DEAD MALL SERIES : Schuylkill Mall (Vintage Retail Gem) **DEMOLISHED**
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2015
- Love Dead Malls? Check out Dan Bell’s entire Dead Mall Series here : • Dead Mall Series
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Photographed and Edited by Dan Bell - Розваги
Attention! Completely remastered episodes of the Dead Mall Series are now being archived in 4K at ua-cam.com/channels/fCM_TfrSDMkkMpKuLNWuXA.html. The remasters have gone through an extensive AI Enhancement process as well as proper sound mixing and colorization. This Dead Mall Series Remastered project has been made possible through viewer support on Patreon. Go over now and watch in glorious 4K. ENJOY!
i was a tractor trailer long haul driver. in 2006 that mall was a saving grace and home to about a thousand stranded tractor trailers when we were hit by a severe blizzard while i wad going thru PA on I 81 north bound, the highway was closed down and the state police diverted all the rigs into the mall parking lot which was right off the highway. we were stranded for close to a week. the towns people were great .they came and opened up the otherwise closed mall and fed ud, showed movies in the theater ,the Holiday inn,hooked up a CB to their van and you could radio in and they would pick u up and let you use the showers,and stuff, the guy in the rig next to me died of a heart attack, it was a sad was to go. thanks for the memory man, good vid but eerie for me.
I
thank you for sharing that sorry. amazing
Very cool story. Those were the days!
Your story renews my faith in humanity, and Americans. Thank you!
My family is from there. It is an incredibly poor area, but I never have a bad time going back. They are some of the kindest people you will ever meet. Glad they helped you out.
This is so relaxing. Just slouching here, before bed, taking a slow tour through a quiet mall, elevator music humming, Dan Bell's soothing voice. This is heaven.
I can relate to this so much.
check out asmr if u havnt already it's awesome
Totally
me all the time
Lol imagine him doing asmr
Imagine living the life of a Toy inside a Claw Machine inside a Dead Mall.
Metaphorically, that is my life.
what a loser.
Catty Mintgum That would be a interesting movie
Master Sashimi toys aren't alive
This could be the plot for a movie
When you aren’t there but you know exactly how a place smells
auntie Anne's pretzels, Cinnabon, & Hollister/Abercrombie cologne
🤣🤣🤣
I worked here at this Kmart for three years. From 17 years old to 20 until I moved to CT. I'm from Ashland PA, next town over from Frackville, and this is sad. It was once a thriving place but I think soon every still will close and the whole place will go with it. Drugs and violence run rampant in this area because our livelihood is long since forgotten. Thank you for putting this on UA-cam though. It will be nice to remember when I'm much older what it used to look like.
thejess521 Just about the only work left in there area is at the Warehouses that have been built heading southwest on 81 at Highridge Park.
SPAZE PARANOIDS !!!! ! Yes, because Obama stepped into office in a country destroyed by the systems George W. Bush put in place. The recession had nothing to do with Obama. The country’s economy getting healthier had everything to do with Obama.
I'm from ashalnd as well such a tragic loss
Ashland? As in the place next to Centralia?
@@evelien135 Lmao, imagine being delusional enough to think they both weren't responsible for helping destroy this country.
K-Mart itself is a dying breed. There is one about an hour from where I live in NJ and its awful. Its messy, all the items are on discount, the cash registers and computer systems haven't been updated since the 80's. Its a real sad sight. They still had advertisement signs up for the original Xbox, which at this point is a decade and a half old
What town is the KMart in?
ik all of the KMarts here are dirty nasty and have rude employees or are closed eyesores
K-Mart Canada closed all it stores way back in the mid-90's. It was sold to the Zeller's corporation (Subsidary of The Hudson Bay Company) and now Zellers has permanently closed their stores back in 2011.
+Leigh Versteege im Canadian too. Can't believe Zellers closed that long ago. One still exists, in my Grandfather's mall and all they sell are clothes, furniture and miscellaneous items. very sad
+David Maglioli Weird, our K-Mart is pretty decent and up to date. That said I've never been a huge K-Mart shopper anyway.
My father was the mason who did the brick fountains, and flower areas.
Fast Freight Productions That’s so cool. So many people are into 70s and 80s era mall fountains now. There’s not many left to admire as most malls remove them to avoid maintenance and insurance issues. Your father’s work has undoubtedly been admired by many, many people over the last several decades. That’s pretty awesome.
He also did the outside curbs and sidewalks and used to do the landscaping when they had real plants inside and outside. I live not to far and the only reason I still come to the mall is for my local train club which is in the mall.
Fast Freight Productions It’s a shame what is happening there. Hopefully they can turn things around.
Fast Freight Productions He did a great job, with a bit of scrubbing they would all look good as new...
Fast Freight Productions hmmm it good i like it :D
The outline of that old Spencer's sign just blew my mind. I haven't thought about their old logo for years. I worked at one during my teen years.
I wish your series had been around 10 years ago Dan so you could have toured my area's old mall. I would have liked to have had some kind of video record of it before it got demolished.
What gets me is how the malls are closing, yet they open the outdoor strip malls. Like I want to trudge through freezing rain and snow to do my Christmas shopping. So I gave up and shop from Amazon for the most part.
+kdw75 Exactly. Outdoor huge mall complexes are becoming so popular as opposed to indoor? I don't get it. I'm just going to guess that you can park and move your car in between shopping. We have an outdoor mall where I live and it's so popular, they are planning additions. I think they are doing better because you get access to box stores like Lowe's, Target, Petco, REI as well as smaller stores all in one are. They plan them out to look like little towns and residential areas so it's quite new and appealing.
+kdw75
You want the luxuries of a climate controlled mall with the price competitiveness of online retailers. Ain't gonna happen.
+kdw75 I don't know about other places, but outdoor places around me are growing popular (in Michigan of all places!) because many of the stores allow you to take your dogs in and around all the stores. Partridge Creek is a mall in SE Michigan and it's insanely popular, especially in the spring and summer, because it gives pet-owners a place to socialize their dogs while also doing a bit of shopping, the only place you can't take your dogs into are the restaurants. Though admittedly they do see some closures in the winter (this winter saw 3 different stores shutter), as it's hard for those retailers to survive the cold Michigan winters. They'll fill back up, but it's a gamble.
One of the reasons for more outdoor shopping plazas vs. indoors is because of the cost to heat and air condition the buildings. I was at Granite Run Mall just after the actual mall was closed, but the Boscovs was still open. I was asking an employee if they were closing and he told me no. He said the cost of heating and air conditioning the indoor area contributes to the high cost of rent and why they were basically turning the mall inside out.
+kdw75 It's because the trendy young ass-wipes of today just see a style they don't like ('80s, '90s) and just get it in their heads that it means a place is dirty and the products are going to be crap. The same ilk of idiots pay more to go to a store like Wegman's because they think a place like Redner's not having modern lighting and old VCT tiled flooring means it's dirty and so is the food.
There's more money flowing in the fountains than there is in the registers...
Thank you for documenting these visually before they get closed and torn down. They are a part of history.
Turns out the Victoria's Secret (and Bath and Body Works) was open till the very bitter end. Lasting longer then virtually every other store.
It seems to be a trend with dying malls.
There was a rumor that the anchor stores didn’t have to pay rent if the mall was making less than 1 million dollars.
Females be shopping
You videos are amazingly depressing. I used to live 2 miles from the Berkshire Mall in Reading. I moved about a year after the Schuykill Mall opened but I remember it being so much bigger and cooler than Berkshire. I don't know why your videos are so compelling, but you do a masterful job of mixing the music to make it sound like what is pumped out of a mall sound system.
well done.
I want to buy a Dan Bell dead mall soundtrack album!
I live a half of a mile from the berkshire mall and can you believe it is still alive and kicking !
Music is called vaporwave
@@grunclestan3233 It's incredibly popping now :)
Seriously, what's up with dead malls and GNC, Bath & Body Works, and Radioshack?
MrJohndoakes It's just really strange that every other dead mall has some combination of these places.
MrJohndoakes Who in their right mind would own a Radio Shack?
+James Bond Maybe back in '78
+Katie Burak (Queen of Failure) AND Victoria's Secret!
Funny how you mention those three stores, which kinda reminds me of Marquette Mall in Michigan City, IN.... I was there probably 5-6 years ago just to reminisce my childhood (live in Chicagoland) and it's a dying mall... I recall those three stores opened, along with a few others.. Sad, but these are the times we live in..
Malls ought to start taking the fountain money and keep it for themselves.
Most dead malls like the one my father runs no longer use the fountains. I asked dad why they don't fill both fountains with dirt and make them flower planters he said," what for? The same reason I don't spend money to fill the pot holes in the parking lot.....this place isn't gonna be open much longer."
some malls used to give it to charity. i remember at my local mall, back in the 80s and 90s when they had different charities for each fountain. but nowadays any mall still operating a fountain would probably need all the help it can get
These vintage malls with their 80s decor trigger so much nostalgia for me, being born in 82 and I remember going with my grandmother and mom every week to the mall as a kid.
Radio Shack , The first name in third rate electronics ...
Radio Shack , You have questions ... We have vacant stares...
Brian Tracy at least they were expensive
Brian Tracy laughed so hard at this! Every one I been to same thing
and for the last decade or so they did NOT sell radios.....
1980: Schuylkill Mall is open.
2020: Schuylkill Mall is no more.
The four pillars that surround center court are actually deactivated water fountains. Water would flow from nozzles in the disk shaped parts up top and drop down in a circular curtain.
I'm from Pottsville originally... so when I had heard of this mall being demolished, I was devastated. It was a cornerstone of a lot of our childhoods, and now it's all gone... thank you, thank you so much, for documenting it when it was still standing.
i would have never guessed that's how "schuylkill" was pronounced
+SilentServiceCode not that hard
+Larry N you must be from there
people around here always get that lol! #skook
No wonder why this mall is dead : no-one could pronounce its name.
welcome to the coal region
I lived in Danville, PA most of my life. I would visit this mall occasionally in the mid and late 80's. Ironically, I would drive through CENTRALIA, PA, on what would later become known as the "graffiti highway' to get there! How times change!
I noticed the Route 61 signs…
Thank you for teaching me how to pronounce 'Schuylkill.'
I dunno why I find these super relaxing.
Snow Bunneh Same.
I remember that Arby's. Went to this mall back in 1999 for a beanie baby show. It's been awhile
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your channel. I'm fascinated with dead malls, and you do a great job with these. Probably the best ones I've seen on UA-cam. You always have quality footage and good info. Nice job, man!
***** Thank you so much! So glad you’re enjoying the videos!
She is closing. republicanherald.com/tenants-schuylkill-mall-to-close-by-end-of-year-1.2190628
In Australia, they place Supermarkets in the Malls. People always need to go grocery shopping. These Malls do well. Even the big retailers like KMart or Target will have a Coles or Woolworths Supermarket right next door.
starquant that is so interesting actually. Would be a sight to see say a Whole Foods inside a mall
starquant that doesn't make any sense to me. Right after you buy groceries you have to go home to the fridge... and I wouldn't want to do any extra walking to get my groceries
Gina DiGilio It's usually the other way around. You get the other things you want first, then go buy your food. Alternatively, you quickly stop in and buy what you need from another store on your way out. It's all air conditioned, so your ice cream won't melt if you take your trolly into another store. Also, the other thing they use as an anchor is a Medical centre. If you have a super market at one end and a Medical centre at the other, it's a huge win. Malls that use this concept are really busy and the car parks are always full.
starquant I live in Australia too, and it's so interesting to see Americans being facinated by having a grocery store inside a centre, to us it's normal
GeoAl09 There is a Whole Foods in a mall in Santa Rosa, California. In that same mall, there's a Target. :)
It is common to find Target and big grocery stores in malls in thriving areas in California.
Mall has now declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
republicanherald.com/news/schuylkill-mall-owner-files-for-bankruptcy-mall-won-t-be-sold-at-sheriff-s-sale-today-1.2108798
shes officially closing republicanherald.com/tenants-schuylkill-mall-to-close-by-end-of-year-1.2190628
OptimusBananas That's sad
The mall declared bankruptcy.
there are only 2 stores left and they have til the end of september to leave
Maybe the Dept. of Corrections should buy up the malls and turn them into prisons. The stores would have a captive audience..... yea, I know.
+bg147 The spot where this mall is was originally designated to be a prison, many believe the lay out is the same as the layout for the prison that was intended to be there.
The State prison is nearby.
You know? That’s an amazingly smart idea!!
I loove your voice its quite soothing..you would be awesome reading stories for audio books like stephen king etc :)
The music is great. Really fitting.
Aw man. You got that jingle stuck in my head now...
'The Schuylkill Mall, We're Better Than Ever For You!'
I literally just wrote this!
The music you play is so great!! I have worked in Malls for 20+ years here in Nashville and we have seen a few Malls go under just like the ones in your videos..
Love watching!!
Who could forget the thousands of teens here on a Friday night.
And the senior citizens who made this Mall their second home?
Now it’s all gone and was replaced by a huge warehouse complex😢
Do you remember when they decorated for christmas??? It was beautiful, but the santa was fake as hell
Nice to see a little more life in this soon-to-be closed mall. Lots of cheery sun-light, clean, shiny floors and happy little water fountains. :)
I live less then 7 mins away from here. It's sad... all that's left is the leather strore, this and that, movie theater (which also has a outside theater in the summer as well) a pretzel stand, fye, subway, Dunhams, wine store, the pizza shop, a soap and candle shop, att, arbys, shoe department, urban hair salon, a photo place, a little store that sells already made crafts, h and r block, a temp agency, two telemarketing companys, Gertrude hawk, mastercuts, the antique store/auction place, bonton, Victoria secrets, bath and body works, radio shack, Dunham sports, then right out side the mall is a McDonald's, holiday inn, and a cracker barrel. Sorry if I miss anything I don't think I did though... but that's a updated list as of Dec. 2015 for you.
Also it has two nail salons a passion nails and a nail art
+Christina Wellington Thanks, Christina. I was wondering how things were looking out there. Not good apparently.
Nope! Unfortunately not good. Walmart took over a lot after walmarts started coming into the area. But rent is supposedly extremely high at this mall and they expect the stores to heat the entire mall in the winter. This mall used to be great. Now it's lousy roofs leak and all... it's a shame especially getting that awesome movie theater in there it's a real shame. But I think that movie theater keeps them in business.
+This is Dan Bell. also gnc is still there
+Christina Wellington walmart didn't really have much to do with it. Piss poor management, multiple sales of the property, excessive taxation on the property which they up every time the locale can and excessive rent makes it shit.
I lost my virginity in the Spencer's at Schulykill Mall.
LOL your hand doesn't count.
How does that even work?
@@lobesmcgee You never had sex in the movie theater or bathroom?
@@lovablevietboy No, because some of us aren't gross...
love the cheesy elevator music lol classic
I think I would like to play it in my car. It's soothing, might help with road rage.
lol or psychosis hahahaha love the though
@@laineyfabriccio5984 lolololololololo
In the 80s, I took a few road trips into Pa from central NJ. This was a big visiting stop for me when I found it.
The series is amazing! Thank you for making it!
I've noticed that in a lot of these videos that these large malls are in really small towns, less than 25,000 people. There just doesn't seem to be the population density to support the malls.
Built in 1980 but still very 70s with all the globe bulbs and octagonal planters and fountains.
The Dead Mall series really reminds me of Union Station in St. Louis. When I was younger it used to be super popular and I would LOVE to go there. Unfortunately, it's really gone downhill.
This was an amazing video Dan; I love anything that has a fountain attached to it, there was one video you presented with an elephant and a small boy on the back; that was one of the most beautiful fountains I've ever seen...you really bring out the emotional loss of these spaces, I feel saddened when you present a video of the once glorious mall and then it's loss and your very respectful farewell to the space...you truly are an artist and every mall that is closing, should have you as the person to bid the final farewell...great work Dan
Is it weird for you when you go to busy stores to buy stuff? haha
Well done. That was my "home" mall growing up. It's just depressing as hell to see the state that it's in. There were 2 arcades...A small one next to the movie theater and another one a little bit past where the empty Chinese restaurant is. It may have been a Space Port originally...I don't completely remember. There was a little kiosk down near the Waldenbooks that sold vintage records, and near it was another one that sold rock t-shirts. I understand that eventually became a large store itself before getting shut down. Oh well. If you're still in the area, you might want to have a look at the Fairlane Village Mall on the other side of Pottsville. Same story.
The Fairlane Village Mall is so sad nowadays. Boscov's is the only anchor store inside the mall, and everything in the mall is basically gone. I remember when we first moved up here, and the mall still had a ton of stores. After Value City shut, everything seemed to tank. It's sad, knowing it's probably going to shut down. My parents end up going to Lebanon most of the time for shopping because it's so empty. The only thing we go there for is Boscov's and to go to the bank.
I go down reading other place is busy!there's nothing in that place village mall,they have stupid crafts Michael's and they just put outdoo,it was waste of time.I hope they close it,there's nothing in it,super shoes never have sales.
7 years later and that song is still stuck in my head
The cheery, upbeat music with no one around just makes the mall that much more depressing.
Your mall videos are great, but they are sad at the same time. Thanks for the tours.
@4:09 - The guy with the shopping cart! What are you going to fill that thing with?
this hopes and dreams
He's a homeless guy, he is up there often.
Since that mall is closed, probably copper.
he's probably homeless and stays here to get out of the cold?
Thats his car
Many memories from going there with my family as a kid, to hanging out with my friends when we skipped school during our Senior year in 99 lol. Its sad to drive by now, and see warehouses
It's been 2 or 3 years since I last watched this. The song is still stuck in my head... it's worse than the O'Reilly song 😂
Hey Dan, interesting video . This Mall was my childhood, I remember going to KB Toys, Kmart, Etc. I work at the Laurel Mall in Hazleton Pennsylvania. It's one of the few malls that is not dead, has some traffic and at 98% occupancy. Though it isn't dead, it would be cool if you stopped by here! -Tyler
the fountain outside the kmart was quite crap
The fact they had at least one fountain in operation was a shocker. But five? Unreal! That old Spencer's front was really cool, too. I don't think I've seen one like that. If I have it's been so long
Robert Warf The fountains were unbelievable. Also, that was an original 1980s facade on that Spencer’s Gifts. I have never seen one of those except in a B&W photo. This mall was amazing. The best one I’ve visited so far.
Spectacular series! Thank you very much Dan Bell!
I remember this mall when I was a kid/teen in the 80's/90's..The place was insanely busy.
There was a U/A movie theatre in there that moved out and a person bought and renovated around 2012.
Now this mall is going up for auction via sherrif's sale.
Black Diamond is moving out of there this weekend of Friday the 13th.
Most of the ceiling leaks throughout the building as you noticed the ceiling was missing paneling/sections throughout.
(Rainy day in the Schuylkill county area? take an umbrella with you to the mall.)
There are 2 other nearby malls similar to this, the Fairlane Village mall in Saint Clair which is gemptying out as well. (has a Kohl's, Boscovs', Michaels's, Subway and Super Shoes for it's main stores.)
Was another fairly busy mall getting close to the Frackvill Mall's demise.
The Cressona mall in Cressona is fairly empty as well.. they has a surgery center, Staples, Ollies and Autozone as their anchors..
(inside of the mall is pretty much completely vacant, these are stores outside of the mall..)
Thanks.. Now I'm going to miss going to these places..lol
Same here. I always shopped at these places with my family.. It's so sad to see them empty like this. :(
I remember how busy these used to be too. I thought they were the biggest malls around and loved playing the game demos at Kmart. I just stopped there this weekend and the one entire wing almost has nothing now. It's kind of scary cuz I can picture my memories in those wings and how crowded it was. Dan should do a follow up now
I remember as well, back when I lived in Williamstown, which was around when the twilight saga was becoming a huge thing, the Schuylkill mall was still pretty busy, lots of the stores open still, especially around the holidays, it was the busiest. Ornaments and gift shopping along with the usual activity you would see some teens and others out just hanging out in the food court areas, sitting on benches while having fun here and there in conversation.
A Pennsylvania mall that has been on life support for years will finally close its doors. Schuylkill Mall tenants were given 60 to 90 days to vacate, according to a report
I love the 80s and back!!!I love the old commercial clips you have. Great upload please do more and more!! :) Have a blessed day.
I grew up going to Black Diamond for day trips. Such good memories there. My aunts found my grandmother’s high school year book there. Miss it lots. :(
The mall is no more. It was demolished I think in 2018. There is construction going on there but I don't know what is being built. Sad to say that malls are going the way of the dinasaur. You are an excellent videographer. Take care.
Sears and Kmart. wow. could you find 2 more irrelevant stores for anchors?
@Doomie Grunt I dunno about that, sadly enough. Kmart and Sears are both controlled by Eddie Lambert, who is closing stores for both chains at a noticeable rate, plus burning through cash quickly. Lambert YET AGAIN loaned money to Sears/Kmart earlier in August 2016, to keep operations of that company going! Like that'll stop the bleeding of that company, when we know it won't.
I've said it before in the past and I'll say it again. I will be the most surprised person, if K-Sears(as I jokingly call that company) lasts more than 2-3 more years before they go bankrupt.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Just I see a lot of Sears nowadays(the rare times I've gone into them in recent years), and it seems the ones that are still open often feel like ghost towns when you go inside them. I sometimes wonder if Sears would've closed a lot more stores, if not for the fact they sell appliances? And I believe I read they were starting to sell Kenmore, Die Hard, and more such items at other stores like Kmart. Plus heard a rumor that they were considering selling them at more stores like Lowe's, Menards, etc. Regardless, you are right about your surprise of Kmart being still around. I know a year or 2 ago, I noticed K-Sears eliminated selling video games at all Kmart and Sears stores. :(
***** they did. I bought Finally Fantasy 7 at the Sears in Randall Park Mall when it came out.
***** in all fairness that would have been around 1997
***** basically the same thing that killed Rolling Acres.
Hello, Dan I came across your videos a week or so a go. Out of all the people who do the abandon videos yours are the best because you give info about the places you visit and I really love the commentary you put on your videos. Keep it up your videos are great!!!
Love these videos, I watch them before bed. They are so relaxing ! I love the "mall music too" good job Dan !
~*shudder*~
That jingle at the beginning would make me refuse to enter that mall purely out of spite.
f1lthyb4con
You sound like a very negative person.
Oh...I totally am, lol.
trash by curb, check
cat boxes cleaned, check
glass of cola nice and cold poured, check
TIME TO WATCH SOME MOTHER EFFING DAN BELL YAAAS!!!!
This is the greatest series ever. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK
Your videos are so peaceful and nice!! Perfect anxiety relief when I'm feeling freaky. Keep up the good work!
The American dream did not fossilize. some communities just died. In your state, some towns are booming, no? Am I wrong? urban renewal rotates to different cities and towns.
thevealchop68 change is scary for some.
Kmart closed it's doors this past weekend.
Yup. Kmart went bankrupt
+TheBl4ckknight the town I live in the Kmart is still open and the one where my dad lives.
They're going really well in Australia
your series are hauntingly beautiful. i find this so interesting. thank you.
I just stumbled upon your channel earlier today, in time for the new year. Your channel brings back some of my childhood memories. Malls were a part of my childhood back in the 1980s and 1990s.
This mall is now gone. Everything is dug up including the blacktop parking lot. Real sad, wish I had pictures of the original movie theater. Seen so many movies with my friends growing up.
I go there alot!now we have these stupid strip malls cresona,there not good,I miss Kmart fye black 💎
Absolutely love your videos Dan! Commentary and camera work fantastic; also love the variety of malls you've toured. Do you do this for a living? Keep up the awesome work
cannycart Thanks so much, cannycart! I’ve been watching your vids for a long time. This is my living though I’m not getting paid for anything I’m doing on UA-cam. I’m a filmmaker by trade. I love filming and editing. I like to keep busy so in-between paid jobs I produce stuff for UA-cam. I’ve always had a thing for dead malls so I just decided to start filming them. I’m really enjoying it. Glad everyone else is too.
What a beautiful vintage mall that place was. I never got to visit but saw many pictures from the days when it was still open and when it was hanging on as a dead mall. I was sad to hear about its closure and demolition.
This made me home sick and nostalgic. I grew up going to this mall before everything started closing down. Love the videos~
Jesus when the music started I almost had a heart attack!
My mall used to have an Arby's too, but it closed in 2007. Im surprised the Chickfilla closed but the Arby's didnt :p
The music is incredible for this series! Love it!
I was living in Pottsville Pennslyvania as a kid. I moved there in 2007, at least if memory serves me correctly. I used to go there with my parents and my dad and I would hang out at the fountains and flip coins into the water fountains. I was always amazed at how much coins there were in the bottom of the fountains. I also remember watching some of the movies in the theaters there, I think I watched Happy Feet and the Penguins of Madagascar there when they came out. I also remember checking out the appliance stores and radioshacks there, and begging my parents to let me get the new Hexbug nanos at the stores they had there. Quite the memories, really. The name "Frackville" will always have a place in my memory, especially on the exit signs on I 81.
Every kid who went to this mall in the '90s will tell you its coolest store was Nirvana's Closet!
Why can't that mall be turned into a giant flea market?
They could never afford the rent
They rent shouldn’t be that high
I was wondering the same thing. Or at least something like an arcade
The giant fleas will have none of it.
Very small local malls do but they have permanent full time tenants along with the weekend sellers. A big mall could never run with 20$/day/table rentals.
Awww I went here when I went to Penn State Schuylkill in 2000-2001. Its so sad to see it empty, it was bustling when I was there. So sad.
I just discovered this video today. Thank you for this video. I spend much of life at that mall and it was a kick to our area when it closed.
I admit I'm guilty of accusing today's young people of not being ambitious and living at home too long, but WHERE is there for kids to work anymore? All these malls each employed hundreds of them
freestanding stores I guess.
+TheLeatherChannel kids don't work anymore ....everything is hand it unlike us older kids ..If wanted my own tv i had to work for it! now they steal it or given to them
+supremes ballard
The spoiled brat boomers and Gen Xers didn't work for what they owned either. They bought it on credit. Want a house you can't afford? Subprime mortgage! Want to go shopping at the mall? Put it all on the credit card and worry about the bills later. Want to fund a new public works project? Start running up a public deficit and leave the debt for future generations to deal with. Who cares? It's all about me and now!
What a bunch of deadbeats.
+supremes ballard I believe that yo ar emore out of touch than you realize. I graduated high school in 2009. While I'm fairly young, I tell you this for you to understand how much the state of the econmy has changed since I was in high schho. Some people I knew in high school had worked in malls, but that was shrinking. Most of the employees now are older. Not because young teenages won't work, they just aren't hired. Stores are less willing now to take a risk on inexperince workers. Due to a bad econmy. It was a bitch to find my high school job. As things are economically worse now, I believe it to be even harder.
+TheLeatherChannel We inerited the shitty economy you gave us. We work in malls now, but as 20 somentings. No teenagers anymore. We took the work from them.
I live in New Mexico and there's one mall you should really check out, I love the area it's in but financially this mall got screwed over for years. It's called Winrock, all there is is a Dillard's and I think that's it. It's beautiful in my opinion but didn't get the finances it needed to keep nearly all the stores open.
They turned it into an outdoor mall?
Great video. I grew up coming to this mall. your music selection was incredible, and you were a pleasure to listen to. nice job.
My first job was at Arby’s in this Mall. Saw countless movies there, bought lots of tapes, and of course bummed around at Spencers with friends.
Well designed, or at least adequately designed Malls don't fail spontaneously. As are all institutions, they derive economic viability directly from their surrounding market radius. When that viability fails, usually for a variety of reasons, the stores comprising the malls lose economic viability, and the malls fail. A simple exaggerated example would be to construct a beautiful, marble faced mall in the middle of the Kansas Prairie. No people, no money, no market. The reason these malls fail is because their component stores, built to service the American Middle Class (which has existed since WWII). The death of the American Middle Class and its economic power is being reflected in the death of its stores, Sears, Penny's, and others. Their inability to adapt to new market conditions and new market technology will likely prove fatal as Dan is documenting for future researchers and scholars. There is a pathway to survival for these beloved old friends of our youth, but in all honesty I doubt they will take it. The pathway is one of real world acceptance not denial, reinventing and repurposing for alternative uses. Sears can be saved and made into a powerhouse, the opportunity and strategy exists, and they certainly have the asset value to do it. Sadly, however, it won't because their Ivy League executive team is a one trick pony, and will continue on as they have, and we will watch them manage the decline of Sears into the basement of oblivion. In five years, Sears will be a childhood memory, visible only on Dan Bells Utube channel. The death of America's middle class is the direct result of government policies and mismanagement by BOTH political parties over decades. We have only ourselves to blame. We as Americans must remember what Calvin Coolidge said: "The business of American is business." When Americans stop paying attention to business, this is what happens. The death of an entire economic class, and it's beloved institutions. So sad.
The American middle class is fine. It's just no longer interested in shopping malls. Millennials, who are just now gaining the earning potential to be considered middle-class, were never very keen on malls and even less keen on retailers like Sears and JC Penney. Online shopping is cheaper, easier, and more convenient. And if young people do want to go out and shop, they prefer smaller, more intimate storefronts over malls.
Uh oh, the "We Buy Gold" kiosk this place is doomed...
his editing is my favorite on UA-cam I love the 80s flashbacks
Oh god, soon enough the Rogue Valley Mall is going to be on one of these videos
I hope not, I grew up in Rogue River and I used to love to go to that mall back in the day and hit the long dead theater there, and if it was a weekend, Fat City to party. Now the only magnet to that place is In N Out.
Seeing that Subway made me think "Gross, that mall stinks of dog vomit" (the Subway 'food' smell)
I live about 30 minutes away from there and i can say with complete certainty that you are in the region of all thing that are abandoned its a dying coal region and there are so many abandoned buildings so close to the place you shot this footage.
Hey. If you could, DM some suggestions to my FB. Always up for checking out new spots!
Sure
I live about 15 minutes from the Skook Mall,and can you believe they have a mall manager,who,whenevre a store closes,is quoted in the paper as saying " we hope to fill the vacant spot blah,blah,blah" There is another mall in Reading,Pa (The Fairgrounds Mall) which is just as bad,if not worse,than the Skook Mall,you should check it out
Love how you edit your videos! These videos are hidden gems
Your videos including your voice are so calming. They help me on my low days to calm down. Your videos are also so interesting. Keep up the brilliant work !!
they announced two days ago they are kicking everyone left out including movie theater, and closing mall
You've done your research, Dan. Frackville is home to a large prison, prisons replacing the coal industry as a major employer. Can't believe how late these malls had "grand openings"--1980? Oh, well it would've had about 15-16 yrs steady foot traffic before internet buying overwhelmed the retail market. Check out another money-pit-sinking-sales mall in my town--THE GREAT COLUMBIA MALL in Bloomsburg, PA. Actually, seriously visit as it surely is a "sinking ship" & taking no survivors.
Bob Laubach It’s on the list, Bob. Thanks for watching.
Bob Laubach also susquhanna valley mall in hummals worf PAanother sinker :(
Great tour and very nice fountains and flower areas. I really like that little ad with the music this will play in my head for days. :D
I feel whole and complete viewing Dan Bell's Vids. Thanks, Dan.