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I'm standing here surrounded by a treasure trove of anything I could want and the smells of my childhood and I can barely see it all through the tears. This isn't the first time. Why does the mall fill me with such heartache?
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Apr 18, 2023 20:42
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because it's 2023 and malls are DEAD
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Apr 18, 2023 20:42
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Panic! At The Tesco posted:because it's 2023 and malls are DEAD
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Apr 18, 2023 20:43
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yeah, my mall's been a real bummer too ever since they opened that puppy hospice
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Apr 18, 2023 20:44
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Did you poo poo your pants there once?
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Apr 18, 2023 20:44
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Defiance Industries posted:Did you poo poo your pants there once? Do you think it would help?
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Apr 18, 2023 20:45
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Because you can't steal tapes from the music stores or chase girls that aren't from your school there anymore.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:45
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Because modern malls suck Mega rear end. No arcades, no good game stores anymore, they're way more expensive, all the niche stores have been replaced by generic crap, and you're lucky if they still have the reams of plants they used to. Oh, and all the lighting is eye searing now because we don't use flourescents anymore.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:45
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OP have you watched Dan Bell's Dead Mall series on youtube
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Apr 18, 2023 20:46
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Play dead rising 1 instead OP
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Apr 18, 2023 20:48
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Ehud posted:OP have you watched Dan Bell's Dead Mall series on youtube I have, as I suspect many of us have, seen one of my own childhood malls on that channel!
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Apr 18, 2023 20:49
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Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:Because modern malls suck Mega rear end. No arcades, no good game stores anymore, they're way more expensive, all the niche stores have been replaced by generic crap, and you're lucky if they still have the reams of plants they used to. Yeah it's the lack of arcades that bums me out. The mall near me has no arcade, just a mini Dave and Busters knock-off with redemption games. They took out the water feature a few years ago as well. The record store has some records but mainly nerd Funko type poo poo. it does still have book store, video game store, and comic/game shop.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:50
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Ehud posted:OP have you watched Dan Bell's Dead Mall series on youtube Quoting this in the hopes that I'll actually remember to do it this time I wonder if Bellevue Square is still somewhat active, I feel like that's the most active / best mall I've ever been to When I worked in the Boise mall quite a few years ago (like a decade or something) it felt like it was already dying but I bet it's basically the same now because it's still Boise
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Apr 18, 2023 20:53
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Over the weekend, I went to the mall in my hometown that has been slowly dying for the past 20 years. I found out they had scheduled a “comic con” which was basically a flea market of people setting up tables to sell all their second hand action figures, comic books, anime statues, etc. In other words, to resell all the pop culture crap they had bought at the mall over the years. A common sales tactic appears to be a “mystery box,” which is a grab bag full of crap that’s supposed to conform to a certain theme. I guess maybe you’re hoping to get a rare Funko pop or something, but realistically it’s just a way to offload the lovely ones that nobody wanted to buy in the first place. CCG/gatcha mechanics applied to thrift store merchandise.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:54
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Because they're a dying part of your childhood or your younger years op. Temples of consumerism sure, but far more importantly for anyone probably over 30 they were super valuable third places in a country that's been hemorrhaging them for 40 years now. Now there's no place to go and certainly not for free in the majority of the country
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Apr 18, 2023 20:54
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Its because you don't have an orange julius in your hand OP
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Apr 18, 2023 20:55
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:Its because you don't have an orange julius in your hand OP Get yourself a magic bullet
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Apr 18, 2023 20:56
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because it's making you nostalgic and reflect on your life and well...
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Apr 18, 2023 20:57
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Milo and POTUS posted:Because they're a dying part of your childhood or your younger years op. Temples of consumerism sure, but far more importantly for anyone probably over 30 they were super valuable third places in a country that's been hemorrhaging them for 40 years now. Now there's no place to go and certainly not for free in the majority of the country Yeah, it makes me remember food courts thronged with people on the weekends. The food smells, kids shouting everywhere, arcade noise, a busy theater. Now the same space has a handful of despondent people, mostly employees from other stores on their lunch breaks. Elderly mall walkers. bath and body works
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Apr 18, 2023 20:59
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Remember when you could go hang out at the mall as a teen lol. Now they got cops cruising around IDing you. I'm so loving lucky lol, they started doing that literally the year I left HS. It must blow poo poo to be a teenager now. You can't loiter anywhere and even if you go someplace that's a designated chill spot you're still going to get freak rear end adults being suspicious over you breathing air.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:59
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The German roaches in the restroom preclude me from being able to eat in the Sbarro.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:00
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Last couple malls I was in were crazy crowded. I think covid ending has breathed new life into them
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Apr 18, 2023 21:02
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Do malls still have old folks that congregate early in the morning when the mall first opens but the stores are still closed so they can get exercise by slowly shuffling around and around in bright colored sweatsuits? I witnessed that once in the early 90s and found it incredibly funny. I figure boomers are that age now.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:04
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Quietly enjoying a steaming tray of Sarku Japan in an abandoned space station at the end of the world
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Apr 18, 2023 21:08
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Konar posted:Last couple malls I was in were crazy crowded. I think covid ending has breathed new life into them I went to a newish mall right after covid restrictions were lifted (but people still had to wear masks and show proof of vaccination) and it was packed like black Friday in the 90s used to be. People were so excited about the idea of being around other humans again. This was like a year and a half ago and the only time since I have been to a mall since is to get birthday presents at the Lego store cause they give you freebies when you make a big purchase.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:08
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https://brandonbird.com/searses.html
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Apr 18, 2023 21:10
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I wouldn't be surprised if the rent is still exorbitant either though I couldn't say for certain. If too many stores are going belly up, maybe your rent is too drat high. Nobody wants to shop at a mall with empty stores
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Apr 18, 2023 21:10
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The Scottsdale mall is a good place to find yourself if you're too high to function or on psychedelics or something, because if you go up to the 3rd floor there's an entire corner of the mall that has no stores, and the only thing up there is a bunch of couches and seats that no one knows about so no one is ever there, and the entire roof above them is skylights. It's far enough away from the rest of the mall that it's quiet and you can hear the subtle smooth jazz playing over the mall's PA that gets drowned out anywhere else. So you just get to recline on these big posh couches and stare at the sky in a pristine clean environment that looks like an uncanny liminal slice of paradise it's pretty neat. But that mall is really really awful other than that and other than the art gallery that does cool traveling art installation exhibits (which is coincidentally just below the sky-couch zone)
deep dish peat moss fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 21:13
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they're economically infeasible in the amazon and streaming era which means that half the spaces look more gutted and dead than a map from condemned: criminal origins the only way to keep them alive would be to subsidize them and rent the spaces out for weird stuff that makes little to no money like theater troupes. summit place mall did a few years before it bit the dust.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:15
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deep dish peat moss posted:The Scottsdale mall is a good place to find yourself if you're too high to function or on psychedelics or something, because if you go up to the 3rd floor there's an entire corner of the mall that has no stores, and the only thing up there is a bunch of couches and seats that no one knows about so no one is ever there, and the entire roof above them is skylights. It's far enough away from the rest of the mall that it's quiet and you can hear the subtle smooth jazz playing over the mall's PA that gets drowned out anywhere else. So you just get to recline on these big posh couches and stare at the sky in a pristine clean white environment that looks like an uncanny liminal slice of paradise it's pretty neat. But that mall is really really awful other than that and other than the art gallery that does cool traveling art installation exhibits (which is coincidentally just below the sky-couch zone) that legit sounds heavenly
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Apr 18, 2023 21:17
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olives black posted:they're economically infeasible in the amazon and streaming era which means that half the spaces look more gutted and dead than a map from condemned: criminal origins I went to one where the local public library had moved into an empty Hallmark store
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Apr 18, 2023 21:24
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Haverchuck posted:I went to one where the local public library had moved into an empty Hallmark store I would honestly love it if we could do this kind of thing with the remaining malls instead of just bulldozing them for billionaires to poo poo up the space with boring chain stores. Malls are great! They're indoors, air-conditioned and aesthetically pleasant. I'll miss them when they're all gone. Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:Oh, and all the lighting is eye searing now because we don't use flourescents anymore. Probs easily solved with filters olives black fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 21:28
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The closest mall to me is Fiesta Mall in Mesa Az which was abandoned about 5 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfjYd9U_0ig It's right next to Mesa Community College which used to be huge - it was the largest community college west of the Mississippi until republicans did away with its state funding  But it's still a very popular school for ASU students, who take most of their undergrad and prereq classes there. This is relevant becauseASU allegedly had one of the most in-demand nursing programs in the US - there used to be a literal 4-7 year waiting list to join the Nursing program at ASU, which meant the nursing program at MCC was pretty big too, because they were handling all the overflow of nursing students who wanted to spend those 4-7 years taking some classes at least. For a while after Fiesta Mall was closed, word on the street was that MCC had bought it and was going to convert it into a second campus for nursing students. And that seemed like a really cool idea to me - take these old abandoned malls and make them into schools. But I guess the Pandemic changed all of that so that plan went away. Anyway the new plan is kind of cool too, maybe, or at least it has potential to be. It was bought by some developers who are essentially trying to turn it into a sort of arcology - it's going to be converted to a bunch of apartments, green space, and flexible office/studio space. Not quite a self-sustaining arcology but I think it's a cool and forward-thinking idea to have housing next to communal office space and stuff. Of course it's probably going to be some posh expensive bullshit because that area of Mesa has been gentrifying itself hard for the last ~5 years. deep dish peat moss fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 21:34
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Many fond nostalgic memories of the mall, hanging out in high school, working at the mall Sears senior year, wandering in a stoned daze after high school, shopping for christmas presents before the age of Amazon.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:36
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Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:Because modern malls suck Mega rear end. No arcades, no good game stores anymore, they're way more expensive, all the niche stores have been replaced by generic crap, and you're lucky if they still have the reams of plants they used to. Don’t forget when all the cool malls filled in and tiled over all the beautiful peaceful fountains full of coins and people’s wishes. Now they’re all just a bunch of dumb sitting centers with chairs or whatever.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:37
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deep dish peat moss posted:The Scottsdale mall is a good place to find yourself if you're too high to function or on psychedelics or something, because if you go up to the 3rd floor there's an entire corner of the mall that has no stores, and the only thing up there is a bunch of couches and seats that no one knows about so no one is ever there, and the entire roof above them is skylights. It's far enough away from the rest of the mall that it's quiet and you can hear the subtle smooth jazz playing over the mall's PA that gets drowned out anywhere else. So you just get to recline on these big posh couches and stare at the sky in a pristine clean environment that looks like an uncanny liminal slice of paradise it's pretty neat. But that mall is really really awful other than that and other than the art gallery that does cool traveling art installation exhibits (which is coincidentally just below the sky-couch zone) olives black posted:that legit sounds heavenly I would make a drive to go chill in an .. Atrium? But I can't get high. Just drunk. I'm not going to uber to an atrium to just chill. Skipping school and going to the mall was always great. The nearest one was like 45 minutes away. And then yeah, running from Security, or lying and saying you're from out of town. And then running because of course they didn't believe you. My buddy could play guitar and we'd just go chill in there for a couple hours. And the Arcade was great. A gf and I had a running total of games won in Air Hockey, and we definitely hit 1k games. (I won most of the time, but also knocked that loving disc off the table more) Or the sound of playing Silent Scope, inserting quarters, SIlen..Silent..Silent...Silent Scope. loving dollar to play, jesus blight rhino fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 21:38
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The US needs more public markets with local vendors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82byORQyTVw Pike Place Market in Seattle pulls in huge crowds and is packed full of stores and vendors you would never see in a mall. My favorite place there is the Old Seattle Paperworks which sells old paper prints of stuff like movies, music shows, magazines, newspapers, etc.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:39
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There's a mall near where I live (Dulles Town Center) that I joke is the Last Mall. It opened in '99, right around when people started realizing malls kind of suck and online shopping was taking off. It's perfectly fine, as far as malls go, but yeah there's something about it that's weirdly depressing.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:46
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I miss DDR machines being around, I loving loved DDR on an actual machine
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Apr 18, 2023 21:46
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same but pretty much everywhere.
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Apr 18, 2023 21:47
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