That is one nice looking mall. 40 years and still going strong. I agree with you on the colors and the open area with the skylights with the blue. I like the music selection very fitting for Abilene.

@charlieretro

3 жыл бұрын

My local mall is around 30 years old and still going really strong and still getting add on as we speak.

My cousin is the owner of el Chico. I'm glad to see that it is , still open

@WallieB26

3 жыл бұрын

Hope they're doing well or at least the best they can given the circumstances of the virus.

@ronaldmiears4554

3 жыл бұрын

There is no el chico's in the mall

@twistedlight3432

3 жыл бұрын

you think i can get some free food 👀

The community supports this mall, and that is why its open!

That SEARS signage made me have a flash back to when I was a kid!

My hometown Abilene Tx. Had great times at this mall. I miss Abilene

So happy to hear this mall is doing well. So sad to see other mall's closing and not rebuilding. Online shopping has ruined everything!

@peskyjesuit9021

2 жыл бұрын

COVID and masks; thank God we aren't California!!!!

Great song at the beginning.👍

@kellypreziosi

3 жыл бұрын

My kid loves it now too! He begs to watch this video because he likes the outside drive around the mall and the interior footage but he is ALL about the song!

@jayelle3448

3 жыл бұрын

Grew up listening to and loving that song about Abilene, finally moved here a few decades ago only to discover the song's actually about the Abilene in Kansas instead of Texas, LOL. Just a bit of weird trivia no one asked for, but there it is. 😁 Abilene, TX was named after Abilene, KS in 1881.

I worked there when they first opened at JC Penney. It has changed a lot. They sold candy that you could bag and material. Had a little restaurant where you could sit down and eat. They have gotten rid of all that. I made a whoppin $2.90 an hour. Some things are still the same like where they have the womens clothes , thats where I worked. Long time ago for sure I was pretty young then.

Abilene doesn't have a lot of "department store" type places to shop, so that is probably why this mall has continued to serve a need for the town, which is still somewhat of a traditional type of community. Only time will tell if the next generation of younger families will continue to support the mall as in the past. Hopefully they can get a viable anchor store to replace the Sears.

@tiffaniegreen1816

3 жыл бұрын

I would like Macy's but I know retail is dying!

Very cool. I worked in the Mall of Abilene at a jewelry kiosk in 97/98. I then opened my own kiosk on March 22, 1999. I stayed until October of that year and opened my big store @ S. 27th & Willis here in Abilene. Good memories and lifelong connections made. I have always loved that mall. We celebrated 21 years in business this past March, time does fly. But I will always have a soft spot for that mall. Good video and narration. Thank you for walking us down memory lane.

Wow! Love the old Sears logo signage, it's like a '70s time warp :)

Had a JCP that had a very similar facade in my childhood! Even the aesthetics of that mall are similar to one of my childhood malls! WOW!

I love my hometown. Abilene, Texas is a great place to raise a family. When I was there, I thought it was boring. I'm in my 40's now and living in Tennessee. Not knocking Tennessee, but, home is home. Abilene, I love y'all!

My favorite Mail in Abilene ❤

I live 60 mile north of Abilene. Born and raised in the area and have been in the Mall of Abilene many times over the 41 yrs it’s been around. I still remember the original mall Abilene had on S. 1st street which was named Westgate Mall. Was in Best Buy at the Abilene mall 2 days ago. Awesome video and love that it is about a place I know and shop at. Thanks for honoring a great place just a little ways down yonder past my backyard. :)

I worked at the movie theater, 85-86. Wonderful memories of that place and the mall.

Really enjoyed this video, this is a nice looking mall.

Wow. I was born in Abilene in 1981 and we moved away when I was about 7, then we moved back for a few years when I was about 11. I haven't been back to the mall in like 25 years or so. I remember eating at El Chico's, and I remember the old commercials for it with the jingle that used to run in the summer. That fountain at 3:11 - I remember sticking my hands in it to fish coins out and getting in trouble, haha. The mall entrance used to look different, and the Chuck E Cheese is definitely after my time. I remember the Spencer gifts with the old logo from the old photos in the beginning though. I also remember the Dillard's being there, and I remember the Service Merchandise there back in the day my parents loved Service Merchandise. But a lot of these stores are new to me. I remember that tile work, but I can tell you for sure the ceilings and light fixtures have changed. I recall the Christmas decorations in the mall when I was a kid was impressive. I was in that big mall in Houston near Christmas last year and was underwhelmed by how sparse and uncreative it was. It's nice to know something from my childhood is still there. When we moved back to Abilene when I was older, this was the cool place to hang out. Seriously. I remember I used to there on the weekends, we had a somewhat dilapidated house on Robertson Drive so it wasn't that far away, though it was still a pretty good trek to get there walking, haha. I wasn't allowed to take my bike, my parents were afraid it would get stolen, but they usually dropped me off and picked me up. There was always something going on in there on Saturdays, like there'd be local mariachi bands performing in the mall. Also Abilene has a pretty respectable zoo for a town its size.

One of your best videos yet Enjoyed all the background stories and George Straight to take us home.

@WallieB26

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed. I have been trying hard to make my mall videos as best as i can.

As I’m in uk 🇬🇧 I find these mall reviews superb and so so interesting 🧐 cheers loving the channel

@WallieB26

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much. Greetings from the US. Glad you enjoy!

This mall was pretty much the only retail option I had when I lived there for college. I didn’t like it, because it was so small, but I’m glad it’s still doing well.

I lived in Abilene from 1982 till 1990, spent a lot of time in that mall, was always very nice. Still return to Abilene once or twice a year to visit family and still spend time at the mall. My wife and I purchased our wedding bands in 1984 from the Zales store and my wife worked at JC Penny's for a while. Well I hope you stopped and had a Whataburger or stopped by my buddy Kyle's place, Betty Roses. Take care, good memories!

So sad to see all the sears go, great to see a mall still thriving (Chapel Hill could use a lesson lol). Best Buy in a mall, last time i seen that is the Elyria mall in Ohio. Great video and perfect music in the beginning.

I used to walk inside the mall every morning when I lived in Abilene. Good memories

We lived an hour from Abilene when I was growing up. Every Saturday people would go to town, which meant driving to Abilene & shopping at the Mall. Prom dresses, school clothes & first dates were at that Mall. Good memories.

Hello Wallie! Great video as usual!

Very well put together video, it’s great to see a mall thriving during coronavirus!

Love this mall very nice clean and organized! 🙂

2 words. Coastal Cookies 🍪

4:53 Wow it even has the old Classic Sears Lettering not like the newer ones most malls had

Thanks telling me about forty years of this shopping centre, Abilene in Texas.

This is the mall we always go too

I love abilene! its a nice place to raise a family..

Looks like a nice mall, happy for them!

Great video and nice looking mall! Love the music!

We live south of this area we go to the Abilene mall when we go there 😚 nice place to come and see and spend sometime . They just closed this sears not long ago we really miss sears and the shoe store they use to have too called Payless shoe store . Mexican Food is awesome at EL CHICO .

that is pretty cool a mall that is still going strong after 40 years wow

I was in Abilene back in 2017 helping my aunt find a new job. I saw the parking lot and let's just say that there wasn't an empty parking spot

Awesome video I Wally one of the music in the beginning of the video

I lived in Abilene for eight months. I was shocked at how well this mall was doing compared to the Parks in Arlington. Their bookstore was the main reason I went. Considering there isn't much to do in Abilene, it's understandable why people go there!

Malls have been a chunk of my life. In Texas in the summer, it was nice to have that much browsing room in the a/c! Later, malls were rough to go to for Christmas shopping. Huge crowds and full parking lots. My mother and her mother liked Este Lauder products that I could get at Dillard’s, which was at every mall I had access to in Texas. My other grandma had other tastes, but I could find something for her too. I’m 57 now and all of them are gone. When I was a kid, the mall was where you visited when you went to a city that was big enough to have one. It’s sad to see so many closing down.

Well done on this video 📹 glad this mall is still thriving

@mikelp72

3 жыл бұрын

Adam Knepp I fear it has tough days ahead. Sears is gone, JC Penny is likely to close soon, and Chuck E Cheese will probably go away as well.

@adamknepp4429

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikelp72 right good stores

I didn't know El Chico was a small chain. We had one in Lubbock in same location for many years. Last year the owner closee up after years in business.

I really enjoyed this video. I grew up there and remember the Lubys, went there as a kid with my grandma ..there was also a glamour shots place and a pet store at one time and an Orange Julius, was a teen when it first opened..... long before the days of Jamba Juice . Lol

@dallasalice1346

Жыл бұрын

Jerry’s Perfect Pets 😊

Your videos are so cool! I really like the aesthetics of this mall myself. It's sad to see Sears close. Though, it's great to see the Mall of Abilene thriving.

Great video very well done and it is nice to see a mall being successful like this one and I did not hear any music after the naration.

This is impressive, professional, I just absent mindedly clicked recommended and had no idea it was you until you talked!

@WallieB26

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much. I really appreciate the kind words. I've been trying to make my videos in general as best I can but especially my mall videos.

Cool 😀

Wow this mall is nice! I love the Sears sign 😍

The *Other* Berkshire mall in Eastern Pennsylvania is doing well, People say the aesthetics are 1980s (The flooring, the food court neon)

Wow! This is your best video ever! What a slick beginning, with the news footage and old photos,wow. I stopped a few minutes in to see if I picked the right video. Yeah I did, holly cow Wallie! I thought I was watching something from Rick Sebak. Get out of that hot garage, you have a future in documentary television.

i miss my old town

Awesome video 👌👌

I remember when Westgate mall closed and the mall of abilene was built. Shopped there many times. I've dined at El Chico. I was in town yesterday but I didn't know they were celebrating 40 years! Where does the time go?

@grumerguy

3 жыл бұрын

@penny jayne Yeah. Whites western auto on north 1st.

I worked at this Sears store in Abilene!

Like this mall

Love my city

Nice video

I be suprise if came to my hometown in San Angelo tx they have a great mall and it pack.

Hey that’s my hometown!

It's part of the southwest area I guess there is a mall maybe exactly like this its called the Animas Valley mall in Farmington, NM and another mall almost like this as well called the Flagstaff Mall in Flagstaff, AZ. I do believe both are doing well too haven't been to either one in a awhile.

You should check out Emerald Square mall in North Attleboro Massachusetts

The regional mall was on south first was called West gate mall.

I love the Mall, I just can't walk it anymore, back and breathing issues. Bittersweet trip down memory lane.

I used to work at Montgomery Wards when I was 18-19. The Mall of Abilene took all the business from Westgate Mall. I haven’t been back to Abilene in a long time, when I go next time I will go to the mall. I live in Waco and our mall is one of the dying malls I’m afraid.

Love the video, especially the pic of the fountain. I'd forgotten all about it. I used to sit there and eat my chicken nuggies from Chick-Fil-A. Before the pandemic, it was announced that we were getting a Conn's in the old Sears space. I guess that fell apart. I'm curious, what restaurant did you eat at during your visit to Abilene?

I lived in Abilene from 1995 till 2016, then I moved to Merkel. I miss living in town

I haven't been to this mall since January.

Damn can’t believe I missed this I was at home doing nothing

I guess our Malls aren't doing bad, with the exception of Century 3 which isn't open anymore. I forgot about the Mills also, not sure how many or if any stores are there.

@WallieB26

3 жыл бұрын

The Mills mall is struggling badly. There has to be less than 20 stores left in it.

Wallie thank you for saying Coronavirus , instead of Covid-19 means a lot:)

heh, yeah. good place.

I don't see anything thriving about this mall. Maybe it's the timing of when this video was made. But I love your dedication to malls...thriving or dead.

Obviously they haven't walked through the Mall lately. Sears is gone and the number of empty stores seems to increase weekly.

We used to have a Hollister and PacSun and forever 21

@rowdyjman94

3 жыл бұрын

Where was the forever 21? & the other two stores closed within a year of each other I think

Hey I know it's a stretch but was the Arcade still there across from the theater?

@garlandgilliam1218

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it is

Hey wallie if youre ever in fort worth again theirs two other malls in fort worth you should check out. Ones la grand plaza which is this pretty cool mexican mall and northeast mall which is another big mall which isnt far from an abandoned toys r us

@coffeekills5174

3 жыл бұрын

La Grand Plaza wasn't always a mexican mall, before it was one. It was called Fort Worth Town Center.

@lonesomepath5845

3 жыл бұрын

@@coffeekills5174 well originally it was named seminary south

@coffeekills5174

3 жыл бұрын

yeah ik

Sears has the original Signage :)

@mikelp72

3 жыл бұрын

Sadly it’s closed.

Would have liked to have seen the Air Force Reserve recruiting office

Willie Chick-fil-A is no longer in the Mall of Abilene , Abilene , Tx

El Chico's use to be good in the 80's and 90's. My husband and I went there for either an anniversary or Valentine's Day, and I will never go back there again. Not even the kids would eat the leftovers, but the dog did. Taco Bell's breakfasts are bad, but not as bad as El Chico's dinner's.

Abilene in my opinion is the best mall in west Texas, better than midland and Odessa

Good that this mall ain't struggling also Wallieb26 you need to go to rosstownship McIntyre Square Drive Stein mart Just announced not long ago that it's going out of business and filed chapter 7 bankruptcy it will be the first video in a while you did in Ross township because it ain't as of a dying city but it kind of is according to Wikipedia the Dunham's Sports, Stein mart, And Giant eagle all used to be a Kaufman's on the McIntyre Square Drive Giant eagle if you don't get confused because there's 2 in the area, until it moved in the 90s a mile down to Ross park mall but the Kaufman's is now Macy's also You should do the At Home That used to be Kmart in Monroeville, And Ross township location that used to be Kmart both locations that closed before you started your channel they were both i think on the same closing list if i am wrong then the Monroeville location closed on the list after the last list the one with the McIntyre square location.

Le Sueur's Mall is fucked, new owner, new plans, tear down the back half by october, no construction look at all. Everything is great, the owners are definitly gonna chase the existing stores out because they really already cant keep stores. Also google Le Sueur Theater and check out their facebook

Amazon & other online stores & the pandenic are what killed most of the malls.

Who goes to Craig middle school

I’m glad to see that you’re doing thriving malls and you do a good job of narrating. But you need to be more creative and not copy what somebody else is doing. Tiltedtripodmedia goes and videos the outside of the mall and it was his idea to do thriving malls so that his viewers could see what a thriving Mall looks like. Now all you need to do is be a little more creative on your own. It’s not fair that you’re getting all of the views from somebody else’s ideas.

This is my home town. Sears is out of business and JC Penny won’t be around much longer, it’s looking pretty shabby and dark inside. I think some tough days are ahead for this mall unfortunately.

@brybryzz

3 жыл бұрын

Justice closed as well :(

I bet it’s gone within the next 5 years. Welcome to the New Digital Age.

@wildershoney2439

3 жыл бұрын

People here don't like to just sit at home. Another reason we live here. The digital age can be interrupted, and just get boring. Getting out and walking while window shopping is still needed.

The Abilene mall is kindof trash but nice ppl at least

@legoboy7462

3 жыл бұрын

It kinda gotten a little worse

Food court is shit there is no el chico's in the mall

It shouldn't even be open yet! It's not essential!

Having a public library in a shopping mall is not called thriving.

that mall SUCKS !!!!!!!!