Death of the Mall: A Valley YouTuber captures the pain and nostalgia of dead retail spaces
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ม.ค. 2021
- Erik Pierson, better known as Retail Archaeology on TH-cam (you can find his channel here: / @retailarchaeology ), has fond memories of heading to Fiesta Mall in Mesa, Arizona as a teenager. When a friend told him decades later that almost everything in the mall was closed down and was creepily silent, Pierson had to see it for himself.
From then on, Pierson has been documenting the slow demise of malls and retail spaces in the Valley, across Arizona and in adjacent states. Recently, he even got a chance to go inside Metrocenter Mall after it had been closed for six months.
Here's Erik's story and what makes dead mall hunting so intriguing to watch.
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It's really kind of sad like the world is shriveling up and replaced by ghost towns.
Turn them into housing. The bigger areas would be leased to grocery stores and restaurants that the tenants would use on the regular. So many opportunities.
That would be a cool idea. Like a indoor little city that keeps you out of the sun.
That would make far too much sense, it would never happen.
Wow, that’s a really good idea... props 👍🏽
mixed use stuff is the most profitable stuff.
@@REY-RUM not really, standard urban planning stuff.
This was heartbreaking to watch.... Metro Center was a huge part of my adolescence. So many memories of being there with both friends and family in my childhood and teens. This is such a lonely, disappointing time 😔
Mine too. And I remember the ice skating rink well.
It's too bad these buildings can't be used for housing.
That's true but that would be helping ppl can't have that !!
I hope you have a bunch of volunteers to help take out the trash, give food somehow, and deal with neighbor tensions and clean the restrooms
There's many repercussions to consider with to lived here....
It could be built into apartments or mini apartments. (Paid tenants) i door courtyard and some on-site food and beverage...
Who’s going to pay for it?
Been watching a lot of his videos! He does an amazing job on research and filming a lot of these dead malls.
Are you from Tucson Serafin?
@@theramiam155 No
I’ve lived in San Diego long enough to witness the entire life span of the Horton Plaza mall. It thrived in its early years. When it was already beginning it’s downhill slide the management decided to stop validating parking, and that accelerated its demise. Now its a ghost town of illegal activity and the domain of homeless and street people.
Thanks for the update!! Was shocked to se Horton Plaza...it was THE happening place in SD just a few years ago!!
Wow! Very cool to see Retail Archaeology featured on a 12 News Story!
He's famous now!! ❤️
Retail Archeology has been one of my favorite TH-cam channels for years. I especially love his video on Papago Plaza. South Scottsdale seems so odd with it gone.
Same things is happening to one of the malls around me, but we have plans to add a train station in one of the stores and adding a bunch of offices and apartments in and around the mall
I watch retail archeology regularly. Great videos.
I was adopted at 8 to Michigan at the decline of my hometown mall of some of my fondest mwmories in Austin Texas.
I came back home in the malls final 6yrs.
It closed in 2015 and reopened in 2017 as a new Austin community college campus.
The escalators are now stair style study seats for students...
The fountains partially filled in and provide seating as well.
I used to go to that mall when I was a kid (6-7 yrs old). I’m 31 now.
Grew up in the area my whole life. That mall was fading decades ago.
We have a MetroCentre here in Gateshead, north East England that is rumoured to be going the same way (mainly due to the pandemic) great vid and sad to see at the same time
I love RA's videos. One of my favorite channels.
The computer behind him is an antique. Maybe he bought it from one of the malls during their auction.
It’s so depressing seeing Fiesta Mall looking so dead, I been their as a kid with my dad and now I’m literally want to cry
Woah. I used to go here. I went to az mills more. So sad! Weird to see it closed.
Our malls in Albuquerque are still packed and thriving
You'll start feeling what the Democrats have done to America very soon. Time always tells.
Great video 📸📸📸
love his youtube channel
It's sad that all these malls are closing, I love malls and they all look so cool I would love to take my kids to them.
Got a Mall near me in Upstate NY in Kingston called Hudson Valley Mall and is is deserted barley running... Used to go to it as a kid 35 years ago
It could make for a great homeless shelter.
Between exorbitant rents and openly unabated shoplifting, store owners couldn't afford to stay open !!!
There's a lot malls empty all over country ! Sell it someone start business ! Call center place something?
This is sad R.I.P METRO CENTER..
If only they could turn this into homes or shelter for homeless !!
I grew up there.. So Sad 😢
Wow that really made me sad those were the main hangouts and so much fun buying clothes in the 80s then getting ready to go out to AFTER THE GOLD RUSH OR BOBBY MCGEES, I'm from Globe so back then that was thing to do just how sad how those looked great memories.
The first time I went there was a couple years ago I was under the assumption it was a popping mall when I arrived I was excited cause I got parking right in the front wow. When I walked in I was shocked like wth this is not what I heard. This mall is a nice mall and it’s too bad if went down hill like this. There was about a total of about 20 stores open one being the Halo animal rescue where I purchase my rescue dog but so sad to hear that the Walmart they just built didn’t help with business
There was a Walmart at Fiesta Mall?
@@bigspicywiener7120 they just built a Walmart about 2 years ago near it
Walmart just sped up it’s demise. The only mall I’ve ever seen helped by Walmart is Christown.
@@danieldaniels7571 well christtown just lost costco though and I think jcpenney so I don't know, it still has super target and walmart so we'll see
2 linked factors that also contributed to the death of mall's was Skyrocketing Housing & Skyrocketing Homelessness.
Don't point at just at CA, this is happening everywhere!
Ugh memories from a girl I knew there when I was in navy in San Diego
how do you get inside
I use to go there in the 90's
I don't think malls will die out or anything but they do need to evolve with the times, have more inventive options. There's one 30 minutes from where I live that turned a former Gottshalk's into a grocery store and has other unique options like a movie theater, a trampoline/exercise course family fun center, and a 24 hour fitness place among its efforts to rebuild.
I'm glad malls are dying. They represented sick urban sprawl. I've been waiting for this day for decades... good riddance.
@Art Johnson I have money. I still hate malls. I hate urban sprawl.
@Art Johnson The suburbs are urban sprawl.
sad when christown mall went away.film there.
This is fricken scary...
Imagine seeing this video back in 1984.
They can turn them into outdoor movie theatre tons of parking the just need to put up screens then set.up streaming projectors .to cast movies then the audio where it cast into your radio and the retail space in mall can be set up for little shops and concession stands it gives the teens a.job and you make money .
AMEN!
What city is this in?
Fiesta Mall is in Mesa; Metro Center is in Phoenix.
I find it odd, phoenix and mesa, scottsdale, there's a huge population. I am from a small city in texas, pop less than 100,000. Closest city with a mall is houston and that's like 2 hours away. Business is always good at the mall here.
@@danieljones1784 I don’t understand it either. It may be folks prefer open air malls
Wow
They should make it a paintball/air soft arena
There was an airsoft event in metro center mall there's a TH-cam video of it
The music needed to be vaporwave. Oh well. Cool coverage regardless.
The world is so weird now.
Yep mall arcades, everyday after school I would hit up the arcade. Marvel vs Street Fighter. Anytime I wanted to meet girls I headed to the mall. Back in the day even internet dating was better. I could meet a chick online on Monday and by Friday I'm sleeping in her bed. Videogames wasn't so expensive. Now a brand new game is like $100.00 wth. Everything sucks now. Although if you've ever travelled to Europe malls are still poppin and they still good spots to meet lady's. It just sucks in the US, everything is better in Europe.
Convert to rental apartments and have food options. Like a hotel...
very sad but this mall died was before covid it’s been shut down for at least 4-5 years now
I don’t even order from Amazon. I don’t need to shop to much or just buy things. So I’m good. But I rather stay home as much as possible.
Damn Metro Center was the xhit I love that mall it use to be poppin i want that mall back
Thanks a lot, Amazon
I still have stuff I bought there
I try not to order from Amazon to.
I wonder how many homeless can fill these abandoned malls?
I wouldn't an don't buy from Amazon never
maybe we can use malls as originally intended by the creator of malls.
Please remove the music from this video. Incredibly annoying & at times overwhelms the person speaking.
You must be a musician also, I have all but kicked the stereo out of the dash in all of my vehicles the past 35 years (okay I might have kicked the radio into the dash of a couple of them but you know) 🤣
People blame millennials for mall closures. But I remember back in the late 90s and early 2000s, malls tried to discourage teenagers( millennials) from spending time at the mall. They claimed they wanted a more affluent clientele and that teenagers were too much trouble and a liability. Well, they succeeded in running off millennials but they never could court the affluent to neighborhood suburban malls.
I thought people blamed online shopping for mall closures
We cant be mallrats no more 😭
🙁😢😭🤬
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 I hate that mall
Dan Bell did it first
Dan has never filmed Metrocenter Mall.
I have to say: My generation DOES enjoy malls. We're just struggling through capitalism gone wild and barely have enough money to actually buy anything.
There is a bunch of youtube channels like this. Anything for views and donations.
Everyone has to have a hobby.
All American Dream Chaser trolling hustlers on youtube is my hobby. 🤣
@@rayray2613 I see that. 287 subscribers and not a single video. That's quite impressive. 👍
All American Dream Chaser its dedication to my art form.
@@rayray2613 Right on bro! It seems to be working!👍