I was a co-manager at Aladdin’s Castle from 1999-2003 until its closure. A dream job for a young man to come of age in. I made lifelong friends I still have there, decades later. Thank you for this, and thanks to the Plaza for the memories.
My grandfather was Century Plaza's first head of security. He and my grandmother moved to Birmingham not long after I was born and they both worked at the mall. I had many happy memories there. I spent many weekends there as a teen and seeing so many of those stores reminded me of being there. Before the '88 remodel opened up the middle, the "promotion deck" was where they decorated for holidays. They had a beauty pageant and the video shows they held big craft shows where my other grandpa sold his wood carvings. The mall was so famous that Jimmy Carter visited it.
That waterfall was soooo beautiful to me as a kid. I loved riding in the elevator and see it. Such a gorgeous piece of history. Growing up in Birmingham it was definitely the place to be on the weekends.
My childhood memory of this place was my sessions in Alladins Castle right next to the fountain you mention. Thee video arcade was mandatory whenever I went there.
My first job at 16 was in this mall a store by the name of Jeans West. This video brought back so many good memories. For a person born in the early 80s that's what we would call the good old days.
I’ve been to that mall so many times with my mom when I was a kid . That shot of the India shop blew me away , bought so many t shirts there . Wow ..... thanks man
You set a very high standard by getting to film this mall. Hopefully the owners continue to keep the vandals out, so the mall can continue to be a preserved time capsule.
Or someone can actually find a way to repurpose the building. Probably not much time left for that though - you can already see evidence of damage from water leaking through the roof.
The best mall we ever had. I was a kid back then but the memories last forever that’s how much fun it was. Shoutout to you being able to film this. I always wanted to know what it looked like inside before they ruined history with the demolition.
Bro as someone who growing up and as a young adult always lived less than a 10 minute drive from this mall...I really just shed a couple tears. Worked at the Hibbett’s in there while in college. Lots of great memories.
Thanks for uploading this video. I live in Birmingham have been all my life,. And I spent many many nights and days in the Centry Plaza mall. It was the ideal spot to go back in the day. This brought back so many memories...
I worked at the JCPenney store in this mall for 10 years. It really was a beautiful mall. It had some fights and some robberies before it closed. I hated to see it close.
It's so strange seeing this place empty. I spent a good portion of my teen years roaming this mall on weekends. It was a cool place back in the 80's and 90's. It started going downhill around 2000 and when the 2 of the remaining 3 anchor stores moved to Trussville around 05 the malls fate was sealed.
@@trasheikcroom4439makes me want to cry too. I’m 59 and I remember going there when it very first opened and having my first ever Chick Fil A sandwich. 😢😢😢 Such wonderful memories ♥️
I remember in the late 80s and early 90s they would have a giant talking polar bear near those elevators during Christmas times. Photos of it exist online somewhere.
The nostalgia is so heavy! It's my childhood all wrapped up in 1 video. I've had so many memories here from visiting Santa to eating at that Chick Fil A that sat right outside the Sears! I even got my ears pierced in this mall when I was 2 yrs old! Lol Thank you for this glimpse into my past. I never thought I'd get to see the inside of this mall again! It's a far fetched idea but I'm hopeful the owners will reopen this as a mall again especially after seeing how great of condition it's still in.
Glad to hear they have guards to keep the vandals out, but allowed you to respectfully film this aging time capsule. It’s still seems in good condition - like with a bit of fixing up, it could come back to life. There’s a mall where I live in NY that is another huge transition right now. Most of the stores have left, they’ve been remodeling it...we can only hope for the best. Oddly many of the former stores moved just down the road into several modern strip mall type concepts. So odd. I’d much rather shop all in one place, out of the bad weather.
As a kid I lived in Birmingham until '87 and have fond memories of going here. As we lived a decent distance away, we'd normally combine the trip with Toys R Us and sometimes Service Merchandise.
I lived in Tennessee. When we would come to Alabama to visit relatives on Thanksgiving, we'd always spend Black Fridays at Century Plaza. My parents would shop, and I'd spend most of the day in Aladdin's Castle. Around 1988, we started going to the Riverchase Galleria. Last time I think I ever set foot in Century Plaza was 1991.
"... increased competition from newer malls ..." That, my friends, is the #1 reason why there are dying and dead malls. This country became over-malled. Add to the mix the evolving shopping habits of the consumer ... big box stores, online shopping like Amazon, etc. Not maintaining and upgrading a mall can have a negative effect as well.
Mr. Butch--there may be some relief in the fact that I read somewhere that a new mall hasn't been built nationally since 2006. And you're correct about maintenance. When mall owners cut costs, the first two to go are security and maintenance because they're the easiest. But it's false economy because both cuts contribute to a mall's decline.
As someone who went here every Saturday and Sunday my entire childhood, I can tell you that another smaller mall literally across the street from this one, anchored by a Service Merchandise, closed down, was mowed over, and they erected and outdoor strip mall anchored by a Walmart Supercenter on the plot. When this happened EVERYTHING at Century Plaza began to close, because there were newer nicer stores you can drive right up to right across the street. A shame, I truly miss the fountains and food court there that had dozens of sky lights and plants everywhere.
The reason it closed was crime. The same idiots who shoot each other every single day enjoy stealing, raping, carjacking, murdering the rest of us. Unless we were complete fools of course we quit shopping where the savage, thugs are!!
I didn't live in Birmingham, but remember going to Century Plaza (and Eastwood Mall as well) many times in back in the 1970's and early 80's when I was a kid while visiting with family or going to Birmingham to shop. I last recall going there several times in the early-mid 1980's. It was a fun place to go back in the day.
I miss Century Plaza and Eastwood Mall very much. Lots of happy Christmas shopping here - first shopped at Eastwood in 1958 as a kid. Shopped in both malls for almost my whole life - and then one day they were both gone!
Awesome video. I'm amazed that vandals didn't desend on this mall and wreck it. It looks like it closed yesterday (except for a few ceiling tiles on the floor.) Glad you got here because they turn it into who knows what. It's a good space. They should try to save the fountain with the two kids and relocate the sculpture to a local park. Reminds me of the boy with the elephant at the Burlington Mall in New Jersey that Sal filmed recently. What a great kickoff to your great American mall tour. Now if PBS would pick all these videos up and make at a two hour special. It's history, it's important, it matters.
Century plaza was always such a delightful mall for me. Even though the Riverchase Galleria mall was always more popular, Century Plaza just had that charm. The outside however, was ugly as sin and very unappealing even for a mall that was built in the 70s. We knew that this mall was in real trouble when Rich's closed. Although it was not a full fledged store, Rich's rebranding was "very unpopular" with shoppers and employees alike (my mom worked for them briefly before and after the rebrand). Rich's is the brown wood finish storefront near the fountain view at the end. Rich's-Macy's not only closed from this mall but from the flourishing Riverchase Galleria before reopening sometime 2 years later (in a different part of the mall) as just Macy's. When the Eastwood Mall across the street closed in 2004, there was hope that Century Plaza would receive a breath of life, as it was set to acquire a local department store known as Parisian and a Books a Million. However, Parisian was sold to Belk in 2006 and so McRae's was instead rebranded to Belk with Parisian never opening as the nameplate was not sold. This mall was sadly doomed all along and its a shame, as it still had potential. I miss this mall.
I spent my pre-teen summers as a Mall Rat at Century Plaza. My mom worked at a store inside the mall. I would spend many hours in Alladin's Castle playing video games. I still remember the guy that worked there - James. He hooked me and a few others up with a roll of tokens. Such good memories of this mall. Thanks for posting this video!
DeMario Cunningham same here. I was a Mall Rat there while my mom worked at a store there. I made friends with the guy (James) who worked at the arcade and he hook me up with a roll of tokens every so often. Such fond memories of this mall!
Wow memories:( makes me sad. Pretty awesome you were able to see inside. I loved going to the Toys R Us across the street afterwards. I’m impressed how well it’s maintained for it being a decade abandoned. The area is overmalled. I’m surprised Western Hills mall is still standing, barely.
I will never forget the shooting by the Macdonald's/Sear's end of the mall. It was pretty much the beginning of the end for this place. I have some beautiful childhood memories of this place. I shop at Wally world now but there was a time, I used to buy my Tommy's and Polo's at Rich's and Parisians. Lol. I was a little douche nozzle. India shop became my favorite store after a few years of high school. Awesome place. Damn, watching this makes me overwhelmed with some great memories.
LeeAnne Fowler I have so many fond memories of this mall. I moved away from Birmingham in the late 80's. I spent my pre-teen years there as a mall rat. My mom worked at a gift/card shop there and I rode in with her. I spent countless hours at the arcade, food court, and music stores.
So happy you got to film this before the demolition this year😤😭😭😢 its becoming Amazon's fulfillment and that sucks. I really hoped this mall reopened, it was a favorite for me growing up. I loved going to journeys or underground station for my shoes.
My grandmother worked at Pizits, was still there when it turned to McRae's, was still there when it turned to Belk, and retired a few months shy of the mall's closing. I have so many precious memories in this mall. I got to hang out in McRae's a lot as a little girl because the manager would let my grandmother bring me to work with her for a few hours until my mom got off. I hated going because it was so boring, but now that she's passed, I would give anything to go sit in her department while she works. I remember going to a small business store called the Indian Shoppe with my dad all the time. They sold the coolest things and I found out years after it moved to "South Side" and ultimately closed down that my dad bought his weed from the owner when he was in his 20s lol. Its crazy that work in the shopping center that's located where Eastwood Mall was, right across Crestwood Boulevard from Century Plaza. Damn, I'm crying now.
This is one the best looking abandoned malls I have ever seen. Not much building damage being ceiling, roof, the floors are intact, etc.., Not much vandalism and graffiti. My guess is someone is maintaining this mall a little and has tight security or a way it’s almost impossible to break into and walk around.
AGAIN...Another Awesome video...I am 38 yrs. old..i long to remember my past..my best times of MY life...was at a mall, since torn down...Port Plaza Mall...The memories of when i was in 'love'..20 yrs ago...i still WANT to remember...and NEVER forget! Thanks AGAIN ACE for a great memory in time...MY own Mall..long gone in time..Sad man..sad.
Amazing job, Anthony! Looking forward to the next episodes to come! I love that even though it’s been closed for a decade, it’s still in great condition. Thankfully Mercedes-Benz is using the lot and protecting some retail history.
I’m glad someone finally got inside. My husband tell me about this mall all the time and we pass by all the time but they turned the parking lot into a lot for overstock cars for a dealership 🤷🏽♀️ I’m actually jealous you got in. Great video
This is sad for me. I remember going there as a child with my mother. Every year we got back to school clothes there. Then as a teen it was a hang out location. This area in general began going down hill....crime. Now it’s an area you don’t want to frequent...run down and crime. Just really sad.
I lived in this area many years. Now it's just a danger zone. I remember visiting the mall before it closed and I had not been there in a long time. It was so different and a little intimidating and frightening. Nothing like when i was younger. I remember when this was THE mall and not many others around.
Yes, Kimberly, this is so sad for me to watch & especially the music in the background is gloomy also and adds to it. I remember wanting to go to this mall so bad as a school girl and trying to get my mother to take me there because like Melody Bagwell comments below it was "THE MALL" to go to back in the day. I just wanted once to go there for some school clothes but because we lived in Marion and Tuscaloosa was closer, all I ever got to go to was McFarland & University malls there and the little rinky dink mall in Selma. This still makes me think of my Mama though and how we used to go shopping & now she is deceased and those days are long gone.
I used to have family in this area and I disagree with the crime. I was never scared to visit there at all. Idk where you've lived before but It isn't different than any other suburb where you hear sirens every so often. Shit happens, that Doesn't make it a dangerous place.
I loved this mall! So many great memories! I worked in several stores there. It's gone now, and the spot will soon become an Amazon fulfillment center.
I've been looking forward to the first installment upload from your recent mall travels. You didn't disappoint, Anthony. The premiere was excellent. Cannot wait for episode 2. Have a great weekend :D
I went to this mall as a kid in the 90's. I was always so hyped to go because my parents refused to go to the Galleria in Hoover and Eastwood Mall was a shell of its former self by then. My uncle used to airbrush t-shirts at a kiosk on the first-floor area below the place at 2:56
This fearured one of the best openings ever among your myriad productions, and the music choice -- who can resist Skynyrd? -- was perfect. I don't know what it is about these stark white-painted spaces like these, but it really makes the mall that much more cold & creepy when they empty out and close. The two little kid statues were also on the creepy side, but were a good place to start and end, as you did. Thanks for yet another terrific video, Anthony!
Not just Century Plaza but many malls spend millions on remodeling when they should focus on increasing foot traffic. No one says hey let's go to the mall and look at the newly painted walls. First malls need a hook to bring people in. Art fairs, concerts, conventions, ANYTHING to have people go there. The other way malls could stay in business is varying store rents in exchange for a few years commitment to stay open. Too many malls are only operating with a fraction of the stores being open, the rest are empty. But if management does nothing to change things Ebay and amazon will soon kill the last of the malls.
Great production bro you’ve come a long way proud of you... over malling and the rise of stores like target Ross in the late 80s is what led to malls decline... I remember malls beginning to die in late 80s long before online shopping existed. Many of the later built malls never took off and reached their full capacity or took the path of this mall where its decline began long before internet shopping.
It’s being torn down now to make room for a Amazon distribution center. They just started the demo last week :(( So glad you got this footage! I had so many childhood memories there!
So many wonderful memories with my children at Century Plaza. Thanks for making this video and also noting the dates. Doesn't seem like it was that long ago (80's & 90's). I'm surprised there was no footage or photos of the Christmas Village in the video. That was always one of our favorite visits. Every year we would visit Santa, the Christmas Village and Jingles the Bear. One year, my eldest two daughters, were models in one of the Fashion Shows sponsored by the Department store Parisian but, I think it was located near by inside of Eastwood Mall. Back in the day we shopped both Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza for all of our clothing needs, etc . I hear Eastwood Mall was demolished. It's wonderful Century Plaza remains standing and has been protected from vandalism. When you move 5 hours away, you don't always hear of these closings happening. #Homesick #nostalgia
That was my hangout spot in my early teen years...fond memories of the little pool that was just outside of The India Shoppe. I smoked countless cigarettes around that little pool. The Journey's in Century Plaza kept my feet covered and looking fresh for several years and at Christmas, CP seemed to always do it up like no other. God knows how many years my mom took me there to have Xmas pictures with Santa made.
Omg I love going to this mall around Christmas time when Santa was there thanks for uploading this is takes me back to my childhood..💖💖💖 (90's) Edit: they are now tearing the mall down and I really hate to see it go I have so many good memories there.. Century Plaza Mall
Same here, but unlike Rotting Acres this one has hardly any weather damage. And yes, there's a Mercedes Benz plant in Alabama. If you're looking for a Benz, however, look for a German one - they're better. ruclips.net/video/TZk6P5PR7b0/видео.html
Eh I wouldn’t put it in that category, it did die pretty quickly, but for how long it has been abandoned, it has been well maintained. Birmingham actually started to go downhill after the recession.
Thank you so much for sharing this. So many memories flood my mind as if I'm walking through the mall with the cameraman. I must say that seeing where the India Shop once was makes me happy yet sad. The owner Mark was such a great man. My dad and Mark were best friends so I spent a lot of time there. May he RIP. You did an amazing job with this!
Holy shit, I thought no one would make a video here! I remember going in the Sear's up until the end. We actually have a Mercedes manufacturing plant here and they leased the property to store surplus vehicles.
DUDE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS COMMENT! I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why all of those cars are there. Idk why I didn't think one of the car plants was using it lol
I loved this mall. At Christmas the decorations were amazing even after the Galleria opened. Such a shame this has happened to malls all across America.
I grew up going to Century Plaza from the late 80's all the way to shortly before its closure. Even in the early 2000's it didn't have a lot of vacancies and was doing alright even with competition from the newly remodeled Brookwood Villiage (which is teetering on death right now, hope you went and saw it) and the Riverchase Galleria (which is still doing really well) What really did this mall in was a rash of gang-related violence in the early 2000's and a number of shootings. It got the reputation to be an unsafe place to visit. People stopped coming and then the retailers all closed up shop. It's really sad because, like you said, it was always very well maintained.
Wow! I am so glad someone finally did this.. I really miss this mall. It really brought back all the memories of my grandmother n I shoping at sears n eatting at piccadilly or doing the holidays with the beautiful decorations. Ahhh its just so womderful.. Thank you!😍
New subscriber here after just watching this (first of many for me) excellent video. I grew up in Birmingham in the 70s and 80s and this was my main shopping mall. Excellent info at the beginning and video tour!
Thank you for these throwback walkthrough of my childhood skipping school from high school Woodlawn go to the mall on lunch break had so much fun there really growing up Birmingham Alabama home of the Civil Rights Movement thank you you really have some clout to be true through them all that's been closed for almost 15 years now stay blessed and safe
I worked at the Sears in 2002. Seeing this brought back so many memories. I used to eat at the Chick Fil A next door to Sears. Also Sbarro and Sneaky Pete’s down stairs. My last day I worked I treated my coworkers to a lunch at Applebees. I think the blow to this mall was when Walmart built that massive store on the Eastwood property and faced the store toward Montclair and the parking lot toward Crestwood Blvd. Even 2002 you could sense a decline. By 2004, it was undeniable.
1st! Great looking mall Anthony. A total shame it has been dormant for 10 years. Looks like a mall I would frequent. Hopefully it gets repurposed, instead of being demolished. Hello from Phoenix Arizona!
Time stands still in these dead malls. Loveman's and Pizitz were long time competitors, especially in Birmingham. Loveman's stores closed in 1980. Pizitz was later merged with McRaes. Great video.
I was here in 1994, 1995 I remember it being very modern and crowded back then. I visited it during Christmas and it was beautifully decorated. Very big I had trouble finding some stores.
Century Plaza mall has been demolished now. It is going to be an Amazon facility. It might already be built, I haven’t heard. I remember when this mall opened. It was beautiful! I lived about an hour south from it so it was a a bit of drive. I was young so I had to come with my family or friends. I am sad that it is gone. Another mall that closed in the Birmingham area is Brookwood Village. It is a beautiful mall. The new owners haven’t decided what to do with it yet The downfall of Brookwood Mall was when The Summit open air shopping center was built. I personally can’t stand shopping at The Summit! The traffic is horrible. You should do a video on Brookwood Village. I’m afraid of what the new owner might do.
Wow. What a trip down memory lane. Hickory Farms, Chic-fil-A, Morrison’s, Spencer’s gifts. I’m amazed how much I remember. I did spend a lot of time there. I pass by this mall at least once a week. It always makes me sad. I feel like there should be some way to use the property. Right now there is a car lot in the parking lot. But birmingham doesn’t have a decent flea market, so maybe this would be a good spot.
I’d guess the power was left on in the mall to keep the fire suppression and security systems active and engaged. Doesn’t make any sense to keep the ex-Sears interior lit though.
Century Plaza was across the street from Eastwood Mall, a one-level mall and there was another strip mall (Village East) across from it. The area was considered at one time, a destination for all the upper-middle-class folks from Trussville, Mt. Brook, Homewood, and Hoover. Unfortunately for Century Plaza, The Pinnacle in Trussville, The Riverchase Galleria, Brookwood Village, and The Summit were built closer to those areas to cater to that higher class clientele and slowly siphoned off the Century Plaza and Eastwood Malls business. The area became a dinosaur, slowly becoming extinct.
My dad used to take me here in the 90's, I remember it had the fountains you'd toss coins in and we'd eat at the chick fill a, I loved the india store, I just loved walking around with my dad. Miss that.
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So many memories of Christmas shopping in Century Plaza. I'm 70 now and this brought back those days of long ago, Thank you.
I was a co-manager at Aladdin’s Castle from 1999-2003 until its closure. A dream job for a young man to come of age in. I made lifelong friends I still have there, decades later. Thank you for this, and thanks to the Plaza for the memories.
My grandfather was Century Plaza's first head of security. He and my grandmother moved to Birmingham not long after I was born and they both worked at the mall. I had many happy memories there. I spent many weekends there as a teen and seeing so many of those stores reminded me of being there. Before the '88 remodel opened up the middle, the "promotion deck" was where they decorated for holidays. They had a beauty pageant and the video shows they held big craft shows where my other grandpa sold his wood carvings. The mall was so famous that Jimmy Carter visited it.
And Michael Jackson!
Nice to know 👍😉
I loved it when malls held craft shows... thanks for reminding me how fun that would be to see the handmade items.
Nice!
👌🏾
That waterfall was soooo beautiful to me as a kid. I loved riding in the elevator and see it. Such a gorgeous piece of history. Growing up in Birmingham it was definitely the place to be on the weekends.
My childhood memory of this place was my sessions in Alladins Castle right next to the fountain you mention. Thee video arcade was mandatory whenever I went there.
My first job at 16 was in this mall a store by the name of Jeans West. This video brought back so many good memories. For a person born in the early 80s that's what we would call the good old days.
RIP Century Plaza Mall... I had some great memories. Now Amazon is taking over everything.
I’ve been to that mall so many times with my mom when I was a kid .
That shot of the India shop blew me away , bought so many t shirts there .
Wow ..... thanks man
Same here good and great times
It makes me want to go buy a pair of Doc’s, find some flannel shirts & rock the 90’s again. 😂
I took a lot of shirts from that store.
I got my ears pierced there when I was 6 or 7, haha! RIP Mark!
Me too bud I grew up in Jefferson County used to hang out at the Aladdins Castle near Sears.
You set a very high standard by getting to film this mall. Hopefully the owners continue to keep the vandals out, so the mall can continue to be a preserved time capsule.
Or someone can actually find a way to repurpose the building. Probably not much time left for that though - you can already see evidence of damage from water leaking through the roof.
They just began demolition
The mall was torn down for an Amazon facility in January. :/
The best mall we ever had. I was a kid back then but the memories last forever that’s how much fun it was. Shoutout to you being able to film this. I always wanted to know what it looked like inside before they ruined history with the demolition.
Bro as someone who growing up and as a young adult always lived less than a 10 minute drive from this mall...I really just shed a couple tears. Worked at the Hibbett’s in there while in college. Lots of great memories.
Thanks for uploading this video. I live in Birmingham have been all my life,. And I spent many many nights and days in the Centry Plaza mall. It was the ideal spot to go back in the day. This brought back so many memories...
I worked at the JCPenney store in this mall for 10 years. It really was a beautiful mall. It had some fights and some robberies before it closed. I hated to see it close.
@janetwon unfortunately you are correct
It's so strange seeing this place empty. I spent a good portion of my teen years roaming this mall on weekends. It was a cool place back in the 80's and 90's. It started going downhill around 2000 and when the 2 of the remaining 3 anchor stores moved to Trussville around 05 the malls fate was sealed.
I had so many memories here that watching this video made me want to cry
It's an Amazon warehouse now. ☹
@@trasheikcroom4439makes me want to cry too. I’m 59 and I remember going there when it very first opened and having my first ever Chick Fil A sandwich. 😢😢😢
Such wonderful memories ♥️
I remember in the late 80s and early 90s they would have a giant talking polar bear near those elevators during Christmas times. Photos of it exist online somewhere.
I remember that!
My little sister was so scared of that bear. Great memories!
I loved talking to Jingles every year!
Thank you. I'm from Alabama and have fond memories of Century Plaza. I'm glad that they kept it secure.
The nostalgia is so heavy! It's my childhood all wrapped up in 1 video. I've had so many memories here from visiting Santa to eating at that Chick Fil A that sat right outside the Sears! I even got my ears pierced in this mall when I was 2 yrs old! Lol Thank you for this glimpse into my past. I never thought I'd get to see the inside of this mall again! It's a far fetched idea but I'm hopeful the owners will reopen this as a mall again especially after seeing how great of condition it's still in.
Glad to hear they have guards to keep the vandals out, but allowed you to respectfully film this aging time capsule. It’s still seems in good condition - like with a bit of fixing up, it could come back to life. There’s a mall where I live in NY that is another huge transition right now. Most of the stores have left, they’ve been remodeling it...we can only hope for the best. Oddly many of the former stores moved just down the road into several modern strip mall type concepts. So odd. I’d much rather shop all in one place, out of the bad weather.
Great job. This was my childhood mall and my wife and I loved the trip down memory lane! Thanks again!
This was the mall I spent the most time in as a kid. Wow, the memories..........
As a kid I lived in Birmingham until '87 and have fond memories of going here. As we lived a decent distance away, we'd normally combine the trip with Toys R Us and sometimes Service Merchandise.
I lived in Tennessee. When we would come to Alabama to visit relatives on Thanksgiving, we'd always spend Black Fridays at Century Plaza. My parents would shop, and I'd spend most of the day in Aladdin's Castle. Around 1988, we started going to the Riverchase Galleria. Last time I think I ever set foot in Century Plaza was 1991.
"... increased competition from newer malls ..." That, my friends, is the #1 reason why there are dying and dead malls. This country became over-malled. Add to the mix the evolving shopping habits of the consumer ... big box stores, online shopping like Amazon, etc. Not maintaining and upgrading a mall can have a negative effect as well.
Mr. Butch--there may be some relief in the fact that I read somewhere that a new mall hasn't been built nationally since 2006. And you're correct about maintenance. When mall owners cut costs, the first two to go are security and maintenance because they're the easiest. But it's false economy because both cuts contribute to a mall's decline.
now days malls are falling because of crime is so high now days
The neighborhood went downhill around this particular mall and there were a lot of issues with crime starting in the late 90's/early 2000's.
As someone who went here every Saturday and Sunday my entire childhood, I can tell you that another smaller mall literally across the street from this one, anchored by a Service Merchandise, closed down, was mowed over, and they erected and outdoor strip mall anchored by a Walmart Supercenter on the plot. When this happened EVERYTHING at Century Plaza began to close, because there were newer nicer stores you can drive right up to right across the street. A shame, I truly miss the fountains and food court there that had dozens of sky lights and plants everywhere.
The reason it closed was crime. The same idiots who shoot each other every single day enjoy stealing, raping, carjacking, murdering the rest of us. Unless we were complete fools of course we quit shopping where the savage, thugs are!!
Watching those videos of a busy mall is almost like going back in time! A small peak of 1987! There must be a way to go back through video!
I didn't live in Birmingham, but remember going to Century Plaza (and Eastwood Mall as well) many times in back in the 1970's and early 80's when I was a kid while visiting with family or going to Birmingham to shop. I last recall going there several times in the early-mid 1980's. It was a fun place to go back in the day.
That’s when it was the BEST. The 70s
I miss Century Plaza and Eastwood Mall very much. Lots of happy Christmas shopping here - first shopped at Eastwood in 1958 as a kid. Shopped in both malls for almost my whole life - and then one day they were both gone!
And now the galleria is headed the same route. You couldn't pay me to go there now😢
You gave us a beautiful last look at the Century Plaza. Demolition began this week on the mall. Lots of happy memories there! Thank you!
Awesome video. I'm amazed that vandals didn't desend on this mall and wreck it. It looks like it closed yesterday (except for a few ceiling tiles on the floor.)
Glad you got here because they turn it into who knows what. It's a good space. They should try to save the fountain with the two kids and relocate the sculpture to a local park. Reminds me of the boy with the elephant at the Burlington Mall in New Jersey that Sal filmed recently.
What a great kickoff to your great American mall tour. Now if PBS would pick all these videos up and make at a two hour special. It's history, it's important, it matters.
Century plaza was always such a delightful mall for me. Even though the Riverchase Galleria mall was always more popular, Century Plaza just had that charm. The outside however, was ugly as sin and very unappealing even for a mall that was built in the 70s. We knew that this mall was in real trouble when Rich's closed. Although it was not a full fledged store, Rich's rebranding was "very unpopular" with shoppers and employees alike (my mom worked for them briefly before and after the rebrand). Rich's is the brown wood finish storefront near the fountain view at the end. Rich's-Macy's not only closed from this mall but from the flourishing Riverchase Galleria before reopening sometime 2 years later (in a different part of the mall) as just Macy's. When the Eastwood Mall across the street closed in 2004, there was hope that Century Plaza would receive a breath of life, as it was set to acquire a local department store known as Parisian and a Books a Million. However, Parisian was sold to Belk in 2006 and so McRae's was instead rebranded to Belk with Parisian never opening as the nameplate was not sold. This mall was sadly doomed all along and its a shame, as it still had potential. I miss this mall.
I miss the Parisian stores. I also remember it having the first Chick-fil-a.
It looked exactly the way a mall would look built in 1975.
I loved century plaza, I grew up here too. And always ate at the chik fil a and got all my shoes at Journeys. RIP Century Plaza
I absolutely loved Parisian at Eastwood Mall ! Spent many a day at Century Plaza. Great memories 😢♥️
I spent my pre-teen summers as a Mall Rat at Century Plaza. My mom worked at a store inside the mall. I would spend many hours in Alladin's Castle playing video games. I still remember the guy that worked there - James. He hooked me and a few others up with a roll of tokens. Such good memories of this mall. Thanks for posting this video!
Love the music and the reverse effect at the end! You truly captured the haunting silence of this mall, amazing job!
I miss this mall, I spent a lot of my time in my childhood roaming the food courts and the arcade
DeMario Cunningham same here. I was a Mall Rat there while my mom worked at a store there. I made friends with the guy (James) who worked at the arcade and he hook me up with a roll of tokens every so often. Such fond memories of this mall!
Aladdins!!
Wow memories:( makes me sad. Pretty awesome you were able to see inside. I loved going to the Toys R Us across the street afterwards. I’m impressed how well it’s maintained for it being a decade abandoned. The area is overmalled. I’m surprised Western Hills mall is still standing, barely.
I wish this mall was still open I used to go there as a teenager I'm 38 now and I do not like change open it up again
They just torn it down a week or 2 ago😔
it was always a treat going to this mall in the 90s and early 2000s. So surprised to see it on here. The world has changed so much so fast!
I will never forget the shooting by the Macdonald's/Sear's end of the mall. It was pretty much the beginning of the end for this place. I have some beautiful childhood memories of this place. I shop at Wally world now but there was a time, I used to buy my Tommy's and Polo's at Rich's and Parisians. Lol. I was a little douche nozzle. India shop became my favorite store after a few years of high school. Awesome place. Damn, watching this makes me overwhelmed with some great memories.
😂 douche nozzle
Man... this brings back so so many memories. The land where this mall sat for decades is now a massive Amazon warehouse fulfillment center.
Too bad. I don't like amazon.
Thank you for this and the memories ❤️ I grew up going to this Mall and I miss it terribly 😢
LeeAnne Fowler same here!! I preferred going to this mall over the Galleria.
LeeAnne Fowler I have so many fond memories of this mall. I moved away from Birmingham in the late 80's. I spent my pre-teen years there as a mall rat. My mom worked at a gift/card shop there and I rode in with her. I spent countless hours at the arcade, food court, and music stores.
Brian Matthews I’m still here❤️ it’s amazing how good the mall still looks wish it would open back up!
So happy you got to film this before the demolition this year😤😭😭😢 its becoming Amazon's fulfillment and that sucks. I really hoped this mall reopened, it was a favorite for me growing up. I loved going to journeys or underground station for my shoes.
i know, i stopped by a few months ago, and cannot believe it is gone, they wiped it out QUICK
Pitzitz pronounced pah zitz
My grandmother worked at Pizits, was still there when it turned to McRae's, was still there when it turned to Belk, and retired a few months shy of the mall's closing. I have so many precious memories in this mall. I got to hang out in McRae's a lot as a little girl because the manager would let my grandmother bring me to work with her for a few hours until my mom got off. I hated going because it was so boring, but now that she's passed, I would give anything to go sit in her department while she works. I remember going to a small business store called the Indian Shoppe with my dad all the time. They sold the coolest things and I found out years after it moved to "South Side" and ultimately closed down that my dad bought his weed from the owner when he was in his 20s lol. Its crazy that work in the shopping center that's located where Eastwood Mall was, right across Crestwood Boulevard from Century Plaza. Damn, I'm crying now.
Holy CRAP, it's in almost pristine condition! Amazing episode!
Stephanie Rogers it does still look really good I sure hate it closed☹️
This is one the best looking abandoned malls I have ever seen. Not much building damage being ceiling, roof, the floors are intact, etc.., Not much vandalism and graffiti. My guess is someone is maintaining this mall a little and has tight security or a way it’s almost impossible to break into and walk around.
AGAIN...Another Awesome video...I am 38 yrs. old..i long to remember my past..my best times of MY life...was at a mall, since torn down...Port Plaza Mall...The memories of when i was in 'love'..20 yrs ago...i still WANT to remember...and NEVER forget! Thanks AGAIN ACE for a great memory in time...MY own Mall..long gone in time..Sad man..sad.
Amazing job, Anthony! Looking forward to the next episodes to come! I love that even though it’s been closed for a decade, it’s still in great condition. Thankfully Mercedes-Benz is using the lot and protecting some retail history.
I’m glad someone finally got inside. My husband tell me about this mall all the time and we pass by all the time but they turned the parking lot into a lot for overstock cars for a dealership 🤷🏽♀️ I’m actually jealous you got in. Great video
This was the mall to shop at back in the day...loved this mall 😭
This is sad for me. I remember going there as a child with my mother. Every year we got back to school clothes there. Then as a teen it was a hang out location. This area in general began going down hill....crime. Now it’s an area you don’t want to frequent...run down and crime. Just really sad.
I lived in this area many years. Now it's just a danger zone. I remember visiting the mall before it closed and I had not been there in a long time. It was so different and a little intimidating and frightening. Nothing like when i was younger. I remember when this was THE mall and not many others around.
Yes, Kimberly, this is so sad for me to watch & especially the music in the background is gloomy also and adds to it. I remember wanting to go to this mall so bad as a school girl and trying to get my mother to take me there because like Melody Bagwell comments below it was "THE MALL" to go to back in the day. I just wanted once to go there for some school clothes but because we lived in Marion and Tuscaloosa was closer, all I ever got to go to was McFarland & University malls there and the little rinky dink mall in Selma. This still makes me think of my Mama though and how we used to go shopping & now she is deceased and those days are long gone.
There’s no crime in crestwood/irondale 😂😂😂 quit being dramatic
The first part I agreed, but crime now in that area? It's not that bad at all. The area is been revamping for the last 5 years at least.
I used to have family in this area and I disagree with the crime. I was never scared to visit there at all. Idk where you've lived before but It isn't different than any other suburb where you hear sirens every so often. Shit happens, that Doesn't make it a dangerous place.
Awesome content as always, I love the vintage photos and how sweet home Alabama played in perfectly with your opening theme
I loved this mall! So many great memories! I worked in several stores there. It's gone now, and the spot will soon become an Amazon fulfillment center.
I've been looking forward to the first installment upload from your recent mall travels. You didn't disappoint, Anthony. The premiere was excellent. Cannot wait for episode 2. Have a great weekend :D
I went to this mall as a kid in the 90's. I was always so hyped to go because my parents refused to go to the Galleria in Hoover and Eastwood Mall was a shell of its former self by then. My uncle used to airbrush t-shirts at a kiosk on the first-floor area below the place at 2:56
Omg!! Y’all showed my mom!! In 1987 at the craft show! It’s been so long... 😓😓
Went there once near the end when there was only a few stores open. Now an Amazon distribution center sits in its place.
This fearured one of the best openings ever among your myriad productions, and the music choice -- who can resist Skynyrd? -- was perfect. I don't know what it is about these stark white-painted spaces like these, but it really makes the mall that much more cold & creepy when they empty out and close. The two little kid statues were also on the creepy side, but were a good place to start and end, as you did. Thanks for yet another terrific video, Anthony!
This thing is a time capsule. Amazing look, and in really good shape. I hope someone can do something with this great piece of property.
Not just Century Plaza but many malls spend millions on remodeling when they should focus on increasing foot traffic.
No one says hey let's go to the mall and look at the newly painted walls.
First malls need a hook to bring people in. Art fairs, concerts, conventions, ANYTHING to have people go there.
The other way malls could stay in business is varying store rents in exchange for a few years commitment to stay open. Too many malls are only operating with a fraction of the stores being open, the rest are empty.
But if management does nothing to change things Ebay and amazon will soon kill the last of the malls.
It feels so strange looking at somewhere I used to go every now and then like this. Looking at the food court in particular brings back a lot
And the water feature around 12:00
10 years vacant? Creepy and sad! Love the reverse zoom at the end! Awesome video!
One of my favorite memories as a kid/teen was my granny or my mum taking us to the mall. I gotta show my kids this video.
Wow. So many memories from the early to mid 80's. My grandfather William Carvey worked on the building of the mall.
Great video! Great mall! Thanks for filming. That mall is still in pretty good shape. Hope it stays that way.
Great production bro you’ve come a long way proud of you... over malling and the rise of stores like target Ross in the late 80s is what led to malls decline... I remember malls beginning to die in late 80s long before online shopping existed. Many of the later built malls never took off and reached their full capacity or took the path of this mall where its decline began long before internet shopping.
It’s being torn down now to make room for a Amazon distribution center. They just started the demo last week :((
So glad you got this footage! I had so many childhood memories there!
So many wonderful memories with my children at Century Plaza. Thanks for making this video and also noting the dates. Doesn't seem like it was that long ago (80's & 90's). I'm surprised there was no footage or photos of the Christmas Village in the video. That was always one of our favorite visits. Every year we would visit Santa, the Christmas Village and Jingles the Bear. One year, my eldest two daughters, were models in one of the Fashion Shows sponsored by the Department store Parisian but, I think it was located near by inside of Eastwood Mall. Back in the day we shopped both Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza for all of our clothing needs, etc . I hear Eastwood Mall was demolished. It's wonderful Century Plaza remains standing and has been protected from vandalism. When you move 5 hours away, you don't always hear of these closings happening. #Homesick #nostalgia
That was my hangout spot in my early teen years...fond memories of the little pool that was just outside of The India Shoppe. I smoked countless cigarettes around that little pool. The Journey's in Century Plaza kept my feet covered and looking fresh for several years and at Christmas, CP seemed to always do it up like no other. God knows how many years my mom took me there to have Xmas pictures with Santa made.
It is gone. Razed for Amazon Distribution Center. Goodbye to Century Plaza. You served us well.
I have so many memories of Centry Plaza. Especially during Christmas.
Omg I love going to this mall around Christmas time when Santa was there thanks for uploading this is takes me back to my childhood..💖💖💖 (90's)
Edit: they are now tearing the mall down and I really hate to see it go I have so many good memories there.. Century Plaza Mall
I got some serious Rolling Acres vibes from this just without all the vandalism that happened to it.
Same here, but unlike Rotting Acres this one has hardly any weather damage. And yes, there's a Mercedes Benz plant in Alabama. If you're looking for a Benz, however, look for a German one - they're better.
ruclips.net/video/TZk6P5PR7b0/видео.html
Eh I wouldn’t put it in that category, it did die pretty quickly, but for how long it has been abandoned, it has been well maintained. Birmingham actually started to go downhill after the recession.
Been waiting for this one! Great shoot Anthony. Amazing how it has been preserved. Could almost open tomorrow.
Thank you so much for sharing this. So many memories flood my mind as if I'm walking through the mall with the cameraman. I must say that seeing where the India Shop once was makes me happy yet sad. The owner Mark was such a great man. My dad and Mark were best friends so I spent a lot of time there. May he RIP. You did an amazing job with this!
Holy shit, I thought no one would make a video here! I remember going in the Sear's up until the end. We actually have a Mercedes manufacturing plant here and they leased the property to store surplus vehicles.
@Dead Malls By Jeff and Company The lot is probably 75% full
DUDE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS COMMENT! I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why all of those cars are there. Idk why I didn't think one of the car plants was using it lol
Dead Malls By Jeff and Company parking lot is pretty full!
I loved this mall. At Christmas the decorations were amazing even after the Galleria opened. Such a shame this has happened to malls all across America.
I grew up going to Century Plaza from the late 80's all the way to shortly before its closure. Even in the early 2000's it didn't have a lot of vacancies and was doing alright even with competition from the newly remodeled Brookwood Villiage (which is teetering on death right now, hope you went and saw it) and the Riverchase Galleria (which is still doing really well)
What really did this mall in was a rash of gang-related violence in the early 2000's and a number of shootings. It got the reputation to be an unsafe place to visit. People stopped coming and then the retailers all closed up shop. It's really sad because, like you said, it was always very well maintained.
Tempestwrath did you go to the arcade often? I spent my summers in the late 80's at the arcade in this mall.
Wow! I am so glad someone finally did this.. I really miss this mall. It really brought back all the memories of my grandmother n I shoping at sears n eatting at piccadilly or doing the holidays with the beautiful decorations. Ahhh its just so womderful.. Thank you!😍
New subscriber here after just watching this (first of many for me) excellent video. I grew up in Birmingham in the 70s and 80s and this was my main shopping mall. Excellent info at the beginning and video tour!
Thanks for the video! It's a great walk down memory lane. Is there any more footage of the mall from the 80s? I'd love to see other parts of the mall.
Out of all the dead mall content creators on youtube i rate your gear at the very top,love your work ,cheers mate 👍
Thank you for these throwback walkthrough of my childhood skipping school from high school Woodlawn go to the mall on lunch break had so much fun there really growing up Birmingham Alabama home of the Civil Rights Movement thank you you really have some clout to be true through them all that's been closed for almost 15 years now stay blessed and safe
I worked at the Sears in 2002. Seeing this brought back so many memories. I used to eat at the Chick Fil A next door to Sears. Also Sbarro and Sneaky Pete’s down stairs. My last day I worked I treated my coworkers to a lunch at Applebees. I think the blow to this mall was when Walmart built that massive store on the Eastwood property and faced the store toward Montclair and the parking lot toward Crestwood Blvd. Even 2002 you could sense a decline. By 2004, it was undeniable.
I worked at that Sears in the mid 80s. Was a great mall back in the day.
Awesome intro! Great work Anthony ☺️
It's pronounced Pa-zits. Great video.
That's the main store I wanted to go to when I was growing up as a school girl. I just wanted once to go there and get just 1 shopping spree.
1st! Great looking mall Anthony. A total shame it has been dormant for 10 years. Looks like a mall I would frequent. Hopefully it gets repurposed, instead of being demolished. Hello from Phoenix Arizona!
It got completely demolished a week or 2 ago
Time stands still in these dead malls. Loveman's and Pizitz were long time competitors, especially in Birmingham. Loveman's stores closed in 1980. Pizitz was later merged with McRaes. Great video.
I was here in 1994, 1995 I remember it being very modern and crowded back then. I visited it during Christmas and it was beautifully decorated. Very big I had trouble finding some stores.
I remember shopping at this mall I live near Birmingham it's sad to see the property go to waste
Love your work dude! Keep it up!
Amazing video. Keep up the hard work that comes to putting these together.
Wow it’s cool that you can just wander around in their empty mall! Thanks for sharing!
Watching this video is like having a conversation with a ghost.
Century Plaza mall has been demolished now. It is going to be an Amazon facility. It might already be built, I haven’t heard.
I remember when this mall opened. It was beautiful! I lived about an hour south from it so it was a a bit of drive. I was young so I had to come with my family or friends.
I am sad that it is gone.
Another mall that closed in the Birmingham area is Brookwood Village. It is a beautiful mall. The new owners haven’t decided what to do with it yet
The downfall of Brookwood Mall was when The Summit open air shopping center was built. I personally can’t stand shopping at The Summit! The traffic is horrible.
You should do a video on Brookwood Village. I’m afraid of what the new owner might do.
Wow. What a trip down memory lane. Hickory Farms, Chic-fil-A, Morrison’s, Spencer’s gifts. I’m amazed how much I remember. I did spend a lot of time there. I pass by this mall at least once a week. It always makes me sad. I feel like there should be some way to use the property. Right now there is a car lot in the parking lot. But birmingham doesn’t have a decent flea market, so maybe this would be a good spot.
Used to love going to bumpernets in here. Had to be the coolest place in the mall. I wonder if anybody’s got any Eastwood mall footage
Tens years abandoned and this mall still looks mint, brilliant! Good music choice with Carly Simon's Why too, love that song :)
I’d guess the power was left on in the mall to keep the fire suppression and security systems active and engaged. Doesn’t make any sense to keep the ex-Sears interior lit though.
Century Plaza was across the street from Eastwood Mall, a one-level mall and there was another strip mall (Village East) across from it. The area was considered at one time, a destination for all the upper-middle-class folks from Trussville, Mt. Brook, Homewood, and Hoover. Unfortunately for Century Plaza, The Pinnacle in Trussville, The Riverchase Galleria, Brookwood Village, and The Summit were built closer to those areas to cater to that higher class clientele and slowly siphoned off the Century Plaza and Eastwood Malls business. The area became a dinosaur, slowly becoming extinct.
I grew up going there and eventually worked there. Awesome memories. Demolition started Tuesday November 10, 2020. Goodbye old friend.
My dad used to take me here in the 90's, I remember it had the fountains you'd toss coins in and we'd eat at the chick fill a, I loved the india store, I just loved walking around with my dad. Miss that.
Amazing!! Thanks ACE!
Great job on this video