Southbridge Mall (Mason City, IA) - 1980s dead mall

Mason City, IA may be most famous as the birthplace of Meredith Wilson (composer of the Music Man musical), but for dead mall fans, it houses a wonderful 1980s time capsule - Southbridge Mall.
Come join me on a mall built in the middle of the 80s - 1985 - that has the beautiful brown brick of an early 80s mall and a late 80s neon dream in its food court.
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Пікірлер: 51

  • @cierraschmith7806
    @cierraschmith7806 Жыл бұрын

    Omg the place has changed so much. The food court use to have a cookie place, subway, ice cream place, Chinese, movie theatre, Aladdin’s castle. Stores there was tradehome, jc pennys, Yonkers, American eagle, footlocker, hot sauce store, video game store, buckle, vanity, Claire’s and much more there was only one areas for short periods of time that would have a gate shut and a new store would move in

  • @cierraschmith7806

    @cierraschmith7806

    Жыл бұрын

    That was the hang out since I was a child. I even got my ears Pierced at age 6 in Yonkers.

  • @Amir_Nassir
    @Amir_Nassir2 ай бұрын

    Aladdin's Castle, KB Toys. I loved going here in the early 90's when i was a kid. I'd love to come back and see it today. Great video

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    Ай бұрын

    Thank you! I hope they can turn this mall around.

  • @DoTheKatzDaddy
    @DoTheKatzDaddy3 ай бұрын

    I used to work at the Finish Line that was in this mall next to the Yonkers. The mall had life then!

  • @jvllnz
    @jvllnz2 жыл бұрын

    I love the neon & 80s architecture here.

  • @mikehahn7134
    @mikehahn71342 жыл бұрын

    As a Mason City native, I just want to say thank you to Mankato and the former Mankato Mall for this idea of a downtown regional shopping mall. Nicely done video.

  • @rossparker4374
    @rossparker43742 жыл бұрын

    What a beautiful mall the green neon circles and brown tiles… this is a place that is now on my list to visit

  • @sy012
    @sy012 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this amazing video! I used to live in mason and this brought back a lot of great memories

  • @retirementready9406
    @retirementready9406Ай бұрын

    I remember when this mail first opened. Its steady decline into obscurity is sad. Southbridge Mall had so much promise. Note it’s just a sad reminder of what could’ve been. I rarely go inside, it’s just too depressing.

  • @Twistedslop62
    @Twistedslop623 ай бұрын

    Yeah I love this mall, I live in clear lake. Liminal spaces are my favorite… I feel so lucky to have been able to appreciate a fun mall as a kid and an amazing liminal space as an adult.

  • @pamelaaverrett5848
    @pamelaaverrett58482 жыл бұрын

    Yeah! Long and hot day keeping the kids busy. Just sat down and so excited to watch this!

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    2 жыл бұрын

    I hope you enjoy it!

  • @DarinNederhoff
    @DarinNederhoff Жыл бұрын

    I grew up in MC and remember downtown before the mall and of course after. There used to be two movie theaters downtown; Park 70 west of central park and the Palace Theater somewhere near the Younkers location in the mall. After the mall was created, the roads were looped through downtown. "The loop" was where many high school students would cruise through downtown in circles and pop into various parking lots to socialize. I remember going to the mall during the first few days it opened. It was still a work in progress and was nowhere near capacity in terms of stores. It would take several years for the mall to get "decent" at least in my opinion and the opinion of my friends. The Cinema V theaters, arcade, Pizza By Piece of the Pie, B Dalton, Hals, Radio Shack, Walgreens, Younkers and Pet Parade were all worthy diversions for bored pre-teens and teenagers back in the 80s. Good memories here with my friends. I had family in Albert Lea as well and remember when Northridge opened. I don't remember much about that mall aside from Herbergers. It was a bit disappointing... at least to my teenage mind at the time. Nice video. Still no action at Southbridge but that's not surprising. Things often move at a continental drift pace in MC... or at least they did when I lived there. Once I left it started coming to life downtown which is very nice to see.

  • @mollyheffernen
    @mollyheffernen2 ай бұрын

    Great video! Glad Mason City knew to avoid Kohan. Kohan and Namdar have been bad to so many malls nationwide.

  • @Idelia412
    @Idelia4122 жыл бұрын

    Nice video well done. I have watched dead mall videos since 2016 or so.

  • @davidclark3304
    @davidclark3304 Жыл бұрын

    We were just there two days ago (mid-June 2023) and it is even deader now. I think there were only three stores open and no one in the mall.

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    Жыл бұрын

    I hope to make at least one more personal visit before the remodel.

  • @gokh666
    @gokh666 Жыл бұрын

    Great video. Love it

  • @crccsave5088
    @crccsave5088 Жыл бұрын

    The space with the checkered tile and neon used to be aladdins castle arcade

  • @miguelpalma1197
    @miguelpalma11972 жыл бұрын

    Mr. Taco is still Alive!! They’re outside of the mall under a new name. Happy Donkey!

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for sharing! I’ll look for them next time I drive through Iowa!

  • @waffel7664
    @waffel76644 күн бұрын

    thai place is so fucking bangin here

  • @dustintheblindminnesotan
    @dustintheblindminnesotan2 жыл бұрын

    This video is amazing 🤩.

  • @ItsaRomethingeveryday
    @ItsaRomethingeveryday2 жыл бұрын

    Liked very much your video, we live thirty minutes away from it

  • @nancydarling4918
    @nancydarling4918 Жыл бұрын

    Interesting video! Thanks!

  • @chrisworth5632
    @chrisworth5632 Жыл бұрын

    The green neon circle reminds me of a well working Xbox 360.

  • @buriedtreasr389
    @buriedtreasr3894 ай бұрын

    Claire's is now out. turn out the lights, this mall is over. The last retail business is out.

  • @drowningcows7631
    @drowningcows76312 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant insight into the death of another world

  • @derekarnold
    @derekarnold12 күн бұрын

    A thing about the Northbridge vs Southbridge name thing. Some people might disagree with me on this, but having grown up miles from the Iowa/MN border, having lived in both the Des Moines area and the Twin Cities metro, North Iowa and Southern Minnesota have a lot more in common with each other than either of those places. So it makes sense -- Northbridge is north of Southbridge, the names relate to each other, in the same region, which I've really thought of over the years as mostly transcending the state boundary. The difference isn't entirely cultural, it's also subtle differences in climate, which you can see in the subzones on the USDA plant hardiness map.

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    10 күн бұрын

    Thanks for the insight. Maybe the “bridge” could be considered the state border.

  • @MaeF1y603
    @MaeF1y6033 ай бұрын

    Looks like a fun place to go drive rc cars in. Wonder if anyone would get upset...or if there would be anyone there to get upset 🤔

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    3 ай бұрын

    Ha, I visited on a quiet day, but I have seen maintenance on visits where I wasn't filming.

  • @RavenRX
    @RavenRX8 ай бұрын

    There was an entrance but I guess they redid it when they added the new addition where JC Penny was.

  • @marktomlinson6714
    @marktomlinson671410 ай бұрын

    The Happy Donkey is a sister business of Mr. Taco and is in the plaza.

  • @Mary...22-u9j
    @Mary...22-u9j2 жыл бұрын

    malls were once jam packed with people now they mostly dead...sad

  • @andysorensen1737
    @andysorensen17372 жыл бұрын

    I’m impressed by the amount of repurposing throughout, particularly the ice arena conversion.

  • @buriedtreasr389

    @buriedtreasr389

    4 ай бұрын

    that arena sits vacant 6 m out of the year, they could run profitable even at the fairgrounds...what a joke

  • @scottsews
    @scottsews4 ай бұрын

    This looks like my local mall which we call a shopping centre in northern Ireland. It's name is connswater shopping centre and it's over 50% empty. Built around this same time as this one it was expanded in the early 2000s but now is failing. Sad seeing these cool buildings die 😢

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    4 ай бұрын

    Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, it is too bad. I have been to southern Ireland, but I hope to make it to Northern Ireland someday.

  • @charliefranta1025
    @charliefranta1025 Жыл бұрын

    Update feburary 2023: I went here the other day and noting has happened yet. Not sure when they actually plan on doing something with this place but check it out asap if you get a chance before they do something with it.

  • @buddybrandongc5063
    @buddybrandongc50632 жыл бұрын

    So the mall is literally in the middle of the downtown area?

  • @YodelingLoonRetail

    @YodelingLoonRetail

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yes, from what I’ve read they diverted traffic around the mall with one-way streets.

  • @Swaggerfromcuba
    @Swaggerfromcuba Жыл бұрын

    I have been there i moved but i still miss i

  • @11NPG
    @11NPG Жыл бұрын

    Next time your in the area, the mr taco owner now owns and run the restaurant/bar happy donkey right at the plaza where your video first starts

  • @chip2139
    @chip21392 ай бұрын

    Meredith Willson has two l's in Willson.

  • @DankFloyd
    @DankFloyd2 ай бұрын

    its a dead town fam

  • @danahinnenkamp9548
    @danahinnenkamp95483 ай бұрын

    They ruined downtown Mason City when they built this. Such huge mistakes.

  • @buriedtreasr389
    @buriedtreasr3894 ай бұрын

    Democratic run town at it's finest...not

  • @chip2139
    @chip21392 ай бұрын

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Willson