when I moved there. I stepped into Lakeforest Mall one day and I felt like I was in one of his videos. So seeing this video is both a dream come true, and a bizarre fever dream. Exactly the type of content I love. Thanks Dan.
My first professional job was in Rockville, MD, 1986. One of the things that attracted me to living in Gaithersburg was this mall. Heartbreaking that it's now gone.
Magnificent !!! At 61, this evokes in me feelings of nostalgia, sadness, and depression, for a world and society now essentially gone. I enjoy your side trips into 80's/90's infomercials-(LOVE IT), another thing lost...
A new Dan Bell video!!! Honestly your videos are so strangely comforting to me, I love the way you meditatively move through the mall and really look and appreciate all the little details. Your appreciation for cool architecture, sculptures, and plants is so great to watch! ❤
Well Done, Dan. The Creepy tunes made it cool too. There is just something that makes a person Sad when a Mall closes... Growing up in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland in the 1970's. IVERSON MALL, Iverson St. ran under the mall. We lived in the old townhouses behind the mall. So, you know we spent time hanging out in there. The Mall opened in 1950 and was the first Air Conditioned, enclosed Shopping Mall in the Washington, D.C. area. It was still like new in the 1970's. Woodward & Lothrorp at one end, Montgomery Ward as the other end. Now I here it is drab, full of no name shops. The nice fountains all filled in and used as planters now. I last heard it is mostly used for MALL WALKERS. Enjoyed viewing, Thank You, Dan. Love your work. :)
I loved the sears exterior. It looks almost monolithic- something in between a clean tiled 80’s bathroom and a huge sculpture. Such a strange but really provoking design
Right?! I live in San Antonio, Texas, and we’ve got like 10 malls here and 9 of them are bustling with business and people. I feel like the dead malls are mainly up north which is sad.
@@DavidGavinETC It's funny - I live in a northern state, but there's a mall that's about 30-40 minutes away from the mall that I was initially talking about that's at least three times the size but has a quarter of the open stores. I think the indoor ice skating rink and the cosmotology school inside of it are about the only reason people go there anymore
@Gavin Priestley you'd think it be the opposite, because up North we need more places to go hang out in the Winter. Really interesting they're dying out up here but doing okay down South.
@@DavidGavinETCThey just demolished Valley View and Collin Creek in Dallas/and the suburbs. Stonebriar and Northpark are okay, but not what they used to be. Galleria (of all things) is pretty slow now. There were at least a dozen when I was a kid in the 80's that I can remember. Many more have closed than stayed open. They're all turning into expensive asf apartments and high end shopping that the majority of people can't afford. Wonder what San Antonio is doing right.
Wow I started watching this on minute 3 of it being posted. That's a first. I love your videos Dan, and not just that -- you are doing a service by chronicling the history of malls and other such things. I feel is important for the future when they can look back and remember how great it really was -- and they will never experience it sadly.
Love you Dan! You were extra witty in this episode. Great work. Also, always love your intros and the way you edit those people. It makes it extra funny cuz' I have no idea who they ever are!
I recently went to a mall in Waterford, CT called The Chrystal Mall and 8:13 wow! Maybe 10 small stores left in a big mall. When I worked there in the ‘90s you could barely move it was so crowded.
This is a perfect mix of commentary, history, future, sarcasm, and vapor. Thank you for helping me realize this was a style of art and experience that I'm in love with.
There was something about the woman pushing her loved one in the wheelchair that made me unexpectedly sad. The woman looks incredibly similar to my mother (the hair, the jacket, boots, purse/handbag and even the way she walks) and I can't help to think that a large mall like this closing is a perfect metaphor for seeing something age out and slowly die. To think that these folks have lived long enough to see something that was probably apart of the their everyday lives for the longest time suddenly going away within a matter of a few months filled me with such and unexpected amount of sadness.
15:38 you didn't mention the Conversation Pit that was so big in the 70s! I love buying old books that show them in people's houses. They were neat. Glad they kept them there, but...all will be demolished. Poor architects & builders.
I’ve gotten to work in a few Macys stores, and seeing the retro fittings inside that store is, mwah. Always loved that wood grain look, even if the carpet was ugly. Also just noticed the neat mold on the ceiling at 11:24, delicious.
In this age of short attention span, the abilty to make a 20 min video feel like 5 minutes is a super power, thank you for coming back Dan, im so glad youre still making these and also thanks for introducing me to vaporwave back in 2017!
It's always so much fun to watch you go through buildings like this, especially dying malls! Honestly your commentary is my favorite and the subtle humor of it makes it so fun to watch
Okay, the Joliet mall in Joliet, Illinois. When you've checked out the Fox Valley Mall (less than an hour up the road), it's a complete and utter ghost town!
If I knew you had never heard of this mall, I would have recommended it to you ages ago! As a follower of yours for the past few years, I have always hoped to see Lakeforest pop up in this series and I'm so glad it finally did now that it's officially closing down! I grew up in the area and this was the mall my friends and I went to, soooo many memories. In the early 2000s it was still a popular hang out spot, and I had the bittersweet experience of growing up as the popularity decreased until it became a dead mall. One of the best spots in it as a really young child was the kid's play area, and I have many memories of going to the mall just for that. It was also a place where we'd be dropped off as middle schoolers and get to hang out somewhere without adult supervision, then get picked up hours later. There were a lot of cool spots to just sit and hang out in between shopping, and the food court felt massive at that age. You mention the recent violent crime, and I want to point out that crime was not infrequent at the mall since like 2010. It started to feel dangerous going there, and I never went back after a man was killed inside while trying to stop someone (possibly a shooter, but I can't find any articles about it). We started going to Montgomery Mall instead, and I wasn't a fan because my friends and I always considered it the bougie mall. I hope you were serious about the invitation to go urban exploring there once it's closed, because that would be a surreal experience having grown up with it!
It's so sad that this or any dead mall could not be re-purposed into community/medical centers for people. In a different/better society, where profit was not the primary motive, spaces like this could be used to care of people's basic needs.
They do that for some dying malls. Half the first floor of the Exton Square Mall in Pennsylvania where I grew up and even worked in is now leased out into a medical/dental center. But the rest of it is a Dead(ish) Mall, with majority of the anchor stores gone and less than 1/4 capacity. But without "profit", none of this would exist in the first place. And generally the reason for a mall's decline are numerous and not going to be turned around by replacing it with a different type of service or business. Nevermind the state and local regulatory requirements needed to convert a mall into some alternative community center is often costly and not worth it for any investor.
This is the mall I live near in Maryland. When I first moved to Maryland in 2006, the mall was fairly active, they'd do the holidays including Chinese new year decorations, but of course as the years passed I watched more and more stores leave, and slowly all the anchor stores, JCP, Lord and Taylor, Sears, all began to shutter. I think people around here have known now for years this mall was going to be going away.
I live close to Lakeforest now. I still went there occasional for Cajun Grill, the last food place open in the food court. She made great bourbon chicken. Sad to see her spot go.
Hey Dan, great documentation and narration as always. I really enjoyed this mall when I was here back in March 2022, and I hope to see it one more time next week. The builder of this mall, Taubman, built malls with similar architecture and features, he also built Marley Station Mall as well. I really hope some of these odd and cool sculptures can be potentially saved from the demolition.
Man, am I glad I went to this mall since it was closer than most. I got some good deals at Macy's and took some pretty cool pictures of the awesome architecture. That and the statues, it was so cool, sad it's closed and will be demolished. The geometric ceilings I think could fit into a modern building, actually, looks kinda like UA-cam's old default channel banner.
The Mall (Town Center Mall in Kennesaw, GA to be specific) was such a huge part of my preteen and teenage life that I remember being so mad at my parents when we moved twenty minutes farther from it. You'd have thought we were moving to another planet! I had great times at the mall with my friends. It's sad that teenagers in the future won't get that thrill of wandering around the mall on a Friday night.
Awesome episode. Dan has the greatest sense of humor, and a unique way of capturing the coolest little details. Thank you for all of your great work sir. 👍🏼
We have a Sears in Altoona that’s been shutdown since 2017 that’s sitting empty in the Logan Valley Mall and not far from that is an old Kmart closed since 2018 but they’re busy turning that into a rural king
I love these videos. Your commentary is always so great. You have a talent for describing feelings that I myself struggle to describe. Makes me feel like I'm actually in the mall and getting sad :')
Holy shit lol. Was just talking about this mall with my mom yesterday! As someone who lives in Gaithersburg and used to go to the mall, I remember it still being super seventies in the early two thousands. I remember being really disappointed when the fountain and steps were paved over and replaced with empty space. Glad to see you visited and checked the place out!
This looks just like Fair Oaks Mall in Virginia from back in the day. I loved those seating pits and that center area (at Fair Oaks) had a cool infinity pool wishing fountain kinda thing that, as kids, you had to run your hands under and you walked past.
Another great video. I remember that you did a video on the Laguna Hills Mall in Laguna Hills, California. I don’t know if you know this, but now the mall is completely demolished.
Man I haven’t been to that mall in probably over 20 years and even back then it looked on the verge of shutting down. I think that Time Out Zone used to be an FYE. I can’t remember what it was called before that. I just remember that’s where I would go to get my music when I was in the area
17:24 I assume he found a time warp to the top floor of the meat factory... The infinite clothesrooms is just the public facade for the carnage that lives below. The distant cow noises below you as so many of them get slaughtered. It really is extra ordinary. But it's just another day in the life of Bell, Dan Bell.
All humour and fun aside, it´s actually important that you have "documented" this post mordern architecture - it´s dissapearing fast ( more or less all postmordern Mall architecture has been redone or demolished here in Denmark for example) and this particular design actually is well executed with many wonderfull details !
This mall has a slightly similar architectural feel of the _Valley Fair Mall_ in San Jose, CA. Except the Valley Fair Mall still seems to have a fair amount of foot traffic.
I was about to comment about how weird and surreal it would be to be a food court worker in a totally empty mall and then you mention the stabbing and shooting, really added some horror to that surreal-ness
The editing, the vaporwave, the humor. Thank you Dan, we're glad you're back!
@@chuck2517 well, they are and have been closing locations every year since 2020.
Well said. Fastastic comeback, Dan. Love all of it. Vaporwave track in the intro is slick. Whats the name of the track?
And liminal spaces.
@Ryan Piccolo that's fitting
FINALLY
that lazy PHUK
It's not just the malls themselves, a Dan Bell dead mall video is pure UA-cam nostalgia.
Thanks for the wholesome vibes.
Absolutely... I would not be watching dead mall videos and found a whole new world of music if it weren't for the originator in my case, Mr. Dan Bell. Hats off! 🎇
Its his voice and the background music
I watch Stranger Things for the nostalgia
70’s kid here, watching memories fade in history. The Mall experience is officially gone.
sadly, you’re right.
If you're truly desperate for the mall experience and are for some reason flush with cash head to Singapore. A friend who lives there told me "shopping is Singapore's national sport" and it shows in the number of crazy malls they've got that are all still thriving.
@@Kheekostick - 500 store Mall in Dubia. Been there, done that . .
....end of an Era.
All downhill from here 😥
@@JimJones-gd2jy How was it mate
Dead malls (and other buildings) fascinate me so much, because once upon a time each of those stores was a place where people made their living. They came there every day, clocked in, worked, followed rules, saw to upkeep, stocked the store - and now the place means nothing. All of that time and effort, now its just a shell. Something hauntingly endearing about that whole concept to me.
Yes, you stated my same thoughts so eloquently!
Just like life man, just like life.
"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit has a man of all his labor which he takes under the sun?"
Back in the 80s and 90s it was unthinkable that these places would ever die, they were so vibrant with commerce. Movie theaters, video game parlors, record stores, Radio Shacks, novelty shops.
Yep, just what I think when I watch it ! Wow it feels so weird ! I love how you explained it
Back in 2012 I heard they were going to be tearing down the mall I had known since my early childhood. I started going a few times a week just to walk around and remember all the memories. Since 1969 when I was 3 it was the place to go. 43 years of back to school clothes, meeting friends and girl watching in high school, getting my hair cut by the same barber for 25 years, seeing movies and eating lunch, Christmas shopping, buying my wife’s engagement ring, buying home goods, pictures with Santa Claus with my kids. I never realized how hard it would hit me.
this is sweet
I am crying right now because this was my childhood. Many memories from being with my mom shopping as a kid, to being one of the mallrats into my my early college years. RIP, Lakeforest.
So many laps around this place. What was the pizza place that always had the cheap slices not Sbarro?
I think it was Jerry's Pizza, I left the area in 95 so I have not seen that chain again.
Me too.
Thank you for this, Dan. This episode has everything I love about your Dead Mall series. The gentle sway of the camera as you stroll along is always so comforting to me.
Reminiscent of a rocking chair on the cracker barrel front porch..
It can make you feel sleepy!
I fell asleep watching this actually. Had to come back later to finish it.
I haven’t truly enjoyed UA-cam since your old days of regular Dead Mall series releases. It’s really great to see you back making content. If anyone was born to document these malls in a way we can all relate and enjoy, it’s you. Please, don’t stop making these, and hopefully, you can go back to making MANY of these on the regular. Dan Bell is the first thing anyone thinks of when we think of these old malls. You’re really a celebrity in this genre, and should run with it!
1:55 - "At the Crash Site" by ELFL
18:25 - "Another Pineapple Please by The Fly Guy Five
Great looking mall, really like some of the skylight designs.
I was wondering what that song was
Thank you for the song!
Thanks!!
THANK UOU!! 🎉🎉🎉
Best Dead Mall episode yet? That feeling you describe, of it's all over. Just like the last day of school, but with a bit of panic, depression, and desperation.
Yes, kind of like graduating H.S. and cleaning your locker out for the last time.
This is it... it's over and done. This is all I've known for virtually all my life... Now what?
Great analogy.
@@seththomas9105 oh god I just remembered my last day of High school and just how depressing it was.
Cleaning out my locker and returning books etc, I also remember that not alot of students showed up as it wasn't mandatory to come so the school felt empty and sad because I would never see some of my friends again.
7:29 I love that diamond shaped glass elevator with the neon, it looks just like the ones on the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship. I was on that ship's final sailing last October, definitely had that weird It's all over feeling, knowing the giant ship your on is heading to the scrap yard to be destroyed right after you get off, still covered in neon, gold and mirrors.
Canal Place in New Orleans has one of those elevators
I believe these are OTIS scenic elevators. Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia has similar ones. They are so 70s. I love finding them too.
Actually their LED strips that I installed that a color changing I leave it on colors for different seasons and holidays light blue was supposed to be for Christmas snow very mad with Dan about saying we are allowing people to break in and damage the place that is not true and anyone doing that will be arrested
Did Dan just invent... the Clothesrooms?!?
I understand that feeling perfectly btw. It's sort of like, you took it granted all these years. Like "oh, I need a quick gift for someone, I'll just go to Macy's" and suddenly losing the option to just go do something like is undeniably strange. It's the world becoming less tactile in a way.
Amazon
@@archiemisc Yeah it undoubtedly killed the big retail store. It's only a matter of time until they're all dead.
it's the realization that the United States is a dying civilization
@@claireredfield624 I wonder what will kill amazon one day
@@eily_b there is always a top chain…plus Walmart will still exist…
A Dan Bell upload is a magical moment
Especially when it involves Liza Minelli's mucus!
You got that straight. 👊
@@karnagefails333 AND laughing together about how WEIRD & abhorrent that wackadoodle David Gest is! It was so cringey listening to his ODD, sexual comments about her, trying a bit too hard...😩🥴🤭
when STiP0 comments its a magical moment, thought you were a fan of zombie infested malls not dead ones XD
@@PLANET123100 ALL malls 😇
This was my child hood mall in the early 90s. I bought so many rap cassettes and all my new school shoes there. I will never forget the recessed carpeted tiers they had in the center court so many people would sit there. Apparently they removed it in 2013. The small arcade took a lot of my money when Street Fighter 2 first came out. Babbage's was the spot for all the latest video games.
These malls are fascinating but also so depressing :( As someone who grew up in the 90s and spent a lot of time in malls, it is so sad. It makes me think of all of the people who had great times in these. Thanks for continuing this series, I love it!
Malls need anchors, anchors draw people to the other stores. Why not have the currently trendy restaurants open locations inside of malls? Chick Fila (ALWAYS has a line), Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, Five Guys, Chipotle, Texas Roadhouse, and every 10th spot a Starbucks? Most of those places are usually busy. They'd thrive if built on Love Canal.
Me too Quake120. It's sad and it's a feeling that weighs heavy but i wouldn't trade it for anything.
Been waiting for this one for a while… and so glad Dan decided to document it. I too grew up in this mall in the early 80’s as a teen, learned to ice skate at the rink, my mother worked in the mall as well as my future wife I had not yet met. I took my two kids to see Santa here and play at the huge play area that was by the elevator. I’m 52 now and still live just minutes from the mall so I’ve seen it trough it’s glory days to it’s current state. It’s bitter sweet for me, so many incredible memories under one roof but it’s time for change…
Dan definitely knocked it out of the park with this upload. Thank you, Dan!
@Shoe Slideshows, yes, it's definitely one of the best. He really touched on many things. I miss so much from my childhood like those family gatherings in the mall. We played the arcades, watched ice skaters and sometimes the Zamboni ride around on the ice skating rink. We went to the movies, shopped at tons of stores, had various snacks, those warm peanuts and huge, delicious warm chocolate chip cookies! Chick-Fil-A was always handing out free sample nuggets. The waterfalls were so nice to sit nearby and just relax, toss in some coins etc., and there were sometimes special events. With my dad having passed, then my Pops and now my mother last Thanksgiving after taking care of her the last 4 years... Thinking about the times we had together make the memories sweeter yet even more bitter because those times and they themselves are all gone. It's a reminder tho to make sure you show those whom you love, just how much you love them because you never know when it's the last time you'll have the opportunity to do so.
I grew up in Lakeforest mall and It makes me so sad its gonna be torn down. that mall represents my entire childhood. KB toys was a real treat after being with my mom all day at sears. Back then that space in the middle next to the elevator used to be like a playground for kids with plastic frogs and lotus flowers to jump on. We always went to the restaurants on the second floor instead of the food court they had a Ruby Tuesdays and American Café (my favorite restaurant as a 7yo I loved their mac&cheese). I would spend hours at the comic book store reading as many star wars comic as I could before we went back home. I bought a shit ton of CDs at the FYE store they had there it was huge back in the late 90s but got smaller over the years. I have so many memories from this mall I'd never finish posting this. I moved out of maryland years ago so thank you dan for this o n e l a s t g o o d b y e .
I grew up in Omaha in the 70s & 80s and have such great memories of the Southroads Mall in Bellevue Nebraska. It became a business park many years ago but the mall hasn’t changed…it’s just not a shopping mall anymore. I remember when Woolworths went out of business (several years before the mall closed) and it was so sad. There was an old woman who had worked there from the day it opened in the 60s until the day it closed.
Are you still in Omaha? Crossroads was torn down. I have fond memories of Southroads, too. That was the mall I went to most often, but damn if Backstage shoes at Westroads wasn't the greatest store of all time. "You can put them on layaway for a dollar!"
@@princesspeanut2322 I moved to the northwest in 2000, but I know that the Crossroads was demolished.
I moved to Gaithersburg in December 2007.
This mall was right around the corner from my apartment. I first found this place within a few days of moving there & it became one of my favorite places to go. I moved away in summer 2011, & the last time I was in here- February 2022, it was so sad to see it in this state. The steel sculptures always fascinated me. At least I have the memories & these videos. I miss living there at times, but I did what I came to do. I'd love to visit again someday. At least the Rio is still there.
I unironically love that elevator, absolutely beautiful. I ironically love the completely empty Time Out Zone, just needs someone standing motionless in the middle of the floor. Or in one corner, facing the wall.
But did you notice Time Out Zone II?! It looked awesome. #1 was for the bad kids.
My kid LOVES that elevator there. He's sad it's going away.
Thank you I did that
If you are going to go to a mall out west I recommend Prescott gateway mall in Prescott Arizona,it is only 21 years old and as of 2020 was a dying mall with tons of shops full of junk.
I love your work! I'm from Maryland and worked in production management/unit management at Discovery and Smithsonian Channels. One day, while walking to/from the Smithsonian Channel offices in Dupont Circle, I saw a utility man opening steel doors on the sidewalk. I looked down as I walked past (on my way to the Metro) and realized there were stairs that led to an enormous underground area. I did a little research and apparently there's an entire abandoned mall below Dupont Circle that's in pretty much pristine 80s condition. No one even knows it's down there. I'd love to learn more about it. I bet the food court looks just like Saved by the Bell. ☺️
BTW I got banned from Lakeforest when I was in 10th or 11th grade. LMAO 🤣😂
You can tell its a Taubman mall. My uncle knew and worked for Alfred for years in Detroit. Thanks Dan
Even though Nord VPN helped financially make this possible, Dillon making Dan happier is the real unsung hero.
I love looking thru the Nord VPN logs of Dan Bell.
@@BDBD16 As insecure as Nord is, everyone's logs are free to view.
@@misterhat5823 tell us exactly how insecure NordVPN is
@@archiemisc One of their vendors had an incident where they were hacked. Nord hid that from their customers.
VPNs use the same ciphers web traffic is already encrypted with anyway. If the point is to hide which sites you visit, TorBrowser does that better, for free. Assume any major VPN that knows your real identity is compromised. And that the government tracks you the same ways ad companies do. If your goal is to bypass streaming service lockouts, you'd might as well pirate the content, because using a VPN is probably against the terms of service. Basically, for most use cases, a VPN is either not necessary or not sufficient.
Great video! I've been in retail management since 1987. Back then, if you told me that malls would be "Dead" one day, I wouldn't have believed it. They were so alive! From the Easter Bunny, to Santa, to Center Mall fashion shows and music. Malls had it all. I love the "backrooms" vibe you put in at the end! Thanks!
Lakeforest! One of Taubmans finest. Liza has the laugh of an angel. Thanks for this lol
my video is better. f you. when you coming over again??
An angel that smokes 80a day maybe 😁 Hi Sal
@@ThisisDanBell Let's f around this week and do a podcast or something. Miss you.
17:25 the backrooms moment here is terrifying. Trapped in a transdimensional void of clothing retail that extends infinitely in all directions, being chased by the demonic form of Liza Minnelli.
so subtly tweaked and twilight zone-ish
That sounds like a great idea actually, to use this as a set for a horror flick, being chased.
I was so glad he added that. I love dead malls because they feel like liminal spaces, which feel like the backrooms. I believe they're all connected, so seeing that was PERFECT! 😄
Came to the comments for this. Dan the type of guy to get stuck in the backrooms and start recording.
And her breasts, the left in particular.
Hey Dan, thank you so much for this. I made a video on Lakeforest Mall a few years ago for a school project in my sophomore year of HS. You inspired me to make that video, & now you came to Lakeforest. It all comes full circle.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
i appreciate your videos. i’m only 21 but these places felt nostalgic to me. after experiencing many deaths involving family i grew up and went on mall outings with these videos are bittersweet
Alfred Taubman admired and designed his malls meticulously around European bazaars and art. Heartbreaking to see what's been done here in its final days.
Caldor's!! Omg
Dan I love your video's. There's a lot of people doing closed mall video's but your's are the best. You struck a nerve with me when you were talking about Sears. My Dad worked for Sears and Roebuck for 43 years. He had to quit for 4 years to go fight in WWII but when he got out Sears had his job waiting for him. Sears was the best employer in America. It's so sad to see what happened to them. I live in the metro Atlanta area and we have several malls closing or near closing that you may want to visit. Take care and keep up the great work..
Used to live in Gaithersburg, and got into Dan Bell's videos right when I moved there. I stepped into Lakeforest Mall one day and I felt like I was in one of his videos. So seeing this video is both a dream come true, and a bizarre fever dream. Exactly the type of content I love. Thanks Dan.
My first professional job was in Rockville, MD, 1986. One of the things that attracted me to living in Gaithersburg was this mall. Heartbreaking that it's now gone.
Magnificent !!! At 61, this evokes in me feelings of nostalgia, sadness, and depression, for a world and society now essentially gone. I enjoy your side trips into 80's/90's infomercials-(LOVE IT), another thing lost...
I agree, Covid ruined the world and so did guns in america
Better to see a mall like this being demolished than to see it in these conditions, all that unused space. A big hug from Brazil.
A new Dan Bell video!!! Honestly your videos are so strangely comforting to me, I love the way you meditatively move through the mall and really look and appreciate all the little details. Your appreciation for cool architecture, sculptures, and plants is so great to watch! ❤
Well Done, Dan. The Creepy tunes made it cool too. There is just something that makes a person Sad when a Mall closes... Growing up in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland in the 1970's. IVERSON MALL, Iverson St. ran under the mall. We lived in the old townhouses behind the mall. So, you know we spent time hanging out in there. The Mall opened in 1950 and was the first Air Conditioned, enclosed Shopping Mall in the Washington, D.C. area. It was still like new in the 1970's. Woodward & Lothrorp at one end, Montgomery Ward as the other end. Now I here it is drab, full of no name shops. The nice fountains all filled in and used as planters now. I last heard it is mostly used for MALL WALKERS. Enjoyed viewing, Thank You, Dan. Love your work. :)
Love that you're still doing these ❣️
I loved the sears exterior. It looks almost monolithic- something in between a clean tiled 80’s bathroom and a huge sculpture. Such a strange but really provoking design
It's so weird watching these videos when the nearest mall to me is still a thriving and favourite spot of so many people
Right?! I live in San Antonio, Texas, and we’ve got like 10 malls here and 9 of them are bustling with business and people. I feel like the dead malls are mainly up north which is sad.
@@DavidGavinETC It's funny - I live in a northern state, but there's a mall that's about 30-40 minutes away from the mall that I was initially talking about that's at least three times the size but has a quarter of the open stores. I think the indoor ice skating rink and the cosmotology school inside of it are about the only reason people go there anymore
@Gavin Priestley you'd think it be the opposite, because up North we need more places to go hang out in the Winter. Really interesting they're dying out up here but doing okay down South.
@@DavidGavinETCThey just demolished Valley View and Collin Creek in Dallas/and the suburbs. Stonebriar and Northpark are okay, but not what they used to be. Galleria (of all things) is pretty slow now. There were at least a dozen when I was a kid in the 80's that I can remember. Many more have closed than stayed open. They're all turning into expensive asf apartments and high end shopping that the majority of people can't afford. Wonder what San Antonio is doing right.
@@lucianaromulus1408 . Yeah I don't get it. Malls are great but people are flocking to the trendy "town square" outdoor malls now. SMH
Many people are sharing that sad feeling. So do i. But there also many new things! to come. Thank you for this beautiful video. xx
Wow I started watching this on minute 3 of it being posted. That's a first. I love your videos Dan, and not just that -- you are doing a service by chronicling the history of malls and other such things. I feel is important for the future when they can look back and remember how great it really was -- and they will never experience it sadly.
Love you Dan! You were extra witty in this episode. Great work.
Also, always love your intros and the way you edit those people. It makes it extra funny cuz' I have no idea who they ever are!
love you too
He's a real liminal man,
siting in his liminal land,
making all his liminal plans for nobody.
I recently went to a mall in Waterford, CT called The Chrystal Mall and 8:13 wow! Maybe 10 small stores left in a big mall. When I worked there in the ‘90s you could barely move it was so crowded.
This is a perfect mix of commentary, history, future, sarcasm, and vapor. Thank you for helping me realize this was a style of art and experience that I'm in love with.
That cut scene into the hole and to the retail abyss has a very odd “back rooms” feeling. Wonderful!!
There was something about the woman pushing her loved one in the wheelchair that made me unexpectedly sad. The woman looks incredibly similar to my mother (the hair, the jacket, boots, purse/handbag and even the way she walks) and I can't help to think that a large mall like this closing is a perfect metaphor for seeing something age out and slowly die. To think that these folks have lived long enough to see something that was probably apart of the their everyday lives for the longest time suddenly going away within a matter of a few months filled me with such and unexpected amount of sadness.
15:38 you didn't mention the Conversation Pit that was so big in the 70s! I love buying old books that show them in people's houses. They were neat. Glad they kept them there, but...all will be demolished. Poor architects & builders.
I'm so glad this series is back. Good to have you back, Dan.
I can confidently say I speak for everyone on the internet when I say we love Dan Bell.
Thank you.
Just the first few minutes really bring my day! When we see the notification I plan my meal around this and it's a date.
I’ve gotten to work in a few Macys stores, and seeing the retro fittings inside that store is, mwah. Always loved that wood grain look, even if the carpet was ugly.
Also just noticed the neat mold on the ceiling at 11:24, delicious.
In this age of short attention span, the abilty to make a 20 min video feel like 5 minutes is a super power, thank you for coming back Dan, im so glad youre still making these and also thanks for introducing me to vaporwave back in 2017!
There used to be a restaurant in this mall called Spinnaker's and they made the best flower pot bread. 😢
It's always so much fun to watch you go through buildings like this, especially dying malls! Honestly your commentary is my favorite and the subtle humor of it makes it so fun to watch
Okay, the Joliet mall in Joliet, Illinois. When you've checked out the Fox Valley Mall (less than an hour up the road), it's a complete and utter ghost town!
If I knew you had never heard of this mall, I would have recommended it to you ages ago! As a follower of yours for the past few years, I have always hoped to see Lakeforest pop up in this series and I'm so glad it finally did now that it's officially closing down!
I grew up in the area and this was the mall my friends and I went to, soooo many memories. In the early 2000s it was still a popular hang out spot, and I had the bittersweet experience of growing up as the popularity decreased until it became a dead mall. One of the best spots in it as a really young child was the kid's play area, and I have many memories of going to the mall just for that. It was also a place where we'd be dropped off as middle schoolers and get to hang out somewhere without adult supervision, then get picked up hours later. There were a lot of cool spots to just sit and hang out in between shopping, and the food court felt massive at that age.
You mention the recent violent crime, and I want to point out that crime was not infrequent at the mall since like 2010. It started to feel dangerous going there, and I never went back after a man was killed inside while trying to stop someone (possibly a shooter, but I can't find any articles about it). We started going to Montgomery Mall instead, and I wasn't a fan because my friends and I always considered it the bougie mall.
I hope you were serious about the invitation to go urban exploring there once it's closed, because that would be a surreal experience having grown up with it!
There used to be a fountain next to that big glass elevator. They boarded over it.
I'm bummed I didn't get to go back home for one last look.
It's so sad that this or any dead mall could not be re-purposed into community/medical centers for people. In a different/better society, where profit was not the primary motive, spaces like this could be used to care of people's basic needs.
They do that for some dying malls. Half the first floor of the Exton Square Mall in Pennsylvania where I grew up and even worked in is now leased out into a medical/dental center. But the rest of it is a Dead(ish) Mall, with majority of the anchor stores gone and less than 1/4 capacity.
But without "profit", none of this would exist in the first place. And generally the reason for a mall's decline are numerous and not going to be turned around by replacing it with a different type of service or business. Nevermind the state and local regulatory requirements needed to convert a mall into some alternative community center is often costly and not worth it for any investor.
Yes!!!
Your originality, editing, and palpable devotion/love to the craft that I've seen in your videos astounds me. Thank you for doing what you do!
This is the mall I live near in Maryland. When I first moved to Maryland in 2006, the mall was fairly active, they'd do the holidays including Chinese new year decorations, but of course as the years passed I watched more and more stores leave, and slowly all the anchor stores, JCP, Lord and Taylor, Sears, all began to shutter. I think people around here have known now for years this mall was going to be going away.
It was still pretty full before COVID, but COVID and the anchor stores leaving really killed it dead.
@@Joelsef 2019 it was quite dead...until 2017 middle it was busy
I live close to Lakeforest now. I still went there occasional for Cajun Grill, the last food place open in the food court. She made great bourbon chicken. Sad to see her spot go.
Finally! Another new Dead Mall Series upload this has literally made my week.
Gosh 5:37, that shot alone is gold with the green. I grew up as a child in a dying 70s mall and it's a very nostalgic feeling behind it
Hey Dan, great documentation and narration as always. I really enjoyed this mall when I was here back in March 2022, and I hope to see it one more time next week. The builder of this mall, Taubman, built malls with similar architecture and features, he also built Marley Station Mall as well. I really hope some of these odd and cool sculptures can be potentially saved from the demolition.
Now THIS is Dan Bell. Awesome video….I spit water out at 9:53 LOL
You don't realize how much you miss these episodes until they're gone. Glad you're back!
Man, am I glad I went to this mall since it was closer than most. I got some good deals at Macy's and took some pretty cool pictures of the awesome architecture. That and the statues, it was so cool, sad it's closed and will be demolished. The geometric ceilings I think could fit into a modern building, actually, looks kinda like UA-cam's old default channel banner.
My day was made when I saw Dan released another video. Thanks so much for all you do and the great content!
The Mall (Town Center Mall in Kennesaw, GA to be specific) was such a huge part of my preteen and teenage life that I remember being so mad at my parents when we moved twenty minutes farther from it. You'd have thought we were moving to another planet! I had great times at the mall with my friends. It's sad that teenagers in the future won't get that thrill of wandering around the mall on a Friday night.
Awesome episode. Dan has the greatest sense of humor, and a unique way of capturing the coolest little details. Thank you for all of your great work sir. 👍🏼
We have a Sears in Altoona that’s been shutdown since 2017 that’s sitting empty in the Logan Valley Mall and not far from that is an old Kmart closed since 2018 but they’re busy turning that into a rural king
What a banger for a return to the series. Beautiful mall. Sculptures. Elevator. Ceiling.
And the footage of its heydays in the end…
I love these videos. Your commentary is always so great. You have a talent for describing feelings that I myself struggle to describe. Makes me feel like I'm actually in the mall and getting sad :')
Holy shit lol. Was just talking about this mall with my mom yesterday! As someone who lives in Gaithersburg and used to go to the mall, I remember it still being super seventies in the early two thousands. I remember being really disappointed when the fountain and steps were paved over and replaced with empty space. Glad to see you visited and checked the place out!
Just pausing at 12:18 is such a cool shot. So many words to describe, but I'll just say it feels "beautifully sad"...
Chefs Kiss for this episode, Dan! Love the 70s aesthetics. I'd totally buy that sunken conversation pit and put it in my living room.
That huge steel sculpture you like, outside what was the Lord & Taylor, reminds me of a giant, metal cuttlebone. XD
Glad you’re back Dan. The Adam the Woo co-op was also a good deal. Yet you’re own editing style and narration with humor is unmatched.
The food court was opened either in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Prior to this was a movie theatre
This looks just like Fair Oaks Mall in Virginia from back in the day. I loved those seating pits and that center area (at Fair Oaks) had a cool infinity pool wishing fountain kinda thing that, as kids, you had to run your hands under and you walked past.
Another great video. I remember that you did a video on the Laguna Hills Mall in Laguna Hills, California. I don’t know if you know this, but now the mall is completely demolished.
One of my most favorite shows on UA-cam! The amount of effort put into the editing in these is so damn incredible!
There was a library branch there at one point. It was the strangest location, tucked in the corner of the mall.
Always glad to see someone I enjoy come back especially you Dan!
Man I haven’t been to that mall in probably over 20 years and even back then it looked on the verge of shutting down. I think that Time Out Zone used to be an FYE. I can’t remember what it was called before that. I just remember that’s where I would go to get my music when I was in the area
The ending felt like the back rooms but with racks n racks of clothing 😆 thank you for another great video.
I swore I was watching a segment made by Kane Pixels. The way the camera moved, the sounds... It was uncanny.
I always loved the plants next to the escalator as you road up. Still like that :)
This made my day, Dan! Thank you!
I will mourn that elevator. It's amazing.
I actually love the design of the whole place. A really neat mall, sad it's closing.
17:24 I assume he found a time warp to the top floor of the meat factory... The infinite clothesrooms is just the public facade for the carnage that lives below. The distant cow noises below you as so many of them get slaughtered. It really is extra ordinary. But it's just another day in the life of Bell, Dan Bell.
Nothing like a Friday night when a Dan Bell Dead Mall Series drops!!! I love your work so much!!
All humour and fun aside, it´s actually important that you have "documented" this post mordern architecture - it´s dissapearing fast ( more or less all postmordern Mall architecture has been redone or demolished here in Denmark for example) and this particular design actually is well executed with many wonderfull details !
My GOD, I love his sense of humor!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 CLASSIC Dan Bell, I love it!
This mall has a slightly similar architectural feel of the _Valley Fair Mall_ in San Jose, CA. Except the Valley Fair Mall still seems to have a fair amount of foot traffic.
Oh I have needed this so much! Great to see you back Dan! And proud of all the work you’re doing on YOU. ❤
I was about to comment about how weird and surreal it would be to be a food court worker in a totally empty mall and then you mention the stabbing and shooting, really added some horror to that surreal-ness
wow your really actually back with an epic episode with your humor in it!
its obvious you're feeling much better. 🎉💕
The Liza mashup was hilarious. So glad to see a new upload in the series. Thank you.