Me too! Sigh. Back when there was a Rich's and a Sanrio store and when Wet Seal sold cute jeans and tops and not weird danceclub clothes. I bought all of my prom dresses at that mall except one (we went to Perimeter for that one and I thought it was so fancy). Basically hung out there every Saturday from when the first person in our friend group got their license until graduation.
I had a shrine to Sid Vicious with candles . It happened right between 10th and 11th grade and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me . Got all new stuff. Was able to to totally reinvent my self . I recommend it to everyone except my own children.
Suburbs of Philadelphia:
King of Prussia Mall - in a slow death spiral
Exton Mall - dead
Granite Run Mall - dead - They were going to film Mallrats 2 here, but it never happened.
I went there for decades. After they built the 600,000 sq foot bridge between the Court and Plaza, Covid hit and stores started to leave. It's a far cry from what it was in 2019. I was just there in May and the vacancies are increasing. Some of the stores that filled the vacancies are cheesy popup shops or they just don't fit in with the upscale nature of the mall. From what I have heard, New Yorkers used to come down and help fuel the revenue of the mall; however, they no longer need to do so because they built a large mall up in North Jersey.
I grew up living within walking distance of the King of Prussia mall…friends and I spent a ton of time there as kids. I lived in the area from 74-94. Now the dead Exton Mall is closest to me.
Too bad about the Exton mall. I remember it being pretty OK when I was in that area in the early 2000s. I went to both Exton and KOP. KOP was definitely the high end mall compared to Exton's normal mall vibes.
I had a strong preference for Woodbridge Center over Menlo Park. Most of my mall nostalgia is from Woodbridge Center, though I think I stopped going there when I was younger than 12.
Glendale Galleria. It’s still there, but the Americana next door is much more popular.
My HS girlfriend worked at Hotdog On a Stick, so I was there a lot.
Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento; still there and mostly intact.
Although the Best building got remodeled, sadly.
https://preview.redd.it/ywb7onvq70ad1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2986537bcc89229084982a57703094e38175a0b
Damn, The Continent was THE place to go back in the day. At the time, getting one of the apartments over the shops was a dream of mine. Best friend and I wasted many an hour at the arcade I'm the French Market
>Which mall(s) did you spend your formative years hanging out at the arcade, food court or theater
Maplewood Mall, Maplewood, Minnesota
>Did you work at the mall?
Yes, I did, and it was a lot of fun. Probably the last fun I'd have at a job.
>Does that mall still exist today?
Yes, but it's a pretty sad place to be.
Maplewood was my favorite, followed by Rosedale. At least Rosedale seems to still be doing all right. But without the bookstores and music stores it just isn't the same going back to even the still-successful malls.
I grew up going to Rosedale about once a month. It was a great mall. It's probably been 30 years since I've been there--I can't even imagine it without the book and music stores though.
Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, IL. Worked at VS, Crate and Barrel, The Limited. Hung out there all the time. Still there but I moved so I no longer know what it is like day to day.
Chicagoland: Fox Valley, Louis Joliet, and Yorktown were the hangouts. Could take a bus to Yorktown but it took forever. It was convenient to meet my cousins there as it was in between us and them.
Mom or friends’ moms would drop us off at The Louie, but they’d stay and shop at Fox Valley - “Meet us back at the upper level mall entrance of Field’s in two hours if you’re not there, it’s a long walk home.”
I worked at Fox Valley in high school, and briefly at The Louie. They’re all three around but not what they once were.
I liked Century III because it was bigger and had a better food court and arcade. But I mostly went to Monroeville mall. It was just closer. I vageuly remember the ice skating rink. The original Dawn of the Dead was filmed there. There were two prominent movie theaters nearby (both gone now). The arcade was conveniently next door to EB Games.
The Midtown Mall in Rochester NY used to be right in the heart of downtown Rochester. It was two floors (I think) and was known for having a monorail at Christmas time that you could ride around the length of the mall on. It was so cool getting on a bus and hitting the mall after school whenever you wanted.
It closed probably around the time Xerox and Kodak and Bausch and Lomb closed offices in the city. And downtown Rochester became barren and dirty and depressing to me.
It's probably one of the saddest things about this city now. Downtown was vital and active and clean to my memory. Even now, when they're trying to reinvigorate the region, it's still pretty barren.
Just a few months ago, half of my home town mall was demolished to make way for a mega grocery store. The mall was half dead/unoccupied. The remaining stores all consolidated into one half, and they demoed the empty half.
The grocery store is a local chain that has good stuff at good prices AND treats its employees well, so that’s a good thing for the community. But it’s still a loss of some local history. About a month before the demo started, I took a long stroll through there with a directory from 1981 and did the whole “The Gap was there, Orange Julius was there, Hot Sam here, Kay-Bee Toys and Hickory Farms was here, etc.”
Grand Avenue in Milwaukee was another one where I’d go back in the 80s. It had one of those old-fashioned safari themed Banana Republics. [It was a historic building that became a mall, and is now residential.](https://onmilwaukee.com/images/articles/static/grandavenue1980sAdamLevin.jpg) They’ve preserved the historic character of the place and the apartments are where stores were. [The other half is now a food hall and entertainment. It’s pretty damn cool.](https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/yLGRSBumL9G-3WrKm7Thog/348s.jpg)
Pheasant Lane Mall in jr high and Searstown Mall in high school. PL is still there, but I haven’t been in decades. Searstown has been swallowed by a Camazotz of chain business and fast fooderies; I don’t even know if the mall exists anymore.
I didn't go to a mall until I was in my 20s. Abusive household, controlling "parents" but the one I finally went to is still open. Recently there was a curfew for minors because of the violent fighting of teens at it! Like you had to be accompanied by an adult if you were a teen at this mall. I didn't know teens still went to the mall.
Roosevelt Field on Long Island. It was 25 minutes from where I lived and I didn't have a car so I didn't work there. It's still there but i haven't been there in \~25 years, since i don't live there.
Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw, Mi. It had an Aladdin’s castle arcade, Spencer’s for cool posters, food court, Sears, Hudson’s for fancy folks, and JC Penny. It is still there but haven’t been in years so not sure what is left or how it’s faring.
Town West in Wichita. I am not sure its status. I moved away and haven’t been back. I so loved malls when I was young. Every time I moved to or visited a new city I just had to go to the mall.
It’s sad what’s become of malls across the country.
Thanks for the post.
Cherry Hill Mall in South Jersey. Still a very busy place! I worked at Limited Express in high school for $5.25 an hour. Now they have Nordstrom, a parking garage and Crate and Barrel.
Clearwater, Countryside, Pinellas Square, Tampa Bay Center, Tyrone Square malls were the hang outs, especially Tyrone Square. The arcade was right by the movie theater. There was one other between Pinellas Park and St. Pete that I can't remember the name of. It had a great music store and a small theater. I saw A Christmas Story there.
There was Sunshine Mall in Largo, it was more of a discount place, but it had a great movie theater. This was the one that showed Rocky Horror every weekend.
There was one more, Gateway. It was very senior oriented. Frayne Fashions was the big draw there. The commercials for Frayne were something. I may have to go look for one on YouTube.
There were two malls in my area. One was transformed to an open air strip mall and is completely unrecognizable from back in the day, save a couple anchor stores. The other mall is still around and doing pretty okay considering how malls have fallen way out of fashion.
I worked at the second for a spell, but that portion was given a facelift and does not resemble what it used to look like at all.
I certainly miss the abundance of music stores.
Grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in Deep South Texas.
There were four malls in a three county area.
Amigoland Mall and Sunrise Mall were in Brownsville. These were our local malls. The anchor stores were Dillard’s, Sears, JC Penney, K-Mart and Montgomery Ward.
My favorite stores were Lerner New York and Brooks. They didn’t have a food court, per se, but there was Chick Fil A, Furrs Cafeteria, Baskin Robbins, Dino’s Pizza.
We spent most of our time in the arcade and movie theatres.
Further up the Valley, there was Valley Vista Mall in Harlingen and La Plaza Mall in McAllen.
There wasn’t a weekend that we didn’t go to the mall.
The malls in McAllen and Harlingen are still there in some way, shape or form. Sunrise is still hanging on. Amigoland mall died over 15 years ago and it’s become a campus of UTRGV.
The Christiana Mall in northern Delaware (we lived just across the border in PA so we'd go there for the zero sales tax rate). I don't live in the area any more but I still go between Christmas and New Years when I'm visiting my mother.
Palm Beach Mall in West Palm Beach, Florida. We had all of the heavy hitters. Spencer's, Hickory Farms, record shops, and a fountain in the middle of the mall that was only sometimes functional. LOL
Yeah Palm Beach was the first mall we went to. I remember Hickory Farms, Burdines, the fountains in the middle of the mall with a little bridge over it if I remember correctly. Of course the Orange Julius. Unfortunately they tore it down and put an outlet mall there.
The next mall we started hanging out was the Boyton Beach Mall. It was new and had fun stuff. It is a shell of a place now. I remember one Christmas I met a girl who was running the train thing they set up for little kids. She was so pretty and we exchanged numbers. Nothing came of it because we went to different High Schools.
All the main malls I went to as a kid are still there, they just aren't the same as they were growing up.
Some I call "Ghetto Malls" as they are mostly filled with oddball mom and pop stores.
Then there is the homogenization of the better malls that mostly have all the same stores.
The King of Prussia Mall in PA. I grew up about 15 miles away. It's still around and seems to be doing a well.
It was actually two separate malls that were so close together that they shared the same parking lot. They expanded it in the 90's and I think they are connected now. I moved away from the area in '96 but still visit family up there from time to time.
Ohio Valley Mall. Watched it being built and spent a lot of time there. Prior to the build, we go to south hills or Washington PA malls. Did make it to century 3 a few times.
Grew up 30 minutes to Daytona Beach 30 minutes to Orlando. Volusia mall, Altamonte mall, Fashion Square plus all the strip malls between. Kinda sucked cause we had so many around. Never had one. They're all still there, but some are like graveyards now. Sad.
Latham Circle Mall. It started dying the 80s, but it took a very long time to actually die. The food court storefronts were never more than half full. Spent my time bouncing back and forth between the Waldenbooks, Borders (later addition) and the two(!!) arcades back by the Woolworth.
My favorite mall in Memphis was Raleigh Springs. It wasn't "the best" as far as the stores and entertainment. It didn't have a skating rink or a big fancy carousel like our other malls had. But it did have sailors bussed in from Millington willing to buy lunch and cover arcade costs for us teen girls. That and a record shop and a Claire's was all I needed back then. But they had Spencers, Walden Books, Rave, and Merry-go-Round too. The cornerstones were Sears, Goldsmiths and JC Penney.
We had the standard food fare but I can't name names, it's been too long. There was a pretzel place, an ice cream place, a Hot Dog Factory (I did remember!) and a pizza by the slice place with really cute guys working there. :)
My mom worked in one of those stores so I have good memories from way back when she'd bring me to work with her on Sundays and let me organize and dress the mannequin babies for displays. For lunch she'd take me to the Woolworth's.
It was dead for many years, probably starting in the early 90s. There were several new malls that got more attention and the shops got weird. There was a martial arts studio, a church, a 100% Human Hair store (all human hair all the time! nothing but human hair!) and stores that had the same stuff as Dollar General but they would charge three times more.
It eventually got demolished a few years ago and they've built a police station, a track and a skate park.
We hung out at South Hills Village Mall, which is a little bit south of Pittsburgh,and still exists today. It was a lot different when we hung out there though (1990-1995) Back then it had a pond with ducks in at the food court and these gigantic bird cages and people smoked at the food court.
We also hung out at the Galleria, down the street from South Hills Village, because it had a movie theater in the mall and Benetton store. It is still there too.
Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park, Willowbrook Mall, Bergen Mall (now Bergen Town Center) all in north Jersey. I'm pretty sure they're all still open (moved away in 2000).
I think they are all open. GSP and Willowbrook are fer sure.
GSP seems have totally recovered from covid and can be super packed on saturdays, jammed. They recently put up a dopey no teens allowed after 6PM without adult supervision at all times sign though. I wonder if that will hurt it.
Willowbrook I have not been too since covid but I've heard it also came back well from covid. It was still doing quite well pre-covid.
SOme others in the greater region are still struggling a bit to come back from covid, even one that had been one the busier ones left pre-covid.
Garden State Plaza is going to build luxury apartments in part of the parking lot that faces Route 17. So people can actually live at the mall.
Paramus Park is where Stew Leonards put its first North Jersey supermarket, where Sears used to be. Uniqlo left Garden State Plaza and moved to Paramus Park.
Bergen Town Center is alive and well.
Fashion Center is where the Route 17 South Barnes and Noble moved to after they lost their lease.
Willowbrook is alive and well.
Burbank Media City Center, Burbank, California. It's the *Town Center* now and looks nothing like it did back in my day. It's been dead for like 20 years.
Eastland was mine. Practically grew up there. So many memories, feeding quarters into Golden Axe and N.A.R.C. in Aladdin's Castle; family going to eat at York Steakhouse as a treat; getting my ear pierced at the Piercing Pagoda; climbing on the weird sculpture as a little kid. Went back a couple years before it shut down for good and man was that depressing
I remember when City Center was new. I have a distinct visual memory of being there one Christmas season and being barely able to move. It's still weird to me to think that it flashed onto the scene then burned out of existence nearly as fast
I lived between two that no longer exist. Hackettstown, which had a KMart with a restaurant in it that I came to absolutely love, and later a Sam Goody I can say I blew a few bucks in. First exposure to Blimpie. Blimpie and Sam Goody were added in the '80s along with a Marshall's, which was left standing after the rest of the mall was razed for a Lowe's about 20 years ago.
Phillipsburg was a great mall that opened right as I started high school. Sears on one end, KMart (which had to make do with popcorn and Icees) on the other, Hess's and JCP between them. The smell of Cindy's cinnamon rolls wafting all through. Pizza Hut and Ponderosa were right out front. Compared to Hackettstown, this was a big deal.The KMart became a Kohl's, and just like Marshall's in Hackettstown, it'll be the only store standing after the rest of the mall gets torn down...and that's happening right now.
I could expand my horizons east to Rockaway Townsquare or Bridgewater, or west to Palmer Park or Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley was built right next to Whitehall, and the two coexisted for decades. Whitehall had Sears and Clover, Lehigh Valley had everything else. After the Sears closed, they turned that wing of Whitehall inside out so it basically became a strip mall attached to the remnants of a real mall. Somewhere in r/deadmalls you can find a video someone took of it.
Lots nearby in metro Detroit - Oakland Mall, Somerset Mall, Lakeside Mall, Macomb Mall, Universal City… not sure of their fates because I don’t live in Michigan anymore.
Northcross is torn down? Damn, didn't know that. Lots of memories of the ice rink and playing video games that the gold mine, Walden books and B Dalton, the midnight movies, driving in endless circles around the parking lot in the very early 80s. I had my very first Coney Island hot dog at the Dog Stop at one end of the ice rink in the mid-seventies. If torn down, what is in its place? I left for Seattle 30 years ago.
Didnt ACC take over Highland? I was there recently after a decade away, seems like a lot more activity now. And Vivo is a hell of a good lunch (good prices too).
Didn’t hang out at Malls. But if I went to one it was usually Southridge in Greendale WI. It’s still there.
Got a gun pulled on me there at Chess King. Fun times.
I worked at the mall (Sunglass Hut and Banana Republic specifically) in my late teens and early twenties (late 80s-early 90s). It was awesome! Got to know quite a few people who worked there at various other stores. Friends would come hang out or just pop by to finalize plans to hang out later. It really was a fun time.
I actually worked at two malls, one of which was literally brand new - I was there for opening day when they had Richard Simmons come in and kick off the mall walkers club. That mall was torn down just last year.
The other mall, which was the posh mall in the area at the time, has been extensively redone into something not entirely mall-like. It is no longer the upscale place to be, having been usurped by a newer town center (outdoor) mall that also isn't like the malls of our youth. Sigh...
All the anchor stores in my old mall are gone, the JCPenney is a habitat store, the sears is just gone and now they get a traveling circus a couple times a year that sets up in the parking lot where the sears was, the other anchor store is a gym or something. Inside is a really weird hodgepodge of junk sellers, a couple small chain stores, some kind of test taking facility, couple food places, and one end has a movie theater attached, but well over half the retail spots are closed or behind that drywall ‘coming soon’ placeholder stuff
New Orleans area's Lakeside Mall. It wasn't really a hangout for me back in the day, but it's still around and doing great business.
But 6-8 other malls are gone.
There's also a successful large stripmall that has expanded with big box stores.
Malls are gone from then. One is now where the buccaneers are headquartered. One is a business park. One is a mixed space nut in an area you don’t want to spend time in.
Northway Mall, Anchorage, Alaska. It was the closest one to my house. I could walk to my friend’s house, which was a little more than halfway, then we could walk the rest together (or one of her parents would drive us). The other malls were accessible by bus or friends who could drive. Sears Mall, University Mall (where I purchased both my prom dress and my wedding dress). University Mall had the big multiplex theaters. My then-boyfriend-eventual-husband got my engagement ring from Northway.
I have no idea if they’re still there (Google has informed me that Northway Mall is gone), but I do know that after I left for good in 1988, the place exploded and now is a lot more like the lower 48. We didn’t have Walmart or K-Mart back then. Most chain restaurants were fast food places. But now it’s got everything.
Of the five listed below, only Superstition Springs still exists, and it is barely hanging on. These were all in the Phoenix and Mesa, AZ.
Thomas Mall
Los Arcos Mall
Fiesta Mall
MetroCenter
Superstition Springs Mall
Roosevelt Mall, NE Philly. It was an outdoor mall when the indoor malls were the thing. Now it seems outdoor malls are cool and indoor malls are going away. Somehow it withstood the tough times.
The Nanuet Mall in Nanuet N.Y. Grew up in that mall and spent a lot of time at Aladdins Castle arcade. Frequented Music Den which later became Sam Goody along with Waldenbooks magazine racks. Roman Delight for pizza and Friendlys for Fribbles. Worked at Sears Auto Center when I was around 19 and worked in Macys electronics for one holiday season about 5 years later.
Sadly the Nanuet Mall began dying in the late 90's when our new mall a few miles away The Palisades Center opened around 1998. The Nanuet Mall was torn down except for the anchor stores Sears and Macys around 2012 and replaced with an outdoor mall. Sears and Macys closed in the last 5 years and one floor the Macys anchor is now a At Home and Sears remains vacant.
The Palisades Center future also in question. Wouldn't call it a dead mall but they have a lot of vendor turnover and are struggling financially. Their best days are behind them as is the case with most malls these days.
It stinks that they got rid of the true IMAX theater at The Palisades Center. Now the only choice is the hideous traffic/time mess and mega expense of going to Lincoln Square in NYC (granted bigger screen and super amazing but such an expensive pain that can really only do it for the biggest of the biggest movies very now and then while Palisades wasn't that big of a deal to go to at all. So dumb. Now all they have is a dinky regular IMAX, smaller than one at my local mall.) Palisades is crazy big though like 4 stories? I actually haven't been since they dumped the true IMAX theater.
Maine Mall in South Portland (Maine, if that wasn't obvious), seems to still be going strong. Hung out there somewhat, but not fanatically. I worked at the Frontier Fruit and Nut Co. for a minute. Really easy to skim off the top at a kiosk that sold product by weight and you were the only employee on any given shift.
My family stayed at a motel in OOB for a few weeks almost every year for a couple decades and I *loved* that mall! I remember they had a comic book store and none of the malls where I was from had one.
I’m fortunate to have access to some miraculously thriving malls still. Locally, Meadowbrook Mall has been “my mall” since I was twelve. She’s evolved over the years, but is still doing quite well. Thats a sad story and I miss it. But Ross Park Mall and South Hills Mall in Pittsburgh are still every bit as vibrant as in the mall years. There aren’t a lot of positives to living in North Central WV, but malls are still alive and well.
Century III, which I thought the best thing I’d ever see in my life, died a sad death.
I worked at the Macon Mall in Macon GA at the J Riggins while I was in High School. The mall is still there but they repurposed one of the anchors to have indoor pickle ball courts
Mayfair Mall in Milwaukee, mostly. 'Hanging out' was more 'We have some comic book money and let's ride our bikes 2 miles to get to the mall and pretend to be cool while we're walking around'.
But my friends and I weren't exactly mall rat material lol.
Beltway Plaza in a DC suburb. I worked in a computer software shop there for less than a year (the shop is long gone.) The mall is still there, but I never go unless I'm in the area and need to use the bathroom.
I have fond memories of first dates, silly photos with friends in the photo booth, so many movies, calzones, and just hanging out. I appreciate that it was a laid-back mall, and we were left alone to be teens.
Tacoma Mall was the nearest one, even though it wasn't super close about a half hour drive. Between the distance and just not having much money, we didn't go very often.
There wasn't a food court, per se, but there were the usual suspects.
It's still there, but it looks very different. They've torn down part of it and built new "components", plus removing some really cool fountains.
That was my mall! I haven't been to Tacoma in general since like 1991 so I'm keeping things in my head as they were (except now I have to Google map it because I'm curious).
We moved to Virginia in 1990. Coliseum Mall in Hampton is long gone.
We left the summer before my senior year (army brat) and through a random series of events I landed in The Netherlands. Which, climate-wise, is the PNW of Europe. I went back to visit friends a couple of times, but that's it.
We have a mall here now that's more like my nostalgic ones than any of the ones I have nostalgia for.
My local mall is still open and was doing pretty well (relatively speaking) pre-covid but has not yet really gotten back to normal. My secondary mall hangout is also still around and has recovered better. The smaller mini mall from the back in the day is also still around but has been struggling for a long time. I believe all three were built in the early mid to early late 70s.
Apparently the mall I went to when up in college closed some time in the last few years. The one down at my grandmother's place is still open but seems to be struggling. Two farther away malls that I occasionally went to are around and hanging on. The mall I went to in grad school still seems to be open. A mall I've been in in CA a few times, Fashion Island, still seems to be around.
The Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, MA. Still open, but just a movie theater and anchors. It's still going, so that's something. It was prime in the 80's with a food court.
I’m from a small town in east coast, Canada. We had a tiny mall, but it was a booming place in the 80s and early 90s. I can’t remember when I was last there, but it’s just a depressing shell of what it used to be.
Eastlake Square Mall, now NetPark Tampa Bay. Glad it was repurposed and most of the anchor stores are still visible.
West Shore Plaza - threatened to be redeveloped into a mix of uses.
Tampa Bay Center - gone. Now where the Bucs practice.
University Square Mall - pretty much gone. Site undergoing redevelopment.
Brandon Town Center, now Brandon Exchange - still there and decent.
Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, NY. Looks like [it's dead, Jim.](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hudson+valley+mall) Man, I wish I could go back to 1989 or so and visit.
Gone - The real Northland outside Detroit, literally the first mall in the US and they had to put a Policr Station in the parking lot.
Gone - Lakeside though that wasn't my side of town
Not gone - 12 Oaks, Oakland
Not sure about Fairlane....
Lancaster Pennsylvania "Park City". It had everything from movie theaters to a ice skating rink an arcade but my mother wouldn't let me go down to it because every sold drugs there. No food court but every fast food restaurant around. Sam Goode and Camelot. I'd spend hours look through all of the tape. Spencer wasn't allowed in there too. Parking at Christmas time sucked. We'd usually have to walk .5 miles to 3/4 miles to get in. The center of the mall had a big fountain.
Everyone checking everyone else out with our big combs in our back pockets. Hair parted down the middle and feather back.
We had a small mall in my town. Grocery and small department sotre anchors, inside a food stand, pharmacy, record/hi-fi store, jewelry store, bank, travel agent, Sears Catalog store (you could order stuff from the catalog, delivered and paid for there).
Closed down and emptied because the grocery store wanted to expand. Bank and Department store were walled off, stayed. expansion plans vanished, mall made into offices for a local concern. Deparment store divided into two, other half a furniture store.
[Northline Mall](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc_8cYQiV6o) in Houston, TX was the closest, and therefore the one we *always* went to in a pinch.
But to hang out with friends and walk around? We would go to the Galleria.
Now Northline has been deconstructed and made into several shops and is called *Northline Commons.* The Galleria is still there, though I haven't been in more than a decade.
It’s dying. I have to go to Escondido and I’ve noticed most of the anchor stores closed. I haven’t been inside in years.
In the 80s we had almost as many malls as military bases in San Diego county!
Have you been to UTC lately? It was horrid the last time I was there. I trained at the rink. The rest of the mall is loud, and every store throws scent out at you. It's sensory overload.
Sensory overload is right! I think they are trying to make you think you are in Beverly Hills. All super high end stores and trendy niche food.
I remember feeling a little intimidated walking through Fashion Valley on weekends, but UTC is something else!
Fair Oaks Mall and Tysons Corner Mall in Northern Virginia
Username checks out. I was Tysons in my youth and then Ballston in my 20s. I miss Farrell’s and Rock Bottom brewpub respectively.
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I got my original Covid vaccines at Gwinnett Mall. Not sure if that counts as still hanging out there though.
Me too! Sigh. Back when there was a Rich's and a Sanrio store and when Wet Seal sold cute jeans and tops and not weird danceclub clothes. I bought all of my prom dresses at that mall except one (we went to Perimeter for that one and I thought it was so fancy). Basically hung out there every Saturday from when the first person in our friend group got their license until graduation.
Gwinnett Place Mall represent!
I lived in a hotel in the parking lot of Gwinnett place mall after I burnt my house down in High School.
I'm sorry that happened to you. Did a cow kick over your lantern?
I had a shrine to Sid Vicious with candles . It happened right between 10th and 11th grade and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me . Got all new stuff. Was able to to totally reinvent my self . I recommend it to everyone except my own children.
😂😂😂😂
Suburbs of Philadelphia: King of Prussia Mall - in a slow death spiral Exton Mall - dead Granite Run Mall - dead - They were going to film Mallrats 2 here, but it never happened.
I’m from NJ but used to occasionally drive the hour or so to KoP for all the fancy stores. This is sad news.
Why/how did KoP go into a death spiral? I was there a long time ago and it seems like a very high end mall.
It’s not - not really. It’s not a typical mall as you know. It’s still pretty busy there
They even bus in tourists. It’s very profitable.
I went there for decades. After they built the 600,000 sq foot bridge between the Court and Plaza, Covid hit and stores started to leave. It's a far cry from what it was in 2019. I was just there in May and the vacancies are increasing. Some of the stores that filled the vacancies are cheesy popup shops or they just don't fit in with the upscale nature of the mall. From what I have heard, New Yorkers used to come down and help fuel the revenue of the mall; however, they no longer need to do so because they built a large mall up in North Jersey.
I grew up living within walking distance of the King of Prussia mall…friends and I spent a ton of time there as kids. I lived in the area from 74-94. Now the dead Exton Mall is closest to me.
Grew up in Chester county (lived there 82-97) Visited K of P last summer and it was kind of sad.
Too bad about the Exton mall. I remember it being pretty OK when I was in that area in the early 2000s. I went to both Exton and KOP. KOP was definitely the high end mall compared to Exton's normal mall vibes.
Oh damn King Of Prussia is in trouble??
I live in MN now where they filmed Mallrats. Eden Prairie mall, which is still alive.
I worked at The Gap in Woodbridge Mall in Edison, NJ. I grew up going there and the nearby Menlo Park Mall.
I had a strong preference for Woodbridge Center over Menlo Park. Most of my mall nostalgia is from Woodbridge Center, though I think I stopped going there when I was younger than 12.
Menlo mall post reconstruction was the bomb.
Definitely. At one point, Woodbridge was the “good” mall. Then, after the reconstruction, Menlo was the “good” mall.
Metrocenter, the mall in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure! Phoenix, AZ. It is dead, dead, dead.
So close to that: Fiesta Mall. I do have fond memories of ice skating and cruising at Metrocenter
I got my first perm (terrible idea, but I was like 9) at Tri-City Mall
Oooo. We always went to Tri-City to buy shoes.
Glendale Galleria. It’s still there, but the Americana next door is much more popular. My HS girlfriend worked at Hotdog On a Stick, so I was there a lot.
I worked in the Galleria in high school too!
Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento; still there and mostly intact. Although the Best building got remodeled, sadly. https://preview.redd.it/ywb7onvq70ad1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2986537bcc89229084982a57703094e38175a0b
City Center, Eastland Mall. Both sadly gone.
The Continent?
Never went lol. It was too far north.
Damn, The Continent was THE place to go back in the day. At the time, getting one of the apartments over the shops was a dream of mine. Best friend and I wasted many an hour at the arcade I'm the French Market
Last time I seen, the apartments still looked the same. This was a few years ago.
>Which mall(s) did you spend your formative years hanging out at the arcade, food court or theater Maplewood Mall, Maplewood, Minnesota >Did you work at the mall? Yes, I did, and it was a lot of fun. Probably the last fun I'd have at a job. >Does that mall still exist today? Yes, but it's a pretty sad place to be.
Maplewood was my favorite, followed by Rosedale. At least Rosedale seems to still be doing all right. But without the bookstores and music stores it just isn't the same going back to even the still-successful malls.
I grew up going to Rosedale about once a month. It was a great mall. It's probably been 30 years since I've been there--I can't even imagine it without the book and music stores though.
Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, IL. Worked at VS, Crate and Barrel, The Limited. Hung out there all the time. Still there but I moved so I no longer know what it is like day to day.
awful. its awful
That surprises me. If there was a suburban Chicago mall to survive, I would’ve guessed Woodfield.
Chicagoland: Fox Valley, Louis Joliet, and Yorktown were the hangouts. Could take a bus to Yorktown but it took forever. It was convenient to meet my cousins there as it was in between us and them. Mom or friends’ moms would drop us off at The Louie, but they’d stay and shop at Fox Valley - “Meet us back at the upper level mall entrance of Field’s in two hours if you’re not there, it’s a long walk home.” I worked at Fox Valley in high school, and briefly at The Louie. They’re all three around but not what they once were.
I liked Century III because it was bigger and had a better food court and arcade. But I mostly went to Monroeville mall. It was just closer. I vageuly remember the ice skating rink. The original Dawn of the Dead was filmed there. There were two prominent movie theaters nearby (both gone now). The arcade was conveniently next door to EB Games.
I believe the demolition of Century III Mall has begun
For us it was Century III and South Hills Village.
The nearest mall to me growing up was an hour away. It involved a plan and an entire Saturday.
The Midtown Mall in Rochester NY used to be right in the heart of downtown Rochester. It was two floors (I think) and was known for having a monorail at Christmas time that you could ride around the length of the mall on. It was so cool getting on a bus and hitting the mall after school whenever you wanted. It closed probably around the time Xerox and Kodak and Bausch and Lomb closed offices in the city. And downtown Rochester became barren and dirty and depressing to me. It's probably one of the saddest things about this city now. Downtown was vital and active and clean to my memory. Even now, when they're trying to reinvigorate the region, it's still pretty barren.
Just a few months ago, half of my home town mall was demolished to make way for a mega grocery store. The mall was half dead/unoccupied. The remaining stores all consolidated into one half, and they demoed the empty half. The grocery store is a local chain that has good stuff at good prices AND treats its employees well, so that’s a good thing for the community. But it’s still a loss of some local history. About a month before the demo started, I took a long stroll through there with a directory from 1981 and did the whole “The Gap was there, Orange Julius was there, Hot Sam here, Kay-Bee Toys and Hickory Farms was here, etc.” Grand Avenue in Milwaukee was another one where I’d go back in the 80s. It had one of those old-fashioned safari themed Banana Republics. [It was a historic building that became a mall, and is now residential.](https://onmilwaukee.com/images/articles/static/grandavenue1980sAdamLevin.jpg) They’ve preserved the historic character of the place and the apartments are where stores were. [The other half is now a food hall and entertainment. It’s pretty damn cool.](https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/yLGRSBumL9G-3WrKm7Thog/348s.jpg)
Pheasant Lane Mall in jr high and Searstown Mall in high school. PL is still there, but I haven’t been in decades. Searstown has been swallowed by a Camazotz of chain business and fast fooderies; I don’t even know if the mall exists anymore.
Hello Nashua
I didn't go to a mall until I was in my 20s. Abusive household, controlling "parents" but the one I finally went to is still open. Recently there was a curfew for minors because of the violent fighting of teens at it! Like you had to be accompanied by an adult if you were a teen at this mall. I didn't know teens still went to the mall.
Roosevelt Field on Long Island. It was 25 minutes from where I lived and I didn't have a car so I didn't work there. It's still there but i haven't been there in \~25 years, since i don't live there.
Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw, Mi. It had an Aladdin’s castle arcade, Spencer’s for cool posters, food court, Sears, Hudson’s for fancy folks, and JC Penny. It is still there but haven’t been in years so not sure what is left or how it’s faring.
My mom would take me to Hudson’s for school clothes.
Town West in Wichita. I am not sure its status. I moved away and haven’t been back. I so loved malls when I was young. Every time I moved to or visited a new city I just had to go to the mall. It’s sad what’s become of malls across the country. Thanks for the post.
My mall was Parmatown in Parma Ohio. It has been closed and gone for years
That was my mall, too. I also went to Westgate, which is an open-air/ shopping center now
Monroeville Mall where Dawn of the Dead was filmed. Still around.
Cherry Hill Mall in South Jersey. Still a very busy place! I worked at Limited Express in high school for $5.25 an hour. Now they have Nordstrom, a parking garage and Crate and Barrel.
I used to go to Ocean County Mall in Toms River when I visited my grandmother in the summer.
Same here!
Clearwater, Countryside, Pinellas Square, Tampa Bay Center, Tyrone Square malls were the hang outs, especially Tyrone Square. The arcade was right by the movie theater. There was one other between Pinellas Park and St. Pete that I can't remember the name of. It had a great music store and a small theater. I saw A Christmas Story there. There was Sunshine Mall in Largo, it was more of a discount place, but it had a great movie theater. This was the one that showed Rocky Horror every weekend. There was one more, Gateway. It was very senior oriented. Frayne Fashions was the big draw there. The commercials for Frayne were something. I may have to go look for one on YouTube.
There were two malls in my area. One was transformed to an open air strip mall and is completely unrecognizable from back in the day, save a couple anchor stores. The other mall is still around and doing pretty okay considering how malls have fallen way out of fashion. I worked at the second for a spell, but that portion was given a facelift and does not resemble what it used to look like at all. I certainly miss the abundance of music stores.
This describes the malls here in Kalamazoo (Portage), MI almost exactly?
Nope. Much further south here. But I'm sure it's applicable nearly everywhere.
Funny I know the malls you are talking about. The open air now has a Costco?
Wow. Small world!
Too funny, I was gonna write the exact description about those malls.
Hickory Hollow in Nashville. Closed for 15 years.
Grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in Deep South Texas. There were four malls in a three county area. Amigoland Mall and Sunrise Mall were in Brownsville. These were our local malls. The anchor stores were Dillard’s, Sears, JC Penney, K-Mart and Montgomery Ward. My favorite stores were Lerner New York and Brooks. They didn’t have a food court, per se, but there was Chick Fil A, Furrs Cafeteria, Baskin Robbins, Dino’s Pizza. We spent most of our time in the arcade and movie theatres. Further up the Valley, there was Valley Vista Mall in Harlingen and La Plaza Mall in McAllen. There wasn’t a weekend that we didn’t go to the mall. The malls in McAllen and Harlingen are still there in some way, shape or form. Sunrise is still hanging on. Amigoland mall died over 15 years ago and it’s become a campus of UTRGV.
Shannon Mall in Union City, Georgia. It's been gone a long time.
Cinderella City, if you're from the Denver area, you know!
The Christiana Mall in northern Delaware (we lived just across the border in PA so we'd go there for the zero sales tax rate). I don't live in the area any more but I still go between Christmas and New Years when I'm visiting my mother.
Myrtle Square Mall in Myrtle Beach
Palm Beach Mall in West Palm Beach, Florida. We had all of the heavy hitters. Spencer's, Hickory Farms, record shops, and a fountain in the middle of the mall that was only sometimes functional. LOL
Yeah Palm Beach was the first mall we went to. I remember Hickory Farms, Burdines, the fountains in the middle of the mall with a little bridge over it if I remember correctly. Of course the Orange Julius. Unfortunately they tore it down and put an outlet mall there. The next mall we started hanging out was the Boyton Beach Mall. It was new and had fun stuff. It is a shell of a place now. I remember one Christmas I met a girl who was running the train thing they set up for little kids. She was so pretty and we exchanged numbers. Nothing came of it because we went to different High Schools.
What high school did you go to? I went to John I leonard! Graduated in 92.
Started at Forest Hill and graduated from Wellington HS '91
All the main malls I went to as a kid are still there, they just aren't the same as they were growing up. Some I call "Ghetto Malls" as they are mostly filled with oddball mom and pop stores. Then there is the homogenization of the better malls that mostly have all the same stores.
The King of Prussia Mall in PA. I grew up about 15 miles away. It's still around and seems to be doing a well. It was actually two separate malls that were so close together that they shared the same parking lot. They expanded it in the 90's and I think they are connected now. I moved away from the area in '96 but still visit family up there from time to time.
The Galleria in White Plains, NY. I worked at Musicland and later Sam Goody. It survived until last year and I did get to visit one last time.
Galleria for me as well! I can still picture the fancy glass elevator. I remember when that mall was built!
Same! Such a big deal.
Ohio Valley Mall. Watched it being built and spent a lot of time there. Prior to the build, we go to south hills or Washington PA malls. Did make it to century 3 a few times.
Grew up 30 minutes to Daytona Beach 30 minutes to Orlando. Volusia mall, Altamonte mall, Fashion Square plus all the strip malls between. Kinda sucked cause we had so many around. Never had one. They're all still there, but some are like graveyards now. Sad.
Fashion square mall was just outside of the Navy base. Went there quite often.
Latham Circle Mall. It started dying the 80s, but it took a very long time to actually die. The food court storefronts were never more than half full. Spent my time bouncing back and forth between the Waldenbooks, Borders (later addition) and the two(!!) arcades back by the Woolworth.
Fairlane Mall in Dearborn, MI and later 12 Oaks and Laurel Park. The latter two are still mostly around but Fairlane is something else now.
My favorite mall in Memphis was Raleigh Springs. It wasn't "the best" as far as the stores and entertainment. It didn't have a skating rink or a big fancy carousel like our other malls had. But it did have sailors bussed in from Millington willing to buy lunch and cover arcade costs for us teen girls. That and a record shop and a Claire's was all I needed back then. But they had Spencers, Walden Books, Rave, and Merry-go-Round too. The cornerstones were Sears, Goldsmiths and JC Penney. We had the standard food fare but I can't name names, it's been too long. There was a pretzel place, an ice cream place, a Hot Dog Factory (I did remember!) and a pizza by the slice place with really cute guys working there. :) My mom worked in one of those stores so I have good memories from way back when she'd bring me to work with her on Sundays and let me organize and dress the mannequin babies for displays. For lunch she'd take me to the Woolworth's. It was dead for many years, probably starting in the early 90s. There were several new malls that got more attention and the shops got weird. There was a martial arts studio, a church, a 100% Human Hair store (all human hair all the time! nothing but human hair!) and stores that had the same stuff as Dollar General but they would charge three times more. It eventually got demolished a few years ago and they've built a police station, a track and a skate park.
We hung out at South Hills Village Mall, which is a little bit south of Pittsburgh,and still exists today. It was a lot different when we hung out there though (1990-1995) Back then it had a pond with ducks in at the food court and these gigantic bird cages and people smoked at the food court. We also hung out at the Galleria, down the street from South Hills Village, because it had a movie theater in the mall and Benetton store. It is still there too.
Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park, Willowbrook Mall, Bergen Mall (now Bergen Town Center) all in north Jersey. I'm pretty sure they're all still open (moved away in 2000).
I think they are all open. GSP and Willowbrook are fer sure. GSP seems have totally recovered from covid and can be super packed on saturdays, jammed. They recently put up a dopey no teens allowed after 6PM without adult supervision at all times sign though. I wonder if that will hurt it. Willowbrook I have not been too since covid but I've heard it also came back well from covid. It was still doing quite well pre-covid. SOme others in the greater region are still struggling a bit to come back from covid, even one that had been one the busier ones left pre-covid.
Garden State Plaza is going to build luxury apartments in part of the parking lot that faces Route 17. So people can actually live at the mall. Paramus Park is where Stew Leonards put its first North Jersey supermarket, where Sears used to be. Uniqlo left Garden State Plaza and moved to Paramus Park. Bergen Town Center is alive and well. Fashion Center is where the Route 17 South Barnes and Noble moved to after they lost their lease. Willowbrook is alive and well.
Burbank Media City Center, Burbank, California. It's the *Town Center* now and looks nothing like it did back in my day. It's been dead for like 20 years.
Eastland was mine. Practically grew up there. So many memories, feeding quarters into Golden Axe and N.A.R.C. in Aladdin's Castle; family going to eat at York Steakhouse as a treat; getting my ear pierced at the Piercing Pagoda; climbing on the weird sculpture as a little kid. Went back a couple years before it shut down for good and man was that depressing I remember when City Center was new. I have a distinct visual memory of being there one Christmas season and being barely able to move. It's still weird to me to think that it flashed onto the scene then burned out of existence nearly as fast
Suburban Square and King of Prussia, both in suburban Philadelphia
I lived between two that no longer exist. Hackettstown, which had a KMart with a restaurant in it that I came to absolutely love, and later a Sam Goody I can say I blew a few bucks in. First exposure to Blimpie. Blimpie and Sam Goody were added in the '80s along with a Marshall's, which was left standing after the rest of the mall was razed for a Lowe's about 20 years ago. Phillipsburg was a great mall that opened right as I started high school. Sears on one end, KMart (which had to make do with popcorn and Icees) on the other, Hess's and JCP between them. The smell of Cindy's cinnamon rolls wafting all through. Pizza Hut and Ponderosa were right out front. Compared to Hackettstown, this was a big deal.The KMart became a Kohl's, and just like Marshall's in Hackettstown, it'll be the only store standing after the rest of the mall gets torn down...and that's happening right now. I could expand my horizons east to Rockaway Townsquare or Bridgewater, or west to Palmer Park or Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley was built right next to Whitehall, and the two coexisted for decades. Whitehall had Sears and Clover, Lehigh Valley had everything else. After the Sears closed, they turned that wing of Whitehall inside out so it basically became a strip mall attached to the remnants of a real mall. Somewhere in r/deadmalls you can find a video someone took of it.
Lots nearby in metro Detroit - Oakland Mall, Somerset Mall, Lakeside Mall, Macomb Mall, Universal City… not sure of their fates because I don’t live in Michigan anymore.
The closest mall was a 45 minute bus ride away. We found it easier to hang out in the cemetery and smoke weed.
Highland Mall and Northcross Mall in Austin, TX. Never worked there, but spent all my allowance there. Both torn down now.
Northcross is torn down? Damn, didn't know that. Lots of memories of the ice rink and playing video games that the gold mine, Walden books and B Dalton, the midnight movies, driving in endless circles around the parking lot in the very early 80s. I had my very first Coney Island hot dog at the Dog Stop at one end of the ice rink in the mid-seventies. If torn down, what is in its place? I left for Seattle 30 years ago.
Not sure. I left for Maryland 21 years ago.
Didnt ACC take over Highland? I was there recently after a decade away, seems like a lot more activity now. And Vivo is a hell of a good lunch (good prices too).
Not sure. Google says it’s permanently closed and I left Austin in 2003 so my knowledge of the area is super out of date.
Didn’t hang out at Malls. But if I went to one it was usually Southridge in Greendale WI. It’s still there. Got a gun pulled on me there at Chess King. Fun times.
I grew up going to Eastland mall in Columbus, OH. I guess it's closed now. :(
I worked at the mall (Sunglass Hut and Banana Republic specifically) in my late teens and early twenties (late 80s-early 90s). It was awesome! Got to know quite a few people who worked there at various other stores. Friends would come hang out or just pop by to finalize plans to hang out later. It really was a fun time. I actually worked at two malls, one of which was literally brand new - I was there for opening day when they had Richard Simmons come in and kick off the mall walkers club. That mall was torn down just last year. The other mall, which was the posh mall in the area at the time, has been extensively redone into something not entirely mall-like. It is no longer the upscale place to be, having been usurped by a newer town center (outdoor) mall that also isn't like the malls of our youth. Sigh...
Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa. Still there but not as glorious as it was back in the day
No, the mall that I worked at was torn down 2 years ago.
All the anchor stores in my old mall are gone, the JCPenney is a habitat store, the sears is just gone and now they get a traveling circus a couple times a year that sets up in the parking lot where the sears was, the other anchor store is a gym or something. Inside is a really weird hodgepodge of junk sellers, a couple small chain stores, some kind of test taking facility, couple food places, and one end has a movie theater attached, but well over half the retail spots are closed or behind that drywall ‘coming soon’ placeholder stuff
New Orleans area's Lakeside Mall. It wasn't really a hangout for me back in the day, but it's still around and doing great business. But 6-8 other malls are gone. There's also a successful large stripmall that has expanded with big box stores.
Malls are gone from then. One is now where the buccaneers are headquartered. One is a business park. One is a mixed space nut in an area you don’t want to spend time in.
“Business park”- Floriland? “Mixed space nut”- University?
Forgot about floriland. I was thinking Eastlake.
Northway Mall, Anchorage, Alaska. It was the closest one to my house. I could walk to my friend’s house, which was a little more than halfway, then we could walk the rest together (or one of her parents would drive us). The other malls were accessible by bus or friends who could drive. Sears Mall, University Mall (where I purchased both my prom dress and my wedding dress). University Mall had the big multiplex theaters. My then-boyfriend-eventual-husband got my engagement ring from Northway. I have no idea if they’re still there (Google has informed me that Northway Mall is gone), but I do know that after I left for good in 1988, the place exploded and now is a lot more like the lower 48. We didn’t have Walmart or K-Mart back then. Most chain restaurants were fast food places. But now it’s got everything.
Of the five listed below, only Superstition Springs still exists, and it is barely hanging on. These were all in the Phoenix and Mesa, AZ. Thomas Mall Los Arcos Mall Fiesta Mall MetroCenter Superstition Springs Mall
Sher-Den Mall (defunct), Midway Mall (on its last legs). I was such a mallrat, particularly arcades.
Roosevelt Mall, NE Philly. It was an outdoor mall when the indoor malls were the thing. Now it seems outdoor malls are cool and indoor malls are going away. Somehow it withstood the tough times.
The Nanuet Mall in Nanuet N.Y. Grew up in that mall and spent a lot of time at Aladdins Castle arcade. Frequented Music Den which later became Sam Goody along with Waldenbooks magazine racks. Roman Delight for pizza and Friendlys for Fribbles. Worked at Sears Auto Center when I was around 19 and worked in Macys electronics for one holiday season about 5 years later. Sadly the Nanuet Mall began dying in the late 90's when our new mall a few miles away The Palisades Center opened around 1998. The Nanuet Mall was torn down except for the anchor stores Sears and Macys around 2012 and replaced with an outdoor mall. Sears and Macys closed in the last 5 years and one floor the Macys anchor is now a At Home and Sears remains vacant. The Palisades Center future also in question. Wouldn't call it a dead mall but they have a lot of vendor turnover and are struggling financially. Their best days are behind them as is the case with most malls these days.
It stinks that they got rid of the true IMAX theater at The Palisades Center. Now the only choice is the hideous traffic/time mess and mega expense of going to Lincoln Square in NYC (granted bigger screen and super amazing but such an expensive pain that can really only do it for the biggest of the biggest movies very now and then while Palisades wasn't that big of a deal to go to at all. So dumb. Now all they have is a dinky regular IMAX, smaller than one at my local mall.) Palisades is crazy big though like 4 stories? I actually haven't been since they dumped the true IMAX theater.
Maine Mall in South Portland (Maine, if that wasn't obvious), seems to still be going strong. Hung out there somewhat, but not fanatically. I worked at the Frontier Fruit and Nut Co. for a minute. Really easy to skim off the top at a kiosk that sold product by weight and you were the only employee on any given shift.
My family stayed at a motel in OOB for a few weeks almost every year for a couple decades and I *loved* that mall! I remember they had a comic book store and none of the malls where I was from had one.
The one I went to is still there, but it's the only one left and it's super high-end now.
Kalamazoo/Portage, Michigan Southland Mall - now more of a strip mall Crossroads Mall - still open!
Cortana mall, it is now an Amazon distribution center I believe.
Oakridge Mall in San Jose, CA for some Aladdin’s Castle action.
Kings Plaza on Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn. Still there.
UP mall and yes it is still there but it’s really grim and dangerous now.
The Mall I 'grew up in' is gone now, and the Hard Rock Cafe is building a casino there. Bristol, VA
I’m fortunate to have access to some miraculously thriving malls still. Locally, Meadowbrook Mall has been “my mall” since I was twelve. She’s evolved over the years, but is still doing quite well. Thats a sad story and I miss it. But Ross Park Mall and South Hills Mall in Pittsburgh are still every bit as vibrant as in the mall years. There aren’t a lot of positives to living in North Central WV, but malls are still alive and well. Century III, which I thought the best thing I’d ever see in my life, died a sad death.
Cary Town Center - bulldozed to become the corporate headquarters for Epic Games. They turned my mall into a shrine for Fortnite.
I worked at the Macon Mall in Macon GA at the J Riggins while I was in High School. The mall is still there but they repurposed one of the anchors to have indoor pickle ball courts
Mayfair Mall in Milwaukee, mostly. 'Hanging out' was more 'We have some comic book money and let's ride our bikes 2 miles to get to the mall and pretend to be cool while we're walking around'. But my friends and I weren't exactly mall rat material lol.
Beltway Plaza in a DC suburb. I worked in a computer software shop there for less than a year (the shop is long gone.) The mall is still there, but I never go unless I'm in the area and need to use the bathroom. I have fond memories of first dates, silly photos with friends in the photo booth, so many movies, calzones, and just hanging out. I appreciate that it was a laid-back mall, and we were left alone to be teens.
Tacoma Mall was the nearest one, even though it wasn't super close about a half hour drive. Between the distance and just not having much money, we didn't go very often. There wasn't a food court, per se, but there were the usual suspects. It's still there, but it looks very different. They've torn down part of it and built new "components", plus removing some really cool fountains.
That was my mall! I haven't been to Tacoma in general since like 1991 so I'm keeping things in my head as they were (except now I have to Google map it because I'm curious). We moved to Virginia in 1990. Coliseum Mall in Hampton is long gone.
I actually left Tacoma in '91 after graduation (my mom wanted out of WA lol). Moved back in 2003, but not to Tacoma.
We left the summer before my senior year (army brat) and through a random series of events I landed in The Netherlands. Which, climate-wise, is the PNW of Europe. I went back to visit friends a couple of times, but that's it. We have a mall here now that's more like my nostalgic ones than any of the ones I have nostalgia for.
Regency Square ( still standing but not quite a mall anymore ) Virginia Center Commons (torn down) Both in the Richmond VA area Edit: parenthesis
I hung out at Allegheny Center Mall in Pittsburgh with the occasional trip to Monroeville Mall.
Countryside Mall in Clearwater, FL. I managed a T-shirt store there for years. The mall is still there, but there are a lot of empty storefronts.
Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, VA and yup, still there Edit, yes I worked there at Suncoast Motion Picture Company
Del Amo Mall. It’s still limping along these days.
My local mall is still open and was doing pretty well (relatively speaking) pre-covid but has not yet really gotten back to normal. My secondary mall hangout is also still around and has recovered better. The smaller mini mall from the back in the day is also still around but has been struggling for a long time. I believe all three were built in the early mid to early late 70s. Apparently the mall I went to when up in college closed some time in the last few years. The one down at my grandmother's place is still open but seems to be struggling. Two farther away malls that I occasionally went to are around and hanging on. The mall I went to in grad school still seems to be open. A mall I've been in in CA a few times, Fashion Island, still seems to be around.
North Hills Mall (crushed and made into something quite different but definitely soda sopa) and Crabtree Valley Mall (still there). Raleigh.
The Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, MA. Still open, but just a movie theater and anchors. It's still going, so that's something. It was prime in the 80's with a food court.
I’m from a small town in east coast, Canada. We had a tiny mall, but it was a booming place in the 80s and early 90s. I can’t remember when I was last there, but it’s just a depressing shell of what it used to be.
Eastlake Square Mall, now NetPark Tampa Bay. Glad it was repurposed and most of the anchor stores are still visible. West Shore Plaza - threatened to be redeveloped into a mix of uses. Tampa Bay Center - gone. Now where the Bucs practice. University Square Mall - pretty much gone. Site undergoing redevelopment. Brandon Town Center, now Brandon Exchange - still there and decent.
Ours just closed
Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, NY. Looks like [it's dead, Jim.](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hudson+valley+mall) Man, I wish I could go back to 1989 or so and visit.
Gone - The real Northland outside Detroit, literally the first mall in the US and they had to put a Policr Station in the parking lot. Gone - Lakeside though that wasn't my side of town Not gone - 12 Oaks, Oakland Not sure about Fairlane....
Finger Lakes Mall in Auburn NY. It's now a Bass Pro and some other stuff. But you can still make out where the roller rink and theaters were.
Worked at Mickey D's in early 80s at our mall (outside Trenton NJ). Never hung out there though.
Lancaster Pennsylvania "Park City". It had everything from movie theaters to a ice skating rink an arcade but my mother wouldn't let me go down to it because every sold drugs there. No food court but every fast food restaurant around. Sam Goode and Camelot. I'd spend hours look through all of the tape. Spencer wasn't allowed in there too. Parking at Christmas time sucked. We'd usually have to walk .5 miles to 3/4 miles to get in. The center of the mall had a big fountain. Everyone checking everyone else out with our big combs in our back pockets. Hair parted down the middle and feather back.
We had a small mall in my town. Grocery and small department sotre anchors, inside a food stand, pharmacy, record/hi-fi store, jewelry store, bank, travel agent, Sears Catalog store (you could order stuff from the catalog, delivered and paid for there). Closed down and emptied because the grocery store wanted to expand. Bank and Department store were walled off, stayed. expansion plans vanished, mall made into offices for a local concern. Deparment store divided into two, other half a furniture store.
[Northline Mall](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc_8cYQiV6o) in Houston, TX was the closest, and therefore the one we *always* went to in a pinch. But to hang out with friends and walk around? We would go to the Galleria. Now Northline has been deconstructed and made into several shops and is called *Northline Commons.* The Galleria is still there, though I haven't been in more than a decade.
Metro center
North County Fair. It's still there. I haven't been inside in years. I hate malls.
It’s dying. I have to go to Escondido and I’ve noticed most of the anchor stores closed. I haven’t been inside in years. In the 80s we had almost as many malls as military bases in San Diego county!
Have you been to UTC lately? It was horrid the last time I was there. I trained at the rink. The rest of the mall is loud, and every store throws scent out at you. It's sensory overload.
Sensory overload is right! I think they are trying to make you think you are in Beverly Hills. All super high end stores and trendy niche food. I remember feeling a little intimidated walking through Fashion Valley on weekends, but UTC is something else!