DEAD MALL - Concord Mall - Elkhart Indiana - A Preserved 70s Gem (CLOSED) | ERA_Productions
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2023
- Hello everyone, and welcome to the Concord Mall in Elkhart Indiana! Opening in 1972, It would start off strong with Montgomery Ward and Robertson's as it's original anchors. JCPenney would be added in 1976 and they would also expand the mall to add a third wing. Concord Mall had a fantastic start, and would dominate the Elkhart area. However, the South Bend region was gaining malls at a rapid pace at the time, and when University Park Mall opened up in 1979 in Mishawaka, Concord Mall would try to add more stores to keep itself alive. In 1985, Robertsons would close, and the space would be taken over by a Meis. In 1989, Meis would be converted to an Elder Beerman. By the 1990s, Concord Mall was starting to showing signs of struggles, as University Park Mall would dominate the South Bend Region. Concord Mall would loose Montgomery Ward in 2002, but it would be replaced with Hobby Lobby and ABC Warehouse. By this point, Concord would be showing its age with no major renovation ever taking place. 2011 saw Elder Beerman get rebranded to Carson's. There was no saving Concord Mall now with occupancy so low. 2018 saw Carson's Close, and 2023 saw JCPenney leave Concord. With redevelopment in the works, let's take a walk through this classic 70s time capsule!
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Intro by VHS Logos: vhslogos.bandcamp.com/track/t...
Walkthrough by 猫 シ Corp.: catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com
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Disclaimer: We Do Not Condone Of Vandalizing And Committing Of Crimes While Filming These Places. We Just Film Them To Preserve Their History And For The Memories.
What are your thoughts on Concord mall? Do you have any memories here coming as a kid? Or do you just have any fun memories in general in this mall?
Edit: Since the editing of this video, it has been announced that Concord Mall would be closing its doors for redevelopment. This is really unfortunate to hear. If you would like to read my full epilogue post about it, go check out my community tab.
I’m actually gonna film a video here tonight. It’s a parody of The Oldest View part 3 by Kane Pixels.
I grew up with this mall. Been there hundreds of times. It permanently closed recently, all stores shut down. The place of so many memories, gone.
This is/was my local mall growing up! I remember it being so busy when I was very young. It held up well as far as occupied stores and customers until around 2005 then it began a downhill slide that became very, very rapid in 2013-2015. It even had a 40th anniversary carnival in the parking lot in 2012, but by then, the mall was already in a death spiral. The fountain was majestic, but they closed it down since it cost too much to operate. And you did miss out on Enzo's - it is delicious and I miss it so much.
Watching this video and I can still identify what every single storefront used to be. I wish I could fly back to the area to see it one last time before it goes away forever.
3:14 The planter on the right has definitely been there since at least the 80s and on the left used to be an MCL Cafeteria and (I think) at 6:01, a McCrory's dime store on the right. There was a Musicland to the right of Penney's. There was also a travel agency with very elaborate signage (clouds and rainbows). 15:32 The space in the right corner was once a gallery - I bought a print of a lioness for my sister's Christmas gift one year. In 1988, I was an intern at the local CBS affiliate and we hosted an appearance at Concord Mall of one of the stars from the soap Guiding Light - the place was packed! I may have video of it somewhere. You really did your research! I remember going to the grand opening of Robertson's - it was a very nice department store.
You should have seen it back in its hayday. I remeber christmas shapping there back in the late 70s to the 90s. So packed you were like shoulder to shoulder walking the main halls. So many nooks and crannys to get lost in, it was great. Jcpenny, wards, super sounds, musicland, Aladins Castle arcade, MCL cafeteria, Sega Time Out arcade, walden books, osco drugs, robertsons, meis, spencers, T&C skate shop, kay bee toys all time favs! Cant remeber the name, but also the little pet shop on the corner suite where wards feont enterance was. Remeber the cute little puppies or kittens in the display right on the corner that you could see from the main hall? Also forget the name of the little photoshop where youd get family photos taken right inside a side door entrace to the right of jcpenny? Lindalls? Anyhow many many good times. Heartbroken its all gone now, 💔 turning it into some mini dump of a place kinda like what thwy did to Pierre Moran Mall. Elkhart has lost pretty much all its uniqueness and charm. Dead and dying town of walmart shoppers and trailer factory workers.....
This was a gem, shame it's gone. Great vid to document it 👍 I really like the lighting in the halls of this mall, it's understated and relaxing. I find a lot of the modern lighting too bright nowadays.
This mall always reminded me of the dead North Village Mall in South Bend that my grandfather designed.
My fiancée and I would go to Concord Mall for date night weekly after her doctor appointments. There was a really good and highly underrated Hispanic restaurant that I sadly don’t see in any of these videos on this mall that was right across from Enzo’s Pizza. There was a fireplace and a sign that said “The Grove Food Court” and this little Hispanic restaurant that had amazing chicken tacos and deals for taco Tuesday. Their churros were only $1 and were big and more authentic than other local places and you could get them filled with vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, or caramel. Their horchata was incredible too.
Enzo’s Pizza we attended on their final day and they sadly said they might not stay around the area claiming their only other stores were in Indy. This mall also used to have a Ben’s Pretzels that would do Two Dollar Tuesdays and was a nice quiet place to walk around, shop, and have a date night. We’d often grab a couple of our favorite food items from the Hispanic restaurant and from Enzo’s and have alittle of both for the variety.
The Hobby Lobby is also much nicer than the one on Grape Rd in Mishawaka as you can actually shop without constantly being crowded. My fiancée and I every week since they’ve closed have missed this mall.
I grew up there. I still remember the fountain when it was running and it had so many coins in it from people making wishes, you couldn't see the bottom…the parking lot used to be so packed in the '70s, '80s, and early '90s, it was hard to park anywhere.…but slowly the stores I shopped moved out and I went there less and less. 😢
Back when people could afford to throw money away on things like that.
That music, really has that mall feel i can't describe.
This was such a nice mall for quite a while. I worked in several of the stores there, and it was always full. I think the problem is that anchor, stores started moving out, some of them were bought out and then closed. There aren’t many stores left, it’s really a shame.
My favorite mall! This treasure has to be saved.
Agreed! This mall is such a treat, and should be preserved!
It's gone now. Being gutted and renovated into some bastion of modern day business that will go fart high and fail....
They should do a pop-up skating rink and rent it out for Skating
The perfect zombie apocolypse shelter.
Where my Concord graduates at?
Present. Graduated 2001. I remember after school was out, my friends and I would immediately go to this mall and hang out for hours. Better times.
Always love to see the documenting and archival of malls, so we can always have these videos to go back and watch. I appreciate that you put the dates in your videos as well. Also love the song selection too, great video!
Thank you so much!
I grew up in the area, spent a lot of time here over the years with friends, girlfriends, and my mom, and sometimes, when life was hard, I would just walk the aisles and think.
They didnt do much to improve the feel. There was a sign for a shoe that was being released in 2006, as recently as 2022.
I miss those sunken seating areas, the quiet in the fountain area, and just the energy of shops I used to frequent like Mumphys Books or the gamestop that used to be there. That hair salon left memories too. Now its just a distant memory.
Grew up in the neighborhood across from The Mall. From our upstairs windows at night you could see the center dome of the mall glowing like a ufo just above the trees. It was our hangout. Watching your video I could see the old stores that we spent so much time in. From where the Friendly's and MCL used to be to, to the pet store and Kay-Bees two locations. The arcade, Waldens, Osco are all burned into my memory. Thanks for the trip.
Just heard October 31st is the end for the remaining shop owners. Knew it was a matter of time...but it hits hard. 😢
It does. I grew up with this mall. Born in 82 in elkhart. Been there MANY times. It's depressing that the place where so many memories took place will be gone soon.
I used to work here in my HS years @ the Musicland store.
The mall I grew up going to in the mid to late 70's..& on through the 80's as a teenager. I actually just ate at Enzo's 2 months ago. I really miss the fountain, it really sucks that they ditched it for a screaming kid zone. If it were still there & working..I'd go there just to sit & think while listing to the water once per week. I keep visiting every couple months just because I know it won't be there anymore very soon. Lots of memories there. I used to climb on those planters & hide out as a 6 year old.
I really like your footage of the bra section in JC Penney, and also of the ceilings in the mall. This seemed to be a very well upkept mall, despite its age. I'm sorry.
Great video! This looks like an awesome, vintage mall. Sad to hear it’ll be going away.
It really is! It's a bummer it's no longer with us. :(
dead mall videos are actually the best
I used to work in this mall as a security guard. Wow
Great video
Thanks!
It's really sad, though not surprising in today's era, to see this mall go away. My sister and I walked here on the opening day to the public, August 9, 1972. Concord Mall was a really big deal for Elkhart as this was the second enclosed shopping mall in less than 2 years. St. Joseph county wouldn't have an enclosed mall until 1974. There were many times we had to leave the mall in the summer because it was so unbearably warm and stuffy from the large crowds of people in there. Concord Mall started declining rapidly in the 2000's. It's pretty much been a ghost town for the last 15 years. Enzo's Pizza, which has been there for the last 31 years, just announced their last day will be October 31st. They will not be a part of the redevelopment as initially planned and are looking for a new place in the area.
❤
The problems that face Malls is that they are usually filled with crap stores. So many small time businesses going in and out repeatedly does take a toll and the same goes for strip malls as well. Shopping malls are becoming extinct before our very eyes and it is sad to see them go. My hometown mall now has a Lowes in its place.
it is closing on oct 31-2023 will be last day i was just their today. 😡i don't want it to change but their not much i can do
The sad truth is, as we get further into the future of at home shopping well see a further decline in malls. It'll be a thing of the early 2000s and 80s. We lived it so that's a plus lol before its gone.
In the beginning he said nothing has changed in the mall. Not true. I used to go there a LOT as a kid and a teen and a lot changed. The fountain at the center is gone. The vendors in the middle of the walkway weren't there until the late 90s. The murals on the walls you see used to be stores but closed and they walled up the area. I grew up in this mall.
Total Logan's Run vibes
LOL at "MICE" department stores.
I assume my pronunciation was off. I’m not from the area so if it was off, sorry.
I grew up going to this mall and was just in there yesterday to get some Enzo's pizza. I wanna be optimistic that something good will come to the property but as you probably know most malls go through all the redevelopment idea stages to ultimately end up abandoned and left to rot, which I feel will happen to this mall.