That movie theater is still hands down the best in the area in terms of price and customer experience. I am there at least twice a month every month to see movies with my wife. I'm happy to say that the parking lot is still usually full on a Sunday night.
Absolutely. My family moved to Nevada in late 2022, but before we left Elgin, the Charlestowne theater was the only one I would go to. The (relatively) recent redecoration was nice, and the sound quality was always superb. I have wonderful memories of seeing movies there. And I recall my favorite ticket-taker, an older guy who always cheerfully says "Enjoy the movieee!" after taking your ticket. I love that Charlestowne theater. 🙂
@@alexfrankovitch8142Yep I know the guy you mean. I moved to Florida from South Elgin in 5/2023, but hadn't seen any movies since 10/2019. This theater was always my first choice. I was back last August and Spring Hill is going the same way. It's closing 3/22.
It's a nice theatre but some of the screens were ridicously small from what i remember. But last time I went was 12 years ago. Maybe they changed things.
Used to go here as a kid, I can still pinpoint specific phases of the mall’s downfall and eventual closing. Thanks for a trip down memory lane. Someone recently sent me an Instagram post and that Merry go round is now in Mexico.
we used to live at this mall basically. Get dropped off by the parents and hang with friends here all day catch a movie or two sit in the food court. Then got older and would do the same thing except we were driving.
I grew up in St Charles and remembered the first mall it was my hang out and going to wags family restaurant to hang out then the big one came it was great since the other malls were so far away Cherry valley Mall Fox valley Mall . The st Charles mall was amazing but it didn't last has long has the other malls that are older and are still there today. I had great memories at st, Charles mall.
This mall was dead for what seemed like a very long time. The last time I remember it still thriving was around 2003 or 2004 when I would visit the mall periodically while living out of state. It was great it had almost full food court (a Taco Bell and McDonald's at one point and a Great Steak) I remember when they had a Sam Goody, a sports memorabilia store and a movie memorabilia store and a Gamestop. It was probably a better mall for guys than girls honestly. I came back to the area around 2008 and it the interior was pretty dead except for the anchor stores and the movie theatre still remaining. There were still some stores remaining but by around 2011 or 2012 the inside of the mall was almost entirely empty. It seemed like forever until they finally closed the inside in late 2017. I was surprised to learn that Carson's lasted until 2018; I thought it closed before that.
I was 10 when this opened. So I remember it being new. It was never as good as Stratford but I got the job done. When I was attending COD in the early 2000s, a few times I drove over to that mall to use the food court as a study space. It was already feeling pretty abandoned by that point, but it was relatively quiet and well lit and air conditioned and there was some place to get food open.
I worked as a temp replacing old seats from from movie n replacing it with the new tech seats … was confused to y it’s getting new seats when mall is completely dead . But this was 5 or 4 years ago when i worked as temp replacing seats at movie theater
A retail analyst said it’s because it was too big for the market, too far from highways and increased competition from Geneva Commons and big box stores that opened nearby. In 2004 the mayor of St Charles said she thought Wilmorite didn’t market the mall successfully because of the distance from their headquarters in NY (that year they sold most of their malls to focus more on the malls closest to them but didn’t sell Charlestowne)
When I was young I was impressed by high performance cars. Now that I’m middle aged I’m like, “what’s the purpose?” of high performance cars. The days of outrunning the cops ended in the 70s. Cops have too much tech to outrun them today. Besides, driving crazy can get you killed. I got older and wiser and understand and respect how dangerous it is every time you get into a car. An automobile or truck is simply a means to accomplishing your goals. It’s not the goal itself. Today I’m more impressed with power tools than power cars. Would I like to own a classic MOPAR muscle car? Sure, but I’d baby it, show it off, and take it very easy driving it, but I’d drive it only on certain occasions. But, as you get older and own a home your focus shifts to home repair and home projects. A house is a great investment. A car usually isn’t. What these dead mall videos do is remind me of the constant battle against decay and to protect things that you can control like your house from decay and not be like these malls. In my opinion the 2020s is the decade of decay. But, it is a battle worth fighting even if it’s only within your realm of things like your house and your body. Retail may decay, but the things that you control don’t have to. I wish everyone of you success in your own personal battle against decay. That is where our focus should be today. Not flushing our money down the toilet on high performance cars that can get us killed.
My dad inherited a 15k miles 1970s Corvette when my grandpa died, around 2008. He tended to it every day, would spent time filling in every tiny chip in the paint or small defect he'd find. He drove it once or twice a week for small rides around town. One day, somebody almost hit him. The next day, the steering wheel just mysteriously popped off. My dad said there was no prior warning for it to happen and he took that as my grandpa telling him he shouldn't drive it anymore. He eventually sold it to a collector.
That's definitely stupid dumb thing to do that with the cars one of them did a burnout in a old anchor store it's just pure wrong with that at all times and racing in a abandoned shopping mall and jumping a car in a abandoned mall that shouldn't be allowed at all times altogether there anyway 💯 percent legitimate
That movie theater is still hands down the best in the area in terms of price and customer experience. I am there at least twice a month every month to see movies with my wife. I'm happy to say that the parking lot is still usually full on a Sunday night.
Absolutely. My family moved to Nevada in late 2022, but before we left Elgin, the Charlestowne theater was the only one I would go to. The (relatively) recent redecoration was nice, and the sound quality was always superb. I have wonderful memories of seeing movies there. And I recall my favorite ticket-taker, an older guy who always cheerfully says "Enjoy the movieee!" after taking your ticket. I love that Charlestowne theater. 🙂
@@alexfrankovitch8142Yep I know the guy you mean. I moved to Florida from South Elgin in 5/2023, but hadn't seen any movies since 10/2019. This theater was always my first choice. I was back last August and Spring Hill is going the same way. It's closing 3/22.
It's a nice theatre but some of the screens were ridicously small from what i remember. But last time I went was 12 years ago. Maybe they changed things.
Used to go here as a kid, I can still pinpoint specific phases of the mall’s downfall and eventual closing. Thanks for a trip down memory lane. Someone recently sent me an Instagram post and that Merry go round is now in Mexico.
we used to live at this mall basically. Get dropped off by the parents and hang with friends here all day catch a movie or two sit in the food court. Then got older and would do the same thing except we were driving.
I've went there with my parents and my sister when I was a kid, now we went to the theatre section instead.
I been told that mall carpet is absolutely awesome for tire traction, especially racing slicks.
did shop there much as i left illinois in 1995, but i remember this mall
I grew up in St Charles and remembered the first mall it was my hang out and going to wags family restaurant to hang out then the big one came it was great since the other malls were so far away Cherry valley Mall Fox valley Mall . The st Charles mall was amazing but it didn't last has long has the other malls that are older and are still there today. I had great memories at st, Charles mall.
This mall was dead for what seemed like a very long time. The last time I remember it still thriving was around 2003 or 2004 when I would visit the mall periodically while living out of state. It was great it had almost full food court (a Taco Bell and McDonald's at one point and a Great Steak) I remember when they had a Sam Goody, a sports memorabilia store and a movie memorabilia store and a Gamestop. It was probably a better mall for guys than girls honestly.
I came back to the area around 2008 and it the interior was pretty dead except for the anchor stores and the movie theatre still remaining. There were still some stores remaining but by around 2011 or 2012 the inside of the mall was almost entirely empty. It seemed like forever until they finally closed the inside in late 2017. I was surprised to learn that Carson's lasted until 2018; I thought it closed before that.
Good video. Thanks.
Crazy. They might have to do like Aurora Mall which got a residential property built on the property.
I was 10 when this opened. So I remember it being new. It was never as good as Stratford but I got the job done.
When I was attending COD in the early 2000s, a few times I drove over to that mall to use the food court as a study space. It was already feeling pretty abandoned by that point, but it was relatively quiet and well lit and air conditioned and there was some place to get food open.
That must have been a nice place to study, I like how much natural light the mall had
I expected this mall before. And I was dare in my ciledhood.
I used to shop there a lot. Sad to see the ruin its become.
Great video!
I worked as a temp replacing old seats from from movie n replacing it with the new tech seats … was confused to y it’s getting new seats when mall is completely dead . But this was 5 or 4 years ago when i worked as temp replacing seats at movie theater
The theater is actually still open!
I remember this place first going up when I was fresh out of high school. I certainly was no fiscal whiz kid but I was thinking "this won't end well".
Oh my...😮
How did you make that video, wow!
I use the iMovie app on my phone! You can add the photos and videos from your device plus music that you have downloaded
@@QuietExp nice great job
Thanks so much!
Does anyone know why it is abandoned?
A retail analyst said it’s because it was too big for the market, too far from highways and increased competition from Geneva Commons and big box stores that opened nearby. In 2004 the mayor of St Charles said she thought Wilmorite didn’t market the mall successfully because of the distance from their headquarters in NY (that year they sold most of their malls to focus more on the malls closest to them but didn’t sell Charlestowne)
When I was young I was impressed by high performance cars. Now that I’m middle aged I’m like, “what’s the purpose?” of high performance cars. The days of outrunning the cops ended in the 70s. Cops have too much tech to outrun them today. Besides, driving crazy can get you killed. I got older and wiser and understand and respect how dangerous it is every time you get into a car. An automobile or truck is simply a means to accomplishing your goals. It’s not the goal itself. Today I’m more impressed with power tools than power cars. Would I like to own a classic MOPAR muscle car? Sure, but I’d baby it, show it off, and take it very easy driving it, but I’d drive it only on certain occasions. But, as you get older and own a home your focus shifts to home repair and home projects. A house is a great investment. A car usually isn’t. What these dead mall videos do is remind me of the constant battle against decay and to protect things that you can control like your house from decay and not be like these malls. In my opinion the 2020s is the decade of decay. But, it is a battle worth fighting even if it’s only within your realm of things like your house and your body. Retail may decay, but the things that you control don’t have to. I wish everyone of you success in your own personal battle against decay. That is where our focus should be today. Not flushing our money down the toilet on high performance cars that can get us killed.
My dad inherited a 15k miles 1970s Corvette when my grandpa died, around 2008. He tended to it every day, would spent time filling in every tiny chip in the paint or small defect he'd find. He drove it once or twice a week for small rides around town. One day, somebody almost hit him. The next day, the steering wheel just mysteriously popped off. My dad said there was no prior warning for it to happen and he took that as my grandpa telling him he shouldn't drive it anymore. He eventually sold it to a collector.
That's definitely stupid dumb thing to do that with the cars one of them did a burnout in a old anchor store it's just pure wrong with that at all times and racing in a abandoned shopping mall and jumping a car in a abandoned mall that shouldn't be allowed at all times altogether there anyway 💯 percent legitimate