Talk about struggling/dead malls?

[Historia-Q]

I always found struggling/dead malls interesting. Anyways, do you have any struggling or dead malls in your area? What are your favourite dead malls? I wanna know.

Personally, I really love Forest Fair village in Ohio, because the aesthetics it has felt so nostalgic, but from the videos I’ve seen of it, looks extremely dead aside from like two anchors and a game store before it closed. A lot of malls in my city are either doing well or are fine but not on the same level as the few high-end ones in my city. I have a few that are struggling, though I don’t know if they count as dead. The struggling malls in question are Portage Place, City Place, and Winnipeg Square.

(I do wish to see more dead malls that aren’t from the US though, since the US ones seem more well-known…)

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

Stadtgallerie, Schweinfurt, Germany:

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Once blamed to press small shops out of the city, the Stadtgallerie itself is more and more thinned out, and there are many vacancies between the remaining stores.

Sony Center, Berlin:

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Once intended as european flagship for Sony and plastered with stores, now basically abandoned.

[Paprika]

I have a couple of multi-floor malls near my place and both are thriving so far because they're almost central in the city. (I'm in Europe). A few months ago I discovered the remnants of a 80's mall that has no floors it's all on ground level. I went there expecting it to be super abandoned but it's actually thriving too ! I was wondering how did it survived for so long and I quickly understood that it was a lot of very small shops with cheap services like haircutting, barber, restaurants, etc. The population around isn't the richest so it makes perfect sense that a cheap place is still alive when most of the visitors are either students or elderly people. I know there was more malls before but as far as I've looked on Google maps, they've been destroyed for something brand new or converted into something else.

I must admit that I have a thing for dead/abandoned malls there something... fascinating with the concept/idea ! I wish I could visit one some day.

Youtube has a lot of videos on the topic ! Example

[grubbyfox]

Oh my god I could talk FOREVER about struggling/dead malls!! We have two almost dead malls where I live. The main issues are that the rent for stores in those malls is very high, there's limited parking spaces for customers, and the stores dont get much space in the malls. So you can basically only have a small/medium store.

Its 2 malls next to each other, not in competition, but we sort of view them as one mall here. Anyway, this means that any store in those malls has to know they will be able to bring in tons of cash - and it has to be a store that people will bother visiting and not just order from similar store online.

We're a very small town, only about 20k people living here....and we have 3 large malls with big parking and low prices, cafes etc right outside the "town center". + two larger stores similar to Target and the likes. (So not malls, but "everything in one" stores.) All these offer ample parking and large spaces.

The town center has the 2 malls that are kind of cramped, dont offer free parking, and less parking/more annoying spots...so you can imagine how this goes after a long time.

I mean, during sales/events etc the malls still bring in a lot of people of course, but still....I go to the town center a lot, as I dont have a car, and they're def very dead-looking. This is also due to other factors, like the few banks offices that are left dont have customer-service/are "offices" only, not for clients, and those types of things. Once you remove any reason to be in the town center apart from shopping, naturally, people stop going that often.

Like, nobody "runs errands" in town here anymore like we did before, because there's no place to do it. For banking, its online/telephone only. Obviously online shopping changed a lot too.

Before all the bigger malls/centers came about here (They all popped up like after 2007 or something.) - things were very different. I remember seeing photos of an "average day" in the town center from the 90s, and the place is completely PACKED with people.


I'll show pics if I can dig them up, because this has been a topic many a times in my towns community groups, lol. It's really sad to see. Luckily it's not so bad that the malls are actually about to shut down or anything, but there's def a huge change from how it used to be, and they are struggling to keep up with the pace of the big boxy storage-shopping centers with no personality or charm. Especially because nobody wants to start a shop here. We dont have any place that sells music, videos/films, games etc. There's literally not a nerdy shop at all in town.

[larvapuppy]

I'm from a very small Canadian city and we do have a few dead/dying malls in the area.    One is small and mostly empty with only a drug store, doctor's office, and a chain dollar store. Another is larger, with a Walmart on one end and a large chain grocery store on the other, and mostly empty on the inside aside from doctors' offices and money lending services. The larger one is still pretty nice to visit because of its tall ceilings with skylights, and the fact that there are almost never any other customers in the main mall section- they're all in Walmart. I often buy an egg salad sandwich at the grocery store and eat it on a bench inside of the giant empty space. 

We have one mall that's still fairly busy, but there aren't many stores that interest me- a bookstore and a Spencers gifts, where I usually don't end up buying anything anyway.

My favourite mall from my childhood got renovated into a strip mall over 10 years ago, and it has lost all of its charm as a result. It used to have an arcade, a locally owned bowling alley, and restaurants inside- plus not all of the stores were gigantic national/international chains; one was a sole proprietorship owned by a Chinese immigrant selling imported items, and another was a cute toy/plushie store that sold Beanie Babies. On Sundays all of the stores in the mall would close, and a flea market was hosted in the hallways. In its current state as a strip mall, it hosts all the same stores you'd find in any other mall or plaza, so I barely ever visit. If I want a charming/interesting shopping experience I go thrifting or travel to a larger city. 

[Melooon]

They didn't open a shopping mall here until about 2006! Iv been there a few times to see movies, and its always been pretty busy but it gives me a headache so I cant stay in there very long  I heard from someone who works there that they actually pipe in extra chatter noise to make it seem busier than it is; so even if you're in a quiet corner or a service corridor it still sounds like there are 100 people chattering around you. I think I might go there more if they did not do this

However there is also have covered market in the city center that is SUPER busy and quite large, I get all my groceries there and its also got cafes so its a good spot to meet; I avoid it on weekends because its too busy! However a lot of the rest of the city center is way more desolate than I remember it being in my teens. I remember getting a new 3DS in one shop, and needing an SD card; so I took it to the camera shop and they not only sold me an SD card, but took the face-plate off the DS and put the SD card in for me There are still a few 50s style shops around like that one; but they are getting rarer.

I think its really interesting how malls were invented to replicate town centers like that; and yet they totally missed the mark. If I was a billionaire I would totally make a fantasy mall that really felt like a town and Id build free railways down all the roads around it so everyone could get there really easily and never escape

[grubbyfox]

They didn't open a shopping mall here until about 2006! Iv been there a few times to see movies, and its always been pretty busy but it gives me a headache so I cant stay in there very long  I heard from someone who works there that they actually pipe in extra chatter noise to make it seem busier than it is; so even if you're in a quiet corner or a service corridor it still sounds like there are 100 people chattering around you. I think I might go there more if they did not do this

However there is also have covered market in the city center that is SUPER busy and quite large, I get all my groceries there and its also got cafes so its a good spot to meet; I avoid it on weekends because its too busy! However a lot of the rest of the city center is way more desolate than I remember it being in my teens. I remember getting a new 3DS in one shop, and needing an SD card; so I took it to the camera shop and they not only sold me an SD card, but took the face-plate off the DS and put the SD card in for me There are still a few 50s style shops around like that one; but they are getting rarer.

I think its really interesting how malls were invented to replicate town centers like that; and yet they totally missed the mark. If I was a billionaire I would totally make a fantasy mall that really felt like a town and Id build free railways down all the roads around it so everyone could get there really easily and never escape

That thing about the chatter is the most unhinged thing I have read in a while, lmao WHAT. Also, whoa what did you have before 2006? Just a general shopping district or something?

My town isn't a very populated one (but large in size compared to other towns here.) - however, interestingly, my town was always a sort of "shopping hub" even way wayyy back in the older times. Due to the location, it was a normal hub for people from around to meet up in and barter/sell.

[Audball]

We have two malls in my city. One is still has some decent foot traffic (its got a Barnes & Noble in it which gets a ton of customers still) but the other mall is D-E-A-D. It was even shown on one of those Dead Mall youtube channels! The dead one has had a lot of changes. Big department store turned community college (???) turned children's hospital center (???), but the mall itself is still as dead/dying as ever. I have a lot of memories of that dead mall, but mainly just commenting on how empty it is (even as a child!). The only thing keeping that mall (barely) open are the few bigger stores attached to it (Staples, etc.) and the fast food stores that are in the parking lot, but not physically connected to the mall.

Some funny stores still inside the mall though. One of those crystal stores if you're into that kinda stuff (they also sell pride flags!), a sports jersey store, a suit store, a...taekwondo school?

[arsenicCatnip]

Surprisingly, the shopping malls in my area are far from dying out! If anything, they're thriving more than ever before.

The one closest to me opened sometime in the mid '80s, if I recall. It's had a couple of renovations since then, but much of its original structure still remains, which is very nice. These days, most of the shops are large chain shops, but I suppose that can't be helped, and it makes for much convenience too, should one wish to go grocery shopping. Of course, there are thrift shops and plenty of independent restaurants/cafes/shops in the streets surrounding the mall, and plenty of green spaces, so all in all, it's a wonderful place to live.

There's another mall, much bigger, about a half-hour's bus ride away, and I actually used to work there about a year or so ago! That one opened sometime in the mid-2000s, and I'd bet it's one of the biggest in my country. It's got a very ritzy section with all the designer shops, as well as all the other shops too. When I was in high-school, it was always the designated 'cool' place to hang out at. I find it a bit overwhelming to go to these days, especially with the memories of DREADFUL retail job, but I'm sure it's still very fun for the teens of today.

[PurpleHello98]

There are two malls in my area. One is "the mall", and, despite a few vacancies currently (and one store that's oddly split up between two spaces), its anchor tenants and many of its smaller stores are still healthily busy and on a normal day, especially weekends, there'll be quite a few people there. The other, however, is a weird mall/strip mall combo that's nearly entirely dead---I've only ever been inside because some local art group hosts a show there sometimes. There aren't any big stores that I know of, and the big draws seem to be a hardware store, a vape store, random restaurants, community college satellite campuses and maybe a DMV office or something. Their only Web site is a Facebook page that hasn't been posted on in the better part of a decade and I think it's safe to at least call it dying.

[sokil]

the two malls i went to the most often have both been slowly dying. most of the bigger department stores are gone; both have movie theatres that are still open, and i think one to two major department stores at most. i haven't been to one in a long time, but the other has so few things remaining. i can't think of much there outside of barnes & noble and the hallmark store. the first one went up for sale several years ago and the new ownership changed the name of the mall, which also meant that its appearance would change; a lot of the exterior design that made the mall look more unique was gone, and now it's got that modern simplistic-yet-sleek look. honestly, it makes me really sad. all the entrances used to be so colorful and each of them used to have the mall's logo above the name...now it sorta looks like the meta branding i'm not sure what to expect for this other mall nearby since it was also just bought fairly recently, i think by a real estate company. for now, i'm grateful that there's still a movie theatre, but....i do wish that the mall wasn't dying. taking the bus to the mall with some friends and just wandering aimlessly for a bit used to be a pretty fun thing to do. it's strange seeing the places you used to spend lots of time at just gradually no longer exist. there's some other malls that aren't too far away, but i never really went to them much so i'm not sure how they're fairing compared to the two closest to where i live.

weirdly enough, for all the dying malls i live near, there is one mall that's still thriving! this one is about a little over an hour away and the town is pretty much just the mall; it has your typical places as well as a small section dedicated to more high-end stores. there's very few vacancies, and it still seems to attract a decent crowd on an average day (it's even more packed during the holiday season!). it's kind of crazy to think that there's still one that's doing really well in a time where the majority of malls seem to be disappearing.

[zj]

As a european I haven't come across a dead mall yet, I'm glad we haven't had the same effect as in north america. IRL places to hang out are important, and malls provide that. Although I do love abandoned buildings and wish I could explore them without risk. I live vicariously through youtube videos in thast aspect, lol.

[prismatic]

there's one mall a solid 20 minutes or so from where i am that's just about almost completely dead. barely anyone around anywhere, and what people there were i could probably count on one hand. it was kind of a creepy experience to be honest, and this was close to 10 years ago. can't even imagine how much deader it is these days. @_@

the other malls near me are pretty active but that's because they have specific niches to them and their general location helps them a bit. one is more high scale, one is smack dab in the middle of where all the high traffic is, and there's two others are for tourist that, as far as i'm aware, are nowhere near struggling.

i kinda want to explore more dead/abandoned malls when i have the time.

[ConnorTheVGFan78]

I actually have a couple dead malls near me, the first one of which permanently closed about 1-2 years ago. It was a single story mall that had been struggling for several years. It's one of those places that throughout the 2010s just slowly lost tenants until the land owner pulled the plug and evicted the last two anchor stores (a multi-vendor antiques shop and a movie theater). There's been much debate locally as to how this one failed, the top reasons being bad location (mall was surrounded by wheat fields several miles away from town), Amazon, and lack of a food court. During the final time I visited there, the only other person I saw was one of those "Dead Mall YouTubers" with a 360 Camera on a tall stick just walking around, recording the mall. I tried talking to him, but I think he was a little mad at me for being near him while he was recording so he just ignored me.

The second mall near me isn't really a proper mall, but rather an indoor strip mall. I think I've heard the phrase "Hallway Mall" be used to describe it, since the mall consisted of a single hallway with shops. This one has been struggling for a while, mainly due to poor location. The only store that's been able to stay open there long-term is a Rite-Aid pharmacy. About a year ago, a section of the mall was completely demolished, and replaced by an Aldi. People locally were a bit upset when that happened, because the section of mall that got demolished was home to the original location of a popular local pizza chain. I never really got why that of all things caused backlash, since that original location had been closed since the late-90s and the pizza they sell at their current locations is mid at best. Besides the pizza place, this mall also used to have an arcade, video store, and a pretzel place, all of which were permanently closed before I was even born.

There's also several other malls near me that are either dead or permanently shuttered, but those two are the ones I have the most experience and knowledge of.

[2010]

actually came onto this thread to talk about the forest fair mall!!! i think the first time i went to it i was 6 , i was in an art gallery that was hosted at that mall :] (my siblings n i sung leave out all the rest by linkin park up front too lol) the next time i had been to the mall , was the age of 15-16! my parents took my sister n i to go to arcade legacy (which has since moved U_U) we went 2-3 times , it was also my first time going to an arcade before if i remember right
whenever we went , i couldnt help but note how eerily it felt n how ghost-town-like it was, especially the food court! it feels really.. dystopian ? i dunno but it sure is interesting!!
img i took at that mall ! v (despite the no photography rule that i honestly do not get at this point in the mall's life @_@)

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the orange lanterns dimly lighting a dark hallway felt like a cool - spooky looking scene!

theres a mall nearby me that seems to be thriving pretty well tho , i mean i even work there :O!so im glad to see its not every mall thats dying