DEAD MALL SERIES : The Final Hours of Oak Hollow Mall : High Point, NC (Closed March 2017)
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- DEAD MALL SERIES Playlist : • Dead Mall Series
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Photographed and Edited by Dan Bell
Attention! Completely remastered episodes of the Dead Mall Series are now being archived in 4K at ruclips.net/channel/UCfCM_TfrSDMkkMpKuLNWuXA. The remasters have gone through an extensive AI Enhancement process as well as proper sound mixing and colorization. This Dead Mall Series Remastered project has been made possible through viewer support on Patreon. Go over now and watch in glorious 4K. ENJOY!
If this mall was built in 1995, then it was probably never remodeled. Meaning, we are looking into a snap shop of pure, untainted, 1990's design and architecture. Just let that sink in for a moment as we watch this in 2017.
It was definitely never modernized which makes it all the more special.
Simply amazing. Thanks for capturing it on video Dan!
It's a beautiful work of art. Shame I'll never get a chance to experience myself.
Jason P. This mall opened the same year I was born!
We all know the real start of the downfall of Oak Hollow Mall was the loss of Dairy Queen / Orange Julius.
with the right marketing, some of these dying malls could probably attract a lot of hipster youths looking for a bizarre 90s experience. play actual vaporwave on the speakers, have all custodians wear 90s fashion, and try to open up some stores catering to the current retro trend, such as record stores, urban outfitters with their polaroid cameras, and second-hand stores in general. i feel like it could be a hit, at least for a couple of years!
Problem is, hipsters live in the inner cities now. And they don't even have a car to get there. :-V
Cupriferous Catalyst Terrible idea actually. The idea is to have retailers present, a nice arcade, good food, and the place well maintained. Its not the hipsters they gotta appeal to, its the generations of the past present and future that must be appealed to, a reminder of when times were simpler and different, when current trends were not a thing yet. Keeping the mall hangout tradition alive is the most important thing. Vaporwave you said? God no, ACTUAL music from that time period would fit. Im not saying vaporwave is bad but it seems more logical to have music that was popular at the time to be played.
The Guy From '97 vaporwave usually is music from that time period, though its just edited alot
PEPSI MAN Yea. But i meant the original unedited sound is whats needed
Cupriferous Catalyst with all the fucken regulations cant do shit
make it a jail house
The Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret still operating like nothing's going on.. haha The violin players on the Titanic is the perfect way to describe it.
VerityLain probably because people overpay for their cheaply made goods they can afford to open in dead malls!
This guy never actually shows us what's inside those stores that are still open. We're curious as to how they operate. Probably doesn't fit the narrative but still, it'd be interesting to see.
In a lot of malls Hot Topic keeps going strong because of Disney merch and most kids don't have debit cards.
I wonder why they bother to still be open in dead malls!
@@RsRj-qd2cg Hot Topic is Hot Garbage now lol but yes you are correct
you can tell the janitor has some amazing dedication because some of these shots are absolutely spotless!
ghoulsrule I mean you clean the place once a month maybe a couple hundred people use the mall it can’t get that dirty
Sure as hell cleaner than most dead malls. The paint looks good, nothing looks shabby. It's such a shame a building so nice will probably get torn down. It could easily be reused for many purposes.
Soooo clean!
This series is so depressing, I love it!
Dying malls. The end of a retail era. Shining beacons of capitalism withering in the face of progress.
nejjk It's a corporate graveyard
nejjk Withering in the face of Walmart is more likely.
And withering in the face of continual and steady economic decline
nejjk I love depression too!
I was touched by your description of the custodian cleaning the handrails, taking pride in the job that won't be there in the foreseeable future.
I used to travel a lot and usually found myself without anything to do one night, so I'd go to the mall wherever I was (even the small cities had one), have dinner at the food court, and just walk around and see what businesses they had. This was in the '90's and the malls were lively places, lots of people walking around (even on a Tuesday night). I watch your videos and feel sad that they've become these hollow shells, these lonely places...
They are doing fine in canada lol
salmon/turquoise.....the official colors of the 1980s
Ｏ Ｆ Ｆ Ｉ Ｃ Ｉ Ａ Ｌ Ｃ Ｏ Ｌ Ｏ Ｒ Ｓ Ｏ Ｆ ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣＳ
Yep! Pastel colors, like baby blue, pink, and bright pastel yellow were the "thing" from the early 80's on up. :)
Reminds me of Vice City. Good times :)
Don't forget neon green and purple over solid black!
And miles of delicious beige.
Victoria's Secret, GNC and Bath and Body Works are always left in dead malls 😂. They were one of the lasts in Granite Run Mall
I just went to Granite run mall in December 2016. the day before new years. Boscov's was surprisingly packed, and Sears was pretty quiet. Those were the only 2 things standing, due to the demolition of the granite run mall. JCPenney was also demolished. they are now breaking ground, as it appears like it from my visit.
Christopher Edgar yeah. They're putting a place called cinebowl where JC Penny was. It's like a mix of a bowling alley, movies, bar and restaurant. I know where chi-chi's used to be and where the current AMC is will be apartments at one point
George D we dont have any of those stores left at forest fair
George D probably because they have the highest profit margins lol.
George D martinsburg mall too
It bought tear to my eyes when you talk about the custodian..it's like taking care of a dying love one 😢
Update on the mall August 2019: The university bought most of the enclosed mall in 2011 for $9 million and later two outparcels and a former Sears store. In 2017, HPU closed the mall except for a Dillard’s clearance center it does not own.
The university at one point talked about locating new graduate programs and athletic facilities on the mall property. But it ultimately opted to build a new pharmacy and health sciences building and the basketball arena on its main campus.
The mall property has seen plenty of use since the university bought it eight years ago.
HPU converted a former JCPenney store to a community center, which it uses for a number of public events. A former Circuit City store is now a pro bono physical therapy clinic run by the university. HPU uses the mall’s parking area for large campus events, such as commencement and its annual two-night Christmas celebration.
Man fuck HPU. They pracitally bought out high point
Sahara Sahara they did they even got the school police patrolling hp as real police
HPU’s so aggressive in trying to get applicants; they’re terrible. they’re just gonna gentrify the whole town
@@yungsahara2769 I know. And UNCG and Greensboro College practically bought a good portion of Greensboro, only that bit Greensboro College in the ass later and their former corrupt and greedy president Cravin (Craving Cash) Williams. They bought more than they could chew.
@@555stargazer Greensboro College used to be like that until they learnt the hard way.
It’s pretty funny when your kid gets this on their recommendations, watches it, and says “hey mom, I see your picture on this video “ I had no idea I was in this!
Woah small world!
Dan, pin this.
Holly crap!
This video was particularly emotional for me, as I live near Oak Hollow Mall and spent many hours there as a teen. The mall is a relic of one of the happiest times of my life. My family and I were some of its first patrons as we shopped for school clothes in the summer of 1995 just before my senior year of high school. I saw Godzilla, The Matrix, and many other films in that movie theater. And for a period of several years almost every Christmas gift I bought for a family member or a friend was purchased in one of the mall's many clean, modern stores.
I remember how proud I felt at the sight of my own reflection in the mall's storefront windows as I walked hand-in-hand with my first serious girlfriend, with whom I shared so many happy hours there. I also remember the sadness I felt after she and I broke up, and the emptiness that consumed me so thoroughly whenever I saw that same reflection in those same windows, now alone. I suppose it's fitting that my most enduring memory of that place is a depressing one, considering the way in which the mall fell into such agonizing decay before its eventual, premature end.
Dan, your videos are amazing, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate what you do, but mostly how you do it. These old places have a lot to say to those who are willing to listen, so thanks for knowing when to "stay out of the way" and let the imagery speak for itself.
Very eloquently put...
I have so many cool memories of malls growing up. My towns mall, and malls on holidays! They were great.
I Remember seeig Home Alone at my mall theatre. 3 screens, each were tiny compared today's. But for me as a kid it was huge!! I can't imagine how huge must just feel normal for kids today.
I think one of the reasons why Dan's dead-mall videos strike a chord with people is because it reminds people of the transience of time and the decay of "mall culture." Many people associate malls with happiness and childhood, and to see these old places boarded up and rotting is a sharp contrast.
Yeah man, nothing lasts forever. I'm about your age. I graduated in '95 and live in Hickory, NC. I was dating a girl in 95-97 and we would always go to Hanes Mall and Four Seasons in Greensboro. I really miss ice skating at Eastland Mall in Charlotte. We never went to this mall. I think it was a good idea at the time, but maybe more people went to the bigger malls in Winston Salem and Greensboro. Valley Hills Mall in Hickory is still doing well. I guess it's all about location and competition. I really hate to see these malls go away, but glad I got to enjoy them. Even though ordering online is convenient it will never compare to shopping at a mall. You can't beat the atmosphere and overall experience. Like you seeing your reflection, the sounds, and different smells. That might sound funny, but the mall has a lot to offer besides just shopping. Some of my fondest memories are spending hours in the arcade and just hanging out with friends roaming around, checking out girls and the latest gadgets. The smell of pizza, sweet baked cookies, and the chlorine smell from the fountains. Valley Hills used to have a lot of water fountains and like a little waterfall and they took all that out. Such a shame.
Sad.😭
Oh my god, Jackie !
YEAH. BRACKIE.
Drizzle Who the heck was Jackie?
Sassy Cat It looked like Jackie Stallone, Sly's mom.
Hahahahahhahaa
Amara Vazquez Got ya. Thanks!
It looked amazingly clean inside. I agree completely, it's great you were able to archive this place before it gets trashed.
Why are these videos so addictive
they are poignant like a ghost story, the mystery and randomness of success and failure
You know, I was just writing the same thing on Dan's FB page - I can't put my finger on it. Half nostalgia, half a slightly creepy feeling I get watching these empty malls (Dan's soundtracks add to this).
We're watching the collapse of late stage capitalism roll in like a wave.
It's Dan's narration and editing. Mall videos from other channels I've seen aren't nearly as addictive.
The part about how ruthless mall walkers are when standing on the "trackway" was hilarious and could easily see this going down. This is what I'm for. As Joe H said, Dan's narration is on point.
While I dislike modern architecture overall, I do somewhat have a nostalgic soft spot the ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃｓ of malls and buildings of the 90s. It's pretty gaudy, yet comfy.
BTW Japan still has some lively malls, some even still look a bit 90s (albeit Japan 90s)
There’s a really popular mall in Cincinnati called the Kenwood Mall, it’s always packed
im in my mid 20s and i still prefer physical shopping over online shopping and consider the upcharge a convenience fee. i hate waiting for my stuff to come in the mail, even if it's overnight shipping. if i want it, i want it NOW. plus, it's hard to really discern sizes online no matter how accurate their sizing chart is, you always get a weird-ass sized piece of clothing. nothing like trying it on and smiling at yourself in the mirror.
What about the general area fitting rooms with no stalls for privacy, your thoughts on it???
Where do they have that kind of dressing room? Even Sears has(had ) individual dressing rooms...
Spoken like a true Millennial, no patience whatsoever for anything or anyone
@@eviehammond9509 not a problem cos most bitches walk around half naked anyway.
@@BudFuddlacker Not a millenial, an informed and demanding consumer. If I pay the money I expect a degree of service and quality. In this case, I want my products at the time I render payment, not days after the fact. I don't see how expecting that is a generational effect.
This depressing video got me out of my depression....
Try Black Metal music, helps my productivity at work when I really hate the project.
try wearing bell bottoms.. lol
It exacerbated mine. Different strokes.
was it the interesting and amusing segment at the beginning that did it? hehe
Fernanda Gabilondo well, trump will put you back into depression with DACA. Lol
Weather Channel's Greatest Hits playing on repeat.
All I feel is a sense of nostalgia and sadness watching this. So many memories tied to this large building.
I remember eating in that food court and it being full of people. Playing in that arcade as well.
Saddens me so.
damn. this mall is so beautiful wish it wasn't closing
Loppy Lips same, as a kid i went there a lot. too bad the college bought it. its also sad how a walmart had to put of a "we love high point university!" banner to not get bought.
Loppy Lips right! i love the whole aesthetic of it, it's so beautiful
b It's really well kept too, obviously outdated and a bit worn but for a dying mall its in really nice shape.
WHATTT???? You guys mall suck. Malls like this deserve to die, you guys are not keeping with the times. Y'all need to come to Dubai or Asia. Malls here are so new and invigorating.
too bad the college bought it? first off, its a university and secondly its been nearly empty for years now...HPU is doing the city a huge favor by purchasing this waste of space
It looks so clean and well-kept
25 years for a location like this is not bad. Few traffic or shoppers helps too.
It's getting pretty creepy seeing GNC & Bath and Bodyworks in all these dying malls!
Add in Burlington Coat Factory 75% of the time too.
One of the few urban explorers that both knows how to film and edit his video masterfully
This mall was used in a Mallsoft Mix called "Welcome to the Lobby!" I think that escalator is beautiful
Dan, this a a very good series, and a valuable contribution to the historical record. Some day you might consider providing copies to the National Archives, or Smithsonian. At some time in the not to distant future, maybe in a generation or so, there will be no surviving, functional malls. Hard story to believe, but that day is coming. Your Titanic analogy is quite appropriate. In 1968, Regency Square in Jacksonville, FL drew people from a radius of 50 miles. It's parking lots were full 16 hours a day, and during the Christmas season, dozens of uniformed police in cruisers were on site for traffic control. Sometimes there were lines to get in at all. It was the Rolls Royce of Northeast Florida malls. It had a heyday of nearly 35 years, but I hear it isn't a safe place now, and is on death watch. Hard to comprehend. Tampa Bay Center in Tampa was a premier mall, but after a kerfuffle with some black advocacy organizations concerning mall "maintenance closure" (to prevent shoplifting) when black colleges played football at the nearby stadium, it had ugly lawsuits, costly settlements and eventually failed. It was another top of the line regional mall. Dead, and bulldozed. Almost as important as the malls themselves, is knowing why they die. I suggest that you autopsy each mall, at least to some degree, and share that information. You've seen and examined dozens of them. You know them well. Why do you think the old mall business model is failing? My sense is that as with most disasters, there are numerous small failures that undermine them bit by bit until they fail Here are my thoughts: 1) Too many malls built in one market, eroding business volumes, older malls have higher costs and can't compete, and start too lose business 2) malls then cut security, then gangs and thugs start hanging out, this makes traditional shoppers uneasy and they go elsewhere 3) teens and improperly dressed girls start loitering, drawing more loitering boys who are menacing to regular customers. Mall Walkers turn the customer shopping experience into a conflict with power walking fanatics who take up space and cause annoyances, but buy little if anything 4) as customer volumes continue to drop, revenues fall, malls further cut security and maintenance, and increase rents 5) shops start experiencing increases in theft and shoplifting, and have falling volumes, and declining revenues, and then have to reduce staff and cut inventory, so the stores aren't as attractive as they once were 6) poor service and fewer selections of merchandise cause even more potential customers to go elsewhere 7) eventually, due to massive youth loitering, baggy pants, hoodies, loud music, drug use, smoking, violence occurs either in the mall or outside in the parking lot. This usually attracts major media coverage, and consequently frightens away middle class customers forever, and mall death becomes inevitable.
Other things can trigger mall decline, including competition from smaller, more convenient shopping centers, to online Amazon.com. I cannot remember the last time I was in a mall.
One final thing Dan, I believe malls became a viable business model back in the '60 and' 70s because there was a vibrant, affluent, clearly defined, growing American middle class. Over the past 25 years, federal government policies have severely damaged the middle class economically. The once bubbling wellspring of revenue that flowed into the malls, and supported them with elbow to elbow shoppers on Friday nights and weekends for decades has essentially dried up for most middle Americans. Statistics show that Middle class incomes have fallen, and family budgets have tightened for decades. The once thronged salmon and aqua tiled food courts are empty now. So are the cavernous Sears and Montgomery Ward stores, along with many others we knew so well when we strolled those corridors with our moms in years past. The glorious, luxurious ocean liners of days past were supplanted by cramped airplanes. And Like the steamships of the past, the proud, beautiful malls of the 1970s and 80s have become anachronisms because the economic class that supported them has essentially died off. The Magnificent malls of yesterday have been replaced, not a with bigger and better business model, but one far less enjoyable: Walmart.
In my cursory examination, The rise of Walmart correlates to the decline of malls, and the death of traditional American downtowns.
And of course most of the stuff sold in Walmart is imported from... China, Vietnam, Mexico and other foreign countries.
One thing is for sure, over the coming years, you will likely have quite a few more dead and dying malls as subject matter for your series.
Charles Butler violent, baggy pants wearing, drug users with hoodys? Just say blacks it's easier
big mike obama haha
Hmmm I agree with some things you are claiming but I can see many biases and stereotypes in your response that makes me question the intent or background of your message.
man wrote an essay
The dead closing malls thing seems to be an American phenomena that I haven't experienced in Australia or the UK
Ayye Thats my city. I was hoping you would do this mall! Thanks for doing it. This mall use to be "The Mall" to go to. Full of life and stores, but that was in 2001. Check out the Randolph Mall is Salisbury NC. It's even weirder, older and barely hanging on.
Terrence Henderson Do you mean Randolph Mall in Asheboro? There a small one there and it's very very depressing, but the one time I was there it was filled with people.
Josh Leonard the mall im speaking off is the one in Salisbury nc, i think its called Salisbury mall, no randolph mall... i misspoke. however both malls are depressing. but salisbury mall is... anicent!
I remember going to Salisbury Mall with my grandmother. I wonder if the giant paintings of dead Indians and civil war fights are still there.
Terrence Henderson no Cary town center is like this
Growinggreedylittlepiggy
That was the mall I always went to. Last time I was there it was emptier than I had ever seen it. Malls are really going out of style.
...and here we are, in 2020. All retail in it's final death throws. It was a great run while it lasted. Watching these videos brings back great memories, now lost forever. Thanks Dan...
i loooove the 90's aesthetics, that is why i love orlando, Fla. there are some places, like parts of the airport that is trapped in the 90`s XD
Gabriel Duarte passed through Philadelphia airport in 2012 and it felt like being in an 80s mall/subway station. Despite being busy it actually felt like a dying mall.
Orlando has such a cool airport
Gabriel Duarte tampa airport is similar lol, some of the carpeting just takes me back
Gabriel Duarte true. where I stayed there are neon blue and pink signs everywhere
Tampa International Airport is now modernizing the airport and its starting to look a lot better
This ASMR for my eyes and ears. Thank you
'OMG, Jackie!'
'Yeahhrr. Brackie...'
😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣☠️☠️☠️☠️
😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️☠️☠️
Literally laughed out loud
Sadly enough,I watched that episode of Big Brother and remember that moment 😂
I was looking everywhere for this comment 😂😂
I've been warning people about those psychotic and dangerous mall walkers for years. Glad someone finally recognizes it. 😂 great video as usual!
That has been going on for decades in many malls in U.S. Was a great incentive for seniors to get out and exercise. Some malls even promoted it
thegrimyeaper its ok we dont have it in england so its new to me
i prefer a mall much rather then online shopping. like wtf im trying something on before i spend my money!!
@Solling Li no one cares
@Solling Li More like punctuation, but A for effort. 🤷♀️
People just return if theyre not satisfied
I didn't see the exclamations until the last three words so it made for quite the interesting read
I was born in the early '90s and grew up a few minutes from this mall. From what I remember my mom saying, many residents of High Point were surprised when it was built, and didn't believe that our relatively small city (High Point had less than 100,000 inhabitants then) could sustain it.
Nonetheless, this video called to mind the numerous fun times my friends, family and I spent there in the late '90s and early '00s. I enjoyed a birthday party at the arcade shown at 2:55. The shop at 4:23 was a bakery, where sugar-coated cookie cakes would allure the toddlers who tottered by. A hat store stood just across, where preteens like myself would try on flatbill hats. Doing this would make us look "gangster" in a cool way, or so we thought, haha.
So, to anyone viewing this video, I want to convey a last message. Maybe it's my attempt at an elegy. Seeing this mall now, all you can perceive is a well-kept ghost town of strolling seniors and vacant space. But in its day, Oak Hallow played host to the subtle but deepest realms of human experience: growing up, friendships strengthening, passing time with family who no longer exist. From the Ancient Agora and earlier, we have gathered in commercial spaces that have, intentionally or not, nurtured these most essential elements of a human life. When you remember a mausoleum like Oak Hallow, remember that history too.
The mall walking thing sounds interesting. lol
I agree; the mall overall looked nice, and the plants looked nice, too.
Sad they had to close.
Most office buildings and malls rent their plants from a greenhouse. The greenhouse has maintenance people who come around to care for the plants. These will probably be "re-homed" if they fit in somewhere. If not, they'll be left to die. No point in paying maintenance people for a plant that isn't generating money.
I love the intro! I actually had Glamour Shots done for my 16th birthday back in 1996, and they are as ridiculous as the one in the intro lol
djsolaris979 *We would love to see your stunning beauty!*
Oh jeez I would love to, but the photos are back at my parent's house. Imagine a bright red sequin jacket and mile high hair with bright red lipstick. I was 16 but looked 34 lmao
It sure did!
The good ol 90's :)
I hate it when the obituaries page has Glamour Shots as the deceased photo. Shame on the families that use that photo for their female loved one. Don't they know it makes their mother, aunt , etc. look ridiculous?
This was always my favorite place to go as a little boy, i remember seeing spider Man 2 in the movie theater. Being dragged down to Dillard's by my grandmother, trying on 7 different pairs of jeans. My mother worked in a store there very briefly and we would go visit here and ride down the big mirror elevator, seeing her at the cash register waveing to me. So sad to see it go, some great memories there.
way I look at it, get a local college to take it over, plenty of spaces for class rooms, ect. hell can convert alot of it to, to student housing.
The thing about it though is that I think they were planning to put a football field there (I live 15 minutes from this mall btw).
I live near highland mall (the beavis and butthead mall) and it was terned into a community college.
HPU doesn't have a football team though.
Moe Whitfield it is owned by HPU but it’s still empty and falling into disrepair
Moe Whitfield this would be such a beautiful school, it’s a shame they just tear them down
That is super interesting about the mall walkers! I had no idea that was why they would just run into me while I am trying to open the gate to get into work. I just assumed they were just incredibly rude. Will keep in mind to not stand on the tiles when I am opening the gate, geez!!
Kira Prater no, they are still incredibly rude. Mall walkers are nut jobs.
Kira Prater I stay out of their way. They'll run you over and they're usually old people. Mean old people lol.
Adrienne Brody true I used to work at Target and they would come there in the morning.
Mall walkers should be placed in gulags, where they belong.
I’m a Mall-Cruiser, but I ain’t like them nut-jobs, Downtown Winnipeg is a great place to Mallwalk due to the skywalks and corridors and underground malls. I can’t wait til Dan comes here, he will love it
I live 15 minutes away from here, and I remember walking into Oak Hollow for the first time in 2016 when it was pretty much already dead. It was just sad. On top of that, I knew very dedicated people who would shop at Oak Hollow to do what little help they can monetarily. It was really something else.
Dan, I am sooooo addicted to your series! Awesome job with your narration!
I used to shop here and it was a pretty nice mall. It wasn't too large, decent movie theater and fairly convenient. It's sad to see what happened to it (I haven't lived in that area in over 10 years). RIP Oak Hollow.
Reply to myself 4 years later. It's a bit sad watching this video. I took my son to that movie theater to see Finding Nemo when he was a wee lad. It was the first movie he and I ever saw together in a theater and what a great first movie to see with your son. That wee lad is getting married now....how time flies.
Love the segment where Buffalo Bill sings “Everywhere” to us, absolutely brilliant, chilling and depressing all at once. That tune would likely have been playing over the sound system at some point in all the malls in the Dead series.
There is no hope for retail. The only thing I see surviving is Walmart and Grocery Stores.
Gilitar Walmart is a cancer.
Gilitar fuuuuuuck wallmart
Gilitar same here. I have worked for kroger for almost 20 years and its sad to see where things are going. Its seems like amazon will be all there is in the end for non food stuff
ToyGuruMan Amazon bought Whole Foods so there's no hope for anyone
Alexandra Smith maybe eventually but i think my employer will be around for a while. They are opening up a new marketplace in about 4 months. Unless something horrific happens id say they have five to ten years at least
It would be great if High Point turned this into some crazy style dorm.
Did you notice you started to get depressed the more you did these? Nostalgia can be a powerful thing, both good and bad. I’ve watched a few of these dead mall and abandoned building videos, and they can start to get you down after a while. I think for the people who lived through the good times, when these structures were lively, it can be sad to see everything change.
I just discovered this series and am quite surprised. I actually come from Poland, a middle- European country which is in many ways very behind the times. The first malls started to pop up in the mid 90s as far as I know, and their popularity just doesn't end! New ones keep being build to a point where it becomes a joke!
Not all succeed of course. I actually did end up visiting one where the place didn't even have lights on the corridors. A guy from security had to direct me to the one store that was still open in it. But... those are still huge exceptions, not the norm.
All of this makes me wonder when the malls will all fall over here.
FarelForever this is such a cool anecdote. i wish i knew of a polish channel that gave a glimpse into daily polish life
Ehhh, gosh, sorry, even if I still lived in Poland, I think my "living under a rock" attitude would not allow me to make any interesting content of that kind
FarelForever I love Poland. It's my favourite country in that region of Europe after Estonia and Hungary.
FarelForever i didn't mean you, specifically :)
Same in Finland
That was a great description of "mall walkers" lol. Make "dead malls" great again.
Most malls will die out, if there are no people shopping there. Trying to convert malls and use them for other things is not an easy task. They are simply not that economical when it comes to heating and other things, and conversion costs money. Most of the time it is cheaper to demolish and build something else on the property.
Everything will move online eventually, and the only thing left are things that are not practical to buy online, and the place you go to buy things will only be showrooms, so you do your shopping there and figure out what you need, then place a order online. Then pick it up at a pickup point. The more you can skip shopping the better and just stay at home, in front of the computer. Doing things IRL is so hard, you get tired, you have to drive somewhere, interact with people you do not like.
Dan Bell, the KING film maker of dead malls :-D
I mostly buy everything except fresh food online now. Even if I have to go into a store these days it's just a grab and go job, or watching a movie at the theatre.
I hate to see Malls getting demolished, but the big silver lining is we save a ton of energy by not traveling to and keeping these megamall relics powered.
Yeah, that is how I see it. Gigantic shopping malls are a thing of the past. It is hard to re purpose a building like a shopping mall. You have high costs for conversion, enormous heating costs, lots of dead space like walking paths. Sure it is a indoor mall but still, they cost a lot of money to run and when people think more about saving money etc, these places will eventually die.
Over here where I am, Europe. We do not have many dead malls, reason is that most of these big malls became popular after 2000 so most of them are build in areas with lots of population, city centers and buildings surrounding them. Also we do not have that many malls. The other type of mall is outdoors with lots of buildings spread around. More of a gathering of lots of business places.
Anyway, I love these videos and the prime reason is the flashbacks to 90s 80s with lots of neon, and funky designs etc. That is kind of gone now and I find that a bit sad. I do not like ultra modern things, black and white themes everywhere.
Hope we get some more mall videos from Dan Bell.
Dennis Olof One of the old malls in austin was converted to a new campus for our local community college.
Oh, that was nice. I guess there is some use for old malls, but most will probably be demolished. It is hard to convert such a specific special building into something else. But that is true for most buildings anyway, there is a limit to what you can do from a economical standpoint.
Mr Nobody acc highland campus right? i heard that there's still a few stores operating in it but that was a year or two when i heard that.
I’ve always loved the 80s/90s and everything about it, the style and fashion, the music, the architecture aesthetics, all the skyscrapers from the 80s and malls
I live in NC. I actually went to see Star Wars Episode 1 in that theater. Great video, and everything you said is spot on.
unc187 I loved that mall, i would go all the time. im really sad to see it close.
Me too! A friend’s mom had just picked up her blk/blk/blk 99’ mustang cobra convertible that week from preorder. We took it to watch Star Wars episode 1 there.
The dead mall series is awesome it takes me back to the 80's even though I was born in the late 90's! Keep up the great work ThisIsDanBell
TONY MONTOYA *Then imagine what it does to me who were born in 1970..... :)*
A lot of us older people are crying for the 80s the days of peace and true nostalgia and no cell phones or virtual reality or all this crap, it was last decade of innocence, I commend your ability to see this beautiful era without experiencing it, good young man you are!!.
M. H.
No kidding. Absolutely miss those days....No cell phones, no internet, and no Walmart. The kids nowadays have no patience and expects everything right now. I really think ADHD is being caused by this.
You wanted that cool new thing on TV? Send a check or money order. I think if I asked anyone 30 and under what "SASE" means they don't have a clue. Heck...I've had my nieces do a 'well check' on me because I didn't answer my cell....that was actually funny....I had gone to a local park and I had turned it off. They could NOT understand why....
SASE .... self-addressed stamped envelope ?
Funny you say that... I'm 30 and even though I heard it a million times on TV ads back in the day, I can't say I've sent any of those in my time.
I'll be the first to admit that I wish I could have been born in the mid-70s rather than mid-80s. I feel like I missed out on so much great stuff.
Yes, SASE's! I sent a few of those in my youth. Don't feel bad, Rejean. I was born in '71 and have long felt cheated that I missed the 60's! I guess everyone's nostalgic for something.
Omgoodness! I used to work in that mall when I lived in NC. So crazy to see it this way now
So did I. I used to work at the GNC.
I don't think the surge of Online Shopping was the downfall of malls. Here in Mexico where I live people online shop all the time because there's things that you can't get in stores, but they still visit the two biggest malls int he city, one is high end (Liverpool, Sears (this sears I'm talking about is comparable to a Liverpool) and a Cinepolis cinema are it's anchors) and the other is low end (a supermarket called Soriana and a Cinepolis cinema without VIP service are it's anchors).
There was a project for a smaller mall called Pabellón Reforma, but never took off and it's pretty deserted, only a gym and a few very small stores including a nail parlor are operating, oh and a party place for kids. I think it's anchor is a casino and a bank. Other than that it's pretty depressing to go in there, it's downfall was the rent prices going up without them needing to, though, not online shopping. Rent prices and an inability to have more variety, and possibly the casino.
Believe me, it's not online shopping that's destroying malls in the US, it's rent prices going up due to gentrification, the rise in criminality (parking lots aren't safe anymore, for example), and the lack of real variety malls have to offer, always the same stores and they didn't really cater to everyone... oh and the fact that teenagers weren't all that welcome in malls anymore.
People, specially teenagers, still get together to go eat and have fun, but malls don't welcome them anymore because apparently sitting at a bench after shopping, eating an ice-cream and chatting is loitering. So a lot of mall owners (and owners of other places where teens tend to gather) have installed devices that emit a high frequency pitch that must older adults can't hear. They call it the Mosquito. I've heard it myself, even though I'm 29, and it's so annoying to the point that it infuriates me... It makes me dizzy, even nauseous and I have to leave the place. Other have implemented more mall security to tell the teens to go away and loiter somewhere else. Teens were one of the driving forces of malls, be it for just an ice-cream or to go clothes shopping, window shopping, watching a movie, etc, teens loved malls... now they don't like them much anymore because of how they are treated in them...
Fern Leaves Studio Creo que la nueva tirada en México es construir complejos habitacionales con centro comercial en las plantas bajas, como el que está haciendo al lado de Centro Coyoacán
Bristecom There was a definite correlation there, just waiting on someone to call you racist
@@dr.lyleevans6915 If it's racist to not want to be around a group of people that are likely to shoot you or rob you, then so be it. But I'd call it logical.
Bristecom Logic is a natural enemy of the left
Don't forget the dead mall Acropolis near Satelite jaja
It’s just crazy how the mall by my house is still flourishing but, then, in a couple of years it could end up abandoned like this one.
This series is like a eulogy to the 80s and 90s. I love it so much...
Salmon a.k.a. dark peach
Turquoise a.k.a. dark teal
The 90s was just the 80s but edgier.
the 80s but bland
Turquoise is not 'dark teal' it's more blue.
Close just add some purple and green
OMG the slowed down version of the song "I wanna be with you everywhere", creeped me the hell out! LOL!! :D
yeah it was terrible lol lmao
AngryMushroom Doodles: I liked it! :)
AngryMushroom Doodles Is it Tears for Fears
las vegas 777 no, fleetwood mac 👌
las vagas 777, Lilia L is correct, it's Fleetwood Mac :)
Let's all take a moment to appreciate how good soundmixer, editor, and cameraman Bell is. Quality in the framing, sounds and edits all around.
Malls were such a big part of my life growing up!
Yep, everything happened at the mall (especially if you were a teen). It was the spot to be on Friday nights!
I absolutely love this series. “Yeah, drackie” at the beginning had me in tears. The editing with the 90s footage and my new fave genre of music thanks to you is just so nostalgic and makes me happy in a way I can’t explain. Thanks Dan Bell for creating my favourite series on RUclips
I keep replaying that part! I hear "Yeah, brackie" !! Lllllol
It's a clip of Jackie Stallone from the UK version of big brother
Good news for former Oak Hollow shoppers. There's the Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem. It's big and awesome. 5 anchors, a food court, two play areas, and a carousel.
But Oak Hollow is very nostalgic to me. Hanes Mall is nicer but Oak Hollow makes me feel like a kid again.
It'll die too.
Why not turn dead malls into self contained low income communities? Many of the smaller outlets store could serve as apartments and the anchors could be grocery stores and what not.
Any thoughts?
I think some of the later built malls can serve that purpose but those built around 60's-70's have asbestos to deal with.
it would be nice to see them re-purposed instead of being demolished. The problem though is two fold, 1. the amount of money needed heat/cool and light a mall is much higher than a building of similar size 2. most malls where built by less than honest construction firms and combined with the number of skylights, they hold out water like a sieve.
I think there are some malls in Asian countries which are producing their own electricity by solar panels but then those malls are constantly upgraded and have heavy sales.
Just Rev ...I'm glad you mentioned Asia. I was in a lot of malls in Singapore in the "average" communities that had malls on lower floors and housing on upper floors. It definitely was smart use of space?
Anthony Guarino Damn that's actually a good idea, why waste the structure?
Love this series Dan. Youre research, camera work and editing are always top notch.
I was wondering that but I think it's to look old timey
Fun fact: I live about 15 mins away this mall and if you jump down on the green chair in the playground, it'll make a very loud farting noise.
Woke up, made some coffee, turned on youtube and what do you know! A new dead mall series AND another dirty room, at the same time, this is going to be a good day. Thank you Dan, you are doing gods work my friend. Greetings from Canada.
This mall is only 20 minutes away from me! It's planning to shut down this month(March of 2017). No one really knows why this mall hasn't took off or continued to be popular because it is right across from HPU. I went to Oak Hollow because of the discounted Dillard's store, it was a great place to shop!
Kaitlyn Berry oh man, that's actually sad. Tell me your experience.
I worked in a mall for several years during the early 90s & have to say it was like living within our own private city. Employees from most stores knew one another & exchanged employee discounts, gossip & shopping, etc. Looking back it feels like it was in another lifetime. Things were so much more personal & one on one before the implementations of the internet/computers, smartphones, social media, etc. Both eras have their advantages & disadvantages, but after seeing this I kinda miss those days from back then. 😢😢
Make dead malls great again
lukeyellow 46 amen!
lukeyellow 46 MDMGA
"You can write it down!"
BLOODSTONE there are a lot of thriving malls still. Not everyone like to buy their clothes and shoes from Walmart lol and I buy a lot from the internet but many still like to try their clothes on before buying.
Sue Ellen Davis according to the National Association of shopping malls or whatever they call themselves research was done and there are six hundred malls that are doing very well and our nation 20 how that is and then these other ones are completely dead
I used to come here with my mom all the time. It's so sad to see it close.
6:05 I like that gnc and bath and body works are actually across from each other, with vibrant lights and all, operating like the mall isn't dying or anything.
That vaporwave version of I Wanna Be With you actually makes it listenable.
If you enjoy the song you can download it for free on Bandcamp. Search Upper Astral Records, the song is "Forever" by Ghosts Together off of the album - Born Before Life
Upper Astral Records
Do you know if this will ever be available on Google play? thanks!
Courtney, unfortunately I don't think it will be uploaded to Google Play however you can stream it and download it for free on bandcamp
Harun Al-Muhajir why is it called vaporware?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporwave
So far the best music selection in a dead mall you have reviewed. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I was jamming with my headphones when you started to flim the food court and stairs 😝😝😝😝
I like the 90’s feel of this mall. The sections that are still in operation look very clean, surprisingly. It blows my mind to see such desertion of the malls in this series compared to the few malls near me that are always packed with people, not even a seat open at the food court, and completely full of stores. I try to picture these like that, in their prime, full of happy people enjoying themselves. This is like the equivalent of walking through a nursing home full of dying people. At least the Titanic went down with dignity, this is just depressingly sad.
Malls in my area (Ithaca-Binghamton-Elmira,NY) are doing ok. Certainly past their primes from when I was a kid, but more stores are open in them than not and still very popular for going to the movies. Great series, Dan, as depressing as it can sometimes be.
Pamela Morris nothing else to do in upstate NY (kidding, it's beautiful there)
Pamela Morris I JUST moved from Ithaca, NY! I think the The Shops at Ithaca Mall is definitely dying. Constant turnover in that place.
Past their primes, for sure.
LOL. You're not COMPLETELY wrong, Erik!
Pamela Morris I used to live in Ithaca. Love that area minus the winters.
I really love your dead mall videos. It definitely feels both nostalgic and tragic all the same. Commentary, how you capture the scenery, and music is on point. Stirs up some strange emotions for sure. Thanks, Dan.
It's so... CLEAN!!! Compared to some of the other malls you have been in, this is like the Ritz Carlton of dead or dying malls, I expect to see a guy in a butler's outfit with white gloves, running his fingers over every surface and then checking his fingertips.
“Everywhere“ slowed down is the best thing i ever heard😭😌.
I agree 💯💯💯
hey thank you for making a video about this place, i visited this mall a lot when i was younger and it has a special place in my heart its nice to see the inside again after all these years and see the spots i remember from years ago
As someone who moved to High Point in 1996 at a young age when the mall was brand new, this video brings back lots of memories. I used to go to the arcade every Friday with a few friends growing up and spent lots of time at the movie theatre. If you need any insight or more information on this mall, I will be more than happy to help you. Excellent job.
Having watched several of your videos now what strikes me the most is the echoing music. I'm reminded of the 60 minuets episode from many many years ago Chernobyl and how they used to play music for the workers after the disaster.
I blame Paul Blart movies for this.
Thanks for the footage. I am from High Point. That brings back a lot of memories. My wife worked in the Disney Store there for several years. Unfortunately that mall never stood a chance. It was built in response to the failure of the old Westchester Mall that is still a few miles down the road and now a church. Too bad you didn't film that one as well. Oak Hollow is bracketed on the east and the west by two larger regional malls that always offered much greater shopping choices. Once they backed off on security and the kids got more free reign, the shoppers stopped showing up.
There's a mall near me in the Los Angeles/Orange County area that was beginning to lose stores and now it's put in a huge buffet restaraunt, a trampoline/party place for kids and I just saw that a huge area is about to be turned into a pizza/buffet/arcade place within the year. I wonder if that's the future of malls...no more stores but eateries and activity places.
@Eddy Westside - LOL! That's the mall! I have a friend who lives just blocks from it, and there was talk of closing it, but now there's the Jon's Incredible Pizza going in, the trampoline place is in and a big Asian-fusion buffet. Go and check it out. i'm wondering if Sears or Penny's pulls out if they put a theater in. I think that the future of malls with insight, which I think Westminster has, will be of places to go to for activities, rather than shopping.
Westminster mall is definitley on its way. They managed to pick up a really nice target as an anchor store about ten years ago, though.
I worked at South Coast Plaza for a while. It's still going strong since it's fairly high end, but what I really enjoy about it is how it's fairly dated but excellently maintained.
@Eddy Westside - Bella Terra is just weird; especially in the inner part by the movie theater and that little amphitheater area. I like that they have a World Market there, though on the outside part. And what's up with those new gigantic apartment buildings in front of the hidden back area Costco? The Block of Orange seems to be doing really well. There's always lots of people there when I go there; even on weekdays.
@the any - South Coast Plaza is great. Very nice and there's always a good amount of people shopping. Now just to figure out how to afford shopping at most of those stores! LOL!
I think the thing killing the Westminster mall is people who drive around making it dangerous and for such a large parking lot, parking is hell. Bathrooms are another PITA in that mall, as well there is nothing there you really want to eat... Other then the buffet. But I really stopped going to the Asian Buffet due to unruly kids but that's not the malls or the businesses problem. I really think that mall would benefit from a theater since people still go to it.
Of those 11 remaining stores, I'll bet they included a GNC, Bath and Body Works, Victoria's Secret, and possibly Radio Shack.
10:22 Christine Ann McVie Rest in Peace 1943 2022 The song is "Everywhere" off the 14th Studio album from Fleetwood Mac "Tango in the Night" and it was written by Christine McVie who also sang the lead vocal part of the song.
Man, there couldn’t be a better analogy, Dan! I love the dead mall series!
Fleetwood Mac tune was perfect. So sad.
Octagon Seventynine I find it strange that it was chopped and screwed. Very odd lol.
Loved it
I think they’re addictive because the malls were our era (Gen Xer’s). His choice of music and throwback videos bring back memories of times where life was simple-first crushes, the phenomenonal economy of the 1980’s....
This is actually really sad watching for me cause I used to go here all the time and used to play in the play area 😢😭
For those wondering, the Dillard’s is still open, reduced to the first floor while the second floor is reserved for extra clothing. Customers always ask me if they can go up the escalator (which is static) and honestly I don’t even feel safe walking up the steps
I think I remember this mall. I went with two ex-friends back in the winter of 2008 looking for a rare Zelda DS and we arrived at night. I remember the oak logo.
This series actually makes me feel like a depressed drug addict in the 80's.
Talk about bad timing! If this mall opened it '95, it ran headlong into Amazon which also started in 1995. Ouch.
this is long after you made the video and you probably won’t see this but thank you. this video unlocked some great memories that i forgot i had. my dad has been absent for most of my life but when i was little he would take my brothers and i here for some chick-fil-a and to check out the new games at gamestop. this truly touched me
Why hasn’t anyone made “OMG JACKIE!” a meme yettttt
Reasons to live: Dan's little giggle
Idk why at 10:28 with that augmented Fleetwood Mac song with the visuals is sooooo creepy and soooooo damn good. Wonderful editing. That song and the way it been manipulated fits the mood so well! Like a zombie film. The death of the mall as it’s life support systems grind to a hault
9:01 *cries*
Huh, never expected to find you here, love your scambaiting!
Slow mo Fleetwood mac was magic 😁
Glad you like the track! You can download it for free on bandcamp. Just google "Upper Astral Records" the song is "Forever" by Ghosts Together off the album - Born Before Life