Thank you all so much for the amazing engagement on this video! Consider supporting me on Patreon, and make sure to follow me on social media! Support the Expedition Log on Patreon, if you like! - www.patreon.com/salvatoreamadeo Follow my Expeditions in Real Time: Twitter - twitter.com/salvatoreamadeo Instagram - instagram.com/salvatoream... Join the discussion on Discord! discord.gg/g4tKbpu

@kylescheffler8483

5 жыл бұрын

Was this mall a success when it first opened?

@kylescheffler8483

5 жыл бұрын

Why do you use old tv advertisements in your videos?

@mitchdoyle1997

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you Sal for doing this video! Nostalgia Nostalgia!

@SuperNolaguy

4 жыл бұрын

Extremely well done and probably the best narration of history of any Dead Mall post

@sal

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!! New video dropping tonight !

As a 80's mall rat it was such a treat to make the 2 hour drive to visit this mall. It was very sad to see it go down through the years. Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Sal!

@Sonnyblack100

4 жыл бұрын

Evelyn Johnson you drive 2 hours to visit a mall , wow that’s dedication

@seVans36

4 жыл бұрын

Evelyn Johnson I imagine it was heaving in the 80’s. It’s just a building but still wired to see a place that was so popular and over time just fade away

@robinsss

4 жыл бұрын

she lived in the back back back woods

@LITMOVIESCENES

3 жыл бұрын

from starkvegas?

@edoherty1996

3 жыл бұрын

@@LITMOVIESCENES Hattiesburg.

Being born and raised in Jackson, I remember when The Metro center first opened and took the crown away from the the Jackson Mall. The Metro Center was unlike any other Mall in the South. It was truly a grand sight to see. Over 120 stores made the mall feel like a shoppers Utopia. People like to attribute crime as the only reason for the mall's deterioration. But actually the flood of '79 and '83 caused a massive Exodus of Caucasians to flee Jackson, creating the Suburbia boom around the Capital City, also with the newly built Northpark Mall in Ridgeland. This lead to less revenue for the Mall to operate. It held on for a good while.. But then, the crime in the area just skyrocketed, beginning the inevitable fall of the Metro Center Mall 😞😔

This mall was popular when I was a teenager. My sister was a Gafer Girl. Since then, crime and poverty have moved the popular shopping centers ever further north. North Park Mall is now going the way of Metro Center. Sad, really.

@jimroberts2808

5 жыл бұрын

North Park has been in decline and most business's moved over to Dog Wood. It moves like a cancer. Till a new one is built. Trying to stay a step ahead of the crime and theft.

@SolaGratia.

5 жыл бұрын

@@jimroberts2808 Yep. Dogwood and Renaissance. It's very sad.

@johnnystiff4715

5 жыл бұрын

I too still remember the great times my friends and I had at the Metro Center. " Diamond Jim's" was the game room... great stores and events.

@scottlangdon9403

5 жыл бұрын

I still have a token from Diamond Jims when I worked at the Montgomery Mall@@johnnystiff4715

@garretnelson2771

5 жыл бұрын

They actually recently fixed up Northpark Mall with some new renovations so It looks quite nice there now so maybe it can build back up some.

Jackson MS is the strangest city I've ever been to. The WHOLE city seems abandoned yet a lot of people live there.

@pmcpmc8005

4 жыл бұрын

I go to that city twice a year for business and I have to agree with you.

@DieselRamcharger

4 жыл бұрын

the power of black culture. keep voting D. this is what you get.

@ryeb

4 жыл бұрын

Bobby Brady right wing ideology is sick and evil too, and democrats in america are useless. let’s get rid of it all.

@DieselRamcharger

4 жыл бұрын

@@ryeb give one example of right wing ideology being sick and twisted.....

@DieselRamcharger

4 жыл бұрын

@Keith Willis LMAO....So you are telling me that forcing corporations to give their employees a day off instead of working them 7 days a week is "sick and twisted" LMAO. But telling kids they can get pregnant and kill the baby without parental consent or knowledge isn't intrusive into personal lives? UHHHHH. Moron alert!

Something about malls that makes us WANT to experience Megalophobia. Someday, we'll be together, lost in these behemoth structures, be it exploring for thrill, braving the end of days, or even shooting a movie.

I have to say that when I clicked on this video i had little expectation that it would be interesting. I have seen so many dead mall videos and they are usually just people trespassing and goofing off as they film. Your videos actually take a viewer into the life of the mall and explain its history and its ultimate demise. I am no filmmaker but I have to say I love your production and the time you take to put out a great quality video. I look forward to more!

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! I really do appreciate your comment, and I have a ton more to show you all :)

Exploring on Christmas Eve? Now that's devotion.

As a Mississippian, i can tell you that place was THE PLACE to go to. I lived in Laurel (90 miles away) and me and the family (sometimes friends) drive there to shop. In 1996 on a field trip with my class from MSU stopped there for lunch. SEARS store was the biggest in the state. I've been there many times. It was well known that people became afraid of going there due to all the gang issues.

I remember that Mall so well, while you were walking thru I remember which each store was back in the 90's that was the most beautiful mall in Jackson, hate to see it this way now

I am from Jackson . Grew up going to this mall as a teenager in the late 80s and 90s . It was once a very nice mall and always full of people seeing it like this makes me pretty sad

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

:(

@commissaryarrick9670

5 жыл бұрын

Sal it is bitter sweet I am glad you made a video about it and it brought back a lot of memories for me . But I hate seeing it empty knowing how it used to be

@christinemunn6123

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Justin, I know what you mean.......I'm Canadian and we too of course have many malls either closed or just hanging on; with the closing of Sears as we call it in Canada it is so sad to see these once places to visit gone...ghostly and sad. Walmart has taken over what is left in our malls and they don't allow an exit from their stores to the mall.

@5roundsrapid263

5 жыл бұрын

I grew up going there, too! It was very nice up until about 20 years ago.

@keesh8360

5 жыл бұрын

The arcade and food court was the best... But now it looks like Silent Hill...

In the 80s, my family made yearly Christmas pilgrimages to this mall. I have very fond and wonderful memories there. Jackson is a tough little city. Thanks for the last look at a once spectacular place. I remember the glassblowers in the main square doing swans and roses. Thanks again.

That is a beautiful mall and you pay respects to it. The Christmas decorations are very pretty, the employees did a great job of keeping the spirit alive. We live near a mall similar to this and we have seen the changes over the years, they are concerting the upstairs into offices. I hope it won't close. Your narration and vintage adds are a nice touch of nostalgia. Your voice is very soothing, that is a rarity in KZreadrs. Your dad seems very nice, you are lucky to share this with him. Thank you

Extraordinary! A visual lesson in classical architecture in front of a men's shop at 18:39 ... examples of the three major orders of classical columns - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian - for your inspection outside the Expressmen shop. Who knew a shopping mall in Mississippi had such architectural erudition?!

At 25:26 I was almost expecting twin girls at the end of the hallway saying "come play with us, Danny."

@TheTallMan50

5 жыл бұрын

forever and ever and ever

I’m from Jackson and this brought tears to my eyes. So many memories from my childhood

When I heard that song "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke...." was like listening to haunting echoes of times past. I just love the way you use music to convey the feelings of sadness, nostalgia and emptiness.

By the time you read The night before Christmas, and concluded with Carol of the Bells, I felt a terrible sadness. The center court was decorated so carefully. Even if someone is not sentimental, the mind boggling waste of such a great space is so deeply troubling. I really appreciate your work, and I wish you and yours a very happy new year.

I was born in 1974. Born & raised in Jackson. I spent a lot of time in this mall. Thank you for this video. LOTS of memories of a great childhood shopping there when it was the center of it all. Bitter sweet. Great job.

@rcoll60743

2 жыл бұрын

This is so sad the city of Jackson let this beautiful mall slowly die out, I grew up in Yazoo City, when you got some money we all would head to the Metro Center to shop, loved this place. Gayers, McRaes, Jean West and many other store my family enjoyed shopping at. The food court had various food to and it was so delicious, the smell and the aroma would drive you straight there, Also my wife use to her hair done there, I forgot the name of the shop but they did outstanding work. Since then my family and I have moved out of the state to California, we left in 1987 but I will never forget the beautiful memories of the Metro Center, again so sad!!!

@atomgrounder857

Ай бұрын

I worked at Sbarro's for a long time until my boss smelled my drink that I always had. Worked at the arcade, Window Watsons, Ruby Tuesdays oh at at Sears doing maintenance

As a person born and raised in Jackson, MS this mall equals to a lot of what is happening in the city.

@lilylollar1084

4 жыл бұрын

A Melanated Scientist agreed! When he said he was surprised at the parking lots, I said to myself “wait until you see the rest of the city’s roads!”

@davidgreen46

4 жыл бұрын

It’s always been the same problem... shitty leadership! Jackson has a ton of potential but has terrible Mayors!

@larryrobinson3775

3 жыл бұрын

its reopened now

@sal

3 жыл бұрын

Really? Care to join the dead mall discord and share pics?

@iiplaya

3 жыл бұрын

@@sal I gotcha when i go back over there

I grew up going here. We told everyone we knew that my dad built the original stairs (later replaced with escalators) and for some reason we always claimed it was the stairs closest to the food court. My late husband, Michael Steel, was working in Dillard’s when we started dating. We walked miles around this mall trying to get me to go into labor. Oh the memories, I got a few art awards presented here, walked our babies here, family pictures at Sears, the cookie store, orange julius, and oh I wish I could remember the guys name that did the airbrushing.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

These are some incredibly touching memories...thank you for sharing!

@TwiggysKidsandStuff

4 жыл бұрын

Met my late husband here as well in 1989. He worked at Tape World. I shopped here as well, walked with my kids here as well, santa visits, had pictures taken, remember shopping for all my kids outfits in this mall. I miss it my heart aches but I love seeing this video.

@connormacleod7010

4 жыл бұрын

Amy steel you're so beautiful so sweet so smart

@Southernglamllc

4 жыл бұрын

@Kyril J Righttttt!!! I remember when Taco bell and all other fast food restaurants were in the mall... Dillards, McRae's etc. You could barely move in there on weekends because it was so packed. I'm 32 and moved to Indiana in 2017 because I just wanted a better environment and opportunities for me and my family. Mississippi will always be home for me I just rather not move back.

@genekreuz2189

4 жыл бұрын

Airbrush artist name - Geno, that's me. I worked in that mall for over 10 years. When I opened Geno's Airbrushed Tee's downstairs in '88 my very first customer was Ted Debiase. He was working up a new look as the Million Dollar man. Man, does time fly by.

The effect of the music and advertisements echoing in the background from the mall's speaker system, as you are narrating, is just surrealism. This video is a masterpiece. You can literally feel past echoing. It is such a shame. This vast spacious place should be filled with happy productive souls making a living selling their goods. Your father is just a super cool fella. I can tell just from his reactions. This video is absolute gold. VERY well done.

I remember when Metrocenter was the place to go. Until Northpark mall came up and the old part of Jackson got older and dirtier.

@dillhole4603

5 жыл бұрын

Northpark ain't lookin too good these days. I'll never forget the mall rat days.

@rachl9663

5 жыл бұрын

Since pearl got the outlet mall and dogwood popped up northpark isnt looking great.

@OutdoorsWithShawn

5 жыл бұрын

@@rachl9663 I haven't been to Northpark in 8 or more years (I live on the coast). I'll have to head up that way one weekend and check out Northpark and the new stuff you mentioned.

@rachl9663

5 жыл бұрын

@@OutdoorsWithShawn they get pretty good business. Northpark is still full of stores, but you can tell it's going down hill.

@nrb628

5 жыл бұрын

As a kid who grew up in Clinton in the 90's, we still went to Metro a lot through maybe 2000. No doubt, it declined through the 90's from what it once was but it was still comparable to Northpark and certainly a viable option--especially for those in suburbs adjacent to West and South Jackson--for 10-15 years or so after Northpark opened.

Nice work...! I think malls are going away (sadly) It was a great time (for me 1983) ... hug your dad too. I miss mine.

Wow this bringing back a lot of memories. Where you’re standing @8:18 was where my closest friends would stand outside of the second arcade that opened in late 2000s. Also, @8:21, those escalators led down into where I used to work: Babbages/GameStop.

I live in Jackson and Metrocenter had been failing for years and years and years. People and businesses wanted out of that part of Jackson due to crime rates. That is a part of it anyway.

Downright creepy to watch these videos, yet I can't stop watching. Well done Sal.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Lots more on the way!

Your voice bro....its like someone is reading me a audio book.

@thepsychedelicfairy

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah its a Great voice

@OAleathaO

5 жыл бұрын

Exactly what I was thinking. This guy is better than some "professional" audio book narrators.

@TheJust22az

5 жыл бұрын

Actually, I think he was mimicking Rod Serling as it seems like an episode from the Twilight Zone.

@pamelabailey2635

5 жыл бұрын

His voice kinda remind me of one of the guys from things that they don't want you to know. Lol.

@stackitup4662

5 жыл бұрын

Right , what type of mic you use? Or what’s the secret lol?

In spite of the sad state of this mall, you made a beautiful video. You're an artist. Excellant,

Your recitation of the Night Bedore Christmas almost made me cry. This is so dystopian.

@sal

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for watching and listening. I put so much into every video…please consider subscribing, I have a ton more content coming.

This was my first mall! I grew up nearby. It was nice until the late ‘90s; it even had two Victoria’s Secret stores!

turn the mall into retirement community and sell the old shops as condos (turn them into apartments). leave the hallways and court yards the same as indoor walking trails. put more outside entrances in, turn part of it into a nursing home, part of it assisted living. turn the old theater into a church for the mall community.

@JUST_ONE_ID10T

5 жыл бұрын

@Cya push key pad entrances. or those security dongles. security guard that is paid by ether a home owners association. they would have to have yearly fees to pay the taxes thou or something like that wouldn't work.

Metrocenter, like Jackson Mall before it, was built in.a very poorly chosen location. General decline in that part of town had already begun when the mall first opened. Corrupt and incompetent city government, high taxes, and escalating crime rates made its demise inevitable.

@christycook8422

5 жыл бұрын

I live in Jackson. The mall is going down.

I'll be honest, I never thought about shopping malls and how they are disappearing from history... until I found this channel. Thanks for cataloging the legacy of these cement commerce giants for us Sal!

@yhzlogan

Жыл бұрын

bruh aint no way ur in this comment section bruh

@sal

Жыл бұрын

How did I miss this comment? Sup, Nixie?

@NixiePixel

Жыл бұрын

@@sal I've also been lurking in your Discord 👋👀

@sal

Жыл бұрын

I may or may not be lurking in yours as well 🙂

@NixiePixel

Жыл бұрын

@@sal it's not everyday you say hey, let's do a collab in a dead mall, but... I'm gonna be in the dead mall mecca of the Midwest here in 2 weeks 😎

First, thank you for taking me back to one of the malls of my younger days ... and what was, for a while, the biggest and best mall for miles around. My favorite memory of the mall was seeing The Outsiders when it came out (I still love that movie). Second, let me add some color to your video. 1) The Blue Laws were everywhere in the South until the mid-80s. They ensured that everyone (except grocers and restaurants) got the day off. I worked in a mall in a nearby city back then. I hated the repeal of the Blue Laws. We didn't make more money ... we just spread it out over seven days instead of six days. But we mall workers no longer had Sundays with our families. 2) While Metro Center Mall was the best thing for miles, it was built in a terrible section of Jackson that was in rapid decline in the 80s. We'd go to the MCM, but nobody wanted to hang out in that part of town. I always wondered why they put it there, when North Jackson was were all the new houses were being built. 3) Competition killed MCM ... not the retail mix. After Northpark Mall opened in North Jackson (maybe 1987) - a bigger and better mall in a much nicer part of town, I never again went to MCM. In fact, three years ago, I drove out to see if the mall was still there. I don't know anyone who ever went back after Northpark opened. This "remodel" in the 1990s that you mention is the first I've even heard about that. In my mind, MCM died in the late 1980s ... and I still shop in Jackson all the time. Now the place to go is the Renaissance Center (an open air mall).

This is a great video. As a child in the 90's, coming to Metro was such an amazing experience. I remember having choir performances during Christmas time in that center court area. Even in its decayed state in this video, you can imagine how beautiful the place once was during the holiday season. It's still beautifully decorated in this video, and I had honestly forgotten that it was actually a really pretty building. This video definitely "hit me in the feels" a little bit. Diamond Jim's. There was a candy store--drawing a blank on the name now. Going to see Santa as a kid in center court. All the amazing stuff in the food court that would probably make me throw up now. Some people probably hit on this in previous comments but the demise of Metrocenter preceded that of the indoor shopping mall model around the country, as it was related to dynamics within the city of Jackson. For a multitude of reasons, West Jackson and South Jackson--the areas adjacent to the mall--had fallen into decay by the mid-to-late 90's, as business and higher income Whites moved to North Jackson and its adjacent suburbs. West Jackson had always struggled, as the city never really invested in the area with high Black population, but it completely fell apart. On the other hand, South Jackson previously had a significant, White middle-class population through the early to mid 90's or so. I grew up in Clinton (city limits are probably a couple of miles from Metro), and its growth completely stalled out as the adjacent areas of Jackson fell apart. As the population moved, a new shopping mall opened up in Ridgeland (next to North Jackson) in the late 80's (?) and gradually began to take all of Metro's business over 10-15 years. I would say that by 2001 or 2002, at latest, most people had stopped going to Metro. I'm shocked that it is still open.

@tdog198tyree

3 жыл бұрын

During this video it was basically only open for the dmv but now jpd has a precinct in it so that’s the only part that’s open now. But someone recently purchased it

I remember regularly going to Metrocenter when I was growing up in the 80s. My mom and I would get up before daylight on Black Friday to stand in line at this mall's stores (like Gayfers). It's so sad. It got too dangerous for us to go there.

Love the intro Silent Night! Haunting! Overall, excellent video. So sad with the decline of these malls. Your dad seems awesome. How wonderful to be able to explore together. Love your narration including the great detail.

Fantastic video Sal!! Watching your videos makes me so nostalgic since I grew up in the golden age of malls (80’s-early 90’s). The mall here in the Berkshires in Massachusetts is practically dead too. Thank you for keeping one of the wonderful memories of my younger years alive, and have a happy and safe new year

I had the Mickey gumball bank as a kid. I haven't seen a penny machine in about 20 years, and it looks like nickel and dime machines are extinct as well. At least the candy in those machines didn't look _too_ old. I once saw a machine in a different dead mall where the once bright green gumballs had faded so much you could see the gray of the gum through the candy shell. Do not want.

I spent every single weekend in this building back in the early 2000s. I remember when the weekend night rule got enforced. Anyone under the age of 18 had to be with a parent or guardian, so there were a lot less people, and the mall suffered big time for it.

@shaynewhite4545

5 жыл бұрын

Mississippi has ghettos i thought it was just hicks and sticks at least when i go through Mississippi that is what i see

@seppskyrti3012

4 жыл бұрын

Same thing happened to the malls here in akron ohio

@LITMOVIESCENES

3 жыл бұрын

@@shaynewhite4545 lol

Those mall walkers on ground floor were freaking MACHINES. You move for them, because they cannot alter their speed or course.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

They feel nothing, and yet we alter our path for them. They are the engine.

@billl1127

5 жыл бұрын

When I come upon zombies like that, I just stop in place. Just like playing basketball, let them crash into you. Offensive foul.

@jons4686

5 жыл бұрын

I clean windows for a living. Used to do 3 different indoor malls. I always felt like I was in the way trying to do my job. They would avoid me but only just.

@Bbaybird21

5 жыл бұрын

Wat are y'all talking abt ..I'm confused 😂

@crowmigration8245

5 жыл бұрын

@@Bbaybird21 Omg these comments lol. I want to re-watch this video just focusing on the walkers.

Ah, the infamous blue laws! I recall as a kid hearing my parents talk about that when we would travel into NC to visit my grandparents. Sad to see such gorgeous Christmas decorations and no shoppers to appreciate them. Thanks for another great glimpse into the mall culture. Your videos are our favorite mall adventures!

Hi Sal. Thank you so much for another amazing video. I especially love your history. I've watched quite a few of the dead and vacant mall videos and this one was particularly sad for me because of all the beautiful Christmas decorations that very few enjoyed. It broke my heart. I can imagine just a short while ago it was teaming with people like the one I worked at Cortana mall in the 80's and 90's. These stores are all a vanishing breed. Hi to your Dad -you're a good team🤗💋

I know that the poem wasn't supposed to be sad, but for some reason it made me sad. I think the magic of this time of year is lost on me.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

You’re loved, and there is magic circling you.

You deserve more subscribers. Your content and research is top notch.

I learned to drive in that parking lot. So many memories. Hits me hard in the gut to see this.

So sad. Our family moved from Chattanooga to rural Mississippi in 1981. We made trips to Jackson once a month to restock our pantries and freezer. Metrocenter Mall was always a destination. I would spend most of my time in Waldenbooks book store and I recognized the empty shell in your video. I enjoyed my visits for almost 20 years before it got tagged as the 'ghetto mall'. Thanks for the memories.

Great work Sal. I spent many, many hours at this place when I was a kid. I had some great times in Diamond Jim's Arcade right next to the food court while my mom studied for school stuff.

You have an awesome dad! May God bless you and ALL your family always!

Wow, someone is actually doing a documentary on Ghettro Center. Cool! My first job was there. Can't believe how it fizzled out. Use to be full of life just a few years back.

@diasporareturnee

Жыл бұрын

lol

The world is constantly changing. Ways of living and enjoying life go away. There is no greater pain than nostalgia.

Im still living in jackson,ms . Its sad how the metromall died so fast due government of city of jackson. Sadly city of jackson is rapidly declining today business are leaving the area rapidly due government of jackson..

@FIXTREME

4 жыл бұрын

...you sure about the government being responsible? Because it sounds like mall management made some stupid choices, too

The biggest problem with that mall was its reputation. That wasnt the only incident where someone got robbed. It was notorious for muggings in the parking lot. Eventually all the businesses relocated to the new mall (I forget what its called) I think its on North Shore Drive. I went to the Metro a few times, I never felt unsafe but I still knew its reputation and so did everyone else and thats why it died.

@markmuncie6018

5 жыл бұрын

It's Northpark Mall and it was built in about 1984 on County Line Road in Ridgeland. It's declined too but not nearly as far.

@dragoncrackers7660

5 жыл бұрын

@@markmuncie6018 Yea, I havnt been there in about 10 years but Northpark was still decent back then. I think malls in general have declined quickly. The mall in hometown, Meridian MS, is a shell of what is once was and it was built in 97. The old mall is completely abandoned with absolutely no potential.

@jamessummers5936

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah it's North Park, but they recently did a pretty nice over haul literally a month or 2 ago. They also just recently closed the movie theatre adjacent to the mall and hopefully they'll do something great with the empty space. There's an area in Jackson called The District at Eastover that's pretty damn swanky with nice eateries, so hopefully they could do something of a smaller scale with that building.

@avenginggoddess

5 жыл бұрын

@@markmuncie6018 Yeah, a lot of businesses pulled out of Northpark and are out in Flowood or in Renaissance in Madison now. Renaissance is the new swanky shopping place (there may be others; I don't live there any more so I don't know).

@adamdennison2856

5 жыл бұрын

There have been a number of shootings in the parking lot.

Enjoyed this walk down Memory Lane !..You did an awesome job of telling the story of the Mall. Sadly this seems to be the path many malls end up on...

Just a partial architecture student passing through; the use of skylights in malls actually serves a purpose more than just aesthetics. Lighting a space that large with electricity alone is often too expensive to be practical, both in the sense of maintenance and in regards to electricity consumption. So most large buildings if they can get away with it use huge windows or skylights to light up the place naturally instead. That's why many old power plants, train stations, airport terminals and other large buildings have such huge openings built into them.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Yep, I completely agree. My favorite developer by far is Jim Rouse, and in most of his malls, there were amazing skylights everywhere, in lieu of unnecessary incandescence

Love the commercial. Oh the 90's fashion 😂😂

Sal, don't leave out the original mall of Jackson, MS. That title belongs to "The Jackson Mall" which was located at the corner of Bailey Ave and Woodrow Wilson in Jackson, MS. It is currently a Medical Mall or something like that. It's demise was due to The Metro Center. NorthPark Mall killed The Metro Center and Dogwood and The Outlets in Pearl will slowly kill NorthPark Mall. So would someone please tell me what could possibly cause the demise of Dogwood and The Outlets...…...

@rubies200

5 жыл бұрын

I thought so. I knew the Medical Mall wasn't always the Medical Mall because it was structured for retail stores.

@jacobd373

5 жыл бұрын

Amazon will.

@KK-ex5zu

5 жыл бұрын

Online retail shopping will kill those places eventually!

@MrCarlmorrow

5 жыл бұрын

poilitics killed the metro, when i was younger in 1995 me and a friend went to the metrocenter and it was packed, then we went to northpark mall and it was also packed

@Machelle3200

4 жыл бұрын

@Kyril J I remember Westland Plaza..I shopped there all the time when I was at Jackson State. Jackson was such a nice city back then.

Been to that mall a few times.Great content...I grew up 2 blocks from the Mall of Memphis... Its tore down now was only vacant a couple of years. So many memories from my teens back in the 80's... Times are different..welcome to the age of Amazon

I worked at that mall in 1978 for the Christmas season. DH Holmes opened up in Metro in mid 1978 because I worked there that year. It was a great place. So sad to see its demise.

Hispanic raised in Mississippi here. I remember my mom always taking me and my brother there. (before she discorvered a new mall) Those times I see the abandoned food court and the dead space around me always amazed my mind. The abandoned Sears were spooky for me. this was before they closed and Burlington separated from them when they closed. In or around 2021 Burlington closed for good and now everything looks sad and depressing. I was honestly sad when I found out they closed bc I can't recreate those memories of me and my brother playing tag and playing in the bouncy house with my younger brother, or hiding at the burlington my mom always like to go but at least I can remember it with the video. So thank you Sai for this video that opened me memories

Wow!!! Thanks for posting. Visited this mall as a child back in the early 80"s. I'm not from the area, was visiting family in Jackson at the time. Always wondered what became of this mall. Your video answered my question.

Always love your choice of music, enjoy your well researched history. Loved meeting your father, he reminded me so much of my own father, gone since 89, that I cried, the resemblance is uncanny. Good luck with your project and may God bless you with much success.

@sal

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! My dad is wonderful, and I’m positive yours was as well :)

Your sweet dad is such a good sport. :) "Go give it a try!" 🤣

Hats off to the people who maintain and service this mall, they are doing an excellent job.

Fascinating content, as always. Exploring with your Dad. An extra special instalment. Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year to you, and your family.

I like how Silent Night is changed to a minor key

Still watch this one every Christmas season. Again, love this channel and thank you Sal

@sal

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for coming back each season! Merry Christmas, Chuck.

@chuckhalen9543

Жыл бұрын

@@sal You bet and same to you and your family. I've watched a couple of malls decay like this one in my hometown 200 miles west of Jackson Ms, in Shreveport La. It's like watching your childhood disappear in real time almost. Merry Christmas, Sal.

I can’t believe the amount of decay that this mall has fallen into this mess.

I love the old ad's you include in your videos.

I love how you use storytelling and music/sounds and editing to convey mood. Fantastic.

Man, more power to you, but your really risking your life going over to that side of town these days. But great vid, enjoyed it. Makes me sad to see one of the malls I grew up going to, wasted. Thank you for posting this.

@bobmorris9687

5 жыл бұрын

Amen on risking his life...

@IisBatman1993

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it's definitely a bad part of town.

@Bbaybird21

5 жыл бұрын

Y'all funny 😂😂there is no crime where the mall is

@drenabeecraft8003

5 жыл бұрын

Sad but true.

@Bbaybird21

5 жыл бұрын

Right and I live in Byram and I ain't scared to go to no damn Jackson ....it's crime everywhere in Mississippi ....then head person on the news lives in pearl ..so they not gone show u whats goin on in pearl and bradon mostly where all the white folks live but mostly blacks live in jackson and downtown so they gone try and make it look like Jackson got hella crime down there ..

I love your videos, I am also a big fan of checking out places like this, to learn the history of abandoned or almost abandoned places, keep them coming cant wait to see more. the mall in my hometown of Springfield Ohio likes like some of these malls.

I mentioned Prestonwood Mall in Dallas, a very prestigious part of Dallas closed a LONG time ago, but also a very large and popular mall in Dallas near the Galleria, Valley View Mall, is also closed (one of the oldest malls in Dallas). Now North Park Mall in an uppercuts part of Dallas remains open still but som any are going under.

@pilotgrrl1

5 жыл бұрын

And Collin Creek Mall is going to be redeveloped soon. There will be retail in the new mixed-use development, but the anchor stores will be demolished.

@santababy1952

5 жыл бұрын

@@pilotgrrl1 Do you think it is totally buying on line that has closed these malls? For me, it is the fact that I became disabled and the only way for me to shop is on line. So is it that only? I know Wall-Mart took out all the small town mom and pop stores and now Amazon has taken Wall-Mart out (at least that's what people have told me and that nothing ever stays the same and people need to plan on change, but still people have to buy things and people like my 89 yr old mom hasn't a clue what todo with a computer!

Oh man this brings back so many memories. Not only is the Mall dead but the whole south-side of the city. The place is a shit hole. It's such a shame

I am watching this video a couple of days after Christmas so let me say I hope that you had a very Happy Chrismas and looking toward 2019 Happy New Year

A 32 year old black Jacksonian who frequented this mall all my life...it used to be filled...so much so that you had to sidestep through the crowd. White flight killed this mall, like most everything else in this city. Honest, educated, hardworking people still live here...there just aren't enough of us. Sad

@noybnoygdb1022

5 жыл бұрын

I know dude.

@deadmausish

5 жыл бұрын

And the cause of white flight?

@1rockcrawford

5 жыл бұрын

@@deadmausish Racism/Fear of Black people.

In the next video, I want you to say. “It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”

Awesome Sal......sweetly sad and brings a sense of reality that is reflective of the world and all that is being lost; interaction of everyday people and places and no place to go.

I just saw someone else’s old video of this mall from 1991. Crazy to see how lifeless these malls are now compared to the 90’s. Old energy and memories that are no longer there.

You really have a great method of narrating. Your videos are very well made and I really enjoy watching them. Keep up the great work Sal!

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Tons more on the way :)

@radiodog2

5 жыл бұрын

Sal looking forward to that!

@garygansbrubaker

5 жыл бұрын

Sal you’re the best! Happy 2019!

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Gary! Happy New Years!

When you’re back in Jackson, check out the Jackson Medical Mall. It predates the Metrocenter and is now medical offices.

@Bgtrfvcde

4 жыл бұрын

@Kyril J The Medical Mall is, I believe, the old Jackson Mall. It is located off Woodrow Wilson, West of Fondren. It has been renovated to many medical offices of UMMC. It has the history of its past and the aura of its new mission. I don't think all malls can do this, definitely not Metrocenter, but some obviously can.

It is very intriguing. How nostolgia can be so powerful- for better or worse. The truth about these structures is they were never built to last.

This might be the craziest thing I have ever typed, but I have a feeling that malls will make a come back one day. There is just something so special about going to the mall, being around people and exploring the things that you could own. You can't get that with online shopping. But I dunno, I am often wrong.

Amazing videos man, thanks for the work you do that gives people a look at America's retail past.

@sal

4 жыл бұрын

Gotta preserve it while we can...

Love your videos , the history of these places is facinating...love your voice , TY Sal !

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

What a shame. I’m sorry to see the mall so empty like a shell of what used to be. Very sad.

Lived a few miles from it. Watched the ground breaking and it being built. Wonderful and very exciting at that time. Like most business in Jackson and Jackson itself is nothing but a fond memories. At one point crime got so bad the Jackson Police put a portable trailer and called it the West Jackson Precinct over in the parking lot on the Sears side. Great video. Brings back a lot of old memories. I watched it and just reminisced all the stores and people. Like ghosts that slowly fade away. Thanks.

In the 90’s we shopped in malls and would meet people there. It was good to get away from the house and often we would have a meal and a drink or 2. Today we shop and meet people online and even order food the same way. Once the malls have gone I do believe it will be sad. I don’t fully blame the people for not shopping at the malls as their cause of death. Rents could be very expensive and for the small store this could not meet the earnings and expenses such as staffing and electricity. Thanks for the videos, I’m now subscribed.

Excellent narration and video editing. Fantastic.! Merry Christmas Sal. Much love to you and your entire family during this holiday season.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Happy holidays and belated merry Christmas to you and yours!

I was born in Jackson and grew up about a mile west of Metrocenter and went to church just a stones throw from where it was built. I was a senior in high school when it opened and had a job so I was there the day it opened and spent a lot a money in the arcades. It was my hangout when I came home from college at MS State. The area was mostly post WW2 GI homes so it wasn't an upper class area by any means in 1978 but it did thrive for a few years. As many of us got older we wanted more than 50 year old houses with barely over 1000 sq ft. As we left, the area changed. Crime increased at Metrocenter. The stores reported they were losing a lot of profits to shoplifters. Assaults in the parking lot increased. The then mayor of Jackson claimed it was just "a perception" of crime and it was really no worse than anywhere else. Yeah...right. If you read Sar Jim's comment you will see part of the reason. There's another issue that only a resident would know. The Jackson area is situated on a very expansive soil called Yazoo clay. Almost everyone who lives here suffers foundation problems. It's really tough on parking lots. Metrocenter sits atop the largest deposit of Yazoo clay in existence. The perimeter drive was bad just 3 or 4 years after the mall opened. In about 1984, a slightly small mall opened in the northern suburb of Ridgeland called Northpark. This was a much more upscale mall and was located it an affluent area. This was the real beginning of the end of Metrocenter. It has since declined as online sales have increased. There are a few strip shopping centers that have taken sales away too. They don't have the overhead of a huge mall.

I used to shop at this mall as a kid all the time and worked there in the early 2000’s. The little store at 14:15 was a cookie store. They always had tons of cookies on display and sold decorated cookie cakes. A friend of mine worked there. And the little treat shop with the yellow awning at 22:30 used to be a SnoBiz (sold shave ice/snow cones). I worked there after high school for about a year. And the court yard always had several kiosks scattered around selling things, especially around Christmas time. Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me that the mall closed down. I am, however, surprised that it stayed open until 2018. I left Mississippi in 2006 and the mall was starting to empty out then. It was in a bad part of town and few wanted to venture to that area for shopping, especially when there was another mall (Northpark) in the somewhat safer northern part of the city. Lots of memories watching this. Thanks for the video!

Sad times watching this from UK. Them Mercury Vapor lights all turning green from being constantly on all them years.

Such a bittersweet Christmas farewell to Metrocenter Mall. You did the mall in all it's Christmas cheer proud. Thx for sharing. I really enjoyed the stroll. A belated Happy Christmas to you and your dad.

@sal

5 жыл бұрын

Seasons greetings and a happy new year to you, Madame :)

@madamhummingbird

5 жыл бұрын

@@sal Thank you, sir. I really appreciate the wish. Here's to a fantastic 2019 for us all my friend. Cin cin :D

I remember going out on several dates when I was in high school at this mall. We also had two recording studios that i use to record at back in the early 2000s. I was 16 I'm now 30.

Great video! I have not been to the Metrocenter in years. This video brought back great memories.

Even though the mall is clearly old and those palms don't look to healthy that center court is beautiful it must look even better when the sun is out. It's such a shame they let it get that dead.

@itzshawt

5 жыл бұрын

TheMadHatter this is a really nice mall, it’s just that a lot of the businesses have moved to the outskirts of Jackson.

@Mark.Watson

5 жыл бұрын

I hope they can relocate the trees. They are probably worth more than the mall is!

@commissaryarrick9670

5 жыл бұрын

This was in the winter so the palm trees probably just weren’t getting enough sunshine they may look better in the summer

Us locals called it ghettro!!

@OutdoorsWithShawn

5 жыл бұрын

We used to call the GhettoCenter in the late 90s, early 2000s.

@kyoakland

5 жыл бұрын

I call it America the hidden shithole of the world!! smiling outside crying on the inside

@calvinjames16

5 жыл бұрын

Give it a couple years and north park will be the same way

@jamessummers5936

5 жыл бұрын

@@calvinjames16 Even after all the renovations it just experienced?

@calvinjames16

5 жыл бұрын

@@jamessummers5936 renovations wont matter if theres no one there. If you're from around the area you would know what I'm talking about. Alot of major businesses has left all ready toys r us shut down, Sam's, best buy, and academy. Madison and flowood are the new spots

The Christmas decorations are so pretty ❤ so sad to see how the mall faded away. You captured such beautiful & haunting footage

From the outside it looks absolutely abandoned! No sign of life and then inside several stores appear to be open but no ones really there. It’s strange. It’s cool the dead mall took the time to decorate the place with Christmas decorations even though no one shops there.