Very excellent production, Dane! The intro with VHSvlog was great, with appropriate vaporwave to match. Always in dismay watching what is happening in the USA with retail malls in recent years. Online sales seem to be killing them. What seems to be saving malls in Canada is the ridiculous cost and *slow* shipping for items purchased online, plus the customs taxes and duties if the online seller is in the USA. People just don't have the patience to wait a week for an online purchase to be delivered, or pay more for shipping and taxes than the item is worth. It was great you were able to find the maintenance man in the end! ;)
+LakeNipissing Great to hear from you. He really did an excellent job. He covered information I knew nothing about, mixed in with some humor. I'm so glad he was able to work with me. Thanks for watching and commenting. I'll remember to pin your comment soon.
LakeNipissing Online sale's is not the only major factor in this. ( Speaking economically ) - The serious lack of decent paying job's is a major factor, as well. All of the local, state and federal government employee's have had their pay/bennie's shrinking/ 'frozen' for going on 6(?) + years now? As well as the number of these government job's ( overall ) dwindling, as well. While all the 'fat cat's' in the top 2% of the economic 'food chain' are allowed to run off with all the big $money$ like a bunch of crook's in the night. Laughing all the way to the bank.
LakeNipissing same with us in Australia, all our major shopping outlets are still standing strong and have been for several decades because of incredibly expensive online shopping prices and shipping times that sometimes stretch into months. For us it's just not practical to buy stuff online.
Fellow Aussie here. I'll definitely admit it can be hit and miss. I have had good experiences online though; I bought a pair of Asics sneakers online for $100 on a Sunday night (Asics Australia website) and they arrived on my doorstep in Adelaide from Sydney on Tuesday morning. Free shipping too. If shoe retailers carried my size (14US) for a similar price I'd go there.
+Urbex Dane great work man very cool but this look like a nice mall though its sad but outside of this mall and inside looked like rolling acres mall at first
I grew up and worked in this mall. My daughter worked at the JcP about 9 years ago. Many of the stores (behind the barriers and inaccessible) were used as storage and stockroom areas for JcP, especially the old Woolworths, as recently as 2012. She had told me the ceiling leaks and cave ins were bad. Did you know that the area under the Kaufmann's was a parking garage (the view of the building with the white stairs) that was closed in maybe the late 70s? I remember going into that entrance time and again but only parking under it vaguely (I was born in 68). There was a time when it was used as a haunted house but it wasn't for more than a few years. The JcP is still going strong and won't close anytime soon, though. I remember going there all the time. Initially, there was a grocery store and a cafeteria called Bretton's in the end where the food court was located. They both had been empty for years before the food court was built. The food court never did well, not even with a Taco Bell. The center fountain was always full of problems and as the mall aged, was on less and less. The true decline happened when Montgomery Ward closed. I think it sat empty for several years before Walmart bought that side of the mall. The original movie theater (where I saw the first 2 Star Wars movies) used to be about where the Foot Locker was. There was also a Baskin Robbins and what was considered the movie entrance to the mall. I can recall going for ice cream after the movie, then leaving by that entrance. After the movie theater relocated, business dropped drastically. It did close and reopen a number of times. I think a large contributor was the addition of Movies 10 and Tinseltoewn at Belden. One tidbit I can share is that as the stores began to close is that they were down to one maintenance person (an uncle of mine) who went in one day and was told his job was gone. From that point in all the trees and greenery died from lack of watering. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
+Alisa R. aka Vampfaye Thank you for sharing your memories. I didn't know the area beneath was a parking garage. If it was closed off in the 70s, that was before my time. I couldn't figure out what that area was used for.
I too worked in this mall back in the day. I worked in the little restaurant inside of the Woolworth's around 1985 or so. I read your comment and the memories of that mall came flooding back. I remembered the 2 movie theaters there and the Baskin Robbins 31 flavors. I also remember there was a barber shop a few doors down and a Perry's T-shirt store where you could have iron-on's put on your shirt. The Bretton's cafe and one of my favorite stores was the Camelot Music store that was around where the food court was. I can't forget the arcade that was by Monkey Wards and The Gulia Music store. Used to go in there and look and play the guitars on the wall! The pet store that was next to the book store. That little corner restaurant I used to get ice cream, I think it was called the Carousel? Who could forget Spencer's? I think it was one of the last stores to leave, I could be wrong. This mall was so much a part of my teenage life, I hate to see it in the condition its in now. Great Job with the video by the way. Always liked these kind of interesting videos.
This is where I live! It's incredibly sad! This mall used to be the BOMB, especially in the 80's and very early 90's (before I came around). Even then, though, it was still a pretty populated and lively place until about 2005... I heard that people started avoiding the mall about 1993 after some folks got upset about a movie they showed at the movie theater, "Malcolm X", I think, and randomly started shooting. They closed the theater down and it was never the same after that.
Actually there's only one store left in my mall, Maurices was the last retail to close, the store being an actually pretty good Mexican place. A Japanese Steakhouse is opening soon, and a Jimmy Johns, AT&T, Panda Express, and an Asian Buffet occupy parts of what used to be parking. There's also a movie theatre that shows no signs of closing.
The damaged side of the mall reminds of the DLC expansion for "The Last of Us"... when Ellie and Joel are holed up in that mall, and Joel is injured & Ellie has to go scrounge meds for him while the cannibals search for them...
I got an idea for another dead mall series video. Try to do Fort Stueben Mall (Steubenville, OH) [Macy's looks to be closing, and the only anchor that looks to be left is JCPenny] Alot of places in the mall look permanently closed, it has very low foot traffic. Alot of the remaining traffic seems to be going to malls like The Mall at Robinson (Robinson Twp., PA)
I was a kid in the 90s and remember this mall fondly. My family went there on a nearly weekly basis to go to the movies. I remember the arcade called Nickelodeon that sat next to the theater. As you went down the corridor to the right of the theater Montgomery Ward's giant entrance loomed on the right. Turning left there was a large array of shops (the candy store was also a KB Toys if memory serves correctly). The food court was on the side facing Tuscarawas ST. was massive. I can still remember the fries from the Boardwalk Fries on the far side of the food court.
GamingTV And leaky roof will happen to new buildings, too! I lived near a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market that is probably about 10 years old now. When the rains came (we average 10 inches in the Phoenix area), the Bucket Brigade places buckets to catch the leaks. I transferred to Sears #1169 at Chandler Fashion Center (mall) in 2002 not long after the mall opened. Brand spanking new pilot store and the roof leaked around the escalator and scenic elevator because of the skylight above.
Also, some companies are learning from companies like McDonald's. The company McDonalds is a real estate business more than it is a fast food business. It owns the land and the building and the brand name. And it charges companies brand fees and rent to operate a McDonalds. If the location becomes unprofitable the owner eats up the costs, if it can be saved the company gives them some help, but otherwise if it can't be helped it fails and Mcdonalds can just sell the land and not take any major losses. A lot of businesses that relied solely on Malls found out the hard way that they should have gone with a Mcdonalds business model.
My first job was working at that JCPenney back in 1970 thru 1972. I have a lot of good memories of the mall and all of the stores and restaurants. As a teenager back then it was the place to be.
+emerildog You bought suits at the men store? Only big money shoppers went there. Yeah, your old job is barely holding on. Thanks for watching, I hope to do more projects like this with theVHSvlog real soon.
I've always loved the facade of that Kauffmans I've seen in pictures and videos. Fiesta Mall west of my house in Mesa, AZ is another dead one and it depresses me since I've been going there since I was a kid. I wall and think of what was there that I remember. Sears and Dillard's Clearance anchor the mall and have no plans of leaving. The mall has a handful of open businesses. Funny thing is they still play music, as opposed to eerily quiet Canton Center.
Urbex Dane Haven't been there, or to Metrocenter in a while. Injured and will probably need surgery soon. Both malls are in a sad state. Saw an article a while ago someone wants to do something with the mall. They bought the former Goldwater's/Robinson's May/Macy's to convert into flex office space (it has been gutted) and they apparently bought the stacked former locations of Dick's and Best Buy that replaced the old Broadway/Macy's that stood there before. They want to biu the actual mall. Sears and Dillard's own their buildings and have no plans to leave. Retail Archaeology did a full tour not too long ago showing the current state. It's very sad in there. I've done what I can with my phone before my injury for UA-cam and my KoubuPilot Instagram account. Also got more mall stuff from Phoenix area.
Urbex Dane Thanks. Have to keep it to my car in the mall parking ares since it would be impossible to discreetly hold a phone while using crutches or a knee scooter! Right now I can get in a few Instagrams and that's about it.
double Nickel Ironically, Amazon has physical brick-&-mortar bookstores now (also has Peet's Coffee inside, the way Barnes & Noble has Starbucks). Wonder why 🤔
They should change the name of this mall to Mall Canton Centre of Mass Destruction :) Pretty crazy! Why is the other half of this mall open, there's like no stores open?
I’ve been born and raised right down the street from here, my mother working in the food court when she met my father. Around 95 I happened on the scene in January of 97 and my grandmother would take me through the mall all the time until it became a ghost town, she had a few friends that worked in different shops.
Let's go shop on Amazon, this is the reason why shopping malls are closing down left and right. People don't want to get in their car, and go shop. Thanks for the tour.
Great collab Dane. Crazy how just the one store is still open, I bet no one ever goes there apart from the people looking for food like the dude you bumped into 👍
Nice video. What was extremely noticeable to me beyond nobody else being there walking around was how quiet that mall was. There was no muzak playing to give that mall any kind of atmosphere.
Absolutely amazing video. I've heard only in passing of this place yet not much of its history or inside. This is now on my list of must-visit places in the future thanks to you. Keep at the amazing work.
Great video! Really look forward to this collab again.. Also to add onto it, really enjoy that you're one of the very, very small amount of people that still upload videos in the 4;3 aspect ratio. Keep doing that!
I live there. I always go to Belden, it’s one of the best malls out there in my humble opinion. I didn’t even know it existed until I had to be taken to the hospital and we drove by it. I said “woah, that was a mall? I thought that thing was an urban legend.”
I would say the most progressive reason these mall's so easily 'die' so easily is because these arrogant owner's/developer's building them insist on making/designing cramped parking spaces. An added ( at minimum ) full one foot in average width and another one foot in length of each parking space would make it much less stressful to go to the mall's. PLUS added manuevering room to navigate in and out of each parking space. I think most would agree. It is quite a nerve racking task to simply park your auto to visit/shop at any given mall where pretty much everything is over-priced. Second biggest reason would be the fact that these rich owner's/developer's refuse to back down on the retail space rental rate's. What they so arrogantly/greedily and FALSLY set as fake 'market value' rate's, quickly drive's any given business into full bankruptcy status much sooner than later. These two real, major factor's very likely are being overlooked/not noticed/considered by most.
Wow, I'm amazed this mall hasn't been sealed up yet! Great job on this one. Sure almost makes me want to do a trip here, though I live in the Chicago area. So who knows when I'll ever get here. :( I wonder when this mall first opened, so many years ago? I will probably look that up later.
I remember walking through the "South Sound Mall" in Lacey, Washington maybe 12 years ago. It was a long dark passage, open to the public, that led to dead end after dead end, gated dark rooms everywhere that USED to be lit up as up and running shops when I was a kid. It carried an overwhelming feeling, a mixture of sad and creepy. This used to be where I came to visit Santa every Christmas season as a child, where I'd hang out eating candy and ice cream from the various vendors and hanging out in the baseball card and comic shops, sifting through cassette tapes at one of the many thriving music stores (no longer relevant). Last time I was there it was just a ruins, a skeleton. You couldn't tell it's history by looking at it that day, that's for sure. The only functioning businesses in there at that time was Sears at one end and JC Penney at the other. The interior walk-a-bout area has since been closed to the public, but there is now a Target there, as well as other shops, but only along the side facing the main street. It's more of a plaza, or strip-mall now, with only one side of the "mall" being occupied. The whole rear side is completely vacant.........or IS it?
Retail stores in malls can't compete with giants like Amazon & online ordering/shipping. Malls are circling the drain. Technology is helping us...but at the same time...also killing us.
+dr1345 You hit the nail on the head when you blamed the lack of US manufacturing. "Many economists believe we no longer need factories. They think the information revolution has many more good things to give us…but information is notoriously light on its feet. More and more U.S. tax forms-which are nothing more than information-are being processed in India. And American companies are actually outsourcing more and more of the “information” component of modern products. They no longer go to Taiwan and ask the locals to “make this”. Now, they go to Taiwan to see what the locals are making that they can sell back home. More and more, U.S. companies don’t even participate in the design stage. “What we are seeing,” says economist Paul Craig Roberts, “is the rapid transformation of America into a 3rd world economy.”
Greendale Mall in Worcester and the Whitney Field Mall in Leominster are dying malls in Massachusetts. Such a shame! But many blue collar cities and towns in this country are losing so many jobs especially retail that nobody can afford to buy clothes. Thrift stores or online shopping may be the only way to buy things in the future.
Very well done but sad at the same time. So much neglect and destruction. I like the way you paid attention to details - water damage, broke tiles, etc.
I find it amazing how so many malls all over the globe are dying (and it makes sense as to why), yet the one in the city I live in is still as crazy busy as it's always been. I looked up info on it and found out there are 73 stores open, 5 anchor stores with a new one moving in, and the parking lot is always so full it takes forever to find a spot to park. So it makes me wonder why some malls are still completely thriving and others are dead.
In Alexandria, VA, the Landmark Mall and Macy's closed Jan 31 leaving the Sears lone open store. The mall opened in 1965. The owner plans to tear it down and redeveloped it a town center
It saddens me that this is what the typical mall in the U.S.A. has turned into. I have never been to this mall, however, the comments of others that had used it for their hometown mall, had me thinking of my hometown malls that has turned itself into dead malls. The ghost of yesterday’s past echoes through the corridors, only a glimpse past of what was the normal of the average teenager on a typical Saturday.
In Alexandria, VA after Landmark Mall closed along with Macy's, the Sears stands alone. This mall is going to be demolished and redeveloped into a town center
this reminds me of the mall me and my family went to because it came up on google. we were in NC i think? and the only thing open there was the movie theater. we walked down the steps even though it was obviously dead as were the elevators, we assumed maybe the top was just closed off because there was parking on the roof. when we saw someone randomly we asked and they said its been closed for a while. it looked so scary like something in a zombie movie, idk why people were just walking thru since you couldn’t get to the movie through the mall. it was a funny experience after tho
Our malls here aren't what they used to be either, and JC Penny's has long since closed here. Our K Mart, not on a mall is closed as of Friday. It's been around forever.
As a kid I used to go to that mall constantly mostly because of KB Toys. But the neighborhood it was in went to hell in a hand basket and everyone wanted to go to beldon. But the food court used to have mcdonalds Burger King dairy queen taco bell and a few other things. But I will never forget the arcade that used to be there. They had the 6 player xmen arcade machine and the Simpsons arcade machine. But I was too young to do much when the mall was still living. Kinda wish I could go back and visit since I'm an old buzzard now. But it's just a dream now...
It's a sad sight, it's odd that the process of "demalling" started, but never finished on time. According to their realtors, Phase 2 is in it's recruiting process, so the sides and entrance inside by Walmart may be gone soon.
Shit I am so jealous. As I was wondering how you got in there I saw his reflection LMFAO! So lucky :) ...some say his existence is a myth... and he probably hates me for busting it lol
+EGGBIRDTHEROOSTER Thanks I appreciate it. The music came from thevhsvlogs band. I don't know the name of the song, but I can get that information for you.
Forest City Enterprises has abandoned Ohio. They abandoned their own Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, OH. Currently Forest City Enterprises owns 9 malls in the USA
I used to work at a shoe store attached to this mall. They cannot tear. it down because it is the only emergency exit for the existing strip stores. People would always trip the fire alarm in the abandoned mall part. you can still go in there it is open. Still has some racks and tables but not much else.
NO ONE is calling out the REASON malls are dying. High RENT ? Internet competition ? Low paying mall jobs ? Inadequate Security ? Easily spread diseases from common air ? Gang Activity ? People got tired of All That Walking ? The Horrible Mall Music ? Increased incidents of mass murder ?
There’s an abandoned mall Located in Southern California it’s called the Central City mall known to city locals as the (Carousel Mall) its located in San Bernardino California it’s been abandoned for some time now maybe you can look into it. There also a ex Radisson hotel directly Across the street from the Mall that is also abandoned. Maybe these places will interest you in some way.
I've really gotten into these types of " dead mall " abandoned mall type videos recently. But Im really curious. So many of them have fire alarms going off, lights, power still functioning etc. if they are abandoned, dead, etc who's paying to keep the electricity still on? Power isn't cheap these days.
I've done a "Deep Dive" into the shopping situation. I've concluded : Shops need LOW, stable rent. People WOULD come if the place was NOT SO HUGE. People love the REAL time shopping experience as opposed to online. High rents and too much walking destroyed the malls.
stoopid how: people move from the outdoors into a concrete jungle, then visit concrete-mortar boxes to purchase ideas of visiting the outdoors, buy gear to get back to the outdoors, goto the outdoors nearby take the kid's out once or twice, then pack up the gear in the backroom forever...
The company who owns it could do so much with it. For instance, imagine it a paintball/airsoft centre, with a zombie apocalypse theme. People would flock to it
Yes, down the line you will have something up your sleeve 😀 I hope. BTW, I can't believe how trashed that mall is..... I believe it is empty because there is like 1-2 stores
I tried a couple times. I went with Richard Wolf and his wife Kara and no luck. I'm thinking maybe it's way too bad back there. I recently did a video myself and wow it's terrible. It was through the window by Walmart
hi,thanks,i don't understand why this is happening,is this happening all United States America slowly closing down,I'm from Sydney Australia,do you think it will happen us in Sydney thanks
+John borg Hello, soon there will be a handful of malls left in the states. Online shopping & places like Walmart will be the demise of malls in America. Have you seen a decline in Sydney?
Urbex Dane I am in Perth Australia and our malls are booming. The main difference seems to be that the malls here have supermarkets where people do their weekly grocery shopping. Also there are heaps of other services like the post office, hair & nail salons, pharmacy, dry cleaning etc. My local mall has a doctor and a dentist.
MsWaggydog That's exactly why malls in the U.S. state of Hawaii thrive, too. They follow the Asian (& I guess Australian) style of having EVERYTHING at the mall. And the ones in Oahu & Maui in particular are megamalls, which the Japanese tourists love.
A slow economy, some influence from online shopping, along with a change in buying habits. I don't shop at malls because most of the stores I did frequent in them are no longer in malls, or have changed so much to where they don't offer what I want anyway. I'm not in the market for overpriced fast fashion , the bookstores are gone, most of the game stores are gone, the department stores have the same things that they had when I was a kid (and I'm old enough to be a grandparent now) My adult children don't shop at malls for many of the same reasons.
7:45 "Yeah this is pretty bad." Are you kidding? I've seen *_way worse functioning toilets in use._* If I had to guess why they leave the lights on, it's to 1) attempt to ward people off by thinking it's _not_ abandoned, or at least give the impression someone might still be there, and 2) not have it be an actual black pit of of unknown danger if someone has to actually go in there & inspect the condition of things, just to be aware if it's degrading to any degree. Or if someone has to go in there to search for someone.
I wonder if it's still open for the public because I use to shop there when I was little me and my friend wants to go back in there for old times sake you know
I live in Canton myself, and l myself went in their, it was fucking sad and horrifying, it makes me believe that place is haunted, but hey, if you shit your pants, luckily there is a Walmart literally right beside the mall.
Very excellent production, Dane! The intro with VHSvlog was great, with appropriate vaporwave to match.
Always in dismay watching what is happening in the USA with retail malls in recent years. Online sales seem to be killing them. What seems to be saving malls in Canada is the ridiculous cost and *slow* shipping for items purchased online, plus the customs taxes and duties if the online seller is in the USA. People just don't have the patience to wait a week for an online purchase to be delivered, or pay more for shipping and taxes than the item is worth.
It was great you were able to find the maintenance man in the end! ;)
+LakeNipissing Great to hear from you. He really did an excellent job. He covered information I knew nothing about, mixed in with some humor. I'm so glad he was able to work with me. Thanks for watching and commenting. I'll remember to pin your comment soon.
LakeNipissing
Online sale's is not the only major factor in this. ( Speaking economically ) - The serious lack of decent paying job's is a major factor, as well.
All of the local, state and federal government employee's have had their pay/bennie's shrinking/ 'frozen' for going on 6(?) + years now? As well as the number of these government job's ( overall ) dwindling, as well.
While all the 'fat cat's' in the top 2% of the economic 'food chain' are allowed to run off with all the big $money$ like a bunch of crook's in the night.
Laughing all the way to the bank.
alvin chipmunk true,true
LakeNipissing same with us in Australia, all our major shopping outlets are still standing strong and have been for several decades because of incredibly expensive online shopping prices and shipping times that sometimes stretch into months. For us it's just not practical to buy stuff online.
Fellow Aussie here. I'll definitely admit it can be hit and miss. I have had good experiences online though; I bought a pair of Asics sneakers online for $100 on a Sunday night (Asics Australia website) and they arrived on my doorstep in Adelaide from Sydney on Tuesday morning. Free shipping too. If shoe retailers carried my size (14US) for a similar price I'd go there.
This is awesome! I wanna go!!!!
+This is Dan Bell. OMG the G.O.A.T! Thanks so much for watching.
I love Dan BeLL & the best part is most explores watch each other's vids & give them props
That would be awesome, I'd love to see you explore Macy's/Kaufman's
This is Dan Bell. Go.
+Urbex Dane great work man very cool but this look like a nice mall though its sad but outside of this mall and inside looked like rolling acres mall at first
Gotta love when they leave up signs saying "For Rent" when the store next to it has fallen tiles and mouldy smell.
Wow when the Bath and Bodyworks go's you know your mall is on its last leg
Michael Casey - And GNC too!
Or hot topic and gamestop
Very true. But it's actually "goes", not "go's".
I grew up and worked in this mall. My daughter worked at the JcP about 9 years ago. Many of the stores (behind the barriers and inaccessible) were used as storage and stockroom areas for JcP, especially the old Woolworths, as recently as 2012. She had told me the ceiling leaks and cave ins were bad. Did you know that the area under the Kaufmann's was a parking garage (the view of the building with the white stairs) that was closed in maybe the late 70s? I remember going into that entrance time and again but only parking under it vaguely (I was born in 68). There was a time when it was used as a haunted house but it wasn't for more than a few years. The JcP is still going strong and won't close anytime soon, though.
I remember going there all the time. Initially, there was a grocery store and a cafeteria called Bretton's in the end where the food court was located. They both had been empty for years before the food court was built. The food court never did well, not even with a Taco Bell. The center fountain was always full of problems and as the mall aged, was on less and less. The true decline happened when Montgomery Ward closed. I think it sat empty for several years before Walmart bought that side of the mall. The original movie theater (where I saw the first 2 Star Wars movies) used to be about where the Foot Locker was. There was also a Baskin Robbins and what was considered the movie entrance to the mall. I can recall going for ice cream after the movie, then leaving by that entrance. After the movie theater relocated, business dropped drastically. It did close and reopen a number of times. I think a large contributor was the addition of Movies 10 and Tinseltoewn at Belden. One tidbit I can share is that as the stores began to close is that they were down to one maintenance person (an uncle of mine) who went in one day and was told his job was gone. From that point in all the trees and greenery died from lack of watering. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
+Alisa R. aka Vampfaye Thank you for sharing your memories. I didn't know the area beneath was a parking garage. If it was closed off in the 70s, that was before my time. I couldn't figure out what that area was used for.
I too worked in this mall back in the day. I worked in the little restaurant inside of the Woolworth's around 1985 or so. I read your comment and the memories of that mall came flooding back. I remembered the 2 movie theaters there and the Baskin Robbins 31 flavors. I also remember there was a barber shop a few doors down and a Perry's T-shirt store where you could have iron-on's put on your shirt. The Bretton's cafe and one of my favorite stores was the Camelot Music store that was around where the food court was. I can't forget the arcade that was by Monkey Wards and The Gulia Music store. Used to go in there and look and play the guitars on the wall!
The pet store that was next to the book store. That little corner restaurant I used to get ice cream, I think it was called the Carousel? Who could forget Spencer's? I think it was one of the last stores to leave, I could be wrong. This mall was so much a part of my teenage life, I hate to see it in the condition its in now. Great Job with the video by the way. Always liked these kind of interesting videos.
No bath and body Works? It's not dead, it's abandoned.
This is where I live! It's incredibly sad! This mall used to be the BOMB, especially in the 80's and very early 90's (before I came around). Even then, though, it was still a pretty populated and lively place until about 2005...
I heard that people started avoiding the mall about 1993 after some folks got upset about a movie they showed at the movie theater, "Malcolm X", I think, and randomly started shooting. They closed the theater down and it was never the same after that.
You know a mall is truly dead when it's Bath and Bodyworks or GNC closes.
Yeah! And they don't even have 5 or 6 Starbucks to prop it up anymore, heh.
At my mall only bath and body baths closed. Gnc still here
Actually there's only one store left in my mall, Maurices was the last retail to close, the store being an actually pretty good Mexican place. A Japanese Steakhouse is opening soon, and a Jimmy Johns, AT&T, Panda Express, and an Asian Buffet occupy parts of what used to be parking. There's also a movie theatre that shows no signs of closing.
The damaged side of the mall reminds of the DLC expansion for "The Last of Us"... when Ellie and Joel are holed up in that mall, and Joel is injured & Ellie has to go scrounge meds for him while the cannibals search for them...
+Random Coyote It sure does. That's one of my favorite games
Finally a look at the Macy's!!!!!!!!!!!!! I swear you are the only UA-camr to get further inside the mall than just the JCPenney area!!!!!!!!!!
+H.H. foxaddict Thanks for watching! I got another little something up my sleeve to share.
Urbex Dane Awesome can't wait to see it!
I got an idea for another dead mall series video.
Try to do Fort Stueben Mall (Steubenville, OH) [Macy's looks to be closing, and the only anchor that looks to be left is JCPenny]
Alot of places in the mall look permanently closed, it has very low foot traffic.
Alot of the remaining traffic seems to be going to malls like The Mall at Robinson (Robinson Twp., PA)
Love when people explore and show as much as possible. Hate when people just show a tiny bit and wont let us see each scene closely.
I was a kid in the 90s and remember this mall fondly. My family went there on a nearly weekly basis to go to the movies. I remember the arcade called Nickelodeon that sat next to the theater. As you went down the corridor to the right of the theater Montgomery Ward's giant entrance loomed on the right. Turning left there was a large array of shops (the candy store was also a KB Toys if memory serves correctly). The food court was on the side facing Tuscarawas ST. was massive. I can still remember the fries from the Boardwalk Fries on the far side of the food court.
Congratulations. The first video to get to the sealed off area and best overall. I used to ride my bike to the mall in the 80s.
+Scott S From the area...so cool man! I'm glad I could show you how bad it is now.
I'm shocked most of this is still open to the public. Super cool, but looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Sage Wysocki A little bit of mold and asbestos ain't hurt nobody. 😂
Damn that water damage is amazingly bad. How does it get that Severe?
+Sean I was floored to see that portion of the mall in that condition. Sad shape this mall is in
GamingTV And leaky roof will happen to new buildings, too! I lived near a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market that is probably about 10 years old now. When the rains came (we average 10 inches in the Phoenix area), the Bucket Brigade places buckets to catch the leaks. I transferred to Sears #1169 at Chandler Fashion Center (mall) in 2002 not long after the mall opened. Brand spanking new pilot store and the roof leaked around the escalator and scenic elevator because of the skylight above.
It smells pretty bad in there. Like old, musty, wet cardboard.
10 years of no maintenance at all will do this......
Also, some companies are learning from companies like McDonald's. The company McDonalds is a real estate business more than it is a fast food business. It owns the land and the building and the brand name. And it charges companies brand fees and rent to operate a McDonalds. If the location becomes unprofitable the owner eats up the costs, if it can be saved the company gives them some help, but otherwise if it can't be helped it fails and Mcdonalds can just sell the land and not take any major losses.
A lot of businesses that relied solely on Malls found out the hard way that they should have gone with a Mcdonalds business model.
tell Dan Bell about this place
+Railroad,Preserver,2000 To my surprise, he viewed the video not to long ago.
by far one of your best videos Dane always sad seeing a place you use to love as a kid go
+stefanie lewis Thank you Stefanie! That means more than you know. Vhsvlog really came through on this one.
great research also
My first job was working at that JCPenney back in 1970 thru 1972. I have a lot of good memories of the mall and all of the stores and restaurants. As a teenager back then it was the place to be.
Sad to see times move on. I use to work at jcpennys sad to see the stand still of businesses. I use to buy men's suits there. Wow my hometown......
+emerildog You bought suits at the men store? Only big money shoppers went there. Yeah, your old job is barely holding on. Thanks for watching, I hope to do more projects like this with theVHSvlog real soon.
It's incredible how fast you're growing and the support you've been getting is insane, great video man!
+Avid Ventures Thanks! I can't say enough about the support & the ones who helped me make this video.
it's amazing what online shopping has done
Dead malls are so cool.
That mall reminds me of the old Salem in trotwood ohio. Even the the tiles in the fountain were the same blue tiles.
I've always loved the facade of that Kauffmans I've seen in pictures and videos. Fiesta Mall west of my house in Mesa, AZ is another dead one and it depresses me since I've been going there since I was a kid. I wall and think of what was there that I remember. Sears and Dillard's Clearance anchor the mall and have no plans of leaving. The mall has a handful of open businesses. Funny thing is they still play music, as opposed to eerily quiet Canton Center.
+Enrique Cortez it's crazy how fast these malls are dying. Do you still shop at Fiesta Mall?
Urbex Dane Haven't been there, or to Metrocenter in a while. Injured and will probably need surgery soon. Both malls are in a sad state. Saw an article a while ago someone wants to do something with the mall. They bought the former Goldwater's/Robinson's May/Macy's to convert into flex office space (it has been gutted) and they apparently bought the stacked former locations of Dick's and Best Buy that replaced the old Broadway/Macy's that stood there before. They want to biu the actual mall. Sears and Dillard's own their buildings and have no plans to leave. Retail Archaeology did a full tour not too long ago showing the current state. It's very sad in there. I've done what I can with my phone before my injury for UA-cam and my KoubuPilot Instagram account. Also got more mall stuff from Phoenix area.
That's cool you do mall videos. I'll check out the videos you did before your injury. Hope that surgery goes well man
Urbex Dane Thanks. Have to keep it to my car in the mall parking ares since it would be impossible to discreetly hold a phone while using crutches or a knee scooter! Right now I can get in a few Instagrams and that's about it.
it's called let's go shopping at Amazon
double Nickel Ironically, Amazon has physical brick-&-mortar bookstores now (also has Peet's Coffee inside, the way Barnes & Noble has Starbucks). Wonder why 🤔
They should change the name of this mall to Mall Canton Centre of Mass Destruction :)
Pretty crazy! Why is the other half of this mall open, there's like no stores open?
+musicman123 I know right. Why it remains open to the public is beyond me
musicman123 #The FAMinator you'd think they'd cordon it off
I’ve been born and raised right down the street from here, my mother working in the food court when she met my father. Around 95 I happened on the scene in January of 97 and my grandmother would take me through the mall all the time until it became a ghost town, she had a few friends that worked in different shops.
Let's go shop on Amazon, this is the reason why shopping malls are closing down left and right.
People don't want to get in their car, and go shop.
Thanks for the tour.
Added Touch is where I had my first piercing done! Oh the countless memories there. Thank you for uploading this!
Great collab Dane. Crazy how just the one store is still open, I bet no one ever goes there apart from the people looking for food like the dude you bumped into 👍
Nice video. What was extremely noticeable to me beyond nobody else being there walking around was how quiet that mall was. There was no muzak playing to give that mall any kind of atmosphere.
John East Muzak? You mean music?
A.S. MC No, I mean Muzak. Its for when you hear music in a store or a Mall or an Elevator etc... That is how it's spelled.
John East Really? I've never heard about that term before.
Absolutely amazing video. I've heard only in passing of this place yet not much of its history or inside. This is now on my list of must-visit places in the future thanks to you. Keep at the amazing work.
Great video! Really look forward to this collab again..
Also to add onto it, really enjoy that you're one of the very, very small amount of people that still upload videos in the 4;3 aspect ratio. Keep doing that!
Really awesome you got to check the other part of the mall out. Looks like it won't be there much longer. Cool vid bro!
+Harmin vlogs Thanks man. I could smell the decaying
I live there. I always go to Belden, it’s one of the best malls out there in my humble opinion. I didn’t even know it existed until I had to be taken to the hospital and we drove by it. I said “woah, that was a mall? I thought that thing was an urban legend.”
I would say the most progressive reason these mall's so easily 'die' so easily is because these arrogant owner's/developer's building them insist on making/designing cramped parking spaces.
An added ( at minimum ) full one foot in average width and another one foot in length of each parking space would make it much less stressful to go to the mall's.
PLUS added manuevering room to navigate in and out of each parking space.
I think most would agree.
It is quite a nerve racking task to simply park your auto to visit/shop at any given mall where pretty much everything is over-priced.
Second biggest reason would be the fact that these rich owner's/developer's refuse to back down on the retail space rental rate's.
What they so arrogantly/greedily and FALSLY set as fake 'market value' rate's, quickly drive's any given business into full bankruptcy status much sooner than later.
These two real, major factor's very likely are being overlooked/not noticed/considered by most.
Wow, I'm amazed this mall hasn't been sealed up yet! Great job on this one. Sure almost makes me want to do a trip here, though I live in the Chicago area. So who knows when I'll ever get here. :( I wonder when this mall first opened, so many years ago? I will probably look that up later.
+BoratWanksta thank you for watching. I'm amazed at how bad the decay is now. Especially with jc penny's still in operation
I remember walking through the "South Sound Mall" in Lacey, Washington maybe 12 years ago. It was a long dark passage, open to the public, that led to dead end after dead end, gated dark rooms everywhere that USED to be lit up as up and running shops when I was a kid. It carried an overwhelming feeling, a mixture of sad and creepy. This used to be where I came to visit Santa every Christmas season as a child, where I'd hang out eating candy and ice cream from the various vendors and hanging out in the baseball card and comic shops, sifting through cassette tapes at one of the many thriving music stores (no longer relevant). Last time I was there it was just a ruins, a skeleton. You couldn't tell it's history by looking at it that day, that's for sure. The only functioning businesses in there at that time was Sears at one end and JC Penney at the other. The interior walk-a-bout area has since been closed to the public, but there is now a Target there, as well as other shops, but only along the side facing the main street. It's more of a plaza, or strip-mall now, with only one side of the "mall" being occupied. The whole rear side is completely vacant.........or IS it?
Retail stores in malls can't compete with giants like Amazon & online ordering/shipping. Malls are circling the drain. Technology is helping us...but at the same time...also killing us.
+dr1345
You hit the nail on the head when you blamed the lack of US manufacturing.
"Many economists believe we no longer need factories. They think the information revolution has many more good things to give us…but information is notoriously light on its feet. More and more U.S. tax forms-which are nothing more than information-are being processed in India. And American companies are actually outsourcing more and more of the “information” component of modern products. They no longer go to Taiwan and ask the locals to “make this”. Now, they go to Taiwan to see what the locals are making that they can sell back home. More and more, U.S. companies don’t even participate in the design stage. “What we are seeing,” says economist Paul Craig Roberts, “is the rapid transformation of America into a 3rd world economy.”
Your channel is growing fast bro! Keep up the great work :)
Greendale Mall in Worcester and the Whitney Field Mall in Leominster are dying malls in Massachusetts. Such a shame! But many blue collar cities and towns in this country are losing so many jobs especially retail that nobody can afford to buy clothes. Thrift stores or online shopping may be the only way to buy things in the future.
I think the cookie place wes Ms. Fields Cookies. I LOVED the mini chocolate chip cookies.
Very well done but sad at the same time. So much neglect and destruction. I like the way you paid attention to details - water damage, broke tiles, etc.
I live in Canton! FINALLY! So awesome!!!!
Under Kaufmanns use to be a parking garage. Back in the day.
Those first three minutes make me feel like I'm watching a Fallout slide show. Awesome.
Very nicely done, you should do some more abandoned malls!
Nice video, the background story is so well brought. Awesome!
I find it amazing how so many malls all over the globe are dying (and it makes sense as to why), yet the one in the city I live in is still as crazy busy as it's always been. I looked up info on it and found out there are 73 stores open, 5 anchor stores with a new one moving in, and the parking lot is always so full it takes forever to find a spot to park. So it makes me wonder why some malls are still completely thriving and others are dead.
In Alexandria, VA, the Landmark Mall and Macy's closed Jan 31 leaving the Sears lone open store. The mall opened in 1965. The owner plans to tear it down and redeveloped it a town center
I can't believe how much fixturing is still in the Woolworths space.
nothing beats true HD video 4K the video looks clear the sound is amzing on the Mic
It saddens me that this is what the typical mall in the U.S.A. has turned into. I have never been to this mall, however, the comments of others that had used it for their hometown mall, had me thinking of my hometown malls that has turned itself into dead malls. The ghost of yesterday’s past echoes through the corridors, only a glimpse past of what was the normal of the average teenager on a typical Saturday.
I recommend when visiting a mall store to match the online price of a competitor. I like to see people keep their jobs.
In Alexandria, VA after Landmark Mall closed along with Macy's, the Sears stands alone. This mall is going to be demolished and redeveloped into a town center
this reminds me of the mall me and my family went to because it came up on google. we were in NC i think? and the only thing open there was the movie theater. we walked down the steps even though it was obviously dead as were the elevators, we assumed maybe the top was just closed off because there was parking on the roof. when we saw someone randomly we asked and they said its been closed for a while. it looked so scary like something in a zombie movie, idk why people were just walking thru since you couldn’t get to the movie through the mall. it was a funny experience after tho
Our malls here aren't what they used to be either, and JC Penny's has long since closed here. Our K Mart, not on a mall is closed as of Friday. It's been around forever.
As a kid I used to go to that mall constantly mostly because of KB Toys. But the neighborhood it was in went to hell in a hand basket and everyone wanted to go to beldon. But the food court used to have mcdonalds Burger King dairy queen taco bell and a few other things. But I will never forget the arcade that used to be there. They had the 6 player xmen arcade machine and the Simpsons arcade machine. But I was too young to do much when the mall was still living. Kinda wish I could go back and visit since I'm an old buzzard now. But it's just a dream now...
Awesome Video!!! It's depressing to see so many malls close down.
It's a sad sight, it's odd that the process of "demalling" started, but never finished on time. According to their realtors, Phase 2 is in it's recruiting process, so the sides and entrance inside by Walmart may be gone soon.
Reminds me of the movie cars. Radiator Spring and the song our town.
Was this mall built by the same architect that designed rolling acres mall? I do see a resemblance.
+mjd 2626 Yes I believe so.
Thats crazy, its practically abandoned, only holding on by a thread that is JCPenny
What puzzles me is why were there so many cars outside? Crazy! Cool video!
Abandoned NW FL There is a super Walmart right there next to it
Two Words:
Wal-Mart Supercenter
I’m boycotting Walmart due to malls closing and receipt checkers
Shit I am so jealous. As I was wondering how you got in there I saw his reflection LMFAO! So lucky :) ...some say his existence is a myth... and he probably hates me for busting it lol
+Skatemaster Nate Don't be man, your video was awesome. I did get lucky though
Nicely done video man.. Whats the music in the beginning? Sounds a bit like Boards of Canada..
+EGGBIRDTHEROOSTER Thanks I appreciate it. The music came from thevhsvlogs band. I don't know the name of the song, but I can get that information for you.
Forest City Enterprises has abandoned Ohio. They abandoned their own Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, OH. Currently Forest City Enterprises owns 9 malls in the USA
I'm surprised the Mall is still opened to the public just to walk around?! 😂 LOL Mark UK
That's hard to believe the malls are dying there, up in Canada the malls are booming and having to expand.
monarch1957 If the internet speeds were better then the malls would be in trouble.
Damn! That music has officially creeped me the hell out! Where did you get that?
Wow, I've lived in Akron since 1989, I've never even known of this places existence!
3:18 the entrance kind of reminds me of the long gone "house of the future" in Disneyland Anaheim. but less squatty
I used to work at a shoe store attached to this mall. They cannot tear. it down because it is the only emergency exit for the existing strip stores. People would always trip the fire alarm in the abandoned mall part. you can still go in there it is open. Still has some racks and tables but not much else.
The Cookie Factory, wherevthey make tgere cookies. Yummy!! Ear Piercing was probaly Claire's
NO ONE is calling out the REASON malls are dying. High RENT ? Internet competition ? Low paying mall jobs ? Inadequate Security ? Easily spread diseases from common air ? Gang Activity ? People got tired of All That Walking ? The Horrible Mall Music ? Increased incidents of mass murder ?
Outstanding
There’s an abandoned mall Located in Southern California it’s called the Central City mall known to city locals as the (Carousel Mall) its located in San Bernardino California it’s been abandoned for some time now maybe you can look into it. There also a ex Radisson hotel directly Across the street from the Mall that is also abandoned. Maybe these places will interest you in some way.
You should do one on rolling acres mall it’s not very far from this one
The building shown at 3:24 looks similar to the one at Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, OH
"You done shopping already, huh?"..., waahaahaa
I've really gotten into these types of " dead mall " abandoned mall type videos recently. But Im really curious. So many of them have fire alarms going off, lights, power still functioning etc. if they are abandoned, dead, etc who's paying to keep the electricity still on? Power isn't cheap these days.
I've done a "Deep Dive" into the shopping situation. I've concluded : Shops need LOW, stable rent. People WOULD come if the place was NOT SO HUGE. People love the REAL time shopping experience as opposed to online. High rents and too much walking destroyed the malls.
stoopid how: people move from the outdoors into a concrete jungle, then visit concrete-mortar boxes to purchase ideas of visiting the outdoors, buy gear to get back to the outdoors, goto the outdoors nearby take the kid's out once or twice, then pack up the gear in the backroom forever...
The company who owns it could do so much with it.
For instance, imagine it a paintball/airsoft centre, with a zombie apocalypse theme. People would flock to it
They need to turn this into mixed residential Commercial communities
Its sad to see that most malls probably can't adapt to new technology and will suffer the same faith as Canton Mall
My childhood mall got torn down because people got shot at it a few times in the early-mid 00s, it was nice until a gang decided it was their turf.
JC Penny is hoppin and poppin in Vegas yo! You guys need to jump off the porch sometimes.
i love the sound it made when you walked aHHH
Yes, down the line you will have something up your sleeve 😀 I hope. BTW, I can't believe how trashed that mall is..... I believe it is empty because there is like 1-2 stores
I've been trying to get into the walled off section for a while but no luck. The maintenance guy is never there
Try before closing time.
I tried a couple times. I went with Richard Wolf and his wife Kara and no luck. I'm thinking maybe it's way too bad back there. I recently did a video myself and wow it's terrible. It was through the window by Walmart
hi,thanks,i don't understand why this is happening,is this happening all United States America slowly closing down,I'm from Sydney Australia,do you think it will happen us in Sydney
thanks
+John borg Hello, soon there will be a handful of malls left in the states. Online shopping & places like Walmart will be the demise of malls in America. Have you seen a decline in Sydney?
Urbex Dane I am in Perth Australia and our malls are booming. The main difference seems to be that the malls here have supermarkets where people do their weekly grocery shopping. Also there are heaps of other services like the post office, hair & nail salons, pharmacy, dry cleaning etc. My local mall has a doctor and a dentist.
MsWaggydog That's exactly why malls in the U.S. state of Hawaii thrive, too. They follow the Asian (& I guess Australian) style of having EVERYTHING at the mall. And the ones in Oahu & Maui in particular are megamalls, which the Japanese tourists love.
Of course. It will happen everywhere. It is already in all of the Americas and China.
A slow economy, some influence from online shopping, along with a change in buying habits. I don't shop at malls because most of the stores I did frequent in them are no longer in malls, or have changed so much to where they don't offer what I want anyway. I'm not in the market for overpriced fast fashion , the bookstores are gone, most of the game stores are gone, the department stores have the same things that they had when I was a kid (and I'm old enough to be a grandparent now) My adult children don't shop at malls for many of the same reasons.
Maintenance man? By the looks of things he's long gone. Fired years ago.
7:45 "Yeah this is pretty bad." Are you kidding? I've seen *_way worse functioning toilets in use._*
If I had to guess why they leave the lights on, it's to 1) attempt to ward people off by thinking it's _not_ abandoned, or at least give the impression someone might still be there, and 2) not have it be an actual black pit of of unknown danger if someone has to actually go in there & inspect the condition of things, just to be aware if it's degrading to any degree. Or if someone has to go in there to search for someone.
Mrs. Fields? That’s the cookie company at my childhood mall and the mini chocolate chip cookies were and still are mY sHiT
I wonder if it's still open for the public because I use to shop there when I was little me and my friend wants to go back in there for old times sake you know
DO ONE OF EVANSVILLE WASHINGTON SQUARE MALL, THAT MALL DEAD.
supermanbatman20056 town square in Owensboro is to
I live in Canton myself, and l myself went in their, it was fucking sad and horrifying, it makes me believe that place is haunted, but hey, if you shit your pants, luckily there is a Walmart literally right beside the mall.
The Kauffmans is now a self storage place
Please do Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke, Va.
it looks like it b een closed long time since the lights are dim in the old macys
Dead malls could be used in future GTA games to meet someone and do missions for :)