Walking Around West Edmonton Mall, June 1986

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  • Опубліковано 16 сер 2019
  • Video walking around West Edmonton Mall, early June 1986. With some video of the Alberta Legislature. Shot by Ken Eckert in Edmonton, Canada. [About a week before the rollercoaster accident]
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 131

  • @BestEdmontonMall
    @BestEdmontonMall 4 роки тому +208

    This was filmed in June of 1986... and on June 14, 1986 - The Mindbender Accident occurred. This might be the closest footage I've seen of the park prior to that date. This is really fantastic footage, thank you for sharing.

    • @captaindick1389
      @captaindick1389 4 роки тому +8

      I love your content about wem

    • @pukalo
      @pukalo 3 роки тому +11

      my dad was actually on the Mindbender on the ride cylce immediately before the accident

    • @aquaman199
      @aquaman199 3 роки тому +4

      pukalo was he really? He got lucky

    • @domki366
      @domki366 3 роки тому +10

      I was gonna comment "wait until the Best Edmonton Mall guy sees *this*" but I should've known you had already lol

    • @citation9199
      @citation9199 3 роки тому +5

      I didn't see a date stamp on the footage but its crazy to think when you watch the Mindbender footage, that the accident occurred just days later. Or for all we know it happened that night. Crazy to think. Great vintage footage.

  • @yegmtb8377
    @yegmtb8377 3 роки тому +33

    I wanted to cry because this is how i remember the mall even in the 90s. So sad knowing how much has changed

    • @Maynke
      @Maynke 3 роки тому +5

      The video may seem blurry to those who hadn't been there but for those who had, it's clear as day. Indeed, brings a little nostalgic tear to the eye!

    • @xXPinkDummyXx
      @xXPinkDummyXx 3 роки тому +1

      Also you can cry because turns out one of the train would derail shortly after. Killing someone

    • @yegmtb8377
      @yegmtb8377 3 роки тому

      @@xXPinkDummyXx its not about that but ok

  • @gamma_archive1333
    @gamma_archive1333 3 роки тому +26

    Something about old footage is both unsettling and nostalgic to a time that i was never around it...... how odd

  • @bradvestby
    @bradvestby Рік тому +18

    I miss these days so much!! I'd give anything to have the world be like this again.. This was an amazing video! Thanks for the upload!

  • @Ulyssestnt
    @Ulyssestnt 3 роки тому +44

    Nothing says 80s like a massive water fountain in the middle of a shopping mall.

    • @Glosoli4
      @Glosoli4 2 роки тому +4

      Full of nasty pennies

    • @doug9778
      @doug9778 Рік тому

      @@Glosoli4 pennies and penes

    • @beringstraitrailway
      @beringstraitrailway 2 місяці тому

      Is the fountain not there anymore?

    • @Ulyssestnt
      @Ulyssestnt 2 місяці тому

      @@Glosoli4haha excactly.

    • @Ulyssestnt
      @Ulyssestnt 2 місяці тому +1

      @@beringstraitrailwayIdk about Edmonton but they were ubiquitious still in the 90s when I was a kid .

  • @jond3929
    @jond3929 3 роки тому +21

    Anyone else hear the "mechanical rumbling" from the coaster around 3:35 while it passed through the helix? The original designer of the coaster (Werner Stengel) stated that the tracks in the turns needed to be slightly narrower to account for the geometry of the coaster cars. The initial contractor for the ride had this in the plans but was replaced by a cheaper contractor that made the distance between the rails consistent throughout the ride, causing extra stress on the wheel assemblies when the coaster went around corners. Werner tried to warn them about the corners but was ignored. In the court proceedings that followed after the accident, the judge found him innocent of any wrongdoing as he designed the coaster properly and did everything he could do to warn the new contractor of the design changes.

    • @christinecauffman6529
      @christinecauffman6529 3 роки тому +1

      I did

    • @aishlingpaigehanlon1571
      @aishlingpaigehanlon1571 2 роки тому +1

      I did to

    • @friencheetah
      @friencheetah 2 роки тому

      Wow, that's crazy. Can you link to where you found this info? I've really been trying to get down the rabbit hole with this

    • @jond3929
      @jond3929 2 роки тому +1

      @@friencheetah I think it was from a video I saw. Can't remember exactly but it was on youtube

    • @InverseMidas666
      @InverseMidas666 2 роки тому +4

      @@friencheetah "I'd like to add some correction regarding the cause of the accident. There's a bit of German information available in a book about Werner Stengel, who designed this coaster. Unfortunately that book has never been translated to English and costs several hundred dollars pre-owned nowadays. Being German, I can understand and repeat what was said there.
      Right after learning about the accident, both Werner Stengel and Anton Schwarzkopf flew to Edmonton to inspect the ride. Both were worried that they could be to blame for what happened, so they wanted to see it with their own eyes. It turned out that it wasn't a design flaw - but a manufacturing flaw. (I'll get to that in a second.) The way the wheel assemblies are mounted to the frame of each individual car makes it necessary that the distance between the two rails is slightly decreased in curves compared to straight sections of track. (I'm not a mechanical engineer, but it has something to do with the way they pivot.) With Mindbender not being the first coaster to use this wheel assembly design, the blueprints were correct and had that factored in. Anton Schwarzkopf had even built a test jig to measure each section of track and check that it is done correctly.
      Now the problems start - during the time this coaster was built, his company went bankrupt, and the people who took over didn't want him on site any longer and also didn't want to take his advice. (Which is pretty stupid if you ask me, he may not have been a good businessman, but for sure he was an expert when it came to building steel roller coasters. There were probably few if any people in the world by that time who knew as much about it as him.) So they built the tracks with a constant distance between the rails all over, ignored the test jig and Anton's warnings. This led to excessive stress to the wheel assemblies - every time the train went through a curve, the wheel assemblies were forced outwards.
      To really make the accident happen, you need to add improper maintenance to the mix. It is said that the coaster only came with instructions in German, which I personally find hard to believe. But even if that's true, the operator of that ride should have had plenty of opportunity to have it translated to English. German isn't that exotic, there should be plenty of translators available in Canada to do that. After all lots of Germans emigrated to Canada. Regardless, the wheel assemblies were not properly inspected, thus allowing cracks to form. Investigations after the accident showed that almost all of the bolts holding the wheel assemblies to the cars had cracks which were easy to spot, if inspected. However, nobody apparently did that until the first bolts completely broke, leading to the accident we know too well.
      The official investigation shows that neither Werner Stengel nor Anton Schwarzkopf were to blame for the accident, they had done their parts correctly. It was the people who eventually built the ride (on the former Schwarzkopf site) and the park's maintenance team.
      Why to I explain this? Well, first of all, Anton Schwarzkopf can't do that any more, having passed away almost 20 years ago. But my main reason is that I don't want for people to feel unsafe just because they see another Schwarzkopf coaster somewhere. Some of them are operating safely for 40 or even 50 years now. And for those who remember the accident in Mexico last year - this wasn't a design flaw either, it was a ride being operated outside its specifications (no enabled trim brakes leading to overspeed and excessive stress) and maintenance not doing their job right. The excessive wear mut have been noticeable before, if you look at footage of the ride operating, you see how much the loop sways back and forth, which is a clear indication that there is something wrong. They do move a little when a train passes through, but not that much. Unless there is either somethin broken or it's not set up on a stable surface." -Colaholiker
      ua-cam.com/video/w8Xyoq-5yZc/v-deo.html that's where I just read it.

  • @Wmips
    @Wmips 4 роки тому +57

    Its crazy how the mindbender only had lap bars.... this was also probably super close to the accident a few days later..

    • @Christeamer
      @Christeamer 3 роки тому +6

      NeonRBLX i wish it still exclusively had them. The current restraints the ride has are uncomfortable and makes the ride feel a lot rougher.

    • @Wmips
      @Wmips 3 роки тому +5

      Christeamer personally i’ve never been on it but i’ve heard its very uncomfortable, their just being more safe because they don’t want history to repeat itself

    • @robertswrecks
      @robertswrecks 3 роки тому +2

      I dont remember the date but it for sure happened in the same year

    • @AdamRoelofs
      @AdamRoelofs 3 роки тому +4

      @@robertswrecks the accident was June 14th so this very easily could have been only days before if not hours!

    • @paigejohnson8481
      @paigejohnson8481 3 роки тому

      june 21 1986 is when it happened

  • @connortroyt
    @connortroyt 4 роки тому +63

    This must’ve been just days before the infamous Mindbender tragedy.
    Quite scary looking at the yellow trains with what was just ahead.

    • @stephenbate933
      @stephenbate933 4 роки тому +5

      that's what i was thinking too!! it was the yellow train and back then there was 4 cars per train where there is only 3 today!

    • @SpencEpix
      @SpencEpix 4 роки тому +1

      I wish it still had 4 cars, though I’ve never been. I want to though

    • @Mettty1991
      @Mettty1991 3 роки тому +4

      @@SpencEpix the G's in the 4th car must have been damn high

  • @dadnelson4008
    @dadnelson4008 3 роки тому +8

    Watched this place grow from open fields where we used to dirt bike and hang around to what it was to what it is ...I'm getting old lol

    • @Bojan_V
      @Bojan_V 2 роки тому

      The older, the better!

  • @NotStarRoblox681
    @NotStarRoblox681 Рік тому +3

    I really want the old rides back

  • @mpaulm
    @mpaulm 3 роки тому +8

    I spent/spend so much time at this mall since it opened. I miss some of what the mall had: Playdium, the balls, the two older theaters.

    • @longboardguy
      @longboardguy 3 роки тому +2

      Me too and I miss those water falls and fountains all over the malls those were cool

  • @astral16
    @astral16 4 роки тому +10

    Thank you for not replacing the audio

  • @kevintennant7701
    @kevintennant7701 3 роки тому +19

    Thanks for transferring this video from Video8 to digital then to UA-cam. It is a lot of work. Also, it was really nice (and nostalgic) to see normal people just enjoying a great indoor amusement and shopping experience.

  • @lisabelle7553
    @lisabelle7553 3 роки тому +11

    Amazing footage! I was about 15 and worked at the mall at the time. I would spend every spare minute going on rides in fantasy land as I had a yearly pass. I was on the coaster just days before the accident. Possibly the same day this was filmed. I half expected to see myself in this footage. Thanks for sharing

  • @canadiandeplorable2087
    @canadiandeplorable2087 Місяць тому

    That first drop on the Mindbender was insane. I was on it the day before the tragic accident

  • @LakeNipissing
    @LakeNipissing Рік тому +9

    Please, *_please_* re-upload this video in 480p or 720p. Even VHS or Beta tape recordings will look very good in 480p or 720p compared with 240p. Software can really restore colors, contrast and sharpness.
    You have amazing vintage footage here, and now that there is discussion of the Mindbender being removed, you have a true time capsule !

  • @AllyBentin
    @AllyBentin 9 місяців тому +1

    I think we have video footage somewhere of Galaxyland when we went there for a Christmas party. Some of the footage is me and my sisters on rides, the Mindbender, and the giant boat. I remember we went once in the morning and then went home later for a rest and to have some supper and then come back. We came back and it was closed for some reason. We were pretty upset but our parents seeing as they had made that long trip from home decided to take us to see a movie instead. We went to see 101 Dalmatians and we even got a special bucket of popcorn as well.

  • @chonkeyshonkey
    @chonkeyshonkey Рік тому +3

    1:56 That Mindbender horn is so much more different sounding from the modern iteration of the ride. It's kinda scary and surreal

    • @sportsmaster1364
      @sportsmaster1364 5 місяців тому +1

      Either horn is good enough to make one tremble... it's the signal to the start of a ride that'll turn your insides upside-down.

  • @puffnpluky76
    @puffnpluky76 3 роки тому +5

    This was clearly a few days before the crash... at @ I believe you can hear the "metallic rattling noise" that was under investigation just hours before the crash. That is the sound of the undercarriage in the last cart being lose... Listen closely each time it goes around the spiral closest to the camera.

    • @4220E
      @4220E 2 роки тому

      It actually was the yellow car that derailed in this video it shows the orange car the yellow car was sitting off 2 the side

    • @puffnpluky76
      @puffnpluky76 Рік тому +2

      @@4220E later investigation showed that the wheel assemblies were loose on all the trains, not just the yellow. The other trains could be making the same sound as the yellow was.

  • @user-pd1lt1ub6z
    @user-pd1lt1ub6z 4 місяці тому +3

    Edmonton looked so nice back then. What happened

  • @brandonwiebe8132
    @brandonwiebe8132 Рік тому +1

    Unreal! I was 2 months old at the time of this video, living downtown Edmonton before moving to Sherwood Park. Very nostalgic video, thanks for uploading!

  • @summertimedream5152
    @summertimedream5152 6 місяців тому

    I used to live close by.Amazing footage! Like a blast from the past.Thank you for sharing!

  • @kirbyl8310
    @kirbyl8310 3 роки тому +1

    I was 8 months old when this footage was shot! This makes me feel so young again

  • @CourtxSchultz
    @CourtxSchultz 3 роки тому +2

    Great video. I’m surprised at how much looks the same as 2021.

  • @derekgordillo3087
    @derekgordillo3087 2 роки тому

    Thank you for sharing. This footage is awesome🤙

  • @amangill3154
    @amangill3154 3 роки тому +2

    My mom used to work at west Edmonton mall at LensCrafters in the 90s

  • @stvitalkid7981
    @stvitalkid7981 3 роки тому +1

    Cool footage and sound of the ball machine!

  • @wonderwoman978
    @wonderwoman978 4 роки тому +5

    Im glad Im not the only one who thought this must have been taken days before June 14th. Could have been shot on June 1st or even scarier....hours before the incident ON the 14th. Man thats wack.

  • @storethings7632
    @storethings7632 3 роки тому

    gorgeous footage, super cool to see

  • @xXPinkDummyXx
    @xXPinkDummyXx 3 роки тому +7

    Scary to think that one of those carts would end up causing death soon

  • @kristineholcroft9163
    @kristineholcroft9163 7 місяців тому +1

    Wow i remember life was so different then miss it so sad seeing this

  • @cassidypresley7154
    @cassidypresley7154 Рік тому

    Wow!.......used to work there in the........mid to late 80s. Worked in Burbein St, in the lower mall.......restaurants. Got married in 93 and stayed at the Fantasy land Hotel in one of ...........The Hawaiian theme Rooms. What great memories !!!😊🎉❤

  • @stvitalkid7981
    @stvitalkid7981 3 роки тому +1

    I was there the day of that accident, but had already left the mall four or five hours earlier.

  • @azaz911c
    @azaz911c 3 роки тому +1

    What a wonderful time for the mall and Edmonton

  • @OtzmaKotzev
    @OtzmaKotzev 2 роки тому +1

    The disco dynamo i remember riding it in 2003 Really Fun Ride

  • @davoohm2779
    @davoohm2779 4 місяці тому

    It's kinda sad to think that in 2024, the most popular ride is now the galaxy orbiter which wasn't even built until about 20 years after the park first opened.

  • @amangill3154
    @amangill3154 3 роки тому +1

    Nice video it bring me memories of going there in the 90s

  • @mizunopearl
    @mizunopearl 3 роки тому

    Thanks for sharing this, so many beautiful memories it brings.

  • @darrinsemple3336
    @darrinsemple3336 3 роки тому +2

    Literally days before the triple fatal accident.

  • @GoogsMindbent
    @GoogsMindbent Рік тому +2

    R.I.P. to the victims of the 1986 Mindbender accident
    and now... R.I.P. to the Mindbender itself 1985 - 2023

  • @opinionshurt2905
    @opinionshurt2905 4 місяці тому

    I still have faint memories of the submarine ride around the pirate ship. I would have been 4 or 5 at the time, probably same time you were here filming this.

  • @brittanycarriere9423
    @brittanycarriere9423 3 роки тому

    Super neat! This was the year I was born!

  • @ferrelli76
    @ferrelli76 3 роки тому

    I was there at the grand opening of the mall lived a block away man good times.

  • @danielvasquez6138
    @danielvasquez6138 7 місяців тому

    Were there any shots of any of the Movie Theaters in the video?

  • @jenfoster128
    @jenfoster128 2 роки тому

    I remember all of these! It is so creepy to see the footage of the yellow mindbender car though knowing what was going to happen.

  • @HawkEye3366
    @HawkEye3366 2 місяці тому +1

    2 months before I was born.

  • @aquaman199
    @aquaman199 3 роки тому +1

    Haha cool upload,my first time in west ed mall was 1987

  • @rushbayou5230
    @rushbayou5230 3 роки тому +2

    i had a summer pass and would go on the mind bender from the first available ride and stay with it till the last of the day. i tried to get the record but a staff member had it cuz no one could ride before opening or after closing.
    i do wanna say again and make very clear. i was on the yellow front car then got off the ride. i had been on several rides that day but a friend called down for my friend and i to go to the food court to eat. i argued with him but then caved in just before the ride locked up and left. by the time i got up stairs and looked back, i could hear the brake (or wheel ) screech ... then a *bang* impact. i could see things flying through the air and landing near the mirror round about. Looked like a woman's head rolling around. then nothing but an eerie silence. my friend and i looked at each other and silently derided to get the fk out of there. the cars were full when it hit but no one talks about the rest of the ppl. no one was without injury. but man,,, that last car got fkd up bad. (dude im in bc now too)

    • @stephenbate933
      @stephenbate933 8 місяців тому

      ya I heard that the woman got decapitated but didn't know her head came right off and was rolling round on the ground!

  • @markjeffels3327
    @markjeffels3327 3 роки тому +1

    My cousins were on the roller coaster the ride before the big accident! In the fatal rear car!

  • @aquaman199
    @aquaman199 4 роки тому

    Cool video upload

  • @TheRicresch
    @TheRicresch 10 днів тому

    This name seems familiar. Ken Eckert did you go to Ross Sheppard, Scona, Camrose Lutheran College or Concordia High School in Edmonton? I believe I remember a Ken Eckert from my past

  • @yourbestgamer6706
    @yourbestgamer6706 Рік тому

    This is good quality video from 1986!

    • @mitchell.9632
      @mitchell.9632 7 місяців тому

      The content quality is (subjectively, depending on personally tastes is) good however this seems maybe even worse the SLP video if it was a cassette originally recorded on as far as the quality of video.

  • @FryngeMinority
    @FryngeMinority 3 роки тому +3

    3:52 “Kyrie” by Mister Mister playing in the background. It would’ve been a new song then

    • @CourtxSchultz
      @CourtxSchultz 3 роки тому +1

      I was wondering what that was playing in the background.

  • @jadens_furry_productions
    @jadens_furry_productions 3 місяці тому +2

    May I use this footage for a video I will credit you and add a thank you in the beginning of my video😊!

  • @CMinorOp67
    @CMinorOp67 7 місяців тому

    1:20: I was legit thinking that was going to be a statue of the frozen tongue scene in A Christmas Story.
    Lol, it’s late where I live. I should be asleep.

  • @seanmalik6055
    @seanmalik6055 2 роки тому

    5:01. Tacotime! We don't have that in most of Ontario and when I visiting the mall in early 86, I must have eaten there 3 times over the 4 days we stayed there. Great video overall of the feel of the mall in its heyday.

  • @wandaborowy9400
    @wandaborowy9400 3 роки тому +1

    Saw the yellow cars, the ones in the accident.

  • @tinotse2007
    @tinotse2007 3 роки тому +1

    Enjoy the video very much

  • @johnfairsgoldpanningschool.
    @johnfairsgoldpanningschool. 2 роки тому

    Hi Ken, I was there.I think we have met. I ran the ride called The Drop of Doom. Got a loonie if it stays on you hand you ride is free.

  • @omarjunior4603
    @omarjunior4603 7 місяців тому +1

    was this the day the accident happened?

  • @trevorwheeler3973
    @trevorwheeler3973 3 роки тому +1

    Well, the Edmonton skyline has certainly changed.
    And was this before the Svotiabank theater?

    • @azaz911c
      @azaz911c 3 роки тому

      Before. That theater did not open until 1998

  • @qstan1999
    @qstan1999 2 роки тому

    I’m pretty sure there used to be a submarine where that boat is at that bridge
    You can still see the tracks under the water

  • @canadiancatgreen
    @canadiancatgreen 2 роки тому

    this was just after the waterpark opened too about 2 months after it opened

  • @rushbayou5230
    @rushbayou5230 3 роки тому +2

    omg ... june 14 was the roller coaster accident that killed 3 ppl. i got off that ride just before it took off. seen the whole thing.
    This vid sure brings back the memories. i was 16 and aLL OVER this city. i think it was around this time they took out half the McDonald hotel.
    Just wanted to make a note about no one on cell phones and just look at the size of that crappy camera LMAO. i bet im in the vid u just cant tell ;)
    the on going joke was that WEM had more subs then the canadian navy...

  • @mysterycomment1553
    @mysterycomment1553 3 роки тому +1

    The 80’s...

  • @CharbelBoum
    @CharbelBoum 2 роки тому

    Omg I remember when the mindbender had 4 carts

  • @nolanschotanus2769
    @nolanschotanus2769 7 місяців тому

    I miss when everything was blue and pale yellow

  • @Steven_99791
    @Steven_99791 2 місяці тому

    The accident was in 1986

  • @grahamh8631
    @grahamh8631 Рік тому

    That is when the mall was great.

  • @glengamble526
    @glengamble526 7 місяців тому +2

    I have a similar video of myself and my bandmates walking around the same mall, on tour in 1989 (88?) but I can’t post it due to off-colour sex jokes and bad language 😂

    • @stephenbate933
      @stephenbate933 Місяць тому +1

      post it anyways' youtube has lots of swearing and sex talk in video's!! post it!!

  • @aquaman199
    @aquaman199 3 роки тому +1

    Lol this is cool stuff,the drop of doom

  • @dennisschnobrich9288
    @dennisschnobrich9288 Місяць тому +1

    I notice that video tape is not much better than 8mm movie film.

    • @keneckert
      @keneckert  Місяць тому

      I am glad you made that comment. I have always thought 8mm film was underrated-- in my scanning projects, I've gotten up to about 1280x720 resolution out of well-shot 8mm. We forget how terrible in quality VHS was in comparison. I made this original recording on 8mm videotape and sadly saved only a VHS copy; but even that 8mm video was only a little better.

  • @Vpy2023
    @Vpy2023 2 роки тому

    It seems there were dolphins back then in the mall. We don't have dolphins anymore 😢

  • @CharbelBoum
    @CharbelBoum 2 роки тому

    This could have been the day the mindbender had the big accident

  • @brandonvarela-carrillo8000
    @brandonvarela-carrillo8000 3 роки тому

    I wasn't born in 1986, good thing I wasn't there, I hate when people getting injury or killed, they will ruined there Carrers, that accident happened on June 14th 1986

  • @darrelldoran509
    @darrelldoran509 3 місяці тому

    Most of the mall was bullshit , got freaky with my X at the hotel and totally shit faced on Bourbon street back when impaired driving was legal .

  • @sjohnlouis1008
    @sjohnlouis1008 Рік тому

    Imagine no slavery no residential schools imagine the good life’s we could have and other bad stuff sorry if I don’t know I only know First Nation history