The Holyoke Mall at Ingleside: Not A Dead Mall (Yet). Full Walkthrough, October 2022. Holyoke, MA.
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- čas přidán 25. 10. 2022
- Join me as I do a full walkthrough of third largest mall in New England, the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Also, check out my bonus walkthrough of the Round1 Arcade at the end of the video!
This was filmed in October 2022, around 2:00pm on a Sunday.
It's definitely not a dead mall yet, but it is showing signs of decay. At least 4 of the escalators are out of operation!
If you liked this video, please don't forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel. I plan to have more mall videos in the future. Thanks for watching!
Source of information:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyoke...
#mall #massachusetts #holyoke #shoppingmall #shoppingmalls #pov #4k60fps #retail
I hang out at this mall every weekend and have been going here since the late 80s. This mall will never die. Things change all the time, there are many things about this video that are already outdated in terms of stores shifting around and new tenants like Bobs Stores. I was hoping to catch myself in this video lol. There used to be a network of fountains through the entire ground level and food court that were taken out when I was a kid. I have many memories at Toys R Us, Kay Bee Toys, Brookstone, Sears, Waldenbooks, Babbage's, Friendly's and the arcade that was in the food court in the golden days. The JCPenney is still very much so the same classic layout it always had
Spending every weekend at a mall. Sound sad honestly, but you do you.
The Macys wing is the newer addition. I grew up in Western MA and started going there back when it opened. It is cool how it stays relevant and has not become dead yet…
Thanks for the info. I wasn't able to find too much detail about what stores were where on the internet. Thanks for watching!
Ive gone to this mall my whole life, lots of great memories. Used to wait for Filenes (department store) to open to buy concert tickets back in the day. It feels like its been dying for at least 10-15 years. I even think if you went back today youd see how much its declined since this video. Whatever glue is keeping this place going is resilient thats for sure.
The arcade use to be in the food court it was called just fun and next to that there was a Burger King and subway and yes there was a movie theater in the food court and a friendly restaurant in the food court also and a round bar also that’s all I can remember about the food court
Where the tractor trailer school is was a Friendly's. You can see the facade of it on the windows to your right as you walk by it. The Friendly's closed a long time ago, probably in the naughts. Don't know if they do it anymore but all of the Asian restaurants would bark at you to sample the chicken on a piece of toothpick. It was customary to do a lap and get free samples from them all before actually getting your food.
they still do!!! i tried the japanese place last time and it hit the spot.
I go to this mall every couple of weeks at least, if not every weekend for the excercise, and it's kind of a game at this point which escilates will be working or broken. It's not like the same ones are broken forever, they're constantly fixing them and then a different one breaks down! I've been going to this mall for as long as I can remember, some of my earliest childhood memories are in this mall, it's a great nostolgia trip for me, feels like home.
All jokes aside why tf their escalators never work 💀💀
@@aprilzoe_4494 They must just break down all the time. A couple weeks ago almost all of them were working, last weekend there were a couple down again.
You should check out the Hampshire Mall in Hadley, MA. Only ~2 miles from UMass Amherst, so you would expect tons of traffic, but no. It's the most DEAD mall ever, to the extent of Eastfield Mall in Springfield MA. Hampshire Mall has TONS of attractions (PiNZ - bowling/arcade/axe throwing, Cinemark - movie theater, Interskate 91 - roller rink, a new place with a small arcade, rock climbing, and trampolines?, you name it, but practically no foot traffic. Half or more of the stores are shuttered. It'll probably be gone in 10 years or less, and (prediction, not fact) become dorm housing for UMass and/or an entertainment mixed-use site. You should check it out!
Cool. I'll try to check it out some day! Thanks for watching!
@therichard27 I'm from Springfield and haven't seen the Hampshire Mall in a long time. I liked it. Surprised to hear this because I figured UMass would bring in traffic to the Hampshire Mall.
im aware of the Eastfield Mall cause I live nearby it and sad to say... Its no longer with us. :'(
@segasonic4952 Yeah, I saw the demo from start to finish here on CZcams. At least it's becoming something, rather than just being abandoned/turned into a field. Also, it appears that the Hampshire Mall is heading into foreclosure as of May 2024, so its time may be running out as well. I visited Eastfield Mall for the last time on May 29, 2021, by getting my 2nd COVID vaccine there. I wanted to have a "last visit" in 2023, but I sadly had no way to get there. Who knows; maybe I'll be at that shopping plaza when it exists in a few year's time!
Thanks for this. I used to visit the US quite a lot in the 2010s, and this was by far my favourite mall. Last time I tried to find a video of someone just walking around the malls all I could find were shakycam stuff, low res uploads, or heavily edited videos, but this is exactly the kind of style and quality I was looking for.
Used to go here all the time as a kid in the 90s. Was the place to be and apparently still is. Went recently for the first time in probably 20 years because it's one of the only places around with a Build a Bear we wanted to get for my daughter. Last time I went was for drinks and arcade at Kahunaville - loveddd that place. So sad it didn't last long. Although there's a lot more of the asian trinket type stores, the place was absolutely packed and just like I remembered it, pita parking up top near Target. Was quite surprised after going to the Eastfield (rip) and Auburn malls. They must be doing something right to retain people like that. It's quite the time machine too. Everything looked the same from 20+ years ago - the wood paneling all over, the food court, quirky elevator and stairs.
The architecture looks amazing
So true about the escalators always be broken …I definitely get my exercise at Holyoke mall trying to find working escalators 😂
Yeah, it's definitely inconvenient. Out of all the malls I have been to in CT, I think about half of them are having problems with their escalators. Thanks for watching!
What about the elevators? Are they working?
18:19 7 days ago (12/31/2023), I made a comment about there not being a Lord & Taylor at this mall, but upon further research, I just realized there WAS a Lord & Taylor, between the years of 1994 and ~2003-2005, so I deleted it as it was incorrect. I'm only 20, so I don't remember that being at the mall! I apologize for the confusion and inconvenience! Guess I'm not old enough to be telling the history of a 40+ year old mall! 🤣 However, that was the location of Sears, which had been there since the mall opened in 1979, and remained there until closing in 2018. Personally, the furthest back I can remember is ~2013, when there was a Toys R Us Express (this was after the main Toys R Us converted to only being a Babies R Us), and when the Target was being remodeled to add the food/grocery section that it now has. I remember the mall for the second half of my life (ages 9/10 to 20) I remember there being a Subway in the food court (that ended around the mid-2010s) and I remember it vividly, being in the middle of the food court, although it seemed to be (felt like) a temporary location.
Here are the main things I remember from the mall:
2013 - Target expansion
2016 - Billy Beez opened, the first entertainment attraction since Kahunaville (~1999-2005, before my time, from what I can see, it was basically a Rainforest Cafe with a big arcade), Sports Authority closes when the entire chain folds (earliest anchor departure I can remember)
2017 - Sears loses their electronics section which is converted to bedding, I could tell the end was near for them
2018 - Babies R Us and A.C. Moore close, Babies R Us due to the end of Toys R Us, and A.C. Moore due to the impending end of their stores (which would occur in the summer of 2020, but this location closed on 12/21/2018), my favorite celiac-safe restaurant opens on 12/13/2018, that being 110 Grill, during February 2018, I remember there being a short-lived arcade called WOW! Family Entertainment Center (which appears to be in MANY nearby malls) which closed sometime after February 2018, after I won there
2019 - This was the year that the Holyoke Mall would open LOTS of entertainment attractions, being Round1 (a mega entertainment center with bowling, an arcade, a bar for those 21+, billiards, and food), and Flight Fit N Fun, which closed in March 2020 and never reopened, it is now Altitude Trampoline Park, which opened in 2021, basically the same thing, the old slogan "Family Fun For Everyone" from Flight remains in the window of the place to this day
2020 - All hell breaks loose. The mall closes for several months, losing Flight Fit N Fun and Ruby Tuesday (yeah, a restaurant based on its SHARED SALAD BAR was practically prohibited in the early 2020s!), but does pretty well despite severe restrictions that would be in place periodically from 2020 to early 2022 - the ENTIRE food court is EMPTY due to its closure and would remain so until allowed to reopen in March 2021, HOWEVER, in the early part of 2020, before the worldwide mayhem, Planet Fitness would open where Babies R Us had been only two years prior
2021 - The mall begins to recover - Flight reopens as Altitude Trampoline Park, foot traffic begins to come back
2022 - The dated Banana Republic becomes a modern, elegant Five Below, opening in the summer of '22, drawing traffic back to the mall as the mall is now gearing towards younger generations with places like Round1 and Five Below, the Alex Baby & Toy shown in your video would open just WEEKS after this was filmed - in November
2023 - The first "normal" year for the mall since 2019 - Eastfield Mall in Springfield MA declares defeat, closing in July after a 55-year run (the longest of any mall in western Mass, the longest-lived open mall in western Mass currently being Hampshire, opening in 1978 with a 46-year run, with Holyoke not far behind, opening in 1979 with a currently 45-year run) and being demolished beginning a month later (about half demolished as of the very beginning of 2024), leaving western Mass with only 2 open malls, Holyoke and Hampshire (in 2022, there were 3 with Eastfield, and in 2018, there were 4, with the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough MA, which would emit defeat and close in 2019 after an only 31-year run, opening in 1988), both unlikely to close, Holyoke due to its popularity, and Hampshire due to its proximity to UMass Amherst and other local colleges and its entertainment attractions like Pinz (a bowling alley and restaurant), the Cinemark movie theater, Interskate 91 (an indoor skating rink), and others.
2024 - It's currently only January 7th as of this comment's writing, but this is the first full year where there is only 1 other mall operating in western Mass besides Holyoke, being Hampshire in Hadley MA; both are owned by the same company (Pyramid) and both are NOT going to close soon, I expect Holyoke Mall to make it past 55 years and become the longest-lived mall in western Mass (which would happen in 2035, only 11 years away, with Hampshire reaching that 56 years of operation the year after, in 2036, if both these malls survive that long, which is pretty likely despite the nationwide decline of shopping malls)
round1 i believe is a japanese arcade chain, that’s probably why it had a bunch of claw machines since those are super popular in japan. the employees are super nice at round1 and i have personally seen them help me/my friends win things from the claw machines when we asked nicely (teaching us helpful tips, rearranging the items in the machine to make it easier to win, etc.)
It is, they have a lot of imported games too it’s so much fun
Second time I was at Holyoke, a McDonald's was gone. There was also a shop that got my attention, but I went on a Sunday, so it was closed. I really need to re-visit this mall again.
I grew up with this mall and I still remember when there was a Disney Store !! It still a go to place for either back to school shopping, hanging out with friends or Christmas shopping. I miss the McDonalds and the Friendlys that was once in the food court and also the arcade there because of the South Park pinball machine ! Im so glad its not dead yet or going away anytime soon, prolly the closest place with a Hot Topic near me lmao.
24:08 that was the outside entrance to Kahunaville, I believe. Little door with brown shingle roof.
used to work at this place. the mall is definitely one of the most accessible places to hang out with friends if you're a young person growing up in holyoke. it makes me happy it's still around and functioning well. in earnest, i had no clue it was considered particularly big or populated! i remember visiting it when i was a kid (around 2007-2008?) and it having lots of stores that aren't there anymore.
Young people hanging out is part of what's killing the malls.
@markrichards6863 ? It's not the 2000s or 2010s. I know a handful of kids who would go here. Yeah, they're dopes, but they're also a minority. Most kids in the modern day hate malls.
Yo I used to do my back to school shopping here every year! Best mall in the area for where I lived at the time. Wild nostalgia trip to see this video, mind boggling that youtube showed me this. Thanks for the good memories, man. Cool channel!
10:07 Billy been is entirely difficult from round 1. Billy beez is equivalent to DZ Discovery Zone. Or Adventure Land. It’d slides, jungle gym, etc. for children. Round 1 is an arcade and bowling alley. Other than Billy Beez having a VERY small arcade(like 7 machines total) it’s nothing similar to Round 1
the amount of stuff i won at round one is insane, a good friend of mine worked there so i'd chill there often. the sad thing is the greek place is gone now.
I remember this mall. So many memories.
Looks like a modern 70’s building
Love coming to this mall. I sometimes will take the train up from Connecticut...it is very easy to get to via the local bus routes!
Yeah, it's not a bad mall at all. I may go back to that Dave & Buster's type place (can't remember the name) sometime and play some of the games. Thanks for watching!
The adjacent Holyoke Crossing has some nice stores, including a Barnes and Noble.
Radio Shack, Orange Julius, Friendly's,Burlington Coat Factory, a former Waldenbooks, the former Christmas Tree Shops. Is Pizzeria Uno still there? Great al fresco pizza!
When I was a kid they use to have a movie theater and miniature golf course (Birdies and Bogeys).
It was pretty much a wishing well near the sports zone. Up until a few months ago that was a christmas tree shop that moved outside the mall. There was never water in it and had a little model hot air balloon. It kinda looked how it is for a few years now.
It really never had water in it? That's weird. It really looks like it was designed to be a pond, or something like that. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!
Seriously, it really never had water in it
@@fleabittenadventuresit did I remember as a kid throwing pennies in
I used to work at this mall back in the early to mid 2000's. I've been back since and it's a shell of what it used to be.
I go to this mall every Saturday because of all the different stores and I do enjoy the scenery.
I can see how that would be fun. Thanks for watching!
This is the closest mall to my college, and it’s one of my favorite places to go - I go at least once a month even if just to get bubble tea!
We spent a lot of time there back in the 80s, 3 arcades, movies, mini golf and I miss Kahunaville too !
I'm 90% sure the Sports Zone at 4:40 used to be a year-round Christmas store called "The Christmas Tree Store" back in the 90s/00s. I think the rock wall was a part of that. You'd think the mural would be snowy if that was the case though...
Christmas Tree Shops moved out of the mall I think 5 or so years ago, it moved into the shopping center right before one of the mall entrances, by the Barnes and Noble, and Red Robin.
The Round1 arcade used to be a giant 2 story forever 21, complete with its own escalator.
Interesting. I would say that the arcade is an upgrade then (as a guy that doesn't shop at Forever 21). I might go back there someday and actually play some games. Thanks for watching!.
Movie theater was on the Burlington coat factory side ish. Also 2 arcades down there one under the escalator, other to the right(space time), later where the movies were, it was mini golf,golf simulator and remote control boats..
At one point in the early 90s there was an indoor mini golf course in the food court area. I worked at the JC Penny there in high school.
I would have like to see that indoor mini golf course! I didn't go to this mall until probably the mid-1990's and it must have been gone by then. Thanks for the info!
It's been about a year since my last visit there. My son loves the arcade!
Enjoying the mall videos. Any plans on exploring the American Dream Mall in NJ and/or The Palisades Mall in NY? I think it would be great content as there's a lot to explore.
I'm glad you like the videos. I would love to travel to the American Dream Mall and a ton of other malls, but I just don't have the time or money right now. I'm stuck mostly in New England and maybe upstate New York for the time being. Thanks for watching!
Hello I grew up in the area I worked at the mall from 2009 through the new remodeling that was done until 2014 if you do another video definitely reach out and I’ll be happy to share some history as well
Holyoke Mall Update: the former Ruby Tuesday space is now going to be occupied by a bistro of some sort or some kind of restaurant,i can't remember the name offhand. Now all they got to do is find someone to go in the old Sears location. I got a couple of good names that could go in there as far as anchor stores are concerned. Nordstrom, Boscovs,maybe Wegmans(I mean they did just have their Natick Mall location leave), Nordstrom Rack, Neiman Marcus. Possibilities are endless.
19:53 Where it is walled off - there used to be an awesome arcade. Late 80's / early 90's style of course. Im not sure whats behind that wall now.
Oh cool. The old school 80's/90's arcades were so much better than these modern claw machine arcades! Thanks for watching!
Man do I miss that arcade! My childhood arcade, I'd love to see behind that wall!
@@GuitarBillCurran I think its part of Burlington Coat Factory. The arcade was called Cyber Station.
Cyberstation was still there in the late 2000s, it was next to the McDonalds
@@TRJ2241987 CyberStation was there for a while yes. The 'awesome' arcade here from the 80s/90s was called "Just Fun". CyberStation was its weaker successor.
i love the holyoke mall
I have fond memories of the Holyoke Mall from the 1990s. Thanks for posting it! I also remember the outlets at Worcester.
You're welcome! Glad you liked it!
this mall used to have my favorite restaurant as a kid, Kahunaville!! the place had a jungle theme and a synchronized water fountain show.
Omg yesss I could never remember what it was called but that was my favorite too, thanks for the memory!
Do you know were it was located in the mall?
@@slobertooth1358it was located along with a.c. Moore where Dick's sporting goods is located now I should know I worked at kahunaville from 2002-2004.
Wooow this comment brought back memories 😅
@@mikegallant811 I thought A. C Moore was closer to Macy's, where there's some weird kid's store now?
Great food court too, Gyro place !
Not anymore, sadly.
In 1986, my mom, my older brother, and I went Christmas shopping there. At the time, it had an arcade and a Friendly's. We got dinner, and then he and I went to the arcade while she shopped. I remember that we couldn't find her and he got upset. I kept assuring him that it was OK and that we'd find her. I feel like the responsibility of looking after me was what made him cry.
They coincidentally died on the same day just before Christmas in 2021, and I often think about that one night at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside.
There used to be a movie theatre on the bottom level, Macy's on the newer side of the mall, Sears and JC Penney on the "older" side of the mall. Those escalators were ALWAYS broken even when the mall was more newer. I think there's Target there also. And yes there was a water fountain on the 2nd level in front of JC Penney. Back in the late 80's there wasn't a single storefront that wasn't open. Kind of a bummer to see how it is now. Dicks Sporting Goods has been there but was renovated.
Thank you! I knew there was once a movie theater there. I went as a kid a few times while visiting family. When I came back to the area years later people thought I was crazy when I said I once saw movies at the mall.
4:29 there’s never been water in there as far back as I can remember. Maybe waaaaay back. But at least not since the 90s if there was. I always associated it with the Christmas tree shops(sports zone in your video, and now Bobs I believe) although I’m not sure if it actually was part of Christmas tree shop.
I was told by someone to look how many shopping bags you see with shoppers to gauge how busy the stores are. Once you see that you can't forget to look.
This is my mall of choice when i travel from CT
If you want a trip into the past enter through the main Penny's entrance and take the store escalator. I'm not sure when the last time that part of the store was renovated but you can still see some great old retail architecture
I worked at the old Sears for some years. Got to know the place well.
For many years there was a big Filene's Basement in the downstairs level, it's still kinda weird to not see it there.
Used to go here weekly or close to it, now...probably like once a year!
Where the Burlington is in the food court, originally was a first-run cineplex (10 screens, I think). It then became a second-run theater. After the theaters failed, it was an 18-hole mini-golf facility. It was then a giant DSW Shoes, then Burlington. There was also was an arcade down there until the mid aughts. Last time I was there security was in that spot.
Maybe it's a Macy's wing in the 1994 addition, as there was only one mall elevator, and it was in the center. Maybe the broken escalators are a ply to get you to shop, or browse the anchors. :D
After the golf course it was Filenes Basement. The DSW was to the right of it. There also used to a Lens Crafters along that hallway leading out to the parking lot
@@user-tr9mt1jb7e Didn't see the Filene's, then again it was the only time I seen it that way. The next time it was Burlington.
I believe that water feature looking spot was built when The Christmas Tree shop went, Never had water there that I remember...
I hope you got Thornes Marketplace in Downtown Northampton and Eastworks in Easthampton on the list to visit.
I do now. Thanks!
"Not a dead mall yet " !! My sides !! 🤣🤣
Well, this one's not dead or dying by a looooong shot. This one's a survivor.
We used to hang out there in the late 80’s. Unfortunately the gangs started to take over in the mid 90’s. Looks like they’ve cleaned it up since then. I bought my first football jersey there. I believe it was in Champs? I just remember at that time, about 1988 , you could get any teams jersey, so I bought a Bernie Kosar Browns Jersey. I also remember a coffee shop with a Huge glass / plexiglass wall full of coffee beans. I loved the aroma when approaching it. Haven’t been there for many years. Thanks for the tour.
Nancy's Coffee. Much better than Starbucks.
@@glennstanisewski446 thank you
Fun fact ! The glass company I worked for ( brothers company) did all of the glass and metal hand rails over when they switched from dated wood and brass !
Holyoke Mall is built on a landfill.
I wouldn't be surprised if it has problems with methane gas releases and subsidence.
I’m a younger kid from southern NH (22 now). This was the second go to mall for my family and It saddens me to hear that this is the most crowded mall in your videos yet! The mall looks dead in this video but from your others I understand why you say that
Yup, it was definitely one of the busier malls I have been to. I think I have forgotten what a busy mall looks like. Thanks for watching!
23:53 This used to be Christmas tree shops, I can see by the faded out logo
24:11 The D***s wearhouse used to be sports authority
26:29 This used to be Sears
This mall has such great architectural features. I wonder if they're original to the opening of the mall. Round 1 is a great time, I like it more than D&B
Yeah, that center courtyard with the food court and skylight is pretty impressive. And yeah Round 1 seems way bigger than Dave and Busters! Thanks for watching!
I think the magic with this mall is the protruding seating areas and wood texture. Notice that the bottoms extend down below the ceiling of the level below them which further articulates them. The wood makes the openings between the two floors pop but in a warm way. Also, the fact that the mall doesn’t feature as many large skylights makes the central one stand out that much more, when in other malls it would be pretty standard. This place also featured strange purple lights which have been removed it seems
@@gravijiga Yes, it's definitely a unique look (as far as I know). Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures I am so sad that malls are pretty much gone I am 77 and mostly went to Dadeland in Miami Dade and Altamonte Springs mall in Seminole Co. Both are still open. The malls served so many in so many ways It was safe and temperature controlled so warm climate or cold winter climate there was a place to go. Elderly people with or without disabilities were there. So we're mom's and their baby carriages. People of all ages enjoyed the malls. Teens and preteens had a place to go. You could find everything needed on your shopping list. I am so glad the two malls I mentioned are open and I can visit whenever as I live in FL. No where to go any longer for mall walkers. I think people will miss them. I definitely do. Too bad there were too many and too bad other shopping methods have taken over
The main stores that are bringing income from what I found out when working there , macys, Victoria secret, and target which still upholds massive revenue until this day
14:18 ALWAYS!! There’s forever escalators being “serviced”
You may find it interesting that for the first several years of its existence there was a BAR in the middle of Cafe Square. Not off to the side like the fast food places but right out in the open in the middle.
It was in the open area roughly between the escalator and the first row of tables. Cafe Square used to have this "garden" look to it (the glass elevator set you down right in the middle of it).but all that was yanked out several years ago.
Interesting. That would definitely seem out of place today. Thanks for watching!
I wish I had seen that. When did they remove it?
@@fleabittenadventuresfor a while they had a Subway restaurant where the bar was.
I'm from Greenfield, MA so I grew up going to the Hadley & Hoyloke malls....the waterfall was just a big atraction in the mall
Since you were from Greenfield. Did you used to shop at Wilson's Department Store? I miss Wilson's Department Store and About Music in Downtown Greenfield.
@@elevatorproductionsbymaxpassa yes my family did it’s a big empty place now last I knew
Last time visited this mall was 10 years ago. Many big stores moved out. Fo example, I went to Gap and the staff told me it is not Gap, it is Gap Outlet.
There was a new addition built on, not sure what year, I think for Macys. Ok just heard u say 95. So that answers that question. lol
I could be wrong about the year. Most of my info comes from the internet, so who knows how accurate it is. Thanks for watching!
OMG ! A I need to get to Funspot myself
The "new" 1995 wing is the one with Macy's, Victoria's Secret, Gamestop, etc. There was once a Toys R Us in that wing, as well.
Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!
I think that's when they added the parking garage too.
An attempt to expand the Mall, south into West Springfield was not approved in 1999-2000.
Round 1 was formally Kahuaville in the early 2000s i worked 75hrs a week there.
The closest mall to me. I wish they would add a skating ring. 🙂
There used to be a movie theater in basement after that closed they put indoor golf that was in food court area
At 0:49 you can see the little booth selling flat irons. I have reasonable suspicion they’re pretty shady since they convinced me to buy one of their irons at a “discount”price. Tbh I’m not complaining since the flat iron is really great and I love it. But I thought it was suspicious that their booth was closed down a few weeks afterwards. That was in early June 2023 (last month).
Anyways do ur self a favor and NEVER go to altitude trampoline park after having a little bit of pretzel bites at pretzel maker after having nothing to eat for 6 hours! Worst mistake of my life!
Also, a side note abiut round1, one of my favorite places to be at. Recently, they close down for a few weeks, because a car crashed into it late at night when it was the only place open at the time. The entirety of the parking lot entrance was torn down by the car, and some of the merchandise, when they finally opened back up one of the employees who happen to be a member of the church youth group that I’m in decided to quit because the managers are not treating him fairly. That lines up with the fact that my mom’s ex-boyfriend also used to work there and he was also being treated poorly.
Spirit Halloween store was in the old Sears.
Hmmmm & here I thought I’d been to every mall in my area but I’ve not been there.
Funny enough I went to the local mall here in Australia today and it had a broken escalator too....mmmmm
Weird. I wonder if there is a worldwide shortage of escalator parts or something? I wouldn't be surprised. Thanks for watching!
Spirit Halloween is in the old Sears. Sears was the original end of the mall before the expansion. The Macy's end is newer, it had a Toys R Us down there, and an AC Moore craft store and maybe a Babies R Us too. I remember Steigers being towards the middle of the original mall, but don't recall the exact spot. There was also a Christmas Tree Shops where the fountain looking thing is. Until I saw this video, I didn't realize it wasn't in the mall any longer. Guess it's been a while since I was up there.
Christmas Tree Shops is now in Holyoke Crossing ,the shopping center near this mall, the same one where Barnes and Noble is located. 😊
Steiger's was where Forever 21 used to be. Behind it was a Border's Bookstore.
There is a place like this arcade in the Hampshire Mall called Pinz which is an arcade/ bowling alley combo abiet slightly smaller. Seems to be a trend recently to put these kind of places into malls the are starting to struggle a bit.
Good to know. I may actually take a look at Hampshire Mall in the future. I hope they build more arcades like this. They just need to include more classic arcade games. Thanks for watching!
I love Pinz!! From a UMass alum, it was such a fun place to go to on the weekends
@@dpguinee Cool. Never heard of it, but I'm old, so....
The wing where Old Navy is now is the "new" section. It wasn't that large of an addition just that 2 floor straight section, I think. Used to be a Toys R Us then Babies R Us down at that end. I can't remember what anchor store was there.
Thanks for the info and for watching!
Macy's is the anchor in that end of the mall.
Enjoy your escalator musings. It's likely a labor shortage, supply chain issue or a combination of both that are contributing to escalator outages.
Good point! That's what I was thinking. They should probably at least fix the escalators enough so that people could use them as stairs. Thanks for watching!
Plus a lot of these malls are older so their infrastructures (like escalators) are wearing out and, with declining revenues, the mall owners are loathe to spend the money to replace them.
@@fleabittenadventures Try visiting malls during a Saturday or Sunday , what days are you going, because this malls was so packed yesterday and it was a huge brawl in the food court that would have been great footage......
The Macy's and JCPenny escalators tend to work.
Under all the escalators used to have big water fountains
:) I've been there.
When the Mall opened, G Fox occupied both floors where Target and Dick's are now. It moved down to the south end with the 1995 expansion and, through merger and rebranding, was renamed File he's (possibly before the move, not sure) and eventually Macy's, which it is now. Steiger's occupied both floors on the other side. They were there until the company went out of business in the mid-90's. Lot's of stores have filled in both the upper and lower sections since then and the area has been reconfigured a few timez
Oops, I meant renamed "Filene's"
Thanks for all the info!
Got to love auto correct.
Steiger's went out of business because the 4th generation Steiger's were "Idiots". I worked in the offices off of Page Blvd in Springfield for a few years. I remember Chauncy Steiger (2nd gen) coming in with a seer sucker suit and straw hat. The 4th generation were bosses and buyers in their 20s attempting to manage people with 30 years in. I think their parents realized they raised a crop of fools. Don't forget that Eric Steiger was convicted of murder in 1989 for killing 2 men.
Also, before malls and chains, Steiger's was the big fish in the Western Mass/ CT River in Connecticut small pond. The malls gave outsiders the ability to move in and give them competition they never had before.
As someone who goes there a lot, its packed a lot and it is dying slowly
I don't think it's dying could use a few new stores in the empty spots but as far as I know the Holyoke Mall at ingleside is still thriving!
I think most malls are dying, but this one did feel like it was doing better than most. It'll be interesting to see how long it lasts. Thanks for watching!
It seems to being doing better than most, but from what I have heard, it was doing even better back in the 90's. I don't know the mall too well though. Thanks for watching!
It's seems unusual to find a Burlington coat factory in a thriving mall.
Sports Zone….SPORTS ZONE took over the Christmas Tree Shop!!
(Really??)
I think Spirit is in what used to be a level of Sears??
Also hopefully that huge elevator works. It’s a pain to walk to the middle but if the escalators need repairs. 😒😤
Noooo! They closed McDonald’s!! 😩😢😭
….Despite all of this the mall IS a Western Mass destination and has essentially everything. It won’t shutter anytime soon. A mall like this could last another 20-30 years before that’s even brought up. The mega malls will survive. It’s the low B/C malls that are in ruins.
Yeah, I think it will probably be one of the last malls to go, but you never know. Are there any really dead malls in Mass I should check out? Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures sure!
- Eastfield Mall in Springfield
- Hampshire Mall in Hadley (a bit livier but has problems)
For Eastern Mass:
- Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers
- CambridgeSide
- Brockton “Mall”.
I’d say those are the ones in most danger. Although one like Solomon Pond in Marlborough or the one in Leominster could also (eventually) hit the bullet. Just maybe not as quickly.
@@michaeloptv I didn't know about Eastfield Mall. That's just around the corner. I'll try to check those out someday. Thanks!
Now Sports Zone is moving into Sears, they got kicked out of the Christmas Tree Shops spot and the guy working there said he thinks "Bob's Stores" clothing store is moving in. Also, the Eastfield Mall is an interesting one, it's kinda dead but there are some cool collectable stores that sell used/vintage collectable toys and stuff kinda like a flea market. There actually was a flea market there but they got kicked out because they were gonna use the space for, uhh, storing medication for a certain illness we're all familiar with, but now it's just different stores.
@@GuitarBillCurran okay hold up. I DOUBT “Bob’s Stores” is going there because well…it broke.
Bob’s FURNITURE would make more sense. But even that company is also struggling.
I miss record world
Holyoke is pretty ghetto, but I'm glad their mall is doing well.
Grew up in the Springfield area my whole life and can confirm this place gets packed especially during the Holiday season. However, as of Aug. 2023, I'm starting to see cracks in the Holyoke Mall. Granted, it will probably take 5-10 years for the issues to to surface. However, the anchor that is holding this place up is definitely Target. 3 anchors have already fallen here, Toys R US, Sears and most recently Christmas Tree Shops. However, Target's long term outlook is very bleak. This does not bode very well for the Holyoke Mall. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. However, the Holyoke Mall cannot afford to lose another anchor. Even losing JcPenney or Macy's could prove to be very devastating to the Holyoke Mall. I remember when this place was covered in neon lights.
Steve they have a new anchor in Christmas tree shops place. I believe it is Bob's Stores(clothing not furniture).
From 12:11 on is new section of Mall.
Thanks for the info and for watching!
Brimfield Flea Market is open!
The Spirit of Halloween is in the old Sears store.
OK. I was pretty sure that was the old Lord and Taylor, but it was hard to find info on what used to be where. Thanks.
@@fleabittenadventures as last I knew they have been wanting to put a new movie theater in to the mall using the old Sears location.
Pre pandemic anyway they might have changed I don't know we'll have to see what the future holds at any rate!
@@fleabittenadventures Lord & Taylor was where the Round 1 Arcade is now right in front of the escalator to the food court. It was on both floors. That whole section, particularly the upper level was completely redone right before Covid 19 happened. There was a short lived Forever 21 there that failed before they turned it into the arcade
I'm old enough to remember life before malls, and taking the bus "downtown" to shop at Woolworth's and the like and go to a matinee at one of the movie theaters. Malls first started coming in when I was about to graduate from high school. I've been to the Holyoke Mall several times. Honestly, I really don't like malls, too glitzy, too artificial. I did like going into the Brookstone Store at the Holyoke, though.
If I were younger, I probably would have been a mall rat in my teenage years, so I can see how a lot of people who did that get nostalgic about them. But...being a downtown dinosaur, I never got into them.
Pizzeria Uno just closed this week.
I believe I Penney and Spencer gifts have been there since the mal! opened, along with G.Fox/Filene's/Macy's, though it moved from the center of the mall to the south end. There has always been a music/video store at the bottom of the escalator next to JcPenney but it wasn't always called FYE. I think all the other stores are non-original, though some have been around for several years. Again, as best as I can remember.
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I would imagine that very few of the opening day stores are still there, other than the anchors. Thanks again for the info.
@@fleabittenadventures I grew up in Western Massachusetts and lived there until I moved away 11 years ago. The Mall opened when I was in high school. Now that I only go to the mall maybe once a year when I'm up visiting, I really notice the changes.
@@fleabittenadventures And thank you for posting these videos. Bringing back some memories. As others have mentioned, you might want to visit the Hampshire Mall on Route 9 in Hadley. Door Nail City.
@@helpinghal I'm taking this week off from work, so I hope to get to that mall, and maybe a few others this week. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@helpinghal I'll try to take a look.
Hmmmm this mall had a box lunch AND a hot topic. That’s kind of putting all of one’s eggs in the same basket. & imo any mall that has a post office inside of it isn’t super interesting. The architecture is somewhat unique tho.all the neon in the signage is all lit up on stores like Best Buy which must be a good thing
Looks like someone should work fixing escalators, probably make some good cash here with that many down.
That escalator in Macy’s was really shaky. That might break down real soon.
The escalators are an issue there