The Eastfield Mall in Springfield, MA is closing. Here’s why that’s a bad thing.
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- The Eastfield Mall is closing this July. This video explains why that’s a bad thing.
We first Spoke with Cassy, an employee at Midnight Odyssey Crystals.
We then spoke with Crystal from a Blast From the Past/ Sports Zone.
Be sure to subscribe to A Blast From the Past here on CZcams!
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We then spoke with Dwight Bell, he and his wife own and operate Godus fashion boutique.
I hope to be able to update everyone on where these stores have relocated to down the road.
Almost all news clips are property of 22 News, then altered and distorted by myself.
The music is from White Bat Audio, mostly from this clip- Copyright free music is a blessing, thank you to them for doing this service.
• Chill Synth / Synthwav...
The final clip is property of RocketRoberts on CZcams and the rest of the video can be found here:
• Boston Rd Christmas 19...
All my links are here:
linktr.ee/theconfusingwords
Stay tuned for more mall videos including updated on malls in Massachusetts! Please subscribe and leave a comment to help support the channel.
Thank you for watching!
#springfieldma #springfield #massachusetts #westernma #westernmass #deadmalls #deadmall #mallclosing #80smalls #90smalls
It blows my mind that the Eastfield Mall is being shut down yet the Enfield Mall is still operating. I feel like I'm in a parallel universe.
Thanks so much for this video and the effort you put into it. Such a sad state of affairs.
Oh I agree with you completely. This is a much more viable mall- it’s offensive the way they have neglected it and now are abruptly shuttering it. The Enfield mall is undoubtedly the next to go, but it’s a nightmare compared to Eastfield. At least the Eastfield Mall still maintains having stores.
And thank you for the kind words! I’ve never put dozens of hours into a single video before. It was definitely a learning experience. I think I’ll be better equipped for the next one now!
THIS WAS AMAZING! THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTERVIEW! THIS IS OUR NEW BUSINESS CHANNEL. I know u tagged the one i gave u but it was the wrong one.
Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed! I’d love to do a follow up video some time as well! People are not happy about this mall closing and wish everyone there the best future ❤️ subscribed to your new channel!
Thank you for making this. I visited the Eastfield Mall more times than I can remember since the 1980s. I knew it was in decline for over a decade but it's still hard to believe it closed.
Used to live in Springfield around 2006-2007, it wasn’t too bad out there. But I’ve gotta say that I don’t think I’ve ever shopped there, still don’t wish it would close either way. Hope your voices are heard and they respond accordingly! 🤘🏼 #Keepitopen
No way! I didn’t know you lived out this way! Thank you so much for watching and for your support my friend! 🙌❤️
@@theconfusingwords Yes ma’am. 🙂 Lived really close to an area called Plainfield, and holyoke which was no more than maybe 13 mins away. Traveling the US has been remarkable and one of the things I’ll never forget. I hope they can put a halt to that close… if not, the memories will have to live on with disappointment of it shutting down sadly.. 🫤
Thanks for doing all this to show us!
Thank you so much! This was a tough one- I’ve never spent this much time working on a video before, but I learned some new tricks and look forward to trying out more new things in the future mall videos! 😄
The crime is nasty in Springfield Massachusetts
There is some bad crime in Springfield! It has gotten better over the last few years. There was a point when things were worse.
Great work on the video, stories like this need to be told. It makes me really sad to see that so many malls like this just struggle so hard to make it anymore. I hate how everything has moved online as well in regards to retail, there was something so special about going to the mall to socialize and just be around other people that will be lost too.
We have switched to socializing on our phones instead of in person. There was so much to being at malls back when I was a kid. Times have changed and some things haven’t changed for the better, I hate to say it. I feel so bad for the store owners 😔
What an awesome video!!! I loved how old videos were stitched into your walk around videos. The addition of the interviews gave a realization of the sad effect of the mall closing ......very nicely done!!
Thanks so much! I had to do something to soften or make the harsh transitions seem intentional. It was the only thing I could think of. Lol. So glad you liked it! 😄
No new mall...I bet "affordable housing" will be built.
I have heard affordable housing will be built!
there’s nothing affordable about housing now
These folks just don't get it. Malls are expensive. Repainting the roof will cost a small fortune. Just like paying the power bill for the mall, all that area that needs to be heated and cooled. Putting in little mom and pop junk shops won't help, They can't afford to pay the kind of money you need to keep a mall operating. And when you customers take the bus, that means they are poor, and can't afford cars. Here in Florida, the malls in the rich areas do just fine. They generate lots of cash. Malls in poor areas (like where I live) are ghost towns. There is no saving them
We have higher end malls near where I live in CT that are very profitable and packed with people. Westfarms mall has Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s and Nordstrom keeping that mall afloat with luxury shoppers. I agree that malls in poorer areas are more likely to die out. I think at this point the repairs needed are past the point of return now. Without anchors paying, makes it harder to keep on repairs. ☹️
Excellent video, but it is sad to see it.
Very sad. I feel like this mall had much more personality than most. Such a shame for it to go in this way 💔
Really cool and interesting video. It reminded me a little bit of Bright Sun Films. It's really sad to see this mall going through the same fate as other malls that are well known. Too me, the mall can't be saved. It's already too late. Feel really bad for those small business owners who have worked very hard to grow their businesses and to close down and move to another location it sucks. Hopefully you'll be able to give an update in the future to the people and businesses that you interviewed
Thank you so much! This was a really tough video to make but I’m glad I got it done. I think I’m better equipped for the next mall video now. Lol. But it really is unfortunate. This mall his personality, color and history unlike most modern buildings. Everything these days is so sterile and bland. I’ll definitely hope to update everyone on where the stores relocate to.
This is a legit documentary I kind of want to go there! we got a closed-down mall out here but it's got security..
Too bad there’s security there! I’m trying to go to all of the malls at risk of closing down and film them! This one has an actual closure date which made it urgent!
That girl you spoke to at 9:43 was awesome and personable! Very articulate! I miss you well-spoken, articulate women from Massachusetts! Hahaha! (thats more my style of speaking) .I love southern women too, so im not knocking them either. But im just saying! lol. (your videos always bring me home =) --- edit- i watched further! also the girl at 17:01- She sounds like she has a Puerto Rican accent. Springfield MA has one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the country! i loved her up north style of speaking! like a massachusetts/new yorker type haha. ah man i love your vids! These people all sound like me! Here i am down south worrying like i gotta "tone it down" for some ppl down here! i aint toning it down for anyone!! the mass is still in me!
Haha yes! The first girl, Cassy was soooo personable, really wonderful, I loved talking with her! Crystal was the second interview and she has so much personality and I am here for it! You’re right, New England people talk faster than down south and will add a lot more, uhhh, flavor to what they want to say, lol. I like the slow pace down south sometimes but it’s not what I’m used to! Lol 😆 and never stop being you! Be a Masshole everywhere you go! Haha 😉
@@theconfusingwords Thank you!! Exactly!! 100 100 100 100 100 100
Thank u for your words! I'm from the bronx so I got a lil accent ❤
@@CrystalleeFromtheBRONX I knew it! good stuff! loved the energy! i hope the eastfield mall can be saved! i remember how it was in the 90s and 2000s like you said!
Thank you so much! You knew i would be watching this vid! Haha! It's too bad that they had to close it! I was hoping to get in there at least one more time, but i live so far away now!
I totally knew you’d be watching it. I knew I had a handful of people who were waiting for this one. Lol. It really is a shame they are closing it. I know what ever they replace it with, it won’t have as much personality as this mall- filled with history, bright colors and neon, and a variety of local and chain shops. My heart goes out to the stores and frequent shoppers 😔
I will say if you can come up to New England before they close, take a trip down memory lane! I’d go for a walk with you there!
@@theconfusingwords Hell yeah! That would be awesome!! Perhaps i can work on arranging it! I can almost definitely get up there near the end of the summer or fall, but then it will be closed. (damn time limit) If not we could do Auburn mall instead! haha!
Remember Wilson's Department Store in Downtown Greenfield, MA. This was a long running department store and it lasted for 137 years on Main Street in Greenfield.
Oh wow! I wonder who remembers that!
I was there the week before it closed to shoot pictures and the mall itself still had great energy. Despite it being empty it still felt good to me. How could it feel so good and close? I sat in a lonely chair in front of Penny's under the only working blue neon lights and it felt like 1987! I was there for a few hours shooting every square inch I had access to. Most of the service hallways were open, I went everywhere. If you look on the hidden rear Sears entrance you'll see a bunch of kids signed their names. It says" Goodbye Eastfield Mall, Mallratz for life, Mallratz for eva". Your damned right I signed my name too! Get down there and sign your name!
I have to get there and sign my name next time I get to the area!! All of this isn’t right!!
@@theconfusingwords Sears still owns their building, the auto center and their parking lot. The rest of the mall is fenced off for demolition but not Sears. Go around the back of Sears and go to the Mall entrance. If your facing the entrance look to your left and there is a tucked in boarded entrance to Sears that blends in with everything else, that's where you'll find it
Such a shame. The cinema was our go-to on Saturday nights. Also they had the best walking club in the morning. Loved the kiosk's during the Christmas season.
I will especially miss this mall for the cinemas and Christmas myself. I really enjoyed coming here during the week/during the day when it was nice and quiet too. It had such a nice atmosphere 😞
One of my local malls had the opposite happen, the mall died and closed and then eventually the AMC movie theater also closed. And then my other local dead mall had a similar thing happen like at eastfield, the theater closed about 3 years or so before the rest of the mall closed. I have a lot of childhood memories there, but it sucks it died before I was even a teenager. There was an awesome local italian pizza place, arcade, theater, game store, pretzel kiosk(NOT auntie annes sadly lol,) etc. Was in walking distance, so, wouldve been a great place to hang out with friends, instead of just roaming the streets. I feel cheated out of those memories! I miss malls. I dont really go to my areas last remaining one all that often tbh, its the lamest of the 3. I think its gonna be fine for a while though, due to having target as an anchor/holiday shopping. That mall was actually where I managed to find all 3 of the eeveelution vmax boxes last year haha. I hope we see a resurgence one day, where everyone is super nostalgic for malls. Come on, Amazon, make it happen xD!! The victim complex from the blast from past woman was a bit off-putting. I mean here she is in her brick and mortar store.... I wish I was anywhere even close to being able to do that, but oh yeah, everything is against her, sure... lmao. I cant even run a successful ebay store, and im just one of those "privileged" straight ⚪ men 🤦Anyways, I LOVED the documentary style of this, it was so well done, really one of your best videos yet.
That’s why I’m sad this mall is leaving us when it does still have a lot of shops in it worth visiting, even some chains still doing well. I went at an off time, but the malls really were a place that were socialization hubs on the weekend. You could go there with just pocket change, enough to get some food and a movie ticket and stay there all day, enjoying time with your friends. When this mall is gone, it’ll be the last of the early malls that still had personality in it. I think modern malls and stores in general are so sterile and bland looking. This mall had personality. We should be restoring and maintaining old buildings, not tearing them down.
And honestly, I’m SO glad you liked this video. It took me a few dozen hours to actually make it. It was so much harder than I anticipated. I bit off WAY more than I could chew. Not to mention, I made this with a Samsung tablet and my iPhone. That’s it! I had to screen record with audio playing from the tablet and doing voice overs with the screen record, and that was HARD to not mess up. Some clips took 10+ tries, and they were broken down to just a few minutes long. Just trying to find old clips of the mall was a bit harder than I expected. Wasn’t very much outside of Christmas clips. Lol.
Normally, by comparison, I just go and film for a few hours then slap the clips together for a few hours and upload it. This was an INSANE amount of work. Although, I did learn from it and will be doing more of this in the future. My next mall video is MASSIVE- three stories of vast emptiness. The WORST mall I’ve ever seen. I’m sure people walk in and leave when they see the lack of stores, assuming it’s not open to the public. I will do a normal intro around the perimeter then music for the inside and a little voice over. I actually got confronted by the mall manager. It was pretty wild. Lol. That one will be at least a 45 min video unless I cut some stuff out.
@@theconfusingwords I can tell you worked hard on it. It shows! Very high quality stuff, keep it up :)
I was there practically at its grand opening once and there at its last day.
Oh wow! This mall is so iconic, it hurts that they let it come to this fate. It will be missed by many 😔😢
They are focusing on creating these new little city looking malls! We have a couple up here. Assembly row in Somerville is a big 1, Then further north in Salem NH... the Tuscan Village. 😢 Great video my friend. ❤❤
Wow! Yeah your area has changed so much over the last decade, it’s nuts to me. I miss living up there, but revisiting, it’s almost unrecognizable now!
Thank you so much! 🥰❤️
I really HATE this situation. A year ago, to see many promotions for Eastfield Mall with many new businesses and just a year later it being planned for closure. ITS JUST A HORRIBLE/DISGUSTING SITUATION. At one point, i heard a potential redevelopment but the inner mall would remain with renovations and the former anchor spaces would be redeveloped into other things. That's what I wish was being done instead of a full tear down. I feel for the local tenants that now have to plan future things because of this
I agree- it is an absolutely disgusting situation. The businesses don’t deserve this, and that’s why I interviewed the shop owners and employees. I wish I had more time to work on this video! I think I’ll have to go back.
Such a shame..it will be greatly missed once it's gone.. open air malls aren't fun thinking of the cold winter and the hot summer.. walking store to store.. eastfield mall yes should have been saved the store's that are going there honestly won't draw any one
I’m really sad they made so little effort to save and keep this mall occupied… a legend in MA, left to deteriorate. Breaks my heart. I agree with you about the open air shopping centers… Not as fun, convenient, it’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s too rainy… I prefer malls.
19:00 her energy was on fire! i love it! im so saddened to see these smaller businesses getting fucked because of this bullshit!!! like she said at the end "it was a gold mine years ago". she outta try to buy it if she could . she could do well
I know! Her business will continue to thrive anywhere she goes because she’s dedicated to it and has a following. I’ll go visit here where ever she goes! This situation is so unfair for her and the others. She is just one of over a dozen small businesses still there ☹️
@@theconfusingwords definitely
So sad I’m sorry
It’s sad… But all we can do is hope that the stores in there can relocate and prosper 💔
Wish it stayed open
Me too. This one hurts me in my childhood. I will miss this mall and all of the personality it has.
i went here a lot as a child
I went here a lot as a teenager!! It’s so sad to see it come to this 😔
Nice video
Thanks so much Ben! 🥰
@@theconfusingwords of course 😊
man, I grew up hanging out with my friends at this mall. It was also my parents go to because it was so close. Sad that it feels like the end of a chapter :(
It really is sad, too many memories there. It’s a shame malls aren’t what they used to be 😔
@@theconfusingwords yeah technology and online shopping taking completely over... smh
@@DomMcDon take me back to the good old days!
Mall is demolished it will become a commons in two years with apartments
I remember the good ol days of the mall. I remember the Springdale mall across the st, Showbiz Pizza, Toys R Us, etc. Heck, I used to go to the Fairfield mall that was in Chicopee back in the day. Those were the days. Haven't been living in the state since 2003, but sad to see the malls demise.
OMG the Fairfield mall in Chicopee!! I wish I could have seen that one. The Toys R Us is severely missed. Springfield will NOT be the same!
that lady in the crystal store is pretty :3
I agree she is very pretty and sweet as well 😊
@@theconfusingwords also that mayor of Springfield and the mall owners pissed me off, like seriously you could have tried to save this place, especially when you were all in about getting small businesses to come in, then some developer offers you big money and you leave the little guy high and dry. Those two shops you interviewed, the crystal store and the toy shop could easily do well for years to come. I would hope they both find a new home
I did see the Crystal store has a location at the Holyoke mall (I went last week) and I really hope to check in with them at the toy store because they are wonderful people who really have what it takes to thrive. The mayor should have done better by them! 😔
The place to go when you need a tomahawk
There are definitely tomahawks to be bought here. Now, where will I buy them? Amazon? No thank you! 😅
All malls are gone big box stores apple and Amazon killed them all.
You’re not wrong… it’s such a shame.
I agree that malls in general just aren't the same popular places to visit like back in the 90s, but there are still plenty of thriving malls in MA.
@@CrazeaHolyoke Mall is one of those thriving malls.