Dead Malls
Jan. 3rd, 2011 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annissamazingSome of you won't be surprised when I tell you that I am utterly fascinated by deadmalls.com. I am especially interested in reading about malls at which I have shopped. Blue Mountain Mall in Walla Walla has an entry, though it is not very detailed. I shopped there while I lived in Dayton. Walla Walla was a 45 minute drive, but it was the closest shopping area. I remember at the time people moaned about the mall killing the downtown area. They were probably right, but I'm still sad to see it on this list. I'd like to see how it looks today, but I am unlikely to make a visit to Walla Walla anytime soon. Even when I go out in July, I won't go out of my way to see it.
I think that their entry for Rolling Acres Mall in Akron is particularly interesting. When I moved here in 1998, Rolling Acres was a bustling shopping area. Romig Road was lined with shopping centers and plazas. Now, there's very little still open.
In 1998, the parking lot was packed, the mall was full of shoppers, and kiosks lined the open areas. It was beautiful, as far as malls go. I'm a sucker for glass and chrome, fountains, potted plants, and enormous skylights. I'm also unashamed to admit that the glass elevator amused me. I'd rather take it than the escalator any day. Despite all that, there was evidence that the mall was in trouble. Most of the space was filled, but there were a few spaces that just couldn't seem to attract a tenant. The furniture store on the lower level declared bankruptcy, taking the money from all the layaway with them. I remember that clearly because I had a mattress set on layaway I'd managed to pay off just a couple weeks before they went out of business.
Over the years, I had less and less reason to go to Rolling Acres. The neighborhood was never a "good" one. My co-worker, Tamika, warned me to stay away from the mall. She said it was too dangerous to go there, but I disregarded her warning. The area picked up a nasty racist nickname and became the butt of jokes. But Justin and I would occasionally stop by and walk through it. The last time we went, roughly three quarters of the storefronts were empty and what was left was of no interest to us. We passed maybe 5 other shoppers during our walk. We made one last loop around the out-of-order orange tile fountain, past a Dollar General and a Target, and walked out of the mall for the last time.
Rolling Acres Mall was apparently sold last year. The new owners claim they're going to use the structure, but this has all happened before and the mall still sits there, empty.
Justin worked across the street for several years. He suggested we go over there with a camera and get some pictures of the acres and acres of empty, rotting retail space. But, to be honest, it frightens me.
Justin watched this video with me and commented, "I keep waiting for the zombies to come out. Or a pack of wild dogs or something."
I think that their entry for Rolling Acres Mall in Akron is particularly interesting. When I moved here in 1998, Rolling Acres was a bustling shopping area. Romig Road was lined with shopping centers and plazas. Now, there's very little still open.
In 1998, the parking lot was packed, the mall was full of shoppers, and kiosks lined the open areas. It was beautiful, as far as malls go. I'm a sucker for glass and chrome, fountains, potted plants, and enormous skylights. I'm also unashamed to admit that the glass elevator amused me. I'd rather take it than the escalator any day. Despite all that, there was evidence that the mall was in trouble. Most of the space was filled, but there were a few spaces that just couldn't seem to attract a tenant. The furniture store on the lower level declared bankruptcy, taking the money from all the layaway with them. I remember that clearly because I had a mattress set on layaway I'd managed to pay off just a couple weeks before they went out of business.
Over the years, I had less and less reason to go to Rolling Acres. The neighborhood was never a "good" one. My co-worker, Tamika, warned me to stay away from the mall. She said it was too dangerous to go there, but I disregarded her warning. The area picked up a nasty racist nickname and became the butt of jokes. But Justin and I would occasionally stop by and walk through it. The last time we went, roughly three quarters of the storefronts were empty and what was left was of no interest to us. We passed maybe 5 other shoppers during our walk. We made one last loop around the out-of-order orange tile fountain, past a Dollar General and a Target, and walked out of the mall for the last time.
Rolling Acres Mall was apparently sold last year. The new owners claim they're going to use the structure, but this has all happened before and the mall still sits there, empty.
Justin worked across the street for several years. He suggested we go over there with a camera and get some pictures of the acres and acres of empty, rotting retail space. But, to be honest, it frightens me.
Justin watched this video with me and commented, "I keep waiting for the zombies to come out. Or a pack of wild dogs or something."
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 06:09 pm (UTC)That video was really neat though. We don't really have abandoned places like that where I am. Well, at least ones that I've gone to. There are old train stations and factories that have slowly gone into disrepair from no use, and there are even some towns that are fading away into dust as the economy takes its toll on the back-roads type of places in the state. A bit sad, if you think about it.
Damn, now I want a mall to have fun in like that. How did they get in anyway? Wouldn't it be considered trespassing?
no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 07:11 pm (UTC)I have mixed emotions about abandoned malls. I don't think that they enriched lives and I don't think the world is poorer for their passing. At the same time, I know that the consumerism that fueled the development of these shopping centers hasn't died with them. It's moved to new areas like discount stores such as Target or Walmart, or fancy new shopping centers like Cleveland's Legacy Village. I look at the abandoned structures and see waste.
The demise of Rolling Acres is particularly painful because it's better than the other malls in the area. It's bigger, more aesthetically pleasing, has more natural light (notice in the video that the power is out and the place is still well-lit), and better parking.
Despite the problems inherent with malls, I like them. They're convenient, they're clean, and they're warm and dry. When Dominic was learning to walk, it was too cold and icy to let him practice outside, so I took him to Chapel Hill Mall every Saturday so he could wander the corridors. It was ideal because of the aforementioned cleanliness, warmth, and dryness. He also couldn't get into anything. I'd just wander behind him while he let his little legs carry him as far and as fast as he could go.
Here's what it looked like the year before it closed. This is what it was like the last time I visited.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-05 06:03 pm (UTC)I like the video of the mall as it was before it went all zombie-ish on you. Still, I'd love to find an abandoned mall around here. It just doesn't happen.
As for Target and Walmart: There's no Target in my state (I believe), but we do have a lot of Walmarts and I try to stay as far away from them as possible. Too many people. That and I do so much of my shopping online (which I think has a bigger part of encouraging commercialism or even a global economy than malls or huge shopping centers do) that going out is superfluous. Plus, it keeps me away from my computer and teh internets for way too long. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-01-05 06:13 pm (UTC)I refuse to shop at Walmart. I was a Target girl until I found out that they were donating to anti-gay politicians. Now I'm not quite sure where to shop. I still occasionally go there, but get most of what I need from the grocery store.