Editors Note: My apologies for mispronouncing Wiregrass, I recorded the voiceovers at 1AM. I understand I very much miss-pronounced it in this video. I already got like 10 comments, correcting me already, which is why I am leaving this editors note and I ask for no more comments correcting me. Just ignore my mistake. I don’t mind criticism on the video otherwise, but I don’t need to be insulted in my comments, and to hear anyone tell me they disliked the video because of an honest mistake I made. Again, I’m sorry, I’m not a local here. :( Anyways What are your thoughts on University Mall, and what do you think it’s future holds?
As a native, I apologize that there were folks getting ugly towards you. We're not all jerks. I used to work at JCPenney's in this mall. When I was a child 50 yrs ago, I remember my folks and I would get dressed up in our Sunday best, on Sundays, and go shopping there. Sometimes we'd eat at the Picadilly Cafeteria. The food was good, prices were decent and best of all, Mom didn't have to cook. When I was 14, 2 of my brother's were home on vacation. We went to the kiosk of Professor Bloodgoods. They had costumes you could wear and took photos. We had such a great time that day. We all still our group photos. One of my favorite core memories.
@@JM-lw6yi Have you ever considered uploading some of those photos (or videos if you have them) so more of how the mall used to be can be preserved online?
It's really not. The last time I drove by it, it looked like it was mostly torn down. If any of it is open, it's only on the weekends. Burlington moved and is separate now. Apartments fill the space where that Sears was. The rest looks vacant. But yeah it's been dead for at least that long. The JC Penny area was deserted and blocked off then.
It's still open, it closes during the week at 7 and 8:30 Friday and Saturdays. My husband grabs us food from the Bourbon Street in the Food Court at least once a week. It's ALWAYS empty so he's usually in and out.
Omg how sad. That mall was such a big deal when it got built. This is part of what Walmart and Amazon and online shops have done. This si what you are supporting when you patronize these online businesses. Then to return something??? Not able to try anything on. It S@CKS !
I worked there at Penney's in '88 and of course it was bustling back then. Haven't lived in Tampa since '06, it's just sad to see how dead it is. I think the only thing I still recognize is the rack room shoes.
This was THE spot when I was younger. We'd see movies and go to the arcade. I even took a few USF classes there and would always get the bourbon chicken at the food court afterward.
I used to go there all the time as a kid in the 90s, it was tons of fun there back then. But overtime bad people started hanging around that mall and that ran off a bunch of paying customers and the crash of 2008 didn't help much either.
Do you remember when it only had 4 theaters, and every Friday and Saturday night at midnight they would show The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pink Floyd’s The wall?
That high crime rate was a problem even in the late 90s. This is not a mall you wanted to be in the parking lot at night unless it was busy. It got worse and worse over time. I think the apartments have improved it a lot now.
I was born and raised here in Tampa Florida and it hurt to see a mall that I loved just parishing like this!I have so many good memories there!I don’t even waste my time going and the other malls are way too far because I’m not mobile at the moment..Thanx for sharing video👍🏽
I remember this mall opening in the early 70’s. The anchor stores were Sears, Penny’s, Maas Brothers, and Robinson’s. Had all kinds of stores and restaurants. I grew up on Lake Magdalene and I worked there at Bakers Shoes in 1985. Over time, the surrounding neighborhood declined and there went the mall. I wrote the above before watching the video. When it opened, the only areas with multi-floors were the department stores. The rest of the mall was single story. I guess nothing lasts forever.
Great inside look and history. 👍 When I moved to Tampa in 99, I used to visit this university mall and Tampa Bay mall, which is now Tampa buccaneers' training center and parking lot. University mall often had fights, theft, and drugs running in and out of there. Between crime, over saturation of malls like Tampa outlets, this place died off.
Yeah Tampa Bay mall has been gone for so long too. Before that training facility, that lot sat vacant for years. Was also known for the same crime issues.
This mall is near one of the worst neighborhoods in Tampa. Gangs would hang out at the mall and get into fights. Rioters in June 2020 looted several stores there.
Man it was ghetto in 03 and everyone knew it. cheaper movie tickets tho. And was dying off then, meaning stores were closing losing profit in an old decrepit POS.
Suitcase city baby. It's had that reputation since the late 90s. People would get robbed in the parking lot at night even then. It is in an awful area that is trying to get rid of the past. The new apartments seem like a step in the right direction.
This use to be a huge mall. Before there was an International Mall we use to shop at Tampa Bay and University Mall. I loved Burdines. This mall also had Blockbuster Music, Sears, Sam Goodys, Dillards and the last Montgomery Wards in existence at the time.
Pretty sure the dillards got replaced by a macys or other way around but either way I would go there a lot, supposedly it’s being redeveloped right now
Back when I lived in that area of Tampa I became part of a project to build and open a new restaurant there in the University mall. 'Margarita Mama's' Tex-Mex restaurant was to be a new, sister store of a Margarita Mama's near Downtown Tampa that was such a big hit there the company decided to open up a location in the University area, and they chose University Mall. I was on a team who designed the restaurant's kitchen and then once the restaurant opened I continued to work there, full-time. The atmosphere there was bright, festive and often with live entertainment. The company also opened a nightclub called 'Banana Joes,' right next door to the restaurant. That night club rocked! So much fun for club-atmosphere seekers in that area. Could you imagine a jumpin' nightclub there in a shopping mall? Well there you have it. Business was brisk for the first year but unfortunately poor management led to the business's untimely demise, as they ran way too many specials and gave away too much food in promotions just to get mall shopper traffic into the store but then when all the specials were over and it was just regular menu prices customers just said 'To hell with this' and they ended up goin' over to Ruby Tuesday's right across the hallway near that mall entrance or just someplace else. I ended up getting welcomed back to a nearby steakhouse I had worked before Margarita Mama's and within two months Margarita Mama's and Banana Joes was all gone. The location became a fabric store shortly after that. I believe near the end of this video we see the location where MMs and BJs was. The K & G Fashion store.
Last time I went there was like 95ish..I live just south of Tampa in Palmetto and our mall is a ghost town..same with sarasota square mall.. back in the 90s early 2000s they were the spot to be for kids.. good memories 4 sure..
i grew up here in this mall. my Nana who raised me worked at Lerner's, a clothing shop. it was later renamed NY and Co. when Grampa took us to pick Nana up after work, my sister and i (she was 6 and i was 5) would roam the mall unsupervised while Grampa sat on the brown plastic one piece bench in front of the store. we'd go to Wilson's Sporting Goods next door to Lerner's and squish the packages of rubber fishing worms and exclaim about how gross it was. then we'd go over to the Tinderbox, a store that had a small statue of a tin soldier in the window. we thought it might be a tin soldier store, but when i was older i realized it was a tobacco shop. we weren't allowed int here and thought tin soldiers must only be for grown ups. we made a point of going to the anchor store, Maas Brothers, because they had a Hello Kitty store display and we could buy inexpensive things there, like erasers or notepads. i developed a love for Little Twin Stars there when i was 6 and would scour the display for anything with their logo that i could afford. we'd go to the fountain and throw a penny or nickel in and daydream out loud about what we would buy if we were allowed to take the quarters out of the water. what we wanted to buy was almost always candy. there was a pet shop at the end of the mall. we'd go there, too and pat the puppies and kittens, because the store employees would take them out for us to hold. we bought our pet turtles there when we were 8 and 9 and our pet hamsters there when we were 9 and 10. my mother bought finches from them, tiny birds that made little peeping sounds. she bought the first one in 1979 and still owned one of its descendants in 2005. by the time we were 11 and 12, our grandparents or mother dropped us off at the mall alone to window shop and socialize with our friends for hours. we'd go into the spencers gifts store and surreptitiously hurry to the back of the store to look at the grown up section and giggle about the racy things we saw. we wanted to look sophisticated and jaded but i'm sure we just looked goofy. then we'd grab a chick fil a sandwich and a lemonade and talk about how good the food was and then hit the movies or the arcade or both. there were two bookstores we spent hours in once our friends had gone home. our ex-pastor worked at the jewelry store. we'd gossip about how he'd been caught with the church secretary and divorced. he always waved to us. we'd drop in a visit our Nana who would either buy us clothes on sale or tell us she'd sew the more expensive outfits we liked at Lerners. she was good at duplicating fashions and was the most fashionable grandmother anyone else knew. our friends asked her advice on clothing and accessories and she helped them pick out their clothes. my sister got a job at chick fil a and we thought that was the coolest thing ever, getting discount sandwiches, fries, and lemonade. my old pastor still worked at the jewelry store. he still waved to me and i'd drop by and show off my kids and ask how he was. in my 20s i took my own kids to the university mall. we'd make a beeline for my Nana's store and she'd kiss each great-grandbaby and fuss over them. then we'd dodge the mall walkers, senior citizens who dressed in matching jumpsuits and speedwalked through the mall for exercise, and head for the disney store. my kids' favorite store was that one. they had a huge round display of stuffies with a big screen tv hanging over it that played previews of upcoming disney movies or musical clips. they always begged for a toy and once in a while i would have some extra money so i'd get them either something from there or something from the KB Toys store or Waldenbooks. they liked to read as much as i did. we'd head over to the pet store, which still allowed kids to pat the puppies and kitten, only now there was hand sanitizer first and they had to sit in a pen with the animals and could not pick them them up. then we'd go across the street to the merlins comic book shop so i could meet my friends and socialize with them while the kids read their favorite comic books (i always bought them one). afterwards, we'd grab a sandwich from the publix next door to merlins and head home. in my 30s, i remarried and had a one year old stepdaughter. my teen kids liked taking her shopping and watching her play in the kids area. we'd go to hot topic and pick out cute outfits or band tees for my teens there. sometimes there was something the baby could have like a purse or hair accessories. my Nana still worked there and we'd visit her. the mall was slowing down. Nana retired. the kids grew up and had kids of their own. on halloween, we'd take the grandkids out to the old university mall and trick or treat there as their parents and aunties and uncles had in the 90s and early 2000s. there were no longer any mall walkers and there were few shoppers, but there was plenty of candy being handed out. my old pastor's jewelry store was closed. university mall became almost a ghost town. the anchor stores boarded up and sealed themselves off from the main mall as they closed. the disney store and spencers and NY & Co and waldenbooks and pet store had long since closed. in my 50's, there was an announcement that university mall was to become an outdoor mall, then another announcement that it would be a mixed use community. i don't know which they settled on. it's still being renovated.
This was the expensive mall. I remember going there a lot but my mom let us shop there once when she had a little extra. I felt like I was the shit that day. It was a beautiful mall.
Early 2000s when I was in high school….this was the spot to come and people watch. I loved Perry’s bbq. I got the orange chicken everytime 😂. We would go to the movies on the second floor on the weekends after taking a stroll through the mall to see who/what was there. There were rumors back then of it closing down. 24 years later and it’s still open😂 Oh the nostalgia❤ Thanks for the time capsule.
This was my childhood hangout. Crime wasn't a problem we rode there on our bikes. It's a shame what has happened to the area. Great arcade, Dunderbaks, record stores, Spencer's, Time Square with great music, Italian Pavillion, Chick-fil-A. So many great places and memories. All the high school girls worked at the women's clothing stores to get the discounts on clothes. Back when teens cared about what they look like. Brandon town center pretty much put USM out of business.
No it was the combination of Citrus, International and Wesley Chapel. Plus Westshore renovated. The high crime did University in. It's amazing it stayed open for as long as it did.
Nah, university mall was still plenty viable after Brandon town center opened. What killed it was the international mall. Brandon probably killed east lake square mall.
Great video my friend. I have lived aboutb2 blocks away from this mall my entire life. 36 years. In the late 90s it was the coolest place in town, would hit it up every saturday and sunday, start out going to sambgoody for new cds, suncoast for special order VHS movies, electronics boutique for my dreamcast games, then the rest of the day was spent at pocket change (the arcade) while waiting foe our movie time. Such good memories here. Its in a very sad state right now. Jc pennys has been gutted and aittingnwith a tarp over it for what feela like years, at night theres a rough crowd of thugs and locals that just hang out outside the food court entrance, not even there for food or movies, they are just there and i hear causing all sorts of problems from their secuity. Place is crazy now. Almoat nothing left in the food court. I highly recommend Perrys BBQ up there.
This was actually the best mall in Tampa in the late 90s/early 2000s. It was great and always hopping. Once Citrus Park opened though, I started going there more as it was closer to where I lived. Also, in the 2010s the crime rate around that area increased and I think it scares people away. Not sure if the mall is completely torn down or what but there was redevelopment plans.
I was a mall rat there in the '80s and '90s. University Square Mall always had a crime problem since it was just south of Suitcase City. In the '80s, my parents' cars were broken into multiple times in front of Maison Blanche. For a really short period after the 1995 renovation, things got slightly better. You'd still see security chasing shoplifters, though. Regardless, it was a nice mall when all the spaces had tenants. I miss going into the back of B. Dalton's to buy video games from Software, Etc. The last time I went in there was around 2019, it looked similar to East Lake Mall before it was shut down and converted into Net Park. Indoor malls just aren't sustainable anymore for the most part. Citrus Park is slowly going the same way, but it has the luxury of being in a better part of Tampa.
@@grayrabbit2211 me too. My husband asked why I’m watching this video. “Because I want to see what’s going on inside but it’s to scary to actually go there.”
I grew up about 15 or 20 blocks away, over by 20th and Linebaugh Ave. I remember going to the University Mall as a kid to play video games in a store inside that used to be in there. Im 52 years old and I knew that mall inside and out. I know that on the back side of the property there are small lakes that I was told when the mall was first built there were huge fish that people was going after, I mean huge like 6' or bigger. Crazy to see how this once thriving mall went to chit after the development of Westchase and Tampa Palms areas blew up. Oh and the big copper looking bell on top of the shops of Wiregrass was hand cut and installed by myself when my dad's company was around, Tampa Metal Works.
I remember back in the day around the year of 2000, my friends and I use to drive from St.Pete on Saturdays just to come to this mall , use to be one of the best malls in Florida with tons of stores and you could never find a parking spot. It's actually sad seeing this mall now, I'm shocked this mall is still in business.
Mr Dunderbak's was the name. they sold specialty foods in the front. one year (it was either 1999 or 2000) i was on my way home from work on the bus and went to the kash n karry to get ingredients for my 8 year old daughter's strawberry birthday cake but they were out of jam! i thought quickly and dashed across to Mr Dunderbaks and bought the expensive jam for her cake.
I grew up going to University Mall and it was a huge part of my childhood and teenage years. Spent many, many Friday and Saturday nights hanging out with my friends. The food court would be jam packed with teenagers. It breaks my heart to see the state of the mall now. 😢 Anchors back then were Burdines, JC Penney, Dillard’s, Sears, Burlington
This mall has been at least semi successful at revitalizing itself. Sure, they're torn down old anchor stores like Sears to reduce the mall's overall footprint, but they've also leased space to Tampa Bay Community Network and Diamond Vu studios, the latter having grown its footprint several times since they opened and is an important location for movie and TV productions in Tampa. While the mall is loosing chain stores, it's now host to more than a few local businesses (like My Tobbies) that are doing well. There's also several large sit down chain restaurants (like Portillo''s, Miller's, and Longhorn) in the parking lot facing Fowler Ave. The movie theater is huge, and also does a decent business, being the closest theater to USF. Also in reducing the mall's footprint, they have infilled part of the old Sears parking lot into apartments. It's certainly not the best mall in Tampa, but it's doing a lot better than a lot of other dying and dead malls in Florida.
I’m glad to hear the redevelopment is going well so far! And I agree, even though the mall interior is dying, it’s not nearly as dead as other malls I’ve covered in Florida such as Orlando Fashion Square, Seminole Towne Center, and Sarasota Square.
When I was a kid there were 2 Malls. University and East Lake. Once Brandon Towne center things went down hill. East Lake closed and became a corporate park where as University was still thriving. Then Citrus park and the New Tampa area grew. Oh I almost forgot about West Shore Mall grew taking more of their business.
@@horizonzeromomTampa Bay center was the best mall back in the 70s and 80s! I lived a couple of miles east of Eastlake mall and would still try to get out to Tampa Bay center
@@jwho4840 My first job was at the Rave at Eastlake Mall, but I spent most of my time at either Tampa Bay Center or University Mall. I remember University Mall going through at least 3 different renovations :)
@@horizonzeromom oh I loved Rave! I had friends that worked at service merchandise and Wards. My orthodontist was in Eastlake and after every appt we would go to Morrison's to eat. It's nice to reminisce 😸 I also worked at Penney's at USM in the 80's
It's hard to attract business to an area so riddled with crime. If this mall had an adjacent police precinct like Citrus Park, this probably would be less of a factor.
That has nothing to do with it. The neighborhood has been the same for many years when USF is located btw and the mall was the busiest in 2001. Times have changed, people are shopping online and going to outlets
The Sheriff's office had a substation in the mall by Burlington Coat Factory. Deputies patrolled the mall along with mall security. There is also a larger Sheriff's office location less than a mile away, and a Tampa Police station less than two miles away.
Used to go there often as a student at USF in the mid/late 80s. It was a nice place then. As many others have noted here, though, the general area has declined. Most people won't shop where they fear for their personal or material safety. Next up, Brandon Town Center.
No one goes to this mall because everyone goes to The International Mall (right next door to Tampa’s International Airport) and Westfield Brandon Mall (which is on the outer edge of Brandon but still like 10 minutes from downtown Tampa and still part of the Tampa Bay Area). Those 2 malls are I would argue part of the city’s identity and definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are usually when it’s the most busy. Whenever I see a dead mall video I always think about the malls I mentioned because both are very successful and have been successful for a very long time. I never thought that such a thing is actually kinda rare in this country. Great video though!
Where the bouncy thing is used to have a large water feature, first hot topic I ever went to was the one here, it also used to have a Suncoast, petland if I remember it also had a Disney store, among many different stores, I remember going to Montgomery wards with my mom on many occasions
Sam goody on the 2nd floor where the food court along with Perry's were the thing back in the 90s and early 2000s. Still go to Perry's for some good grub every so often
This mall isn't dying. It's dead and has been for at least 10 years. Anyone from Tampa will tell you how shocked we are that it stayed open this long. The area that you walked all the way too that is a wall at the other end. That used to be a whole other section where JC Penney and Old Navy were. About 12 other stores. That area was blocked off around 2014-2015 before it was torn down. University was notorious for being in a high crime area especially that parking garage. It was nice at one time in the 90s and early 2000s. All the major stores were there but it started falling apart after and more of those stores closed replaced by smaller local stuff. It was known for being super ghetto. I'm pretty sure a lot of it was finally torn down this year or it's only open on weekends. The apartments are there, Burlington moved and does not even exit into the mall anymore. In the 90s, it looked so different during Christmas. The area you chose for a thumbnail would always be decorated. Another one you could have gone to here was Gulfview Mall. That might have been dead for longer and somehow is still standing but it is empty inside.
You should see what the countryside mall looks like. It's dead as well. So many businesses are gone. Between COVID and just the fact that malls are becoming obsolete with places like Amazon.
I feel that this mall peaked around 2000. Shout-out to Jackie, the girl that worked at Forever 21. I got rid of my AOL account and then I lost your number way back when. Anyway, I miss hitting up the arcade upstairs and then crossing over to the music store that let you crack open CD's to sample them.
This was known to be a pretty dangerous place in the 90's. Still not great, the jewelry store was robbed a few years ago and the place is a common target of car burglaries.
Wow. The upstairs by the theater where the arcade pocket change used to be is now just a closed space. I grew up down the street from this mall. I went to this mall often for probably 15 years. The area hasn't always been the best. High crime, stealing cars, drugs, homeless. Eventually online shopping would be the main problems malls faced. Sad to see it's turned into a ghost town like this. Thanks for the post.
It been considered ratchet but that's not the problem, when the Internet reached a new level in 2013/14 millennials started shopping online then when the pandemic hit in 2020 that obviously had an affect
This is heartbreaking 💔 Back in the early 2000’s I use to frequently shop at this mall. I lived in Ocala at the time and would drive a hour and a half on a Saturday to University Mall to shop. Always packed. I can’t believe this.
Used to go there all the time. Now I mostly go to Wiregrass or Brandon Town Center. Last time I went to University Mall was last year when I needed shoes resoled.
@@siliconnoisseur Yes, he is. I took shoes there recently for repair. I didn't like having to go to that location but that family has always done such a great job with repairs.
If you want a really great anchor store for some of these empty mall, put in a giant Bass Pro Shop. The men would go to the mall. I haven't been to a mall in probably 15-20 years.
I was dropping a coworker off at a place nearby and decided to take a stroll through University Mall while I waited for her… it was a fever dream! I was so disoriented and felt really really off.
@@TheGrades90 Oh man, I'm really glad! There's just something about making people have a reaction to bad puns that makes me feel good. Always feel free to ask and I'll make a pun on any topic as well.
Breaks my heart as I lived only a couple blocks or so from this mall for 25 great years. I personally never felt unsafe going there, and they had a lot of really cool clothes too. Seems younger people today do not hang out together and socialize at the malls the way we used to growing up. Guess everything has changed and not in a good way either.
I went there once, a dozen years ago. I have lived in various cities and states since, but I've lived the closest ever for the last year. I haven't gone back, despite it being a short walk away now. I remember it being depressing then & I was right about how it would age! I don't need that if I can't even get a pretzel!
It was a beautiful mall back in the very late 70's and 80's and THE place to go once Eastlake Mall started going downhill. Once Eastlake started to decline, we would drive from Brandon to get our school shopping done. Brandon Mall was a dairy farm at that time. Unfortunately the problems at Eastlake were also beginning to plague University and it wasn't that far behind time-wise that the anchor stores leaving University too. That is always the death knell of a mall. Online shopping pretty much finished it off. Very sad.
LOL! I remember seeing the cows from the interstate when I was a kid nothing but cow pasture. I believe that old man that owned the dairy farm held out for a while before he gave it up to build the mall
I attended the college up the road (Florida College) in temple terrace in 2006 The mall was flooded back then , even years after that it was pretty busy . I think things started going bad around 2015 ish . Straight Ghost town now smh lol
I live around there but it's very surprising to not see an influx of USF students going here, they have done a lot with renovating and I hope that brings more traffic. I love LOOK Cinemas, the dine-in/waiter experience is elite. They recently even added apartments next to it and still no more people Also Studio Movie Grill didn't shut down per say they were bought out by LOOK Cinemas
If we go back to the history of malls in the Tampa area there are bread crumbs. Tampa mall closed because they were being robbed blind, then bus service moved to the East Lake mall then the same thing there and that large mall closed, which left University mall. Bus service followed and the same demise followed. One of the posters stated maybe if they had a police statice closer it might not have happened. But the truth is people that have no respect for themselves or their neighbors caused this.
The only reason I ever think about going to this mall is for the RC store inside which has a really big selection of parts, paints and model kits. Other than that I go in and I immediately leave I don’t even look around the mall it gives me the creeps
It's mainly the area. Behind the mall is basically the ghetto. I know they want to improve the location but look around that area and you will see it is rapidly declining.
I used to go here every weekend as a teenager in the 1980's. We lived pretty far away, so it was a day trip. We'd all pile into someone's rolling wreck and hope we had enough change to fill the tank. There was a whole lot of really great stuff around the mall, so it was worth the long drive. We would all get drunk way in the back parking lot and actually have some fist fights and small punk concerts. How we had fun way before the internet.
Please make this mall the first organic greenhouse members club - tomatoes, lettuce cucumbers etc. Great to have students help out and keep such large spaces green and beneficial
Better come fast more and more stores leave every month less and less kiosks and vendors they have block a lot of the mall with construction that is going no where fast very low foot traffic And yes it’s by a university but surrounded by low income housing and family so it’s hard for it to stay afloat
This malls biggest down fall now is construction out front making it seems closed Almost strategically blocked off from the public to slow foot traffic I believe they want to get rid of it entirely but can’t so they have to make the business inside shut down before they can destroy the whole thing for new developments
It used to be a good mall when I went to USF almost 40 years ago. It's now in a high crime cesspool of an area. Of course it's dead. Go to Citrus Park mall or ones in Wesley Chapel or downtown Tampa for excellent thriving malls.
This was the place to shop in the early 80's. Once the city relocated it's slums to Suitcase City, crime just became to much of an issue and that was the start of it's downfall.
Slums? Smh , so melodramatic. That was not the fall of that mall, like many malls in America, it fell off due to the new style outdoor style outlet type malls and the internet . It had nothing to do with the “slums” as you call them. The university of south Florida is right across the street and they are building a new stadium
@@jayrobinson4591well it was the ghetto if it wasn't a slum. I worked at the mall and lived off Fletcher Ave back in the 80s..that lasted about 3 months and I was out of there!!
The University of South Florida has bought the property in my opinion, they also plan to make it student housing, maybe retail space, also maybe classroom space. The city bus even moved its stop from the rear of the mall, to somewhere in the front. Once major stores like sears started closing, and JC penny went under, the mall just died a slow death. A sad end to a great mall, times changed and then as the mall became more vacant, I believe USF seized the moment and instead of a developer taking it, USF did the deed.
16 years ago was the last time I was at this mall. When I was a teen this mall was always packed. It just became ran down over the years. Kinda wish they would redo the inside and make it the mall it was 20 years ago.
I’m old enough to remember when University was a nice mall. Gangs and hood rats took in over in the very late 90s I think. It got scary and I didn’t go anymore. Tyrone Mall in St Pete is bad too, and I stopped going long ago.
It's a shame that we're losing malls😢. I'm not liking it... It's like they're trying to keep people from being around each other 😢we as people we need human contact and social interaction with each other 😢 all for the name of business and money 💰😢😢
It is. They mostly renovated. The other dead mall in this area is Gulfview in New Port Richey. It's more deserted than this and has been for longer. Have no idea how it stays open.
I live near Tyrone. I lived over in Tampa in the 90s 2000s and have many fond memories of the University Mall! Anyway, even though its the only mall in Central St Pete, its starting tom look tired and dated. There seems to be more traffic at the big box stores outside the Mall, ( Petsmart, Aldi, 5 Below), its pretty dead inside. They should do the same thing they did to the Seminole Mall, knocked it down and created a Main street for the smaller shops and put the big box stores around the outside; with the movie theater at the end of the street!
Yea pretty much everyone goes to citrus or international if you want to go to one of the main malls in Tampa. Place has been like this for years now it’s wejrdb
Editors Note: My apologies for mispronouncing Wiregrass, I recorded the voiceovers at 1AM. I understand I very much miss-pronounced it in this video. I already got like 10 comments, correcting me already, which is why I am leaving this editors note and I ask for no more comments correcting me. Just ignore my mistake. I don’t mind criticism on the video otherwise, but I don’t need to be insulted in my comments, and to hear anyone tell me they disliked the video because of an honest mistake I made. Again, I’m sorry, I’m not a local here. :(
Anyways What are your thoughts on University Mall, and what do you think it’s future holds?
i literally live 2 mins away from it lol ive been in multiple times shit is dead af
As a native, I apologize that there were folks getting ugly towards you. We're not all jerks. I used to work at JCPenney's in this mall. When I was a child 50 yrs ago, I remember my folks and I would get dressed up in our Sunday best, on Sundays, and go shopping there. Sometimes we'd eat at the Picadilly Cafeteria. The food was good, prices were decent and best of all, Mom didn't have to cook. When I was 14, 2 of my brother's were home on vacation. We went to the kiosk of Professor Bloodgoods. They had costumes you could wear and took photos. We had such a great time that day. We all still our group photos. One of my favorite core memories.
Thank you for the Video 😊
@@JM-lw6yi Have you ever considered uploading some of those photos (or videos if you have them) so more of how the mall used to be can be preserved online?
I cannot believe this mall is still open. Even 10+ years ago it was practically dead!
@@gmnavarra money laundering
It's really not. The last time I drove by it, it looked like it was mostly torn down. If any of it is open, it's only on the weekends. Burlington moved and is separate now. Apartments fill the space where that Sears was. The rest looks vacant. But yeah it's been dead for at least that long. The JC Penny area was deserted and blocked off then.
It's still open, it closes during the week at 7 and 8:30 Friday and Saturdays. My husband grabs us food from the Bourbon Street in the Food Court at least once a week. It's ALWAYS empty so he's usually in and out.
Omg how sad. That mall was such a big deal when it got built. This is part of what Walmart and Amazon and online shops have done. This si what you are supporting when you patronize these online businesses. Then to return something??? Not able to try anything on. It S@CKS !
I worked there at Penney's in '88 and of course it was bustling back then. Haven't lived in Tampa since '06, it's just sad to see how dead it is. I think the only thing I still recognize is the rack room shoes.
This was THE spot when I was younger. We'd see movies and go to the arcade. I even took a few USF classes there and would always get the bourbon chicken at the food court afterward.
Same
Same
University Mall will never be dead in my heart. Makes me want to go visit right now.
I live a few states away, and now I want to visit this mall too!
I used to go there all the time as a kid in the 90s, it was tons of fun there back then. But overtime bad people started hanging around that mall and that ran off a bunch of paying customers and the crash of 2008 didn't help much either.
Do you remember when it only had 4 theaters, and every Friday and Saturday night at midnight they would show The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pink Floyd’s The wall?
That high crime rate was a problem even in the late 90s. This is not a mall you wanted to be in the parking lot at night unless it was busy. It got worse and worse over time. I think the apartments have improved it a lot now.
The typical suspects ruined it. That’s why only sneaker stores and hood clothing are the only stores still around
@@johnmartin3749yes, I forgot all about that that's where I saw Rocky horror back in the mid-80s
Anyone here old enough to remember when this mall had a pizza place called the Italian pavilion? Best pizza!
I remember the pizza was very good there and they sold huge slices of pizza. My favorite was the deep dish slices of pizza and it was very filling.
What about Taco Viva or Hot Sam’s pretzels?
I don't remember that, but does anyone remember times square the night club that was in the back of the mall back in the 80's?
Yes
I was born and raised here in Tampa Florida and it hurt to see a mall that I loved just parishing like this!I have so many good memories there!I don’t even waste my time going and the other malls are way too far because I’m not mobile at the moment..Thanx for sharing video👍🏽
This is all because of online shopping
I remember this mall opening in the early 70’s. The anchor stores were Sears, Penny’s, Maas Brothers, and Robinson’s. Had all kinds of stores and restaurants. I grew up on Lake Magdalene and I worked there at Bakers Shoes in 1985. Over time, the surrounding neighborhood declined and there went the mall.
I wrote the above before watching the video. When it opened, the only areas with multi-floors were the department stores. The rest of the mall was single story. I guess nothing lasts forever.
Great inside look and history. 👍 When I moved to Tampa in 99, I used to visit this university mall and Tampa Bay mall, which is now Tampa buccaneers' training center and parking lot. University mall often had fights, theft, and drugs running in and out of there. Between crime, over saturation of malls like Tampa outlets, this place died off.
Yeah Tampa Bay mall has been gone for so long too. Before that training facility, that lot sat vacant for years. Was also known for the same crime issues.
Yep good old Tampa Bay Center that was the best mall back in the late 70s early 80s.
It started falling off in the 2010's
My childhood mall 😢 So many memories
Facts!
This mall is near one of the worst neighborhoods in Tampa. Gangs would hang out at the mall and get into fights. Rioters in June 2020 looted several stores there.
Also, they burnt down the CHAMPS store across the street from the mall a few years back. People don't want to shop around there.
2 hooligans roughed me up a bit till mall security drove by. This happened between the garage and Burlington.
@@kingli5216 that was during that BLM riot.
Man it was ghetto in 03 and everyone knew it. cheaper movie tickets tho. And was dying off then, meaning stores were closing losing profit in an old decrepit POS.
Suitcase city baby. It's had that reputation since the late 90s. People would get robbed in the parking lot at night even then. It is in an awful area that is trying to get rid of the past. The new apartments seem like a step in the right direction.
I miss coming to this mall a lot when I was little
your background music makes me think back when university was the mall.
This use to be a huge mall. Before there was an International Mall we use to shop at Tampa Bay and University Mall. I loved Burdines. This mall also had Blockbuster Music, Sears, Sam Goodys, Dillards and the last Montgomery Wards in existence at the time.
Pretty sure the dillards got replaced by a macys or other way around but either way I would go there a lot, supposedly it’s being redeveloped right now
Back when I lived in that area of Tampa I became part of a project to build and open a new restaurant there in the University mall. 'Margarita Mama's' Tex-Mex restaurant was to be a new, sister store of a Margarita Mama's near Downtown Tampa that was such a big hit there the company decided to open up a location in the University area, and they chose University Mall. I was on a team who designed the restaurant's kitchen and then once the restaurant opened I continued to work there, full-time. The atmosphere there was bright, festive and often with live entertainment. The company also opened a nightclub called 'Banana Joes,' right next door to the restaurant. That night club rocked! So much fun for club-atmosphere seekers in that area. Could you imagine a jumpin' nightclub there in a shopping mall? Well there you have it. Business was brisk for the first year but unfortunately poor management led to the business's untimely demise, as they ran way too many specials and gave away too much food in promotions just to get mall shopper traffic into the store but then when all the specials were over and it was just regular menu prices customers just said 'To hell with this' and they ended up goin' over to Ruby Tuesday's right across the hallway near that mall entrance or just someplace else. I ended up getting welcomed back to a nearby steakhouse I had worked before Margarita Mama's and within two months Margarita Mama's and Banana Joes was all gone. The location became a fabric store shortly after that. I believe near the end of this video we see the location where MMs and BJs was. The K & G Fashion store.
Back in the early 80s there was nightclub/disco named times square in the backside of the mall
I remember this mall from the 90s it was so nice back then! So many memories, it’s so sad the way it looks now.
Last time I went there was like 95ish..I live just south of Tampa in Palmetto and our mall is a ghost town..same with sarasota square mall.. back in the 90s early 2000s they were the spot to be for kids.. good memories 4 sure..
i grew up here in this mall. my Nana who raised me worked at Lerner's, a clothing shop. it was later renamed NY and Co. when Grampa took us to pick Nana up after work, my sister and i (she was 6 and i was 5) would roam the mall unsupervised while Grampa sat on the brown plastic one piece bench in front of the store. we'd go to Wilson's Sporting Goods next door to Lerner's and squish the packages of rubber fishing worms and exclaim about how gross it was. then we'd go over to the Tinderbox, a store that had a small statue of a tin soldier in the window. we thought it might be a tin soldier store, but when i was older i realized it was a tobacco shop. we weren't allowed int here and thought tin soldiers must only be for grown ups. we made a point of going to the anchor store, Maas Brothers, because they had a Hello Kitty store display and we could buy inexpensive things there, like erasers or notepads. i developed a love for Little Twin Stars there when i was 6 and would scour the display for anything with their logo that i could afford. we'd go to the fountain and throw a penny or nickel in and daydream out loud about what we would buy if we were allowed to take the quarters out of the water. what we wanted to buy was almost always candy. there was a pet shop at the end of the mall. we'd go there, too and pat the puppies and kittens, because the store employees would take them out for us to hold. we bought our pet turtles there when we were 8 and 9 and our pet hamsters there when we were 9 and 10. my mother bought finches from them, tiny birds that made little peeping sounds. she bought the first one in 1979 and still owned one of its descendants in 2005.
by the time we were 11 and 12, our grandparents or mother dropped us off at the mall alone to window shop and socialize with our friends for hours. we'd go into the spencers gifts store and surreptitiously hurry to the back of the store to look at the grown up section and giggle about the racy things we saw. we wanted to look sophisticated and jaded but i'm sure we just looked goofy. then we'd grab a chick fil a sandwich and a lemonade and talk about how good the food was and then hit the movies or the arcade or both. there were two bookstores we spent hours in once our friends had gone home. our ex-pastor worked at the jewelry store. we'd gossip about how he'd been caught with the church secretary and divorced. he always waved to us. we'd drop in a visit our Nana who would either buy us clothes on sale or tell us she'd sew the more expensive outfits we liked at Lerners. she was good at duplicating fashions and was the most fashionable grandmother anyone else knew. our friends asked her advice on clothing and accessories and she helped them pick out their clothes. my sister got a job at chick fil a and we thought that was the coolest thing ever, getting discount sandwiches, fries, and lemonade. my old pastor still worked at the jewelry store. he still waved to me and i'd drop by and show off my kids and ask how he was.
in my 20s i took my own kids to the university mall. we'd make a beeline for my Nana's store and she'd kiss each great-grandbaby and fuss over them. then we'd dodge the mall walkers, senior citizens who dressed in matching jumpsuits and speedwalked through the mall for exercise, and head for the disney store. my kids' favorite store was that one. they had a huge round display of stuffies with a big screen tv hanging over it that played previews of upcoming disney movies or musical clips. they always begged for a toy and once in a while i would have some extra money so i'd get them either something from there or something from the KB Toys store or Waldenbooks. they liked to read as much as i did. we'd head over to the pet store, which still allowed kids to pat the puppies and kitten, only now there was hand sanitizer first and they had to sit in a pen with the animals and could not pick them them up. then we'd go across the street to the merlins comic book shop so i could meet my friends and socialize with them while the kids read their favorite comic books (i always bought them one). afterwards, we'd grab a sandwich from the publix next door to merlins and head home.
in my 30s, i remarried and had a one year old stepdaughter. my teen kids liked taking her shopping and watching her play in the kids area. we'd go to hot topic and pick out cute outfits or band tees for my teens there. sometimes there was something the baby could have like a purse or hair accessories. my Nana still worked there and we'd visit her. the mall was slowing down. Nana retired. the kids grew up and had kids of their own. on halloween, we'd take the grandkids out to the old university mall and trick or treat there as their parents and aunties and uncles had in the 90s and early 2000s. there were no longer any mall walkers and there were few shoppers, but there was plenty of candy being handed out. my old pastor's jewelry store was closed. university mall became almost a ghost town. the anchor stores boarded up and sealed themselves off from the main mall as they closed. the disney store and spencers and NY & Co and waldenbooks and pet store had long since closed.
in my 50's, there was an announcement that university mall was to become an outdoor mall, then another announcement that it would be a mixed use community. i don't know which they settled on. it's still being renovated.
This was the expensive mall. I remember going there a lot but my mom let us shop there once when she had a little extra. I felt like I was the shit that day. It was a beautiful mall.
Early 2000s when I was in high school….this was the spot to come and people watch. I loved Perry’s bbq. I got the orange chicken everytime 😂. We would go to the movies on the second floor on the weekends after taking a stroll through the mall to see who/what was there. There were rumors back then of it closing down. 24 years later and it’s still open😂 Oh the nostalgia❤ Thanks for the time capsule.
This was my childhood hangout. Crime wasn't a problem we rode there on our bikes. It's a shame what has happened to the area. Great arcade, Dunderbaks, record stores, Spencer's, Time Square with great music, Italian Pavillion, Chick-fil-A. So many great places and memories. All the high school girls worked at the women's clothing stores to get the discounts on clothes. Back when teens cared about what they look like. Brandon town center pretty much put USM out of business.
No it was the combination of Citrus, International and Wesley Chapel. Plus Westshore renovated. The high crime did University in. It's amazing it stayed open for as long as it did.
Nah, university mall was still plenty viable after Brandon town center opened. What killed it was the international mall. Brandon probably killed east lake square mall.
I worked at JCP back in the mid to late 80s & would always hang out at times square with my girlfriends.
Great video my friend. I have lived aboutb2 blocks away from this mall my entire life. 36 years. In the late 90s it was the coolest place in town, would hit it up every saturday and sunday, start out going to sambgoody for new cds, suncoast for special order VHS movies, electronics boutique for my dreamcast games, then the rest of the day was spent at pocket change (the arcade) while waiting foe our movie time. Such good memories here. Its in a very sad state right now. Jc pennys has been gutted and aittingnwith a tarp over it for what feela like years, at night theres a rough crowd of thugs and locals that just hang out outside the food court entrance, not even there for food or movies, they are just there and i hear causing all sorts of problems from their secuity. Place is crazy now. Almoat nothing left in the food court. I highly recommend Perrys BBQ up there.
It reminds me of the state of our entire country. It really is sad.
This was actually the best mall in Tampa in the late 90s/early 2000s. It was great and always hopping. Once Citrus Park opened though, I started going there more as it was closer to where I lived. Also, in the 2010s the crime rate around that area increased and I think it scares people away. Not sure if the mall is completely torn down or what but there was redevelopment plans.
I was a mall rat there in the '80s and '90s. University Square Mall always had a crime problem since it was just south of Suitcase City. In the '80s, my parents' cars were broken into multiple times in front of Maison Blanche.
For a really short period after the 1995 renovation, things got slightly better. You'd still see security chasing shoplifters, though. Regardless, it was a nice mall when all the spaces had tenants. I miss going into the back of B. Dalton's to buy video games from Software, Etc.
The last time I went in there was around 2019, it looked similar to East Lake Mall before it was shut down and converted into Net Park. Indoor malls just aren't sustainable anymore for the most part. Citrus Park is slowly going the same way, but it has the luxury of being in a better part of Tampa.
I'm glad you posted this. I was curious as to what's going on over there, but I refuse to take my car there.
@@grayrabbit2211 me too. My husband asked why I’m watching this video. “Because I want to see what’s going on inside but it’s to scary to actually go there.”
I remember in the 80's and 90's this place was so packed you couldn't find parking. Sad to see it die a slow death
I grew up about 15 or 20 blocks away, over by 20th and Linebaugh Ave. I remember going to the University Mall as a kid to play video games in a store inside that used to be in there. Im 52 years old and I knew that mall inside and out. I know that on the back side of the property there are small lakes that I was told when the mall was first built there were huge fish that people was going after, I mean huge like 6' or bigger. Crazy to see how this once thriving mall went to chit after the development of Westchase and Tampa Palms areas blew up. Oh and the big copper looking bell on top of the shops of Wiregrass was hand cut and installed by myself when my dad's company was around, Tampa Metal Works.
I remember back in the day around the year of 2000, my friends and I use to drive from St.Pete on Saturdays just to come to this mall , use to be one of the best malls in Florida with tons of stores and you could never find a parking spot. It's actually sad seeing this mall now, I'm shocked this mall is still in business.
When I went to USF 1997-1999 there used to be a German restaurant inside the mall that had amazing German food. Can't remember the name of it.
Yes! It was dunderbak's. I worked at Penney's back in the mid-80s and it was there then. It was pretty neat and cozy in there.
@@jwho4840 yep that was it. Loved that place
Mr Dunderbak's was the name. they sold specialty foods in the front. one year (it was either 1999 or 2000) i was on my way home from work on the bus and went to the kash n karry to get ingredients for my 8 year old daughter's strawberry birthday cake but they were out of jam! i thought quickly and dashed across to Mr Dunderbaks and bought the expensive jam for her cake.
@ that jam was amazing.
I grew up going to University Mall and it was a huge part of my childhood and teenage years. Spent many, many Friday and Saturday nights hanging out with my friends. The food court would be jam packed with teenagers. It breaks my heart to see the state of the mall now. 😢
Anchors back then were Burdines, JC Penney, Dillard’s, Sears, Burlington
Crazy how I live no more than a 15 minute walk from here and I’ve learned way more than I ever did about this place
Looks like its straight out of an early 90s movie. Cool video.
Thank you! Its trapped in time honestly
@@ERA_Productions Sometimes I just want to go back in time...
I wish he had footage of how crowded this mall use to be and compare it to footage now. Either way I enjoyed this video.
This mall has been at least semi successful at revitalizing itself. Sure, they're torn down old anchor stores like Sears to reduce the mall's overall footprint, but they've also leased space to Tampa Bay Community Network and Diamond Vu studios, the latter having grown its footprint several times since they opened and is an important location for movie and TV productions in Tampa. While the mall is loosing chain stores, it's now host to more than a few local businesses (like My Tobbies) that are doing well. There's also several large sit down chain restaurants (like Portillo''s, Miller's, and Longhorn) in the parking lot facing Fowler Ave. The movie theater is huge, and also does a decent business, being the closest theater to USF. Also in reducing the mall's footprint, they have infilled part of the old Sears parking lot into apartments. It's certainly not the best mall in Tampa, but it's doing a lot better than a lot of other dying and dead malls in Florida.
I’m glad to hear the redevelopment is going well so far! And I agree, even though the mall interior is dying, it’s not nearly as dead as other malls I’ve covered in Florida such as Orlando Fashion Square, Seminole Towne Center, and Sarasota Square.
The intro song on this video reminded me of grandmaster flash the message which is actually pretty accurate for that neighborhood.
That intro hits differently
When I was a kid there were 2 Malls. University and East Lake. Once Brandon Towne center things went down hill. East Lake closed and became a corporate park where as University was still thriving. Then Citrus park and the New Tampa area grew. Oh I almost forgot about West Shore Mall grew taking more of their business.
You forgot Tampa Bay Center, which was knocked down and became the Bucs headquarters
@@horizonzeromomTampa Bay center was the best mall back in the 70s and 80s! I lived a couple of miles east of Eastlake mall and would still try to get out to Tampa Bay center
@@jwho4840 My first job was at the Rave at Eastlake Mall, but I spent most of my time at either Tampa Bay Center or University Mall. I remember University Mall going through at least 3 different renovations :)
@@horizonzeromom oh I loved Rave! I had friends that worked at service merchandise and Wards. My orthodontist was in Eastlake and after every appt we would go to Morrison's to eat. It's nice to reminisce 😸 I also worked at Penney's at USM in the 80's
It's hard to attract business to an area so riddled with crime. If this mall had an adjacent police precinct like Citrus Park, this probably would be less of a factor.
It has been known for that for so long. Even when all the stores were still there and it was busy.
That has nothing to do with it. The neighborhood has been the same for many years when USF is located btw and the mall was the busiest in 2001. Times have changed, people are shopping online and going to outlets
The area always been the same, I would say it was actually worst back in the day when this mall was popular.
The Sheriff's office had a substation in the mall by Burlington Coat Factory. Deputies patrolled the mall along with mall security. There is also a larger Sheriff's office location less than a mile away, and a Tampa Police station less than two miles away.
@@jayrobinson4591it's the online shopping part, when the Internet reached a new level in 2013/14
Used to go there often as a student at USF in the mid/late 80s. It was a nice place then. As many others have noted here, though, the general area has declined. Most people won't shop where they fear for their personal or material safety. Next up, Brandon Town Center.
Westshore is also shrinking
@@rebeccageiger9110 Westshore Mall is closing.
No one goes to this mall because everyone goes to The International Mall (right next door to Tampa’s International Airport) and Westfield Brandon Mall (which is on the outer edge of Brandon but still like 10 minutes from downtown Tampa and still part of the Tampa Bay Area). Those 2 malls are I would argue part of the city’s identity and definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are usually when it’s the most busy.
Whenever I see a dead mall video I always think about the malls I mentioned because both are very successful and have been successful for a very long time. I never thought that such a thing is actually kinda rare in this country. Great video though!
Where the bouncy thing is used to have a large water feature, first hot topic I ever went to was the one here, it also used to have a Suncoast, petland if I remember it also had a Disney store, among many different stores, I remember going to Montgomery wards with my mom on many occasions
When the Spencer closes you know a mall is truly dead
Sam goody on the 2nd floor where the food court along with Perry's were the thing back in the 90s and early 2000s. Still go to Perry's for some good grub every so often
I always had to hit the chic fil a when it when to this mall. I also remember watching the very first Matrix movie at this mall.
This mall isn't dying. It's dead and has been for at least 10 years. Anyone from Tampa will tell you how shocked we are that it stayed open this long. The area that you walked all the way too that is a wall at the other end. That used to be a whole other section where JC Penney and Old Navy were. About 12 other stores. That area was blocked off around 2014-2015 before it was torn down. University was notorious for being in a high crime area especially that parking garage. It was nice at one time in the 90s and early 2000s. All the major stores were there but it started falling apart after and more of those stores closed replaced by smaller local stuff. It was known for being super ghetto. I'm pretty sure a lot of it was finally torn down this year or it's only open on weekends. The apartments are there, Burlington moved and does not even exit into the mall anymore. In the 90s, it looked so different during Christmas. The area you chose for a thumbnail would always be decorated. Another one you could have gone to here was Gulfview Mall. That might have been dead for longer and somehow is still standing but it is empty inside.
You should see what the countryside mall looks like. It's dead as well. So many businesses are gone. Between COVID and just the fact that malls are becoming obsolete with places like Amazon.
This mall definitely reminds me a lot of Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach, as both malls were built around the same time and were both DeBartolo malls.
Indeed. Same developer, practically same blueprints.
Great video, I like the ceiling in the big center court area
Thanks! The center court here was pretty cool!
I feel that this mall peaked around 2000. Shout-out to Jackie, the girl that worked at Forever 21. I got rid of my AOL account and then I lost your number way back when. Anyway, I miss hitting up the arcade upstairs and then crossing over to the music store that let you crack open CD's to sample them.
This was known to be a pretty dangerous place in the 90's. Still not great, the jewelry store was robbed a few years ago and the place is a common target of car burglaries.
University Mall was infamous for crime and many people stayed away. I remember one of my high school teachers telling us it was a dangerous place.
Meanwhile it’s right across the street from a university 🙄
In the 90's there was a German sandwich restaurant that was delicious.
Mr. Dunderbak's! They're still going strong, they just moved to a bigger location on Bruce B. Downs.
Yep I worked at the mall back in the mid-80s and would go in to dunderbak's for lunch sometimes.
My childhood mall great memories
I miss Maas Brothers and Dillards. Times were so good in the 70s and 80s. Even the 99s were ok. Everythting sucks now
Wow. The upstairs by the theater where the arcade pocket change used to be is now just a closed space. I grew up down the street from this mall. I went to this mall often for probably 15 years. The area hasn't always been the best. High crime, stealing cars, drugs, homeless. Eventually online shopping would be the main problems malls faced. Sad to see it's turned into a ghost town like this. Thanks for the post.
Very informative... Well Done...
I grew up here. That mall was always packed but now it's considered the "ratchet" mall and avoided at all cost.
It been considered ratchet but that's not the problem, when the Internet reached a new level in 2013/14 millennials started shopping online then when the pandemic hit in 2020 that obviously had an affect
As for the University Mall, it seems to me they had some not so savory customers there. There was a lot of crime inside and outside the mall.
This is heartbreaking 💔 Back in the early 2000’s I use to frequently shop at this mall. I lived in Ocala at the time and would drive a hour and a half on a Saturday to University Mall to shop. Always packed. I can’t believe this.
Nearly empty malls to me are creepy and honestly don't seem safe at all
It’s not especially this mall
Used to go there all the time. Now I mostly go to Wiregrass or Brandon Town Center. Last time I went to University Mall was last year when I needed shoes resoled.
Is the little cobbler shop still open in that mall? I used to take my shoes there.
@@siliconnoisseur Yes, he is. I took shoes there recently for repair. I didn't like having to go to that location but that family has always done such a great job with repairs.
If you want a really great anchor store for some of these empty mall, put in a giant Bass Pro Shop. The men would go to the mall. I haven't been to a mall in probably 15-20 years.
@@AmericanConstellation 😂 I'm a man and I can't co-sign this. Tf...bass pro shops? 😂
Oh wow I forgot this mall existed 😂
I never knew that mall existed.
I don't live in Tampa.
I was dropping a coworker off at a place nearby and decided to take a stroll through University Mall while I waited for her… it was a fever dream! I was so disoriented and felt really really off.
Man, wire people getting so upset about a simple mispronunciation? This video was a banger!
Hey, I’m watching this video with a room full of people, and we just have to tell you-You’re truly a punmaster.
Mall choked up over here
@@TheGrades90 Oh man, I'm really glad! There's just something about making people have a reaction to bad puns that makes me feel good. Always feel free to ask and I'll make a pun on any topic as well.
For a second I thought this was going to be the University Town Center in Sarasota, LOL. People certainly don't come to Florida to go shopping, lol
There was a high end video store there many years ago. I saw Airplane! Twice in the theater there.
Breaks my heart as I lived only a couple blocks or so from this mall for 25 great years. I personally never felt unsafe going there, and they had a lot of really cool clothes too. Seems younger people today do not hang out together and socialize at the malls the way we used to growing up. Guess everything has changed and not in a good way either.
Is that the actual mall music playing? If so, it’s creepy AF.
It's not. Been many times. Usually silent inside.
I went there once, a dozen years ago. I have lived in various cities and states since, but I've lived the closest ever for the last year. I haven't gone back, despite it being a short walk away now. I remember it being depressing then & I was right about how it would age! I don't need that if I can't even get a pretzel!
It’s actually gotten cleaned up and expanded. I go here because people in malls crowding areas annoys me. It could use better stores inside though.
Your music is great sounds like Miami Vice.
It was a beautiful mall back in the very late 70's and 80's and THE place to go once Eastlake Mall started going downhill. Once Eastlake started to decline, we would drive from Brandon to get our school shopping done. Brandon Mall was a dairy farm at that time. Unfortunately the problems at Eastlake were also beginning to plague University and it wasn't that far behind time-wise that the anchor stores leaving University too. That is always the death knell of a mall. Online shopping pretty much finished it off. Very sad.
LOL! I remember seeing the cows from the interstate when I was a kid nothing but cow pasture. I believe that old man that owned the dairy farm held out for a while before he gave it up to build the mall
Wow 😢 My daughter use to work at this mall 20 years ago after graduating high school! Truly not the same energy and traffic
I attended the college up the road (Florida College) in temple terrace in 2006 The mall was flooded back then , even years after that it was pretty busy . I think things started going bad around 2015 ish . Straight Ghost town now smh lol
I went to FC from 79-81.
I live around there but it's very surprising to not see an influx of USF students going here, they have done a lot with renovating and I hope that brings more traffic. I love LOOK Cinemas, the dine-in/waiter experience is elite.
They recently even added apartments next to it and still no more people
Also Studio Movie Grill didn't shut down per say they were bought out by LOOK Cinemas
I appreciate the info. Thanks!
If we go back to the history of malls in the Tampa area there are bread crumbs. Tampa mall closed because they were being robbed blind, then bus service moved to the East Lake mall then the same thing there and that large mall closed, which left University mall. Bus service followed and the same demise followed. One of the posters stated maybe if they had a police statice closer it might not have happened. But the truth is people that have no respect for themselves or their neighbors caused this.
The only reason I ever think about going to this mall is for the RC store inside which has a really big selection of parts, paints and model kits. Other than that I go in and I immediately leave I don’t even look around the mall it gives me the creeps
It's mainly the area. Behind the mall is basically the ghetto. I know they want to improve the location but look around that area and you will see it is rapidly declining.
I used to go here every weekend as a teenager in the 1980's. We lived pretty far away, so it was a day trip. We'd all pile into someone's rolling wreck and hope we had enough change to fill the tank. There was a whole lot of really great stuff around the mall, so it was worth the long drive. We would all get drunk way in the back parking lot and actually have some fist fights and small punk concerts. How we had fun way before the internet.
Please make this mall the first organic greenhouse members club - tomatoes, lettuce cucumbers etc.
Great to have students help out and keep such large spaces green and beneficial
Great video!
This mall was dead back in the 90s. Is it still open???
Great video I want to see this mall someday my self
Thank you! You should!
Better come fast more and more stores leave every month less and less kiosks and vendors they have block a lot of the mall with construction that is going no where fast very low foot traffic
And yes it’s by a university but surrounded by low income housing and family so it’s hard for it to stay afloat
It’s not a good sign when the stores have the Clerks style “I assure you, we’re open” signs in the windows
Yeah, that’s never a good sign usually
Looks somewhat revitalized, but not by mall staples that much. And I noticed some discount shops.
This malls biggest down fall now is construction out front making it seems closed
Almost strategically blocked off from the public to slow foot traffic
I believe they want to get rid of it entirely but can’t so they have to make the business inside shut down before they can destroy the whole thing for new developments
Yeah I thought it was torn down now. I know some stores are only open on weekends. This mall has such a bad history for this area.
It used to be a good mall when I went to USF almost 40 years ago. It's now in a high crime cesspool of an area. Of course it's dead. Go to Citrus Park mall or ones in Wesley Chapel or downtown Tampa for excellent thriving malls.
This was the place to shop in the early 80's. Once the city relocated it's slums to Suitcase City, crime just became to much of an issue and that was the start of it's downfall.
Slums? Smh , so melodramatic. That was not the fall of that mall, like many malls in America, it fell off due to the new style outdoor style outlet type malls and the internet . It had nothing to do with the “slums” as you call them. The university of south Florida is right across the street and they are building a new stadium
@@jayrobinson4591well it was the ghetto if it wasn't a slum. I worked at the mall and lived off Fletcher Ave back in the 80s..that lasted about 3 months and I was out of there!!
Have they not been trying to tear it down since like 2010 😮💨
The University of South Florida has bought the property in my opinion, they also plan to make it student housing, maybe retail space, also maybe classroom space. The city bus even moved its stop from the rear of the mall, to somewhere in the front. Once major stores like sears started closing, and JC penny went under, the mall just died a slow death. A sad end to a great mall, times changed and then as the mall became more vacant, I believe USF seized the moment and instead of a developer taking it, USF did the deed.
This mall used to be packed with people!
It sure did I used to work in the mall back in the 80s I'm so sad to see it now
16 years ago was the last time I was at this mall. When I was a teen this mall was always packed. It just became ran down over the years. Kinda wish they would redo the inside and make it the mall it was 20 years ago.
I’m old enough to remember when University was a nice mall. Gangs and hood rats took in over in the very late 90s I think. It got scary and I didn’t go anymore. Tyrone Mall in St Pete is bad too, and I stopped going long ago.
That Burlington coat factory always smells like mold.
"Uptown Stage"? If this were in Colorado, I'd say somebody is trying to bring back the Fashion Bar Stage brand lol
For sure 😂
It's a shame that we're losing malls😢. I'm not liking it... It's like they're trying to keep people from being around each other 😢we as people we need human contact and social interaction with each other 😢 all for the name of business and money 💰😢😢
Due to all of the surrounding area being slums and low income properties nobody wants to shop there anymore.
As of recent rack room shoes and journeys has shut down
The people living in the neighborhood just don't have a lot of money to spend at the mall
I believe Tyrone Square Mall in St Pete is doing good... I haven't been there in years so not sure...
It is. They mostly renovated. The other dead mall in this area is Gulfview in New Port Richey. It's more deserted than this and has been for longer. Have no idea how it stays open.
I live near Tyrone. I lived over in Tampa in the 90s 2000s and have many fond memories of the University Mall! Anyway, even though its the only mall in Central St Pete, its starting tom look tired and dated. There seems to be more traffic at the big box stores outside the Mall, ( Petsmart, Aldi, 5 Below), its pretty dead inside. They should do the same thing they did to the Seminole Mall, knocked it down and created a Main street for the smaller shops and put the big box stores around the outside; with the movie theater at the end of the street!
Yea pretty much everyone goes to citrus or international if you want to go to one of the main malls in Tampa. Place has been like this for years now it’s wejrdb
Has a similar look and feel of Tyrone mall in St. Petersburg Florida, but that mall is not dead at all.
This mall has been basically dead for years. The only thing I like is sprouts being there. I hope it renovates soon.