There's several reasons as to why many malls today have died, depending on the mall and where its at. Demographic shifts, the fact that we as a society built too many malls (Greenville, SC at one point in time had 5 or 6 malls at once, a city with a population of 72k people today), online shopping, the failure of retail brands and anchor stores, cities dying where prosperity once existed, etc.
I just wanted to mention how much I enjoy the nostalgia of shopping malls, even though they are becoming less common. They bring back great memories and make me proud to have grown up in the 80s and 90s, experiencing them firsthand.
I moved to Georgia in 1990 I would drive from Lithonia Ga to Northlake Mall. This video brings back so many wonderful memories. I loved this mall. Especially loved shopping there at Christmas time and eating at the food court.
Oh my goodness! THIS mall was my childhood in the early 90s! I couldn’t tell you how many Saturdays were spent walking up and down this mall with my mom and grandma. While you were walking upstairs and downstairs, I was pointing out all the storefronts I could remember as a child: The Limited and Lane Bryant was next to Macy’s upstairs, KB Toys, Victoria’s Secret had pink carpet, JC Penney, Sears, the Gap, the Disney Store downstairs, Old Navy, New York & Company, Pretzel Time downstairs and Great American Cookie just to name a few. I remember throwing pennies in the fountain and even took a pic with the Easter bunny here when I was about 4 years old. I also remember be cast of the Young and Restless had a meet and greet and all the women were yelling and screaming at the actors lol. So many memories with this mall. I think the last time I stepped foot was 2020 when JC Penney had their out of business sale. I wonder how it’s going to look once Emory Healthcare finishes the redevelopment. This was my early childhood ❤
This was my favorite mall in the 90"s. I used to ride Marta to this mall from Clarkson high and spend my whole check that I earned from checkers at the parision store. Ahhh nostalgia
oh and stamp and coin if you liked card games. also that food court was amazing. they had like a middle eastern white sauce chicken OMG. oh and my best friends mom worked in that macy's
We 60's, 70's and 80's babies never would've thought during our teen years that one day malls would go out of style. It seems like shopping areas that are in more denser areas last longer like the Cumberland Mall...To the unashamed people over 35 like myself who were once mall rats as teens.
I grew up at this mall for the 70s thru the 90s. My 1st job was at McCoy's. Would catch Marta from Henderson high to the mall. What good times were had in there! Great memories seeing this video!
My grandma worked at Macy’s all through my childhood into my adulthood. I spent my afternoons after school running around this mall, window shopping, meeting up with friends, and dreaming of the day when I was older and could really shop there. So sad to see it essentially gone. It’s the end of an era.
I appreciate this video. My brother just told me that the Macy’s was closing. I wanted to see the mall. But right now my mobility is limited. I appreciate this video. Thanks
Thank you for the video of my childhood mall. My first two jobs were there (Cookies, Etc and Kay Bee Toy & Hobby) in the 80s. My older brother and sister also worked at Northlake in high school. A couple corrections. I would say that online shopping and not violence is what casued the downturn of this mall. Northlake is surrounded mainly by residential neighborhoods that overall have always been very safe. There have been more shootings at Lenox and Perimeter (which is NOT an in-town mall, btw). I do not ever recall hearing of a shooting at Northlake. I remember that elevator working. The food court was not added but was expanded in 1993. Chick-fil-A had been there next to Gold Mine since the early/mid 80s, and my first job was selling cookies next door to CFA.
Thanks for this comment. I was merely trying to rationalize why the mall would fail given the relatively low amount of crime in the area (atleast that's what I'm under the impression of) and it's affluent status given the high household income. I'm aware crime actually happens very often at Lenox Square, but that's just where my mind went to: people potentially driving into the city for those malls instead.
This was one of the malls of my teenage years. I went to Henderson High and then Lakeside. I was in the marching band and my friends were on the dance team, so we would hang out here on Fridays after school until it was time to report for Friday night football games. I also worked in the area as an adult and would pop in for lunch or quick shopping trips.
Nicely done video! I have so many fond memories of this Mall. Back in high school (and before we could drive), we'd get our parents to drop us off on Saturday afternoons and we'd spend the next several hours going into just about every store. It was also popular back then for most people to where their school jackets so you could easily spot rival schools. We were Lakeside, the others we would see would be mostly Henderson and Tucker. I absolutely loved Record Bar and of course, Spencer's was also a lot of fun.
Great comments and so true. I went to Druid Hills, and had so many friends at Lakeside and Henderson. It was a great place. We used to have our birthday parties at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in the 70’s.
I miss the dekalb mall era in the 80s and 90s... So many great memories from dates to hanging out with friends shopping eating at the food court etc. I remember when Avondale Mall was alive and thriving, North Dekalb Mall used to be the spot ,Northlake and even South Dekalb mall were dope spots. It's sad that all of these malls are either dead or a shell of what they used to be...
It was cool watching this video. I went to Lakeside High School in the 90's and worked at JC Penney's and Wendy's. I was even on the Northlake Mall Teen Board. We would hand out candy during Halloween, do mall fashion shows and community service work with other kids from different high schools in the area. I have so many great memories at Northlake Mall!
Great video of Northlake Mall. This was my go to mall back in the late 70's and 80's. My friends and I would hang out at the video arcade for hours on weekends. I was stunned to see the Stamp & Coin shop is still there! I was big into coin collecting back then and this shop was my favorite to visit. Great job providing all the mall history. This really brings back the memories. Thanks!
Drove by it yesterday. Had a lot of memories from this place, like the ill-fated arcade "The Gold Mine" which closed sometime in '92 sadly. The big Parisian addition and renovation you mentioned got people a bit more excited about it for a little while when I was in HS. I liked the bookstore, can't remember if it was Walden or another chain. And a girl that worked at the Suncoast was apparently flirting with me but I was too dense to get it. As for the fountains...they were just loud. You weren't missing much. The "Trading card" store is Challenges Comics & Games. The history of it comes from two different establishments. There was a Comic and games store on Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain for a long time. Meanwhile, at North Dekalb Mall/Market Square, there was a video game arcade called Challenges. When Challenges went out of business, the owner of the comic book store acquired its space and moved operations there, while keeping the name of the arcade. Once North Dekalb's days were numbered, he moved to Northlake.
Great video! I lived in Tucker in the late 90s and early 00s, and Northlake was a great mall with nice stores and a nice food court. I shopped there many, many times, and I'm sad to see it fail like so many other malls.
Wow… I haven’t been to Northlake in years. I used to get my nails done at the shop on the top level and remember the man that sold rare coins and other collectibles on the same level. My apartment was just a few minutes away from there. Brings back so many memories. Thanks for the video!
This was my childhood mall. I moved to the area in 1992. My elementary school was in walking distance of this mall, and I have fond memories of meeting up with friends after school or on weekends. This was of course when elementary schools went up to the 7th grade 😂. This mall was the epitome of everything in one place. The food court was such a bustling place. All kinds of cuisines and events. They used to have a date night type event where they would have a live band or live piano and they would clear some tables to make room for a makeshift dance floor. JCPenney was the place to go to for family photos and haircuts. Sears Auto center was one of the best in town. My favorite haunts were the Walden bookstore, sharper image, sunset video store, things remembered, and so many others. I chuckled at the Wilson's Leather because I used to love to browse the shop and gush over all the leather goods I couldn't afford. Lerner Shops later turned into New York and Co. But I could go on and on about how impactful this mall was to my childhood/adolescence. Thanks for taking me down memory lane.
Thank you so much for this very informative video about one of my favorite malls when I was growing up! I had my first job here at a women’s/juniors clothing store in the late 70’s (cannot recall the name - shows how long ago it has been - it wasn’t Lerner’s…🤔). My high school chorus had Christmas concerts here… our school also had a bus stop here. I’ve moved away from Atlanta, but wondered about the state of Northlake, because so many malls have gone under in recent years. Please keep making more videos such as this one!
I worked at J C. Penneys, Frederick's of Hollywood, and Motherhood Maternity back in the 80s. My best friend and I would take the bus to the mall and spend the day there when we were 15-17. We would always eat at El Chicos. Great memories! Sorry to see it like this.
Very nice mall. With the amount of people that have crushed into Atlanta, I would think it could survive… but no. There’s so many different design styles in this mall, it looks like 4 videos of different malls put together.
So many memories growing up down the street from this mall in my teenage years. I even worked at the Macys for the holidays. And sold a old coin i found at that store when in middle school. Use to be 2 Chinese restaurants in the food court always competing lol the food court was the heartbeat for a while.
Late 1990's my girlfriend at the time worked at the Victoria's Secret store at Northlake and would go there to eat lunch with her. So sad to see the state of the mall today from what it was back then.
Really good video. I was just in there making a video and was turned away by security. 😂😂 Guess I’ll have to come back another day to finish. Great channel!
Remember getting my tough skin jeans at Sears back in the day, I remember a shark hanging on the wall in Sears back in the 70’s I could be wrong. Live in the country now and young people just don’t understand “ hanging at the Mall” all day. Great memories for me
Been in this place easily 1000 times between the late 70s and early 90s, and worked in the food court 93-94. Most memorable weird celebrity moment was Iman’s visit ca 93 at the JC Penney promoting her perfume line.
This was my mall growing up. I would ride my bike here as a kid to go to the Stamp and Coin to get baseball cards. So many memories of hanging out here in highschool and buying CDs. The Gold Mine was a great arcade. I remember when they got Street Fighter 2. Good times.
I was there three weeks ago , and used to ride the bus to Northlake to shop for school shoes when I was in high school in 2000. It’s crazy how many shops are closed , and not in business. I actually found and bought some shoes from the shoe store open down stairs.
This was the mall we went to when I was a kid. I got my ears pierced at Piercing Pagoda, bought new shoes at Stride Rite, and loved to eat at Piccadilly. I even went to a dentist down by Sears for a while. I worked at Payless in high school. Lots of great memories at this mall. All these dead malls make me a bit sad because they were such a huge part of growing up in the 80s and 90s.
I lived just a mile north of Northlake Mall on Henderson Mill Rd, from April 1997 to January 2019. My brother-in-law used to own a hairstyling salon in the mall. Much of the issue with the mall was how much the rents went up for the mom & pop stores over the years. Another big issue was the mall not allowing public transit buses through the parking lot (both MARTA and the Emory University shuttles), & finally many of the mall security guards seemed to not realize that they were not the police in the areas surrounding the mall, but not on mall property.
So sad! Back in the 80's, my friends and I would work out at Northlake, eat at Piccadilly's, then flame the mall. It was great! Now it looks eerie, like my hometown.. nothing there.
In 1978 my high school band stayed near this mall when we visited from Augusta to March in the Peach Bowl Parade. We ate at Sears. I later moved to Atlanta and enjoyed shopping there. Parisians was my favorite store.
Graduated HS in 1975. This was one of my favorite malls to go to. I'll speculate that the reason it withered is because of perceived safety issues. Teens would gather and shoppers were intimidated. As Atlanta became more "urban" (read that however you like) people stayed away from the malls. For reference, check out Arbor Place in Douglasville. It's not nearly as far along, in that regard. Yet. But it's perceived by some as a good place to get robbed.
Great video ..fond memories of the NL Mall since I grew up in Tucker El Chicos was inside on the right side of the.main entrance Opposite side was Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor So much fun. Family and High School hang out The biggest punch bowl full of ice cream My family found our dog at the petshop on the lower level outside of Sears. Learned a new term, tenant rot. Lol I didn't realize Penny's had vacated. They tried hard to remain there. New subscriber. Thanks .
So funny you mentioned Farrell’s. We also as kids had our birthday parties there and remember that huge bowl of ice cream that they served and the guys wearing the red and white striped old-fashioned coats and the hats they wore. I went to Druid Hills. It was great area to grow up in.
Macys 3rd floor is their call center. It was a regional office once. I worked there in management from 2022-2023 and just as with Northpoint anchors can no longer pull in traffic. Northpoint is lucky only because it’s in affluent Alpharetta Milton. But when Mall Management allowed Apple Pottery Barn and others to walk (Avalon)without replacing them with stores that carry everyday needs basically is why it’s dying. Although Northpoint now is rumored to be part of that hockey arena shopping single family mixed use project. Back to Northlake. The criminal element killed Northlake. Even while I was working there recently Loss Prevention spent more time chasing petty crooks dealing with theft(both external and internal) and it’s just what’s going on in the surrounding areas. Yes Henderson Mill has 500k homes but those folks that shop are elderly and not the primary traffic. I can’t say what I really want to say so I’ll go back to Macys leaving. They did it to themselves as for the under performing stores as Last Act & Backstage damaged the brand. They should let Marshals and TJ Maxx do what they do best and stick to their own niche market. No one’s paying full price at Macy’s. If they know that the same full price item will be in last act eventually. Dillards does it right.
I spent a lot of time in the 70s and 80s at Northlake mall when I was growing up. The end of the video where you are heading out of the mall reminded me that Ferrell's was on the right side and El Chico was on the left side. My favorites were The Gold Mine arcade, Oshman's Sporting Goods and McCrory's. Good times and good memories. Anyone remember Orange Bowl Pizza?
I think the problem is that Atlanta had too many malls in the metro area to sustain viability for changing times, especially with online shopping. North Lake, North DeKalb, and even Southlake, etc., were nice and thriving malls in the 80s, 90s, and early 00s. It's a greatly missed era.
@@TheMallFox Cumberland Mall Town Center at Cobb North Point Mall Perimeter Mall Arbor Place Mall Gwinnett Place Mall Mall of Georgia Sugarloaf Mills Lenox Square Phipps Plaza North lake Mall North DeKalb Mall South DeKalb Mall Mall at Stone Crest Greenbriar Mall Galleria Specialty Mall Avondale Mall The Mall West End Cobb Center Mall Shannon Mall Southlake Mall
Today, only Lenox Square, Cumberland, Mall of Georgia, Perimeter, Sugarloaf, Phipps, North Point, and Arbor Place are the only ones that are healthy. Town Center at Cobb is probably the best of the declining malls as most of its stores are still open. Ownership issues are a problem, however. Also needs to pave the parking lot. Gwinnett PLACE, northlake, West End ,and South DeKalb, will be closed within five years, most likely. Gwinnett is practically there. North Point Mall is to be converted to mostly an outdoor shopping mall sometimes in the next ten years. It is still healthy, but I see this move as the city leaders of Alpharetta anticipating a decline and want to get ahead of that by going more outdoor. Mall at Stonecrest has some empty storefronts and an anchor or two gone, but although it still has most of its stores, the mall is losing money. North DeKalb, Shannon, Cobb Center, and Avondale are gone, and some decades ago. Galleria Specialty Mall was half occupied by the convention center in 1994. It is now a shell of its former status. Southlake and Greenbriar will probably be around but much diminished from their heydays.
@@willp.8120 Northpoint IMO is way worse off than Town Center at Cobb. It's hurting bad, bleeding tenants left and right. Cobb still has tenants that NP has lost
I used to love this mall back in the 80s & 90s. I also used to work at Piccadilly when it was located inside the mall. Ruby Tuesdays used to be inside the mall also.
So sad. I grew up going to this mall in the 80s and 90s. There was a Piccadilly near Sears that had these conveyer belts for tray returns. They would run a train on a circular track in the center and I would beg my parents to let me ride. My aunt worked at the full sit-down Chick-fil-A before the Food Court addition was built. There was a store for kids clothes that had an indoor play area for the kids. My grandparents lived close by and often when the family came in to visit at Christmas and Thanksgiving there would always be someone going to the mall. My aunts took me on shopping trips. So many memories.
Wow this brings back memories. I worked as an overnight janitor at Northlake in the mid 2000s. I cleaned and buffed floors on the ground level. I was also responsible for the nightly cleaning of the restrooms near the food court.
"Northlake Mall" or "Northlake" not "The Northlake Mall". The game/trading card shop is there because they were forced out of North DeKalb mall before it was demolished. :-( BTW Northlake Stamp & Coin (which you passed coming in the front entrance) is probably the longest running tenant there. Same owner since at least 1978.
Love this little mall between this and when North Dekalb existed, I never had to go far whenever I needed to buy clothes. Sucks that America's malls are now more like historical sites instead of thriving businesses like they were 30 years ago
This use to be my mall back in the early 90's. I went to Lakeside High and my mom would take me here to shop at my favorite store which was Contempo Casuals. This mall is pitiful now.
This was my childhood mall!!! I remember when it was at its prime (early 00's) . I would get my nails done, have an Orange Julius, then go to Victoria's Secret to look around. Never thought it would be what it is today but I guess that's life.
I went to Northlake many times in the 70s through 90s. I worked behind the mall but that office complex was torn down and replaced by apartments. It was a busy and popular mall. This is pretty shocking. The area has changed a lot.
Ohhh I remember this mall totally forgot about it my parents use to take me here in the 90s and early 2000s I believe we stopped going because they just didn’t have nothing
This is so sad. I grew up in a neighborhood 10 minutes from this mall. It was the in place to shop for years in the Decatur//Tucker area. When we were kids in the 70’s, we all had our birthday parties at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor which was facing Briarcliff Road at the main entrance of the mall. My grandmother worked at Davison’s in the china department for years ( which later became Macy’s ). So many great restaurants in the area then as well, all gone. The other mall mentioned in this video-Greenbrier Mall in South DeKalb was a cool place as well. It was home to Rich’s department store and for those who may not know…the very first Chick Fil A restaurant outside of the original location in south Atlanta was in this mall. It had about six desk type seats, red tile floors and a very limited menu compared to what they now have. If you go to a Chick-fil-A now and see storyboards of their history, you will see a picture of that location in Greenbriar Mall. Unfortunately that area now is totally rundown ghetto hood.
My mom delivers mail here I wonder if you seen her 🤔😂 she is always telling me about sales macys has and a popular jewelry store is nearby with a lot of celebrities buying stuff there I also believe Emory University owns half of it
Now I live down here on the south side, and it's amazing how Greenbriar mall still manages to pull a significant crowd on Saturdays and Sunday, yet it in no way has the same size, levels or opulence that the bigger counterparts had. Honestly, I think the thing that's killing malls are the 'Mall Prices'. When you can get things online for a much lower price than the mall...goodbye mall experience and eventually, goodbye mall.
I met so many females there on Saturday back in HS in the late 80s early 90s lol! Great times great memories! I remember shopping at JRiggins, Britches and many other stores that were in the mall back then
It gave me my first job at 16 in ‘88 in Robby’s Champs Sports. Drove from school right down LaVista for a year and a half with breaks for playing football. RIP.
When I was there, all I could think of was that it would make a good museum or multiple corporate business' extended branch office locations. When you mentioned Greenbrier...😮 Greenbrier looks nuked 3rd world. It is a far cry from when celebrities could be spotted there 30+ years ago.
I remember Northlake from when I was a kid. Back in the mid 70s, this is where we go if we wanted to slightly more upscale experience. When I got my license in ‘74, it was a place you might go on a date. There was a Steak and Ale restaurant across 285 on La Vista. There was also a nice restaurant on the backside of Northlake and I can’t remember the name (The Old Mill or similar) . I remember going there many with my girlfriend( my wife since 1980). By the way, that cards and coin shop has been there since the 70s. My wife bought her brother several birthday presents there because he was into coins and such. To the best of my recollection, it has not moved from the location you have on this video. For those of us in the eastern suburbs, Northlake was Kind of special. It’s sad to see what time has done to the place.
Macys just announced they're leaving. Speculation is that Kroger may take some space for a regional office HQ that may also have a retail store, which Kroger badly needs. The nearby existing retail store is ancient and not worth renovation.
Northlake Mall is almost as old as I am. We did our back to school shopping there. I remember when it was a bustling Mall. It looks like they are trying to repurpose it. The area is going through gentrification.
I went to this mall a few times back in the 90s, there was a nice arcade there. Online shopping definitely has put some of these out of business, but I really do think that quality is what keeps a mall alive when you start seeing B and C tier brands pop up you know the mall is dying. The shootings and any bad publicity didn't help of course.
My mom and I used to shop here back in the early 80’s when Davison's was still there. I never remember it being as popular as Lenox or Perimeter, but it had a steady clientele. I think changing demographics in the area along with the lack of upscale tenants led to the mall's demise.
This used to be one of my favorite malls, it’s so sad how they are shutting these malls down. It’s basically Emory cdc thingy, the food court is dead. It’s over
Aww the memories. What was the name of the ice Cream place at the entrance upstairs. I think later it became a Ruby Tuesday. I use to love going there as a child. My family always went here to see santa and ride the train. Wonderful memories of this place. My teen years walking up and down the mall with my friend. Got my ears pierced everytime upstairs at the little kiosk jewelry store in the middle close to Macy's. Last time i was there was around 2006. Took my son there for his first two Christmas pictures until moved further out away from Atlanta. Thanks for the memories!!
Damn, this is rough seeing the place like this. Used to work at the Gamestop, which is now closed according to this video. Went to a couple fighting game tournaments ran by DATAFGC in the food court, too. Seeing that same food court being desolate is insane. That Tokyo Express had the bomb ass Mongolian Beef.
I met my wife at this mall when we were in high school. She went to Henderson I attended McNair. We have now been married for 21 years.
You were far away from home playa.
Dope! I went to McNair as well.
My mom and her siblings went there as well as my brother. We’re from Gresham rd lol. Such a small world.
McNair guys are the best🥰may God continue to bless yall🙏🏽
@@marckristian81them shits like 20mins apart that aint far lol
This is so sad! This was one of three malls I frequented as a teenager. This mall was glorious in its day. 😢❤
online shopping is what has destroyed the malls
There's several reasons as to why many malls today have died, depending on the mall and where its at. Demographic shifts, the fact that we as a society built too many malls (Greenville, SC at one point in time had 5 or 6 malls at once, a city with a population of 72k people today), online shopping, the failure of retail brands and anchor stores, cities dying where prosperity once existed, etc.
I just wanted to mention how much I enjoy the nostalgia of shopping malls, even though they are becoming less common. They bring back great memories and make me proud to have grown up in the 80s and 90s, experiencing them firsthand.
The experience for sure.
I moved to Georgia in 1990 I would drive from Lithonia Ga to Northlake Mall. This video brings back so many wonderful memories. I loved this mall. Especially loved shopping there at Christmas time and eating at the food court.
My stomping grounds! Didn't know it opened back in '71! I worked here in the mid' 90s, man those were the good old days.
Good times!
Oh my goodness! THIS mall was my childhood in the early 90s! I couldn’t tell you how many Saturdays were spent walking up and down this mall with my mom and grandma. While you were walking upstairs and downstairs, I was pointing out all the storefronts I could remember as a child: The Limited and Lane Bryant was next to Macy’s upstairs, KB Toys, Victoria’s Secret had pink carpet, JC Penney, Sears, the Gap, the Disney Store downstairs, Old Navy, New York & Company, Pretzel Time downstairs and Great American Cookie just to name a few. I remember throwing pennies in the fountain and even took a pic with the Easter bunny here when I was about 4 years old. I also remember be cast of the Young and Restless had a meet and greet and all the women were yelling and screaming at the actors lol. So many memories with this mall. I think the last time I stepped foot was 2020 when JC Penney had their out of business sale. I wonder how it’s going to look once Emory Healthcare finishes the redevelopment. This was my early childhood ❤
They taking all of our memories away!!😢
This was my favorite mall in the 90"s. I used to ride Marta to this mall from Clarkson high and spend my whole check that I earned from checkers at the parision store. Ahhh nostalgia
Thanks for sharing!
Mine too! Never thought it would end up like this.
oh and stamp and coin if you liked card games. also that food court was amazing. they had like a middle eastern white sauce chicken OMG. oh and my best friends mom worked in that macy's
I miss Parisian’s dept store. It was really nice.
I forgot all about Parisians.
Good quality clothing. Too bad they are gone.
We 60's, 70's and 80's babies never would've thought during our teen years that one day malls would go out of style. It seems like shopping areas that are in more denser areas last longer like the Cumberland Mall...To the unashamed people over 35 like myself who were once mall rats as teens.
I grew up at this mall for the 70s thru the 90s. My 1st job was at McCoy's. Would catch Marta from Henderson high to the mall. What good times were had in there! Great memories seeing this video!
My grandma worked at Macy’s all through my childhood into my adulthood. I spent my afternoons after school running around this mall, window shopping, meeting up with friends, and dreaming of the day when I was older and could really shop there. So sad to see it essentially gone. It’s the end of an era.
I appreciate this video. My brother just told me that the Macy’s was closing. I wanted to see the mall. But right now my mobility is limited. I appreciate this video. Thanks
Awww Northlake! It’s been so long! I can still smell the pretzels 🥨
Thank you for the video of my childhood mall. My first two jobs were there (Cookies, Etc and Kay Bee Toy & Hobby) in the 80s. My older brother and sister also worked at Northlake in high school. A couple corrections. I would say that online shopping and not violence is what casued the downturn of this mall. Northlake is surrounded mainly by residential neighborhoods that overall have always been very safe. There have been more shootings at Lenox and Perimeter (which is NOT an in-town mall, btw). I do not ever recall hearing of a shooting at Northlake. I remember that elevator working. The food court was not added but was expanded in 1993. Chick-fil-A had been there next to Gold Mine since the early/mid 80s, and my first job was selling cookies next door to CFA.
Thanks for this comment. I was merely trying to rationalize why the mall would fail given the relatively low amount of crime in the area (atleast that's what I'm under the impression of) and it's affluent status given the high household income. I'm aware crime actually happens very often at Lenox Square, but that's just where my mind went to: people potentially driving into the city for those malls instead.
This was one of the malls of my teenage years. I went to Henderson High and then Lakeside. I was in the marching band and my friends were on the dance team, so we would hang out here on Fridays after school until it was time to report for Friday night football games. I also worked in the area as an adult and would pop in for lunch or quick shopping trips.
Just wow! We would always frequent Northlake and North Dekalb. There used to be a Benigans restaurant behind Northlake. Good times!
Nicely done video! I have so many fond memories of this Mall. Back in high school (and before we could drive), we'd get our parents to drop us off on Saturday afternoons and we'd spend the next several hours going into just about every store. It was also popular back then for most people to where their school jackets so you could easily spot rival schools. We were Lakeside, the others we would see would be mostly Henderson and Tucker. I absolutely loved Record Bar and of course, Spencer's was also a lot of fun.
Great comments and so true. I went to Druid Hills, and had so many friends at Lakeside and Henderson. It was a great place. We used to have our birthday parties at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in the 70’s.
I miss the dekalb mall era in the 80s and 90s... So many great memories from dates to hanging out with friends shopping eating at the food court etc. I remember when Avondale Mall was alive and thriving, North Dekalb Mall used to be the spot ,Northlake and even South Dekalb mall were dope spots. It's sad that all of these malls are either dead or a shell of what they used to be...
Yep! Avondale mall had one of the best movie theaters back then. Lol! Memories!
It was cool watching this video. I went to Lakeside High School in the 90's and worked at JC Penney's and Wendy's. I was even on the Northlake Mall Teen Board. We would hand out candy during Halloween, do mall fashion shows and community service work with other kids from different high schools in the area. I have so many great memories at Northlake Mall!
I went to Lakeside too! Class of 92.
@politicallyincorrect2399 I love meeting another Viking! We just missed each other. I started there in 93 as a freshman.
Great video of Northlake Mall. This was my go to mall back in the late 70's and 80's. My friends and I would hang out at the video arcade for hours on weekends. I was stunned to see the Stamp & Coin shop is still there! I was big into coin collecting back then and this shop was my favorite to visit. Great job providing all the mall history. This really brings back the memories. Thanks!
That's for the shopping memories..Northlake you had a good run..🛍🛍🛍
Drove by it yesterday. Had a lot of memories from this place, like the ill-fated arcade "The Gold Mine" which closed sometime in '92 sadly. The big Parisian addition and renovation you mentioned got people a bit more excited about it for a little while when I was in HS. I liked the bookstore, can't remember if it was Walden or another chain. And a girl that worked at the Suncoast was apparently flirting with me but I was too dense to get it.
As for the fountains...they were just loud. You weren't missing much.
The "Trading card" store is Challenges Comics & Games. The history of it comes from two different establishments. There was a Comic and games store on Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain for a long time. Meanwhile, at North Dekalb Mall/Market Square, there was a video game arcade called Challenges. When Challenges went out of business, the owner of the comic book store acquired its space and moved operations there, while keeping the name of the arcade. Once North Dekalb's days were numbered, he moved to Northlake.
I thought I was the only one that remembered Gold mine. Can't forget the Omni too.
Wow! Lots of good times shopping here in my teens. 😢
Great video! I lived in Tucker in the late 90s and early 00s, and Northlake was a great mall with nice stores and a nice food court. I shopped there many, many times, and I'm sad to see it fail like so many other malls.
Famous Famous TheMallFox Furry. 🐾🐾
Wow… I haven’t been to Northlake in years. I used to get my nails done at the shop on the top level and remember the man that sold rare coins and other collectibles on the same level. My apartment was just a few minutes away from there. Brings back so many memories. Thanks for the video!
This is crazy! I have so many memories in this mall. Wow!
This was my childhood mall. I moved to the area in 1992. My elementary school was in walking distance of this mall, and I have fond memories of meeting up with friends after school or on weekends. This was of course when elementary schools went up to the 7th grade 😂. This mall was the epitome of everything in one place. The food court was such a bustling place. All kinds of cuisines and events. They used to have a date night type event where they would have a live band or live piano and they would clear some tables to make room for a makeshift dance floor. JCPenney was the place to go to for family photos and haircuts. Sears Auto center was one of the best in town. My favorite haunts were the Walden bookstore, sharper image, sunset video store, things remembered, and so many others. I chuckled at the Wilson's Leather because I used to love to browse the shop and gush over all the leather goods I couldn't afford. Lerner Shops later turned into New York and Co. But I could go on and on about how impactful this mall was to my childhood/adolescence. Thanks for taking me down memory lane.
When they closed the Great American Cookie there I was crushed!!
Thank you so much for this very informative video about one of my favorite malls when I was growing up! I had my first job here at a women’s/juniors clothing store in the late 70’s (cannot recall the name - shows how long ago it has been - it wasn’t Lerner’s…🤔). My high school chorus had Christmas concerts here… our school also had a bus stop here. I’ve moved away from Atlanta, but wondered about the state of Northlake, because so many malls have gone under in recent years. Please keep making more videos such as this one!
Dead malls are sad. Growing up in the 70’s & 80’s it was an absolute treat to go to the mall. I hate that they are a thing of a bygone era.
I worked at J C. Penneys, Frederick's of Hollywood, and Motherhood Maternity back in the 80s. My best friend and I would take the bus to the mall and spend the day there when we were 15-17. We would always eat at El Chicos. Great memories! Sorry to see it like this.
Very nice mall. With the amount of people that have crushed into Atlanta, I would think it could survive… but no.
There’s so many different design styles in this mall, it looks like 4 videos of different malls put together.
So many memories growing up down the street from this mall in my teenage years. I even worked at the Macys for the holidays. And sold a old coin i found at that store when in middle school. Use to be 2 Chinese restaurants in the food court always competing lol the food court was the heartbeat for a while.
Late 1990's my girlfriend at the time worked at the Victoria's Secret store at Northlake and would go there to eat lunch with her. So sad to see the state of the mall today from what it was back then.
This is my favorite mall ive seen on this channel so far, wow. It's awesome
So sad. Countless parties at Farrells, dates during my high school days. It has a lot of fond memories. ☹️☹️☹️☹️
When I was growing up Northlake Mall was the only mall in our area, so many good times there!
Really good video. I was just in there making a video and was turned away by security. 😂😂 Guess I’ll have to come back another day to finish.
Great channel!
Remember getting my tough skin jeans at Sears back in the day, I remember a shark hanging on the wall in Sears back in the 70’s I could be wrong. Live in the country now and young people just don’t understand “ hanging at the Mall” all day. Great memories for me
Been in this place easily 1000 times between the late 70s and early 90s, and worked in the food court 93-94. Most memorable weird celebrity moment was Iman’s visit ca 93 at the JC Penney promoting her perfume line.
This was my mall growing up. I would ride my bike here as a kid to go to the Stamp and Coin to get baseball cards. So many memories of hanging out here in highschool and buying CDs. The Gold Mine was a great arcade. I remember when they got Street Fighter 2. Good times.
I was there three weeks ago , and used to ride the bus to Northlake to shop for school shoes when I was in high school in 2000. It’s crazy how many shops are closed , and not in business. I actually found and bought some shoes from the shoe store open down stairs.
This was the mall we went to when I was a kid. I got my ears pierced at Piercing Pagoda, bought new shoes at Stride Rite, and loved to eat at Piccadilly. I even went to a dentist down by Sears for a while. I worked at Payless in high school. Lots of great memories at this mall. All these dead malls make me a bit sad because they were such a huge part of growing up in the 80s and 90s.
I lived just a mile north of Northlake Mall on Henderson Mill Rd, from April 1997 to January 2019. My brother-in-law used to own a hairstyling salon in the mall. Much of the issue with the mall was how much the rents went up for the mom & pop stores over the years. Another big issue was the mall not allowing public transit buses through the parking lot (both MARTA and the Emory University shuttles), & finally many of the mall security guards seemed to not realize that they were not the police in the areas surrounding the mall, but not on mall property.
What I would not give for Fridays in 90's in the FALL to have that stare down between Henderson, Lakeside and Tucker, again...
Lol! Which school did you attend?
i went there all the time in the 1970's and 1980's. It was a very nice. Beautiful and vibrant. So sad to see this.
Really nice video, your content just keeps getting better
So sad! Back in the 80's, my friends and I would work out at Northlake, eat at Piccadilly's, then flame the mall. It was great! Now it looks eerie, like my hometown.. nothing there.
In 1978 my high school band stayed near this mall when we visited from Augusta to March in the Peach Bowl Parade. We ate at Sears. I later moved to Atlanta and enjoyed shopping there. Parisians was my favorite store.
Graduated HS in 1975. This was one of my favorite malls to go to. I'll speculate that the reason it withered is because of perceived safety issues. Teens would gather and shoppers were intimidated. As Atlanta became more "urban" (read that however you like) people stayed away from the malls.
For reference, check out Arbor Place in Douglasville. It's not nearly as far along, in that regard. Yet. But it's perceived by some as a good place to get robbed.
Been going to North Lake Mall since the 70s. Never been robbed. If you want to be a racist just say so. Name of mall that doesn't have crime?
Great video ..fond memories of the NL Mall since I grew up in Tucker
El Chicos was inside on the right side of the.main entrance
Opposite side was Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor
So much fun. Family and High School hang out
The biggest punch bowl full of ice cream
My family found our dog at the petshop on the lower level outside of Sears.
Learned a new term, tenant rot. Lol
I didn't realize Penny's had vacated.
They tried hard to remain there.
New subscriber. Thanks .
So funny you mentioned Farrell’s. We also as kids had our birthday parties there and remember that huge bowl of ice cream that they served and the guys wearing the red and white striped old-fashioned coats and the hats they wore. I went to Druid Hills. It was great area to grow up in.
Macys 3rd floor is their call center. It was a regional office once. I worked there in management from 2022-2023 and just as with Northpoint anchors can no longer pull in traffic. Northpoint is lucky only because it’s in affluent Alpharetta Milton. But when Mall Management allowed Apple Pottery Barn and others to walk (Avalon)without replacing them with stores that carry everyday needs basically is why it’s dying. Although Northpoint now is rumored to be part of that hockey arena shopping single family mixed use project. Back to Northlake. The criminal element killed Northlake. Even while I was working there recently Loss Prevention spent more time chasing petty crooks dealing with theft(both external and internal) and it’s just what’s going on in the surrounding areas. Yes Henderson Mill has 500k homes but those folks that shop are elderly and not the primary traffic. I can’t say what I really want to say so I’ll go back to Macys leaving. They did it to themselves as for the under performing stores as Last Act & Backstage damaged the brand. They should let Marshals and TJ Maxx do what they do best and stick to their own niche market. No one’s paying full price at Macy’s. If they know that the same full price item will be in last act eventually. Dillards does it right.
I spent a lot of time in the 70s and 80s at Northlake mall when I was growing up. The end of the video where you are heading out of the mall reminded me that Ferrell's was on the right side and El Chico was on the left side. My favorites were The Gold Mine arcade, Oshman's Sporting Goods and McCrory's. Good times and good memories. Anyone remember Orange Bowl Pizza?
I think the problem is that Atlanta had too many malls in the metro area to sustain viability for changing times, especially with online shopping. North Lake, North DeKalb, and even Southlake, etc., were nice and thriving malls in the 80s, 90s, and early 00s. It's a greatly missed era.
They even had Shannon Mall and Avondale Mall on the south / middle. Atlanta was definitely overmalled.
@@TheMallFox
Cumberland Mall
Town Center at Cobb
North Point Mall
Perimeter Mall
Arbor Place Mall
Gwinnett Place Mall
Mall of Georgia
Sugarloaf Mills
Lenox Square
Phipps Plaza
North lake Mall
North DeKalb Mall
South DeKalb Mall
Mall at Stone Crest
Greenbriar Mall
Galleria Specialty Mall
Avondale Mall
The Mall West End
Cobb Center Mall
Shannon Mall
Southlake Mall
Today, only Lenox Square, Cumberland, Mall of Georgia, Perimeter, Sugarloaf, Phipps, North Point, and Arbor Place are the only ones that are healthy.
Town Center at Cobb is probably the best of the declining malls as most of its stores are still open. Ownership issues are a problem, however. Also needs to pave the parking lot.
Gwinnett PLACE, northlake, West End ,and South DeKalb, will be closed within five years, most likely. Gwinnett is practically there.
North Point Mall is to be converted to mostly an outdoor shopping mall sometimes in the next ten years. It is still healthy, but I see this move as the city leaders of Alpharetta anticipating a decline and want to get ahead of that by going more outdoor.
Mall at Stonecrest has some empty storefronts and an anchor or two gone, but although it still has most of its stores, the mall is losing money.
North DeKalb, Shannon, Cobb Center, and Avondale are gone, and some decades ago.
Galleria Specialty Mall was half occupied by the convention center in 1994. It is now a shell of its former status.
Southlake and Greenbriar will probably be around but much diminished from their heydays.
@@willp.8120 Northpoint IMO is way worse off than Town Center at Cobb. It's hurting bad, bleeding tenants left and right. Cobb still has tenants that NP has lost
I used to love this mall back in the 80s & 90s. I also used to work at Piccadilly when it was located inside the mall. Ruby Tuesdays used to be inside the mall also.
This is sooooooo depresssing. I loved Northlake Mall growing up in the 1980s/90s.
So sad. I grew up going to this mall in the 80s and 90s. There was a Piccadilly near Sears that had these conveyer belts for tray returns. They would run a train on a circular track in the center and I would beg my parents to let me ride. My aunt worked at the full sit-down Chick-fil-A before the Food Court addition was built. There was a store for kids clothes that had an indoor play area for the kids. My grandparents lived close by and often when the family came in to visit at Christmas and Thanksgiving there would always be someone going to the mall. My aunts took me on shopping trips. So many memories.
My old stomping grounds, now Emory has offices there, it’s changing area
Thank you for this video.
Wow this brings back memories. I worked as an overnight janitor at Northlake in the mid 2000s. I cleaned and buffed floors on the ground level. I was also responsible for the nightly cleaning of the restrooms near the food court.
Once a great mall, had a lot of great memories
"Northlake Mall" or "Northlake" not "The Northlake Mall". The game/trading card shop is there because they were forced out of North DeKalb mall before it was demolished. :-( BTW Northlake Stamp & Coin (which you passed coming in the front entrance) is probably the longest running tenant there. Same owner since at least 1978.
Love this little mall between this and when North Dekalb existed, I never had to go far whenever I needed to buy clothes. Sucks that America's malls are now more like historical sites instead of thriving businesses like they were 30 years ago
This use to be my mall back in the early 90's. I went to Lakeside High and my mom would take me here to shop at my favorite store which was Contempo Casuals. This mall is pitiful now.
This was my childhood mall!!! I remember when it was at its prime (early 00's) . I would get my nails done, have an Orange Julius, then go to Victoria's Secret to look around. Never thought it would be what it is today but I guess that's life.
I went to Northlake many times in the 70s through 90s. I worked behind the mall but that office complex was torn down and replaced by apartments. It was a busy and popular mall. This is pretty shocking. The area has changed a lot.
Ohhh I remember this mall totally forgot about it my parents use to take me here in the 90s and early 2000s I believe we stopped going because they just didn’t have nothing
This is so sad.
I grew up in a neighborhood 10 minutes from this mall. It was the in place to shop for years in the Decatur//Tucker area. When we were kids in the 70’s, we all had our birthday parties at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor which was facing Briarcliff Road at the main entrance of the mall. My grandmother worked at Davison’s in the china department for years ( which later became Macy’s ). So many great restaurants in the area then as well, all gone. The other mall mentioned in this video-Greenbrier Mall in South DeKalb was a cool place as well. It was home to Rich’s department store and for those who may not know…the very first Chick Fil A restaurant outside of the original location in south Atlanta was in this mall. It had about six desk type seats, red tile floors and a very limited menu compared to what they now have. If you go to a Chick-fil-A now and see storyboards of their history, you will see a picture of that location in Greenbriar Mall. Unfortunately that area now is totally rundown ghetto hood.
@christinaford1801 the Chickfila closed earlier this year. Sad to see.
This mall should be thriving, I grew up going to this mall all the time, Macys Parisians, etc. - sad to see this place die slowly.
I grew up in Tucker. This was the mall to go to. It’s so sad to see it this way. Gwinnett mall looks like this as well.
My mom delivers mail here I wonder if you seen her 🤔😂 she is always telling me about sales macys has and a popular jewelry store is nearby with a lot of celebrities buying stuff there I also believe Emory University owns half of it
Now I live down here on the south side, and it's amazing how Greenbriar mall still manages to pull a significant crowd on Saturdays and Sunday, yet it in no way has the same size, levels or opulence that the bigger counterparts had. Honestly, I think the thing that's killing malls are the 'Mall Prices'. When you can get things online for a much lower price than the mall...goodbye mall experience and eventually, goodbye mall.
I met so many females there on Saturday back in HS in the late 80s early 90s lol! Great times great memories! I remember shopping at JRiggins, Britches and many other stores that were in the mall back then
It gave me my first job at 16 in ‘88 in Robby’s Champs Sports. Drove from school right down LaVista for a year and a half with breaks for playing football. RIP.
When I was there, all I could think of was that it would make a good museum or multiple corporate business' extended branch office locations.
When you mentioned Greenbrier...😮
Greenbrier looks nuked 3rd world. It is a far cry from when celebrities could be spotted there 30+ years ago.
Love the look of this place
I remember Northlake from when I was a kid. Back in the mid 70s, this is where we go if we wanted to slightly more upscale experience. When I got my license in ‘74, it was a place you might go on a date. There was a Steak and Ale restaurant across 285 on La Vista. There was also a nice restaurant on the backside of Northlake and I can’t remember the name (The Old Mill or similar) .
I remember going there many with my girlfriend( my wife since 1980). By the way, that cards and coin shop has been there since the 70s. My wife bought her brother several birthday presents there because he was into coins and such. To the best of my recollection, it has not moved from the location you have on this video. For those of us in the eastern suburbs, Northlake was Kind of special. It’s sad to see what time has done to the place.
Emory purchased most of the mall and is converting it into office space and other hosptal uses.
Mall looks more like an art museum than a mall!
South DeKalb was another mall built in the early 70s in DeKalb County. Somehow it still exists.
They claim they were going to turn it into an area like Atlantic Station but that has yet to be seen. Idk how it’s still open.
That was the mall to go to. My mother, me and siblings spent many Saturdays there.
Macys just announced they're leaving. Speculation is that Kroger may take some space for a regional office HQ that may also have a retail store, which Kroger badly needs. The nearby existing retail store is ancient and not worth renovation.
Northlake Mall is almost as old as I am. We did our back to school shopping there. I remember when it was a bustling Mall. It looks like they are trying to repurpose it. The area is going through gentrification.
I remember the waterfalls and all. This vid is boss..
Wow. Haven't been in years, to this mall
Nice work
Very Interesting...I like the content...new subscriber 👍
I worked at 3 different stores there. Wow times have changed.
Midvale, Henderson Middle & Lakeside Alum here 💜💛 #memories
I went to this mall a few times back in the 90s, there was a nice arcade there. Online shopping definitely has put some of these out of business, but I really do think that quality is what keeps a mall alive when you start seeing B and C tier brands pop up you know the mall is dying. The shootings and any bad publicity didn't help of course.
I think outdoor malls like the Avalon, Halcyon, and Collections have absolutely replaced these malls in Atlanta.
My mom and I used to shop here back in the early 80’s when Davison's was still there. I never remember it being as popular as Lenox or Perimeter, but it had a steady clientele. I think changing demographics in the area along with the lack of upscale tenants led to the mall's demise.
This used to be one of my favorite malls, it’s so sad how they are shutting these malls down. It’s basically Emory cdc thingy, the food court is dead. It’s over
Aww the memories. What was the name of the ice Cream place at the entrance upstairs. I think later it became a Ruby Tuesday. I use to love going there as a child.
My family always went here to see santa and ride the train. Wonderful memories of this place. My teen years walking up and down the mall with my friend. Got my ears pierced everytime upstairs at the little kiosk jewelry store in the middle close to Macy's.
Last time i was there was around 2006. Took my son there for his first two Christmas pictures until moved further out away from Atlanta.
Thanks for the memories!!
Damn, this is rough seeing the place like this. Used to work at the Gamestop, which is now closed according to this video. Went to a couple fighting game tournaments ran by DATAFGC in the food court, too. Seeing that same food court being desolate is insane. That Tokyo Express had the bomb ass Mongolian Beef.
Inner city is not Perimeter or Lenox
I attended high school right down the street from here it was a really nice place; I think one of the local medical entities has some space here now.
I bought my first leather jacket in that mall from Wilson Leather shop. Sad!
This is proof that this world has already ended, i hate the 2000s and we saw this coming in the late 90s