I used to go to Westgate Mall all the time as a kid in the 90s and I always remembered this big weird fountain in the food court with these ugly green tiles. Last month I drove up to check out the abandoned mall since it's been empty since 2018 and I couldn't find the fountain anywhere. The whole food court was just gutted and different. I walked around for maybe 45 minutes feeling kinda bummed until I went into this random hallway near the old JC Penney. There it was behind a wall they'd half built. The tiles were cracked and the water was long gone but I recognized that ugly green color immediately. It's crazy how a place can look totally different but one little detail brings everything back. Has anyone else found something from their childhood that was hidden behind renovations? I'm curious what other malls have done with their old fountains.
I was poking around the old Valley View Mall in La Mesa last spring, and this older security guard caught me near the blocked-off escalator. Instead of kicking me out, he just asked if I remembered the arcade that used to be there on the second floor. He pointed to a faded spot on the carpet where they had that giant claw machine, and told me he used to bring his kid there every Saturday in the late 90s. We stood there for maybe 10 minutes, just talking about how the whole place smelled like popcorn and carpet cleaner back then. He even showed me a photo on his phone of the food court in 1998. Has anyone else run into a guard or employee who was cool about letting you stay?
Back around 2020 I was poking around the abandoned Galleria on the east side of town. The food court was completely empty except this one Street Fighter II cabinet still plugged into the wall. I swear somebody had been using it recently because the screen was warm and a quarter was sitting on the player 1 side. I took a ton of pictures but my buddy called me crazy for not trying to haul it out. Has anyone else stumbled onto something that was still running in a dead mall?
I picked the hallway because the escalator looked like it would dump me into a sinkhole, but then I tripped over a loose tile and slid straight into a pile of abandoned mall directories instead, has anyone else regretted a shortcut like that?
I was digging through old city records online last month and stumbled on a 1972 building permit that showed a 12 lane bowling alley under the food court, which explains those random staircases that always seemed to go nowhere.
I was exploring the old Willowbrook Mall in Illinois and kept getting this HORRIBLE smell near the fountain area. Spent like 2 hours looking around thinking it was mold or sewage. Turned out it was a forgotten bag of potatoes from the old Chipotle that had been rotting for like 3 years in a storage closet. Took me way longer to track down than I'd like to admit. Has anyone else found something completely ridiculous in an abandoned mall?
A photography guy on Flickr said I was framing everything too wide and flat, like I was documenting a police report instead of telling a story. Started zooming in on details like cracked tile edges and old food court menu boards and now my shots actually feel like the place has a mood instead of just sitting there empty. Anyone else get feedback that totally shifted how you see your own shots?
I was exploring that dead mall out past Springfield last Saturday, the one where they kept the fountains running for like a year after everything else closed. I got into counting my steps on my phone just to kill time, and I hit exactly 5,000 steps just pacing around the empty food court area. There were still those old metal tables bolted down and a single flickering sign for a Chinese place that closed in 2019. It was so echoey in there that every footstep sounded like a drum, but I couldn't stop walking circles around the same tile pattern. Has anyone else ever tracked how much ground you cover in one of these ghost malls? I felt like a hamster on a wheel.
Back in 2019, I was poking around the abandoned Springfield Mall in Ohio and found this old roll-down security gate half off its tracks. Paid a guy $80 to help me haul it out and get it fixed up. That gate now sits on my workshop and keeps my tools safe. Anyone else ever grab something cheap from a dead mall that ended up being super useful?
Do you think mall owners should keep the power running to keep up appearances, or is that just wasting money? I swear I saw a mannequin twitch in the window of the old Forever 21. What's your take on leaving the lights on?
I always parked on the east side near where the food court used to be, but that entire section has been sealed off since 2018. The trick was that the only working entrance is the old service door behind the Gap (which is now just storage for some furniture liquidator). I wasted like 15 minutes walking around in the rain before some guy loading boxes pointed me to the right spot. Has anyone else discovered that their childhood mall's layout has become totally unrecognizable?
I walked past where the Sbarro used to be and could still smell the pepperoni even though it's been closed for five years, anyone else get weird sensory flashbacks like that in dead food courts?
I keep seeing people share a photo of the big fountain at the Oakwood Mall atrium claiming they took it last week, but I was there 9 years ago and snapped the exact same shot before the tiles cracked. The lighting and water pattern are identical, just someone recycling old pics for upvotes. Am I the only one who notices this stuff or does nobody actually check dates anymore?
I was gonna buy cheap tools online but that old guy working there convinced me to get the good pry bars and a carbide blade, now I'm wondering if anyone else has grabbed gear from closing mall stores that turned out way better than expected.
I was at the Granite Run Mall near Media PA last October, the place everyone says is a perfect time capsule because nothing's been touched since 2002. But water from that cracked fountain dripped right onto my bag and soaked through, ruining the lens I saved six months for. Am I the only one who thinks these 'untouched' malls actually cause more damage than the ones that are properly sealed off?
Ngl, I've been exploring abandoned malls for about 2 years now and never found anything like this. The trick was checking behind a collapsed hot dog kiosk near the food court on the second floor. There was a service door painted to match the wall, and it led to a whole hallway of old storage rooms with 1990s P.A. equipment still plugged in. Has anyone else stumbled onto a hidden room or hallway in a dead mall?
Went to check out the Northbrook Mall outside Detroit last Saturday. I was poking around the old food court area near the east entrance. One of the hallway doors swung shut behind me and the handle was busted. Couldn't get it open for a solid 20 minutes until another explorer came by and pried it from the other side. I always carry a flashlight and water but never thought about a door wedge. Has anyone else gotten stuck in a weird spot like that and changed what they bring along?
So I went to that abandoned mall in Glendale last weekend, the one that's been closed since 2016. Was just walking around the empty corridors taking pics when I spotted this old neon sign for the food court half buried under some drywall. It said "Food Emporium" in like 80s style letters with a burger graphic lol. I remember going there as a kid with my mom and getting those greasy pizza slices from the place next to the arcade. Made me wonder how many other people have found random stuff that hits them right in the feels. Anyone else find something that took you back?
I used to just hit the anchor stores at abandoned malls and skip the rest, but last year a retired janitor at Oak Hollow in NC walked me through the old food court. He pointed out the original tile pattern under 3 layers of carpet and told me where the Sbarro used to be. Anyone else had a guide like that or just wandered blind?
Picked up a broken Galaga machine from the closed-down arcade near the food court three months ago. Spent another $60 on replacement boards and it still won't boot past the title screen. Anyone else get burned buying old mall junk thinking you could fix it?
I used to think abandoned malls were just sad places, but someone posted on here about how their local dead mall was repurposed into a community college campus. They said the old food court became the student lounge with the original neon signs still up. Has anyone else seen a mall get a second life like that?
I was poking around the old Northgate Mall outside Seattle last weekend and stood in the empty food court for a solid 10 minutes. That fake marble fountain in the middle has been dry for years, but there's still a speaker hidden behind the plastic plants playing water trickling sounds on a loop. I bent down and saw the little wire running into a cracked tile. It hit me that malls spent money on these weird artificial atmospheres just to make us feel calm while we spent cash. Has anyone else noticed fake noises or scents still left running in abandoned spots?
I saw photos of the old Viewmont Mall online and it looked like a goldmine with the food court still intact and all the old store signs up. So I planned a whole Saturday, packed my camera, and drove 3 hours up from Philly. Got there at 9am and the main entrance was chained up but there was a busted side door near the old Sears. I squeezed through and barely made it to the center fountain area before a security truck pulled up and some guy yelled at me through a megaphone. He said the property was under 24 hour watch now because of vandals and I had to leave or he'd call the cops. So I wasted $45 in gas, $12 on tolls, and got exactly 20 minutes inside with zero good shots. Has anyone else run into these surprise security setups at malls that look totally abandoned online?
I was always using fresh batteries and still getting dim light after 20 minutes in a dark corridor. Turns out the cheap alkaline ones can't handle the cold from broken AC units in these old places. Has anyone else noticed their gear acting weird when the temp drops below 50?