It would be good if you filmed the store fronts and windows displays as you pass, rather than the corridors. Most of the mauls have the same stores, most even owned by the same investment equity groups. The variety of smaller privately owned stores adds a lot more interest…for me anyway. Great videos!
That is the USS Slater. It’s a WW2 Destroyer Escort opened for tours in downtown Albany. From 1998 till somewhere around 2006, they sold authentic military dog tags at Crossgates to raise money for renovation efforts. My grandparents were the couple who volunteered every Friday and Saturday night to make dog tags at the mall. I used to go there as a kid and spend Saturday nights with them.
This and Colonie Center still do very well. All the other malls you covered around in upstate NY (Via Port, Wilton, Clifton Park, Aviation Mall) are dead as door nails 7:59 on the right, used to be World of Beer. I liked going there and trying new beers but it was expensive as hell. The place closed during COVID and never came back
I spent the first part of my life in the Albany area. I remember going to the mall when it opened in 1984. Originally, the mall had one set of theatres on the 3rd floor. I remember taking the escalator up and saw many a film there. I also remember the expansion in 1994. I left the area back in 1995 and moved to Phoenix, AZ.
I remember when this mall had a Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and of course, a Disney Store. I even remember it before Dave & Busters came in. It still looks to be the same otherwise.
I attended college at SUNY Albany. I picked up a few pairs of jeans there before I was dropped off at my dorm as a freshman. I didn't have a car that year, so any trip to the mall was a big deal. It was a great mall. I had a lot of great times in Albany. That was 37 years ago. I used to get my haircuts there all 4 years. There was one barber there that was a Vietnam veteran, and he had some pictures of him and his friends on the wall by the mirror. He finished every haircut with the same phrase, "Good for another 3,000 mile." He was a really good guy.
10:54 The "destroyer" is the USS Slater, a WW2-era destroyer escort (yes, that's the type of ship it is). Currently docked in the Hudson River, near downtown Albany.
Track 23 was an fye type store before this, I can’t remember what is called! But it was huge I use to by new cds and movies there all the time! Miss those days😢
Record Town! Worked there 86-88 when a SUNY Albany student. This was when vinyl was being replaced with CDs. When closing the store at night, I would blast ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS. The young gals working across the hall at a contemporary clothing store had their gate down. As the song played, they would climb the gate, gyrate & dance on it like a stripper pole. Good times! 😂
I grew up an hour and a half away in the Catskills. I remember going on the trek to Crossgates with with whole family. KB Toys and The Disney Shop were where it was at 😎
Before starting - This mall used to be very high-end and expensive and I never went there. Now they have a very good mix of clothes, discount stores, electronics, nerd culture, entertainment options, and food. Downsides are operational things mostly... temperature is all over the place, not enough seating or water fountains, and the bathrooms are always disgusting.
Track23 used to be the FYE before downsizing. The dollar n things used to be the arcade. Where you said the new part of the mall started or ended is exactly where you were.
@fleabittenadventures it's a weird L shaped layout, there is an entrance from the main corridor you walked past as well. Many people will use that as a quick cut through when going in and out of the food court if heading that direction in the mall
i used to take the cdta bus to crossgates to get cheap eats at the food court and hang out at FYE (where track entertainment is) or playing skee ball at the arcade across the hall. I used to go to Ruby Tuesdays as well.
@fleabittenadventures I never did ( bur know people who did because they lived in the area and said it was a nice place) - other good malls were 20 miles away , this was 45 but the ads were all over Albany media.
My best friend went to college at RPI, so I would visit him and hit the mall. I'm glad to see Crossgates is still doing well. It's about a two-hour drive from where I live, so I should check it out again
The third floor of the mall was the original Hoyt's cinema 12 and when the mall expanded Hoyt's built a Cinema 18 in the current location of the theater. For about 10 years both were operated with the 3 third floor running 2nd run films at a discount.
I went there a lot in 1993 when I attended SUNY Albany. I watched "Cliffhanger" there when the projector broke, then they gave us a pass for Colonie Center theater, and we watched the movie there later that night. Do you remember the theater across from Colonie Center where Target now stands that showed old movies for $3 in the 1990's?
@@samplermikeNorthway Mall was across from Colonie Center. I loved going to the theater that was located behind Northway Mall. The first movie I remember seeing at that theater was Aladdin and the last movie I saw there was the waterboy.
I'm with ya on this assessment too Tom, that mall seems to be doing fine, and despite some dated architecture outside, it's quite cool inside, and appesrs to be very well maintained. Thats just crazy that there were 2 theaters in the mall! I'm assuming they ran concurrently....or at least tried to anyway? Small wonder one of them closed up shop. Great content Tom, I look forward to these, and the flea market videos each week
One of the Big Two malls for me (with Colonie Center). Used to be a lot cooler when Borders Books was here. Saw “Atlantis” in the third floor theater back in like 2001. Also miss the Discovery Store that used to be here.
There was always an entrance to track 23 in the food court as long I could remember. Especially when it was the fye location before it moved to the first floor
Great video! So happy I came across it. brought back memories. I used to work at Caldor in the mid-90's so I spent a lot of time in that mall. Then I moved away from the Capital Region and haven't been back since. Nice to see what the mall looks like now.
And Track 23 was originally a Record Town and Dollar n Things was an arcade. The expansion can be seen in Track 23, where there’s an expansion plate running through the middle of it where the addition was put on.
Record Town! Worked there 86-88 when a SUNY Albany student. This was when vinyl was being replaced with CDs. When closing the store at night, I would blast ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS. The young gals working across the hall at a contemporary clothing store had their gate down. As the song played, they would climb the gate, gyrate & dance on it like a stripper pole. Good times! 😂
IN the 90's the DOllars and things was an arcade and the other store was a Record town? (or strawberries? i cant rememeber) (it has another entrance right to the mall as well) . They were perfect for teens at the time (like me!)
On the third floor, there was the original movie theater. Then they opened the new movie theater in the new wing. And the old movie theater used to play older movies that were no longer in the theater or just left the theater.
There were 2 theaters but both were Hoyts, so they were not really competing. I think the upstairs theater (that is now closed) was the original and they shifted it to the downstairs theater sometime in the mid-90's. The theater that no longer exists started showing movies that had been out for a while at a reduced rate until they closed it down. Great video.
The mall surprisingly bounced back after the pandemic and is even better now than before the pandemic started. I just wish the Johnny Rockets came back or a similar restaurant filled that space. They're also building a Costco (the first in the area) right next to the mall. There have been at least 3 lawsuits because of the Pine Bush Reserve but they all failed and they have started construction.
So much nostalgia. That photo of the movie theater, I may have been there. I literally went to Phantom Menace opening night here. The lines were throughout the entire mall. It was crazy! Thank you for this! I lived in East Greenbush right outside Albany for years in my early 20s and as a Mall Rat from birth, I spent SO much time here. Drastically less name brands and good shopping now, it seems. But it was nice to see it again.
I drove by Crossgates on the way to work everyday when it was being built. I remember going to opening day. Unfortunately over the years the police substation was put in the mall for a reason.
The Dollar store in the food court used to he a Namco Cyberstation arcade and the Track 23 used to be an FYE store (music) which moved to a smaller location.
I would love to see some more store walkthroughs! Sorry that the one you mentioned didn't do well. My guess is that because it had just opened, people were quicker to jump on the false idea that it was an ad.
The food court used to end right before those escalators and stores. That section was added when they expanded the mall. One side was an arcade and the other was an FYE. The original movie theater had its ticket booth just outside the food court with the actual screens upstairs from the Candor (Best Buy now). Those Naval dioramas have always been there. If not from day one, then at least 30-35 years. I remember seeing them as a teenager when I used to go there. I don't go often anymore, usually just for the theater, restaurants, or the comedy club... Still, as far as malls go, I still like this one. I still prefer the original brown tile/wood theme though!
Regarding the World War 2 dioramas, the ship in the exhibit is that of destroyer escort USS Slater which is currently docked only a few miles away from the mall on the Hudson River. So in a way, it's a bit of advertising inviting visitors to go tour the museum ship, only a few miles away. The Slater is one of only a dozen destroyer escorts from that era still around and the only one still in its wartime configuration.
i just found this channel today and i really love these videos. i grew up going to here, wilton, and aviation, and it’s really cool to have these walkthrough videos and get a little more insight on these places!!!
33:56 every time ive been here that black jeep has been in that same exact spot. It could just be an employees car, but its always THAT spot. it might be abandoned idk.
This is one of the few good malls left in the area. I came during January on a Saturday and the place was hopping, so many people - it was like the good old days! I grew up going to this mall, Rotterdam Square and Wilton Mall. Sadly Rotterdam is a ghost town and poor Wilton Mall is quickly losing more and more stores which makes me so sad.
Those two WWII scenes encased in the glass on the second floor have been there as long as I can remember since the early 2000’s. As I kid I always walked by them and thought they were so cool.
Great video. Those stores awkwardly located inside the food court have been there since 2015, when I used to live in the area. Not sure if it ever was a restaurant originally
wow, I haven't seen a Build-A-Bear Workshop in a very long time I thought they all closed down. Plus I haven't had a Sbarro Pizza in a very long time as well.
Ahh yes, the MASSIVE Crossgates mall. I was still in Schenectady when that expansion grand opened and I seem to remember you often never made it around all of both floors. And that huge theater....
wow the memories. the 3rd floor was a Hoyt's that was there from day 1. I saw Lethal Weapon 2 there in 1989. After the expansion in 94, the same movie theater company (which was Hoyt's until Regal took over roughly 85% of them) At that point they jad second run movies playing on the 3rd floor for a little cheaper with all the big movies new movies were in the new cinema. I can't tell you how CROWDED this mall was back in the 80's and early 90's. I mean no elbow room kind of packed. Hoyt's had their box office on the 2nd floor next to the escalators and elevator you took. The line wrapped around in a circle so bad you couldn't get through.
Crossgates is still an amazing mall experience. I'd rank it alongside Danbury Fair in CT and Destiny USA, though the latter isn't quite as fun as the other two. I understand Walden Galleria in Buffalo is also doing well, but I haven't visited in 20+ years.
The third floor was the original and only movie theater for years before the expansion. I had moved out of the area when the expansion occurred so I am unsure if both movie theaters existed simultaneously for a time.
Did you do Salmon run mall in watertown New York? Or the more or less completely dead mall in Massena, New York.... know as St. Lawrence Center Mall.. 😢
This mall used to have a Toysrus express & a CVS which to my knowledge didn't have pharmacy it was just a CVS which few remain in malls and few remain without the pharmacys Great video
The area of Kazan and Maggie’s was an expansion on the mall just ten years ago. I helped removed the old portion of the building before that new section went up further expanding the mall
I just found your channel and I’m really enjoying it. But what I don’t understand is, a big marker for you in whether a mall is dying is by the crowd level and yet you seem to keep showing up to malls during the day on Tuesday?
Record Town! Worked there 86-88 when a SUNY Albany student. This was when vinyl was being replaced with CDs. When closing the store at night, I would blast ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS. The young gals working across the hall at a contemporary clothing store had their gate down. As the song played, they would climb the gate, gyrate & dance on it like a stripper pole. Good times! 😂
Third floor was the original Hoyts movie theatre. When the new one opened they kept the second running for a while playing some of the slightly older movies. New releases were in the new/big theater and after a few weeks if the draw wasnt as big anymore they would move to the old theater. They finally closed/consolidated about 2003 or so if i remember correctly. I believe it was the same time that the hoyts chain was acquired by Regal.
The area with funny bone, 110 grill, maggie mcflys, and kazan is an addition added approximately 2013 or so, when you walked past funny bone you could see the line in the floor where the old entrance was, set back maybe 150-200 feet from where it currently is
If what I heard was true before it opened, the Apex Entertainment in this mall is one of only a few places outside of New England, and the Canadian Maritimes, that has some lanes dedicated to candlepin bowling. The two shops in the food court may have been bigger restaurants. Greendale Mall in Worcester, MA (now an Amazon Warehouse sits there) had a Bertucci's, which in the last years became a DSW Shoe Warehouse. Being that I've seen that, that's my guess here. Also, the food courts aren't always an indicator of a mall's health. The Worcester Common Outlets had a full food court when the mall died, whereas Searstown/Whitney Field at it's prime never had a good food court. Most of the restaurant spaces were actually shops instead. Speaking of dying malls, you went through Cambridgeside in Cambridge, MA several months ago. I read it recently closed about 8 restaurants in it's food court, and a candlepin bowling museum in the basement also recently left.
I was in Crossgates about 9 months ago and it wasn't as booming as it was in 2007-2008 when I went there the first time with my ex-girlfriend and her parents.
I worked at the original Filene’s in the mall from 1985 to 1989 when I was in college. The store was beautiful in its time, but sadly May Company took over the Filene’s chain and the new store didn’t have anywhere near the architectural beauty of the original. Filene’s was a really fun place to work and it was glamorous.
I've been in this area since this mall was built, and still frequent that every couple of weeks, it's alive and well were there anybody wants to agree or not, and it's actually decently run, clean, and has something for everybody
this mall is great! Go here all the time. J Street Games is the only retro games store in albany and this is the only place to find them. If I'm wrong please correct me. They've also got the best and friendliest lego store I've ever been too. Great place. Dick's recently closed down and was replaced with Going Going Gone
i still frequent there. not a bad place honestly. It dos get fairly busy at peak hours later in the week. The big draws these days are the Dave and Busters and the Comic shop. There is also a sports collectables store there that Hosts card game tournaments. Food there can be pricey but its good eats mainly.
also, the mall technically extends to another area. There basically a strip mall section that you need to drive to that has a Walmart and some other stores. They're separate from the main mall but are usually considered pat of the mall by the locals.
I've never been to the Albany area, not really much of a traveler. I think Albany is probably a 3 hour drive for me, maybe a little longer, I'm not certain. So it's not really much different than when we travel to East Monpilier Vermont every now and then. I'd visit this mall if I had the chance just to walk around in FYE. I wouldn't mind bringing home some new music cd's to replace the ones I lost over the years. I still have all of my portable cd players. 😁
It's a good mall - good highway access, great place for indoor walking & people watching, but also not the safest place to be, with a fair bit of security issues day to day. Guilderland PD presence hasn't entirely curbed the problem with the frequent teen related behavioral issues, but has helped a little. Decent selection of stores, it's always had a good variety of dining options, theater has always been popular and kept modernized over the decades. Tends to be very busy around the holidays. Was big when it first opened, and I think enlarged more for clout than anything else - trying to retain it's original 'largest mall in upstate NY' title. (permanently lost when Destiny Syracuse was built) Macy's in Colonie Center was and still is more impressive, IMO. Also the presence of Crossgates contributed to the demise of several other local shopping center's & malls.
I prefer not to go to crossgates mall anymore because of high crime rates and the problems there. but otherwise it seems to be doing ok for a 40 yr old mall.
Here is something to consider. Pyramid Corp. has some of the highest mall space lease fees of any major mall owner. If one of their malls has very few vacancies, then it is generating a lot of foot traffic.
it used hoyts theater it was the same theater one was an older style theater i was one of the only employees towards the ends of hoyts and the begging of regal to work both the theater one was 12 and the was 18
The mall isn't dead or dying obviously. But it has somewhat become stagnat. It really can't physically expand anymore. And it's starting to lose more stores faster than they can get new tenants. Other problems includes poor lighting in some areas. And the mall has become a bit unsafe. To many fights have broken our and more than a few shootings. Plus throw in some tax issues for the owners and just gives a bad vibe to the place.
I try to keep the flea market videos to about 20 to 30 minutes. According to youtube, most people stop watching after about 10 minutes. The mall videos just take as long as they take for me to walk through them. Thanks for watching!
![Walking Crossgates Mall in Albany 2022 [Short Version]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SXqynicLcUQ/mqdefault.jpg)
It would be good if you filmed the store fronts and windows displays as you pass, rather than the corridors. Most of the mauls have the same stores, most even owned by the same investment equity groups. The variety of smaller privately owned stores adds a lot more interest…for me anyway. Great videos!
I just love this mall! ❤ it's a beautiful mall, not at all a dead mall! Long may it thrive and live. ❤
My hometown mall!! Love this place. Definitely not dead ❤
I agree!
Kind of is. It’s busy but a lot of stores don’t make it.
That is the USS Slater. It’s a WW2 Destroyer Escort opened for tours in downtown Albany. From 1998 till somewhere around 2006, they sold authentic military dog tags at Crossgates to raise money for renovation efforts. My grandparents were the couple who volunteered every Friday and Saturday night to make dog tags at the mall. I used to go there as a kid and spend Saturday nights with them.
This and Colonie Center still do very well.
All the other malls you covered around in upstate NY (Via Port, Wilton, Clifton Park, Aviation Mall) are dead as door nails
7:59 on the right, used to be World of Beer. I liked going there and trying new beers but it was expensive as hell.
The place closed during COVID and never came back
I spent the first part of my life in the Albany area. I remember going to the mall when it opened in 1984. Originally, the mall had one set of theatres on the 3rd floor. I remember taking the escalator up and saw many a film there. I also remember the expansion in 1994. I left the area back in 1995 and moved to Phoenix, AZ.
I remember when this mall had a Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and of course, a Disney Store. I even remember it before Dave & Busters came in. It still looks to be the same otherwise.
Remember when they had laser tag?
One big thing that drives business is the SUNY Albany campus. There's a few bus lines that go between here, Walmart, and the school bus stop
Agree regarding SUNY. Binghamton University is probably big reason Oakdale Commons is still surviving in Johnson City.
I attended college at SUNY Albany. I picked up a few pairs of jeans there before I was dropped off at my dorm as a freshman. I didn't have a car that year, so any trip to the mall was a big deal. It was a great mall. I had a lot of great times in Albany. That was 37 years ago. I used to get my haircuts there all 4 years. There was one barber there that was a Vietnam veteran, and he had some pictures of him and his friends on the wall by the mirror. He finished every haircut with the same phrase, "Good for another 3,000 mile." He was a really good guy.
10:54 The "destroyer" is the USS Slater, a WW2-era destroyer escort (yes, that's the type of ship it is). Currently docked in the Hudson River, near downtown Albany.
Track 23 was an fye type store before this, I can’t remember what is called! But it was huge I use to by new cds and movies there all the time! Miss those days😢
Record Town! Worked there 86-88 when a SUNY Albany student. This was when vinyl was being replaced with CDs. When closing the store at night, I would blast ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS. The young gals working across the hall at a contemporary clothing store had their gate down. As the song played, they would climb the gate, gyrate & dance on it like a stripper pole. Good times! 😂
I grew up an hour and a half away in the Catskills. I remember going on the trek to Crossgates with with whole family. KB Toys and The Disney Shop were where it was at 😎
Before starting - This mall used to be very high-end and expensive and I never went there. Now they have a very good mix of clothes, discount stores, electronics, nerd culture, entertainment options, and food. Downsides are operational things mostly... temperature is all over the place, not enough seating or water fountains, and the bathrooms are always disgusting.
Good thing I didn't have to use the bathroom! Thanks for watching!
Especially the bathroom near the Old Navy. That one is horrible and has a urinal that you can see from outside the bathroom. 😂
The bathrooms have been disgusting since the mall first opened in 1984.
Track23 used to be the FYE before downsizing. The dollar n things used to be the arcade. Where you said the new part of the mall started or ended is exactly where you were.
Thanks for the confirmation. I wasn't sure.
@fleabittenadventures it's a weird L shaped layout, there is an entrance from the main corridor you walked past as well. Many people will use that as a quick cut through when going in and out of the food court if heading that direction in the mall
I'm gonna look at that dollar n things so differently now... A tragedy that I missed out on that.
i used to take the cdta bus to crossgates to get cheap eats at the food court and hang out at FYE (where track entertainment is) or playing skee ball at the arcade across the hall. I used to go to Ruby Tuesdays as well.
I went to college in the area from 1985 to 89 and remember seeing ads for this mall on Albany tv stations.
I would have loved to see this mall back in the 1980s.
@fleabittenadventures I never did ( bur know people who did because they lived in the area and said it was a nice place) - other good malls were 20 miles away , this was 45 but the ads were all over Albany media.
Yeah ok, it is a Dump
My best friend went to college at RPI, so I would visit him and hit the mall. I'm glad to see Crossgates is still doing well. It's about a two-hour drive from where I live, so I should check it out again
The third floor of the mall was the original Hoyt's cinema 12 and when the mall expanded Hoyt's built a Cinema 18 in the current location of the theater. For about 10 years both were operated with the 3 third floor running 2nd run films at a discount.
I went there a lot in 1993 when I attended SUNY Albany. I watched "Cliffhanger" there when the projector broke, then they gave us a pass for Colonie Center theater, and we watched the movie there later that night. Do you remember the theater across from Colonie Center where Target now stands that showed old movies for $3 in the 1990's?
@@samplermikeNorthway Mall was across from Colonie Center. I loved going to the theater that was located behind Northway Mall. The first movie I remember seeing at that theater was Aladdin and the last movie I saw there was the waterboy.
I'm with ya on this assessment too Tom, that mall seems to be doing fine, and despite some dated architecture outside, it's quite cool inside, and appesrs to be very well maintained. Thats just crazy that there were 2 theaters in the mall! I'm assuming they ran concurrently....or at least tried to anyway? Small wonder one of them closed up shop. Great content Tom, I look forward to these, and the flea market videos each week
Thanks for watching! I appreciate it.
One of the Big Two malls for me (with Colonie Center). Used to be a lot cooler when Borders Books was here. Saw “Atlantis” in the third floor theater back in like 2001. Also miss the Discovery Store that used to be here.
Yes!! The Discovery Store was so cool!
I worked at the Kay Bee Toys store in this mall back in the last 1990's. Christmas season in the mall was nuts back then.
There was always an entrance to track 23 in the food court as long I could remember. Especially when it was the fye location before it moved to the first floor
Great video! So happy I came across it. brought back memories. I used to work at Caldor in the mid-90's so I spent a lot of time in that mall. Then I moved away from the Capital Region and haven't been back since. Nice to see what the mall looks like now.
And Track 23 was originally a Record Town and Dollar n Things was an arcade. The expansion can be seen in Track 23, where there’s an expansion plate running through the middle of it where the addition was put on.
Record Town! Worked there 86-88 when a SUNY Albany student. This was when vinyl was being replaced with CDs. When closing the store at night, I would blast ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS. The young gals working across the hall at a contemporary clothing store had their gate down. As the song played, they would climb the gate, gyrate & dance on it like a stripper pole. Good times! 😂
IN the 90's the DOllars and things was an arcade and the other store was a Record town? (or strawberries? i cant rememeber) (it has another entrance right to the mall as well) . They were perfect for teens at the time (like me!)
Great video and very nice mall! Wait, Apex Bowling has candlepin bowling? I gotta go there! LOL Thanks for the video.
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
On the third floor, there was the original movie theater. Then they opened the new movie theater in the new wing. And the old movie theater used to play older movies that were no longer in the theater or just left the theater.
Great job! My wife was a security and operations manager at a regional shopping center in the Rochester, NY area. She really enjoyed the video.
There were 2 theaters but both were Hoyts, so they were not really competing. I think the upstairs theater (that is now closed) was the original and they shifted it to the downstairs theater sometime in the mid-90's. The theater that no longer exists started showing movies that had been out for a while at a reduced rate until they closed it down. Great video.
It’s BillyBees now
The mall surprisingly bounced back after the pandemic and is even better now than before the pandemic started. I just wish the Johnny Rockets came back or a similar restaurant filled that space. They're also building a Costco (the first in the area) right next to the mall. There have been at least 3 lawsuits because of the Pine Bush Reserve but they all failed and they have started construction.
So much nostalgia. That photo of the movie theater, I may have been there. I literally went to Phantom Menace opening night here. The lines were throughout the entire mall. It was crazy! Thank you for this! I lived in East Greenbush right outside Albany for years in my early 20s and as a Mall Rat from birth, I spent SO much time here. Drastically less name brands and good shopping now, it seems. But it was nice to see it again.
I drove by Crossgates on the way to work everyday when it was being built. I remember going to opening day.
Unfortunately over the years the police substation was put in the mall for a reason.
The Dollar store in the food court used to he a Namco Cyberstation arcade and the Track 23 used to be an FYE store (music) which moved to a smaller location.
I would love to see some more store walkthroughs! Sorry that the one you mentioned didn't do well. My guess is that because it had just opened, people were quicker to jump on the false idea that it was an ad.
That could be the reason. Hard to say. Maybe people are looking for more famous names like Macy's, etc.
I vote for a Primark walkthrough! 🗳️
The food court used to end right before those escalators and stores. That section was added when they expanded the mall. One side was an arcade and the other was an FYE. The original movie theater had its ticket booth just outside the food court with the actual screens upstairs from the Candor (Best Buy now). Those Naval dioramas have always been there. If not from day one, then at least 30-35 years. I remember seeing them as a teenager when I used to go there. I don't go often anymore, usually just for the theater, restaurants, or the comedy club...
Still, as far as malls go, I still like this one. I still prefer the original brown tile/wood theme though!
Great Video! Glad to see Crossgates Mall still doing well!
Thanks!
Regarding the World War 2 dioramas, the ship in the exhibit is that of destroyer escort USS Slater which is currently docked only a few miles away from the mall on the Hudson River. So in a way, it's a bit of advertising inviting visitors to go tour the museum ship, only a few miles away. The Slater is one of only a dozen destroyer escorts from that era still around and the only one still in its wartime configuration.
Cool! Good to know. Thanks
i just found this channel today and i really love these videos. i grew up going to here, wilton, and aviation, and it’s really cool to have these walkthrough videos and get a little more insight on these places!!!
That Track 23 used to be a huge FYE store with two entrances. It's always been a weird little shortcut to the food court
33:56 every time ive been here that black jeep has been in that same exact spot. It could just be an employees car, but its always THAT spot. it might be abandoned idk.
I worked in that mall before the expansion with Radio Shack. We were the first to walk through the expansion before it evern opened.
This is one of the few good malls left in the area. I came during January on a Saturday and the place was hopping, so many people - it was like the good old days! I grew up going to this mall, Rotterdam Square and Wilton Mall. Sadly Rotterdam is a ghost town and poor Wilton Mall is quickly losing more and more stores which makes me so sad.
Those two WWII scenes encased in the glass on the second floor have been there as long as I can remember since the early 2000’s. As I kid I always walked by them and thought they were so cool.
Great video. Those stores awkwardly located inside the food court have been there since 2015, when I used to live in the area. Not sure if it ever was a restaurant originally
I like this mall, my favorite feature is the angled glass canopy over the escalators, nice to see a Primark too, we have them here in the UK
Yes, the skylights are impressive! I think Primark came to the USA in about 2017 or so... I have yet to go inside one.
I was working for H&M at the time. I traveled to Crossgates to help close down the old location and set up the new one :)
Another great video Tom, I love to watch your mall videos,thank you.😊👏🏻👍🏻
Glad you like them! Thanks!
wow, I haven't seen a Build-A-Bear Workshop in a very long time I thought they all closed down. Plus I haven't had a Sbarro Pizza in a very long time as well.
I think Sbarro is more common in New York and New Jersey, from what I've seen. We seem to have a lot of Build a Bears in my area. Thanks for watching!
Ahh yes, the MASSIVE Crossgates mall. I was still in Schenectady when that expansion grand opened and I seem to remember you often never made it around all of both floors.
And that huge theater....
wow the memories.
the 3rd floor was a Hoyt's that was there from day 1.
I saw Lethal Weapon 2 there in 1989.
After the expansion in 94, the same movie theater company (which was Hoyt's until Regal took over roughly 85% of them)
At that point they jad second run movies playing on the 3rd floor for a little cheaper with all the big movies new movies were in the new cinema.
I can't tell you how CROWDED this mall was back in the 80's and early 90's. I mean no elbow room kind of packed.
Hoyt's had their box office on the 2nd floor next to the escalators and elevator you took. The line wrapped around in a circle so bad you couldn't get through.
Went to this mall when it first opened in the eighties when I was a teenager. Always seems to do well.
Crossgates is still an amazing mall experience. I'd rank it alongside Danbury Fair in CT and Destiny USA, though the latter isn't quite as fun as the other two. I understand Walden Galleria in Buffalo is also doing well, but I haven't visited in 20+ years.
Haven't been to this mall in over 20 yrs. Can't believe how much it's changed. Spent alot of time here in my teens.
Awwww. This is my mall. Still going strong.
This mall looks great, and ain't that the cutest third floor you've ever seen?
I remember when the original movie theater was on the third floor!
@@jenniferburchill3658 Cool, but two theaters is a lot for one mall. lol
@@avgjoeavglife Before the first theater closed, it functioned as a second run venue for a bit. It didn’t last long, though.
@@jenniferburchill3658 Ah, OK.
It sure is tiny! I'll bet a lot of people don't even know it's there.
There was a music venue called "Skyloft" in the mall. It closed for good when COVID hit.
Where was that located? Thanks for watching!
I used to work at Best Buy and that music venue sucked for us with all bass banging through the walls. Lol
The third floor was the original and only movie theater for years before the expansion. I had moved out of the area when the expansion occurred so I am unsure if both movie theaters existed simultaneously for a time.
Did you do Salmon run mall in watertown New York?
Or the more or less completely dead mall in Massena, New York.... know as St. Lawrence Center Mall.. 😢
Not yet. Probably sometime this year though.
This mall used to have a Toysrus express & a CVS which to my knowledge didn't have pharmacy it was just a CVS which few remain in malls and few remain without the pharmacys
Great video
Thanks! I don't think I've heard of Toys R Us Express.
@@fleabittenadventures it was a prototype I think or something similar I don't think many malls had this idk
@@fleabittenadventuresToys R Us Express is a small copy of Toys R Us, usually in outdoor malls.
The area of Kazan and Maggie’s was an expansion on the mall just ten years ago. I helped removed the old portion of the building before that new section went up further expanding the mall
I just found your channel and I’m really enjoying it. But what I don’t understand is, a big marker for you in whether a mall is dying is by the crowd level and yet you seem to keep showing up to malls during the day on Tuesday?
Well, I can only get to these malls that are far from my home when I'm on pto from work, so going during the week is only time I can get there.
@@fleabittenadventures Sure, but malls do typically pick up on the weekend when more people are free from obligations.
wow so cool big mall i like it was you there in Nov or Dec cost showing christmas?? ty for video
Thanks for watching!
16:00 Track23 used to be Tower Records in the 90's
Record Town! Worked there 86-88 when a SUNY Albany student. This was when vinyl was being replaced with CDs. When closing the store at night, I would blast ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS. The young gals working across the hall at a contemporary clothing store had their gate down. As the song played, they would climb the gate, gyrate & dance on it like a stripper pole. Good times! 😂
Third floor was the original Hoyts movie theatre. When the new one opened they kept the second running for a while playing some of the slightly older movies. New releases were in the new/big theater and after a few weeks if the draw wasnt as big anymore they would move to the old theater. They finally closed/consolidated about 2003 or so if i remember correctly. I believe it was the same time that the hoyts chain was acquired by Regal.
Track 23 used to be an FYE and dollar and things used to an arcade! My home town!
The area with funny bone, 110 grill, maggie mcflys, and kazan is an addition added approximately 2013 or so, when you walked past funny bone you could see the line in the floor where the old entrance was, set back maybe 150-200 feet from where it currently is
Been to this mall in 2021. It's really good.
It looked pretty nice.
If what I heard was true before it opened, the Apex Entertainment in this mall is one of only a few places outside of New England, and the Canadian Maritimes, that has some lanes dedicated to candlepin bowling.
The two shops in the food court may have been bigger restaurants. Greendale Mall in Worcester, MA (now an Amazon Warehouse sits there) had a Bertucci's, which in the last years became a DSW Shoe Warehouse. Being that I've seen that, that's my guess here.
Also, the food courts aren't always an indicator of a mall's health. The Worcester Common Outlets had a full food court when the mall died, whereas Searstown/Whitney Field at it's prime never had a good food court. Most of the restaurant spaces were actually shops instead.
Speaking of dying malls, you went through Cambridgeside in Cambridge, MA several months ago. I read it recently closed about 8 restaurants in it's food court, and a candlepin bowling museum in the basement also recently left.
Interesting! Thanks for the info.
Nice mall video
Thanks!
Nice update❤
16.00 the food court seems to be so big with many tables. but food available is just fast food😂 -hello 👋from Malaysia
I remember how the JCPenney's was there when the mall first opened in 1984.
Is JCPenney the only original store there?
@fleabittenadventures Could be, but not certain.
I remember when the mall opened, it was the place to be. Was there many times to Christmas shop. Now I hate malls, and do all my shopping online.
Seem like a very live mall to me a very maintained Mall for a 40-year-old Mall it looks like they were well maintained
Definitely!
I was in Crossgates about 9 months ago and it wasn't as booming as it was in 2007-2008 when I went there the first time with my ex-girlfriend and her parents.
I worked at the original Filene’s in the mall from 1985 to 1989 when I was in college. The store was beautiful in its time, but sadly May Company took over the Filene’s chain and the new store didn’t have anywhere near the architectural beauty of the original. Filene’s was a really fun place to work and it was glamorous.
I've been in this area since this mall was built, and still frequent that every couple of weeks, it's alive and well were there anybody wants to agree or not, and it's actually decently run, clean, and has something for everybody
this mall is great! Go here all the time. J Street Games is the only retro games store in albany and this is the only place to find them. If I'm wrong please correct me. They've also got the best and friendliest lego store I've ever been too. Great place.
Dick's recently closed down and was replaced with Going Going Gone
Nice video
Thanks!
i still frequent there. not a bad place honestly. It dos get fairly busy at peak hours later in the week. The big draws these days are the Dave and Busters and the Comic shop. There is also a sports collectables store there that Hosts card game tournaments. Food there can be pricey but its good eats mainly.
also, the mall technically extends to another area. There basically a strip mall section that you need to drive to that has a Walmart and some other stores. They're separate from the main mall but are usually considered pat of the mall by the locals.
Is the food court on the second floor?😮
You should do Mckinley Mall in Buffalo NY!!
I've never been to the Albany area, not really much of a traveler. I think Albany is probably a 3 hour drive for me, maybe a little longer, I'm not certain. So it's not really much different than when we travel to East Monpilier Vermont every now and then. I'd visit this mall if I had the chance just to walk around in FYE. I wouldn't mind bringing home some new music cd's to replace the ones I lost over the years. I still have all of my portable cd players. 😁
It's a good mall - good highway access, great place for indoor walking & people watching, but also not the safest place to be, with a fair bit of security issues day to day. Guilderland PD presence hasn't entirely curbed the problem with the frequent teen related behavioral issues, but has helped a little. Decent selection of stores, it's always had a good variety of dining options, theater has always been popular and kept modernized over the decades. Tends to be very busy around the holidays. Was big when it first opened, and I think enlarged more for clout than anything else - trying to retain it's original 'largest mall in upstate NY' title. (permanently lost when Destiny Syracuse was built)
Macy's in Colonie Center was and still is more impressive, IMO. Also the presence of Crossgates contributed to the demise of several other local shopping center's & malls.
I prefer not to go to crossgates mall anymore because of high crime rates and the problems there. but otherwise it seems to be doing ok for a 40 yr old mall.
I remember the KB toys and the pet store. Yikes.
can you do colnie mall in ny
Coming soon
Here is something to consider. Pyramid Corp. has some of the highest mall space lease fees of any major mall owner. If one of their malls has very few vacancies, then it is generating a lot of foot traffic.
It does seem to be in a very good location for a mall. Thanks for watching!
The Caldor was two floors when I was in the mall.
#1 sign that a mall is doing well .....all the escalators are working 😂😂😂
Pretty much. Thanks for watching!
So the mall is better on the weekends and its super busy. If you go during the middle of the week in the morning you won't see many people.
the mall has change so much since i worked there at the movie it became regal in 200102
The traffic is impossible around the holidays!
I have fond memories of getting leather coin purses shaped like animals in Filenes.
it used hoyts theater it was the same theater one was an older style theater i was one of the only employees towards the ends of hoyts and the begging of regal to work both the theater one was 12 and the was 18
The third floor was the original movie theater. Hoyts Cinema 12
yes i worked at one point both 18 and 12
This mall is a great mall. I do go there often. I did go to Colonie Center the other day. And the Sears wing on the 2nd floor is vacant.
It definitely seems like the best mall in the area. I have a video on Colonie Center coming up shortly
Looks like a good mall to visit.
I think so. Thanks
The mall isn't dead or dying obviously. But it has somewhat become stagnat. It really can't physically expand anymore. And it's starting to lose more stores faster than they can get new tenants.
Other problems includes poor lighting in some areas. And the mall has become a bit unsafe. To many fights have broken our and more than a few shootings. Plus throw in some tax issues for the owners and just gives a bad vibe to the place.
I noticed the narrow walkway on the second floor between the stores its kind of scary if your afraid of heights 🥶😦
This place Reminds me of the Shops of Montebello At Montebello Ca
I'll try to check out that mall if I'm ever in the area.
I wish your videos at flea markets were as long as the time you spend on dead malls. Id rather watch you browse the flea markets. 😊
I try to keep the flea market videos to about 20 to 30 minutes. According to youtube, most people stop watching after about 10 minutes. The mall videos just take as long as they take for me to walk through them. Thanks for watching!
hey tom just to let you known you are gonna miss 16 department stores that are new to cross gates mall ,Also there is a bestbuy .
I saw the Best Buy. Are there new stores opening?
@@fleabittenadventures i think so check their website