New Year's Eve at Crystal Mall: A Shockingly Dead Mall! Waterford, Connecticut. 2023 Update!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Join me once again as I take a look at Crystal Mall in Waterford, Connecticut. I last visited this mall in September 2022 and it was pretty dead then, but it's so much worse now!
Let me know what you think about this mall in the comments!
This video was filmed in New Year's Eve, December 31, 2023 at about 12:30pm to 1:00pm.
If you liked this video, please don't forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel. I plan to have more dead mall videos in the future. Thanks for watching!
Source of information:
www.flickr.com...
thecaldorrainb...
www.flickr.com...
en.wikipedia.o...)
bestattraction...
patch.com/conn...
www.ctinsider....
www.ctinsider....
#deadmall #deadmalls #mall #connecticut #waterford #shoppingmall #shoppingmalls #retail #nostalgia #malls #mallshopping #fleabittenadventures #namdar
I was there yesterday....... JC Penny closes for good in 11 days. Nothing but fixtures for sale on the first floor. Second has what little merchandise they have left for sale...... No food court offerings if I remember correctly.... 90% of the open stores in this vid are closed now.
My father taught at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London ( next town over ) in the 80s .
I actually remember this mall being built and its grand opening. Let me tell you it was a huge event. For a couple years, this mall with a huge part of my life.
I haven’t been to Connecticut in over 30 years now .
Just a few days ago, this mall came to mind .
Thanks for posting this, and it’s sad to see a huge part of my childhood and adolescent years dying
I long to say I haven't been to CT for 30 years!
I left Connectishit a couple of years ago, or rather it left me with their politics. The only thing I miss is the coast and great seafood.
I hate seeing dead malls... They were such a big deal when we were kids in the 70's, 80's and 90's... The music, the food court, the escalators, the neon lights (mainly from the not renovated 80's malls, if there are any left...)... everything is so nostalgic !!
Facts. I loved the mall as a kid. 😥
I went there yesterday and this video already looks obsolete compared to what it's like today. JC Penny the last Anchor Store closed, the Rue 21 was on its final day so that's now closed. Only 2 restaurants in the food court remain now the Chinese and Japanese ones. Seems just a matter of time now
@@BigRedSoxFan is the Prowess Gaming Store still there?
@@AndrewPotate TBH I'm not sure.
Times change. Gotta move on.
When my now deceased husband and I lived in Ledyard Connecticut. I remember the opening. The chandelier was made in Waterford Ireland in the Waterford Crystal factory for that mall
I knew a movie theater that had two elaborate chandeliers in it. Employees would have to lower them once a year to clean them.
There was an article about the chandelier in the Hartford Courant when it was installed. Waterford Ireland? You're probably right. I thought it was the U.K. but I get the details mixed up all the time.
Huh. I never knew why it was called the Crystal Mall. Interesting.
Where are the chandeliers now?
Visited Hartford area in the later 1970's every few weeks to visit my female friend who was living in the West Hartford area. Remember that even downtown didn't offer a lot of shopping or dining and we never visited for those purposes.The only shopping mall we ever went to was maybe the mall in west Hartford and that was a less then exciting experience. Those living in the area may remember the collapse of the roof on the Hartford Whalers arena. Think I have gone past Hartford on the interstate maybe 4 or 5 times since those days.
Malls are nostalgic. The reality was.. you parked a half mile away, walked several miles on your visit..and the rent for the stores was insanely high. Now you can get everything online in a few minutes, have it delivered in a couple days and you’re good to go. And the land is way too valuable to be sitting empty. It was great place for us teenagers in the 80s, though.
Malls really are a time capsule. Most of em are still stuck in the 80s and 90s
@@tubby_1278 The Retro Decade Revival Project is gonna bring dead malls back to life.
JC Penny's is only in business because a major mall owner bought them to fill space and make their malls look busy!
The Retro Decade Revival Project is gonna turn the tables around for the better.
Greek, Roman, Medieval are extremely nostalgic. The reality was.... you and me know.... but you and me LOVE to live in a town like this TODAY. th-cam.com/video/-Q_RnUT7rL8/w-d-xo.html... so be friendly to your ancestors and don't destroy things you don't like just now... maybe they will have got another opinion/wisdom.....
I remember Crystal Mall being dead when I was in high school, like 2005 lol
What a huge retail wasteland. Who knew shopping malls would come and go in our lifetime (for those of us born in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s). So their existence was quite short in the overall scheme of things…The future of these places is bleak. Malls are dying a slow painful death. So instead of going out and about and being around others people are cooped up in their homes, using social media, buying online, getting increasingly obese?! Sad.
I hate what is happening in this world. People don't want to walk and interact with people.
Kohan, Namdar, and Moonbeam. The trifecta of mall death
It’s always a bummer to see this.
Really sad.
Huge malls like this should be repurposed into communities. The units on the upper floors could be made into housing. The units on the ground floor made into essential services like a crèche, and satellite doctor and dentist offices. Also a small selection of essential outlets like food stores etc. Something like this could become a viable village. Alternatively, a retired person's village where the residents could feel safe because the entrances would be keypad only. An assistance service could be offered for residents who need help. I could see this being a wonderful older persons village.
That’s a great idea. I’d like to live in a place like that.
Zoning for areas is either commercial or residential. Malls are in commercial zones. There's more to it than simply moving into a mall. If that was the case, the employees would've lived above the mall on the 3rd floor when the mall was packed. But people aren't allowed to have permanent residence on a commercial property.
JC Penny's is only in business because a major mall owner bought them to fill space and make their malls look busy!
A creche? Are you a gith'yanki?
I’m pretty sure they could demolish all these malls to the ground and those Charley’s Cheesesteak restaurants will still keep operating right where they are
YUP
A day or two after this video was shot, Charlie’s cheesesteak also closed down and it’s gone from the Crystal Mall
Funny you say that, cuz Charley’s just closed at this mall not too long ago
I actually brought my kids to see Santa at this mall a couple weeks ago. They're so young they still enjoyed the visit without noticing the flaws.
While we were there however, the Buffalo Wildwings had a busted septic system, and literally the entire mall smelled like sewage. If it weren't for the fact that we reserved our spot for Santa ahead of time, I would've walked out immediately. Sadly, the experience truly signified that this was undoubtedly the end of an era.
The only other thing that still draws me here on occasion is the fact that FYE sells 4K bluray discs and has some deals from time to time. Otherwise, I don't think I would set foot in this mall again. Very sad.
So Sad! I remember the Grand opening, the holiday seasons struggling to find a parking space, Having to follow a shopper loaded with goods to their car to wait for their space. I remember the devastation to the City of New London when first the New London Shopping Center and New London Mall. with the Outlet store taking all their shoppers. Then Crystal Mall with the new Sears took all the business from the smaller less convenient stores.
It is a terrible story of retail sales. I look at the Crystal Mall as once a growing and beautiful rose bush. Bright and plentiful flowers supported by strong and vibrant roots, leaves, and stems. Now everything is in distress, no water, stores closing, no food, shoppers to support the growth. Stores closing like flowers dead on the vine, leaves falling, rose pedals dropping to the soil. The exterior is covered on mold and moss. Moisture is allowed to penetrate the unsealed masonry. The end is near. How can the mall afford to heat the building now and cool it in the summer with no customers. Memories and this great documentary will be all we have left. Memories of opening day, with the officials from Waterford Ireland attending, proud of their Waterford Crystal Chandelier, I wonder who will be the next owner of the beautiful piece.
I wonder if Namdar owning the mall will lead Simon to close this JCP location so they can focus on the locations where they also own the mall? Why help the competition survive?
JC Penny stores inside of Simon Properties sure could use a lot of updates. Lol I used to have a few restaurants inside Simon malls, most of their JC Penny stores were in rough condition, some didn’t even have A/C in the summertime.
Sad seeing this place so empty. This was my college mall back in the 80s. Last time I visited was about 2017, and it showed stress then.
Omg this is terrible I grew up in Norwich Connecticut in the 1980s we shopped there every weekend, this is not the Crystal Mall I remember, Sad 😢 the mall was so nicely decorated for Christmas, I hate the way things are nowadays
West side here!.Pembroke
I grew up there. It was the original chandelier. It was beautiful at some point. It so sad to see this now. I have not been there in 20 years.
Bed bath and beyond had great stuff but another chain poorly run.
Nandarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! ruins malls.
I grew up in Connecticut, and got dragged to the crystal mall at least two dozen times growing up. It always ended with two slices of pizza and a soda at Sabbaros. Then a pretzel from the stall just outside the food court. It’s hard to see it like this now. Harder to think it might be gone for good soon. Malls were, something I didn’t appreciate until I got older. But now it’s too late.
That was THE place to shop back in the day. Stores like "Wild Bills", "Wilson's Leather".. The food court had some really cool different brands that always had something tasty.
So why is it dead now?
ME.
I don't want to drive anywhere to shop. I can get anything I want ordering it online and never having to put on pants. I go to maybe one or two physical clothing stores maybe once or twice a year.
That Chandalier is real waterford crystal from Waterford in the U.K. It's gross. Needs a wash.
Looks like I need to make a "Goodbye" visit the next time I'm in CT.
The town is between NYC and Boston. Really in the middle of nowhere. Economically middle class so retail must be a struggle.
About as dead as the Fox Run Mall in Newington NH. Just a matter of time.
This mall is worse if you ask me!!! But yes I can see a resemblance.
Nice video Tom,if Namdar have got hold of this mall, I don’t feel confident for it’s future, it looked in real rough shape on the outside. A very happy new year to you and your family 😊👍🏻
Thanks! You too!
I have worked at this mall since it opened in 1984 and still do! 😮Hoping we can hang on a little longer🙏
How many stores are open
Incredible! I'm sure you have many stories. Best wishes.
@@Greencloud8 I will have to count sometime. Not many. Maybe 35% still open🤷🏻♀️
@@thefreestylefrEaKthank you
is there still a card shop in there for like magic and yugioh and Pokémon card games like that
At least Toy Vault's still there.
Once I waited for someone to leave a parking spot because it was so absolutely full of cars, and after waiting a few minutes for someone just leaving, someone else just showed up and zoomed into my spot because the leaving car was still in my way. That was over 30 years ago. I've never been back.
Another reason why I hate going to modern day busy malls.
So that's why it died!
It seems most traditional malls are on their way to failure with some exceptions. I live in CT and I have noticed The Westbrook Outlet really took a turn for the worst over the past 10 years while Clinton Crossing is doing very well. Had to go up there for back to school shopping for my kids and it was quite the contrast between those two outlets. Consolidation of brands in one place and online retail (this is the main culprit of course) are probably the two biggest reasons for the malls slowly dying. They are a far cry from my childhood in the 90s and I have come across other walk-throughs on here for malls I remember from my childhood and it's mind blowing in just how bad shape they are.
It looks like a ghost town inside the mall
That chandelier is made by Waterford crystal, somewhat fitting because it's located in a mall in Waterford CT.
I went there yesterday and spent $17,000
Waterford, Ireland
@@junkboxxxxxx yes 😄 But I remember a friend and I back in the day pondering about the "Waterford" Crystal chandelier. We wondered if there was some deliberate choice to get a Waterford Crystal into the "Crystal" Mall in Waterford, CT.
@@SSNESS 17.000$ in a dead mall. For what bro?
@@AndrewPotate Potatoes 🥔
Happy New Year ! Sad that we are losing are malls.
Thanks! You too! That's why I'm filming as many malls as possible. I don't think I'm going to get to them all though....
You can thank E-commerce and online shopping what’s happening now is just going to get worse
While I am happy to see the 3 major mom/pop stores open (Toy Vault, Ice Emperium, This & That antiques) it saddens me to see all the MAJOR retailers that have bolted in the past 2 years. This mall looked rough then but to lose BBB, CTS, Old Navy AND H&M….and then to see the way this mall is in disrepair 🥺😩😥
JC Penney won’t close anytime soon because it’s keeping the mall open. They let it suffer. I await to see what another 1-2 years wlll bring before they finally decide to pull the plug on most/all of the building 😓😭
what about the game store that's a mom and pop store too cuz its only one loacation. so theres 4 major mom and pop stores in the mall not 3
JC Penney releases limited financial information now that it's a private company post-bailout, but as best can be determined it's in mediocre condition, and that's being very charitable, but it's probably in little immediate danger of failing.
Whenever I go into a JC Penney it’s super dead. I worry about them.
@@ckrtom2, the one in my city never has any staff and the store looks so disorganized. Hell, they can’t even afford to fix their a/c so people always complain about it when it gets hot.
Spencer's and Hot Topic right next to each other!
Our mall doesn’t even have a JCP any more:(
And it looks as run down and unmaintained. Dead trees , shrubs, trash. Not pretty. Someone dumped a huge trailer in the macys parking lot.
Our mall doesn't even have a See's candy. It not a mall with out one.
There’s an almost completely vacant mall near me that was recently sold (the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, New York). I wonder what value the new owner sees in it.
Is this the mall those people have had the lucid dream about ??
Only been TWICE, once was just shortly after it opened in March of 1985, the last time I was here was sometime around 1987
Crystal Mall's chandelier is 100 percent real Waterford crystal. the chandelier was purchased for $30,000 in 1985, or approximately $60,000 today. While no one would make an assessment on the chandelier without reviewing it, price comparisons suggest it is worth far more than that.
I'll bet it's worth way more than $60,000!
10 years ago while in Daytona Beach, I was at Volusia Mall and the mall was busy with all the foot traffic, crowded parking lots, and about 90% of the stores were occupied. Today, that mall is dying as about almost half of the spaces are vacant, the food court is basically dead, and some sections of the mall don’t have their lights on.
It's such ashamed it's so awlful about these malls they are just going down like this 😢😮😅
Failing malls are depressing!
Gotta love the advancement of the internet and buying at home..we all did malls back then and we were all smaller people as well….now dead malls , and people sitt8ng on their asses at home weighing 300lbs..due to inactivity…used to hafta leave the house when things needed to be done -shopping ,pay8ng bills, eating a lunch /dinner ..now people buy everything on amazon and order on Uber eats..lazy.
@@toddprater14Exactly! I made a similar comment. People went out and about because they HAD to…
To make the malls vibrant again, they should only offer select items on line but the real deal is in the stores. That will get people back to the mall. Great places to visit especially around Christmas. Unfortunately that’s not the case and it’s probably too late to resurrect 80% of the malls. Too bad tho
Been coming here since i was a wee lad, used to get dropped off with friends for a few hours on the weekends to hang out, a lotta memories there, sad its going to be gone soon 😐
Watched this last night and you mentioned the last time you visited this mall was Sept.2022. So I watched the Sept 2022 one for this mall and noticed how much more light was there back then due to more ‘life.’ The mall now seems so empty, deserted, and dark. The owner was the owner of Steeplegate Mall in Concord NH. Guess what? They were bought out by an another company and they are going to demolish the mall except for JC Penny, Zoo gym, and Alpine bouncing park. They are going to build apartments, and a Costco. I think this mall will go through the same in the next few years. A definite foreshadow!
BTW- my son and I went to the Mall of NH this afternoon and he wanted to get some candy like you do in your videos! So awesome! 😊👍
Ha ha! I hope his candy wasn't stale like the stuff I usually get!
Oh wow. The last time I was at Crystal mall was in the mid 80s, as a teen. We'd drive up from RI occasionally just to get the cheese fries. 🤭 Blast from the past.
Yikes. JCPenney and Macy's are not doing too hot but JCPenney is probably worse of the two. Still seeing the fixtures in BBB is a real bad sign for the future of the mall.
Simon mall has ownership which should help them stay open. JC Penney.
i had great times in that Mall...i know sears is opening again in some spots!we need to bring that Mall back...we can do it!
I grew up and live in this area. This mall was the place to be through the 90s and early 2000s. Such a shame to see it run into the ground. It’s gotten exponentially worse than when you filmed this video. As you predicted, the JCPenny closure announcement came in February 2024 and it closed in May 2024. There are no anchor stores left. Last time I visited the escalators were turned off and blocked and half of the lights weren’t on. There wasn’t even music playing in the mall portions.
When low end fast fashion stores like H n M cant make it you have big problems. These dirt cheap online clothing companies from China are destroying the once cheapest spots like old navy,zara,forever,21, Aeropostale and H n M . They got beat at their own game.
Sure, malls are dying but just to put it out there: I don't think New Year's Eve is traditionally a big shopping day in the retail world. Sunday morning is also a traditionally slow time.
Woah! I'm actually impressed that the WOW arcade had Dance Dance Revolution in there. Just about every arcade I've been to either only has Step Mania X or Pump It Up, which don't quiet tickle the nostalgia the same way as DDR. Or they have a DDR machine that isn't working. It's definitely not a classic game, the way Pac-Man or Space Invaders are, but as a game whos original release is 25 years old now its been getting rarer and rarer for me to see it in arcades anymore.
Noon on a Sunday on Nee Years Eve, no wonder it’s dead. Go back on a Saturday in November
You're assuming it will still be there next November.
I wish I didn't agree...@@fleabittenadventures
love the bourbon chicken in the last food court stand...wow it is good folks!...try it for sure!
Back in the 90s I used to hang out at that mall as teenagers I miss that mall😢
I went there once in about 1995 or so and it was so much busier! It feels like a different mall now.
Atleast we don’t have mean tweets! Good job maskers!
and Dairy Queen is now gone
not shocking to me I think I went a year or maybe two years ago but before the plandemic it was busier
I like how it's not all voiceover and you get some live audio commentary
I'll try to do more live commentary. It's difficult though especially if a mall is very busy.
Wow, an FYE? How can they possibly still be open? Haven’t seen one in years!
Yeah, there are a few left in Connecticut.
no wonder with their prices, one in Newington fox run is closing as well no surprise really
Love it when you get the candy lol!
It tastes good at the time, but I always end up feeling ill afterwards...
Don't fell to bad bc are Buffalo mall in JAMESTOWN ND is also a dead mall bc the only remaining stores fronts are t.j.maxx home of Economy/ Dunham sports / London nails / shoe sensation/ five below/ riddles jewelry that's about all we have other than are 6 theatres that took most of the mall over when they moved from there old location behind the mall.
Enfield Square mall has also just lost Cinemark, Now the only anchor is Target.
Yes, I actually did a recent video on the Cinemark at Enfield Square.
Christmas Tree Shop is open year round? (Obviously not this one) I’m not familiar with that chain
Whole company is gone. Bad management and too much debt the reason. Open year around. Use to be so busy until Covid.
@@Cotelw8345 Covid did a number on just about every brick-and-mortar business out there.
You missed it by one day but my wife and I visited on the 1st of January and Charley's Philly Steak in food court was closed and being gutted. Menu board blank, register being pulled, order monitors being taken down. I talked to the main guy (owner?) and he said the crew all able to keep their jobs but moved to new location. He shrugged his shoulders and said there just was not enough business left there at Crystal.
I saw that! I can't believe they closed literally the next day!
Sad
This n' That is still worth going to. It's the mall's only saving grace.
I worked for Sears on three separate occasions. For the third time, I was hired into middle management. Little did I know at the time 12 years ago, was how much financial trouble Sears was in, and how dysfunctional the work environment had become. The last two weeks before I resigned in disgrace, I cried every night as I drove home. Legacy department stores are dying out, and their level of dysfunction is ramping up in comparison. Maybe it's just time to say goodbye to all of it...
Greed and control do not make for long term success and positive growth; let alone happiness! I don’t know why people can’t understand that? Yeah, if that’s all you are about, you might as well just give it up.
@@brianandrews7099 Precisely. I had great experiences working at Sears in the 80s and 90s; the pre-Eddie Lampert days. He still has his billions, and Sears is down to 13 stores, the last time I checked.
Just the old school sign on the road is wow!
That sign for the mall is actually the newer version put in around 2016 I think. You should've seen the old one that was the original one from 1984.
10 years ago I read that 1/3 of all retail stores would be gone. It came true and then some!
Not sure if you figured it out by now, that glass elevator does in fact work and you do not need a key for it. The call button is on the side of the door as opposed to the front. Just a little note for next time, if there is one.
Really? I did not know that. I'll try it the next time I'm there. Thanks!
These old vacant malls could be used as homeless shelters or housing, especially during inclement weather. Just a thought.
When I was a teenager / early 20's I used to work at The Crystal Mall, and also part time at Home Depot next door. Lot of great memories in that mall. Now I show up frequently to check out Toy Vault and get some cheap Sarku.
Shopping malls started out as a parking problem in downtown shopping districts of the suburban US..
Jc penny is closing at the end of the first quarter of 2024
Yes. I plan to be there in the last few days before it closes.
All the ramps, and stairs. Can't tell this was built on a hill at all, huh? :)
From what I heard, all existing JCPenney stores are supposed to get a facelift, blocks of them in intervals, wrapping up a few years from now. I guess we'll see if that changes, or if the axes will fall once the work is done.
Is their a food court here what ashamed another Mall going down
There is a food court. It's lost some restaurants since I was there though.
ps. I miss Christmas Tree Shoppes!!
...don't you just love a bargain?
There used to be a huge staircase at the front of the BedBath. Also, it's gated off now, but you could take a quick left inside BedBath and there were escalators and an elevator so it wasn't as bad of a walk until CTS shut
Like your video but need to slow down when walking through
I'll try!
Looks almost like the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua NH.
Yes, the layout is similar
Another one of 2023 but watching this video in 2024 Happy New Year!
Funnily enough I actually visit this mall at least once a month, I always like to go to the Toy Vault there and for all you mall history fanatics take this with a grain of salt but since Crystal Mall isn’t as frequently populated as some of the other malls in my area like Warwick Mall or Providence place mall, it’s makes it A LOT more guaranteed for me that I can be confident that whenever I return to Crystal Mall’s Toy Vault I can 95% assure myself that whatever I want to get there that I notice during my previous trip, will be there during my next trip:3
Whereas with Warwick Mall’s Toy Vault I don’t have that same level of assurance at least as far as most Action Figures go, the stuff on the higher shelves where all the big 1:6 scale figures, Hot Toys, Sideshow Collectibles, Import figures and 3.75 Star Wars Vehicles are pretty much a guarantee that they’ll be there no matter when I go!
So in that sense these conditions make Crystal Mall’s Toy Vault a sorta personal Hotspot for me and I hope I can continue to shop there for as long as I can:’3
Also I’ve been meaning to search for a lot more Action Figure stores that sell more of this retro stuff, as well as some more Model Kit stores that sell Gunpla. So far I have yet to find an alternative store chain for Action Figures that comes anywhere near as close to topping Toy Vault as my go to! And as far as store chains for Model Kits goes outside Toy Vault I’ve found 2 pretty good solo locations also in Connecticut: Time Machine Hobby, and Lee’s Toy And Hobby, both are not 100% dedicated Model Kit stores but they still carry a HEFTY amount of variety when I go I highly recommend either of them if you’re looking for Gunpla locally in the Connecticut area;3
BTW if anybody has any recommendations for awesome Model Kit Stores I should check out let me know please! I mostly live near the Warwick area but I’ll go out and visit locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts:>
Also 1 more before and I doubt that ANYBODY WOULD EVER go to a video like this to answer a question like this at all but does anybody know of any stores that stock the Joytoy Warhammer 40k 1/18 scale figures????:/ ever since ToyVault stopped carrying them in their stores I’ve been searching for alternative places that sell them!:<
With all that being said I don’t go to Crystal Mall just for Toy Vault, I like to pay a visit to some of the other stores their and even sometimes I’ll play at the arcade for a bit:3 so from Wednesday’s through Friday’s of every week if you’re at Crystal Mall and you see a guy with Yellow Nike’s, brown hair, a random graphic tee of whatever he feels like that day and a stuffed Snow Leopard plush tucked in his arm you’ll know EXACTLY who posted this comment and that Bean is me:3
It's dead now that JCPenney is closing soon in May leaving no anchor tenants
My friends and I still go to the crystal mall every week and sit outside the toy vault playing different TCGs like Magic or Yugioh, it's such a shame that so much of the food court is closed down now, but it's still a good time every Saturday
I remember when it opened and going there to see the great chandelier. It was a nice mall. It's unfortunate to see the downfall of it, but it's not just this mall. It's part of a greater trend. The reality is that shopping has changed. Everyone knows that, but it's still sad to see an era come to a close.
I wonder how West Farms Mall is doing.
No.
The mall is not made of crystal.
As a Connecticutian, I thought so until about 9 years old.
No, but the Emerald Square Mall is made of emerald, like in the Wizard of Oz.
@fleabittenadventures 😄 The Willow Woods mall in Wantagh, NY is made out of wood from willow trees.
😂
Very nice-looking mall. Sad, but probably more than 50% vacant.
Is the top floor all carpeted? Also if you were to repurpose this mall what would you turn it into? Seems to be perfect for a convention center. Used to work at Christmas Tree Shops in my area and I miss it. Miss my coworkers from there
They made a big deal about the cyrystal chandelier whennthe mall was opened..cuz it was built in waterford england ..ic i remember that thing cost ONE MILLION dollars back in 1984 or so when it was finally delivered
Whose here after tiktok?
Just you
The cost for all of the glass railing upgrades probably exceeds the value of the mall. I think there was a metal railing originally. I remember when the mall opened from my early days growing up in Old Lyme. Sad to see the Waterford Crystal Chandelier dark. Two things I remember when it opened was was the angled cedar siding on the Filenes (now replaced by Dryvit) and the iconic bush-hammered fluted-brown concrete block cladding the original Jordan Marsh. A seemingly- warped tribute to Paul Rudolph perhaps.
December 31 any year, is typically a busy shopping day at any mall. It’s still the Christmas shopping and return season. The mall should be hopping until around MLK day or a little before. That mall is ded dead. You were foreboding about the JCP. You came back & did the walkthrough of JCP 2 days before it closed Memorial Day Weekend 2024. As of March 20, 663 locations across 49 states & PR. Now there are no anchor stores left. Interesting, did a little research. That 663 number can’t be accurate. They closed 2 other stores along with Crystal Mall last month: Shenango Valley Mall In Hermitage, PA. & Pear Tree Center in Ukiah, Utah. There is another store scheduled to close this coming October: Elm Plaza in Waterville, Maine. That leaves 660 today. After October, 659 will remain. At the height of its operation, 1973, it operated over 2000 locations. I learned something new just now. James Cash Penney, who created the store that bares his name died in 1971 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, NY. Ironically, there was never a JC Penney in the Bronx until 1997. They built a standalone store in Bay Plaza shopping center. Eventually, that store became an anchor for the mall at Bay Plaza.
Used to go to The Loft here with my mom years ago...otherwise CM wasn't our most frequented mall. I just don't get how they keep these things operating now and make any profit?? I just Googled "the future of malls in America" etc...don't know who to believe. One answer is there's about 750 malls across America now, predicting in 10 years there'll be 150. (like how they derive that is another ?) But then...CNN reported growth in malls from 2022-2023, I forget the % they said, but you can Google, it's all there, discussed in several links, which you've probably done before. There were also other articles that said there's been growth in mall business over the past year. Hm. Anyway...this one looks depressing, though I must say, they decorated it nicely for Christmas for a dead mall. I had mentioned in your last video I had just driven by it to go to Target two wks ago and was surprised how dead it looked compared to a few years ago when I'd gone to Macy's. As you drove around the decaying outside, I couldn't help my Catholic upbringing in my ear at Lent service.."remember man that you are dust, and into dust you shall return." Doesn't take long.
In my area here in Oregon, we have 3 "malls". One of them is the classic mall with most of the store entrances inside the mall, like the one in the video. A lot of people 'walk' the mall, some use the food court, but not very many people are seen in the stores within the mall. The other 2 malls have all the store entrances on the outside. Those malls seem to be doing very well.
It’s dead like most malls in Connecticut the only one I can think of that is still doing fairly well is Westfarms in Newington CT. The most dead mall is Brass Mill in Waterbury. Waterbury has gained a negative reputation as a city as well along with Bridgeport. Crystal mall I’ve been to once as a kid when I went to Ocean Beach. I remember a lady was eating candy from the shelves and placing them back.
Meriden Mall was still relatively popular when I was growing up (late 2000s - 2010s). Going back now, it's just depressing. Pretty much half the storefronts are all gone, and the food court has like 2 restaurants. I still go whenever I can because I support local malls.
Damn. I used to love coming here as a kid. Waiting in line at EB games for a midnight release. Santa Claus pictures. Hell they even passed out candy on Halloween.
Wok Express and Sarku Japan have been in that food court since the 90's when I was a kid. In between them was a Sabaro Pizza.
Back in the 80's this mall was a beautiful mall. I used to shop here all the time. And the biggest mistake that the company that owns the Meriden Mall made the huge mistake of building the HUGE expansion that they did in the late 80's early 90's. If they had kept the mall small like it was when it was the Meriden Square, I think it would be faring better. We started seeing the bottom drop out of the Meriden Mall starting right after those huge addons they stuck on there. They added too much space and charged too much for rent and drove it into the ground. When the mall was small, it was the perfect size for the amount of traffic it got. Then they expanded the hell out of it and the traffic stayed the same. Frankly, I'm waiting for Westfarms to get hit. Literally ALL the stores that moved in there are ultra high priced luxury shops. The prices there are unaffordable for most people. The only reason it seems to be doing okay is that it's pretty much the only game in town when it comes to malls. But even that mall looked a LOT nicer and more beautiful than it does now. It's absolutely sterile compared to how nice it was in the past.