Hey there. Current High Point University student here. The university owns the mall and uses it for storage. So most of what you’re seeing isn’t “abandoned” items or materials. They get used on campus. The Christmas decorations get used for the annual High Point University Christmas drive through for example (look it up, it’s rather neat). Otherwise the mall is used as a mail center and hosts various student projects. I am the treasurer for High Point University’s Volunteer Center who’s partnered with the Center for Community Engagement and we make use of this often. That “security” was more likely than not an HPU security officer who has no real authority to arrest. Sorry if this information ruins the premise of the video, just figured you may want to know what all is going on here!
Thank GOD because I almost cried when I saw all of those "abandoned" nutcrackers! So glad they are loved and enjoyed. I have several in my house at Christmas and love them!
The very first store on the far left corner that you said was a pizza place was the Cookie company .. then Sbarros, there was a Japanese place then on the end next to the theatre was Panda Express.. Chick fil a was on the right then that next store was a bunch of different things that never lasted, then Subway and a Wendy’s then the arcade. The last spot used to be the customer service place. I worked in that mall for years as well as my husband (Cfa)
Hey Shelley. Tell Brian hello for me. Went to Wesleyan and knew him fairly well in the mid to late 90s from there and the mall. I worked in roughly 5 different stores at Oak Hollow. You know my wife but you and I never really knew each other. Small world.
@@RangerRickTV also the customer service place was the mall security office, my pos father worked there as a mall security from 2004 to 2017, I was born 2005 so I grew up going there especially in the summer, the play area had a foam boat on the "water" blue spot, I have tons of memories there. It became my 2nd home after going there so much, I miss running around playing tag with my sister through the main floor at night waiting for our (pos) father to get done. I could tell you so many stories of the places even the back service station where the offices where.
@@DARKELLAKEL omg what year frame and if your ok your name, I grew up going there since I was born(2005-closing in 2017) cause my pos father worked security(2004-closing), his name first and middle name is Larry Scott, it was my second home and I saw 90% of the staff as family.
I love this kind of thing, exploring old, abandoned places. It's like live liminal space pictures, somehow scary and sad and nostalgic and fun all at once.
15:31 Behind that plastic sheet used to be the Sears. 15:36 I used to work in that KayBee Toys!!! I worked there for 3 Christmases in a row during the 90's. 17:52 That used to be a Chick-Fil-a!!!! 18:06 That used to be a Cookie Factory, they sold large cookies there. 18:57 Yes, that WAS an arcade!!! 19:41 I saw MANY movies there in the late 90's!!!! 21:12 That movie theater had it's own mini arcade...that's where it was. 22:09 That looks like the old video game store or the Suncoast video store. I'm not sure because you didn't pan into the store enough but I remember shopping in it when it was open. 22:28 Behind you from this shot there was a Sunglasses Hut & there was a candy store beside of the Sunglasses Hut.
It wasn't the video game store. I was a manager at that Gamestop for a couple of years. It was located right by the Cookie Company at the end of the food court.
I just recently discovered your channel, and I love every single exploration! I'm currently binge watching! I'm a huge proper people fan and have been watching them for over 9 years. You're right up there with them! I enjoy both cinematic explorations and the talking ones like this!
The row of nutcracker feels like it’s straight out of a Backrooms video! I half expected them to turn towards the camera and then video abruptly stops!
I remember going to Oak Hollow as a child. It's interesting to see it in this state after so many years and so many memories. I barely recognize some of these locations. I distinctly recall the food court and theater, as well as the nice area with the astroturf circle and elevator (12:14). It was such a unique place to me, and honestly, I'd be happy to see someone make an entire map of Oak Hollow mall virtually to just walk through. No scary monsters or horrifying twists, just exploring the environment of a place that once was.
High Point University uses the mall for storage as another person said I have lived here all my life and the University puts on a huge Christmas drive thru .I can't believe they let that roof go like that , with all the money that University has . I used to shop in that mall when my son was a baby sometimes we would just walk he loved to ride in his stroller. I think they are covering up the skylights ,This mall was very pretty in its day . Thanks for filming it .
I grew up in High Point through high school and most of my family still lives around the Triad. I remember when the mall was being built in the early 1990s and when it opened in 1995. It felt like such a big deal as most High Point residents had typically needed to drive to Four Seasons in Greensboro or Hanes in Winston Salem. High Point actually had a mall prior to Oak Hallow known as the Westchester Mall, but it was rather small and had closed completely by either 1993 or 1994, as best I can remember. I’m glad you explored the old Regal theater. I can’t remember all the movies I saw there through the years, but I definitely remember seeing Star Wars Episode 1 and the second Matrix film there.
This is so weird to see. I worked here in 2015 on the 1st floor at one of the last stores that was inside the building. You were right at it at the 23:40 mark ($10 Sports). I also remember going there when it first opened and a few other times. We went to Randolph Mall which is now Asheboro Mall much more frequently though.
I used to check in on this place when I had business to be in High Point, watching its decline. I remember twice eating at the food court when only one or two places was still open. The last time I was there, I remember going to the Hallmark store which was weirdly way off on its own surrounded by closed spaces. The few other remaining stores were huddled near the entrances.
The store just past the corner vendor place in the food court was a GameStop I worked at from like 2007-2008 and even then Oak Hollow was on a major decline. Crazy to see it like this though.
I have lived in highpoint/thomasville all my life. This was my mall as a kid.. kinda makes me sad watching it because it brings back better times as a kid with my mom and sister in the 90's. Those nutcrackers you seen, I remember those, however I do not remember them having so many. I remember during Christmas time when they had santa come to the mall, there were a few around the "entrance" to go see him you see him set up on the bottom floor around the fountain at 12:16. If you have any questions about which store was which, I'll try to help. BTW, where you pointed and said "that has to be a pizza place", that was actually a cookie shop. The place to the left of it was a sbarro. Thanks for the video. Really was a fantastic mall.
You are very lucky (I’m surprised) you didn’t get caught in the storage room, that’s an active and heavily used storage/ mail center for High Point University. I have been there several times with HPU and there was at least 50+ employees there!
I remember going to that theatre when I went to HPU back around 2005. I currently work at HPU part time and have seen those nutcrackers coming from the mall.
This mall was a huge part of my childhood being family friends with the owner of a cafeteria and being here while this mall was active and closing down it was such a liminal feeling i cant describe there was a time where the second half of the mall was shut down. Staring into the black void of the fence blocking it off set something off inside of me as a child that never quite went away
I’m surprised if a university owns the mall that the roof is in such poor shape. The school should use it as a satellite campus and make good use of the mall. It would be perfect for classrooms and such. In other comments apparently students go in there. The roof should be in better condition if people use the mall regularly especially with the mold problem.
My pos father worked there when it was open(2004-2017) and his boss and a lot of other staffs try to create a deal with the school to keep it open with all the stores and have it where students could work there for experience and students can have a special deal/coupon for certain stores, the collage said no. I grew up going there since I was born(2005-2017) and I miss all the memories I made there, a lot of first, it was my second home. I was fun and I can talk for hours of all the memories and stories there, it was my safe place, I remember laying in the play area with my sister(who's 3yrs older) at night waiting for him to finish working and with most of the lights off looking at the stars thru the glass ceiling.
Very good video.These are my favorite types..non scripted and just a walk thru with narration. That musuc in the middle of the video.Was it added or coming thru the mall speakers?.It was low playing and had a slight echo sound like you would hear at a mall.Very good video again.Ty
Came here to comment about how the Christmas stuff was not abandoned it's just in storage. I did wonder where they stopped that stuff tho lol... it's really weird to see how deteriorated it's gotten in the last few years. My kids and I used to go there right before it closed for Good when Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret where right before they closed for good. It was really odd and eerie shopping in a mostly empty Mall. Dillard's is still somehow holding on.
@@RangerRickTV the only thing I actually ever remembered from the mall was playing at the little plastic tree at the play place in the food court. When I saw in the video that it is still engraved in the floor… I was so shook… the memories 😭😭
what I find crazy is that all through our country there are structures like this left abandoned and yet developers are still buying land to build something new … our government should focus and force them to find ways to repurpose at there cost the buildings. Lot’s of homeless people in our country and not only could they be used for shelter but for providing a means of rehabilitating, teaching them back to be part of society.
Thanks for the great video RangerRick! Even your name is reminiscent of a cartoon character I remembered as a child. Your work is excellent! I really enjoy your videos! God bless you!
The nutcrackers remind me of a Dr Who episode when Rose walked into a room full of dummies and the dummies all came alive. Imagine if the nutcrackers all turned to face the camera and the video suddenly ended. The soldiers were pretty freaky too. What crazy things to find in an old mall. If it is owned by a university then i guess you are looking at why student fees are so expensive.
I am shocked that High Point University didn't make use of that vacant space with that mall in such good condition and so new for malls. They could have easily used the mall building to grow their campus. They could have easily converted the small stores into classrooms, labs, offices, data centers, or other facilities. They could take an anchor store and turn it into a library, a computer lab, a student union space, or the like easily. Another use for an anchor store would be to convert into a performing arts theater, gymnasium, workout gym, aquatic center, or other facility. The food court could serve as a cafeteria for the students. They could have taken those abandoned movie theaters and converted them into lecture halls. With the oversized parking lots, you could bulldoze some of the parking and build an student apartment or a dormitory. They could also add an athletic field for sports too. They could have taken some of the remaining space and put in a data center or server rooms for the campus. It would have been very easy to make a university satellite campus out of a mall like that! Malls have been turned into college campuses before. Amigoland Mall in Brownsville TX was turned into the ITEC campus for Texas Southmost College. Palm Springs Mall in Palm Springs, California is being turned into a campus for College of the Desert. P.S. I am guessing about those Nutcrackers. Did Macy's leave them behind for their parade? Were they part of the University's decorations or marching band? Was someone leasing that space for use as a storage facility? Where they part of the original mall's decorations?
High Point University uses it for storage. I had heard that they couldn't get Dillard's Clearance to leave. Don't know if that's why they decided not to make classrooms in it, because that was what was suppose to happen. I just went by there yesterday and saw where the old Barnes and Noble is now a church. The University had made it a Arts class. The University lost money this time.
The university looked into the option of doing many things with the mall space. At one point we were shown concept art that included converting it into several academic buildings and a basketball arena. Unfortunately, the architect determined that it would be too cost prohibitive to do the renovations and because Sears had an automotive shop there, any work done on the structure must go through some sort of EPA checks.
My pos father worked there when it was open(2004-2017) and his boss and a lot of other staffs try to create a deal with the school to keep it open with all the stores and have it where students could work there for experience and students can have a special deal/coupon for certain stores, the collage said no. I grew up going there since I was born(2005-2017) and I miss all the memories I made there, a lot of first, it was my second home. I was fun and I can talk for hours of all the memories and stories there, it was my safe place, I remember laying in the play area with my sister(who's 3yrs older) at night waiting for him to finish working and with most of the lights off looking at the stars thru the glass ceiling.
I live 20 minutes away from the old mall. One of my first retail jobs was things remembered. This throws back memories all to well. I grew up in that mall. There could be spirits banging around. The whole place has been so down for years before they closed. When I lived in high point. I went to this mall all the time. And went to get my hair done in one of the big store place over there. There use to be a movie theater there. Long time ago. It’s sad how it turned out. Wish they would do something to fix it. Back to where we can shop there. Or make apartments out of it. Saraba Italian. There was a cookie place. There was a jappenese. Chinese place to eat. I think a chick fil a at one point All the nutcrackers they used for Christmas decorations inside the mall with bows and Christmas trees. Etc. I have been in the piedmont for 24 years. I know all of this area most of this area by heart
When malls were in their hay day it was shoulder to shoulder at the holidays and "the place to be". No one would have drempt they would ever close. I find these really haunting. Not ghost wise, but echos of memories of and energies from days gone by. Its sad,... Just so sad...🏙️..🌆.....🏚️
Don’t know if you caught it but you got a EVP while standing in the movie theater you said popcorn and candy the evp said “all of it,all of it” nice catch
Just watching video. As many have mentioned, High Point Univ. (private school) stores a lot of their campus holiday decorations. Every holiday season, the school features a very elaborate and extensive holiday presentation and opens up the campus to the public. Obviously, a large empty mall provides an ideal and convenient location to store the items as the mall is just a few miles from the campus. Given the cost of warehouse space, it’s likely HPU saves on storage fees vs. more commercial storage options.
Wow, I cant believe this mall has fallen into such terrible condition with all of the water damage. Despite that, this mall does look almost close to what it looked in 2017 when it closed for good.
I was there the day that mall opened in August of 1995 and was there shortly before it closed. My daughter loved that play area. I used to work at the Sears operations center there as well! Even did some drone shots Nice work!
Sad to see great places once full of people and shopping closed and abandoned I love walking in the malls that still are open and I remember the stores I went in when I was a child now closed. Hopefully someone will convert this building
Merry Christmas Rick! Thank you for this fantastic video.really enjoyed watching it.but mind my is over active and expected someone to jump out around every corner😅.the nutcrackers were amazing,i have a 6ft one in my kitchen.much love from across the pond.
I moved to high point from london in 2001 and stayed for 3yrs, i remember oak hollow mall had some bangin food in there...i loved steak street olive garden and the McDonald's is so much better than here lol lovely friendly people and amazing scenery ❤
There is a mall in Cincinnati Ohio. Forest Fair. It closed off areas and I walked from one end to the other. Mall music playing. In the center, there was a gigantic self propelled machine that was so interesting. It was about 16x18 enclosed in glass. It was so bleak and quiet except for the music. One in a million experience.
This is a different kind of closure. This Mall opened in the mid 90s, not an old mall by most standards, yet the parent co was looking for a buyer a dozen years after it's opening. This closure is more about the economics of Highpoint than the nations distaste for them as the move to on line shopping becomes the norm.
@@shirleyhughes1248 Those nutcrackers are only about 4k each, not sure where the 12k price tag in the video came from. They're commercial grade fiberglass pieces, that's why they are so expensive... they are made to withstand most of the punishment the public inflicts on Christmas decorations for several years before they need refurbishment.
In the food court with the red & white checkers you pointed out as a pizza place, it was actually a cookie/dessert bar. I can’t recall the name, but the cookies would sit in those glass displays up front
It’s a shame they don’t fix it up and make it into a place for concerts, or restaurants- I’m sure if they put their ideas together they can get a lot of business going. Some breweries and games like Dave & Buster type stuff.
Man, that loud ass hand dryer had me rolling. Thankfully, no one was around to hear it. I am really enjoying your new dead mall trips, keep it up Rick!
I snuck into the OMNI International Mall In Miami in 2021. It was almost completely guted except for the office. The Mall was closed down in 1999 after being built in 1977. Its probly the longest abandoned mall in the US because there is a 25 story hotel on top that is still leased till today. Had a blast in there. What strikes me about these abandoned malls is the same electrical humming noise you hear in them. Sadly I lost my phone which had 150 videos of the mall. sucks
My dad knows the guy who works on the nutcrackers during the off-season for High Point University. He does paint jobs for cars, so he touches up the paint on them. Edit: You should come drive through the HPU campus during Christmas and see their decorations. I live close to that university. They look great.
It wasnt a pizza place, it was a cookie place. But i do know they had a panda express and right next to it, was a 'Great steak and potato" (i believe with the yellow &white tiles) my mom worked there and i literally grew up in their back hallway lol.
Why not just remodel the place- keep the skylights and do like a 90's neon theme then get new stores in? Building is too nice to let it go to waste. Love the nutcrackers!
The mall owners tried making a deal to stay open and have students work there to gain experience and even offer to give their students special cards for deals/coupon for certain stores of their choosing, but hpu "dIdN't LiKe ThE dEal", I went there since I was born(2005) cause my pos father worked there as mall security from 2004 to closing in 2017.
Not sure who thought it was a good idea to add a second mall in the area especially after Carolina circle mall was beaten out by four seasons, even holly hill mall has become a ghost town over the years after other shopping centers opened in the area, I remember going to oak hollow a few times as a kid though
I remember Eastland Mall in Charlotte NC back in the seventies when I was in high school. Great place to get some face time and check out the pretty Charlotte chicks who would actually make eye contact and smile at you. Before everyone had their face buried in a device. Then the "enrichment" came. Scared shoppers stayed home. Mall over. Great vid! Would love to explore abandoned places. Nice mall, the skylights are magnificent!
I was shopping at Dillard's here the other day and I did see some construction people entering the mall. Idk if they were there to repair it or if HPU called them, all I know is they are doing something inside of there.
The mall owners tried making a deal to stay open and have students work there to gain experience and even offer to give their students special cards for deals/coupon for certain stores of their choosing, but hpu "dIdN't LiKe ThE dEal", I went there since I was born(2005) cause my pos father worked there as mall security from 2004 to closing in 2017. Fr they were going to offer good deals like 50% off on stuff needed for school and so much more but nope they didn't care, I have hated hpu ever since cause that was my safe place and 2nd home.
When that mall used to be open I worked many Christmases at the KayBee Toys & I also helped set up what used to be the Radio Shack & the Walden Books. I used to know the lady who was the head custodian there, I was good friends with her son when I was growing up. I spent A LOT of my money in the old SunCoast Video there as well!!!
Its a shame this mall did not last long. But it was born at a time when there are an over-saturation of malls in the country. Most of the dead malls you see here on RUclips were opened around the 1990s, and they are the ones to fall first.
Did you end up getting in with permission or finding a way in on a later date? 11:32- what was the music in the background? It sounded like an organ, did you ever find the source?
We have one in tampa, florida. It was called east lake mall, its now Net Park- it has high speed internet service. How about condo's to live in and medical offices and hospital to serve the residents. 17:3217:3417:3517:36
All the large nutcrackers and soldiers are owned by High Point University (across the street/intersection) and are used on campus for Christmas decorations. The Food Court had the arcade and the cinema, as well as a Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, Sbarro Pizza, Cookie spot, K&W Cafeteria quick service (briefly) and Subway IIRC. The first floor ZOE urban barber shop used to be a Barnies coffee. The second floor store with the white roman columns out front was a Structure, with Express nearby. There were rumors that High Point University was going to use it for additional classroom space, etc. I once heard they were going to put a sports stadium on the land. But at this point, who knows. The Marriot hotel is still there and open, next to the old Circuit City building.
The food court is almost always on the top floor of a mall so that proper ventilation can be available for the ovens and cooktops. In my experience, unless is was a ranch-style mall, I have never seen a food court on the ground floor.
Hey there. Current High Point University student here. The university owns the mall and uses it for storage. So most of what you’re seeing isn’t “abandoned” items or materials. They get used on campus. The Christmas decorations get used for the annual High Point University Christmas drive through for example (look it up, it’s rather neat). Otherwise the mall is used as a mail center and hosts various student projects. I am the treasurer for High Point University’s Volunteer Center who’s partnered with the Center for Community Engagement and we make use of this often. That “security” was more likely than not an HPU security officer who has no real authority to arrest. Sorry if this information ruins the premise of the video, just figured you may want to know what all is going on here!
I thought it was pretty obvious it was being used for storage. I don't know why the lights were left on though.
Not being a HP local watching this going “ITS NOT ABANDONED”. HPU owns it, like the guy even mentioned.
But I will say, I do miss Oak Hallow Mall!
Thank GOD because I almost cried when I saw all of those "abandoned" nutcrackers! So glad they are loved and enjoyed. I have several in my house at Christmas and love them!
I'm so glad you saw this and filled us in! It seemed pretty obvious it wasn't all abandoned.
@@user-tv4oc5ox9h😂😂😂😂
The very first store on the far left corner that you said was a pizza place was the Cookie company .. then Sbarros, there was a Japanese place then on the end next to the theatre was Panda Express.. Chick fil a was on the right then that next store was a bunch of different things that never lasted, then Subway and a Wendy’s then the arcade. The last spot used to be the customer service place. I worked in that mall for years as well as my husband (Cfa)
Ahhh yes I was wondering that. Thanks for filling us in Shelley
Hey Shelley. Tell Brian hello for me. Went to Wesleyan and knew him fairly well in the mid to late 90s from there and the mall. I worked in roughly 5 different stores at Oak Hollow. You know my wife but you and I never really knew each other. Small world.
Yep, worked there as mall maintenance. Good times
@@RangerRickTV also the customer service place was the mall security office, my pos father worked there as a mall security from 2004 to 2017, I was born 2005 so I grew up going there especially in the summer, the play area had a foam boat on the "water" blue spot, I have tons of memories there. It became my 2nd home after going there so much, I miss running around playing tag with my sister through the main floor at night waiting for our (pos) father to get done. I could tell you so many stories of the places even the back service station where the offices where.
@@DARKELLAKEL omg what year frame and if your ok your name, I grew up going there since I was born(2005-closing in 2017) cause my pos father worked security(2004-closing), his name first and middle name is Larry Scott, it was my second home and I saw 90% of the staff as family.
I love this kind of thing, exploring old, abandoned places. It's like live liminal space pictures, somehow scary and sad and nostalgic and fun all at once.
Ask permission first. Might get got it not.
15:31 Behind that plastic sheet used to be the Sears.
15:36 I used to work in that KayBee Toys!!! I worked there for 3 Christmases in a row during the 90's.
17:52 That used to be a Chick-Fil-a!!!!
18:06 That used to be a Cookie Factory, they sold large cookies there.
18:57 Yes, that WAS an arcade!!!
19:41 I saw MANY movies there in the late 90's!!!!
21:12 That movie theater had it's own mini arcade...that's where it was.
22:09 That looks like the old video game store or the Suncoast video store. I'm not sure because you didn't pan into the store enough but I remember shopping in it when it was open.
22:28 Behind you from this shot there was a Sunglasses Hut & there was a candy store beside of the Sunglasses Hut.
I think I have seen you at the Keubee Toys! I use to shop there often in the 90's
Crazy because I used to go to the KayBee toys every Christmas as kid in the late 90s. Im 32 now.
Thanks for filling us in !
Thank you for jogging my memory. I went there all the time as a kid, but I couldn’t remember what a lot of those stores were.
It wasn't the video game store. I was a manager at that Gamestop for a couple of years. It was located right by the Cookie Company at the end of the food court.
I just recently discovered your channel, and I love every single exploration! I'm currently binge watching! I'm a huge proper people fan and have been watching them for over 9 years. You're right up there with them! I enjoy both cinematic explorations and the talking ones like this!
The row of nutcracker feels like it’s straight out of a Backrooms video! I half expected them to turn towards the camera and then video abruptly stops!
def backroom vibes.
I remember going to Oak Hollow as a child. It's interesting to see it in this state after so many years and so many memories. I barely recognize some of these locations. I distinctly recall the food court and theater, as well as the nice area with the astroturf circle and elevator (12:14).
It was such a unique place to me, and honestly, I'd be happy to see someone make an entire map of Oak Hollow mall virtually to just walk through. No scary monsters or horrifying twists, just exploring the environment of a place that once was.
High Point University uses the mall for storage as another person said I have lived here all my life and the University puts on a huge Christmas drive thru .I can't believe they let that roof go like that , with all the money that University has . I used to shop in that mall when my son was a baby sometimes we would just walk he loved to ride in his stroller. I think they are covering up the skylights ,This mall was very pretty in its day . Thanks for filming it .
Ya I know what you mean, but I loved this mall experience!
I grew up in High Point through high school and most of my family still lives around the Triad. I remember when the mall was being built in the early 1990s and when it opened in 1995. It felt like such a big deal as most High Point residents had typically needed to drive to Four Seasons in Greensboro or Hanes in Winston Salem. High Point actually had a mall prior to Oak Hallow known as the Westchester Mall, but it was rather small and had closed completely by either 1993 or 1994, as best I can remember.
I’m glad you explored the old Regal theater. I can’t remember all the movies I saw there through the years, but I definitely remember seeing Star Wars Episode 1 and the second Matrix film there.
This is so weird to see. I worked here in 2015 on the 1st floor at one of the last stores that was inside the building. You were right at it at the 23:40 mark ($10 Sports). I also remember going there when it first opened and a few other times. We went to Randolph Mall which is now Asheboro Mall much more frequently though.
Welcome back!
It was a beautiful mall in its day. Was sad to see it close Enjoyed the video thanks
I used to check in on this place when I had business to be in High Point, watching its decline. I remember twice eating at the food court when only one or two places was still open. The last time I was there, I remember going to the Hallmark store which was weirdly way off on its own surrounded by closed spaces. The few other remaining stores were huddled near the entrances.
this mall was my CHILDHOOD. it’s sad to see the mall like this but thank you for uploading.
The store just past the corner vendor place in the food court was a GameStop I worked at from like 2007-2008 and even then Oak Hollow was on a major decline. Crazy to see it like this though.
I have watched alot if abandoned mall channels. All these Nutcrackers are new to me. Never seen anything like this before.
I remember hanging out Friday night so many good memories sadly nothing makes it in High Point..
At, least Dillard's is still there as an outlet store. This brought back memories when I used to shop there.
I have lived in highpoint/thomasville all my life. This was my mall as a kid.. kinda makes me sad watching it because it brings back better times as a kid with my mom and sister in the 90's. Those nutcrackers you seen, I remember those, however I do not remember them having so many. I remember during Christmas time when they had santa come to the mall, there were a few around the "entrance" to go see him you see him set up on the bottom floor around the fountain at 12:16. If you have any questions about which store was which, I'll try to help. BTW, where you pointed and said "that has to be a pizza place", that was actually a cookie shop. The place to the left of it was a sbarro.
Thanks for the video. Really was a fantastic mall.
You are very lucky (I’m surprised) you didn’t get caught in the storage room, that’s an active and heavily used storage/ mail center for High Point University. I have been there several times with HPU and there was at least 50+ employees there!
I remember going to that theatre when I went to HPU back around 2005. I currently work at HPU part time and have seen those nutcrackers coming from the mall.
This mall was a huge part of my childhood being family friends with the owner of a cafeteria and being here while this mall was active and closing down it was such a liminal feeling i cant describe there was a time where the second half of the mall was shut down. Staring into the black void of the fence blocking it off set something off inside of me as a child that never quite went away
If I'm not mistaken, the nutcrackers are used on campus as decorations. I seem to remember them a few years ago when I was on campus.
They still are!!!
I’m surprised if a university owns the mall that the roof is in such poor shape. The school should use it as a satellite campus and make good use of the mall. It would be perfect for classrooms and such. In other comments apparently students go in there. The roof should be in better condition if people use the mall regularly especially with the mold problem.
My pos father worked there when it was open(2004-2017) and his boss and a lot of other staffs try to create a deal with the school to keep it open with all the stores and have it where students could work there for experience and students can have a special deal/coupon for certain stores, the collage said no. I grew up going there since I was born(2005-2017) and I miss all the memories I made there, a lot of first, it was my second home. I was fun and I can talk for hours of all the memories and stories there, it was my safe place, I remember laying in the play area with my sister(who's 3yrs older) at night waiting for him to finish working and with most of the lights off looking at the stars thru the glass ceiling.
Very good video.These are my favorite types..non scripted and just a walk thru with narration. That musuc in the middle of the video.Was it added or coming thru the mall speakers?.It was low playing and had a slight echo sound like you would hear at a mall.Very good video again.Ty
Came here to comment about how the Christmas stuff was not abandoned it's just in storage. I did wonder where they stopped that stuff tho lol... it's really weird to see how deteriorated it's gotten in the last few years. My kids and I used to go there right before it closed for Good when Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret where right before they closed for good. It was really odd and eerie shopping in a mostly empty Mall. Dillard's is still somehow holding on.
I live in high point and I used to go here as a little kid with my family! I miss this mall so much
It's one of my favorites
@@RangerRickTV the only thing I actually ever remembered from the mall was playing at the little plastic tree at the play place in the food court. When I saw in the video that it is still engraved in the floor… I was so shook… the memories 😭😭
That’s so bizarre!! I’m still laughing about the reindeer Santa made out of pine branches
what I find crazy is that all through our country there are structures like this left abandoned and yet developers are still buying land to build something new … our government should focus and force them to find ways to repurpose at there cost the buildings. Lot’s of homeless people in our country and not only could they be used for shelter but for providing a means of rehabilitating, teaching them back to be part of society.
Thanks for the great video RangerRick! Even your name is reminiscent of a cartoon character I remembered as a child. Your work is excellent! I really enjoy your videos! God bless you!
Ahhaha thank you !
The nutcrackers remind me of a Dr Who episode when Rose walked into a room full of dummies and the dummies all came alive. Imagine if the nutcrackers all turned to face the camera and the video suddenly ended. The soldiers were pretty freaky too. What crazy things to find in an old mall. If it is owned by a university then i guess you are looking at why student fees are so expensive.
I am shocked that High Point University didn't make use of that vacant space with that mall in such good condition and so new for malls. They could have easily used the mall building to grow their campus. They could have easily converted the small stores into classrooms, labs, offices, data centers, or other facilities. They could take an anchor store and turn it into a library, a computer lab, a student union space, or the like easily. Another use for an anchor store would be to convert into a performing arts theater, gymnasium, workout gym, aquatic center, or other facility. The food court could serve as a cafeteria for the students. They could have taken those abandoned movie theaters and converted them into lecture halls. With the oversized parking lots, you could bulldoze some of the parking and build an student apartment or a dormitory. They could also add an athletic field for sports too. They could have taken some of the remaining space and put in a data center or server rooms for the campus. It would have been very easy to make a university satellite campus out of a mall like that!
Malls have been turned into college campuses before. Amigoland Mall in Brownsville TX was turned into the ITEC campus for Texas Southmost College. Palm Springs Mall in Palm Springs, California is being turned into a campus for College of the Desert.
P.S. I am guessing about those Nutcrackers. Did Macy's leave them behind for their parade? Were they part of the University's decorations or marching band? Was someone leasing that space for use as a storage facility? Where they part of the original mall's decorations?
I agree. It would have been good use of the space. There’s a dead mall by me and some of the space is used as a homeschool co-op.
High Point University uses it for storage. I had heard that they couldn't get Dillard's Clearance to leave. Don't know if that's why they decided not to make classrooms in it, because that was what was suppose to happen. I just went by there yesterday and saw where the old Barnes and Noble is now a church. The University had made it a Arts class. The University lost money this time.
They have plenty of room on Campus.
The university looked into the option of doing many things with the mall space. At one point we were shown concept art that included converting it into several academic buildings and a basketball arena. Unfortunately, the architect determined that it would be too cost prohibitive to do the renovations and because Sears had an automotive shop there, any work done on the structure must go through some sort of EPA checks.
My pos father worked there when it was open(2004-2017) and his boss and a lot of other staffs try to create a deal with the school to keep it open with all the stores and have it where students could work there for experience and students can have a special deal/coupon for certain stores, the collage said no. I grew up going there since I was born(2005-2017) and I miss all the memories I made there, a lot of first, it was my second home. I was fun and I can talk for hours of all the memories and stories there, it was my safe place, I remember laying in the play area with my sister(who's 3yrs older) at night waiting for him to finish working and with most of the lights off looking at the stars thru the glass ceiling.
These explore vid are neat to see, you never know what you will see, or hear while in there
I live 20 minutes away from the old mall. One of my first retail jobs was things remembered. This throws back memories all to well. I grew up in that mall.
There could be spirits banging around. The whole place has been so down for years before they closed. When I lived in high point. I went to this mall all the time. And went to get my hair done in one of the big store place over there. There use to be a movie theater there. Long time ago. It’s sad how it turned out. Wish they would do something to fix it. Back to where we can shop there. Or make apartments out of it. Saraba Italian. There was a cookie place. There was a jappenese. Chinese place to eat. I think a chick fil a at one point
All the nutcrackers they used for Christmas decorations inside the mall with bows and Christmas trees. Etc. I have been in the piedmont for 24 years. I know all of this area most of this area by heart
This channel deserves more subs 👍 Another great explore.
Much appreciated!
When malls were in their hay day it was shoulder to shoulder at the holidays and "the place to be". No one would have drempt they would ever close. I find these really haunting. Not ghost wise, but echos of memories of and energies from days gone by. Its sad,... Just so sad...🏙️..🌆.....🏚️
This is why it cost me a freaking fortune to send my kid to HPU
The debt is not worth it. HPU is and was known for nothing and out of the blue it suddenly is…
Don’t know if you caught it but you got a EVP while standing in the movie theater you said popcorn and candy the evp said “all of it,all of it” nice catch
Just watching video. As many have mentioned, High Point Univ. (private school) stores a lot of their campus holiday decorations. Every holiday season, the school features a very elaborate and extensive holiday presentation and opens up the campus to the public. Obviously, a large empty mall provides an ideal and convenient location to store the items as the mall is just a few miles from the campus. Given the cost of warehouse space, it’s likely HPU saves on storage fees vs. more commercial storage options.
Creepy that the electricity, AC, & music would be on there.
Wow, I cant believe this mall has fallen into such terrible condition with all of the water damage. Despite that, this mall does look almost close to what it looked in 2017 when it closed for good.
Spet a bunch of time in there in the early 2000's. My ex wife worked there and would go sit with her every evening. Just crazy to see.
I was there the day that mall opened in August of 1995 and was there shortly before it closed. My daughter loved that play area. I used to work at the Sears operations center there as well! Even did some drone shots Nice work!
Well....welcome back! 👍
Wow!! As a photographer I’d LOOOOVE to have all those props! Great explore! Love and channel support from the southeast Kentucky mountains ❤
Thanks 👍
They should put the food courts back, and turn it into elderly housing,IMHO.😉
SO much beautiful sunlight..😍
This place is a time capsule and I kind of agree with that. But I heard they now use it for storage.
Sad to see great places once full of people and shopping closed and abandoned I love walking in the malls that still are open and I remember the stores I went in when I was a child now closed. Hopefully someone will convert this building
Merry Christmas Rick! Thank you for this fantastic video.really enjoyed watching it.but mind my is over active and expected someone to jump out around every corner😅.the nutcrackers were amazing,i have a 6ft one in my kitchen.much love from across the pond.
Glad you enjoyed it
congratulations the best urban exploration I have seen on RUclips👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I moved to high point from london in 2001 and stayed for 3yrs, i remember oak hollow mall had some bangin food in there...i loved steak street olive garden and the McDonald's is so much better than here lol lovely friendly people and amazing scenery ❤
Welcome back!
@@RangerRickTV has it changed much in 20 yrs, in a few words?
There is a mall in Cincinnati Ohio. Forest Fair. It closed off areas and I walked from one end to the other. Mall music playing. In the center, there was a gigantic self propelled machine that was so interesting. It was about 16x18 enclosed in glass. It was so bleak and quiet except for the music. One in a million experience.
Yesssss, i've been waiting for this one
Merry Christmas!
@@RangerRickTV who phone who dis
@@DeadlyKnot? who
@@RangerRickTV you
I like your work, I wish I could be next to you exploring these places like true adventurers.
Thank you very much!
I wish things were like they were in the 80s & 90s.
This is a different kind of closure. This Mall opened in the mid 90s, not an old mall by most standards, yet the parent co was looking for a buyer a dozen years after it's opening. This closure is more about the economics of Highpoint than the nations distaste for them as the move to on line shopping becomes the norm.
The store Dillards is still there. They own their piece of the mall and have a clearance center open to the public
These are HPU Christmas Nutrackers. They are on campus EVERY CHRISTMAS SEASON. They make the campus look festive. Come back during the holidays.
Wow, that college must be expensive to have that many high priced nutcrackers!
They were up this year so wondering about what was sold at auction? 🤷🏻♀️
@@shirleyhughes1248 Those nutcrackers are only about 4k each, not sure where the 12k price tag in the video came from. They're commercial grade fiberglass pieces, that's why they are so expensive... they are made to withstand most of the punishment the public inflicts on Christmas decorations for several years before they need refurbishment.
In the food court with the red & white checkers you pointed out as a pizza place, it was actually a cookie/dessert bar. I can’t recall the name, but the cookies would sit in those glass displays up front
lost money no more founds to keep it running and open great video RangerRickTV
🥹
It’s a shame they don’t fix it up and make it into a place for concerts, or restaurants- I’m sure if they put their ideas together they can get a lot of business going. Some breweries and games like Dave & Buster type stuff.
Apartments - create an indoor town!
Kinda sad that nearly all malls have closed they’re so nostalgic for us from the 80’s/90’s
:(
Man, that loud ass hand dryer had me rolling. Thankfully, no one was around to hear it. I am really enjoying your new dead mall trips, keep it up Rick!
I snuck into the OMNI International Mall In Miami in 2021. It was almost completely guted except for the office. The Mall was closed down in 1999 after being built in 1977. Its probly the longest abandoned mall in the US because there is a 25 story hotel on top that is still leased till today. Had a blast in there. What strikes me about these abandoned malls is the same electrical humming noise you hear in them. Sadly I lost my phone which had 150 videos of the mall. sucks
My dad knows the guy who works on the nutcrackers during the off-season for High Point University. He does paint jobs for cars, so he touches up the paint on them. Edit: You should come drive through the HPU campus during Christmas and see their decorations. I live close to that university. They look great.
It wasnt a pizza place, it was a cookie place. But i do know they had a panda express and right next to it, was a 'Great steak and potato" (i believe with the yellow &white tiles) my mom worked there and i literally grew up in their back hallway lol.
Wow! Creepy!
This mall looks like it's used as a storage center! We're you playing the music in the background or was the Mall playing the music?
Why not just remodel the place- keep the skylights and do like a 90's neon theme then get new stores in? Building is too nice to let it go to waste. Love the nutcrackers!
The mall owners tried making a deal to stay open and have students work there to gain experience and even offer to give their students special cards for deals/coupon for certain stores of their choosing, but hpu "dIdN't LiKe ThE dEal", I went there since I was born(2005) cause my pos father worked there as mall security from 2004 to closing in 2017.
“Hahah” Now I thought that was pretty funny when he said I need to put those Christmas bows on his car.
I used to be maintenance supervisor at oak hollow Mall for a short while
Not sure who thought it was a good idea to add a second mall in the area especially after Carolina circle mall was beaten out by four seasons, even holly hill mall has become a ghost town over the years after other shopping centers opened in the area, I remember going to oak hollow a few times as a kid though
I remember Eastland Mall in Charlotte NC back in the seventies when I was in high school. Great place to get some face time and check out the pretty Charlotte chicks who would actually make eye contact and smile at you. Before everyone had their face buried in a device. Then the "enrichment" came. Scared shoppers stayed home. Mall over. Great vid! Would love to explore abandoned places. Nice mall, the skylights are magnificent!
I was worried that you were going to get trapped in there and chased by Christmas ornaments, like another the rolling giant situation 😭😂
Why is there music playing in the background when you finally make it in the mall part?
great video
Question how tight is security? I’m in the area and would like to check it out since I’ve been there before
Dang I remember going there to the arcade when I was a teen.
Can’t believe how terrible the place looks now
What's really funny is I'm watching this December 18th 2023 😆
👍
The Mall needs to be repaired and reopened as Oak Hollow Mall again. F HPU
I was shopping at Dillard's here the other day and I did see some construction people entering the mall. Idk if they were there to repair it or if HPU called them, all I know is they are doing something inside of there.
Yeah, maybe put in a Sears, Circuit City and a Toys ‘R Us….
The mall owners tried making a deal to stay open and have students work there to gain experience and even offer to give their students special cards for deals/coupon for certain stores of their choosing, but hpu "dIdN't LiKe ThE dEal", I went there since I was born(2005) cause my pos father worked there as mall security from 2004 to closing in 2017. Fr they were going to offer good deals like 50% off on stuff needed for school and so much more but nope they didn't care, I have hated hpu ever since cause that was my safe place and 2nd home.
Well you can count this mall to be added for demo . 23:32
When that mall used to be open I worked many Christmases at the KayBee Toys & I also helped set up what used to be the Radio Shack & the Walden Books. I used to know the lady who was the head custodian there, I was good friends with her son when I was growing up.
I spent A LOT of my money in the old SunCoast Video there as well!!!
For a mall that’s still somewhat young it looks awful what a shame it’s turned into this
Its a shame this mall did not last long. But it was born at a time when there are an over-saturation of malls in the country. Most of the dead malls you see here on RUclips were opened around the 1990s, and they are the ones to fall first.
Did you end up getting in with permission or finding a way in on a later date?
11:32- what was the music in the background? It sounded like an organ, did you ever find the source?
We have one in tampa, florida. It was called east lake mall, its now
Net Park- it has high speed
internet service. How about condo's to live in and medical offices and hospital to serve the residents. 17:32 17:34 17:35 17:36
What was the music that was playing?
Could it be that those panels hanging at an angle where installed to help the acoustics of a live musical performance on the floor below?
All the large nutcrackers and soldiers are owned by High Point University (across the street/intersection) and are used on campus for Christmas decorations. The Food Court had the arcade and the cinema, as well as a Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, Sbarro Pizza, Cookie spot, K&W Cafeteria quick service (briefly) and Subway IIRC. The first floor ZOE urban barber shop used to be a Barnies coffee. The second floor store with the white roman columns out front was a Structure, with Express nearby. There were rumors that High Point University was going to use it for additional classroom space, etc. I once heard they were going to put a sports stadium on the land. But at this point, who knows. The Marriot hotel is still there and open, next to the old Circuit City building.
It's sad. I last shopped there in 2014. I even saw the first Ironman with an ex in that movie theater.
The food court is almost always on the top floor of a mall so that proper ventilation can be available for the ovens and cooktops. In my experience, unless is was a ranch-style mall, I have never seen a food court on the ground floor.
Wow the kb toys flooring is absolutely amazing that's worth some money
23:20 Looks like a Greenberg's Jewelers
19:37 I used to go there all the time. It used to be regal cinemas
Welcome back ☺️
Great video
I thought you was going to get caught. After you put on the hand dyer!!!
😂
I used to live down the road from here and it was so creepy to see it empty but it matches the rest of high point dead and creepy
Just watching your videos malls are scary when there empty
That old style Bath and Body Works store yeah
i love abandoned videos anything that is abandoned especially malls
I lived 5 minutes walk away from there, and I remember going there a lot.
What a fever dream to come across that room filled with all of those Nut Cracker statues.
The real Backrooms
I would totally love to have that Nativity seen
"Everything was ok until he sounded the zombie alarm" 25:17
Those nutcrackers are next level awesome!