I am from Folkston and remember going to the movies there as a child. The theater was pretty much situated where Hibbet’s is and Walmart was where the JC Penney was. JC Penney closing really didn’t affect the mall, it has been slowly declining for years. I’ve lived in Waycross for 19 years now and have seen many stores in the mall come and go over that time. It’s sad to think it could eventually shut down completely. And, yes, the fountain does work and is active when not covered for Christmas. 😊
Are you sure the movies were hibbett is? Because there was food court and game room in that spot in the very early 90s.. I'm in my late 30s,and don't ever remember the movies being anywhere other than where it is now.
I took my daughters shopping there all the time in the late 90s and up until about 2013. I frequently bought clothes at Rue 21 and JCPenney for them. There was also a Body Central. When I was young, there was Chic-Fil-A. I think it was one of the first in history of the restaurant to be placed in a mall. That area is empty now. Today, I was there and Cato's was closing down. It is very sad because I have a lot of good memories shopping at the mall as a teenager, young adult, and as a mom.
Hey man, Yeah, I lived in the Waycross area (colloquially shortened to Wayx) from 2003 to 2022, from the ages of something like 3ish to 22 years old. It's a weird story, this mall kind of falling apart and getting broken up into necrotic chunks. I think for a lot of people my age who grew up in the area, it definitely feels like the older we got, the more dead the mall became. It's a small town so everything's relative, but the place was really thriving when i was really young. They had the Sears like you mentioned of course, as well as a JCP, a Belk (which i think is still around in there, just barely), and I really want to say that there was a Goody's in there too, but im not as certain on that. My mother even remebers when the local movie theater was inside the mall, until at some point maybe in the mid-late 90s it got its own building on the other side of the parking lot. Apart from the anchors it was a pretty good place for wayx in terms of what I'll call "just 'cause" stores. Stopping by Bath & Body Works just 'cause it's there, so might as well. Grabbing lunch while you're in there just 'cause-- at Wok (chinese food, still there i think) Strickland's (50's americana sort of diner, long gone) or Chik-Fil-A (which, believe it or not, was the only CFA around apart from Valdosta or something like that, and it was stuck in this shoebox at the mall till maybe '05 or '06. Now, of course, CFA has a bootprint in the area to envy even Walmart). I couldn't tell you why the Sears dipped out as early as it did. That's one of my clearest memories of the mall for how young i was, maybe 10 or 11. I think locals for the most part were all kind of scratching their heads over it, totally confused as to why they'd want to close it. It was pretty popular right up to the end, if i remember right. The town had a bit of a grieving period followed by acceptance; sears in wayx spent its final days of operation in a sort of perpetual "going away party" state. it never came back. I remember being maybe 11 or 12 and standing with my grandparents in the back of JCP, where the corridor into Sears would usually open up into the back entrance. The way through was shuttered closed, with those metal barriers that look like Venetian blinds, you can stare right through them. I'd stand there with hands cupped around my eyes peeping through the barricade, you could see everything was exactly how they left it. The benches, the plants, the signage out by the airbrush studio and fishing lure store (i think thats what it was). they just shut the whole thing down, slammed the doors shut and threw out the keys, didn't even shut the lights off. I think that was one of the first times in my life where i felt like something really profoundly integral was taken away but still just right there, just barely out of reach. The corridor was all the same, the same tiled gray walkway, the same florescents coating the walls and floor in sickly yellowish-green, it was all the same. you just couldn't go through there anymore. From then on out each little piece of the place that got closed off was less and less of a surprise. it was like this weird, sick way of preparing you to give up more and more of being a kid as you got older. The place started to look a lot more depressing and people just tried to avoid using the dark vectors that went from anchor to anchor. only the A/C was a powerful enough draw. But yeah, it's weird what things you remember and what things you just stop thinking about. I think that building just kind of stands there as a sort of mausoleum for what everyone does and doesn't remember. But hey, spirit Halloween usually comes through and sets up shop in the old JCP space once a year. So that's always fun. I'll cut it there, before i risk REALLY sounding like a nutcase. Keep up the good work, DG. Love this channel.
I have lived in Waycross most of my life. The mall used to be a very happening place. We used to have a theater inside the mall and a food court. It is where Hibbetts Sports is now. We also used to have a rue 21 inside the mall by Belks. The mall used to be my favorite place to go when I was younger.. I promise you that at Christmas time it has a lot more traffic.
My husband and I grew up in Waycross, both graduated high school there and visited the mall in the 80s regularly I worked in the arcade and he worked at the sears across the parking lot My engagement ring came from the Friedman jewelers in that mall We went to the movie theater that used to be in the mall when we were dating, and don’t get me started on how much we went to World Hi-Fi to buy tapes lol Great times
Seeing this mall's layout kinda reminds me of Westwood Mall in Jackson, Michigan and what I've seen of the closed Adrian Mall. I like it and wish I see more like it. Small and compacted yet charming looking and clean.
Retro Reboot, to the camera left of TJ Maxx at 2:12 has a UA-cam channel where he posts videos of himself disguised as display figures at his store to surprise people. Knew I recognized that storefront!
Tifton Mall doesn't seem to have much more than what can be found here. Some people may go to Valdosta to shop as they have a decent mall for a town of their size, but I'm sure the majority of folks go to Jacksonville, Fl to do mall shopping as it's not much farther away than Valdosta. Years ago, I'm sure many residents went to Brunswick, but their mall (Glynn Place) has also been a dying mall since about 2010. I remember when Glynn Place Mall was taken seriously as a small regional mall and had stores like Gap and Aeropostale.
My friend and I decided to visit the now-defunct Coventry Mall (which is now known as the Shoppes at Coventry) in PA on Wednesday night - it’s my childhood mall. The food court entrance was still open. The only two food court tenants left were seemingly the first two to open with the mall: Penn Steaks and Corrado’s Pizza. The entire “mall” portion wasn’t even blocked off. It was as empty and bare as could be. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. We were shocked. Some storefronts weren’t even closed and you could walk right in. Such a shame to see my local childhood mall in such a sad state. It was on the upturn in 2019 but the COVID pandemic pretty much ensured its demise.
You know what I think they do I think they count the number of times people have fallen into a mall fountain in malls and how many times kids have ran through the fountain and when those numbers reaches a certain number that's when they decide to remove the fountains in malls right?
Wow I’m from Savannah Georgia and I didn’t know Waycross had a mall. Since I’m visiting my parents next week I’ll drop by and see what they have at this mall, if it has a shoe store besides “Rack Room” then I’ll definitely buy something other than just walking around
I don't like this mall, but the vintage brick architecture for the plants and the brown benches with the three x's make it look better. Just pause at 4:54. You'll see what I mean.
Do you think the reason why they got rid of mall fountains is because people fall into them too many times and kids run through them sometimes or no because they don't want to pay the water bill and spend money to maintain them especially Kohan and Namdar?
That isn't true, that all Kohan and Namdar malls don't have a working fountain. Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee, IL still has a working fountain(as of summer 2022 when I was last there, and 1 newer report said that theirs still works), and is Kohan owned. This mall used to be owned by Brookfield(and before that, General Growth), till they chose to sell this mall. I remember when I visited in the mid 2010s, that River Oaks Center in Calumet City, IL had a small working fountain. I am overdue for a revisit there, but hopefully their fountain still works. This mall today, is owned by Namdar. Back when I last visited in the mid 2010s, I don't think they owned this mall.
I think it's a combination. I remember falling into a water feature myself as a child, though I think that was due to me not paying attention and looking at a clock in the fountain (one of those miniature tower type clocks). The biggest shopping center on the whole island I live on (in a state) has a few water features working, but the main one (fronting the elevator) has been replaced with something non-water filled, a river rock and decorative glass koi feature. (what a coincidence another Brookfield shopping center that used to be a General Growth one. I have to give GGP credit though, they managed to keep the oldest tenant in that shopping center until Brookfield took over and locked them out of their space long after our restrictions lifted, I suspect so it wouldn't compete with the inline food courts, since it became a version of a food court though a more Asian/Japanese themed one.)[if you guessed it's Ala Moana Shopping Center, GGP did all those renovations before they sold it off, including building an Apartment block on it.] Brookfield managed to fill that one empty corridor leading to Target though. (That process started with Buffalo Wild Wings being added to that corridor, on the upper floor, I guess the one below it isn't doing too bad either, they got that mostly reoccupied. That wing was empty for quite some time.)
@@PinkAgaricus You are right, that shopping center owners being worried about falling into fountain incidents(with children) is why certain malls got rid of theirs. Which is unfortunate, as I love fountains at malls.
Ok so if people fall into mall fountains is the mall responsible for that and people can sue them or no because it's not hard to see where the fountain is because it's where you see water and the splashes going up?
And how about Boscovs getting rid of all they're restaurants they had in they're stores like stores had back in the days what a shame cause that tradition is now gone and you'll never see restaurants in stores no more and that was something that was great. I would've wanted to try eating at a Boscovs restaurant and now I will never get to. So should Boscovs had gotten rid of they're restaurants or no?
Yes it does look extremely plain. Considering the fact that it's so small, they should do more with this mall to make it more pretty. The brown benches and the architecture for the plants prevent it from being 100% bland.
It's a small mall that I would expect to keep thriving, but I would not be surprised if losing the JC Penney put a huge nail in the coffin for this place.
And the loss of Sears seems to have hurt an awful lot of malls. When in Waycross I always want to sing or play Waycross, GA. songs. They stick with me anytime I'm in the area more than any other music about Georgia.
Losing JCPenney had little to no impact here other than creating a dead end anchor spot. It's been mostly the same in other community malls such as in Dublin and Statesboro Ga losing theiir JCPs. Chain stores have been leaving The Mall at Waycross years before 2020 when JCP filed for bankruptcy. I honestly don't even really think it's much the fault of the mall either. Many chains are just abandoning towns that are this small. Rue 21 closed most of their small town locations when they filed bankruptcy back in 2017 including here. Maurices seem to almost be non-existent in malls anymore.
This shopping mall should transfer to Douglas, Ga because some town are declining moving to a better town can increase more income.
I am from Folkston and remember going to the movies there as a child. The theater was pretty much situated where Hibbet’s is and Walmart was where the JC Penney was. JC Penney closing really didn’t affect the mall, it has been slowly declining for years. I’ve lived in Waycross for 19 years now and have seen many stores in the mall come and go over that time. It’s sad to think it could eventually shut down completely. And, yes, the fountain does work and is active when not covered for Christmas. 😊
Did u know jc penny closed down in way cross back in 2021 or 2020
Are you sure the movies were hibbett is? Because there was food court and game room in that spot in the very early 90s.. I'm in my late 30s,and don't ever remember the movies being anywhere other than where it is now.
@@tunnelvision2dayYes, I’m almost 54, I remember it distinctly.
Im so glad you covered this mall, such little is known, and so your video footage is a gem!
Short and sweet video. 🤭 Beautiful mall!
I took my daughters shopping there all the time in the late 90s and up until about 2013. I frequently bought clothes at Rue 21 and JCPenney for them. There was also a Body Central. When I was young, there was Chic-Fil-A. I think it was one of the first in history of the restaurant to be placed in a mall. That area is empty now. Today, I was there and Cato's was closing down. It is very sad because I have a lot of good memories shopping at the mall as a teenager, young adult, and as a mom.
Hey man,
Yeah, I lived in the Waycross area (colloquially shortened to Wayx) from 2003 to 2022, from the ages of something like 3ish to 22 years old. It's a weird story, this mall kind of falling apart and getting broken up into necrotic chunks. I think for a lot of people my age who grew up in the area, it definitely feels like the older we got, the more dead the mall became. It's a small town so everything's relative, but the place was really thriving when i was really young. They had the Sears like you mentioned of course, as well as a JCP, a Belk (which i think is still around in there, just barely), and I really want to say that there was a Goody's in there too, but im not as certain on that. My mother even remebers when the local movie theater was inside the mall, until at some point maybe in the mid-late 90s it got its own building on the other side of the parking lot. Apart from the anchors it was a pretty good place for wayx in terms of what I'll call "just 'cause" stores. Stopping by Bath & Body Works just 'cause it's there, so might as well. Grabbing lunch while you're in there just 'cause-- at Wok (chinese food, still there i think) Strickland's (50's americana sort of diner, long gone) or Chik-Fil-A (which, believe it or not, was the only CFA around apart from Valdosta or something like that, and it was stuck in this shoebox at the mall till maybe '05 or '06. Now, of course, CFA has a bootprint in the area to envy even Walmart). I couldn't tell you why the Sears dipped out as early as it did. That's one of my clearest memories of the mall for how young i was, maybe 10 or 11. I think locals for the most part were all kind of scratching their heads over it, totally confused as to why they'd want to close it. It was pretty popular right up to the end, if i remember right. The town had a bit of a grieving period followed by acceptance; sears in wayx spent its final days of operation in a sort of perpetual "going away party" state. it never came back. I remember being maybe 11 or 12 and standing with my grandparents in the back of JCP, where the corridor into Sears would usually open up into the back entrance. The way through was shuttered closed, with those metal barriers that look like Venetian blinds, you can stare right through them. I'd stand there with hands cupped around my eyes peeping through the barricade, you could see everything was exactly how they left it. The benches, the plants, the signage out by the airbrush studio and fishing lure store (i think thats what it was). they just shut the whole thing down, slammed the doors shut and threw out the keys, didn't even shut the lights off. I think that was one of the first times in my life where i felt like something really profoundly integral was taken away but still just right there, just barely out of reach. The corridor was all the same, the same tiled gray walkway, the same florescents coating the walls and floor in sickly yellowish-green, it was all the same. you just couldn't go through there anymore. From then on out each little piece of the place that got closed off was less and less of a surprise. it was like this weird, sick way of preparing you to give up more and more of being a kid as you got older. The place started to look a lot more depressing and people just tried to avoid using the dark vectors that went from anchor to anchor. only the A/C was a powerful enough draw. But yeah, it's weird what things you remember and what things you just stop thinking about. I think that building just kind of stands there as a sort of mausoleum for what everyone does and doesn't remember. But hey, spirit Halloween usually comes through and sets up shop in the old JCP space once a year. So that's always fun.
I'll cut it there, before i risk REALLY sounding like a nutcase. Keep up the good work, DG. Love this channel.
I have lived in Waycross most of my life. The mall used to be a very happening place. We used to have a theater inside the mall and a food court. It is where Hibbetts Sports is now. We also used to have a rue 21 inside the mall by Belks. The mall used to be my favorite place to go when I was younger.. I promise you that at Christmas time it has a lot more traffic.
really love your videos. Keep up the great work. Nostalgia is needed.
My husband and I grew up in Waycross, both graduated high school there and visited the mall in the 80s regularly
I worked in the arcade and he worked at the sears across the parking lot
My engagement ring came from the Friedman jewelers in that mall
We went to the movie theater that used to be in the mall when we were dating, and don’t get me started on how much we went to World Hi-Fi to buy tapes lol
Great times
Seeing this mall's layout kinda reminds me of Westwood Mall in Jackson, Michigan and what I've seen of the closed Adrian Mall. I like it and wish I see more like it. Small and compacted yet charming looking and clean.
Finally someone who has been to Adrian mall. I moved there for a year back in 2014 and that place was a true dead mall gem
Retro Reboot, to the camera left of TJ Maxx at 2:12 has a UA-cam channel where he posts videos of himself disguised as display figures at his store to surprise people. Knew I recognized that storefront!
Yay, someone remembers me lol
@@RetroRebooted yeah, great content! saw your more recent videos, hope yall are doing well.
Malls are better for the community than the alternatives.
It's so sad to see them all die.
@@ms.zelman3032 some arent
@@jordeneyermann Most of them. That's what I meant to say. Sorry.
@@ms.zelman3032 it’s better than target and Walmart for clothes and entertainment.
This mall is a gem. I really like the fact that the mall still looks like it did in 1980's.
Tifton Mall doesn't seem to have much more than what can be found here. Some people may go to Valdosta to shop as they have a decent mall for a town of their size, but I'm sure the majority of folks go to Jacksonville, Fl to do mall shopping as it's not much farther away than Valdosta. Years ago, I'm sure many residents went to Brunswick, but their mall (Glynn Place) has also been a dying mall since about 2010. I remember when Glynn Place Mall was taken seriously as a small regional mall and had stores like Gap and Aeropostale.
This is hands down one of the smallest malls I've ever seen you cover. Good video Doomie, as always.
Many of these malls have no history to be found
Great orlando too many people. This mall is empty awsome i love it
My friend and I decided to visit the now-defunct Coventry Mall (which is now known as the Shoppes at Coventry) in PA on Wednesday night - it’s my childhood mall. The food court entrance was still open. The only two food court tenants left were seemingly the first two to open with the mall: Penn Steaks and Corrado’s Pizza.
The entire “mall” portion wasn’t even blocked off. It was as empty and bare as could be. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. We were shocked. Some storefronts weren’t even closed and you could walk right in.
Such a shame to see my local childhood mall in such a sad state. It was on the upturn in 2019 but the COVID pandemic pretty much ensured its demise.
You know what I think they do I think they count the number of times people have fallen into a mall fountain in malls and how many times kids have ran through the fountain and when those numbers reaches a certain number that's when they decide to remove the fountains in malls right?
All my family in the area moved away or died off.... "Val-Das-Ta"
I'm from Alma ga it all has been like this been here 210
Great video
Johnny reminds me of Apple blossom mall before they remodeled it
Only the popular stalls are open will you can buy Joey it's closed down now there's not even a handful left open
Wow I’m from Savannah Georgia and I didn’t know Waycross had a mall. Since I’m visiting my parents next week I’ll drop by and see what they have at this mall, if it has a shoe store besides “Rack Room” then I’ll definitely buy something other than just walking around
They have Foot Locker and Hibbett Sports also. This is the smallest mall I've ever known to have a Foot Locker.
I don't like this mall, but the vintage brick architecture for the plants and the brown benches with the three x's make it look better. Just pause at 4:54. You'll see what I mean.
Do you think the reason why they got rid of mall fountains is because people fall into them too many times and kids run through them sometimes or no because they don't want to pay the water bill and spend money to maintain them especially Kohan and Namdar?
That isn't true, that all Kohan and Namdar malls don't have a working fountain. Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee, IL still has a working fountain(as of summer 2022 when I was last there, and 1 newer report said that theirs still works), and is Kohan owned. This mall used to be owned by Brookfield(and before that, General Growth), till they chose to sell this mall.
I remember when I visited in the mid 2010s, that River Oaks Center in Calumet City, IL had a small working fountain. I am overdue for a revisit there, but hopefully their fountain still works. This mall today, is owned by Namdar. Back when I last visited in the mid 2010s, I don't think they owned this mall.
I think it's a combination. I remember falling into a water feature myself as a child, though I think that was due to me not paying attention and looking at a clock in the fountain (one of those miniature tower type clocks).
The biggest shopping center on the whole island I live on (in a state) has a few water features working, but the main one (fronting the elevator) has been replaced with something non-water filled, a river rock and decorative glass koi feature. (what a coincidence another Brookfield shopping center that used to be a General Growth one. I have to give GGP credit though, they managed to keep the oldest tenant in that shopping center until Brookfield took over and locked them out of their space long after our restrictions lifted, I suspect so it wouldn't compete with the inline food courts, since it became a version of a food court though a more Asian/Japanese themed one.)[if you guessed it's Ala Moana Shopping Center, GGP did all those renovations before they sold it off, including building an Apartment block on it.]
Brookfield managed to fill that one empty corridor leading to Target though. (That process started with Buffalo Wild Wings being added to that corridor, on the upper floor, I guess the one below it isn't doing too bad either, they got that mostly reoccupied. That wing was empty for quite some time.)
@@PinkAgaricus You are right, that shopping center owners being worried about falling into fountain incidents(with children) is why certain malls got rid of theirs. Which is unfortunate, as I love fountains at malls.
Ok so if people fall into mall fountains is the mall responsible for that and people can sue them or no because it's not hard to see where the fountain is because it's where you see water and the splashes going up?
And how about Boscovs getting rid of all they're restaurants they had in they're stores like stores had back in the days what a shame cause that tradition is now gone and you'll never see restaurants in stores no more and that was something that was great. I would've wanted to try eating at a Boscovs restaurant and now I will never get to. So should Boscovs had gotten rid of they're restaurants or no?
Looks like a plain Jane Mall
Yes it does look extremely plain. Considering the fact that it's so small, they should do more with this mall to make it more pretty. The brown benches and the architecture for the plants prevent it from being 100% bland.
need to just close it down.
No place to get a cup of coffee ☕️.
My guess is that losing the JCPenney really damaged this mall. As a fairly small property the loss of an anchor may have had an outsized impact.
It's a small mall that I would expect to keep thriving, but I would not be surprised if losing the JC Penney put a huge nail in the coffin for this place.
And the loss of Sears seems to have hurt an awful lot of malls. When in Waycross I always want to sing or play Waycross, GA. songs. They stick with me anytime I'm in the area more than any other music about Georgia.
Losing JCPenney had little to no impact here other than creating a dead end anchor spot. It's been mostly the same in other community malls such as in Dublin and Statesboro Ga losing theiir JCPs. Chain stores have been leaving The Mall at Waycross years before 2020 when JCP filed for bankruptcy. I honestly don't even really think it's much the fault of the mall either. Many chains are just abandoning towns that are this small. Rue 21 closed most of their small town locations when they filed bankruptcy back in 2017 including here. Maurices seem to almost be non-existent in malls anymore.