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NEARLY ABANDONED: Forest Fair Village aka Cincinnati Mall

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  • čas přidán 7. 03. 2021
  • NEARLY ABANDONED: Forest Fair Village aka Cincinnati Mall. Enjoy this raw format style video throughout this huge mall in southwestern Ohio which has easily become known as the deadest mall in America. Nearly everything inside is closed and there is no reason the mall should be open besides the 2 tenants which could relocate to a better mall if they chose.
    Why this mall is open is a mystery but it is the wishes of the owner to keep it open for people to visit. It just doesn't make sense since nearly nothing is open.
    If you enjoy my content and wish to help make my channel grow, become a Patron! You can make a contribution at / wallieb26 .
    There is no obligation and I'm not asking you to! All proceeds go toward expenses involved in travelling to film for you guys. I do not make a profit. Thank you!
    #ForestFairVillage #CincinnatiMall #CincinnatiMills

Komentáře • 151

  • @NindieNation
    @NindieNation Před 3 lety +22

    Cincinnati native/resident here: Arcade Legacy is an absolute treasure. One of the best collections of 80s, 90s, and 00s video games there is - Arcades, consoles, games, everything. Love Arcade Legacy!

    • @BlueAmpharos
      @BlueAmpharos Před rokem

      I like Arcade Legacy too but the state of the restrooms combined with how far away it was made it undoable, was over an hour from where I lived.

  • @retaildetail8685
    @retaildetail8685 Před 3 lety +33

    That is so a shame it is abandoned that looks like such a bad ass building style I love it

    • @NathanDavisVideos
      @NathanDavisVideos Před 3 lety +3

      Yeah it's kinda got that 1980s/'90s Nickelodeon game show set feel to it. Sort of like what you would have seen in game shows like _Figure It Out_ or _Double Dare_ if you wanna go WAY BACK.

    • @spengeyroblox7127
      @spengeyroblox7127 Před 2 lety +1

      he was so good in world tour. too bad he didnt sing that much

    • @unknown_guy5366
      @unknown_guy5366 Před rokem

      St Louis mills be like:

  • @airaero5473
    @airaero5473 Před 3 lety +22

    Steve and Barry's signage?! That company went out of business in 2009; 12 years ago!

  • @cynthiarose1957
    @cynthiarose1957 Před 3 lety +17

    This video was awesome. I love the decor and food court of the mall. I would have loved to see it when it was busy. It is sad but still beautiful. Thank you Wallie

  • @unknownuser..._...
    @unknownuser..._... Před 3 lety +15

    It’s finally here! Wallie going inside an abandoned mall! This is going to be a good video!

  • @callmemarc
    @callmemarc Před 3 lety +5

    I live in Cincinnati and was 10 when this place opened. It was amazing! I clearly remember the Bigg's department/grocery store (similar to Meijer), Babages, all of the cool games and rides, the movie theater and they had this neat obstacle course type thing that billiards balls would roll through there where the food court was.

    • @sethmishne
      @sethmishne Před 2 lety

      I remember the Biggs here and I'm pretty sure there used to be a indoor amusement park here. arcade legacy is basically the only thing left here.

  • @rcrobbins1423
    @rcrobbins1423 Před 3 lety +4

    This place is home to one of my favorite arcades EVER! I hope it never goes away.

  • @eh4236
    @eh4236 Před 2 lety +1

    At the 12:46 mark, to the right looks like that is where Biggs used to be! I was there...I walked those floors when I lived in Cincinnati from 1986 to 1995....I loved that mall...even back then, just walking around wore me out and I was only in my early 20s.....

  • @SheilaPairADice
    @SheilaPairADice Před 3 lety +2

    When we first moved to the Cincinnati area in 1996 this mall was semi-thriving. Although I never got to see it in it's original glory (I heard there was a huge carousel in the middle), there was a Bigg's store (combo grocery & department store) as an anchor and many other retail stores and food court restaurants. but there was always vacant stores dotted around the mall. I remember my husband and I going there on Tuesday nights which was " wing night" at Buffalo Wild Wings on the lower food court level and the line would be OUT THE DOOR with people waiting to get in to be seated or pick up to-go orders. I was born and raised about 30 minutes north of here but during the time this mall was built and opened I wasn't living in Ohio because my husband was in the military. I remember family and friends telling me about the huge Forest Fair Mall (named for the 2 surrounding cities Forest Park & Fairfield) being built that was going to have many high-end retail stores we didn't have in the Cincinnati area - many of these stores are now gone into bankruptcy - Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller, Nordstrom and other high-end stores were to come to the mall. From what I understand the mall never lived up to the hype and it never took completely off they way it was anticipated. One of the reasons is this mall that was supposed to bring high end shopping to Cincinnati was built in a majority blue collar area! Even though it's right off the highway, the demographic in the area couldn't and wouldn't shop and those types of stores and the wealthy neighborhoods were too far of a drive for them to come all the way out to this northern suburb. There is a very popular mall - Kenwood Mall - that caters to the wealthier southern and western suburbs.
    The last time I remember this mall having any type of popularity was in the late 1990's / early 2000's when there was a huge nightclub called Metropolis that had 4 different levels and types of music in each area (Techno, R&B, Country, dance music). I went there with a group of co-workers around 2001 or 2002 and it was always a popular place. If I remember correctly around 2004 or 2005 they turned the mall into an outlet mall with the usual outlet retail stores and I went a few times to the Bath & Body Works outlet but it was always like a ghost town inside the mall and finally around 2008/2009 there was hardly any open stores left. Last I heard Amazon (of course!) was going to use part of it for a distribution center.
    Thanks WallieB26 for giving me a peek inside this mall that I haven't been in since around 2008 or 2009!

  • @StantonsJourneys
    @StantonsJourneys Před 3 lety +3

    This is just amazing how this mall remains open to this day, kind of reminds me when I filmed Richmond Town Square and how quiet and dead it was. Awesome job on this one and thanks for documenting for us to see.

  • @johnsos9
    @johnsos9 Před 3 lety +6

    This used to be the place to go to on weekends in the early/mid 90’s if you lived in the area. Time Out and The Super Saver Cinemas 8 were something else. Then you had Bourbon Street and Metropolis etc. I had a lot of good times there. They should have just made this place a huge entertainment complex and it may have had a better chance of surviving.

  • @DalmationProductions
    @DalmationProductions Před 3 lety +5

    Thanks for another Mall video WallieB26 I do appreciate it

  • @DalmationProductions
    @DalmationProductions Před 3 lety +9

    I literally forgot that this mall was still around despite being dead

  • @Optopolis
    @Optopolis Před 3 lety +8

    It would be so cool if someone could do something cool with this place but still keep the aesthetics. It really is a beautiful mall!

  • @mmichal
    @mmichal Před 3 lety +1

    I know a lot of the older folks are fond of the 1970s/80s mall decor, but as a Millennial there's something about the over-the-top 2000s mall aesthetics that just brings me fond memories as a teenager. Forest Fair Village is the perfect 2000s looking mall only Pittsburgh Mills comes close to it!

  • @alanlough638
    @alanlough638 Před 3 lety +3

    A cool video, Wallie! When I watched this video, I recall seeing a previous video of this mall. Have a KMartlicious Day! Stay awesome!

  • @rem145
    @rem145 Před 3 lety +5

    The higher end stores are in places like Kenwood which is doing well even with this Covid stuff. It seemed like this mall was located in the wrong place

  • @karissaexplainsitallxo
    @karissaexplainsitallxo Před 3 lety +2

    great video 👍 so sad to see how empty it is but it’s awesome to see the aesthetics and architecture

  • @stewartmatthews1551
    @stewartmatthews1551 Před 3 lety +5

    When I was in Indiana fort wayne and I remember buying clothes from Steven barry's before

  • @tomboard1
    @tomboard1 Před 2 lety

    I worked at Burbanks Real Bar B Q back in the day. That whole entertainment section of the mall was rocking on the weekends.

  • @jeremymason4205
    @jeremymason4205 Před 3 lety +2

    To me the intro was simply amazing. Like the beginning of a movie.

  • @kevinkevin6806
    @kevinkevin6806 Před 3 lety +2

    WoW, just wow! I see the Mills style all over that place. Once worked at AZ Mills. (Security director) That is some amazing footage

  • @holliepajak3772
    @holliepajak3772 Před 2 lety +1

    Thank you for filming, I never went to this mall and I’m happy to see it through your video. It is beautiful

  • @amandaclick3590
    @amandaclick3590 Před 3 lety +1

    Wow! This is an awesome video that I am watching right now! It's a nice mall, but very empty and abandoned! I am enjoying it! 👍😘❤😀

  • @ErikVince
    @ErikVince Před 3 lety +7

    I don't get why they don't want you filming and putting videos together in there to me that would just attract business for them all

    • @everyhandletaken
      @everyhandletaken Před 3 lety +2

      Exactly, it’s not like there is anything to hide..

  • @skyebird3933
    @skyebird3933 Před 3 lety +1

    Good job on the video. I liked the overlay of info when driving around it.

  • @patriciamorrow6848
    @patriciamorrow6848 Před 3 lety

    wallieB awesome new beginning, great vlog, you get better & better thank you.

  • @zoefaith120
    @zoefaith120 Před 3 lety +2

    Wow. It's hard d to believe last year went so fast and it sucked at the same time. But only if we can go back to normal. What becomes normal again..

  • @NathanDavisVideos
    @NathanDavisVideos Před 3 lety +4

    Hold on, there were two cinemas in this mall?! I didn't know that!

    • @ActingIda22
      @ActingIda22 Před rokem

      Yess my parents would only take us to the theaters downstairs because it was cheaper lol

  • @PDC1987
    @PDC1987 Před 2 lety

    Meanwhile Kenwood Town Center in another part of Cincinnati has everything from basic mall stores all the way up to Louis Vuitton and Tiffany and Co. It almost instantly became feast or famine for indoor malls over the last 10 years or so.

  • @melodybeitzel5378
    @melodybeitzel5378 Před 3 lety +1

    Awesome video sad to see the mall is this way . It’s definitely different seeing hardly anyone in there

  • @SLone3251
    @SLone3251 Před 3 lety +1

    Love seeing videos on this mall, despite there being so many of them by mall creators. It never gets old. I hope I can see this place in the flesh one day.

  • @MuneageDaydream
    @MuneageDaydream Před 3 lety +3

    Yeah, this mall's been videoed to death, so much so that I feel like I know every corner of it! (Including the never ending fire alarm in the theater.) That said, your simple drive around truly gave a feel for just how massive it is. I don't think there's another video like it. I just will never understand how they're keeping the lights on and keeping the building clean. Rent from the arcade? Get outta here. It's like the place is holding it's breath, waiting for a crowd of shoppers that will never return.

  • @ItsaRomethingeveryday
    @ItsaRomethingeveryday Před 3 lety +1

    It's been awhile since I've seen this place, I still remember the vid ya did with Anthony, Liked vid, it's a real shame the way the malls continue to die

  • @throughthedesolate
    @throughthedesolate Před 3 lety

    Thanks for the adventure Wallie!

  • @carlavision6143
    @carlavision6143 Před 3 lety +1

    WallieB26, really enjoyed your video! So sad the malls are dying. Loved going to malls back in the good old days!

    • @STSRTF
      @STSRTF Před 3 lety +1

      The mall closest to where I live is doing good.

  • @nathanmiller6051
    @nathanmiller6051 Před 3 lety

    Great video, very strange place indeed! Thanks

  • @jamesthefordman
    @jamesthefordman Před 3 lety

    Awesome video wallie and Kayla thx again for the time you spend! That beeping has been going off since at least the proper people did there video you think they would silence it 😆

  • @kevinkevin6806
    @kevinkevin6806 Před 3 lety +4

    My God, I’ve watched this twice!

    • @WallieB26
      @WallieB26  Před 3 lety +1

      Thank you! I hope you enjoyed!

  • @ZeeMann_Retail
    @ZeeMann_Retail Před 3 lety

    Wow! Great perspective of this place!

  • @jenzdziera
    @jenzdziera Před 3 lety

    Hi WallieB I have so much great feedback for this vid I may have to put my ‘novel’ on Facebook but this video was great. Always enjoy your music choices, really enjoyed the commentary and detail in the middle. You kept sending us to other YT channels for more details and that’s very admirable to support your fellow YT channels but wanted to tell you you’re ranked up there too. This was excellent. I’m going over to Patreon to support. I’m a fairly new subscriber here. Probably a year or so, but I’m sold. Your vids are getting better and better and I didn’t realize how much I missed your viewpoint of a dead mall. Again great vid!

  • @andypritchard9644
    @andypritchard9644 Před 3 lety

    Awesome! A video for my (somewhat) local dead mall

  • @retaildetail8685
    @retaildetail8685 Před 3 lety +2

    Awesome video due 👍👍👍👍

  • @SlapthePissouttayew
    @SlapthePissouttayew Před 3 lety

    Good advice on the bathrooms here! The one I used on my visit a couple years back didn't have any lights in it!

  • @turtleislandlac1490
    @turtleislandlac1490 Před 2 lety

    Gurnee Mills north of Chicago and Arundel Mills Mall south of Baltimore are two thriving Mills malls.

  • @jet34thehawk
    @jet34thehawk Před 3 lety +1

    Awesome video guys

  • @aprilleerose
    @aprilleerose Před 2 lety

    I grew up in Cincinnati but I live in Pittsburgh now and Pittsburgh Mills is still an ok mall but you can tell it’s struggling.

  • @dohspc
    @dohspc Před 3 lety

    Cincinnati Mills mall is one of the biggest Mills failures. Great video ranks up there with the best. We still got Grapevine Mills here in Dallas still making it!

  • @peacemakerryan
    @peacemakerryan Před 2 lety +1

    There’s a security guard that works here that killed 8 cats

  • @heatherm9878
    @heatherm9878 Před 2 lety

    This is just so sad. Alot of malls just dying out. Myself guilty of doing mostly online shopping. I used to come from southeastern Indiana just to go to this mall. Going to all of the popular stores as a late teen. Abercrombie and Fitch, Debs, Bath and Body works. And then spending every single Friday and Saturday night at Borubon street, then turned Metropolis. 2000 to 2022. So much fun and so many memories. Hope someone can do something with this place and bring it back to life.

  • @GLeibniz1716
    @GLeibniz1716 Před 3 lety

    Excellent, your the Cecil b. Demille of urban archeology; malls were such a large part of popular culture for half a century; now they are reduced to this. Sad.

  • @Tails111Klonoa
    @Tails111Klonoa Před 3 lety +1

    Love the opening song B)

  • @edwardwilson1914
    @edwardwilson1914 Před 3 lety +1

    Fun fact... Opened in 1988 - also the last time Cincinnati had an NFL team, lol!

  • @GMTX-kg8ep
    @GMTX-kg8ep Před 3 lety

    I’ve been there before inside the Bass Pro Shop! I saw that it was vacant on one end, but didn’t know it was this bad!

  • @allemander
    @allemander Před 3 lety

    Empty malls are great places to ride bikes like BMX. I used to do that on summer break as a kid in the early morning hours of a mall that was not empty or abandoned, after the doors were unlocked for employees to enter but before stores were open or customers were allowed to enter.

  • @titanicjunior2141
    @titanicjunior2141 Před 3 lety +1

    Omg ty Wally

  • @creeps4lulz
    @creeps4lulz Před 3 lety

    Love the vids

  • @SlapthePissouttayew
    @SlapthePissouttayew Před 3 lety

    I worked maintenance and grounds here from '90 til '94 and it was losing stores from the day I started. It was originally Forrest Fair Mall. I still have one of my uniform shirts with the logo on it.
    Last time I went in there was a couple years ago. The silence and the shut off escalators were really weird.
    Building this place between two already established malls, Northgate and Tricounty, was a HUGE factor in it failing. It traded ownership a couple times while I was there.

  • @charliejoson9145
    @charliejoson9145 Před 3 lety

    I've watched a similar video from The Propee People ....but I felt like their video was short 🙃 I miss watching dead malls
    In my country, there is a mall that's like this [huge with some stores that have entrances outside] and American backpackers had took videos of going to that mall.

  • @nicfronczek7386
    @nicfronczek7386 Před 3 lety +1

    Makes Pittsburgh Mills look busy

  • @frugalcomfort
    @frugalcomfort Před 2 lety

    That is an attractive mall inside. I wonder if you have offered some well edited clips of this to the mall management as marketing material. It would help pay some of your cost to shoot it.

  • @coreymitchell4498
    @coreymitchell4498 Před 3 lety

    I explored this Mall I have great photoshots of this mall.
    From 2019.
    back in 2019 the security guards was not even there when I did it in the summertime of 2019.
    That I even went to the security guard hallway in the food court area.

  • @SMaster777
    @SMaster777 Před 2 lety +1

    Wow... one of these "Forest Fair Is A Dead Mall" videos, except it actually acknowledged Arcade Legacy. I'm impressed by that, because AL is legitimately a major attraction if you're a gamer.

    • @WallieB26
      @WallieB26  Před 2 lety +1

      Yes they are. Great place and people too. I never understood why others never seem to acknowledge the place.

    • @Bsjs7uu
      @Bsjs7uu Před rokem

      ​@@WallieB26how did you get in?

  • @michaelcoffey7362
    @michaelcoffey7362 Před 3 lety

    Cool 😀

  • @machellec6517
    @machellec6517 Před rokem

    You guys should come check out Emerald Square, Mall in North Attleboro, Massachusetts

  • @MrTopgun417
    @MrTopgun417 Před 2 lety

    There's a mall in Columbus Indiana that is almost empty as well in my opinion

  • @Hey_Trey29
    @Hey_Trey29 Před rokem

    My wife and I visited this mall in October 2022 and kohl’s was still open

  • @aprilleerose
    @aprilleerose Před 2 lety

    I remember its very first name was Forest Fair Mall. It’s beyond heartbreaking to see it this way :( :(

  • @hallemayes3784
    @hallemayes3784 Před 3 lety

    such a liminal space vibe.. creepy yet familiar

  • @ericmarshall1944
    @ericmarshall1944 Před rokem

    The real reason the mall failed so many time is the Taxes. forrest park's taxes on small businesses are so high its outragous. they even ran off the walmart across the highway.

  • @shaunlee6511
    @shaunlee6511 Před 3 lety

    Hey Wallie I’ve been watching your videos for a while now and I love all of them. If you’re ever in western New York, I don’t know if it would be worth it but there is a building here in Lockport, NY that used to have a save a lot and a Salvation Army thrift store that closed but if you’re ever in the area maybe you could check it out

  • @ElijahSinclair1220
    @ElijahSinclair1220 Před 2 lety +1

    I'll never understand why security Freaks out over photographs. Taking photos doesn't break anything. It makes no sense. Especially in the context of the owner actively not wanting the place closed.
    What other purpose does it serve than to be a Photography and tourist hunting ground?

  • @payton2896
    @payton2896 Před 3 lety

    I would love to see an abandoned walkthrough of Century III mall!

    • @victoriamatlock5876
      @victoriamatlock5876 Před 3 lety

      There more they been gone for a bit and the last video 2 years ago I think

  • @miss_lyss2166
    @miss_lyss2166 Před 3 lety

    Went here in 2012 and looks exactly the same as it did back then pretty much. We went and saw a movie for $6. They said back then that the Bass Pro Shop was supposed to move but I can see by this video it is still there🤷🏼‍♀️ Only things open when I went here were Burlington, babies r us, Payless, Kohls, and Bass Pro Shop

  • @CoasterQueen8799
    @CoasterQueen8799 Před 3 lety +2

    Yay, somewhere fairly local to me! (Daytonian here)

    • @CoasterQueen8799
      @CoasterQueen8799 Před 3 lety +1

      @@bh2236 My local mall (Fairfield Commons) is still doing pretty well.

    • @CoasterQueen8799
      @CoasterQueen8799 Před 3 lety +1

      @@bh2236 I know of a couple other malls in the Dayton area, including Dayton Mall near Centerville (which I haven’t been to but I think is doing fine) and Upper Valley Mall in Springfield which isn’t doing so hot.
      As for other Cincinnati-area malls, I have visited Liberty Center in Liberty Township and Kenwood Town Center in Kenwood, both of which are also doing well!

  • @angeloakes3192
    @angeloakes3192 Před 3 lety

    Kohls is still open as of this writing. I talked to the guard a while ago. He said they had 3 years left on their lease. So it doesn't look like they are leaving anytime soon. It would be stupid to pack up and leave after being there 27 years!!!

  • @crystalscan2002
    @crystalscan2002 Před 3 lety +1

    that is sad, its nice mall

  • @marvelkingdom1972
    @marvelkingdom1972 Před 3 lety +5

    Nice, but better w/out the music

  • @nicholasrunck8881
    @nicholasrunck8881 Před 3 lety

    I always go the Bass Pro shop out there and the mall is so dead. That is why there moving Bass Pro Shop to a new location.

  • @ChopperDDocter
    @ChopperDDocter Před 3 lety +1

    I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS AND I SUBCRIBED TO YOU

  • @ChuckEEntertainment
    @ChuckEEntertainment Před 3 lety

    I've seen at least two people now say Khols will relocate in early 2021 yet I can't seem to find any info on that. Does anyone have like an article or anything that proves it? Also if I can recall one of the main reasons this mall is still open is in the early 2000s somehow they did a thing to not have to pay property taxes for like 30 years.

  • @ccorri97
    @ccorri97 Před 3 lety

    St louis mills ended up closing all together now and being turned in to a sports complex

  • @vintagetoiletstexas2443
    @vintagetoiletstexas2443 Před 3 lety +2

    Cool old mall shame it's abandoned now

    • @rp1430
      @rp1430 Před 3 lety

      And nobody else buys the land Amazon going to buy it

  • @bobbiejostowe6431
    @bobbiejostowe6431 Před 3 lety

    I know a place you can visit pretty soon that will be abandoned that is a shopping plaza in Corry PA that will not have anything there anymore

  • @jdmcmul0325
    @jdmcmul0325 Před 2 lety

    So sad....

  • @ERA_Productions
    @ERA_Productions Před 3 lety +4

    It's just one place in your life that you have to experience at least once

  • @AmongTheUnknown
    @AmongTheUnknown Před 3 lety +2

    1,000 views within an hour!

  • @turbofart101
    @turbofart101 Před 3 lety

    I will honeslty never understand why places aren't styled like this anymore

  • @1cy_H0t_Fr0g
    @1cy_H0t_Fr0g Před 3 lety +1

    This reminds me of the pale city from Little nightmares II

  • @sSoulsMind
    @sSoulsMind Před 3 lety

    Theres sawgrass mills mall here in Florida too! It’s still open

    • @rp1430
      @rp1430 Před 3 lety

      What what part of Florida what town ?

  • @monkeydui7241
    @monkeydui7241 Před 3 lety +1

    Anybody know what they’re doing with the place?

  • @Wesley_C
    @Wesley_C Před 3 lety

    There's nearly there's a Retro Game Store is still here in this mall.

  • @crystalscan2002
    @crystalscan2002 Před 3 lety

    my mall had wilsions leather a long time ago

  • @muiscnight
    @muiscnight Před 3 lety

    I use to get annoyed with this mall it's so prevalent in the dead mall community, but I get it it's a very unique looking mall in decent condition

  • @jacobfrech288
    @jacobfrech288 Před 3 lety +1

    How on earth do the owners afford to keep this place open??

  • @journeywithjay
    @journeywithjay Před 3 lety

    Man I wanna go here sooo bad.

  • @carlbingham931
    @carlbingham931 Před 3 lety

    The Miami valley center mall in piqua Ohio is about to go under

  • @MrScottki
    @MrScottki Před 3 lety

    come to watertown sd mall its like 6 stores in it

  • @pawliksworldofkaraoke4578

    It is larger than Monroeville Mall.

  • @NMack-is3nb
    @NMack-is3nb Před 2 lety

    Set to close in August 2022.