Cottonwood Mall: Is It A Dead Mall? | Retail Archaeology
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- Опубликовано: 11 янв 2025
- In this episode we take a look at Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque, NM to find out if the reviews are true about it being a dead mall.
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Special thanks to Pascal Schnyder for the help with the intro 🙂 Also don't forget to visit the Retail Archaeology merch shop: teespring.com/stores/retail-archaeology
Nope
Sears is closing in the Louis mall in Joliet they're going to make it to Apartments now restaurants where Sears used to be and a hotel and stuff like that to keep the mall going
I live 3hrs from that mall I've been to that mall in 2014
You're a big fan of Neo Turf Masters is see (or hear I guess). I kept hearing "On the green!" in my head while watching this video.
Love that intro!!
The problem with Cottonwood was it was built to serve the growing community of Rio Rancho but the 2008 economic disaster stopped expansion in the area and so everything shifted back to center Albuquerque and everyone goes to Coronado or Winrock.
Obama...
I actually avoid Coronado and Winrock and Uptown for that matter.
@@dickhead9214 I'm not American, so I've no political aliegance one way or the other, but didn't the Obama admisitration inherit the financial debt from previous goverments deregulation of the financial sector (Bush and Clinton included)?
@@johnd8726 Yes, he did. It was already a thing when he took office.
Dude nobody goes to winrock
Nice clean mall!
I chuckled when there's a Game Stop right above that video game mom and pop store. 😀
The first time I stopped here -- about the same time that this video was recorded! -- I got a good laugh out of that, too.
Good competition
Unfortunately they had to close. This was my favorite local game store, it’s a shame they aren’t around anymore. Even had a store in the next town over with equally great stuff
I'm so happy you did a video at my Mall! When I was little way before the mall was built. The property had abandoned runways from the old airport. Locals would bring their R/C airplanes to the old runways and fly them.
I was in middle school when this Mall opened up. I spent lots of evenings walking the mall with friends when i was in high school. I saw lots of movies at the UA theater. My high school sweetheart, now my husband used to work at Spencer's gifts in 99'-01' when Spencer's used to occupy a larger store on the second level. There was never a Montgomery Ward's at this mall. Sears was always Sears until they close in September 2018. The only Montgomery Ward's we had in Albuquerque was in the Coronado Mall, which close once Montgomery Ward's went bankrupt. Thank you for the kind words and I hope that this mall never dies. I'm planning on going there tomorrow, to do some Xmas shopping. 😀
I do have to disagree with you, I did grow up here (and still live here) and the Sears spot was a Montgomery Wards. My parents bought several things from Montgomery Ward's while it's still was open, and I can still remember the old Montgomery Ward's store itself and some of the merchandise that it sold.
Lisa Herman do u know when they built cibola high school cause people say it used to be jail of prison or something??
@@masonk1991 I agree too
@@masonk1991 Yeah, Montgomery Wards was in this mall for a decent while. It was an anchor from opening till it closed up after a few years.
Montgomery Wards was at Winrock mall
A video game store that isn't Walmart or game stop? That is s cool!
It's sad that store is closed now though, I loved it
Sadly, it's gone now. As it stands, we only have three well-known local video games stores left in Albuquerque. (two of which aren't very welcoming.)
I actually grew up going to Cottonwood Mall, but Coronado Mall is a lot nicer now. Also, they Film a lot of movies there. For example Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Odd Thomas, and the ep 1 opening scene of Better Call Saul.
Are you saying this mall is where they film the Cinnabon scenes on Better Call Saul?
@@meevil24 yeah that's the scene.
@@meevil24 Yeah, the Cinnabon at Coronado Mall. Cottonwood Mall (featured in this video) is not the film location.
@@thefwopah So the BCS crew come every year to film the opening scene at the Coronado Cinnabon?
@@meevil24 Yep! They don't necessarily "come" here since the entire show is filmed here and in the area, but yeah - that's the Cinnabon. :)
If you go to winrock center in Albuquerque there’s a small section of the original 90s mall. It’s rife with water damage and has lots of overgrown plants and feels almost like a cave. It’s interesting because they’ve been remodeling so you have new strip mall style stores all around it but the center section still remains in decay.
I went in there a few months ago. I decided to rebuild the entire mall as it was in Minecraft interior and exterior
It even has a fucking Nordstrom next to it and it's still barren and empty in the main building lol. It's crazy.
You forgot to mention the fact that this mall is the filming location for all the black and white openers on AMCs Better Call Saul the spin-off to Breaking Bad. Bob Odenkirk has been in this mall few times now.
H.H. foxaddict the scene where they are mall walking with the elders from the Nursing home was filmed here was it not?
Something looked familiar about those railings and such
Gene's Cinnabon is here! The mall is pretending it's in Omaha NE
It also features heavily in the Netflix series Daybreak.
I live in Albuquerque and I would say some parts of the mall feel dead, but others parts are alive. The mall can be busy at times, you must have came at a quiet time.
The Escalators are broken like crazy there! I hate in the ones in the JC penny store! They never work and they don’t have stairs inside the store so you have to go on the broken escalators!
When escalators are broke, they become stairs.
Oh no, not stairs!
Dude I live here too but dude Cottonwood is always dead.
I live in Albuquerque as well, and honestly it's pretty cool, there's lots of thots so that's pretty rad
JCPenney does have an elevator you can use.
I live just a few minutes away from this mall and used to constantly visit it with my family as a kid. It's really interesting and refreshing to hear an "outsider" give their first impressions on these places. I never really thought twice about it. Thanks for visiting and sharing this video!
As someone who has spent a LOT of time in this mall over the years I can tell you there's a constant revolving door of new businesses which come and go with alarming regularity. Been that way for most of the mall's life, but westside ABQ and Rio Rancho residents love our little mall so I wouldn't say it's struggling and not likely to go anywhere any time soon.
I grew up going to this mall. Shame about the food court footage, the food court is fantastic. I think this mall used to have a sort of "upside-down" theme going throughout it, I seem to recall some of the tiles on the floor looked like clouds and they had various things hanging on the ceiling like upside-down skydiver mannequins. I think they might have got rid of some of that stuff, but it's still in full force in the food court. You'll find a massive sculpture of Albuquerque on the ceiling, complete with a light-up downtown, the Sandias, some upside-down air balloon lamps, and even a mini light-up Cottonwood Mall. What's really cool about it is it reflects the area in 1996, so you can see a ton of empty lots which have since been developed.
I'd also really appreciate if you could somehow capture a bit of the movie theater next time, as it was the only really nice movie theater in the area back in the day, so me and my friends (and probably most kids in the area) ended up there a lot when we were kids. It was called Starport and it used to be two parts: a massive Sega City arcade upstairs, and a movie theater downstairs. The arcade part had all kinds of crazy stuff, like some cutting-edge 3D virtual reality hang gliding games that I've been trying to hunt down for a while.
Sometime in the late '90s the arcade shut down but the movie theater stayed open, and it was like that for a very long time. There's this massive escalator right in the middle of the movie theater that leads up through this circular hole in the ceiling to the arcade part, and for years it was just this black abyss looming above you with the escalators blocked off. Last time I was there I seem to recall they had reopened the upstairs part and you could finally go up the escalators again, but I don't remember what was up there, just more theaters I think?
Anyway, great video!
Kulor Research Labs Inc. the upside down effect is still there and hasn’t changed.
Cottonwood Mall opened in 1995 and I was super excited because I was 9 years old and there were so many things in this mall that I LOVED! Albuquerque is my hometown, and I would love for you to visit again!!!
Is the mall still open??
@@mokiicustoms It is indeed! I go all the time and it is still pretty busy.
@@jacjac2010 thank you, i will plan to visit very soon then i hope the arcades are open!!
I was 17 in 1996. If I fly to Albuquerque and go to this mall, will I immediately be 17 again? Is that how it works?
Unfortunately no.
Sweet! I’d be 10 - worth a try mate
It doesnt work. You need the Zultan machine, put your quarter in then make a wish. I thought everyone knew that by now. Cheers
What I wouldn't give to be 11 again, right smack dab in the middle of the golden age of gaming.
Aha. I would’ve been -8 yrs
I live in Albuquerque and can tell you that this mall is definitely suffering. I do have to say that it is usually busier than what I see in this video. I really wish you could’ve shown the food court, especially the ceiling in that area. The Coronado Mall is where the heavy foot traffic is at in ABQ. There are literally 3 shopping malls on one street across from each other in uptown which are Coronado Center, Winrock Towncenter, and ABQ Uptown.
A few people there. Nobody spending. Nice shops and clean but not enough customers.
My childhood arcade was at a roller skating rink.
It was bulldozed. :(
I wish I could walk through it one more time.
Roller skating rink, drive ins. Kids today dont know what they missed out on. And you talked with people and played. Now everyobe stares at a cell screen hoping happiness. Good times
This use to be a very popular mall. I use to work at Old Navy here in 2008. It got much busier than this.
I also used to work at Cottonwood back then, & it really was extremely busy back then. Tons of foot traffic!
There was a Cottonwood Mall in Salt Lake City Utah. Opened in 1962 and thrived for decades till it started to die in 2000. Finally closed and was tore down in 2008. It had a lot of great places and was on of the premiere shopping experience.
In high school our choral class would go there. It had a tiered Christmas tree for the carolers. It was good times in the early 1970s.
These videos are SO cool! I stumbled upon one and now I’m watching a bunch of them. I haven’t been to this mall in a few years, sad to see it’s slowing down. Thanks for doing all the research & providing such cool interesting videos!
I’m really not sure if this mall should be considered dead or alive. It has plenty of big name retailers. But it also has some more bizarre sketchy stores. The vacant anchors also support the theory that this is a dead mall. My mall has a similar store to the pet store you pointed out. It’s actually a pretty big store and they moved to a larger store a few years back. Almost the entire storefront is full of windows facing the puppies and rabbits in the glass cages. There is always at least a dozen kids looking at the animals. They also have a parrot named Rocky that has been at the mall since the store first opened 40 years ago. The store always seems kind of empty though. As a pet owner, I feel bad for the poor animals confined to tiny cages as hundreds of people poke at them.
My one complaint with this video was the arcade footage. I know how much arcades and video games mean to you but I’d much rather see more mall footage rather than arcade footage. Another great video :)
This sounds like a typical mall/stripmall pet store in the 80s and early/mid 90s. For some reason, I don't see that type of pet store anymore. Sure, PetCo and Petsmart sells animals, but not in the same way.
Saw this video in my recommend and I’m so glad I watched it! It threw me way back! I grew up in a town next to albuquerque, which was Rio Rancho, and I would go to this mall quite often. I haven’t been back there in several years! But honestly I don’t remember much, as I was still pretty young. But I love Albuquerque and New Mexico because it was an amazing place to grow up in. I also remember ever single fall when so many hot air balloons scattered the sky.
8:16 - "other malls in the store." made me chuckle.
This was one of the malls I went to as a kid. I've been watching your channel for a while and I was surprised to see my local mall featured. I honstly thought it would be some other mall by the same name.
The food court, glass elevator, arcade (a now out of business arcade, not the ones shown), and candy store used to be my favorite. I remember as a kid there was once a display full of animatronic dinosaurs around where the elevator is, which I thought was amazing.
It doesn't look as busy as I remember it being, even recently, but I'm glad it isn't dead. It's too bad the food court footage didn't make it. The ceiling design in the food court at Cottonwood is amazing. You should check out winrock mall next time you're in Albuquerque. I remember it was on the brink of failure but they've been reviving it.
An I the only one disappointed he didnt realize this is the mall they film the Breaking Bad spin off "Better Call Saul"'s flash forward scenes at the beginning of every season? This is where Jimmy McGill's cinabon is :-)
I can’t get enough of your vids. Always interesting and full of nostalgia ... thank you for recording and sharing all that you do! Peace, kindness and good vibes
Omg I remember this mall like it was yesterday. I now live in Los Angeles but I spent many a high school afternoon at this mall back around 2005. I think they had an Abercrombie if I'm not mistaken. Soooo nostalgic.
Just visited this mall on 7/13/2022 and I can still it’s still alive and well with unusual anchors…Hobby Lobby for one lol but it’s still vibrant. Not like it was when I was kid (I lived in Santa Fe 1997-05 and went to UNN 2005-09) but it’s definitely the same interior on the inside.
BTW the X-Men arcade game is still there!!!😁😎
I also like the hot air balloon! I’m on the ‘on the edge of dying’ designation. The tortoises were crowded but I do like them. The game arcades were fantastic! Thanks mate!
I have a friend who lives in Albuquerque and every time I go to visit I like popping into Cottonwood. It's definitely a retro experience! And plus, the last time I happened to be there they were shooting at the Cinnabon for an episode of Better Call Saul, so that was a nice surprise!
I lived in Rio Rancho which neighbors this Alb. mall from 2014 to 2017. NM is a beautiful state but a very very poor state overall. Cottonwood mall is definitely circling the drain. Macy's closed in 2016 and now Sears. The writing is on the wall. Most people go over to the east side to shop at Coronado and the Q shopping center. Sad, but so glad to be out of NM.
Gday from Adelaide Australia my relatives live in Rio Rancho.Its beautiful little place Rio Rancho my cousin works at the local supercentre walmart
Omg wow. This brings back memories of my childhood from the 90s. This mall was awesome and loved going there. I loved going to the food court Bc of all the kool things hanging from ceiling. My mom worked in Foleys in 97. We would go to Barney’s(coffee shop) and get whatever cake we wanted. The 90s was a magical time to grow up in.
Awesone intro sequence. I love this background music, very 90 house vibs make me wanna dance . That game store is awesome. Another awesome Mall video.
I live just south of ABQ so I have been to this mall quite a bit, they also have the only Disney Store in the state. I can also confirm that this place hasn't been updated one bit since it opened. Thanks for the video!
3:14
The last time I’ve seen NES games was a little while ago, there is a mall near me that has two retro game stores. Both of them are more media than only video games but still it’s pretty cool to see.
Thank you SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO. I remember walking through this mall with my parents many times throughout my early childhood. So much nostalgia. The food court never changed! I teared up from the overwhelming nostalgia. I miss aesthetics from the 90’s and early 2000’s. The giant air balloon fascinated me as a child. I wish I could go back and experience it all over.
Oh wow, the nostalgia. I remember as I was growing up, my parents would always take me here almost every Saturday weekends. Back in 2007-2010, it was always packed. I would always walk to lots stores. But there was another mall that was more closer to home (Coronado Mall). That mall kept their appearance updated and it had strong attendance throughout the weekends as I've been living Albuquerque. They kept bringing in popular fashion stores, they brought in popular food chains, etc. That really made Cottonwood not as good anymore. However I still like it and hopefully they can have some type of resurgence. Thank you for bringing back great memories!
I live in Albuquerque and we goto this mall alot with our group and yes its kinda dead but it gets busy on the weekends.
You should have gone to winrock mall here in Albuquerque before it was updated! It was super dead... it was the mall you mentioned in the beginning of this video
I very much liked this mall when I lived in ABQ. Much more quiet than the others. They also added a small dog park in the parking lot lol, and they had a dog rescue within the mall as well. It was perfect for people who want to enjoy the mall experience (whatever that is) without the crowds.
Turtles are awesome. (Except Mitch McConnell.)
That hot air balloon way back in the day had tv's on the top of the basket with TV playing on mute
In our local mall, there used to be a game store called Play N Trade, and they sold everything; even Intellivision games, Atari games... they sold super retro, to super new. It was incredible. I'm so sad they closed though... I got an original Playstation and a Sega Genesis from there, as well as tons of old school games. They were all decently priced too; most Genesis games went for $2 and some even had the original packaging. We went there so often that they knew me by name lol. It was a great store with friendly staff who honestly loved video games. I really, really miss it. :c
That aside, I love your videos! They're so interesting to me and I love when you talk about the nostalgic things relating to the 90's, cause I grew up in the 90's and it brings back memories! Great videos! ♥
The mall in my city is opening a massive arcade, bar, ice cream parlour, and bowling alley--all in the same part. (It might already be open, since when I last went there, the workers were cleaning the windows and putting on finishing touches.) It looked like all modern stuff, like a Luigi's Mansion arcade version, and oddly enough, this new area is open til 2 AM every day. The rest of the mall closes at 8 or 9. It's going to be interesting, for sure.
Our dead K-Mart is going to be a "Rail Yard" entertainment center which sounds just like what you described plus a Roadhouse movie theater where you can have dinner brought to your seat. It's in an older area so I figured it would sit abandoned for years. Guess not!
We have two malls and one of them converted yet another dead K-Mart into a massive theater and it saved the mall. (Although I suspect they'll be losing their Sears soon.) The other mall has had a huge empty Macy's for a decade and they could have had a similar theater conversion but for some reason whoever owns the old Macy's turned it down. So the mall's dying a slow & painful death.
I was born and raised in Albuquerque and moved out in like 2004. This was my favorite place as a child, it was so magical
1:59 Ah that Neo Turf Masters music... Though, the Germany track is the best one. This mall seems pretty neat, though of all the games to have on an MVS cab, why World Heroes?!
I really love the look of this mall. That 90s vibe is off the charts! Excellent video! Please revisit this place sometime. I'd love to see more.
Haha love the Mitch Hedberg joke. 👍. There used to be a Huge Arcade on the top level where the second level of the Regal Theater is at that mall.
I live like 5 miles from here. This mall opened when i was a senior in hs. The anchor store on the north end used to be a Foley's. Also when the mall first opened, above the movie theater it was a huge Sega City arcade, but it closed within a year or so. You should have come on a weekday evening, that's when its super quiet and lonely.
Sega City...ah the memories
This place reminded me so much of what the Chapel Square mall in New Haven, CT was like before it was gone. Also what the CT Post Mall was like in the 90s. I wish there was a mall like this near me.
Cottonwood was a great mall in it's prime, but I'm afraid those days are over. ABQ's westside continues to explode in growth, but people just aren't going to malls for their retail needs (especially now with the pandemic). I do appreciate that the mall does have a pretty nice dog park actually in the parking lot, surrounded by trees and with a nice covered shelter area. The movie theater has been updated recently with comfy recliners. The food court, however, is nothing special. Thanks for the video!
It's been a while since I've been because I haven't been to Albuquerque in a while but I always like going there. If you are ever down the I-10 in West Texas and want to see a mall stuck in the 90's and is seeing a slow death, you should check out the Sunland Park Mall. It's pretty unique looking. Giant tent things outside, pink marble everywhere, white horse statues throughout. It's sad that mall was the last indoor mall built in El Paso and kind of fancy at the time. It once had an organ that would be played live near the food court and a kids train. I was there a few weeks ago for it's Sears liquidation sale, it was so surreal not only seeing that sears empty because we did use to shop there a lot, mainly appliances, and garden stuff. The mall is starting to look pretty bare too and it used to just be filled once upon a time. In deep contrast, Cielo Vista Mall farther down towards the east side is always packed.
Loved the intro, PRO GEAR SPEC! Cool mall, makes me happy to know the indie game store’s holding its own. Looking forward to that food court footage sometime.
Not sure if you're interested in an update on this one, but my friend loves it in Cottonwood mall so we're there often. JC Penney, Dillard's, FYE, and the Hallmark store are surprisingly still here as are the arcades. The Eddie Bauer folded just before Christmas and the mini zoo moved out. There are quite a lot of empty stalls and at least two stores folded in the last few weeks. I think you would enjoy a few stores here that sell a great selection of old 80s toys. There's also a store that sells unique knives and swords. Even a Klingon bat'leth. It's a bit quiet during the week, but foot traffic picks up quite a bit on the weekends. Ditto for the attached movie theater. It was busy for the holidays. Empty anchors like the old Mervyn's are still empty, at least on the second floor.
The neo geo intro is awesome!
At 8:15 when talking about the display, you said “other malls in the store” instead of other stores in the mall. 😁 I had to rewind it three times to make sure I heard it correctly lol
I grew up going to this mall. I was 6 when it first opened. I remember Nickelodeon did some type of promotional Event at the mall when it opened. It has since turned into a dying mall. Too bad about your footage of the food
Court. The ceiling was always the coolest thing to look at If you’re ever in Albuquerque again, check out winrock shopping center. That place has had quite History as well.
Opened in 1996, that’s very late for a mall to open. But yeah those vintage aesthetics remind me of a local mall near me with literally the same looking tiles and colors.
In the first episode of Better Call Saul, the Cinnabon that was in the episode is the one in Cottonwood Mall... Just a little fact ;)
My mom used to have her Glitter tattoos/Henna tattoos stand at this mall a few years ago. She did alright but she did better at the ballon festival and the state fair. I love that mall though i also love the smell of the aunt Annies pretzel place you could smell the goodness around the mall such great memories.
The sears had the old sears logo at cottonwood mall. The Coronado center mall had the new sears logo. I say had because that sears is closing some time in the beginning of 2019. The sears at Coronado center was also there since the mall opened.
The petting zoo is the most horrible thing I've seen. I live in New Mexico and this was something to be shut down.
I remember the bookstore at Fiesta Mall downstairs close to the food court was a great place to buy magazines. The lady would tell us when we were kids "If you can reach it you can read it" :)
that's a beautiful mall. I love the colors . it seems light and airy
Wow, a Moon Patrol coin-op. There used to be one of those in the Circus World toy store at the long gone Brickyard Mall in Chicago during the early 1980s. Kids lined up to play that. Good memories.
I just went there today, and I'm sad to report that the video game store (not the GameStop) closed down. For a Friday night, it was very empty.
I always grew up going to the Coronado Mall or Winrock while it was still a true mall but now that I moved to the westside of Albuquerque, I have gone to the Cottonwood Mall a few times and I certainly feel it is dying. I haven’t seen any updates and I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear if it closes. The Coronado Mall is much nicer and worth the drive.
Coronado? Sure if you want to get your car broken into or mugged.
Please post these as regularly as you are able to. I get such a nostalgia kick from it being a 90s kid. Thank you for your channel 🤩😄
I’m at the mall currently and it seems to be doing much better. I’m here on a Thursday also during the balloon festival and there quite a few people walking around.
Super disappointed you didn't realize this: This is actually where they often film Better Call Saul. (At least the flash-forwards at the beginning of every season). Yup. This is where Jimmy's cinabon is :-)
I love this video, and the character of the mall like you said! Your videos are super cool and I can't wait to visit this mall and ABQ someday!
Those Addams family pinball machines are HIGHLY collectible. Very popular, most of them were literally, played to death. Having one that is working is an achievement...parts are getting HARD to find.
Loved the intro, and the use of the Neo Turf Masters music. Love that game.
The tile floor is exactly the same pattern and colours as my shopping centre(mall) which was built back in the early '70s and remodelled in '87-88.
I remember when that mall opened I was from the south valley we called rio Rancho little new York and didn't like going there as the clientele was sort of uppity we went to Coronado since I was a kid then I moved to Phoenix
Gurnee mills mall in IL used to have a mini reptile zoo inside it, it was next to the rain forest cafe which was cool. I went on date there in high school and it was actually fun and pretty unique but it closed a couple years ago.
11:14 it became Mor Furniture next to Hobby Lobby and right below it is Home Life Furniture
Neo Geo intro best intro
8:30 Interestingly enough. Those two spaces were the old Mervyn's. After it closed, it became Conn's and a Sports Authority, but as you know Sports Authority also closed, which explains the vacancy on the top floor.
6:21, it reminds me of this pet store in Tucson called Desert Pet! You should go check it out one day, it's this pretty cool pet store that's got a section of bugs and reptiles like the one in your vid
I live in Rio Rancho and when I got my bicycle and every time I would bike into Albuquerque I would bike past that mall, and every year I would notice fewer and fewer cars parked there. The only time I saw the parking lot full was when they would sell cars. I knew a guy who worked at the Gamestop and the next time I saw him was when he was working for the We Know Games store. He said he defected from the Empire to fight for the rebel Alliance.
$0.25 arcade !?!? now that is something you don't see every day any more.
That malls has so many things I would visit. The arcade, the Gamestop, and the retro videogame store with the arcade. The F.Y.E. and amine stores would be a must visit as well. Maybe Dillard's will expand into the former Sears store to fill the vacancy.
Love the Moon Patrol game. Years after the Atari 2600 version was released, I learned the Moon Patrol theme late after a party in high school. The party was at a kid's house when the parents were away. After the party died down, an old 2600 was found and quickly became the source of entertainment. Moon Patrol became the game they were playing and I grabbed my (passed out) friend's Kramer Pacer guitar and worked out the theme. Still know it to this day.
Our 5th grade class went on a field trip from Sierra Vista Elem school back in '85-'86 and one of the kids was saying that they were planning on building a mall on the west side. I guess his mom was involved in the development. We were totally stoked because you'd have to drive all the way across town to get to Coronado or Windrock. Unfortunately, they didn't get around to building it until after I graduated from HS, and by then I'd moved across town. Used to dig Suncoast, and bought some awesome McFarlane KISS figures from them! Also, my brother and his best friend used to take flying classes at that Alameda Airport. Didn't see the upside down hang gliders in the vid, may have been lost in the corrupted footage.
Love your channel! I live in Albuquerque!!! So cool to see you visit here and Gallup!
If your ever in DeWitt NY which is just east of Syracuse visit a deadmall known as Shoppingtown Mall.
"other malls in the store" comment cracked me up (8:13). Glad i'm not the only one who does that kind of thing from time to time.
Yay! You came to my childhood mall. I don't think this mall is really dead. Everytime I go it's busy.
DeVargas Mall in Santa Fe, NM has the "Harrell House Bug Museum". You can simply go in and look around, or buy something that catches you eye ....
I remember when this was built when I was a kid! It was the closest mall to my house, and it was so new and cool. Wow.
Moon Patrol!!!!!! That brings back memories from my childhood bowling alley. Elevator Action was another one at the time.
When Mervyn's went and all the book stores, samgoody, suncoast folded and closed that was when everything sort of went to just mostly shoe and teeny bopper stores. Lot of kiosks. That was the old airport where they would hold the amateur balloon festival. I personally see it as a dead mall since it has nothing that appeals to me. It has reached the stage imo of when the Winrock mall just lost all of its anchors and it just was little stores and they had put a HUGE Tilt in there at the end. It was a very nice Tilt arcade too.
It breaks my heart to be reminded of how old I am. I graduated high school in 1996 and used to live in the malls around my area (New Hampshire) throughout my teen years. Hell, I even worked for Sears while saving for university in the late 1990s.
Today, arcades are a relic of a bygone era (my youth) and seeing them empty saddens me.
Even “Fun Spot” (an arcade/museum in NH) is almost empty most of the time.
Youth is wasted on the young.
7:20 Yeah, despite eddie saying he's gonna get sears "out of bankrupcey". Sears is gonna end up like Montgomery ward.
Jose Rafur
They don't call him "Fast Eddie" for nothing.
Guy's a con artist.
Eddie is the reason Sears failed. His Hedge fund Company gutted it and buried it in debt and he made hundreds of millions. The guy should be in prison
Sears is completely screwed. They are only keeping some stores open through the holidays with the hope of being able to make it. Next year comes and they don’t find an investor or help, they will all be closing for good. I went to the Sears( next door to my apt), that’s closing and filmed a bit and it’s liquidating now, and some items are still like $40-50 for some reason.
Did you stop at the Cinnabon and say hello to James “Jimmy” McGill. This was the filming location for his manager job in Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul.
Someone else said it closed. The next season opener should be him showing up to work but it's just closed. I'm curious if the past mall walk sequences were also here (they shouldn't be since he moved far away)
Seeing the Sears right after the petshop/exhibit brings to mind a potential use for former Sears locations.
They could be easily repurposed as event centers/expos given their footprint and pre existing amenities.
Not sure what the ownership/red tape is but thats one of the few uses I can think of for that large of a a space.
Man, the food court was always something that fascinated 10 year old me
I don't live in Albuquerque, but when my family visits, I like going to this mall
I had no concept of dead malls at one point, but i do remember a ton of people at the mall when I was younger
It does seem to be less active nowadays
I hope it doesn't die
The one here in Santa Fe just isn't the same
Its so much smaller, and it does seem like it is struggling a little more
For the moment our Valley View Mall in Roanoke, VA is doing great! I was there last weekend. Macy's in two locations, J.C. Penny doing well! Rather crowded with few vacancy locations. Got a Barnes & Noble with lot's of customers! A couple years ago this place looked like it would die too! Seems allot better now!
From the looks of it you visited early this year When they were changing things around still. I went last week on a Thursday evening and it was pretty busy. I assumed it was closing too at some point too till I saw it.
I used to go here. It's a bit surprising to see it go downhill because it's newer than Coronado but Coronado is in a better location in the city. I remember when Cottonwood opened it was packed most of the time for some years.