Back when I was a kid there was the great mall battle in Syracuse between the Eagan Companies (Fairmount Fair, Shoppingtown and Penn-Can) and Willmorite (Camilus, Fayetteville and Great Northern). That doesn’t even include smaller indoor shopping centers/malls such as Northern Lights, Western Lights, Seneca Mall, Tri-County mall, Marketplace Mall. That was an insane amount of malls for a city this size. They simply weakened each other. Then Carousel Center was built, which after a huge expansion to become the 6th largest mall in the nation was renamed Destiny USA. That was the nail in the coffin for any of these Syracuse area malls that happened to still exist by then. I guess at least we still have one huge mall that’s pretty healthy.
Great video but definitely a feeling of sadness. I’m old and remember malls being crowded like in the opening with old footage. Kohan killed yet another mall 😢
Great Northern opened the same year I started at SUNY Oswego. Less than 30 minutes away from Oswego, it saved us from having to drive even longer to get to other malls in Syracuse.
Current student there, wish it had been as good as it was in the past these few years. Would be really nice to have a nice mall to go to that wasn’t Destiny. I remember it started getting bad just before I started in 2020.
Great video. Love Heart and the ambient music. Gives it the proper feel. Can anyone still get inside? Or are the doors locked? I grew up in this mall and would also like to give it one last walk through before they wreck it.
I started working at the Old Navy at Great Northern Mall in 2018 when I was in college and when I moved to Buffalo in 2020 I transferred to the Old Navy at McKinley Mall where I’m now a manager. It’s so sad to see what’s become of my old mall and I hope McKinley doesn’t face the same fate 😢
Thanks for posting this video. Went to this mall when i was 14, year 1995. Its kind of creepy to hear the music echoing through the halls. Always wondered what happened to this place.
They did very much the same to my old local mall, the Nanuet NY mall. They tore it down to make way for a high end outdoor shopping plaza. It failed. All the high end stores closed save one or two. Then the Macys sold their building and it became another home goods store. Rockland county has changed in the last 15 to 20 years. The baby boomers hit their retirement age and moved out. The economy of the region which is a suburb of NYC drastically changed. I see the same thing happening with this redevelopment.
I was at great northern opening weekend and I was there the final weekend. Took my kids to the arcade all.the time. Steve had been there forever.. very grateful he was part of my childhood and my children's as well.
went there with my kids when they were younger they loved it . i miss mall's it was way different growing up in the 80's and 90's i remember going to penn-can mall i also went to shopping town mall best of times . walking with friends just having fun .
Syracuse was always oversaturated with malls. Just not enough people. Especially once Destiny opened. Shoppingtown, Fayetteville, Fairmount Fair, several other ones.
Yes, this definitely for sure. Back when I was a kid there was the great mall battle between the Eagan Companies (Fairmount Fair, Shoppingtown and Penn-Can) and Willmorite (Camilus, Fayetteville and Great Northern). That doesn’t even include smaller indoor shopping centers/malls such as Northern Lights, Western Lights, Seneca Mall, Tri-County mall, Marketplace Mall. That was an insane amount of malls for a city this size. They simply weakened each other. Then Carousel Center was built, which after a huge expansion to become the 6th largest mall in the nation became Destiny USA. That was the nail in the coffin for any of these Syracuse area malls that happened to still exist by then.
I remember when Great Northern opened. I was working at JW/Jeans West at Fayetteville Mall. It was a gorgeous mall. Not many malls left today. Amazon and Walmart killing the brick n mortar stores. Also had friend that worked at The Galleries JW downtown. Glass and Neon everywhere 😊
This used to be a pretty nice mall even a few years ago… good for when you didn’t wanna make a whole day out to go to Destiny. My local mall is still kicking around, but idk how much longer it will.
Btw Fayetteville Mall is now Towne Center, A thriving shopping center with several restaurants, a Kohls, Panera's, Target and a Grocery Store among other stores.
Syracuse is a dead city. NO and I mean NO good jobs left. I lived just north of this mall and watched 1000s and 1000s of good paying jobs leave the area. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand why Syracuse and the surrounding areas are SH#T HOLES. GLAD TO BE LIVING IN SWF for the last 15 years. Should have left Syracuse area 35 years ago. My best advice is get put while you can.!!!!
This kid has no idea what he's talking about. I don't know what his personal issue is with previous owners but all he shows is a complete lack of understanding of the local retail world.
Back when I was a kid there was the great mall battle in Syracuse between the Eagan Companies (Fairmount Fair, Shoppingtown and Penn-Can) and Willmorite (Camilus, Fayetteville and Great Northern). That doesn’t even include smaller indoor shopping centers/malls such as Northern Lights, Western Lights, Seneca Mall, Tri-County mall, Marketplace Mall. That was an insane amount of malls for a city this size. They simply weakened each other. Then Carousel Center was built, which after a huge expansion to become the 6th largest mall in the nation was renamed Destiny USA. That was the nail in the coffin for any of these Syracuse area malls that happened to still exist by then. I guess at least we still have one huge mall that’s pretty healthy.
Great video but definitely a feeling of sadness. I’m old and remember malls being crowded like in the opening with old footage. Kohan killed yet another mall 😢
Great Northern opened the same year I started at SUNY Oswego. Less than 30 minutes away from Oswego, it saved us from having to drive even longer to get to other malls in Syracuse.
Current student there, wish it had been as good as it was in the past these few years. Would be really nice to have a nice mall to go to that wasn’t Destiny. I remember it started getting bad just before I started in 2020.
Great video. Love Heart and the ambient music. Gives it the proper feel. Can anyone still get inside? Or are the doors locked? I grew up in this mall and would also like to give it one last walk through before they wreck it.
sadly the mall is closed to the public
I didn't know that I needed to see dramatic shots of my childhood mall with Heart playing over it, but I did.
I started working at the Old Navy at Great Northern Mall in 2018 when I was in college and when I moved to Buffalo in 2020 I transferred to the Old Navy at McKinley Mall where I’m now a manager. It’s so sad to see what’s become of my old mall and I hope McKinley doesn’t face the same fate 😢
I work for mckinley Mall! It's not going anywhere.
Thanks for posting this video. Went to this mall when i was 14, year 1995. Its kind of creepy to hear the music echoing through the halls. Always wondered what happened to this place.
Awesome video Steve!!
They did very much the same to my old local mall, the Nanuet NY mall. They tore it down to make way for a high end outdoor shopping plaza. It failed. All the high end stores closed save one or two. Then the Macys sold their building and it became another home goods store. Rockland county has changed in the last 15 to 20 years. The baby boomers hit their retirement age and moved out. The economy of the region which is a suburb of NYC drastically changed. I see the same thing happening with this redevelopment.
Great intro and drone footage.
I was at great northern opening weekend and I was there the final weekend. Took my kids to the arcade all.the time. Steve had been there forever.. very grateful he was part of my childhood and my children's as well.
When was this video shot? Excellent video
went there with my kids when they were younger they loved it . i miss mall's it was way different growing up in the 80's and 90's i remember going to penn-can mall i also went to shopping town mall best of times . walking with friends just having fun .
Great video. Thanks.
I used to go there all the time. Friendlies was great for lunch with friends.
Syracuse was always oversaturated with malls. Just not enough people. Especially once Destiny opened. Shoppingtown, Fayetteville, Fairmount Fair, several other ones.
Yes, this definitely for sure. Back when I was a kid there was the great mall battle between the Eagan Companies (Fairmount Fair, Shoppingtown and Penn-Can) and Willmorite (Camilus, Fayetteville and Great Northern). That doesn’t even include smaller indoor shopping centers/malls such as Northern Lights, Western Lights, Seneca Mall, Tri-County mall, Marketplace Mall. That was an insane amount of malls for a city this size. They simply weakened each other. Then Carousel Center was built, which after a huge expansion to become the 6th largest mall in the nation became Destiny USA. That was the nail in the coffin for any of these Syracuse area malls that happened to still exist by then.
I remember when Great Northern opened. I was working at JW/Jeans West at Fayetteville Mall. It was a gorgeous mall. Not many malls left today. Amazon and Walmart killing the brick n mortar stores. Also had friend that worked at The Galleries JW downtown. Glass and Neon everywhere 😊
Also served Oswego. :)
This used to be a pretty nice mall even a few years ago… good for when you didn’t wanna make a whole day out to go to Destiny. My local mall is still kicking around, but idk how much longer it will.
Great job
In loving memory of Great Northern Mall 1988-2022
Kohan ownership usually means the end of a mall.
Yup
I use to go there, I lived on Morgan rd in Liverpool
Our mall is basically closed. The end anchor spot is now a casino !
Alone By Heart came out in 1987.
ok.
It’s the owner. He isn’t a good person. But he will make a ton of money by selling it.
I went here a few times sad to see it go the Internet messed alot of stuff up
Simple rule ! Everything always changes and everything is Cheaper on Amazon .
Btw Fayetteville Mall is now Towne Center, A thriving shopping center with several restaurants, a Kohls, Panera's, Target and a Grocery Store among other stores.
Actually, I've been to Destiny quite regularly over the years and I've never experienced any sort of crime.
Syracuse is a dead city. NO and I mean NO good jobs left. I lived just north of this mall and watched 1000s and 1000s of good paying jobs leave the area. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand why Syracuse and the surrounding areas are SH#T HOLES. GLAD TO BE LIVING IN SWF for the last 15 years. Should have left Syracuse area 35 years ago. My best advice is get put while you can.!!!!
This kid has no idea what he's talking about. I don't know what his personal issue is with previous owners but all he shows is a complete lack of understanding of the local retail world.