Northwest Mall (DEAD MALL) Final Days
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2024
- This mall has been a part of my life ever since I was a child. Though it was a popular spot back in it's heyday in the early 90s, it's popularity declined rapidly at the turn of the century. After years of struggling to stay afloat, it will now be closing it's doors for good on March 31st 2017. Dead malls and abandoned places have always intrigued me, so I took this opportunity to document the mall before it was gone. I'm hoping this is the first of many exploration/adventure videos. Enjoy!
Rip Northwest Mall 😢 a piece of my childhood I use to go here in the early 2000s Back when it use to get Packed
Such fond childhood memories 1970s/1980s. Worked there freshman year of college 1992. Movie theater outside of the mall, Farrell's Ice Cream, El Chico, the pirate ship located in kid's shoes Dept in Foley's, Tilt arcade. I wish I had a time machine. Thank you for the video, as it brought back great memories.
...started visiting Northwest Mall in the early 1970s...it was go-to shopping for much of the east, north, and northwest side of Houston...remember lots of good meals at El Chico's and Piccadilly Cafeteria...third floor Foley's became their massive clearance center with great bargains...got my haircuts at the other end of the mall...my wife was an interior designer with J.C. Penney's custom draperies for several years...we took our daughter to see Santa Claus before her first Christmas...wonderfully warm memories...word is, it's supposed to become the Houston station for a high-speed commuter train connecting Houston with Austin...who knows??
I lived in Oak Forest when I was a kid and my mom loved shopping there. Hwy 290 ended at Mangum Road back then (ha ha). The decline of the mall is happening all over Houston with Greenspoint, Northwest and West Oaks being the latest 'victims'. But before them, there were others like Gulfgate, Almeda & Northline and of course Downtown. It becomes clear the older we get, nothing is forever and the cycle of change is continual.
Robert DeMilo doesn't it still end at Mangum road?
Almeda is still going pretty decently. Greenspoint and West Oak are most likely gonna be the next ones to die.
Duuuude thanks for the footage. I was a 90s kid in Houston for 3 decades before moving to California. I remember Northwest Mall was one of the best places to be. I went to the TILT arcade there. b Dalton bookstore, JC Penny, and ate at Picadilly to name a few right off the top of my head.
6:30 I have a rogue memory of being in a mall in the 90s that looked dark and cramped like that hallway but then being mesmerized by the light in the main hallway I’m pretty sure now it was this mall
Never been inside the mall as a kid through teens. I do remember my father taking me to a PuttPutt Golf Park that was next to Northwest Mall around 2001. I don't remember the name of it; but thats the only small memory I have of this mall. I do remember by late 2021, I went to visit Antique Store, which you show at end of video. Thats the last store that remained open till December 2021.
As for Almeda Mall, I would've prefered this mall over Almeda Mall. Someone mentioned in comments the floor plan is similar to this, which I can tell. I don't even know what they're going to do with Almeda Mall since its a "dead mall", especially since Houston is being gentrified.
There was a Castle Golf nearby back in the day. They had mini golf, arcade games, bumper boats, and a batting cage. Next to that was a Malibu Fun Center with formula-1 style go karts. But those places were demolished years ago.
Sorry for commenting so much, but up until the early 00's there used to be a 'Tilt!' arcade at the end of the hallway at 6:41. It was a great place to hangout (in the 90's) as the market research company next door (I forget the name) would offer cash for opinions of upcoming movies (which then most people promptly spent at the arcade..ha!).
Cerstani don't apologize. I welcome more info on the mall. I can only remember so much. lol
Cerstani before it was the tilt it was called "the gold mine" late 80's
You're right, so it was! I tried to find some pictures of it, to no avail.. :(
Tilt at GulfGate was da shit in the 90’s
😭😭😭😭😭😭 Hate to see the Malls die out like this! Makes me sad. That Mall looks very well kept and clean. I wish they could get new Stores in there to get that Mall up and running again. It such a shame a beautiful Mall like this Mall has to fade into Oblivion like so many other Malls around the U.S. Thankyou for the Video! It was very informative. Keep up the great Work! Blessings!
Beth Cialek I agree 100%. Fortunately I don't think malls are going to die out completely. And yes, this mall has always been very well kept.
The internet destroyed the mall.
Internet sales are only about 9% of all retail sales. There are plenty of other reasons for malls to collapse.
High taxes, maintenance, low sales, etc etc.
Oversaturation of the marketplace, poor planning, shifting area demographics, 'if you've seen one mall, you've seen most malls' deja vu. Houston currently has four malls, when this one was open, that would have made five. And yes...taxes, sky high rents, etc.
I remember kb toys like it was yesterday I used to go there for pokemon cards back in 01. The comic book store, Sam goody, and the arcade room tilt were the best spots to hang as a tweenager. I remember in the late 90s the carousel near the footlocker with the spinning carts. This mall was the best back in the day
TRILL HOUSTON713 yes it was. I miss those days.
I remember KB Toys, but I remember it from Town & Country.
I used to work at the Tilt Arcade in the late 80s. So many good memories from my short time working there
What kind of games did it have
@@wids sit down after burner, thunder blade, cyberball. I was there when double dragon 2 first came out.
Good times.
All through the 90's I worked off 290 and Tidwell, so we would go to the Piccadilly for lunch at least 3 times a week. Loved Northwest because it was easy to get in and out of and I didn't have to deal with the Memorial City type crowds. I am so sorry to see this place closed because when I come back to Houston, I will be living close by and don't even want to have to deal with Memorial City.
Margo Duhon have you been by Houston Premium Outlets had in Cypress?
Margo Duhon have you been to Katy Mills Mall?
It will be a train station soon
Margo Duhon welcome to 2019.
Margo Duhon if you are living in Houston and staying close. My advice to you is please avoide the Galleria crowds. It's alot worse than Memorial City.
I've lived in houston my whole life and never heard of this mall, I was born in very late 90s so I guess that's why. It's stuck in the 90s, just like almeda. I go to almeda usually twice a year (for the bath and body works semi annual sale, nobody shops there so they usually have good stuff lol) and it's like stepping into that episode of full house where they go to the mall. And holy crap, an adult store in the mall? Kinda sad I didn't get to check it out before it closed, but great video
beachespeaches Thanks. Almeda Mall is actually the sister mall to this one.
Knightcowboy89 ahhh that makes a lot of sense now
They are planning to turn this mall into a high speed train station... interesting...
Hey, quick correction: the Macy's closed in 2008 after they decided it wasn't worth it to repair damages caused by Hurricane Ike.
Evan [REDACTED] yeah, someone corrected me on that before. I don't know why I thought 1999. Lol
I remember back when it was Foleys. I loved playing on the pirate ship as a kid.
Thanks you so much for this, Yes that KB Toys I finnaly remembered my mom took me there to buy me a Spider-Man action figure for Meeting Godó grandes that geek at school way back in 2005 or so,when even then it was a so so place as far as malls were at the time...And i get to see one last time in this nostalgic place..Thanks so much brother,and I along with you and many others, will forever cherish and hold close in our hearts the memories of this mall that will remain alive in us always(:
I was hoping to see the pirate ship in the shoe dept. We used to play on that thing back in the mid 80s. I forgot what store it was in. Thanks for the video.
If you listen carefully, you can hear the song Material Girl by Madonna in the background in the mall.
Dolphin Blue lol yeah, they played the same songs in there everyday. The fact that it was that song was somewhat ironic.
I agree with you on that song being ironic, I think they're playing it to make people cheer up instead of being sad because of finals days of this mall
It's almost as if they should make a cover of Material Girl transposed into a minor key and played slower, like a requiem for the mall.
I like the raw editing style you put in the video. It's always sad to see a mall close. Up in Canada, the mall sence is doing well. We have the prairie mall in Grande Prairie has no anchors. They are turning it into more stores in the mall. The original anchor was Zeller, then Target( that lasted about a year).
The Visible Changes looks the way I remember it as a kid.
Don H it was one of the last stores open and I stayed going there up until my stylist permanently stayed in the Galleria location
Do one on west oaks mall
Thanks for posting. I remember going to Northwest Mall while growing up. It was never the fanciest mall, but I had some good memories there. Your video brought back alot of good times. I think I spent most of my time there either in the food court or the arcade (Tilt). I remember seeing movies at the movie theater there that later turned into a club.
When they started the 290/610 construction, I figured they would have to close. It made it harder to get to the mall. That is one thing they did not need. It's sad though. Maybe they can convert it to a shopping center like Northline or Gulfgate. Those two are working out very well. Sad to see it close, but great you got this video up that I can look at from time to time.
dskillzhtown that's what I'm hoping they do with it too. The Palais Royal and Antique Center are still in business, so it might happen.
Can they move Northwest Mall in Cypress in the Fairfield Area at 290 proposed Grand Parkway 99 instead of building Houston Premium Outlets.
I learned how to drive in this mall's parking lot lol
Me and my now ex used to shop at Northwest mall when we lived off of 20th near TC Jester 1998 to 2001. Sad to see it the way it is now
Memories..... I grew up in lazy brook played football at Delmar stadium watched Rocky 2 at the theater in the parking lot Played games at the goldmine road the train at Christmas. Sad to see these places go because of stinking Walmarts
zorbex fx it's not Walmart that had closed Northwest Mall. It was the Houston Premium Outlets outdoor mall in Cypress that opened in 2007 or 2008 that robbed the shoppers from Northwest Mall.
It’s not Walmart. It’s 1) online stores that have taken away business 2) the area. It’s not a bad area but the surrounding neighborhoods have worsened
Try west oaks mall it's dead now
Wow, the 'All Shoes 9.99' at 4:12 is where Waldenbooks was relocated to back around 1998-1999 (before that, Waldenbooks was located at the mall entrance across from Picadilly Cafeteria)..
Cerstani correct. I remember when Waldenbooks closed for good.
Def remember KB toys! I got my copy of FF7 there as a young one lol. There was also another video game store, and foot action and Walden books..... man it's sad to see this
Did anyone ever go trick or treat in the mall? I remember kB toy store! It’s where we got our first original Nintendo for $99.99
WOW, i can't believe it's closed! i just trained for a job about a year ago up there. I'm so sad to see it go :(
They are other malls you can work at like the Galleria or Memorial City Mall.
I remember kb toys. it so sad how malls are closing. I would rather shop mall then the internet any day.
Mace Crawford totally with you on that. While alot of malls are closing, many others are still going strong. I don't see them ever completely dying out.
some malls are converted to lifestyle centers.
Sam Sitar Very true. I really like it when abandoned places get repurposed. gives them new life
I remember Circuit City in GulfGate Mall , now BayBrook Mall is the place to go but not the same like in the 90’s
The storefront at 5:16 takes me back! It actually used to be a 5-7-9 back in the 90's. In fact, one of my high school girlfriends worked there (when you're young it's easy to be a size 5..LOL).
Cerstani lol. the good old days.
Cerstani, remember when our girlfriends back in the day shopped at 5-7-9, rave, rainbow, those were the days
@@andrewflores1855 Yep, you're so right! In fact, I think Forever21 didn't even exist back then..
FUN FACT: the macys sign is visible because i took a peak behind ghe marquee and noticed it was still there so i removed that and left the macys poster visible. That was last fall.
I used to hate coming here… now I miss it 😢
it's very sad! I can only imagine how expensive it must be to maintain that place especially the air conditioning in Houston. I wonder if they are going to demolish the mall or sell it off for different purpose.?
I know the college that I mentioned in the video has since rented out some of the space inside. So for now, the mall isn't going anywhere. There was talk of it being turned into a train station, but I believe that fell through.
Northwest, Sharpstown, Greenspoint (gunspoint) , even Almeda mall are all dead. Man this sucks
Oh I forgot about West Oaks mall too. RIP
Honestly felt like you missed a lot. There used to be RadioShack, 579 and Hallmark. There was also Luby's if I'm not mistaken.
I was trying to get through kinda quick. But you're correct about everything other than the Luby's. There was a Ci Ci's Pizza there however.
@@Knightcowboy89 omg!! You are so right!!
I think what you're remembering as a Lungs was actually a Piccadilly Cafeteria that was right by the entrance (at least back in the mid-90's). I remember going there after church most Sundays when I was a kid..
My childhood Mall was Westbrook Mall (long defunct), and the Mall for my teen years was West Oaks Mall because First Colony Mall wasn't open yet when I was in High School.
First time going to this mall, it seemed sad. Now it looks sadder. Not a time I have seen anything extraordinary in its parking lot every time passing the 610 or 290. Now they widened the 610 to only make the highway look even uglier.
I like your videos . im trying to do the same thing as you. My city has so much to explore.
MrMotion Thanks. urban exploration is a lot of fun. I hope you're able to start doing it as well.
All outside stores of the mall closed completely (now 100% dead)
I was manager of Foot Action in the early 90's, I think there was bookstore next to us right when you entered the mall.
There was; there was a Waldenbooks right next door!
I enjoyed seeing your videos at the mall. I went to the mall three times in the last month before it closed including March 30 & March 31.
Blog Man thanks. and I apologize for the incorrect info on Macy's. I never walked around the outside of it. stupid me, lol.
Knightcowboy89 Only one of the signs is still up, I guess the rest fell off over time. There is not much to see outside of the Macys, they covered up the glass so you can't see inside of the store anymore. A few years ago you could see inside of the store.
Blog Man yeah, I remember that. I'm actually surprised the signage on the outside of the building has stayed up this long. I remember when JC Pennys closed and they took their shit down immediately. It's almost like Macy's Inc. just forgot about that location. I really wish I could've gained access to it.
Don't wanna be the one to make you feel bad, but some constructive criticism: Camera is too shaky, would like to see some more camera panning, and see some more scenes. Some things that could make it better would be at least to bump the quality up to 1080p 60fps to help with the shaking as well.
Duke Fegelein I'm just starting out. For now it's just me and the camera on my phone. Sorry about the shakiness. Eventually I'll get an actual camera.
Duke Fegelein and thanks for being polite about it.
No problem man, as someone who makes videos i know it takes awhile to get views and known. Despite those few things, it's still a good video :)
Duke Fegelein thanks for that. I am trying. urban exploring is something I've been wanting to do for quite awhile. Hopefully I can work this up to a part time job/hobby.
I wish I had known it was going to close, would have done a walk through. I came here in 2008 at age 15, and it was slow and depressing back then. Sad. Memorial City and Gallaria took over .
Zachary Watson it wasn't the Galleria or Memorial City Mall that took over Northwest Mall. It was Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress that rubbed the customers and ran the mall out of business that opened in 2008.
@@TMANN-jo1ps That one is too far away to steal its customers. Northwest was very close to memorial and galleria.
Me and my brother bought our Gameboy Advances from KB toys. They were cheap, but seemed expensive to us since we were 6yrs old. What was this mall like in it's prime? I'm very curious.
Like most other malls, it had all your standard mall stores. A nice fountain in the center. Had a JC Pennys at one end Foleys(later became Macys) at the other. It was a nice, standard size mall, used to be pretty packed back in the early 90s.
It was a nice mall. Always busy, well kept and clean.
So sad. Memories will soon be all that remains.
D Gardner Yep, a good part of my childhood was spent in this mall.
I miss the Piccadilly Cafeteria!
@6:34 (Deportes Rodriguez), I remember when they opened all the way back in early 2007!
Cerstani Yep. Considering they were in the Macy's wing, I'm surprised they stayed open after it closed. But they stuck it out all the way to the end.
Perfect song
1:31 Undergroung by Journeys. Was that cityscape along the top part of every Underground's look? At Fiesta Mall here in Mesa, AZ, there's a closed store with the same cityscape along the top on the lower level heading toward Dillard's Clearance Center and can't remember for the life of me what that was!
Enrique Cortez I'm honestly not sure. I know it's been used on at least two locations, so maybe.
Enrique Cortez It was an Underground Station, I don't think they added Journeys to the signage before it closed about 3 years ago.
Blog Man Makes sense
Blog Man The Journey's name had been added before it closed. I remember that much. It was the first time I had ever seen one of them.
Plants need water man.
Love this!
M&N Distribution glad you enjoyed it.
You know you're getting older when you start narrating things like "and this used to be a......"
Malls are a dying form of retail....killed by Amazon among other factors.
Newer shopping districts are like little Potemkin Villages....lots of stand-alone shops located next to each other in open-air walkable spaces, usually with a parking garage nearby....see La Centerra in Katy for an example. Plano also has a similar district....and Sugar Land Town Center, though adjacent to a more traditional mall (First Colony), is a similar concept.
And traditional Malls were aimed at working class and middle class customers. The newer shopping districts are aimed at more upscale clientele...professional managerial class folk, luxury shoppers, etc. For better or worse. La Centerra at least has good restaurants and an Alamo Drafthouse location....unfortunately not all the restaurants have survived since the original opening....including a sushi spot I was always dying to try out but never made the time....(sigh).
Macy,s was Foley's location...
an abondoned mall or one with few shoppers is a lonely sight.malls need people.
cindy stewart so true.
Macy's closed 2008 after Hurricane Ike
401K to NorthWest Mall
just to think on the other side of the world the mall business are booming
Restaurant FOOD to
NorthWest Mall
401K
Kind of look like almeda mall in southeast
Almeda Mall is Northwest's sister mall. It's the exact same floor plan.
It's the sister mall to Almeda. Exact same floor plan.
pretty sad. Where are people going to shop at? not everyone shops online
Aaron Ramun I dont live in the city but perhaps theres smaller local shops around
Baybrook mall just added a ton of new stuff. Almeda is still standing too, but it has a look very similar to this (90s/retro look with older and discount stores) but I think that type of mall really fits the area it's in. There's also the galleria (I love the galleria), memorial city, willowbrook and tons of more malls and shopping centers in Houston, as well at a few good outlet malls (Katy and Texas city are the only one I can think of rn) Houston is huge, I promise there's plenty of malls here
The truth is that peoples shopping habits have changed, the majority is more likely to spend their money on experiences rather than materials, something that was quite the opposite throughout the 80s. People want the best deals they can get and shop on discount, and the most efficient place to get the best discount is online nowadays. Malls just aren't relevant anymore.
Avery thats not a true statement. Malls in Portland Oregon look like its black friday everyday. The truth with other malls is, people dont wamt to pay retail anymore
Aaron Ramun That's why I said the majority, it doesn't apply to everyone everywhere.
How the fuck did an adult store get in a mall??
BDBD16 tough times I guess. It mainly sold women's lingerie, but it also had some 'toys'.
BDBD16 have you ever been in Spencer's??? They're in A LOT of malls