Do you guys remember the mall at Christmas time? All the lights and toy displays 🙂 And the smell of cookies, popcorn, pretzels and perfume and new shoes. It was magical.
As a Gen-X, malls were our primary source of entertainment. If you weren't home watching MTV, you were out at the mall walking around all day long. It was guaranteed you would see several of your friends there. We would check out the latest clothes, snack at the food court, and usually catch a matinee at the movie theater, or check out the guys at the arcade or sports stores. You could literally spend a whole day there, socializing. I wish today's kids had malls to enjoy.
Some malls are still around and relevant. I'm glad the social element is still there. Rivergate, Hickory Hollow, Church Street Center, 100 Oaks, Harding & Green Hills were the malls in Nashville
i mean us millennials did the same it basically died out more with us though but malls are still pretty popular here, it's just not where gen-z spends a majority of their time unlike us lol
Once in a great while, I will go to Chicago Ridge Mall, eat a slice of bad pizza at Sbarro, go see a movie and then walk around. Unfortunately, the arcade has been replaced by a T-Mobile store.
A baby boomer here and I thought 'The Mall' was a great concept and I miss it terribly! One stop, park once, everything under one roof where it's warm, safe, and you saw ALL your friends! You didn't have to go outside in the heat or the cold and it was a festive atmosphere. I'll never understand why they fell out of favor.... but I betcha they'll be back one day :) It was particularly nice to go during the holidays.... always decorated and really fun. You could do ALL your Christmas shopping in one place, it was so much easier than today.
They will be back again. Before malls we had downtown stores and plaza's. Then people wanted to be under one roof while shopping. The mall was born. Now we are going back to strip centers and single building stores. Everything makes a circle, this will too
The thing I loved about the mall is you could go there and not spent a penny and still feel part of something. Walking through with my friends as a teenager, being poor but could still feel cool just hanging out in a fairly safe environment. Sad those places no longer exist.
Malls still do exist LOL. I live close to one, but many of the stores have gone out of business & not many people go there anymore. Honestly, I don't see how it stays in business. People I do see there seem to just be walking around & not really buying anything & I do the same sometimes.
In San Jose, CA a huge east-side mall named "Eastridge" opened in 1971 and claimed to be the largest mall in America. Our family would hang out during the hottest summer days - mom spending hours in a rest area knitting or reading a book while me, my brother, and friends would walk the mall and try to pick up girls. Got lucky pretty often, but once they found out we lived in one of the poorest east side neighborhoods, the girls' parents didn't allow them to hang with us anymore. Yup, good times. 😅
Those who are sayin "there are still malls" I think what Ladybugmom means is that its not what it once was. Why bother heading to the mall for anything when you can order anything online? Stores are trying to be more creative to stay in business anywhere. As a child I remember MusicLand then as teen onward, Suncoast.
Malls, Bowling alleys, Roller rinks, Drive in theaters.. It's so sad that it's all gone. It's like when you're having a really good dream then something wakes you up and you're totally bummed.
Not completely gone - there's bowling alleys - there's a drive in about 45 minutes from me in Hartford Michigan And there's a roller world here in Kalamazoo
I know what you mean, most of these places that used to be so safe and fun have been ruined by the elements moving into the area. Much of this is forced on us by the government for “diversity” done with our tax dollars.
@@KOSMICKEN09 yea but if you actually go to any of these places they operate on shoestring budgets now and it doesn't feel nearly as fun/exciting as it used to when they were at their prime. social media, modern video game consoles, and online shopping, etc have all made this new generation antisocial and unathletic.
I met my wife at a mall in 2002. She wrote her phone number on a Hot Topic receipt(still have it). We are still together to this day, happily married with 3 kids.
I met my wife in Surefall glade in EverQuest. . . but i'm sure Hot Topic woulda been pretty sweet too. Actually... i remember going there in the late 90's with every girlfriend i ever had lol. So it was entirely possible.
I grew up in the 80s. The malls were where I met friends and socialized. We'd spend hours there. We didn't just shop, we had pizza, saw movies, went to the arcade. My first 'real ' job was in a mall in the late 80s, all the way through the mid 90s. The mall was such a huge part of my teen and early adult life. It's so sad to see them go.
I miss the malls! They even closed Toys r us too! My local mall looks like a ghost town with many stores closed down. On the one end where Sears used to be….is now a doctors office. It’s so weird and so sad
We used to cruise the malls for chicks when I was in HS over 40 years ago and spent hours at the arcade. What fond memories. Wish I could live it all over again
I don't blame Walmart here. Our Walmart, Kmart (which is no more here), and mall were all aways packed before late 90s/early 00s and everyone started getting online. Black Friday wasn't even big this year. I think everyone here went shopping online.
pretty much the internet and especially amazon that did it. I don't think walmart was as much of a factor except for maybe putting smaller mom & pop shops out of business.
My favorite memories of the Malls was between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the 1980’s. It was always elbow to elbow and walking along seeing all those wonderful Christmas lights and decorations. Santa Claus usually arrived by a helicopter when time came. I so miss those days and the Malls😢
Santa arriving by helicopter but accidentally getting blown several miles off course and landing in Al Bundy's yard lol and breaking his leg then Al Bundy takes over as Santa Claus. The kids in the neighborhood ask why Santa goes to Al Bundy's house. Everybody needs a little cheer during the holidays
There was a Twilight Zone episode in the 50’s where a guy was transported back to 1890. There is just something about being middle aged that makes us nostalgic for the past and pessimistic about the direction we’re heading. Probably always been that way since we’ve lived long enough to get to middle age.
@@JayKay9112000 LIKEWISE! Believe me, I'm 52, and LOVE nostalgia! The ONLY thing I watch on T.V., TODAY, is the NFL, OR the news. Also, knowing what's on T.V., TODAY, I've HAVEN'T turned on MY T.V., at my condo, in about a YEAR. THAT being said, my "new T.V.," today, is TH-cam. In my opinion, talk about a GREAT "time machine!"
That really gets to me and makes me realize how nothing is the same. The America we once knew is definitely unrecognizable nowadays. I’m 27 now but I grew up before the tech took over todays generation. The mall nearest to me just filed for bankruptcy and many stores have closed. Several other northern Chicago/Illinois malls are also closing retail shops rapidly. Even the parks I grew up had numerous benches and several basketball courts, playgrounds, water fountains, etc. Slowly but surely all of the outdoor and indoor amenities are disappearing. The parks are becoming less fun and have less things to do, just like the malls unfortunately.
I am an 80’s baby, and the mall was THE PLACE TO BE! You definitely saw at least 2-3 of your friends. It was the place your parents would let you go when you were fairly young to hang out and get a feel of freedom and independence. I loved Gadzooks, Spencer’s, etc.. malls are now such a nostalgic vibe (never thought I’d say that)!
It's sad to see your childhood mall from the 80s closed and boarded up. Mine was the formerly massive Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City. So many great memories, and now it's gone. 😔 I can still taste the Orange Julius..
Where I grew up in rural Kentucky the mall was about the only place to take a girl on a date before driving age . Just about everybody’s parents would drop them off at the mall catch a movie , food court, if it went well you would end up in the arcade that had dark corners. If it didn’t go well somebody at the arcade always had buds. Such simpler times
My mall experience was 1980's when I was a kid, and 1990's when I was a teen. The malls were the best place on earth: Food court, clothing stores, Toys R Us, arcades, radio shack, music stores (which was my first job), video rental, furniture stores, they had everything. It was so beautiful around Christmas time. It was a great place to go for a job, and to meet girls. All my dates as a teen came from asking out girls at the mall. I miss being young and shopping at the malls. Honestly, I think malls made life so much happier.
Yes I grew up in the same era. “Going to the mall”, could be an all day thing when I was a teenager. I starting losing interest in my late 20’s though in leisurely shopping. I would just go into one or two stores and want to run out. I never go now. It’s scary going anywhere these day with all the mass shootings. Also, hopefully materialism is going out of style… Maybe one day when we are elderly, malls will somehow be popular again. Maybe somehow society will get its innocence back a little. Maybe culture will go back to actually interacting with real people.
I’m 50 now but when I was 16 I worked at the store in the mall called Rave, I loved working there because I loved the clothes and I got a discount. Also Limited I loved shopping there . The 80’s were a great time . I hope they don’t start closing down malls I still love shopping in them . Great video .
Yes, I prefer more of the indoor malls ( The ac from the hot weather/ warmth from the cold weather) Outdoor malls you're exposed to the weather....at least until u go inside a store
I live in a majority Hispanic town and our local mall still gets a lot of shoppers. In Mexico there's a plaza in the middle of town where people go to hang out and shop, in America there is malls. It's sad to see these 3rd places disappear. I feel like America needs malls and plazas more than ever, folks are so lonely in this country.
One of the reasons that malls have been shutting down across the US , his crime and the destruction of the suburbs by good jobs leaving the country and addiction overtaking the people.
I live in the Chicago land area and there are still a lot of shoppers in malls especially the big 5: the outlets of Aurora and Chicago, the woodfield mall, the fox valley and the oak Brook malls. I think it’s mostly small town or small suburb malls that are maybe disappearing?
@@Blue71974 I'm convinced too many malls were built in the US, many years ago. I think there always will be certain shopping centers and malls that exist, but that too many malls were built in past decades(1970s to the 90s).
I'm so glad I'm a 77' baby and got to experience all the 80's and 90's. I have so many memories cemented at the local Mall! Pizza after the movies, my 1st kiss behind Sears [ 🤭] and winning tons of tickets to spend when playing air hockey. I'm 45 and so glad I related to all that you shared! TYSM for sharing!
And I’m glad I grew up in those 70’s. The mall was the hang out place and I loved it so much. No one was getting in trouble, playing air hockey then walking across the aisle to eat pizza. These stores they mention now are not even that old. Lol
78 baby here and yaaass ma'am. 5-7-9 was my GO TO and I love Payless ❤️🥰❤️ And I dated more arcade dudes than I can remember 🤣😂 #LongLiveThe80s I miss OUR malls 🥰❤️
I LOVED Fashion Bug. It's so sad seeing all of these store chains go under. Going to the mall used to be great because you could visit multiple different stores at once and had such a variety of items to purchase. We'd spend hours at the mall shopping. If it was a rainy day, the mall was a great place to go for some fun. Everything today is online and it takes away from the experience of shopping.
I worked at KB Toys in the late 90s and it was one of the best times of my life. Working in a mall then was totally like the scenes in Fast Times. It was like a little community where everybody shared discounts and gossip from the early morning mall walkers to the food court workers and mall security. This brought back a lot of good memories 👍
I worked there 99-2000. It was so much fun. Bought stuff with my discount. I loved going on break and going to the food court to eat. I still have my uniform tshirt.
😢we can cry together I totally 💯 percent agree!!! I’m a 80s baby/90s kid and was a teen for a few years at the turn of the century! So I enjoyed a lot of music, tv shows, malls, family travel etc and feel like I was born during the best time of the world!! I still watch reruns of unsolved mysteries, Golden Girls, Cosby show/A different world etc
@@homehere9817me too to all of that. I was born in 79 and wouldn't trade childhood in the 80s and teen in the 90s for anything. Everything just feels so negative and defeated now.
As a kid of the 80s, my local mall was the first building in our state to have an escalator! Fond memories of buying Lisa Frank stickers in Spencers, shopping at Benetton & Lerners, buying Esprit at Dillard’s & waiting/running through Sears when it opened to buy Bon Jovi tickets before they sold out. All of this was done without parental supervision. Sigh.
Thats awesome. Bon Jovi tickets too! Sounds like some rad times. You ran through Sears to by tickets, I'm just curious, did you buy the tickets in Sears?
@@visionop8 we did! I was too young to know who was actually selling the tickets so I just googled it & there’s a Reddit post about someone waiting in line at Sears for Pink Floyd tickets. This said it was Ticketron who sold them which Ticketmaster eventually bought (?).
Hey Jen, damn it sounds line you and I were in the same town lol know we weren't lol But your mall description was just like mine. lol We apparently shopped at similar stores and here we still Turtles Records n Taoes stores ( GOD I MISS THOSE!!!) and that's where we bought our concert tickets lol I do miss the old Camelot and K*tel Record stores, and record stored in general lol Those stores, toy stores and sports apparel stores were my favorites, not including the food courts lol And this was WELL before they infused movie theaters with malls lol Back then, the early to mid 80s, theaters were stand alone buildings where EVERYBODY hung out on weekends for the biggest new releases. lol I'm 51 btw and was 9 years old when the inception of MTV came on the scene in Aug of 1981 and Ironically we share the same last name lol
The store I miss the most is Hello Kitty. Our mall had an entire store dedicated to Hello Kitty and Friends. You can find some stuff online but not the stationary that was once available.
There used to be a store in the oaks mall in Gainesville ,Fla it was shaped like a snoopy dog house and sold all the hello kitty stuff and stationary in the 80's. My Aunt lived there she used to get me gifts from there.
I was born in 1972 so I was growing up right in the prime era of malls in the late 70s and 80s and it was always such a great social experience. I always remember walking around the mall and my mother letting me walk around alone with my cousins and friends and eating in the food court it just always gave you a sense of freedom as a kid. KB TOYS as shown here was a place I ALWAYS wanted to go in starting in 1981 to get toys. It was just a great time to grow up and I thank you for making this video.
Yes it was that sense of freedom I liked. I still get this rush of anticipation today walking up to a mall or even a dead mall. In the Chicago area, and one mall, Woodfield was still similar to the prime era of malls well into the 90s because it would get these huge crowds on the weekends.
@@turtleislandlac1490 OMG!!!!b Woodfield was the mountain of all malls around here. I am in Rockford. We have Cherryvale which began when I was a teen and Machesney Park was the place for my daughter and her friends to go in the 90s. These places were gold. But, Woodfield was the dream of all malls around here
I worked and hung out at Cherryvale in the late 70s. With my daughter being a 2nd gen mall rat it was the thing. It was Towne Square, Social meeting place, job generator, gossip square, ect. My daughter even ended up working in the same bookstore and me in the 90s. It was so fun and bonding. But, everyone in Rockford wanted to be at Woodfield. Right there as you came off the interstate. And now that I do art I love going there still for Dick Blicks.
@@dianelake7802Yes Woodfield got even better in the 90s with the expansion of its west wing. When it was still under construction, they had this dark tunnel with neon lights that led to the other wing with Nordstrom. It was so cool to walk through! They removed all the fountains over the years and it got a facelift a few years ago and even added a food court. It is still quite busy at Woodfield but they also took a hit like other malls when Lord and Taylor and Sears closed.
As a young girl in the late 1990s, I yearned so deeply to shop and wear clothing from Limited Too. That brand was worn by all of the cool, pretty, and popular All-American girls. My Mother and Father who are now both deceased 🥺 were exceptionally hardworking immigrants. They simply could not afford to purchase anything from Limited Too for me. I would sometimes receive their catalogs in the mail and would slowly turn each page, imagining myself in the clothes, pajamas, and surrounded by their incredible bedroom accessories. I was far too young to fully appreciate and be as profoundly touched in my heart and Soul as I am now for my dear Parents and all they did to provide me with an excellent education and quality of life. I may not have been the best dressed child, but I was blessed beyond measure and still am, because of their immense and admirable sacrifices.
I can relate….I’m American but my mom couldn’t afford clothes from the Limited Too either….as a child u don’t understand and just want to be able to wear cool shit like the kids in school. Many of us went thru that at one point or another
One thing that was great about the mall that not many people mention, is that when you became of age to get your first job you could get hired. Go to the mall walk into any of the stores and ask if they were hiring. The bigger stores like Sears would have a personnel dept. You could walk into a mall and leave gainfully employed at your very first job that day! Nowadays they just refer you to the website. Back then some manager would take pity on you and give you your first real job.
Don't tell anyone, but us Seniors remember the wonderful 5 and dime stores we loved to shop in. Kresge, Cunninghams, Ben Franklin. Woolworth. They were small but they seemed to have everything. Many had a place to eat and drink called a diner. Sometimes you waited a half hour to eat there while shopping around lunch time. Some had what we called soda fountains. A sandwich with soup (for a buck) really hit the spot!
In Indianapolis we had G.C. Murphy's. When I was little in the 60's. They had a little of everything thing. I fell in love with fabric and sewing at that store.
Yeah I remember the Woolworth in our town had a soda fountain Until maybe 1979 In the late 70s my father used to drive us everywhere for vacation so we always stop and small towns and I loved These stores Comic books candy toy soldiers baseball cardsComic books candy toy soldiers baseball cards
@@cokesquirrel It was a quieter time. We were usually moving at a slower pace. Now, don't get me wrong. We still had some serious issues. Can you say threat of a nuclear war?
It’s so sad here in US that the malls look so empty nowadays compared to the malls in Asia and Europe. I’m glad I was a teen in the 80s and had so much fun in the mall shopping especially in Contempo casuals, wet seal, esprit, Benetton, rave, 5-7-9, petite sophisticates, express, Kinney shoes and etc.
I missed shopping for my Levi 501 raw denim and was so excited to come home and washed them to see how it perfectly mold in to my shape. All MADE IN USA 🇺🇸
Yeah, it is interesting for me to hear that in the US the mall are not a thing anymore. We have them here (Europe) and they still full of people (too much, for my taste, though) and you have a cinema in there very often too. And yes, it is sort of a town square which in a way makes me sad that the malls robbed us of all those small shops and a real town square. And we still have disproportionally more small shops in here than in the US.
@Rachael Williams Yes!! I am not sure how old you are, but I loved this in my college-age years. I used to love seeing the happy kids and window shopping for the expensive gifts I couldn't afford.
I’ll never forgot a store our mall had called World of Science. I was around 10 and they had telescopes, science kits, games, fossils, videos and other great things, and it was fun to look around. One year I spent Christmas money on a piece of amber with an ant inside and I still have it almost 30 years later.
We sure loved Borders! It was a favorite Sunday excursion. Our store had a living room area with comfy chairs and a fireplace. When they added a cafe it was nirvana! We spent hours browsing. Once we made our purchase (often near $100) we were relaxing with the NYT over gourmet coffee and scones. sigh.
@@58jharris Those were the days. We never had a Borders in a mall. Instead, there was a really nice stand-alone at Kenny Rd and W. Henderson in Columbus. I could spend hours in that store.
Borders was my favorite store in all the city. But it was not in a mall. It was in a strip mall and it was huge. It was by Best Buy and Home Depot and Lowes. I absolutely lived at Borders as a grown up in the 90s and early 2000s. Now it is gone and I still mourn. I love and always will hard copy books. Computer generated books to download don't have the feel or scent or sheer magic
Unfortunately I frequently witness people reading and then putting back on the shelf dozens of magazines..I even saw people ripping pages from magazines, literally stealing.
Every time I watch a video like this my nostalgia meter goes through the roof! I was an 80s teen and the mall was always an awesome time with friends just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, eating junky food court food, watching a movie… Man, those were good times!
I would have never thought malls thrive in a highly civilized society?!? LOL, just kidding. Japan is a great place and the reason why malls thrive there is people aren't getting jumped, shot, attacked, robbed and abducted like they do here in the USA. There's a reason why malls fell into decline here in the United States and WE ALL KNOW what it is but act oblivious to it on this thread.
@Alejandro I think Rowdy may be correct. I lived in Houston for 41 years, and only moved away to retire a couple of years ago. Before I left, the malls that were in the nicer areas of town seemed to still be thriving, whereas the malls that were in the not-so-nice parts of town were practically dead.
@@Magnus_Magnusson_702 Your reasoning doesn't make an ounce of sense. The whole of America isn't falling victim to high crime rates. That's mostly big cities run by... well, you should already know who. Anyway, I live in a small city in the south considered to be very safe and our mall is failing horribly! Crime has nothing to do with why OUR mall is dying. The internet is the main reason it's dying. Today's youth only care about social media clout and could care less about living outside of their smartphone. Maybe some of the malls are dying because of crime but it is far from the main reason most of them are dying!
Oh the nostalgia. I was so excited to see the mall scenes in Stranger Things. It brought back a lot of memories and they did a real authentic job in creating it. I know it's a long shot, but I hope that our society can go back to that kind of living again.
@@mrs.cordova8286 If you're smart enough to make a TH-cam account you're smart enough to shop online, literally all you need to know is your own credit card information lol. If you prefer the in store experience just say that, nothing wrong with wanting to buy whatever you're looking at in an instant instead of waiting for it.
I worked in display, loved it, it was my favorite job.Then the 100 year old Dept. store (local chain)was bought out by Ohio's "close-out" king, and closed after he dragged it down. THEN the malls other store did less and less, by way of displays.
I remember going to the Warner Bros store for the first time. It was just awesome. So much work went into the decorations. It is hard to believe somebody would put so much work and money into designing a store. Nowadays, most stores are junkyards, and they literally just throw the merchandise on the floor (I'm looking at you, Ross).
I used to love that store! Sadly when I went there, they were on the verge of closing down. I was so sad! There is still a mall in my area but many of the stores that I love are now closed down.
I remember that store . There was one in the dallas Texas mall . Super expensive . And yes it shut it's doors in the mid 2000's as well . I used to think it was meant to be an experience and not purchased . That's how middle class we were growing up . Got most most of our clothes from Kmart or garbage sale's . Life's a journey and a lesson
@@taroman7100 This country was subverted. I would tell ya all about it, but most people don't give a crap, ask my subs lol. If any of them are still around.
I'm old enough to have nostalgia, not for shopping malls, but for "going downtown" to shop. Woolworths was my childhood hangout. As suburbanization took hold, people fled downtown to go to these new shopping malls. Imagine how ancient I feel that these shopping malls that killed my beloved downtown have now died as well. Amazon is now the way most shop, but I avoid buying a product I can't feel ore see in person first.
Please check into what Amazon supports-you may be disappointed in that too and decide to spend your dollars elsewhere when possible. Do not spend your money with those companies who support things you don’t approve of.
You would like much of West Virginia. The topography eliminates most of those big wide open spaces covered in retail crap "Out By The Highway" as a result their down towns may be small but they have a surprisingly low vacancy rates.
I worked at Waldenbooks for a few years in college and it was a great experience. We could take the books home to read, got a great discount and it was cool watching people line up for new bestsellers. There was a B. Dalton at the opposite end of the mall and we would always joke around with them about our store's rivalry.
@@loydkline Yeah. We didn’t have B. Dalton in my home region, but when I transferred to an out of state university, I recall B. Dalton bookstores in numerous locations in the jurisdiction where I attended university.
I loved seeing this walk down memory lane. It tools several nights of lying in bed, racking my brain several years ago, trying to remember the name of my favorite store, DEB. Back then, we didn’t have any nearby malls, so when the first one opened it was a big deal. All of those shops were there and seeing them again makes me wish for one more trip to visit them all! Thank you for helping keep our past alive!
A flood of happy memories of what used to be. Those moments where you wish were on film are long gone. Yeah, I feel exactly the same way. I'm still hoping for Doc Brown to show up, and take me back to 1997.
@ghost mall he'll yeah my dude I have 3 sisters marry go round and Deb were across the mall from each other in Portland remember Fenlenes and Fenlenes basement the later was where ulta is today
I’m a 70s and 80s kid and grew up in a small town with no malls. We would go to the “big city” to the malls and it was always MAGICAL 💜 ESPECIALLY at Christmas time, oh my gosh! All the decor, I remember being a kid and walking in and feeling that excitement 😀😀😀 In the 90s I worked at a mall and it was awesome. I made so many friends with people that worked in other stores. I miss those days 😢 Thank you for putting this vid together, it brought back so many memories!!
Like you I was a small town kid who grew up in that era. Had to go to nearby towns to experience a mall. Many years later, I worked mall security at two malls and a strip center in the ghetto. The 80s-90s were a simpler time and place. Things will never be the same.
I was in the same era & we had to do the same thing, but I preferred strolling around downtown & the malls, Walmart, K-Mart, Pamida, they all killed that. Some of them even worked up a home base in the downtown, then took it outside town. Sad
Malls really used to be the place to be and they made the holiday season so special. You knew it was definitely the holidays when they brought out all the decorations. At my local mall in Alabama, it was a big deal when Santa would arrive at the mall. Food court, arcade, and some malls had movie theaters on the premises. Great video with good information and kudos for the research into these long gone companies.
What a trip to the past!! I'm 51 now and I worked at B. Dalton Booksellers while in high school. I can still visualize exactly where it was located in my hometown mall and remember my lunch breaks most of the time consisted of a brief stroll through the Radio Shack and then to the food court for lunch. My favorite was Orange Julius. I still have many of the books that I bought with my employee discount lol.
The purpose of malls was not just commerce. It was the town square. It was where people went to interact with others in their greater community. Yes, online shopping helped destroy the shopping part, but even worse has been the replacement of the "town square" by social media. We are seeing the repercussions in our society, especially in the younger generation. Something needs to change.
@@americand0lphin Fundamentally yes, overall no. It became the new town square. Was that used as part of the marketing sure. But denying this aspect of the local mall is 100% incorrect.
@@therealjohnsquad I agree with ya...much more about gatherings and the feel of good times. The stuff we didn't understand and being told we'd understand when we were older, but than it vanished before our time came. The heartbreak of those mysteries slipping away like in Narnia. People cared to know each other back than. We didn't go through the change but we felt it...
@@americand0lphin That is correct. They were built strictly with the ideal of making money, but to do so they were designed as a place to gather. The first of a two part strategy was to get people to show up and voluntarily spend their time there. The second part was to entice them to spend their money
1970s child, 1980s teen. I grew up going to the Malls. I miss them very much. As I get older I miss them more.. Northern Ohio here. During the winter months the Malls were the place to go. Good place to thaw out, walk, shop, dine, relax, read, and game. Remember what it sounded like when you walked into a decent arcade 1982 - 1988 or so? Spending a lot of time in Waldenbooks? Perusing the latest music at Recordland? Having lunch at O'Niels, or Lazarus? Window shopping was always a fun thing. Even at a smaller to mid-size mall you could have an afternoons worth of fun and relaxation. Our current generations have no idea what they have lost. Good video and I thank you for the memories.
Your discussion of the B.Dalton/Waldenbooks rivalry reminded me of just how much competition there used to be at my local mall in specialty retail. There used to always be more than one bookstore, more than one music store, more than one electronic store, etc. Now, outside of food and clothing, you're lucky if there's one store dealing in anything else.
I had those bookstores in hometown in Topeka,KS and then they closed not just online shopping but competition from Barnes & Noble which at the time I never heard of.
Not only are the mall stores nothing but clothing now, but it is overwhelmingly teen-young adult and female oriented. The anchor stores are all the guys have now.
I remembered all but a couple of these stores. There are certainly others that could be added to this list. 1. Payless Shoes 2. Radio Shak. 3. Suncoast Music 4. Electrioncs Boutique
Ohrbachs, May company, Robinsons, Tower records, Block Buster, Montgomery Wards, Wool Worth, Buster Brown shoes, Thriftt Drug store, Toys R Us, is Sears still around?
I miss malls. I didn't shop at a lot of these stores (and trust me, I've never been a size 5, 7, or9) but I do miss malls. They were someplace to go and a place where I could walk around and get exercise. I'll never understand the attraction of buying clothes online. I have to try things on to make sure that they're comfortable and that they look decent before I'll buy them. I don't care what the return policies are, it's inconvenient and downright disappointing.
Agreed and I fit "normal" sizes. I had to buy a bridesmaid dress and shoes online because we don't have those types of stores anywhere near me. The bride gave us only about 3 months warning on top of that so I just had to pray it all fit.
I've tried buying clothes online and have pretty much been disappointed every time. So I go to the few "brick and mortar" stores, I guess they're called, but don't have a lot of success at them either. There are a few malls still in existence around me but they have a lot of empty spaces. It's depressing. Nobody carries decent clothing for my age and size. And with the prices, I'm trying to make do with what I have.
I remember the store 5,7,9, my friend and I got the same stretchy gold-ish top there one afternoon and got in an argument on the way home over who was going to wear it on Monday. Needless to say, we both wore it, I wasn't going to back down and neither was she. I could still tell you where it was located
The Mall was and, to an extent, still is a great avenue of social interaction with teens. That’s something online retail and social media can’t duplicate. Also, shout-out to my favorite store not mentioned: Suncoast Motion Picture Company. Use to love getting widescreen VHS copies of movies there. I still miss it whenever I go to the mall.
This really brings back some memories! Back in the 1960s, not everyone had air conditioning. Even in areas like south Florida, a day at an air conditioned mall meant giving you the respite you needed from roasting outside! Meeting with friends in a cool environment was everything! Thanks for sharing!
@@tracydean3678 Hi Tracy! I sure do remember Jordan Marsh and Burdines! I grew up in North Miami Beach and went to 163rd Street shopping mall. There was a Richards there too. I felt so special when my Mom bought a pair of shoes at Jordan Marsh! I wore those shoes until they fell apart! 😂. The stores At Christmas were so beautiful! I still remember it so vividly!
@@janfromseattle Great memories! I loved Jordan Marsh too. I went to he one in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunrise. I recall buying my Mom a daisy necklace and matching earrings that I thought were so pretty. And on another day a maxi dress I wore ill it was well worn! It was a good time to be a girl😍
Fashion Bug wasn't just plus size clothes. Half of the store was standard women's sizes and even some jrs sizes, and half was plus sizes, which meant it was one of the few places that plus sized girls could actually go with their friends and everyone could try on clothes together and not have someone stuck just looking at accessories while the others shopped.
Fashion bug is where I got my first credit card (and shopped there all the time) when I was maybe 19. I was definitely not plus size back then; I was so confused when it was described that way. Thanks for confirming my memory wasn’t mistaken, lol!
I am plus size, and I really appreciated Fashion Bug. I got some of the coolest dresses there. Still have them, still wear them. Comfort plus attractiveness. And durability. I wear these dresses frequently and repeatedly, and they aren't showing even the beginning of wearing out. Well made merchandise. So sorry it's gone.
I had a Fashion Bug store in my town and, it was a stand alone store. I don't remember seeing a Fashion Bug store in any of the malls that were close to me. Anyways... I was thinking the same thing, the store was not just plus sized. This store had all women's sizes. I used to shop there often.
There was also a time BEFORE Malls. Shopping areas in towns and cities had individual stores specializing in their own products. In the 50s I bought my shoes at Nationals. For big shopping trips it was into NYC for Macys, Gimbels and other department stores. Good memories!
Before City Center Mall was built in the late 80's my parents would often take us to Columbus to go look around Lazarus. When City Center was built it was hooked into the Lazarus Department Store. For several years it was a fun place to hang out and shop. Now, both are totally gone.
Cities have too much traffic and it can be difficult to find parking. If you take the train then you are limited in what you can buy and carry home. Suburban malls are better in every way especially when doing a large Christmas shopping.
Stand alone department stores were really fun. They had more stuff than the same department store located in a mall. They always had bargain basements with seconds plus shoe repair. Upstairs, more variety. Several different shoe departments, linens, crockery, etc., furniture too. There was always some sort of tearoom, photography studio, hairstyling, bridal department, even a yarn department, etc. etc. There was even a bakery where my family bought their bread. Much better than Wonder Bread at the grocery store.
The mall was the place to be on the weekends, even in the early 2000s. You never knew who you were going to run into, most of the time a bunch of smaller groups would link up just because we were all there at the same time. ❤
I’m a Filipino and a Gen Z. Its so odd but interesting for me to see Millennial and Gen X Americans reminiscing abt mall culture. Malls here are very alive and teens still hangout there.
Sure teens go there, but not like we did. You would meet people there, flirt with girls, get run over by old lady mall walkers (older ladies would come in their track suits and use the mall like it was an indoor track) , it was different. At night you would see a line of station wagons with parents waiting to pick up their kids and friends. it was a strange makeshift community. Not exactly sure why, but when I walk into a mall now I just don't see people interacting the way they did. It's more like a hollow facsimile. I guess I'm just getting old, my parents probably felt the same way about drive-in movies and malt shops. In the 80s you could browse through a tape/record store for hours with music playing. Meet a girl/boy your age walk to the arcade play a game of air hockey together, and if you were real lucky and hit it off, make plans to see her tomorrow to catch a movie at the same mall. It had a feeling more of like being at a county fair.... wandering.... exploring. I miss it. Even the old lady mall walkers.
I am a early baby boomer (born in 1949) so by the time malls became popular I was already an adult. During my teens we would go downtown and shop in the department stores, or specialty stores like shoe stores, sport stores or clothing stores that featured teen clothing. As the malls gained in popularity I liked shopping there because it was warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Wow, thank you for the tiny glimpse at what at least some people did before the popularity of the shopping mall hit so big. And it's a glimpse I otherwise may have never had because I wasn't born until 1986.
Virginia: Yes! Those were times of great fun, freedom, and just so many happy memories. I really miss all the sewing stores, supplies and cloth. They arent around so much anymore. I remember all the dimestores, the petstores, and snacking areas,with chocolate malts and bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches!
I'm a slightly later boomer, and also remember fondly the rise of the Malls. :-) In fact I went to both of the grand openings of the two big megamalls here in metro Detroit on the same day. But at my age, I'd much rather go to a stand alone store than the mall.
@@RuinedTemple Born in 1950. Got a taste of both worlds. Customer service meant a lot, back then. And quality was usually much better, unless it was some cheap five-and-dime store, but you knew that when you went in there.
The coolest thing I ever saw was a community that formed a cooperative and bought a dying mall in their neighbourhood. They renovated it in partnership with a few big players that liked the idea. They turned the mall into a farmer's market with some permanent local businesses, a consignment store, an arcade where you pay by the hour, 2 movie theaters (one for new releases and one for old), an indoor children's playground, a massive food court with 2 chain restaurants attached, a spa, doctor's office, some offices (I believe one was a law firm), and a few other things. They turned the mall into the kind of place you can spend an entire day with the family, on your own, or with some friends, have a good time, and not spend a fortune. The volume of people they had go through there was ridiculous. Being there on a weekend was like being at the mall in the late 80's and early 90's. When I went I was told to plan an entire day there, but I wasn't expecting much, so I didn't. I wish I had planned 2 days.
Thats wonderful! I live in a small town our mall is hanging by a thread. It amazing to me that its even able to stay open. I would love to see my community do something like this. Unfortunately i dont think people have the money or the ambition to do it. It makes me sad to see. I remember the mall in its hay day and spent a large portion of my childhood there. If I ever hit the lottery or come into a huge chunk of money I would pay to revitalize it. Lol.
I’ve thought about something similar but clearly don’t have the money to do it. Turn the mall into an indoor destination where families could find restaurants, leisure activities, bars. Would love to see them repurposed.
Waiting for Mrs Field's to roll out a batch of fresh warm cookies was always on top of my list for mall activities. I also loved Walden Books. Spencer gifts was another great store. My parents shopped at Sears forever. Back in the day it was an outing to go to Sears in the Mall. Nothing was better than circling wish items in the Wish Book. I really took Sears' closing hard. Great video 🙂
I remember on Family Guy Peter made a comment that the smell of Mrs. Fields was killing him. I loved that smell as it was near the food court right next to Annie Ann’s Pretzels. I love books, music and movies. So a mall trip always included stores like Walden Books, Sam Goody and Suncoast. With a stop at Spencer’s. 😊👍🏾
You just described my childhood mall experience! In the mid 90’s I worked in the mall and going to Mrs. Fields for a cookie or muffin in the morning was always a treat!
Natural Wonders was the best. No trip to the mall was ever complete without a stop there. You almost felt you were visiting a science museum or something. The store was always crowded, but I guess not enough people actually bought stuff.
There is still a pretty decently functioning mall where I live in North Carolina. I live in a college town and lots of the kids go there. Thanks for the memories in this video! I’m 50 and loved going to The Mall when I was a teenager. We would spend the whole day there, trying on clothes and buying when we had money, eating junk from the food court, seeing movies and playing in the arcade. Good times!
I have fond memories of my parents taking me and my sister to the mall. As I got older a bad element started moving into the neighborhood the mall was located. They ran the mall down. The mall is no longer there. Very sad. The last time I went there was back in 2001 and everything was chained up so people wouldn't steal things. It was very sad to see. People ruin everything!
People sure do ruin everything, you are right. We had such a good time at our area malls until the wrong people started ruining them. First the filthy language these people used loudly almost like they wanted to make you miserable, then the violence started. That made you afraid to go there. There was a time when things were good and clean but it is over.
Wet Seal, Waldenbooks, Sam Goody... Those were my favorite as a teen and this really breaks my heart! Didn't think I'd get so much nostalgia watching this 😭
I remember how relaxing and destressing it would be to walk around the mall. The sounds of the arcades, all of the novelty shops. The food courts had so much to choose from as well. I would purchase a ton of tokens to play my favorite arcade games. Spencers had all kinds of Star Trek Stuff, and whatever your flavor was, Spencers had it all.
Was surprised you didn’t mention Lerner and Hit or Miss. Boy do I miss several of the stores you did mention: Merry Go Round, Casual Corner, Deb, Wilson’s, Fashion Bug. And they just got rid of Dress Barn where I live. But also other stores that were popular around here were: Jean Nicolé, Ups N Down, Winkleman’s. Our BIG mall was Randall Park Mall… it was the largest mall in the United States for a when it was first built. I miss it. The land is now the site of an Amazon Center. 😔😢
I managed multiple Suncoast Motion Picture Company locations for several years all across the upper midwest. For the first few years, I was very proud to work for its parent company Musicland, which at the time consisted of Suncoast, Media Play, and Sam Goody. It was the rare retailer that I actually loved to work for and I travelled quite a bit with them. In late 2005, the company took its managers to Universal Studios Florida for its upcoming holiday season conferences and spared no expense entertaining us. Three months later, we learned that Musicland was closing down a massive amount of their stores and that the remaining would be purchased by TransWorld Entertainment, the parent company of FYE. In retrospect, I believe the higher-up's at Musicland knew it was happening and made our trip to Florida more of a final bash for us. Had Suncoast remained open all these years later, I've no I'd still be with them in some capacity. It was by far the best job I ever had and I miss so many people I met along the way.
I have fond memories of working for Waldenbooks in the late 90s through 2000 when my local store closed because they refused to remodel at their cost and B. Dalton agreed to do so. It was such a different era.
And thank you for your service in this retail giant you worked hard it sounds like and u helped perpetuate a long generation of stores that keeping them operating for our generation I have allot of gratitude and respect for your breed thank you !! I know this may sound wishful but I pray this all comes back strong again !
I miss Sam Goody, Musicland and Suncoast. In fact, I remember in the mid 90’s when my local mall had all 3 stores under the same roof. I used my Replay card quite often and I remember the company having good rewards. I even worked at Sam Goody in 2000. Thanks for the memory.
Musicland, Aladdin's castle, County seat, Lerner, Montgomery ward (still available by catalog), JcPennys, Sears, Kbee toys, Radio shack, Bermans leather, Claire's, Waldenbooks, Merry go round.... sigh....I miss malls.
You sure mentioned some good ones for us to remember. It's interesting to see some of the internet and catalog ones. Particularly ones like Montgomery Ward. The business went completely under but the name was still owned by a company. Someone purchased the name and sort of built a business off of that name. It's certainly not the same but yet it somewhat is. Amazing what a name does. Thank you for watching!
Does anyone remember Contempo Casuals? This was a young women’s clothing store which specialized in preteens, teens, and young 20s, and sold complete outfits, including jewelry, mostly by color story. The quality and styles were fantastic, and in our mall this store appeared around 1976/77, and was ultra popular. Chess King for young men wanting a Friday or Saturday date night outfit, and Contempo Casuals for the middle schooler or high schooler wanting to wear the most popular clothes!
Here in Houston located at the northeast side, we have a one and only Deerbrook Mall. It has been there since 1984 and made it through the pandemic. It has been busier with more people there than ever in previous years because of the move to Houston boom. Still has major tenants such as Macy’s, JCPenney, Foot Locker, Spencers, Barnes & Noble, Dillard’s, Vans, Lids, AMC24 movie theater and recently added Dick’s sporting goods. Many more as well. I was at the mall over the weekend, and it was packed and felt like I have time traveled back to the 80’s and 90’s! Come to Houston if you want to see it!
It has been years since I was in a mall since my kids have all grown up and my mobility is not what it used to be. To be honest I did not know that a lot of these stores were no longer in existence or had changed names. It sure brought back a lot of memories from when I would take my daughter (she is 40 now) shopping and we hit so many of the stores in your video. Thanks, Rhett, loved this one, too.
I want it all to come back full on! Online sales is and always was a thing of the past. Online sales is basically the victorian era mail order only catalog. Just because it has a fancy looking screen on the internet and takes credit cards don't make it any less 1800s style shopping. Malls are modern due to being in person mostly self serve brick and mortar with live in person staff and fellow customer, live atmosphere, and the ability to smell, taste, touch and try on.
I agree, I used to work in high end retail, and the experience of having someone help you in the store can make it more special. It's a long lost time where purchases were made more thoughtfully and cherished a bit more, it wasn't a disposable culture. Service was valued.
@@nancyneyedly4587 well, in relation to malls, this is correct, but there are still some high end furniture and appliance shops that are like this today. Not too long ago I walked into a local Levin Furniture store. The associate was waiting at the door, and I got some odd looks when I told them I was there just to browse. These stores aren’t made for browsing, I guess. (What did I know? I’m just a single guy!) 😜
YES! I hate online clothes because you can't tell how they'll look on you. I also hate waiting for things in the mail when you used to just be able to get it.
As an aside, I miss the mall experience. Sure, they still exist but it isn't the same. I loved having all those stores to peruse. I swear kids today don't know what they are missing. Going to the mall with your friends or on a cheap date was the best.
Definitely so true!! Even by early 2000s when I was working in a relatively busy mall, it was a very different vibe than in the late 80s through 90s. When I was a preteen and teen in those years my "small city" mall was seriously packed every single day of the year and every Fri/Sat night you would run into your crush, your foe, and all your friends as well as teachers and neighbors. It was truly the place to be.
That’s the problem. Nothing is cheap anymore. A ticket at my local movie theater goes for about $15 per person. Kids can’t afford that. It’s ridiculous and very sad.
As a Gen Xer I loved the malls and spent many weekends at the mall. I often spent all day going to various stores checking out clothes, gadgets, and music. I would eat at the food court and play games at the arcade. Or sometimes attend a movie 🎥 and one mall I frequented even had an ice skating rink. Back then the mall was the place to be and where everyone wanted to be on the weekend. It was where you had to go to get birthday and Christmas presents. Nowadays malls are sad shells of their former glory. Video game consoles put the arcades out of business, internet shopping put many of the stores out of business, and streaming services put all the cool mall music stores out of business. I miss the 1980’s as they were the perfect balance of technology. Before the 1980’s there simply wasn’t enough technology to make things comfortable and convenient. After the early 1990’s there was too much technology which led to the demise of the mall. From around 1980 to 1992 or so, was the golden age.
We're being swallowed up by technology, today. Hubby and I choose to limit how much of it and what kind we make part of our lives. We as a society are automating ourselves into oblivion. Sure, it's convenient -- SOME of it. A lot of it is too darned complicated, too darned expensive, and for the most part, unnecessary. We got along just fine, and I believe we were a lot happier, without a lot of those frivolous and superfluous bells and whistles.
B Dalton is a big one for me. I was in my local store at least 2 twice a week! Yes, I've gone to the dark side and read most books on my phone but I'll never forget the excitement of new release day and the smell of a fresh, new book!
Rhett, your shopping malls that no longer exist video brought back a lot of memories. The last time I was at a mall me and my late mother shopped and then had lunch in the mall. I remember shopping at some of the stores you mentioned in your video. Have a fantastic weekend. Take care 🐎
One store you didn't cover but were ubiquitous in malls is Claires. While clearly I was never their target shopper I was amazed even growing up how popular they were. Here was a business with a truly niche target market, girls pre-teen to perhaps 15 or 16. They sold accessories and cheap jewelry and were rarely ever bigger than a large closet. They would even pierce a girl's ears for her if she wanted. In fact, it seemed like some kind of rite of passage for girls when I was growing up for them to go together to Claire's to get one of their friends ears pierced.
In the Midwest where I live there are still (relatively busy) Claire's stores in every mall that is still operating - I've passed by three or four this fall - so that's probably why he did not mention the chain.
In the early 80s I loved Small Wonder. Full of cute little trinkets and stickers they sold on rolls behind the counter. My favorite clothing stores were Barbara Moss, Ormonds and Rave. Loved the malls especially at Christmas time. Really curious what teenagers do now for socializing? We had malls, skating rinks and arcades. Most of which are gone now.
they sit on their phones and text each othwr while they are in the same room. 😜lol. doesnt sound so fun to me. or make dancing lip syncing tik toks that all look the same. 🥱
Ahh, the mall ❤️ Tons of memories! Born in ‘81, I feel like it was a huge part of my childhood 😅 We had two malls by us, but one was my fav. Wilson’s: my leather jacket was bought from my mom when I was 12 years old. It was a huge deal to me and I still have it! Limited Too was an obsession for me for my middle school years. KB Toys was a big memory for me….bright blue carpet with red and yellow decor. The food court was a favorite part of the mall - I always chose the baked potato, lol. My brother was absolutely obsessed with the arcade - Tilt - and we had to tear him away from it. He would stay in there BY HIMSELF while my mom and I would shop. He’s 2 years older. And it was not considered a big deal back then! Also the Disney Store was a fav. I collected all of the mugs and porcelain figurines for awhile. Still have all of them!
The mall was the place to go to escape from your troubles and woes! I loved the music and book stores. For fashion I ventured to stores like Lerner, Stuart's and Jean Nicole. I also liked Rave! Nothing like leaving the mall with bags and bags of awesome stuff!
I suspect you're slightly younger than I am. I'm thinking Lerner and Rave! came on the scene in the late 80's. Yes, even as a guy going into the Mall and coming out with both hands holding bags was awesome. Then when I was dating and newly married, the wife and I would shop as date night.
As a 37 year old from the Inland Empire, California, I definitely remember the now defunct Carousel Mall with Waldenbooks and Sam Goody, many others. I truly miss those old days, very nostalgic.
I'm 45 now and that was my hangout spot! There's a cool video on here giving a tour of the closed up mall as it looks now. It made me so sad, many memories for me there
@@stephaniemorrissey123 What a small world. I was raised on Second Street till 96’. Me and my mom with several cousins used to walk to the mall many times back in those days.
I used to love going to sam's goody i hacer alwayove music til this day i need to have music while driving relaxers me also i remembe mervyns i grew up in OC but i now live in IE
My pet shop is our local animal shelter. Lots of homeless pets needing lots of love. I've adopted nearly all of my cats from them. Got a few from neighbors looking to rehome them.
Pet store animals usually come from breeding mills that supply them. Those conditions are often horrible for the animals. They're nothing but product. I prefer to adopt my cats from our local animal shelter or from people locally who are looking to rehome their pets or find loving forever homes for their pets' litters. I always hope that once they've experienced having to give away new kittens or puppies, that they would then have the parent pets neutered or spayed. I've gotten some of my best kitties from private ads local folks placed in our newspaper, seeking homes for their animals.
As a nerd, I miss Waldenbooks which is one of the places where I used to catch up on my monthly comics. There’s also Sam Goody, Kay Bee Toys when I was a kid, and especially Suncoast when I started getting into anime. I also miss arcades. Nowadays, the only reason I still go to my nearby malls is because Great American Cookie Co.’s cookies are 🔥
We used to practically live at the mall when we were teens and young adults - that was our internet. As I got older I realized I was too lazy to go walk around for hours to try to find everything I needed when I could do it in half the time from home, but there is something about going out on an adventure that I still miss.
The mall was also a great form of social introduction for young people. I was a young man, when I got a part-time job at Miller's Outpost. The holidays were very hectic and I learned how to deal with customers. Wanted to quit, but the Manager literally told me that he wanted me out-front, because I was a cute guy and the amount of young women coming into the store had increased, due to my presence! For a shy guy, that was a huge ego boost!
One store you forgot was Mervyn's - but then again, that might've been more on the West Coast of the United States. I definitely remember many of the stores you listed here. Interestingly, mall culture is thriving here in Czech Republic, even in the midst of an economic downturn. There's a mall not far from where I live, and if I go there on a Saturday, it's usually so crowded, it's like stepping back into a late 1980s/early '90s suburban American mall.
I believe Mervyns was only in CA, AZ, and TX. My husband worked for them in Phoenix for 20 years until they went under. I often felt their buyers didn't get it as their clothing just missed the mark.
It was a very good store for work/office attire at one point, but they sort of fell out of step with fashion trends, and they only sold jeans and Dockers for men, no suits or better garments. They also never had better dresses or cocktail/evening wear, and no bridal. If they had changed direction with their fashion merchandising they might still be around. Always a good place for handbags, jewelry, foundation garments, mens underwear etc., and kitchen stuff.
As a child of the 80's and 90's malls were a huge source of memories of my youth. They were always packed and had lots of different things to do. You could spend all day there and not get bored. Now most of the malls near me are filled with empty stores and nothing to do besides walk around. There are two in my area who are thriving however, but that is mostly because the area around it is built up and they have a bunch of entertainment activities within.
I absolutely loved Wet Seal and Deb stores. I am now 46 but I was at a dance club every weekend in my 20's and those were the stores that I got my clothes. Another one that is no longer around is Charlotte Rousse. Another store that I could find cute tops to wear. I also bought alot of clothes at Fashion Bug and another store called Dot's. I worked at Casual Corner at my local outlet mall so I wore alot of their nice business casual clothes because they kinda wanted you to so customers could see them on and possibly buy them. The outlet mall near me at one time had about 100 stores and a food court. Now it has about 10 ( if that) stores and an emptiness that was the food court. I really miss the malls as they once were. There are still a couple malls around but the stores they have these days don't really interest me.
Do you guys remember the mall at Christmas time? All the lights and toy displays 🙂 And the smell of cookies, popcorn, pretzels and perfume and new shoes. It was magical.
And Santa would be there...lots of decorations and Christmas trees with what I used to think were real presents under them. 😂
Yes, the good ole days. I miss them so much.😢
We still have ours it's just downsized
The 1980s for the most part was magical from what I heard :)
I remember in the 80's the mall by me had animatronic Santa elves and reindeer. I loved it. I will never forget those times.
As a Gen-X, malls were our primary source of entertainment. If you weren't home watching MTV, you were out at the mall walking around all day long. It was guaranteed you would see several of your friends there. We would check out the latest clothes, snack at the food court, and usually catch a matinee at the movie theater, or check out the guys at the arcade or sports stores. You could literally spend a whole day there, socializing. I wish today's kids had malls to enjoy.
Also a good walking place on hot days.
Some malls are still around and relevant. I'm glad the social element is still there. Rivergate, Hickory Hollow, Church Street Center, 100 Oaks, Harding & Green Hills were the malls in Nashville
Gen-X here. I know exactly what you mean. I got a reminder with two movies in recent years: Captian Marvel and Wonder Woman 84. 😭
i mean us millennials did the same
it basically died out more with us though
but malls are still pretty popular here, it's just not where gen-z spends a majority of their time unlike us lol
Once in a great while, I will go to Chicago Ridge Mall, eat a slice of bad pizza at Sbarro, go see a movie and then walk around. Unfortunately, the arcade has been replaced by a T-Mobile store.
A baby boomer here and I thought 'The Mall' was a great concept and I miss it terribly! One stop, park once, everything under one roof where it's warm, safe, and you saw
ALL your friends! You didn't have to go outside in the heat or the cold and it was a festive atmosphere. I'll never understand why they fell out of favor.... but I betcha they'll
be back one day :) It was particularly nice to go during the holidays.... always decorated and really fun. You could do ALL your Christmas shopping in one place, it was so
much easier than today.
Walmart and Amazon.Killed malls. Loved it. One stop shopping.
They will be back again. Before malls we had downtown stores and plaza's. Then people wanted to be under one roof while shopping. The mall was born. Now we are going back to strip centers and single building stores. Everything makes a circle, this will too
@@carch7243 People shop on the internet now
@@carch7243 Hope they bring back the Classic Mall Stores; Penny's, Sears, Spencer's (The Barefoot Mail Man in Florida), Woolworth, etc-etc.
The thing I loved about the mall is you could go there and not spent a penny and still feel part of something. Walking through with my friends as a teenager, being poor but could still feel cool just hanging out in a fairly safe environment. Sad those places no longer exist.
Absolutely nailed it.
Malls still do exist LOL. I live close to one, but many of the stores have gone out of business & not many people go there anymore. Honestly, I don't see how it stays in business. People I do see there seem to just be walking around & not really buying anything & I do the same sometimes.
In San Jose, CA a huge east-side mall named "Eastridge" opened in 1971 and claimed to be the largest mall in America. Our family would hang out during the hottest summer days - mom spending hours in a rest area knitting or reading a book while me, my brother, and friends would walk the mall and try to pick up girls. Got lucky pretty often, but once they found out we lived in one of the poorest east side neighborhoods, the girls' parents didn't allow them to hang with us anymore. Yup, good times. 😅
There are still malls
Those who are sayin "there are still malls" I think what Ladybugmom means is that its not what it once was. Why bother heading to the mall for anything when you can order anything online? Stores are trying to be more creative to stay in business anywhere. As a child I remember MusicLand then as teen onward, Suncoast.
Malls, Bowling alleys, Roller rinks, Drive in theaters.. It's so sad that it's all gone. It's like when you're having a really good dream then something wakes you up and you're totally bummed.
Those were all super fun things to do as a kid, teen and family etc. Thank you for watching Phill!
Not completely gone - there's bowling alleys - there's a drive in about 45 minutes from me in Hartford Michigan
And there's a roller world here in Kalamazoo
I know what you mean, most of these places that used to be so safe and fun have been ruined by the elements moving into the area. Much of this is forced on us by the government for “diversity” done with our tax dollars.
@@KOSMICKEN09 yea but if you actually go to any of these places they operate on shoestring budgets now and it doesn't feel nearly as fun/exciting as it used to when they were at their prime. social media, modern video game consoles, and online shopping, etc have all made this new generation antisocial and unathletic.
Drive-in theaters need to make a comeback! The tech to make it an excellent experience is available.
I met my wife at a mall in 2002. She wrote her phone number on a Hot Topic receipt(still have it). We are still together to this day, happily married with 3 kids.
I met my wife in Surefall glade in EverQuest. . . but i'm sure Hot Topic woulda been pretty sweet too. Actually... i remember going there in the late 90's with every girlfriend i ever had lol. So it was entirely possible.
Same here, I met my wife at the mall passing through sears in 2002, 6 kids later still kicking lol
Now that is awesome!
I love that ❤
My sister met her late husband at the mall when they were both very young. They had many and happy years together.
I grew up in the 80s. The malls were where I met friends and socialized. We'd spend hours there. We didn't just shop, we had pizza, saw movies, went to the arcade. My first 'real ' job was in a mall in the late 80s, all the way through the mid 90s. The mall was such a huge part of my teen and early adult life. It's so sad to see them go.
In jr.high ,we all went to the mall every Friday night. We'd see movies, eat pizza, shop & just hang out with all of our friends
Fur sure!😂
Yeah I remember well into the 90s and even the 2000s malls had something to offer. The last two years have been hard on malls.
Me too.... I miss it so much.
I miss the malls! They even closed Toys r us too! My local mall looks like a ghost town with many stores closed down. On the one end where Sears used to be….is now a doctors office. It’s so weird and so sad
We used to cruise the malls for chicks when I was in HS over 40 years ago and spent hours at the arcade. What fond memories. Wish I could live it all over again
Mall were a young woman hangout
Me too!!❤
Even with all the modern convinces kids have today, I feel like we had more back then. Your thoughts?
@eviehammond9509 definitely life was more better back then for me.. It was a happy childhood without the technology that can warp your mind
I'd like to go back in time for a day or two myself. 1976 and 1977 in particular. Any two days !
WalMart started the downfall. The Internet and Amazon finished the job. So sad. So many fond memories of our area malls.
I don't blame Walmart here. Our Walmart, Kmart (which is no more here), and mall were all aways packed before late 90s/early 00s and everyone started getting online. Black Friday wasn't even big this year. I think everyone here went shopping online.
I agree.
pretty much the internet and especially amazon that did it. I don't think walmart was as much of a factor except for maybe putting smaller mom & pop shops out of business.
Actually, the downfall started when rents became outrageous and stores started leaving.
@@jimroscovius That was part of it here as well.
My favorite memories of the Malls was between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the 1980’s. It was always elbow to elbow and walking along seeing all those wonderful Christmas lights and decorations. Santa Claus usually arrived by a helicopter when time came. I so miss those days and the Malls😢
Santa arriving by helicopter but accidentally getting blown several miles off course and landing in Al Bundy's yard lol and breaking his leg then Al Bundy takes over as Santa Claus. The kids in the neighborhood ask why Santa goes to Al Bundy's house. Everybody needs a little cheer during the holidays
I would often go to the malls at that time just to take in all the decorations!
Different times for sure. The world is just so wrong now
I love malls and other stores during the holidays, not hte crowds so much but the atmosphere is just lovely :)
@@MrJPort10 You are sooo right, everything is wrong now. I miss my childhood!😔
I miss the malls. It's too bad so many are gone.
Not in Dubai, of course, not everyone has the to fly there.
And the ones left are half empty
One in McAllen TX recently went through an expansion and all locations are rented out
@@knerduno5942 that’s good to hear
🦍
the mall during the holidays was the place to be... the look.. the activity.. the vibe..... that was a great time in my life.. i miss that..
Only if you had money 😂
having a little scratch didn't hurt.. not at all..... you're right about that my friend.. 😏
This was a heartbreaking walk through my teenage and adult years. It just reminds me that the America that I grew up in doesn't exist anymore.
Sad but true. So glad ima genXr to remember what a safe society was like.
Things change, and the US our parents grew up in was gone in the 90s.
There was a Twilight Zone episode in the 50’s where a guy was transported back to 1890. There is just something about being middle aged that makes us nostalgic for the past and pessimistic about the direction we’re heading. Probably always been that way since we’ve lived long enough to get to middle age.
@@JayKay9112000 LIKEWISE! Believe me, I'm 52, and LOVE nostalgia! The ONLY thing I watch on T.V., TODAY, is the NFL, OR the news. Also, knowing what's on T.V., TODAY, I've HAVEN'T turned on MY T.V., at my condo, in about a YEAR. THAT being said, my "new T.V.," today, is TH-cam. In my opinion, talk about a GREAT "time machine!"
That really gets to me and makes me realize how nothing is the same. The America we once knew is definitely unrecognizable nowadays. I’m 27 now but I grew up before the tech took over todays generation. The mall nearest to me just filed for bankruptcy and many stores have closed. Several other northern Chicago/Illinois malls are also closing retail shops rapidly. Even the parks I grew up had numerous benches and several basketball courts, playgrounds, water fountains, etc.
Slowly but surely all of the outdoor and indoor amenities are disappearing. The parks are becoming less fun and have less things to do, just like the malls unfortunately.
I am an 80’s baby, and the mall was THE PLACE TO BE! You definitely saw at least 2-3 of your friends. It was the place your parents would let you go when you were fairly young to hang out and get a feel of freedom and independence. I loved Gadzooks, Spencer’s, etc.. malls are now such a nostalgic vibe (never thought I’d say that)!
LIKEWISE!
It's sad to see your childhood mall from the 80s closed and boarded up. Mine was the formerly massive Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City. So many great memories, and now it's gone. 😔 I can still taste the Orange Julius..
Same!
Agree! And Spencer's was THE place where we teens always went cause of the different stuff they had.
Where I grew up in rural Kentucky the mall was about the only place to take a girl on a date before driving age . Just about everybody’s parents would drop them off at the mall catch a movie , food court, if it went well you would end up in the arcade that had dark corners. If it didn’t go well somebody at the arcade always had buds. Such simpler times
My mall experience was 1980's when I was a kid, and 1990's when I was a teen. The malls were the best place on earth: Food court, clothing stores, Toys R Us, arcades, radio shack, music stores (which was my first job), video rental, furniture stores, they had everything. It was so beautiful around Christmas time. It was a great place to go for a job, and to meet girls. All my dates as a teen came from asking out girls at the mall. I miss being young and shopping at the malls. Honestly, I think malls made life so much happier.
TOYS R US **WWWOOHOOO** & FOOD COURT 🥳🥳🥳
They're even a good hiding place in case of zombie apocalypse!
We still have a TOYS R US near me (Canada). Most malls are turning high-end, or dying.
Yes I grew up in the same era. “Going to the mall”, could be an all day thing when I was a teenager. I starting losing interest in my late 20’s though in leisurely shopping. I would just go into one or two stores and want to run out.
I never go now. It’s scary going anywhere these day with all the mass shootings. Also, hopefully materialism is going out of style…
Maybe one day when we are elderly, malls will somehow be popular again. Maybe somehow society will get its innocence back a little. Maybe culture will go back to actually interacting with real people.
The mall was my happy place in the 70's ,80's and 90's
I’m 50 now but when I was 16 I worked at the store in the mall called Rave, I loved working there because I loved the clothes and I got a discount. Also Limited I loved shopping there . The 80’s were a great time . I hope they don’t start closing down malls I still love shopping in them . Great video .
I worked at a Rave too when I was 16! good memories😊
I remember that store; I was born in the 80s
I love that Rave and Merry-Go-Round store 😄
Does that mall still exist? It is so sad that malls are closing down so quickly.
I remember Rave and Limited Too stores. I was a 90’s kid 00’s teen.
Indoor shopping Malls were so special, especially if it had an indoor fountain, where you threw your change in. Thanks for the nostalgia!
Yes, I prefer more of the indoor malls
( The ac from the hot weather/ warmth from the cold weather) Outdoor malls you're exposed to the weather....at least until u go inside a store
@@drinkwatereatmelons7048 yes! I just had a baby and its the only place where we can have a day to walk around when its 20 degree weather
When I was very young, I remember how the mall had great big fountains
Had a beautiful awesome mall a couple of towns away and it was torn down last year. Shame.
I often stole that change. I was a naughty boy.
I live in a majority Hispanic town and our local mall still gets a lot of shoppers. In Mexico there's a plaza in the middle of town where people go to hang out and shop, in America there is malls. It's sad to see these 3rd places disappear. I feel like America needs malls and plazas more than ever, folks are so lonely in this country.
The government's goal seems to be to isolate and divide people to make them easier to manipulate.
One of the reasons that malls have been shutting down across the US , his crime and the destruction of the suburbs by good jobs leaving the country and addiction overtaking the people.
Amen
I live in the Chicago land area and there are still a lot of shoppers in malls especially the big 5: the outlets of Aurora and Chicago, the woodfield mall, the fox valley and the oak Brook malls. I think it’s mostly small town or small suburb malls that are maybe disappearing?
@@Blue71974 I'm convinced too many malls were built in the US, many years ago. I think there always will be certain shopping centers and malls that exist, but that too many malls were built in past decades(1970s to the 90s).
I'm so glad I'm a 77' baby and got to experience all the 80's and 90's. I have so many memories cemented at the local Mall! Pizza after the movies, my 1st kiss behind Sears [ 🤭] and winning tons of tickets to spend when playing air hockey. I'm 45 and so glad I related to all that you shared! TYSM for sharing!
And I’m glad I grew up in those 70’s. The mall was the hang out place and I loved it so much. No one was getting in trouble, playing air hockey then walking across the aisle to eat pizza. These stores they mention now are not even that old. Lol
78 baby here and yaaass ma'am. 5-7-9 was my GO TO and I love Payless ❤️🥰❤️ And I dated more arcade dudes than I can remember 🤣😂 #LongLiveThe80s I miss OUR malls 🥰❤️
That was a fortunate boy. :)
Same here 🤗
I LOVED Fashion Bug. It's so sad seeing all of these store chains go under. Going to the mall used to be great because you could visit multiple different stores at once and had such a variety of items to purchase. We'd spend hours at the mall shopping. If it was a rainy day, the mall was a great place to go for some fun. Everything today is online and it takes away from the experience of shopping.
And Fashion Bug was not solely a plus-size store; it included plus-size, which was awesome! We ALL shopped there!
I worked at KB Toys in the late 90s and it was one of the best times of my life. Working in a mall then was totally like the scenes in Fast Times. It was like a little community where everybody shared discounts and gossip from the early morning mall walkers to the food court workers and mall security. This brought back a lot of good memories 👍
You got that right buddy I wish it was still the 90s
I worked at Sears in the 80s. Had big fun at the mall eating mall food like Orange Julius and going Spencer's Gift Shop
KB toys was Awesome! My Niece still has the Raggedy Anne and Andy Christmas dolls I bought Her in 1992, She never took them out of the box.
I forever curse Mitt Romney for killing the store.
I worked there 99-2000. It was so much fun. Bought stuff with my discount. I loved going on break and going to the food court to eat. I still have my uniform tshirt.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this! I miss the 80’s & 90’s! We’ll never see those days again! 😢
😢we can cry together I totally 💯 percent agree!!! I’m a 80s baby/90s kid and was a teen for a few years at the turn of the century! So I enjoyed a lot of music, tv shows, malls, family travel etc and feel like I was born during the best time of the world!! I still watch reruns of unsolved mysteries, Golden Girls, Cosby show/A different world etc
It really was the best time. I miss it very much.😢
@@homehere9817me too to all of that. I was born in 79 and wouldn't trade childhood in the 80s and teen in the 90s for anything. Everything just feels so negative and defeated now.
No. The world is so bad now. Evil
As a kid of the 80s, my local mall was the first building in our state to have an escalator! Fond memories of buying Lisa Frank stickers in Spencers, shopping at Benetton & Lerners, buying Esprit at Dillard’s & waiting/running through Sears when it opened to buy Bon Jovi tickets before they sold out. All of this was done without parental supervision. Sigh.
Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories Jen!
Thats awesome. Bon Jovi tickets too! Sounds like some rad times. You ran through Sears to by tickets, I'm just curious, did you buy the tickets in Sears?
@@visionop8 we did! I was too young to know who was actually selling the tickets so I just googled it & there’s a Reddit post about someone waiting in line at Sears for Pink Floyd tickets. This said it was Ticketron who sold them which Ticketmaster eventually bought (?).
@@visionop8 Sears always had a Ticket Master in the back of the store in the malls
Hey Jen, damn it sounds line you and I were in the same town lol know we weren't lol But your mall description was just like mine. lol
We apparently shopped at similar stores and here we still Turtles Records n Taoes stores ( GOD I MISS THOSE!!!) and that's where we bought our concert tickets lol
I do miss the old Camelot and K*tel Record stores, and record stored in general lol Those stores, toy stores and sports apparel stores were my favorites, not including the food courts lol
And this was WELL before they infused movie theaters with malls lol Back then, the early to mid 80s, theaters were stand alone buildings where EVERYBODY hung out on weekends for the biggest new releases. lol
I'm 51 btw and was 9 years old when the inception of MTV came on the scene in Aug of 1981 and Ironically we share the same last name lol
The store I miss the most is Hello Kitty. Our mall had an entire store dedicated to Hello Kitty and Friends. You can find some stuff online but not the stationary that was once available.
I got my ears pierced at hello Kitty when I was 4. (1979). I loved that store!
@TheJulithegreat I miss it so much too. I would just look around the store for what seemed like hours.
There used to be a store in the oaks mall in Gainesville ,Fla it was shaped like a snoopy dog house and sold all the hello kitty stuff and stationary in the 80's. My Aunt lived there she used to get me gifts from there.
I miss the old book stores terribly! Hopefully we won't lose Barnes & Noble and Books A Million
Agree with you 100% re Barnes and Noble but never heard of Books A Million. Where did they start?
I was born in 1972 so I was growing up right in the prime era of malls in the late 70s and 80s and it was always such a great social experience. I always remember walking around the mall and my mother letting me walk around alone with my cousins and friends and eating in the food court it just always gave you a sense of freedom as a kid. KB TOYS as shown here was a place I ALWAYS wanted to go in starting in 1981 to get toys. It was just a great time to grow up and I thank you for making this video.
I started with my mom when I was little and did the most hanging out there as a teen.
Yes it was that sense of freedom I liked. I still get this rush of anticipation today walking up to a mall or even a dead mall. In the Chicago area, and one mall, Woodfield was still similar to the prime era of malls well into the 90s because it would get these huge crowds on the weekends.
@@turtleislandlac1490 OMG!!!!b Woodfield was the mountain of all malls around here. I am in Rockford. We have Cherryvale which began when I was a teen and Machesney Park was the place for my daughter and her friends to go in the 90s. These places were gold. But, Woodfield was the dream of all malls around here
I worked and hung out at Cherryvale in the late 70s. With my daughter being a 2nd gen mall rat it was the thing. It was Towne Square, Social meeting place, job generator, gossip square, ect. My daughter even ended up working in the same bookstore and me in the 90s. It was so fun and bonding. But, everyone in Rockford wanted to be at Woodfield. Right there as you came off the interstate. And now that I do art I love going there still for Dick Blicks.
@@dianelake7802Yes Woodfield got even better in the 90s with the expansion of its west wing. When it was still under construction, they had this dark tunnel with neon lights that led to the other wing with Nordstrom. It was so cool to walk through! They removed all the fountains over the years and it got a facelift a few years ago and even added a food court. It is still quite busy at Woodfield but they also took a hit like other malls when Lord and Taylor and Sears closed.
As a young girl in the late 1990s, I yearned so deeply to shop and wear clothing from Limited Too. That brand was worn by all of the cool, pretty, and popular All-American girls. My Mother and Father who are now both deceased 🥺 were exceptionally hardworking immigrants. They simply could not afford to purchase anything from Limited Too for me. I would sometimes receive their catalogs in the mail and would slowly turn each page, imagining myself in the clothes, pajamas, and surrounded by their incredible bedroom accessories. I was far too young to fully appreciate and be as profoundly touched in my heart and Soul as I am now for my dear Parents and all they did to provide me with an excellent education and quality of life. I may not have been the best dressed child, but I was blessed beyond measure and still am, because of their immense and admirable sacrifices.
Try online for lightly used clothes, Ebay or others sites might have them. Someone might have something!
@@MidnightMixx Ha! Please sense the sarcasm...that was my perspective as a literal young child.
Beautifully written!
@Karl with a K got that right can't say it any better!
I can relate….I’m American but my mom couldn’t afford clothes from the Limited Too either….as a child u don’t understand and just want to be able to wear cool shit like the kids in school. Many of us went thru that at one point or another
One thing that was great about the mall that not many people mention, is that when you became of age to get your first job you could get hired. Go to the mall walk into any of the stores and ask if they were hiring. The bigger stores like Sears would have a personnel dept. You could walk into a mall and leave gainfully employed at your very first job that day! Nowadays they just refer you to the website. Back then some manager would take pity on you and give you your first real job.
Don't tell anyone, but us Seniors remember the wonderful 5 and dime stores we loved to shop in. Kresge, Cunninghams, Ben Franklin. Woolworth. They were small but they seemed to have everything. Many had a place to eat and drink called a diner. Sometimes you waited a half hour to eat there while shopping around lunch time. Some had what we called soda fountains. A sandwich with soup (for a buck) really hit the spot!
We had a Ben Franklin in our small town in Indiana. It was a great store. I wish it was still open.
@@weaselboyjenkins3931 I used to help run a Kresge with wood floors! I loved that store. I used to go to Ben Franklin later.
In Indianapolis we had G.C. Murphy's. When I was little in the 60's. They had a little of everything thing. I fell in love with fabric and sewing at that store.
Yeah I remember the Woolworth in our town had a soda fountain Until maybe 1979
In the late 70s my father used to drive us everywhere for vacation so we always stop and small towns and I loved These stores
Comic books candy toy soldiers baseball cardsComic books candy toy soldiers baseball cards
@@cokesquirrel It was a quieter time. We were usually moving at a slower pace. Now, don't get me wrong. We still had some serious issues. Can you say threat of a nuclear war?
It’s so sad here in US that the malls look so empty nowadays compared to the malls in Asia and Europe. I’m glad I was a teen in the 80s and had so much fun in the mall shopping especially in Contempo casuals, wet seal, esprit, Benetton, rave, 5-7-9, petite sophisticates, express, Kinney shoes and etc.
I loved Contempo Casuals!
I missed shopping for my Levi 501 raw denim and was so excited to come home and washed them to see how it perfectly mold in to my shape. All MADE IN USA 🇺🇸
I loved Contempo. That was a cool store😊
Wow,someone who remembers Kenny Shoes.
Yeah, it is interesting for me to hear that in the US the mall are not a thing anymore. We have them here (Europe) and they still full of people (too much, for my taste, though) and you have a cinema in there very often too. And yes, it is sort of a town square which in a way makes me sad that the malls robbed us of all those small shops and a real town square. And we still have disproportionally more small shops in here than in the US.
I always loved going to the mall as a kid during Christmas time. The decor and the large tree in the middle of the building was my favorite.
I enjoyed going at that time as well. Thank you for watching and sharing some memories!
@Rachael Williams Yes!! I am not sure how old you are, but I loved this in my college-age years. I used to love seeing the happy kids and window shopping for the expensive gifts I couldn't afford.
I’ll never forgot a store our mall had called World of Science. I was around 10 and they had telescopes, science kits, games, fossils, videos and other great things, and it was fun to look around. One year I spent Christmas money on a piece of amber with an ant inside and I still have it almost 30 years later.
in my mall, it was called the KCET store
I'm 29 and that was my favorite store as a kid! I called it the world store and forced my parents there every time we went to the mall
Pretty sure our store was called "Nature Connection" i loved it
I remember a store I think it was called nature company, I love that store
We sure loved Borders! It was a favorite Sunday excursion. Our store had a living room area with comfy chairs and a fireplace. When they added a cafe it was nirvana! We spent hours browsing. Once we made our purchase (often near $100) we were relaxing with the NYT over gourmet coffee and scones. sigh.
I miss Borders. I liked them better than Barnes and Noble.
@@58jharris Those were the days. We never had a Borders in a mall. Instead, there was a really nice stand-alone at Kenny Rd and W. Henderson in Columbus. I could spend hours in that store.
Borders was my favorite store in all the city. But it was not in a mall. It was in a strip mall and it was huge. It was by Best Buy and Home Depot and Lowes. I absolutely lived at Borders as a grown up in the 90s and early 2000s. Now it is gone and I still mourn. I love and always will hard copy books. Computer generated books to download don't have the feel or scent or sheer magic
Unfortunately I frequently witness people reading and then putting back on the shelf dozens of magazines..I even saw people ripping pages from magazines, literally stealing.
i used to work at borders my fav job ever! i miss it every day 2002-2007
Every time I watch a video like this my nostalgia meter goes through the roof! I was an 80s teen and the mall was always an awesome time with friends just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, eating junky food court food, watching a movie… Man, those were good times!
Good times for sure 🍕🌭🍔🍟🍦👕👖🩱👗🛍👡👜🧢👟
AMEN or LIKEWISE!
I was born in 80s but yes the late 90s was still hanging on to the 80s
I was flipping through the radio stations here in Tampa and noticed that most of the songs playing were from the 1980's. Our generation rocked it.
@@elliedaniels2245 No doubt!! My Apple Music is mostly 80s.
Malls still run rampant here in Japan. I always say Japan feels like 90s America that is why I love it here so much partly.
Thank you for watching and sharing that they are all doing well in Japan.
I would have never thought malls thrive in a highly civilized society?!? LOL, just kidding. Japan is a great place and the reason why malls thrive there is people aren't getting jumped, shot, attacked, robbed and abducted like they do here in the USA. There's a reason why malls fell into decline here in the United States and WE ALL KNOW what it is but act oblivious to it on this thread.
@Alejandro I think Rowdy may be correct. I lived in Houston for 41 years, and only moved away to retire a couple of years ago.
Before I left, the malls that were in the nicer areas of town seemed to still be thriving, whereas the malls that were in the not-so-nice parts of town were practically dead.
@@Magnus_Magnusson_702 Your reasoning doesn't make an ounce of sense. The whole of America isn't falling victim to high crime rates. That's mostly big cities run by... well, you should already know who. Anyway, I live in a small city in the south considered to be very safe and our mall is failing horribly! Crime has nothing to do with why OUR mall is dying. The internet is the main reason it's dying. Today's youth only care about social media clout and could care less about living outside of their smartphone. Maybe some of the malls are dying because of crime but it is far from the main reason most of them are dying!
I must go there
My mom LOVED Casual Corner! She died suddenly in 1979. She liked the The Limited also.
Very fashion conscious n business wear.
I'm so sorry. 😢. She's in heaven
I used to go to sales at Casual Corner. When I walked in the door I was quick to show my husband how much money I saved.
Oh the nostalgia. I was so excited to see the mall scenes in Stranger Things. It brought back a lot of memories and they did a real authentic job in creating it. I know it's a long shot, but I hope that our society can go back to that kind of living again.
Yeah that'd be great, it was a fun time when growing up in the 90s-early 00s
I still shop at the mall, but that’s because I don’t know how to shop online…😅
@@mrs.cordova8286 If you're smart enough to make a TH-cam account you're smart enough to shop online, literally all you need to know is your own credit card information lol. If you prefer the in store experience just say that, nothing wrong with wanting to buy whatever you're looking at in an instant instead of waiting for it.
My kids & I watch stranger things and I tell them how great the eighties were
In the 90s I worked in the mall where they filmed season 3. Watching it bent my reality a bit. Still not quite straight.
I remember some of these. Window gazing was a tradition for malls near Christmas. Families would go to malls just to look at decor.
I worked in display, loved it, it was my favorite job.Then the 100 year old Dept. store (local chain)was bought out by Ohio's "close-out" king, and closed after he dragged it down. THEN the malls other store did less and less, by way of displays.
I loved window shopping!
I remember going to the Warner Bros store for the first time. It was just awesome. So much work went into the decorations. It is hard to believe somebody would put so much work and money into designing a store. Nowadays, most stores are junkyards, and they literally just throw the merchandise on the floor (I'm looking at you, Ross).
I used to love that store! Sadly when I went there, they were on the verge of closing down. I was so sad! There is still a mall in my area but many of the stores that I love are now closed down.
I remember that store . There was one in the dallas Texas mall . Super expensive . And yes it shut it's doors in the mid 2000's as well . I used to think it was meant to be an experience and not purchased . That's how middle class we were growing up . Got most most of our clothes from Kmart or garbage sale's . Life's a journey and a lesson
Well you have these foreign nationals that come from third world countries that knows nothing about being a decent human being
Malls need to make a come back! It's good mentally and physically to go out shopping seeing things first hand and socializing!
Agreed, we are being brainwashed by social media, we need to go out and live face to face again, live in the moment, not online
The land is gone. They are building tons of low income apartments at our closed malls here in Ca. Going to look like dystopian wasteland in 20 years
Some are coming back
Saw a story on the news where developers are converting the mall space into pickle ball courts
Better than sitting at a damn screen.
I agree! 😊
Thanks for keeping our memories from the 70's to the 90's.
A much better America until what they consider "social" for us came along and I'm sitting at it.
@@taroman7100 This country was subverted. I would tell ya all about it, but most people don't give a crap, ask my subs lol. If any of them are still around.
I'm 53, im glad i got the chance to experience all of the great stores we had back then 70,80-90
I'm 56
I'm old enough to have nostalgia, not for shopping malls, but for "going downtown" to shop. Woolworths was my childhood hangout. As suburbanization took hold, people fled downtown to go to these new shopping malls. Imagine how ancient I feel that these shopping malls that killed my beloved downtown have now died as well. Amazon is now the way most shop, but I avoid buying a product I can't feel ore see in person first.
Please check into what Amazon supports-you may be disappointed in that too and decide to spend your dollars elsewhere when possible. Do not spend your money with those companies who support things you don’t approve of.
@@daisydukes8252 There aren't many companies left to buy from if we stop shopping from every one who supports something we don't like.
Amazon never profits, they are a loser propped up by the CIA. There is something else going on.
I'm with ya sis.
You would like much of West Virginia. The topography eliminates most of those big wide open spaces covered in retail crap "Out By The Highway" as a result their down towns may be small but they have a surprisingly low vacancy rates.
I worked at Waldenbooks for a few years in college and it was a great experience. We could take the books home to read, got a great discount and it was cool watching people line up for new bestsellers. There was a B. Dalton at the opposite end of the mall and we would always joke around with them about our store's rivalry.
Waldenbooks was my favorite store. My mall used to have 3 book stores, one on each level but Waldenbooks was my all time fave.
I loved Walden Books when I was a youngster in the 70s and early 1980s.
@@beigenegress2979 It was pretty great, right? It was 1985 when I worked there.
& B. Dalon books 📚
@@loydkline Yeah. We didn’t have B. Dalton in my home region, but when I transferred to an out of state university, I recall B. Dalton bookstores in numerous locations in the jurisdiction where I attended university.
I loved seeing this walk down memory lane. It tools several nights of lying in bed, racking my brain several years ago, trying to remember the name of my favorite store, DEB. Back then, we didn’t have any nearby malls, so when the first one opened it was a big deal. All of those shops were there and seeing them again makes me wish for one more trip to visit them all! Thank you for helping keep our past alive!
A flood of happy memories of what used to be. Those moments where you wish were on film are long gone. Yeah, I feel exactly the same way. I'm still hoping for Doc Brown to show up, and take me back to 1997.
Let’s go !
Sooo true what I'd give for 30 min in a Merry go round / chess-king.....Jynco jeans 👖 😂 lol
@ghost mall he'll yeah my dude I have 3 sisters marry go round and Deb were across the mall from each other in Portland remember Fenlenes and Fenlenes basement the later was where ulta is today
I don't think we had DEB in Georgia because I would have remembered that store. We had all the others and I miss them so much.
I’m a 70s and 80s kid and grew up in a small town with no malls. We would go to the “big city” to the malls and it was always MAGICAL 💜 ESPECIALLY at Christmas time, oh my gosh! All the decor, I remember being a kid and walking in and feeling that excitement 😀😀😀 In the 90s I worked at a mall and it was awesome. I made so many friends with people that worked in other stores. I miss those days 😢 Thank you for putting this vid together, it brought back so many memories!!
I agree
Like you I was a small town kid who grew up in that era. Had to go to nearby towns to experience a mall. Many years later, I worked mall security at two malls and a strip center in the ghetto. The 80s-90s were a simpler time and place. Things will never be the same.
I was in the same era & we had to do the same thing, but I preferred strolling around downtown & the malls, Walmart, K-Mart, Pamida, they all killed that.
Some of them even worked up a home base in the downtown, then took it outside town. Sad
Malls really used to be the place to be and they made the holiday season so special. You knew it was definitely the holidays when they brought out all the decorations. At my local mall in Alabama, it was a big deal when Santa would arrive at the mall. Food court, arcade, and some malls had movie theaters on the premises. Great video with good information and kudos for the research into these long gone companies.
What a trip to the past!! I'm 51 now and I worked at B. Dalton Booksellers while in high school. I can still visualize exactly where it was located in my hometown mall and remember my lunch breaks most of the time consisted of a brief stroll through the Radio Shack and then to the food court for lunch. My favorite was Orange Julius. I still have many of the books that I bought with my employee discount lol.
I loved working at the mall. A bonus was the the girls that hung out.
The purpose of malls was not just commerce. It was the town square. It was where people went to interact with others in their greater community. Yes, online shopping helped destroy the shopping part, but even worse has been the replacement of the "town square" by social media. We are seeing the repercussions in our society, especially in the younger generation. Something needs to change.
No it literally was commerce and to make money
@@americand0lphin Fundamentally yes, overall no. It became the new town square. Was that used as part of the marketing sure. But denying this aspect of the local mall is 100% incorrect.
@@therealjohnsquad I agree with ya...much more about gatherings and the feel of good times. The stuff we didn't understand and being told we'd understand when we were older, but than it vanished before our time came. The heartbreak of those mysteries slipping away like in Narnia. People cared to know each other back than. We didn't go through the change but we felt it...
@@americand0lphin said the person who grew up in country and yacht clubs.
@@americand0lphin That is correct. They were built strictly with the ideal of making money, but to do so they were designed as a place to gather. The first of a two part strategy was to get people to show up and voluntarily spend their time there. The second part was to entice them to spend their money
1970s child, 1980s teen. I grew up going to the Malls. I miss them very much. As I get older I miss them more.. Northern Ohio here. During the winter months the Malls were the place to go. Good place to thaw out, walk, shop, dine, relax, read, and game. Remember what it sounded like when you walked into a decent arcade 1982 - 1988 or so? Spending a lot of time in Waldenbooks? Perusing the latest music at Recordland? Having lunch at O'Niels, or Lazarus? Window shopping was always a fun thing. Even at a smaller to mid-size mall you could have an afternoons worth of fun and relaxation. Our current generations have no idea what they have lost.
Good video and I thank you for the memories.
Same here, born in '72...the atmosphere from my Mall was magical..especially around Christmas.
Lazarus!
Randall park Mall .Mentor ohio
Your discussion of the B.Dalton/Waldenbooks rivalry reminded me of just how much competition there used to be at my local mall in specialty retail. There used to always be more than one bookstore, more than one music store, more than one electronic store, etc. Now, outside of food and clothing, you're lucky if there's one store dealing in anything else.
I'm still missing Borders!
I had those bookstores in hometown in Topeka,KS and then they closed not just online shopping but competition from Barnes & Noble which at the time I never heard of.
Half-Price Books is awesome!! Why pay full price??
Not only are the mall stores nothing but clothing now, but it is overwhelmingly teen-young adult and female oriented. The anchor stores are all the guys have now.
@@michaelmarquejr4824 The larger malls still have game and electronics stores, but the rest is certainly female-oriented.
I remembered all but a couple of these stores. There are certainly others that could be added to this list. 1. Payless Shoes 2. Radio Shak. 3. Suncoast Music 4. Electrioncs Boutique
It's funny how clueless I was in Radio Shack. Now I could go in there and actually nerd out over the components
Ohrbachs, May company, Robinsons, Tower records, Block Buster, Montgomery Wards, Wool Worth, Buster Brown shoes, Thriftt Drug store, Toys R Us, is Sears still around?
I miss malls. I didn't shop at a lot of these stores (and trust me, I've never been a size 5, 7, or9) but I do miss malls. They were someplace to go and a place where I could walk around and get exercise. I'll never understand the attraction of buying clothes online. I have to try things on to make sure that they're comfortable and that they look decent before I'll buy them. I don't care what the return policies are, it's inconvenient and downright disappointing.
Agreed and I fit "normal" sizes. I had to buy a bridesmaid dress and shoes online because we don't have those types of stores anywhere near me. The bride gave us only about 3 months warning on top of that so I just had to pray it all fit.
I agree. I don't like buying clothes online.
I've tried buying clothes online and have pretty much been disappointed every time. So I go to the few "brick and mortar" stores, I guess they're called, but don't have a lot of success at them either. There are a few malls still in existence around me but they have a lot of empty spaces. It's depressing. Nobody carries decent clothing for my age and size. And with the prices, I'm trying to make do with what I have.
I remember the store 5,7,9, my friend and I got the same stretchy gold-ish top there one afternoon and got in an argument on the way home over who was going to wear it on Monday. Needless to say, we both wore it, I wasn't going to back down and neither was she. I could still tell you where it was located
The Mall was and, to an extent, still is a great avenue of social interaction with teens. That’s something online retail and social media can’t duplicate.
Also, shout-out to my favorite store not mentioned: Suncoast Motion Picture Company. Use to love getting widescreen VHS copies of movies there. I still miss it whenever I go to the mall.
I used to love Suncoast! Thanks for reminding me of that one as well.
Back before cell phones
Suncoast isn't *quite* dead. There's three left. Three.
Malls were absolutely great. So many memories
Thank you for watching Ian!
This really brings back some memories! Back in the 1960s, not everyone had air conditioning. Even in areas like south Florida, a day at an air conditioned mall meant giving you the respite you needed from roasting outside! Meeting with friends in a cool environment was everything! Thanks for sharing!
Do you remember Jordan Marsh? And Burdines? I loved going there it smelled so good! Yes, great place to cool off!
@@tracydean3678 Hi Tracy! I sure do remember Jordan Marsh and Burdines! I grew up in North Miami Beach and went to 163rd Street shopping mall. There was a Richards there too.
I felt so special when my Mom bought a pair of shoes at Jordan Marsh! I wore those shoes until they fell apart! 😂. The stores At Christmas were so beautiful! I still remember it so vividly!
@@janfromseattle Great memories! I loved Jordan Marsh too. I went to he one in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunrise. I recall buying my Mom a daisy necklace and matching earrings that I thought were so pretty. And on another day a maxi dress I wore ill it was well worn! It was a good time to be a girl😍
@@tracydean3678 I agree Tracy!
Fashion Bug wasn't just plus size clothes. Half of the store was standard women's sizes and even some jrs sizes, and half was plus sizes, which meant it was one of the few places that plus sized girls could actually go with their friends and everyone could try on clothes together and not have someone stuck just looking at accessories while the others shopped.
Fashion bug is where I got my first credit card (and shopped there all the time) when I was maybe 19. I was definitely not plus size back then; I was so confused when it was described that way. Thanks for confirming my memory wasn’t mistaken, lol!
I am plus size, and I really appreciated Fashion Bug. I got some of the coolest dresses there. Still have them, still wear them. Comfort plus attractiveness. And durability. I wear these dresses frequently and repeatedly, and they aren't showing even the beginning of wearing out. Well made merchandise. So sorry it's gone.
lol... standard women!
Fashion Barn & The Limited were two more.
I had a Fashion Bug store in my town and, it was a stand alone store. I don't remember seeing a Fashion Bug store in any of the malls that were close to me. Anyways...
I was thinking the same thing, the store was not just plus sized. This store had all women's sizes. I used to shop there often.
There was also a time BEFORE Malls. Shopping areas in towns and cities had individual stores specializing in their own products. In the 50s I bought my shoes at Nationals. For big shopping trips it was into NYC for Macys, Gimbels and other department stores. Good memories!
Yes, before the word "mall" was coined,
it was "shopping centers".
Before City Center Mall was built in the late 80's my parents would often take us to Columbus to go look around Lazarus. When City Center was built it was hooked into the Lazarus Department Store. For several years it was a fun place to hang out and shop. Now, both are totally gone.
Cities have too much traffic and it can be difficult to find parking. If you take the train then you are limited in what you can buy and carry home. Suburban malls are better in every way especially when doing a large Christmas shopping.
Stand alone department stores were really fun. They had more stuff than the same department store located in a mall. They always had bargain basements with seconds plus shoe repair. Upstairs, more variety. Several different shoe departments, linens, crockery, etc., furniture too. There was always some sort of tearoom, photography studio, hairstyling, bridal department, even a yarn department, etc. etc. There was even a bakery where my family bought their bread. Much better than Wonder Bread at the grocery store.
The mall was the place to be on the weekends, even in the early 2000s. You never knew who you were going to run into, most of the time a bunch of smaller groups would link up just because we were all there at the same time. ❤
I’m a Filipino and a Gen Z. Its so odd but interesting for me to see Millennial and Gen X Americans reminiscing abt mall culture. Malls here are very alive and teens still hangout there.
Sure teens go there, but not like we did. You would meet people there, flirt with girls, get run over by old lady mall walkers (older ladies would come in their track suits and use the mall like it was an indoor track) , it was different. At night you would see a line of station wagons with parents waiting to pick up their kids and friends. it was a strange makeshift community. Not exactly sure why, but when I walk into a mall now I just don't see people interacting the way they did. It's more like a hollow facsimile. I guess I'm just getting old, my parents probably felt the same way about drive-in movies and malt shops.
In the 80s you could browse through a tape/record store for hours with music playing. Meet a girl/boy your age walk to the arcade play a game of air hockey together, and if you were real lucky and hit it off, make plans to see her tomorrow to catch a movie at the same mall.
It had a feeling more of like being at a county fair.... wandering.... exploring. I miss it. Even the old lady mall walkers.
I live in China. I used to hang out at the U.S. malls as a teen. So cool to see the beautiful malls here in China!!!
This made me smile but my soul cries for the old days, simple things, best days😊❤
I understand what you mean. Thank you for watching!
One of the things I liked about Stranger Things Season 3 was the way they recreated the '80s shopping mall experience.
That show does an excellent job with nostalgia in the 80s. Thank you for watching!
Having grown up during the 80s it was the major reason why I liked Stranger Things.👍🏾🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I liked that recreation too!
@@RhettyforHistorythe 80s nostalgia is the shows primary drawing point for me. It definitely
Makes me feel like a kid again in a way
I am a early baby boomer (born in 1949) so by the time malls became popular I was already an adult. During my teens we would go downtown and shop in the department stores, or specialty stores like shoe stores, sport stores or clothing stores that featured teen clothing. As the malls gained in popularity I liked shopping there because it was warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Wow, thank you for the tiny glimpse at what at least some people did before the popularity of the shopping mall hit so big. And it's a glimpse I otherwise may have never had because I wasn't born until 1986.
Virginia: Yes! Those were times of great fun, freedom, and just so many happy memories. I really miss all the sewing stores, supplies and cloth. They arent around so much anymore. I remember all the dimestores, the petstores, and snacking areas,with chocolate malts and bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches!
u could TELL your parents u were at the mall u were at the mall when you really werent😉. no cell phones!
I'm a slightly later boomer, and also remember fondly the rise of the Malls. :-) In fact I went to both of the grand openings of the two big megamalls here in metro Detroit on the same day. But at my age, I'd much rather go to a stand alone store than the mall.
@@RuinedTemple Born in 1950. Got a taste of both worlds. Customer service meant a lot, back then. And quality was usually much better, unless it was some cheap five-and-dime store, but you knew that when you went in there.
The coolest thing I ever saw was a community that formed a cooperative and bought a dying mall in their neighbourhood. They renovated it in partnership with a few big players that liked the idea. They turned the mall into a farmer's market with some permanent local businesses, a consignment store, an arcade where you pay by the hour, 2 movie theaters (one for new releases and one for old), an indoor children's playground, a massive food court with 2 chain restaurants attached, a spa, doctor's office, some offices (I believe one was a law firm), and a few other things. They turned the mall into the kind of place you can spend an entire day with the family, on your own, or with some friends, have a good time, and not spend a fortune. The volume of people they had go through there was ridiculous. Being there on a weekend was like being at the mall in the late 80's and early 90's. When I went I was told to plan an entire day there, but I wasn't expecting much, so I didn't. I wish I had planned 2 days.
Thats wonderful! I live in a small town our mall is hanging by a thread. It amazing to me that its even able to stay open. I would love to see my community do something like this. Unfortunately i dont think people have the money or the ambition to do it. It makes me sad to see. I remember the mall in its hay day and spent a large portion of my childhood there. If I ever hit the lottery or come into a huge chunk of money I would pay to revitalize it. Lol.
Can you link more information about this please?
More info on this mall farmer market thing?
I’ve thought about something similar but clearly don’t have the money to do it. Turn the mall into an indoor destination where families could find restaurants, leisure activities, bars. Would love to see them repurposed.
The coolest thing I saw is when one time I was hiking across a shallow part of a creek and saw a water snake attack and catch a fish
I miss record stores. Shopping through the bins for new releases and old records recommended by friends.
It really was something that was fun to do. Thank you for watching Don!
Waiting for Mrs Field's to roll out a batch of fresh warm cookies was always on top of my list for mall activities. I also loved Walden Books. Spencer gifts was another great store. My parents shopped at Sears forever. Back in the day it was an outing to go to Sears in the Mall. Nothing was better than circling wish items in the Wish Book. I really took Sears' closing hard. Great video 🙂
Mrs Field's now sells cookies at the dollar store and they're not the same by any measure.
@@chellejack3480 I agree
I remember on Family Guy Peter made a comment that the smell of Mrs. Fields was killing him. I loved that smell as it was near the food court right next to Annie Ann’s Pretzels. I love books, music and movies. So a mall trip always included stores like Walden Books, Sam Goody and Suncoast. With a stop at Spencer’s. 😊👍🏾
You just described my childhood mall experience!
In the mid 90’s I worked in the mall and going to Mrs. Fields for a cookie or muffin in the morning was always a treat!
@@breezy270 love it !
Natural Wonders was the best. No trip to the mall was ever complete without a stop there. You almost felt you were visiting a science museum or something. The store was always crowded, but I guess not enough people actually bought stuff.
That really was a great store. Thank you for watching!
I still have several Christmas ornaments from that store! I sure miss that one!
Yes I miss that one too
That was my absolute favorite store as a kid!
I still have my first pair of earrings I brought from that store. Was so sad when it closed.
There is still a pretty decently functioning mall where I live in North Carolina. I live in a college town and lots of the kids go there. Thanks for the memories in this video! I’m 50 and loved going to The Mall when I was a teenager. We would spend the whole day there, trying on clothes and buying when we had money, eating junk from the food court, seeing movies and playing in the arcade. Good times!
I have fond memories of my parents taking me and my sister to the mall. As I got older a bad element started moving into the neighborhood the mall was located. They ran the mall down. The mall is no longer there. Very sad. The last time I went there was back in 2001 and everything was chained up so people wouldn't steal things. It was very sad to see. People ruin everything!
People sure do ruin everything, you are right. We had such a good time at our area malls until the wrong people started ruining them. First the filthy language these people used loudly almost like they wanted to make you miserable, then the violence started. That made you afraid to go there. There was a time when things were good and clean but it is over.
Welcome to today’s society. It’s the new normal.
@@daisydukes8252 And we know exactly why but no one dare says it.
Pp
@@teresajackson7535 You want one? 😁
Wet Seal, Waldenbooks, Sam Goody... Those were my favorite as a teen and this really breaks my heart! Didn't think I'd get so much nostalgia watching this 😭
Loved Wet Seal! I still have some clothes and shoes from there!!!!
Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories!
They forgot Tower Records.
I remember how relaxing and destressing it would be to walk around the mall. The sounds of the arcades, all of the novelty shops. The food courts had so much to choose from as well. I would purchase a ton of tokens to play my favorite arcade games. Spencers had all kinds of Star Trek Stuff, and whatever your flavor was, Spencers had it all.
They have a Spencer's at our mall. Right next to Hot Topic. (Love that place.)
My daughter ordered a vibrator from Spencers! I damn near died....
Miss Borders so much.
I have a Spencer's at the mall by me. That place really does have a little of everything lol
Now letting your teens go is nerve breaking cuz you never know who can be watching them
Was surprised you didn’t mention Lerner and Hit or Miss.
Boy do I miss several of the stores you did mention: Merry Go Round, Casual Corner, Deb, Wilson’s, Fashion Bug. And they just got rid of Dress Barn where I live.
But also other stores that were popular around here were: Jean Nicolé, Ups N Down, Winkleman’s.
Our BIG mall was Randall Park Mall… it was the largest mall in the United States for a when it was first built. I miss it. The land is now the site of an Amazon Center. 😔😢
Bakers shoes, Just Shirts, Sam Goody Music
Omg hit or miss
I managed multiple Suncoast Motion Picture Company locations for several years all across the upper midwest. For the first few years, I was very proud to work for its parent company Musicland, which at the time consisted of Suncoast, Media Play, and Sam Goody. It was the rare retailer that I actually loved to work for and I travelled quite a bit with them. In late 2005, the company took its managers to Universal Studios Florida for its upcoming holiday season conferences and spared no expense entertaining us. Three months later, we learned that Musicland was closing down a massive amount of their stores and that the remaining would be purchased by TransWorld Entertainment, the parent company of FYE. In retrospect, I believe the higher-up's at Musicland knew it was happening and made our trip to Florida more of a final bash for us. Had Suncoast remained open all these years later, I've no I'd still be with them in some capacity. It was by far the best job I ever had and I miss so many people I met along the way.
I have fond memories of working for Waldenbooks in the late 90s through 2000 when my local store closed because they refused to remodel at their cost and B. Dalton agreed to do so. It was such a different era.
And thank you for your service in this retail giant you worked hard it sounds like and u helped perpetuate a long generation of stores that keeping them operating for our generation I have allot of gratitude and respect for your breed thank you !! I know this may sound wishful but I pray this all comes back strong again !
I loved Suncoast and Musicland. Walden books was also a favorite
I would have loved to work at those places too.
I miss Sam Goody, Musicland and Suncoast. In fact, I remember in the mid 90’s when my local mall had all 3 stores under the same roof. I used my Replay card quite often and I remember the company having good rewards. I even worked at Sam Goody in 2000. Thanks for the memory.
SUNCOAST WAS MY FAVORITE STORE IN 2004 AND '05!!!! Then it closed, and I was pissed!
Musicland, Aladdin's castle, County seat, Lerner, Montgomery ward (still available by catalog), JcPennys, Sears, Kbee toys, Radio shack, Bermans leather, Claire's, Waldenbooks, Merry go round.... sigh....I miss malls.
You sure mentioned some good ones for us to remember. It's interesting to see some of the internet and catalog ones. Particularly ones like Montgomery Ward. The business went completely under but the name was still owned by a company. Someone purchased the name and sort of built a business off of that name. It's certainly not the same but yet it somewhat is. Amazing what a name does. Thank you for watching!
@@RhettyforHistory NP. I enjoyed your posting.
Oh my gosh, thank you for this video. I was 100% a mallrat back in the day, and this brought back a LOT of memories.
Thank you for watching Amanda and I'm happy to here you enjoyed the video.
I have not heard the term "mall rat" in so long!! wow!!!
Does anyone remember Contempo Casuals? This was a young women’s clothing store which specialized in preteens, teens, and young 20s, and sold complete outfits, including jewelry, mostly by color story. The quality and styles were fantastic, and in our mall this store appeared around 1976/77, and was ultra popular. Chess King for young men wanting a Friday or Saturday date night outfit, and Contempo Casuals for the middle schooler or high schooler wanting to wear the most popular clothes!
Yes I used to shop in thar store to
Yes I remember I used to work there in California
Contempo is where I bought all my clothes when I was a teenager. This was in California... Glad someone mentioned it.
Here in Houston located at the northeast side, we have a one and only Deerbrook Mall. It has been there since 1984 and made it through the pandemic. It has been busier with more people there than ever in previous years because of the move to Houston boom. Still has major tenants such as Macy’s, JCPenney, Foot Locker, Spencers, Barnes & Noble, Dillard’s, Vans, Lids, AMC24 movie theater and recently added Dick’s sporting goods. Many more as well. I was at the mall over the weekend, and it was packed and felt like I have time traveled back to the 80’s and 90’s! Come to Houston if you want to see it!
It has been years since I was in a mall since my kids have all grown up and my mobility is not what it used to be. To be honest I did not know that a lot of these stores were no longer in existence or had changed names. It sure brought back a lot of memories from when I would take my daughter (she is 40 now) shopping and we hit so many of the stores in your video. Thanks, Rhett, loved this one, too.
I want it all to come back full on! Online sales is and always was a thing of the past. Online sales is basically the victorian era mail order only catalog. Just because it has a fancy looking screen on the internet and takes credit cards don't make it any less 1800s style shopping. Malls are modern due to being in person mostly self serve brick and mortar with live in person staff and fellow customer, live atmosphere, and the ability to smell, taste, touch and try on.
There’s a travel program hosted by Burt Wolf, and he had a two-part series on the history of shopping. You may like it!
That is a great point!
I agree, I used to work in high end retail, and the experience of having someone help you in the store can make it more special. It's a long lost time where purchases were made more thoughtfully and cherished a bit more, it wasn't a disposable culture. Service was valued.
@@nancyneyedly4587 well, in relation to malls, this is correct, but there are still some high end furniture and appliance shops that are like this today. Not too long ago I walked into a local Levin Furniture store. The associate was waiting at the door, and I got some odd looks when I told them I was there just to browse. These stores aren’t made for browsing, I guess. (What did I know? I’m just a single guy!) 😜
YES! I hate online clothes because you can't tell how they'll look on you. I also hate waiting for things in the mail when you used to just be able to get it.
Loved the County Seat! 501 Jeans and those creamy yellow corduroys that we wore with our cludder boots - such a hit in the 70s ! 😊
As an aside, I miss the mall experience. Sure, they still exist but it isn't the same. I loved having all those stores to peruse. I swear kids today don't know what they are missing. Going to the mall with your friends or on a cheap date was the best.
Definitely so true!! Even by early 2000s when I was working in a relatively busy mall, it was a very different vibe than in the late 80s through 90s. When I was a preteen and teen in those years my "small city" mall was seriously packed every single day of the year and every Fri/Sat night you would run into your crush, your foe, and all your friends as well as teachers and neighbors. It was truly the place to be.
That’s the problem. Nothing is cheap anymore. A ticket at my local movie theater goes for about $15 per person. Kids can’t afford that. It’s ridiculous and very sad.
As a Gen Xer I loved the malls and spent many weekends at the mall. I often spent all day going to various stores checking out clothes, gadgets, and music. I would eat at the food court and play games at the arcade. Or sometimes attend a movie 🎥 and one mall I frequented even had an ice skating rink. Back then the mall was the place to be and where everyone wanted to be on the weekend. It was where you had to go to get birthday and Christmas presents. Nowadays malls are sad shells of their former glory. Video game consoles put the arcades out of business, internet shopping put many of the stores out of business, and streaming services put all the cool mall music stores out of business. I miss the 1980’s as they were the perfect balance of technology. Before the 1980’s there simply wasn’t enough technology to make things comfortable and convenient. After the early 1990’s there was too much technology which led to the demise of the mall. From around 1980 to 1992 or so, was the golden age.
We're being swallowed up by technology, today. Hubby and I choose to limit how much of it and what kind we make part of our lives. We as a society are automating ourselves into oblivion. Sure, it's convenient -- SOME of it. A lot of it is too darned complicated, too darned expensive, and for the most part, unnecessary. We got along just fine, and I believe we were a lot happier, without a lot of those frivolous and superfluous bells and whistles.
I am older than you but I remember loving the mall. Shopping food movies.
I loved malls in the 80's. I really enjoyed this.
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this one. Thank you for watching!
B Dalton is a big one for me. I was in my local store at least 2 twice a week! Yes, I've gone to the dark side and read most books on my phone but I'll never forget the excitement of new release day and the smell of a fresh, new book!
Rhett, your shopping malls that no longer exist video brought back a lot of memories. The last time I was at a mall me and my late mother shopped and then had lunch in the mall. I remember shopping at some of the stores you mentioned in your video. Have a fantastic weekend. Take care 🐎
You got that right
Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories with your mother.
One store you didn't cover but were ubiquitous in malls is Claires. While clearly I was never their target shopper I was amazed even growing up how popular they were. Here was a business with a truly niche target market, girls pre-teen to perhaps 15 or 16. They sold accessories and cheap jewelry and were rarely ever bigger than a large closet. They would even pierce a girl's ears for her if she wanted. In fact, it seemed like some kind of rite of passage for girls when I was growing up for them to go together to Claire's to get one of their friends ears pierced.
In the Midwest where I live there are still (relatively busy) Claire's stores in every mall that is still operating - I've passed by three or four this fall - so that's probably why he did not mention the chain.
Claire’s still exist, but I agree getting your ears pierced there was a rights of passage
Because it’s about stores that don’t exist anymore. Claire’s is everywhere here in CA.
We have a Claire's in our walmart here in Maryland
Yeah Claire’s is still everywhere in the Chicagoland area
In the early 80s I loved Small Wonder. Full of cute little trinkets and stickers they sold on rolls behind the counter. My favorite clothing stores were Barbara Moss, Ormonds and Rave. Loved the malls especially at Christmas time. Really curious what teenagers do now for socializing? We had malls, skating rinks and arcades. Most of which are gone now.
they sit on their phones and text each othwr while they are in the same room. 😜lol. doesnt sound so fun to me. or make dancing lip syncing tik toks that all look the same. 🥱
@@lv2flip24
or dressed up like street walker & slu** call it "sexy"" hahahaha what a B.S ...whatever was bad those days is good now
Ahh, the mall ❤️ Tons of memories! Born in ‘81, I feel like it was a huge part of my childhood 😅 We had two malls by us, but one was my fav. Wilson’s: my leather jacket was bought from my mom when I was 12 years old. It was a huge deal to me and I still have it! Limited Too was an obsession for me for my middle school years. KB Toys was a big memory for me….bright blue carpet with red and yellow decor. The food court was a favorite part of the mall - I always chose the baked potato, lol. My brother was absolutely obsessed with the arcade - Tilt - and we had to tear him away from it. He would stay in there BY HIMSELF while my mom and I would shop. He’s 2 years older. And it was not considered a big deal back then! Also the Disney Store was a fav. I collected all of the mugs and porcelain figurines for awhile. Still have all of them!
The mall was the place to go to escape from your troubles and woes! I loved the music and book stores. For fashion I ventured to stores like Lerner, Stuart's and Jean Nicole. I also liked Rave! Nothing like leaving the mall with bags and bags of awesome stuff!
Lerner was a great store. I was hoping he mentioned it.
I suspect you're slightly younger than I am. I'm thinking Lerner and Rave! came on the scene in the late 80's. Yes, even as a guy going into the Mall and coming out with both hands holding bags was awesome. Then when I was dating and newly married, the wife and I would shop as date night.
I loved all those stores too!
As a 37 year old from the Inland Empire, California, I definitely remember the now defunct Carousel Mall with Waldenbooks and Sam Goody, many others. I truly miss those old days, very nostalgic.
Haha omg YES!!! The Carousel Mall!! I went there so many times during the late 90's/early 2000's!! Right off the 215!!!
I'm 45 now and that was my hangout spot! There's a cool video on here giving a tour of the closed up mall as it looks now. It made me so sad, many memories for me there
@@stephaniemorrissey123 What a small world. I was raised on Second Street till 96’. Me and my mom with several cousins used to walk to the mall many times back in those days.
I used to love going to sam's goody i hacer alwayove music til this day i need to have music while driving relaxers me also i remembe mervyns i grew up in OC but i now live in IE
By there their used to be a Susie's deals that everything was $5 clothing
I used to work at the mall in my teens.. Sears, Orange Julius, etc. loved it (1990’s) this video brings back memories ❤
Growing up in the nineties, KB Toys was one of the coolest places at the mall.
Growing up in the 70s , my parents had a pet shop in the Palm Springs mall. What a great time to grow up.
The mall no longer exists 😢
That is sad it is gone. Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories!
My pet shop is our local animal shelter. Lots of homeless pets needing lots of love. I've adopted nearly all of my cats from them. Got a few from neighbors looking to rehome them.
Pet store animals usually come from breeding mills that supply them. Those conditions are often horrible for the animals. They're nothing but product. I prefer to adopt my cats from our local animal shelter or from people locally who are looking to rehome their pets or find loving forever homes for their pets' litters. I always hope that once they've experienced having to give away new kittens or puppies, that they would then have the parent pets neutered or spayed. I've gotten some of my best kitties from private ads local folks placed in our newspaper, seeking homes for their animals.
As a nerd, I miss Waldenbooks which is one of the places where I used to catch up on my monthly comics. There’s also Sam Goody, Kay Bee Toys when I was a kid, and especially Suncoast when I started getting into anime. I also miss arcades. Nowadays, the only reason I still go to my nearby malls is because Great American Cookie Co.’s cookies are 🔥
We used to practically live at the mall when we were teens and young adults - that was our internet. As I got older I realized I was too lazy to go walk around for hours to try to find everything I needed when I could do it in half the time from home, but there is something about going out on an adventure that I still miss.
The mall was also a great form of social introduction for young people. I was a young man, when I got a part-time job at Miller's Outpost. The holidays were very hectic and I learned how to deal with customers. Wanted to quit, but the Manager literally told me that he wanted me out-front, because I was a cute guy and the amount of young women coming into the store had increased, due to my presence! For a shy guy, that was a huge ego boost!
One store you forgot was Mervyn's - but then again, that might've been more on the West Coast of the United States. I definitely remember many of the stores you listed here. Interestingly, mall culture is thriving here in Czech Republic, even in the midst of an economic downturn. There's a mall not far from where I live, and if I go there on a Saturday, it's usually so crowded, it's like stepping back into a late 1980s/early '90s suburban American mall.
I loved Mervyns! That was my first credit card and I bought all my boys clothes from there when they were little.
I believe Mervyns was only in CA, AZ, and TX. My husband worked for them in Phoenix for 20 years until they went under. I often felt their buyers didn't get it as their clothing just missed the mark.
@@lesliehoncharik1289 Mervyns was once in Georgia, too.
It was a very good store for work/office attire at one point, but they sort of fell out of step with fashion trends, and they only sold jeans and Dockers for men, no suits or better garments. They also never had better dresses or cocktail/evening wear, and no bridal. If they had changed direction with their fashion merchandising they might still be around. Always a good place for handbags, jewelry, foundation garments, mens underwear etc., and kitchen stuff.
It was in Michigan too 😢
As a child of the 80's and 90's malls were a huge source of memories of my youth. They were always packed and had lots of different things to do. You could spend all day there and not get bored. Now most of the malls near me are filled with empty stores and nothing to do besides walk around. There are two in my area who are thriving however, but that is mostly because the area around it is built up and they have a bunch of entertainment activities within.
I miss running a Waldenbooks. Working at a mall in my late teen early 20s was the height of cool. Lol
Thank you for watching and sharing your memories of working at a mall!
I absolutely loved Wet Seal and Deb stores. I am now 46 but I was at a dance club every weekend in my 20's and those were the stores that I got my clothes. Another one that is no longer around is Charlotte Rousse. Another store that I could find cute tops to wear. I also bought alot of clothes at Fashion Bug and another store called Dot's. I worked at Casual Corner at my local outlet mall so I wore alot of their nice business casual clothes because they kinda wanted you to so customers could see them on and possibly buy them. The outlet mall near me at one time had about 100 stores and a food court. Now it has about 10 ( if that) stores and an emptiness that was the food court. I really miss the malls as they once were. There are still a couple malls around but the stores they have these days don't really interest me.