This is so heartbreaking💔🥹 I cannot stop crying I grew up going to this mall since I was a child and my mother used to work at the Cookie shop across from the food court and the arcade... In the 90's When I was a teenager me and my sisters used to hang out on the weekends with friends to go to the music store buy CDs going to the arcade eating at the food court having so much fun but the crimes increasing in the area shootings in the mall and I remember Montgomery mall had a code conduct and dress code because of gang activity the police stayed in the area because crime was so bad..smh !! Montgomery mall has so much history and class.. R.I.P Montgomery Mall🌹🕊️ and I want to thank you for sharing this video I really appreciate much love.❤️
Thank you so very much for your sweet and kind words. I appreciate you sharing your memories and watching the video. May God bless you and your family.
This is hands down one of the best abandoned mall videos I've seen. The excellent camera work, silent story telling with the news clips and old photos and the choice of such a perfect piece of music to set the mood makes this one I will probably watch over and over. Beautiful job.
9:31 This was the kiosk I worked at selling cell phones in college 😢 How disturbing and nostalgic at the same time. Feels like yesterday. Used to be bustling with life in there. ❤ Old folks walking in the mornings and the fun crowd hanging shopping and eating in the evenings!
Thank you for this. My wife worked in one of the anchor stores in the mid 90's. My family spent quite a lot of time (and a good bit of money) in these places back in the day. For years, I was itching to get in there and see what was becoming of the old place. You've done that for me. I've seen some still-photos of the place circa 2010, when it had only been closed 2 years, and they were eerie... the whole mall was essentially abandoned in place overnight, like it was a retail Chernobyl. Cash registers, furniture, signage, you name it, just left sitting there. Now it's just sad, with the ghosts of my memories superimposed over the decaying structure. Part of me thinks they ought to just tear it down.
Many memories in that mall. First job as an electrician on the new addition. Playing around center court water fountain in 1975, building the new Lerner store, Ray’s Airbrush, Dante’s Pizza, game tech at Aladdin’s Arcade. Lunches while on break at J.P. Tech.
Agreed. I’ve seen a lot of dead mall videos and this one is up there with the best. Love the production values with the old photos. Would love to see more videos like this!
Thank you very much for watching. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video. You are correct, there was a carousel in Montgomery Mall. It was moved to Eastdale Mall.
Having worked in that mall in the late 1970’s, this gave me kind of a sad and eerie feeling. It was once the the hub of retail in Montgomery and effectively killed off what remaining retail business there was left in downtown Montgomery.
They moved down to the other end of Montgomery to the mall that was built near the air field. I was sad to see all of the eateries, the 2 food stores & the other businesses gone from that end. I was glad that the Farm Stand was still at the corner by the light the last time my mother & I traveled down to see family.
This is by far the best abandoned mall video I’ve seen, hands down. The music, the pictures, the sounds (water fountain, food court), they go right along with it.
I've never been to this mall. But this video and combination of music made me feel great loss. Reminded me of all the good times in my mall that I lost. Thank you for posting such a beautiful video.
Awesome what appears to be drone footage of this mall brings back alot of memories. So sad that it closed but thanks for sharing this video with us just about brings a tear to my eye and the music you selected for the video is beautiful
@@naturallynirvelli Thanks for watching and sharing your memories. Please enjoy part 2 ----> ruclips.net/video/eV6ojuayJCA/видео.htmlsi=8Bqnx3y3G5l6f7Mx
This is pretty awesome footage. This dead mall barely had any online photos prior to your video. This mall looked really nice, it is a shame that it is rotting away like this. There are not many places in 2021 that still have a Parisian labelscar and an untouched Steve and Barry's sign.
Thanks very much for watching. The first photo of the large water fountain was where you see the clock now. That image was captured before the remodel. Thanks again for watching and your kind words.
I was here every weekend in the 80's, hanging out at the Barrell of Fun arcade and food courts. All the shopping went to the Eastdale Mall across town where most people ended up moving to. This part of town is very run down now.
As I grow older, my younger memories become more and more nebulous. Thank you for unlocking old, treasured memories that I hadn't heard from in a long time ♥ Montgomery Mall was a favorite of mine. I wish I could remember the name of the arcade. It wasn't Aladdin's Castle, because that was Eastdale.
Wow, I was thinking about this mall on the way to work this morning and then found your video. I spent a LOT of time at this mall growing up in the late 80's and 90's. My dad would take us for haircuts there, I LOVED going to Electronics Boutique which was beside the hair salon place. I bought many games from there, including Duke Nukem 3D. I loved going to KB Toys and the arcade, the book store, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, etc. I remember when they opened the Disney Store in there and that was HUGE at the time. So many memories there. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Orange Julius and many other stores brings back such good memories. This really makes me sad to see such a wonderful place end up like this. Same as Normandale. Guess Eastdale Mall will be next, then Eastchase. Sad, just sad...
This mall was my favorite place to hang out in the 90s. I loved visiting the Electronics Boutique there. One day I was browsing aimlessly and a group of three guys come in. One of them picks up a game from the new releases section. Guy 1: “Final Fantasy 7”… I heard this game is tight! Guy 2: For $39.95, it _better_ be tight! Guys 1 and 3: Man, you have _no_ idea what you’re talking about.
Diamond Jim's and Electronics Boutique right around the corner babysat me. I once got sick right in front of the Auburn-Alabama store to a shocked look on the face of a teenage store clerk. Lol. Great times.
As someone who grew up going to this mall a lot in the 90s as a kid, I kinda wish it was more of a walkthrough. I would totally take whoever wanted to film it and show you around where everything was. So weird how on one end on one side is a school, the other a police/fire station and inbetween and on the other side is all abandoned and deteriorating like this
I remember when my family moved back to Montgomery from Ohio, and the mall expanded in 1989. I lived close enough I could WALK to the mall. It was so vibrant and full of life. K-B Toys, Waldenbooks, and the Aladdin's Castle video arcade! Those are memories!
Great abandoned mall video!!! I'm not from the area ww have plenty in Illinois where I'm from and the neighboring state of Wisconsin and Northridge Mall. My son is in the us army and they live in Columbus, Georgia and when he graduated basic training in 2015 we visited the Peachtree Mall which is a very nice mall. My son and his wife and my grandson live in Fort Polk, Louisiana and the last time we visited Columbus, Georgia is when my grandson was born and I didn't realize that Montgomery, Alabama was or a 45 minute trip from Columbus, Georgia I discovered when we changed Greyhound Busses there in Montgomery. Again great video and great history of the mall and great music too and I'm definitely watching this video more than once myself very great job!!! 🤗❤🤗❤🤗❤
I used to live and shop at this mall before leaving the state in 2004, it was slowly headed for closure back them due to the increased crime in the area. However there were good times especially in the early 90's. Montgomery as a whole is declining I live in Huntsville and only come there to put flowers on my parents Graves. R.I.P Montgomery Mall
That’s crazy. Brings back so many memories. I used to work the carousel (2005-2006)in the food court for my aunt when I first moved to Bama from Ohio 😮💨😬me and my late grandma used to walk around the mall before the stores opened ❤😢 Amazing video work
Interesting how this mall is still standing being at this point, most malls that closed in 2008 & 2009 all have since been demolished or redeveloped into some outdoor center. So this mall is indefinitely a lone survivor that somehow isn’t to badly damaged but it seems to be getting worst by the year. Good thing you got this mall on camera when you did because honestly for all we know, this place could be demolished in 5 months to year. That Steve and Barry’s signage is great!
Thank you very much for watching. I really appreciate it. Good news, 4 sections of this building have been beautifully remodeled (vocational school, magnet school, fire station ,and a police precinct) hopefully, there’s good news on the horizon for the rest of the structure. Thanks again.
It costs money to tear a mall down. We are talking millions of dollars. Maybe the city doesn't have it in their budget? I know Charlotte is pretty good at tearing down abandoned malls.
I grew up six blocks from here and watched it being built. I’m glad to see it being employed for other uses. It’s evolving as everything eventually must.
@@wiseupproductions3140 I’ve just found you. The words flying at me as I watch are amazing. You know how to tell a story without actually uttering a word. Magnificent.
@@BillyAlabama I’m so humbled and honored by your kind words. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, so much. You made my night! Thanks again, and blessings to you and your loved ones.
Its funny how this mall & area has went down so much in my lifetime. It crazy because they will literally take the store out of the south side & move them to northeast & east Montgomery to flourish. Mainly east though. I learned if you don’t push for more in your area or pull out of the area where its at. They will never build in a community. Great video. This was the most thriving part of the city in my childhood thank you
Thank you so much! That means alot to us. We're planning on exploring in Montgomery in the next few weeks. If you want to meet up that would be awesome.
Great video! Reminds me a lot of Westland Mall in Columbus, Ohio with the mold, large open center area and hallway corridors! New Friend here! Best Wishes to You!❤️💋
I grew up going to this mall and it hurt so bad to see how fast it went downhill however most of that was due to how bad the neighborhood around it got too.
My family traveled to Montgomery for work and sometimes I would go with them and bring the kids to the mall. The decline was sad. The last time I went I didn't feel safe. It closed not long after that. Most everything near there closed and is run down or replaced by thrift shops and loan shark business.
@@wiseupproductions3140 We shopped there in the late 90s/early 2000s I remember that tall "glass arch" on the outside of the mall and that clock as a kid. By the way that sheetrock detail is RIDICULOUS. imagine how much it would cost today 🤑!
I remember when this mall opened. It was really the second or maybe third mall I had ever been to and was the first mall my family visited on a regular basis. As an adult I remember the addition being added and even lived and worked close to the mall when it was it's peak. Changing demographics, the trend away from enclosed malls beginning in the 90's and the close proximity of another mall really killed it (helped by mismanagement along the way). The whole area around the mall has completely changed. Everything in Montgomery keeps moving east. The former Dillards (which will always be Gayfers or even Montgomery Fair to me) is now a Police Precinct Station and a Fire Station. Good uses for the property but still a shame. I no longer live in the area but still remember Christmas Shopping and Back-to-School shopping there as a child and shopping there again as an adult. Rarely have I found malls I had a "connection" with in videos like this so thanks for posting it!
Yes, that whole side of Montgomery is pretty run down/abandoned now. We used to spend so much time in that area as kids. We would go to the Wal-Mart that was like a mile down the road and grocery shopped at Bruno's across the street, skating at Looney's, etc. Lots of memories.
It's hard to see the Montgomery Mall like this. Someone should make it into a theme park or something, instead of letting it go to waste. It makes me sad.
Lived in Montgomery 1989-1994 (in Millbrook for 6 months August 1988-January 1989) and went here often. JCPenney, Gayfers and Parisian were the anchor stores. Loved the food court. I also remember the clock. The building is still there, I want to say it's a school.
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories. Yes, two schools (Lamp and MPACT: Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies) Also, Montgomery Police Department and Fire Department both have locations there.
Another great WiseUp production! This is the mall where I bought some of the greatest albums in music history when they were released. LET IT BE, LED ZEPPELIN II, etc.
The LEGENDARY Mr. Jim McDade! Thanks so much for watching and sharing your memories! You will forever be a Montgomery icon, and someone I look up to very much!
@@wiseupproductions3140 Great video and skills on the drone ❤ will certainly watch part 2 and have liked, shared, and subscribed! I've always wondered what it looked like inside after all these years, THANK YOU for taking us with you!! ❤
so sad how shopping malls are all dying and becoming just memories of being a teenager when life was more simple, I miss being young going to the mall shopping for clothes and buying music CDs just to go out every Saturday night at the nightclubs with good friends
This part of town is on what they called the southern bypass, I lived not too far from this mall from 1992 to 1995, even back then everything was moving out toward I-85 and east Montgomery. When I went back in 2019 it was all run down a lot of the major businesses had moved out.
White flight is what happened. I lived there from 72 till 1992 and it was hopping We would go to Loony’s skating rink across the street, and then go look at CDs and play video games at Aladdin’s arcade
I worked there for a couple of years in the early 90s, at Bookland, before taking a more permanent job at B. Dalton at Eastdale Mall. Spent a lot of time at Barrel of Fun in the early 80s when I was a kid, along with Gateway Books.
Enjoyed the video. The Japanese have a word for urban exploration of abandoned buildings: Haikyo. I haven't seen the inside of Montgomery Mall in about 45 years. Huge news when it opened.
Great video! It's too bad i get this weird feeling that Eastdale seems to now be declining today, as well. Though it isn't totally dead yet, you can see the signs Eastdale is going down that path. I.e. that one of the mall slumlords(either Namdar or Kohan) bought the mall, an increasing number of stores have left for a lifestyle center east of there, the fact(per some reports I've read) their ice rink isnt open for as many hours as it used to be, etc. Will say I'm kinda surprised none of those into virtual mall recreations, have tried recreating this mall yet. And while I don't do any of those recrestions myself, I'm a member of a few such groups and think one of the people ij these groups would do a REALLY great job of recreating this mall!
@@wiseupproductions3140 You're welcome. I think I will suggest those into virtual mall recreations(I'm in a few of those Discord groups), should try to recreate Montgomery Mall someday.
So many memories! I remember we use to go to the mall on Saturday's and just hang all day until Looney's skating rink opened at 6pm. Use to be in Rhino's playing video games till they told us to leave. I remember pre-ordering Grand Theft Auto San Andreas when I was a kid and damn near dying trying to get to the Mall and pick it up 🤣🤣🤣
I remember this Mall being very very very very very properly, back in the day for real, my Brothers and Sisters, it is very very very sad that this Mall is Closed now 😭
Great video! Thanks for posting. So sad to see the mall in this condition. I spent a lot of time in this mall when it was remodeled and expanded in 1988. Do you have any pictures of the mall from 1988 to before it was closed?
What a sad depressing mall, so sad that it got to this point, Fantastic vid! Liked BTW,. Was there any access to the walled of wing, would really liked to have seen it also
@@wiseupproductions3140 no, but I could have went there when I was really young, I remember Discovery Zone, Bruno’s, Governor Squar Big Lots, and Barnes Nobles across from the mall!
@@s.d.5418 Yep! It closed in 2008. Eastdale mall is probably the replacement even though Eastdale mall opened while Montgomery Mall was still open. If you connect the 2 malls it might be as big as Riverchase Galleria.
@@KingKaosUnkgedOfficial Yeah, by at least 2005, a lot of the notable stores had closed. We started going to eastdale by then. It was over then. Where is riverchase?
They built a magnet school that appears to be attached to this particular mall (can’t help but wonder if that bricked up store front is where it’s attached) also I believe the fire department is using one side of it as well. It’s been awhile since I bothered to look while driving by. Great video though used to shop at Montgomery mall as a kid.
All that water on the floor it has to be moldy too? So sad what is happening to these malls. This mall looks worse and worse the deeper you go. Well done video.
Thank you very much for watching the video. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, this section of the City was overtaken by a high crime rate, including a shooting that took place inside the mall (Food Court). As this section of town sank deeper, the anchor stores moved out (one overnight with no warning or announcement). The good news, several sections of this building have been beautifully remodeled and utilized as an educational facility and public safety. Thanks again for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 Thank you for responding. That’s great news for this mall. It’s seems like malls today are closing left and right. It seems like most of this malls are closing due to high crime rate, followed by being overmalled or just plain bad management. I had 3 malls within 35 minutes from my house just 20 years ago. Now only 1 is left. It’s scary.
I remember walking into the book store in the early 1970s and seeing SOVIET LIFE, an English language equivalent version of America’s LIFE magazine. I browsed it and while it had some twisted propaganda content, it also had some very cool coverage of the Soviet space program that you could not find in any other magazine.
Que es muy loco es que yo was born in 2009, however I still have memories of this mall. Do you think that maybe, perhaps I could have had visions in the womb? Maybe somehow saw things while in the womb? Y'all tell me.
Pay phones.! LMAO. Great video.music. What state was this? I never understand why tables, chairs, benches and plants are left to rot. Give them to a non-profit. This mall could be anytown,, USA. Very sad.
Thank you for watching, Laura. This video was captured in Montgomery, Alabama. The music was provided by Whitesand. I’m sure he will appreciate your kind words about the track. Thanks again.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
That food court. Loved this tour.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
Dan if you travel down this way we have another dead mall in Montgomery, and it has an ice rink.
This is so heartbreaking💔🥹 I cannot stop crying I grew up going to this mall since I was a child and my mother used to work at the Cookie shop across from the food court and the arcade... In the 90's When I was a teenager me and my sisters used to hang out on the weekends with friends to go to the music store buy CDs going to the arcade eating at the food court having so much fun but the crimes increasing in the area shootings in the mall and I remember Montgomery mall had a code conduct and dress code because of gang activity the police stayed in the area because crime was so bad..smh !! Montgomery mall has so much history and class.. R.I.P Montgomery Mall🌹🕊️ and I want to thank you for sharing this video I really appreciate much love.❤️
Thank you so very much for your sweet and kind words. I appreciate you sharing your memories and watching the video. May God bless you and your family.
The arcade was awesome! I remember the Disney store and KB Toys as well
Man I used to work in this mall as a kid. I live I California now.
@@antoniocrosby976 Thanks for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 thanks for doing this
This is hands down one of the best abandoned mall videos I've seen. The excellent camera work, silent story telling with the news clips and old photos and the choice of such a perfect piece of music to set the mood makes this one I will probably watch over and over. Beautiful job.
Thank you so much for watching, and your kind words about the footage made my day. Thanks again. I appreciate it very much.
9:31 This was the kiosk I worked at selling cell phones in college 😢 How disturbing and nostalgic at the same time. Feels like yesterday. Used to be bustling with life in there. ❤ Old folks walking in the mornings and the fun crowd hanging shopping and eating in the evenings!
Thank you, very much, for watching. I appreciate you sharing your memories with us. Blessings and love.
Thank you for this. My wife worked in one of the anchor stores in the mid 90's. My family spent quite a lot of time (and a good bit of money) in these places back in the day. For years, I was itching to get in there and see what was becoming of the old place. You've done that for me. I've seen some still-photos of the place circa 2010, when it had only been closed 2 years, and they were eerie... the whole mall was essentially abandoned in place overnight, like it was a retail Chernobyl. Cash registers, furniture, signage, you name it, just left sitting there. Now it's just sad, with the ghosts of my memories superimposed over the decaying structure. Part of me thinks they ought to just tear it down.
Thank you so very much for watching and sharing your memories. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
No need for words, the beautiful music perfect camera work silent storytelling says it all. The best filmed mall i have ever seen. Regards UK 🇬🇧 .
Thank you for your kind and beautiful comment. You made my evening. Thanks for watching.
I remember as a kid I loved this mall, especially Diamond Jim's arcade. There were true memories there.
Thanks for watching and sharing your beautiful memories.
Many memories in that mall. First job as an electrician on the new addition. Playing around center court water fountain in 1975, building the new Lerner store, Ray’s Airbrush, Dante’s Pizza, game tech at Aladdin’s Arcade. Lunches while on break at J.P. Tech.
Mr. Lambert, you are and always will be a Montgomery pioneer and Legend!!
Ahhhhh. Dante's Pizza. I worked there when they first opened.
Agreed. I’ve seen a lot of dead mall videos and this one is up there with the best. Love the production values with the old photos. Would love to see more videos like this!
@@DavidArmelino Thank you!
This is was one of my favorite hangouts in the mid 90's. If memory serves me there was a giant merry go round in the food court,
Thank you very much for watching. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video. You are correct, there was a carousel in Montgomery Mall. It was moved to Eastdale Mall.
Having worked in that mall in the late 1970’s, this gave me kind of a sad and eerie feeling. It was once the the hub of retail in Montgomery and effectively killed off what remaining retail business there was left in downtown Montgomery.
Thank you very much for sharing your memories.
They moved down to the other end of Montgomery to the mall that was built near the air field. I was sad to see all of the eateries, the 2 food stores & the other businesses gone from that end. I was glad that the Farm Stand was still at the corner by the light the last time my mother & I traveled down to see family.
@@trfarmer3869 The Farm Stand is now gone as well
I cried... it was the mall of my youth.
Thank you very much for watching.
Same. I was there every weekend. Rode my bike there most of the time.
This mall was the best mall in Montgomery. It’s sad that the developers and city let this rot.
Thanks for watching.
This is by far the best abandoned mall video I’ve seen, hands down. The music, the pictures, the sounds (water fountain, food court), they go right along with it.
Your kind words about the video made my day! Thank you so very much for watching, and I’m very glad you enjoyed it.
@@wiseupproductions3140 glad I could brighten up your day. Sometimes a kind word goes a long way & makes the day better.
I've never been to this mall. But this video and combination of music made me feel great loss. Reminded me of all the good times in my mall that I lost. Thank you for posting such a beautiful video.
Thank you very much for your kind words. That means a lot, my friend. I really appreciate it. Thanks for watching.
I'm thankful that my childhood mall is still around
WOW. I loved going to that mall back in the 90s and 00s. It was so thriving at one time.
Thank you so much for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 - Thanks for not telling us when it closed.
@@markjamesmeli2520 The mall permanently closed in 2008, which is displayed in the video at 19:29. Thanks for watching. I really appreciate it.
Friday And Saturday Nites Was The Best Time To Be At Montgomery Mall This Video Bring Back So Many Memories
Thanks for watching.
Awesome what appears to be drone footage of this mall brings back alot of memories. So sad that it closed but thanks for sharing this video with us just about brings a tear to my eye and the music you selected for the video is beautiful
Thanks very much for watching and your kind words. I’m so very glad you enjoyed it.
My childhood memories… I spent so much time there and so many memories I have dreams about being at that Clock and the food court…. Sad Nostalgia
@@naturallynirvelli Thanks for watching and sharing your memories. Please enjoy part 2 ----> ruclips.net/video/eV6ojuayJCA/видео.htmlsi=8Bqnx3y3G5l6f7Mx
This is pretty awesome footage. This dead mall barely had any online photos prior to your video. This mall looked really nice, it is a shame that it is rotting away like this. There are not many places in 2021 that still have a Parisian labelscar and an untouched Steve and Barry's sign.
Thanks very much for watching. The first photo of the large water fountain was where you see the clock now. That image was captured before the remodel. Thanks again for watching and your kind words.
I was here every weekend in the 80's, hanging out at the Barrell of Fun arcade and food courts. All the shopping went to the Eastdale Mall across town where most people ended up moving to. This part of town is very run down now.
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories.
As I grow older, my younger memories become more and more nebulous. Thank you for unlocking old, treasured memories that I hadn't heard from in a long time ♥ Montgomery Mall was a favorite of mine. I wish I could remember the name of the arcade. It wasn't Aladdin's Castle, because that was Eastdale.
Thank you so much for watching the video and I’m very glad you enjoyed it. The arcade was called barrel of fun. Thanks again.
Diamond Jim’s Arcade
cscott is right about Diamond Jim's. But there was an older arcade there for several years that preceded it called 'Barrel of Fun'.
BARREL OF FUN
Wow, I was thinking about this mall on the way to work this morning and then found your video. I spent a LOT of time at this mall growing up in the late 80's and 90's. My dad would take us for haircuts there, I LOVED going to Electronics Boutique which was beside the hair salon place. I bought many games from there, including Duke Nukem 3D. I loved going to KB Toys and the arcade, the book store, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, etc. I remember when they opened the Disney Store in there and that was HUGE at the time. So many memories there. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Thank you very much for watching, Mark. I really appreciate it. You brought back some GREAT memories with the businesses you mentioned. Thanks again.
You named everything I went to as well. I remember the big dog store too lol
Orange Julius and many other stores brings back such good memories. This really makes me sad to see such a wonderful place end up like this. Same as Normandale. Guess Eastdale Mall will be next, then Eastchase. Sad, just sad...
East chase will stay the same long as Eastdale stays open. They better not close it or else shopping in the city will be ruined forever
YEP I REMEMBER QRANGE JULIUS AND DO U REMEMBER A SHOP THAT ONLY SOLD PANTYHOSE AND STOCKINGS IT WAS RIGHT OUTSIDE OF GAYFERS ENTRANCE!!!
Eastdale is thriving now.
@@jalenbarlow1303 fr, they have alot of new stores and shops
This mall was my favorite place to hang out in the 90s. I loved visiting the Electronics Boutique there. One day I was browsing aimlessly and a group of three guys come in. One of them picks up a game from the new releases section.
Guy 1: “Final Fantasy 7”… I heard this game is tight!
Guy 2: For $39.95, it _better_ be tight!
Guys 1 and 3: Man, you have _no_ idea what you’re talking about.
Thanks for watching.
Diamond Jim's and Electronics Boutique right around the corner babysat me. I once got sick right in front of the Auburn-Alabama store to a shocked look on the face of a teenage store clerk. Lol. Great times.
I really appreciate you watching this video and sharing your memories. It means a lot. Thank you!
As someone who grew up going to this mall a lot in the 90s as a kid, I kinda wish it was more of a walkthrough. I would totally take whoever wanted to film it and show you around where everything was. So weird how on one end on one side is a school, the other a police/fire station and inbetween and on the other side is all abandoned and deteriorating like this
Thanks for watching.
I remember when my family moved back to Montgomery from Ohio, and the mall expanded in 1989. I lived close enough I could WALK to the mall. It was so vibrant and full of life. K-B Toys, Waldenbooks, and the Aladdin's Castle video arcade! Those are memories!
Wonderful memories, Shirley! Thanks for watching the video.
Aladdin's Castle was at Eastdale. Diamond Jim's was the Montgomery Mall arcade
@@johncarolina4950 I just realized that. Thanks. 😊
Great abandoned mall video!!! I'm not from the area ww have plenty in Illinois where I'm from and the neighboring state of Wisconsin and Northridge Mall. My son is in the us army and they live in Columbus, Georgia and when he graduated basic training in 2015 we visited the Peachtree Mall which is a very nice mall. My son and his wife and my grandson live in Fort Polk, Louisiana and the last time we visited Columbus, Georgia is when my grandson was born and I didn't realize that Montgomery, Alabama was or a 45 minute trip from Columbus, Georgia I discovered when we changed Greyhound Busses there in Montgomery. Again great video and great history of the mall and great music too and I'm definitely watching this video more than once myself very great job!!! 🤗❤🤗❤🤗❤
Thank you very much for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I deeply appreciate your kind words. Blessings and love to you and your family.
I used to live and shop at this mall before leaving the state in 2004, it was slowly headed for closure back them due to the increased crime in the area. However there were good times especially in the early 90's. Montgomery as a whole is declining I live in Huntsville and only come there to put flowers on my parents Graves. R.I.P Montgomery Mall
Thank you for watching. I hope you have a great day.
Gayfer's/McRea's vibes! I remember this mall well. Miss this place's once vibrant atmosphere. Excellent video, but sad.
Thanks so much for watching and your kind words.
That’s crazy. Brings back so many memories. I used to work the carousel (2005-2006)in the food court for my aunt when I first moved to Bama from Ohio 😮💨😬me and my late grandma used to walk around the mall before the stores opened ❤😢 Amazing video work
Thank you for your kind words and sharing your memories. I appreciate it very much. Blessings and love.
i used to love running arround the fountain in the mall in the 80s it was so nice there
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories.
Interesting how this mall is still standing being at this point, most malls that closed in 2008 & 2009 all have since been demolished or redeveloped into some outdoor center. So this mall is indefinitely a lone survivor that somehow isn’t to badly damaged but it seems to be getting worst by the year. Good thing you got this mall on camera when you did because honestly for all we know, this place could be demolished in 5 months to year. That Steve and Barry’s signage is great!
Thank you very much for watching. I really appreciate it. Good news, 4 sections of this building have been beautifully remodeled (vocational school, magnet school, fire station ,and a police precinct) hopefully, there’s good news on the horizon for the rest of the structure. Thanks again.
It costs money to tear a mall down. We are talking millions of dollars. Maybe the city doesn't have it in their budget? I know Charlotte is pretty good at tearing down abandoned malls.
The Parisians became Lamp High School.
@@itsathejoey wrong
@@teebennett2445 ye It did
I grew up six blocks from here and watched it being built. I’m glad to see it being employed for other uses. It’s evolving as everything eventually must.
Thanks for watching, my friend!
@@wiseupproductions3140 I’ve just found you. The words flying at me as I watch are amazing. You know how to tell a story without actually uttering a word. Magnificent.
@@BillyAlabama I’m so humbled and honored by your kind words. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, so much. You made my night! Thanks again, and blessings to you and your loved ones.
Great video and music. I've never been to this mall but enjoyed the tour.
Thank you so much, Mr. Ford. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
Came across your video, watched and subscribed to your channel. Really enjoyed your video!
Thank you so very much. I really appreciate your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
@@wiseupproductions3140 you're welcome!
I loved the image morphing before the 3 minute mark. I played it over several times. Really nice background music.
Thank you for watching. I really appreciate it. Thanks for your kind words about the image.
Its funny how this mall & area has went down so much in my lifetime. It crazy because they will literally take the store out of the south side & move them to northeast & east Montgomery to flourish. Mainly east though. I learned if you don’t push for more in your area or pull out of the area where its at. They will never build in a community. Great video. This was the most thriving part of the city in my childhood thank you
Thank you for watching. I appreciate it, very much.
Great video! I love the camera work....very smooth
Thank you so very much! I really appreciate it. Your channel is AMAZING! I hope you have a great weekend.
Thank you so much! That means alot to us. We're planning on exploring in Montgomery in the next few weeks. If you want to meet up that would be awesome.
@@UrbanExplorationz Sounds great! Thanks!
Great video! Reminds me a lot of Westland Mall in Columbus, Ohio with the mold, large open center area and hallway corridors! New Friend here! Best Wishes to You!❤️💋
Thank you so very much for watching and your kind words. Thanks BIG TIME for subscribing🙏! Blessings to you and your loved ones.
Thank you for filming this.
Thank you for watching.
I grew up going to this mall and it hurt so bad to see how fast it went downhill however most of that was due to how bad the neighborhood around it got too.
Thank you for watching.
My family traveled to Montgomery for work and sometimes I would go with them and bring the kids to the mall. The decline was sad. The last time I went I didn't feel safe. It closed not long after that. Most everything near there closed and is run down or replaced by thrift shops and loan shark business.
Worked at Ruby Tuesday in 1990.....
Todd!! What’s going on, Brother! Thanks for watching!
This can't be real...............😕@@wiseupproductions3140
Loved this mall. Sad to see it gone... Body Shop, Rave, and 5•7•9 were my favorite stores lol
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories.
incredible! the most dramatic interior remodel of any mall ! looks (TIMELESS) they must've spent alot of time and effort on this thing!😲
Thank you so very much for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 We shopped there in the late 90s/early 2000s I remember that tall "glass arch" on the outside of the mall and that clock as a kid. By the way that sheetrock detail is RIDICULOUS. imagine how much it would cost today 🤑!
I remember when this mall opened. It was really the second or maybe third mall I had ever been to and was the first mall my family visited on a regular basis. As an adult I remember the addition being added and even lived and worked close to the mall when it was it's peak. Changing demographics, the trend away from enclosed malls beginning in the 90's and the close proximity of another mall really killed it (helped by mismanagement along the way). The whole area around the mall has completely changed. Everything in Montgomery keeps moving east. The former Dillards (which will always be Gayfers or even Montgomery Fair to me) is now a Police Precinct Station and a Fire Station. Good uses for the property but still a shame. I no longer live in the area but still remember Christmas Shopping and Back-to-School shopping there as a child and shopping there again as an adult. Rarely have I found malls I had a "connection" with in videos like this so thanks for posting it!
Thank you very much for watching and sharing your memories. I really appreciate it.
Yes, that whole side of Montgomery is pretty run down/abandoned now. We used to spend so much time in that area as kids. We would go to the Wal-Mart that was like a mile down the road and grocery shopped at Bruno's across the street, skating at Looney's, etc. Lots of memories.
Hey David!! Jason Brown
It's hard to see the Montgomery Mall like this. Someone should make it into a theme park or something, instead of letting it go to waste. It makes me sad.
They put a high school and police/fire department on each end so far, not sure about the middle portion tho
Lived in Montgomery 1989-1994 (in Millbrook for 6 months August 1988-January 1989) and went here often. JCPenney, Gayfers and Parisian were the anchor stores. Loved the food court. I also remember the clock. The building is still there, I want to say it's a school.
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories. Yes, two schools (Lamp and MPACT: Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies) Also, Montgomery Police Department and Fire Department both have locations there.
Amazing places that were once thriving are just completely given up to nature awesome footage 👍
Thank you so very much.
Absolutely incredible video! Great job!
Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
Another great WiseUp production! This is the mall where I bought some of the greatest albums in music history when they were released. LET IT BE, LED ZEPPELIN II, etc.
The LEGENDARY Mr. Jim McDade! Thanks so much for watching and sharing your memories! You will forever be a Montgomery icon, and someone I look up to very much!
I worked at Newsome's Music that summer and remember hearing that Elvis had died in August of '77; also worked at Lerner's and Gayfers back then :)
@@PamelaTharp Thanks! I’m sure that I was one of your customers.
Great coverage. Thank you!
You’re very welcome. Thanks for watching.
Love this !!! The weird camera turning and noise is a little bothersome but this is truly amazing hopefully you can get more malls!!
Thank you so very much for watching. I appreciate you.
Washed dishes at JC Penney’s restaurant at 14 years of age in 1971 New Mall then. Lots of good memories
That’s fascinating! Thank you for watching and sharing your memories.
Candy still in the machines after 13 years.
Thanks for watching.
Eat at your own risk
@@WhittyPics Hard candy can actually remain edible for decades if stored right. But sitting loose in a machine, I doubt it, haha
Wow! Worked at Camelot Music in 1997 by the handicap ramp section of the mall. Gaaaaahhh I miss those days 😭😭
@@KAJin125 Thanks for watching 🙏 if you enjoyed this video, please check out part 2. Thanks again.
Great work! I've shared and subscribed! Also awesome skills with the drone! 🤗@@wiseupproductions3140
@@wiseupproductions3140 Great video and skills on the drone ❤ will certainly watch part 2 and have liked, shared, and subscribed! I've always wondered what it looked like inside after all these years, THANK YOU for taking us with you!! ❤
@ Thank you, so very much, for your kind words & Liking/subscribing🙏 You made my morning.
@@wiseupproductions3140 🫶🫶🫶
Lol remember modeling here as a kid They remodeled it into a school/police station but I miss the old venue this is so heart warming thank uu
You’re welcome. Thank you for watching.
Oh hell, I didn't even realize it closed down! I remember going here a lot when visiting two relatives of mine who worked at the base in that city.
Hey, Retro. Do u remember if it was Maxwell or Gunter AFB? Thanks
@@wiseupproductions3140 I think they were doing civillian service at Gunter.
@@wiseupproductions3140 It's Maxwell.
so sad how shopping malls are all dying and becoming just memories of being a teenager when life was more simple, I miss being young going to the mall shopping for clothes and buying music CDs just to go out every Saturday night at the nightclubs with good friends
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories. I hope you enjoy the holidays and have a happy new year.
@@wiseupproductions3140 thank you and great content
This part of town is on what they called the southern bypass, I lived not too far from this mall from 1992 to 1995, even back then everything was moving out toward I-85 and east Montgomery. When I went back in 2019 it was all run down a lot of the major businesses had moved out.
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories, Charles.
@@wiseupproductions3140 thanks for putting up this video.
White flight is what happened. I lived there from 72 till 1992 and it was hopping We would go to Loony’s skating rink across the street, and then go look at CDs and play video games at Aladdin’s arcade
I wonder what they did with all the tables & chairs?
They are still there. Thanks for watching and I hope you have a Happy New Year.
Memories……. Great Documentary!⭐️
Thank you so much.
So haunting...and it's so easy to imagine the mall full of people and stores. The lack of vandalism is astonishing. Great footage!
Thank you so much for watching.
I worked there for a couple of years in the early 90s, at Bookland, before taking a more permanent job at B. Dalton at Eastdale Mall. Spent a lot of time at Barrel of Fun in the early 80s when I was a kid, along with Gateway Books.
Great video, by the way.
Thank you very much for watching, your kind words, and sharing your memories. I hope you have a great day.
Enjoyed the video. The Japanese have a word for urban exploration of abandoned buildings: Haikyo.
I haven't seen the inside of Montgomery Mall in about 45 years. Huge news when it opened.
Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
Looks like this mall had a great run. I grew up in the 70's and will never forget it.
Thank You For The Great Video
You’re welcome. Thank you so very much for watching.
Keep up The Great Work
Will do, sir. Thank you so much.
I've seen urbex videos before, love them, but this is the best camera work I've ever seen. Well done.
Thank you very much for your kind words. I appreciate it. Thanks for watching.
Great video! It's too bad i get this weird feeling that Eastdale seems to now be declining today, as well. Though it isn't totally dead yet, you can see the signs Eastdale is going down that path. I.e. that one of the mall slumlords(either Namdar or Kohan) bought the mall, an increasing number of stores have left for a lifestyle center east of there, the fact(per some reports I've read) their ice rink isnt open for as many hours as it used to be, etc.
Will say I'm kinda surprised none of those into virtual mall recreations, have tried recreating this mall yet. And while I don't do any of those recrestions myself, I'm a member of a few such groups and think one of the people ij these groups would do a REALLY great job of recreating this mall!
Thanks for watching. I appreciate you.
@@wiseupproductions3140 You're welcome. I think I will suggest those into virtual mall recreations(I'm in a few of those Discord groups), should try to recreate Montgomery Mall someday.
So many memories! I remember we use to go to the mall on Saturday's and just hang all day until Looney's skating rink opened at 6pm. Use to be in Rhino's playing video games till they told us to leave. I remember pre-ordering Grand Theft Auto San Andreas when I was a kid and damn near dying trying to get to the Mall and pick it up 🤣🤣🤣
Awesome memories, my friend! Thanks for watching🤛🔥
I remember this Mall being very very very very very properly, back in the day for real, my Brothers and Sisters, it is very very very sad that this Mall is Closed now 😭
Thanks for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 Your Welcome.
Great video! Thanks for posting. So sad to see the mall in this condition. I spent a lot of time in this mall when it was remodeled and expanded in 1988. Do you have any pictures of the mall from 1988 to before it was closed?
Thank you very much for watching and sharing your memories, Ron. I do have a few pics form that time period. Thanks again.
@@wiseupproductions3140 would love to see them!
What a sad depressing mall, so sad that it got to this point, Fantastic vid! Liked
BTW,. Was there any access to the walled of wing, would really liked to have seen it also
Thank you very much for watching, and your kind words. Good news, the area in question was converted to a public safety building and school.
Phoenix, Az is getting with it this year. They are demolishing Fiesta mall, Paradise Valley, and Metro Center malls and redeveloping the land.
Thanks for watching.
My childhood makes me sad!
Thanks for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 I miss it a lot
@@peytonmcpherson2328 Do you remember putters and sluggers across the street?
@@wiseupproductions3140 no, but I could have went there when I was really young, I remember Discovery Zone, Bruno’s, Governor Squar Big Lots, and Barnes Nobles across from the mall!
At 11:18 I believe that used to be a Ruby Tuesday
I think 11:18 indeed was an old Ruby Tuesday. The RTs in malls, tended to have windows like that.
Question to all those amazing viewers. Which do you like better? Montgomery Mall or Eastdale mall?
Thanks for watching and your great question. I liked them both back in the day. The east side and south side had different vibes...good vibes.
@@wiseupproductions3140 Yeah. The eastside has become the Southside. Sadly Eastdale will be the same if not demolished or used for other purposes.
Montgomery Mall was something you'd never forget if you grew up in the 90-early 2000 era.
@@s.d.5418 Yep! It closed in 2008. Eastdale mall is probably the replacement even though Eastdale mall opened while Montgomery Mall was still open. If you connect the 2 malls it might be as big as Riverchase Galleria.
@@KingKaosUnkgedOfficial Yeah, by at least 2005, a lot of the notable stores had closed. We started going to eastdale by then. It was over then. Where is riverchase?
They built a magnet school that appears to be attached to this particular mall (can’t help but wonder if that bricked up store front is where it’s attached) also I believe the fire department is using one side of it as well. It’s been awhile since I bothered to look while driving by. Great video though used to shop at Montgomery mall as a kid.
Thanks for watching. You’re correct, Lamp (magnet school), fire station, police HQ and a vocational school are located in parts of the building now.
All that water on the floor it has to be moldy too? So sad what is happening to these malls. This mall looks worse and worse the deeper you go. Well done video.
This mall needs to be knocked down. It looks like a public health hazard
Is this one of the malls that Roy Moore used to hang out in?
Thank you for watching and your kind words. I appreciate it.
I love that it’s almost completely untouched (vandalism wise) but it’s a shame to think about how much the leaky roof is going to worsen.
Thanks so much for watching.
i’ve been in here before, it was rlly cool
Thanks for watching.
I work at the high school at one end of the building.
It’s horrifying to see the other side of the wall. No wonder our school leaks all the time.
Anybody know why it closed down?
Thank you very much for watching the video. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, this section of the City was overtaken by a high crime rate, including a shooting that took place inside the mall (Food Court). As this section of town sank deeper, the anchor stores moved out (one overnight with no warning or announcement). The good news, several sections of this building have been beautifully remodeled and utilized as an educational facility and public safety. Thanks again for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140 Thank you for responding. That’s great news for this mall. It’s seems like malls today are closing left and right.
It seems like most of this malls are closing due to high crime rate, followed by being overmalled or just plain bad management.
I had 3 malls within 35 minutes from my house just 20 years ago. Now only 1 is left. It’s scary.
because nobody has any money
I remember last walking through this mall in 2009. Just a few empty stores. .my how bankruptcy can change things
Thanks for watching.
to this day. the mall is still closed. i hope someone comes and turn this mall into the best mall ever that has been closed for over 10 years
Thanks for watching.
What year did this close? They did a major new addition to this mall sometimein the mid 90's that basically doubled it's size.
2008 I see it now.
@@johndersham1 Thanks for watching, sir. Have a great weekend.
For someone who has seen the outside of this mall thousands of times 😞 this is the first time I've ever seen it from the inside
Thanks for watching.
I wish you could have seen it when it was in its prime. Never thought I’d get so nostalgic and sad about a mall. 😢
been here 2001-2003 so sad see this mall in this condition
Thanks for watching.
Reading that article at :33, hard to believe Montgomery Fair was at its downtown location only 20 years.
Thanks for watching.
I remember walking into the book store in the early 1970s and seeing SOVIET LIFE, an English language equivalent version of America’s LIFE magazine. I browsed it and while it had some twisted propaganda content, it also had some very cool coverage of the Soviet space program that you could not find in any other magazine.
Fascinating!
Didn't someone buy a section of this mall?
Thanks for watching. MPD, MFD, MPACT, and Lamp have portions of the mall.
@@wiseupproductions3140thanks!
From UK, I love abandoned malls,dunno why,have scribed
Thank you so very much. I appreciate you.
Mannn as a kids this was the spot with Looneys skating rink across on one side and dz discovery zone and chuck e cheese
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories.
Eastchase sucked the life out of both the Montgomery Mall and Eastdale Mall just like everyone knew it would.
Thanks for watching.
And glimcher killed Montgomery mall
Que es muy loco es que yo was born in 2009, however I still have memories of this mall. Do you think that maybe, perhaps I could have had visions in the womb? Maybe somehow saw things while in the womb? Y'all tell me.
Fascinating! Thanks for watching.
@@wiseupproductions3140
Please answer my question
@@Hyla_Frog Anything’s possible. If so, I’m glad it brought you to this video. Blessings to you and your loved ones.
Pay phones.! LMAO.
Great video.music.
What state was this?
I never understand why tables, chairs, benches and plants are left to rot. Give them to a non-profit.
This mall could be anytown,, USA. Very sad.
Thank you for watching, Laura. This video was captured in Montgomery, Alabama. The music was provided by Whitesand. I’m sure he will appreciate your kind words about the track. Thanks again.
14 years since it closed! it went by fast
Thanks for watching
I remember being a little girl at the time and my parents taking me to the Disney store that used to be there. So sad how this mall turned out.
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories.