For years, a local mall in my area was going downhill. What once was a teenager’s dream hangout spot soon dwindled down to a literal bird cage. Robins flew overhead to keep warm in the winter. The food court became a ghost town. And eventually, the stores themselves shut down one by one until only a handful remained. The dilapidated building served only as an indoor walking spot for seniors in the winter before it was closed completely due to mold and structural issues. Below is an account of my sad but fascinating visit to an abandoned mall.

One last shopping trip

In the winter of 2018, my sister and I made one last trip to the mall before it went up for sheriff’s sale. At the time, there were about 12 stores left with very few shoppers. Small groups of seniors met up and walked the mall together in their workout clothes but few stopped to actually shop.

The building was showing obvious signs of wear and tear.  Pieces of tile were missing from the ceiling, and there were holes in some of the walls. The food court was completely shut down. If you wanted something to eat, a quarter would crank out a tiny handful of stale candy out of one of the many machines scattered throughout the main floor.

The fountain in the middle of the ground floor had been drained. As we walked past, a man took a picture of his wife standing in the fountain without her shoes on. Just out of frame from his camera phone lens was a sign asking, “Don’t go in fountain.” 

Stairs and escalators leading to the completely empty parts of the mall were closed off. A gold carousel still operated on the ground floor. One lonely ride attendant sat at the booth reading a magazine. There were no kids in the building let alone in line to take a ride.

We walked the entire mall, stopping first at Hot Topic. They were operating as usual. Everything was pretty much full price except for some discounted t-shirts which we scarfed up along with those tiny pins featuring various pop culture icons such as Disney characters and 80’s stars. We had the store to ourselves besides one man who stood at the register asking the boy working the register a million questions about the size, quality, and design of each of the t-shirts he was trying to buy.

Next, we headed to the comic book store which had taken over about four or five store fronts with their merchandise. Business was booming for them compared to the other stores. But soon they were going to have to find another place to house all of their books and toys.

After that, we joined the walkers, mostly white-haired but in-shape old people in their white New Balance tennis shoes gabbing away at each other as we headed back to the dark corner of the mall which led to the doors of our parking lot. Most of the entrances and exits were blocked off, directing foot traffic to the remaining open lot outside the building. This parking lot was pothole city which required you to weave through it and the road leading out of the mall, past the closed up parking garages like a driver in an action movie. We didn’t think we’d be back.

A prolonged closing

The sheriff’s sale came and went, but for some reason, the mall stayed open. There had even been a petition circulating online for a Nerf gun fight on the last day that it would be open that June. That fell through when a few punks made jokes about planning to attach nails and needles to their foam arrows.  Can we only have fun these days by blinding others with Nerf bayonet shots to the eye?

Luckily, that threatened violence would not mark the ending of the mall. Instead, it stayed on life support for a little while longer.

A second final visit

So, we went back again to visit nearly a year later. The place was still standing. This time, the Merry-Go-Round was gone, Hot Topic was closed, the candy machines had disappeared, and the heat was off. It felt like the dream worlds in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind where you can see objects in the background turning white and disappearing before they disappear from memory altogether.

J.C. Penney’s was still kicking, though. So was a store that sold airbrushed t-shirts, one that sold uniforms for medical professionals, the nail salon, and the vape store. For some reason, that’s where the oldies congregated to start their group walk. The comic book store was still in operation but wasn’t open when we got there.

Everything else was just a shell of what once was. I could see the familiar entryway of the Warner Brothers store and the Disney Store. Bath and Body Works looked like it had been bombed. Merchandise was scattered all over the floor and shelves. Then it had been locked up and forgotten about.

The appeal of visiting the mall one last time had deflated on this second visit. It was still interesting to look at, but how could I miss it if it didn’t go away? It was on perpetual life support, not yet dead but no longer able to serve its purpose. Even my sentimental mind couldn’t continue to grieve for it.

After all, there was a thriving mall still open that was closer to home and littered with stores, food, and visitors.  You can’t get stuck yearning for a place that no longer serves its purpose. You have to be present for the things that do still exist.

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