Guys, youtube demonetized my last video. I make money by posting exclusives on Patreon. There is literal tons of stuff that non-patrons have never seen. It’ll take you months to get through all of it. Go over and join up. It’s $5 a month and ask any patron...totally worth it. www.Patreon.com/thisisdanbell Hope to see you there! -D

@tinastanbaugh

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely worth it!

@theretroblondie

2 жыл бұрын

Patron here, can verify. Worth every dime!

@foundvhs

2 жыл бұрын

It's well worth it!

@deftonescp

2 жыл бұрын

I can only assume it's because peoples faces aren't blurred in the video. Unsure if it's because the property is deemed private, or its some obscure sound picked up by someone or something.

@LangstonDev

2 жыл бұрын

@@deftonescp Audio would be my guess, but it's KZread, so who TF knows.

I'm convinced that Dan bell going to the backrooms would make for one hell of a Halloween episode.

@greatvalue2448

2 жыл бұрын

I assumed it had something to do with hurting the resale price of the mall. It could weaken their bargaining position by making them look more desperate to dump the mall. I have no idea tho.

@TeardropSidemarker

2 жыл бұрын

Probably nothing he hasn’t seen before lol

@kokomarie5084

2 жыл бұрын

The first thing that came to my mind were the backrooms lmao

@garythescouttrooper4908

2 жыл бұрын

Dan Bell would be the only one guy who would have a keyring set to the Backrooms. Making him the Architect of the Backrooms.

@RiderLeangle2

2 жыл бұрын

I had just watched a video about The Backrooms a couple days ago, then I saw this thumbnail to this video and thought it was related to The Backrooms lol

It's comforting because it's at peace. The atmosphere is at peace. Much like when a person or animal passes away. It's not weird to want to be in a store like that that's quiet now. Remembering when it was in its heyday, all the customers, screaming kids, bustling shoppers for the holidays, etc. The mall/store lived its best life. Now it's at peace.

@illuminatidestroyerbear2231

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed, I feel that.

@shockwavelover5545

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, exactly this. It is a space that has reached its end. There are no more expectations. Nothing further is coming except, eventually, oblivion. There are only memories. The collected threads of a million lives that briefly had this space in common. It is beautiful, in its own way, to reflect on and in some way honour a tiny corner of the world whose time is over.

@jbizzle8491

2 жыл бұрын

@@shockwavelover5545 eloquently put 🍻 no one and nothing gets out alive. Different phases of existence exist to show us nothing is forever. It's bittersweet to witness something at its end. Memories and scars are all that's left. Perfection has given way to usefulness and a new dynasty begins anew. We are lucky to witness moments like these, respecting them as such. Nothing is forever.

@style5tie

2 жыл бұрын

Damn guys, that's some deep stuff. For some reason, these videos always left me feeling a tad bit depressed yet oddly comfortable and nostalgic. I like your takes on this.

@shockwavelover5545

2 жыл бұрын

That's one of the reasons I love Dan's channel. I live on the other side of the world, and I'll never see any of these places in real life. But I like to witness them, to hear of and think about their stories, and in some tiny way help send them on with some scrap of dignity and reverence.

I watched back in the '60s & '70s as malls killed off small town shops & mom & pop stores, turning them into ghost towns. 😢 Now...it's the malls that are dying.

@jbloun911

2 жыл бұрын

WalsMart & AmaZon

@zozopanda2554

2 жыл бұрын

I think lots of malls have actually made a comeback from the late 2000s to mid 2010s. At least here in southern California, every mall I go to has had modern renovation and is pretty crowded on the weekend. Especially during the holidays. Maybe they're not doing the best they'd like, but it's certainly a lot better than it used to be.

@kindafast6499

2 жыл бұрын

Bad malls are dying/died. Like they always have been. Still a lot of malls that are still really busy.

@alphavader951

2 жыл бұрын

In my home town the mall we have is still going strong. But honestly I think by 2050 they'll be extinct.

@imabebebebe2496

2 жыл бұрын

@@alphavader951 2050 the world will be extinct

I work for a maintenance company contracted by remaining JCPENNEY stores that are still alive. I am also comforted exploring these, even ones that are still thriving. It's like taking a trip back to the 80s and 90s when I was a kid. All of them are shells of their former selves and offer an odd sense nostalgia of living in a simpler time.

@colourboots

2 жыл бұрын

Nostalgia translates to "painful homecoming", like remembering simpler, happier times you'll never get back :(

@jcherrera104

2 жыл бұрын

Is it me or do the JCPenney's now feel like a over sized tjmax or marshals

@dtvjho

2 жыл бұрын

JCPenny has gone through several CEOs since 2008 and it shows. They've lost their way. The few JCPenny stores in Tampa Bay I've been into are all doing reasonable business and are clean and fully stocked, but all have one of their main entrances to the parking lot still blocked. I don't get that.

@jessicah3450

2 жыл бұрын

We only have a rare free standing JCPenney left. They put so much effort into designing these freestanding stores, along with Macy's, but it failed for them. I worked at a Macy's, and more people came in for the Starbucks.

@yankees29

2 жыл бұрын

The JC Penny’s here on Long Island at Roosevelt Field mall is still thriving. We lost the Massapequa location recently though. That was where my mom used to take me and my brother when we were kids. The elevator was fun there.

I spent the better part of my teens in this mall. I have watched so many abandoned mall videos over the years but somehow seeing this one is like seeing the remains of a loved one. Virtually all of my clothes from elementary through high school came from this mall. I purchased every book in the Harry Potter series and Animorphs at the bookstore here. I saw every movie from the Lion King through Star Wars Ep. 3 at the theater. Hundreds if not thousands of dollars spent at the arcade with other mall rat friends. Living off food court samples and smoking outside the back door all day sometimes. Particularly in small towns that simply do not have any where else for a teenager to just sort of hang out and people live too far apart to just go to a friends house all the time, malls represent such a huge social hub. Seeing them all just sort of die off across the country is really stark evidence that ,for better or worse, the world I grew up in will never fully exist again. I hate what malls did to small towns and local businesses but I can't help loving the way they make me feel such a deep comfort and nostalgia. Thanks for doing this so I can see it one more time before it is gone forever. I love that you also recognize the beauty in these spaces.

The fact you see the beauty… as mentioned… in abandoned mall spaces proves why I’m here. No other abandoned mall channel shows what someone who truly sees the beauty would show. Thanks for that.

@James-yf5tc

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe you should calm down a bit. I might would recommend a therapist for you're unusual mall fetish. Just a suggestion though.

@westreadwell9675

2 жыл бұрын

@@James-yf5tc tell me your a troll without telling me your a troll. Blessings!

@James-yf5tc

2 жыл бұрын

Or maybe im just concerned for you.

@Noise_Meister_Records

2 жыл бұрын

It's a shame that most people don't see the beauty in it. You can really tell how passionate he is about exploring these spaces

@nessamillikan6247

2 жыл бұрын

@Wes Treadwell Nothing you said was strange or unsettling, and I completely agree with you-both that dead malls have this unique, sentimental appeal, and that there’s nothing you can do about internet trolls…

Often imitated, but never reproduced. No one does a Dead Mall video like Dan Bell. I think your voice is half of the magic. 👍🏻

@sweetlotusrain

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed

@bladerunner6

Жыл бұрын

i agree on that

@dardarfisher

Жыл бұрын

Well put.

@jeltoninc.8542

Жыл бұрын

I mean… _This is_ *DAN BELL*

I just realised how much Dan's delivery makes this series what it is. If this were presented in the typical high-energy youtube style, it'd never work. It's a perfect pairing.

I genuinely imagine historians a few decades from now reviewing this kind of footage writing term papers about the fall of the mall.

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅.

@chocolatechris7304

Жыл бұрын

That rhymes lol

Dan there are a lot of people who do urban exploring videos and dead stores and malls but YOURS are the ones that are the most comforting. You have a magical gift of letting the hotel or mall tell the story. You know when to speak and when to let the space your visiting do the talking. Thank you for all you do.

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅....

These videos are so comforting because it is an echo of time itself. The fear of time moving fast is terrifying, but the acceptance that it’s happening all around you constantly is empowering in a way. That’s how these videos make me feel atleast. Thank you for sharing this with us.

I knew it was only a matter of time until this mall showed up in a series like this. I grew up in Staunton and spent so much time at the Mall as a kid. Even in the mid 2000s, this mall was a completely different place. I remember going to the Belk, JCPenney, Peebles, KB Toys, the Bath & Body Works, and the good ole Video Zone Arcade. My mom and grandmother would take us to walk around the inside of the building. Everyone in Staunton knew the mall's closure was inevitable. From my knowledge, the mall went through multiple owners throughout it's lifetime, and eventually it ended up in the hands of someone/some company in England that used it to get tax breaks. Supposedly the owners didn't care about it and wouldn't provided the mall's management with anything to revitalize it. The Legacy theater was the best thing to happen to the mall in it's last year's. I hope they find a new location as I always enjoyed taking a trip there while visiting family during the holidays. Thankfully, the mall's slow decline allowed a lot of local shops to build up in other parts of town over the last decade, and most found locations outside the mall. It's sad to see a part of my childhood go, but it's for the best and rally should have happened five or ten years ago.

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅....

Has anyone confirmed that Bath And Body Works actually vacates the mall, when the mall permanently closes? Do the employees just keep showing up for work like nothing happened, forever stuck in the dead mall purgatory? Constantly running at 60% off sale, rotating the same stock between 'new' items and the clearance bin, just for it to be a new item again in the next quarter. Someone should probably check on them.

@ryanglaser5336

2 жыл бұрын

Yes that is why the smell is always so fresh as if they were just there

@FlyAwayHawk

2 жыл бұрын

A bath and body works was put in the next town over. Probably brought some staff to that location.

@ryanglaser5336

2 жыл бұрын

@@FlyAwayHawk And the same inventory moved over, too?

@DeflatingAtheism

2 жыл бұрын

I didn't see them in this video, but it's usually the straggling Lens Crafters or Foot Locker that flips off the lights on a mall.

@tjsogmc

2 жыл бұрын

That would make for a good horror movie plot

Everybody used to go to the malls. They were the center of the neighborhoods and cities pre-new age tech/social media. The malls were a place that represented being plugged into the social pipeline. If you missed going to the mall during the weekends as a teenager in school, you missed out and got depressed lol. They were a place of happiness and exploration. New beginnings and fun adventures. Anyone 30 years old or more understands what it represented. Every weekend, friday night mall trips then slumber parties/sleep overs after, at the friends house. The malls were thee place to be.

@Eclispestar

2 жыл бұрын

Ya its where highschool me would take my Girlfriend. She would try stuff on and id say she looked great in everything she wore..

@Goobian

2 жыл бұрын

I have 2 roommates that go to the mall all the time that are 18 and 19. It makes me so happy to hear them going to the mall to hang out.

@GodWeenSatan

2 жыл бұрын

@@Eclispestar me and my friends would sneak in back of the mall, a wooded area drink and spend the whole day in the arcade

@yoleeisbored

2 жыл бұрын

Lol I like to walk around mall but not buy much.. too expensive.. retail price for clothes is too high...

I managed a restaurant (Country Cookin) in this mall from May 1989 to March 1992. It was located just inside the main entrance (near Kay Jewelers, seen here). Even then, the mall the was struggling for tenants. Directly across from that Kay Jewelers was a big Woolworth's store, complete with a cafeteria. Montgomery Ward was an anchor on the opposite end of the J.C. Penny. Monkey Ward (as the locals called it) also had an auto center where I used to get my '87 Isuzu Pup serviced. Spent a lot of time in that arcade (it was very small) and saw many movies there (I specifically remember seeing "The Doors" and the first Michael Keaton "Batman"). Country Cookin moved out years ago into a free standing building (CC went out of business last year due to COVID after over 40 years of successful business). There was a McDonalds and an ABC store located in the parking lot of this mall, as well.

I always say those of us born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s and early 2000s got to have the last of the really fun good years where we were all just out and about, shopping at the brick and mortar places, no phones to our faces, people were personable. Friends would run into each other in person at the mall, hang out at the arcade and the food court, group shopping trips were a thing, we'd crowd the Sam Goody for the latest NSync or Spice Girls CD, the mannequins were in the JNCO jeans or Abercrombie crop hoodies in the store windows, Game Stop had the Playstation on display, etc. Borders would have the Harry Potter books, just published, in their big windows. Thank you for keeping the memories alive. It's crazy to think that my daughter's generation won't even know what a mall is, and will never have that 'mall' experience. Also your intro music, that 80s/90s mall music, is really fun. I love all this. My daughter is just flabbergasted when I show her these videos and tell her about the mall. She acts like I just beamed in from some distant fantasy planet.

@jonnykaykorn3060

2 жыл бұрын

Born in the early '90s, I'd say we were the last.

@sunlightangel87

2 жыл бұрын

@@jonnykaykorn3060 We grew up around the same time. I was born in 87

@jonnykaykorn3060

2 жыл бұрын

@@sunlightangel87 out of curiosity what year was your daughter born in?

@sunlightangel87

2 жыл бұрын

@@jonnykaykorn3060 2011

@jonnykaykorn3060

2 жыл бұрын

​@@sunlightangel87 It is weird because I can relate to people ten-twenty years older than me culturally, but ten to twenty years younger-its ehh??? I think the rapid tech advancement and political/cultural changes in our life has something to do with it.

When the damp gets into those horrible office ceiling tiles, it's almost as good as a full blown goodbye for most modern buildings. I've really been enjoying your live streams recently :D Makes me feel a little bit like I'm not stuck in my flat all day.

@randomperson-pt1gp

2 жыл бұрын

There’s one part of my school, broken roof tiles everywhere and mold spores sometimes. It’s still ‘safe’ and they still use it daily

@jessicah3450

2 жыл бұрын

They left them up for 11 years at Collin Creek Mall. There was a very unique moldy/mildewy smell in there. That place died a very slow, agonizing death over about 20 years. But once the Dillard's closed, the building itself really started having structural issues.

Gorgeous. This mall is legendary.

@BDBD16

2 жыл бұрын

Nice collaboration Sal!

@andysorensen1737

2 жыл бұрын

Love the interior shots of the stores Sal! Cool vantage points.

@ThisisDanBell

2 жыл бұрын

you’re a lifesaver, sal. thank you so much.

@sal

2 жыл бұрын

@@ThisisDanBell Any time! Love what you did with this piece, as always.

@Plantsandtoyhorses

2 жыл бұрын

I love how both you and Dan insert retro video footage of things like when Malls were thriving, as a harsh juxtaposition against the now dead, and full of liminal spaces malls :)

Great video man, this mall is so sad. Everytime I drive by, it looks worse and worse. The last time I was in was sometime in 2020, right before it closed. As of right now, the Belk is still open, but everything else is gone. My favorite game for years was "how many stores are left!?" The parking lot is also atrocious, it will wreck your car haha. Friends of mine who grew up here said the mall was incredible in the 80s and 90s

@thomasbaxter7564

2 жыл бұрын

It was! Friday or Saturday nights, being dropped off by a parent, walking around the mall with friends…good memories.

@anh7807

2 жыл бұрын

@@matthewlawton9241 young people now are more interested in Netflix, online shopping and video games. Better for the wallet but bad for the malls.

@tamiwu0346

2 жыл бұрын

@@anh7807 not really, as an 18 year old we'd love to have a space to hangout and shop. But there's none of that anymore. Ever since the financial crisis our lives have kind of sucked

@Nightriser271828

2 жыл бұрын

I remember it being awesome in the 90s and 00s. The decay began somewhere around the mid-00s, maybe the early 10s, so this has been a long time coming. So sad. I remember the movies, the arcade, the Lion's Den, the people-watching.

I adore malls. I'm super nostalgic for them. There are a lot of dead/dying/abandoned malls I'd love to see restored or converted into something else like apartments or botanical gardens. This is not one of them. Dear God. Please bring on the bulldozers, end this place's suffering.

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅....

One thing that has always struck me about, oh, life, progress, and the American century: every generation gets to live through the decay and death of its parents' touchstones. For Gen Xers, it was the decline of little roadside attractions. My NJ-born husband remembers going to Turtleback Zoo, Fairy Tale Castle, Bowcraft Amusement Park, Wild West City, and the ilk. All of those places sprouted up in the 1950s for Baby Boomer children, and by the time my husband came along in Generation X, all of them were rundown and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. He and I watched those places die while we hung out at hip, jam-packed malls. Millennials and Gen Z witnessed the death of malls while they hung out in coffee shops. I'm sure you'll soon be able to find plenty of dusty, shuttered Starbucks locations. And so it goes.

@jeltoninc.8542

Жыл бұрын

Starbucks, yes… coffee shops? Naw. They actually provide something people WANT. All the overpriced trash at the mall is just not anything people care about anymore, especially since they can get the same trash online. But coffee is amazing, just not from starbuck’s.

Still prayin and wishin for the days to come back around where malls were filled up with all different ages of people that could walk around and greet and meet other other and really enjoy themselves. It’s kinda sad and sucks that kid and future generations will rarely get to experience that life where the mall is the the main attraction in everyone’s town. When friends call you up and say that everyone’s meeting up at the mall to hangout, you could really just go there and run into every one you know and just have fun for hours.

@door5522

2 жыл бұрын

I grew up (and still live) in a very large town. The mall I grew up going to as a teenager (C. 2005) was a huge place to go. Every Friday night my friends and I plus lots of other kids from the 3 high schools would go and hang out at the mall. I graduated in 2007 and remember going there at the end of my senior year. I left for college shortly after and came back in 2015 after 8 years of school. One of the first things I did when I got back was pay a visit to the place I spent my Fridays as a teenager. When I tell you it’s CHANGED, I mean it. Most of the mall was closed off and about 70% of the stores were closed and blocked off and it brought a tear to my eye. With the COVID pandemic playing a huge part on the death of retail, the mall was seriously struggling. Luckily though, it is still going and is getting better every day.

@jeltoninc.8542

Жыл бұрын

Try fentanyl it’s way more fun than living life at a mall.

Dan Bell was the OG person who found The BACKROOMS

I too am a creature of solitude, I resonate with the recliner statement. It's almost comforting...the thought of sitting there alone with the sounds of water and decay, beautiful.

Excellent Backrooms vibe in the opening shot!

@terrormisu

2 жыл бұрын

That's what I initially thought, I was thinking the picture thumbnail was glitching and replacing a Backrooms thumb lol

Not sure why mall management always hate filming in malls when their going out of business anyway.

@dula.peep.

2 жыл бұрын

In my experience mall management and the corporate run stores don't really let up. I've worked at several dying mall stores and those people generally don't have a view of the bigger picture of what is happening around them & regurgitate what upper management in the midwest keep telling them on those conference calls. Simon Malls likely hates these videos broadcasting that malls are dying and thinks we're all too dumb to have noticed this on our own.

@jgood005

2 жыл бұрын

It's not exactly good advertising to have some guy make a video about your place pointing out all the abandoned stores and leaky roof. I mean, it's not going to change anything. But these companies are trying to do the impossible in selling space in these malls.

@ryanglaser5336

2 жыл бұрын

In Corporate America, they manicure & cut the grass making sure not a single weed is in sight, have a new blacktop in the parking lot and keep a fresh coat of paint on the walls up until the day the wrecking ball comes. 777 American Express Way Ft Lauderdale (Plantation), FL 33337 was a fine example where you couldn't doc AMEX for any deferred maintenance before they vacated and abandoned their former Brutalist headquarters of customer service.

@dtvjho

2 жыл бұрын

@@dula.peep. They're not helping their cause when they cut the maintenance budgets to the point ceiling tiles are missing and water is coming in. Even if you have to resort to hidden camera (like journalists used to do before the liar CEOs took over), do it.

Sometimes when my toddler takes a nap, I pop in my EarPods and listen to Dan Bell narrate walking through a dead mall. It’s like ASMR to me. So relaxing. Thank you for making these videos, Dan. You’re truly amazing.

So sad, but not surprising. I took a stroll, out of curiosity, through this mall when visiting Staunton about 10 years ago...even then it was looking a bit run-down and deserted. As a child of the 80s and 90s, who's seen more than one mall in my hometown bite the dust in recent years, I have mixed feelings about the decline of malls. Nostalgia, for days gone by; sadness, for what's been lost; but also hope that something better can replace these large, flashy, concrete symbols of consumerism.

Holy *** a new dead mall series. It's like Christmas in February. Hope you're feeling stellar Dan! Love your work, it's so soothing and reminds me of better days.

I loved malls, ice cream, mc donalds and the cinema all in one place. But that was like 15 years ago, havent been in one since.

9:27 "Why do I find places like this so comforting?" I didn't actually finish the book but might be interested in checking out "Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity" by French anthropologist Marc Augé. It covers similar ideas.

7:30 If you listen close you can hear the irate proprietor shouting " I like things this way, I don't want things to change!". "I sell 2 flags a year I'm good. I sell no flags a year I'm even better".

I miss the 80s!! Especially the late 80s! What a time it was!!

Why even put the catch buckets down when they’re never gonna be dumped out?

@ThisisDanBell

2 жыл бұрын

hahaha. never thought about that.

@firstnamelastname-oy7es

2 жыл бұрын

That's a lack of oversight caused by the chain of command failing to properly co ordinate the changing of the guard.

10:00 the one thing you can keep out in the open in america without worrying about anybody stealing them: books

Dude, your eye is enviable and your talent for capturing unexpected beauty is staggering.

I guess that...... These places are so dethatched from the busy 'normal' world... they are just empty, quiet, lost in time or stuck in transition... You don't have to worry about day to day things, about other people, responsibilities or social roles.... Places like these are so dethatched you can just... relax, alone, with no expectations... You asked why they seem relaxing and I think this is my epiphany on that question. As I get those feelings as well, just wanting to find a quiet, dark, abandoned place to go sit in and be away from everything, relax and just, take it all in... It almost seems zen-like in a way.

Just like this mall, dripping and moldy is the way most of us will go.

@jonniepotter1194

2 жыл бұрын

What a cheerful outlook

@Retropangolin

2 жыл бұрын

BRAINS !!!!!

My dad took a mall planter like the one at 0:24, and we painted it and turned it into a fountain in the backyard.

It really reminds me of Mall 205 in Portland, it’s really only a Target and the DMV now.

@primetimetomsgeekchat9707

2 жыл бұрын

Its so sad and Lloyd center is pretty dead too. 😞

Re: 9:44: I find this look back comforting, too, and very bittersweet at the same time. Because I'm no longer young, I can only look upon the past because there's not much future. I had a good childhood and visited malls often. Those were happy times. For me, it's nice to see these places and things now before they are wiped from collective memory. Thank you, Dan. This was a teary but happy trip down memory lane.

You’re the BEST at dead malls! Thank you so much for these! Even the Casio sound affects take me back!!

So those huge bins of books are what are used for those pop-up discount book shops that will occupy abandoned store fronts from time-to-time. They come in those huge bins and then the employees just shelve what they can out of them.

Dead and dying malls, beautiful decay. Thanks Dan and Sal for another gorgeous video.

One thing I have never thought of but I have learned, it takes a lot of maintenance to keeps those big giant flat roofs from leaking. Great work, Dan!

This makes me very thankful that our local mall is alive and well. During the summer of 2021, we were walking through one of the wings of our mall and all the storefronts were open, but it was nearly empty. It was quiet except for soft, smooth jazz playing over the speakers (something which we never get to hear because it's usually so loud in there). That has become a core memory for me.

Dan when you upload I think about that older couple running an alterations shop at a mall you or someone else covered, they talked on camera about the mall in its prime I hope they're doing well

@LethaWolfStudios

2 жыл бұрын

That was Dan 👍 unfortunately the mall from that video has been closed for a few years now. It may have even been demolished but I haven’t checked.

@TheNineteenKing

2 жыл бұрын

The Rehoboth mall in DE. It’s totally dead now.

I love the series, keep it up guys!!! Been watching for years ❤️

This is wonderful! The music is wonderful and your voice, especially moment inside the one store looking out, is beyond words. Thank you, Dan!

Editing and distorting the music is just the cherry on top of this place, well done Dan, well done.

your voice is so soothing!! i love these videos. great job to you and Sal !

I miss the 80's!

this is my hometown mall. it’s changed so much since i was little, but even then, half of the place was empty, and there were hardly ever any people there. seeing that play area brought back memories. karate and gymnastics classes continued to be held there, but people stopped going, and only went back for a cheap family experience, such as the arcade and movie theater, which was so cheap i’m surprised they didn’t go out of business sooner. i found your video from an article in the local newspaper, and wanted to offer a local’s perspective. to be honest, i won’t miss it

I worked at Peebles in 2011 and even back then it was mostly empty- the Chinese restaurant, Hot Wok (since relocated to over by Martin’s groceries) was the real reason the mall even stayed as busy as it was for the last decade.

@Stayenontopik

2 жыл бұрын

From around the area myself. Hot Wok brought back so many good memories with my mom. Especially when the Steve and Barry's was there.

Sad to see. Its nice that a few are left and thriving like my mall in Christiana Delaware. It's one of the only malls that have not only stood the test of time so far, but thrives and still expands. Something so melancholic about seeing empty, dilapidated malls.

@zacknowles9711

2 жыл бұрын

The one that has the theater and Cabela's nearby?

I really hope that Dan and Sal will make an episode exploring together! It would be great to see two dead mall legends unite !

I’ve been watching you for years and think this is honestly your best work. It’s outstanding.

Your voice , the mall, the vaporwave, the nostalgic intros are so comforting and relaxing .

I hope your team, Jake's team & Sal's team do a mega-collab on a project someday!

All of those clothes should have been donated. What a waste.

A Mall awakens to another hopeful day. When on the horizon a plump shadowy figure appears. Oh no sighs the Mall, it's Dan Bell. "Goodbye dear friends, my time here is done."

Another great video Dan! I’ve been a fan for about almost 3 years and every time I see a new upload I’m delighted. Keep up the good work and take care yourself man. :)

Thanks for this great video. The Staunton Mall was my mall growing up. It had been on a slow but steady decline from the mid-late 90s on. It changed owners every couple years and I'm surprised it didn't close sooner. But yeah, it was comforting to see one last hurrah for a place I spent lots of time growing up. Thanks to you and Sal for sharing those last shots! PS - the shot with the dying plant with the curvy wire bench around it? That plant and those benches have been there as long as I can remember. I've 100% sat on those at numerous points throughout my life going back to the 80s!

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅

girlfriend, this mall is gonna be laid down to rest

I was never a big mall rat, but finding this series and binge watching my way through these have given me a heavy dose of nostalgia. Unfortunately the 2 childhood malls I used to loiter some days away at are long gone (Vallco in Cupertino, and Sunnyvale Town Center in Sunnyvale), both replaced with multi-dwelling mixed use properties. Thank you Dan for reminding me of something I likely would have never realized I actually missed.

grew up in this mall, one of the best places to visit when I was younger, so many amazing memories of me and my siblings. Really sad to see it like this though, thank you so much for the video dan!

Thank you for the upload, Mr. Bell

Warm weather, easy work assignments, a pay raise, and a new Dead Mall video? This Friday is just getting better and better!

@ryanm7263

2 жыл бұрын

Rainy weather, laid off, gas prices soaring, and a dead mall video to remind me of the decline of western civilization? This Monday just keeps getting worse and worse.

I live right down the street they are actually in the process of tearing down the entire mall except for one department store and building town homes and a small section of stores

I'm also comforted by vacant human-designed spaces... I think it's like being in a desert or cave. It's just nice to experience quiet imo. Especially since it's really rare for those of us in cities or forests... When the world is mostly quiet it's easier to appreciate the little things that our senses are still able to pick up

Had no clue you came to my area that's so cool! Seeing footage of the mall when it was still somewhat decent brings back so many memories. Also breaks my heart to see how destroyed it is. Had no idea they let the inside get that bad. Thought they were turning it into a shopping center

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅.

I live in Staunton. thank you for the video... the mall was in its heyday until the early 2000s then the decline.. it is sad it was gone but it was way past time for it to go... had good times there, great memories... of how it adapted and changed over the years.. the closest large mall to me now is in Harrisonburg, i wonder how long it will last.. again thanks for filming this...

@user-ut7el3ky2k

2 жыл бұрын

Write me immediately on the above number for more enlightenment ✅

The atmosphere of your videos just sends shivers down my spine, In the best way possible. You are incredibly talented Dan!!

I find scenes like this comforting for two reasons. Firstly there is a history there, like an old house falling apart in a country field. Seeing the old walls slowly falling in from the passage of time one wonders at the people that lived or passed through here, what experiences they had, their dreams, hopes and ambitions played out in this place. It had a purpose but that purpose has moved on ... why ? It causes the mind to imagine openly. The second reason I find these things comforting is that it shows how only a building made without human hands can stand the test of time. Everything we see is passing away and that can comfort a soul that tends to worry about it so much. These buildings and our lives are a means, a tool ... not an end ... not a destination. I'd like to quote Elvis ... "and now the stage is bare ... and I have no hair ". It's great to see impermanence when you know who has permanence.

Dan has such a great eye for these liminal spaces. The perspective shots he captures are perfection.

I saw this upload and just had to watch it. Because I love your series. I think I'm subscribed. Anyway, thanks for the upload. STAY WARM. 🔥 Love and light from Gore, Oklahoma.❤💡💛

I was in this mall all of once in a similar situation staying at that Hampton Inn with my mother on our way to my grandfather's as a teenager. Still have the Foo Fighters T-Shirt I bought in that JCPenney. It wasn't particularly busy even 10 years ago, so I'm more surprised that it made it to the pandemic in the first place. If anyone ever finds themselves in the area, there's a fantastic place downtown Staunton called Mill St Grill that is an amazing place to eat.

This is my local mall! Its been dying in front of our eyes for about 15 years now. Sad, but so cool that Dan Bell did this.

@largol33t1

2 жыл бұрын

What was the first sign that the mall was in bad shape? Do you think the Internet sites were its demise? What makes me sad is the days from my childhood are gone forever: driving to the mall in my Jeep with a friend. We could watch movies in the local AMC (those don't even exist in my current city!), go to the arcade (I can't even find ONE! 😥), hang out at the Sharper Image (and have you even seen one of their physical stores?) and grab a bite at the food court, watching the people go by. I remember browsing through new CDs at a music store called Video Warehouse and looking in the new releases section of the local bookstore (wow, can't even find a Borders or Barnes & Noble either!). I only see a bleak, unhappy future. All the fun times from my teen years are gone and I'll never experience anything like them again. That's why I'm glad I don't have children. I don't want them to see how bleak and ugly the world is today.

@sourbones1380

2 жыл бұрын

@@largol33t1 this is also my local mall and, even though it’s been an eye sore for as long as i can remember, i still had some great times in there. i’m 17, so i never got that nostalgic 80s kind of feeling, obviously, but me and my friends would go to legacy and then mess around in the arcade afterwards. we were struck by the emptiness of it, but it made the experience a little bit more interesting if nothing else. kids kinda find fun anywhere i guess. it’s not always bleak. i can’t say what the first sign of it dying was, but the area it’s in has changed drastically. it’s more of a place that people just drive through to get to other places now. lots of car dealerships. it probably took a huge hit during the recession like a lot of other malls, and just never recovered. the place has always had visible water damage though.

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS!! my mom used to be the marketing director prior to the recession!!

It's just crazy, i remember as soon as internet started to roll. Its like everyone knew that malls were going to die and here we are now

Absolutely in love! Thank you Sal and Dan!!

Thank you for covering this. It hurts me so much to see the mall I grew up with end up like this, but it was destined to fall apart at some point.

Great to see you back!! Been enjoying the videos!

Great video as always

There's got to be SOMETHING they can do with the space of dead malls.

@James-yf5tc

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe you should pay for it then since you are so concerned?

Always look forward to these videos. Thank you so much for the amazing content.

As someone who grew up here, going to the mall on Friday and Saturday night as well as cruising the avenue was the place to be. The arcade and movies were so much fun. Sad to see this. Been hit with the nostalgic feels.

I would also love to just sit in the silence of a dead mall. Love your work as always 💚

love you and the video dan!

That’s what I needed. I love this strange feeling when I look at this kind of places. The feeling is just „I was there” maybe in the previous life. Thank you ^^

Wow - thanks for this video. I remember so well heading to the mall with my mom or grandma in the 80s. There was a real thrill at walking into the vast, chrome-trimmed retail meccas with live jungles and novelty features. Our society's biggest worry was a future where the mall was too central to our lives. I actually never thought about the opposite occurring. I never loved mall culture, but I am devastated at the decay that has taken over our towns, cities, and frontage roads. One day people will ask how we had so much and just lost it all.

eerie opener.

Thanks Dan. Awesome vid again.

Fascinating and well done, as usual! I've always loved the spooky vibe of liminal spaces like these dead malls.

So many things to love about this video.. Thinking about it's past and the people that used to come here as kids it must be sad to see your local hangout as a teen turn into this.. the TV at 3:33 stuck in a time machine there A throwback to a better era for malls, sad but god damn entertaining

I'm not sure why, but every one of these episodes you put out just depresses me. I feel like society was better when we had one mega shopping location where everyone could interact in their own way. Now we just sit in our homes ordering items to be brought to us.

@westreadwell9675

2 жыл бұрын

Go back in time and almost everyone will say “stay at home and shop? Take my money11!1”

@chellybabyme

2 жыл бұрын

@@westreadwell9675 We did order things from catalogs long ago, but the in person shopping gave more options, and surety of product description and quality, and it was SOCIAL. Real social, not fake social.

@lemagreengreen

2 жыл бұрын

I liked the mall (we called it a shopping centre) when I was young/teenage but every time I have to visit one now I hate it, especially when they're still busy. I think its just lifes priorities change, what was mostly a social event (visit music stores, cool clothes stores, sports stores etc) is no longer... if I'm at a mall I'm there to buy something specific best bought in person and that's never fun.

@chellybabyme

2 жыл бұрын

@@lemagreengreen I think it's like a lot of things to change when you get older. When you are young you are building yourself and everything seems interesting and you need to see a lot of things to form your personality. Once your personality is formed, you can cut straight to the chase and then navigation is not as enjoyable. Mall shopping is a fun developmental passage. Personally, I'm not that young, but I do like it to see what the human real-life offerings are.

@tutsebhatu6495

2 жыл бұрын

Yea

Glad you could Sal-vage this episode from your and talented Sal's footage. I'm also always puzzled about how comforting empty malls and neglected, grand artificial spaces in general feel. I think it's just satisfying and magic to see the incredibly slow victories of natural forces coming to be (water dripping in, plants escaping their pods) and also the absence of capitalist "fomo" induced by the bustle of business. Both things give a feeling of cosmic justice I think, righting the wrong of vain humans who take more space and resources than they need. But in the midst of the comfort and peace i feel through your outstanding work, there is also a bit of unease - that is triggered by also being a vain human that likes to think of its thoughts and constructions as possibly eternal feats, extra-natural. This mixture of peacefulness and uneasiness wakes me up each time from perception in to few dimensions, as did Romero's films. Don't ever stop Dan, this is art I like ❤

Pretty sad Mall, So cool to hear ya know Sal,

Love this I grew up in the 80s and worked at our local mall which is also gone sadly Regency Square in Richmond. I worked at The Limited on holidays and at night it was completely different that it is now. I lived at Regency and was so into shopping. I could name every store in order on both floors at one time. Obreinstein’s, The Magic Pan, Mrs. Field’s cookies, Radio Shack. Sam Goody, Up Against the Wall. Sbarro Pizza and Hecht Department store, Sears, and JCPenney were the only Department stores. Miss those days…