Lol my moms town has a dead mall. I remember when the fountains went off. First they filled them with dirt and planted flowers. Then they emptied them and just let them fill up with trash. Then they finally blocked them off
It saddens me to see dead malls, I'm 26 years old so i never saw the golden age of malls but there's something nostalgic about the mall that makes me feel very comfortable. It just sucks to see the world change little by little
@@aahpuuh You don't have to be that rude. Malls don't shut down because people don't buy stuff anymore, they do because people buy stuff online. How is that less capitalistic? Your opinion will be taken more seriously when you voice it in a sensible way.
A mall by me had to get a liquor license after one of those giant adult arcades went in. There is a brewery putting a store in. I think it would be if another brewery put in an entire brewery into a closed sears. I thought this mall was looking dead but traffic has been crazy lately. It will be sweet if I could do a pub crawl at the mall.
I was in this mall one evening just before Christmas and it was so dead I actually cried on my way out. It was a beautiful busy mall when I first moved nearby in 1996. So sad.
When you binge watched Dan Bell's Dead Mall series in like 4 days, and you're wondering what to do with your life now and this new obsession, and you discover this channel: :-D
This place was JUMPIN in the 80's. They had a kick ass game room and a great food court. We'd hang out all day chasing girls, eating pizza, buying albums. So sad to see. It's almost hard to believe. Terrible.
Weird off fact: When my mom used to work for a elderly mental health home in Phx there was a woman who was convinced that PV Mall was cursed and there were vampires living under it. She would state "If you listened hard enough you could hear the sound of the dead they would take grinding in the machines underneath". I never forgot that lol.
Maybe she could hear the void of the bomb shelter underneath and it messed with her mind? Big empty spaces have a weird sound to them. You'd think they'd be dead silent, but they're not entirely.
It was the mall I went to in high school. I remember in 1984 seeing girls dressed like Madonna. "Madonna Mall Maggots" I called them. It had a pretty good food court, video arcade and movie theater.
Here it is 2021 and I’d love to see some Madonna mall treats or at least a skirt/dress. Now they either wear their PJ’s or those disgusting leggings or (whatever they’re called) and try to stuff 200 lbs into a pair the size of a condom. Somebody actually think those things are attractive? Someone buy these women a 4 way mirror.
Interestingly, many gambling laws differentiate between games of chance (considered gambling) and games of skill (not considered gambling), so by adding an element of timing or the appearance of skill to a game the makers of those arcade prize games can essentially get away with using the exploitative tactics of gambling legally.
Same here my local mall (also dead), it's "arcade" are 2 of these crane game things n both are off 95% of the time. Last time I saw a mall arcade was 2002 or so where I used to live.
There used to be a Rio Salado College on the 2nd floor of the food court (accessible via a staircase by the bathrooms), I got my GED diploma there. XD Apart from that, I used to go there all the time as a kid, I think half of my childhood Santa photos were taken here, the other half most likely Metrocenter... r.i.p. to both :'(
So, I actually spent a year working in this mall, and since he kept saying "on a weekend," but it was so dead, I'm 99% sure this was filmed on a Sunday, so I was actually working in the Home Mart when he was filming this lol. I also know the psychic reading lady, her name is Jennifer and she's super nice, even if she's a little eccentric. She would shop at the New York and Company there. Anyway, I used to work at the New York and Company outlet, and then at the Home Mart across the way, and I have a lot of good memories of this mall, but he's right, it's dying. Every day I'd come into work, it felt like another store had closed. There were a few stores that opened, but only lasted a couple months. There was a store run by a couple called "Game Hills" that had opened, and it was a second hand videogame store, and I actually applied there, but didn't get the job because they ended up closing literally less than a month after opening. Saturdays are usually the busiest days of the week there, and pretty much every other day looks about how it looked in the video tbh. Although there were some spurts of activity here and there, it's more or less always slow (except for black Friday, that was a goddamn nightmare). It really makes me sad to see the mall like this, a lot of really nice people work there. The lady who works at one of the watch kiosks used to me by co-worker, and she's a literal Ray of sunshine. My old manager at Home Mart is the sweetest person I know. But even though it's on its way out, I still like to remember the good times I had there, hanging out with my friends in high school, joking with my coworkers and bonding over shitty customers lol. Maybe pv mall will get a second chance, who knows
This is sad to see, I live in the UK and have been visiting Phoenix for many years, not though since 2011. We always go round the Malls, this was certainly busier when we last visited, we also went to Fiesta Mall which I see is no more, will be sad if this and Metro Center both disappear.
“Uploaded 2 mins ago” .. spent a lot of time there too. When there was a Taco Bell and chick filet and movie theatre 🎭 pocket change in the food court.
I loved the mall hobby stores as a kid too. Haven't seen a mall with 1 since the early 90's n there's not many elsewhere either. Mostly replaced by video games I guess.
I spent so much time at this mall growing up and in high school. It's sad to see it like this. In high school we would hang out here, Metro or Desert Ridge.
We have a high-class mall in our area. I went there to buy a suit and the amount of Karens there was crazy! There were also a lot of teenagers there to my surprise. Our mall still has a Sears inside, along with a Macy’s and Dilliards. The JC Penny’s closed. Still, 3 anchors out of 4 is good for a dead mall. It is one of my favorite places to go on a weekday. Don’t really like people that much but I love malls.
I remember this mall from 1981. The 8 point "cubes" at the doorways were the original logo of the mall. In 1981, the mall had a huge arcade called "Gold Mine". At one time, this was a great mall. This was during a time when Scottsdale Fashion Square was an open air mall. This is a sad story of the state of shopping malls.
I've been coming to Paradise Valley Mall since 1997 and it seemed to be on a decline since then. I remember in the early 2000's PV mall started purging stores in huge numbers. Most of those stores have been replaced by others but it would be different on periodic visits. I remember there was a General Cinema witch was bought by "Harkins Theaters" that then closed and was replaced by Picture Show. Yes it was pretty busy in the early 2000's but I could tell PV mall was fading away.
OMG I'm 40 yo dude and I spent the greater part of my teen years in the early 90's as a mallrat here is was much different c place then there was an awesome arcade there in the food court called pocket change this breaks my heart an institution of my youth and wonderful memories rip pv mall 4 ever in Loving memory
I grow up going to this mall and I have a lot of good memories there. going on dates, getting trouble with my friends, going to the pet store and the train and animal carts. good times good times.
God I get tears in my eyes. I had so much fun here when I was a kid going on vacation to see my family in Phoenix from Chicago. I remember my mom and dad and even my grandmother going to eat right after arriving at Skyharbor and I would just smile from ear to ear and knew the fun was going to begin in the sun as I opened the doors and could smell the air conditioning running and going to eat at " The Steak Escape “. The older we get more of the things that we love disappear but the memories shall forever live on!!!
It's weird that it's still got several of its anchors but not the fill-in stores - I had always assumed that smaller stores disappear when most of the anchors close...
You'd be surprised of how many of those "anchor stores" actually own those filler stores. A whole full mall might only have 4 or five corporations renting it out even though there's 50 or so stores! That's the good old days, of course.
@@alexandermckay8594 , In this instance, Macy's, Dillard's or JC Penny don't have any subsidiaries in that mall. They don't own any of the Persian/Arab stores that have replaced the American Stores that went out of business. Like any area in any part of the country, when People of Color move in, White Flight intensifies and eventually the area goes to hell.
@@MultiCreditKIng The ironic thing is that the busy shopping areas in Greater Phoenix nowadays are in fact the open air ones (this excludes Scottsdale Fashion Square). Kierland, Desert Ridge, Tempe Town Marketplace and San Tan are all busy despite being open air. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact they utilize a lot of misters and they have outdoor splash pads for kids. PV Mall unfortunately has little to no allure at all.
I was a mallrat here in the 80's and used to go to Superfun all the time. Seeing it like this is kind of mindblowing because back then, it was the place to be. Constantly packed from open to close.
Fond memories. This was my favorite hang out in my teens. I went away to college and then lived out of state for about 10 years. I can see how it has declined in the last 5 to 10 years. It's sad.
The food court use to have a arcade in 2006, they also use to have a movie theater. Lots of memories in the early 2000’s so sad we also use to hang around the fountain at the food court. Have not walked in since 2010 since we moved back to the NW.
Awesome channel and concept. I love watching these old abandoned mall videos. If malls want to survive, they need to create an experience beyond shopping. My local mall is thriving after they opened more great restaurants in the mall and renovated everything into a zen/minimalist - luxury concept.
I worked at the Robinsons May store in 1997-98. It was also my childhood mall. I remember going there when it opened. They had a bunch of 70’s cars on display. Very sad to see it this way, it was always very busy.
Valley Metro light rail has done wonders for Christown mall from what I've heard. They're also planning to bring it out to Metrocenter mall in 2023 (In the next year or so they're probably gonna wall off a large section of the east parking lot to start construction on the new station and transit center) Mesa is also in the early stages of planning a streetcar which will serve the Fiesta mall area.
Decades ago PV Mall had a Disney store and I though that was amazing. As for right now Pictureshow is an awesome little theatre in the mall and i go there now more than anyhwere else in the mall. I was surprised you didnt mention/include it considering you showed off the other 99% of the food court....
I have been there. Lived in phx from 2/87-4/88. I shopped at this Pennys. I worked at a Am/Pm that was right in front of circle K headquaters. I also have pictures of the Patio Royale, the famous hotel that LA movie stars stayed in off scene to escape their fame. Phx Residents treated them like people...not movie stars. I took my pictures about 6 months before it burned.....you have email....I will send them to you. I may indeed have some of the last photos taken before it burned...just by chance. A native to the area took me sight seeing...that was Feb/March 1988
I’ve noticed some malls that are dying around here are covering over the empty storefronts and putting local historic themed murals on them. It does make the mall seem less sad.
My local mall actually got rid of theirs a decade ago for a sport chek to move in, they drove out 8 other tenants including the sporting goods store literally right across the hall which had an exclusivity clause in their lease. Flash forward to the present that malls even more dead.
I'm in my 40's and I have so many great memories when I was young hanging out with my friends at our local mall. One of the mall in my area have only 5 stores left open. Many people are ordering online and that why many of these stores are closing.
Everything changes...I was a teenager riding my motorcycle in the desert where the PV mall is now. There use to be an awesome dirt race track where me and all the other kids would ride. The Mall opened when I was a senior in HS. It was a huge hangout!! The first thing that opened was the food court and there was a game arcade next to it with all the latest machines, "asteroids" and "defenders". The foosball table was very popular as well. I remember walking around when all the stores started opening...It was hard to get around all the people. The place was packed!!! No matter what day of the week it was. There was also a movie theater next to the food court where I often went to. So sad...I wish I grew up in a smaller town so I wouldn't see things change so much.
I worked in that game arcade "Superfun" near the food court during college, wayyyyyyyy back in the early 1980's, before transferring over to the Los Arcos Mall (RIP) location. The place was packed until closing time, with all the latest "high tech" games (I remember when Pac Man finally arrived). Geez I'm old.
When I had visited Arizona in 1980 I went to that mall and it was packed wall to wall. Lots of upper class from paradise valley. I think it use to have a funky glass covered food court with a large lower level arcade. No home computer games at that time so it was loaded with kids.
There are rumors that the entire mall and the surrounding stores (within the main loop) will be bulldozed and replaced with high density office/residential/retail much like Scottsdale Quarter. Between this and connecting the light rail, this could do absolute wonders for the area.
That used to be my mall when we lived in Phoenix! I was a nanny at the time and I would take my kids to play at the play area. Last time I went there was in 2016, so it’s been a few years. It didn’t seem completely dead though. There was still a Macy’s, Dillard’s and a couple of other anchors and they are all still there looks like. But in this video I noticed waaaay more smaller stores closed since I last visited in 2016 and the food court looks completely abandoned and different compared to when I went there last in 2016....
I visited once. My transmission blew up right outside Phoenix so it had to be towed into town. I was stuck there for about a week while the part was ordered and installed. It was in 2013, I don’t remember a lot of people. To be fair, it was a Tuesday. I figured everyone was working.
A dead mall in the town where I went to college eventually became a transit hub for the town. There’s a lot of office space in there now, so at least it’s being used.
I lived across the streets at the apartments during the 2000s, back then there was a lot of activity and I remember when they installed the carousel, all my friends skipped school so we could ride it lmfao. So yeah a lot of memories at this mall and a shame to see it do but that’s life, change is inevitable.
i remember coming here as a kid and it being so lively, the play place was full of kids, the food court was huge, there was a picture show that showed new movies for cheap, that one candy store by the hot topic and that weird gaming neon lights store, the FABRIC STORE, so many good memories here, sad to see it end up like this when in 2017 it was thriving.
Charley's Cheese Steaks and Lemonade are the best. We still have one here in Wichita in the Towne East Mall food court. This mall is still very vibrant even though there are a few dead areas on the fringes and back side. The Towne West Mall on the other side of town, on the other hand, is in a death spiral right now. Pretty sad to see. There are upscale outdoor malls replacing a lot of this here right now, though.
So sad. Malls were always awesome for me as a child growing up. Even if we couldn’t afford, it was nice to walk and see. I blame on line purchasing. Click and deliver. Thanks for the walk through. Midway Mall in Sherman/Dennison Texas was mine back in the day. 🕊
I spent a large amount of my teen years at PV Mall- rode my bike 6 miles round trip to get there. I even worked for Macerich after I was in college (sad to see them struggling- they were a good employer). Interesting to see my old stomping grounds, even if they are on life support. Oh man the food court is depressing. They pulled about 2/3rds of the seating.
I hate the almost universal "no entrance to s Supermarkets/Supercenters from malls" rule in North America. In Puerto Rico we actually have 2 Walmarts (until recently 3) with mall entrances, a few Kmarts, and two malls with supermarkets as anchors with inside entrances. No Costco with mall entrance though.
I grew up in AZ and was just wondering about this mall and how it is doing. I almost thought it was unrecognizable in this video, because as a young tween that mall was so packed it was hard to walk through at times. This is back when Lotions and Potions was a store close to the food court. RIP PV Mall. You will forever be a chapter in my nostalgia file in my memory bank. Cheers. #Facts
For interior shots they used Metrocenter Mall. For exterior shots they used this mall, however the exterior footage didn't make it into the final cut of the film.
Yes, I moved there in 1978 when I was three. I lived on the first Street North of the mall. Went there all the time. Would sit in our backyard to watch the fireworks they set off at the mall.
PV so sad! I went there all the time as a kid. It actually had a really nice arcade by the food court. I moved away about 25 years ago, crazy how the area has changed. Thanks for your videos.
Dang... I grew up in Scottsdale and this mall was a part of my childhood. My brother had his baby portraits taken at kiddie kandids next to the JC Penney’s. I got new shoes for 1st grade at the stride rite. There was a crazy rumor spread around my school in 5th grade that said a girl (allegedly) found a dead dog in the pet store next to the now-closed game store. It’s so sad to see the mall such a state of disrepair! I barely recognized parts of it but I can remember how it used to be.
Sears and Bergner's in quincy illionis mall closed in January of this year and that mall have been having problems getting other stores in those spots cause they want too much in rent and plus too many thieves in that mall is what's killing that mall.
I worked at Goldwaters at PV Mall 1982-84 and this was my high school hang out mall. It was busy except summer nights during the week back then. I also worked at Goldwaters Grand Opening in 1981 when western artist Fritz Schoelder signed posters he designed for the store. Originally, the food court did not have the merry-go-round, which was added later. Food places in early 80s included Pizza D’Amore, Orange Julius and Hot Dog on a Stick which left in the 90s, returned about 2006 and closed again. There was a two-story Chick-Fil-A which later became McDonalds then Ruby Tuesday when McDs moved into the old Pizza D’Amore spot. The General Cinema (letters are, I think still on outside of building on interior court) closed for years. Finally, Picture Show opened maybe 2012-ish. Stores in the mall in the 80s included a Singer Sewing store and piano store down by Penney’s. Hallmark was there for the life of the mall up until maybe ten years ago when Hallmark pulled out of all enclosed malls. There was a drugstore, Waldens, Ann Taylor’s, Millers Outpost, Contempo Casual, Zales, a clock store, Hersheim, Kinney Shoes, Musicland and later Wherehouse, and Valley National Bank where I stood in line all lunch hour to get my paycheck cashed before ATMs. There was a Dairy Queen and Natualizer Shoes until several years ago and Merle Norman was still there 2 years ago. Was a fun and really busy mall.
The other day my sister and I saw a movie at a theater in a side of town we never visit. We saw there was a fro yo place nearby outside a mall and decided to venture in. The place was soooo run down and so many shops were closed despite it being open. It was so creepy to see a large mall basically abandoned. We got outta there stat.
I basically grew up in that mall. Went there as a kid in the 80s to shop at Diamonds and Goldwaters. My mom worked at Dilliards at that mall in the 90s and I would hang out there all day while she worked on a few occasions. I was 13 at the time and my friends and I would have a contest to see how many girls digits we could get. That first restaurant at the entrance used to be a McDonalds we would eat at and a few stores down from that used to be huge Hobbybench with a large model train city in the window. My sister used to work at Express and The Limited there in the 90s, as well. Every storefront was leased at that time and the mall was packed. In the 80s, we would go to a store there called Billy the Kid (Similar to Hot Topic) and buy bubble gum cigarettes and walk through the mall pretending we were smoking them. Miss those days
The proposed light rail extension to reach PV Mall was essentially killed earlier this year when the Phoenix City Council reallocated funds for street maintenance projects. As a result, there will be no impact on PV Mall at any date.
If the fortune teller is still there, it can't be dead. She'd know to leave.
🔮😂
That's very funny!!!
You'd be surprised how much those fortune tellers DON'T see coming. Even Stevie Wonder could see that PV Mall is on life support at this point.
@@ladyv5655 I don't believe in that fortune teller shit anyway...
She never saw it coming :D
When the fountains go off it is officially a dead mall
Lol my moms town has a dead mall. I remember when the fountains went off. First they filled them with dirt and planted flowers. Then they emptied them and just let them fill up with trash. Then they finally blocked them off
It saddens me to see dead malls, I'm 26 years old so i never saw the golden age of malls but there's something nostalgic about the mall that makes me feel very comfortable. It just sucks to see the world change little by little
Evilpimp I mean even the early 2000s were way better than now
uhh no it's for the better that these capitalistic shitholes shut down..
It was a little by little....but the last few yrs its a cascade!!!😟
@@aahpuuh You don't have to be that rude. Malls don't shut down because people don't buy stuff anymore, they do because people buy stuff online. How is that less capitalistic?
Your opinion will be taken more seriously when you voice it in a sensible way.
It is sad, but change happens, what can we do.😶
The mall, the modern ghost town.
Lurker1979 yep lol I used to work the mall after high school but now I’m like the mall is dead. I just shop Amazon
A mall by me had to get a liquor license after one of those giant adult arcades went in. There is a brewery putting a store in. I think it would be if another brewery put in an entire brewery into a closed sears. I thought this mall was looking dead but traffic has been crazy lately. It will be sweet if I could do a pub crawl at the mall.
The mall in my area had a lot of dead stores in it. People aren't going to malls anymore.
The Mall The Official Ghost Town ? Not in my Country On Weekends they are packed everywhere
I was in this mall one evening just before Christmas and it was so dead I actually cried on my way out. It was a beautiful busy mall when I first moved nearby in 1996. So sad.
Sharon Lopez I’m with ya 😞
When you binge watched Dan Bell's Dead Mall series in like 4 days, and you're wondering what to do with your life now and this new obsession, and you discover this channel: :-D
This place was JUMPIN in the 80's.
They had a kick ass game room and a great food court. We'd hang out all day chasing girls, eating pizza, buying albums. So sad to see. It's almost hard to believe. Terrible.
Starbucks pulled out a year or two ago....when Starbucks leaves it's over! My wife and I used to hang out at PV mall as teens...before the Dark Times.
Enterprising Captian facts!
Me too with my wife I graduated PV in 99. How about you?
Weird off fact: When my mom used to work for a elderly mental health home in Phx there was a woman who was convinced that PV Mall was cursed and there were vampires living under it. She would state "If you listened hard enough you could hear the sound of the dead they would take grinding in the machines underneath". I never forgot that lol.
Bad ass
Maybe she’s right and we’re the ones with mental health problems. 🤯
Maybe she could hear the void of the bomb shelter underneath and it messed with her mind? Big empty spaces have a weird sound to them. You'd think they'd be dead silent, but they're not entirely.
It was the mall I went to in high school. I remember in 1984 seeing girls dressed like Madonna. "Madonna Mall Maggots" I called them. It had a pretty good food court, video arcade and movie theater.
@olemissfan91 Yep, SMHS class of 82.
I call those mall treats..
I went to CHS but my sons went to Shadow; our youngest will graduate as a Matador this year!
Here it is 2021 and I’d love to see some Madonna mall treats or at least a skirt/dress. Now they either wear their PJ’s or those disgusting leggings or (whatever they’re called) and try to stuff 200 lbs into a pair the size of a condom. Somebody actually think those things are attractive? Someone buy these women a 4 way mirror.
I get bummed out when I watch Bill & Ted and the Metrocenter scenes show a thriving mall.
yeah that's a sad arcade.... swear all those stupid prize games are rigged!
And you'd be right, they are.
They program it to be rigged and no regulation
Interestingly, many gambling laws differentiate between games of chance (considered gambling) and games of skill (not considered gambling), so by adding an element of timing or the appearance of skill to a game the makers of those arcade prize games can essentially get away with using the exploitative tactics of gambling legally.
Same here my local mall (also dead), it's "arcade" are 2 of these crane game things n both are off 95% of the time. Last time I saw a mall arcade was 2002 or so where I used to live.
@@cbot375 Exactly. Which makes the rigged games no different from a slot machine.
There used to be a Rio Salado College on the 2nd floor of the food court (accessible via a staircase by the bathrooms), I got my GED diploma there. XD Apart from that, I used to go there all the time as a kid, I think half of my childhood Santa photos were taken here, the other half most likely Metrocenter... r.i.p. to both :'(
My grandmother went there to go to classes in the 80's. I was just a kid and would go with her.
Metro will always be special to me
What were you on the pot?
So, I actually spent a year working in this mall, and since he kept saying "on a weekend," but it was so dead, I'm 99% sure this was filmed on a Sunday, so I was actually working in the Home Mart when he was filming this lol. I also know the psychic reading lady, her name is Jennifer and she's super nice, even if she's a little eccentric. She would shop at the New York and Company there. Anyway, I used to work at the New York and Company outlet, and then at the Home Mart across the way, and I have a lot of good memories of this mall, but he's right, it's dying. Every day I'd come into work, it felt like another store had closed. There were a few stores that opened, but only lasted a couple months. There was a store run by a couple called "Game Hills" that had opened, and it was a second hand videogame store, and I actually applied there, but didn't get the job because they ended up closing literally less than a month after opening. Saturdays are usually the busiest days of the week there, and pretty much every other day looks about how it looked in the video tbh. Although there were some spurts of activity here and there, it's more or less always slow (except for black Friday, that was a goddamn nightmare). It really makes me sad to see the mall like this, a lot of really nice people work there. The lady who works at one of the watch kiosks used to me by co-worker, and she's a literal Ray of sunshine. My old manager at Home Mart is the sweetest person I know. But even though it's on its way out, I still like to remember the good times I had there, hanging out with my friends in high school, joking with my coworkers and bonding over shitty customers lol. Maybe pv mall will get a second chance, who knows
wow cant believe that was a weekend! I think I might have to go a weekday and do a few laps in my chair and see how many shoppers I count.
Electric or manual?
The rent is too high in alot of malls. The stores can't afford to stay open when the rent is sky high.
This is sad to see, I live in the UK and have been visiting Phoenix for many years, not though since 2011. We always go round the Malls, this was certainly busier when we last visited, we also went to Fiesta Mall which I see is no more, will be sad if this and Metro Center both disappear.
Metro Center was where I used to meet with my friends and skateboard at back from 2002 - 2008. It'll be a sad day when it's gone.
Carlos Penuelas just closed tonight
In the 80’s zombies at a mall was just a scary film. 2019 it’s a reality.
Except instead of the zombies being AT the mall, the zombies ARE the malls.
“Uploaded 2 mins ago” .. spent a lot of time there too. When there was a Taco Bell and chick filet and movie theatre 🎭 pocket change in the food court.
I do remember going there, Hobby Bench was the store I remember going to the most. At least they are still around.
I loved the mall hobby stores as a kid too. Haven't seen a mall with 1 since the early 90's n there's not many elsewhere either. Mostly replaced by video games I guess.
CBD places are everywhere now. Even gas stations and Family Video are selling them.
I tried CBD and i have to say i was very disappointed, it's probably because i already smoke alot of kush
Where is there a family video?
I believe most of their locations are in the Midwest. There are quite a few in my region.
Yes, here in Ohio, it's like every other store has a sign saying they sell cbd
We sometimes stay at the Embassy Suites across the street when visiting family. The best thing is the kids area for running around in the AC.
I spent so much time at this mall growing up and in high school. It's sad to see it like this. In high school we would hang out here, Metro or Desert Ridge.
These two malls where almost already dead by the time desert ridge opened. Right?
“Out of order” is a theme of that mall.
Forest green was huge in 90’s so the carpet was likely there already. Haha.
We have a high-class mall in our area. I went there to buy a suit and the amount of Karens there was crazy! There were also a lot of teenagers there to my surprise. Our mall still has a Sears inside, along with a Macy’s and Dilliards. The JC Penny’s closed. Still, 3 anchors out of 4 is good for a dead mall. It is one of my favorite places to go on a weekday. Don’t really like people that much but I love malls.
I remember this mall from 1981. The 8 point "cubes" at the doorways were the original logo of the mall. In 1981, the mall had a huge arcade called "Gold Mine". At one time, this was a great mall. This was during a time when Scottsdale Fashion Square was an open air mall. This is a sad story of the state of shopping malls.
Dead malls remind me of mausoleums. Especially ones like this with tiled floors and marbled facades.
I've been coming to Paradise Valley Mall since 1997 and it seemed to be on a decline since then. I remember in the early 2000's PV mall started purging stores in huge numbers. Most of those stores have been replaced by others but it would be different on periodic visits. I remember there was a General Cinema witch was bought by "Harkins Theaters" that then closed and was replaced by Picture Show. Yes it was pretty busy in the early 2000's but I could tell PV mall was fading away.
OMG I'm 40 yo dude and I spent the greater part of my teen years in the early 90's as a mallrat here is was much different c place then there was an awesome arcade there in the food court called pocket change this breaks my heart an institution of my youth and wonderful memories rip pv mall 4 ever in Loving memory
What a shame. I worked for Supercuts across the street 1990 to 1992 PV was such a nice mall back then.
It's sad how everything has changed since I went to malls in the 70s and 80s
I was there today. The fortune teller has closed up shop.
I grow up going to this mall and I have a lot of good memories there. going on dates, getting trouble with my friends, going to the pet store and the train and animal carts. good times good times.
God I get tears in my eyes. I had so much fun here when I was a kid going on vacation to see my family in Phoenix from Chicago. I remember my mom and dad and even my grandmother going to eat right after arriving at Skyharbor and I would just smile from ear to ear and knew the fun was going to begin in the sun as I opened the doors and could smell the air conditioning running and going to eat at " The Steak Escape “. The older we get more of the things that we love disappear but the memories shall forever live on!!!
R.I.P. Paradise Valley Mall.
It's weird that it's still got several of its anchors but not the fill-in stores - I had always assumed that smaller stores disappear when most of the anchors close...
You'd be surprised of how many of those "anchor stores" actually own those filler stores. A whole full mall might only have 4 or five corporations renting it out even though there's 50 or so stores! That's the good old days, of course.
@@alexandermckay8594 , In this instance, Macy's, Dillard's or JC Penny don't have any subsidiaries in that mall. They don't own any of the Persian/Arab stores that have replaced the American Stores that went out of business. Like any area in any part of the country, when People of Color move in, White Flight intensifies and eventually the area goes to hell.
It’s actually been busier there lately, I’m not sure why other than the heat.
Yeah he comes at the worst time. He needs to go around Christmas instead.
I am not sure why malls have to go under in places where people need shelter during excruciating heated times.
@@MultiCreditKIng The ironic thing is that the busy shopping areas in Greater Phoenix nowadays are in fact the open air ones (this excludes Scottsdale Fashion Square). Kierland, Desert Ridge, Tempe Town Marketplace and San Tan are all busy despite being open air. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact they utilize a lot of misters and they have outdoor splash pads for kids. PV Mall unfortunately has little to no allure at all.
Love your videos, brings back memories of old malls where I am in Los Angeles. To me, looks like there will be a few upcoming dead malls in my area.
Sad sign of the times...What a world we live in today! As a young professional, I shopped here 20 years ago and it was bustling!
I’ve been to this mall in real life back in Spring of 2018 and those sky lights are really cool. This is also the only mall in Arizona I’ve been to.
I was a mallrat here in the 80's and used to go to Superfun all the time. Seeing it like this is kind of mindblowing because back then, it was the place to be. Constantly packed from open to close.
The Domino and Dice store used to be a Game Daze.
Fond memories. This was my favorite hang out in my teens. I went away to college and then lived out of state for about 10 years. I can see how it has declined in the last 5 to 10 years. It's sad.
I see this in so many malls. I remember as a kid in the early 00s malls rarely had vacant stores. Now having 20% vacancy is normal😂
shopping malls are like the really popular kids who peaked in high school and now spam their MLM schemes all over Facebook.
The food court use to have a arcade in 2006, they also use to have a movie theater. Lots of memories in the early 2000’s so sad we also use to hang around the fountain at the food court. Have not walked in since 2010 since we moved back to the NW.
Awesome channel and concept. I love watching these old abandoned mall videos.
If malls want to survive, they need to create an experience beyond shopping. My local mall is thriving after they opened more great restaurants in the mall and renovated everything into a zen/minimalist - luxury concept.
I give that mall about 2 yrs to close up or get new stores in those spots.
I worked at the Robinsons May store in 1997-98. It was also my childhood mall. I remember going there when it opened. They had a bunch of 70’s cars on display. Very sad to see it this way, it was always very busy.
Valley Metro light rail has done wonders for Christown mall from what I've heard. They're also planning to bring it out to Metrocenter mall in 2023 (In the next year or so they're probably gonna wall off a large section of the east parking lot to start construction on the new station and transit center)
Mesa is also in the early stages of planning a streetcar which will serve the Fiesta mall area.
So sad. Used to take my son there when he was young. Times change.
Decades ago PV Mall had a Disney store and I though that was amazing.
As for right now Pictureshow is an awesome little theatre in the mall and i go there now more than anyhwere else in the mall. I was surprised you didnt mention/include it considering you showed off the other 99% of the food court....
Chaparral class of 80 - wow, this was my stomping ground in the day!
I have been there. Lived in phx from 2/87-4/88. I shopped at this Pennys. I worked at a Am/Pm that was right in front of circle K headquaters. I also have pictures of the Patio Royale, the famous hotel that LA movie stars stayed in off scene to escape their fame. Phx Residents treated them like people...not movie stars. I took my pictures about 6 months before it burned.....you have email....I will send them to you. I may indeed have some of the last photos taken before it burned...just by chance. A native to the area took me sight seeing...that was Feb/March 1988
I’ve noticed some malls that are dying around here are covering over the empty storefronts and putting local historic themed murals on them. It does make the mall seem less sad.
Our mall doesn’t even have a food court anymore and there’s like 5 unoccupied stores
My local mall actually got rid of theirs a decade ago for a sport chek to move in, they drove out 8 other tenants including the sporting goods store literally right across the hall which had an exclusivity clause in their lease. Flash forward to the present that malls even more dead.
I'm in my 40's and I have so many great memories when I was young hanging out with my friends at our local mall. One of the mall in my area have only 5 stores left open. Many people are ordering online and that why many of these stores are closing.
Everything changes...I was a teenager riding my motorcycle in the desert where the PV mall is now. There use to be an awesome dirt race track where me and all the other kids would ride. The Mall opened when I was a senior in HS. It was a huge hangout!! The first thing that opened was the food court and there was a game arcade next to it with all the latest machines, "asteroids" and "defenders". The foosball table was very popular as well. I remember walking around when all the stores started opening...It was hard to get around all the people. The place was packed!!! No matter what day of the week it was. There was also a movie theater next to the food court where I often went to. So sad...I wish I grew up in a smaller town so I wouldn't see things change so much.
I worked in that game arcade "Superfun" near the food court during college, wayyyyyyyy back in the early 1980's, before transferring over to the Los Arcos Mall (RIP) location. The place was packed until closing time, with all the latest "high tech" games (I remember when Pac Man finally arrived). Geez I'm old.
Most retail stores are selling online. Why rent / lease the stores when you can sell online without overhead costs.
Buying online is a joke.
All you get is a bunch of poorly dressed people in I'll fitting clothes
The best memories are the memories you know you will never have again, like tears in rain.
When I had visited Arizona in 1980 I went to that mall and it was packed wall to wall. Lots of upper class from paradise valley. I think it use to have a funky glass covered food court with a large lower level arcade. No home computer games at that time so it was loaded with kids.
Used to go there all the time. Did well in a model contest at Hobby Bench in about 1992, back when they were first located by the food court.
06:22 spot the archaic cream phone on the counter next to the pamphlets .. It looks older than me and I am 47!
There are rumors that the entire mall and the surrounding stores (within the main loop) will be bulldozed and replaced with high density office/residential/retail much like Scottsdale Quarter. Between this and connecting the light rail, this could do absolute wonders for the area.
My mom and I used to drive there from Precott when I was a teen. Good memories there
That used to be my mall when we lived in Phoenix! I was a nanny at the time and I would take my kids to play at the play area. Last time I went there was in 2016, so it’s been a few years. It didn’t seem completely dead though. There was still a Macy’s, Dillard’s and a couple of other anchors and they are all still there looks like. But in this video I noticed waaaay more smaller stores closed since I last visited in 2016 and the food court looks completely abandoned and different compared to when I went there last in 2016....
I'd say it looks like it's hit the death spiral stage. There's hardly anyone there.
I visited once. My transmission blew up right outside Phoenix so it had to be towed into town. I was stuck there for about a week while the part was ordered and installed. It was in 2013, I don’t remember a lot of people. To be fair, it was a Tuesday. I figured everyone was working.
My 3 yr old loves this mall. She loves the merry go round. I hope it stays open best place in town because of the covered parking 4 summer time!
Amazon is gonna take over the world
Sadly
You mean Walmart will. Lol
@@clair3kee432 both
While paying no taxes. Yang 4 President!
@@brucewayne-ej3cx can't blame Amazon for being smart
I visited in Oct 2019 and thought "what a dead mall". I just came across your video archiving the last days of the place.
grew up going to this mall and seeing this vid saddens me rip. the pupper place will forever be my fav :(
A dead mall in the town where I went to college eventually became a transit hub for the town. There’s a lot of office space in there now, so at least it’s being used.
I lived across the streets at the apartments during the 2000s, back then there was a lot of activity and I remember when they installed the carousel, all my friends skipped school so we could ride it lmfao. So yeah a lot of memories at this mall and a shame to see it do but that’s life, change is inevitable.
i remember coming here as a kid and it being so lively, the play place was full of kids, the food court was huge, there was a picture show that showed new movies for cheap, that one candy store by the hot topic and that weird gaming neon lights store, the FABRIC STORE, so many good memories here, sad to see it end up like this when in 2017 it was thriving.
Whenever I need to relax, I watch your videos
Charley's Cheese Steaks and Lemonade are the best. We still have one here in Wichita in the Towne East Mall food court. This mall is still very vibrant even though there are a few dead areas on the fringes and back side. The Towne West Mall on the other side of town, on the other hand, is in a death spiral right now. Pretty sad to see. There are upscale outdoor malls replacing a lot of this here right now, though.
So sad. Malls were always awesome for me as a child growing up. Even if we couldn’t afford, it was nice to walk and see. I blame on line purchasing. Click and deliver. Thanks for the walk through. Midway Mall in Sherman/Dennison Texas was mine back in the day. 🕊
I spent a large amount of my teen years at PV Mall- rode my bike 6 miles round trip to get there. I even worked for Macerich after I was in college (sad to see them struggling- they were a good employer). Interesting to see my old stomping grounds, even if they are on life support.
Oh man the food court is depressing. They pulled about 2/3rds of the seating.
I hate the almost universal "no entrance to s
Supermarkets/Supercenters from malls" rule in North America. In Puerto Rico we actually have 2 Walmarts (until recently 3) with mall entrances, a few Kmarts, and two malls with supermarkets as anchors with inside entrances. No Costco with mall entrance though.
I grew up in AZ and was just wondering about this mall and how it is doing.
I almost thought it was unrecognizable in this video,
because as a young tween that mall was so packed it was hard to walk through at times. This is back when Lotions and Potions was a store close to the food court.
RIP PV Mall.
You will forever be a chapter in my nostalgia file in my memory bank.
Cheers.
#Facts
Bill and Ted's mall scenes were shot inside metroceter mall.
For interior shots they used Metrocenter Mall. For exterior shots they used this mall, however the exterior footage didn't make it into the final cut of the film.
@@RetailArchaeology oh wow, didnt know that.
Yes, I moved there in 1978 when I was three. I lived on the first Street North of the mall. Went there all the time. Would sit in our backyard to watch the fireworks they set off at the mall.
PV so sad!
I went there all the time as a kid.
It actually had a really nice arcade by the food court.
I moved away about 25 years ago, crazy how the area has changed. Thanks for your videos.
Macy’s pisses me off . In Texas they closed so many in productive malls and left them open in dead malls.
Wow. In the 1990s CNBC used to have a reporter there on Black Friday to gauge consumer sentiment. It was always packed. The era of the mall is over.
Great video. PV Mall was busy in the 1980s and the 1990s. I lived in Maricopa county from 1982 to 1990.
_dying malls are so depressing_
"This mall was a shooting location..."
That sentence usually goes a whole different direction in these dead mall tours.
Dang... I grew up in Scottsdale and this mall was a part of my childhood. My brother had his baby portraits taken at kiddie kandids next to the JC Penney’s. I got new shoes for 1st grade at the stride rite. There was a crazy rumor spread around my school in 5th grade that said a girl (allegedly) found a dead dog in the pet store next to the now-closed game store. It’s so sad to see the mall such a state of disrepair! I barely recognized parts of it but I can remember how it used to be.
Beautiful mall, pretty cool that the anchors are still standing.
I remember when this was the place to go, now it makes me think of metro center which was also nice when I was young, such a shame
It's even sadder to be there near their closing time.
So sad. You need to revisit Foothills Mall. It's in it's final days. Only the AMC is busy and alot of the stores in your video are gone.
I live really close to this mall, and we shop at that Costco all the time: It really would have been a lot better of Costco did open up to the mall.
Sears and Bergner's in quincy illionis mall closed in January of this year and that mall have been having problems getting other stores in those spots cause they want too much in rent and plus too many thieves in that mall is what's killing that mall.
I worked at Goldwaters at PV Mall 1982-84 and this was my high school hang out mall. It was busy except summer nights during the week back then.
I also worked at Goldwaters Grand Opening in 1981 when western artist Fritz Schoelder signed posters he designed for the store.
Originally, the food court did not have the merry-go-round, which was added later. Food places in early 80s included Pizza D’Amore, Orange Julius and Hot Dog on a Stick which left in the 90s, returned about 2006 and closed again. There was a two-story Chick-Fil-A which later became McDonalds then Ruby Tuesday when McDs moved into the old Pizza D’Amore spot.
The General Cinema (letters are, I think still on outside of building on interior court) closed for years. Finally, Picture Show opened maybe 2012-ish.
Stores in the mall in the 80s included a Singer Sewing store and piano store down by Penney’s. Hallmark was there for the life of the mall up until maybe ten years ago when Hallmark pulled out of all enclosed malls. There was a drugstore, Waldens, Ann Taylor’s, Millers Outpost, Contempo Casual, Zales, a clock store, Hersheim, Kinney Shoes, Musicland and later Wherehouse, and Valley National Bank where I stood in line all lunch hour to get my paycheck cashed before ATMs. There was a Dairy Queen and Natualizer Shoes until several years ago and Merle Norman was still there 2 years ago. Was a fun and really busy mall.
The other day my sister and I saw a movie at a theater in a side of town we never visit. We saw there was a fro yo place nearby outside a mall and decided to venture in. The place was soooo run down and so many shops were closed despite it being open. It was so creepy to see a large mall basically abandoned. We got outta there stat.
I basically grew up in that mall. Went there as a kid in the 80s to shop at Diamonds and Goldwaters. My mom worked at Dilliards at that mall in the 90s and I would hang out there all day while she worked on a few occasions. I was 13 at the time and my friends and I would have a contest to see how many girls digits we could get. That first restaurant at the entrance used to be a McDonalds we would eat at and a few stores down from that used to be huge Hobbybench with a large model train city in the window. My sister used to work at Express and The Limited there in the 90s, as well. Every storefront was leased at that time and the mall was packed. In the 80s, we would go to a store there called Billy the Kid (Similar to Hot Topic) and buy bubble gum cigarettes and walk through the mall pretending we were smoking them. Miss those days
The proposed light rail extension to reach PV Mall was essentially killed earlier this year when the Phoenix City Council reallocated funds for street maintenance projects. As a result, there will be no impact on PV Mall at any date.