Same here, so strange seeing it so empty - when I basically lived here as a high school student & then worked at Express in college, you couldn’t find parking in a lot of areas it was so full! Ugh the memories.
This is my local mall, been watching it decline the last 10 years. The video makes it seem like more stores are closed, I think he was there early in the morning, it's probably 40% occupied. They've done a decent job adapting to stay open, bringing in office space and whole foods, but I still think it's days are numbered, which is a shame, it's beautiful inside with all the plants, marble and skylights!
I used to go to this mall, back in the 70s and early 80's when it was covered in cool black marble and indirect lighting. It was like shopping on the Death Star.
Yes exton mall was much smaller and unique back then i lived in west chester but usually went to concord mall in de or kop. The draw here was the library right at the opposite end of the rim road... I remember watching the zook house moved and restored as i went to work at town motors up the road back in the late 90s and early 2000s each day. Great chester county was a great place to live but it has become overgrown the past couple of decades
Remember those abstract dinosaurs made of fiberglass to play on? My step mother lived on the first floor of the Zook house for twelve years. It was a little efficiency apartment.
@@kristinepfs Granite Run did their remodel before Exton Did, If I remember correctly. Though I was only a young child at the time, anyone remember being allowed to smoke in the mall?
@@sisterstaketoo1981 Granite Run has been redeveloped, it's no longer an enclosed mall but a series of detached grouping of retail and food related uses with a midrise apartment complex
I worked as a manager at the LensCrafters in that mall from 2001 to 2003. I always liked working there. It was bright, airy, very well maintained , and busy. There was a store upstairs that made cookies. I can still remember the smell of the vanilla cookies and coffee when I opened up the shop in the morning. Such a shame to see it slowly die. It was a very nice property. The food court was a nice place to have lunch, and the trees inside usually had a few birds that made their way in. Felt like you were sitting outside.
Sad, Exton is such a great location. King of Prussia is extremely close, however, unless you're going to the higher end luxury stores navigating the mall is overwhelming, parking is a nightmare and at sometimes can be surprisingly unsafe.
I finally figured out a way to keep straight in KoP mall. Compass sightings. Take one on my cell phone at the entrance I walk into. When I get to a major intersection take sightings on the other axis.
That doesn't surprise me how big and successful King of Prussia is, probably hurts surrounding malls. Without a doubt, Woodfield Mall causes a similar effect to malls within a few miles of it. I.e. Stratford Square, Randhurst(was demalled years ago, and today has become Randhurst Village shopping center), and Spring Hill even suffers from this effect too. I do hold out hope that once Woodman's grocery store opens at Stratford Square, that it'll be a good boost in the arm to that mall. Too bad Stratford recently lost Round 1(closed at the end of October 2020), but at least it still has a Century/Cinemark 16 screen theater, Burlington, and Kohl's. Back to Randhurst and Spring Hill, those 2 malls also probably got hurt when Deer Park Town Center in Kildeer opened. Stratford is further away from Deer Park, so I don't think it got hurt as much. Weirdly enough Century/Cinemark operates movie theaters at both Stratford, and Deer Park.
I'm a 10 min drive away from the King of Prussia Mall and I never go there. I drive 25 min to go to Exton Mall but admit only to the Boscovs. I had my first job at the Exton Mall. Hope it can be saved.
@@reneereb6499 It cannot. The narrator forgot to mention the chief reason. Amazon and internet shopping. That’s the main reason why malls such as this one are dying and most of them will be gone in ten years. If not sooner.
My middle school stomping grounds back in the 2000’s. So many memories of Friday nights of my and my friends just fooling around and getting kicked out. My first ever date was here to. It’ll be a sad day when this place is done in for good.
@@dvferyance the surrounding area is prosperous..downingtown and west chester [college town] so i guess its maintain. They recently built massive apartment complexes all around the mall.
It’s a real shame. When I was growing up my mom took my brothers and I to this mall all the time. Some days the food court was completely packed and it was hard to get a seat. I hope the library next to it is still thriving.
Your videos are so well made. The ending celebratory moment made me cry while writing this. Also, props to that Chik-Fil-A for sticking around to feed people.
I used to work at Town Motors of Exton just a minute up the road from the mall on RT 30. I was able to watch the Zook House being moved and renovated back in the late 90s early 2000s and the expansion of the mall as well, I used to visit the Exton Library on the rim road at the opposite end of the parking lot near the offices. Chester county used to be a very nice place to live but has become over built and congested over the past two decades. Anyone else remember the fair they would have every year where the had the carnival rides set up in the mall parking lot? This would have been back in the late 90s or 2000.
Chick-fil-A is the last restaurant in the world I would give my money to. Their corporate money goes to some IMHO shady religious organizations. Rev George
Damn! It's crazy how time flies by. I remember shopping at that mall when my mom and dad lived in WC on Nield st. Catching buses before I got a car, hitting Fashion bug, Models and Salad Works, were some of my favorite stops. As we get older, new things are discovered; Leaving what we recall a memory of our past, which brings life to new beginnings and the future.
I live in Downingtown which is right next to Exton. Been here a million times. I miss the movie theater that use to be right next Kmart. Ah, the memories.
Penn Medicine has taken some of the space for medical offices. There is plenty of parking and public transit making it an ideal location. I hope they can repurpose more of the site.
I live 5 minutes south from this mall and IV been goin there my whole life since the 80s and it's amazing how much it's changed over the years. I was hoping Dan Bell would do this dead mall but I'm really glad somebody did at least. 😎
Lived in Exton / Downingtown my whole life. Growing up in the 2000’s and going to the exton mall on a Friday night was the place to be. Such a bummer to see it go down hill like this. I live in Philadelphia now and haven’t gotten out to the area in a good 2-3 years but man oh man this hurt to see.
Excellent tribute to Exton Square Mal, Anthony! Many of the other older Boscov's here around Philly (Plymouth Meeting, Granite Run, Concord Mall, Coventry Mall come to mind) have some of the same neon department lighting. I was just at Exton myself on Sunday 11/15/20 (in mid-afternoon) & there could not have been more than a handful of people there even then. About the only action there was at Boscov's and Round One. If you ever get back to the area soon, you should check out Coventry Mall about 30 minutes up PA 100 (just outside Pottstown). Now THAT is a dead mall!!
Coventry was dying for a decade, maybe longer. The latest owner made some impressive strides by bringing in some new stores and new ideas and not just talking about it like Kohan. But 2020 just took the wind out of its sails. It’s unfortunate.
I'm from the area as well. Grew up in limerick. Coventry mall used to be our go to but it was killed simply beacuse of the outlets. I was recently at Exton over this past summer, went to Round One but walking through the mall on a Saturday night was a sad sight to see. Everything closed up. There was only like maybe 5 stores open if that. I now live right down the road from Plymouth meeting mall and that place is still haning on. It's sad to see all the local malls being closed up. Us locals in the area rarely ever visited King of Prussia mall the massive mall that it is beacuse it is just nuts there most of the time and the majority of people that go there are from out of town, so the local smaller malls was our go to's most of the time. At least for me.
I was just here yesterday 2/13/23 with my son because we were in the area for a dentist appointment & I knewthat the food court is opened. It's only Chik-Fil-A & a small pizza shop still operating in the food court. So we decided to walk around until he decided what he was hungry for. I got to experience his excitement of riding down on a huge escalator, smiling ear to ear. To me, I've riden down countless escalators many times in my life, but for him it was an exciting experience because as he stated "I've never seen an escalator this big!" If I had to put a percentage on retailers that are in here still, besides Macy's & Roumd 1 amusement & bowling, I'd put it at between 10-20%, but it's easier to say that there's more "mall walkers" than retailers. So many "mall walkers" that the management put a notice sign on the mall entrance doors stating specifically what time the mall would be opening for the "mall walkers". Nice to see that the management is still providing a controlled area for people to come & exercise. I've been to this mall many times throughout my life & it was bigger than the Coventry Mall in Pottstown, but always an easier mall to navigate than the King of Prussia mall.
This is my mall lol. You gave the tour justice thank you. I grew up in Downingtown and worked in this mall, shopped in this mall, and watched this mall evolve over the years. I am so sad by the way the economy has shutdown so many local businesses and hope the stores are able to recover. The kop mall is close HOWEVER unless you want to spend half of your time searching for stores or in traffic I never went there. Plus I think someone mentioned it above, they had all of the Exton stores plus high end stores and that's not what really where I was spending my money. Exton was clean, big enough, and had everything I needed. Kop is over the top for no reason.
As young marrieds in the late seventies, early eighties we traveled over an hour to spend time here. It was a lovely little mall and had a lot of special local stores here, unlike all the chain stores at KofP. We would shop here and then on the way home pick up some discount Enteman’s nearby. This was indeed my favorite mall.
Incredible. This reminds me of a Sci Fi movie depicting the last man on earth. The utilities alone must run 10 grand a month which most likely exceeds the all-inclusive profit from the stores combined. The "hiring" sign at 18 minutes is really peculiar. Stellar production Ace. Thanks for your hard work.
Ahhhh,,, The mall where I ratted as a teen in the 80's. The weird part is that retail in the immediate surroundings is booming, so the main culprit here is more changing shopping patterns than competition from KoP.
@sweeze Same. Between King of Prussia and Main Street, it's no wonder Exton Square is on life support. It's shocking to see that the effects have been this bad, to be honest.
i also grew up with this mall but in the 2000s. i love reading everyone in the comments talking about what this place was like in the 70s and 80s! what i miss is the old playground. i remember other kids getting stuck in the twisty pole, i wonder if that's why they took it down lol
Every store I worked at in this mall has closed which stinks. I remember as an awkward teen in high school my friends and I would wander around and grab food at the food court and it was PACKED. Parents would drop us off and we would push through the crowds to Hot Topic and eat pretzels on some sofas in the department stores like little weirdos. It’s crazy watching it go from such a booming mall to almost nothing
Got my ears pierced at pagoda and Claire’s, shopped for dresses for dances at Deb’s, hung out in borders, had scavenger hunts through the mall, would get my nails done, any last minute Christmas gift this was the place. It’s a shame what’s happening to smaller malls because KOP is TOO big for me. Exton was always the perfect size when I wanted to walk around and window shop or needed some new clothes etc. Will always miss the memories of this place!
Thank you for doing this video. Wish it could help it to stay open. It is a beautiful Mall. I have personally liked Exton Square Mall way more than KOP Mall.
I attended West Chester university from 2001-2005 I had several jobs at exton and it is where I formally started my shopping addiction lol. I just have so many fond memories of this mall 🤗🤗
When I was 2 we moved to Exton from Boothwyn. I remember when the mall was actually still square. And I remember hanging out there in high school, it was PACKED every day. Kind of sad to see it as a ghost town. Lots of fun memories there. I even worked at the bath and body works there in high school.
I used to go the Exton Square mall in the early 90s as well as the Exton Public Library. I lived on the border of Chester and Lancaster counties and it was a little closer the Park City. I think what really starting hurting the mall was the completion of the bypass around Exxon in the early to mid 90s, it made getting to King of Prussia much quicker. It was a nice video and brought back some nice memories.
It breaks my heart to have watched this mall fall apart from year to year. First it was Granite Run Mall now Exton. Many great years of shopping, hanging out with friends and my girls still go to see our favorite Santa during Christmas. The history is a lot I didn't know of. Thank you for the information!
I grew up in that area, and still go back to visit relatives. It is a beautiful space in that mall, and I hope it can be used in a new way, maybe put the stores in one part, offices in another, possibly a school in another? - the lighting is fabulous, and it has beautiful flooring.
Weird seeing the inside if the Boscov's. I haven't been inside one since 15 years ago. It still looks the same as it did when I went to mine. Gotta love the neon signs.
@Sidney Stoops I hope so. It recently lost JCPenney. It lost Sears in 2018, and Dillard’s became a clearance center in 2019. Macy’s and the Cinemark movie theater are still hanging on. The Sears became a cool grocery store called Zion Market. It’s about 65% occupied currently and anchored by Cinemark, Macy’s, Dillard’s Clearance Center, and Zion Market with 1 vacant anchor.
Wow. I used to come here with my friends when we were in high school. I had no idea it had gotten that bad in such a short amount of time. You’re right about the King of Prussia mall. It’s a shame, because I hate that mall. Like others have said, the parking is a nightmare and it’s unsafe. Somebody was shot there very close to my car 😕
Wow. For a Mall constructed in the 1970's, the Exton Mall has really kept up, and shows well. New tiling, high quality railings, nice patterned steel. And it is clearly bright with the large skylights, and there is a consistency throughout of its cleanliness. Those wood trussed centered arboretum's really held up well, I believe if they were from the original 1970's build. The decor with the planters along side the upper deck is quite nice. High quality build, let's hope that they can rebound well after all of this! I like! Thank you for the great videos you do a fantastic service, and so much history you review is methodical. Well done Ace!!!
That was all from the redo in 2000. They added all of that. The mall is in good shape but it’s really sad to go in there. I’ve lived in Exton for the last 19 years and this is the only retail center in distress.
Wow, my old stomping grounds. I'm 49 years old now, but this was my home in my teens and before. I became long time friends with the operator of the aforementioned import games store. I spent a lot of time in the sam goodie record store and remember very well the indoor playground as a child. This was always my favorite place to go as a child. The memories.....
Exton itself is a growing area and Chester County is the most affluent in Pennsylvania so this being a dead mall is perplexing. Exton has two busy Targets and a busy Walmart. It had three other major shopping centers that are mostly occupied. A thousand new apartments are coming online within a mile of this mall along a few new housing developments. There is a lot of redevelopment potential with the property and I feel that’s why it’s in decline as a 70’s era mall.
I suspect they probably priced themselves out even before the pandemic. I heard the rent for stores was astronomical. Add in COVID, and boom. You think this looks bad, now? Last I went there after 8pm, there might have been 6 stores open and about 60-70% vacancy. I've lived here my whole life and this mall was a big part of it - Really depressing to see where it is, now.
@@danielcalabrese9087 exton and Chester country Are a pretty rich area. It’s just a new age, malls are dead. The only mall in Pa doing well is KOP but that’s for obvious reasons.
Funny this is the first time your channel popped up on my recommendations feed, for one I watch Retail Archeology and Dan Bell and two I live only twenty or so minutes from the Exton Mall and have been to Round One a number of times. Great video. Instant subscriber. Love the aerial exterior shots.
The only place that my sister and I like to go to in there is Round 1. We plan to go every three months there. It’s a gorgeous mall. There just isn’t any other place that makes me want to go to that one more often. That would be awesome if you covered the Montgomery Mall next in North Wales, PA!
Thank you for continuing to make and upload quality videos. Honestly I’m surprised you don’t have more subscribers. I personally look forward to them. Thanks.
Went here back in January, it was almost as dead then as it is now. So sad because of how awesome and busy it used to be, even just five years ago. But when a lot of big name stores began to pull out, a huge decline in customers went with them. Awesome video!
Used to come here all the time as a kid into my teen years. I’m 21 now. My fiancé and I came here in the beginning of our relationship. Many memories here. Crazy to see that it’s dying. My family and I always came to here or Concord as they are much closer. KOP was 45 mins away as opposed to Exton/Concord being 20 mins abt.
The Exton area is starting to grow, so that should help the mall. Two cool things in the exton Mall are Round1 (A large arcade) and Red Star (A pretty good bar) .
There would probably be more people there if the mall were fully open, this was clearly shot early in the morning before all the stores opened for the day lol. But I get it, it was probably the most "safe" time to film.
I grew up in King of Prussia and went to Exton on occasion. I live in Florida now. I remember when K of P only had the Plaza. Last time I was back up there was over 3 years ago. Crazy how much it changed. K of P has gotten crazy expensive.
Hey, local here, great video! I'm not sure if anyone else shared however Mallbrats fell through when Kevin Smith couldn't get the project picked up. I was working in the Exton Mall at the time and it was very disappointing as the mall was already on the decline. Thanks for making a trip and documenting as it's sad to see the place so empty now.
You correctly mention a number of the drivers as to this mall's decline including nearby King of Prussia...I'd also include that Exton's close proximity to tax-free Delaware is a drag on local retailers.
Many people have doggone the way of online shopping which never take the place of actually going to the store and trying it on and taking a friend or two along and making memories and then actually deciding if the garment is the right fit or not. Don't get that experience shopping online. We will always need our malls. A great place to eat, have family time, go on a date, bring grp of friends and make memories while you shop at your fav stores. This is my neighborhood mall and I appreciate this mall. Many memories and I pray for it to stay open. Round 1 is also a fun place. When people stop connecting and reaching out, more malls will close and not just because of stupid causes pandemic. Wish my mall well and glad it's still here.
I used to beeeeggg to be able to go to the mall on a Friday night in 8th grade because it was where all the cool kinds hung out and every single store was operating! It's crazy how much can change in 9 years!! This video made me so happy because I'm not sure by the time I visit home next if it's still gonna be here but this video will make it live on!! Thanks so much!!
When I worked for a construction company out of Denver CO, we built the Chick-fil-A in the Exton, Granite Run, Berkshire, and Philadelphia Penn Central malls. Great company!
We lost our Children's Place here in Cornwall, back in October. Our only inside mall is slowly dying. The food court has only 3 restaurants right now. We used to have a grocery store in it which really helped. The Exton Square Mall is a beautiful looking mall. Aesthetics are amazing. Especially those 80's neon signs in the Boscov's.
I lived in exton 10yrs ago, then move to hawaii, moved back here(next door) 2yrs ago and comparing both times, the first time I lived here there were less people in exton but that mall was so busy, now there is so much movement here but the exton square mall is dead, and its not just bcuz of covid-19 even before this pandemic the mall wasn't as busy.. online retailers rule..
I live in a small town of about 65,000 people and our local mall is on the the way out. The last anchor store, JC Penny's, just closed. The mall had a Burkes Outlet however it is no longer in the mall as they built a stand alone store. Even GNC moved out of the mall. What we do have in the mall is a small computer/cell phone repair business, an actual store that sells vinyl records both new and used, and several women clothing stores. Even the mall security office closed. If it comes to what you are predicting, super malls, guess what I for one will not be going as the closet major city is a two hour drive away and a city of almost a million people is a 4.5 hour drive away. I will continue what I do for computer parts but on a much broader scale, order from Amazon where I can get overnight and if I need to return it either do it through Kohls or the local UPS Store. Rev George
Thinking about Christmas shopping with my Mother and my daughter. Beautiful decorations. And I took my granddaughter to see Santa for the first time. I'm sad but at least of I have good memories.
I spent SO much time in this mall between 1990 - 1994!!! Back then Strawbridges was the anchor - right in the center of the mall!! Good memories! Sorry to see it in decline.
I grew up with both the Exton Mall and the King of Prussia Mall. King of Prussia I believe was around a little before Exton. I currently live one township over from Exton Mall but used to live in West Whiteland about 30 years ago. It's sad to see malls die, especially ones you know so well. I haven't been to Exton Mall probably in two years. It's just not a place I go to anymore, and I think the trend to "hang at the mall" is an art that's dying all over. Sad :(
I was on the roof of that mall in 1998. I was working for AT&t wireless. We had a store in the mall which had no signal, so I had to go on the roof and put up an antenna and have people install a repeater.
Another thing is that exton town center and a couple of other very nice strip like malls are nearby..the is so much competition in this area when it comes to retail choices and restaurants . but the area has become overbuild and vey conjested. I used to live in west chester right near the university about ten mins from the mall
I can vividly remember the slightly sunken child play area at the one entrance. Video arcade off to the side. The large fiberglass seals, the rudimentary Labyrinth maze. Quintessential place for parents to tell their kids to stay while they did shopping.
This mall is nice, I’ve actually never been. Granite Run Mall is gone, it’s now a strip mall. There’s also near by Plymouth Meeting Mall which has been going downhill since Macy’s left years ago. When the anchor stores go in the mall it becomes a detriment to the other stores. In the Philadelphia area, King of Prussia Mall is “King”, the stores are both exclusive and affordable and the location is accessible.
I lived in Exton untill I moved 3 years ago. I remember when this mall was full and always crowded. I used to go to JC penny and Sears all the time. I used to see Santa hear to. Sad to see the food court only has 2 businesses now
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The memories I have of this place.... I could write a book.
Same! This was my mall as a teen.
Same here, so strange seeing it so empty - when I basically lived here as a high school student & then worked at Express in college, you couldn’t find parking in a lot of areas it was so full! Ugh the memories.
same i used to go there all the time as a kid
@@echocalay ll
Agreed. It’s sad to see it go like this
This is my local mall, been watching it decline the last 10 years. The video makes it seem like more stores are closed, I think he was there early in the morning, it's probably 40% occupied. They've done a decent job adapting to stay open, bringing in office space and whole foods, but I still think it's days are numbered, which is a shame, it's beautiful inside with all the plants, marble and skylights!
I agree. It's heart breaking to watch.
This mall looks nice. Way too many I beams which cheapens the look and too mary parts of ceiling look like a gymnasium.
I'd go there.
This is my local mall as well. Is the Round One still open? I was amazed when it came to Exton since it was already in decline when they showed up.
@@cozyflannel Still open, closed temporarily for the pandemic though.
I used to go to this mall, back in the 70s and early 80's when it was covered in cool black marble and indirect lighting. It was like shopping on the Death Star.
Yes exton mall was much smaller and unique back then i lived in west chester but usually went to concord mall in de or kop.
The draw here was the library right at the opposite end of the rim road...
I remember watching the zook house moved and restored as i went to work at town motors up the road back in the late 90s and early 2000s each day. Great chester county was a great place to live but it has become overgrown the past couple of decades
Remember those abstract dinosaurs made of fiberglass to play on? My step mother lived on the first floor of the Zook house for twelve years. It was a little efficiency apartment.
I remember the dark brown brick floor tiles. Lived around that mall my whole life. 😎
Same here, I can remember the play area where the food court is today. There was an arcade called Time Out there too!
Did they sell Alderaan chunks at the gift store?
Kinda reminds me a little of the "Granite Run Mall" in Media, PA. It's been demolished.
It's WAY nicer than that mall was.
@@GraceAloneThroughFaithAlone Back in the early 90's, Granite Run was very nice. I thought, nicer than Exton, at that time.
@@kristinepfs Granite Run did their remodel before Exton Did, If I remember correctly.
Though I was only a young child at the time, anyone remember being allowed to smoke in the mall?
It’s gone!! I didn’t know granite run was demolished.
@@sisterstaketoo1981 Granite Run has been redeveloped, it's no longer an enclosed mall but a series of detached grouping of retail and food related uses with a midrise apartment complex
I worked as a manager at the LensCrafters in that mall from 2001 to 2003. I always liked working there. It was bright, airy, very well maintained , and busy. There was a store upstairs that made cookies. I can still remember the smell of the vanilla cookies and coffee when I opened up the shop in the morning. Such a shame to see it slowly die. It was a very nice property. The food court was a nice place to have lunch, and the trees inside usually had a few birds that made their way in. Felt like you were sitting outside.
Sad, Exton is such a great location. King of Prussia is extremely close, however, unless you're going to the higher end luxury stores navigating the mall is overwhelming, parking is a nightmare and at sometimes can be surprisingly unsafe.
I know how you feel
I finally figured out a way to keep straight in KoP mall. Compass sightings. Take one on my cell phone at the entrance I walk into. When I get to a major intersection take sightings on the other axis.
That doesn't surprise me how big and successful King of Prussia is, probably hurts surrounding malls. Without a doubt, Woodfield Mall causes a similar effect to malls within a few miles of it. I.e. Stratford Square, Randhurst(was demalled years ago, and today has become Randhurst Village shopping center), and Spring Hill even suffers from this effect too. I do hold out hope that once Woodman's grocery store opens at Stratford Square, that it'll be a good boost in the arm to that mall. Too bad Stratford recently lost Round 1(closed at the end of October 2020), but at least it still has a Century/Cinemark 16 screen theater, Burlington, and Kohl's.
Back to Randhurst and Spring Hill, those 2 malls also probably got hurt when Deer Park Town Center in Kildeer opened. Stratford is further away from Deer Park, so I don't think it got hurt as much. Weirdly enough Century/Cinemark operates movie theaters at both Stratford, and Deer Park.
I'm a 10 min drive away from the King of Prussia Mall and I never go there. I drive 25 min to go to Exton Mall but admit only to the Boscovs. I had my first job at the Exton Mall. Hope it can be saved.
@@reneereb6499 It cannot. The narrator forgot to mention the chief reason. Amazon and internet shopping. That’s the main reason why malls such as this one are dying and most of them will be gone in ten years. If not sooner.
My middle school stomping grounds back in the 2000’s. So many memories of Friday nights of my and my friends just fooling around and getting kicked out. My first ever date was here to. It’ll be a sad day when this place is done in for good.
When they start adding the random gumball machines you know the mall is failing.
See they've been in there for YEARS--well over a decade.
I used to skip school in this mall in the mid 80’s. Great memories
Your school was in the mall?
So sad such a beautiful mall not run down at all
I hear you I am not sad when a old dumpy run down mall is dying but when a nice one is that's a shame to see that.
@@dvferyance the surrounding area is prosperous..downingtown and west chester [college town] so i guess its maintain. They recently built massive apartment complexes all around the mall.
It’s a real shame. When I was growing up my mom took my brothers and I to this mall all the time. Some days the food court was completely packed and it was hard to get a seat. I hope the library next to it is still thriving.
it is! best library in the area next to west chester
Your videos are so well made. The ending celebratory moment made me cry while writing this. Also, props to that Chik-Fil-A for sticking around to feed people.
I had to show some love to Alex
I used to work at Town Motors of Exton just a minute up the road from the mall on RT 30. I was able to watch the Zook House being moved and renovated back in the late 90s early 2000s and the expansion of the mall as well, I used to visit the Exton Library on the rim road at the opposite end of the parking lot near the offices. Chester county used to be a very nice place to live but has become over built and congested over the past two decades. Anyone else remember the fair they would have every year where the had the carnival rides set up in the mall parking lot? This would have been back in the late 90s or 2000.
Chick-fil-A is the last restaurant in the world I would give my money to. Their corporate money goes to some IMHO shady religious organizations.
Rev George
@@georgeworley6927 Never mind who they support, their food sucks.
@@lisa9867 agreed
Damn! It's crazy how time flies by. I remember shopping at that mall when my mom and dad lived in WC on Nield st. Catching buses before I got a car, hitting Fashion bug, Models and Salad Works, were some of my favorite stops. As we get older, new things are discovered; Leaving what we recall a memory of our past, which brings life to new beginnings and the future.
I live in Downingtown which is right next to Exton. Been here a million times. I miss the movie theater that use to be right next Kmart. Ah, the memories.
Penn Medicine has taken some of the space for medical offices. There is plenty of parking and public transit making it an ideal location. I hope they can repurpose more of the site.
Actually, Main Line Health owned by Jefferson
I live 5 minutes south from this mall and IV been goin there my whole life since the 80s and it's amazing how much it's changed over the years. I was hoping Dan Bell would do this dead mall but I'm really glad somebody did at least. 😎
Dan Bell doesn’t really do malls anymore. But since he broke the genre open, there’s a ton of great content creators on TH-cam.
Dan Bell is busy chasing ghosts and bigfoot (bigfoots? bigfeet???).
@@richardm3023 And dirty dive motels.
@@mesapysch those are too gross to mention.
Lived in Exton / Downingtown my whole life. Growing up in the 2000’s and going to the exton mall on a Friday night was the place to be. Such a bummer to see it go down hill like this. I live in Philadelphia now and haven’t gotten out to the area in a good 2-3 years but man oh man this hurt to see.
😕
Excellent tribute to Exton Square Mal, Anthony! Many of the other older Boscov's here around Philly (Plymouth Meeting, Granite Run, Concord Mall, Coventry Mall come to mind) have some of the same neon department lighting.
I was just at Exton myself on Sunday 11/15/20 (in mid-afternoon) & there could not have been more than a handful of people there even then. About the only action there was at Boscov's and Round One.
If you ever get back to the area soon, you should check out Coventry Mall about 30 minutes up PA 100 (just outside Pottstown). Now THAT is a dead mall!!
Coventry was dying for a decade, maybe longer. The latest owner made some impressive strides by bringing in some new stores and new ideas and not just talking about it like
Kohan. But 2020 just took the wind out of its sails. It’s unfortunate.
Coventry mall was dead before covid-19.. wouldn't waste my time
I'm from the area as well. Grew up in limerick. Coventry mall used to be our go to but it was killed simply beacuse of the outlets. I was recently at Exton over this past summer, went to Round One but walking through the mall on a Saturday night was a sad sight to see. Everything closed up. There was only like maybe 5 stores open if that. I now live right down the road from Plymouth meeting mall and that place is still haning on. It's sad to see all the local malls being closed up. Us locals in the area rarely ever visited King of Prussia mall the massive mall that it is beacuse it is just nuts there most of the time and the majority of people that go there are from out of town, so the local smaller malls was our go to's most of the time. At least for me.
I was just here yesterday 2/13/23 with my son because we were in the area for a dentist appointment & I knewthat the food court is opened. It's only Chik-Fil-A & a small pizza shop still operating in the food court. So we decided to walk around until he decided what he was hungry for. I got to experience his excitement of riding down on a huge escalator, smiling ear to ear. To me, I've riden down countless escalators many times in my life, but for him it was an exciting experience because as he stated "I've never seen an escalator this big!"
If I had to put a percentage on retailers that are in here still, besides Macy's & Roumd 1 amusement & bowling, I'd put it at between 10-20%, but it's easier to say that there's more "mall walkers" than retailers. So many "mall walkers" that the management put a notice sign on the mall entrance doors stating specifically what time the mall would be opening for the "mall walkers". Nice to see that the management is still providing a controlled area for people to come & exercise. I've been to this mall many times throughout my life & it was bigger than the Coventry Mall in Pottstown, but always an easier mall to navigate than the King of Prussia mall.
This is my mall lol. You gave the tour justice thank you. I grew up in Downingtown and worked in this mall, shopped in this mall, and watched this mall evolve over the years. I am so sad by the way the economy has shutdown so many local businesses and hope the stores are able to recover. The kop mall is close HOWEVER unless you want to spend half of your time searching for stores or in traffic I never went there. Plus I think someone mentioned it above, they had all of the Exton stores plus high end stores and that's not what really where I was spending my money. Exton was clean, big enough, and had everything I needed. Kop is over the top for no reason.
I love this place, it's sad what is happening to it
Facts
That use to be my hang out back in the day every Friday and Saturday night.... Me and my friends used to shop in every store..
Great video! It's amazing that their sister in Grand Rapids, Woodland is doing so much better. The tribute to Trebek couldn't be more beautiful.
As young marrieds in the late seventies, early eighties we traveled over an hour to spend time here. It was a lovely little mall and had a lot of special local stores here, unlike all the chain stores at KofP. We would shop here and then on the way home pick up some discount Enteman’s nearby. This was indeed my favorite mall.
Incredible. This reminds me of a Sci Fi movie depicting the last man on earth. The utilities alone must run 10 grand a month which most likely exceeds the all-inclusive profit from the stores combined. The "hiring" sign at 18 minutes is really peculiar. Stellar production Ace. Thanks for your hard work.
Ahhhh,,,
The mall where I ratted as a teen in the 80's.
The weird part is that retail in the immediate surroundings is booming, so the main culprit here is more changing shopping patterns than competition from KoP.
That and the fact the management kept raising rent on stores, driving out small sellers.
@@Vielika8517
Good reminder. Some want flat rent AND a percentage of daily sales.
Such as Amazon. Jim Bezos is single handedly killing an American tradition. The shopping mall.
the memories we made it this mall this and king or purssia are my two favorite malls
So sad to see this mall die down. I live down the street from it and haven’t been there in about a year 😔😔😔
Main Street at Exton opening up about 10-15 years ago didn't help matters much.
@sweeze Same. Between King of Prussia and Main Street, it's no wonder Exton Square is on life support. It's shocking to see that the effects have been this bad, to be honest.
i also grew up with this mall but in the 2000s. i love reading everyone in the comments talking about what this place was like in the 70s and 80s! what i miss is the old playground. i remember other kids getting stuck in the twisty pole, i wonder if that's why they took it down lol
Every store I worked at in this mall has closed which stinks. I remember as an awkward teen in high school my friends and I would wander around and grab food at the food court and it was PACKED. Parents would drop us off and we would push through the crowds to Hot Topic and eat pretzels on some sofas in the department stores like little weirdos. It’s crazy watching it go from such a booming mall to almost nothing
Got my ears pierced at pagoda and Claire’s, shopped for dresses for dances at Deb’s, hung out in borders, had scavenger hunts through the mall, would get my nails done, any last minute Christmas gift this was the place. It’s a shame what’s happening to smaller malls because KOP is TOO big for me. Exton was always the perfect size when I wanted to walk around and window shop or needed some new clothes etc. Will always miss the memories of this place!
Thank you for doing this video. Wish it could help it to stay open. It is a beautiful Mall. I have personally liked Exton Square Mall way more than KOP Mall.
Love your videos but especially loved seeing this amazing mall. It does have a unique aesthetic and is one of the cleanest dead malls I’ve seen.
These malls could become apartments with restaurants, bookstores, and shops.
I attended West Chester university from 2001-2005 I had several jobs at exton and it is where I formally started my shopping addiction lol. I just have so many fond memories of this mall 🤗🤗
When I was 2 we moved to Exton from Boothwyn. I remember when the mall was actually still square. And I remember hanging out there in high school, it was PACKED every day. Kind of sad to see it as a ghost town. Lots of fun memories there. I even worked at the bath and body works there in high school.
I grew up at this mall and it has definitely changed overtime. But I still love to go there just because of the memories
Same thing happened to Granite Run Mall in Media, Pa. It is a very sad to see this happen where many memories were made.
I used to go the Exton Square mall in the early 90s as well as the Exton Public Library. I lived on the border of Chester and Lancaster counties and it was a little closer the Park City. I think what really starting hurting the mall was the completion of the bypass around Exxon in the early to mid 90s, it made getting to King of Prussia much quicker. It was a nice video and brought back some nice memories.
It breaks my heart to have watched this mall fall apart from year to year. First it was Granite Run Mall now Exton. Many great years of shopping, hanging out with friends and my girls still go to see our favorite Santa during Christmas. The history is a lot I didn't know of. Thank you for the information!
The neon inside that Boscov's is so great.
Wow I remember working in this mall around 1997 at Gantos. Really enjoyed the mall and the people.
I had my first waffle fries at this Chik-Fil-A back in the mid-80s with a great friend.
I grew up in that area, and still go back to visit relatives. It is a beautiful space in that mall, and I hope it can be used in a new way, maybe put the stores in one part, offices in another, possibly a school in another? - the lighting is fabulous, and it has beautiful flooring.
Weird seeing the inside if the Boscov's. I haven't been inside one since 15 years ago. It still looks the same as it did when I went to mine. Gotta love the neon signs.
I used to work in this mall in 2018. Even pre-covid, it was pretty dead.
America is dead.
Only 1 of my childhood malls has gone into decline, but is being revitalized with small businesses. So, it’s still doing okay.
@Sidney Stoops I hope so. It recently lost JCPenney. It lost Sears in 2018, and Dillard’s became a clearance center in 2019. Macy’s and the Cinemark movie theater are still hanging on. The Sears became a cool grocery store called Zion Market. It’s about 65% occupied currently and anchored by Cinemark, Macy’s, Dillard’s Clearance Center, and Zion Market with 1 vacant anchor.
That’s good news. My main 80s mall is actually doing fairly well, although COVID shutdowns have hurt. I wouldn’t call it dead or even dying.
Wow. I used to come here with my friends when we were in high school. I had no idea it had gotten that bad in such a short amount of time. You’re right about the King of Prussia mall. It’s a shame, because I hate that mall. Like others have said, the parking is a nightmare and it’s unsafe. Somebody was shot there very close to my car 😕
Love the mall, but even more, love the Alex Trebek tribute! I might want to read his book now.
Love the KB Toys-esque department interior at the Boscov's especially the Lego shelving unit with the lit up logo :)
Wow. For a Mall constructed in the 1970's, the Exton Mall has really kept up, and shows well. New tiling, high quality railings, nice patterned steel. And it is clearly bright with the large skylights, and there is a consistency throughout of its cleanliness. Those wood trussed centered arboretum's really held up well, I believe if they were from the original 1970's build. The decor with the planters along side the upper deck is quite nice. High quality build, let's hope that they can rebound well after all of this! I like! Thank you for the great videos you do a fantastic service, and so much history you review is methodical. Well done Ace!!!
That was all from the redo in 2000. They added all of that. The mall is in good shape but it’s really sad to go in there. I’ve lived in Exton for the last 19 years and this is the only retail center in distress.
They re-did it entirely aroud 1999ish. This what you are seeing. I work across the street.
My best friend and I used to spend so much time here as kids, so sad
Wow, my old stomping grounds. I'm 49 years old now, but this was my home in my teens and before. I became long time friends with the operator of the aforementioned import games store. I spent a lot of time in the sam goodie record store and remember very well the indoor playground as a child. This was always my favorite place to go as a child. The memories.....
Exton itself is a growing area and Chester County is the most affluent in Pennsylvania so this being a dead mall is perplexing. Exton has two busy Targets and a busy Walmart. It had three other major shopping centers that are mostly occupied. A thousand new apartments are coming online within a mile of this mall along a few new housing developments. There is a lot of redevelopment potential with the property and I feel that’s why it’s in decline as a 70’s era mall.
I got friends in Chester county it's ruff that area!!!!!$
I suspect they probably priced themselves out even before the pandemic. I heard the rent for stores was astronomical. Add in COVID, and boom. You think this looks bad, now? Last I went there after 8pm, there might have been 6 stores open and about 60-70% vacancy. I've lived here my whole life and this mall was a big part of it - Really depressing to see where it is, now.
@@danielcalabrese9087 exton and Chester country Are a pretty rich area. It’s just a new age, malls are dead. The only mall in Pa doing well is KOP but that’s for obvious reasons.
Funny this is the first time your channel popped up on my recommendations feed, for one I watch Retail Archeology and Dan Bell and two I live only twenty or so minutes from the Exton Mall and have been to Round One a number of times. Great video. Instant subscriber. Love the aerial exterior shots.
used to go here all the time in middle and early high school. sucks to see it so stark and empty
The only place that my sister and I like to go to in there is Round 1. We plan to go every three months there. It’s a gorgeous mall. There just isn’t any other place that makes me want to go to that one more often. That would be awesome if you covered the Montgomery Mall next in North Wales, PA!
I never thought the fraze "seeing someone live your dream on TH-cam" would apply to a trip through a mall! xD been a wild year!
Was there on Black Friday and might have seen like 150 people. I remember going there like 5-6-7 years ago and it use to be packed!
I really like the floor tiling work.
Thank you for continuing to make and upload quality videos. Honestly I’m surprised you don’t have more subscribers. I personally look forward to them. Thanks.
Went here back in January, it was almost as dead then as it is now. So sad because of how awesome and busy it used to be, even just five years ago. But when a lot of big name stores began to pull out, a huge decline in customers went with them. Awesome video!
Used to come here all the time as a kid into my teen years. I’m 21 now. My fiancé and I came here in the beginning of our relationship. Many memories here. Crazy to see that it’s dying. My family and I always came to here or Concord as they are much closer. KOP was 45 mins away as opposed to Exton/Concord being 20 mins abt.
Ace, great work on the intro graphics and the music really fits the mall asthetic!
The Exton area is starting to grow, so that should help the mall. Two cool things in the exton Mall are Round1 (A large arcade) and Red Star (A pretty good bar) .
There would probably be more people there if the mall were fully open, this was clearly shot early in the morning before all the stores opened for the day lol. But I get it, it was probably the most "safe" time to film.
I grew up in King of Prussia and went to Exton on occasion. I live in Florida now. I remember when K of P only had the Plaza. Last time I was back up there was over 3 years ago. Crazy how much it changed. K of P has gotten crazy expensive.
Hey, local here, great video! I'm not sure if anyone else shared however Mallbrats fell through when Kevin Smith couldn't get the project picked up. I was working in the Exton Mall at the time and it was very disappointing as the mall was already on the decline. Thanks for making a trip and documenting as it's sad to see the place so empty now.
You correctly mention a number of the drivers as to this mall's decline including nearby King of Prussia...I'd also include that Exton's close proximity to tax-free Delaware is a drag on local retailers.
Many people have doggone the way of online shopping which never take the place of actually going to the store and trying it on and taking a friend or two along and making memories and then actually deciding if the garment is the right fit or not. Don't get that experience shopping online. We will always need our malls. A great place to eat, have family time, go on a date, bring grp of friends and make memories while you shop at your fav stores. This is my neighborhood mall and I appreciate this mall. Many memories and I pray for it to stay open. Round 1 is also a fun place. When people stop connecting and reaching out, more malls will close and not just because of stupid causes pandemic. Wish my mall well and glad it's still here.
I used to beeeeggg to be able to go to the mall on a Friday night in 8th grade because it was where all the cool kinds hung out and every single store was operating! It's crazy how much can change in 9 years!! This video made me so happy because I'm not sure by the time I visit home next if it's still gonna be here but this video will make it live on!! Thanks so much!!
Oh my I grew up in this mall the memories ... ... gosh I'm old
When I worked for a construction company out of Denver CO, we built the Chick-fil-A in the Exton, Granite Run, Berkshire, and Philadelphia Penn Central malls. Great company!
I used to go to this mall with my friends every Friday in middle school. So sad to see it go from such a lively place to this :(
I worked at that Sears for a while after high school. This video makes me both so sad and nostalgic
Used to work at this mall. So sad to see all these malls just die
grew up in the area. had an odd layout originally since Strawbridge's was in the center of mall and all sections fanned out from that.
Such a gorgeous looking mall, so sad it's a dead mall.
It was the hangout back on the day. It's been dying for a long time.
Hey, the Crystal Mall in Waterford, CT was just given back to the bank by the Simon Group - you should take a look, it's sad...
We lost our Children's Place here in Cornwall, back in October. Our only inside mall is slowly dying. The food court has only 3 restaurants right now. We used to have a grocery store in it which really helped. The Exton Square Mall is a beautiful looking mall. Aesthetics are amazing. Especially those 80's neon signs in the Boscov's.
I live nearby and since you've been there, the Francesca's closed and the Express is going out of business as of yesterday...
😳
Pretty sweet mall. The anchors are certainly classics while the mall interior looks modern.
Beautiful video, and thanks for the alex tribute... nice mall but yes unfortunately its days are numbered
I lived in exton 10yrs ago, then move to hawaii, moved back here(next door) 2yrs ago and comparing both times, the first time I lived here there were less people in exton but that mall was so busy, now there is so much movement here but the exton square mall is dead, and its not just bcuz of covid-19 even before this pandemic the mall wasn't as busy.. online retailers rule..
Wow...Exton mall was our "go to" when I attended West Chester University from '03-'06....things have changed a lot since then!!
Malls in the 70s and 80s were entertaining and the place to go.
this is so sad, we had a mall in Birmingham that is now being torn down after closing almost 20 yrs ago. I miss it.
Good ole century plaza the galleria will be next
@@unclemonster48 you are probably right because of all the violence that has happened in the last few yrs there.
@@kellycranford3592 and the online shopping
Went to WCU and lived in the area for 6 years. Loved exton mall man. Havent been there in over 10 years.. its sad to see this
I live in a small town of about 65,000 people and our local mall is on the the way out. The last anchor store, JC Penny's, just closed. The mall had a Burkes Outlet however it is no longer in the mall as they built a stand alone store. Even GNC moved out of the mall. What we do have in the mall is a small computer/cell phone repair business, an actual store that sells vinyl records both new and used, and several women clothing stores. Even the mall security office closed.
If it comes to what you are predicting, super malls, guess what I for one will not be going as the closet major city is a two hour drive away and a city of almost a million people is a 4.5 hour drive away. I will continue what I do for computer parts but on a much broader scale, order from Amazon where I can get overnight and if I need to return it either do it through Kohls or the local UPS Store.
Rev George
I moved to Exton from Tampa, FL about two years ago. I went to the mall exactly one time and never decided to go again.
I worked at Strawbridges, at Radio Shack when I was in the corner, & at Claire's at the other end of that hall. Sad to see what it's become.
This is my mall--Dead is just about right and its a damn shame.
I still have hope but I'm not sure.
We got get through covid first then we can think about any comebacks for retailers.
Thinking about Christmas shopping with my Mother and my daughter. Beautiful decorations. And I took my granddaughter to see Santa for the first time. I'm sad but at least of I have good memories.
I spent SO much time in this mall between 1990 - 1994!!! Back then Strawbridges was the anchor - right in the center of the mall!!
Good memories!
Sorry to see it in decline.
Another mall from my childhood/adolescence...
I grew up with both the Exton Mall and the King of Prussia Mall. King of Prussia I believe was around a little before Exton. I currently live one township over from Exton Mall but used to live in West Whiteland about 30 years ago. It's sad to see malls die, especially ones you know so well. I haven't been to Exton Mall probably in two years. It's just not a place I go to anymore, and I think the trend to "hang at the mall" is an art that's dying all over. Sad :(
I was on the roof of that mall in 1998. I was working for AT&t wireless. We had a store in the mall which had no signal, so I had to go on the roof and put up an antenna and have people install a repeater.
Another thing is that exton town center and a couple of other very nice strip like malls are nearby..the is so much competition in this area when it comes to retail choices and restaurants . but the area has become overbuild and vey conjested. I used to live in west chester right near the university about ten mins from the mall
I can vividly remember the slightly sunken child play area at the one entrance. Video arcade off to the side. The large fiberglass seals, the rudimentary Labyrinth maze. Quintessential place for parents to tell their kids to stay while they did shopping.
I lived near exton for years. In 2011/2012 this mall was still going strong and showed no signs of slowing down. Kinda sad to see it this way now.
He must have gone at a strange time because I was just at that Boscovs yesterday at about 5 or 6 p.m. and its still pretty busy.
This mall is nice, I’ve actually never been. Granite Run Mall is gone, it’s now a strip mall. There’s also near by Plymouth Meeting Mall which has been going downhill since Macy’s left years ago. When the anchor stores go in the mall it becomes a detriment to the other stores. In the Philadelphia area, King of Prussia Mall is “King”, the stores are both exclusive and affordable and the location is accessible.
Scary... I grew up in this mall. Times change.
I lived in Exton untill I moved 3 years ago. I remember when this mall was full and always crowded. I used to go to JC penny and Sears all the time. I used to see Santa hear to. Sad to see the food court only has 2 businesses now