Arizona's Dead Mall Gold | Retail Archaeology
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Arizona's Dead Mall Gold covers three iconic dead malls in Arizona over the course of their twilight years. Arizona's Dead Mall Gold was originally released on VHS on November 5, 2021.
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Arizona's Dead Mall Gold covers three iconic dead malls in Arizona over the course of their twilight years. Arizona's Dead Mall Gold was originally released on VHS on November 5, 2021.
That DEB store was like unreal. Great video, Eric.
Thanks Dan!
I agree with ya; the pastel color scheme in the DEB store was really beautiful.
@matt yup 🙂 Almost 50lbs so far.
Think we figured out where the D went
@@rwdplz1 really? Where?
While visiting from out of town to see family, I got a chance to walk alone at night through Fiesta Mall in December 2016, and it shook me to the core. Totally bizarre experience that stuck with me. I ended up creating a music project called Dead Mall because of it :)
Were u the only one in there
Oh man. Seeing that JCPenny elevator like that both unlocked some core memories and then shattered them.
This channel is an absolute gem. Keep up the fantastic work. 💞
Great job on this! The only mall I can remember going to in Arizona was the Fashion Square in Scottsdale when visiting family. It is especially sad the Bill & Ted one was closed.
i love your channel! it’s comforting and it reminds me so much of nostalgic kpbs documentaries
.....the PBS and Reading Rainbow music cues. Huh.
An update from one person to the public.... Metrocenter is going to be a central hub for the light rail in Phoenix.
I used to live near Northern and 19th Ave, fairly close to Metrocenter. Hated the light rail. Brought in homeless people, professional panhandlers, and crime to the north end of the rail system. I was a victim and moved across county near family.
@@lo1bo2 Same. I moved near Prescott, out in the country on 3 acres. Phoenix has really turned into a shithole. Thank goodness I have no reason to go down there any more. And it's too blasted hot in the summer. (Jan Griffiths).
And I always thought the light rail was one of the dumbest things Phoenix had done. I never rode on it, and when I was a school bus driver down there, it was a damn inconvenience. Very limited in service. They should have made stops in Tempe, Mesa, and Apache Junction as well. (Jan Griffiths).
I lived at metrocenter and paradise valley malls in the 80s and 80s. I worked at one potato two at both malls. Does anyone even remember that at the food court? All we served was potatoes and fries. Good times!
Great video
What I love most about the American mall is that regardless of which one I see it can still give me a nostalgic feel for MY mall since so many of them carry the same themes, and vibes.
Mcm
I’m
For sure, the first mall reminds me of two other malls that I would frequent in my own city.
Definitely
Seeing a place you spent your time in building memories die is always sad. And hearing those kids play while none were there is pretty spooky.
Yeah I spent a lot of my teenage years in Fiesta mall
There's a bunch of videos about Chesterfield Mall in suburban St. Louis. It literally gets me depressed when I think of all the Friday and Saturday nights I spent there in my teens when there was an ocean of other teens in the mall.
@@nicoledoubleyouI did too 😞
Thanks Retail Archaeology! Fiesta mall is across the street from Mesa Community College. Both of their parking lots make for a great place to learn to drive a car.
The folks putting up the Christmas decorations would be like the band playing as the Titanic sunk and I mean that as a compliment.
I remember when these malls first opened. I lived across Southern Avenue in Indian Springs Village apartments at the time Fiesta Mall opened. I had just started my 23 year career at Motorola at the time, and spent a lot of time in that mall. I used to go into Phoenix and went to Metrocenter Mall as well, and Christown (Spectrum) Mall also. Those were the days. Now I live near Prescott, and our mall, Prescott Gateway, is dying too. (Jan Griffiths).
Did you work at Motorola on Dobson and Broadway
@@ghostballs1874 No, that was SPS (semiconductor products sector). I worked at GEG (gov't electronics group), and TEO (tactical electronics) across the parking lot. Hayden and McDowell Roads. I went to SPS Price and Elliot, when there was a massive layoff at GEG/TEO. I was part of the engineering department, but a job (process engineer) was offered to me and I took it. ( at SPS).My dept. was not affected by the layoff though. I worked for Motorola for almost 23 years. Then in 2000, all US Motorolans lost their jobs when the company went offshore. In AZ, alone, close to 10,000 people lost their jobs. (Jan Griffiths).
It has been 5 years since I’ve been to Prescott mall. I see your comment is a little old too. Is the mall still up today?
@@Dantes-_-Inferno Yes it is, but not as busy as it once was. Quite a few empty shops. I mainly go there for Hot Topic and Spencer's. (Jan Griffiths).
@@Dantes-_-Inferno Yes it is, but not as busy as it used to be. Nowadays, I go there mainly for Hot Topic and Spencer's. (Jan Griffiths).
When that friend came over and explained Fiesta Mall for you, did you ever think it’d lead to what RA is now?
Back in August 2019 (well over a year since it had closed), I walked around Fiesta mall and took pics and all that (the bottom floor of the Dillard’s and a barber shop were the only stores opened) and when I walked back to my car, I was pulled over by the cops for suspicious activity. I explained to them that I watch dead mall videos and that I had no intention of doing anything illegal. They let me go and as I’m driving away, they had 4-5 cop cars behind me, along with dogs ready to attack if I ran away. They must’ve thought they caught some big criminal or something 😂
The All 4 Anime store is currently in arrowhead towne center
It is sad to see these monuments of retail fade into history. Grew up in the valley. Spent plenty of time ditching HS to go to 99¢ theatre at Valley West. I miss their 49 ¢ Tuesdays.
Spent a lot of time at Metro in the 70 s. I remember the airplane lounge over the icerink.
Sadly with all the development, the Valley is losing its identity. And sadly , the newcomers don't care about anything and all they know is the freeways and sports teams. Proudly , I have lived here before both.
Having a mall santa when the mall is that empty is incredibly sad
Your videos are fantastic! I discovered your channel not too long ago and honestly, I love everything about it. From your experiences with the malls you went to, to music, to the non-shakey camera handling, commentary, as well as the history and progression of these places.
Somehow, it feels like you're witnessing something turn from modern to ruins in front of your eyes. It's depressing but as you said, it's oddly comforting. It reminds me how things are always changing around us, like interests, ideas, and the love for something new. Some stores in the dead malls serve as "anchors" but I like to view them as anchors for your own memories. And I think you're doing the perfect thing by recording them because they won't be there anymore and maybe your memories too.
I have a dead mall near me but I don't have many memories going there so it doesn't feel meaningful recording it. It does make me remember that lots of things close down too, like a pizzeria that I used to live close by, a bank on the corner of my street that turned into a Dunkin Donuts, etc.
The world around you is evolving at this immeasurable speed. Time flies and sometimes you don't want it to.
So sad that malls are dying! I spent a lot of my younger years hanging out at shopping malls. It was fun just going window shopping at these places. I'm retired now and walk the remaining malls in my home town of Phoenix for excercise. I will miss them when they are all gone! Very sad!!
I enjoyed the different times of each mall and how they got became dead. Thanks for sharing!
I really hate how places wont allow filming. I mean that first one was dead and mostly empty. Without these films none of this will ever be seen or seen again. its a time capsule. I wish all the stores and malls ive been to over my life were filmed and available to watch. All I have are my bad fragmented memories.
Most of the time when I record in a place I use camera glasses but the good ones are not cheap.
Fun fact Fiesta Mall was used in the first Blue Collar Comedy tour movie filmed in 2003 for some of the b-roll footage the best way to see how it used to look during a busy day.
Awww Fiesta Mall I worked there. It was the last place saw my ex-husband. That was my HS hangout. That’s so sad to see.
This was great.
Great production value.
Great cinematography.
Great narration.
I find these “dead” malls intriguing from a business perspective. What stores survive vs. which ones don’t make the cut. Also it’s eerily nostalgic, I kind of like the mixed feeling you described.
I miss PV mall
I worked across from it and had watched them demo it.
One cube entrance is still there as of July 2022
True dedication of RA: Enjoying the countdown music and visuals
Fiesta Mall was the greatest dead mall at the end. Like we saw here you could walk through almost alone. I did it a few times. I went to the Vans and bought shoes and the guy asked me why I came to Fiesta. I said something like "Its fun to go to the dead mall." I also once walked through and entered at the playground entrance. The busiest part was the playground, the rest was empty. But it smelled terrible. Some kid just let go I guess. I had to run through but the families there didn't seem to care. worst Fiesta memory.
I lived in Arizona 15 years ago when I was working on my Ph. D. Is Arizona Mills Mall still going strong?
Yes, AZ Mills is still very busy.
Thank you for the update! And thank you for the trip down memory lane!
I remember the opening of Arizona Mills as well. In 1997, just in time for Christmas shopping. I went the day it opened. Glad to know it's still around. (Jan Griffiths).
Boy, Paradise Valley, what a beautiful mall. Something about that jack pattern in the beams and the parquet terrazzo really gives it a modern feel despite being built in the 70's. The architect was Rafique Islam if you google his name along with Paradise Valley Mall the Phoenix New Times has an article all about him and the mall. Apparently the design was inspired by the Navajo and other elements of the American Southwest.
I went to Paradise Valley as a kid when visiting my grandparents in Scottsdale. Went to the arcade, the movie theater, food court... Everywhere inside in Arizona is a paradise just to escape the heat, tbh. Great times
Airsoft inside a dead mall sounds so fun. Go-karts would be cool too, if enough space can be cleared.
thanx so much for sharing this....loved that stone fountain - reminds me of the rocks up around the Georgian Bay area here in Ontario, Canada.....love your stuff - as always and your voice is so calming which makes it a joy to listen to as well as watch! ♥ ♥
Interesting fact: the people that started that Glowgolf store opened the first one in Hawaii which they ran until a few months ago before returning to Arizona. They were amazing people and are deeply missed by everyone in Hawaii. Their store is still operating but is under new management.
I got the tape but sadly I haven’t dug up my vhs player really excited to watch this :)
You should do a video on Flagstaff Mall. It goes through waves of being a dead mall and not. I think the city of flagstaff can't afford to let it go.
Great video... sure miss the malls and old arcades from the early 80s. I guess future generations won't even know what it's like to go somewhere to see all that awesome stiff in one place where you can actually see and touch something before you buy it.
When I lived in Phoenix in 2003 I remember buying a Ben Sherman shirt from the store the buckle at paradise valley mall. Still have it it was 39 dollars.
We're moving near Niles, Ohio. I look forward to visiting Eastwood Mall. It's practically an enigma because it's doing so well.
I watched a mall vid on that. Is it actually doing well nowadays?
I grew up in the neighborhood across the street from collin creek mall. I witnessed the mall's high life of holiday shoopiong with people parking on the grass, or in our neighborhood just to shop there. I saw the slow decline to a mall's last holiday season with almost no cars in the parking lot. It was a strange experience to go from not being able to walk a few feet to completely cleraed out hallways, and seeing the closure of blocks of stores up to the demolition of the mall which they just finished. It is carazy to think something that big and popular could ever decline.
All for Anime is now at the Arrowhead Towne Center. 👍
I LOL'd when you went in the DEB store and said "Looks like someone wanted the D" Who doesn't tbh? 🤣
Well, I prefer to give away the D, rather than acquiring the D.. but either way, the D is important 🙃
Deb certainly needed the D
@@everyhandletaken I agree, in any situation the D is very important 😄
If i were you i would of gotten those signs from DEB and KB Toys’s
Just watched it live. LOVED IT. Thank you, Erik and Mark!
Man, I’d have loved that KB Toys sign. The last Sears in Illinois just closed, and since Sears was a Chicago institution, its surreal. Great video!
The last time I was at a mall in AZ was The Mall at Sierra Vista. It was depressing.
Yeah that mall has turned pretty lame.
Fiesta is on a permanent Siesta.
10:34 are you sure it wasn't just ambience piped in through the mall sound system to make it sound more lively? public places do weird stuff like that sometimes, although for a mall this dead that would be bizarre to even keep the muzak running
Mall cops are super lame. So sick of their hatred of cameras
I used to go to the foothills mall in Tucson every weekend. It was always packed! Now there’s only 2-3 stores left and the movie theater :/ it’s so sad
Fun fact, mall walkers can also be entire families that are homeless. They walk the mall during the day with the children, in particular, despairing over how impossible necessities are to acquire while also being in complete awe over the people that can afford such petty luxuries as tiny Swarovski hummingbird/flower tchotchkes. At night, they bundle into their van, and Dad drives them over to the nearest Walmart parking lot. If it's too hot to sleep in the van, they douse themselves in gallons of water they've stowed away just in case a human or vehicle overheats. After that they crawl into the van, on top of all their worldly possessions, and try to sleep only to start the next dreadful day full of snobby Karen glares all over again while *trudging* the mall.
Hearing your Mom crying herself to sleep on Christmas Eve in your homeless van because all you have to eat are some leftover Christmas cookies the security guard rescued from the trash is a real treat, I tell ya.
A hollowed-out moment that makes even the liminal spaces of these dead malls seem full, alive, and paragons of all the virtue they consumed by comparison.
See? I told you it was fun!
Sidenote and completely immaterial to the aforementioned anecdote, these malls, all that they symbolized, and all that they enabled can rot in he)). Witnessing their devastation is beyond cathartic, so from at least this one person, and for another reason entirely than just "nostalgia," *thank you.*
The last time I went to Fiesta Mall was in 1992 when I was 15; it was pretty busy back then and kinda cool. Same with Metrocenter, some time in the mid to late 1990s. Metro was huge; multiple levels and just sprawling in size.
PV Mall was awesome back in the day; I’ll admit I was a mall rat here for a little while back in 1995. Zap Arcade was called “Superfun” back in the day. I can’t tell what food place is next to Zap but it used to be Hot Dog On A Stick. That Philly Steaks place across the food court used to be a Steak Escape that some of my buddies worked at; we would score free food from them all the time. I grew up a few miles away from this mall; sad to see it go but such is life.
We have this exact mall in Richmond VA. It’s Regency Square. It must have been built by Sears as well. It’s literally the same exact mall😂. They’re clones. It’s a dead mall too.
When Metrocenter was being built it was for a brief period the largest mall in the country. That status didn’t last long, some other mall that is probably also closed replaced Metrocenter’s status. The store you described as JC Penney’s with the elaborate external elevator, was originally called Liberty something but it didn’t last long and became a Diamonds which became a Dillards which became a Penney’s.
Your channel is so great. I love visiting whenever you drop a new trip. It's always so comforting. Thanks so much!
I grew up going to Metrocenter and Christown Mall, Christown mostly. Seeing Metro dead then flat out gone hurt, and Christown is following suit. Not sure how long we'll be able go inside so maybe one day I'll go and record there (or attempt to)
.....50:45 and thereabouts is a muzakish sounding version of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me."
They attached a Walmart to a mall near me, killing it. Hard for "Bill's Bikes" to make it next to a Walmart giving bikes away.
"The Fiesta Is Over" 🤣😆
I grew up going to metro and christown mall. Late 90s to 2000s was always packed with people.
Yo, I fucking love that purple shirt. That's a power boss move.
I wish malls weren’t dying off. There was something about malls that feel like being transported to another world
Love your videos! Honestly makes me fall asleep to your sweet voice haha
And in 2023, Fiesta Mall and Metro are finally getting getting demo'd
RIP
Great video, but really made me kick on the nostalgia afterburners. Mom & Dad used to pack my sister and I into the car and drive down to Metro Center from Flagstaff for the day. My grandmother (who lived in Scottsdale) used to take my sister and I to both Metro Center (which was a bit of a drive) alllll the way over to Fiesta Mall. Great times. Thanks for memories!
This video:
The father, the son, and the Holy Ghost.
This shouldn’t, but does in fact break my heart 💔. Great video, thank you for documenting.
I remember going to the MetroCenter mall back in the 90s on school trips. Back then it was super busy. I took my kids there in April of 2018 to show them a real mall since we did not have one in our town and was so disappointed to see it as a dead mall. Since I lived 3 hours away, I did not know how much it had changed. The Anime store and Spencer's Gifts were still open and the kids enjoyed those stores (I had two teenagers). This was one mall I was sad to see demolished.
Great videos of the now closed malls. I wish I visited them.
A lot of folks get nostalgic about abandoned malls. I get nostalgic about abandoned sports stadiums.
I worked at Metro Center in the early 80's at Kit's Cameras, there was a huge fountain to the right.
Hey who did the slow cover of Cruel Summer? It was great
I fucking love the intros
The mall owners was greedy. They kept raising their rent and most stores in our mall built there own stores.
Rad video. I loved all of the sound effects! They reminded me of my childhood.
i like watching this and seeing the relics of american capitalism and ramped consumerism
I went to Metrocenter many times growing up. We lived in Prescott and would come down there for fun now and then. We'd always wander around there and go across to the huge arcade and mini golf place. Once upon a time it was a Chuck E. Cheese clone place called Tex Critters. Later they dropped the gimmicks. Sad to see what all these places have become compared to their heydays.
I always wonder what happens to all the big potted plants in dead malls...
Abandoned malls make me sad. I'm sure they are a symptom of some deeper social malaise, but I haven't sussed it out yet.
Not all mall walkers are old. LOL I’m 47 and I like to walk around our local mall.
I never liked malls much but I do miss some of them. Thanks, I spent the summer of 81' in Phoenix and don't remember the names of the malls I went to then but it could have been one you covered.
Your comment about being in a dead mall resonated with me. I'd been to the Horton Plaza in SD when it was doing alright, to then weird stores popping up and then finally dead mall levels before it got super creepy!!
Love the PBS/California's Gold intro... channeling your inner Huell Howser
well iam non us based, we actually did have one that was close to being dead, stores closing all nine yards, but it revived and doing great today, before covid times. built in the 60s. my local mall, if you can call it that in the us terms lol, is one of oldest outside ones in the world, built in 50s and doing great also, 100% stores filled out, but its not very big lol.
too bad you cdnt buy the burger/fies poster/pic.
Fiesta Mall just got leveled. 😢
The mall at 30min is a nice mall. Why does it go out of business? What’s the reason?
Did you hear anything about the floor titles with names from PVM? I wonder if they are saved from the demolition. I also heard that there was a petition to save the last cube of PVM from demolition.
This is a classic from the intro tribute to Huell Howser's California's Gold until the closing nod to Ubu. GREAT JOB!
I wonder if in 20-30 years the retail environment will change and people are going to want malls again and theres going to be new retailers that will work better in the future.
Of course. Everything cycles back.
Eric,
Interesting to see these malls at different points in time🤔. Good video and I also liked seeing how some parts of these malls can EASILY get vandalized once they are completely vacant. Good job documenting these places too👍🏻👍🏻.
Fiesta Mall has since been demolished.
This is happening at malls in Canada too. You'll see 25% occupancy in some malls. The mall owners can't figure out why the old way of charging high rents and collecting a percentage of store sales is not working. If they lowered the rents they may attract more tenants.
Love you video special. I live down the road from a Mall called Baybrook Mall in Houston. If you ever get a chance to come to Houston you should check it out. Lots of history to it and a very busy mall.
I have a Cosco at Potomac Mills Mall, but you cannot enter the store via the mall only on the outside
It must be due to the Costco customer having a shopping cart. Can't have those inside of a shopping mall.
Foothills mall in Tucson about to be put down
Hey at the metro center mall does anyone remember the inside skate park and BMX they used to have I couldn't find any videos or photos of it now.
I remember the ice rink. Skated there many times. (Jan Griffiths).
@@douglasgriffiths3534 omg yes Lol I Rember didn't they use to have the disco ball and some of those arcade games and music thing I can't remember it's been long time too lol.
@@MerrickCamo520 Yeah, both of those were near the food court, top floor. And there was the Metro Lounge too. I used to go in there for a couple of drinks now and then. That turned into the Paradise Cafe. (Jan Griffiths).
@@douglasgriffiths3534 man those were the days too miss those crazy times too atleast will remember it forever too good times. 👍👍😀😀🥳🥳🎈🎈