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Dan, I had been to a mall in Cincinnati that had a name similar to this. The distinct attraction that mall had was a Ferris wheel that was located in the middle. If you are from this area maybe you know the mall I'm referring to? Also, the Jeffersonville outlets had two different malls one exit on I-71 apart. The one outlet completely closed and if still standing might be a good venue to take a trip back in time.
@ThisisDanBell have you ever seen a ghost or anything eerie or nasty in these dead and abandoned malls? Also how do you not get caught sometimes at abandoned places?! 😮
There's literally 1 security guard in the whole place. He rides around fast because he can. What would you do if you were there on a Segway all day every day with no one around? Security used to have an official SUV for patrolling outside, but it is abandoned in the lower level of the parking garage, has more than 1 flat tires, and hasn't run in years. I wonder what they'll do if their Segway ever dies? If I were him, I would ditch the Segway and ride a skateboard through the mall - the mall is set up awesome for that!
What fascinates me about these malls is that it's almost like you're traveling back in time, they all still have that very distinctive 80's/90's look to them that feels so weird to see today.
Totaly agree. If they wanted a place for a movie that takes place in the 80-90s, then they would just have to fill the mall with stores and people walking around with clothes that match that period.
@@rosemariehowes7707 the aesthetic isn't very 80s, it's more 90s to 00s, with the pastel colours, bright patterned carpets, the almost intentionally clashing colours. there's a whole load of research done into why we merge the space between 1985-2003 in our heads, but this is definitely a mall with strong turn of the millennium aesthetic.
I go here all the time I was at forestfare mall last weekend. The saddest part is they decorate this place for thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter it makes me feel so sad that they put this effort in when hardly anyone comes 😥🥺
yeah agreed; I think its a sign we're moving past the golden days of US economic expansionism and the American dream and into a post-consumption era of self isolationism and deterioration of personal identity, that's why maybe its disturbing watching this
As a local, I can confirm that Arcade Legacy is by far the coolest place ever. They have nice staff. Their games are retro as well as newer games as well. Definitely worth going if you're in town!
Hoe the hell is this place not brimming with hipsters and parents with children? You can't find any other form of entertainment that cheap. I'd spend my whole weekends there!
I'm happy there is an arcade there, now as when it first died the amazing arcade it had in the late 80s early 90s died with it. Visiting this mall as a teenager was really depressing.
Its so fun to go there I go with my friends every Friday and it's an absolute treat the staff is amazing and we've made friends with the security guard lmao
This mall was the largest mall in the world when it opened. Another interesting fact is that the mall was never able to rent all of its space, not even close. It has always had financial trouble.
I saw a video of the current largest mall in the world in China. There was room for more than 2000 shops but there were only 6 open shops when the filmmakers visited it.
Which doesn't make sense, really...the county this mall opened in has less than 400k people today: apparently they were expecting people from several counties to frequent this place weekly. It wasn't realistic...talk about biting off more than you can chew.
That strikes a cord with me. My local "mall" had a pretty cool theatre in it that closed last year. I remember hearing about it and commenting that it was a shame and a freind asked "it's a shame, but when was the last time you went?" My answer was "last month". It was the only place I ever watched movies anymore. It was affordable and had a nice cozy/homey/nostalgicy feel. Either way now its closed its just a big permanently under construction barriers eyesore in the middle of a mall that has a grocery store at one end and a dollar store at the other and not much else. Pool hall is still there though so that's something.
I accidentally stumbled upon this place when travelling to Cincinnati a year ago. It was one of the weirdest experiences ever; it felt like I wasn't supposed to be inside. At nighttime it was really creepier, since most of the lights were off or dimmed.
Update on this location: It closed for good earlier this week and is to be demolished. As always, thank you Dan for archiving these amazing places before they disappear!
@@kdesSomeone in another video said that corporations get sweet package deals on practically free electricity. This is probably similar to tax cuts that rich corporations get. For them, it is really just penny's. Where a citizen who flicks on a light switch pays the regular price for all their electricity
@@aazhie Thanks, I was wondering the same thing. My girlfriend and I went to Cincinnati about a month ago and I just had to visit this mall and noticed all the lights were still on…… despite all the entrances being boarded up
This shit is so dream-like it's scary. I'm sure many here use to have anxiety dreams about school where you were late for class or forgot to prepare for finals and it was finals day but when you go to class there's nobody there. This feels like the same thing.
I couldn’t breathe when i started the video i was taken aback because it feels exactly like the dozens of dreams i’ve had with almost this exact setting. the same feeling. being late to class but just running around this HUGE mall with no exit. wtffff
same about it being dream-like, but it's a good/lucid dreaming feel to me because some of my coolest lucid dreams ended up starting in malls or large office buildings at night. The ones that start in school usually aren't frequent enough or worth the stress leading up to them lol
lol walking out the doors would make you feel like you were stuck on a stranded island. people omg i missed you so much. they be like where were you, i was in the mall. their response, it's over now you are safe.
dude yeah. Being in a dead BIG building freaks me out so much for some reason. I already freak out when Im in a mall near closng time, let alone being in a dead mall like this
Peacelover, what's funny is I kinda blame the British for my fear of huge abandoned places because I saw the movie 28 days later. I've been to places like this and couldn't stop my imagination from going wild. I kept waiting for something dangerous to shoot out of the dark spots in the mall and kill me. LOL. There's a mall like this in my city that's SLIGHTLY better but the entire upper floor is abandoned. The 9-10 stores that are surviving are all close together on the ground floor. Oddly, Gamestop is there and it's usually busy!
I have to revise my statement. I've been going a few times a week to walk and now I've noticed that the mall is not fully air conditioned. There are a couple parts that clearly are AC, but most of it is not. Still I find the mall preferable to walking in the hot 90 degree sun. The mall isn't stuffy so Corey is probably right about most of it operating on vent.
I think the 2000's where extravagant then people remember, I feel like they had slightly more wild designs and people had more of a creative licence then they do now.
More like mid 90’s or later. The large images of people on the walls like the one in the food court aren’t 80’s style at all. 80’s malls were more about shiny metal like brass or mirrors everywhere.
I was in there yesterday (10-18-16) and there was no music even playing and you could hear a pin drop. I felt like I was trespassing but yet it is still opened to the public. So strange
@michael battista this seems like an interesting idea I was thinking also you could have offices. But one problem I thought about is what about no windows inside the stores? Did the other location you mentioned renovate to add windows because without would be very depressing?
or turn the whole thing into a massive paintball/lazerquest arena, or hell, you could outfit the whole thing to do VR tracking like those void locations, and you could have a VR zombie mall invasion
@@pkop4 not so much if it was organized around a condominium people could contract for modifications like that and indoor farming in the open spaces. if a school was in an anchor store it would help. add a public library.
I live less than 5 minutes from this mall. Man. This mall had great memories. From the 2 movie theaters, to the HUGE Arcade game room. Every weekend, this place was PACKED. Sad to see how it's turned out. You can go over there today, and all youll see is people walking through the mall for exercise purposes. One of the main reasons stores emptied out is because they were charging stores too much money for rent.
I don't usually leave comments. But since I've been to this mall over 200 times in all of its different iterations throughout the years, I feel compelled to say a few things: 1. When the mall changed to Cincinnati Mills, and from 2003 - 2008, this place was extremely popular. I was in high school then, and this was an every weekend hangout for me and my friend, as well as so many others that I knew. You could see the theater in the video above the food court , that was the main theater, and was always packed. There was another "old movie" theater that was cheaper past the food court. 2. Even though it seems so hollow and massive now, every store and every hallway was filled on Friday and Saturday nights. Food court, theater, and all. There was even a grocery store near one of the entrances. Very much turned from an inside city-life to the walking dead. 3. I hadn't been for many years after until 2013 (college), and when I came back it was completely different. Most of the major stores were gone, and other smaller businesses swapped in and out not surviving. I was came back to compete in Tekken tournaments at Arcade Legacy (the one shown here). Friends with the owner and staff there, and they are still operating and have expanded their locations (highly recommend these arcades). But the mall itself was dead and by the time it came 2015, everything was wiped out besides Bass Pro Shop and Arcade Legacy. Place holds a very special place in my heart. First kiss here, first time competing in a gaming tournament here, and most and last times spent with my best friend from those days.
This is so wholesome. Thanks for sharing! I'm a Cinci transplant originally from Detroit. I went to AL for the first time in 2014 when the movie theater was still open. Went a few times after, the last I think maybe spring of 2022.
Spent a lot of time at this mall as a kid, it's so depressing to see how dilapidated it's gotten. In the 90s it was awesome - there was a carousel and ferris wheel, a mini golf course, and a giant indoor sandbox. My family used to do all of our grocery shopping at the Biggs that was inside and I bought many years of school supplies there. And now I'm depressed. :/
1 dollar movies was pretty good but really man that mall sucked. Large groups of black teens running around causing trouble, stealing shit, scaring off people who actually bought stuff. Doomed to fail because of it's location. Forest Park is a crappy place.
I think it's going to be a cycle. Currently, outdoor malls and downtowns are the trend, but it might swing back the other way in a few decades. Sadly, it will probably be too late to save any of this.
Oh yes. "Outside the box". We should be "proactive" too. Additionally, we should "work smarter not harder". Then we should "brainstorm" with like minded people and generate "synergy". Because in this world, "there are no strangers, just friends you haven't met yet"..........I could do this all night. But you should get another turn.
Outdoor malls remain reasonably popular: I think people just got tired of wandering through these massive structures just to get to the 3 or 4 stores they were interested in.
Is that what they eat in Japan? Is that why they’re so technically advanced? Someone call Elon, and tell him merging man and machine was easier than he thought.
This is so crazy. This is where I live! I never had the chance to see this mall in all its glory but from what I've heard this was the place to be if you were a kid in Cincinnati. It's such a shame that the mall fell into the wrong hands. Fun fact: I almost broke my arm here once because I tripped over a rug.
I’m 63 years old - I met my wife in a mall. This is so depressing. Married now 30 Years. Malls were social gatherings, now you have social media .. a very different world
Social media will never be a sufficient replacement for sensing, laughing and arguing to each other in person, but instead make many even lonelier and socially inept staring at a screen all day its a real shame. I kinda missed out on the glory age of malls as I was born in 89, but do remember many of them booming in the late 90's even for me it's sad to see so many of them die off.
So sad seeing these once vibrant, lively, social hubs become just memories. So pleased my 56yo self got to experience them when they were at their peak.
Those pigs can be seen all over Cincinnati. Most of them are downtown but some have been moved to the suburbs, like the ones you see in this mall. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pig_Gig
IemonandIime thanks for link, where I’m from they did that once with sheep statues all over the place... apparently farm animals across the country have been painted and put into funny poses for the enjoyment of the locals, and apparently to be used later to decorate banks and malls
Cincinnati had a large population of German and Irish immigrants. Sausage and beer producers right on the river for easy transport. Lot of festivals to celebrate both like Flying pig marathon, Oktoberfest, chili competitions. Pigs made this city.
I'm actually from that area and can give you a bit more history as to what happened (not that you did a bad job or anything) When it was Forest Fair Mall it still had whole wings of empty stores but it did great because of a few things. One was Time Out which had not only Arcades (and yes I meant that plural) it had mini golf, a merry-go-round, an honest to god Ferris wheel and other things that kids loved. It had good anchor stores that did good business even after the change. It had a cheap theater that they put back after Showcase Cinemas left. But the best thing of all it had a Bigg's Grocery store that was like a Meijer in that it sold not just food but clothes, toys, and other things. (Ironically Meijer would later open across the street from the mall.) See the trick was people would go to the Bigg's in the mall to get some things and end up staying the whole day because kids would go hang out at Time Out while parents shopped and also go to the other stores as well. Bigg's brought the people in like flies to honey. But after the switch and the name change the new owners in what I can only describe as one of the dumbest business ideas I've ever heard of thought that having a grocery store that BROUGHT PEOPLE IN BY LITERAL DROVES didn't fit with their outlook so they TRIPLED Bigg's rent Bigg's said see ya and left and took the crowds with them. It was like someone pulled the plug on the drain and it spiraled downhill from there. Granted soon after Bigg's got bought by Rempke but it could have enjoyed a few more years and maybe after Bigg's left another store could have taken its place. So sadly as usual bad business brought me and my wife's childhood hangout to the decay you see. Sorry this went on so long but as you can see I really loved that mall.
I remember this mall alot too. It had a jungle gym as well. There used to be an anchor there that was like an Office Depot, and man that electronics store had one of the best selections of PC computers games at the time. Such good memories there.
And since this video, that consignment shop has gone, and there are less lights on upstairs. There are also buckets catching water in various places, as the building has serious leaks. Everything looks more dirty than it does in this video. They've also shut off the AC. Security is still there on Segways, speeding around. They caught me taking a photo and said "Hey, we can't have you taking pictures of the building." I was already done with my 150 shots though.
@@encycl07pedia- lol malls are private property, not public. They can ban you taking pictures if they want. However, it would be stupid and confusing if they did lol
@@TryckSpot Lots of private properties are public places, you dingus. They can tell you to leave, but they can't tell you not to take pictures. There's no expectation of privacy (unless it's in a bathroom or something). Learn the difference between a public place and public property.
The whole point of the mall series is to explore almost abandoned malls for entertainment, nostalgia, vapor wave, inform, and show off retro architecture. If you wanna see popular malls watch any Vlog of any RUclipsr ever
Still one of my favorite Dead Mall videos. Maybe it's so charming to me because there's a huge, and still active, mall in Grapevine Mills, TX that has similar decor and architecture. And Dan Mason also ups the charm factor. He's awesome.
Most of the malls that were built or bought out by its former owners have pretty similar aesthetic iirc. Looking at it reminds me a lot of the Katy Mills mall, aside from that particular mall still being pretty active
I remember back when that mall first opened and it was a HUGE deal, or so it seemed at the time. It's nice to see that it's still active, although not too surprising since the economy in DFW is relatively steady. Slight correction for those outside the area: Grapevine Mills is the name of the mall, and the city itself is just Grapevine, TX.,
Silver Amaryllis that mall you're talking about and this one were owned by the Mills Corporation. That's why the decor is so similar. The Pittsburgh Mills Mall (also dead now lol) looks exactly the same, decor wise.
Michael L. I was going to say a lot of these Malls with Mills in the name remind of Katy Mills including all the weird shapes and stuff but Katy Mills is always packed
These dead mall videos always give me a very macabre sense of nostalgia, It's odd to remember 20 years ago when people would flock to these places with disposable income's. Now the economy is terrible and everyone's struggling.
Mikenactor The advent of the internet and ecommerce changed the shopping landscape. Malls are not dead and will never completely die. Thanks to the internet, we just don't need as many as we once did.
Almost 2020 and it's still like this. I looked at the mall when it was warmer (December at the time I made this comment) and what I saw was: -There's no music. -Despite what he said, Bass Pro Shop is still there. -There was one kids' play area with at the time deflated bounce pads that I assume is used for birthday parties. -Arcade Legacy is still there, but I checked the mall out early in the morning, so it wasn't open yet. -There were some veterans sitting in a circle of fold-able chairs, probably having a meeting. -There were a bunch of Geese outside. I tried opening one of the doors to find it was locked and one flipped out and flew towards me. I booked it out of there. Geese have no chill.
there is also a clothing store with no employees or customers that I saw, and tournaments and a bounce area was set up (quite large) when i went. I went super late so it was fairly creepy, and I didn't know if we were trespassing for certain until we saw other people.
My favorite mall from your Dead Mall Series.. This is definitely the "Titanic" of malls. So beautiful but so sad. The arcade is fantastic!! So strange to me as the mall in our town is always packed. I can't imagine this being torn down at some point... Thanks for sharing and please do more dead malls!
It's funny how in Europe buildings are hundreds of years old and still usable while here in the US something like a mall or stadium is 20-30 years old and it needs to be demolished.
@@LanaDayne It's about money, not "future and innovation." Also building codes. "we don't want to be stuck in the past." This is why idiot criminal Trump is the president because his campaign slogan definitely didn't bring up a return to the past.
encycl07pedia Ya know Trump is a lot of things but calling him an idiot after EVERYTHING that’s happened even STILL is kind of ironic, since he played ALL of his opponents like fiddles. He knows what he’s doing, and it got him the White House and you still think the choices he makes is idiocy, and that’s why he’ll win again because you still think that way and probably will continue to do so
So much of my childhood was spent at this mall, it was 5 minutes away from where my grandparents lived, my grandma worked at Biggs when it was there, I got my ears pierced at the Claire's there, so many of my favorite movies I watched I saw in that theater, and I lost my first tooth on the playground in there. To this day we still go in and just take in the memories of what used to be.
Neiru lots of people do. he didn't show it, but there's also 3 big TV's with more modern consoles hooked up to them. Lots of kids playing Minecraft. They also sell used retro games/systems and DVDs
A lot of the big arcades that still remain are like that now, where there's a daily fee for unlimited play (or even a monthly membership fee... there's one in Dallas that charges $25 a month. Unlimited play, all day, every day.)
The depth of the information you get on these places is just amazing. Knowing the back stories/history just makes it so much more interesting. I really appreciate that considering not a lot of people who do urban exploration videos etc. take the time to give their audience detailed facts.
UPDATE ON THE MALL: AC is Turned Off Accept for the Remaining Anchors, the Closed Parking Garage and Arcade Legacy, Babies "R" Us has Closed Following Toys R Us's Bankruptcy, Bass Pro's Plans to Move Failed and they remain at the mall to this day, Music is also something that is non-Existent at the Mall. I Visited the Mall July 13th 2018, and this is how it was during that day.
UPDATE ON THE MALL: Ac is still off, Babies R Us is still closed and untouched. More old stores in the mall are now used as storage. In some places the roof has started to collapse, and the floor dry rotten. Even the elevator has officially been shut down. There is also word that the old Biggs might be turned into an ice skating rink. Also there is still AC in Bee Active fitness.
@@asherrivers3740 ice rink would be great. Then maybe more stores. Drop the rent crazy low to get stores in there am then once the mall starts to thrive slowly raise it to were the owner makes money but the business could thrive. This mall could be a huge asset to the town if done right
Every time I watch one of these videos, a part of me wonders why they don't convert places like this into living spaces. I would rent the frack out of an apartment set up like that.
Can’t remember where I saw it but there was a short documentary or journalism piece on a dead mall converted into apartments. Looked like a little village
Great idea, and I think it could work, it’s just very hard to find investors willing to take the risk, especially since 2008 market crash those with money are much more reluctant to invest in new/innovative projects.
The only issue I could see with that would be the plumbing issues with setting up the restrooms unless people were ok with sharing a limited amount of public bathrooms.
+Hubert Applebaum Funny enough it was that in the 90's. Most of the mall was the "festival" The area that Arcade legacy is in and the floor above it had rides, games, Lazer tag, All kinds of fun. It was removed when Mills bought it.
OMG! I just joined your page. Your music is incredible! I'm 65 and live in the Atlanta area and your music takes me back to when I was younger. We had a club here in the early 80's called the Limelight and this reminds me of the music they played. I used to live in the malls and clubs. Keep up the great work!
Stumbled in the mall a couple weeks ago and found out the we’re setting up for drone racing to take place in the middle of the night after the malls hours
I remember riding the carousel at Forest Fair Mall as a child! It was fun! I'm pretty sure my little stuffed white seal, "Hattie", was purchased here as well. That seems like lifetimes ago.
I live near to this mall and go to that awesome arcade on occasion. Just thought I'd lend a little story to this place. So, my friends and I had spent a few hours at the mall. We ate at the Japanese place Dan shows in the video (it actually is still open and the guy who owns it is super awesome). So, it's late at night, the mall's about to close and we're walking to the exit. They turn off all the lights like 30 minutes before they close in all areas except where the arcade is, so we're basically walking in the dark to get to the far end where we parked. Near the doors, they have one of those kid's areas with the small rides that move. As we approach, suddenly one of them just turns on and begins spinning for like three seconds and then stops. Probably the creepiest thing that's ever happened to me.
OMG I know where that mall is I haven't been back to Cincinnati in some 20 years LOL. Damn that mall used to be busy when I was a kid. Crazy how time flies and things change.
Dan Bell, I sure wish I knew you was in my area, this mall used to be about 95% full occupancy. I worked at Biggs hypermarket back in 1992 and it was weird because it was a grocery store inside a mall! People would actually get their grocery carts outside the mall at three different entrances on the far end of the mall. Biggs was open 24 hours so they had 24 security. This mall had 2 different movie theater chains there, Showcase Cinemas and Super Saver Cinemas owned by Danbarry Cinemas. I really wish I knew you was coming as I could have helped telling lots of history of this mall. Yes there was a full size amusement park inside this mall. Ferris Wheel was right where the food court is along with the Carousel, Bumper cars, Laser tag, putt putt golf, small Rollercoaster, and a few more small kids rides. There was all kinds of things for kids to do there at one time and it was known as a babysitting service for the parents on the weekends. That mall was packed especially on the weekends. Kohls in that mall is closing soon. It's been announced that about 22 Kohls stores was closing and that one is one of them. Bass Pro is leaving sometime in 2017 I think the spring. They are building a new one on Interstate 75 at Union Center Blvd across from where tons of development has been happening. I would say once Bass Pro leaves, this mall will have the final nail in its coffin. If not sooner! It's such a beautiful mall and you didn't show the huge parking garage behind the mall. They used to have July 4TH Red White and Kaboom off the top of the parking garage that was a super huge event in the Fairfield, Forest Park Ohio areas. Now you see exactly where the original name came from. The mall borders these two cities, however it sits in Fairfield Ohio. across the highway from the mall used to be a huge Wal Mart that also closed a couple years ago. In Middletown Ohio just north from this mall off I 75, was and still is kind of a dead mall. The Towne Mall there was almost gone. Sears and an Auto center owned by Sears and Elder Beerman stores stuck it out and now that mall is showing signs of re-birth. The owner of that mall has really changed what was a dead mall into something that is going to make the mall rebound back into a shopping facilty. It's amazing how this mall has changed and still is in the process of changing. If you ever make it back this way, I can take you too several malls that are really having it rough. Also I can show you where a brand new type of outdoor mall that recently opened at a cost of $330 million dollars. The place is huge with luxury Cinemas, a full scale Hotel still under construction, almost completed, and tons of upscale type dining places. Contact me in the future, many malls that are dead in my area, Sw Ohio, Northern Kentucky areas. Be safe my friend and thank you for your uploads and time.
Sadly it's been in this condition (not nearly as brightly-painted, of course!) for nearly 20 years now. So it was actually more abandoned looking before Mills got a hold of it and even more depressing. Even when the occupancy was maybe 20-25%, it still felt strange and empty and like you were intruding. Sad.
Thank you Dan Bell. You got one of the best channels on youtube from the commentary to the excellent music with that hallway effect to the camera work. This is incredibly fascinating.
When I was a kid I went here a lot. It was extremely busy in the 90's and 2000's. It started dying mid 2000's and never recovered. I still come to the mall for the arcade all the time.
Ooh hearing Bay City play as if it's echoing softly through the halls of this sad empty shell of a mall filled me with a deep nostalgia for something I've never experienced. It's haunting
I live about 20-30 minutes from this mall. Never saw it in it's heyday but when we moved to the area in 1996-97 it was still a fairly bustling mall. I heard it really never lived up to the potential and the hype that it was supposed to be when it opened. I heard the stores originally put in were too high end and didn't fit the demographic of the Forest Park area (mainly blue collar shoppers) I used to buy groceries at the Bigg's store before it closed about 15+ years ago. Back in the late 90's/early 2000's there was also a nightclub located in one end of the mall call Metropolis - it had 3 or 4 different bars inside that played different types of music (country, techno, r&b). Nowadays the only stores there are Bass Pro/Outdoor World, Babys R Us & Kohl's. Thanks for the trip down memory lane - haven't been in this mall in years! Read more here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Fair_Village
I have some info about this mall. In the late 90s/early 2000s, I used to frequent a nightclub here called Bourbon Street. It was actually three nightclubs in one; a dark, industrial-themed dance-oriented room; a top-40, college bar type room; and an 80s room, if I remember correctly. Later, that location closed, and the same owner opened another similar layout location in the same mall called Metropolis, which slowly went downhill due to rougher and rougher clientele. My memory kind of vaguely mixes the two locations. I remember one of the two had a country-themed room. Arcade Legacy has two locations in the area, and both are quite successful.
Cheyenne Cattle Company was the country bar, and it was there throughout Bourbon St. and Metropolis. I used to go there almost every weekend. There was also a place called Jackass Flats (which I think is the college bar you're remembering) and a piano bar. Good times back then.
I remember this place being built in the late eighties I used to cycle cross on this lot and it had a nice theater and arcade but it has always been mostly empty and struggled to survive.
My favorite place ever! Me and my buddies spent all highschool skipping class to come screw around in the abandoned mall. We’ve snuck our way in the movie theater and walked around all the old showrooms, made lots of the graffiti upstairs and been in just about every store we could find our way in.. so many stories and memories at this place. Just came and walked around the place last week!
@@matthewvanwyhe1498 you need at least two guys to lift the gate up and one crawl underneath it. You go straight and hook a sharp right and you see a long hallway, go to the end of it and pop the door open and it opens up a door right next to the gate that doesn’t have a door knob, so you’d never really notice it, then everyone’s in.
I grew up about 30 minutes north of this mall, in a suburb of Dayton, which is the next bigger city after Cincinnati. My grandfather brought my brother and I here several times when I was a kid, a time in which I imagine was a heyday of sorts for the mall. We only went once or twice back in 2004, and the memory became one of those nostalgic memories of childhood, almost seemed like a dream as time went on. I remember the mall itself being rather crowded and prospering, and I remember there being a Bass Pro Shop, which was where we entered. The children's amusement park was also much larger, and actually occupied what I suspect was once an anchor store. It had at least a dozen rides, including a small rollercoaster, and a ride I remember specifically as a carousel of flying pigs that would go up and down into the air with the control of a lever. I also remember a Johnnie's Toys, which was a local toy store chain beloved by generations, that is now sadly defunct. I suspect a variety of factors played into this mall failing, mainly there being close to a dozen malls within an hour of each other in the Cincinnati/Dayton metroplex, and in 2005, the nearby Kenwood Towne Center completed renovations that made the mall more accessible, added more parking and garages, and finally, nearly doubled the size of several anchor retailers. I'm very sad to see that the place I held in a dear memory has come to this state, but I feel good in knowing that my memory was real, and not a childhood imagining. As a side note, there are several other malls in this area that are what I would consider dead, and if you ever were looking for more to explore, try the Towne Mall in Middletown, Ohio, the Salem Mall in Dayton, Ohio, and the Fairfield Commons Mall in Fairfield, Ohio. Thank You
Most of Salem Mall was torn down years ago and redeveloped into Hope Depot and other purposes. The city of Trotwood is working to tear down the remaining Sears from newly received funding. The Mall at Fairfield Commons is in Beavercreek, not Fairfield. The mall in this video (Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills/Cincinnati Mall, etc.) is partially within the boundary of the city of Fairfield. There is no other mall in this city. I agree Towne Mall in Middletown is dying though!
lol sad that mall (cincinnati mills) is like 5 minutes from my house...it used to be a busy mall. my daughter classmates dad owns the arcade legacy. when Biggs (a grocery store) left the mall it went downhill from there. It was brought by a group of developers. They went up on the rent of the stores and the stores didnt produce enough revenue to make a profit. The same developer brought the Salem Mall in Trotwood Ohio and needless to say the whole mall was torn down and the land was sold to home depot within 4 years. The Tri County Mall is next on the hit list of dead malls.
Just went to tri county and there was nothing there except a porygon, but my friend and I went because Reddit said it was a hypno spawn. GameStop and Game Swap (retro store) are the only worthwhile things there now
Classic80sStuff there actually is an arcade there!!! And it is dedicated to old school and new gaming. My daughter goes to school with the owners son so we were invited to a birthday party there so we didn't pay. From what I saw the prices were reasonable.I think for $10 you can play all the games all day long. The arcade game don't cost either. It was neat seeing a setup like that. Its located directly across from the food court. I think the old one was at the end by the movies.
Not the same exact machines. A lot of the same titles though. I used to play there as a kid, and worked at Time Out as a Teen, and and Wonderpark. The arcade thats there now is a whole new place, and the mall is it's 3rd location, Arcade Legacy started out as Arcade Legends out on Rt4, then moved to Springdale, then the mall. Now in addition there is bar in northside, and a new location in Newport.
I think the reason why all these malls are dying is twofold: 1) obviously the internet, with Amazon prime and every retailer offering some form of free expedited shipping, it's pretty hard to motivate people to leave the house unless it's a major purchase like a car or a large appliance (TV, washing machine, refrigerator, etc.); 2) I think even 10 years on from the onset of the recession, that a fairly tangible gulf between the everyman and the large corporation exists, and as such, a return to reviving the main street and small business has reemrged in the American psyche, at least on a subconcious level. The second ties into the first at least in the sense that if it's not a generic purchase that can be made online, most Americans would rather find a "guy" or shop that can give them what they want before turning to an actual big box store. As a consequence, malls tend to suffer from that big box/anchor/corporate ethos that a great deal of Americans have disdain for, and as such, they purposely neglect their business, despite the mall space also being a place for other small businesses to hawk their services/wares.
Ironic considering small unique businesses was the main selling point of the mall when it first opened before Mills bought it and renovated it, subsequently driving out most of the non-anchor tenants in exchange for chain franchises, then charging exorbitant rent to recoup for the $70m they spent to renovate in the first place which drove them out too. It's really sad, the whole of forest park around the mall feels like busy Californian strip malls, all around a perfectly fine but abandoned mall.
I used to go to this mall all the time from the early 2000s to around 2008-2009 when it changed from “Cincinnati Mills” to “Cincinnati Mall”, And all the stores went to the new outlet center, but during Christmas time the place was so packed you couldn’t move, it’s a shame to see what happened to it, I was actually at it not long ago with one of my friends at one of the few stores left there, Arcade Legacy. While we were there we were walking around we noticed the holes in the ceiling and when we were checking out the food court the tile floors literally started cracking under our feet, It looks so nice on camera and if you’re not looking closely, but actually being there shows how badly this place needs to just shut down and call it quits.
+This is Dan Bell. I'm a Cincinnati native here! This video felt like a strange time warp. I haven't lived in the area for about 5 years now, so it's absolutely amazing to see what has become of the mall. This mall has been a struggle for each and every owner from the start. The area it was built in was not suited for the type of clientele they were looking for. I believe in the early 90's one of the anchor stores was Parisian, and then after the initial mall failed and they revamped it, it included Saks and a couple other high-end stores that just didn't make it for the area. When you look at the demographics of the area it is in, you would understand why a mall of this size could not survive. At one point in time there was a Biggs supermarket that carried food and other retail at discount prices. There was a Steve & Barrys, which I believe went out of business in the early 2000's. In the main common area adjoining each wing there was a Starbucks, a Forever 21, and a discount perfume store. The crazy designing of the place actually plays significance to Cincinnati history. The flying pigs that you see hanging from the ceiling are similar to the flying pigs that can be found downtown. They are statues representing (I'm not sure if this is accurate, it's just what I've been told) pigs that came off of the steamboat on the river being brought into the city for slaughter. Cincinnati used to be a big porkopolis, I guess you could call it. You are correct about the ferris wheel. I remember riding it as a kid when I came to visit the mall, and then as a teenager going into that very abandoned Showcase Cinemas you showed in your video. Very nostalgic for me. Thank you so much for posting this video!
only people that shop there are the college students on rez when they are desperate for fast food or need something for a project. thats the only reason i went there lmfao.
Sounds like Cyberpunk 2077 to me. Watch this clip and see if it looks like what you're describing. Cyberpunk 2077 --ruclips.net/video/vjF9GgrY9c0/видео.html
I walked through here in 2020. The arcade was still there but about 1/4 of the games no longer worked. They also resold vintage video games and consoles.The overall condition did not change much save for all the food courts being closed.
Attention! Completely remastered episodes of the Dead Mall Series are now being archived in 4K at ruclips.net/channel/UCfCM_TfrSDMkkMpKuLNWuXA. The remasters have gone through an extensive AI Enhancement process as well as proper sound mixing and colorization. This Dead Mall Series Remastered project has been made possible through viewer support on Patreon. Go over now and watch in glorious 4K. ENJOY!
Dan, I had been to a mall in Cincinnati that had a name similar to this. The distinct attraction that mall had was a Ferris wheel that was located in the middle. If you are from this area maybe you know the mall I'm referring to? Also, the Jeffersonville outlets had two different malls one exit on I-71 apart. The one outlet completely closed and if still standing might be a good venue to take a trip back in time.
@@jojowhite9296 it's the same mall. The ferris wheel was removed during one of the renovations.
@ThisisDanBell have you ever seen a ghost or anything eerie or nasty in these dead and abandoned malls? Also how do you not get caught sometimes at abandoned places?! 😮
The security guard on the segway was probably just trying to beat his previous best lap.
thats what I would be doing if I was him
+thehankman100 ikr
Alan Greer Hold my beer.
There's literally 1 security guard in the whole place. He rides around fast because he can. What would you do if you were there on a Segway all day every day with no one around? Security used to have an official SUV for patrolling outside, but it is abandoned in the lower level of the parking garage, has more than 1 flat tires, and hasn't run in years. I wonder what they'll do if their Segway ever dies? If I were him, I would ditch the Segway and ride a skateboard through the mall - the mall is set up awesome for that!
I bet he can't beat Paul Blart's time.
What fascinates me about these malls is that it's almost like you're traveling back in time, they all still have that very distinctive 80's/90's look to them that feels so weird to see today.
Totaly agree. If they wanted a place for a movie that takes place in the 80-90s, then they would just have to fill the mall with stores and people walking around with clothes that match that period.
The mall was heavily revamped in the early 2000s. Beforehand it didn't have that heavy pastel semi-zerust asthetic.
@@ruach2283 shhhhh, let the kids dream ther modern-retro dreams.
@@ruach2283 so they chose to make it look older?
@@rosemariehowes7707 the aesthetic isn't very 80s, it's more 90s to 00s, with the pastel colours, bright patterned carpets, the almost intentionally clashing colours. there's a whole load of research done into why we merge the space between 1985-2003 in our heads, but this is definitely a mall with strong turn of the millennium aesthetic.
I go here all the time I was at forestfare mall last weekend. The saddest part is they decorate this place for thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter it makes me feel so sad that they put this effort in when hardly anyone comes 😥🥺
I went there today for the first time for the arcade legacy. It's crazy
Superblamblamman awesome 🤙 it’s such a crazy place so much fun
no one comes because apptly forest park "youths" killed this place, according to everyone who ever tried to shop there in the 90s
its because of online shopping
@@vincentnguyen957 that mall died long before amazon
The nostalgia feeling mixed with sadness is intense.
DysfunctionalDavid yes, so true.
yeah agreed; I think its a sign we're moving past the golden days of US economic expansionism and the American dream and into a post-consumption era of self isolationism and deterioration of personal identity, that's why maybe its disturbing watching this
all nostalgia is sad when theres nothing cool and fun to be excited about anymore
Imagine bringing roller skates to this mall
+Stratacrew Mayor185 BLADES!
That'd be so cool 😍
+This is Dan Bell. But roller skates will fit better with that music choice lol.
i've always wanted to do that omg
+Stratacrew Mayor185 My first thought.. after some good arcade gaming of course
$7 to spend all day in a real, old mall arcade? Yes, please.
As a local, I can confirm that Arcade Legacy is by far the coolest place ever. They have nice staff. Their games are retro as well as newer games as well. Definitely worth going if you're in town!
Hoe the hell is this place not brimming with hipsters and parents with children? You can't find any other form of entertainment that cheap. I'd spend my whole weekends there!
@@theproplady on Thursdays they hold the local Smash community tournament
@To La the location means it's more underground. Aside from the arcade machines they also sell old games and host parties
They also have a barcade with the same principle if you buy from the bar the games are free
super a e s t h e t i c
This is like introverted millennial heaven: an empty mall with a fully functioning arcade.
I'm happy there is an arcade there, now as when it first died the amazing arcade it had in the late 80s early 90s died with it. Visiting this mall as a teenager was really depressing.
careful what you wish for
Its so fun to go there I go with my friends every Friday and it's an absolute treat the staff is amazing and we've made friends with the security guard lmao
why are millennials so socially inept seemingly moreso than any other generation
@@moonjimunji7916 Kinda fucked up you equate introverted with socially inept...
This mall was the largest mall in the world when it opened. Another interesting fact is that the mall was never able to rent all of its space, not even close. It has always had financial trouble.
That’s why you don’t build the largest mall... in Ohio.
I saw a video of the current largest mall in the world in China. There was room for more than 2000 shops but there were only 6 open shops when the filmmakers visited it.
@@Ozymandias1 I think they have entire new cities like that in China.
AvariceUntied That gross domestic product
Which doesn't make sense, really...the county this mall opened in has less than 400k people today: apparently they were expecting people from several counties to frequent this place weekly. It wasn't realistic...talk about biting off more than you can chew.
You know it is a dead mall when the escalators are turned off
You know a mall is done when the theater goes under.
They actually had 2 theaters. One had new movies the other had cheap older ones.
That strikes a cord with me.
My local "mall" had a pretty cool theatre in it that closed last year. I remember hearing about it and commenting that it was a shame and a freind asked "it's a shame, but when was the last time you went?"
My answer was "last month".
It was the only place I ever watched movies anymore. It was affordable and had a nice cozy/homey/nostalgicy feel.
Either way now its closed its just a big permanently under construction barriers eyesore in the middle of a mall that has a grocery store at one end and a dollar store at the other and not much else.
Pool hall is still there though so that's something.
So true. Its either the first death rattle or the last, w slow decline in the middle.
I keep thinking that a hoard of zombies are just around the corner
Pills here!
Minlow
I was thinking the exact same thing!! : )
Yes! Dawn of the Dead feeling to it.
If they haven’t done a survival horror game that takes place in a dead mall, they should
they were all slaughtered before deadmallseries arrived, by some guy at capcom
I accidentally stumbled upon this place when travelling to Cincinnati a year ago. It was one of the weirdest experiences ever; it felt like I wasn't supposed to be inside. At nighttime it was really creepier, since most of the lights were off or dimmed.
I disagree, considering my experience.
ikr?! its so creepy at night
This mall has such strange interior decorating! It reminds me of Innoventions from Epcot and Disneyland and also of Tomorrowland in Disneyland.
I wish they could turn this into a community college or something. The inside looks really nice.
Update on this location: It closed for good earlier this week and is to be demolished. As always, thank you Dan for archiving these amazing places before they disappear!
Ngl there were so many "any day now" moments that I was so surprised when I found out it actually closed
Who pays for all the lights that are ON, maintaining everything, elevators, etc? I imagine the electricity bill is huge.
@@kdesSomeone in another video said that corporations get sweet package deals on practically free electricity.
This is probably similar to tax cuts that rich corporations get. For them, it is really just penny's. Where a citizen who flicks on a light switch pays the regular price for all their electricity
@@aazhie Thanks, I was wondering the same thing. My girlfriend and I went to Cincinnati about a month ago and I just had to visit this mall and noticed all the lights were still on…… despite all the entrances being boarded up
This shit is so dream-like it's scary. I'm sure many here use to have anxiety dreams about school where you were late for class or forgot to prepare for finals and it was finals day but when you go to class there's nobody there. This feels like the same thing.
Bc of free trade a lot of foreign asian companies come in and build shit houses/structures in Canada and America.
I couldn’t breathe when i started the video i was taken aback because it feels exactly like the dozens of dreams i’ve had with almost this exact setting. the same feeling. being late to class but just running around this HUGE mall with no exit. wtffff
same about it being dream-like, but it's a good/lucid dreaming feel to me because some of my coolest lucid dreams ended up starting in malls or large office buildings at night. The ones that start in school usually aren't frequent enough or worth the stress leading up to them lol
I often have dreams where I go to an active mall but find some separate path to a unique area of the mall most people never find.
lol walking out the doors would make you feel like you were stuck on a stranded island. people omg i missed you so much. they be like where were you, i was in the mall. their response, it's over now you are safe.
I can only imagine walking into this mall expecting to go shopping. I would be so freaked out.
We were at Kings island about a year ago and went to this mall trying to get some shoes. We were shocked lol
I was last there in 2013 with some friends who wanted to check out the arcade. That is how I felt the whole time: freaked out. 0_0
i kinda feel like the huge vacant parking lot would be a big tip off on that one
dude yeah. Being in a dead BIG building freaks me out so much for some reason. I already freak out when Im in a mall near closng time, let alone being in a dead mall like this
Peacelover, what's funny is I kinda blame the British for my fear of huge abandoned places because I saw the movie 28 days later. I've been to places like this and couldn't stop my imagination from going wild. I kept waiting for something dangerous to shoot out of the dark spots in the mall and kill me. LOL. There's a mall like this in my city that's SLIGHTLY better but the entire upper floor is abandoned. The 9-10 stores that are surviving are all close together on the ground floor. Oddly, Gamestop is there and it's usually busy!
I'd go there for the 7$ day arcade.
SNJ Any idea what that game was @ 8:02?
@@utubepunk
Magic Sword
That candy has been in that candy dispenser since 1989 lol
perfect recipe for death lmao
Great place to run/walk in winter.
Not just winter but summer too when the temps get too high.
It won't be good in the summer, as they have the AC shut off, and are just running it on vent. I went there yesterday and it was hot.
I went yesterday and the AC was clearly on, so not sure what happened the day you went. Maybe they had a problem with it.
I have to revise my statement. I've been going a few times a week to walk and now I've noticed that the mall is not fully air conditioned. There are a couple parts that clearly are AC, but most of it is not. Still I find the mall preferable to walking in the hot 90 degree sun. The mall isn't stuffy so Corey is probably right about most of it operating on vent.
Ah ha! Thx.
I love the early 2000s decor and big open spaces. Makes me feel nostalgic.
I think the 2000's where extravagant then people remember, I feel like they had slightly more wild designs and people had more of a creative licence then they do now.
This mall for made in the late 80s I think.
The color scheme screams 80s.
More like mid 90’s or later. The large images of people on the walls like the one in the food court aren’t 80’s style at all. 80’s malls were more about shiny metal like brass or mirrors everywhere.
@@monalisa9636 this mall was renovated in 2004.
I was in there yesterday (10-18-16) and there was no music even playing and you could hear a pin drop. I felt like I was trespassing but yet it is still opened to the public. So strange
moosefactory133 arcade still there?
Sabina Cruz yes. I go there every thursday lol
Don brave of you to stay on RUclips! Aren't you worried about people stalking you?
Sabina Cruz I could use a good stalking
I'm going next month to go to the arcade. I cannot wait.
This place would be great as a retirement community with homes built into the where the shops used to be. $$$ I am telling you!
@michael battista this seems like an interesting idea I was thinking also you could have offices. But one problem I thought about is what about no windows inside the stores? Did the other location you mentioned renovate to add windows because without would be very depressing?
or turn the whole thing into a massive paintball/lazerquest arena, or hell, you could outfit the whole thing to do VR tracking like those void locations, and you could have a VR zombie mall invasion
What a cute community housing idea. Like a college building. But in a mall layout. Dips on bestbuy!
@@pkop4 not so much if it was organized around a condominium people could contract for modifications like that and indoor farming in the open spaces. if a school was in an anchor store it would help. add a public library.
maxbored
Deadmalls are haunted.
I live less than 5 minutes from this mall. Man. This mall had great memories. From the 2 movie theaters, to the HUGE Arcade game room. Every weekend, this place was PACKED. Sad to see how it's turned out. You can go over there today, and all youll see is people walking through the mall for exercise purposes. One of the main reasons stores emptied out is because they were charging stores too much money for rent.
This mall represents how empty I feel inside.
Grind City ask Jesus into your heart and get a hold of a Holy Bible and you will be empty inside no more :)
Black holes mine
Seeing this makes me feel a certain sadness. I mean not for just me but humanity.
Why?
r/iam14andthisisdeep
@@nonautemrexchristus5637 r/hyperintelligentresponse
It's okay, we're already doomed as a species. Good to get on board the train early!
I get that same feeling when I see stuff like this
I don't usually leave comments. But since I've been to this mall over 200 times in all of its different iterations throughout the years, I feel compelled to say a few things:
1. When the mall changed to Cincinnati Mills, and from 2003 - 2008, this place was extremely popular. I was in high school then, and this was an every weekend hangout for me and my friend, as well as so many others that I knew. You could see the theater in the video above the food court , that was the main theater, and was always packed. There was another "old movie" theater that was cheaper past the food court.
2. Even though it seems so hollow and massive now, every store and every hallway was filled on Friday and Saturday nights. Food court, theater, and all. There was even a grocery store near one of the entrances. Very much turned from an inside city-life to the walking dead.
3. I hadn't been for many years after until 2013 (college), and when I came back it was completely different. Most of the major stores were gone, and other smaller businesses swapped in and out not surviving. I was came back to compete in Tekken tournaments at Arcade Legacy (the one shown here). Friends with the owner and staff there, and they are still operating and have expanded their locations (highly recommend these arcades). But the mall itself was dead and by the time it came 2015, everything was wiped out besides Bass Pro Shop and Arcade Legacy.
Place holds a very special place in my heart. First kiss here, first time competing in a gaming tournament here, and most and last times spent with my best friend from those days.
This is so wholesome. Thanks for sharing! I'm a Cinci transplant originally from Detroit. I went to AL for the first time in 2014 when the movie theater was still open. Went a few times after, the last I think maybe spring of 2022.
love reading this!
Spent a lot of time at this mall as a kid, it's so depressing to see how dilapidated it's gotten. In the 90s it was awesome - there was a carousel and ferris wheel, a mini golf course, and a giant indoor sandbox. My family used to do all of our grocery shopping at the Biggs that was inside and I bought many years of school supplies there. And now I'm depressed. :/
Hang in there dude! New fads and places will be made to enjoy, malls were great while they lasted but who knows what's next.
1 dollar movies was pretty good but really man that mall sucked. Large groups of black teens running around causing trouble, stealing shit, scaring off people who actually bought stuff. Doomed to fail because of it's location. Forest Park is a crappy place.
R S what replaces these malls?
@@BlackLabelSlushie Amazon, strip malls, and walmart.
It's where I bought my wife's engagement ring 22 years ago...
This would be a great location for an old school 90's/early 2000's Rave.
You're cool.
maybe a secret russian spy facility, doing "research" into the paranormal.
We could make this happen. We have the interwebs you know.
Why a rave of all things?
I was hoping you'd cover this place, it always reminds me of a '90s Nickelodeon game show set :D
Wow! A wild Larry appeared!
EVERY COMMENT YOU POST IS READ IN YOUR VOICE BY MY BRAIN
I know right Larry!
You are everywhere I go on here
Are you me?
I personally think malls can be a thing of the future again, just have to think outside the box.
@untrepid two i as well.
Amazon killed the Mall star
I think it's going to be a cycle. Currently, outdoor malls and downtowns are the trend, but it might swing back the other way in a few decades. Sadly, it will probably be too late to save any of this.
Oh yes. "Outside the box". We should be "proactive" too. Additionally, we should "work smarter not harder". Then we should "brainstorm" with like minded people and generate "synergy". Because in this world, "there are no strangers, just friends you haven't met yet"..........I could do this all night. But you should get another turn.
Outdoor malls remain reasonably popular: I think people just got tired of wandering through these massive structures just to get to the 3 or 4 stores they were interested in.
That arcade is sweet. I'd pay $7 for a couple of hours there.
Sweet like candy?
steamed keyboard is a delicacy in some countries.
it is usually eaten with a side of steamed mouse
Is that what they eat in Japan?
Is that why they’re so technically advanced?
Someone call Elon, and tell him merging man and machine was easier than he thought.
Oh? What are the key ingredients?
But they are obviously grilled!
@@LoneWulff829 Alphabet soup.
This is so crazy. This is where I live! I never had the chance to see this mall in all its glory but from what I've heard this was the place to be if you were a kid in Cincinnati. It's such a shame that the mall fell into the wrong hands. Fun fact: I almost broke my arm here once because I tripped over a rug.
I’m 63 years old - I met my wife in a mall. This is so depressing. Married now 30 Years. Malls were social gatherings, now you have social media .. a very different world
Social media will never be a sufficient replacement for sensing, laughing and arguing to each other in person, but instead make many even lonelier and socially inept staring at a screen all day its a real shame. I kinda missed out on the glory age of malls as I was born in 89, but do remember many of them booming in the late 90's even for me it's sad to see so many of them die off.
I didnt meet my wife at the mall bit when we first started dating she worked at a mall. That mall has long since been torn down.
So sad seeing these once vibrant, lively, social hubs become just memories. So pleased my 56yo self got to experience them when they were at their peak.
And this is why today’s generation is spoiled yet doomed in all realities
The flying pig sculptures with the outstretched hoofs really gives it that end of world feel
Those pigs can be seen all over Cincinnati. Most of them are downtown but some have been moved to the suburbs, like the ones you see in this mall. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pig_Gig
IemonandIime thanks for link, where I’m from they did that once with sheep statues all over the place... apparently farm animals across the country have been painted and put into funny poses for the enjoyment of the locals, and apparently to be used later to decorate banks and malls
Fortwayne Indiana did the same think with mastodon statues for some reason
Cincinnati had a large population of German and Irish immigrants. Sausage and beer producers right on the river for easy transport. Lot of festivals to celebrate both like Flying pig marathon, Oktoberfest, chili competitions. Pigs made this city.
I'm actually from that area and can give you a bit more history as to what happened (not that you did a bad job or anything) When it was Forest Fair Mall it still had whole wings of empty stores but it did great because of a few things.
One was Time Out which had not only Arcades (and yes I meant that plural) it had mini golf, a merry-go-round, an honest to god Ferris wheel and other things that kids loved. It had good anchor stores that did good business even after the change. It had a cheap theater that they put back after Showcase Cinemas left. But the best thing of all it had a Bigg's Grocery store that was like a Meijer in that it sold not just food but clothes, toys, and other things. (Ironically Meijer would later open across the street from the mall.)
See the trick was people would go to the Bigg's in the mall to get some things and end up staying the whole day because kids would go hang out at Time Out while parents shopped and also go to the other stores as well. Bigg's brought the people in like flies to honey.
But after the switch and the name change the new owners in what I can only describe as one of the dumbest business ideas I've ever heard of thought that having a grocery store that BROUGHT PEOPLE IN BY LITERAL DROVES didn't fit with their outlook so they TRIPLED Bigg's rent Bigg's said see ya and left and took the crowds with them. It was like someone pulled the plug on the drain and it spiraled downhill from there.
Granted soon after Bigg's got bought by Rempke but it could have enjoyed a few more years and maybe after Bigg's left another store could have taken its place. So sadly as usual bad business brought me and my wife's childhood hangout to the decay you see. Sorry this went on so long but as you can see I really loved that mall.
KenBlake Thank you for mentioning Bigg's! I was sure this was the same Forest Fair Mall I used to go to. Late night shopping was always interesting.
Is that Yuki from Gravitation on your profile? :D
@@themuttonqueen1076 yes it is thanks for noticing :)
I remember this mall alot too. It had a jungle gym as well. There used to be an anchor there that was like an Office Depot, and man that electronics store had one of the best selections of PC computers games at the time. Such good memories there.
It use to have a huge bar/nightclub, it think they even had a bull
And since this video, that consignment shop has gone, and there are less lights on upstairs. There are also buckets catching water in various places, as the building has serious leaks. Everything looks more dirty than it does in this video. They've also shut off the AC.
Security is still there on Segways, speeding around. They caught me taking a photo and said "Hey, we can't have you taking pictures of the building." I was already done with my 150 shots though.
That's bullshit. It's still a public place: you can film/take photos all you like.
Lol I wonder what it’s like in 2019
@@Isa-cr7fd I just commented only thing left is bass pro kohl's and the arcade. Lots of roof widows cracked or missing buckets everywhere
@@encycl07pedia- lol malls are private property, not public. They can ban you taking pictures if they want. However, it would be stupid and confusing if they did lol
@@TryckSpot Lots of private properties are public places, you dingus. They can tell you to leave, but they can't tell you not to take pictures. There's no expectation of privacy (unless it's in a bathroom or something).
Learn the difference between a public place and public property.
You know what he should do for a new series.He should make a “the most popular malls series” where he goes to the most popular malls
I'd watch that!
Ugh
The whole point of the mall series is to explore almost abandoned malls for entertainment, nostalgia, vapor wave, inform, and show off retro architecture. If you wanna see popular malls watch any Vlog of any RUclipsr ever
We can all do that any time
If any of the malls in the series were successfully revitalized it'd be really interesting to come back for a before and after.
The aesthetic of that place is pretty cool
***** What?
+Jessica I've always wondered what that meant too lol
tall32guy I'm wondering what that has to do with what I commented 😂
+Jessica I used to go to this mall when I was young - it was really amazing then ....
beyond sad
Still one of my favorite Dead Mall videos. Maybe it's so charming to me because there's a huge, and still active, mall in Grapevine Mills, TX that has similar decor and architecture.
And Dan Mason also ups the charm factor. He's awesome.
Most of the malls that were built or bought out by its former owners have pretty similar aesthetic iirc. Looking at it reminds me a lot of the Katy Mills mall, aside from that particular mall still being pretty active
I remember back when that mall first opened and it was a HUGE deal, or so it seemed at the time. It's nice to see that it's still active, although not too surprising since the economy in DFW is relatively steady.
Slight correction for those outside the area: Grapevine Mills is the name of the mall, and the city itself is just Grapevine, TX.,
Silver Amaryllis that mall you're talking about and this one were owned by the Mills Corporation. That's why the decor is so similar. The Pittsburgh Mills Mall (also dead now lol) looks exactly the same, decor wise.
Now that you point it out, the aesthetic of Grapevine Mills Mall is pretty similar to this place's.
Michael L. I was going to say a lot of these Malls with Mills in the name remind of Katy Mills including all the weird shapes and stuff but Katy Mills is always packed
These dead mall videos always give me a very macabre sense of nostalgia, It's odd to remember 20 years ago when people would flock to these places with disposable income's. Now the economy is terrible and everyone's struggling.
Mikenactor The advent of the internet and ecommerce changed the shopping landscape. Malls are not dead and will never completely die. Thanks to the internet, we just don't need as many as we once did.
***** I agree :) I still have a couple in my area.
Mikenactor that's not it, America is lazy and entitled now! Shopping online whenever you want and food delivery services did this.
You don't really know many of the words you're using.
coreydl2008 still more words then are in your limited vocabulary.
Almost 2020 and it's still like this. I looked at the mall when it was warmer (December at the time I made this comment) and what I saw was:
-There's no music.
-Despite what he said, Bass Pro Shop is still there.
-There was one kids' play area with at the time deflated bounce pads that I assume is used for birthday parties.
-Arcade Legacy is still there, but I checked the mall out early in the morning, so it wasn't open yet.
-There were some veterans sitting in a circle of fold-able chairs, probably having a meeting.
-There were a bunch of Geese outside. I tried opening one of the doors to find it was locked and one flipped out and flew towards me. I booked it out of there. Geese have no chill.
I think at the time, Bass Pro Shops was looking to move. I remember hearing something about that but I could be wrong or plans fell through.
I live around the corner. Is the arcade open?
there is also a clothing store with no employees or customers that I saw, and tournaments and a bounce area was set up (quite large) when i went. I went super late so it was fairly creepy, and I didn't know if we were trespassing for certain until we saw other people.
@@blacknbougie8021 its been open for quite a while, i doubt its going to close unless its forced to
@@zilchdevotegaming6710 yeah I called. Thanks😊
My favorite mall from your Dead Mall Series.. This is definitely the "Titanic" of malls. So beautiful but so sad. The arcade is fantastic!! So strange to me as the mall in our town is always packed. I can't imagine this being torn down at some point... Thanks for sharing and please do more dead malls!
It's funny how in Europe buildings are hundreds of years old and still usable while here in the US something like a mall or stadium is 20-30 years old and it needs to be demolished.
Our country is always looking to the future and is all about innovation and new ideas, we don't want to be stuck in the past. Thats why.
@@LanaDayneIt's pretty wasteful to knock down a perfectly useable building.
@@LanaDayne It's about money, not "future and innovation." Also building codes.
"we don't want to be stuck in the past." This is why idiot criminal Trump is the president because his campaign slogan definitely didn't bring up a return to the past.
@@encycl07pedia- it's a Bot
encycl07pedia Ya know Trump is a lot of things but calling him an idiot after EVERYTHING that’s happened even STILL is kind of ironic, since he played ALL of his opponents like fiddles. He knows what he’s doing, and it got him the White House and you still think the choices he makes is idiocy, and that’s why he’ll win again because you still think that way and probably will continue to do so
that arcade is still open today! me and my friends go there every once in a while, its a great place
Why did everyone leave the mall
So much of my childhood was spent at this mall, it was 5 minutes away from where my grandparents lived, my grandma worked at Biggs when it was there, I got my ears pierced at the Claire's there, so many of my favorite movies I watched I saw in that theater, and I lost my first tooth on the playground in there. To this day we still go in and just take in the memories of what used to be.
This mall definitely has a mid 2000's vibe going on
Decor was redone in early-mid 2000's that would be why. LOL.
I would go there alone for that arcade. $7 all day, what a bargain.
Neir
Neiru lots of people do. he didn't show it, but there's also 3 big TV's with more modern consoles hooked up to them. Lots of kids playing Minecraft. They also sell used retro games/systems and DVDs
A lot of the big arcades that still remain are like that now, where there's a daily fee for unlimited play (or even a monthly membership fee... there's one in Dallas that charges $25 a month. Unlimited play, all day, every day.)
I've been there, pretty fun to hang out, game, and play some ping pong.
You think this is kickass, the same guys opened up a bar version of this setup in downtown Cincinnati
For laughs, you should call the mall and ask them how much would they charge to advertise your Dead Mall Series on the signage seen at 8:22
I remember how popular that place was in the early 90s. We hung out there as teens
11:31 Chair just chilling alert
+The Proper People OMG! DAN LOOK WHO COMMENTED!!
I told you all to come North here in Ohio and there is lots of abandoned factories and stuff in this area!!
The depth of the information you get on these places is just amazing. Knowing the back stories/history just makes it so much more interesting. I really appreciate that considering not a lot of people who do urban exploration videos etc. take the time to give their audience detailed facts.
I keep going back to this video. I miss this mall.
When I was a kid the whole mall was awesome, best movie theater and arcade of its time.
Lots of memories there as a kid, mainly the arcade it was awesome
UPDATE ON THE MALL: AC is Turned Off Accept for the Remaining Anchors, the Closed Parking Garage and Arcade Legacy, Babies "R" Us has Closed Following Toys R Us's Bankruptcy, Bass Pro's Plans to Move Failed and they remain at the mall to this day, Music is also something that is non-Existent at the Mall.
I Visited the Mall July 13th 2018, and this is how it was during that day.
UPDATE ON THE MALL: Ac is still off, Babies R Us is still closed and untouched. More old stores in the mall are now used as storage. In some places the roof has started to collapse, and the floor dry rotten. Even the elevator has officially been shut down. There is also word that the old Biggs might be turned into an ice skating rink. Also there is still AC in Bee Active fitness.
@@asherrivers3740 how about the arcade?
still up and running
@@asherrivers3740 ice rink would be great. Then maybe more stores. Drop the rent crazy low to get stores in there am then once the mall starts to thrive slowly raise it to were the owner makes money but the business could thrive. This mall could be a huge asset to the town if done right
@@jessa3142 on top of the ice rink, have a ciniplex.
That arcade is fucking lit
iPolitely arcades are a dying art.
I go there and it is pretty lit
I just wanna know how long those m&ms have been in that candy machine lol
Trust me...you don't....LOL
I thought of the same exact thing, lol
Since the dawn of time.
probably 10 years lmao (maybe more years)
Every time I watch one of these videos, a part of me wonders why they don't convert places like this into living spaces. I would rent the frack out of an apartment set up like that.
It would be so strange and cool wouldnt it? You walk outside your apartment and you're inside a giant lobby.
Can’t remember where I saw it but there was a short documentary or journalism piece on a dead mall converted into apartments. Looked like a little village
Great idea, and I think it could work, it’s just very hard to find investors willing to take the risk, especially since 2008 market crash those with money are much more reluctant to invest in new/innovative projects.
It would be an amazing place to live, all that space?! It would work!!
The only issue I could see with that would be the plumbing issues with setting up the restrooms unless people were ok with sharing a limited amount of public bathrooms.
Getting the Starcourt vibe from Stranger Things Season 3.
I was looking for this comment!
MrRawr2013 Same
Turn it into a big entertainment centre. Indoor skating area, laser gaming, bowling , billiards ... so many options with such an awesome building.
unoriginal comment hubert, dont go senile on me
+Hubert Applebaum Funny enough it was that in the 90's. Most of the mall was the "festival" The area that Arcade legacy is in and the floor above it had rides, games, Lazer tag, All kinds of fun. It was removed when Mills bought it.
@@inunnguaqkjrgaard5640: LOL: LOL.
Such a wilderness of emptiness...a relic of ages gone past
OMG! I just joined your page. Your music is incredible! I'm 65 and live in the Atlanta area and your music takes me back to when I was younger. We had a club here in the early 80's called the Limelight and this reminds me of the music they played. I used to live in the malls and clubs. Keep up the great work!
Stumbled in the mall a couple weeks ago and found out the we’re setting up for drone racing to take place in the middle of the night after the malls hours
That'd be so sick!
That should bring in some cash for the mall operators. Maybe it'll help them stay afloat a little bit longer.
I remember riding the carousel at Forest Fair Mall as a child! It was fun! I'm pretty sure my little stuffed white seal, "Hattie", was purchased here as well. That seems like lifetimes ago.
I live near to this mall and go to that awesome arcade on occasion. Just thought I'd lend a little story to this place. So, my friends and I had spent a few hours at the mall. We ate at the Japanese place Dan shows in the video (it actually is still open and the guy who owns it is super awesome). So, it's late at night, the mall's about to close and we're walking to the exit. They turn off all the lights like 30 minutes before they close in all areas except where the arcade is, so we're basically walking in the dark to get to the far end where we parked. Near the doors, they have one of those kid's areas with the small rides that move. As we approach, suddenly one of them just turns on and begins spinning for like three seconds and then stops. Probably the creepiest thing that's ever happened to me.
OMG I know where that mall is I haven't been back to Cincinnati in some 20 years LOL. Damn that mall used to be busy when I was a kid. Crazy how time flies and things change.
The music choices take you right back to the 80-90s. Thanks, Dan
Dan Bell, I sure wish I knew you was in my area, this mall used to be about 95% full occupancy. I worked at Biggs hypermarket back in 1992 and it was weird because it was a grocery store inside a mall! People would actually get their grocery carts outside the mall at three different entrances on the far end of the mall. Biggs was open 24 hours so they had 24 security. This mall had 2 different movie theater chains there, Showcase Cinemas and Super Saver Cinemas owned by Danbarry Cinemas. I really wish I knew you was coming as I could have helped telling lots of history of this mall. Yes there was a full size amusement park inside this mall. Ferris Wheel was right where the food court is along with the Carousel, Bumper cars, Laser tag, putt putt golf, small Rollercoaster, and a few more small kids rides. There was all kinds of things for kids to do there at one time and it was known as a babysitting service for the parents on the weekends. That mall was packed especially on the weekends. Kohls in that mall is closing soon. It's been announced that about 22 Kohls stores was closing and that one is one of them. Bass Pro is leaving sometime in 2017 I think the spring. They are building a new one on Interstate 75 at Union Center Blvd across from where tons of development has been happening. I would say once Bass Pro leaves, this mall will have the final nail in its coffin. If not sooner! It's such a beautiful mall and you didn't show the huge parking garage behind the mall. They used to have July 4TH Red White and Kaboom off the top of the parking garage that was a super huge event in the Fairfield, Forest Park Ohio areas. Now you see exactly where the original name came from. The mall borders these two cities, however it sits in Fairfield Ohio. across the highway from the mall used to be a huge Wal Mart that also closed a couple years ago.
In Middletown Ohio just north from this mall off I 75, was and still is kind of a dead mall. The Towne Mall there was almost gone. Sears and an Auto center owned by Sears and Elder Beerman stores stuck it out and now that mall is showing signs of re-birth. The owner of that mall has really changed what was a dead mall into something that is going to make the mall rebound back into a shopping facilty. It's amazing how this mall has changed and still is in the process of changing. If you ever make it back this way, I can take you too several malls that are really having it rough. Also I can show you where a brand new type of outdoor mall that recently opened at a cost of $330 million dollars. The place is huge with luxury Cinemas, a full scale Hotel still under construction, almost completed, and tons of upscale type dining places. Contact me in the future, many malls that are dead in my area, Sw Ohio, Northern Kentucky areas. Be safe my friend and thank you for your uploads and time.
Omg that arcade is amazing. I'm getting in the car now and driving
Mathy Don xD Cya!
Ive been and ive never been there less than two hours
I like to imagine that in around 5-10 years time we'll see this place reappear completely abandoned on some urban exploration channel
Sadly it's been in this condition (not nearly as brightly-painted, of course!) for nearly 20 years now. So it was actually more abandoned looking before Mills got a hold of it and even more depressing. Even when the occupancy was maybe 20-25%, it still felt strange and empty and like you were intruding. Sad.
Your prediction was correct
do you know where I can find the video?@@db9721
Thank you Dan Bell. You got one of the best channels on youtube from the commentary to the excellent music with that hallway effect to the camera work. This is incredibly fascinating.
I'm loving the 80's style music.
I would've loved to see this mall in it's Hayday, if there ever was one.
ForbiddenSword it was the best! there was ferris wheel inside in the 90s/very early 2000s
ForbiddenSword I went once around 2007 right before the mall went downhill and it still had a lot of stores
ForbiddenSword Ive been there in its prime, on some days for example around christmas it was packed and filled with nice restaurants and stores.
When I was a kid I went here a lot. It was extremely busy in the 90's and 2000's. It started dying mid 2000's and never recovered. I still come to the mall for the arcade all the time.
It was GREAT! Place used to be packed. This was the place to be back in the 90s.
Ooh hearing Bay City play as if it's echoing softly through the halls of this sad empty shell of a mall filled me with a deep nostalgia for something I've never experienced. It's haunting
I live about 20-30 minutes from this mall. Never saw it in it's heyday but when we moved to the area in 1996-97 it was still a fairly bustling mall. I heard it really never lived up to the potential and the hype that it was supposed to be when it opened. I heard the stores originally put in were too high end and didn't fit the demographic of the Forest Park area (mainly blue collar shoppers) I used to buy groceries at the Bigg's store before it closed about 15+ years ago. Back in the late 90's/early 2000's there was also a nightclub located in one end of the mall call Metropolis - it had 3 or 4 different bars inside that played different types of music (country, techno, r&b). Nowadays the only stores there are Bass Pro/Outdoor World, Babys R Us & Kohl's. Thanks for the trip down memory lane - haven't been in this mall in years! Read more here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Fair_Village
such an awesome 90's aesthetic on this one!
I have some info about this mall. In the late 90s/early 2000s, I used to frequent a nightclub here called Bourbon Street. It was actually three nightclubs in one; a dark, industrial-themed dance-oriented room; a top-40, college bar type room; and an 80s room, if I remember correctly. Later, that location closed, and the same owner opened another similar layout location in the same mall called Metropolis, which slowly went downhill due to rougher and rougher clientele. My memory kind of vaguely mixes the two locations. I remember one of the two had a country-themed room. Arcade Legacy has two locations in the area, and both are quite successful.
Cheyenne Cattle Company was the country bar, and it was there throughout Bourbon St. and Metropolis. I used to go there almost every weekend. There was also a place called Jackass Flats (which I think is the college bar you're remembering) and a piano bar. Good times back then.
I forgot about the country bar! My roommate, her boyfriend, and I took a line dance lesson there! God, I'm so OLD!
I use to go-to burbon street also mid 90s
@@amylynn59 I use to go-to burbon street in mid 90s
I remember this place being built in the late eighties I used to cycle cross on this lot and it had a nice theater and arcade but it has always been mostly empty and struggled to survive.
That's a ready made film set, good to go. Someone should shoot a movie there.
My favorite place ever! Me and my buddies spent all highschool skipping class to come screw around in the abandoned mall. We’ve snuck our way in the movie theater and walked around all the old showrooms, made lots of the graffiti upstairs and been in just about every store we could find our way in.. so many stories and memories at this place. Just came and walked around the place last week!
How do you get into the movie theater?
@@matthewvanwyhe1498 you need at least two guys to lift the gate up and one crawl underneath it. You go straight and hook a sharp right and you see a long hallway, go to the end of it and pop the door open and it opens up a door right next to the gate that doesn’t have a door knob, so you’d never really notice it, then everyone’s in.
@@Joe2Jamarr haha I just went there today and I saw a planter in front of that door.
Loser 🏆
2:00 as soon as I heard midnight playing in the background I got really happy. My favorite song from Dan Mason by far.
These malls are time capsules it’s insane. Always give me anxiety though lmao
Me too, it's like a part of yourself slipping away
I grew up about 30 minutes north of this mall, in a suburb of Dayton, which is the next bigger city after Cincinnati.
My grandfather brought my brother and I here several times when I was a kid, a time in which I imagine was a heyday of sorts for the mall. We only went once or twice back in 2004, and the memory became one of those nostalgic memories of childhood, almost seemed like a dream as time went on.
I remember the mall itself being rather crowded and prospering, and I remember there being a Bass Pro Shop, which was where we entered. The children's amusement park was also much larger, and actually occupied what I suspect was once an anchor store. It had at least a dozen rides, including a small rollercoaster, and a ride I remember specifically as a carousel of flying pigs that would go up and down into the air with the control of a lever. I also remember a Johnnie's Toys, which was a local toy store chain beloved by generations, that is now sadly defunct.
I suspect a variety of factors played into this mall failing, mainly there being close to a dozen malls within an hour of each other in the Cincinnati/Dayton metroplex, and in 2005, the nearby Kenwood Towne Center completed renovations that made the mall more accessible, added more parking and garages, and finally, nearly doubled the size of several anchor retailers.
I'm very sad to see that the place I held in a dear memory has come to this state, but I feel good in knowing that my memory was real, and not a childhood imagining.
As a side note, there are several other malls in this area that are what I would consider dead, and if you ever were looking for more to explore, try the Towne Mall in Middletown, Ohio, the Salem Mall in Dayton, Ohio, and the Fairfield Commons Mall in Fairfield, Ohio.
Thank You
Most of Salem Mall was torn down years ago and redeveloped into Hope Depot and other purposes. The city of Trotwood is working to tear down the remaining Sears from newly received funding.
The Mall at Fairfield Commons is in Beavercreek, not Fairfield. The mall in this video (Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills/Cincinnati Mall, etc.) is partially within the boundary of the city of Fairfield. There is no other mall in this city.
I agree Towne Mall in Middletown is dying though!
I believe Fairfield Commons is in Beavercreek, Ohio.
lol sad that mall (cincinnati mills) is like 5 minutes from my house...it used to be a busy mall. my daughter classmates dad owns the arcade legacy. when Biggs (a grocery store) left the mall it went downhill from there. It was brought by a group of developers. They went up on the rent of the stores and the stores didnt produce enough revenue to make a profit. The same developer brought the Salem Mall in Trotwood Ohio and needless to say the whole mall was torn down and the land was sold to home depot within 4 years. The Tri County Mall is next on the hit list of dead malls.
Just went to tri county and there was nothing there except a porygon, but my friend and I went because Reddit said it was a hypno spawn. GameStop and Game Swap (retro store) are the only worthwhile things there now
I agree as everything good is gone or moved to liberty. we have kenwood which is much better than tri county. the only good thing is cinnabon.
Classic80sStuff there actually is an arcade there!!! And it is dedicated to old school and new gaming. My daughter goes to school with the owners son so we were invited to a birthday party there so we didn't pay. From what I saw the prices were reasonable.I think for $10 you can play all the games all day long. The arcade game don't cost either. It was neat seeing a setup like that. Its located directly across from the food court. I think the old one was at the end by the movies.
Not the same exact machines. A lot of the same titles though. I used to play there as a kid, and worked at Time Out as a Teen, and and Wonderpark. The arcade thats there now is a whole new place, and the mall is it's 3rd location, Arcade Legacy started out as Arcade Legends out on Rt4, then moved to Springdale, then the mall. Now in addition there is bar in northside, and a new location in Newport.
I think the reason why all these malls are dying is twofold: 1) obviously the internet, with Amazon prime and every retailer offering some form of free expedited shipping, it's pretty hard to motivate people to leave the house unless it's a major purchase like a car or a large appliance (TV, washing machine, refrigerator, etc.); 2) I think even 10 years on from the onset of the recession, that a fairly tangible gulf between the everyman and the large corporation exists, and as such, a return to reviving the main street and small business has reemrged in the American psyche, at least on a subconcious level. The second ties into the first at least in the sense that if it's not a generic purchase that can be made online, most Americans would rather find a "guy" or shop that can give them what they want before turning to an actual big box store. As a consequence, malls tend to suffer from that big box/anchor/corporate ethos that a great deal of Americans have disdain for, and as such, they purposely neglect their business, despite the mall space also being a place for other small businesses to hawk their services/wares.
Ironic considering small unique businesses was the main selling point of the mall when it first opened before Mills bought it and renovated it, subsequently driving out most of the non-anchor tenants in exchange for chain franchises, then charging exorbitant rent to recoup for the $70m they spent to renovate in the first place which drove them out too.
It's really sad, the whole of forest park around the mall feels like busy Californian strip malls, all around a perfectly fine but abandoned mall.
No, this one was dying before the internet was a thing. I would know having lived hear there until 2010.
I agree- but also- THUGS flocked to the malls, and all the people with money started saying "f that- I'm not going there."
One of my favorite malls during my college years. They used to have a Danbarry Dollar Cinema that I spent a lot of time at.
I used to go to this mall all the time from the early 2000s to around 2008-2009 when it changed from “Cincinnati Mills” to “Cincinnati Mall”, And all the stores went to the new outlet center, but during Christmas time the place was so packed you couldn’t move, it’s a shame to see what happened to it, I was actually at it not long ago with one of my friends at one of the few stores left there, Arcade Legacy. While we were there we were walking around we noticed the holes in the ceiling and when we were checking out the food court the tile floors literally started cracking under our feet, It looks so nice on camera and if you’re not looking closely, but actually being there shows how badly this place needs to just shut down and call it quits.
Cj 2744 Is this actually still open?
YellowRubberDuckie yes
awesome video dan, i find abandoned places fascinating, the history of these places one can only imagine.
Same
+This is Dan Bell.
I'm a Cincinnati native here! This video felt like a strange time warp. I haven't lived in the area for about 5 years now, so it's absolutely amazing to see what has become of the mall. This mall has been a struggle for each and every owner from the start. The area it was built in was not suited for the type of clientele they were looking for. I believe in the early 90's one of the anchor stores was Parisian, and then after the initial mall failed and they revamped it, it included Saks and a couple other high-end stores that just didn't make it for the area. When you look at the demographics of the area it is in, you would understand why a mall of this size could not survive. At one point in time there was a Biggs supermarket that carried food and other retail at discount prices. There was a Steve & Barrys, which I believe went out of business in the early 2000's. In the main common area adjoining each wing there was a Starbucks, a Forever 21, and a discount perfume store.
The crazy designing of the place actually plays significance to Cincinnati history. The flying pigs that you see hanging from the ceiling are similar to the flying pigs that can be found downtown. They are statues representing (I'm not sure if this is accurate, it's just what I've been told) pigs that came off of the steamboat on the river being brought into the city for slaughter. Cincinnati used to be a big porkopolis, I guess you could call it.
You are correct about the ferris wheel. I remember riding it as a kid when I came to visit the mall, and then as a teenager going into that very abandoned Showcase Cinemas you showed in your video. Very nostalgic for me. Thank you so much for posting this video!
I grew up in malls during the 1980s, I loved malls, sad to see them go.
This mall is so colorful and pretty! But also very dead. A great addition to your series Dan.
+k1773ns And in great condition! Most zombie malls show lots of wear--burnt out lights, leaky roofs etc. but this one looks to be near pristine.
kz1000ps exactly! the color blocking is excellent, but sadly i feel that it will be demolished soon.
@@k1773ns: LOL: still open.
lol go to woodbine mall in toronto canada. its always so dead and theres a amusement park inside
only people that shop there are the college students on rez when they are desperate for fast food or need something for a project. thats the only reason i went there lmfao.
That would be cool if he went there. Always went there as a child in the 90s and went back about 3 years ago and was shocked how dead it was.
Nah how about Westmount Centre in Edmonton. It's so frickin small
fückin eh my favorite dead malls are 1. Forest Fair 2.Charlestowne mall 3. Century III
That kid on RUclips Those huh? Well here are mine:
1. Medley Centre
2. Pittsburgh Mills
3. Century III Mall
THEY MIGHT CONSIDER MAKING APARTMENTS FOR PEOPLE AND HAVE THE LOWER FLOOR WITH COMMERCIAL
@@Thobba89 IT IS A GOOD IDEA, THOUGH.
Sounds like Cyberpunk 2077 to me.
Watch this clip and see if it looks like what you're describing. Cyberpunk 2077 --ruclips.net/video/vjF9GgrY9c0/видео.html
@@chosenone8408 or Mega Blocks from Judge Dredd.
@@PubeStache The Stallone or Urban version?
@@samsignorelli2000 AD comic or Urban. I try my best to forget the Stallone version..
I walked through here in 2020. The arcade was still there but about 1/4 of the games no longer worked. They also resold vintage video games and consoles.The overall condition did not change much save for all the food courts being closed.
I think it would be awesome if someone bought one of these old malls and turned the entire complex into a huge laser tag arena.
one day
+Nathan Scantling
Or a paintball arena.
Or a bicycle course.
Or skateboard park.
Or total free-for-all.
It's all good.
Thank You Thank You THANK YOU sooooo much for filming this mall. I grew up going here and it held so many memories for me.
+HorrorGal that's awesome! Thanks!
This is Dan Bell. No, thank YOU!!!! :)
+HorrorGal where is this place?
Alex Kahn Cincinnati, Ohio
I'm impressed on how clean and tidy this one is. It's well taken care of, even in its abandoned state.
+TheCatAteMyShoe Technically its still "open" wich would mean they have to keep it in acceptable and "safe" conditions...for legal and safety reasons.