Dead Malls Season 4 Episode 16 - Northfield Square Mall
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Right on the edge of Kankakee, Illinois, a small interstate town loosely connected to the Chicago metro. Lies Northfield Square Mall. There isn’t a whole lot to say about this mall that I haven’t already said before about others like it.. This mall is stuck in the 90s with all the retro aesthetics ironically also being in the 90s with how vacant it is.. Now as of writing this dipping below 90%. What’s to come of Debartolos last adventure before the acquisition? Well let’s take a tour and find out as we tell the story of Northfield Square Mall, in Kankakee, Illinois.
Music Used
Starlight Zone 12 - Tee Lopes
No Rush - Manchac Networks
Perfume - V A N I T Y
Lonesome Breezes - Waterfront Dining
b r o k e n d r e a m s - soft93fm
M E S S I A H
Pure Moods - Luxury Elite
Serial Killer Under the Neon Lights - 9 6
Casino Gardens (Extended Take) - Casino Gardens
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Links
Instagram - / the_northern_films_insta
Patreon - / northernfilms
#northcdogg22 #deadmall #deadmalls #northernfilms
I would be very surprised if anyone gets this next mall guess right! Let’s just say I wanted to make sure it was gonna be a “nice day”
Belvidere Mall?
@@Andy-hl7gh nope but good guess!
@@NorthCdogg22 Is it Northland Mall, in Sterling, IL?
Can you do Muncie mall, it used to be a very busy mall with it being completely packed ,. It’s not as dead but it’s really dead and sometimes on rare occasions has no one in it
@@MrRobertRue I’d love to check it out! I’ll add it to my list of my next Ohio trip
That JCPenney teal mirror look was absolutely stunning. Blast from the past right there.
This mall was in my town growing up. I remember my freshman and shophmore year or high school, we were always hanging out there. It was much more lively then, circa 2008/09. I remember getting my prom suit from here and also me and my first ever girlfriend taking pics in the photobooth that use to be here. so many memories man I miss it a lot
This mall was gorgeous at Christmas Time when it first opened..loved going as a kid. Just beautiful classy decorations and a giant talking animatronic reindeer. Great memories around this time of year
Wow I totally forgot about that reindeer!
Near the Carson Pirie Scott, if memory serves correct, used to be a Fanny Mae store and a few high end jewelry stores. I MISS that JcPenney. If you thought the outside of it was cool, the inside was amazing! I've bought so many dresses from there
I actually go to this mall monthly there's not many shops here really but the staff in the stores are very kind I'm going in an hour or so but this is extremely sad. the nostalgia I get coming here every month.. they added lazar tag planning to go see that if its open.
Its kinda surreal seeing someone making a really welldone video on a mall that i still walk at even today. i used to go here as a kid. ill happily rewatch this video over and over again once it gets torn down someday :)
I lived in Manteno for 12 years and this was the mall I went to the most. Even when I was younger I knew that this mall was not doing well. And seeing how it looks now, it seriously breaks my heart seeing it like this. The food court had an A&W, Taco John's and others I don't really remember that well. I remember going into the arcade that was by the Cinemark and seeing it gone makes me more sad. Everything I remembered being here is now gone. The only things left are the Cinemark, CANDY&CAKE and Auntie Anne's. And also I remember by the mall was Hidden Cove. If anyone remembers that amazing place. It had arcade games, go-karts, mini-golf, bumper cars and bounce house's. But now everything I remembered will be a memory. Thank u for this amazing video and keep up the great work dude. And it's ALWAYS been empty for the most part too.
I also lived in Manteno =]
Good news on the mall!
I’ve been checking up on it and things have surprisingly looked positive for the mall. Not so positive that it’s saved, but there have been some small improvements here and there.
The most notable establishments I can think of at the moment are the “Ripple Effect”, a store where you buy crystals and other calming products, “Cakes and Goodies”, a little bakery shop near Kansai that specializes in cakes and other sweets, “Essential Smoothies”, a smoothie joint in the food court that doubles as a vegan restaurant. That last one being in the same location Jerk Island is in; they had a whole grand opening and everything. I’d definitely recommend trying the strawberry banana twist when you come back.
My kids love malls…. When we find one they usually are excited to go. They are super bummed they don’t get to experience mall culture. “Lifestyle centers” don’t bring the same excitement, it just feels like errands….
They don’t have any life or character.. they’re all the same..
@@NorthCdogg22 Yup. They all have Thneedville written over them. It's just a worse stripmall.
Great episode! That remarkably clean mall was unfortunately dead with a capital D! Your comment regarding a “fading culture” (in reference to malls) was spot on accurate.
I worked as an intern with the Kankakee Co. Health Dept. in 1997. I thought that Northfield Square was so very state of the art and modern. This certainly brings back memories of me carrying a clipboard for the food inspections. The closing of the Sears store felt extra hard, since the David Bradley tractors were assembled in Bradley and sold from Sears! There also was a Toys R Us located on the mall property. Even the local newspaper The Daily Journal had a branch at Nothfield Square!
Wow! I didn’t know there were so many cool services that once were housed in the mall, that’s pretty cool.
Sure miss Ropers kroehler etc My hometown. Such a great place to grow up incthe sixties and seventies I had to leave in 85
Great episode. I lived in Kankakee as a child from 1987-1993, so the mall was a big deal for us. I visited town last November for the first time in nearly 30 years and was shocked (but not surprised) at the decline. Unfortunately, we came after closing, so thank you for providing the tour that I was able to take myself.
Love the "Weather Report" break and the humorous deflated balloon... All part of what makes your dead mall documentary videos so unique. 👍👍😎
This was one of my two childhood mall- we went to this one and Louis Joliet. It’s so sad to see how empty this place is now
I especially enjoyed this video. I have a relative and family who lives near Kankakee, Illinois. They haven't been to this mall in years, probably since Covid at least. They are just out of the habit of visiting a mall I guess. They seem to do most of their shopping online or at Target and Walmart. I see the gumball machines but no lounge chairs the staple of all malls. I bet the gumballs are still yummy. (not) Great work on a dying part of America, thanks again.
Incredible video and mall! This such an beautiful mall with the design and that JCPenney. It really takes you back to a lost era. I never heard of this mall before and I love it. I lost anyway, lol but, yeah can’t wait to see Stratford Square Mall! Another mall that I am fascinated with one of my favorite dead mall CZcamsrs documenting it is like a birthday present to me. Keep up the great work!
Thanks CoolCat! I’m glad your enjoying these last few episodes! Hopefully the finale of Season 4 satisfies!
Feeling hella blessed to take a nap and wake up to this. The open ceilings and skylights are so stunning in here! Would honestly be a nice wedding venue lol
Ikr! And thanks for watching!
Man. Developers in the 90s never strayed from the plan. all the malls you've been to look like they've been copy and pasted into suburbs around Australia lol i can just imagine them on international conference calls purchasing each others plans that are pretty much the exact same layout lol
Lol exactly! Back then it was pretty much just the norm, every mall had the exact same aesthetics and identities
Man, back in the day this was the place. The stage in the center hosted so many live music and entertainment events. They hosted the Teen Idol of Kankakee county for years. The holidays were breath taking. It is so very sad to see it go downhill like this when it used to be a mecca for community activity. No one does that anymore.
I’ve always loved malls! Dead or otherwise! The dead ones though are so fascinating! These days it’s like stumbling across an archaeological site from a long gone culture!🥰
only northcdogg22 would have a reference to the weather channnel promotion...No one else does that level of research and background. most just google narration.
Roger Corman did a movie called Chopping Mall that had teens trapped in the building after hours. Lightening strikes the building and messes up the robotic security who pursue them through the mall. Most of the movie was filmed at Sherman Oaks Galleria. Good movie to look up.
Sad that this mall is dying. I really like the place.
If you ever come down south you should totally check out the Georgia square mall in Athens Georgia. It's the mall I grew up going to and still go to even though it's a dead mall. I probably wouldn't go if it weren't for the retro game store it has and the Spencer's.
I grew up here, and I was maybe 8 when it was built...it was a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT place when the fountains were all on. And there were tons of real palm trees and plants everywhere.
It was beautiful for a good 7 to 8yrs.
It's too bad they can't afford the water bill, and even worse that it costs SO much to rent a space.
The Barney's coffee place back in the day is where I discovered iced mocha coffee. Omg.
My most favorite Sonic music ever!!!!😍
And this is a lovely mall... all bright and shiny clean. Hoping its life picks up... the green like glass I remember growing up, and it always was so pretty to me. Be safe out there NCD.
Dig that TAXI muzak!!!
Great video! I love all the pastel. I visited this mall it was super dead
Ikr! Beautiful aesthetics
First!! Great video man!! Another casualty of Namdar
Thanks Andrew! And yeah fr just another empty one in their wake
I'm from Kankakee and I remember the grand opening back in 1990. I was 11 years old and my family and I went every day for the first 5 days it was opened. It was such a jolt for the local residents because we no longer had to travel 30 miles to either Matteson's now abandoned Lincoln Mall or Orland Park's Orland Square Mall to shop. It was the place to hang out during my Jr High and High School years. But it should have closed down years ago. It has long been dead. I'm honestly surprised it even has any tenants. It's sad, really...when I can still remember when it was a vibrant place to be in our town.
Man, the arcade was my favorite spot. Yes, that glassed up wall, there in the corner of the food court (14:27). It wasn't called "Time Out." I can't for the life of me remember the original name. Sort of a generic name, I'm sure some other local would remember. Get a pizza or philly cheese steak after. Then go across to the (11:10) Electronics Boutique (before Game Stop) to check out the games and bullshit with my buddy who worked there...getting all the employee swag. Then, hit up the Walden Books to check out comic books. Before I left, I'd have to walk down the hall past the Buckle to check out if the girl I liked was working that day. Man, those were good times.
Parents would give us each 50 cents to play at that arcade while we waited for Taco John's next door 😂 Good ole days!
Every vid just gets better and better, Liked
Another hit of a video!
Thanks Pepsi Man!
@@NorthCdogg22 😎
Yeah I’ve never seen a Penney’s entrance like that before
the lighting is so good in here and this place is in beautiful shape! thank you for capturing this gem
Northfields owners raised the rent an insane amount. I used to hang out here pretty much every weekend in my teens. Good times
Finally subscribed to you. You've got an interesting outtake to these malls and aren't as condescending or rude in your comments like some popular dead mall channels out there. Thank you for covering these, and as a high schooler, I remember the malls, though don't miss them. Which is why I find it odd that these videos sadden me, how a culture has been dying and no one cares, literally. That 1 video, of the polite elderly security guard who let you film without interruption, that broke my heart. A mall empty and forgotten, along with a man dedicated to keeping it in his life. That he thanked you for visiting was a show of how lonely he must feel. God bless you. And be careful - that Dillard' 'encounter with 'It' was freaky. I'm sure there' some things that are truly unnerving in these monstrosities. Be safe out there. And come visit Boise' Square Mall sometime .. one actually still buzzing. Idaho Falls Id has one called the Grand Teton & Yellowstone malls.. last time I looked, both were fast left empty, & that was decades ago.
My childhood place😭
All the meeting up with friends 2000-2007. Parents dropping me and my sister off for a few hours, the memories of walking up and down those halls and randomly running across ppl you (or your parents knew) and chatting
That lively food court that had fountains and running water, and the sound of running water, all up and down the center of the food court
This mall’s inside reminds me of Mid Rivers Mall in Saint Peters Mo.
It has that same sort of look, with the huge exposed beams that arch up into the superstructure
I’ve lived in Northern IL my entire life and had never heard of this mall. Will make a trip there soon.
Sad to see. I have a lot of good memories at that mall. I remember my parents driving around it as it was under construction. We had a dozen good family outings at its Ruby Tuesday, including the awesome Tallcake for dessert. We collected Laurel And Hardy VHSs from it's Suncoast video. I played Christmas concerts in high school at the center concourse. I bought used PC games at it's electronics boutique. I bought my best wool topcoat at JCPenneys. I got my oil changed and new tires at Sears. I bought my first cologne at Carson. I bought my first Fedora at a hat store (a later tenant). My wife and I went on dates there. We watched Benjamin Button at the theatre there. We both bought quality jackets at Jimmy Hommes (seems he's still there). Lots of good memories.
Height of mall culture (imo) was mid -80s. 86-87 you were a total nerd if you weren't at the mall a couple times a week. I feel like that started fade in the early 90s.
As someone who saw mall culture at its arguable height, these places have always been melancholy to me in the present. I've seen them at their arguable best, and most of my adult life has been spent watching them slide into bland irrelevance. And I do mean bland; I remember them with their wood, dark brick, fountains, planters and neon, but over the course of the 2000s so many were remodeled into bland, inoffensive spaces with all of their old personality stripped out. Seeing this place with even a little of its original decor intact is kind of refreshing. I hope it endures as an enclosed mall, though I don't hold out much hope.
As always great video!
Malls I recommend going to in the future if you already haven’t planned on:
South County Center, aging struggling mall in the south St. Louis suburbs.
University Mall, Carbondale, IL that is almost completely dead.
Haute City Center (Honey Creek Mall), Terre Haute, IN. Not dead but spiraling fast.
River Oaks Center, Calumet City, IL. One of my favorite dead malls.
University and South County are definitely on my list, as for River Oaks I really wanna make a revisit. Back when I filmed Season 4 in May I was going to make a video there but it was so packed and so busy I couldn’t even record so I kinda gave up just calling it too alive to be on this series. But now I see directories about how empty the food court is so I don’t know if it’s dead or alive🤷♂️
@@NorthCdogg22 well all of those malls I’ve mentioned I’ve been to multiple times so if you need any references on the state of them I could tell you.
South County Center and River Oaks are what I call malls that are kind of in limbo. Like some sort of gray area in between dead and thriving. They can be really busy on certain days but one part of the mall may be completely devoid of life. I would recommend going to film those particular malls on weekday morning/ afternoons so there are less people.
@@noahvoris3637 for sure! How is river oaks doing as of now? Would you say it’s deserving of a video?
@@NorthCdogg22 oh yes! Not only does that mall have a really rich history but I have a feeling that it’s spiraling fast! Like I mentioned, similar to South County Center, that mall has really gone down hill in a couple years alone.
If it’s busier then you’d like it could be one of those videos where you could revisit it later and see how dead it has become?
Great video as always
Pronounced Kank-a-key and Bourbon-ay.
Thanks for the corrections!
I wonder how many malls like this will be pushed out of the retail world forever by our current worsening recession. What if you wired every light individually so they could be turned on and off in huge patterns around the mall!! A retail light show!
That would be so cool! I wanna buy a mall with loads of neon just so I can do that now!😂😂
"Favorite show on the Internet" - A bit cocky but also true... It's well produced and consistent upload schedule. The viewers will keep showing up!
Thanks! And sorry if I come off as cocky, all just joking and having fun!
That dying balloon seems to someone's missing birthday balloon that got separated from their grip and floated to the peaked skylight above only to now be deflating itself of helium back down to the ground (obviously I know that originally someone was holding it and lost grip of it's ribbon).
Hmm I wonder where the handhold ribbon for the balloon went. At least I think that balloon says "Happy Birthday" on it.
I think the Balloon said Happy St Patrick’s day
Lemme guess the next - Golf Mill.
Nope, but good guess!
"Namdar hasn't a care in the world." Pssh, of course they haven't. They never have. Namdar is where malls go to DIE. Only company worse than them is Kohan. (Insert gif of vampires hissing crucifixes)
Very nice job on the video! I really wish I could visit this mall next year on my trip to the mid-west, but this is kind of far from where we are going.
oh well,,,,back to silver medalist
back in my Bad old days of 2016, I lived in the area. and yes even then it was mostly vacant.
across Cicero Ave Rt 50, was a target and other stores...which were def busier than the big mall.
kankakee county has been one of illinois most economically depressed areas...for years.
I was so glad to leave the area in november....for a much better life in Wisconsin.
All the overhead metal used to be turquoise instead of white. There's a matching mall just like this way further down I57 in Marion Illinois.
They would have bands fashion shows etc on that stage
That was bizarre about the balloon.The fact besides deflating . The drop to the floor and turn and face itself to you was weird.
Yes, the glass blocks at the food court were an arcade. I was too young to know the name by the time it went defunct though.
Also, there was a Pearl Vision or Lenscrafters in that awkward hallway I think. Possibly Fannie May
i worked there from 2002 to 2014 the area by carsons for men to the left was bank at one time .
I worked at Barrels N' Bins when the original owners had it. I can't believe how dead this mall is, now. Really sad, but it was inevitable.
The all white mall with the exposed white painted steel girders in the ceiling and the over done skylights was a 90s fad that expired. Too bright and harsh on the eyes. The cozy, comforting feel of an early 80s style mall with the glimmering polished marble floors was the way to go. An early 80s mall had skylights, but they were strategically placed over things like a fountain. Not over done with sunlight blaring directly on you like the 90s and 2000s style mall. I think subconsciously people got tired of the all white, and bright sunlight beaming on them 90s and 2000s style. It became annoying after the newness wore off.
Yes. that spot in the food court was an arcade long ago
Hmmm toughy….
I couldn’t find anything in the video in reference to another mall other then Illinois star centre. That mall is closed.
My guess is Stratford square mall I suppose? That mall is very dead for such a large mall in the Chicago suburbs.
Yep! But someone already correctly guessed before you, better luck next time
Or Lincoln mall before the criminal element ruined it
It's curious how you can just walk around aimlessly in a mall with no stores, yet arouse no suspicion
If you’re in Chicagoland, please visit Fox Valley Mall in the Aurora, Naperville area, it’s desperately trying to revitalize but it’s losing out to the shopping, restaurant, hotel, entertainment district in downtown Naperville.
I think for a mall, it's doing alright. Though it'd be a little better, if say Centennial(mall owner) could find a way to convince Von Maur to move from the dead Charlestowne Mall, to Fox Valley.
OTOH, Centennial's other mall in the Chicago area(Hawthorn Center) has enough vacancies, where I'm not as convinced this mall will come back. Fox Valley has enough stores, where I don't think it's quite in struggling mall territory yet. Unlike say, Hawthorn Center.
lllinois star center for the next dead mall episode
Are there ANY malls in this area that are doing well? There's usually at least one survivor mall in a region.
Orlando park mall 40 minutes away
5:09 was Carson Pirie Scott’s second store
You should do a video on Kankakees now mostly dead downtown business district and its booming retail from the seventies and prior
Can you do Stratford square Mall?
I’ll be there next! ;)
Hope you don't mind if I comment after just watching now. Namdar is not a good management company for malls. I truly believe they killed Crossroads in Waterloo too.
Namdar is not the best company they just leave malls empty
Star mall
CPR can't save this mall ! It's not what it once was !
It looks identical to the Illinois star center mall in Marion Illinois, a mall I grew up with. It shut down in 2018 sadly.
'Dawn of the Dead' was filmed inside a Mall
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't them round loops used to be illuminated with green neon lights? I seen to remember it, Liking the Video
Your thinking of Southbridge Mall in Mason City but they do look similar
@@NorthCdogg22 absolutely, it's been an eternity since I've been there and honestly forgot 😆
Another one
I will shoot my shot in the dark and say it’s possibly the Peru Mall.
Nope, but it’s a good guess!
What needs to be done is redue these malls into places the homeless could live in.
So tired of that ridiculous idea . Theres very few homeless in Kankakee. If you want that then you should buy and bring the mallcup to that code. Taxpayers are tired of spending our dollars on programs for people who for the most part are addicted or just don't care. And most mentally ill don't want the structure
Can you pleeaaasssee go to independence mall in Wilmington NC
I will definitely add it to my east coast expedition!
Thanks! Btw I love your videos!
I saw the video by you or one of the other (3) bloggers I watch on the Union Station Mall in Washington, DC. Completely empty, the mall part of the station. Also the Harbor Front Mall in Baltimore. Most downtown malls are gone now, and the suburban malls seem to be not far behind.
Looks like there are maybe 5 or 6 businesses left in there?
Yeah pretty much nothing sadly
Is the next video star center?
Sorry you never experienced mall culture as a young person. We would go from Kankakee to Lincoln mall and Orland park as teenagers
Have you ever considered hiding your camera in a bag/merse? That would throw off the security
This what happens when they tear down the Chicago projects and transfer the gangbangers to the suberbs. My entire hometown of Kankakee has suffered. As has much of the south suburbs especially Lincoln mall. However Rockford Illinois where i lived 25 years has suffered the worst
Pronunciations:
CAN-KAH-KEY
BURR-BONE-ASS, OR BURR-BON-AYE
Lol the gnc is still open
GNCs never die😂😂
Or Bath & Body Works and that old look than the newer look. GNC closed at The Crossroads Mall during COVID GNC is on my side of town in a strip mall that used to be Maple Hill Mall.
Are you from the Indy area?
Actually pretty far from, NW Iowa lol
any idea how long tonights video will be.?????
Are you on the Dead Malls of Discord server or no?
I am not
So you also film Midwest malls too like in Iowa and Minnesota like Brandon from Yodelling Loon Retail does right. So have you seen Brandon when you film any Midwest mall or no?
@@arturocuizon69 I haven’t, usually when I record I don’t run into many people
a beautiful mall. Malls dying with american culture. Its now an urban and hispanic culture and they dont design malls like this. Its like a street bazaar now if you want to shop
Pronounced
Bourbonnais = Bourbon-AY
Kankakee = Kang-ka-KEE
Learn to pronounce the names of the towns please
Learn how to pronouce the towns names. Im a native from there. It isn't difficult
Also from them area and yeah he totally butchered those pronunciations.
That "Runway" you mentioned was actually all fountains. This place was shoulder to shoulder packed during Christmas time...
I was just coming to say this. This small unused to have the most beautiful fountains and stage areas where people performed live. The holidays were just spectacular. It's so tragic how people dont live amongst one another anymore like they did in the days of mall culture. It was really a magical place to be during Christmas