Creepiest mall I've ever seen...

[SlyBoy]

http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/dixie_square_mall.html

I almost got the creeps seeing that...

[Nimbleness]

I'm not seeing it....

This page cannot be found

[SlyBoy]

I'm not seeing it....
Lemme fix that...

[Lucky Bob]

Ya want creepy? Check out this site referenced from deadmalls.com.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/russellw/EastwoodMall/part1.htm

I remember this mall well. I last graced its doors in 1993, when it was still a formidable business. I don't know if the author mentioned it or not, (I was too engrossed in the pictures,) but probably the main reason it went the way of the dodo was the fact that the uber-large (for that part of B'ham) Century Plaza mall is right across the street from it.

I remember the Service Merchandise, the Amiga my brother picked up from a former coworker he met there...ah...memories...

Kinda sad, really.

Oh yeah, and these are rather disturbing. I visited both just one-and-a-half years ago.

http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/beechmont_mall.html
http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/forest_fair_mall.html

Beechmont was the creepiest, since at the time, the only thing there was the Kmart. And a very old one at that.

[SSJPabs]

That mall looks like an awesome place for a Highlander type battle between immortals!

(Everytime I see a parking garage or abandoned building I always think how I could battle an immortal in it :D )

[Delthayre]

That mall looks like an awesome place for a Highlander type battle between immortals!

(Everytime I see a parking garage or abandoned building I always think how I could battle an immortal in it :D )
It should be a documentary, filmed in real time.

[Lord Dalek]

This site is doesn't deserve the title deadmalls. I can't find the mall from Dawn of the Dead anywhere.

EDIT- THIS IS A JOKE!!!! I'm really not that clueless. Nice site though.

[Squall]

Do you think the Internet is in part to blame (if we should even use the word 'blame') for the rising numbers of abandoned malls in the U.S. and Canada? I know that I now buy a lot of stuff off Amazon.com and eBay, and other online stores; because (1) I usually find what I want cheaper than buying it in my local mall -- and that's with shipping included!, and (2) I can find stuff online that I'd NEVER find at my local mall, like rare DVDs, CDs, video games, books, etc.

I won't buy food, hygiene stuff, dress clothes, or living things (like dogs, cats, fish, etc.) on the Internet, but casual clothes (like baseball caps or T-shirts), and any collectible (DVDs, CDs, video games, books, toys, etc.) I've actually come to prefer ordering off the Internet...

:p

[Lord Dalek]

Do you think the Internet is in part to blame (if we should even use the word 'blame') for the rising numbers of abandoned malls in the U.S. and Canada? I know that I now buy a lot of stuff off Amazon.com and eBay, and other online stores; because (1) I usually find what I want cheaper than buying it in my local mall -- and that's with shipping included!, and (2) I can find stuff online that I'd NEVER find at my local mall, like rare DVDs, CDs, video games, books, etc.

I won't buy food, hygiene stuff, dress clothes, or living things (like dogs, cats, fish, etc.) on the Internet, but casual clothes (like baseball caps or T-shirts), and any collectible (DVDs, CDs, video games, books, toys, etc.) I've actually come to prefer ordering off the Internet...

:p I think Wall-Mart is the one most accountable.

[zmanjz]

Interesting, although the interiors and roofs would need to be completely gutted, the structural walls seem sound from these pictures.

Someone with an interesting idea could make decent money from an abandoned mall.

[wrenchien]

me gusta, amigoland mall.. me gusta, amigolan....

.. what?

WHAT!?!?!!

anyway, amigoland mall, in brownsville, texas, is being used as a college or something right now. at least the old wal-mart that used to be nearby, is now a pretty decent flea market, though.... that mall is in far worse state.

if that's not a dead mall, then i don't know what is.

if that's not a old mall, consider my dead grandma used to work there in her 50's. in the 80's. now that's long, long ago.

[TimTwoFace]

Ahh yes, isn't urban redevelopment wonderful?

Not far from my house there was a mall that used to house a supermarket, department store, interior courtyards, and a bunch of smaller retail shops. It was built in the 70's and had an old wooden design. After the two big stores moved out, various liquidation, bargain, and dollar stores popped up. The lights stopped working. It was a dark dingy hole. Since then it's turned into a nice big parking lot with a few shops and a new supermarket.

And the parking lot is brick, man. BRICK! We're so classy. :p Or at least like to be.

-Tim

[guinaevere]

I think Wall-Mart is the one most accountable. I disagree. For many people, going to the mall is a social event, as well as a chance to pick up the latest clothes, accessories, electronics and the fast food of choice.

And I don't think that Wally has the same atmosphere to bring in the same crowds. You see more family type folks there, than kids hanging out, and teams of soccermoms ramming into you with their enormous strollers.

Usually, it's a newer mall and nicer mall that puts an older one out of business. That, or the community it was in can no longer support the need of a mall, as other businesses have left as well. No jobs=no money=no spending=no mall.

[Lord Dalek]

Well, in my town we have a ton of malls. And some are contemperaries of the malls on this page. And the interesting thing is there usually isn't a Wall-mart in the vacinity of these malls. So that is a factor.

[Chris Wood]

I disagree. For many people, going to the mall is a social event, as well as a chance to pick up the latest clothes, accessories, electronics and the fast food of choice.

And I don't think that Wally has the same atmosphere to bring in the same crowds. You see more family type folks there, than kids hanging out, and teams of soccermoms ramming into you with their enormous strollers.

Usually, it's a newer mall and nicer mall that puts an older one out of business. That, or the community it was in can no longer support the need of a mall, as other businesses have left as well. No jobs=no money=no spending=no mall.
Actually big box stores like Walmart, Best Buy, etc. have given malls a real headache. There are a few specialty products they don't touch (like high-end designer clothing), but otherwise they are much more price competitive on most items than small mall shops with exorbitant leases. Just look at all the veteran department store chains that used to anchor malls but have gone out of business in the last few years under attack from the Walmarts and Targets. That website lists a couple of them like Montgomery Ward. More recently specialty toy retailers KB Toys and FAO Schwarz (both usually found in malls) have both gone bankrupt, and Disney is liquidating its stores. They just can't compete on price with big box stores.

Of course malls still have their place (especially for clothes and gifts), but I don't think they sell nearly as much of high volume necessity items as they used to. 20 years ago if you needed a TV you probably went to the mall. Today you probably go to your nearest Best Buy or Circuit City. It's probably closer, almost definitely cheaper, usually faster to get in and out, and has a huge selection. Then there's online shopping as well....

Ah, I miss the glory days of shopping malls. Watching 70s/80s/90s movies really takes you back. For example:

*The opening scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) has to be a classic microcosm of the mall culture in California. Hanging out in the arcade, flirting among teenage employees, valley girls, etc.

*Logan's Run (1976) - The first third is shot mostly in a Dallas shopping mall, only thinly disguised as a future city.

*Scenes from a Mall (1993) - Takes place mostly at a California mall, but stars Woody Allen and Bette Midler so good luck sitting through the whole thing.

*Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Shot almost entirely in a zombie infested mall in Pittsburgh.

*Mallrats (1995) - Another good look at mall culture, this time in 90s Minnesota.

Any other good ones?

[Lord Dalek]

Actually big box stores like Walmart, Best Buy, etc. have given malls a real headache. There are a few specialty products they don't touch (like high-end designer clothing), but otherwise they are much more price competitive on most items than small mall shops with exorbitant leases. Just look at all the veteran department store chains that used to anchor malls but have gone out of business in the last few years under attack from the Walmarts and Targets. That website lists a couple of them like Montgomery Ward. More recently specialty toy retailers KB Toys and FAO Schwarz (both usually found in malls) have both gone bankrupt, and Disney is liquidating its stores. They just can't compete on price with big box stores.

Of course malls still have their place (especially for clothes and gifts), but I don't think they sell nearly as much of high volume necessity items as they used to. 20 years ago if you needed a TV you probably went to the mall. Today you probably go to your nearest Best Buy or Circuit City. It's probably closer, almost definitely cheaper, usually faster to get in and out, and has a huge selection. Then there's online shopping as well....

Ah, I miss the glory days of shopping malls. Watching 70s/80s/90s movies really takes you back. For example:

*The opening scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) has to be a classic microcosm of the mall culture in California. Hanging out in the arcade, flirting among teenage employees, valley girls, etc.

*Logan's Run (1976) - The first third is shot mostly in a Dallas shopping mall, only thinly disguised as a future city.

*Scenes from a Mall (1993) - Takes place mostly at a California mall, but stars Woody Allen and Bette Midler so good luck sitting through the whole thing.

*Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Shot almost entirely in a zombie infested mall in Pittsburgh.

*Mallrats (1995) - Another good look at mall culture, this time in 90s Minnesota.

Any other good ones?The Blues Brothers- Shame that mall is one of those on that site.

Terminator 2- Sure they called it a "galleria" but it was a mall gawddamnit!

EDIT- What amazes me is that good ol' Tacoma Mall in Washington has yet to suffer said fate.

[Carolina Red]

Wow, I didn't know that the mall from the Blues Brothers was still standing. And it's upsetting to see that it is in such a pathetic state. Maybe they should just raze the thing and put a new supermarket over it along with some historical marker. That would be appreciated by the people living around there, wouldn't it?

Thanks for the link though, my brother lives in Chicago and I bet he would be interested in seeing this.

And as for Logan's Run - I never thought of that! They must've really worked on that mall for that film.

[Elven Moon]

I was at the mall today, and because of this thread I kept picturing it abandoned, with no people, no lights, no noise. Creeped me out :o

[Chris Wood]

[lord dalek]Terminator 2- Sure they called it a "galleria" but it was a mall gawddamnit!
Yes, Northridge Fashion Mall in LA apparently.


EDIT- What amazes me is that good ol' Tacoma Mall in Washington has yet to suffer said fate.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) apparently filmed a scene near if not in that mall.

[Weatherman]

So the Blue Brothers mall is still there. I knew they had filmed it in a bankrupt shopping mall. I just though they tore it down after they finished the filming. Yeah, the place looks creapy as all HFIL. I can't bagin to imagine the dangers of wandering around in a place like that.

[AndreaBeaumont]

http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/beechmont_mall.html (http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/beechmont_mall.html)

Beechmont Mall is 15 minutes from my house. I was in there just last year before they tore the empty part down. I can remember going there as a kid to see the dinosaur thing they talk about. It even looked like that then. I wish they had pictures of it when they tore half of it down. For like a month there was just a big gap in the mall only covered with a clear tarp. You could see the lights were still on inside the still standing part at night. The earth was all torn up where part of it once stood. It looked like a bomb had been dropped on it. It's was so creepy. And Eastgate mall(I believe they mention it) is the mall I go to all the time. It just got renovated though. It's nice now. They getting a bunch of new stores. And the part about Beechmont going to be two stories is true. The people who built Eastgate built Beechmont too...they were going to make it two stories but ran out of money. It was supposed to be big. I also remember going to Forest Fair mall when I was little too. And playing laser tag there. (It's listed under OHIO malls too) It's getting revamped right now as well.

[Karl Olson]

On the Tacoma Mall: Malls in the Pacific NW have a hard time dying, paritial because even when they begin to falter and lose anchors, they usually get second lives as counterculture malls (Crossroads in Bellevue, WA basically has made it's name on being an offbeat, weird mall with local folk music groups throwing down free live music often times in the evenings and a very diverse group set of stores) or some how manage to have atleast one successful side anchor or two that props up the fact they don't a have a proper setup otherwise (Totem Lake Mall in Kirkland, WA stays alive because of a Ross, a Big 5, a Guitar Center, a CompUSA and a very natty RiteAid that used to a Payless Drug that used to a Pay n' Save Drug, and Eastgate Mall in Bellevue, WA, which stays alive via a Target and a Safeway.) Add to that the fact that it's miserably wet here in the NW enough that any excuse to be inside is welcome, and most big box stores don't conglomerate with walking distance (atleast when it's all drizzly out you wouldn't walk it,) and even crappy, downright creepy malls can survive here.

On Dead Malls in General: I'm totally gonna renagade film in a dead mall some day. It'd be cool for a creepy movie, or a creepy music video, or something.

[Feslmogh]

Got one mall here in Gainesville that's dying because of one of the reasons is the Mall of Ga. It used to be the place to be but now it's going downhill. It still has the big anchor stores (Sears, JC Penneys, Belks...) but the smaller stores left.

The site reminds me of another web site devoted to exploring abandoned houses and manufactring buildings but I can't remember the address!:mad:

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

First of all, very interesting thread and site. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Lucky Bob. :)

I must say, though, that looking at some of these malls is more depressing than creepy to me. That's because they're so much nicer than anything we have in my little one-horse town! We have two malls here, and both are about as interesting as dry toast. We actually welcomed the addition of Wal Mart here, so what does that tell you? :p

[Chad Bonin]

I had a dream about a dead mall once.

No joke. It was my local mall (Which is far from dead), but... there was like some gap in the walls that lead to another wing, that was all busted down and unlit and junk.

... had some good deals on action figures in that area, though.

[SlyBoy]

A little update here, I found more pics of the Dixie Square Mall, showing even MORE of the inside of the mall!

http://www.geocities.com/chucksphotospot/dsmall1.html

*cue spooky music*

[Samhaine]

This site is doesn't deserve the title deadmalls. I can't find the mall from Dawn of the Dead anywhere.I actually regularly shop in that mall. I'm not sure if it's nicer now than it was then, though. Some really annoying shoppers there (though I guess you could say the same for just about any mall, really. But they killed the WB Store that was there - that location is like a gravestone to me).

[Jerry Mouse]

That's a pretty cool website. As a self confessed "nostalgia nerd", sites like these are a goldmine of information. I, just like many of you, am quite surprised that the Dixie Square Mall aka "The mall from The Blues Brothers" is still standing, albeit abandoned. A building like that is just a disaster waiting to happen.

[Martianinvader]

Ho boy...dead malls are depressing, especially if you can remember when they did business well. Here in Portland(also in the NW) there was a mall called Eastport Plaza that had been going downhill for years. The first domino happened when Mervyn's moved out in 1988 to relocate in a better area; soon the other major stores started leaving, one by one. And yes, Eastport became a "counterculture mall" for a while, until finally someone new bought it and tore it down, then rebuilt it as an open-air multi-store area that can't really be defined as a mall, yet is sold as that. It looks better, and now that it has the only Wal-Mart in Portland, it'll stay busy.

There's another one...Mall 205. I can remember when Mall 205 was a busy place, but it gradually dried up as the years went on. Part of it is still there; they've got a new Target which opens up to its interior, so they still have hope. I was dismayed though to see that last month the video game shop that had been there for a while closed its doors. You wouldn't believe the rare stuff you could find at that place. What a pity...

[donovan]

Abandoned warehouses are a million times better than dead malls.

[Nick Biped]

Interesting site there. I know in my city, there was an underground mall downtown which was built in the 60's or 70's. By the early 90's, though, a new downtown mall had been built, and the old one had all its shops closing up. It was a really weird feeling to walk in there and see hardly any people or stores open. And since it was mostly underground, that made it really creepy. By the late 90's, the only thing that was open was a movie theatre, but even that closed soon after. A couple of years ago, the whole building was demolished and there's now a parking lot where it used to be.

Granted, now even the new downtown mall isn't in great shape. Pretty much the entire second floor is vacant, and the same goes for a few of the first-floor stores. The city's main library is in the mall now, though, so there are still lots of stores on the side where it's located. Plus it has the only movie theatres in town which play "arty" movies.

[FredNash]

wow, that site is awesome. I always loved just wandering around places like that, old abandoned buildings, malls are even better, but there arent any around where I live. Damn you urban renewal and booming local economy!

[Squall]

Ya want creepy? Check out this site referenced from deadmalls.com.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/russellw/EastwoodMall/part1.htm

I remember this mall well. I last graced its doors in 1993, when it was still a formidable business. I don't know if the author mentioned it or not, (I was too engrossed in the pictures,) but probably the main reason it went the way of the dodo was the fact that the uber-large (for that part of B'ham) Century Plaza mall is right across the street from it.

I remember the Service Merchandise, the Amiga my brother picked up from a former coworker he met there...ah...memories...

Kinda sad, really.
Air conditioned sidewalks??? No wonder they went out of business... :rolleyes: :p

[Kurtman]

I took a Look at the Link. It looks like the Kinda Mall that would be Haunted!

[UberMonkey]

On the Tacoma Mall: Malls in the Pacific NW have a hard time dying, paritial because even when they begin to falter and lose anchors, they usually get second lives as counterculture malls (Crossroads in Bellevue, WA basically has made it's name on being an offbeat, weird mall with local folk music groups throwing down free live music often times in the evenings and a very diverse group set of stores) or some how manage to have atleast one successful side anchor or two that props up the fact they don't a have a proper setup otherwise (Totem Lake Mall in Kirkland, WA stays alive because of a Ross, a Big 5, a Guitar Center, a CompUSA and a very natty RiteAid that used to a Payless Drug that used to a Pay n' Save Drug, and Eastgate Mall in Bellevue, WA, which stays alive via a Target and a Safeway.) Add to that the fact that it's miserably wet here in the NW enough that any excuse to be inside is welcome, and most big box stores don't conglomerate with walking distance (atleast when it's all drizzly out you wouldn't walk it,) and even crappy, downright creepy malls can survive here.
Actually, over in Yakima, the big Yakima Mall finally closed down. It tried to hang on for a long time, with mostly just half a food court and a few stores open. All of the stores started moving to Valley Mall in Union Gap - which used to be sort of a gutter mall, but is now experiencing a lot of success. I guess stores like it better because it's closer to the freeway. And after ClientLogic (a customer service company) moved out, that was pretty much the last nail in the coffin. It was sort of sad going by it on my spring break. I really want to see if I can take pictures of it... getting inside would be the tough part though. I wish I knew about this site when the food court was open. :P For some reason, walking around in a totally quiet, shut down place where people used to walk every day, and probably millions of dollars were exchanged seems really appealing to me. I guess maybe because it would feel almost like a videogame, where I'm the sole survivor, chronicling someone's lost history in an attempt to solve some mystery or something.

On Dead Malls in General: I'm totally gonna renagade film in a dead mall some day. It'd be cool for a creepy movie, or a creepy music video, or something.
That does sound fun, heh.

[Lord Dalek]

On the Tacoma Mall: Malls in the Pacific NW have a hard time dying, paritial because even when they begin to falter and lose anchors, they usually get second lives as counterculture malls (Crossroads in Bellevue, WA basically has made it's name on being an offbeat, weird mall with local folk music groups throwing down free live music often times in the evenings and a very diverse group set of stores) or some how manage to have atleast one successful side anchor or two that props up the fact they don't a have a proper setup otherwise (Totem Lake Mall in Kirkland, WA stays alive because of a Ross, a Big 5, a Guitar Center, a CompUSA and a very natty RiteAid that used to a Payless Drug that used to a Pay n' Save Drug, and Eastgate Mall in Bellevue, WA, which stays alive via a Target and a Safeway.) Add to that the fact that it's miserably wet here in the NW enough that any excuse to be inside is welcome, and most big box stores don't conglomerate with walking distance (atleast when it's all drizzly out you wouldn't walk it,) and even crappy, downright creepy malls can survive here. I thought it had something to with how the Bon Marche is a more reliable anchor than Bradlee's.

[sterfish]

http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/dixie_square_mall.html

I almost got the creeps seeing that...
I live less 10 minutes or so away from Dixie Square, in Markham. It's pathetic. It's been abandoned for about as long as I've been alive (and I turn 24 in December). It's almost cursed. Every deal that has come across the table to tear down and redevelop that area (from things as simple as a bus terminal and residential housing to things as ridiculous as a movie/TV studio) have all fallen through. Things have been done/built in the area around the mall: Carnivals have set up shop in the huge parking lot. Harvey's police station was built near there (as seen on the site), as have an Automotive repair shop (which may or may not be open), a Family Court/DCFS (Department of Childen and Family Services) building, and what was once a ComEd (Power company) Bill Payment Center (it's now a Daycare Center).

That area is a festering sore in the South Suburban Chicago area and I'm sad to say that it may be another 25 years before it's ever torn down.

[InsoMniaC]

That mall would be perfect for one of those hilarious zombie movies!

[Singin' Stray Cat]

Dang. I wonder if that's how the Mall of Memphis will look in a few years. :sad:

That's the name of a mall across town from where I live that had to close last Christmas, and there's still a debate going on about what should be done with the property. I've seen a lot of good ideas proposed, but no one with enough money and resources seems inclined to actually do anything with it. Hope it doesn't just sit and rot like this one apparently did.