It’s location by the Wisconsin-Illinois border and most of its anchor tenants being discount/outlet stores helps it weather the downturn in malls in general.
Yeah it was good to see the 2nd food court almost fully occupied again. When I was there earlier it was mostly dead. With the exception of the far end by Floor Décor this mall has very few vacant stores.
Agreed, My last job in that mall before moving to florida was store manager / Computer tech @ Cyber Arena next to rinkside. I think that was in 2012? The mall was so dead I think at that point rinkside had just closed down the Icerink as well. For the longest time no one would every walk passed rinkside once JCpennys went out of business all the small stores on that end of the mall went out of business but some how we were still making money.
I remember this place when I was out of basic training back in 2001. They had this really cool reptile store there, serpent safari, right across from the rain forest cafe. Heard it got closed back in 2012, sad I never got to go back to this place
You could always tell when basic was done when the mall filled up with all of you guys and gals that had money to blow before shipping off to other locations! lol I worked many jobs in this mall growing up in the early 2000s
I remember the reptile store! Me and my sister have cute pictures of us as toddlers with a huge snake there. It closed a some point within the last 10 years unfortunately.
Dude I remember this! When I was super little my mom took me here and I seen the big snake hanging from the branche outside of rainforest cafe and I begged for her to let me have a pet snake. She said she would if I could actually touch one (cause she knew I wouldn't) and turned and took me into the reptile shop. They brought out a big yellow snake for me to touch and I got too scared, so I did not get a snake LMAO
I filmed here a few months ago and it is quite a walk i agree. It has changed over the years. I remember what the place looked like when it opened back in 91
I still have Sega Genesis and NES cases that say "Funcoland" on them. Oh, yeah, I also still have functioning Sega Genesis and NES game systems. Have had them since the 80's.
I remember that the layout of the mall was hailed as "Main Street Style", the purpose was that all stores had equal exposure. The designers did not want any dead end "wings" where stores would be ignored. Thanks for the video!
I worked many places in this mall growing up. If you knew where to walk you could walk from one end of the mall to the other in a couple of minutes by using the walkways behind the stores, walking outside and into the next door to the walk way behind the stores. Security would rarely stop anyone walking in or out of them and I still do it when I visit the mall although its been years.
These Mills Malls were a sight to see in the 90's. Simon finally bleached our Houston area Katy Mills mall and took all of the color out of the mall interior. The crazy thing is that the bathrooms and hallways leading to the bathrooms were not touched after the rest of the interior was finished. The bathrooms needed renovations badly, not the mall corridors.
I still love this mall even though a lot of stores closed here. I remember it be so big that I got lost in there as a kid lol. Fun times. I also love the fact you used Giorgio Moroder's Midnight Express theme.
I graduated bootcamp in 2004 and went to the mall the first day I arrived to my A school. I was there for a few months, so I went there quite a few times, they had shuttles that drove you there.
Me and my friends go here a lot, we live in southern wisconsin with a mall that just died in our town (regency iykyk) im glad i got to learn some history on it :)
I used to work at the mall at that mall when it first opened up it was killer then it from what I see that you posted it's still doing really well it makes me happy that this mall is not falling to the wayside like many other malls someday I will return to do some shopping there I may be a lot older but it'll still be a great experience it was in the past and it still should be in the future thank God that it still lives!
Correction: Hawthorn Mall actually killed Lakehurst Mall. It opened long before Gurnee Mills Mall opened. I am born and raised in Waukegan, too. Saddened to see Lakehurst Mall close down. Although I like both malls, I have so many great memories of Lakehurst.
I remember that. the mall was pretty dead at that point but they also wanted nothing to do with paintballing. I am assuming that place was being charged an insane amount of rent I remember that paintball place being extremely overpriced.
This mall is just west of the Six Flags theme park in Gurnee. It was intended to piggyback on that attraction, and it did. While not as good as it was in the 90's, it does still draw people.
I loved this mall. The ceiling made me feel like I was in a giant warehouse. Back then they used to play country music cuz it was a mainly white mall but over the years I’ve heard all typa hip hop songs play throughout it lol. Also the young men from the navy base used to almost always be walking around there in packs.
Anybody remember the barn in the ceiling of the mall with the farmer that would pop out? Does anybody have any information on what he would do?
He'd annoyingly ride through the ceiling of the mall on some tracking thing, shouting out programmed advertisements, if I remember correctly.
Robert Komen thank you!
@@midwesterror I was going to mention this. I wish they would bring it back!
Yes! My cousins and I loved that little dude! Lol
I miss that so bad. I think they removed it a while back. It used to be right next to the arcade which I’m not sure is even there anymore
The mall that gave me my first jobs, first dates, homecoming dresses and so on. What I look forward to most when visiting home! 😂💜♥️
this mall is trash and the whole state including Chicago is trash. SoCal is way better.
This place was dying for a while. It's cool it's lively again.
Agreed. It at one point seemed slowly fading. The updates to spruce the place up helped.
It’s location by the Wisconsin-Illinois border and most of its anchor tenants being discount/outlet stores helps it weather the downturn in malls in general.
Yeah it was good to see the 2nd food court almost fully occupied again. When I was there earlier it was mostly dead. With the exception of the far end by Floor Décor this mall has very few vacant stores.
It never died 😭 I’ve been going there for 14 years and it’s always packed
Agreed, My last job in that mall before moving to florida was store manager / Computer tech @ Cyber Arena next to rinkside. I think that was in 2012? The mall was so dead I think at that point rinkside had just closed down the Icerink as well. For the longest time no one would every walk passed rinkside once JCpennys went out of business all the small stores on that end of the mall went out of business but some how we were still making money.
I remember this place when I was out of basic training back in 2001. They had this really cool reptile store there, serpent safari, right across from the rain forest cafe. Heard it got closed back in 2012, sad I never got to go back to this place
You could always tell when basic was done when the mall filled up with all of you guys and gals that had money to blow before shipping off to other locations! lol I worked many jobs in this mall growing up in the early 2000s
Omg I remember that!!!!! Wowowow memory unlocked !
I remember the reptile store! Me and my sister have cute pictures of us as toddlers with a huge snake there. It closed a some point within the last 10 years unfortunately.
Dude I remember this! When I was super little my mom took me here and I seen the big snake hanging from the branche outside of rainforest cafe and I begged for her to let me have a pet snake. She said she would if I could actually touch one (cause she knew I wouldn't) and turned and took me into the reptile shop. They brought out a big yellow snake for me to touch and I got too scared, so I did not get a snake LMAO
This place is still popping! Christmas time you can’t get any parking. Yeah there’s are stabbing a here and there but the selection is still 🔥🤣
I filmed here a few months ago and it is quite a walk i agree. It has changed over the years. I remember what the place looked like when it opened back in 91
It evolved nicely. Hope it keeps up.
In the early 90s, this mall had a Funcoland store which was like Gamestop before Gamestop. It was always a treat to be there as a kid.
I still have Sega Genesis and NES cases that say "Funcoland" on them. Oh, yeah, I also still have functioning Sega Genesis and NES game systems. Have had them since the 80's.
@@richardm3023 they were made to last!
Man so many memories!! I remember going to this mall all the time with my mom!!
I love this mall so much. It might be because I grew up 10 minutes away as a teen and lived here on the weekends lol
This mall killed Lakehurst Mall in Waukegan, and I forever resented it for that reason.
I also worked at a store at Gurnee Mills called The Music Recyclery. I got paid 5.75 an hour to recase CDs in the back room, ah to be 16 again...lol.
Were you the tall blonde long hair thats that ring the bell.....
@@joserosario7565 nah, curly brown hair and worked in the back room so no customers ever saw me.
But you know who am I talking about, right?
@@joserosario7565 doesn't ring a bell sorry. :/
I remember that the layout of the mall was hailed as "Main Street Style", the purpose was that all stores had equal exposure. The designers did not want any dead end "wings" where stores would be ignored. Thanks for the video!
The layout of the mall was also part of their walking selling point. You can walk the entire mall in 17 minutes.
I worked many places in this mall growing up. If you knew where to walk you could walk from one end of the mall to the other in a couple of minutes by using the walkways behind the stores, walking outside and into the next door to the walk way behind the stores. Security would rarely stop anyone walking in or out of them and I still do it when I visit the mall although its been years.
I worked at one of the A&Ws 92-99. The mall was always crowded on rainy days from all the people from Six Flags down the road.
thank you for doing this 👍🏼❤️
Thanks hun.
I remember me and my mom went the first weekend they opened. It was intense. They literally had EVERYTHING. It also seemed endless.
I enjoy watching your videos! I'm from Racine so it's fun to watch you tour some of the local places in the area. Take care!
Thanks for watching all of my videos. I am from the area to so Chicago is a huge stay.
These Mills Malls were a sight to see in the 90's. Simon finally bleached our Houston area Katy Mills mall and took all of the color out of the mall interior. The crazy thing is that the bathrooms and hallways leading to the bathrooms were not touched after the rest of the interior was finished. The bathrooms needed renovations badly, not the mall corridors.
Simon has a thing for whiter interiors but that's common with the newer developments.
I still love this mall even though a lot of stores closed here. I remember it be so big that I got lost in there as a kid lol. Fun times. I also love the fact you used Giorgio Moroder's Midnight Express theme.
You should do a video of pleasant prairie in Kenosha WS. If I travel this far north, I usually visit both places.
I used to hit up the KB Toys in that strip back in the day, next to Nike Town.
The first and last time I was there was when I graduated from Navy boot camp in March of 2005.
I graduated bootcamp in 2004 and went to the mall the first day I arrived to my A school. I was there for a few months, so I went there quite a few times, they had shuttles that drove you there.
I remember when they had a Ferris wheel there and me and my cousins would ride it
Me and my friends go here a lot, we live in southern wisconsin with a mall that just died in our town (regency iykyk) im glad i got to learn some history on it :)
Wow, Simon changed the look from the Tinkertoy school of architecture it had last time I was there!
I went there once when visiting my sister in Racine. All I remember is the Bass Pro Shop, only one I ever saw.
I used to work at the mall at that mall when it first opened up it was killer then it from what I see that you posted it's still doing really well it makes me happy that this mall is not falling to the wayside like many other malls someday I will return to do some shopping there I may be a lot older but it'll still be a great experience it was in the past and it still should be in the future thank God that it still lives!
Midnight Express theme at the beginning
I worked at this mall in 93 and 95-96. I always thought it looked cheap compared to Lakehurst, Hawthorne(I also worked there), and Regency.
I havent been here in yearrrrrrrrsssss lol wanted to get some nostalgia and this vid helped lol
Breaks my heart that Rink side is gone and I’m still kicking myself for saving up 900 arcade tickets and And not turning them in
I remember dream shots 🙂
I go to that mall. Whenever my family wants to go there.
Concord Mills in Concord NC used to have all hardwood floors but they took about all of them out.
What a shame. Hardwood flooring is what most places would want to replace too.
I’ve been here ❤🎉
I like the mall a lot the only thing is that it took down Lakehurst Mall in Waukegan Illinois. I was born and raised in Waukegan Illinois.
Correction: Hawthorn Mall actually killed Lakehurst Mall. It opened long before Gurnee Mills Mall opened. I am born and raised in Waukegan, too. Saddened to see Lakehurst Mall close down. Although I like both malls, I have so many great memories of Lakehurst.
i love this place
Gurnee! I used to live there!
Who remembers the sports authority that got taken over by the paintball area
I bought my first firearm there in '93. I think its Dick's Sporting Goods now.
I remember that. the mall was pretty dead at that point but they also wanted nothing to do with paintballing. I am assuming that place was being charged an insane amount of rent I remember that paintball place being extremely overpriced.
A lady set the bathroom on fire there in March.
This mall is just west of the Six Flags theme park in Gurnee. It was intended to piggyback on that attraction, and it did. While not as good as it was in the 90's, it does still draw people.
Navy recruits keep that mall alive...
This mall was featured in the movie "Dawn Of The Dead" I've been here before.
Really. Didnt know that. Thanks for watching.
@@UrbexAPeakInside Your welcome! 😀
You should do Great Lakes Crossing Mall in Michigan next
Can you tell me a little bit more about that place I've never been there before since im from Wisconsin.
Great video
Thanks for watching!
All my A School Navy Vets know all about this mall 🤣
Nice video but this place is a dive compared to how it use to be. The crowd is trashy and there are very few high quality stores there.
Your accent, it's not a Chicago accent are you from Wisconsin or possibly Minnesota?
Wisconsin.
@@UrbexAPeakInside Wow, I have that exact accent & I'm from GA...
I didn't know Simon had over 300 properties.
I was expecting George noorey to pop up lol
Me too!
Do they have a Garrett's Popcorn near there
i was in the video 4:24 left
What song is that when the video starts
Gurnee Mills..Amy Hanna..run domicile.. prescription..the brothers Grimm..🧙💤💤🌹
Going tmrw
All thanks to Timmer 74
Tim Allen..run outdoor world.. prescription..the brothers Grimm..🧙💤💤💤🌹
My dad’s the mant
It's weird that I've been to this mall, I'm nowhere near that shithole state.
Bath and Body works Pierre Bertram..soap maker..the brothers Grimm..🧙💤💤💤🌹
How many of the storez where open sor
Most of them except maybe 3 or 4.
I had my first kiss at the movie theaters back in 91! LOL Awe I miss it! When miss doubtfire came out!
U old af
Victoria secret run by Victoria secret..all locations..the brothers Grimm..🧙💤💤💤🌹
this look like malaysian mall
Do you have any Social media accounts
I have a facebook group "Urbex a Peak Inside"
You talk up in pitch at the end of nearly every phrase and it drives me crazy
I loved this mall. The ceiling made me feel like I was in a giant warehouse. Back then they used to play country music cuz it was a mainly white mall but over the years I’ve heard all typa hip hop songs play throughout it lol. Also the young men from the navy base used to almost always be walking around there in packs.