Thanks for viewing, everyone! If you haven't already, please be sure to sub, and to check out my second channel where I'll be posting raw cuts, commentary, and random other videos that you won't otherwise see here: ruclips.net/user/QuiteStudios You all rock, and I can't wait to show you what else I captured down in the NC/Chesapeake region!
And I'm upvoting this comment while watching the video. :3 Back to the video, I can't help but think that sweepstakes parlor is one main reason the Becker Village Mall is still open at the time of this post. I've never had to go to a sweepstakes parlor for my casino gaming fix since I'm not too far from Atlantic City, but I'm guessing they're the result of various forms of anti-gambling legislation that some states have. I wonder how similar these sweepstakes parlors are to many a Pachinko parlor in Japan where you play for tickets which can be exchanged for prizes (which are taken to another shop which buys the prizes for cash). Sal, Amazing work as always~!
I see that the Merle Norman Cosmetics store was hanging in there. This is a very bittersweet feeling for me, as my late mother used Merle's cosmetics, and my wife has also used them for the last 30 years of our marriage. They're getting harder to find, so when I see one my emotions get a little jumbled. Hang in there, Merle Norman, and thanks so much for another great video documentary!
Good god, it amazes me this mall is still open. Like, where is everyone? Where is the management? Where's the custodian/security guard/mechanic? Where are the shops? I already had that vibe when I visited back in 2017. JCPenney was on its way out. The V was the only mall-like store (now gone). While there was a salon & a children's fun center present, I literally only counted 8 or 9 people. I just can't believe this place is still standing. And its in good condition for how dead it is.
the mall as no custodian/ security since the owner is involved in the shady casino in the mall or is in on it. if the fbi finds out about the shady casino they will raid the casino and press charges against the people that own and the guy that runs the mall. this is a state and Federal offense
I lived in Roanoke Rapids from 1975 to 1982 and was someone who loved the Becker Village Mall when it opened. it was close enough to ride to on my bike, and the first place I ever drove upon receiving my driver's license was to take my little brother to Becker Village Mall. I was a regular at the Gold Mine, which was the arcade that is now the "shady casino", and spent many, many quarters there. I also worked at K-Mart for about 2 years, doing restocking and later in the garden shop. It was a great job. I also spent plenty of time in Waldenbooks, the record store (which was Harmony Hut, if I recall correctly) and Radio Shack. I have very fond memories of this mall during my high school years, as I do of Roanoke Rapids in general. There was also a free-standing Safeway near the mall (sharing the same parking area), and I'm curious if anything is still there. The movie theater was also nearby where I saw "Star Wars", "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and a lot of other classics. And there also was a rollerskating rink nearby. I loved growing up in Roanoke Rapids, and your video brought back lots of fond memories, despite its sad content. I visited the mall in 2000 with my family when passing through Roanoke Rapids, when it was clearly in decline, but still very much alive. It's sad to see it in this state now, but our society has changed in a lot of ways, some good and some bad, that have caused malls to decline in importance.
This brought a tear to my eye because i remember going to this mall with my mom and sister to shop in Kmart, we would then get a few dollars to play in the arcade with friends after school. I miss this
Wow, lot of old vintage stuff still in that Mall. For only having two open stores, one being a casino, very surprised it was not destroyed by vandals. Great exploration Sal!
Given that apparently a number of old people like to hang around, there is probably some kind of security going on, or at least the unsavory activity is restricted to the "shady casino" which is in the extreme rear of the mall.
OMG!!! I have been watching your series on the dead malls and I often said you need to come to Roanoke Rapids and put Becker Village Mall on there. After Kmart left it started going downhill. Then Belk left, and JCPenney closed that Mall became really empty. It is so sad, I can't tell the last time I have gone in there and I drive past there everyday on my lunch hour.
You holding it down in old roanoke rapids? lol I remember going to that mall as a kid in the late 80's/early 90's and playing around the fountain while my mom was in fashion bug. I'm in Greenville now...havent been to Roanoke Rapids since the mid 90's. I lived just a few lots down from that white double wide that's straight ahead on the left at 1:01 from about 1987 to around 93 or 94. Out in Weldon down the road from the 95 overpass. My jaw dropped when I saw it in the video...literally brought back all the nostalgia. Thanks for uploading this, Sal.
I'm from here and that was well done and her extremely sad as I watched and seen how this mall has transformed into a ghost of itself.....growing up, that mall was the place to go and not a single spot that wasn't occupied, but poor management led to its demise
FYI, the Sears in Security Square Mall in MD (I loved your vids on it. My husband and I have a lot of fond memories of that place.) is closing in October.
OK: I've lived in Roanoke Rapids from 1987-2010 and the NEW Shopping centers built in 1999 was the beginning of the end of the mall. Before that, the mall did splendidly! You could not get a parking space to save your life. Several of those bushiness are open by the way. What time did you walk around?
Reminds me of my old local mall. Closed it when they closed the tool factory that paid an average of $25 an hour. 1,600 went from earning an average of $25 to an average of $7 per hour. Bye bye mall
Update: Becker Village Mall in Roanoke Rapids was recently purchased by Chapel Hill Developer, David Tsui of Blue Empire LLC, He plans to revitalize it for retail and entertainment
Suuuuper crazy to see this on RUclips. My mom is from a tiny, tiny town called Triplet, VA (basically just a road if I'm being honest), which is about 30 minutes from Roanoke Rapids. That was the big city to them back in the day. It used to be bustling, but there's really no industry there now. The downtown is pretty much dead and I don't think it can be saved. Same with the mall. Sad to see it happen!
We moved away from Roanoke Rapids in 1982 right after I graduated from high school. I was only ever back in 2000, and the thing that amazed me most was not how much had changed, but how little. The only significant difference was the much of the downtown area was dead. BVM was very much alive at that time, but clearly in decline. I miss growing up in Roanoke Rapids, but life moves on and I've now lived in Leesburg, VA for over 20 years.
I had some free tonight. I decided to check up and rewatch a few of your videos. Excellent job, Sal. Your conteant is consistly getting better & better 😎🙌
Oh shit, I've lived here since last summer and had no idea the mall was open at all. Pass by it almost every day and I've always assumed it was totally defunct. I gotta go check it out
The casino alone probably generates enough money for management to keep the mall going. I also geek out when someone uses music Dan Bell has also used so props for that 👍
Another great history lesson, thanks Sal! NC girls here, but born and raised in the Chesapeake / Va. Beach / Norfolk area so really enjoying these videos closer to home.
After watching this series a bit, I'm seeing a recurring theme: changing neighborhoods, dead anchor stores (Sears, K-Mart, et al) and bad, short-sighted management.
Well besides the mold inside the walls, but that's all coming out because the NEW owner is gutting the mall and want to use it for Retail and Entertainment
I was born in 1992 and grew up in RR, this mall was a lot of my childhood. Very busy during the 90s and early 2000s. That shady casino used to be an arcade called Tilt and right next to it was Giovanni's Pizza. There was also a fish shop and a Kmart, can't remember much else but I have fond memories of eating pizza and playing in the arcade ALL the time. I love dead malls so I've gone back every few years, throw on some Vaporwave Mallsoft and just walk around. Really sad how online shopping and outlets killed most malls. I really miss 90s/2000s mall culture.
I pass thru this town on my way to Raleigh every year for Carolina fear fest have to stop by this time love old malls like this why I loved the chambersburg mall so much
Thanks for the video! I use to visit this mall as a child during summers and holidays with my extended family. It has been a long time since I've been to Becker Village, but from what I can remember it use to be very active and packed. The strip mall right by I-95 is the active spot nowadays.
I'm from Roanoke Rapids, that place was popping back in the day. All the shops were filled, pretty much the hang out spot, arcades, shops, was in walking distance from the movie theater. Cool looking at the old places I've been around. I don't remember any of the shops in the video though, must have opened and failed after I moved from there.
I used to work at this mall back in the early 2000's. It started to die after Walmart moved off I-95 and a strip mall was constructed. All the stores that used to be in Becker Village Mall moved out near Walmart.
Came here from Dan Bell's video on Becker Village; man, it looks slightly more depressing in this video than in his. There was a renovation in '91, but I think it was limited more to the outside than the inside, because I distinctly remember the front of BVM looking different than it does today. If you'd like, I could run down some of the stores I remember being in there from over the years (with appropriate timestamps, of course).
My parents have lived in Roanoke Rapids for over 20 years and I remember that entrance being remodeled in 2003 or 04. The mall was well on it's way down by that point and it did nothing to draw business back to the mall at that point.
@@DaNiElBoYd100 Yeah, after the mall lost K-Mart, nothing was going to save it. That was THE anchor store for BVM-and I should know, because my mom worked there for 20 years, right up to the day it closed.
@@StoneStephenT We moved there in '01 and K-Mart and Walden books were my go to places in the mall. I pretty much stopped going there when they both left.
Aww man another great video! I love all the history you put into your work as well, its so much appreciated thank you so so much. I felt so sad when I saw that grand opening sign over that store , it makes me want to go back to my own home town and explore our dying mall :(
Another great video, that place def looked so 80's for sure, I wish you could have visited my old mall known as the Salisbury Mall, it was such a cool Mall, the only Mall I knew of w/ a grocery store, lol, it also had a pretty cool movie theater, anchor stores were Sears, Hecht's, JC Penney & a few others, it was such a cool Mall, I hated when they tore it down, place had awesome memories!!
Sad what that mall has become. Lot of good childhood memories there from the 1990s and early 2000s. Around 2005 it went downhill when they build the Super Walmart, adding the stores that were in the mall into the plaza beside the Super Walmart.
Correction: It slowly started going downhill right around the earlier 2000s (around 2003) when I was entering high school. 2003 was also was when Super Walmart was built and by 2005 when they started completing the plaza beside it, Becker Village was practically deceased.
Many are so poorly constructed it would be cheaper to demolish and rebuild. This mall looks in pretty good shape. Didn't see buckets catching water from leaky ceilings.
Thank God for the incomparable Roy Williams. The fashion show was spectacular. Seasons Greetings. Becker Village is one of the more depressing mall spaces, the sleazy casino doesn’t help. The 90s crash of the savings banks wiped out many businesses, the stronger ones managed to survive. A common theme in a lot of the dead malls is a prevailing sense of some kind of pride. A degree of care is apparent, but not here. The story, nonetheless, as usual is very interesting. Great job. PS: Dude your dog is awesome. Do you have one dog?
Ive been watching your vids for a while and it was cool to see you at the White Marsh mall a few months ago. I lived in Towson for 3 years and went to the White Marsh mall plenty of times. I live on the Eastern Shore now where I grew up and ever since the Old Mall in Salisbury closed when I was a young kid I was fascinated by the mall being mostly abandoned and dark except a few stores especially since once they tore it down I graduated at the High School across the street. Great vids man keep up the hard work. If the Salisbury Mall ever goes downhill Ill hit you up man!
while you are here go check out Cary Town Centre in Cary NC. It is like ghost town. Cary is an upscale place too. Explain that. As for Crabtree in Raleigh, its dying a slow death. Still has shops but the massive amount of parking that used to be full by 9-10am is gone. You can park anywhere you want now any time. Go review that place and let us know your opinion. Great videos!!
I was born in 1991 grew up between Enfield Warrenton rr due to my parents being divorced and it's amazing how these malls have became vacant & golden east in Rocky mount I consider almost dead Victoria secret left during the rise of covid and I prefer outlets or internet shopping at this rate the town should tear down the mall and build a subdivision or just leave it empty
Hey Sal. Recently discovered your channel and I am totally addicted! I am from New Zealand and I find the whole dead mall thing really fascinating as in my country (probably due to its small size) we don't really have any dead malls. Some are run down, sure, but any mall you go to at peak times will be full of people and at least 90 percent occupied. Anyway love your videos. Cheers.
I grew up in North Carolina, I definitely thought you meant the UNC basketball coach at first when you said Roy Williams 😂. Also Crabtree is a really great mall, always packed every time I've been. Too bad it was built literally on top of crabtree creek and floods every time they get substantial rainfall.
It took me a moment to make the connection as to why you showed your watch when you did. I thought it was to indicate how empty it was at 4:36 in the afternoon but realized it also showed it was May 3, and the Xmas decorations were still up.
These abandon mall videos remind me of various documentaries made about Route 66, where many small\medium towns became ghost towns over 1-2 decades because they were by passed by inter-state freeways. It should be also noted that these abandon malls led to the abandonment of downtown "main street" shopping primary because malls had ample free parking and often located near the suburbs
It really started to fail when they built the Super Walmart and the stores off of I95. Alot of the stores from the mall moved there also. Supposedly because the mall owners charged way too much for rent inside the mall.
Would it be a good idea to offer a second year free to tenants? That way they'd pay for a year and the building owner would be almost guaranteed several two year occupants? The new owner definitely paid much less than the building is worth.
I like the end dedication and a few of us hit up the @BeckerVillage account on twitter. I like the idea of keeping it alive in a way through the magic of technology. 👍😆
The table top fish game intrigues me...I wanna go see the casino . I love casinos. Funny how me and gambling in NJ are the same age. I am born and raised in NJ too
That was a remarkable transformation Roy Johnson did at the break. Don't see many wearing squash blossom necklaces these days, really classy. I 'm surprised gambling is legal in North Carolina. It's a conservative state and I thought they oppose gambling but I'm not southern so maybe they like it. Another interesting tale of mall history. Did you call it a mallsaleum at the begining? That might be a useful future for the place.
Dang in yours & Dan Bell’s videos I’ve never seen a mall where there were no stores I saw nothing here other than the casino also 20 years leases that’s crazy to me because you just never know when & if times will change
I’m in DC about to hit my 1 year mark feeling kinda homesick out of no where... thanks for this video. I think it’s strange Raleigh & Durham (& probably Charlotte and Winston Salem, and maybe some southern beach malls) are the only ones showing signs of life.
I grew up outside Raleigh, moved to the west coast in 2017; last I saw Cary Towne Center and Triangle Towne Center weren't doing so hot. There used to be so many malls in the triangle, some of them covered to open air or were razed and turned into strip malls. North Hills was downright dangerous when I was a kid, now that whole area is so upscale.
Is there a playlist for all the songs used in the background of the videos (I really like your music selection!! ) thank you for creating this content ❤️ makes my days a bit better
Thanks for viewing, everyone! If you haven't already, please be sure to sub, and to check out my second channel where I'll be posting raw cuts, commentary, and random other videos that you won't otherwise see here:
ruclips.net/user/QuiteStudios
You all rock, and I can't wait to show you what else I captured down in the NC/Chesapeake region!
Sal I love your videos.. I started with Dan bell last year and then found you. I find your videos to be simply sublime. Thank you
Thank you so much!!! Lots more on the way, and a new video is out tomorrow :)
Love you sal good job buddy
Hey, Sal. West coaster. RUclips suggested your vid. You didn't disappoint.
Edit: Subbed.
Sal please come to St. Louis MO and do The Mills mall. PLEASE!
If people are going to downvote before watching, then I’ll upvote before I watch. The content on this channel has been consistently outstanding
Much appreciated, friend.
And I'm upvoting this comment while watching the video. :3
Back to the video, I can't help but think that sweepstakes parlor is one main reason the Becker Village Mall is still open at the time of this post. I've never had to go to a sweepstakes parlor for my casino gaming fix since I'm not too far from Atlantic City, but I'm guessing they're the result of various forms of anti-gambling legislation that some states have. I wonder how similar these sweepstakes parlors are to many a Pachinko parlor in Japan where you play for tickets which can be exchanged for prizes (which are taken to another shop which buys the prizes for cash).
Sal, Amazing work as always~!
My thoughts exactly! 👍🏼👍🏼
I totally agree that consistently great videos!!!
I'm born and raised in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Thanks for showing our mall. It was such a great place. Alot of childhood memories.....
I see that the Merle Norman Cosmetics store was hanging in there. This is a very bittersweet feeling for me, as my late mother used Merle's cosmetics, and my wife has also used them for the last 30 years of our marriage. They're getting harder to find, so when I see one my emotions get a little jumbled. Hang in there, Merle Norman, and thanks so much for another great video documentary!
Good god, it amazes me this mall is still open. Like, where is everyone? Where is the management? Where's the custodian/security guard/mechanic? Where are the shops? I already had that vibe when I visited back in 2017. JCPenney was on its way out. The V was the only mall-like store (now gone). While there was a salon & a children's fun center present, I literally only counted 8 or 9 people. I just can't believe this place is still standing. And its in good condition for how dead it is.
That 1992-2007 period wrecked this mall, mon frere. Sigh.
the mall as no custodian/ security since the owner is involved in the shady casino in the mall or is in on it.
if the fbi finds out about the shady casino they will raid the casino and press charges against the people that own and the guy that runs the mall. this is a state and Federal offense
I lived in Roanoke Rapids from 1975 to 1982 and was someone who loved the Becker Village Mall when it opened. it was close enough to ride to on my bike, and the first place I ever drove upon receiving my driver's license was to take my little brother to Becker Village Mall.
I was a regular at the Gold Mine, which was the arcade that is now the "shady casino", and spent many, many quarters there. I also worked at K-Mart for about 2 years, doing restocking and later in the garden shop. It was a great job. I also spent plenty of time in Waldenbooks, the record store (which was Harmony Hut, if I recall correctly) and Radio Shack. I have very fond memories of this mall during my high school years, as I do of Roanoke Rapids in general.
There was also a free-standing Safeway near the mall (sharing the same parking area), and I'm curious if anything is still there. The movie theater was also nearby where I saw "Star Wars", "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and a lot of other classics. And there also was a rollerskating rink nearby. I loved growing up in Roanoke Rapids, and your video brought back lots of fond memories, despite its sad content.
I visited the mall in 2000 with my family when passing through Roanoke Rapids, when it was clearly in decline, but still very much alive. It's sad to see it in this state now, but our society has changed in a lot of ways, some good and some bad, that have caused malls to decline in importance.
I love the razor edge opening. Had a Dan Bell vibe to it. Made me laugh. Thanks for the video
This brought a tear to my eye because i remember going to this mall with my mom and sister to shop in Kmart, we would then get a few dollars to play in the arcade with friends after school. I miss this
Wow, lot of old vintage stuff still in that Mall. For only having two open stores, one being a casino, very surprised it was not destroyed by vandals. Great exploration Sal!
Given that apparently a number of old people like to hang around, there is probably some kind of security going on, or at least the unsavory activity is restricted to the "shady casino" which is in the extreme rear of the mall.
Your best yet , so much information
Can't believe this mall is still assessable
Thank you , exactly what I want from a dead mall
OMG!!! I have been watching your series on the dead malls and I often said you need to come to Roanoke Rapids and put Becker Village Mall on there. After Kmart left it started going downhill. Then Belk left, and JCPenney closed that Mall became really empty. It is so sad, I can't tell the last time I have gone in there and I drive past there everyday on my lunch hour.
You holding it down in old roanoke rapids? lol I remember going to that mall as a kid in the late 80's/early 90's and playing around the fountain while my mom was in fashion bug. I'm in Greenville now...havent been to Roanoke Rapids since the mid 90's.
I lived just a few lots down from that white double wide that's straight ahead on the left at 1:01 from about 1987 to around 93 or 94. Out in Weldon down the road from the 95 overpass. My jaw dropped when I saw it in the video...literally brought back all the nostalgia.
Thanks for uploading this, Sal.
I'm from here and that was well done and her extremely sad as I watched and seen how this mall has transformed into a ghost of itself.....growing up, that mall was the place to go and not a single spot that wasn't occupied, but poor management led to its demise
FYI, the Sears in Security Square Mall in MD (I loved your vids on it. My husband and I have a lot of fond memories of that place.) is closing in October.
OK: I've lived in Roanoke Rapids from 1987-2010 and the NEW Shopping centers built in 1999 was the beginning of the end of the mall. Before that, the mall did splendidly! You could not get a parking space to save your life. Several of those bushiness are open by the way. What time did you walk around?
CAPTAIN PLANET! 😂👌🏼 Loved the video as usual Sal, keep up the great work!
Reminds me of my old local mall. Closed it when they closed the tool factory that paid an average of $25 an hour. 1,600 went from earning an average of $25 to an average of $7 per hour. Bye bye mall
Sal your videos are the best on RUclips for Deadmall info and tours! Awesome that you are over 25,000 subscribers!
Update: Becker Village Mall in Roanoke Rapids was recently purchased by Chapel Hill Developer, David Tsui of Blue Empire LLC, He plans to revitalize it for retail and entertainment
Suuuuper crazy to see this on RUclips. My mom is from a tiny, tiny town called Triplet, VA (basically just a road if I'm being honest), which is about 30 minutes from Roanoke Rapids. That was the big city to them back in the day. It used to be bustling, but there's really no industry there now. The downtown is pretty much dead and I don't think it can be saved. Same with the mall. Sad to see it happen!
We moved away from Roanoke Rapids in 1982 right after I graduated from high school. I was only ever back in 2000, and the thing that amazed me most was not how much had changed, but how little. The only significant difference was the much of the downtown area was dead. BVM was very much alive at that time, but clearly in decline. I miss growing up in Roanoke Rapids, but life moves on and I've now lived in Leesburg, VA for over 20 years.
I had some free tonight. I decided to check up and rewatch a few of your videos. Excellent job, Sal. Your conteant is consistly getting better & better 😎🙌
Thanks Madame! Good seeing you still around, hope you’re well!
Nice music in the background very Jazzy:) nice video
We had so much fun there in the 90s! 😢
Love your history about malls and your music/ old ads.
Christmas decorations, Santa's chair ... on May 3rd. 6:26. Hilarious!
10:42 that thing is awesome.
I spent my childhood at that Mall. It had an great Arcade and the best Pizza joint in the World.
Oh shit, I've lived here since last summer and had no idea the mall was open at all. Pass by it almost every day and I've always assumed it was totally defunct. I gotta go check it out
The casino alone probably generates enough money for management to keep the mall going. I also geek out when someone uses music Dan Bell has also used so props for that 👍
Another great history lesson, thanks Sal! NC girls here, but born and raised in the Chesapeake / Va. Beach / Norfolk area so really enjoying these videos closer to home.
I used to love this mall! I pray I can buy it one day! Currently it has just been purchased and is being turned into a Storage Complex!
I want to buy it also
Been a busy summer, just catching this one tonight. Great work as always Sal.cheers
After watching this series a bit, I'm seeing a recurring theme: changing neighborhoods, dead anchor stores (Sears, K-Mart, et al) and bad, short-sighted management.
Looks like one of the better taken care of dead malls....at least on the inside
Well besides the mold inside the walls, but that's all coming out because the NEW owner is gutting the mall and want to use it for Retail and Entertainment
I followed Becker Mall... Im from England but why not :D
I cried thank you. I think, I love you.
Great video sal, it's kinda sad that this place is just sitting in idle with no plans.
I was born in 1992 and grew up in RR, this mall was a lot of my childhood. Very busy during the 90s and early 2000s. That shady casino used to be an arcade called Tilt and right next to it was Giovanni's Pizza. There was also a fish shop and a Kmart, can't remember much else but I have fond memories of eating pizza and playing in the arcade ALL the time. I love dead malls so I've gone back every few years, throw on some Vaporwave Mallsoft and just walk around. Really sad how online shopping and outlets killed most malls. I really miss 90s/2000s mall culture.
💟 those 3 mod square light
fixtures @ 9:37! THOSE R SO 😎, SINCE I LOVE MODERN.
@Captain Fantastic Can't help it ,I love those light fixtures were neat.
@Captain Fantastic PS. Well anyway that place had a treasure chest thing going. Lol.
I pass thru this town on my way to Raleigh every year for Carolina fear fest have to stop by this time love old malls like this why I loved the chambersburg mall so much
Thanks for the video! I use to visit this mall as a child during summers and holidays with my extended family. It has been a long time since I've been to Becker Village, but from what I can remember it use to be very active and packed.
The strip mall right by I-95 is the active spot nowadays.
F yes uncle Sal is back. I just watched Daddy Ace earlier today now just need the don dan bell
Oh I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. ;)
I'm from Roanoke Rapids, that place was popping back in the day. All the shops were filled, pretty much the hang out spot, arcades, shops, was in walking distance from the movie theater. Cool looking at the old places I've been around. I don't remember any of the shops in the video though, must have opened and failed after I moved from there.
Yup. You had the mall, the skating rink and the movie theater all right there together.
awesome vid, love the shady casino!!
Excellent! Thank you! 👍🏻
Thanks!!
Great video Sal. Love the Captain Planet theme song at the beginning. With this mall I’m thinking how is it still open??
A Walmart distribution center is all I need. I'm a truck driver that's why. Love your videos buddy thank you
I used to work at this mall back in the early 2000's. It started to die after Walmart moved off I-95 and a strip mall was constructed. All the stores that used to be in Becker Village Mall moved out near Walmart.
Another great job
Once again,a very sad situation. I loved inclosed malls.
Came here from Dan Bell's video on Becker Village; man, it looks slightly more depressing in this video than in his. There was a renovation in '91, but I think it was limited more to the outside than the inside, because I distinctly remember the front of BVM looking different than it does today. If you'd like, I could run down some of the stores I remember being in there from over the years (with appropriate timestamps, of course).
My parents have lived in Roanoke Rapids for over 20 years and I remember that entrance being remodeled in 2003 or 04. The mall was well on it's way down by that point and it did nothing to draw business back to the mall at that point.
@@DaNiElBoYd100 Yeah, after the mall lost K-Mart, nothing was going to save it. That was THE anchor store for BVM-and I should know, because my mom worked there for 20 years, right up to the day it closed.
@@StoneStephenT We moved there in '01 and K-Mart and Walden books were my go to places in the mall. I pretty much stopped going there when they both left.
❤ it Sal! Keep up the great vlogs!!
Good video. Thanks.
Thanks for the comment, Nancy!
Aww man another great video! I love all the history you put into your work as well, its so much appreciated thank you so so much. I felt so sad when I saw that grand opening sign over that store , it makes me want to go back to my own home town and explore our dying mall :(
Another great video, that place def looked so 80's for sure, I wish you could have visited my old mall known as the Salisbury Mall, it was such a cool Mall, the only Mall I knew of w/ a grocery store, lol, it also had a pretty cool movie theater, anchor stores were Sears, Hecht's, JC Penney & a few others, it was such a cool Mall, I hated when they tore it down, place had awesome memories!!
Very cool spot. Thanks Sal.
Sad what that mall has become. Lot of good childhood memories there from the 1990s and early 2000s. Around 2005 it went downhill when they build the Super Walmart, adding the stores that were in the mall into the plaza beside the Super Walmart.
Correction: It slowly started going downhill right around the earlier 2000s (around 2003) when I was entering high school. 2003 was also was when Super Walmart was built and by 2005 when they started completing the plaza beside it, Becker Village was practically deceased.
Loving the closing credits tune. Can’t find it. What is it?
Love your work, can't wait to see the next log. I wish they take the dead malls turn them into afaborable housing.
Many are so poorly constructed it would be cheaper to demolish and rebuild. This mall looks in pretty good shape. Didn't see buckets catching water from leaky ceilings.
OMG was that Miles Davis you were playing?? you don't know how that made my heart flutter! ♥
Thank God for the incomparable Roy Williams. The fashion show was spectacular. Seasons Greetings. Becker Village is one of the more depressing mall spaces, the sleazy casino doesn’t help. The 90s crash of the savings banks wiped out many businesses, the stronger ones managed to survive. A common theme in a lot of the dead malls is a prevailing sense of some kind of pride. A degree of care is apparent, but not here. The story, nonetheless, as usual is very interesting. Great job. PS: Dude your dog is awesome. Do you have one dog?
Sir... your work will follow you!
Thank you for another video! Those elderly ladies were so cute.
Mallsolium?? What a great addition to the lexicon!!! Congratulations!
The bank you referred to in the early 90's was a savings and loan, so it would not use FDIC, but FSLIC.
I feel like the knowledge I gain about past retail history here..is going to lead me to a big radio or tv trivia prize!!
do a video on the Berkshire Mall in mass only things left is target and movies
Its coming! I have the footage :)
I remember when that mall was packed. Sad. Ghetto Mart killed Berkshire Mall.
Ive been watching your vids for a while and it was cool to see you at the White Marsh mall a few months ago. I lived in Towson for 3 years and went to the White Marsh mall plenty of times. I live on the Eastern Shore now where I grew up and ever since the Old Mall in Salisbury closed when I was a young kid I was fascinated by the mall being mostly abandoned and dark except a few stores especially since once they tore it down I graduated at the High School across the street. Great vids man keep up the hard work. If the Salisbury Mall ever goes downhill Ill hit you up man!
Love the video
Thank you!!!
while you are here go check out Cary Town Centre in Cary NC. It is like ghost town. Cary is an upscale place too. Explain that. As for Crabtree in Raleigh, its dying a slow death. Still has shops but the massive amount of parking that used to be full by 9-10am is gone. You can park anywhere you want now any time. Go review that place and let us know your opinion. Great videos!!
I was born in 1991 grew up between Enfield Warrenton rr due to my parents being divorced and it's amazing how these malls have became vacant & golden east in Rocky mount I consider almost dead Victoria secret left during the rise of covid and I prefer outlets or internet shopping at this rate the town should tear down the mall and build a subdivision or just leave it empty
5:48 Captain Planet! Memories 😊
Nice. What's the name of that last music track please?
I NEED TO KNOW
Nice information Sal
Hey Sal. Recently discovered your channel and I am totally addicted!
I am from New Zealand and I find the whole dead mall thing really fascinating as in my country (probably due to its small size) we don't really have any dead malls. Some are run down, sure, but any mall you go to at peak times will be full of people and at least 90 percent occupied.
Anyway love your videos. Cheers.
Great video!!! Love the black and white filter thing at beginning lol from UK 🇬🇧 no. 1 Fan
I grew up in North Carolina, I definitely thought you meant the UNC basketball coach at first when you said Roy Williams 😂. Also Crabtree is a really great mall, always packed every time I've been. Too bad it was built literally on top of crabtree creek and floods every time they get substantial rainfall.
Nice song in the credits. Who did it?
That is what I want to know, it's so good
It took me a moment to make the connection as to why you showed your watch when you did. I thought it was to indicate how empty it was at 4:36 in the afternoon but realized it also showed it was May 3, and the Xmas decorations were still up.
Yep! So bizarre
These abandon mall videos remind me of various documentaries made about Route 66, where many small\medium towns became ghost towns over 1-2 decades because they were by passed by inter-state freeways. It should be also noted that these abandon malls led to the abandonment of downtown "main street" shopping primary because malls had ample free parking and often located near the suburbs
This mall has some fantastic social media skills
Have you ever done Southgate Mall in Elizabeth City, NC?
If you can check out the mall that's in milledgeville ga i see it every time I get the chance to.go that way but I have never been there ☹️☹️☹️
It really started to fail when they built the Super Walmart and the stores off of I95. Alot of the stores from the mall moved there also. Supposedly because the mall owners charged way too much for rent inside the mall.
so good!
Love the channel keep up the good work
Would it be a good idea to offer a second year free to tenants? That way they'd pay for a year and the building owner would be almost guaranteed several two year occupants? The new owner definitely paid much less than the building is worth.
Thank you for another awesome video! Was that black stuff all down the side of the white wall of the mall black mold?
Awesome video!
I like the end dedication and a few of us hit up the @BeckerVillage account on twitter. I like the idea of keeping it alive in a way through the magic of technology. 👍😆
The table top fish game intrigues me...I wanna go see the casino . I love casinos. Funny how me and gambling in NJ are the same age. I am born and raised in NJ too
That was a remarkable transformation Roy Johnson did at the break. Don't see many wearing squash blossom necklaces these days, really classy. I 'm surprised gambling is legal in North Carolina. It's a conservative state and I thought they oppose gambling but I'm not southern so maybe they like it. Another interesting tale of mall history. Did you call it a mallsaleum at the begining? That might be a useful future for the place.
Do the wheeling mall in WV and and beaver valley mall in beaver county pa!
Kind of crazy to think about sometime in the future people will watch videos about going to a mall and shopping.
Hey Sal, love your videos. You need to check out the Northgate Mall in Seattle, WA.
Thanks Michael! I certainly hope to get out to the west coast...I’ll keep it on my list!
A forlorn mall,sketchy casino with smoking in it🚬Just think tobacco road of old south being where it's located.
Dang in yours & Dan Bell’s videos I’ve never seen a mall where there were no stores I saw nothing here other than the casino also 20 years leases that’s crazy to me because you just never know when & if times will change
Stay tuned :) I’ve got some super shocking ExLogs on the way
I’m in DC about to hit my 1 year mark feeling kinda homesick out of no where... thanks for this video. I think it’s strange Raleigh & Durham (& probably Charlotte and Winston Salem, and maybe some southern beach malls) are the only ones showing signs of life.
I grew up outside Raleigh, moved to the west coast in 2017; last I saw Cary Towne Center and Triangle Towne Center weren't doing so hot. There used to be so many malls in the triangle, some of them covered to open air or were razed and turned into strip malls. North Hills was downright dangerous when I was a kid, now that whole area is so upscale.
Is there a playlist for all the songs used in the background of the videos (I really like your music selection!! ) thank you for creating this content ❤️ makes my days a bit better
Very much Liked this video,GoodUp
For better or worse, my dad was the project manager on this haha