Same, I remember when they announced it was closing and no one could really understand why. It sure wasn't crime like they tried to say it was, not back then anyway...
Oh dude NorthRidge mall, I haven't heard about that mall in ages. I grew up in Wisconsin but currently reside in AZ. So glad I found yall, I love stuff like this.
No it's amazing.. Now there is diversity! Yes when it was more white it was nicer and safer.. but now you have different cultures and it's good for those white spaces to be converted into uses for everyone.
Back in 2017, me and a group of friends went in there quite a few times. We were lucky to sneak in and had so much fun. For some reason, there wasn't any security around the building then. It was very easy to get in.
I worked at one of the jewelry stores in Northridge as a goldsmith. I loved going to Gloria Jeans for coffee. I recognized the cow pattern floor of a different jewelry store in one scene. I did work for them as well, great people.
Open for 30 years. Dormant for 20 years. The city of Milwaukee finally prevailed and got the property from a Chinese firm that had promised big things but didn't deliver on anything. The Fire Chief was getting adamant about its removal due to numerous fires in the past 2 years. Asbestos removal has been started and by next spring removal should be pretty much complete. Since the area is still zoned for commercial development there still are no firm plans for what should be built there. But there are some troubled apartments and condos to the West. The main Corridor of Brown Deer Road has many thinly used strip.malls and a number of big box stores have become warehouses and storage facilities. How The Mighty have tumbled
Seems a lot of Chinese buying up big buildings and not delivering the deal. The Motorola building in Harvard was same thing as our old elementary school here in Elkhorn. Why isn’t there a time line on these deals? Also a fine for keeping them empty?!
(Not so) fun fact! The mall didn’t close due to high crime in a general sense; attendance had been declining for the previous 10 years largely due to *fear* of crime by suburban mall-goers that was brought on by the stabbing death of Barbara Anderson by her husband Jesse in the mall’s parking lot in 1992. Two years after that, Jesse was beaten to death in prison alongside infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Also, if you’ve ever seen the video of this place by The Proper People, you may know that in it they spoke with some construction workers: (likely) one of whom was electrocuted to death onsite not long after.
17:45 MPD used to run practices on clearing and securing stores. They used Northridge for a while shortly after it closed and before the stores were fully cleared out. The cartridges were paintball loads.
@@Redacted_762 mayfair is crazy i still go their most of the time cause i live closer to it than south ridge once they forced everyone out of the mall because of a PLANNED attack . like why are you planning it
There is other malls like the Cherryville Mall and the Janesville mall is still open Cherry Ville mall though had a freak accident but it’s still open and then there is the mall in Madison
Such a shame, this used to be a great place to go back in the day. I live about an hour north of Milwaukee and used to drive down there to shop at the mall. Sad to see it in such a state.
This either has to be old recordings or you’re a god damn god because north ridge has been on high security for the past year fines up to 1000 for being in the property
As late as 2017ish, it was in pristine condition! They could have unlocked the doors and reopen the mall. Only a few broken glass windows. All this damage happend in just 7 years time. :(
Awesome video Midwest! .. it would be interesting to see what the Northridge mall looks like today after partial demolition. The mall looks clean in your video because this video was possibly recorded over 2 and a half years ago, way before they'd attempt burning the stairs and lighting a fire in the main atrium water fountain. It was amazing for years, the entrance doors were smashed and wide open to the elements. I can't find any current videos or any recent pictures of it's demolition other than them leveling the boscov anchor 😢 rip Northridge mall
ive been here!! super cool, last time i went there were a couple fallen walls, and this was around the time of the recent fires, so i decided it wasnt safe for me to go in anymore. so cool tho!!!!
Yup, lots of memories not only here but the area in general. It was lively and safe for a long while. Best Buy, Circuit City (with the boom room full of car audio), and a bunch of other stores made the area a real destination in high school. But more and more crime took over and before long all this mall became was empty stores and a bunch of dudes in blue mean mugging a bunch of dudes in red if you know what I mean. I miss dressing up and going to the mall (had to be on point with so many ladies running around).
"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth" (I know they didn't actually film in Wisconsin, but it gave me the same vibes watching this)
Oh wow, I remember this closed the year I moved to Milwaukee I think. South ridge is probably next, was there not that long ago and it was a total ghost town.
im from sheffield uk 🇬🇧 our shopping mall opened in 1990 and its STILL very busy. the mall on this video looks 80s/90s retro its a lovely design. its so sad , it should still be fully functiong . 💎 ours is called “meadowhall”.
@decayingmidwest loved your vid, it's amazing how things have changed there since Dutch's video. Such a cool and unique place. It's a shame it's being torn down, I would have loved to play airsoft there
It was bought by some Chinese company, they are just sitting on the property for whatever reason so security is more for insurance reasons than anything else, it's not city officials but private sector security contractors
Ngl that thumbnail pic looked like a horror game or something, ig its cool that video games look so realistic and cool, and also depressing that an entire mall can become abandoned and run down
I was just exploring it yesterday, have you been totnhe engineering rooms in the basement? Theres tons of schematics for various things around the mall.
It's a bit disappointing that the ones who got in there to tag things never got past the age of 12 mentally. You'd think there would be a bit more creativity if they've got the time to mess around. But maybe that says something about the Milwaukee area?
It’s too bad you didn’t get a chance to explore the old Sanitarium and Sanitorium that were on Watertownplank road. Those were cool to explore before they tore them down.
Sad that malls are just dying out 😢 it’s not the same looking on Amazon and looking irl. Online is like the next thing because no one wants to go out and see the things in person.
it's not that nobody wants to see it in person. It's that they started streamlining stock so they only carried just enough of what was most commonly bought to cut down on costs. And if you already know that unless you're going out to get something common it won't be in stock. So you might as well not go out to look for what they won't have in stock and just buy it online as you'd just go to three or four stores that say it's in stock only to find out it's not then come back and buy it online anyway. The only retail stores I've found that actually have in stock what they say is in stock lately are Harbor Freight, Lowes, Southern States, and Boscovs.
I went in three years ago at night and as we were leaving two security guards came around the corner yelling to get down with shotguns, it was pretty nuts.
are you sure they were security guards? i say this because nobody in their right mind would employ someone waving around shotguns. then again, i just moved here. maybe y'all silly like that but i'm from tx and was an urbex and never experienced nothing like that lmao. security guards with guns is one thing but shotguns is wild
It's absurd that there is anyone polices this place, there's nothing there. Literally just to prevent people from having an easy place to go to hang out or duck out of dangerous weather.
We have 5 malls in the vaal triangle with 2 of them being somewhat dead, they've tried countless times to "fix it" but sadly it's always half empty. Tbh I would rather drive to Johannesburg to go to the malls there as these are (for personal reasons) icky.
Never understood why the photocenter and photocopies stores are always boarded up. There is like 7 in ohio I know about that is also boarded up. Is there something bad in the photos 😂
@@decayingmidwest aw man it's so hard to find these places I understand for good reason but if UE already know it's gonna be demolished why not share the spot🤷♂️
“Be civil” 🙄 The RUclips channel is civil compared to the decayingmidwest Facebook reels in the Paris underground. Strictly the urban exploration is fantastic especially in municipal access areas and underground.
Yo super cool! only been there once or twice as a super little kid. Way crazy to see how much of it is still kinda intact? Thought it would be old and dingy from how long it's been. Eerily stuck in time. Sooo many spray painted penises =w=
Another thing I never understood was why don't we tear down old buildings after awhile. Like why keep this up. to claim a kid later in life I'm guessing
@@brownhag usually it cost a lot of money to demolish a building especially one of this size. Plus legal battles with the company that owned it didn’t help.
I seriously could cry seeing it like this, so many memories from my youth there.
Same, I remember when they announced it was closing and no one could really understand why. It sure wasn't crime like they tried to say it was, not back then anyway...
Yes but now you have diversity. That's worth way more.
Oh dude NorthRidge mall, I haven't heard about that mall in ages. I grew up in Wisconsin but currently reside in AZ. So glad I found yall, I love stuff like this.
Omg... the memories of my teenage & childhood years here 🥹🥹🥹
so many memories of going to the food court here with my grandma. it’s sad what’s happened to milwaukees malls
No it's amazing.. Now there is diversity! Yes when it was more white it was nicer and safer.. but now you have different cultures and it's good for those white spaces to be converted into uses for everyone.
I was born not too far from North Ridge Mall! I can't wait to watch!❤❤❤❤
Back in 2017, me and a group of friends went in there quite a few times. We were lucky to sneak in and had so much fun. For some reason, there wasn't any security around the building then. It was very easy to get in.
I loved their decorations during the holidays. I miss going to malls like this
I remember this mall! It was beautiful in its time. Especially around Christmas
Because it was a place for just one group. Now we have diversity and everything is better.
I worked at one of the jewelry stores in Northridge as a goldsmith. I loved going to Gloria Jeans for coffee. I recognized the cow pattern floor of a different jewelry store in one scene. I did work for them as well, great people.
Open for 30 years. Dormant for 20 years. The city of Milwaukee finally prevailed and got the property from a Chinese firm that had promised big things but didn't deliver on anything. The Fire Chief was getting adamant about its removal due to numerous fires in the past 2 years. Asbestos removal has been started and by next spring removal should be pretty much complete. Since the area is still zoned for commercial development there still are no firm plans for what should be built there. But there are some troubled apartments and condos to the West. The main Corridor of Brown Deer Road has many thinly used strip.malls and a number of big box stores have become warehouses and storage facilities. How The Mighty have tumbled
There were quite a few idiots hurt also when they would break in and screw around.
Seems a lot of Chinese buying up big buildings and not delivering the deal. The Motorola building in Harvard was same thing as our old elementary school here in Elkhorn. Why isn’t there a time line on these deals? Also a fine for keeping them empty?!
(Not so) fun fact! The mall didn’t close due to high crime in a general sense; attendance had been declining for the previous 10 years largely due to *fear* of crime by suburban mall-goers that was brought on by the stabbing death of Barbara Anderson by her husband Jesse in the mall’s parking lot in 1992. Two years after that, Jesse was beaten to death in prison alongside infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Also, if you’ve ever seen the video of this place by The Proper People, you may know that in it they spoke with some construction workers: (likely) one of whom was electrocuted to death onsite not long after.
North Ridge was an awesome mall when I was a kid in the 80's, It's amazing to witness the entire culture shift away from malls.
17:45 MPD used to run practices on clearing and securing stores. They used Northridge for a while shortly after it closed and before the stores were fully cleared out. The cartridges were paintball loads.
Thanks for one last look before it was gone. Lots of memories there.
I almost forgot about this mall. Stay safe always, you guys! 🙏🏼
I loved this mall so much as a kid, now i only go to south ridge which is luckily still open
@@luvlylilaa yes Southridge mall is the best! Also, did you know they built a raising canes next door?
@@Bloxy_RUclips1 omg i have to try it i normally run inside cause it’s always raining lol i never saw it
@iceexstar the mall is garbage, though. But it's somehow safer than Mayfair.
@@Redacted_762 mayfair is crazy i still go their most of the time cause i live closer to it than south ridge once they forced everyone out of the mall because of a PLANNED attack . like why are you planning it
There is other malls like the Cherryville Mall and the Janesville mall is still open Cherry Ville mall though had a freak accident but it’s still open and then there is the mall in Madison
This Was the mall I went to during my childhood and Teenage years I hate to see how they let it just go down the way they did very sad
Such a shame, this used to be a great place to go back in the day. I live about an hour north of Milwaukee and used to drive down there to shop at the mall. Sad to see it in such a state.
Same. Now i just go to mayfair
@@joshuakrieski9628 you in fondulac aren't ya?
@@KenKaniff-dw4jw Used to be, I live in Sheboygan now.
I love abandoned malls! Great Video!!
Thank you..was there many times in the 80s.
It was amazing back then wasn't it?
It was! Northridge was hoppin back in the 80s and even into the 90s.
Nice exploration guys. Try not to get caught and stay safe 😁
The 'whispering' was too weird. Couldn't keep viewing.
This either has to be old recordings or you’re a god damn god because north ridge has been on high security for the past year fines up to 1000 for being in the property
I been inside of it, like super recently and yeah I’m ngl the security guards don’t do shit😂
I think you're talking about South ridge mall
@@calebwaddell1 im not
It’s been under demolition for the last several months.
This is definitely old footage. Everything has been stripped out of the inside for demolition.
Looks very good for 21 years of decay!
It was even better before all the vandalism
As late as 2017ish, it was in pristine condition! They could have unlocked the doors and reopen the mall. Only a few broken glass windows. All this damage happend in just 7 years time. :(
@RavenCap0807 Unbelievable! That is amazing after 14 years!
What a shame.
That shows a lot about the new pathetic generation that I amm in. 😡@@RavenCap0807
@@RavenCap0807 This says a lot about my generation.
Awesome video Midwest! .. it would be interesting to see what the Northridge mall looks like today after partial demolition. The mall looks clean in your video because this video was possibly recorded over 2 and a half years ago, way before they'd attempt burning the stairs and lighting a fire in the main atrium water fountain. It was amazing for years, the entrance doors were smashed and wide open to the elements. I can't find any current videos or any recent pictures of it's demolition other than them leveling the boscov anchor 😢 rip Northridge mall
I worked at Menards next door to Northridge Mall about 5yrs ago lol.
Missed going here as a kid 🥺
ive been here!! super cool, last time i went there were a couple fallen walls, and this was around the time of the recent fires, so i decided it wasnt safe for me to go in anymore. so cool tho!!!!
It would make for a great apocalypse movie set.
Yup, lots of memories not only here but the area in general. It was lively and safe for a long while. Best Buy, Circuit City (with the boom room full of car audio), and a bunch of other stores made the area a real destination in high school. But more and more crime took over and before long all this mall became was empty stores and a bunch of dudes in blue mean mugging a bunch of dudes in red if you know what I mean. I miss dressing up and going to the mall (had to be on point with so many ladies running around).
This was one of my favorite places I’ve ever explored.
@@TrickForTreats no it's not
@@dandychiggins6802 okay
Me too, friend
"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth" (I know they didn't actually film in Wisconsin, but it gave me the same vibes watching this)
I worked there. Sad to see it that way.
Scary that it's in better shape than Diamond Run, Wilson etc.
Man I miss this mall😢 my childhood! Watching it get torn down is sad but interesting
Love when this was an airsoft field for a little bit
I’ve grown up going to either Southridge or Mayfair mall, I had no idea there even was a Northridge… West Allis resident for 16 years…
I feel famous! 🎉
Was there back in 2019 and the place was in immensely better condition it is sad that it looks so bad now.
There's been so many videos made of this mall, and every new one that vomes out makes it look even more decayed.
its weird to see this. never been there. but i was just at southridge today.
Love Your Channel Man Keep going brothers
Oh wow, I remember this closed the year I moved to Milwaukee I think. South ridge is probably next, was there not that long ago and it was a total ghost town.
I remember when it was built, had fun shopping and going to the theater there, what a waste to see it like this.
im from sheffield uk 🇬🇧 our shopping mall opened in 1990 and its STILL very busy. the mall on this video looks 80s/90s retro its a lovely design. its so sad , it should still be fully functiong . 💎
ours is called
“meadowhall”.
Did you find any airsoft BBs? 5 years ago, Dutch the Hooligan made a video of playing airsoft here. Really cool video
I did not!
@decayingmidwest loved your vid, it's amazing how things have changed there since Dutch's video. Such a cool and unique place. It's a shame it's being torn down, I would have loved to play airsoft there
After Brookfield Square and before Mayfair mall was remodeled, this “was” the premier mall in Milwaukee!
Security at this Dead abandoned mall 😮
It was bought by some Chinese company, they are just sitting on the property for whatever reason so security is more for insurance reasons than anything else, it's not city officials but private sector security contractors
@axialivanov6101 thank you for the info on this video on this Mall security 👍😎🙂😁
I heard it was really cool in the 70s I’m kind of jealous I never got to see it during its glory days.
Thought this was just torn down! I live close!
Well, how's it that Southridge Mall survived so much longer?
@@ghoststarstalk Southridge is in a better area. Northridge is in kind of a rough area. So sad. Been to Northridge a few times.
So sad, so many this happening too
🔥🔥
Ngl that thumbnail pic looked like a horror game or something, ig its cool that video games look so realistic and cool, and also depressing that an entire mall can become abandoned and run down
I was just exploring it yesterday, have you been totnhe engineering rooms in the basement? Theres tons of schematics for various things around the mall.
There were bullet casings because you were in the hood. Used to be a nice mall. Sad that it had to close.
It's a bit disappointing that the ones who got in there to tag things never got past the age of 12 mentally. You'd think there would be a bit more creativity if they've got the time to mess around. But maybe that says something about the Milwaukee area?
I thought it had ready been in the process being demolished.
It’s too bad you didn’t get a chance to explore the old Sanitarium and Sanitorium that were on Watertownplank road. Those were cool to explore before they tore them down.
Sad that malls are just dying out 😢 it’s not the same looking on Amazon and looking irl. Online is like the next thing because no one wants to go out and see the things in person.
it's not that nobody wants to see it in person. It's that they started streamlining stock so they only carried just enough of what was most commonly bought to cut down on costs. And if you already know that unless you're going out to get something common it won't be in stock. So you might as well not go out to look for what they won't have in stock and just buy it online as you'd just go to three or four stores that say it's in stock only to find out it's not then come back and buy it online anyway. The only retail stores I've found that actually have in stock what they say is in stock lately are Harbor Freight, Lowes, Southern States, and Boscovs.
Not sad at all malls and the owners were always scamming people, it’s about time people woke up and realized how much those places scam you.
i live by here!
I swore I heard a very faint scream as you guys were walking up that metal staircase. Could’ve just been the stairs themselves making noise. 18:22
I still own a sweater from Gantos, lol😅
AYO!!!!! 1:44
I went in three years ago at night and as we were leaving two security guards came around the corner yelling to get down with shotguns, it was pretty nuts.
are you sure they were security guards? i say this because nobody in their right mind would employ someone waving around shotguns.
then again, i just moved here. maybe y'all silly like that but i'm from tx and was an urbex and never experienced nothing like that lmao. security guards with guns is one thing but shotguns is wild
@ they were definitely shotguns, not sure if they were non lethal or not but it was scary as hell haha
"HELLO, WISCONSINNN!"
I keep expecting a rolling giant to come out
It's absurd that there is anyone polices this place, there's nothing there. Literally just to prevent people from having an easy place to go to hang out or duck out of dangerous weather.
Turning it into an Amazon warehouse.
Shot photos after getting in there in 2020 and somehow set off an alarm while in the food court
We have 5 malls in the vaal triangle with 2 of them being somewhat dead, they've tried countless times to "fix it" but sadly it's always half empty. Tbh I would rather drive to Johannesburg to go to the malls there as these are (for personal reasons) icky.
Wait what I swear to God I was just there last Tuesday it been a while
How was it?
I wonder what Northridge Mall's version of the Rolling Giant would be?
mayfair is slowly becoming the same
We play airsoft there. Good fun.
Chat I live an hour away from Milwaukee 💀
It ain't got nuthin' on Southgate tho
Never understood why the photocenter and photocopies stores are always boarded up. There is like 7 in ohio I know about that is also boarded up. Is there something bad in the photos 😂
Interesting 🤔
Anyone know when its set to be demolished? Id love to go here and explore it
I think it’s being demolished now.
It’s been being demolished slowly for a while now
@@decayingmidwest aw man it's so hard to find these places I understand for good reason but if UE already know it's gonna be demolished why not share the spot🤷♂️
thay should make it in to paint ball range
Thumbnail looks like the mall from the oldest view
Come to greenbay
Went here back in 2020. Glad to say I peed in the toilet uptime of the stores 😂 some leave graffiti, I left piss
Do a tour of the asylum in Sheboygan.
At 4:21 is a 1up graffiti from a famous German graffiti crew 😅
They should either repair it, or remove it. Not let it rot for another decade.
@@Request_2_PANic it's being demolished.
@@gennys8202 I've heard already.
Have you ever got stuck in a building while it’s getting demolished
no because for the love of me I can never find the entrance in there
Is the video of your first exploration of Northridge on your channel?
I was not filming RUclips at that time. Unfortunately
@@decayingmidwestOh, that would have been cool to see a side by side between this video and the older one.
@@kalynholland7326 it was much cleaner back then too
@@decayingmidwest Very much so, the amount of fires and just unneeded vandalization have ruined most of it. still very nice to see though.
How did you know the camera did not work anymore
I wonder how many spray painted genitalia there were in this video alone.
Do you wait to post videos until the place is destroyed ?
Hi
Hi
"More than a decade" Naw bro, thats 2 decades
“Be civil” 🙄 The RUclips channel is civil compared to the decayingmidwest Facebook reels in the Paris underground. Strictly the urban exploration is fantastic especially in municipal access areas and underground.
You can’t have anything nice in Milwaukee without people ruining it.
this is actually pretty tame for abandoned buildings. you're just selling milwaukee for me now.
Its been torn down.
Yo super cool! only been there once or twice as a super little kid. Way crazy to see how much of it is still kinda intact? Thought it would be old and dingy from how long it's been. Eerily stuck in time. Sooo many spray painted penises =w=
this mall was a shit hole even when i was a kid in the early 90s.
What was wrong with it?
@@SonOfGalactus It was very nice until about 1988 when it went through a re-vamp and the food court was added.
Another thing I never understood was why don't we tear down old buildings after awhile. Like why keep this up. to claim a kid later in life I'm guessing
They’re demolishing it
@@brownhag usually it cost a lot of money to demolish a building especially one of this size. Plus legal battles with the company that owned it didn’t help.
Man, Wisconsin graffiti continues to be some of the weakest in the nation.