My heart aches to see this mall this way. I remember it full of life in 1995-2000 growing up as a 6 year old kid walking around with my family of 4. Seeing dept stores like footlocker, zumiez, timeout arcade room. The foodcourt and the merry go round. Aeropostal. Seeing this video really brought tears to my eyes but I thank you for sharing because remembering is re-living persay. Thank you soo much.
This was still a great mall back in 2003. It was one of the few malls that had three bookstores at the same time. They also had a sports memorabilia store and a movie memorabilia store. There used to be a Taco Bell and McDonald's in the food court.
EASILY the best quality of any dead mall video I have watched. The camera is steady. High resolution. ...I went here on Oct 21, 2017. The wing connecting to the Carsons has been sealed off, so Carsons is now, effectively, a stand alone store. ...There were five stores inside the mall. They were clustered near each other, but, oddly, not near the active anchor (Van Maur). Instead, the active stores were isolated down at the dead end of a corridor that used to connect to an anchor (Sears?).. It was mid-day on a Saturday, but I was surprised to see a few people inside the mall. I was stunned that the UP escalator was running. That is usually the FIRST thing to go in a dying mall. I rode the elevator. Perhaps the elevator must be kept running due to ADA requirements.
+MrStones1963 thanks I appreciate the kind words. I don't know if this is true correct me if I'm wrong but Carson's might stay and as part of the overall Grand Vision for the site.
What a waste of a nice mall. It baffles me that this mall failed the way it did. There is no reason why previous management should have let this place slip like it did. Thanks for sharing this mall with us.
My favorite thing to do there back when I was a little boy was the carousel. Sucks that it left. Double decker carousels are really rare. R.I.P Charlestowne Mall Carousel 🎠😭💐. But hey! The Columbia Carousel which is a double decker carousel at my home amusement park Six Flags Great America makes up for that loss! 🙂
I wish you could still walk around, so many memories. I remember my dad taking me to the haunted house that opened every year, and for ice cream at the oberweis store, and of course riding the carousel or playing in the kids area, on the apple and the milk carton
+SRCVintage Electronics It's a nice mall. Only thing missing are the stores. Check it out soon. Plans already in place to convert it to an outdoor property.
@@UrbexAPeakInside I guess Geneva Commons really hurt it, but I really don't get the appeal of outdoor malls. I'd much rather be in a nice warm building with all the stores under one roof.It closed November 30, 2017, but I'd love to go explore. It would be sad, but would bring back so many memories.
@@joemama5181 Not even just the Commons, the entire chunk of Randall Road pretty much pulled away any attention there for shops, and all the restaurants and stuff like Super Target are just across the street from the mall here, so it just sort of spiralled out as shops closed.
@@ElysianAura Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee might be going the same way. I think the kung flu is really hurting everyone. I personally really miss hanging out at the mall.
Lol I can name all the stores as he walks past them. My whole middle school social life happened here and then I worked at the mall all through high school...crazy
I grew up in the neighborhood next to the mall and I was there the day it opened. At that time, we laughed about the fail Saint Charles Mall that was vacant for years. You would have never convinced us of the future. My first job was in the mall at NRM Music. Over the years I worked at several stores.
I grew up going to the next closest mall to it, the Fox Valley Mall, this was the only other mall I new existed as a little kid and I remember going here once (and riding the carousel) it would have been probably 93 or 94. While Fox Valley mall is still open and seems to be doing okay, I really hope this isn’t what it’s heading towards. BTW “Chicago Premium Outlets” sucks ass
When I was younger, they had a carousel that my mom used to take me to. And the Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, IL has a big water fountain in the middle of the mall and they got rid of it.
Lots of memories 1990 thru 1997 having lunch having fun with friends now carsons is gone. It's depressing I would still go if it was full again but not.
Sad to see this mall so empty. You should do Stratford Square mall in Bloomingdale IL. That would be a good video for your dying mall series. That mall is very quiet nowadays. Worth checking out
+Elevators +More So true. Hopefully vonmar will continue to do well after the redevelopment of the area. Yeah north of the mall there's a lot of really ritzy areas.
Omg! I’ve walked that mall as having been in St. Charles...it smelled of piss ..and I talked to the cinema people, they let me watch free movies if I gave them free Portillos hot dogs!
Oh wow, don't get offended but your videos are becoming more and more like Dan Bell's (which is a good thing!). It is virtually in the same format with the retro intro and narration overlay. He does set a pretty good standard for dead mall videos (apparently a genre now), and it is something I plan to follow once I start getting out to explore some malls here in California. Great background music selection by the way. What is the first song?
+Frank Yu Thanks for the compliment! Dan Bell is fabulous and no one can ever touch him. I want my mallvideos to show a little more individual style and a little more of what I think dead mall videos should have.
I think the music is great, no need to tone it down. Assuming that the music doesn't need a legal clearance, I think it is great. I actually have found a lot of good tunes on the youtube free library, it is surprising how much they have to offer youtubers. I also like your mix of music, narration and news clips :)
It sucks that I didn't get here before they closed in December. Would you be interested in doing some kind of collab whether it be mall related or urbex, doesn't matter to me.
The last movies I saw in that mall back in summer 2004 for a family visit were the first Anchorman movie, "I, Robot," and I believe "Sleepover." Haven't been back there ever since because one of my cousins said that nowadays, the theater is getting old and starting to smell, so they don't go as much as before after all.
For an update the Carson’s is gone and they’ve closed all entrances besides the movie theater and von maur and they haven’t torn down anything so it’s just rotting away
+M&N Distribution it depends on the region of the country. It seems like the high growth areas the malls are doing well there versus the east side in the Rust Belt.
i still remember when i was a little kid maybe like 5 or 6 and I would always go here with my grandma my dad and my sisters. we would get ice cream and go on the carousel every time
This looks very similar in design to Newport Centre Mal, Jersey City. The colums in the NJ mall are clad in brock though. RIght now i thing they are also painted in beige. If the Charletown Mall got any more beige it would make me sick, even from the pics. Note, am interested in more descriprion of design of the mall, even to developer and arcthited/ planners. Also, any pertinent comments regarding mall decline and relevatnt socio-economic factors. Thank you.
+Steven Newman that's good I try to incorporate the overall context of the mall as it relates to the city and and socioeconomic conditions of the area.
My heart aches to see this mall this way. I remember it full of life in 1995-2000 growing up as a 6 year old kid walking around with my family of 4. Seeing dept stores like footlocker, zumiez, timeout arcade room. The foodcourt and the merry go round. Aeropostal. Seeing this video really brought tears to my eyes but I thank you for sharing because remembering is re-living persay. Thank you soo much.
This was still a great mall back in 2003. It was one of the few malls that had three bookstores at the same time. They also had a sports memorabilia store and a movie memorabilia store. There used to be a Taco Bell and McDonald's in the food court.
EASILY the best quality of any dead mall video I have watched. The camera is steady. High resolution. ...I went here on Oct 21, 2017. The wing connecting to the Carsons has been sealed off, so Carsons is now, effectively, a stand alone store. ...There were five stores inside the mall. They were clustered near each other, but, oddly, not near the active anchor (Van Maur). Instead, the active stores were isolated down at the dead end of a corridor that used to connect to an anchor (Sears?).. It was mid-day on a Saturday, but I was surprised to see a few people inside the mall. I was stunned that the UP escalator was running. That is usually the FIRST thing to go in a dying mall. I rode the elevator. Perhaps the elevator must be kept running due to ADA requirements.
+MrStones1963 thanks I appreciate the kind words. I don't know if this is true correct me if I'm wrong but Carson's might stay and as part of the overall Grand Vision for the site.
I remember going to this mall in the 90s and it was always packed.
What a waste of a nice mall. It baffles me that this mall failed the way it did. There is no reason why previous management should have let this place slip like it did. Thanks for sharing this mall with us.
+Blog Man Thanks for viewing. This mall is so nice inside. You are right. Failure seemed more of a mgmt. Issue.
My favorite thing to do there back when I was a little boy was the carousel. Sucks that it left. Double decker carousels are really rare.
R.I.P Charlestowne Mall Carousel 🎠😭💐.
But hey! The Columbia Carousel which is a double decker carousel at my home amusement park Six Flags Great America makes up for that loss! 🙂
I remember that carousel as well. Sad to see it go.
I believe the carousel was moved to Fox Valley Mall!
I remember that Fox Valley Mall has the exact same model of carousel but I’m unsure if it’s the same one.
Urbex a Peak Inside What happened to the carousel 🎠
I wish you could still walk around, so many memories. I remember my dad taking me to the haunted house that opened every year, and for ice cream at the oberweis store, and of course riding the carousel or playing in the kids area, on the apple and the milk carton
I miss the place and the everything about it, only the cinema and the kohls still remain
I remember shopping here, then going to the food court and riding on the carousel
I love this mall. I went once last year and I hope to go back to film it before it's too late.
+SRCVintage Electronics It's a nice mall. Only thing missing are the stores. Check it out soon. Plans already in place to convert it to an outdoor property.
This is so sad. It was such a nice mall and I spent a lot of time there. My mom used to work there too.
You're right it boggles my mind how a mall with such good bones had just totally went under.
@@UrbexAPeakInside I guess Geneva Commons really hurt it, but I really don't get the appeal of outdoor malls. I'd much rather be in a nice warm building with all the stores under one roof.It closed November 30, 2017, but I'd love to go explore. It would be sad, but would bring back so many memories.
@@joemama5181 Not even just the Commons, the entire chunk of Randall Road pretty much pulled away any attention there for shops, and all the restaurants and stuff like Super Target are just across the street from the mall here, so it just sort of spiralled out as shops closed.
@@ElysianAura Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee might be going the same way. I think the kung flu is really hurting everyone. I personally really miss hanging out at the mall.
Lol I can name all the stores as he walks past them. My whole middle school social life happened here and then I worked at the mall all through high school...crazy
I grew up in the neighborhood next to the mall and I was there the day it opened. At that time, we laughed about the fail Saint Charles Mall that was vacant for years. You would have never convinced us of the future. My first job was in the mall at NRM Music. Over the years I worked at several stores.
The tune is actually ''In your eyes'' by Peter Gabriel.
Dr Demento correct. John Tesh does a version and this is the one he does. He does more instrumentals I think.
I grew up going to the next closest mall to it, the Fox Valley Mall, this was the only other mall I new existed as a little kid and I remember going here once (and riding the carousel) it would have been probably 93 or 94. While Fox Valley mall is still open and seems to be doing okay, I really hope this isn’t what it’s heading towards. BTW “Chicago Premium Outlets” sucks ass
I hope Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL stays open forever. It’s too nice. I like that mall.
When I was younger, they had a carousel that my mom used to take me to. And the Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, IL has a big water fountain in the middle of the mall and they got rid of it.
Lots of memories 1990 thru 1997 having lunch having fun with friends now carsons is gone. It's depressing I would still go if it was full again but not.
Sad to see this mall so empty. You should do Stratford Square mall in Bloomingdale IL. That would be a good video for your dying mall series. That mall is very quiet nowadays. Worth checking out
Von Maur is open and does very well. Right north of the mall is Wayne one of the richest suburbs in chicagoland
+Elevators +More So true. Hopefully vonmar will continue to do well after the redevelopment of the area. Yeah north of the mall there's a lot of really ritzy areas.
That place is a dead zone
Tiles I have walked a hundred times.
*sigh*
Omg! I’ve walked that mall as having been in St. Charles...it smelled of piss ..and I talked to the cinema people, they let me watch free movies if I gave them free Portillos hot dogs!
Oh wow, don't get offended but your videos are becoming more and more like Dan Bell's (which is a good thing!). It is virtually in the same format with the retro intro and narration overlay. He does set a pretty good standard for dead mall videos (apparently a genre now), and it is something I plan to follow once I start getting out to explore some malls here in California. Great background music selection by the way. What is the first song?
+Frank Yu Thanks for the compliment! Dan Bell is fabulous and no one can ever touch him. I want my mallvideos to show a little more individual style and a little more of what I think dead mall videos should have.
The first song was a remake of In Your Eyes by John Tesh.
i remember going there when i was younger
Wow. A video arcade.
I think the music is great, no need to tone it down. Assuming that the music doesn't need a legal clearance, I think it is great. I actually have found a lot of good tunes on the youtube free library, it is surprising how much they have to offer youtubers. I also like your mix of music, narration and news clips :)
The Kenny g in your eyes 👀 perfect mall jam
We used to get replacement vacuum cleaner bags at this Sears every year or so.
Appently they are now working on restoring it
It sucks that I didn't get here before they closed in December. Would you be interested in doing some kind of collab whether it be mall related or urbex, doesn't matter to me.
Such a beautiful mall. This one would be worth repurposing as opposed to sending it to the wrecking ball.
+Stephen Hinkle True sad to see it go.
+Stephen Hinkle Agreed. Maybe an office complex.
Excitement is building! , Lol!
Sears actually reopened for like 2 years then it shut down again. Now the only stores are the Cinema and Von Muar
I rode the merry go round back in 1994 as kid my mom have a photo in the album
I’d like to check out Fox Valley Mall in Aurora IL again.
The last movies I saw in that mall back in summer 2004 for a family visit were the first Anchorman movie, "I, Robot," and I believe "Sleepover." Haven't been back there ever since because one of my cousins said that nowadays, the theater is getting old and starting to smell, so they don't go as much as before after all.
+Joseph Angeles hopefully everybody refurbish it when they tear down the mall.
I did a walkthrough here a few months ago, even on a Saturday it was practically dead.
+fthetm soon and very soon it's no longer going to be there sadly.
@@UrbexAPeakInside nope, still there, rusting away. It'll be there for many, many, years to come
Stratford mall in Bloomingdale IL is going down the drain too.
For an update the Carson’s is gone and they’ve closed all entrances besides the movie theater and von maur and they haven’t torn down anything so it’s just rotting away
It feels like more dying malls than there are open and doing good
+M&N Distribution it depends on the region of the country. It seems like the high growth areas the malls are doing well there versus the east side in the Rust Belt.
again....great jazz..in this vid
i still remember when i was a little kid maybe like 5 or 6 and I would always go here with my grandma my dad and my sisters. we would get ice cream and go on the carousel every time
+jikook , This was sad.
Really beautiful mall. So sad it died.
No kidding still wondering how mall with good bones went downhill so fast.
You said only 1 anchor remains. When did Carson's leave?
+Claire Osada one small store remains. Two department stores are left. Sorry that got a little confusing.
its all sealed off now
7:55 wtf did you say????
A miniature golf course. You can see it at 7:41.
no man!!!The jerk off phrase you said!!! HOW THE GUYS JERK IN THE MACHINES???but dont worry,i believe you
My childhood
l did workingwith sbarrocharlestown mall
This looks very similar in design to Newport Centre Mal, Jersey City. The colums in the NJ mall are clad in brock though. RIght now i thing they are also painted in beige. If the Charletown Mall got any more beige it would make me sick, even from the pics. Note, am interested in more descriprion of design of the mall, even to developer and arcthited/ planners. Also, any pertinent comments regarding mall decline and relevatnt socio-economic factors. Thank you.
+Steven Newman that's good I try to incorporate the overall context of the mall as it relates to the city and and socioeconomic conditions of the area.
I was born may 3 1990
I was born May 26th 2004
I live here
+Jesus Cruz looks like tomorrow is going to be torn down anytime now.
Oh
The video is nice but the music is too loud and a distraction. Keep it low....very low.
+Pepper Jay thanks for the tip. I'm addressing it and future videos.
It’s still dead in 2024.