Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 5 - Westland Center (MI)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ต.ค. 2024
- About 23 miles outside downtown Detroit sits Westland Shopping Center. If you’re ever lucky enough to find yourself lost in its maze like 60s layout you might just be lucky enough to call this place home for shopping. Conceived by the Hudson’s corporation in the early 60s, this is one of once 4 omnidirectional malls in the city. Upon opening and through the golden years of retail it was a paradise to all. From gleaming rainbow lit fountains to garden atriums full of retail, plants, and aquariums. Over the years it was remodeled, expanded and turned into a “modern” shopping haven. But that wasn’t all. Through countless changes it battled for years with nearby malls and that new thing called online shopping. Then the retail apocalypse hit. With Macys, and Sears gone, dwindling numbers of inline stores and a city that hates it more and more each day. How much longer does the once paradise like Westland Center have? Well, join me today as we dive in, take a tour and tell the story of this jumbled beauty.
Music used
Penthouse View - Rymdklang Sound
In 1985 - M4 Vaporwave
Mall Muzak of 1959
Okinawa Sunset - Master Stryker
No Love in the House of Gold - void_19
Exit the Bear and the Bird - N 6 4
A World of Madness - Silent Hill 2 OST
Touch Your Feelings - M4 Vaporwave
Sunstorm - ELFL
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Links
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#northcdogg22 #deadmall #deadmalls #northernfilms
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Grew up here 60’s, 70’s, 80’s. I remember the fountain and astrology clock. Hudson’s was my favorite store. My 7th grade band played Christmas music by the goose in ‘76. Used to play on that goose when little, sliding thru the neck hole. Went downstairs to the “Concourse” for a haircut and perm at Hair Affair in ‘79. Also Hudson’s discount “Rainbow” shop was at that level. The pretzel place was Hot Sam’s pretzels in the late 70’s. Used to shop at the Rave store late 80’s. Sad to see how the mall has declined. BTW we Michiganders pronounce the “a” in Westland like “and”. Not “Westlund” lol. Nice vid!
You definitely right with the annunciation on the A in Westland.
Just got randomly recommended this video and I'm so glad I did. Thank you for documenting this mall. As a metro Detroit kid in the early 2000s, I went here all the time back then and had a front row seat to its decline. I was too young to think anything of it, but it's insane to see how dead it is now. Lots of fond memories in the large atrium and play areas. This video definitely made me nostalgic haha
The only malls that are thriving are Great Lakes Crossing, Twelve Oaks, Fairlane and Oakland Mall.
@@msnos6245 I'm from Lakewood, Washington. The Tacoma mall is THRIVING. Good luck trying to find parking on the weekend lol. It is on the I-5 corridor. I do NOT remember a time where that mall was ever struggling!
The big doors in the basement with the letter D is actually a huge dance academy. Had you come later in the day, I'd have happily given you a tour. In the past it was a full facility gym with locker rooms and showers.
Also sears had an entire lower level and so did the east court. The east court had fountains and lockers in the lower level.
Since I've worked there for so long I've been able to see a lot of the closed off areas.
Great tour.
I grew up here. When I was a kid in the 80's, Westland was bumping. As a kid, I always enjoyed the fountains and sculptures. It's sad to see how the mall is doing today and how the city has changed. I suppose times change. The community in Westland has evolved a lot and how we consume has changed. Had you had the oppertunity to get into the Hudsons store, the upper floor still had decor from the 60's. It was like a time capsule up there. Thanks for not being too harsh on the old place. It was pretty awesome in it's time
I live in Westland! I cant believe im seeing this! Lived here my whole life (31 now) and growing up this place was always a go to. Its so sad to see the downfall of in store shopping, but surprisingly more ppl still shop here than you'd expect!
This mall was amazing in the late 90's early 2000's. A lot of my teenage years spent at this mall ❤
This use to be one of my favorite malls! I would hangout there as a teenager and take my kids there as a mom! So many memories here this breaks my heart to see it like this 🥺
I always love watching these even though I wasn’t born in this time era I still can believe I was and the way that these beautiful places are just being left is sad because they look like they would do so much better than the shopping centers today because they have so much life and memories
I'm older than God. Before the malls, there was downtown shopping; all kinds of stores; a beautiful city Green or park; hanging out with a buddy, buying Italian cold cut subs in Woolworth's, then going to the black and white horror movies in the downtown theatres. Yeah, I shopped in malls later, too old to be a mall rat. It's sad that kids to day will never know the joy of taking the bus to go experience the joy of down town.
I havent been to this mall since December 2012. I was 4 years old when i would play on the playscapes and see santa claus. I remember those days
I don't live too far from here and I used to go to this mall quite a bit in the 90's to the late 2000's. I noticed it started to go downhill around 2010/2011. It's been a dead zone as you can see in this video. It's always like this. I remember going to KB Toys and FYE. The parking lot used to be really full and hard to find a parking spot. It's literally sad to see every time I pass by it and see it empty. Thank you for filming this.
This has got to be my new favorite mall. If I had the money I would buy the place and turn it into a haven once again. Great video!
Same here! Thank you!
That would be lovely. Sitting around those rainbow fountains would be a treat!
@@retroryan838 I already thought of the olds Hudson. Turn into a 4 floor entertainment district. First floor with jungle gym and party rooms, second floor is bowling, third floor is Lazer tag, and 4th is a huge arcade
@@retroryan838 then the sears will become an amc, the terrace will become a five guys or simply a market of sorts for small time food entrepreneurs to sell their products
@@retroryan838 I was also imagining replacing jc penny with a grocery store, then throw in a cvs, B Dalton's and the other anchor pad could become a bass pro shop. Add on a dicks and other national stores mixed with the local business and a future expansion for a indoor go cart track
I live 10 min from this mall and i remember always going here to hang out with friends after school. This was the place to be in our small village town. I went to the sears driving school and it was everyones dream to work at the areopostale. I remember watching its decline as less and less ppl started going there but i couldnt complain cause i was in that pool of ppl... this video captures how it is today but i still remember how iconic it was growing up with the stores back then... Now its a literal ghost town. Im so sad. :(
There used to be an arcade in the lower level that my grandpa used to take me when I was a kid. It was the best part of the mall as a kid back in the day
I remember it! 1980s and maybe into early 90s
I sometimes walk the mall during the winter months and wonder where the arcade was in the basement because I remember going to it too when I was a kid. Was it behind the wall where the bench is next to the elevator?
I’m old enough to have been at the mall on the day it opened….my childhood was spent walking to Westland Mall on Saturday mornings…we didn’t have money but we could ride the elevators and escalators all day and play chase with our friends through the halls…..as a young adult in the late 70’s I worked at JCPenney for three years during the malls boom time….80’s and 90’s found me living outside of Westland but I’d still drop in to the mall from time to time….then I bought a house in Westland….30 years later I’m still here and will, sadly, be at the mall on it’s last day open….sooner rather than later I’m sure….this is truly a mall Amazon killed….shopping habits changed as well as the demographics of the clientele…large sub across Wayne Road was filled with homes all full of kids…..now the same sub is still there….only about a third of the kids…..everything has changed on the north end of Westland and not for the better…..entire area is mirror image on the mall……unfortunately….
Couple of things here. 60s and 70s at its height were close by an up scale theatre Quo Vadis and next to that a drive in theatre. So the area was a big entertainment center in general. In the parking lot was a Sign of the Beef Carver, classic Roast Beef buffet. And one other note for 60s fans. The next closest mall of note at the time was Wonderland Mall in Livonia. Built originally as separate stores connected by walkways it was enclosed later to become the first enclosed mall in America. Demolished about 15 years ago.
LOVE this mall! It’s one of my favorites of metro Detroit. The last of the original “land” malls surrounding the city.
Wow. Thanks for the tour. I moved to Detroit from the UK in 2004 and this place was my first mall experience. In fact I still have some hefty bed covers I bought there. Sad to see its slow decline.
The music in this episode is great.
Imagine being at a mall opening event in the 1960's? Always love the music and production quality of your videos!
Thank you so much!
I remember eating at the terrace restaurant around 2007/2008. It was my first time at westland mall and I remember being so impressed with it. I went back with my husband a couple years ago and I was so saddened to see it reduced to basically nothing. Thank you for this video, it's so nice to see such appreciation for the forgotten.
The former Kresge store had a basement which was floored over when they closed in the late '80s / early '90s. More likely than not, if you tore up the floor between Wet Seal and the store to the right of it, you could go downstairs and it would look like a small K-Mart from the mid '80s.
Twelve Oaks is a still-surviving Gruen mall, but perhaps more interestingly in nearby architecture, the former Quo Vadis theater across the street from Westland Mall was designed by Minoru Yamasaki -- more famously known for having designed the World Trade Center towers.
My favorite mall. This place was packed in the 70s and 80s !! Me and my friends spent entire days here. I even worked for Hudsons for awhile !! I sure miss the hairdos and rock shirts !! Christmas time was a dream in this mall !! I sure miss old westland. Go Rockets !! (John glen high)
Thank you so much for visiting my city’s mall. It’s such a shame that it’s left to rot I remember the good days.
Ofc, I absolutely loved it!
Socialist Obama ruined the economy, and the malls were part of that!
I grew up going to Westland Mall. It is only 1/4 of its glory, sad to say. I expect it to close in the near future with only Kohls and maybe JC Penny's to stay open, access from the outside to their stores. Great video!
Been going there since 1970. As kids, we would take the bus there. The big fountain was always a “meet you there” spot. So many great memories. I still go there today.
Thank You 🤗
70's & 80's was the hangout as a teen. Sit on the fountain, play foosball n pinball at Arcade 5, and of course, meet girls!❤😂
"77" Garden City East grad.👍
Another big hit (which you can't tell through the vacancies throughout the whole mall) in the 2016-2017 timeframe, that string of stores in the east court were closed/moved for H&M to come in. (American Eagle, PacSun, Spencer's[the only one to relocate within the mall], and then sometime after, A&W) H&M was going to take everything from next to Champs around to the kids fun place (previously Eddie Bauer outlet) and leave A&W standing. But once Macy's announced their closing, H&M pulled out of the deal leaving the east court decimated. A prom dress store opened in AE for a while and a seasonal calendar shop in pacsun sometimes. But that move crated a giant hole right before Macy's left and really sped up the "this mall is dying" perception
That’s pretty crazy, H&M definitely would’ve saved it, almost every mall with an H&M still operating seems to be doing very well, a big high end brand like that would’ve been the saving grace
@@NorthCdogg22 I wouldn't say all H&M stores, have stayed open. They have quietly closed stores here and there, such as at Northbrook Court. Although Northbrook is starting to sink as a mall, so I'm not surprised that one closed.
Rumor has it that they want to move out of a standalone store on Michigan Ave. in Chicago for a smaller space, but H&M hasn't yet pulled the trigger on that plan. If you're wondering, this was across the street from Water Tower Place mall
My sister and her family used to live in Farmington Hills and then Livonia not far from Westland. I never made it into the Westland Mall visiting her, but a lot of elements of the Detroit metro area astound me with what felt like such a grand and realized vision, up until decline very slowly crept in in the 60’s and 70’s, and unfortunately only got worse over the years. But some of the rest of my family lived in the Detroit suburbs of Troy, Royal Oak, and Huntington Woods. All of my family were just normal middle class people living there, so it’s wild to me that some of those areas are now the nicer suburbs of Detroit, and semi-higher rent districts. But in the 80’s and 90’s I can remember going to the Oakland Mall in Troy. In fact, in the 60’s my mom even worked there for a while. It was another Detroit area mall with a massive Hudson’s. Hudson’s used to be an amazing store/chain. The former incredibly huge high rise store in downtown Detroit was, although pretty much before my time, an absolute marvel. It was on par with other huge famous downtown titans in other cities like Macy’s in NYC, Harrod’s in London, or KaDeWe in Berlin. I miss those stores a lot. They never felt quite the same after converting to Marshall Field’s and then Macy’s. Hudson’s was a Michigan thing too, even though eventually having stores in some other Midwest states, and it was a real point of pride for our state.
Well they are close to completion of a 685 foot skyscraper located at the Hudson site downtown
WOW! Westland Mall in Detroit, MI!!! Four Story Hudsons! That must've been a wonderful store in its day in 1965. I love the courts. The East court was the mall. Wish the clock was still there. The fountains sure beautiful! At least stores were open when you were there. Love the old 1960's store glass fronts plus the huge resteraunt on the second floor. Carpets. Westwood Mall still has some of the 1960's and 70's wooden looks. Know it was renovated in the 90's but it still still had its old charm. My brother lived in ANN ARBOR, MI in tè mid 80's!!! Sure they new Westland Mall.
Me and my friends used to go here on the weekend in the early 80's, we would buy a 40 oz slurpy drink half go to our car and fill the rest with booze and go back in and hit on girls and eat steak at Yorks steak house in the mall.
The city was originally called Nankin Township. They renamed the city Westland after the mall, not the other way around.
Nankin Township Supervisor William Faust named it Westland because of its location in Western Wayne County. A petition drive to keep the name Nankin by residents failed and Westland the city it became.
Love the videos where you incorporate liminal spaces. It adds a whole other layer to the already awesome mall explorations
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed them!
Another awesome video that hit my nostalgia sweet spot! Keep up the good work😊👉👍
I went here when i was a kid in the late 60s, early 70s with my mom and dad. I remember eating at that restaurant and the clock, the swan, the fountains. The magic. Thanks for posting and bringing back special times and memories.
Looks like an untouched gem. Damn shame there aren't many stores left
So sad that my hometown mall is dying, Wonderful times in the late 1960's and 1970's.
In the 1980's, my grandparents would take me school shopping here. I remember the fountains, the pretzels, the ashtrays... I miss those days
My friends and i used to "hang out" under the stairs in your opening sequence.. it was our not so hidden hideout. Back in the 90s, those were the days. :)
Bro came to detroit for the wasteland mall💀
Oh dang! Wish you’d been there not in July and in the evening. I own The Dance Academy in the basement and we are still alive and well!
Great episode. Love the vintage pictures. It was so dreamy. Would love to have been able to visit the Terrace restaurant and tour this mall in the day. My guess for next week is Twelve Oaks. Thanks for another great show.
Twelve Oaks is thriving…
My mom worked at a Nature Nook connected directly to the large atrium seen in this video. As a single mom she brought me along and I would play in the mall while she worked. I would play Afterburner and Outrun at the arcade. The best part was actually the break rooms behind each store. All the store's break rooms were connected, and it was a treasure to explore as a kid, going into the nature nook and popping out of JC Penny. I'm sure I annoyed employees.
I remember the downstairs area being a "forbidden" area, and for that reason it was so exotic and mysterious to me. I remember the special elevator with the round bulb lights, I think I only saw it once or twice and it burned in my head as this special place. Thanks for this video, what a trip!
grew up in this mall and still stop in every now and again. my very first job at the pretzel place was here also!
Northland Mall in Southfield has been demolished. Northland Mall opened in 1954 and was enclosed in 1974. And Eastland Mall in Harper Woods was also demolished. The Eastland Mall opened up in 1957. The Eastland Mall was enclosed in 1975.
I’ll always have hope that Westland can recover from its losses. It might not be the Goliath it once was, but some stores are still surviving in the mall.
I miss the arcade downstairs !! We would often meet there and score dime bags !! We would smoke and walk the mall laughing and really diggin the scenery. Being a teen then was so hip. Qua vadas theater across Wayne rd. Was also fun.
Thank you for this video! I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan and used to go to Westland Mall, Southland Mall, and Fairlane Town Center all the time! I moved to Baltimore in 2019 and have wondered what state Westland Mall was in. My friend used to work at the Lakeshore Grill restaurant that was on that upstairs terrace by the Macy’s and I would go there a lot before it closed. When I was a kid, my mom and I would go to that Olga’s restaurant. This video brought back a lot of memories for me 🥲
Thank you!
My mother worked in Hudson's (we still have the Noritake "Pasadena" china set that she bought with her employee discount), and my family always went shopping there, particularly at Kresge's. Among all the other art installations there, a small fountain was outside Kresge's with a silver Angel fish statue. One day, a little boy fell in there when no one was looking; he was drowning in the shallow water, and my dad picked him up and pulled him out of there and saved his life (that's what the security guard said, anyway).
8:11 I remember in the early/mid 1980s that elevator took you up to a great video arcade where you could play all of the big games at the time.
I grew up in Westland and that mall was a big part of my childhood and teen years. I remember chasing girls there on Friday and Saturday nights in the early 1990s.
Just now ran across this video.Loved it!! Like a number of others, I, too grew up in this mall. Only I grew up there beginning in the early 70's, when it looked like the old photos. It was the place to be and hang out on the weekends. In those days it was a beautiful mall and many of the stores had lower floors. The court that housed one of Hudsons entrances, it's glass elevator and staircase to the restaurant and 2nd floor was spectacular. So many great stores - that many of you would not have even heard of. Still live in the area and I don't go into the actual mall itself. I have, on occasion, gone into Kohls viai its outside entrance. So sad to have watched it slowly die. Many of us have stated that we would like to see it torn down and a town center built there with restaurants, stand alone brick and mortar stores, park, etc. (Think small town like Plymouth or Northville, MI.)Thank you so much for incorporating some photos of it during it's glory days.,
At 18:45 behind those Pepsi machines, that little space was home to an escalator that went downstairs. My memory is that it was mainly public restrooms but the tiny hallway TO them had sparkly floor and a neon arcade/midnight bowling feel to it to it
Great video! I sometimes still walk the mall with a friend of mine and recently I took a mental note of how many stores were open vs closed. It's fairly close to over half of the mall being open still. I used to remember coming here when I was a kid going to the arcade in the basement or the huge fountain where all this massive empty space is in the dark main area where Hudson/Macy was. One thing you failed to mention is, how outdated the store sign directory is and it still shows Sears open and other stores that are long gone. The only advertisements on the directory signs talk about COVID-19 vaccines. That Subway you walked by is even long gone as is the Olga's at the other end of the mall within the last year since you made this video. I wonder how much longer this mall can keep afloat for the kid's playground by JCPenny's is torn up "temporarily" and no new stores opening. It appears the company that owns the mall is just waiting for JCPenny's to go under before they shut the lights off.
The center court decor from the early pictures is peak mall aesthetic!
Right!?
The restaurant on the upper level was not always called the Terrace Restaurant. At some point it was changed to be called the Lakeshore Grill at Macy's. I believe it closed officially in 2016. Thanks for getting some video of this mall, I have lots of childhood memories here.
Mickey Mouse ice cream sundaes!
grew up goin to this mall. used to be poppin
I'm new to this channel about dead malls, and having not finished the video, I'm thinking the next one has to be Laurel Park in Livonia. I worked at both. And both are the emptiest malls in southeast Michigan. Southland, 12 Oaks, Briarwood are still doing pretty well. Admittedly. I haven't been to Fairlane in years, but that mall is so big and confusing its kind of hard to tell how empty it is lol
I take it back, Laurel Park is tiny and not Taubman, now that I've finished the video lol
Crazy how many people don’t even know about the basement with the fitness center and the tailor. I used to play hackey sack next to that pop
Machine at the beginning of the video lol. One of my favorite memories is walking through the mall and a buddy of mine with his skateboard did a running caveman board slide on the handrail down the 2-3 step stairs next to the A-W restaurant that was there. Also, it’s not west-Lin…it’s west-LAND. This shocks me to see the mall like this, i remember black Friday time being packed to the gills at that Sears, etc. couldn’t even find a parking spot considering how large the place is. To be fair, that corner area you entered into with the JC penny had always been a dead business area for whatever reason. Long as I can remember those units have always been vacant or extremely short lived for whatever reason businesses rent a space. The watch kiosk at 6:26 has been there since the dawn of time lol. No joke, was probably there since before i was born. To your left of Levels, that used to be an FYE if I recall correctly. The metro pcs used to be a GameStop. 10:15 that entire wall was never there before, it was an opening into the Macy’s. Even into modern times it felt like the 1960s in there since a lot of it was original. Mr corned beef is where the AW used to be. Sorry for blowing up your comments section with all of the info! One last fun fact is at one time, Michigan had the most amount of shopping malls in the US.
As going to this store as a small child i have many memories at the sears and the whole mall here. Having a family member work at the sears it brings back many memories.
I grew up nearby and this was the ultimate place to go. Fond memories. there was a carnival and circus that took over the huge lot every summer. I worked at a Big Boy there for a time in the 80s.
Excellent 👍👍👍
I lived in Westland for 7 years. The wig store that was passed early on in the video was once upon a time the RadioShack.
Back in the 80's and 90's is was pretty busy in terms of foot traffic but whoa it's nothing now. I was in there about a month ago and it's so sad. They used to have full orchestras around Christmas. The line for Santa would seem to stretch forever. The resteraunt terrace I ate at so many times. It was a bit pricey but the food was good. You could buy chocolates , salads and lunch meats to take home.
Thank you for this coverage on the Malls of the Greater Detroit area. Eastland is gone? That was my childhood. Lakeside? That was my teen years and now Westland was my young Mom years. It just breaks my heart to see all these malls going under.
12 oaks is a big Taubman mall , sadly once a super regional is falling on hard times as well
I grew up further north in central Michigan, but occasionally would get down to 12 Oaks. It always seemed like one of the nicest malls in the state to me, and had a lot of other things around it.
@@cgimovieman yeah I guess now really only Somerset Mall in troy is the only fully leased mall.
@@markbajek2541 I haven’t lived in Michigan for about 25 years now, and have lived in the Orlando area. Coincidentally, our last really vibrant mall is the Mall at Millenia, which is owned by the same company as Somerset. It’s another ultra luxury mall. While we do have people with money in the Orlando area for sure, I’m not sure Millenia would be doing as well if it also didn’t get a lot of tourists from other countries visiting it too.
@@cgimovieman Millenia is a garbage mall. Florida Mall much better.
@@supersanic1254 Oh I disagree. I’ve loved Millenia ever since it opened. So relaxing, clean, nice, no cheap kiosks or places like an Auntie Anne’s, etc.
First viewer! Excited for this one!
Hope you enjoy!
@@NorthCdogg22 i did! Well done! I really do like the 60s/70s flare throughout the mall as its been an aesthetic I've grown to love more and more.
This was my spot as a teen in the 90’s it was packed every day but a ghost town now my mom still actually works there for the mall which has new owners now but looks like no plans it’s a matter of time before it’s gone I also met my wife in 98 at a movie theater called the quo vadis that was across the street but was also torn down years ago time flys 😢
This was hard to watch having gone here so much in the 2000s as a kid meeting friends at the arcade which no one would even know it was there it was walled off... The subway and Mr corned beef have closed only the West concourse really remains... Amazon really ruined so much it's heartbreaking tbh....
Used to shop at this Sears occasionally. Last time I was there before it closed was with my father, I bought a bunch of tools and we were looking at the large tool boxes. Westland (or Waste Land as the locals call it) is right on the edge of suburbia, I-275 is basically the boundary line.
Few random tidbits about here as I worked a block away for years.
IIRC the Macys closed was still doing somewhat well and I was told was among the top sellers in the region in shoes.
The Sears was the last Sears in Michigan to close beating the one in Grand Rapids by a few months. I have one of the shopping carts from Westland lol.
The order the directional/Land malls in MI that opened could be the same as order they close if Westland closes.
Glad I got to experience Eastland before it demolished.
Lol. Sitting in the parking lot of this mall and this pops up in the suggestions.
this is where i shop i was shocked to see it come up on my feed as a "dead mall" but i guess its pretty dead LOL. i only go to a few stores anyway
At 6:57 the storefront looks like an old Bath and body works, I was like "Did they close as well?" But nope rest assured the dead mall staple is still there at 10:42! 😂😁 Great video as always!
You are correct. Levels and that empty store front were Bathy & Body Works and White Barn, but they moved closer to the east court during a massive construction time into he 2010s. There were few years where we had B&BW move into the old forever 21, I think Victoria's secret also remodeling a little, Borders/hallmark/HR block became shoe carnival. Charming charlie and ulta came in on the Warren road side of the mall.
Thanks Josh! I could tell it was an old B&BW the second I saw it too😂
@@joeybuddy6 Thank you for the info!
@@NorthCdogg22 Yeah 😂 and your welcome!
Cool game room with the creepy game Norman’s will ,
Great video North!!!
Thanks CC!
Yes, I’m number 600!!
Yessir!
I remember this mall so well. It pre dates Livonia mall and this is where we came to go to the Mai Kai Theater in the parking lot, and into the mall for dinner at the Coney Island. It was really much nicer in its original Victor Gruen format. Fairlane didn’t open until the late seventies. Lakeside, Fairlane, and Twelve Oaks were sister malls that all opened within weeks or months of each other.
Livonia mall opened in the
60’s and was the real competition. No food court when it opened. All restaurants. Hudson’s had a superb restaurant, maybe two.
I drive by this place on the way to work every single day. Havent been inside since my teens. Having a pretzel and playing pacman on the tables that had the game built in is a fond nosalgic memory for me. They look as though even those are gone now, not lasting the sands of time, like most of the mall.
My hometown mall, just how I remember it from childhood but dying.
Really does bring me back to the 90s style in there
I practically grew up in that place. The huge marble swan that's outside used to be in the main court and I'd climb all over it. I'm glad to have moved away and missed its decline, to be honest.
57 years old and grew up in Westland. Yes, I remember the glory days of Westland Mall. The fountain, the plants and the sculptures. Christmas and Thanksgiving, it was basically standing room only. Now - it's just a sad joke.
I lived in Westland until the mid 80's. I remember always going in near the entrance where the Sander's was and begging and pleading for a box of coconut clusters rom my parents on the way out. There was also a soda/milkshake diner type setup near the same entrance. If we were REALLY lucky, we went to Tandy Leather across the street and got some cool leatherworking kit we could make stuff out of too.
We use to slide down the granite hand rail that runs the stairwell into the basement. It was so fun. Was definitely cooler before the remodel with all the fountains
I was there last October
when my son was little I used to take him to that fun 4 us place.. good times
I wish this place was never renovated. The was a beautiful place with the rainbow fountains, sculpture, and just the look of the place. At least it still has some character now than most newer looking malls.
As a resident of the area i can say this is sad because it seemed like 10 years ago there were a decent amount of stores and shops in there and now 3/4 of the building could be imploaded.
Wow, I used to go to Westland Mall all the time up 1:53 to about 2015. Hard to believe what it looks like now. I hope Briarwood has held in better.
I feel sorry for that mall!!!
Stellar episode. I really enjoyed this one!
Thank you Scott!
Great video!
Thanks Andrew!
Excellent history of this mall....nice video!
Here's some flash back o e man I missed these days 😭💔🙏🏼
They have an Olgas! Love that restaurant.
It’s interesting how the FunShop had the same color and font as GameStop haha
I used to come here a lot just before the pandemic it was really popular and had a lot of stuff going on in it. Since then it hasn’t really been the same at all. It’s really died out since I was a kid
Great video as always, that that happy soothing voice of yours and great editing. Man, I wish their was an answer to your question of whats next for Westland Center. The mall is huge, and never will be filled again, with the usual gum ball machines, maple benches, and small kitty rides. Can't tell if their is a food court or restaurant in the building anymore. And no movie theater, which isn't the draw that they once were. (expensive to go to a movie now for a family) My usual question is...where have all the shoppers gone? And having to ban teens from the malls now, and they are on their phones now anyway all the time.
The shoppers went to 12 Oaks, Briarwood, or many of the other malls in the area.
One of the few malls in the area that had its own private police Dept in the basement. Northland and Fairlane were the only other two in the area. They had Holding cells in the Basement.
The city of Westland was annexed from Nankin township by the city of Livonia in 1966. the entire city got it's name BECAUSE of the mall. I've lived in the area on and off for my entire life and my mom worked at the Kresge's in the mall. it was her first job. So many of my teenage weekends were spent walking this mall, Wonderland, or Livonia.