I grew up going to North Grand Mall. The place has seen better days. In my opinion it is holding it's own again.

I left Ames after graduating from ISU 30 years ago, and lived in Taiwan ever since so never had a chance to see North Grand Mall again until now. I did cooking myself and usually took CyRide, walked across the street to the Cub Food for groceries. Thank you for posting it remembers me of a lot of things.

This is a great mall for the Iowa State students. :) You did a nice job on the video.

I use to live in Ames. This was my childhood mall. It's very small. I'd seen a lot of movies in those theaters. The Lion King was the most memorable

I remember being here in 2009. It was nearly dead and needed a facelift. My family lived in Ames and Gilbert. My cousins and I had many fun times there in the 80s. I'm glad to see people are working to keep it nice for the people there in Ames. Go Cyclones!

You have the greatest voice on KZread. For real. I watch your videos at the end of the day because there is a feeling of serenity there- even when you're talking about dead malls that have seen better days, it never sounds dire of tragic. Watching your videos is like taking a small trip where everything is just relaxed and not so rushed. Your voice is the best part of your videos because it fits perfectly with the mood of your productions, as well as the wonderful music that plays behind you.

@YodelingLoonRetail

Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much!

Thanks so much for the video! Awesome video and commentary (and history). I lived in Ames in 2015. I can't believe I missed out on the movie theater. Maybe I would have stayed. hehe

Hey, my hometown mall! It’s so nice to see a walkthrough of it and get some love. I have some photos and short videos of the nearby closed Crossroads Mall from Fort Dodge, and although I posted them on Twitter, would totally be willing to share them with you for greater exposure. I’m proud to say that myself and my mother were the lost two members of the public in there. The one security guy was nice and allowed us to finish taking our time. It was a sad goodbye, had a overnight stay through the scouts there in the late 00’s that I’ll always remember. Update after I finished the video: Although demolishment was occurring of Crossroads Mall up until the summer of 2023, everything stopped dead in its tracks and now there is a massive pile of dirt and stuff that now sits in its center. Parts still remain and the section that used to hold the Younkers is rumored to likely be refurbished and used to be the new home of Decker Sporting Goods (they used to have a store in the mall in the wing Younkers used to be in). At least that is what the local paper in the town said late last year, from what I heard from friends. It is believed that once again the company that acquired the site went bankrupt, something that has happened multiple times. After all, that and the buyers not wanting to put money into the complex alongside abusive practices towards tenants (including overcharging rent for spaces), is the main reason why it slowly closed/lost tenants. I know, as someone who spent a lot of time in the town growing up, that I wish it was turned into a park as a lot of the surrounding area is just sprawling big box stores. Even to put in a skatepark/pickleball court/etc alongside the green space would be a nice way to brighten up a dying town, but I doubt that will ever happen.

@YodelingLoonRetail

5 ай бұрын

That's cool that you got to spend the last day at Crossroads. Maybe someday I'll have to chance to drive up to see the remains, but it's a bit out of the way from my Twin Cities - Des Moines drive. I would love to chat more about your video and photos. Feel free to reach out to me on Discord discord.gg/dmod or my email at yodelingloonretail AT gmail DOT com.

@TheRunningLeopard

5 ай бұрын

@@YodelingLoonRetail It’ll certainly be an interesting site if/when the Deckers moves back in, bc it is closely located to one of the remaining side entrances. (The county’s 4H headquarters were located on the side of the building as well.) So who knows if part of the mall will be refurbished and rebuilt? Idk, I’m hopeful. Of course, will certainly send you a message. It’s hard to find people in the IA/MN area that cover dead malls. Was able to walk around inside of the Bath and Body store, but nearly every other were shuddered.

Great video, as always.