Vacant Mall

We stopped by the mall in my hometown around 7:00 Saturday evening. As a teenager, back in the 80s, I remember the local mall being the main hang out. It was always full of people on the weekends, and it was a place to see and be seen.

It’s gone through a major makeover since then, and it looks really good. The decor is modern and clean. There are, or have been, many and varied stores in this mall, including, currently, the only book store in town. But it’s virtually vacant now days.

I took the above photos standing in the middle of the main corridor, looking down the two main wings (there’s three wings total) at the anchor stores. There were a total of five people in the hall in the top image, and just two people (sitting on the bench) in the bottom image.

Walking down the halls, I noticed all the smaller stores had zero customers, and the larger stores had just a handful scattered about. I don’t know how the stores survive.

In my my current town, on a Saturday evening, these images of the mall would show 20 to 30 people in the halls. Every store, no matter how small, would have at least one customer, and cash registers all over would be taking in money.

I doubt my old home town mall will still be open in five more years. It’s a nice place, with a good location in the town, but it’s still just dying. I’m really saddened to see this happening.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com