Ain't that the truth. It's almost like a zen experience. Sadly, my nearest dead mall got shut down JUST before COVID struck, and it's now in the process of being torn down to become an Amazon Enrichment Center. I think the point of no return for my dead mall was when the GNC closed; that's when I knew it was on borrowed time.
Man, this brings back the good ole days. I miss the 70s through 90s mall era. When the food courts were packed with a variety and there were arcades in almost every mall. Absolutely, make more of these please.
those are the original fixtures from when the store was built by my father the music box and clock shop mom and dad ran this and one in paradise valley mall for many years it helped put 3 boys through college these were original and no other store like them music boxes clocks and collectables mom too great pride in her store and worked very hard at it
I miss Fiesta Mall so many childhood and young teen memories, including: - A three month ban - Halloween Trick 'or treating - A hilarious shop lifting incident when I was 6! - Wizards of the Coast Pokemon Cards! Thanks for the video! :)
@@notaffiliatedwith7363 Well my mom and I went to the mall and she was doing some shopping. We passed by a toy store (I think KB Toys) and being a 6 year old kid at the time I convinced my mom to take me in said store. Well, I had noticed a bunch of Dinosaurs in a large plastic bin. Well being six and absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs I had to have them but my mom had refused to buy any for me (and rightly so, I was pretty spoiled when I was a kid) well being the little brat that I was, that reply was not acceptable to me so I proceeded to stuff as many dinosaur toys in my little pockets as I could without being noticed....However, I was indeed noticed but not by an employee but a security guard sitting outside the store. Though to be perfectly honest my pockets where bulging so heavily that there was no way my crime would go unnoticed. He waited until I had left the store and then went to talk to my mom. Essentially she told him to give me a scare which he then proceeded to do. Of course I didn't hear this conversation as I was to busy with the excitement of my latest heist! The security guard came up to me and asked me what I was up to and asked if I had taken anything from the store. Which of course I denied and tried to play as innocently as possible. Well after about five minutes of scaring the crap out of me, having me in tears, and threatened to have the cops called on me I finally admitted to my crime. I was then able to leave after I had returned the dinosaurs I had stolen earlier and My mom was amused and I was traumatized.
@@f1champ551 well it's the same as the dinosaur heist story. Except this time he's 10 years old. Still obsessed with dinosaurs and now a chip on his shoulder against that security guard. Determined to show them that they can't mess with him, he decided to jack the whole bin. It's a particular busy day during the holiday season. A JanSport strapped to his back he blends into bustling crowd of moms, dads, little kids looking for that perfect christmas present. This time though he's isn't alone. Three friends, equally dinosaur obsessed are right there with him. They fan out to distract any would be interlopers to their crime. It's very Ocean's 11 elaborate. Unfortunately what he didn't take into account is the newly upgraded security cameras installed since his last vist four years ago. Despite being slightly older the security guard recognizes his grab and stuff technique. Slipping out of the toy store unnoticed they sigh a breath of relief. Its just a 100 feet to the outside exit and they'll be home free. Laughing at their crime the four boys high five each other. Mere feet from the doors they're stopped in their tracks when they're met by the whole security team, 3 burly, fierce looking guys...used to be 7 but due to budget cut backs some guys were let go. Surrounded, it was over. No where to run. The jigg was up. Mothers were called. Tears were shed. And a three month ban was in place. It's a shame, especially during the holidays. But thats what happens when you gamble it all and lose.
You were critical of your early videos, but they looked good to me. The time lapsed style was very interesting. What the mall looked like busy until there was no one. Interesting, but so vary sad to watch the mall go through its life cycle.
I am now 53 and have fond memories of Fiesta Mall it so sad that things have moved to the internet there was so much to be said about going to these places and shopping or just hanging out. The new out door malls are OK but there is something to be said about an air conditioned mall environment. Side note look like they began demolition in July of 2023 from the news I found. 😢
I got my ears pierced at THAT Claire's back in 2004! Sad to see this mall close considering it didnt even make it to 40 yrs old and other much older malls like Mall of America still flourishing. So many fond memories of this place as a child in the 80s and early 90s. LIving in Chandler, this was my local mall growing up!!
Same man. I feel very sorry for you. I also miss it so much I wish it was still alive and open. I used to go to Fiesta Mall a lot when I was very little. Good times… :( Edit: I recently checked out the place and it’s like a ghost town! It’s sad to see it empty.
My dad was born and raised in Mesa, AZ. Every time we flew down from Seattle to visit my cousins and other family, we would pay at least one visit to this mall.
My mom lived about 2 miles from the mall; so whenever I visited her, I would always stop by the Fiesta Mall. The last time I visited the Macy's was having a going out of business sale.
Back in the 90s I went to Fiesta Mall for a Pokémon competition tournament. They had a machine there where they inserted your Pokemon game and added Mew, (or was it mewtwo?) the 151st Pokémon to your game lol.
I love this. I was talking my two boys every Wednesday right up to the end. I have very similar video and pics of my boys in this insane post retail background...
Fiesta Mall will forever be a remembered gem to me. I remember walking around the place when I was very little. Enjoyed walking a lot along with the food. Crazy how young I was when time flew by.
As a high school student in the early 90's, I remember that the Chick-fil-A in the food court was one of the most coveted part time jobs. Don't know why!
@@username00009 I don't think so. $3.75 to $4.25/hr. I think it's the ambiance of working in the mall that was so appealing back then...and good sandwiches too
Malls 🛒 & outlets in Florida under normal conditions, get tourists, re-seller crowds who buy up clothes, 🧳👜💄💍👖👓 then make $ in Asia, South America. Orlando malls & shops get busy. Florida Mall, Mall of Millenia were active 2000s. 2020s; about half the crowds, parking.
This is actually a really cool idea patching all the dead mall footage you have of various dead malls in one giant cut from when you started filming to closing.
I always thought it would be interesting to make an old mall into a paintball arena, indoor go cart track(electric engines), and Mini golf course. Thanks for another great video!
They are planning to make it into a medical school grounds but I haven’t heard a lot of updates about it. So I’m just assuming it’s just going to get left to rot?
This was the first mall I went to when I moved to Gilbert back in 2012. I would later work at the Sbarro in the Fiesta Mall in 2013. I used to watch the Mariachi Bands play on Saturdays.
I love this format. I'm in support of the compilation idea. The timeline aspect is something I'm very interested in (I'm a man of dates and numbers). And I don't think your earliest footage is bad at all. It's not as good as your current skill, but it's still pretty good, I think. Keep up the awesome work, Erik!
I passed by Fiesta Mall back in 2013, while visiting family, and it seemed so much more livelier at the time. I deeply regret not visiting then. By the time it had appeared on my radar again, it was closed permanently. That said, I loved the video!
Watched this today and totally enjoyed it. We were in our local (mostly dying) mall last year I think it was and I too got yelled at by security for taking pictures - had to laugh because there really was nothing to see so not sure what he was so afraid of but he was so rude about it, I told my husband to get me out of there before I started saying things that would get me in trouble :-) Love ALL the videos you put out and it is so sad seeing just how many malls are dying around the country.
My grandparents used to snowbird to Mesa from Canada and we used to go to Fiesta mall all the time. It’s so sad to see it now. Time marches on I suppose.
Same man. I feel very sorry for you. I wish the mall could stay with us longer, but time flies. I remember going there when I was very little. The childhood bears with me everytime I see that mall. :(
@@lucariothehero500 It’s one of those things that you don’t appreciate until it’s gone I suppose. It does remind me of going to the mall with my grandparents (who are no longer with us) and us just having a nice time there as a family.
That walk in the evening was so creepy (in a really neat way). It's just so wild how quiet such a large lit up structure is. That shot from within the dark food court was like straight out of a horror movie. I especially like the absence of music in these kinds of videos. Music works great in the regular videos, but letting the natural raw mall ambience (or lack thereof) gives these old videos a sort of novelty to them.
I always wondered about the financials of the mall, the corporate shops, and the Mom and Pop shops. I've been to quite a few dead malls from the Midwest to the East Coast and always made a point to spend a little money at the non corporate stores/restaurants. My brother and I went to a mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland a few years back and we stopped at this Italian sandwich shop for dinner. The owner of the shop chatted with us about business for a bit. He wasn't pushy or "selling us a sob story", but he had that shop for 30 years or so and he was telling us about his realization that things were coming to an end. We paid 20 dollars for 2 meals and they weren't that big. Not to knock the guy, but I imagine his costs were great and the profits were non existent. As a child of the 80s (I'm 38 now), it's a bit depressing to spend so much time and money in malls all over the country that were constantly packed to them being just relics that are just open to what seems "out of habit". Thanks for your channel. I'll never make it out to all of the dying malls before they close for good and I always find myself up until the middle of the night just watching your videos. Gives me comfort in a sense knowing that others recognize the change in the American retail landscape and how times have changed.
This is a sad case but we are very grateful that you have kept this record for posterity, this is of great importance. Full marks to the cleaning staff who kept these places so clean and polished right to the end. Thank you for bringing us this very interesting and informative video presentation.
I never heard of a Best Buy as a mall anchor either until a number of years ago, another dying/dead mall in Port Richey, Florida, Gulfview Square Mall, opened a Best Buy where Dillard's used to be. I was up that way after years of not being in the area and thought it was the weirdest thing!
I dimly recall one Mall here in Canada that had Best Buy as an anchor. It believe that it had previously been a Future Shop location (also uncommon in malls).
That’s so cool to learn more of the back story of how Retail Archeology came to be! I remember the smelly elevator adventure, and now I want to go revisit some of those old livestreams. They were awesome.
I had a dream last week that I was at the Fiesta Mall Sears with a coworker and there were mazes upon mazes of CRT Televisions. I’ve only been to Fiesta Mall a few times, so I had to laugh that it was such a vivid dream. Then you dropped this video and I just HAD to chuckle.
Also - LOVE hearing how you ended up doing this and finding your passion about this topic. So glad you did this complication. Thank you for posting! -Bree
Although its very sad to see the decline of a mall its also interesting to see the comparison and change in one video. I would be happy to see more of this sort of content.
I lived in Arizona for eight years, between 2004 - 2012. Fiesta Mall was actually my favorite mall and for a time, I lived in Stonegate Apartments up on Alma School. Bums me out that it died. Thanks for the memories 😊
I always find dead malls beautiful even if they’re incredibly sad at the same time. I was a kid in the 80s and going to the mall was what we did every weekend. It’s sad seeing the Fiesta Mall in this state. Me and my grandma used to go there all the time when we first moved to Phoenix. The music box shop was one of my faves because of its retro storefront.
The last time I was inside that mall was right around October 2017. Went to Sears one last time right before Fiesta permanently closed but the rest of the mall was closed off from Sears unfortunately
I work by fiesta mall and they are developing across the street pretty heavily. The only things that are busy now is the fast food and coffee shops that face Alma school.
This channel reminds me of sort of like an "after-the-fact" video docuseries of something like Michael Galinsky's Malls Across America book. Brings back memories of my childhood malls.
God seeing those first few minutes of footage was painful lmao. I grew up with this mall before my parents started going to Chandler Fashion. If this is the right mall I'm thinking of then the indoor playground there had a bunch of equipment that looked like desert animals and a giant rock that stood two stories high with a giant eagle on top, which to this day was the best mall playground I ever played in. My brother played in it too when he was a toddler. I used to play with him on the stage where the elevator is. I always got gifts for family from there. I hated going to the Sears there during back to school shopping lol. I remember we went back once in the beginning of its decline and all but one of my favorite stores had closed. Thank you for documenting the place in its final days, it gave me closure to see people still hanging around even though it was going downhill. RIP Fiesta Mall.
I loved going this mall and the Harkins across the street. I work at MCC so I still get to pass by and reminisce. And drive around it for an In-N-Out every once and awhile.
it's crazy to see the gradual decay of my own childhood mall catalogged in 15 minutes of video, and hear that it's ultimately what kickstarted one of my favorite youtube channels
That Best Buy used to be across the street in a strip mall on Alma School & Southern. I was surprised it moved into Fiesta as the mall was already dying by that stage.
Thank you so much for your dead mall uploads, especially Fiesta mall. I appreciate the commentary you provide. It also brings me such great memories! This was my local mall (I'm still local). I remember when I first discovered anime as a child and would get my anime DVD fix at Suncoast and manga at Waldenbooks. This was way back when Hot Topic was more goth/alternative style and barely started transitioning to more anime-related merch. So I got excited seeing anything related to anime. Nowadays there are various stores catering to the anime/Asian culture, which is great! But I miss Fiesta Mall. I wish the mall could return as a mall or something fun.
This was my childhood mall, I remember getting my ear pierced here when I was 6, that hottopic started my emo phase at 11, and i went amiibo hunting there but during that time you could tell it was closing. I had the best memories there, but ever since I moved to tempe it just went downhill. R.i.p. Fiesta Mall
what a great look back! one of my fb friends was saying how they were watching a bunch of videos like that of dead malls and it got me curious and I think that's how I found what you were doing so I've just been watching ever since!!
I'm glad someone is documenting the rise and fall of these places. It's strangely haunting to watch. The same thing has happened to so many malls where I grew up in southwest Ohio.
I started watching you years ago back when I lived in Missouri, and as of last year I now live right up the street from Fiesta Mall! I too enjoy malls and like knowing the history of them, and it's sad yet interesting to see their decline. I'm glad I get to see Fiesta Mall through your videos, even if I was a few years too late to see it myself.
Now that I'm watching this, I wish I had the gumption to ask Hull Property if I could've taken a last tour of Reading, PA's Fairgrounds Square Mall before it was taken apart - only the anchor stores remain.
That last time (and only time) I was in Mesa was 1996. We went to a mall somewhere, but I don't think it was that one. Anyway, a week ago I visited our local mall (Arnot Mall, Horseheads, NY) and I pretty much saw the same thing. I went about 20 minutes before most of the stores opened. Just a few people, and mostly dark. At least 75% of the shops were closed. JC Penney was still there. Sears, Macy's The BonTon, all gone. There are only a couple malls and they are more than 40 miles away. This is it! It opened in 1967. I knew one of the guys who helped build the original part. I did see a store that sold Apple stuff, but they weren't opened yet. That was the only thing of interest. I don't see it ever coming back, unless someone were to nuke Amazon or something. Across the highway is Walmart, Target, Kohls and a few other places, all going strong.
I had great memories of going to the mall (not this one, but malls in general) in the 90's as a kid, either with the folks or with friends. To see that the mall thing has really died over the last 10-15 years makes me sad. There were local malls that even 10 years ago were thriving, and we spent loads of time at people watching or Christmas shopping at that are now on life support.
Southland Center near me has a Best Buy where the food court used to be and Arundel Mills has a Best Buy too. :D This was really cool and I'd love more videos like this.
The Hall at Sierra Vista has drastically transformed this last year also, losing most of its branded stores. There are batting cages in the biggest store front (formerly boot barn) now. It's really interesting what death throes these places go through
Great video! Awesome idea for other dead malls that you've covered. Can you please make a timeline video like this for Paradise Valley Mall, Power Square Mall and Metrocenter?
Seeing this reminded of me of Six Flags Mall here in Arlington, Texas before it was finally torn down. The only things that were still at Six Flags Mall was the movie theater and a Dillard's Outlet store. Eventually the Dillard's Outlet closed, but the movie theater was doing it best to hang on and was even trying to stop demolition of the mall because the movie theater's lease had not ended it. However, in the end, the movie theater closed and Six Flags Mall is no more. In its place.... an automobile parts service building which supplies the local GM plant nearby.
You said you used to go there when you were a kid. Do you remember the original pizza place in that mall? It was open from 1979 through about 1996. This was before it was sold to Sbarro.
I can't remember what specific mall it was I think it was somewhere out East where Amal was divided up with some shops on the bottom and the top part of the mall the 2nd floor they rented out apartments since they couldn't have stoves they had things like toaster ovens to cook blister Alvin's to cook many of these places were rented to profound we're rented to professionals who were rarely at home but he had a place to stay I think this should be a trend they had a coffee shop in the bottom part and some dressmakers place downstairs downstairs I thought that was very innovative
Seriously these are so cool. I worked at Sears at Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa from 1990-1995. WH Mall is one of the few remaining that is actually not dying, or doesn't seem to be.
Neat footage. Need an old phone book to find the names of the stores. Now that would be a trivia game. Sad to see all the malls that are closing. Amazing all the retail and grocery stores that have come and gone over the years.
Great video, love your narration! Definitely strange that it had a Best Buy anchor... and dayum that food court in the dark eerie asf-- is there a reason that the Bath and Body Works are always last to go in these dead malls?
Best Buy was originally across the street in a strip mall, but that strip mall went downhill after Borders closed. Perhaps Best Buy and the mall management thought that Best Buy as an anchor store could help save both in that area.
There is something so calming yet so sad, nostalgic, and haunting about an old 90s aesthetic mall.
Ain't that the truth. It's almost like a zen experience. Sadly, my nearest dead mall got shut down JUST before COVID struck, and it's now in the process of being torn down to become an Amazon Enrichment Center.
I think the point of no return for my dead mall was when the GNC closed; that's when I knew it was on borrowed time.
Man, this brings back the good ole days. I miss the 70s through 90s mall era. When the food courts were packed with a variety and there were arcades in almost every mall. Absolutely, make more of these please.
I oddly spend more time walking around the dead mall in my area then I do the one that has a lot of people in it.
This mall was strong into the mid 2000s
those are the original fixtures from when the store was built by my father the music box and clock shop mom and dad ran this and one in paradise valley mall for many years it helped put 3 boys through college these were original and no other store like them music boxes clocks and collectables mom too great pride in her store and worked very hard at it
I loved that store! I have two lovely music boxes.
I miss Fiesta Mall so many childhood and young teen memories, including:
- A three month ban
- Halloween Trick 'or treating
- A hilarious shop lifting incident when I was 6!
- Wizards of the Coast Pokemon Cards!
Thanks for the video! :)
Yeah loved the wtoc stores had one im my childhood mall
@@notaffiliatedwith7363 Well my mom and I went to the mall and she was doing some shopping. We passed by a toy store (I think KB Toys) and being a 6 year old kid at the time I convinced my mom to take me in said store. Well, I had noticed a bunch of Dinosaurs in a large plastic bin. Well being six and absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs I had to have them but my mom had refused to buy any for me (and rightly so, I was pretty spoiled when I was a kid) well being the little brat that I was, that reply was not acceptable to me so I proceeded to stuff as many dinosaur toys in my little pockets as I could without being noticed....However, I was indeed noticed but not by an employee but a security guard sitting outside the store. Though to be perfectly honest my pockets where bulging so heavily that there was no way my crime would go unnoticed. He waited until I had left the store and then went to talk to my mom. Essentially she told him to give me a scare which he then proceeded to do. Of course I didn't hear this conversation as I was to busy with the excitement of my latest heist! The security guard came up to me and asked me what I was up to and asked if I had taken anything from the store. Which of course I denied and tried to play as innocently as possible. Well after about five minutes of scaring the crap out of me, having me in tears, and threatened to have the cops called on me I finally admitted to my crime. I was then able to leave after I had returned the dinosaurs I had stolen earlier and My mom was amused and I was traumatized.
How did you get a 3 month ban... That is some English FA (soccer/football) type of shit...
@@DJ118USMC I had a similar childhood experience, except I was looting candy from the bulk bins at Winco. :P
@@f1champ551 well it's the same as the dinosaur heist story. Except this time he's 10 years old. Still obsessed with dinosaurs and now a chip on his shoulder against that security guard. Determined to show them that they can't mess with him, he decided to jack the whole bin. It's a particular busy day during the holiday season. A JanSport strapped to his back he blends into bustling crowd of moms, dads, little kids looking for that perfect christmas present. This time though he's isn't alone. Three friends, equally dinosaur obsessed are right there with him. They fan out to distract any would be interlopers to their crime. It's very Ocean's 11 elaborate. Unfortunately what he didn't take into account is the newly upgraded security cameras installed since his last vist four years ago. Despite being slightly older the security guard recognizes his grab and stuff technique. Slipping out of the toy store unnoticed they sigh a breath of relief. Its just a 100 feet to the outside exit and they'll be home free. Laughing at their crime the four boys high five each other. Mere feet from the doors they're stopped in their tracks when they're met by the whole security team, 3 burly, fierce looking guys...used to be 7 but due to budget cut backs some guys were let go. Surrounded, it was over. No where to run. The jigg was up. Mothers were called. Tears were shed. And a three month ban was in place. It's a shame, especially during the holidays. But thats what happens when you gamble it all and lose.
This is one of the worst declines of a mall I’ve seen in the Phoenix area. Had a similar experience with Metrocenter when that place died.
You were critical of your early videos, but they looked good to me. The time lapsed style was very interesting. What the mall looked like busy until there was no one. Interesting, but so vary sad to watch the mall go through its life cycle.
I am now 53 and have fond memories of Fiesta Mall it so sad that things have moved to the internet there was so much to be said about going to these places and shopping or just hanging out. The new out door malls are OK but there is something to be said about an air conditioned mall environment. Side note look like they began demolition in July of 2023 from the news I found. 😢
It's always sad to see a place you had happy memories go away.
As an Arizonan, it really breaks my heart to see my childhood fade away. 💔
I got my ears pierced at THAT Claire's back in 2004! Sad to see this mall close considering it didnt even make it to 40 yrs old and other much older malls like Mall of America still flourishing. So many fond memories of this place as a child in the 80s and early 90s. LIving in Chandler, this was my local mall growing up!!
I remember when this mall opened. It was just a Sears in a parking lot and the mall was built around it. Good times….
congrats on hitting 100k subs dude! you must show off your silver play plaque in a video sometime!
Thanks! I'm working on something for a 100K subscribers 😁
Guru Larry! Hello you! You good sir are literally everywhere! You're UA-cam royalty mate.
Last time I saw you it was over with the OSW boys.
what is this, a crossover episode??
RIP Fiesta Mall
The Dead Mall that was the beginning of Retail Archeology.
Same. And why did the elevator doors sound squeaky every time they open?
I miss fiesta mall so much I wish it would open again & I used to go to fiesta mall a lot when I was 9 & 10
Same man. I feel very sorry for you. I also miss it so much I wish it was still alive and open. I used to go to Fiesta Mall a lot when I was very little. Good times… :(
Edit: I recently checked out the place and it’s like a ghost town! It’s sad to see it empty.
My dad was born and raised in Mesa, AZ. Every time we flew down from Seattle to visit my cousins and other family, we would pay at least one visit to this mall.
Today you can see that the mall was severely vandalized, broken glass everywhere, trash everywhere, very sad.
My mom lived about 2 miles from the mall; so whenever I visited her, I would always stop by the Fiesta Mall. The last time I visited the Macy's was having a going out of business sale.
Back in the 90s I went to Fiesta Mall for a Pokémon competition tournament. They had a machine there where they inserted your Pokemon game and added Mew, (or was it mewtwo?) the 151st Pokémon to your game lol.
Mew, Mewtwo was 150
This was my mall when I lived in Tempe. I'm glad you've archived this footage, even thought it's bittersweet.
I love this. I was talking my two boys every Wednesday right up to the end. I have very similar video and pics of my boys in this insane post retail background...
I’m really glad that I found this channel
Fiesta Mall will forever be a remembered gem to me. I remember walking around the place when I was very little. Enjoyed walking a lot along with the food. Crazy how young I was when time flew by.
As a high school student in the early 90's, I remember that the Chick-fil-A in the food court was one of the most coveted part time jobs. Don't know why!
The arcade nearby?
Did they pay more than other minimum wage jobs back then?
@@username00009 I don't think so. $3.75 to $4.25/hr. I think it's the ambiance of working in the mall that was so appealing back then...and good sandwiches too
Surprisingly, malls in Miami are still bustling. They're usually pretty full and open late.
Malls 🛒 & outlets in Florida under normal conditions, get tourists, re-seller crowds who buy up clothes, 🧳👜💄💍👖👓 then make $ in Asia, South America. Orlando malls & shops get busy. Florida Mall, Mall of Millenia were active 2000s. 2020s; about half the crowds, parking.
This is actually a really cool idea patching all the dead mall footage you have of various dead malls in one giant cut from when you started filming to closing.
I always thought it would be interesting to make an old mall into a paintball arena, indoor go cart track(electric engines), and Mini golf course. Thanks for another great video!
They are planning to make it into a medical school grounds but I haven’t heard a lot of updates about it. So I’m just assuming it’s just going to get left to rot?
Ik that would be so lit😭
This was the first mall I went to when I moved to Gilbert back in 2012. I would later work at the Sbarro in the Fiesta Mall in 2013. I used to watch the Mariachi Bands play on Saturdays.
I have so many heartfelt memories of Fiesta Mall. Thank you for sharing this again.
I have quite a few fond memories of that mall from the 80s and early 90s.
I love this format. I'm in support of the compilation idea. The timeline aspect is something I'm very interested in (I'm a man of dates and numbers). And I don't think your earliest footage is bad at all. It's not as good as your current skill, but it's still pretty good, I think. Keep up the awesome work, Erik!
Went back to my old stomping grounds and got some pics of the teardown. Hit me in the feels.
I remember I first discovered your channel years ago after someone wrote an article about your channel in the seattle times.
In the Seattle Times? I don't remember that one. I'll have to go find it.
@@RetailArchaeology yeah it was either the seattle times or the Tacoma news Tribune.
@@RetailArchaeology I just went and looked, it was the Tacoma News Tribune, not the seattle times. Still a big deal though!
I passed by Fiesta Mall back in 2013, while visiting family, and it seemed so much more livelier at the time. I deeply regret not visiting then. By the time it had appeared on my radar again, it was closed permanently.
That said, I loved the video!
YES! Please more compilation vids- it's really cool to be able see the progression of a mall in decline!
Watched this today and totally enjoyed it. We were in our local (mostly dying) mall last year I think it was and I too got yelled at by security for taking pictures - had to laugh because there really was nothing to see so not sure what he was so afraid of but he was so rude about it, I told my husband to get me out of there before I started saying things that would get me in trouble :-) Love ALL the videos you put out and it is so sad seeing just how many malls are dying around the country.
I was born in 82, and the first time I remember eating Chick Fil-A for the first time at Fiesta Mall. Prob like 85-86.
My grandparents used to snowbird to Mesa from Canada and we used to go to Fiesta mall all the time. It’s so sad to see it now. Time marches on I suppose.
Same man. I feel very sorry for you. I wish the mall could stay with us longer, but time flies. I remember going there when I was very little. The childhood bears with me everytime I see that mall. :(
@@lucariothehero500 It’s one of those things that you don’t appreciate until it’s gone I suppose. It does remind me of going to the mall with my grandparents (who are no longer with us) and us just having a nice time there as a family.
@@MK-gv1wd yeah. I remember shopping and eating there a lot!
That walk in the evening was so creepy (in a really neat way). It's just so wild how quiet such a large lit up structure is. That shot from within the dark food court was like straight out of a horror movie. I especially like the absence of music in these kinds of videos. Music works great in the regular videos, but letting the natural raw mall ambience (or lack thereof) gives these old videos a sort of novelty to them.
I always wondered about the financials of the mall, the corporate shops, and the Mom and Pop shops.
I've been to quite a few dead malls from the Midwest to the East Coast and always made a point to spend a little money at the non corporate stores/restaurants.
My brother and I went to a mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland a few years back and we stopped at this Italian sandwich shop for dinner.
The owner of the shop chatted with us about business for a bit. He wasn't pushy or "selling us a sob story", but he had that shop for 30 years or so and he was telling us about his realization that things were coming to an end.
We paid 20 dollars for 2 meals and they weren't that big. Not to knock the guy, but I imagine his costs were great and the profits were non existent.
As a child of the 80s (I'm 38 now), it's a bit depressing to spend so much time and money in malls all over the country that were constantly packed to them being just relics that are just open to what seems "out of habit".
Thanks for your channel. I'll never make it out to all of the dying malls before they close for good and I always find myself up until the middle of the night just watching your videos. Gives me comfort in a sense knowing that others recognize the change in the American retail landscape and how times have changed.
This is a sad case but we are very grateful that you have kept this record for posterity, this is of great importance. Full marks to the cleaning staff who kept these places so clean and polished right to the end. Thank you for bringing us this very interesting and informative video presentation.
I like style of video the commentary you did was a really nice touch
This is so strange because in Mexico we have lots of malls and they are very crowded
I never heard of a Best Buy as a mall anchor either until a number of years ago, another dying/dead mall in Port Richey, Florida, Gulfview Square Mall, opened a Best Buy where Dillard's used to be. I was up that way after years of not being in the area and thought it was the weirdest thing!
There not too many I believe that have bestbuy as.an anchor my state has one mall that has it as.an anchor.
I dimly recall one Mall here in Canada that had Best Buy as an anchor. It believe that it had previously been a Future Shop location (also uncommon in malls).
@@williamharris8367 ah I believe future shop was acquired by bestbuy
That’s so cool to learn more of the back story of how Retail Archeology came to be! I remember the smelly elevator adventure, and now I want to go revisit some of those old livestreams. They were awesome.
The first video of yours I watched was one of the final Fiesta Mall videos in 2017, after hearing you on the CGR podcast. Your work is great, man!
I had a dream last week that I was at the Fiesta Mall Sears with a coworker and there were mazes upon mazes of CRT Televisions. I’ve only been to Fiesta Mall a few times, so I had to laugh that it was such a vivid dream. Then you dropped this video and I just HAD to chuckle.
Also - LOVE hearing how you ended up doing this and finding your passion about this topic. So glad you did this complication. Thank you for posting! -Bree
That opening was amazing
7:00 it was a Johnny Rockets. Ate there every time I went. Burger, fries, and a shake.
It's interesting to go realise that this little turned this sub channel into your main channel and changed your UA-cam life around.
It’s awesome seeing these videos showing the slow death of the mall put together over a length of time. Thanks for posting!
CambridgeSide in Cambridge, MA also has a Best Buy as an anchor. Theirs is a 2 story store tucked next to a TJ Maxx.
I'm 50 & can not recall any 2 floor Best Buy. I've seen malls in VA, GA, PA, NY, FL. 🛒
I remember my mother working at National Uniforms the day the mall opened. It was downstairs where the King's Table use to be.
Great look back! Interesting concept for a video!
Although its very sad to see the decline of a mall its also interesting to see the comparison and change in one video. I would be happy to see more of this sort of content.
I lived in Arizona for eight years, between 2004 - 2012. Fiesta Mall was actually my favorite mall and for a time, I lived in Stonegate Apartments up on Alma School. Bums me out that it died. Thanks for the memories 😊
I'm from Florida, and our malls along the space coast are struggling, especially on Merritt Island. I like your channel.
I always find dead malls beautiful even if they’re incredibly sad at the same time. I was a kid in the 80s and going to the mall was what we did every weekend. It’s sad seeing the Fiesta Mall in this state. Me and my grandma used to go there all the time when we first moved to Phoenix. The music box shop was one of my faves because of its retro storefront.
Man I miss going here as a kid. I loved it
The last time I was inside that mall was right around October 2017. Went to Sears one last time right before Fiesta permanently closed but the rest of the mall was closed off from Sears unfortunately
I work by fiesta mall and they are developing across the street pretty heavily. The only things that are busy now is the fast food and coffee shops that face Alma school.
Loved the dude at the end just laying back and soaking up the dead mall vibe.
Worked at the Sears store..'87-'02
The footage of walking through the dark food court is very spooky. Enjoyed the format. Thanks for the video!
This channel reminds me of sort of like an "after-the-fact" video docuseries of something like Michael Galinsky's Malls Across America book. Brings back memories of my childhood malls.
God seeing those first few minutes of footage was painful lmao. I grew up with this mall before my parents started going to Chandler Fashion. If this is the right mall I'm thinking of then the indoor playground there had a bunch of equipment that looked like desert animals and a giant rock that stood two stories high with a giant eagle on top, which to this day was the best mall playground I ever played in. My brother played in it too when he was a toddler. I used to play with him on the stage where the elevator is. I always got gifts for family from there. I hated going to the Sears there during back to school shopping lol. I remember we went back once in the beginning of its decline and all but one of my favorite stores had closed. Thank you for documenting the place in its final days, it gave me closure to see people still hanging around even though it was going downhill. RIP Fiesta Mall.
I enjoyed the style of this video and would watch future ones. Your commentary made it engaging.
I loved going this mall and the Harkins across the street. I work at MCC so I still get to pass by and reminisce. And drive around it for an In-N-Out every once and awhile.
I loved seeing the footage from different visits to Fiesta Mall! Enjoyed the content!
it's crazy to see the gradual decay of my own childhood mall catalogged in 15 minutes of video, and hear that it's ultimately what kickstarted one of my favorite youtube channels
11:00 Man, I half expected a stereotypical movie serial killer to leap out from the darkened food court!
That Best Buy used to be across the street in a strip mall on Alma School & Southern. I was surprised it moved into Fiesta as the mall was already dying by that stage.
Also, the dark food court takes me back to the twilight years of Wonderland Mall in Livonia, MI.
Thank you so much for your dead mall uploads, especially Fiesta mall. I appreciate the commentary you provide. It also brings me such great memories!
This was my local mall (I'm still local). I remember when I first discovered anime as a child and would get my anime DVD fix at Suncoast and manga at Waldenbooks.
This was way back when Hot Topic was more goth/alternative style and barely started transitioning to more anime-related merch. So I got excited seeing anything related to anime. Nowadays there are various stores catering to the anime/Asian culture, which is great! But I miss Fiesta Mall. I wish the mall could return as a mall or something fun.
This was my childhood mall, I remember getting my ear pierced here when I was 6, that hottopic started my emo phase at 11, and i went amiibo hunting there but during that time you could tell it was closing. I had the best memories there, but ever since I moved to tempe it just went downhill. R.i.p. Fiesta Mall
Backlog footage is usually interesting and I enjoyed the ambient mall sounds; Ghosts of shopping trips past. 😁
I’m never this early! Love your videos!!!!
Thank you 😁
what a great look back! one of my fb friends was saying how they were watching a bunch of videos like that of dead malls and it got me curious and I think that's how I found what you were doing so I've just been watching ever since!!
I'm glad someone is documenting the rise and fall of these places. It's strangely haunting to watch. The same thing has happened to so many malls where I grew up in southwest Ohio.
I worked at the Diamonds store at Fiesta Mall in 1980. In its infancy, Fiesta Mall had four upscale anchor stores.
Yes i really liked the comparisons of each footage. Really cool to see it go from slightly dead to completely dead.
I started watching you years ago back when I lived in Missouri, and as of last year I now live right up the street from Fiesta Mall! I too enjoy malls and like knowing the history of them, and it's sad yet interesting to see their decline. I'm glad I get to see Fiesta Mall through your videos, even if I was a few years too late to see it myself.
I love your videos. Please don't ever quit.
Now that I'm watching this, I wish I had the gumption to ask Hull Property if I could've taken a last tour of Reading, PA's Fairgrounds Square Mall before it was taken apart - only the anchor stores remain.
That last time (and only time) I was in Mesa was 1996. We went to a mall somewhere, but I don't think it was that one.
Anyway, a week ago I visited our local mall (Arnot Mall, Horseheads, NY) and I pretty much saw the same thing. I went about 20 minutes before most of the stores opened. Just a few people, and mostly dark. At least 75% of the shops were closed. JC Penney was still there. Sears, Macy's The BonTon, all gone. There are only a couple malls and they are more than 40 miles away. This is it! It opened in 1967. I knew one of the guys who helped build the original part.
I did see a store that sold Apple stuff, but they weren't opened yet. That was the only thing of interest.
I don't see it ever coming back, unless someone were to nuke Amazon or something. Across the highway is Walmart, Target, Kohls and a few other places, all going strong.
I had great memories of going to the mall (not this one, but malls in general) in the 90's as a kid, either with the folks or with friends. To see that the mall thing has really died over the last 10-15 years makes me sad. There were local malls that even 10 years ago were thriving, and we spent loads of time at people watching or Christmas shopping at that are now on life support.
Oh man sarkura was the last thing to close in my local mall too! They really hang in there!
Southland Center near me has a Best Buy where the food court used to be and Arundel Mills has a Best Buy too. :D
This was really cool and I'd love more videos like this.
Thanks for this memory lane trip, what a treat!
The Hall at Sierra Vista has drastically transformed this last year also, losing most of its branded stores. There are batting cages in the biggest store front (formerly boot barn) now. It's really interesting what death throes these places go through
Great video! Awesome idea for other dead malls that you've covered.
Can you please make a timeline video like this for Paradise Valley Mall, Power Square Mall and Metrocenter?
Fiesta mall back in the day was the spot. Miss that place.
Seeing this reminded of me of Six Flags Mall here in Arlington, Texas before it was finally torn down. The only things that were still at Six Flags Mall was the movie theater and a Dillard's Outlet store. Eventually the Dillard's Outlet closed, but the movie theater was doing it best to hang on and was even trying to stop demolition of the mall because the movie theater's lease had not ended it. However, in the end, the movie theater closed and Six Flags Mall is no more. In its place.... an automobile parts service building which supplies the local GM plant nearby.
You said you used to go there when you were a kid. Do you remember the original pizza place in that mall? It was open from 1979 through about 1996. This was before it was sold to Sbarro.
All of my old haunts are being shut down. (crying) I remember that food court.
Would love to see more videos like this! You always make them interesting. Thanks!
Very much enjoyed the compilation style video. Keep them coming!
Yeah, the compilation/progression video was great! More would be cool
I can't remember what specific mall it was I think it was somewhere out East where Amal was divided up with some shops on the bottom and the top part of the mall the 2nd floor they rented out apartments since they couldn't have stoves they had things like toaster ovens to cook blister Alvin's to cook many of these places were rented to profound we're rented to professionals who were rarely at home but he had a place to stay I think this should be a trend they had a coffee shop in the bottom part and some dressmakers place downstairs downstairs I thought that was very innovative
Love watching these, if for nothing else out of morbid curiosity. I liken these malls to abandoned amusement parks, albeit less creepy.
Seriously these are so cool. I worked at Sears at Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa from 1990-1995. WH Mall is one of the few remaining that is actually not dying, or doesn't seem to be.
Neat footage. Need an old phone book to find the names of the stores. Now that would be a trivia game. Sad to see all the malls that are closing. Amazing all the retail and grocery stores that have come and gone over the years.
Great video, love your narration! Definitely strange that it had a Best Buy anchor... and dayum that food court in the dark eerie asf-- is there a reason that the Bath and Body Works are always last to go in these dead malls?
They tend to sign very long leases and so a lot of times get a good deal on rent.
If a bath.& body works & GNC can't turn a profit....💀👻
Best Buy was originally across the street in a strip mall, but that strip mall went downhill after Borders closed. Perhaps Best Buy and the mall management thought that Best Buy as an anchor store could help save both in that area.