Capitola Mall - Capitola, CA

Ahoy ahoy, Wayfarers! Join us today for a (socially-distanced and masked) tour of the Capitola Mall in Capitola, CA! This was filmed in September 2020, right after indoor malls were allowed to open back up at limited capacity after being briefly closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Capitola Mall is currently the only enclosed regional shopping mall in Santa Cruz County and was originally built by Macerich in 1977. Some parts of it are still vibrant and active, but others are clearly struggling. There have been attempts to revitalize and reuse parts of the mall (like turning an old Abercrombie & Fitch store into a "Museum of Discovery"), but it may not be able to bounce back after a year of intermittent closures and the crushing impact of the overall decline of traditional malls in America. There are already plans in the works for redevelopment of this property, which usually means that it's been troubled for a while.
Keep in mind that this was filmed during extraordinary times (so it may not be entirely reflective of its "normal" state), but also remember that the writing was on the wall for Capitola Mall long before lockdown.
We hope you enjoy...as always, thanks for watching!