Ah yes, what we might today call the Third Place of the 80s.
There's this miniseries I've been watching called Abandoned where a pro skater who was also an 80s kid visits places in the U.S. and Canada that are no longer used or populated. There's a mall episode that I found absolutely fascinating. Definitely recommend. Take care, man!
I loved our trips to the mall. I grew up in the Fargo/Moorhead area and I found out they recently tore down a nearby mall mom brought us to a lot - the Moorhead Center Mall. It had been in decline for decades, but I still remember a time JUST A LITTLE CLOSER to its heyday when there were stores worth making a trip inside. For me though, it is less about the stores (though shout-out to the pet shop it once had, complete with puppies in the window!) and more about the environment... the glossy brick floors I used to gaze at while mom pushed me around in a baby blue hard plastic mall stroller... hearing the background soundtrack of passing shopper chatter... seeing the sandwich & snack shop actually open for business and its scent of pretzels & popcorn... the nearby fountain spraying its water upward and watching it cascade back down the metal fern-like centerpieces... And the effort they used to put into decorating for Christmas - just beautiful.
Most of these elements have been gone for decades, even before I moved away. The fountain was removed ages ago. The snack shop was there for a long time, but permanently closed behind the chain security gates. Christmas decorating efforts were harder to justify with diminishing foot traffic. I think the only thing left from my childhood before they tore it down was the shiny brick floors. I wish I could find photos from the era I remember fondly, but it is so hard to track this stuff down. For now, I'll just have to hold onto the memories of that time.
Ah yes, what we might today call the Third Place of the 80s.
There's this miniseries I've been watching called Abandoned where a pro skater who was also an 80s kid visits places in the U.S. and Canada that are no longer used or populated. There's a mall episode that I found absolutely fascinating. Definitely recommend. Take care, man!
Thanks James! I definitely need to check that out, I love that kind of stuff. Hope all is well my friends!
This sounds cool. I see urbexers too doing something similar with maple that closed down after pandemic or closed fast food places in remote areas.
My 90s mall rat credentials were certified when I got a job at Suncoast in August '99.
Ha! Love it!! I used to go to Suncoast all the time and get movies there. That's awesome!
That store was so cool! If they had comics it would have been the perfect store.
They smelled of cigarette smoke too.
lol, they sure did
I loved our trips to the mall. I grew up in the Fargo/Moorhead area and I found out they recently tore down a nearby mall mom brought us to a lot - the Moorhead Center Mall. It had been in decline for decades, but I still remember a time JUST A LITTLE CLOSER to its heyday when there were stores worth making a trip inside. For me though, it is less about the stores (though shout-out to the pet shop it once had, complete with puppies in the window!) and more about the environment... the glossy brick floors I used to gaze at while mom pushed me around in a baby blue hard plastic mall stroller... hearing the background soundtrack of passing shopper chatter... seeing the sandwich & snack shop actually open for business and its scent of pretzels & popcorn... the nearby fountain spraying its water upward and watching it cascade back down the metal fern-like centerpieces... And the effort they used to put into decorating for Christmas - just beautiful.
Most of these elements have been gone for decades, even before I moved away. The fountain was removed ages ago. The snack shop was there for a long time, but permanently closed behind the chain security gates. Christmas decorating efforts were harder to justify with diminishing foot traffic. I think the only thing left from my childhood before they tore it down was the shiny brick floors. I wish I could find photos from the era I remember fondly, but it is so hard to track this stuff down. For now, I'll just have to hold onto the memories of that time.