I worked on the construction of that mall. Massive undertaking in the middle of a corn field. It attracted all the construction that happened around it so it worked out for the good even though it closed down. I was just out of high school. My best friend and I were carpenter and concrete laborers. We worked mostly on the fountains that were all over that place. I comment to my friend that it was stupid that they were burying the water supply pipes so deep below the concrete floor that they would have to abandon the fountains rather than fix them if any failures happened. As decades went by I watched those fountains disappear one by one. An 18 year old with common sense is better than some Engineers with degrees.
Its still open. Went there a few days ago. However its sad to see the shape its in. Most good stores gone and now all they have are mostly these no name ones. Also the vendors in the middle with their little shops are so annoying. The crime also way up there, so sad....
I was 4 years old in 1982. Dad put me on a hidden area of the brick wall, by the central fish pond, and told me not to move until he's back. I knew he'd run to the washroom nearby and come back. So, as soon as he turned in, I leaned over to try to grab a quarter from the water. I fell in and started crying. He was already back and shocked that I was all wet. Mall security helped calm me down, and let me keep the quarter. I still have it, and still live just north of the mall. Great memories, as I visit there once in a while. Thank you for the video.
As a student in choir at Medinah Middle, we sang at the mall. I remember having a birthday party at Farrells. Probably was 79 or 78. Good times. No smash and grabs to worry about.
Farrell's yes! I had my 8th or 9th Bday party there. Huge bowl of ice cream with sparklers on it. Good times. I was glad when Stratford Square Mall opened because it was so much closer than Woodfield.
What a great find. It was a magnificent mall then. I lived there only in 1985-86 but I loved that area and still miss it. Also be sure not to miss the all-too-fleeting glimpse of a fabulous movie theater -- the Woodfield Cinemas I & II -- at the beginning.
Hell yeah! That's where I learned to skate as a young lad in the 70's. Hot Sam's (soft pretzels) with mustard (no liquid cheese back then) were always a treat too after tailing your mom around for hours it was well deserved!
Hung out there quite a bit in the 80s. I remember eating at a burger place called Roy Rogers. Also remember a Hello Kitty store, an Aca Joe and an outdoors place called Erehwon near Sears.
I remember the ice skating rink, which you could view through a window in John’s Garage restaurant. Later, Woodfield had a Mars 2112 restaurant that was a cool gimmick. To get to the restaurant, you would hop in this VR spaceship. The restaurant itself looked like you were on the surface of Mars, with its own unique Martian cuisine.
My mom used to take us to a place in the mall called "The Skewer". It's where I had my first gyro. SO good! I loved looking through the window at the meat being shaved off of the spit.
Late 70's for me. My parents would go to the 'head shop' and my brother and I would play on the bricks. Wasn't there a giant yellow and orange water tower outside?
Woodfield Mall was fun. I was there on the 18th of December 1996 and it was 20 below zero with wind chills of 60 below. Went shopping at Sears and came back to the Holiday inn holidome in Arlington heights to find the pipes frozen. We loved going to John's garage. The food there was amazing.
I used to come here all the time growing up in the 2000s, it's so weird seeing this place in the 1980s before I was born. Looks like a completely different shopping mall, incredible!
I live near Woodfield now. Still going strong. They renovated it a few years ago and it looks great. I didn't grow up in Chicagoland, so I just wanted to know where in the mall the ice rink was?
I've had thoughts of making a giant archive series where I walk around my home city of Elgin and archive it using old VHS tapes and VHS cameras. I don't have either equipment, but it's an interesting idea. I went to this mall many times in my life, and when I was there during summer vacation back in July, I had some thoughts of a bit of walking around there too and archiving it. Pretty crazy stuff, huh? Very busy place, quite interesting.
The majority of the malls have been closing down after the recession. This is one of the few malls still active along with a few others in Illinois. Sears was one of its biggest stores and surprisingly it was one of the last ones still standing until 2021. Since then I feel like Woodfield will slowly meet its end as the “at the click of a button” is becoming more of the go to for shopping needs. Also the last time I went to Woodfield mall there were quite a few empty retail spaces besides the big ones that once were Sears and Carson Perry Scott. A lot of malls are starting to be turn into housing/apartment units. The Fox Valley mall in Aurora has already sold part of its property for real estate development. Woodfield may just be next in line…
was there back in october on my little sisters birthday and on black friday 2023, it is probably the most packed mall in north chicagoland though i do prefer the fashion outlets of chicago more
Malls in the Chicagoland area are suprsingly still popular thanks to Simon. You can thank most good malls and outlet malls for Simon. Woodfield and Orland Square are the best but even the malls not owned by Simon are still very popular. There are some that are dying off and are practically dead due to one reason or another but the malls are one of the most livley places at times
I love how it’s like wow so cool I love the lobby and the fountains to chill for a min. Let’s go it’s fun! End of the video, “Wait wait!! I forgot about the parking lot from hell!!” Jk love the mall 😎
Early 80’s when the middle class was strong and had money to spend! I used to go to the Eddie Bauer on the upper level. The last time I went, the Sears was gone and the mall looked like the United Nations! Malls are all dying now, much like our major cities, and our country.
It's still in pretty good shape. As far as most malls go. On one of the floors of Sears Primark has moved in. My wife and I go there for a 2-mile walk during inclement weather, the place is so big. It's pretty easy to get 2 mi walking through there.
My first time there might have been back in 1974. I was in awe of its size until malls became overpriced, indoor shopping centers---loud, with bad acoustics, and just too much walking on concrete. They never had any real appeal for me and I wasn't of the age when malls were teen hangouts.
Developmental cycle of a white, Chicago area yuppie: 1. Graduate high school 2. Graduate from U of IL 3. Move to Lincoln Park or Lakeview, pay $5000/month for a roach hotel. 4. Grad school at UIC/DePaul 5. Get married and move to Schaumburg
Roaches are the LEAST of your problems in LP. Lived there 43 years. It's the human ones that are the issue. And the useless mayors. This one and Lightfoot. Police don't bother to even show up for million + houses. Lightfoot ALLOWED rioting at Best Buy! Time to GTFO.
This mall is still VERY active today. Most other ones I know of have closed - St. Charles Mall, Bradley Mall, etc.
That mall still there and it’s busy. One of the few malls that still kicks ass. We love it
I worked on the construction of that mall. Massive undertaking in the middle of a corn field. It attracted all the construction that happened around it so it worked out for the good even though it closed down. I was just out of high school. My best friend and I were carpenter and concrete laborers. We worked mostly on the fountains that were all over that place. I comment to my friend that it was stupid that they were burying the water supply pipes so deep below the concrete floor that they would have to abandon the fountains rather than fix them if any failures happened. As decades went by I watched those fountains disappear one by one. An 18 year old with common sense is better than some Engineers with degrees.
WAIT woodfield closed? I live like 20 minutes away ad would go there like once every two years. Wild.
@@dogshakeno woodfield did not close I was just there yesterday and it was PACKED
Woodfield is very much still open. Are you thinking of Stratford Square or Charlestowne?
Its still open. Went there a few days ago. However its sad to see the shape its in. Most good stores gone and now all they have are mostly these no name ones. Also the vendors in the middle with their little shops are so annoying. The crime also way up there, so sad....
It’s not closed.
I was 4 years old in 1982. Dad put me on a hidden area of the brick wall, by the central fish pond, and told me not to move until he's back. I knew he'd run to the washroom nearby and come back. So, as soon as he turned in, I leaned over to try to grab a quarter from the water. I fell in and started crying. He was already back and shocked that I was all wet. Mall security helped calm me down, and let me keep the quarter. I still have it, and still live just north of the mall. Great memories, as I visit there once in a while. Thank you for the video.
I worked at a music store there in the 80s. Part of the time I was a "front pumper," the guy playing the organ to drum up customers.
god I miss that fountain. there was a little fish tank in the little walkway underneath.
Makes me miss Marshall Field's even more.😢 Freaking Macy's...
Macys is definitely no Marshall Fields
I was in this mall in December 2011 --- I was surprised how busy it was for the Xmas season --- reminded me of malls in the glorious 80's
It's still very busy
I bought my first computer at Woodfield in 1982 - a TRS Model III from Radio Shack. That was back when computers were fun. I miss those days.
I don't know man I'm really enjoying my newish MacBook right now, they are still plenty of fun
Great clip!! I remember walking under the waterfall in the center court growing up!
Thanks alot mate!
I remember that too
Does anyone remember the aquarium under this structure? Free entertainment
This is where I spent my weekends growing up. I remember all of this.
The mall had a great Gyro and Pretzel place.
Hot Sam's pretzels!
As a student in choir at Medinah Middle, we sang at the mall. I remember having a birthday party at Farrells. Probably was 79 or 78. Good times. No smash and grabs to worry about.
Farrell's yes! I had my 8th or 9th Bday party there. Huge bowl of ice cream with sparklers on it. Good times. I was glad when Stratford Square Mall opened because it was so much closer than Woodfield.
What a great find. It was a magnificent mall then. I lived there only in 1985-86 but I loved that area and still miss it. Also be sure not to miss the all-too-fleeting glimpse of a fabulous movie theater -- the Woodfield Cinemas I & II -- at the beginning.
I saw both "DEATH RACE 2000" & "KING KONG (1976)" there.
Wow, I was not expecting to see that there used to be a skating rink there.
I used to go there a lot and forgot about it.
Hell yeah! That's where I learned to skate as a young lad in the 70's. Hot Sam's (soft pretzels) with mustard (no liquid cheese back then) were always a treat too after tailing your mom around for hours it was well deserved!
There was a restaurant called Johns Garage that had windows showing into the ice skating rink
Hung out there quite a bit in the 80s. I remember eating at a burger place called Roy Rogers. Also remember a Hello Kitty store, an Aca Joe and an outdoors place called Erehwon near Sears.
I spent alot of chill/study time on those red steps in between classes in college. Great times.
I remember the ice skating rink, which you could view through a window in John’s Garage restaurant.
Later, Woodfield had a Mars 2112 restaurant that was a cool gimmick. To get to the restaurant, you would hop in this VR spaceship. The restaurant itself looked like you were on the surface of Mars, with its own unique Martian cuisine.
My mom used to take us to a place in the mall called "The Skewer". It's where I had my first gyro. SO good!
I loved looking through the window at the meat being shaved off of the spit.
I love the vintage camera look.
Ate at John’s Garage.
I drank at John’s Garage😃
I worked at John's Garage🙂
Late 70's for me. My parents would go to the 'head shop' and my brother and I would play on the bricks. Wasn't there a giant yellow and orange water tower outside?
Absolute best mall imo!
Beautiful, can't wait till we can time travel.
The brick courts, tunnels and slides remained until the mid-2010s.
Woodfield Mall was fun. I was there on the 18th of December 1996 and it was 20 below zero with wind chills of 60 below. Went shopping at Sears and came back to the Holiday inn holidome in Arlington heights to find the pipes frozen. We loved going to John's garage. The food there was amazing.
Crazy video to find. Went here all the time growing up in the 90s. Have not thought about this place in a long time
I actually haven’t been inside of it since it looked like this when I was a kid. As far as I know, it’s still the same. 😂
Yooo a skating rink??? Malls fell off so hard
Those recessed areas need to make an architectural comeback. I’m not sure why, but they were always super fun! Just seeing them makes me happy.
Went here as a kid in the 90’s! The animatronics tree in the rainforest cafe freaked me out!
I also remember that
I used to come here all the time growing up in the 2000s, it's so weird seeing this place in the 1980s before I was born.
Looks like a completely different shopping mall, incredible!
I miss the A&W inside the mall. Even McDonald's is gone. But it still has a lot going on with the food court and arcades.
No A&W? That stinks.
I live near Woodfield now. Still going strong. They renovated it a few years ago and it looks great. I didn't grow up in Chicagoland, so I just wanted to know where in the mall the ice rink was?
Also holds up very nice, probably Ektachrome 160.
Was the best..late 80's/early 90's...
God my mall still remains awesome
I've had thoughts of making a giant archive series where I walk around my home city of Elgin and archive it using old VHS tapes and VHS cameras. I don't have either equipment, but it's an interesting idea. I went to this mall many times in my life, and when I was there during summer vacation back in July, I had some thoughts of a bit of walking around there too and archiving it. Pretty crazy stuff, huh? Very busy place, quite interesting.
Honestly, it still looks the same as it did back then
The majority of the malls have been closing down after the recession. This is one of the few malls still active along with a few others in Illinois. Sears was one of its biggest stores and surprisingly it was one of the last ones still standing until 2021. Since then I feel like Woodfield will slowly meet its end as the “at the click of a button” is becoming more of the go to for shopping needs. Also the last time I went to Woodfield mall there were quite a few empty retail spaces besides the big ones that once were Sears and Carson Perry Scott. A lot of malls are starting to be turn into housing/apartment units. The Fox Valley mall in Aurora has already sold part of its property for real estate development. Woodfield may just be next in line…
Oh how I miss Marshall Field's .....
Is that the same John’s Garage that used to be at Ford City Mall? I never knew they had more than one location if it is.
While stratford mall is being torn down to becaome some outdoor shoping center mall, wood field is still going strong
Outdoor shopping mall wiht a lot of water fountains. I think they think we live in Florida.
Ah, Yes! Those were the days!
It didn’t close down. It’s still thriving.
I was only 3 when this was taken but went here a decent amt in late 90s and 2000s.
I've shopped here my whole life :D
Real nice. They probably should have kept mall as is. It’s changed significantly
Woodfield mall NEEDS to revert back into the early 1980's. It's very bland now.
was there back in october on my little sisters birthday and on black friday 2023, it is probably the most packed mall in north chicagoland though i do prefer the fashion outlets of chicago more
Woodfield had, and maybe still has the most retail space of any mall in the country.
Until “Mall of America” came around and took the title
Randall park mall surpassed it. Then mall of America came along
Ive never been there. Neither the 80s OR the woodfield mall NOR the 80s woodfield mall. Man 😢
Today is always the best time to be alive, not the past. Don‘t trust anyone who tries to sell you that.
Malls in the Chicagoland area are suprsingly still popular thanks to Simon. You can thank most good malls and outlet malls for Simon. Woodfield and Orland Square are the best but even the malls not owned by Simon are still very popular. There are some that are dying off and are practically dead due to one reason or another but the malls are one of the most livley places at times
Haven't been there since the early 80s. What's it like now?
Oh you wouldnt believe it haha. Went there last week
Still super busy
It looks very bland.
When did they take out the skating rink?
Lawyers likely
Song name?
It pretty much looks unchanged from this layout to this day.
Seems like yesterday
I love how it’s like wow so cool I love the lobby and the fountains to chill for a min. Let’s go it’s fun! End of the video, “Wait wait!! I forgot about the parking lot from hell!!” Jk love the mall 😎
This mall is still super nice these days
Back when even folks who went to a mall, did so with grace and dignity.
I’ve only been there in 2018? I forget which year
Early 80’s when the middle class was strong and had money to spend! I used to go to the Eddie Bauer on the upper level. The last time I went, the Sears was gone and the mall looked like the United Nations! Malls are all dying now, much like our major cities, and our country.
Well, a guy from your country founded Amazon and now that‘s where the money goes, that used to be spent in malls. 🤷♂️
It's still in pretty good shape. As far as most malls go. On one of the floors of Sears Primark has moved in. My wife and I go there for a 2-mile walk during inclement weather, the place is so big. It's pretty easy to get 2 mi walking through there.
Online shopping destroyed malls. Just like malls destroyed shopping the downtown areas of cities.
Typical doomer. “Everything is dying”. Please shut up.
Can you tell people WHY Sears is gone??? (Hedge Funds and BAD Management)
My first time there might have been back in 1974. I was in awe of its size until malls became overpriced, indoor shopping centers---loud, with bad acoustics, and just too much walking on concrete. They never had any real appeal for me and I wasn't of the age when malls were teen hangouts.
Developmental cycle of a white, Chicago area yuppie:
1. Graduate high school
2. Graduate from U of IL
3. Move to Lincoln Park or Lakeview, pay $5000/month for a roach hotel.
4. Grad school at UIC/DePaul
5. Get married and move to Schaumburg
Yeah... That's about right.
Roaches are the LEAST of your problems in LP. Lived there 43 years. It's the human ones that are the issue. And the useless mayors. This one and Lightfoot. Police don't bother to even show up for million + houses. Lightfoot ALLOWED rioting at Best Buy! Time to GTFO.
IM SO MAD THEY CLOSED DOWN IT WAS SO FUN
Iseen kiss there in 1974 They had there kissing contest there
Wow… 90’s baby here..used to go here late 90’s early 2k’s to shop lift LoL and hang with the grills. Would be impossible to steal during that time.