Abandoned - Jamestown Mall
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- Опубликовано: 2 ноя 2023
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Since the 1970's, the Jamestown Mall in St. Louis, Missouri has been a local shopping staple. For decades it was a popular, regional shopping mall which housed major retailers like JCPenney, Macy's and Sears. However by the turn of the millennium, its decline was palpable and it ultimately closed in 2014. By that point, various factors were playing against the mall and for the next 10 years, it would sit abandoned and rotting away as an infamous, million square foot hazard. Join me today as I find out what led to the mall's closure and why it took so long for new development.
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I grew up at this mall! We continued shopping until it closed in 2014. I was there on demolition day so I got a little footage and will continue checking on the status. Very nostalgic pics and video footage.
So much land for that price then bargain! worth holding until now!
@@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307 Not really, what Jake missed is the mall was built on a series of sinkholes and it's not stable for further development.
None of this is true. Delete your account.
Movie studios should by them so tv / films like The Last Of Us can be expanded or a TWD series of Clem & Lee can be made... the car parks could be dressed up as abandoned streets, villages, the mall inside homes, jail, etc sets... would be a better use then tearing them down...
SPOILERS!!!
Worth noting that the paintball damage was actually done by the local police as a teambuilding day after the mall was cleared for demolition the first time (which didn't happen and it continued to rot for several more years).
I watched this mall rise and fall. From its opening, it was the most profitable mall in the St Louis Metro for 20 years. It didn't just draw shoppers from the county itself. Jamestown was "the big mall" everyone from across the river in Illinois went to. Which was an additional 200k+ population base.
Its demise was a combination of the usual change in shopping habits that plagued all malls, and the surrounding area going through an economical demographic change. North county was where people had moved to for nice houses in the 50's-70's. By the 90's they were shifting to West county and St Charles. Property values fell, ownership diminished, rentals increased.
Ah. Well, that explains a contradiction in the video: He concludes that the mall should not have been built in such a low-density area, but at the beginning notes that it was a success.
@@benjaminrobinson3842no, this mall is the result of a once wealthy area turning into a poverty ridden area. The wealthy people moved west and built new malls.
It seems a lot of malls start dying went the people who made the mall successful either leave or let the space fall into decay (like the port authority of this mall did).
@@alyxgraff9121 my above comment is the reason why. These developers invest heavily in these places. When the shoppers go elsewhere, the revenue falls and the building falling into decay is the result
Before 255 was completed, Jamestown was easier to reach from Granite City and Edwardsville than the geographically closer St Clair Square.
Thanks for using my photos.
This mall fascinated me as it was not off a major highway and plunked in a residential area. It expanded way to fast and the area overall was over-malled. This is one of many malls in the area that failed. I'm glad I got to visit it when I did!
Seriously, Mike, thank you so much for doing what you do and uploading them!
Fantastic photography, my dude!
It's less than a mile off of 67...
Wow, this is basically my backyard. Crazy to see Jake talking about it.
You live in a dump? lol!
What a backyard you have, ha.
I’m going to make a point of shopping at my local mall this holiday season. Always depressing to see boarded up stores you used to enjoy, but have seen a local mall die, with just a k-mart and 2 small shops left in a big space, and then those closed. The main area was just echoes, and a musty smell. My current local mall might get to that point in 10 years, so I’ll enjoy it now while it is there. The food court though is already half empty - possibly the first stores to go due to the business model.
Malls are just shops paying extra rent for no reason. Go to your local places outside of malls that arent dumb enough to pay that rent...malls are dead let em go
Cool story Bro
I absolutely love the abandoned series and how it’s progressed! Great work as always!
Thanks so much!
I remember the days my family and I would visit the mall. We usually go to the theater to see a movie, and sometimes we would go to the food court on the other side of the mall. It's sad to see what used to be a great mall in such a state.
A few notes from a regional native:
1) To be clear; the mall is in 14:09 14:09 Florissant, not St Louis. However, the property is owned by the St Louis COUNTY Port Authority. Some of the drawn-out demo process is that there are about three different bureaucracies handling the parcel.
2) St Louis Mills, which Jake seems to consider the nail that sealed the coffin, closed in 2019. Honestly, by ‘14 it was already an outlet mall struggling to stay open. The mall opened on an outer, outer belt highway in a bunch of fields. And it’s still kind of north county. The money in St Louis is mostly moving westward from downtown. While the white flight was originally north, many of those suburbs are economically struggling. Today the Mills site is a Cabela’s, a Goodwill Outlet, and a mega church.
3) Money. I want to touch on this more. Florissant seems to have some new development, but is still pretty depressing. Another nearby mall, Northwest Plaza had a problem with too many neighborhood teens just hanging out inside. This was further hampered when an outright Westside Story-type rumble happened ca 2003. Some St Louis Malls still have strict rules about unaccompanied minors. Northwest Plaza also had a shooting in 2006.
All this is to say; high density requires high population. If the region doesn’t have the money to support a mall, it needs to draw that population and people just don’t want to travel to North County. About the only people driving around Jamestown mall are locals and people from Illinois crossing the river for cheaper gas and cigarettes.
The story of Jamestown is def. one that all of St Louis knows. Very cool to see it in your channel and also the mention of St Louis Mills also closing. Thanks for all you do bringing us these stories.
When exploring the St Louis area on Google Earth, Jamestown is always easy to spot because it’s just so out-of-nowhere. Most malls have a pretty extensive commercial area around it, but Jamestown has literally nothing. You just see a bunch of quiet tree-covered neighborhoods, then suddenly this massive mall and a sea of concrete parking lots, then right back to the quiet neighborhoods. I have to imagine that played a role in its eventual demise.
I'm pumped you used one of my clips! Been watching you for some time now and I was surprised you did a video on Jamestown Mall. Its demolition is a big deal here locally and it was nice to see someone else help preserve its legacy. Thanks for the informative video!
Thanks for documenting it!
I've been watching this channel for years, what a thrill to see Jake cover my childhood mall! I grew up going here, Northwest Plaza, and later the Mills, all of which have closed. It makes me feel weirdly guilty? I don't want to take other malls for granted, and I try to shop there as often as I can.
Love the content Jake! There is another Missouri mall that closed about 10 years ago that has since been demolished but was captured by Seth Lawless and other urban explorers before its demolition. Similar to this one, it was in a really bad state shortly after closing and Seth called it one of the creepiest malls he ever did. It is called Metro North Mall in Kansas City and I think doing a video on it would be cool. It was included in your Montgomery Ward video with the original font signage.
Oh my gosh yes! I use to go to that mall with my mom when I was little! It’s a shame it went down hill. I remember fondly loving that mall.
I can also say good video as well. Really sad to see this go but business is brutal.
This is the first time you've covered a mall I'm actually familiar with. I used to go to the Jamestown Mall when I was little, with my mom and grandma. There used to be a restaurant on top of one of the anchor stores that we would eat at.
It's also funny that you pointed out the Saint Louis Mills Mall, because that one also drastically lost its customer base. The latest I've heard is that it was being converted to a sports complex.
Oh man, I LOVE the abandoned mall episodes! (Not sure why they fascinate me so, but they sure do.) This was a particular delight--the plants growing out of control looked really cool. And you could even have a drinking game with this episode--have a drink every time the mall caught fire!
Yes it's good and the stories of how it got that way really astounds too. Like overconfidence is a big killer in this among who knows what others.
In 2007 I was "offered" the General Manager position at the cinema by the District Manager who actually was the GM who opened it. I say "offered" because he said "The President of the company is offering you Jamestown and I'm here to talk you out of it." That's how bad it was starting to get and we ultimately abandoned ship and turned it over to mall ownership. It would have actually been a pay cut along with an hour drive each way so the finances were my main reason for turning it down.
Hey Jake, born and raised in STL I lived about 30 mins from this place growing up but never knew about it until about 5 years ago. Thanks for documenting places here, there’s a lot more! Best channel on YT, yours is!
No you weren’t.
@@droe1021 …lol ok?
@@Taffthat Delete your account.
@@droe1021 stop the trolling.
@@Pikachufps3 Delete your account. First and final warning.
I went to this mall as a kid and until it closed. So many wonderful memories there. They just started to demolish it a few weeks ago. So sad. I love your channel and it’s nice to see something that I was a part of on your channel.
Really? It must be very sad but I just hope the memories will stay in your heart.
In my fictional world, this place never gets abandoned and still successful
Nothing better than a new episode from Bright Sun Films and a “What’s Up Guys?” from Jake to make my Friday!
I live 10 minutes from Jamestown
Mall, My family and friends consider this place a 2nd home. Literally watched it fall down. Still pass by it almost daily. ❤
I grew up going to this mall! Moved away for about 12 years and while I was gone I found out it became abandoned and set to be demolished…CRAZY. I have ALWAYS wanted to see the inside now that it’s vacant and…yikes it’s SO EERIE AND TERRIFYING. Great vid!
Fantastic video! Like other STL area natives are suggesting, it’s worth looking into our other abandoned and declining malls, including the St. Louis Mills!
Spent so much time here in the 90's and very early 00's. This place was our social lives in late grade school!
Your content keeps getting better and more in depth. Keep up the amazing work!
HI JAKE ,, HOW SAD,, I REMEMBER THESE OLD MALLS IN THE 60S AND ON TO TODAY...YOUR CHANNEL HAS GREAT NEWS AND GREAT VIDEOS TO INFORM. US ALL.. PEACE
Bear fighting?
“C’mon kids, let’s go see an old fashioned mauling!”
Legend says that the mall is still randomly catching on fire to this day...
I've been watching your channel for years now, mesmerized by every video you put out. I bought early access to your documentary movie, Closed for the Storm (I Believe). But never in a million years would I have forseen you covering one of the many abandoned malls in St. Louis. This one is practically in my backyard, and I'm so excited that this is a video I can show off to everyone. I love this channel!
That’s really kind of you, thank you so much! I hope I did this mall justice for you.
Absolutely fantastic episode. STL local, you should do an episode on our already abandoned Mills Mall that helped kill Jamestown. I believe it's being turned into an industrial complex lol
jeez, I just searched it up after reading this comment. It’s so sad to see such a bombastic mall like that one get turned into something so visually boring from the outside. Last time I was there was for my brothers high school graduation.. which was hosted outside the mall
Once the Blues left, it went downhill
*left it as a practice facility that is
The mills mall was bizarre from the start.
That mall didn’t last very long, did it?
I love your videos! They are so well edited, and produced! Thanks for the stories!
Recently found the channel and love the videos! Thank you for always making them enjoyable and high quality!
Be sure to go back and watch old ones, he's been killing it for years! ❤
Hes also a great driver
On the golf course?
The quality and research in this clip are simply astonishing, what a great way of reporting the history of this place !!
Thank you so much!
So cool to see you cover something from around my area! If you ever want another cool abandoned idea/topic to cover from our area, I would suggest doing Cementland. The story of its creator and its history is really interesting!
Ive been wanting him to make a cementland video for a while! I love the STL rep
I love your videos so much, I think by now I watched nearly all of them!
Really authentic and interesting storytelling with lots of facts and details.
Thank you so much!
Jake!!! I live here in st. louis and just explored the mall for a final time before it's demolition. We were able to get u on the roof, it was such a surreal scene... we took some pretty amazing photos of the place. Crazy to see you cover a place I grew up around. Love the videos!
I have so many great memories of this place. We saw Ratatouille and Rio at its movie theater and sometimes went shopping there. Not as good as St. Louis Outlet Mall (St. Louis Mills) a few miles away, but still nice.
I live near where the mall was. Was hoping to see a video on this topic. My mom actually told me that she got her wedding dress from a store there circa 2003-2004. Thanks Jake. :)
For anyone unaware, demolition has since continued and most of the structure is gone at this point. There are plans to use the land for an open air shopping center, but who knows what will happen.
Thank you for sharing this Jake! I can’t believe you were in town!!
I learn so much from your videos. Your narrative voice is really pleasant
Excellent documentary, always the most thorough research! Perfect overview.
The weekend starts great with a new Abandonded Episode. It is amazing to see all these Malls rise and fall down, there are so many of them in the US. Every time when i think '"ok, now this must really be the last one'' you produce another amazing Episode.
3:57 damn St. Louis Mills was one of the most colorful malls ever. Sadly it was built out of the way and never flourished as it should.
That interactive floor fish projector was money though!
@@kove i was a big fan of the Mills corporation and their malls. They’ll always have a place in my heart
Even though I live in uk I enjoy learning about your places
the fact it took so long to be demolished, only to have the workers strike on day 2, and ANOTHER fire occur immediately after is kind of hilarious. This place just seems cursed to a comical level.
not gonna lie, I chuckled when I heard the strike part.
Been watching your videos for years, wish I would have known you were in the area would have loved to show you all the amazing structures abandoned around here!
Loved this mall growing up, my dad and I spent every weekend here as a kid before it was shut down.
Thanks Jake! Always appreciate the content!
Thanks for watching!
Great video! I agree that Jamestown Mall never should have been built.
St. Louis went on a mall bender back in the day. There were over 10 malls within a moderate drive of each other.
Yeah, I grew up in the neighborhood right across from Riveroads mall in Jennings. It was built well before Jamestown, but it was super small in comparison
@@derrickbrooks2549 It was smaller, but it was all the area needed. Bet River Roads and Northland would’ve lasted longer if not for Jamestown. Northwest didn’t help things either.
You such a vibe to watch thanks for the amazing content you put out for years dude😎
I appreciate that!
Great video on the mall. It's nice seeing other channels doing recordings on the mall and providing updates on the daily progression of what's going on with the mall now.
Also, the information about the locals being against thr distribution center is incorrect, the county did not properly notify locals about a county meeting when voting on what to do with the property
Hey FireGhost, just echoing what everyone’s been saying - we all genuinely appreciate the effort and dedication you put into capturing the essence of these places, especially during such transitory phases. The footage is always top-notch, the content engaging, and the information enlightening. Your work is a window to a world many of us wouldn't otherwise get to see, and for that, we can't thank you enough! Keep the amazing updates coming, we're here for it all! 🙌
I get so excited every time I get a lil notification you've uploaded ❤
As someone who frequented malls as a child back in the 1990s, these stories make me so sad. Technology and other competitors, along with economic issues just came and took em all out since the early 2000s 😔
They will be missed.
If you end up near the Tampa area, you should do an Abandoned - MOSI. It was one of the largest museum complexes in the country with one of the few IMAX Dome theaters in the world, but in 2017, the whole place got downsized to a single wing of the campus, with the rest of the massive buildings being used as a strange impromptu emergency center for Hillsborough County.
Hey St. Louis, my hometown!
I grew up going to Jamestown (I was at the mall during the balloon drop grand opening of one of the anchors in '94), their 14-screen cinema was the most popular for a number of years since it was the best one in north county...
But the rest of the mall had little going for it, in the long term. It's way out on the fringe of the northwest county and there was also a slightly more popular mall nearby (Northwest Plaza) with a nice arcade to boot.
Other newer malls closer to the central county corridors kinda killed Jamestown's momentum.
A few years before Jamestown's closure, they built "Mills Mall" (which you mentioned), and had the exact same problem... and Mills is now closed too lol
Love this series already
Awwww I’ve been watching your videos for a few years now and never would have thought you would have done this one 🥹 spent so much time here in high school! You should make a video about the Mills too!
Awe. This is memories. I loved the mall. My high school friends and I used to hangout here!
This mall was a big part of my childhood. I rented my high school tux here for my senior prom I also bought my first pair of Oakley’s here a pair of frogskins. Sad to see it go but not entirely shocked.
Abandoned mall stories are some of my favorites!
Great video as always
Love, love, love the abandoned series especially malls! Hope to see s future episode of the Vernon Park Mall in Kinston, NC!!
I never have to worry about whether or not its gonna be a good video :) Always awesome!
Just when I think you can't do it any better, you knock it out of the park AGAIN...great job, Jake!
I love your Mall Videos!
I have so many early memories of that mall. I remember going to that movie theatre so many times. We would also go early, get our tickets, then go play in the food court play place until 10 minutes before it started. My brother had his pinewood derby races there. We went there as part of summer camps every year. It was a staple of North County STL, but it really did need to go for safety and to start rebuilding the community after years of decay. (BTW, should do one on the STL Mills as well, it is also a dead mall that has a very interesting background and current plans)
The demolition crew going on strike and then the building catching fire was hilarious.
Great video Mr. Jakub 👌🏻 thanks for driving me home
Second this!
Yeah thanks Jake for the ride
Another great video! Still waiting for the eventual Abandoned Chippewa Lake Park video. Love Abandoned, can’t wait for episode 100!
Two miles from my home. This was my mall. I have so many great memories of that mall. I saw its decline and I still think about the last time I went there, not knowing it would be my last time ever. Goodbye old friend.
Something about these abonded malls... They weirdly give me a feeling of nostalgia even if i have never been there
This was my mall growing up. Other malls (like Northwest Plaza) were closer to us, but this was home. My grandma loved Wag's restaurant. My stores were Spencer's, Tinder Box, and Aladdin's Castle the arcade. I remember how crazy it'd get during the holidays. I moved out of STL in 2005, so I didn't get to see the decline, but I did visit once a few years after and was stunned at how empty it was. Super sad.
I love your content, Jake, I never miss any of your videos. What do you have planned for Bankrupt?
Bon-Ton is the next on the list in December!
- Jake
@@UnchartedTravel Thank you for the info UnchartedTravel.
Always interesting Jake!
Crazy to think that Jake is covering something that is only a 30 minute drive from my house. St. Louis was definitely an area that was “overmalled” with only about three out of 10+ malls surviving today and even ones that were thriving years ago such as Mid Rivers Mall that is only about five minutes away from me is starting to slowly declining
Hi Jake! Big fan of this series. You should do a video on Brookwood Village. It's a mall that last year closed down.
Wow, this was my mall growing up! So many fun memories here for me.
Been to this mall many times. The game room was legendary. Great memories
If you haven't done an episode yet, I recommend the Phillipsburg Mall in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. I moved to Pennsylvania to be with my husband, right on the NJ border back in 2014 and had the chance to visit this mall years before its closing. It is also interesting that when we had moved out of PA, the Kohls adjacent the mall remains open. They did have an entrance to the mall part but was closed off around when the mall had closed during the pandemic sometime in 2020. There is also an open Chick-fil-a, Panera, Taco Bell, and Starbucks. There are talks of demoing the mall and turning it into warehousing space, but nothing has come to fruition.
**Edit** I would also like to add that I grew up in Southern Illinois about 60 miles east from STL. There are huge malls in the whole Metro East region, including Times Square Mall in neighboring Fairview Heights, Illinois. Most malls were built when Missouri still had their "no business on Sundays" law, which help retail in Southern Illinois to thrive. The Times Square Mall today is still thriving and doing well.
It's also a great day when Bright Sun Films talks about malls (after ships)
Hello, Jake. I have been watching your videos since 2018, and I have never been disappointed by your content. In fact, I watch videos over and over again because each time I still learn something new. I personally love old malls like the one in their video. My father worked at a Babbage’s store in Gwinnett Place Mall, which was used in season 3 of Stranger Things and is almost completely empty. I visited what was left of Freestyle Music Park in 2021 before it was torn down and replaced by a FedEx facility. Since your videos always leave me satisfied, I am wondering if you can make a video about the Regency Mall in Augusta, Ga. It was developed by Edward J. DeBartolo, the man who developed Randall Park Mall, a shopping center that you made a video on a while ago. It’s been abandoned for over 20 years and I would love it if you talked about it.
I live near an abandoned sanatorium known as Glen Dale hospital. I’ve only seen it once as a kid while riding past the area. It would be interesting to see you cover it since its a lesser known abandoned area that has a dark history
I live right near where this mall was. I never even knew it was there until this video, since I moved to STL a few years ago. Very cool!!
I work in a mall currently, and it's on the same track as this one, the high vacancy rate, the loss of an anchor store, another anchor store in the talks of leaving rn, food court with only 3 eating options, movie theater in absolute disrepair, horrific rodent infestation, mold everywhere, extensive water damage, electrical fires, power outages, bad mall management, worse security guards.
It's on track to close in 3 years in my opinion. The only thing it has going for it is there is a busy Chick-fil-A in the parking lot and it's close to cocoa Beach so sometimes cruise ship people and tourists happen upon our unfortunate mall.
I'm going to say name, it's Merritt Square Mall and I am sitting here with baited breath for the day it closes and you end up covering the disaster that was merritt square mall in its death rattle.
Thanks for sharing it.✌️
Would love if you did a video on the st louis mills, I grew up with that mall and worked in a business park behind it when it closed. All the redevelopment plans over the years for it have been interesting
I grew up in this area and went to this mall a lot as a kid. It made me more nostalgic than I thought it would to see that food court with the pink neon and the McDonald's. My Mom used to bring me. Still remember hearing new music at Sam Goody and seeing a Sega Game gear for the first time at KB Toys there. Really sad to see how it was after being abandoned - and I drove down Lindbergh (route 67) just a few weeks ago and it does appear to be entirely demolished now. Somehow I think its better that its gone than for it to be in the condition it got to.
I grew up going to this mall. Nice coverage on it Jake.
I was totally binge-watching all your videos yesterday so I’m super stoked for a new upload today! Thanks again as always for the amazing and thorough work you do for each and every video.
Any Friday with a new BSF vid is a great Friday!!
Keep up the good work Jake👍🏽 How about looking into the Abandonment of Fort Rapids Water Park/Resort or The Story of Six Flags Astroworld
This mall in st louis brings to mind another disastrous project in the same city . The Pruit-Igoe housing project . I would love to hear your take on this story Jake . Great work thank you
I’m from Stl and I went to this mall frequently as a kid. My mom still lives in the neighborhood next door. It’s a shame that it shut down
there's so many dead malls around here. Jamestown is dead, the Mills is a shambling corpse, Chesterfield and Mid Rivers are on their way out. The only malls I know of still going strong are MAYBE the Galleria and West County mall. It's a shame, because the Mills was a very interesting shopping experience.
I noticed the purchaser of the mall in
2003, was from the area we lived in
Westchester, County, NY, for many
years. 😊
thank you for doing an abandon episode in my city. I would love if you talked about Cleveland high school.
AHHHH I GREW UP GOING TO THIS MALL!!!!! SO COOL TO SEE YOU COVER IT
It's funny that the Mills Mall had a hand at the Jamestown Mall shutting down, as now the Mills Mall is basically just a Cabelas with a growth coming off of it.
I WAS WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! YESS!!!