Original Video : • DEAD MALL SERIES : Rol... Follow Dan : / thisisdanbell / thisisdanbell / thisisdanbell www.Vine.co/Thi... Photographed and Edited by Dan Bell
I grew up coming to this mall. I worked at the movie theater one summer during my college break. I can't believe what a mess it is now. The area is creepy. It doesn't help that there is a cemetery right next door. I haven't been on that side of town in a long time. Thank you Dan for your interest in our state''s abandoned mall. There is another one, Chapel Hill, that is dying and it's not too far via highway from this area. I will watch out for updates from you.
It's gone now... the mall interior itself is gone, and they're demolishing the JCPenney building now; the entire demolition project is slated to be completed sometime this month, one year after it started... #RIPRollingAcres
The cemetery next door offered to by a large chunk of the land (because they are full and need the space) but the city turned it down. The city would not say why the turned down a cash offer which is not to smart as they could have really used the money and if anything cemeteries are at least well kept up. I think Chapel Hell would make a great Deal Mall video! It is so interesting that the strip malls and stand-alone stores are doing great in that area but the mall is dying.
@@bethbeckettcrow2081 The city will get more money in tax if someone else uses the property for redevelopment. Which has happened since Amazon is using it.
What I love most about Urbex is how it's basically urban archaeology. I always thought I was a weird kid growing up who loved abandoned places, turns out it's a universal human thing!
Small update, I went in TODAY, 08/16/17 even though most of the main structure has been torn down. A door into JC Penny was open that led down through a pitch black stairwell into the bottom floor and you could walk around the entire store, all the way from the shipping area near the Macy's side, and on the opposite side to the back of the store and up to the second floor through another dark stairwell. If you go, you have to be extremely careful, there is hanging debris from the ongoing demolition and glass everywhere. It was very interesting to walk around and look out through the open spaces where the rest of the mall once was. I did not see any cameras that were active however and nobody showed up to question me during the hour I was there.
Nice video Dan, that mall sounds like it has some dark history surrounding it. I have talked to police who have no idea why some people like urban exploration. They just don't understand it.
I noticed that the traffic lights at 3:08 were in flash mode. Unless it was a malfunction, that's usually a sign that an area has lost a lot of road traffic in recent years.
Some of the things you said about old malls is very poignant and applies to people too. I took care of my aging parents and now I'm no spring chicken either. Like these malls In youth one is attractive, active, has friends and fun. But I've witnessed old age take over in people from the days gone by. . . no longer attractive, active . . . . . many alone, forgotten and abandoned. Hard to believe what you see in their old photos is really them and the life they once had. Like these malls their popularity and usefuless no longer recognized.
"...low-life trespasser" cracks me up! Well, Dan, we your viewers and subscribers know that Dan Bell is one of the high-class explorers and are glad to learn of your growing and well-deserved recognition.---That was something to learn about the power being cut off and tenants up and leaving. It would be interesting to know more about that: were people actually in the dark in stores full of merchandise that had to be cleared out? That sudden shutdown makes me think of the 1968 movie "Hotel" when the decision was suddenly made to close the Hotel St. Gregory while it was still in operation and then people were leaving the building like they were evacuating the place.
Love you!!!! I can't express enough how much joy you Put in my life!!!! I could watch your videos every day and second if my life and never ever get tired of you!!!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
I agree with how intrguing dead malls are. For me I do get a little emotional(I know lame) becuz I myself was also a teen in the 90s and seeing all these malls goes just makes me feel like a part of my teenage and childhood is going. Thank you Dan bell for another great video. I love the cutting room floor videos and I hope you can go back to rolling acres. That would be awesome
@@aurelpopa1581, No. I'm from San Bernardino. A pretty sizable city about an hour northeast of Los Angeles and the largest county (San Bernardino County) by size in the US.
Hey Dan, im British and our high streets are dead, empty and depressing. Our malls are booming, more than ever, more and more malls opening every week. I currently live in Bangkok, Thailand, and the malls are booming here also, I think this is purely an American thing. Great work Dan, your editing skills are amazing.
Great video and commentary! I live in Barberton, which boarders Akron, and the street I live on is about 5 minutes away from Rolling Acres. It is a terrible shame what happened to this place. I was only 9 years old when it closed, but as a really little kid, I remember how awesome I thought the place was, the size, the glass elevator, the fountain, it blew my mind. My parents stopped taking me there around 2006 because it was too unsafe. The crime was so bad that the police had to constantly patrol the parking lot. What was once a booming area is now a deserted and eerie wasteland that we have to drive through to reach the highway. Supposedly, Akron has reached a deal with the owners, which is that they have until this July to find a buyer, after July the property returns to the city. I hate to say it, but the only outcome I see is the mall being demolished. It's almost hard to believe. My dad said that in the 70s and 80s, Rolling Acres was the place to be. It was one of the best malls in the state. After only 30 years of operation, it sits in ruin.
Dan: I am an Akron native. The last time I was in this mall, was late 2002 and it seemed dead then. I went there with my dad because I was an amateur stamp collector at the time and for some strange reason, the main Akron Post Office (USPS), opened a small post office near the main entrance of Rolling Acres Mall. They also put their stamp collecting office at that mall too, for all of the Akron Stamp collectors. I don't know how long it was there for or when the Postal Station moved. But I remember we asked why on earth would the main post office open a stamp collecting office at Rolling Acres and the Postal Clerk said it was in a desperate attempt to bring more traffic to Rolling Acres Mall. Jamie.
Two teenage girls were taken behind the mall in the mid 80's, raped and killed, of the men involved one was given the death penalty, when the time came to kill him he claimed that he was too fat to be executed. The girls were driving on a nearby highway when a rock thrown from a bridge by the men broke their windsheild, the girls stopped and the men offered to help, instead they kidnapped them, and took them behind the mall, the rest must have been hell on earth for the girls.
Dan, thanks for making these videos. I'm an archaeologist, and I agree with your commentary about documenting these buildings 100%. They are part of the recent cultural and economic history of the country and in 20 years, or 100 or even 500 the records of these buildings will be invaluable to the memory of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Good work and keep it up.
I love hearing you experiences and thoughts will you are observing every thing. I think one of my biggest grips about some videos of abandoned places is when they are set to music and people don't tell the viewer what they are seeing in real time. So I love this little extra insight into such an amazingly beautiful place
I always watch the rolling acres mall video when I feel bad or anxious and we had to put my dog down today and honestly this is the first time I've felt calm all day. I appreciate your voice and work so much. 💙
I'm a product of 1980 and grew up in malls and that is why dead malls fascinate me as well. It is so hard to believe that a once beautiful thriving mall can come to complete ruins like this one. Out of all your dead mall series this one was my favorite so far even though you filmed two dead malls I frequented growing up (Middleton mall in Fairmont WV and mountaineer mall in Morgantown WV). Just glad you didn't get hurt or arrested filming this one! Thanks again for sharing!
Dan just perfectly described how I feel. Is the contrast of what something was and what that something is now. I'm not from America but I live in America now and I am always amazed about how some places can just vanish and not exist anymore. It is not sentimental but it it never stops to amaze me.
I don't get emotional when I see these videos, but seeing videos like the Burlington Mall in NJ... that made me a little nostalgic because that was the mall we were taken to as a special treat when I a teenager too young to drive. That mall was, for some reason, special when I was younger. And I'll admit, it made me a little sad when I saw your walk through and saw it dying the way it was. I didn't get emotional about it, but I was thankful that you got there while it was still open to document it... but I also had no idea it declined so badly until I saw it, so you were the one to break the news to me. Now I will admit... I have watched that video three times. Also, I think the indoor mall is a dying thing, so these videos, at some point, are going to be super cool for folks to show their kids, and since you don't over sensationalize them, it will be great for people to tell their kids stories and all as you go through their teenaged haunts.
I love all your abandoned series, Dan, and I share your feelings about documenting the spaces before they are no longer around. They are a reminder of the excesses of the generation born in the last half of the 20th century. I grew up in semi-rural central Virginia and from an early age, I was fascinated by abandoned houses and buildings and even an old tobacco factory mere bike rides from my house. They were markers of times gone by, ruined reminders of the impermanence of human creations. Your videos remind me of my early explorations and of the transient nature of material things. Thanks for all your hard work! I'm so glad the police let you go easy in this one!
I was 16 back in 1993 and going to the mall was the cool thing do to hang-out, to shop. Now it's about Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Ebay. My mall is Amazon and I hang-out with friends on Facebook. Things have changed since the 90's! :)
IF you do go back, see if you find or get any footage of the infamous underground tunnel that supposedly flows from the fountain to the kenwood forest I believe it was called. That could be interesting too. Thanks Dan, you're the best at this stuff. Would love to see more of the inside of the Cinema area as well. Thanks again!! :)
You know I think the fascination with malls closing is also about fantasizing about the end of society in general. How many post apocalyptic movies make references to malls.
This Dead Mall series video was the 1st or 2nd video I saw of yours, and I've been a huge fan of your work ever since. I'm so happy you did a CRF on it. Keep em' coming!
The combo of the fountain and the ceiling at 18:58 is fantastic! I can imagine when that fountain was in use that the orange tile would just glow. Combine that and the diffused skylight with its geometric supports, it created a nice aesthetic.
Enjoyed this my friend. It inspires me to explore some of the old abandoned places out in MA. There are quite a number out this way. Stay well and walk in peace.
Once again Dan another awesome Cutting/Room/Floor. It's fun hearing the stories behind your videos and the adventures that happen on and off camera. Looking forward to your next video!
I recently found out The Black Keys actually used a shot of the broken glass entrance of this mall for one of their single covers... Cool stuff. Great video Dan, these videos never fail to fascinate.
I love the dead mall series because I worked at one in the Chicago suburbs in the mid to late 80's while in high school. That was *the* place to hang out back in the day and one of a few legal and relatively safe places for teens to hang out. BTW, Dan, I found your channel because TH-cam started recommending you in the right side panel. I think it's because I watch strange little channels like Dark 5 and some listverse type vids. In any case, love the channel and the cutting room floor. Keep up the good work.
As Dan was saying about when it first closed and it was wide open, the scrappers would have had a field day !! As an ex scrapper that building would have been the holy grail for me !!
As someone who came of age in the 80s, no malls have closed here in the Seattle area. In-fact most have expanded in size. Dead malls must be more of a east of the Rockies issue.
I'm from Michigan and i've watched Mall grow massively (Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi,MI) , i've watched malls slowly shrink (Meridian Mall, Okemos) and i've seen mall completely close up (Livonia Mall, Livonia) and get demolished (Wonderland Mall, Livonia). In my opinion, it boils down to the economy of the area. Richer people = More Business. When the economy in cities start to fail, so do the malls.
@@loganknowsnoneofyourbusine263 like one mall here, the area surrounding it has suddenly become a huge retail corridor, tons of new stores and stuff Oh yeah and the mall has 8 anchor tenants now which is just insane, including a very nice movie theater built 2 years ago The downside is that there's a lot of empty retail further down the road but hopefully that will change soon
It's fascinating to me to see how the shops were contained within basically a metal structure akin to a pole building with metal trusses - the skeleton of the structure is totally different than atypical buildings. Adding food courts in a general area for people to congregate and also other areas for plantings in planters, trees and shrubbery to bring nature to a more sterile area worked as well for many of these places. How they planned the utilities, water, heating, lighting, and waste disposal was also a huge problem to streamline and make manageable.
I love your videos man. Your doing a fantastic job. I'm also from the 90's and I enjoy the creepy feelings I get. a 50/50 mix of happiness and loneliness
I enjoy hearing the extra commentary. I find these places compelling also. I had to think about it for a while to understand why exploring around abandoned places is fun. I think alot of people are more interested in the past rather than the future. I know part of that is true for me. One cool thing about malls is, older people who used to frequent these places, as well as younger people who didn't go, will both find the stories interesting. I think back about exploring abandoned buildings with my mother, at the time I didn't realize so many people were into this sort of thing. I've learned over the years that people have different reasons for exploring, unfortunately some are there for destruction only. I have done some glass breaking myself in the past, so I understand to a degree. Thanks again for taking the time and the risk to attain these videos. chester
22:00 The TH-cam copyright bots are definitely rough. I know the feeling of starting small and "I don't care" about the claim until you're at least mildly significant and now you have a popular video that can't ever be monetized. (Unless you give in and remove the infringing audio, but on my affected videos I won't do it out of principle, though it kinds of sucks for me I guess.) It does seem kind of pathetic in a way that a few seconds of audio -- even if it's a "well known" clip -- will suddenly divert all possible income from your 20+ minutes of video (not to mention all time spent shooting and editing it in the first place) to some other studio somewhere that didn't have to do anything and gets to reap all benefits.
Hayley Jean Proctor Dan used a few seconds of audio and it caused a copyright claim by TH-cam's detection systems. As a result, all proceeds on this video don't go to Dan, but instead to the copyright holder.
There are actually dead malls here in Norway too. Kverntorget is one of them, it shut down in the early 2000s, it was demolished in 2006, but if you look it up, there are some shots of it full of decay. As for America, I don't really think your economy is failing, it's just adjusting, it seems to me, that there was just simply an over abundance of malls, at some point in time, that will just burst. But it's rarely the complete end of something.
Dan, that was AWESOME!!! I SO appreciate ALL of your videos, but the Rolling Acres ones are my favorites. I'm from Florida, and knew nothing about Rolling Acres until just recently. I instantly became obsessed. I think I've seen every video of this once great mall at least twice. What an AMAZING place! Did you take home any souvenirs from Rolling Acres? I would LOVE to have a piece of tile from that gorgeous fountain, a piece of stationery with the mall logo on it, or most anything else pertaining to the mall. I feel strangely very close to a place that I have never even seen before in person. It's hard to explain. Anyway, I'm babbling on, but thank you VERY much for all you do. GREAT stuff ALWAYS!!!
One of my absolute favorite videos of yours, Dan. Something about the atmosphere, music, and commentary comes together so well and has a sort of tragic nostalgic feel to it. Would love to see a return!
I know I've said this before, but not only do I enjoy your "regular" uploads, but your CRF's are excellent. I really enjoy your thoughts on the site, and commentary on the tour. This was a great one. Thanks for consistently interesting videos and quality camerawork.
its so awesome you explaining why you do these videos, it also answers for me why i love watching them so much..I wish i could sneak you in to the East Gate Consumer Mall that used to be open in Indianapolis..that was one of my favorite malls to shop at when i was a kid till it was closed down.
One of my absolute favorites. That is so cool to hear of a Japanese company wanting to use your footage. It'll be interesting to see how popular these videos will be in the next decade or so.
Another awesome video! Everything I watch this video, I am always amazed that you made it up and down those escalater steps without slipping and falling off.
That last wing behind customer search was the Dillard's at 28:26. The target was added in the late 90s . It was a great place and enjoyed many good times there
Wow! I can't believe they sent 7 police officers out to an abandoned mall to check out a trespasser. They must have been expecting something totally different than just Dan filming. Great video!
there's rumors going on that Malls will Decline completely and will no longer exist by 2030 or 2040... :( so I'm glad that urban explorers are still exploring them.....
hopefully I'll be dead by then I'm only 18. :'( and the mall near me is everything for all of us. we and all grades now like to go to the mall. its a thing. still. very popular
There's some strange , and not so strange places that give me vertigo. The furniture section in Sears at Great Northern Mall (North Olmsted, OH) is one of those. Last time I was there I started spacing out and felt dizzy. The guy working there if I was ok lol, I told him yeah I was fine, but it was very strange. The section is dimly lit so that probably plays a part in it. I also have Aspergers so that could play a role in it as well.
"stark contrast" yes, i like that. I love abandonment and I love popular culture and a dead malls totally connects the two. Thanks for your great videos.
Closed only 8 years at the time of this video and it looks like its been abandoned for 50. Now these places would be the perfect backdrop for all those 80's posts apocalypse movies.
I went to rolling acres last Saturday and let me tell you... 4 cop cars patrolling the parking lot, one stopped to question me. I was only outside taking photos. The mall will probably be gone by the end of 2016 so thank you for making these videos for history's sake.
Love your videos they are fantastic. You easily did the 30 minute talk mate so no worries there. Would love a daily cutting room floor vid but i know that's impossible. So great to see the videos twice in your channel with raw then commented version. Brilliant idea and it works perfect for you. Keep up the good work!
Good storytelling and such creepy stores. I like these videos as well as your abandoned motels. Abandoned places are beautiful, scary and oh so mysterious.
I have pictures taken in the mall (1982) of a car show I was part of , put on by Summit racing equipment , I was parked in the middle between Jo-Ann Fabrics and The Wild Pair . what a nice place in the 80's . such a shame .
It's amazing how many people are really down on the police. Most of the times when they've stopped to talk with me, I've explained what I was doing, why I was doing it....... and they are usually as nice to me as I am to them.
Hate to say it, but half of the "bullshit" arrests I've seen on TH-cam were because the person being arrested wouldn't answer their questions.... if you answer their questions and you don't say anything stupid, you'll be amazed at how nice they can actually be.
My interest in abandoned places is a mishmash of things. The futility of humanity's struggle of achieving immortality through resurrecting monuments that will outlast them but ultimately dissolve into nothingness & be reclaimed by the very nature destroyed to create it, antiquities of the past fight to stay relevant & remembered, the way trends that seem so important age & become bizarre curiosities, & the way neglected art can be more beautiful when seen by an individual that it was when it was surrounded by eyes & ignored.
Dead mall videos do make me sad...but only of malls that were a part of my life. My husband and I lived just outside of Akron in the very early '90's, and we made the trip down to Rolling Acres a few times and when I compare those memories to videos like this, it just breaks my heart. I spent much of my childhood at Parmatown Mall in Parma Ohio..and we have been fortunate because Parmatown didn't start out as a mall. It was a shopping center smack dab in the middle of a residential area. They decided to "enclosed" it (mallify it?) in the late '60's. No second floor, no humongous surrounding parking lot, so when the economy started to tank they started putting Parmatown back the way it used to be, a shopping center NOT a mall. The revamping they have done is wonderful, although I will admit to my heart lurching a bit when they demolished the original anchor store (the May Co.) I so appreciate these kind of videos and all the work you go through to bring them to us. Every mall was a big part of someones life....and we need to remember. God Bless! (By the way... Akron does have wonderfully kind and compassionate police!)
Love this. But watched with a bit of pain in my heart. I miss these malls. South Park in Strongsville is our newest mall, still going strong after about 20 years. I must get my husbands wheelchair out and go out there before it is gone. I just love the indoor malls. Especially here in northeast Ohio. Last couple of years of Rolling Acres we used to go to the last two stores that were still open, Sears and JC Penny's. Just went because we didn't want to give up on this beautiful mall.
At 20:24 that anchor was a Dillards (I've done a lot of research on this place to, like you I'm very fascinated) The other Anchor stores were Target, Macy's, JC Penny, and Sears. The anchor stores are all privately owned as well. Dillard's and Macy's are used for storage by the owners, JC Penny still owns it's old store. Target is a "Storage of America" and Sears is "Pinnacle Paper Recycling"
+rEac tor Damn you. I tried it and now I find I can't watch the video at normal speed anymore. The drunk slow version is just too much more entertaining.
I grew up coming to this mall. I worked at the movie theater one summer during my college break. I can't believe what a mess it is now.
The area is creepy. It doesn't help that there is a cemetery right next door. I haven't been on that side of town in a long time.
Thank you Dan for your interest in our state''s abandoned mall. There is another one, Chapel Hill, that is dying and it's not too far via highway from this area.
I will watch out for updates from you.
It's gone now... the mall interior itself is gone, and they're demolishing the JCPenney building now; the entire demolition project is slated to be completed sometime this month, one year after it started... #RIPRollingAcres
The cemetery next door offered to by a large chunk of the land (because they are full and need the space) but the city turned it down. The city would not say why the turned down a cash offer which is not to smart as they could have really used the money and if anything cemeteries are at least well kept up. I think Chapel Hell would make a great Deal Mall video! It is so interesting that the strip malls and stand-alone stores are doing great in that area but the mall is dying.
@@bethbeckettcrow2081
The city will get more money in tax if someone else uses the property for redevelopment. Which has happened since Amazon is using it.
What I love most about Urbex is how it's basically urban archaeology. I always thought I was a weird kid growing up who loved abandoned places, turns out it's a universal human thing!
Small update, I went in TODAY, 08/16/17 even though most of the main structure has been torn down. A door into JC Penny was open that led down through a pitch black stairwell into the bottom floor and you could walk around the entire store, all the way from the shipping area near the Macy's side, and on the opposite side to the back of the store and up to the second floor through another dark stairwell. If you go, you have to be extremely careful, there is hanging debris from the ongoing demolition and glass everywhere. It was very interesting to walk around and look out through the open spaces where the rest of the mall once was. I did not see any cameras that were active however and nobody showed up to question me during the hour I was there.
Nice video Dan, that mall sounds like it has some dark history surrounding it. I have talked to police who have no idea why some people like urban exploration. They just don't understand it.
I noticed that the traffic lights at 3:08 were in flash mode. Unless it was a malfunction, that's usually a sign that an area has lost a lot of road traffic in recent years.
Great observation
That area as an entirety is pretty much a ghost town. Especially since the murder there
Some of the things you said about old malls is very poignant and applies to people too. I took care of my aging parents and now I'm no spring chicken either. Like these malls In youth one is attractive, active, has friends and fun. But I've witnessed old age take over in people from the days gone by. . . no longer attractive, active . . . . . many alone, forgotten and abandoned. Hard to believe what you see in their old photos is really them and the life they once had. Like these malls their popularity and usefuless no longer recognized.
Now that's some heavy stuff right there....
Yes aging creeps up on you and then hits hard .I'm 62 and life is getting less fun .
"...low-life trespasser" cracks me up! Well, Dan, we your viewers and subscribers know that Dan Bell is one of the high-class explorers and are glad to learn of your growing and well-deserved recognition.---That was something to learn about the power being cut off and tenants up and leaving. It would be interesting to know more about that: were people actually in the dark in stores full of merchandise that had to be cleared out? That sudden shutdown makes me think of the 1968 movie "Hotel" when the decision was suddenly made to close the Hotel St. Gregory while it was still in operation and then people were leaving the building like they were evacuating the place.
I love watching these late at night!
+Daռɨɛʟʟɛ Aռɢɛʟɨռa just not the scary series videos, the abandoned children asylum gave me nightmares :(
+RevToTheRedline I had to stay at my parents because of the night at the kids asylum video
Love you!!!! I can't express enough how much joy you Put in my life!!!! I could watch your videos every day and second if my life and never ever get tired of you!!!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Your videos help me take my mind off my anxiety, I really look forward to them. Well done & thank you. :)
Another day on TH-cam, another comment about anxiety
I know his voice his relaxing.
I agree with how intrguing dead malls are. For me I do get a little emotional(I know lame) becuz I myself was also a teen in the 90s and seeing all these malls goes just makes me feel like a part of my teenage and childhood is going. Thank you Dan bell for another great video. I love the cutting room floor videos and I hope you can go back to rolling acres. That would be awesome
I can't get enough of seeing Rolling Acres Mall! It's just so creepy and I can't stop watching!
Are you from Ohio?
@@aurelpopa1581, No. I'm from San Bernardino. A pretty sizable city about an hour northeast of Los Angeles and the largest county (San Bernardino County) by size in the US.
Hey Dan, im British and our high streets are dead, empty and depressing. Our malls are booming, more than ever, more and more malls opening every week. I currently live in Bangkok, Thailand, and the malls are booming here also, I think this is purely an American thing. Great work Dan, your editing skills are amazing.
You nailed it when discussing the waste, it's something to behold
Great video and commentary! I live in Barberton, which boarders Akron, and the street I live on is about 5 minutes away from Rolling Acres. It is a terrible shame what happened to this place. I was only 9 years old when it closed, but as a really little kid, I remember how awesome I thought the place was, the size, the glass elevator, the fountain, it blew my mind. My parents stopped taking me there around 2006 because it was too unsafe. The crime was so bad that the police had to constantly patrol the parking lot. What was once a booming area is now a deserted and eerie wasteland that we have to drive through to reach the highway. Supposedly, Akron has reached a deal with the owners, which is that they have until this July to find a buyer, after July the property returns to the city. I hate to say it, but the only outcome I see is the mall being demolished. It's almost hard to believe. My dad said that in the 70s and 80s, Rolling Acres was the place to be. It was one of the best malls in the state. After only 30 years of operation, it sits in ruin.
26:17 "You drove from Baltimore to Ohio to film a mall?"
Not just any mall, THE Rolling Acres Mall.
Which is now an Amazon building 😂
That's a long drive.
Dan: I am an Akron native. The last time I was in this mall, was late 2002 and it seemed dead then. I went there with my dad because I was an amateur stamp collector at the time and for some strange reason, the main Akron Post Office (USPS), opened a small post office near the main entrance of Rolling Acres Mall. They also put their stamp collecting office at that mall too, for all of the Akron Stamp collectors. I don't know how long it was there for or when the Postal Station moved. But I remember we asked why on earth would the main post office open a stamp collecting office at Rolling Acres and the Postal Clerk said it was in a desperate attempt to bring more traffic to Rolling Acres Mall. Jamie.
The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota also had a post office AND a stamp collector's shop, also. Went there once or twice.
Two teenage girls were taken behind the mall in the mid 80's, raped and killed, of the men involved one was given the death penalty, when the time came to kill him he claimed that he was too fat to be executed. The girls were driving on a nearby highway when a rock thrown from a bridge by the men broke their windsheild, the girls stopped and the men offered to help, instead they kidnapped them, and took them behind the mall, the rest must have been hell on earth for the girls.
I just read about this. Absolutely chilling. Those poor women.
Is there a way in to Macy's? Shouldn't gang break entrance window in the mall, if it happen, then you could've explore former Macy's
Like a hard rock able to break the wood or a large pickaxe
Theres a storage record warehouse in the macys there are cameras and keep out signs on the entrances
I saw something about this also... the killer you're referring to was executed a couple weeks before the mall closed...
Dan, thanks for making these videos. I'm an archaeologist, and I agree with your commentary about documenting these buildings 100%. They are part of the recent cultural and economic history of the country and in 20 years, or 100 or even 500 the records of these buildings will be invaluable to the memory of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Good work and keep it up.
I love hearing you experiences and thoughts will you are observing every thing. I think one of my biggest grips about some videos of abandoned places is when they are set to music and people don't tell the viewer what they are seeing in real time. So I love this little extra insight into such an amazingly beautiful place
I always watch the rolling acres mall video when I feel bad or anxious and we had to put my dog down today and honestly this is the first time I've felt calm all day. I appreciate your voice and work so much. 💙
I'm a product of 1980 and grew up in malls and that is why dead malls fascinate me as well. It is so hard to believe that a once beautiful thriving mall can come to complete ruins like this one. Out of all your dead mall series this one was my favorite so far even though you filmed two dead malls I frequented growing up (Middleton mall in Fairmont WV and mountaineer mall in Morgantown WV). Just glad you didn't get hurt or arrested filming this one! Thanks again for sharing!
Dan just perfectly described how I feel. Is the contrast of what something was and what that something is now. I'm not from America but I live in America now and I am always amazed about how some places can just vanish and not exist anymore. It is not sentimental but it it never stops to amaze me.
I don't get emotional when I see these videos, but seeing videos like the Burlington Mall in NJ... that made me a little nostalgic because that was the mall we were taken to as a special treat when I a teenager too young to drive. That mall was, for some reason, special when I was younger. And I'll admit, it made me a little sad when I saw your walk through and saw it dying the way it was. I didn't get emotional about it, but I was thankful that you got there while it was still open to document it... but I also had no idea it declined so badly until I saw it, so you were the one to break the news to me. Now I will admit... I have watched that video three times.
Also, I think the indoor mall is a dying thing, so these videos, at some point, are going to be super cool for folks to show their kids, and since you don't over sensationalize them, it will be great for people to tell their kids stories and all as you go through their teenaged haunts.
I think that video was the first I saw of yours. Still love the police at the end...enjoyed hearing all about the trip.
Yes. The humanity that strode the mall left some sort of spirit that one can feel. I find it fascinating. Thanks, Dan.
I love all your abandoned series, Dan, and I share your feelings about documenting the spaces before they are no longer around. They are a reminder of the excesses of the generation born in the last half of the 20th century.
I grew up in semi-rural central Virginia and from an early age, I was fascinated by abandoned houses and buildings and even an old tobacco factory mere bike rides from my house. They were markers of times gone by, ruined reminders of the impermanence of human creations.
Your videos remind me of my early explorations and of the transient nature of material things. Thanks for all your hard work! I'm so glad the police let you go easy in this one!
I love when you crack yourself up, Dan lol
I was 16 back in 1993 and going to the mall was the cool thing do to hang-out, to shop. Now it's about Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Ebay. My mall is Amazon and I hang-out with friends on Facebook. Things have changed since the 90's! :)
I've become fascinated with the Rolling Acres Mall and your video is part of that. Thanks Dan
IF you do go back, see if you find or get any footage of the infamous underground tunnel that supposedly flows from the fountain to the kenwood forest I believe it was called. That could be interesting too. Thanks Dan, you're the best at this stuff. Would love to see more of the inside of the Cinema area as well. Thanks again!! :)
You know I think the fascination with malls closing is also about fantasizing about the end of society in general. How many post apocalyptic movies make references to malls.
This Dead Mall series video was the 1st or 2nd video I saw of yours, and I've been a huge fan of your work ever since. I'm so happy you did a CRF on it. Keep em' coming!
The combo of the fountain and the ceiling at 18:58 is fantastic! I can imagine when that fountain was in use that the orange tile would just glow. Combine that and the diffused skylight with its geometric supports, it created a nice aesthetic.
search for Rolling Acres Mall and you will find video of when it was open and the fountain was working. It was beautiful.
Enjoyed this my friend. It inspires me to explore some of the old abandoned places out in MA. There are quite a number out this way. Stay well and walk in peace.
Once again Dan another awesome Cutting/Room/Floor. It's fun hearing the stories behind your videos and the adventures that happen on and off camera. Looking forward to your next video!
can't wait for a revisit, hope it comes through. this place fascinates me so much. i miss the malls from the past. awesome work as always dan!
Thank you so much for uploading this Dan. I really wanted a C/R/F of this place. Perfect example of abandoned to me. This place was spooky!
I recently found out The Black Keys actually used a shot of the broken glass entrance of this mall for one of their single covers... Cool stuff.
Great video Dan, these videos never fail to fascinate.
The entrance The Black Keys used was the south entrance of the Macy's building...
I love the dead mall series because I worked at one in the Chicago suburbs in the mid to late 80's while in high school. That was *the* place to hang out back in the day and one of a few legal and relatively safe places for teens to hang out.
BTW, Dan, I found your channel because TH-cam started recommending you in the right side panel. I think it's because I watch strange little channels like Dark 5 and some listverse type vids. In any case, love the channel and the cutting room floor. Keep up the good work.
I understand how you feel. There is something bitter sweet seeing a dead mall. It's hard to put into words. Glad you didn't get arrested! Great video!
As Dan was saying about when it first closed and it was wide open, the scrappers would have had a field day !! As an ex scrapper that building would have been the holy grail for me !!
As someone who came of age in the 80s, no malls have closed here in the Seattle area. In-fact most have expanded in size. Dead malls must be more of a east of the Rockies issue.
It all really depends on area, if a mall is in a nice or safe area, it's more likely to thrive.
I'm from Michigan and i've watched Mall grow massively (Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi,MI) , i've watched malls slowly shrink (Meridian Mall, Okemos) and i've seen mall completely close up (Livonia Mall, Livonia) and get demolished (Wonderland Mall, Livonia). In my opinion, it boils down to the economy of the area. Richer people = More Business. When the economy in cities start to fail, so do the malls.
@@loganknowsnoneofyourbusine263 like one mall here, the area surrounding it has suddenly become a huge retail corridor, tons of new stores and stuff
Oh yeah and the mall has 8 anchor tenants now which is just insane, including a very nice movie theater built 2 years ago
The downside is that there's a lot of empty retail further down the road but hopefully that will change soon
@@GummyDinosaursify yea exactly, I'd say Southland Center is getting better
I couldn't agree more about your interest in dead malls. It's amazing how it was once so crowded and alive. Love your videos.
It's fascinating to me to see how the shops were contained within basically a metal structure akin to a pole building with metal trusses - the skeleton of the structure is totally different than atypical buildings. Adding food courts in a general area for people to congregate and also other areas for plantings in planters, trees and shrubbery to bring nature to a more sterile area worked as well for many of these places. How they planned the utilities, water, heating, lighting, and waste disposal was also a huge problem to streamline and make manageable.
I love your videos man. Your doing a fantastic job. I'm also from the 90's and I enjoy the creepy feelings I get. a 50/50 mix of happiness and loneliness
I enjoy hearing the extra commentary. I find these places compelling also. I had to think about it for a while to understand why exploring around abandoned places is fun. I think alot of people are more interested in the past rather than the future. I know part of that is true for me. One cool thing about malls is, older people who used to frequent these places, as well as younger people who didn't go, will both find the stories interesting. I think back about exploring abandoned buildings with my mother, at the time I didn't realize so many people were into this sort of thing. I've learned over the years that people have different reasons for exploring, unfortunately some are there for destruction only. I have done some glass breaking myself in the past, so I understand to a degree. Thanks again for taking the time and the risk to attain these videos. chester
22:00 The TH-cam copyright bots are definitely rough. I know the feeling of starting small and "I don't care" about the claim until you're at least mildly significant and now you have a popular video that can't ever be monetized. (Unless you give in and remove the infringing audio, but on my affected videos I won't do it out of principle, though it kinds of sucks for me I guess.) It does seem kind of pathetic in a way that a few seconds of audio -- even if it's a "well known" clip -- will suddenly divert all possible income from your 20+ minutes of video (not to mention all time spent shooting and editing it in the first place) to some other studio somewhere that didn't have to do anything and gets to reap all benefits.
what
Hayley Jean Proctor Dan used a few seconds of audio and it caused a copyright claim by TH-cam's detection systems. As a result, all proceeds on this video don't go to Dan, but instead to the copyright holder.
There are actually dead malls here in Norway too. Kverntorget is one of them, it shut down in the early 2000s, it was demolished in 2006, but if you look it up, there are some shots of it full of decay. As for America, I don't really think your economy is failing, it's just adjusting, it seems to me, that there was just simply an over abundance of malls, at some point in time, that will just burst. But it's rarely the complete end of something.
I agree, in the akron area there were about 4 malls, this was bound to happen!
Great job, Dan!!! I'm a devoted fan of all your staff there. Watching you from Europe. Keep on.
Dan, that was AWESOME!!! I SO appreciate ALL of your videos, but the Rolling Acres ones are my favorites. I'm from Florida, and knew nothing about Rolling Acres until just recently. I instantly became obsessed. I think I've seen every video of this once great mall at least twice. What an AMAZING place! Did you take home any souvenirs from Rolling Acres? I would LOVE to have a piece of tile from that gorgeous fountain, a piece of stationery with the mall logo on it, or most anything else pertaining to the mall. I feel strangely very close to a place that I have never even seen before in person. It's hard to explain. Anyway, I'm babbling on, but thank you VERY much for all you do. GREAT stuff ALWAYS!!!
good cuting room. this was the first of your videos that I have watched and I have been hooked since
One of my absolute favorite videos of yours, Dan. Something about the atmosphere, music, and commentary comes together so well and has a sort of tragic nostalgic feel to it. Would love to see a return!
and now its demolished ! so glad you filmed
I reckon he never got to do that return trip he mentioned in the video
I know I've said this before, but not only do I enjoy your "regular" uploads, but your CRF's are excellent. I really enjoy your thoughts on the site, and commentary on the tour. This was a great one. Thanks for consistently interesting videos and quality camerawork.
The Anthropological/Archeological aspect if your work is what attracted me to your work. So, I certainly agree with what drew you in.
its so awesome you explaining why you do these videos, it also answers for me why i love watching them so much..I wish i could sneak you in to the East Gate Consumer Mall that used to be open in Indianapolis..that was one of my favorite malls to shop at when i was a kid till it was closed down.
Dan, you should be on Coast To Coast A.M. The places you find and film are awsome and what a story they tell.
One of my absolute favorites. That is so cool to hear of a Japanese company wanting to use your footage. It'll be interesting to see how popular these videos will be in the next decade or so.
It's been a long boring day, until now. Thanks Dan.
Another awesome video!
Everything I watch this video, I am always amazed that you made it up and down those escalater steps without slipping and falling off.
That last wing behind customer search was the Dillard's at 28:26. The target was added in the late 90s . It was a great place and enjoyed many good times there
Loved this cutting room floor! The original video was great, and sooo interesting! - so getting a CRF on this one is excellent!
Great to see this one again. Great interesting commentary and of course the ending! I just love the C/R/F ones.
Dan thank you for making these videos! Love your perspective and commentary!
Wow! I can't believe they sent 7 police officers out to an abandoned mall to check out a trespasser. They must have been expecting something totally different than just Dan filming.
Great video!
there's rumors going on that Malls will Decline completely and will no longer exist by 2030 or 2040... :( so I'm glad that urban explorers are still exploring them.....
hopefully I'll be dead by then I'm only 18. :'( and the mall near me is everything for all of us. we and all grades now like to go to the mall. its a thing. still. very popular
I love your videos. The reminiscing and the shame of a waste of good space. The eerieiness of your videos is awesome! almost horror movie like
Glad you did this! One of my favorite videos!
The Rolling Acres Ruins , fascinating!!!!
yessss!!!! thank you ☺ lots of my friends grew up going to this mall when it was awesome
I think it was a fantastic place when they went
There's some strange , and not so strange places that give me vertigo. The furniture section in Sears at Great Northern Mall (North Olmsted, OH) is one of those. Last time I was there I started spacing out and felt dizzy. The guy working there if I was ok lol, I told him yeah I was fine, but it was very strange. The section is dimly lit so that probably plays a part in it. I also have Aspergers so that could play a role in it as well.
people with Aspergers are my favorite. not trying to sound rude. I'm litterly serious. and I'm sorry
@@HayleyJeanProctor445 it's okay
jumping up and down AWESOME! I wished and wished you would do a CRF on Rolling Acres! I love your commentary and the wave in the mirror was GREAT.
Another great cutting room floor episode!
"stark contrast" yes, i like that. I love abandonment and I love popular culture and a dead malls totally connects the two. Thanks for your great videos.
Thanks Dan. Great video. I used to go there when I was a kid, Arcade was downstairs by the food court.
This is the first video I saw of yours and immediately fell in love with your work! Keep it up 😬😬😬😬😬
Closed only 8 years at the time of this video and it looks like its been abandoned for 50. Now these places would be the perfect backdrop for all those 80's posts apocalypse movies.
I went to rolling acres last Saturday and let me tell you...
4 cop cars patrolling the parking lot, one stopped to question me.
I was only outside taking photos.
The mall will probably be gone by the end of 2016 so thank you for making these videos for history's sake.
Your videos are well worth the time it takes to watch them!
Love your videos they are fantastic. You easily did the 30 minute talk mate so no worries there. Would love a daily cutting room floor vid but i know that's impossible. So great to see the videos twice in your channel with raw then commented version. Brilliant idea and it works perfect for you. Keep up the good work!
Oh yeah so excited to see this cutting room floor!!
Good storytelling and such creepy stores. I like these videos as well as your abandoned motels. Abandoned places are beautiful, scary and oh so mysterious.
I have pictures taken in the mall (1982) of a car show I was part of , put on by Summit racing equipment , I was parked in the middle between Jo-Ann Fabrics and The Wild Pair . what a nice place in the 80's . such a shame .
I like listen to you describe your video's please don't stop. thanks for this video very good.
Hey Dan I'm not sure if I asked you yet but Are you going to do A Cutting Room on the drug house where you found the bag of drugs? Thanks Man.
+BigD Jr I'd like to see that too.
+BigD Jr I'd also like to see that. But the footage that he hasn't posted yet may be embargoed by law enforcement as evidence?
+Stash Merkin Yeah you could be right there,
BigD Jr Idk if you guys have seen it yet but here's the link: th-cam.com/video/sWLZ_j0WzIs/w-d-xo.html
Ben Funderburg thanks🙏
Thank you for documenting history. In the late 70s, the video killed the radio star. Now, the Internet killed the community malls.
It's amazing how many people are really down on the police. Most of the times when they've stopped to talk with me, I've explained what I was doing, why I was doing it....... and they are usually as nice to me as I am to them.
In this case they were probably concerned about safety. Nothing left to vandalize (LOL)
Hate to say it, but half of the "bullshit" arrests I've seen on TH-cam were because the person being arrested wouldn't answer their questions.... if you answer their questions and you don't say anything stupid, you'll be amazed at how nice they can actually be.
@@michaelducote2509 the ignorant display of their privilege smh
Another fantastic video. Well done!
Grew up on the street across from this mall. I'm 29 years old,and oh the memories.
I love reading about serial killers too! It's amazing reading some of the things they did and seeing how their minds work.
My interest in abandoned places is a mishmash of things. The futility of humanity's struggle of achieving immortality through resurrecting monuments that will outlast them but ultimately dissolve into nothingness & be reclaimed by the very nature destroyed to create it, antiquities of the past fight to stay relevant & remembered, the way trends that seem so important age & become bizarre curiosities, & the way neglected art can be more beautiful when seen by an individual that it was when it was surrounded by eyes & ignored.
I enjoyed that, Dan! Thank you:) You express yourself so well, and it jives with my way of thinking:)
Your an awesome TH-camr man, great videos! Keep it up!
Great Video Dan! have watched this video numerous times
Dead mall videos do make me sad...but only of malls that were a part of my life. My husband and I lived just outside of Akron in the very early '90's, and we made the trip down to Rolling Acres a few times and when I compare those memories to videos like this, it just breaks my heart. I spent much of my childhood at Parmatown Mall in Parma Ohio..and we have been fortunate because Parmatown didn't start out as a mall. It was a shopping center smack dab in the middle of a residential area. They decided to "enclosed" it (mallify it?) in the late '60's. No second floor, no humongous surrounding parking lot, so when the economy started to tank they started putting Parmatown back the way it used to be, a shopping center NOT a mall. The revamping they have done is wonderful, although I will admit to my heart lurching a bit when they demolished the original anchor store (the May Co.) I so appreciate these kind of videos and all the work you go through to bring them to us. Every mall was a big part of someones life....and we need to remember. God Bless! (By the way... Akron does have wonderfully kind and compassionate police!)
Love this. But watched with a bit of pain in my heart. I miss these malls. South Park in Strongsville is our newest mall, still going strong after about 20 years. I must get my husbands wheelchair out and go out there before it is gone. I just love the indoor malls. Especially here in northeast Ohio. Last couple of years of Rolling Acres we used to go to the last two stores that were still open, Sears and JC Penny's. Just went because we didn't want to give up on this beautiful mall.
At 20:24 that anchor was a Dillards (I've done a lot of research on this place to, like you I'm very fascinated) The other Anchor stores were Target, Macy's, JC Penny, and Sears. The anchor stores are all privately owned as well. Dillard's and Macy's are used for storage by the owners, JC Penny still owns it's old store. Target is a "Storage of America" and Sears is "Pinnacle Paper Recycling"
Yeah, thanks Dan - I had four or five "vertigo issues" as you call them while watching this video :-O
+Johnboy BEST VIDEO EVER.
+rEac tor LOL. It does!!!
+Kim Turner You!!!
I go to Lancaster mall and sports authority is closing
+rEac tor Damn you. I tried it and now I find I can't watch the video at normal speed anymore. The drunk slow version is just too much more entertaining.
I'm watching your videos like crazy. Love them, and I love the sound of your voice. :)