What are the dead malls of your town?

[pstokely]

any on this site? wwww.deadmalls.com

There are too many in the Kansas City area like Bannister Mall http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/bannister_mall.html.

[deadparrot]

1. St. Louis Centre.

It's on there.

I've heard it's going to be coming down for a housing development. Kind of sad. I have lots of memories of going there as a little kid, getting candy from the candy counter at Famous-Barr and going to the pretzel place during Irish dance competitions.

[AllegroRondo]

9. St Louis Mills is going there quickly

[sakabatou]

2. An Albertsons a couple of blocks away

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

3. In Indianapolis

Eastgate Consumer Mall and Lafayette Square Mall are the malls on the list. Washington Square & Glendale Mall needs to be included on this list as well because there on the same level as the first two.

[WCGreen]

4. Westgate Mall in Fairview PArk is getting a complete

Makeover...

First it was an open air mall...

Then they added a open roof, corrigated thing...

Then they enclosed the whole thing....

And now, well they are returning to it's open air roots....

I figure by the time I die, it will be under cover once again...

[HughBeaumont]

5. They need to just bulldoze that monstrosity once and for all.

You know what ELSE they need to bulldoze - The Galleria, Randall Park Mall and Midway Mall in Elyria. All are giant wastes of concrete with lousy food courts being the only reason they're standing and flea-market-esque stores existing among the closed brand names that used to be there.

[ET Awful]

6. well, there's "Assembly Square Mall" in Somerville, MA

which began life as a Ford parts plant, then became a mall full of stores, not it's occupied only by a K-Mart at one end and a Building 19 at the other (Building 19 is a big discount store, does wholesale liquidations and such).

Actually, it looks like they may be making an effort to give it a bit of a re-birth though: http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/newsDetail.cfm?instance_id=744

There were plans to build an Ikea at the site, but several lawsuits by community groups and the like have put it on hold.

Now in many cases, I'd agree with the community groups, but in this case, I have to ask . . . which is better, a weed-filled lot surrounding a decrepit old mall that only has two units occupied, or a facility that will create 500 jobs or so (I base that on the no. of jobs at the Ikea in Stoughton) and bring lots of tax dollars to the city?

[blondeatlast]

7. We've faced the same thing where I live--let the neighborhood

go slowly to seed or build the ultra-big box store (not, mercifully, Wal-Mart).

My parents lived in that formerly wonderful neighborhood for 30 years and I did much of my growing up there.

I pushed for the UBB and I won't apologize for it.

[ET Awful]

8. Fortunately Ikea is nowhere near as evil as Wal-Mart

They actually have concern for things like their workers, the workers in their factories, the environment and the like.

They also don't really pose a threat to other furniture retailers and such because of the type of furniture they supply. The type of person who will buy traditional furniture will always go to a traditional furniture store, the type that doesn't mind putting it together when they get it home will typically shop at Ikea and the like (if anything they'll take some business from the really crappy assemble it yourself furniture that Wal-Mart sells).

The big issue with this location is that it's right on the river. Some in the community think that the property should be used for offices, condos and the like. Personally, I'd rather have a 2 story huge but low building like an Ikea than have a high-rise apartment building over the river.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. That was a dead mall the day it opened.

I lived in Somerville and never went there. Part of the problem was the access --roads weren't reconfigured properly to handle the new traffic flow and the T access was mediocre. It was also too close to Meadow Glen mall when that was a fairly successful mix of stores.

My favorite Massachusetts dead mall was Mountain Farms in Hadley. Everyone called it the Dead Mall to distinguish it from the adjacent and successful Hampshire mall. I think it's funny that in the mid-1990s the balanced shifted and now Hampshire is the dead mall and Mountain Farms is bustling.

[Wcross]

10. Midtown plaza- Rochester,N.Y.

My parents live there and I grew up there. The place will never be anything. I think the downfall is the fact there is no weekend or evening traffic. You have to pay for parking if you drive there. It would be great for inner city residents if it were located closer to where people live but it is right downtown in the business district.
One thing that bothered my mother about the place is the kids hanging out there. The main transfer for the city bus system is right at midtown plaza. After school the kids tend to linger at the mall before going home. Its great for the kids (who don't have a lot of disposable income) but uncomfortable for adults.

[Ron Mexico]

31. I loved that place as a kid, but I was there last year and

was stunned to see what a graveyard it was.

Equally bad was the Irondequoit Mall. Nice facility and nobody in it. I guess everyone's either at Marketplace Mall, the Greece one or at the House of Guitars. :)

[Wcross]

36. Remember how they did it up for Christmas?

I am 42 so I don't know if you recall this or not. My parents used to take me downtown and they had a tram to ride around on and really decorated it for christmas. I think it was Sibley's that had a really cool "santa" area and they always had wonderful window displays. We would go down there every christmas.
Do you recall the East Rochester mall? That place was a dump from day one. I don't know what they were smoking when they put that up.
I think the only two that will survive in Rochester is Eastview and Marketplace. With Kodak shutting down there just isn't enough to support more than two malls.

[Ron Mexico]

37. Sure, who could forget it?

I was more excited about that than I was about presents. Midtown, Midtown, Midtown!

I'm 42 as well. My mom was sitting in Midtown, pregnant with me, when she heard about JFK.

I don't recall the East Rochester mall, though. I grew up in Greece (Olympia grad) and remember Greece Towne and Longridge. I even worked in Sears at Longridge as a kid, putting up shelves and displays. Imagine my surprise when I came home from the military to find they built a third mall to connect the two and called it "Greece Ridge." That one will survive, as will Marketplace and Eastview. I agree that all others are doomed.

[Wcross]

39. I grew up in Fairport.

I have many fond memories of Rochester. I think I went to the Greece ridge mall during one of my visits to the folks. It looked like it was busy.
I could really go for a Nick Tahoe's garbage plate!

[Ron Mexico]

40. I could, too, but last I heard Bill Johnson had the downtown one

shut its doors at a certain point. Can you imagine Nick's not being open 24/7? I believe the Lyell Avenue one is still open all day, though.

The only other thing that I miss food-wise is Schaller's cheeseburgers. Everything else because assimilated by either big-chain procedures or the big chains themselves. Remember Pontillo's Pizzeria? There are still several in the city, but the product is now indistinguishable from Domino's. I could just cry.

[Wcross]

43. You want a GREAT pizza?

If you ever get to downtown Fairport there is a place called T.K.'s and it has been in business forever. It has the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life.
If you think the quality of pizza is bad in Rochester, try to get a good pie in Tennessee. They think pizza hut is a great pie.

[Ron Mexico]

46. I really appreciate this.

I used to swear by Tom and Nancy's (remember it?), but they're closed now.

BTW, where do you live now? Arlington (VA) here.

[Wcross]

47. I live in southern middle Tennessee.

Right near the Jack Daniels distillery. Its funny how many people are FROM Rochester. It seems so bleak economically. I have a buddy from school that still lives up there, the job outlook is really bad.
I still miss those wonderful Rochester winters...........

[Ron Mexico]

48. Remember how everyone and their dad worked at Kodak?

Everyone who I knew that worked there was laid off, with one exception, and that exception is sleeping with her boss. It's an economic graveyard. Xerox is even worse off. Bausch and Lomb is dead in the water, neither is Jolt Cola. Even Gennessee isn't hiring (I used to work there).

I actually do miss Rochester winter. I'd have half of December, January, February and March off down here.

[Wcross]

50. I remember the "bonus" ad's that came out every year.

I think they paid a bonus every spring and the paper would always have advertisements. I always heard you had to "know somebody" to get hired at Kodak. I'm glad I didn't know anyone!
I have a buddy whos brother works there. I remember him saying confidently that digital photography wouldn't have any impact on Kodaks business.

[Ron Mexico]

42. Just for you:

http://thelynches.net/Personal_Pages/Damian/Nick_Tahou_Recipe.htm

[Wcross]

44. Thanks for the link!

I have a funny Genny cream ale story. We were discussing the worst beer at work and I said I could top them all. One guy said there wasn't any beer he wouldn't drink. I brought back a six pack of Genny cream with me from a visit. I told him to be sure to drink it really cold.
He came back from the weekend and admitted he couldn't drink the stuff. He left the beer in the fridge after he got divorced for his ex-wifes boyfriend to enjoy.

[Ron Mexico]

45. I have one, too, although this might strike you as

"too much information." Back when I was 14-15, which was as you know well before the age where giving a kid a can of beer could land a parent in jail, for days and days I was having the worst constpiation problem (sorry, but I did warn you, LOL)- basically, I just couldn't go. I could piss, but that was it. My parents tried everything, to include some truly disgusting medicines, but nothing worked. My grandfather had me drink a can of Genny Cream, and the problem over in about 15-20 minutes.

No better laxative on Earth, that stuff.

[Ron Mexico]

49. One more:

http://patjenk.com/rochester/tahous/index.htm

[SmileyBoy]

12. Used to be Moorhead Center Mall, but not anymore.

That place made a comeback.

BTW, I have an entry on that website under Knollwood Mall, St. Louis Park, MN.:)

[scarlet_owl]

13. Lincoln Square mall here in Urbana.

[WildEyedLiberal]

32. Yeah, that's sad

I had heard that Urbana was going to try to revitalize and get some new stores in Lincoln Square. Have you heard anything about that?

[Bridget Burke]

14. Three are listed at that site...

Town & Country Mall and Greenspoint Mall in Houston, plus Pasadena Town Square in beautiful Pasadena. None are especially missed by me--if I want The Mall Experience, I'll just go to the Galleria.

But I really miss Westbury Square. It was a bunch of shoppes built on an artificial hill--looking like a bit of Italy. There was perhaps Houston's first Indian store--now we've got hundreds. Plus a really good bookstore & a good record store. Other shops offered clothes, decor & imports. And there were a couple of decent restaurants. Definitely worth a trip on Saturday...

Neighborhood decline followed by neighborhood development have destroyed most of the old Westbury Square. And Houston now has a wonderful mix of multicultural retailers & restaurants--although most of them are located in unbeautiful strip centers. Hong Kong City Mall might be the wave of the future:

[TimeChaser]

15. Parkway Center near Pittsburgh

It's a landmark for getting around, but it's been dying since I was little.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Too many in KC?

But only one is listed there on that website. What others besides Bannister Mall are dying? Blue Ridge Mall is gone and Mission Mall has been sold and will be torn down. Any dying malls besides Bannister?

[pstokely]

25. Bannister mall is the only dead mall on that site.

[Scout1071]

33. Metcalf South is barely breathing. Metro North is all but dead.

Basically, all the malls that Frank Morgan and Sherman Drieszesun (totally misspelled) built in the '60's and '70's. Frank died, Sherman sold and they've been decaying ever since.

[WeRQ4U]

17. How can there be no dead malls listed in North Dakota.

Hell, they're ALL dead malls. For christ's sake, I have two dead malls in my hometown. The King's Plaza and Big Sky Mall (The name changed to T-Rex Plaza in response to Southwest North Dakota's infatuation with dinosaur bones). They aren't completely dead, but are on Terri Schiavo-esq life support. It's simply prolonging the inevitable.

[SmileyBoy]

21. There are TONS of tiny ND towns with tiny dead malls.

One example I can think of is the Michigan Mall in Michigan, ND. Another one is the Arthur Center Mall in Arthur, ND.

[WeRQ4U]

22. Maybe there's a separate link for North Dakota...

Considering there are so many. We're just missing it.

[SmileyBoy]

23. My mother used to stop at Arthur's mall.

Back in those days, it was almost at 100% capacity and had a whopping 6 STORES according to her. It had a sandwich shop, post office, coffee shop, and a couple other places. She would sometimes do business up in Arthur, and would have lunch there. I have no idea if it's dead or demolished or thriving nowadays, so I'll have to drive up there sometime and see.

[CatholicEdHead]

29. Also Washington Mall in Grand Forks

though I think the renamed it the Grand Cities mall. Columbia Mall is still the top mall in the Grand Forks area.

[WeRQ4U]

30. Grand Cities mall is pretty weak.

I spent a lot of time at the buck fifty theater though during college.

[pstokely]

26. No one has submitted info about dead malls in ND to that site.

[LSK]

18. theres a whole society out there of people who explore abandoned areas

I think its called Urban Explorers or something. They find abandomed buildings, tunnels, factories, etc and explore them on weekends or at night.

[Hugin]

34. Great! Where do I sign up?

Sounds interesting.

[SoCalDem]

19. The sad thing is that every one of the dead malls KILLED

a downtown or many smaller stgores & shops.. Some of these downtown areas in small towns had many-generational stores that cannot be "re-born", so the communities who lose the downtown, and then the mall, will now have to travel to shop, and take their money out of their own towns.

My old hometown was a prime example of this.

Our downtown was a booming, bustling place with 3 movie theatres, many clothing shops, drug stores, cafes, restaurants, shoe stores, etc.

People worked 9-5 or 6.. the stores rarely stayed open after 6 pm, yet they were always busy. The folks who worked downtown took hour long lunch hours, cashed their paychecks and redistributed that money within their own "downtown world".. The guy who sold shoes, used the camera shop across the street from his store, ate luch at the diner next door, bought movie toickets at the theatre across the street.

The people who worked at the phone company or the banks, bought their clothes at the downtown shops, at lunch downtown, bought their furniture at the department stores downtown.

the mall came along..OUTSIDE the city limits (to save on tax money), and suddenly the old 9-6 pattern was turned on its head..One by one, the downtown stores were either "forced' to move to the mall and pay higher rents, or sell their buildings and move closer to the mall in order to "save" their businesses.

Human nature, being what it is, makes people want to go to the "new", so all a mall has to do it to sap the local sales for a short time, and they "win"..

[pstokely]

28. The bigger better malls then killed the older malls.

Now those malls are being killed by "lifestyle centers".

[Elidor]

20. Good section on Denver's Cinderella City on that site

Man, that brings back memories. Zeezo's Magic Castle in CinderAlley was my favorite place to go when I was a kid.

[Aristus]

24. Lakewood Mall in Lakewood, Washington has 9 lives.

It's currently on its fourth or fifth life.

It started as Villa Plaza in the 1960's, and died a slow death as all of the small businesses (bookstores, music shops, barber shops) lost out to the big-box retailers.

It was reborn as Lakewood Mall in the late 1980's. A fully-enclosed shopping mall with all of the national retailers present. It also hosted live music acts for the has-been TV star circuit. Then it died another slow death in the early 21st Century.

It has been reborn yet again as a series of strip-malls anchored by a few national big-box stores like JCPenny and Barnes and Noble.

[bleedingheart]

27. our dead mall is gone...it is now a huge Wal-Mart and shopping

area...

Wal-Mart, Joann Fabrics, Red Robin..Linen and Things...

[Dukkha]

35. Northland Mall: Columbus, OH

http://illicitohio.illicitohio.com/mall1.html

I spent many weekends there since the 70's It has since been completely bulldozed away. In it's day it was the place to go here. I recall going to it's theater to see the Star Wars trilogy when it was originally released. The economy thrived for neighboring strip malls, planned communities were developed around it. Now it's a relic of the past. The neighborhood is in a downward spiral due to it's demise.

[noonwitch]

38. No dead ones, but many that are dying

Northland in Southfield, Universal in Warren, Summit Place in Pontiac. There is just too much competition from Somerset, Lakeside, 12 Oaks and more upscale malls for the old ones to compete.

[derby378]

41. Big Town Mall, Lochwood Mall, Prestonwood Town Center (Dallas)

Big Town stands empty except for a Montgomery Ward that has been converted into a flea market of sorts. The exhibition hall, however, is still used for regional gun shows every month or so. There's also a horse-and-tackle shop right next to the old mall.

Lochwood and Prestonwood, however, have been bulldozed. Lot of fond memories of Prestonwood, though - that's where I first tried out ice skating. (Evgeny Pleschenko, I'm not.)

[yellowdogintexas]

51. Town Center Mall in Fort Worth, and another shopping

center at Berry st and Riverside drive that was built and if I am correct never actually opened. It was supposed to help uplift a dying area and instead was killed by its location.

I read the other day that its shell is being demolished and some sort of housing is going in there.

[Dukkha]

52. now THIS is a "Dead" mall

http://www.monroevillemall.com

The Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, PA. It is still thriving today and doing good business. It's a "Dead" mall because it was where George Romero filmed Dawn of the Dead.

http://deadohio.com/MonroevilleMall.htm