The Life and Death of the American Mall

[Stevicus]

The Life and Death of the American Mall

The indoor suburban shopping center is a special kind of abandoned place.

www.atlasobscura.com

This article gives a good summary of the rise and fall of American shopping malls and what happened to them. At their peak, they were more than just shopping centers, but also social and cultural centers. Malls figure prominently in movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dawn of the Dead. As kids and teens back in the 70s and 80s, hanging out at the mall was the thing to do.

The first contemporary, enclosed suburban shopping mall in America*—Southdale Shopping Center in Edina, Minnesota—was built in 1956, and the idea was incredibly successful. The exodus from urban centers to suburbs created an enormous opportunity to fill a vacuum for goods and services in smaller communities. A mall patron could get their hair styled, buy groceries, visit the bank, and enjoy an art installation all in one building. As the concept gained steam, the mall seemed a well of endless novelty—a preeminent showcase of modern architecture and innovative products. For the archetypal suburban housewife, otherwise isolated, it was a place for socialization and escape. As malls flourished, in many communities they decimated urban shopping districts, which by then had come to be viewed by some as outdated and unsafe.

As the article notes, malls seemed to fit in perfectly with the rapid growth of the suburban landscape, as people moved further away from city centers where people used to go shopping. In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, urban shopping districts were seen as less safe than the suburban shopping malls (although the article notes that, as time wore on, shopping malls also started becoming perceived as unsafe). Another factor is that the initial novelty was so popular that malls were cropping up everywhere and competing with each other.

By their heyday in the late 1970s and 1980s, malls had established themselves as dominant retail hubs, and for developers, they seemed like a never-ending source of income. In communities that already had “their” malls, new ones were built to compete with them: bigger, more upscale, or just different. Even though the popularity of malls would continue well through the 1990s, this competition was the first factor that led to the cascade of closures that followed. There were too many, cannibalizing each other’s customers. Novelty meant that when one mall became dated or, sometimes, viewed as dangerous—often through white shoppers’ perception of nonwhite shoppers and the stores that served them—there was another one to go to instead. A single police incident could turn away scores of patrons for years.

The rise of Walmart also was a contributory factor in the decline of shopping malls. Plus by the 1990s and 2000s, the novelty and allure of shopping malls had worn off. Many were poorly maintained, falling apart, and the loss of retailers, particularly the large department stores which would serve as anchor stores for malls, would create eerie, "dead spaces" within malls.

The overabundance of suburban malls heralded a subtle but important perceptual shift—by the 2000s, dated and poorly maintained malls were commonplace, and the view of them as sparkling palaces of wonder and delight was fading. It had become trendy to hate them. Department stores were losing the battle for cost-conscious consumers to big box retailers like Walmart, which spread like wildfire through the 1990s. Poor management, obsolete marketing strategies, and unsustainable expansion left retailers like JCPenney and Macy’s at a tremendous strategic disadvantage against bargain stores like TJ Maxx and fashionable (and often freestanding) chains like Target. Leveraged buyouts, a vampiric process where outside investors purchase controlling shares in companies, saddle them with unmanageable debt, and then liquidate them, wiped out mall staples: Sears, Payless ShoeSource, and Toys “R” Us (though all of those recognizable brands have lingered in some diminished fashion).

In the 1980s, there were roughly 2,500 malls in the United States. Today, there are approximately 700—a number most analysts expect to continue to decline.

The article also mentioned online retailing as another factor contributing to the death of shopping malls. Certainly, that has to be a factor, but the writer also writes about some of his own memories of going to malls as a kid which might echo many others' experience.

I remember frequenting different malls in areas where I lived during the 70s and 80s. I had friends who worked in some of the stores. I used to always stop in the record store and the book stores (Waldenbooks and B. Dalton), as well as visit the video arcade or maybe check out what's playing at the mall movie theater. A few of the larger malls even had ice skating rinks. Of course, there were always plenty of shops which appealed to young women and girls, so some of us young teenage boys would just go out to the mall for that reason.

I remember one of my favorite malls here locally ended up dying. It was a sad and slow death, too. It used to be a fun and rather vibrant place, with good anchor stores like J.C. Penney's, Goldwater's, and Montgomery Ward. It was also a place to go for midnight movies on Saturday night. But it suffered a slow gradual death. The first clue was when an anchor store on a side wing of the store shut down, which had a domino effect on other stores in that wing - so there was a whole dead area of the mall which was unoccupied. Montgomery Ward went out of business, too, and there was nothing really to replace it. In the years before its demise, I was shocked at just how empty it was. Most of the store spaces were vacant. J.C. Penney was still alive, but they didn't look too good. After a time, they tore the whole place down, and now, they have various standalone big box stores, with Home Depot and Target on one end, a Burlington in the middle. J.C. Penney's was also still there in the middle back of the complex, although I think they've since shut down - not sure about that. And of course, on the other side is a Walmart supercenter. The Firestone tire center also survived as their building was separate from the rest of the mall. They also redid the movie theater into a big 20-screen complex.

What do you think about shopping malls? Do you have any fond memories of going to the mall?

Another thing we seem to lose is that social climate and the face-to-face, personal interaction. They were like giant, indoor, climate-controlled public squares. On the other hand, there have always been those who hated shopping malls and saw them as the epitome of a bankrupt culture and vacuous consumerism run amok. Guess you can't please everyone. I kind of see where such views might come from, and I somewhat agree with the sentiment. But now that shopping malls are dying, it's interesting to look back and see where America was back then.

 

[SalixIncendium]

What do you think about shopping malls? Do you have any fond memories of going to the mall?

While I used to love to hang out there in high school and shop for parachute pants and other 80s fashions, anymore they are just a drain on natural resources.

There are still some thriving malls in my area...Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, Eastwood Mall in Niles, OH, and Southern Park Mall in Boardman, OH, but the smaller one near my daughter's house only exists because of JCPenney with less than a handful of retailers and two of the three anchors gone. JCPenney just lost their case with the new owners to honor the lease they had with the previous ones, so it will be likely closing in the coming months permanently.

Anymore, I only use malls during inclement weather to get my steps in.

 

[Revoltingest]

Real estate can be a very risky thing.
Malls show how changing economics
can ruin things that once seemed immortal.
I'd never do commercial real estate again.

 

[Stevicus]

While I used to love to hang out there in high school and shop for parachute pants and other 80s fashions, anymore they are just a drain on natural resources.

There are still some thriving malls in my area...Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, Eastwood Mall in Niles, OH, and Southern Park Mall in Boardman, OH, but the smaller one near my daughter's house only exists because of JCPenney with less than a handful of retailers and two of the three anchors gone. JCPenney just lost their case with the new owners to honor the lease they had with the previous ones, so it will be likely closing in the coming months permanently.

Anymore, I only use malls during inclement weather to get my steps in.

I've never been there in person, but I've heard of the mall near Pittsburgh where they filmed Dawn of the Dead. I think it was called the Monroeville Mall, and a few years back, I saw a video of a "zombie walk" they held, with a bunch of people dressed up like zombies and walking through the mall.

I recall reading recently that J.C. Penney was going through another wave of store closures, as is the case with a lot of retailers. Looks like Amazon and Walmart will rule the world.

 

[Koldo]

The Life and Death of the American Mall

The indoor suburban shopping center is a special kind of abandoned place.

www.atlasobscura.com

This article gives a good summary of the rise and fall of American shopping malls and what happened to them. At their peak, they were more than just shopping centers, but also social and cultural centers. Malls figure prominently in movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dawn of the Dead. As kids and teens back in the 70s and 80s, hanging out at the mall was the thing to do.



As the article notes, malls seemed to fit in perfectly with the rapid growth of the suburban landscape, as people moved further away from city centers where people used to go shopping. In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, urban shopping districts were seen as less safe than the suburban shopping malls (although the article notes that, as time wore on, shopping malls also started becoming perceived as unsafe). Another factor is that the initial novelty was so popular that malls were cropping up everywhere and competing with each other.



The rise of Walmart also was a contributory factor in the decline of shopping malls. Plus by the 1990s and 2000s, the novelty and allure of shopping malls had worn off. Many were poorly maintained, falling apart, and the loss of retailers, particularly the large department stores which would serve as anchor stores for malls, would create eerie, "dead spaces" within malls.

The article also mentioned online retailing as another factor contributing to the death of shopping malls. Certainly, that has to be a factor, but the writer also writes about some of his own memories of going to malls as a kid which might echo many others' experience.

I remember frequenting different malls in areas where I lived during the 70s and 80s. I had friends who worked in some of the stores. I used to always stop in the record store and the book stores (Waldenbooks and B. Dalton), as well as visit the video arcade or maybe check out what's playing at the mall movie theater. A few of the larger malls even had ice skating rinks. Of course, there were always plenty of shops which appealed to young women and girls, so some of us young teenage boys would just go out to the mall for that reason.

I remember one of my favorite malls here locally ended up dying. It was a sad and slow death, too. It used to be a fun and rather vibrant place, with good anchor stores like J.C. Penney's, Goldwater's, and Montgomery Ward. It was also a place to go for midnight movies on Saturday night. But it suffered a slow gradual death. The first clue was when an anchor store on a side wing of the store shut down, which had a domino effect on other stores in that wing - so there was a whole dead area of the mall which was unoccupied. Montgomery Ward went out of business, too, and there was nothing really to replace it. In the years before its demise, I was shocked at just how empty it was. Most of the store spaces were vacant. J.C. Penney was still alive, but they didn't look too good. After a time, they tore the whole place down, and now, they have various standalone big box stores, with Home Depot and Target on one end, a Burlington in the middle. J.C. Penney's was also still there in the middle back of the complex, although I think they've since shut down - not sure about that. And of course, on the other side is a Walmart supercenter. The Firestone tire center also survived as their building was separate from the rest of the mall. They also redid the movie theater into a big 20-screen complex.

What do you think about shopping malls? Do you have any fond memories of going to the mall?

Another thing we seem to lose is that social climate and the face-to-face, personal interaction. They were like giant, indoor, climate-controlled public squares. On the other hand, there have always been those who hated shopping malls and saw them as the epitome of a bankrupt culture and vacuous consumerism run amok. Guess you can't please everyone. I kind of see where such views might come from, and I somewhat agree with the sentiment. But now that shopping malls are dying, it's interesting to look back and see where America was back then.

It is intriguing to read this. It is as if you were describing the situation here in Brazil until you mentioned the decline. The decline hasn't happened here.

Where did those big departament stores go, by the way?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I have zero interest in malls as such primarily because I have zero interest in shopping as such. If I find myself in one, it is because it hosts a particular theater, store, or perhaps restaurant.

 

[Stevicus]

It is intriguing to read this. It is as if you were describing the situation here in Brazil until you mentioned the decline. The decline hasn't happened here.

Where did those big departament stores go, by the way?

The big box retailers took a lot of their business away. Stores like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy sprouted up and undercut some of the more established retailers like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and a few others I've probably forgotten. Many of the more localized, family-owned stores also fell by the wayside. Sears used to be the big premiere department store. Getting the Sears catalog was a big deal at some people's houses. But even they have had some hard times, although not completely dead yet.

 

[LuisDantas]

It is intriguing to read this. It is as if you were describing the situation here in Brazil until you mentioned the decline. The decline hasn't happened here.

Where did those big departament stores go, by the way?

Maybe the decline hasn't happened in your vicinity, but it is clear that the era of thriving shopping malls has come and gone here in Brazil as well.

Just here in Curitiba I can mention Pollo Shop, Crystal Plaza and Ventura out of the top of my head. Crystal Plaza and Curitiba Shopping have both lost their movie theaters in the last few years and there is no indication that they might return. Even the food courts aren't what they used to be.

 

[JustGeorge]

|I loved the mall in my teen years (late 90s, early 00s). Where else could I have visited with all my friends at once? None of us lived in the same area, and our parents would dump us all off there...

I don't understand the popularity of strip malls. You have all the stores, but have to walk outside in the yuck.

 

[Koldo]

The big box retailers took a lot of their business away.

But where to?

Stores like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy sprouted up and undercut some of the more established retailers like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and a few others I've probably forgotten.

We simply don't have an equivalent here.

 

[JustGeorge]

But where to?

A lot of them simply closed.

 

[Koldo]

Maybe the decline hasn't happened in your vicinity, but it is clear that the era of thriving shopping malls has come and gone here in Brazil as well.

Just here in Curitiba I can mention Pollo Shop, Crystal Plaza and Ventura out of the top of my head. Crystal Plaza and Curitiba Shopping have both lost their movie theaters in the last few years and there is no indication that they might return. Even the food courts aren't what they used to be.

But what if anything replaced them?

Also, do you have multiple good quality movie theaters to go outside of shopping malls? There is hardly any here in Rio de Janeiro.

 

[bobhikes]

The Life and Death of the American Mall

The indoor suburban shopping center is a special kind of abandoned place.

www.atlasobscura.com

What do you think about shopping malls? Do you have any fond memories of going to the mall?

Another thing we seem to lose is that social climate and the face-to-face, personal interaction. They were like giant, indoor, climate-controlled public squares. On the other hand, there have always been those who hated shopping malls and saw them as the epitome of a bankrupt culture and vacuous consumerism run amok. Guess you can't please everyone. I kind of see where such views might come from, and I somewhat agree with the sentiment. But now that shopping malls are dying, it's interesting to look back and see where America was back then.

I still enjoy going to malls. We have a few in our area that didn't collapse, and our state is taking an interest in helping to keep them open. There is one thing the article misses though, and it is probably the main culprit. In the high point of the malls the renting fees were raised exorbitantly. With the high traffic it wasn't a problem but now with the lesser traffic from all that is mentioned in the article, the rental fees are still high forcing the stores making less profit to leave. Companies would rather sell the mall than reduce their profit. Being that I go to malls, they are still a hangout for some of the younger generation and food courts still attract people to them. More than likely the owners are going to be forced to reduce the rent eventually as the will make less and less off of selling them. I foresee malls making a comeback in the future.

 

[LuisDantas]

But what if anything replaced them?

Also, do you have multiple good quality movie theaters to go outside of shopping malls? There is hardly any here in Rio de Janeiro.

Nothing replaced them. And no, the theathers are not there. Cine Passeio has open2d, but that is just not the same.

 

[JustGeorge]

I still enjoy going to malls. We have a few in our area that didn't collapse, and our state is taking an interest in helping to keep them open. There is one thing the article misses though, and it is probably the main culprit. In the high point of the malls the renting fees were raised exorbitantly. With the high traffic it wasn't a problem but now with the lesser traffic from all that is mentioned in the article, the rental fees are still high forcing the stores making less profit to leave. Companies would rather sell the mall than reduce their profit. Being that I go to malls, they are still a hangout for some of the younger generation and food courts still attract people to them. More than likely the owners are going to be forced to reduce the rent eventually as the will make less and less off of selling them. I foresee malls making a comeback in the future.

The raised rent was a big factor that killed off ours. First, it happened to the mall in the neighboring city; they got bought out, and the new company doubled the rent. Many of the shops folded then and there. A couple hung on, but ended up going over time. Right now, I think there's 5 stores left(and 3 of those are restaurants).

Same thing happened with the mall in our city next... Same company, even.

Is there a benefit to companies getting the malls to shut down?

 

[Koldo]

Nothing replaced them. And no, the theathers are not there. Cine Passeio has open2d, but that is just not the same.

Ok then, but that is not the decline of shopping malls per se. Rather, it is an economic decline.

 

[JustGeorge]

Ok then, but that is not the decline of shopping malls per se. Rather, it is an economic decline.

Around here, new stores took their places, but not in the old malls. They're just about dead, but little strip/blocks with mostly new stores are popping up everywhere.

The old malls remain near vacant, and the once big names are struggling or bankrupt.

 

[Koldo]

A lot of them simply closed.

Oh, I see.

 

[Koldo]

Around here, new stores took their places, but not in the old malls. They're just about dead, but little strip/blocks with mostly new stores are popping up everywhere.

The old malls remain near vacant, and the once big names are struggling or bankrupt.

New stores like Walmart and Target?
We actually used to have Walmart here, but it never really picked up all that much traction from what I gather. I remember going to a couple of them when I was a child and then again as teenager, but never found much of a reason to keep going there. They used to sell food just like a regular supermarket, but also clothes and eletronics. I think it is the same in the US, right? However, both the supermarket prices and eletronics weren't really any cheaper than elsewhere, and the clothes were either crap quality or felt too expensive. Actually, as a rule of thumb, it doesn't make sense to buy eletronics in regular stores anymore nowadays, at least here in Brazil, since the exact same store will pretty much always sell the exact same product for MUCH cheaper if bought online. Walmart no longer operates in Brazil, as far as I know.

 

[JustGeorge]

New stores like Walmart and Target?

No, I don't really consider those new. They've been around decades.

By new, I mean places like "Tropical Smoothie X-Press" or "AG Asian Market". Some are chains, but they're small. Some are just local businesses.

We actually used to have Walmart here, but it never really picked up all that much traction from what I gather. I remember going to a couple of them when I was a child and then again as teenager, but never found much of a reason to keep going there.

Wal-Marts are places adults in the US go to misbehave.

On a more serious note, they're just usually the cheapest option for people to buy various needs in one pop. Targets here tend to be more expensive, but they try to attract a 'ritzier' clientele. Our local one just got rid of all generic brand stuff and upped their 'specialty' names. I buy almost nothing there, because you can get it for less than half the price elsewhere.

Honestly, I avoid both places. I can go years without setting foot in either.

Family Dollars and Dollar Generals aren't really new, but they're newer. They offer a lot of basic needs at cheaper prices, and they're usually more convenient to get to; often nestled in neighborhoods, while Wal-marts and Targets tend to be out in 'shopping centers'.

They used to sell food just like a regular supermarket, but also clothes and eletronics. I think it is the same in the US, right? However, both the supermarket prices and eletronics weren't really any cheaper than elsewhere, and the clothes were either crap quality or felt too expensive. Actually, as a rule of thumb, it doesn't make sense to buy eletronics in regular stores anymore nowadays, at least here in Brazil, since the exact same store will pretty much always sell the exact same product for MUCH cheaper if bought online. Walmart no longer operates in Brazil, as far as I know.

A lot of people buy most of their stuff online here, too(I'm one of them).