US Dead Malls

[I-10east]

I highly recommend checking out the youtube channel 'This is Dan Bell.' for his dead mall series. There are some very depressing malls across this country. Some of them makes Regency Square Mall look like it has potential.

I also wanna note that all of these malls are on death's door seemingly because a nearby 'big bad wolf' AKA a more modern mall opened up, and made the mall dead, that's it, no other reasons period!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ

[Adam White]

I highly recommend checking out the youtube channel 'This is Dan Bell.' for his dead mall series. There are some very depressing malls across this country. Some of them makes Regency Square Mall look like it has potential.

I also wanna wanna note that all of these malls are on death's door seemingly because a nearby 'big bad wolf' AKA more modern mall opened up, and made the mall dead, that's it no other reasons period!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ

I went to a really depressing mall in Sarasota last time I visited my folks. I can't remember the name. But there was an ice rink in one of the store and maybe three people other than us in the mall. Sad.

[jaxcpa]

I highly recommend checking out the youtube channel 'This is Dan Bell.' for his dead mall series. There are some very depressing malls across this country. Some of them makes Regency Square Mall look like it has potential.

I also wanna wanna note that all of these malls are on death's door seemingly because a nearby 'big bad wolf' AKA more modern mall opened up, and made the mall dead, that's it no other reasons period!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ

I went to a really depressing mall in Sarasota last time I visited my folks. I can't remember the name. But there was an ice rink in one of the store and maybe three people other than us in the mall. Sad.

Sarasota Square My mom lives down there. Until recently, the mall also had a public library branch, although temporary. They also brought in Costco when one of the anchor department stores left. Still a sad mall, but I think they've done a decent job bringing in other tenants instead of vacant space.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I highly recommend checking out the youtube channel 'This is Dan Bell.' for his dead mall series. There are some very depressing malls across this country. Some of them makes Regency Square Mall look like it has potential.

I also wanna wanna note that all of these malls are on death's door seemingly because a nearby 'big bad wolf' AKA more modern mall opened up, and made the mall dead, that's it no other reasons period!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ

I'm a fan of this channel too.  But I find the more fascinating stories are less the malls that got cannibalized and more the ones that were very poor planning ideas to begin with - especially the Mall at Steamtown in Scranton, with which I'm very familiar.

[thelakelander]

I'm getting old. I remember when Sarasota Square was the new kid on the block. However, Desoto Square, right up the street in Bradenton looks a lot worse these days.

For those interested in dead malls, here's two more sites that have been around for several years:

http://deadmalls.com/stories.html

http://mallhistory.com

[spuwho]

I have mentioned it before, but I have seen an almost dead mall come back to life and thrive.

Yorktown Mall in Lombard, Illinois

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown_Center

This mall is somewhat unique in that the sales tax varies depending on which stores you shop in the mall.

Also there is a sit down restaurant tax for the places surrounding the mall, but only those places.

This mall has lost 3 anchors since it was built in 1968, and thrives today. That is what makes it notable. Very few malls survive after losing so many anchors.

I first went in 1975, but by 1986 it was getting run down. It wasnt until VonMaur came in the 1996, there was little reason to go other than JC Penney.

[Adam White]

I highly recommend checking out the youtube channel 'This is Dan Bell.' for his dead mall series. There are some very depressing malls across this country. Some of them makes Regency Square Mall look like it has potential.

I also wanna wanna note that all of these malls are on death's door seemingly because a nearby 'big bad wolf' AKA more modern mall opened up, and made the mall dead, that's it no other reasons period!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ

I went to a really depressing mall in Sarasota last time I visited my folks. I can't remember the name. But there was an ice rink in one of the store and maybe three people other than us in the mall. Sad.

Sarasota Square My mom lives down there. Until recently, the mall also had a public library branch, although temporary. They also brought in Costco when one of the anchor department stores left. Still a sad mall, but I think they've done a decent job bringing in other tenants instead of vacant space.

Yes, that must be it! I have been to most of the malls in the area, it seems. To be fair, the last time I went there it was in the middle of the day, during the week. Probably not peak mall time. But it was pretty sad.

There's another one that has a weird layout - kind of long with all the shops (or most of the shops) on one side.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I'm getting old. I remember when Sarasota Square was the new kid on the block. However, Desoto Square, right up the street in Bradenton looks a lot worse these days.

For those interested in dead malls, here's two more sites that have been around for several years:

http://deadmalls.com/stories.html

http://mallhistory.com

labelscar.com is another great one, though it hasn't been updated in a while.  I wrote the entry on Deadmalls.com for the Rockville Mall, the white elephant of my home town.

[thelakelander]

There's another one that has a weird layout - kind of long with all the shops (or most of the shops) on one side.

^That's Westfield Southgate.

https://www.westfield.com/southgate

It's actually a mall success story (although the new mall may kill it). Southgate opened a couple of years before Gateway as a strip mall in 1956. It was enclosed in 1988 (thus the weird interior layout). In the 1990s, Publix moved out and they replaced it with a Saks Fifth Avenue and revamped the center as an upscale shopping mall. In recent years, the new University Town Center took both Dillard's and Saks, leaving only Macy's as an anchor. In the midst of another makeover, Saks was recently replaced with a Cobb Cinebistro. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out.  One thing going in its favor is that it is now owned by Westfield.  They appear to be reinvesting in it rather than letting it sit and fall out of favor, which is what Regency's former owners allowed to happen.

[Adam White]

There's another one that has a weird layout - kind of long with all the shops (or most of the shops) on one side.

^That's Westfield Southgate.

https://www.westfield.com/southgate

It's actually a mall success story (although the new mall may kill it). Southgate opened a couple of years before Gateway as a strip mall in 1956. It was enclosed in 1988 (thus the weird interior layout). In the 1990s, Publix moved out and they replaced it with a Saks Fifth Avenue and revamped the center as an upscale shopping mall. In recent years, the new University Town Center took both Dillard's and Saks, leaving only Macy's as an anchor. In the midst of another makeover, Saks was recently replaced with a Cobb Cinebistro. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out.  One thing going in its favor is that it is now owned by Westfield.  They appear to be reinvesting in it rather than letting it sit and fall out of favor, which is what Regency's former owners allowed to happen.

Dude, you are seriously killing it with your knowledge of Sarasota malls.

That mall is okay. There's not a lot there, but it seems to be doing okay. I just realized that I always visit my folks in the late spring/early summer. That's the quiet period for Sarasota, as the population explodes when the so-called snowbirds arrive in the fall/winter. That might explain why everything seems a bit quiet when I'm down there.

I think I've been to Desoto Square Mall, too.

[thelakelander]

^Ha. I grew up in Central Florida and I was dragged against my will during the 80s and early 90s to every mall with a Petite Sophisticate (my mom is a shopaholic). At that point in time, larger regional malls like The Avenues were mushrooming all around the country and especially around Tampa and Orlando. The only thing making it worthwhile was a stop at any mall also included a meal at Morrison's Cafeteria or Piccadilly.

[thekillingwax]

Love Dan Bell's channel. I haven't been to any of the places he's shown- the deadest mall I've personally been to is the one in Orlando that has the Bass Pro. I haven't been in several years, so I looked it up and I guess it's called "Artegon Marketplace" now and it seems like there are a lot of independent retailers in there now with a focus on handmade stuff, so that's kinda cool and they've made the entire mall "dog friendly", which is pretty awesome. I hope they're doing well. Last time I was down there, I saw maybe two or three places open besides Bass Pro.

How's Mall at Millenia doing? I've only been maybe three times. The first time, the mall was packed and seemed to be doing great, went back a few years later and saw a lot of vacant stores and some retailers like Sanrio had left.

[Adam White]

When I lived in Tampa, my office was right across the street from a mall near Raymond James stadium.

Lakelander will know the place, I'm sure.

I think it is probably gone now. That was the deadest mall I'd ever been to. It basically stayed open so local workers could eat at the food court.

[URY914]

When I lived in Tampa, my office was right across the street from a mall near Raymond James stadium.

Lakelander will know the place, I'm sure.

I think it is probably gone now. That was the deadest mall I'd ever been to. It basically stayed open so local workers could eat at the food court.

That would be the former Tampa Bay Center mall. I spend a good part of my youth there. It has been torn down about 15 years now. It is now the location of the Bucs training center. Property is owned by the owner's of the Bucs.

[JaxJersey-licious]

After all these posts, I gotta shout out my love for the old Philips Mall/Market Square Mall (after all this site is called MetroJacksonville  ). That was where I saw my first movies in theater when I was young and I thought the reincarnation into Market Square could have worked because the International Food Court they had was always hopping (at least for a little while). I know this site has a lot of interesting stories for this and other former Jax malls but I'm curious how the offices that replaced them are doing and if they are fully leased. I'm just glad that creepy hotel next to it got demolished.