The Creepy, Dying Vanity Fair Outlets | The Knitting Mills | Wyomissing Industries
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Vanity fair Corp was established in 1899. Became the first outlet store in American in 1970. Set to be demolished/renovated in later 2017, early 2018. www.berksnostalgia.com
MUSIC: • Video
I remember getting dragged to the Vanity Fair Outlets as a kid for "back to school" shopping and may parents telling me they weren't going to just buy me jeans to wear to school. Later I remember when they used to bring bus loads of people into West Reading to go to VF. Another thing Reading had going for it back in the day, but now mostly gone. Sad, but the world has moved on.
I never realized how much of a space vf outlets had in my memory, i remember being 7-8 and being dragged here by my mom and sisters for the same reason. Sad to never be able to visit again.
So sad!!! I remember back in the days. That's where my parents use to buy my school clothes and it use to be full everyday. Buses from all over the northeast use to come all the time. My first job was at the Mc Donald's in front of this outlets. :(
My Dad was running this store back in 98! This is creepy because it used to be crowded and alive! And it smelled like cinnamon and vanilla/suger they sold Carmelized almonds or pecans onto outside! And food court was packed and had decent food. Wow how times have changed thing's!
The food court in the Blue Building always smelled so good. The pizza place was the best.
i would always go to auntie annes when i was a little and it was packed. ah, good times
My parents worked in this building when it was a sock factory. Later they took me there for all my school clothes, I grew up wearing Lee jeans and sweaters from some long gone store. So sad to see it empty and about to be torn down. Thanks for the tour...
Mary Stauffer my mom would take me here as well for school clothes! I remember clothes everywhere!
My Mom's parents worked in the sock factory as well and that's where they met.
I worked on and off in security there from 97 to 05. Bus attendance went down every passing year. The complex was huge. Lots of areas the public couldn’t see. The tunnels underneath were especially cool.
Why did the buses stop?
I worked there for VF Outlet as a night shift system operator for 2 years around 04. If you were on the night shift, I very well may have met and worked with you for backup tape handoffs!
@@Nessaden At that point I had a full time job elsewhere and just filled in at VF in the morning as part time. But, I do remember the I.T. Room with the Halon system and the tape handoffs.
@@samanthab1923 They didn’t stop. There was just less and less of them each passing year. Security kept the numbers so we saw it. 97 was the last year VF ever saw the entire parking lot in front of Designer’s Place filled with buses. Not Black Friday weekend but the following was always busiest.
@@dtown-fi5xs TY
Our family came here for school clothes in the 80's and 90's. It was a fun place with lots of stuff to see. This place was packed with people back then. The food court was always full. Sad to see it's gone. Thanks for the video!
A perfect example of history being forgotten. My favorite memories of the red and blue buildings is that the elevators used to have operators.
For 6 years I worked there. It's kind of sad that it's basically an empty lot. During those 6 years I've heard stories of stores leaving, not because business was slow, but because VF would jack up the lease for the stores where they wouldn't be able to keep up.
I like these kinds of videos post more of them up!
Brings me the feel of my hay day of being a kid back in the 80's and 90's i am 39 now so yeah good memories. I wish they never faded hahaha
Dang I miss that place, so glad it is on video, my wife and I shopped there alot, got some great deals on some nice stuff. Was a fun time everytime we went, the food court was like going into a time machine, too bad the prices were not still from the 80s.
All my older brothers and sisters used to work and shop at this place during its best days. Its also where my parents got me clothes and where I would find some awesome toys I couldn't find anywhere else. I get chills looking at this place as I pass it everyday; especially now that they blown out some of the walls of the Red Building. Ooh how I wish things in our current world would be different. Thank you so much for this documentary.
I actually work in one of the stores and have tried to take as many pictures as I can before the Red and most of the blue and possibly Timberland's building get knocked down. I'm only 21 but have such a love for historical buildings its truly such a shame that demolishing some of them is the solution the new property owners went with.
Also good news about the building you're filming in the beginning aside from the first floor which is etchfit the upper sections are going to be turned into apartments.
Hi there, I am not sure if you still have this documentation but me and my sister are trying to find photos of the mall before it was demolished. Very oddly specific, I know lol, but do you happen to have any photos of the blue part of VF with the Nascar clothing section? Me and my sister are trying to remember what it looked like- all we can remember is that it had cool decorations/design. It was also just a nostalgic part for us when we went there. Sorry this is so long, hope to hear back!! (Also if you have KB Toys documentation also interested 👀)
For nearly 25 years in a row, I traveled there to shop for myself and family, always in October. Had MANY family birthdays in October/November, you see. Bought tons of items there. Sad to see that it died, two years ago.
I remember going there - there was no place to park - there was traffic people directing cars to parking. There was tour buses bringing people to shop. It was a great place to find bargains, and then there was the tent sales with even better bargains. Eventually I think it was late 2000's when the third floor was closed no shops. the outer buildings had bargains: Black & Decker, Shoe Place, and a Sock Outlet. Once the shops closed and empty it was no longer fun to go to find bargains.
I remember sitting in the food court and listening to the day trip shoppers from New York City.
I used to go from NY to this mall like 10 years ago... today I came back and it saddens me to see it like this... i feel like crying 😢
I ALWAYS loved VF! It was close to home, & you could find just about anything there. It's a darn shame that we had to lose our great outlet stores to the larger cities!
3:04 You know it's bad when in 2017 somebody is still rocking the Puffy Eagles Starter pullover from the early 90's.
:D go eagles!
Now it's considered vintage 🤣
This video is 6 years old? Your writing and production has gotten incredibly better! Thanks!
It most definitely has, thanks for noticing 😊
8:30 man that pizza there was so darn good I would always ask my mom if we could buy some every time we went there such fond memories.
Sentinel omg yesssss
I remember many happy days shopping in all the iterations of the Reading outlet stores!
Thank you for sharing these! I had no idea until this year what happened to the outlet. I was hoping to go one last time. My late parents and I used to go there is a summer trip to shop and get back to school school In the late 80s to late 90s. It sad To see it downsized and then closed.
That handbag announcement being made to an empty store was kind of creepy.......
Makes me sad. Went there with my parents as a kid. Still blows my mind how much they tore down. The buildings were great old factory buildings and were in great condition. So many of the old factories lived on as outlets, only to be demolished later on rather than given a third use. Interesting thing, if you noticed the floors that look like cobblestone were actually wood blocks laid end up. The purpose of this was to absorb any grease or oil that spilled from machines
I noticed you have not posted any videos for 5 months now. I hope you will return with more, you are very good at this I like your style and voice.
thank you, I have had an incredibly busy 6 months since I've been active last, but I do plan on making more videos!
Reading was nice city in 1970's I came from Europe to visit my family. Now I live in San Diego.
Even more vibrant in the 50's and 60's
Wow! Just looking at the main building (one with the VF Factory Outlet sign on top) I can still smell the interior.
I remember getting all my Christmas shopping done in just one trip to the outlets
This one is great. I LOVE the first building think it was, it was brick, I think you said it would be appartments, all these buildings look like they could be repurposed. the one with the food court looks like could be a college, food court be perfect for cafeteria, the stores all big enough for class rooms
I still remember the man we got icecream from in the food court and how he said come back sometime and we never did :( he was a sweetie
Wow. the building that Reading China & Glass is in... that hallway of stores used to be bustling! I remember going as a kid in the 90s and it was filled to the brink with people.
I really miss shopping at the VF outlet stores, it was fun spending time with my daughter at stores like KB toys and eating Pizza for lunch. 😊
Man this place as heaven for me as a kid. Such a sin what has happened to it.
nice history lesson on the vf outets. I was wondering why it was being renamed The Knitting Mills!
I still get creeped out by this place I just don't know why but the feel of it is why.
Kristy s As someone who works here I have to agree its fucking creepy especially the basement.
Liminal space.
I grew up in mount penn and left on 1966, later i brought my family back at least twice a year to buy clothing some years when we lived in Florida...no trip to reading... but all three kids were outfitted with jeans and most every thing else they wore. I still have a nautica fleece pullover from the 90‘s...sad to see it go....but I live about three miles from a giant outlet mall and i see why this happened.😪
Remember going here back in the early 80s. We'd drive from Maryland just for the back-to-school sales.
Do you know when they are starting demolition? I will be in the area in August. Would like to make some photos before they demolish it.
they didn't give a date for start of demo, I'm assuming by end of summer. Hope you get to visit one last time!
Will have a go at it. Thanks.
sandua51 Hey dont know if you've made it up here yet but they have sadly started demolition
loved this place
This made me sad
Me too
What happened to all the outlet shopping? Last time I was there was over 25 years ago but there were some really good ones. Burberry for one.
Did these buildings get demolished?
I did worked at narrow fabrics intuit it sold to a company callled chinet group
Wow. Didn't know this place was so big.
I live in Reading and just look up Reading PA I love the Outlets!
The Thun family owned it was the knitting mills. That family established wyomissing.
Where can I share photos of this place?
When will America ever wake-up and learn ? The world is overpopulated with too many people and we are running out of cheap oil. Demolition of old buildings is an incredible waste of all the energy and natural resources that went into constructing them. It would be so much better if they could save these old buildings. They could continue to use them for apartments for people to live or other uses. What an incredible waste to tear them down.
Renovations and abatement often cost much, much more than a tear down and rebuild does.
The world is far from over populated, the lack of industrial employment has force people to move into city centers to seek service jobs entire towns have been abandoned across the US. Oil has nothing to do with it, economic fraud is 100% to blame the US has been repeatedly robbed though various conspiracies ignored by the SEC. Enron, Real estate collapse and so much more.
Removing it saves property tax.
They're tearing it down now.
They are not creepy. Been there many times. Loved the old factory buildings. Loved shopping at Xmas time. They werent crowded and hsd nice stuff. Then they stopped so it was junk. They ran it into the ground. They were good stores & products. I enjoyed shopping there.
Watch at 15:20 and tell me that’s not creepy.
"they ran it into the ground" The crime in the city ran it into the ground. The owners even gave the police a floor to set up a satellite office to help with the gang problem in the area. This once was a major attraction in a corrupt city
At least its not the ones on ninth street lol
I remember that one. I hated all the buses.
My Uncle used to work there.
the future of america
They wanted smoke free malls. They got their wish.
now mall-free malls
So sad
Sad
Ive been to this mall twice
Very sad, i used to love that place.......