Clifton Park Center Mall: Living & Dead at the Same Time? Kind Of... Clifton Park, New York.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Join me as I take a look at the Clifton Park Center Mall (formerly Clifton Country Mall) in Clifton Park, New York. Is it a dead mall? Yes. Is it a living mall? Yes. Let me show you what I mean!
Tell me what you think in the comments!
This video was filmed in November 2023 on a Tuesday around 12:45pm.
If you liked this video, please give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel! Thanks!
Source of information:
en.wikipedia.o...
blog.timesunio...
archive.ph/201...
www.labelscar.c...
deadmalls.com/...
www.malls.com/...
/ a_nice_1990s_shot_of_t...
q1057.com/reme...
www.facebook.c...
#deadmall #deadmalls #mall #newyork #shoppingmall #shoppingmalls #retail #cliftonpark #nostalgia #retail #fleabittenadventures
I worked on the construction of the Clifton Country Mall from 1975 till when it opened for the General Contractor, H.J.O'Connell Associates based out of the Albany , NY region. I wish I could provide you some photos but the Contractor and all the Associates are long gone. Back in the day their wasn't much for people to shop in thar area. Crazy how the Northway corridor has developed in the last 45 years. I left the region in 1977. Thanks for sharing the video and tour. Very little left from the original mall.
I was there in the early 80s to the 2000s. It was all concrete floors and real paneling inside. The food court did not exist in the early 80s ,so all of the restaurants were scattered through out the mall, I think this made for more even foot traffic through out the mall. JCPenney and Carl's even had their own restaurants too. The original water fountain was in Carl's as soon as you walked in. Steinbach's was Price Chopper/CVS in the late 80s. I remember when there removed the paneling and put tile down on the concrete in the 90s and tore out the drinking fountains in the main parts of the mall. The outside of the mall had paneling too that was also removed at that time. The mall was then painted pink with a red stripe around the top of it. Then they built the 2 strip malls across the mall road and 146, Price Chopper left the mall and went across the street as well as many long time tenants. CCM then started to die at that time. I was there almost every week then, so I watched it happen. People go where the food is. They put the addition in about 1984 with the food court, so naturally everybody started congregating in that part of the mall, and this also helped the original 1975 part of the mall to die off. All the businesses that were left, wanted to be in that part of the 1984 section of the mall in the 90s after Price Chopper left. There was more of the mall where Caldor's was like a common area, then Caldor, that had a bank, pet store, and even a second McDonald's in Clifton Park. Where the front of Marshalls is now was originally the back of Carl's and a huge parking lot behind the 1975 section of the mall, until they built the addition back there. JCPenny had an addition put on in the 80s on the right side, sold more things then it does now and even had an automotive section where the big blank wall is on the left side of Pennys. I think it is currently the oldest department store in this area. I don't think Crossgates killed the mall off, since it is no where near CCM. The addition and 2 strip malls killed it, as I said I was there in the 80s and 90s and watched it happen. They should have put a second story over the original part of the mall instead of the addition in the back. Anyway that's the general stuff I remember.
Most of the malls that didn't add the food court basically died, I also noticed.
I was there in the early 2000s but it’s fascinating to hear about this old malls history
3:08 :That was a jewelry store i believe, maybe Hanoush or Glenpeter Jewelers?
Boscov's wasn't supposed to be built in Clifton Park. There was a campaign driven by the Town to convince Boscov's to build in the old Caldor location. Originally it was planned to be built in Saratoga, either Saratoga Mall or Wilton Mall. The town convinced them to change their mind and build in Clifton Park.
It was a Kay's jeweler, I was going to buy my wedding ring there years before it closed but it was too expensive.
All of your comments are very accurate per history. When the mall operated in the 1970s, it was successful. Clifton Park was a newly populated area and growing offering suburban living for those working in the industrial small towns south like Cohoes, Albany and Schenectady. The layout was medium size for easy access. As you mention in your videos, the water fountain court yard area greatly added to the atmosphere of the shopping experience. It is interesting how when the fountains were destroyed or turned off, how it impacted the demise. There was a restaurant in the mall, next to Carls (and one comment here said it was part of Carls), that offered moderately priced food like club sandwiches and hamburgers. It offered a convenience to shopping. It had many of the usual stores present like Hallmark cards. At the time the nearest mall was south near Albany, called Colonie Center. That mall was two floors and much larger with 110 stores. But the drive was more than 30 minutes away. It offered a Macy's and Sears and many small specialty stores.
When large industries like General Electric, Cohoes Mills, etc. downsized or closed in the 1980s this started to affect the revenue and shopping here. Carls was a more upscale but small size department store catering to a more affluent upper middle class clientele, not unlike a Pomeroy's or Bambergers (if anyone remembers them!). So naturally, with a huge recession happening in the early 1980s, this took a dramatic toll on Carls. Caldor was affected later by the growth of Kmart and it's arrival across the street in a new strip mall addition. During the 1990s, Kmart was the largest discount department store in America, before Target and Walmart built locations.
Steinbach's was another Carls in type of merchandise and it soon failed - the days of the small size department store were numbered by the 1990s. Macy's was empire building and buying out and destroying many of America's great department stores like Hecht's, Bambergers, Kaufmann's, Strawbridge & Clothier, Filene's, and many more indirectly like John Wanamakers, The Boston Store, Jordan Marsh. The smaller department stores could not compete. The Great Recession of 1989 to 1995 took a huge impact on many stores. Only the large scale stores like Kmart and Macy's were able to take the hit better in surviving.
When Crossgates opened near Albany it was strategically located near the NY Thruway. It took a major toll on Colonie Center mall a few minutes drive north. Many stores felt the impact immediately. Crossgates is huge! You can get literally worn out walking the entire mall, it's simply too large to cover in one day. The Macy's was much larger and it was very strange that the Macy's at Colonie remained open as it was much smaller. This impacted further the demise of Clifton Country Town Mall. JCPenney somehow managed to stay afloat. The coming of Walmart to the area destroyed Kmart with its competition wars on pricing.
You are correct about the mall being both dead and alive at the same time. Some durable stores like Boscovs, JCPenney and Marshalls keep shoppers coming along with gyms, movie theatre and hotel. Having chain restaurants located in the space, like Olive Garden, keep it alive. But there is also plenty of empty vacant stores inside and out. And I have to agree the pastel painted store design of the buildings is weird. I guess it was to try and give some individuality to the bland architecture, but seems it would better be suited on a Caribbean island!
Thanks for posting this!! I use to go to this place at least once a week in 1989-1993. The goldmine arcade was big for me there since i was a kid. it was right by the movie place!! I remember foot locker was right across the food court!!
It is interesting that they attempted to improve this mall over the years. It seems clean and kept well. Will look forward to your malls close to this one and your take on those. Thanks for sharing.
Yes! It does look well maintained, even though it's really just a glorified hallway at this point... Also, I went to about 11 malls in upstate NY over a 2 day period, so I've got a LOT of mall videos from that area coming up!
A janitor yelled at me once cuz I tried to open a locked door and then didn’t realize it was stuck until after. Dude must have been burnt out.
@beverlymerkel6522 the outside exterior material was rough cut lumber that was stained . The lumber was either pine or fir I believe. I was a Union Laborer who work with the Union Carpenters on that Mall. I would collect some the salvaged scrap wood and made entertainment systems out of them for friends.
Hi great video never seen a mall like this before I notice every Mall you visit they have a gamestop Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster used to have a gamestop they closed it in 2021 still nice to see them in Malls even though our mall doesn't have one anymore :)
Yes! Gamestop and Bath and Body Works seem to be two of the last stores to close at a dead mall!
@@fleabittenadventures Bath and Body Works used to be to the right in that long corridor going toward Boscov's.
It was an unremarkable mall even in the 90s. There was a Kay Bee Toys and an FYE near the food court but they were both very small so the selection was limited. Also a Zumiez by the food court. That shop next to Marshall's was a trading card store at one point. Down the Boscov's hallway there was a Radio Shack and a dollar store. It was comparable to Mohawk Mall and Latham Circle by that point, honestly (RIP to both). We usually just went to Rotterdam Square instead.
New subscriber here. I appreciate all the research you put into your videos. Your work producing them shows in the final product.
Thanks!
Similar thing happened to the Walpole Mall in Walpole, Massachusetts. The mall was cut in half, the other half transformed into a strip mall similar to this. The only anchor to the mall itself is Walden Books, at the other end. There was an anchor next to it, but it was chopped up to make more strip mall stores (some vacant), plus other stores added onto it later.
I recorded it ("The Patient is Dead: Walpole Mall"), and there was so little left, a Dream Machine arcade, I'm sure the name is just being used, the Walden Books, and a run-down rug/remnant store. While closed in-video, the dead anchor next to Walden is a gymnastics space, and opened up after the shoot. I actually added footage of inside the bookstore's "Electronics" Department, as well as a walkthrough of the arcade to see what games it had.
If you want a dead-dead mall, there's one for you, but I'd plan to visit another place of interest to make it worthwhile to see this.
Thanks for the info! Walpole Mall's on my list! I may hit it the same day a Witch City Mall in Salem.... Maybe in February!
@@fleabittenadventures Hopefully it's still a thing (Walpole). Like I said, it's so small at this point, this would be a pit stop on your way to the Salem one.
Nice video, I found it informative and at 13:56 they have a DMV in the Mall which is pretty unique..
There's also a DMV in the Wilton Mall (20min north of this)
I have pics of the old CCM fountain!
In the early 80s, at the end of that mall, where you walked in, there was an Albany public market grocery store closer to Buffalo Wild Wings. The grocery store later turned into a Rite Aid drug store. There was a northeast savings bank at that entrance with a liquor store on the other side of the mall as you’re walking down the hall. Then on the left side was a restaurant called the harvest house. On the right side was a travel agency next to the gold mine arcade. Further town was a hair salon and a hallmark card store. Before the expansion that includes the movie theater and food court there was a women’s clothing store called Denbys in that area. The Marshall’s was originally the Carl company store.
When Carl's closed (where Marshalls is now), Denby's, CVS, and Price Chopper left... the writing was on the wall. Caldor closing was the final nail. Today, the place has all the charm of a DMV office. The 'extension' was mostly small clothing boutiques and I believe Curtain Country. The auto shows, the RV and boats shows, and antique shows really drew good crowds to the place. Had a great arcade (Gold Mine), a large Ground Round, 6-screen Hoyts cinema, and a decent food court. Not the nicest mall in the area per se, but a good place to go back in the 70's & 80's. JCPenney may be the only original retailer left there.
This is not far from my house in Schaghticoke. My mom frequented the Boscov’s before we lost her in 2023 🥺😭😔😞 and we always parked on the side by the Planet Fitness and went in via the food court doors. I am a paraplegic and use a TiLite chair so this worked great. We usually had lunch in the food court and are friends with the owners of the Chinese restaurant and the Philly steak place. The Hot Dog Charlie’s that was to the right of the Philly steak is gone a long time ago, as was a greek restaurant to left if the Chinese place. The store you looked into was a jewelry store. I don’t like the “new” layout at all. I miss the full enclosed original mall! There was a really nice court and a nice McDonald’s to the left of the Caldor. There was a Radio Shack and several stores on both sides of the long hallway to the Caldor and later the Boscov’s I miss a lot! Hearing the Christmas music made me melancholy. 😢 Those days I took for granted ended way too soon. Sigh 😌
Spent many years of my early life in this mall. I don’t remember everything that was in the hallway but I’m pretty sure the storefront you asked about was a home goods store. There was definitely at least one shoe store and a RadioShack near what’s now the Boscovs. In the food court next to the Marshalls, there was a game and hobbiest store and on the other side was a a Foot Locker. I remember shopping at the JC Penny in the 90s and next door there was record store (which became a shoe store) and next to that was a Mrs. Fields. The food court I believe had a Chinese restaurant, a Cajun restaurant (run by the same people who ran the Chinese restaurant), a Taco Bell, that Long John Silvers, and an Auntie Annie. The movie theater is still very popular and that, the Marshalls, and the Boscovs seems to be what keeps the mall from going under. That’s about all I can remember and it’s possible that I’m misremembering some of it. I have also stayed at the hotel since I moved away. Not bad!
Nice to see the local malls on YT.
The boscovs hallway used to be Radio Shack, Dollar store, Pet store long ago, and other random who.e sales and a hair studio. The space before you go to the food court was a jewelry store, and the skyzone used to be a Zumiez.
The corridor to Boscovs (starting from the food court). Kay's, Aero, Radio Shack, and a Kids Bouncy Bounce. On the opposite side, Payless, Later a Shoe Department, a Hair Salon and Bath and Body works. I believe. Man, I miss those Days!! The Days before Amazon brought everything to your doorstep. Lol
I've never seen any mall like this one. Most of the malls that I've been are either dead or full of life.
Yeah, it's weird. Outside stores are bustling and the inside stores are almost entirely gone.
Wouldn't the Wonka gate be a display for the movie that they are probably showing, "Wonka"?
Maybe, but it was setup in front of Santa's chair, so I wouldn't think they would mix the two, but I could be wrong.
What Regal Cinemas did at this mall was what Cinemark did and the Hampshire Mall. The cinemas there were originally an AMC 6. Cinemark tore it down and built a new 12 cinema complex when they acquired the space.
Yes! Too bad movie theaters are starting to struggle now...
That Regal Cinema used to be a Hoyt's Cinema, with 6 screens. But regal kept adding more screens. Now they are struggling awful with all the space and no one coming.
Yasss you came to my neck of the woods!
Stay tuned. I went to about 11 malls in that general area of New York over a 2 day period! Videos coming soon!
In the early 2000s they had Kay Jewelers across from the now sky zone I believe, in the plaza (not in the mall) they had a restaurant just go out that moved to Florida called the health bar it was great in the food court but that was recent, but in the early 2000s it was great, as seen on tv was at the spot across from the food court originally where it’s empty now when you first walk in, a lot of the stores started in the mall at first and then branched out into stores of their own outside the mall
I worked in that area in 2014 and 2015. I remember the mall being full of stores but, most of the stores were mediocre. That Regal movie theater was nice. I bought both of my kids a Nintendo 3ds from that Gamestop. They had some deal at the time. The CrossGates mall south of there was a better mall. It had better stores and a best buy as an anchor.
Yes, CrossGates is a far nicer mall! Stay tuned, I have a video on that mall coming up soon!
Crystal Mansion, Caldor, Flavor Land, Price Chopper, The Hobby Store, World of Science, Carl Co - with attached restaurant, Mohawk Savings, Steinbachs, Jewelry Galleries, Gold Mine/Tilt, Deb, Chess King, REX, KayBee, Hallmark store, Liquor Store, Radio Shack
If you ever get a chance, check out the Washington Park Mall in Roxbury, MA. I have never been to it but I heard it's more of a community oriented mall
I didn't even know it was there! I just added it to my list! Thanks!
I remember the fountain quite well...
I wish they would bring back mall fountains!
This was my childhood mall! I remember when Hoyts was there instead of Regal, Regal bought the theatre in 2003 and turned it into an 8 screen cinema. My mom was so angry when she lost all the points she earned at Hoyts cause regal wouldn't honor them. 😂 The fountain was taken out after 2008, and replaced with little shopping stands that sold jewelry and calenders. Stupid idea btw. Radio shack, and payless shoes were there too back then. So sad everything is gone now.
This year, the Malta Flea market is at Clifton Country Mall once a month. Next one is Jan 21st.
Really? Was it there in November 2023 too?
@fleabittenadventures 2023/2024 indoor dates are as follows: Nov 19 , Dec 10, Jan 21, Feb 18 & March 17 hours 9-3. During the outdoor season, they are monthly at Malta Drive-in. This was 1st winter at CCM.
Yeah being in the N.E. I never liked strip plazas. Although they are fine during the snowless months I never liked going out in the snow to walk from store to store out in the elements. I could not wrap my mind around why one would like walking in the elements when a mall allows you to walk inside out of the elements.
Great video,thank you 😊👍🏻
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
I grew up going to this mall.. it was a popping mall in the past. 😊
I actually never heard of this mall before I only been to New York once but I also never knew a mall could have hotels
Yeah, the hotel is odd. I can't think of another mall that I've been to that had a mall, other than Tower Square Mall in Springfield, MA.
@@fleabittenadventures oh that’s actually cool I live in ma so I could go to those Springfield malls
@@fleabittenadventures Actually not a bad idea if you think about it. If you don't want to go to the hotel restaurant, you could go to the food court, and if you need clothes there are stores like Boscov's or specialty shops, and a movie theater you can access without having to go outside.
The design of this plaza is pretty bad. In trying to make each individual store stand out, they just made a hodge podge of mismatched stores. The Shoppes at Farmington Valley and Evergreen Walk in Connecticut are good examples of how this type of shopping center can be done and actually make it look good.
Would love to live near that Marshalls/HomeGoods.
Yeah, I have a Home Goods and a Marshall's near where I live. Nice stores!
I do live next to that Marshall's, and it is dirty! I don't shop there anymore.
I lived in Clifton park for. 8 years of my beginning childhood before I moved away in 2018
Carl’s must have been replaced sometime in the 90’s. I lived in Clifton Park from 1985-1990 and Carl’s was still there when we moved.
The water fountain was removed around 2006 or so. I remember as a kid goin to see the mall Santa and they had animatronic elves and the on,y memory I had of that fountain was of dad screaming “OW!” Because one elf fell on him and was moving and it looked like he was hacking my dad with a candy cane.
I’m working a half hour north of Clifton Park right now lol
Small world!
Remember this place in the early 2010s and mid 2010s before I moved away in 2018 so much was there menchies that GameStop regal some vr place, nowadays barely anything is still there, ta da! Is gone, and it feels like a ghost town now
It’s Dead in the inside but Alive in the outside. My Cousin’s ex Grandfather was the original general manager of that mall. I also had family members working in that mall.
Due to the confusing layout of this mall its difficult to actually notice most of the shops here
Used to have a great arcade called The Gold Mine and a Baskin Robbins
Wonka was there because it was a movie prop for the movie that came out last year you say malls are dead but go there early in the day when most work it usually gets busy around 4 that's best time to officially check malls not so early
Bought a gift for my friend here a few years back. Definitely not one of the local malls I frequent often.
I live locally and that mall should have been torn down in when Caldor's closed. It was always so stupid for that plan to cut half of the mall and then leave some of it inside still dying away. If Boscov's would have gone to Wilton Mall there would still be an anchor store there and maybe Wilton Mall would have still had a chance all these years. That real estate would have been worth something either way being in central Clifton Park they could have just made a much better open air plaza than leaving half of the old mall from the 60s
Nice video 😊
Thanks! I appreciate it!
I went to this mall for the first time today. My girlfriend and I used the food court restrooms and then went into Marshalls/Home Goods. I purchased a shower caddy and then went home. While home I realized I had left the shower caddy in the parking lot and had to go back out. Luckily it was still there. I’ll rate this mall 7 out of 10 because I left the shower caddy in the parking lot and that made me mad. Overall, would not recommend.
Im from the bay area back in california. Way more people than Clifton park and the malls there are no different to this one. If cities with way more population has malls like this closing this will happened here. The new idea is malls like Stanford Mall, Santana Row, etc.
Hi this vid is cool
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
I was there today
This mall is an anomaly. I think that one of fhe reasons why the outside is doing better is because people don't want to have to do a lot of walking just to get to a particular store, esp if they don't have the time to linger around at other stores. Large oversized malls are no longer the social hubs they used to be. Online shopping has killed some of the mall appeal as well. Retail space hasn't gotten cheaper so footprints have gotten smaller. It all comes down to cultural and economic changes.
At our Hanes Mall, I worked there for 7 yrs(at Sears) but have only set foot in there maybe 5 times in the 13 yrs since I stopped working there. The hanging out thrill wore off for me yrs ago😂
I will say though that it is sad to see a place that was once so full of life fade out and then get left to rot and decay. Nostalgia can hit hard.
I remember this mall being unremarkable even as a young child in the 80's. Not exactly sure why they're keeping the interior part alive. That's like keeping part of Latham Circle Mall open and building around it. It doesn't make sense.
Is that the same as The Shoppes at Latham Circle? If so, I googled it and it didn't seem to have an inside portion, so I skipped it.
@@fleabittenadventures It is. Where LCM once stood is now your run of the mill shopping center - Lowe's, Walmart, Sketcher's Outlet, Bob's Furniture, etc. Honestly, it wouldn't be worth the trip. Lol
For me the place officially died when they took out the water fountain.
For me, it was when they made it indoors/outdoors mall. They couldn't leave it alone.
@@TayTay-od7ks I consider that them mutilating the body.
as I said the REASONS for this failure has NOT changed, if anything it has gotten WORSE
I agree.
There used to be a vr place but I think it shutdown cause of the pandemic
Dead mall. The strip mall look, looks like a cut rate outlet mall. There's a decent amount of empties in the strip mall parts. I wouldn't say the Hilton setup is horrible. If the mall ever gets knocked down, the Hilton stays. Whatever the reasons people stay at the Hilton will still be there. No one is staying there because of the mall. All the Hilton has facing the inside is an entrance. I like Boscov's. Feels like a old time legit dept. store.
I agree! The mall just happens to be attached to the hotel. The hotel doesn't need the mall. I'll have to do a walk through of a Boscov's sometime!
the old clifton country mall
They need benches, flowers, plants
That's a nice Mall-tel........
I'll bet most people that go to that hotel never step a foot in the mall.
@@fleabittenadventures Yeah
Such a weird idea, to remove indoor shopping for a a stripmall. Take away shopping indoors out of the weather, for running from one to the other out in all kinds of weather. Makes no sense.
Everything about this mall is just confusing me
Yeah, it's unusual. I'm surprised they didn't just close off the inside entirely. It feels more like a hallway than a mall now. Thanks for watching!
It wasn't like that in the early 2000's.
KB toys!!
if something does not work change it and try something different. in this case nothing will change and it will still spiral down. why? because it is a dying region and the economy sucks.
Yeah, I can't imagine the interior of this mall getting any better. I think it will probably close completely if the two remaining restaurants close. There's really no other reason to have the inside section open.
The mall started failing when they turned it into an outdoors shopping center in 2010.
Zombie Mall!
It's dead inside, but nobody told it, so it just kept on going....
@@fleabittenadventuresWe still go to the 2 restaurants there, are friends with the people in both. It is still nice to eat there, and not noisy and over packed like most food courts. The Boscov’s is a real nice store where me and my mom frequented usually once every other week after getting her hair done on 146 by the Popeye’s. I watch that restaurant get built waiting for to get her hair done in our HEMI Jeep. Then we would go get lunch here and she would shop in Boscov’s, and I always went upstairs for the Christmas decorations and lights section and the auditorium where they had great deals on cool stuff! I miss those days bad since she passed in 2023. But it was always nice and the food is good.