abandoned shopping malls

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The bad results of internet technology.

Damn you Amazon

I know it isn't all from the internet, or Amazon, but I sure do miss my brick and mortar bookstores.

http://trove.com/me/content/cNW6I?chid= ... aign=srfan

that makes me feel so old.

I'd love to walk through a place like that

too bad they can't turn it into housing.

I have shopped in both of those malls, doesn't seem that long ago. They aren't terribly far away and I was unaware they were now abandoned. They were both great places to shop and I remember going many times while my kids were young. Just a sign of how bad things are in Ohio. And everyone wants to know why I want to get the hell away from here!

The ones in my area have closed due to suburban sprawl and white flight. Now I have to drive over a mountain to go shopping at any decent stores.

aside from wallyworld, the only shopping I do is online.

Shopping malls seemed to be mostly doing fine in the DC area. With one exception: one mall is almost totally abandoned, but does have one Sears store still open. The rest of the place is fenced off with grass poking through the cracks in the pavement. Would be a great film set for a post apocalyptic movie.

as early as 1980 abandoned shopping malls were used in movies such as "the blues brothers."

There appears to be cycles with these malls as there built and opened in grand style and then after 25 years or so are either closed, gutted or demolished for new development. Most of those malls were built cheaply in the 1970s and are now paying the price for it. To be honest I could not care less if the places closed from my perspective as a consumer who hates the crowed chaotic mall experience, however malls have always been a good source of student jobs and have always been prime hangout areas. Where will the kids hangout if there is no more malls? It appears that as big box stores branch out into all things retail the need to be in a indoor mall paying hefty rent rates in perpetuity has greatly diminished and without the anchor stores paying the their rent and upkeep the economic model just does not work, the slow economy just speeds up the organic process.

I enjoyed seeing the photos again, I remember when out local mall almost ended up looking completely like that before it sold and got renovated in the mid-1990s.

I am more sad as the closing of these malls reflects the overall unhealthy state of the economy and the loss of a very large proportion of the middle class. These anchor stores such as Sears, Penny's, etc have failed and done so poorly as to be a contributing factor in the decline of the indoor malls. What are we left with now? Mostly substandard products that many can barely afford compared to a generation past where good quality products were manufactured here and SOLD here to people who were strongly middle class.




Yes but again, the big box stores have a poor selection of poorly made products. Worse yet Walmart as of the past year or two can't even keep simple items in stock. But where else do you get these products now? Walmart has pushed all the businesses that traditionally carried things out of business. Between the loss of purchasing power of the consumer and the shrinking middle class and the competition from cheap imports we are in a downward spiral economically. Yes many factors involved but bottom line is the United States is a mere shadow of what once was.

I do most of my shopping online anymore. Why? For one I cannot find what I require locally as all that carried these items are out of business. I will also admit aversion to crowds and dealing with all that. That however is a personal defect I suffer from (being an aspie) and this affects many of us on the spectrum. Many who liked to shop and had no issue with crowds are also stuck in this downward spiral.

I hope I see a turnaround before I leave this world but I seriously doubt it. The next 2 or 3 generations will have it rough I am afraid.

we have two malls here both quite busy. the one closest to me isn't busy now and mostly empty but that's cause its doing remodeling and making stores close for it, many chose to leave instead it seems, I do wonder after the remodel if they will get stores back. seems a dumb move to effect store's business like that. but then again it has one of our two movie theaters and Oregon's only cabellas attached to it. there is also a sears, target and koles. maybe those stores will bring enough traffic to make sense opening stores inside.

I wonder why more municipalities have not purchased down on their heels' malls and become landlord tenants? IOW have gov't offices in the mall and charge rent to other businesses to set up shop therein.

I am just as glad they don't! Look at the state of what they do control in places like the water, sewer, roads, schools. If they can't get those right, then what are the chances they can manage a healthy and self-sustaining business like a mall? It would become a corrupted money pit like the rest of government.

it happened in Tacoma Washington, and so far the new city licensing building [used to be a white front store] is doing fine.

Has anyone heard of Dixie Square Mall? Its past is pretty sad and creepy... http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Square_Mall

It stayed abandoned for over 20 yrs.