For me I think it would be the Burlington County Mall. I remembered going there once as a kid. A decade later, I saw a picture of how abandoned it was, and that led me down a rabbit hole into seeing how other malls are doing.
How did you begin?
The mall I grew up with. Westminster Mall in Colorado. I watched that shit die. Unfortunately, this was before dead malls became a popular thing to marvel at. Ultimately, it was demolished 10years ago. I just remember it slowly dying as some wings became completely empty.
The only remnants I can find on it is this post from the Dead Mall Enthusiasts Facebook group.
Funny thing that another Westminster Mall (in Westminster, CA) is also not doing well and there are rumors that it will be closed soon.
When I lived in the US (Austin,TX) for a year back in 1991-92 I loved going to the malls. Highland Mall, Barton Creek Mall and all the others in the area and neighboring cities. Also all the times I have been back road-trip’ing the US malls has been a great evening entertainment. Just the idea that all those malls I have visited across the US is slowly disappearing is strange to me. For me it’s a part of the American lifestyle and that people stopped going to them is hard to see. But also in the country I live the malls are getting fewer and fewer customers but not in the way it leads to a dead mall trend yet.
I’ve seen lots of forlorn shopping centers in small towns, often looking stuck in time. Plus now so many of the stores I frequented as a kid on shopping trips with my mom (especially JCPenney, also Sears) are closing. I can’t think of a specific mall where I got my start, I’ve always had an interest in buildings past their heyday.
It’s the (now closed) Lakeforest Mall in Maryland for me. In 2021 I was living in Northern Virginia and thought I should cross the river and see this mall. It seemed to be stuck in the COVID era while other malls in Greater DC (Tysons Corner Center etc.) had bounced back. Then I did some research and found out that Lakeforest was not doing well even before COVID.
When I lived in the US (Austin,TX) for a year back in 1991-92 I loved going to the malls. Highland Mall, Barton Creek Mall and all the others in the area and neighboring cities. Also all the times I have been back road-trip’ing the US malls has been a great evening entertainment. Just the idea that all those malls I have visited across the US is slowly disappearing is strange to me. For me it’s a part of the American lifestyle and that people stopped going to them is hard to see. But also in the country I live the malls are getting fewer and fewer customers but not in the way it leads to a dead mall trend yet.
