Thank you for filming this and appreciate your intelligent style, documentary like and your narration does the job along with the video. I am saddened to hear of the death of the Ledgewood Mall as it was one of my stomping grounds all through the 1980's. Thank you for mentioning Sweets N' Sounds, a record store that I was always in and loved the employees there. I miss Arthur's which was a unique store and fun experience with placing orders and anticipating it coming out. Rickel's was my main stop for getting auto supplies for my old 1962 Plymouth Fury which I bought a stones throw from the nearby Roxbury Mall. Jamesway was great and ah, that awesome arcade game room that was run by the older lady and her granddaughter(?). The times they are a changing and I never though malls would lose their place but online shopping is killing retail as we know it. Thanks again for honoring the late great Ledgewood Mall in NJ. R.I.P. :-(
Thank you so much for the kind words! I grew up in Jersey and I have a ton more videos just like this on the way. Make sure to catch up on my other 124!
I like the fact that your not surmising about what might have been, like many others, you have actual facts names dates, and time frames, I love when someone explores, and takes a wild guess, that's quite comical, again, great intelligent exploring
this was the mall of my youth. My family and I ate countless times at Rockwells & Enzo's pizza... not to mention the thousands of hours in the video arcade. We moved away to Maryland in 1991. this made me sad, at the same time thank you for the trip down nostalgia way.
The way you narrate your vids and your style is Gold, I so like watching your vids and always look forward to seeing new uploads, keep up the Great work Sal!!!
@@sal mhm! ive seen this mall come and go and to the point where it was so run down. im glad we got that new wonder store in walmart though, the food there is rlly good
I live in Dover, NJ, about less than 15 minutes away from this mall. I CANNOT sweat enough to you how much I used to walk from the WalMart to the Marshalls and saw ALL the dead stores that were in between. All I ever saw after that were just your morning walkers and socializers. After I heard they were going to tear this all down and, if I heard right, they were going to make the Walmart bigger and make outlet malls in between. What used to bother me a lot was that they had the Roxbury Mall and then in the next lot over was the Ledgewood Mall. I always used to say to myself "Why do they have two malls if Ledgewood is considered Roxbury Township. One mall wasn't enough?"
@@hrogan-jh1ru Yeah, that's one chain that actually seems to be doing well, especially homegoods. It emphasises the thrill of browsing and finding things you never would have otherwise.
I feel older than I am when I hear the word 'vintage' attached to the 1990s because to me it just feels like the 90s was only about 5-10 years ago. I keep forgetting that in 2028 it'll be 30 years that I graduated high school. How I miss the 80s and 90s and hate that the younger generation have little to no idea what that era was like.
I grew up in this area and live in Roxbury now. This was a great walk thru history and one last chance to see the mall the way I remembered it. Thank you!
I spent a lot of time at that mall. Also worked at the sports authority there for many years. My brother worked as maintenance there for years too. I remember the arcade there, and Jamesway, Arthur’s, toys of joys, pharmhouse, pharmore , book town which turned into hero town, Enzo’s pizzeria, sterns, etc. it was a really nice mall back in the 80s/90s.
This is the mall of my childhood. My parents used to get my photo with santa every year. I used to frequent Rickel's with my dad. My older sister loved Sweets and sounds. My dad used to buy my mom Christmas presents from Arthur's. Used to go to Jamesway as a kid. Also the arcade at the back of the mall.
Coming back to this video with the commons at ledgewood being a thing, its nice to see new stores and a new look, but i will always miss the mall, spirit halloween and the meet and greet with santa as a kid. thank you for documenting this piece of many of us locals childhood
I worked at the Ledgewood mall for years at Clark's Hallmark; which later relocated about six years ago. During its steady decline, the owner of the mall let go all of their security officers. When there was a problem, including theft, fights in the mall, and suspicious characters, we had to notify the janitors instead; who were told to take care of those situations themselves and to call the police if they needed additional help. They also let go the maintenance workers that worked outside. The poor janitors had to cut the grass around the entire mall with a rickety lawnmower that never wanted to work properly. AND the owner of the mall stopped paying the janitors. They complained to us all the time about waiting for their paychecks and how terrible they were being treated.
I've been to it when it was opened, it has now been demolished to expand the Walmart, which I went to two weeks ago and it is massive. Another thing, in ledgewood and kenville there are lots of other abandoned locations, such as two cement factories, diner, quarry, and a massive square mile clearing dotted with dilapidated buildings, which were destroyed after multiple massive powder factory explosion which was heard 50 miles away.
i remember that circuit city being a common spot for spirit halloween after it closed, so much to the point where i have more memories of it being a spirit halloween than a circuit city. that spot was just... a spirit halloween. closed 10 months of the year, sure, but that was just a spirit halloween.
I know what it is.....your voice is very calm and relaxing and sounds quite authoritative....and thats what makes your vids so captivating - along with the content for sure! excellent and so interesting that he let you in and took you around the mall....
This one hits close to home, literally. I live close by; this is about a 10-15 minute drive away from my house. I moved to the area in late 2006, but almost never shopped there, except for the Barnes & Noble, which wasn't actually in the mall, and an occasional visit to Marshall's. Rockaway Townsquare was only 5-10 minutes farther away, and had a much greater array of shopping choices. The best thing about the new "Shops at Ledgewood Commons" complex is that it has a Five Guys, which my kids love. The worst thing is that you *still* can't easily drive from this shopping plaza to the next-door Roxbury Mall (not actually a mall at all). You have to either get back on Route 10, or loop all the way around the back of the Ledgewood complex on Righter Road. The Roxbury shopping area is actually a lot more useful, having a Staples, a Home Depot, a Shop-Rite, and a Kohl's. There used to also be a nice movieplex, but sadly that shut down in early 2020. For reasons unknown even to myself, I was inspired to walk around the Ledgewood Mall during its dead state, in early July of 2017. I still have some still photos and a few video clips somewhere on a hard drive. I had thought of making a "dead mall" video, but never got motivated to edit it together.
I moved into the area about a decade ago and at that point it was on the decline. My kids and I dubbed it the zombie mall because no one was ever in it except the walkers. Jo-Anns moved from one wing to its own building at Roxbury Mall and Music Den moved down the road to its own building. I watched a ton of stores come and go - a dollar store, indoor mini golf, a pizza place, etc. Halloween City used to be in Circuit City but even that stopped a few years ago.
@@sal ANYTIME! Oh, by the way, are you aware of another completely dead mall in Brownsville, TX.? It is/was called The Sunrise Mall. It has a still running multi tiered cascade fountain. I just saw a video footage of it.
The former Ledgewood Mall, built in 1972, has undergone a complete “de-malling,” changing the enclosed space to a 450,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center with separate entrances to stores and a centralized parking lot - all of it anchored by a 164,087-square-foot Walmart Supercenter that opened in October of 2020.
I remember this mall in the early to mid 70s. I remember parts had nothing but concrete floors - not even tile and plywood nailed up where store fronts should be. It was never a successful mall. I do remember the Orange Julius and a pizza place and a guy named Demitrious that worked there.
Hi Sal, Thanks for this look back at the history of this mall. I recognize some of the stores that went bankrupt/out of business that were name says to the strip mall we had. You are very humble and I can't get enough of all the information you research thanks for exploring with all of us!
It's so awesome when you run into someone who is nice enough to let you come in and look around and film while it's being demolished! I really enjoyed this video!! As well as all your videos!!!
I remember that mall when it opened. As a small child l remember it being beautiful with modern fountains and sculpture. Rickles was a great home center, unlike Home Depot. They had huge plate glass windows and hung all their lighting including chandeliers in there. It was quite spectacular looking at night. The mall initially was a very clean brutalist design. They had those 70's round globes for lights and the signing was all standardized in off white and brown in true 70's fashion. The remodels, as with most beautiful mid century and 70's mall remodels brought in horrific mauve and white tiles and the removal of the fountains and sculpture. It looked so generic and cheap, just like the 90's. The mall is now reimagined with a huge state of the art Walmart. new stores are opening and the mall is vibrant once again ❤️
My Mom and Dad dragged us into Rickels all the time. My brother and I would laugh at how they would start putting out their Christmas stuff in July. Or was that the Channels across the way..?
Sal - Your work is great. Your historical research is impeccable and your narration is broadcast professional. The inclusion of vintage television commercials, period mall Muzak are brilliant! I’m a big fan. You are a wonderful historian.
Sal - Thank you. I am a subscriber and I am looking forward to your new content. I recently discovered your channel and now I have a lot of documentaries to watch.
So Sal I had to subscribe after seeing this video. You have serious guts opening random doors and walking around, it is awesome. You are doing a wonderful job documenting the end of the brick and mortar shopping era. You treat it with respect as if each mall is a person who passed away and you are sharing their story of what made them who they were.
I got my first job working at that Rickels, at about the age of 12? There was a Wendy’s there too where I’d get lunch - which would cost 1 hour of my wages. I “grew up” at that mall in the 80’s. There was a popular arcade there and a comic book shop. Keyboard World was there - they sold pianos and electric guitars. So Ledgewood Mall was right next to Roxbury Mall - just a train track splitting the two in half. Rt 10 was the main road - 2 lanes each direction, divided roadway (which lead to one of the most dangerous traffic circles on the east coast! Traffic OUTSIDE the circle had right of way!). So there was Ledgewood Mall, a small shopping mall, and Roxbury Mall - similar in size but just a strip mall (and Cinema 10 was there - movie theater). Both accessed via Rt 10. Busy road. The Roxbury Mall had a small service road at the back - Rider Rd. This was the traffic free way to enter the mall. Around 1980 or so this road was paved. Then around 1982, it was extended over the railroad tracks to connect the Roxbury Mall to the Ledgewood Mall via that back road. Roxbury Mall expanded like crazy, opening a second building - another strip mall, but square shaped. Circuit City moved from the Ledgewood Mall to that new building at the Roxbury Mall. The two malls were always competing. But that part of NJ was no stranger to shopping malls, and as mentioned a mere 10 miles away was a very large shopping mall - the Rockaway Mall. 2 levels and probably 5x as big as Ledgewood Mall. You’d go to Ledgewood for small stuff, but you’d go to Rockaway to go shopping.
im a huge fan of dead mall videos, but this one hit home really hard. i grew up going to the ledgewood mall -- im 19 now, so ive been going there all my life. i remember when it was full of stores (circuit city taking up 2 spaces next to walmart, furniture store, the dollar store, radio shack, fashion bug, the artwork frame store, music den, when ashley's was introduced, hallmark, payless, b&bw, etc) and i remember always seein the mall decorated for christmas and race from marshall's to walmart and eating pizza and then having a small trip to macy's before it closed and overall having so much fun in that mall; i have so many memories at this place. i remember when macy's left the mall and even when demolition started since i worked at spirit halloween that took up the vacant sports authority and every night i saw that empty macy's space and eventually the pile of dust it became. it was so insane to see inside the demolition site, so thank you for that. i've always known this mall was in doom -- heck i even remember for an art club project we were sent to this mall to paint the windows on vacant stores to make the mall more lively -- but seeing your video and seeing the mall gutted really hit me. ive heard the mall wants to open a few different types of stores to replace macy's and try to bring life back to this dead place but nothing has happened yet. thank you so much for this video; ive been waiting for someone to give me a deeper look and a deeper history into this mall i grew up with. also in that room you went into that was dark and had the black mold, was that next to ashley's furniture? i find it odd that there was what seemed to be dressing rooms there since radio shack was the last store to be next to ashley's
I have so many memories of Ledgewood Mall. My first job was there at Marshalls and I later worked at the Circuit City when they had their grand opening. It's a damn shame what happened to that mall. They used to have an arcade, which was always so cool to me as a kid having an arcade 5 minutes from my house. Spent many Friday nights there growing up. So many great memories in that place. It's a pile of rubble now. RIP Ledgewood Mall. Thanks for an amazing video.
I found your videos looking for something to watch on a sick day-OMG these are wonderful! The history, your narration, and those retro commercials (that damn crispy cereal clown-eek)…excellent. Thx for documenting these places!
At the beginning of this video I was like "Nice Pond." Then I took a second glance and noticed the parking lot markers at the bottom and my reaction was like ".....oh. okay." lol Anyway, your mall exploration videos are pretty good.
I live 5 minutes away from this mall. They actually made the Walmart a Super Walmart and it’s so nice. A lot bigger than it used to be. And construction began about a year ago to make this a strip mall. I believe Starbucks is one of the stores they’ll be adding.
This mall has been dead for years, I went there as a kid once or twice but not too many memories from it. I did go to another dead mall in Phillipsburg called the Phillipsburg Mall, you should check that one out.
wow so many great memories as a kid... my father and i god rest his sole would go on our way while mom went on hers. we would go to game land the arcade. many memories there with Santa and the boat show. the big round fountains lol i can go on and on thanks agian for this
Thanks for this video. I grew up up the road in Hopatcong, and spent a lot of time at the Ledgewood Mall. I got photos and breakfast with Santa at Grants. My brother and I could never figure out why there was a Channel across the parking lot from Rickels. I always got a slice at the always present pizza place. I spent way, way to many quarters at the arcade. And the stores. Oh, the always revolving store fronts. It did seem like if you hadn't been there for a few weeks some store you liked closed and a new one popped up. Forget the weather; wait five minutes and a new store would be opening up at the Ledgewood Mall. I went back to NJ this summer and was sad to see it's all gone. I've got a lot of fond memories. And I wish you'd gotten there before it was being demolished. I think your video would have been more fun and interesting. Not by much, but just a little...
Love your work. It's incredible how you put all your heart into the every little detail and all the research you provide. Love that you insert a mall commercial or add music to make it sound like it's broadcasting thru the retro mall PA system, totally takes us back to its former glory and hey day! Where do you find all this awesome '80s synthesizer background music..?? Makes me feel like I'm a kid again when it was the former EPCOT Center in Disney. Similar sounds for sure. So cool, Thank you.
Love the videos bro especially the research and planning that goes into these. This one is only about 15 minutes from where I grew up and was always empty as long as I can remember -- going back to when Jamesway was there along with some random 5 and 10 department store next to it. I never knew how it stayed open and the stores that were open were mostly no-name deals. I was a bit of an urban explorer when I was younger, before the days of HD video and cell phone cameras so a lot of it was never documented before it was gone forever. I got through the Seaview Square Mall in Ocean Twp, NJ (off Route 35) in the early 2000s as it was in the process of being demolished (also all unlocked...) Oddly enough the road is still named Seaview Square Mall Drive even though the mall was razed 15 years ago only leaving the standalone anchors. I have some grainy 35mm photos of it (including another abandoned security SUV) but nothing to the level of these videos. Another project on landfill was built near the site and all of the stores were closed within 3 years due to structural issues. Funny how the same mistakes were made over and over. Keep up the good work!
Look forward to it, I binge watched most of these already! Can't leave photo comments on here but I'd be glad to forward the photos I got of SSQ if you have an e-mail for this channel -- another mall with a long and tenuous history if you can use them for anything or as filler to an earlier era. Things got so bad for this mall that their signage and ad campaign was literally "We're open, pass the word..." lol
The way Sal presents these videos is amazing. They bring me right back to growing up in the 80's and early 90's with the commercials, music, the neon etc. The warmth it brings is just fantastic.
I grew up around there in Jefferson twp. Long history with that mall. My wife worked at Macy’s until it closed we got some stuff from Macy’s when it closed. Sal you should check out the rockaway mall not too far from there.
But why would he want to check out a mall that's booming with business? His network only covers malls that don't have life to them anymore. Rockaway's got another 50 years on it probably.
I think the pile of pebbly stuff around 8:50 might be vermiculite insulation, which was used loose in attics and the like. The mall was definitely built before the various construction bans. Disturbed asbestos, another reason to get out of that room!
Kind of an update for you. Since I'm 5 miles from Ledgewood. The Wal-Mart shut down in April. Wal-Mart and the mall except for Marshall's and Ashley Furniture. Wal-Mart is being rebuilt into a true Super center. The rest is being rebuilt up into a strip mall. Five Below and a few other stores have already been announced. The old Ledgewood Mall has lots of childhood memories especially Jamesway. Rickles was were Ashley and Marshall's are now.
Yes it's all gone besides the concrete piles of rubble. From what I was told before Wal-Mart closed by a manager was the plan is to have it rebuilt by April 2020. If we have a winter like last year I can see it taking longer.
Used to shop at Ledgewood, it had been dying for a very long time. Looking forward to the video. Check out Wayne Hills Mall, it's an abandoned gem in Wayne, NJ
Thank you Sal, interesting video on the mall's history. Except for a run of prosperity in the 90s and 2000s the mall struggled throughout most of its existence. Ledgewood is approximately 45 miles west of Manhattan at the outer edge of suburban North Jersey. NJ 10 which runs by the mall is more of a commuter highway than it is a major highway. Interstate 80 the major east-west highway is approximately 3 miles away. A major regional mall, the Rockaway Townsquare Mall is approximately 10 miles away. As I recall, the Ledgewood Mall was set back from the highway along NJ 10. I could be mistaken but I do not think much promotion in local/regional media was ever done and there were many other large malls (Short Hills, Bridgewater Commons, Willowbrook) relatively nearby which drew shoppers. Since 2000 a number of big box retailers opened up in western Morris County. All of the factors listed above, along with continuous turnover in retailers are what I suspect led to the mall's ultimate demise.
Unfortunately, the Rockaway Mall isn't doing that great right now. We lost the Sears and Lord and Taylor. And COVID didn't help matters. So many small stores left too.
I remember going by here to work on Black Friday. They had to have police directing traffic. Also Ledgewood was one of the biggest hit during the 2008 stock market collapse. Many stores closed over night and the town is only recovering now.
That's bad how in only a few short years a mall would just die. I like the vintage Wal-Mart logo. Sad to see a mall in that state. Thank you for the awesome content. Ace sent me.
I've lived about 25 minutes from this mall for most of my life. I remember going there when I was a kid in the 1980s, when my parents would go to Arthur's, and just felt how depressing the mall was. Jamesway was sort of a lower-tiered store, kind of the way Walmart is to Target, but worse. I frequented the music store, Radio Shack, the hobby store, and even have memories of Rickel's tube tester kiosk that sat by their entrance. There were a couple of small restaurants there, one of them was a sit-down pizza place. When the remodel happened, it was a welcome change. But it only marginally and temporarily brought things up. There was a slight surge, but then so many stores went vacant and it progressed downhill from there. A couple of years ago, my wife was working just up Route 10 in that area and would go to Macy's, as it was convenient and close, but complained about how small that store was. I can't remember a flagship store that came and went so quickly. The outer stores like Sports Authority didn't last long either. I think the downfall really began when Circuit City close up. BTW, Get Plastered was one of those store where you could paint ceramics and then have them fired. Birthday parties and stay-at-home mom's frequented that place. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Keep up the great work.
When that Stern’s opened... boy that was fancy. I still have a sweater i bought there. 20ish years old? It’s now in my pajama rotation. This mall was dying in the 90s already.
I live in roxbury and i remember going to this mall a lot with friends. Luckily they are reopening the mall and more construction is going on at the moment
I live right down the road. I was always here as a kid when it was still active and dare I say busy. It was so sad to see it attract less and less people as the years went by. I knew when bath and body works left it was doomed LOL. Right now it is being replaced by a new mall with an ulta, Starbucks, stuff like that and even a brand new Walmart. Hopefully it'll take off because the crowds at Rockaway are just too much for some of us, especially holiday time!!
17:43 Music of L.V Beethoven .... used with the artists permission....(grin)...obtained by channeling i presume..:) Much love Sal.....i seriously love your videos and appreciate all the reasearch that goes into giving these places a voice....
That place was always the bastard step sibling of the Rockaway mall. The last time I was in there four years ago it was creepy, very dawn of the dead vibe.
That guy was really cool taking you around what was left. It’s shocking to see the extent of collapse in the bricks-and-mortar stores are rapidly being levelled. I’m going to see if I can send you a video of the third phase of Oxford’s Westgate Mall, in addition to the High Street and Cornmarket Street’s winners and losers.
All construction has stopped at the mall no signs of any work going on. It all most looks like the plans are dead. I live a few miles from it. Its weird
Sal, I still feel Circuit City is my all time favorite NASCAR Sponsor. Lowkey, I still wished Hut Stricklin delivered the Southern 500 for Stavola Brothers (Also New Jersey Based, too) and Tim Steele never got hurt (Would Have been more GOAT than Jimmie Johnson), but, Highkey, the Chain fell apart before it could come to my Homestanding Cedar Rapids (I doubt Stranger Things would have played well on our Frontchannels, but, that would be the take everything seriously of my more conservative era elders), and they are the real life Winfred Louder. Ledgewood was the High Character Starter, and helped keep commerce safe and a lot of your malls would be the Mall of America/Edmonton Mall/St. Louis Union Station of their town, and I always think XMas Stuff being stocked away would be a sign of a Lively Mall after the Holiday Season, and I'd feel happier if my Wild West (Westdale) would be true to developing a Small Town like Center, and it wouldn't substitute for a 2nd Mall in My Home Town.
It could be repurposed as an affordable senior housing area...self contained; restaurants open areas to walk, you could break down the open areas for senior suites. With nursing homes being ridiculously expensive; an affordable option would be nice to save this amazing place
i went and looked at footage from 2010 to see what that creepy moldy room was, and it was even closed off then. i would say it was closed off for a very long time
Sal, I coin you "The King of Abandoned series, for you take your passion of these once thriving venues that are in danger of bust to totally dead silent very seriously. Plus you are a true best retail mall historian. You should make another visit to Cincinnati, OH. to film Tri- County Mall, I (Springdale) which has ALSO fallen victim to such vacancies. I'd even go to the Main Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to obtain copies @ The Tri-County Mall in it's early heydey to submit to you.
Awesome job. So many RUclipsrs ruin their videos by being obnoxious. I appreciate that you let the content be the star. A+
Thank you for filming this and appreciate your intelligent style, documentary like and your narration does the job along with the video. I am saddened to hear of the death of the Ledgewood Mall as it was one of my stomping grounds all through the 1980's. Thank you for mentioning Sweets N' Sounds, a record store that I was always in and loved the employees there. I miss Arthur's which was a unique store and fun experience with placing orders and anticipating it coming out. Rickel's was my main stop for getting auto supplies for my old 1962 Plymouth Fury which I bought a stones throw from the nearby Roxbury Mall. Jamesway was great and ah, that awesome arcade game room that was run by the older lady and her granddaughter(?). The times they are a changing and I never though malls would lose their place but online shopping is killing retail as we know it. Thanks again for honoring the late great Ledgewood Mall in NJ. R.I.P. :-(
Thank you so much for the kind words! I grew up in Jersey and I have a ton more videos just like this on the way. Make sure to catch up on my other 124!
I like the fact that your not surmising about what might have been, like many others, you have actual facts names dates, and time frames, I love when someone explores, and takes a wild guess, that's quite comical, again, great intelligent exploring
I love how you give the history of the malls and explain what lead to them failing. Awesome videos!
Thanks!! Lots more on the way!
this was the mall of my youth. My family and I ate countless times at Rockwells & Enzo's pizza... not to mention the thousands of hours in the video arcade. We moved away to Maryland in 1991. this made me sad, at the same time thank you for the trip down nostalgia way.
The way you narrate your vids and your style is Gold, I so like watching your vids and always look forward to seeing new uploads, keep up the Great work Sal!!!
grew up here for 17 years. as much as i miss my local mall, it well needed that revamp.
Agreed. I grew up in Toms River, and visited here a few times to and from relatives houses. Glad something positive happened with the land.
@@sal mhm! ive seen this mall come and go and to the point where it was so run down. im glad we got that new wonder store in walmart though, the food there is rlly good
That "something really weird in there that I just didn't know what it was" was definitely the spirit of teenage me buying Mudd bellbottoms at Deb! 😭😭
I live in Dover, NJ, about less than 15 minutes away from this mall. I CANNOT sweat enough to you how much I used to walk from the WalMart to the Marshalls and saw ALL the dead stores that were in between. All I ever saw after that were just your morning walkers and socializers. After I heard they were going to tear this all down and, if I heard right, they were going to make the Walmart bigger and make outlet malls in between. What used to bother me a lot was that they had the Roxbury Mall and then in the next lot over was the Ledgewood Mall. I always used to say to myself "Why do they have two malls if Ledgewood is considered Roxbury Township. One mall wasn't enough?"
That Marshall's entrance is freaking vintage. I haven't seen one like that since the 90s.
The marshalls is still open haha
@@hrogan-jh1ru Yeah, that's one chain that actually seems to be doing well, especially homegoods. It emphasises the thrill of browsing and finding things you never would have otherwise.
I feel older than I am when I hear the word 'vintage' attached to the 1990s because to me it just feels like the 90s was only about 5-10 years ago. I keep forgetting that in 2028 it'll be 30 years that I graduated high school. How I miss the 80s and 90s and hate that the younger generation have little to no idea what that era was like.
I grew up in this area and live in Roxbury now. This was a great walk thru history and one last chance to see the mall the way I remembered it. Thank you!
I spent a lot of time at that mall. Also worked at the sports authority there for many years. My brother worked as maintenance there for years too. I remember the arcade there, and Jamesway, Arthur’s, toys of joys, pharmhouse, pharmore , book town which turned into hero town, Enzo’s pizzeria, sterns, etc. it was a really nice mall back in the 80s/90s.
This is the mall of my childhood. My parents used to get my photo with santa every year. I used to frequent Rickel's with my dad. My older sister loved Sweets and sounds. My dad used to buy my mom Christmas presents from Arthur's. Used to go to Jamesway as a kid. Also the arcade at the back of the mall.
I live in this area and you gave me nostalgia. Thank you.
Coming back to this video with the commons at ledgewood being a thing, its nice to see new stores and a new look, but i will always miss the mall, spirit halloween and the meet and greet with santa as a kid. thank you for documenting this piece of many of us locals childhood
I worked at the Ledgewood mall for years at Clark's Hallmark; which later relocated about six years ago. During its steady decline, the owner of the mall let go all of their security officers. When there was a problem, including theft, fights in the mall, and suspicious characters, we had to notify the janitors instead; who were told to take care of those situations themselves and to call the police if they needed additional help. They also let go the maintenance workers that worked outside. The poor janitors had to cut the grass around the entire mall with a rickety lawnmower that never wanted to work properly. AND the owner of the mall stopped paying the janitors. They complained to us all the time about waiting for their paychecks and how terrible they were being treated.
I was living in Pennsylvania when all that happened. But I remember my mom saying she won't go anymore without the security guards.
I've been to it when it was opened, it has now been demolished to expand the Walmart, which I went to two weeks ago and it is massive. Another thing, in ledgewood and kenville there are lots of other abandoned locations, such as two cement factories, diner, quarry, and a massive square mile clearing dotted with dilapidated buildings, which were destroyed after multiple massive powder factory explosion which was heard 50 miles away.
You are far far braver than I for going into that black creepy moldy room.
i remember that circuit city being a common spot for spirit halloween after it closed, so much to the point where i have more memories of it being a spirit halloween than a circuit city.
that spot was just... a spirit halloween. closed 10 months of the year, sure, but that was just a spirit halloween.
There's something about your videos that's super soothing. Thanks for making these.
You’re so very welcome :) currently agonizing over the next one...I think you’ll like it!
I know what it is.....your voice is very calm and relaxing and sounds quite authoritative....and thats what makes your vids so captivating - along with the content for sure! excellent and so interesting that he let you in and took you around the mall....
This one hits close to home, literally. I live close by; this is about a 10-15 minute drive away from my house. I moved to the area in late 2006, but almost never shopped there, except for the Barnes & Noble, which wasn't actually in the mall, and an occasional visit to Marshall's. Rockaway Townsquare was only 5-10 minutes farther away, and had a much greater array of shopping choices. The best thing about the new "Shops at Ledgewood Commons" complex is that it has a Five Guys, which my kids love. The worst thing is that you *still* can't easily drive from this shopping plaza to the next-door Roxbury Mall (not actually a mall at all). You have to either get back on Route 10, or loop all the way around the back of the Ledgewood complex on Righter Road. The Roxbury shopping area is actually a lot more useful, having a Staples, a Home Depot, a Shop-Rite, and a Kohl's. There used to also be a nice movieplex, but sadly that shut down in early 2020.
For reasons unknown even to myself, I was inspired to walk around the Ledgewood Mall during its dead state, in early July of 2017. I still have some still photos and a few video clips somewhere on a hard drive. I had thought of making a "dead mall" video, but never got motivated to edit it together.
I moved into the area about a decade ago and at that point it was on the decline. My kids and I dubbed it the zombie mall because no one was ever in it except the walkers. Jo-Anns moved from one wing to its own building at Roxbury Mall and Music Den moved down the road to its own building. I watched a ton of stores come and go - a dollar store, indoor mini golf, a pizza place, etc. Halloween City used to be in Circuit City but even that stopped a few years ago.
thanks for making this. i used to go here all the time. i had some footage from '18 before the demolition but nowhere near as extensive as this!
Thanks so much for watching! I saw you just joined the DMOD server...maybe you can share the footage there?
PS. SAL, U DESERVE A RUclips ACADEMY AWARD FOR YOUR PHENOMENAL WORK!🏆🏆
Thank you!!!!! Your comment made my day :)
@@sal ANYTIME! Oh, by the way, are you aware of another completely dead mall in Brownsville, TX.? It is/was called The Sunrise Mall. It has a still running multi tiered cascade fountain. I just saw a video footage of it.
The former Ledgewood Mall, built in 1972, has undergone a complete “de-malling,” changing the enclosed space to a 450,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center with separate entrances to stores and a centralized parking lot - all of it anchored by a 164,087-square-foot Walmart Supercenter that opened in October of 2020.
I remember this mall in the early to mid 70s. I remember parts had nothing but concrete floors - not even tile and plywood nailed up where store fronts should be. It was never a successful mall. I do remember the Orange Julius and a pizza place and a guy named Demitrious that worked there.
Hi Sal, Thanks for this look back at the history of this mall.
I recognize some of the stores that went bankrupt/out of business that were name says to the strip mall we had.
You are very humble and I can't get enough of all the information
you research thanks for exploring with all of us!
It's so awesome when you run into someone who is nice enough to let you come in and look around and film while it's being demolished! I really enjoyed this video!! As well as all your videos!!!
I remember that mall when it opened. As a small child l remember it being beautiful with modern fountains and sculpture. Rickles was a great home center, unlike Home Depot. They had huge plate glass windows and hung all their lighting including chandeliers in there. It was quite spectacular looking at night. The mall initially was a very clean brutalist design. They had those 70's round globes for lights and the signing was all standardized in off white and brown in true 70's fashion. The remodels, as with most beautiful mid century and 70's mall remodels brought in horrific mauve and white tiles and the removal of the fountains and sculpture. It looked so generic and cheap, just like the 90's.
The mall is now reimagined with a huge state of the art Walmart. new stores are opening and the mall is vibrant once again ❤️
My Mom and Dad dragged us into Rickels all the time.
My brother and I would laugh at how they would start putting out their Christmas stuff in July. Or was that the Channels across the way..?
Sal - Your work is great. Your historical research is impeccable and your narration is broadcast professional. The inclusion of vintage television commercials, period mall Muzak are brilliant! I’m a big fan. You are a wonderful historian.
Mike, thank you so much! I certainly hope you’ve subscribed...there’s much more on the way!!
Sal - Thank you. I am a subscriber and I am looking forward to your new content. I recently discovered your channel and now I have a lot of documentaries to watch.
I lived in Morris county in the early 90s. I went to this mall a few times (probably cutting my last 2 classes of the day). Thanks for the video!!!!!
So Sal I had to subscribe after seeing this video. You have serious guts opening random doors and walking around, it is awesome. You are doing a wonderful job documenting the end of the brick and mortar shopping era. You treat it with respect as if each mall is a person who passed away and you are sharing their story of what made them who they were.
Thanks Christopher...this is an important story to tell in American (and now I’m learning its worldwide) culture. Much more to come...
@@sal Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will be here for the continuing journey.
Thank you kindly my friend. Nothing I produce will be perfect, but you sure as hell better bet you’ll get my best, sir.
I got my first job working at that Rickels, at about the age of 12? There was a Wendy’s there too where I’d get lunch - which would cost 1 hour of my wages.
I “grew up” at that mall in the 80’s. There was a popular arcade there and a comic book shop. Keyboard World was there - they sold pianos and electric guitars.
So Ledgewood Mall was right next to Roxbury Mall - just a train track splitting the two in half. Rt 10 was the main road - 2 lanes each direction, divided roadway (which lead to one of the most dangerous traffic circles on the east coast! Traffic OUTSIDE the circle had right of way!).
So there was Ledgewood Mall, a small shopping mall, and Roxbury Mall - similar in size but just a strip mall (and Cinema 10 was there - movie theater). Both accessed via Rt 10. Busy road. The Roxbury Mall had a small service road at the back - Rider Rd. This was the traffic free way to enter the mall. Around 1980 or so this road was paved. Then around 1982, it was extended over the railroad tracks to connect the Roxbury Mall to the Ledgewood Mall via that back road.
Roxbury Mall expanded like crazy, opening a second building - another strip mall, but square shaped. Circuit City moved from the Ledgewood Mall to that new building at the Roxbury Mall. The two malls were always competing.
But that part of NJ was no stranger to shopping malls, and as mentioned a mere 10 miles away was a very large shopping mall - the Rockaway Mall. 2 levels and probably 5x as big as Ledgewood Mall. You’d go to Ledgewood for small stuff, but you’d go to Rockaway to go shopping.
Do you happen to remember the HO HO Chinese restaurant? Can’t remember if it was at Ledgewood or Roxbury mall. It was great memories for me
I deliver there every week! I can’t believe you’re in my area! PLEASE do the Fishkill Mall next!
im a huge fan of dead mall videos, but this one hit home really hard. i grew up going to the ledgewood mall -- im 19 now, so ive been going there all my life. i remember when it was full of stores (circuit city taking up 2 spaces next to walmart, furniture store, the dollar store, radio shack, fashion bug, the artwork frame store, music den, when ashley's was introduced, hallmark, payless, b&bw, etc) and i remember always seein the mall decorated for christmas and race from marshall's to walmart and eating pizza and then having a small trip to macy's before it closed and overall having so much fun in that mall; i have so many memories at this place. i remember when macy's left the mall and even when demolition started since i worked at spirit halloween that took up the vacant sports authority and every night i saw that empty macy's space and eventually the pile of dust it became. it was so insane to see inside the demolition site, so thank you for that. i've always known this mall was in doom -- heck i even remember for an art club project we were sent to this mall to paint the windows on vacant stores to make the mall more lively -- but seeing your video and seeing the mall gutted really hit me. ive heard the mall wants to open a few different types of stores to replace macy's and try to bring life back to this dead place but nothing has happened yet. thank you so much for this video; ive been waiting for someone to give me a deeper look and a deeper history into this mall i grew up with.
also in that room you went into that was dark and had the black mold, was that next to ashley's furniture? i find it odd that there was what seemed to be dressing rooms there since radio shack was the last store to be next to ashley's
I have so many memories of Ledgewood Mall. My first job was there at Marshalls and I later worked at the Circuit City when they had their grand opening. It's a damn shame what happened to that mall. They used to have an arcade, which was always so cool to me as a kid having an arcade 5 minutes from my house. Spent many Friday nights there growing up. So many great memories in that place. It's a pile of rubble now. RIP Ledgewood Mall. Thanks for an amazing video.
I just found your channel and its great! I worked in this mall back in 1979 at a store called Arthur's Jewelers and Distributors. Thanks for memories
I found your videos looking for something to watch on a sick day-OMG these are wonderful! The history, your narration, and those retro commercials (that damn crispy cereal clown-eek)…excellent. Thx for documenting these places!
Thank you so much April!! Tons more to come!!!
At the beginning of this video I was like "Nice Pond." Then I took a second glance and noticed the parking lot markers at the bottom and my reaction was like ".....oh. okay." lol Anyway, your mall exploration videos are pretty good.
i grew up there left 25y ago 52y old now. and i said "i dont remember any lake there" when i saw it ...lol lol lol.
I live 5 minutes away from this mall. They actually made the Walmart a Super Walmart and it’s so nice. A lot bigger than it used to be. And construction began about a year ago to make this a strip mall. I believe Starbucks is one of the stores they’ll be adding.
This mall has been dead for years, I went there as a kid once or twice but not too many memories from it. I did go to another dead mall in Phillipsburg called the Phillipsburg Mall, you should check that one out.
I grew up with this mall and these past three years I've lived in Phillipsburg. That's definitely a dead mall.
Phillipsburg is super dead. I also released a video for it not too long ago!
wow so many great memories as a kid... my father and i god rest his sole would go on our way while mom went on hers. we would go to game land the arcade. many memories there with Santa and the boat show. the big round fountains lol i can go on and on thanks agian for this
Thanks for this video.
I grew up up the road in Hopatcong, and spent a lot of time at the Ledgewood Mall. I got photos and breakfast with Santa at Grants. My brother and I could never figure out why there was a Channel across the parking lot from Rickels. I always got a slice at the always present pizza place. I spent way, way to many quarters at the arcade.
And the stores. Oh, the always revolving store fronts. It did seem like if you hadn't been there for a few weeks some store you liked closed and a new one popped up. Forget the weather; wait five minutes and a new store would be opening up at the Ledgewood Mall.
I went back to NJ this summer and was sad to see it's all gone. I've got a lot of fond memories. And I wish you'd gotten there before it was being demolished. I think your video would have been more fun and interesting. Not by much, but just a little...
I lived in NJ when I was a kid we went there a lot but a lot of people prefer Rockaway mall.
Many a childhood Saturday’s spent here at their arcade.
Love your work. It's incredible how you put all your heart into the every little detail and all the research you provide. Love that you insert a mall commercial or add music to make it sound like it's broadcasting thru the retro mall PA system, totally takes us back to its former glory and hey day! Where do you find all this awesome '80s synthesizer background music..?? Makes me feel like I'm a kid again when it was the former EPCOT Center in Disney. Similar sounds for sure. So cool, Thank you.
Nice job Sal...love the history you provide in your videos 👍✌
This is awesome!!
Love the videos bro especially the research and planning that goes into these. This one is only about 15 minutes from where I grew up and was always empty as long as I can remember -- going back to when Jamesway was there along with some random 5 and 10 department store next to it. I never knew how it stayed open and the stores that were open were mostly no-name deals. I was a bit of an urban explorer when I was younger, before the days of HD video and cell phone cameras so a lot of it was never documented before it was gone forever. I got through the Seaview Square Mall in Ocean Twp, NJ (off Route 35) in the early 2000s as it was in the process of being demolished (also all unlocked...) Oddly enough the road is still named Seaview Square Mall Drive even though the mall was razed 15 years ago only leaving the standalone anchors. I have some grainy 35mm photos of it (including another abandoned security SUV) but nothing to the level of these videos. Another project on landfill was built near the site and all of the stores were closed within 3 years due to structural issues. Funny how the same mistakes were made over and over. Keep up the good work!
Phillipsburg Mall is up next!
Look forward to it, I binge watched most of these already! Can't leave photo comments on here but I'd be glad to forward the photos I got of SSQ if you have an e-mail for this channel -- another mall with a long and tenuous history if you can use them for anything or as filler to an earlier era. Things got so bad for this mall that their signage and ad campaign was literally "We're open, pass the word..." lol
Come join the discord server and share! You’ll find a link in the description of my recent work!
Can't wait Sal!!! It's gonna be awesome!
Ryan Crooker I 100% agree. 😀
The way Sal presents these videos is amazing. They bring me right back to growing up in the 80's and early 90's with the commercials, music, the neon etc. The warmth it brings is just fantastic.
@@ryancrooker2074
Sal also has a knack for picking out interesting commercials.
I grew up around there in Jefferson twp. Long history with that mall. My wife worked at Macy’s until it closed we got some stuff from Macy’s when it closed. Sal you should check out the rockaway mall not too far from there.
But why would he want to check out a mall that's booming with business? His network only covers malls that don't have life to them anymore. Rockaway's got another 50 years on it probably.
You are very professional at what you do keep it up man:)
Hey thanks! Lots more coming very soon :)
Sal Awesome looking forward to it
I think the pile of pebbly stuff around 8:50 might be vermiculite insulation, which was used loose in attics and the like. The mall was definitely built before the various construction bans. Disturbed asbestos, another reason to get out of that room!
Great Video sal. This video was awesome and fun to watch. I really enjoyed it. 😀👍❤️
Grew up shopping there and remember it booming. Then it was vacant for years.
See you in 8hrs sal. This is gonna be fun. I’m looking forward to this video 😀👍❤️
Sal You did not disappoint! Awesome job!
So eerie to be in the active demo zone, fascinating but sad at the same time. Another entertaining expedition!
Kind of an update for you. Since I'm 5 miles from Ledgewood. The Wal-Mart shut down in April. Wal-Mart and the mall except for Marshall's and Ashley Furniture. Wal-Mart is being rebuilt into a true Super center. The rest is being rebuilt up into a strip mall. Five Below and a few other stores have already been announced. The old Ledgewood Mall has lots of childhood memories especially Jamesway. Rickles was were Ashley and Marshall's are now.
So the entire enclosed area is gone now?
Yes it's all gone besides the concrete piles of rubble. From what I was told before Wal-Mart closed by a manager was the plan is to have it rebuilt by April 2020. If we have a winter like last year I can see it taking longer.
Cant wait this is going to be awesome especially an abandon mall
I wish I could buy those huge flower pots from the mall :/ lol. I live in that town
Man, I am going to miss this mall. I remember when Circuit City was converted to a Halloween store.
Used to shop at Ledgewood, it had been dying for a very long time. Looking forward to the video. Check out Wayne Hills Mall, it's an abandoned gem in Wayne, NJ
RIP Wayne Hills Mall, my childhood ❤
Thank you Sal, interesting video on the mall's history. Except for a run of prosperity in the 90s and 2000s the mall struggled throughout most of its existence. Ledgewood is approximately 45 miles west of Manhattan at the outer edge of suburban North Jersey. NJ 10 which runs by the mall is more of a commuter highway than it is a major highway. Interstate 80 the major east-west highway is approximately 3 miles away. A major regional mall, the Rockaway Townsquare Mall is approximately 10 miles away. As I recall, the Ledgewood Mall was set back from the highway along NJ 10. I could be mistaken but I do not think much promotion in local/regional media was ever done and there were many other large malls (Short Hills, Bridgewater Commons, Willowbrook) relatively nearby which drew shoppers. Since 2000 a number of big box retailers opened up in western Morris County. All of the factors listed above, along with continuous turnover in retailers are what I suspect led to the mall's ultimate demise.
Unfortunately, the Rockaway Mall isn't doing that great right now. We lost the Sears and Lord and Taylor. And COVID didn't help matters. So many small stores left too.
Awesome video! Love the glimpse of the Circuit City logo!
I remember going by here to work on Black Friday. They had to have police directing traffic.
Also Ledgewood was one of the biggest hit during the 2008 stock market collapse. Many stores closed over night and the town is only recovering now.
Good video. Thanks for filming.
Great video as always ! Greetings from Holland
That's bad how in only a few short years a mall would just die. I like the vintage Wal-Mart logo. Sad to see a mall in that state. Thank you for the awesome content. Ace sent me.
The ghost of Deb's women's clothing is in that dark creepy store room and you can hear the Spice Girls playing! Lol
Wow you came across some cool demo workers. Thanks to them for letting you explore the demo zone.
I've lived about 25 minutes from this mall for most of my life. I remember going there when I was a kid in the 1980s, when my parents would go to Arthur's, and just felt how depressing the mall was. Jamesway was sort of a lower-tiered store, kind of the way Walmart is to Target, but worse. I frequented the music store, Radio Shack, the hobby store, and even have memories of Rickel's tube tester kiosk that sat by their entrance. There were a couple of small restaurants there, one of them was a sit-down pizza place. When the remodel happened, it was a welcome change. But it only marginally and temporarily brought things up. There was a slight surge, but then so many stores went vacant and it progressed downhill from there. A couple of years ago, my wife was working just up Route 10 in that area and would go to Macy's, as it was convenient and close, but complained about how small that store was. I can't remember a flagship store that came and went so quickly. The outer stores like Sports Authority didn't last long either. I think the downfall really began when Circuit City close up.
BTW, Get Plastered was one of those store where you could paint ceramics and then have them fired. Birthday parties and stay-at-home mom's frequented that place.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Keep up the great work.
I went there as an 80s kid too. game land with my dad :)
Ah - Luigi’s Pizza, wasn’t it? Across from the Hallmark Store. I had many an after soccer season party there.
In the 80s we used to go to a Chinese place called HO HO, but I can’t remember if it was in this mall or the Roxbury Mall
When that Stern’s opened... boy that was fancy. I still have a sweater i bought there. 20ish years old? It’s now in my pajama rotation. This mall was dying in the 90s already.
Thank you.. well done
Good commentary, very well done!
I live in roxbury and i remember going to this mall a lot with friends. Luckily they are reopening the mall and more construction is going on at the moment
Get plastered was a ceramics shop. I took “ceramic lessons” there, if that’s a thing.
great as always.. music great intro the best!
just had flashbacks of recent trip to PA with all the dang toll roads. dont want to make that drive again think we will just fly.
The mall (according to a few local sources) is going to be rebuilt and the Walmart will be a super store.
I live right down the road. I was always here as a kid when it was still active and dare I say busy. It was so sad to see it attract less and less people as the years went by. I knew when bath and body works left it was doomed LOL. Right now it is being replaced by a new mall with an ulta, Starbucks, stuff like that and even a brand new Walmart. Hopefully it'll take off because the crowds at Rockaway are just too much for some of us, especially holiday time!!
17:43 Music of L.V Beethoven .... used with the artists permission....(grin)...obtained by channeling i presume..:) Much love Sal.....i seriously love your videos and appreciate all the reasearch that goes into giving these places a voice....
In the 80s I used to go with my family to a Chinese place called HO HO. Can’t remember if it was in this mall or the Roxbury mall
l was raised walking distance from here. So many childhood memories from this place.
That place was always the bastard step sibling of the Rockaway mall. The last time I was in there four years ago it was creepy, very dawn of the dead vibe.
Sal, Always carry two items, a multi tool and a flashlight.
Great advice...this Expedition was early on, and many who have since explored with me can confirm that I come fully equipped now :)
Multipass??
That guy was really cool taking you around what was left. It’s shocking to see the extent of collapse in the bricks-and-mortar stores are rapidly being levelled. I’m going to see if I can send you a video of the third phase of Oxford’s Westgate Mall, in addition to the High Street and Cornmarket Street’s winners and losers.
Sal, another impressive --- and sad -- video of the realities of U.S. retailing today (in brick and mortar).
Last time I was there was early 2017. I knew it's fate and was terribly saddened as I walked through one last time.
Great job Sal. That back room was beyond creepy, looks like maybe a biohazard
Thanks Mimsy ❤️
Update**construction is almost complete for a new shopping area!!
All construction has stopped at the mall no signs of any work going on. It all most looks like the plans are dead. I live a few miles from it. Its weird
Sal, I still feel Circuit City is my all time favorite NASCAR Sponsor. Lowkey, I still wished Hut Stricklin delivered the Southern 500 for Stavola Brothers (Also New Jersey Based, too) and Tim Steele never got hurt (Would Have been more GOAT than Jimmie Johnson), but, Highkey, the Chain fell apart before it could come to my Homestanding Cedar Rapids (I doubt Stranger Things would have played well on our Frontchannels, but, that would be the take everything seriously of my more conservative era elders), and they are the real life Winfred Louder. Ledgewood was the High Character Starter, and helped keep commerce safe and a lot of your malls would be the Mall of America/Edmonton Mall/St. Louis Union Station of their town, and I always think XMas Stuff being stocked away would be a sign of a Lively Mall after the Holiday Season, and I'd feel happier if my Wild West (Westdale) would be true to developing a Small Town like Center, and it wouldn't substitute for a 2nd Mall in My Home Town.
It could be repurposed as an affordable senior housing area...self contained; restaurants open areas to walk, you could break down the open areas for senior suites. With nursing homes being ridiculously expensive; an affordable option would be nice to save this amazing place
Good imformative video :)
i went and looked at footage from 2010 to see what that creepy moldy room was, and it was even closed off then. i would say it was closed off for a very long time
If your ever in Birmingham AL check out the,, Riverchase galleria ,,it has been remodeled, ,but it has alot of sky light built in 1986
Sal, I coin you "The King of Abandoned series, for you take your passion of these once thriving venues that are in danger of bust to totally dead silent very seriously. Plus you are a true best retail mall historian. You should make another visit to Cincinnati, OH. to
film Tri- County Mall, I (Springdale) which has ALSO fallen victim to such vacancies. I'd even go to the Main Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to obtain copies @ The Tri-County Mall in it's early heydey to submit to you.
Wow, this is so sad,
-Part Of Parking Lot is Flooded
-It’s Gone
-It has so much History