Exploring an Abandoned Mall Frozen in Time
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- čas přidán 13. 10. 2023
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In this episode, we're exploring the Montgomery Mall that has been closed since 2008. Since then, the halls have been relatively undisturbed, nature has taken hold and is beginning to reclaim the interior of the mall.
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I went to Alabama, and went to this mall back in 2006 with my family. I have vague images of this mall in my head, and I haven’t thought deeply about it since then. It’s so surreal to see it 17 years later, in this video, dead and abandoned.
I went to the University of Alabama from 2013-2017. The indoor Tuscaloosa Mall was already pretty dead. It was weird because of the increasing student numbers, Tuscaloosa saw incredible growth while I was there. So many new shopping centers, stores and the Downtown area got completely revitalized, but the mall never seemed to bounce back.
That was my experience with the old St. Pete pier in Florida; I remember going there a few times as a kid and then I saw the iconic inverted pyramid-shaped building on a random urbex video and my mind was blown.
Kinda creepy, isn't it?
That’s awesome!
"All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain."
The guys knowing obscure manufacturers of hospital equipment but not recognizing mosquito larvae is my favorite thing ever on this channel
Right lol
They can identify what a knockoff coaster is a knockoff of AND clock that it's a knockoff, but mosquito larva are outside their wheelhouse 😂
Everyone has their specialties lolol
It's all about your area of expertise ;o
😂
There’s something extra sad about an abandoned mall. All abandoned buildings are sad, but the mall used to bring a lot of joy/happiness/excitement to a lot of people. As kid/teen/young adult there was always something fun about going to a mall.
As a kid, maybe. Malls sucked after being 14.
That's because it is one of the few spaces where people can socialize, at least in the US and countries with similar cities
@@armandoventura9043 There's literally hundreds of organizations, clubs, parks, hell libraries, where people go to socialize. Who socialized at the mall outside of teenagers at the arcade and smoking in the food court? Maybe welfare recipients, with other like-minded individuals.
@@the_kombinator Third spaces are all but gone in America, the ones that exist are places that are very specific, like a card shop, its all internet now.
Also gives you a sense of a failing economy. Which makes it pretty depressing thinking of everyone who lost their jobs.
I have lived in Montgomery my whole life. I used to go to Montgomery Mall all the time. It's so sad to know that it's being left to rot and decay. I mean, we knew it was being used for the schools, and fire/police station, but didn't know it was like this else where. Thank you for filming this. I'm surprised that the clock is still in there and hasn't been saved. It's a replica of the original clock that still stands in downtown Montgomery near the court square fountain. I remember it was a big deal because they were able to get the original manufactures to make it as they were still in business and had the molds for the castings.
Oh, and that booth like structure outside that you show at the beginning of the video was the drive-thru for the bank that was inside. I know because i used it a few times.
We probably walked through the same stores at the same time at one point. I used to live at MM in the summers.
the mall is, in some ways, just a larger reflection of Montgomery.
aside from the riverfront, where the Regions building and the Biscuits stadium is, most of the city is experiencing urban decay, capital flight, and high crime. Ann Street and Forest avenue are prime examples.
a quick wander through any residential or closed-down industrial area will reveal the devastation, and speaking to people in the streets that have watched this urban decay happen during their lives will tell you this.
@@hobomike6935 Basically, the loop around Montgomery created by 65 and the northern and southern bypasses is a noose where everything inside the noose is dying and everything outside the noose is thriving. What used to be "Montgomery" is now located in EastChase.
As someone who spent many hours of childhood in the late 90s hanging out in malls, I find these so fascinating but so depressing. It's the emptiness of a place that was once so vibrant & alive. It's almost like attending a wake.
How eerie that the clock essentially has the time of death of the mall when the power was finally shut off.
I completely agree. I still go to the mall but its not how it was. i miss it .
@@Melissa2087always hated malls, germ factories and people 🤢
@@insertnamehere2635 Yay good for you. Now go be a grouch alone.
@@insertnamehere2635 go be a lame-o somewhere else then, the mall doesn't want you any more than you want it
Malls *rapidly declined in the late 2000s,* due to
>the cost-of-living crisis and exceptional corporate greed destroying working class families' *disposable income*
>the rise and convenience of *online shopping* and the inability of smalltime brick and mortar stores to compete
>the increasingly strict curfews and supervision rules for *teenagers and tweens,* the target audience for malls, and in general the increasingly *hostility and unfriendliness* of US culture creating a generation that doesn't want to be in crowds
>urban decay and poor city planning making inner-city areas a *traffic nightmare, a dangerous place to live,* and in general driving potential visitors away from malls
>fears of *public shootings* of which Malls are a prime target, due to large, congested groups of distracted people
*by about 2015,* most malls were very empty; there'd be a few stores on each floor, with most sections empty glass storefronts or boarded up. Malls also became *dim and poorly maintained* as mall operators stopped using all the lights and cut janitorial/maintenance hours to help conserve cost.
*after 2020,* most malls died outright; you can still find a few well-kept ones in some of America's high-dollar major cities, but they're usually too expensive and too far a drive for the average Joe not living nearby in a half-million house.
The lack of vandalism is amazing. Just makes the place look so much better
Especially when attached to a high school.
It's beautiful!
Hopefully we can see it continue to decay without the scribble kiddies and vandals uglying it up.
@StubbyPhillips unpopular opinion; but there's value in graffiti. It adds this weird touch of life to an object before nature takes it back over. Sometimes finding the random graffiti is more exciting and fun than finding the intricate bejeweled artifact.
Vandalism is another type now, before was leaving a mark in the unknown visited world now is social media where everyone wstches
The police station is likely the deterent to keep vandals out.
I'm always so amazed by how fast things can just decay and get taken over by nature. 2008 doesn't even feel that long ago and to see plants growing through the food court floor and how everything is just falling apart, it's crazy
everything from the 70's onward was built cheap, is why.
Holy crap! That's my mall! I grew up at this mall. I'm friends with the property manager and go inside frequently. I take it he didn't know you went in. He doesn't take kindly to people trespassing, and ever since the anchor stores have been occupied, they let people slip in all the time. I have tons of video, even from when the anchor stores were still in their anchor form, but I had to sign disclosures that I would never post them online. I guess that ship has sailed now lol. Lots of abandoned buildings around here these days, sadly... on a side note, I was in B'ham over the weekend and checked out the Carraway Hospital (what's still standing) and went by the old Mounds Memorial. As always, love your videos!
I need a video of Carraway please!!!!
@@LY22235. The last two times I have been there have been the last two Octobers, and it was pitch black in the night in a sketchy neighborhood. As much as I wanted to go in, I had my wife with me and didn't want to subject her to danger. Most of it is torn down at this point. These guys (The Proper People) have an excellent video of Carraway before the demo started.
Curious, when this mall was built and closed? What was the name of it? I could hang out at a mall all day. Sad to see them closing down like this.
@@jnorb8633 Montgomery Mall was originally built in the 1960s, it had a major renovation in the late 80s, and then was shuttered around 2008, give or take a year. I was a splendid place to go, and I miss it.
Tellers wasn’t a bank, was it? It said ices on the wall too
Years from now, people will truly appreciate the quality documentary style preservation of all the locations you visited. Kudos to you guys!
Sucks it even takes that long I’m born 1990 and love the nostalgia of the 80s and 90’s this hit deep seeing my childhood basically dying off becoming yet another part of history taught nowadays 🥲💯🙏🏾
If these videos themselves are preserved 😅
@@Kitsune44X foreal bro 💯💯💯
@Bryce703breezy a lot of brick and mortar stores did it to themselves though. They just refused to get with the times and just create an online presence.
Look at Sears here in Canada. They were still sending out catalogs till the year they went under, and their online store was almost non-existent.
Most stores now have an online retail aspect. Hell even small mom-and-pop locations have a "this is what we do/offer" site.
"years from now" the whole world will look like this and there will be no internet or people to watch it...
There's always something eerie about a place where thousands of people once were.
IS THERE A NAME FOR THAT????? BECAUSE I GET THAT FEELING ABOUT DEAD MALLS TOO! (really any place that's abandoned) AND I WANNA KNOW IF THERE'S A NAME FOR IT SO I CAN VERBALIZE MY FEELINGS IN A SINGLE WORD!!
@@lisachiappetti6092 Places like these are usually described as liminal spaces, which are basically empty or abandoned spaces that feel eerie or just sad to look at
It just makes me always think about how we are so distracted by so many things that nobody realizes that things are just materialistic and not meant to last and are only a huge distraction from things that matter
@@youwish378Yep.. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." ~Matthew 6:19 (NIV) 😊
@@lisachiappetti6092I need the same answer. I just… it lives in me I don’t even know this 😮
Sad really. I remember going to the mall was a treat, an adventure, a full day. Well, maybe not an entire day, but it felt like it. It was where we, as children, hit our milestones. Back to school shopping, Christmas shopping, birthday parties at the arcade, learning music in the music store, getting clothes for homecoming. It was also where we grew our independence. Mom and Dad would let us run free (mostly) in the mall. They got to go to the stores and shops they needed without us kids, and we went to music, radio shack, arcade, food court, whatever and where ever we wanted. It was a safe and fun area in those early 90s malls. A place to meet up with friends and hang out for hours!
I feel sorry for kids today that will not have that experience. It saddens my soul to see such nostalgia slowing dying and decaying like this.
Abandoned malls-especially when they have movie theaters-always give me such a creepy vibe. Our local small mall is struggling and has an old movie theater inside that’s been sealed off for at least 20 years. I’ve always wondered what it might be like inside!
Why don’t you go in and explore and make a video about it? 😊
There’s a mall where is live built back in 89 that had a Cinemark in it that I used to go to in high school. The mall is still there but they built a new theater at the other end of the mall, but the old theater is still there walled off by a restaurant they put where the ticket booths and concessions used to be.
This mall is not too far from being on the dead mall list soon. Be cool to see what the old theater I spent so much time in looks like now after being walled off for 20+ years when it does die.
Ah yeah, those lil worm things at 14:55 are mosquito larvae.
Anyway, this is definitely my favourite abandoned mall that you've been to! Perfect amount of decay and basically no vandalism.
Are you sure that those weren’t fish or tadpoles?😂😂😂
@@72tadrian65 google is free dude
Lol my mosquito-hostile comment was deleted by youtube. Wow
@@BananaPhoPhillymosquito lives matter
@@72tadrian65 most definitely mosquito larvae. no doubt about it lol
Watching something like this, I can't but wonder- what was the final sale at each of these businesses? What was the last meal served at the food court? Which family was the last to share a pleasant memory at a place in which tens of thousands of such memories had been made over the years? Growing up in the 70's and 80's it seemed like these had always been around and always would be- they had, after all, replaced the downtowns our parents had known and loved, and we flocked to them, if for no other reason than that's where everyone else was. So what, apart from the wasteland of social media, has replaced these?
That's the thing. It is replaced by sitting in your own house, getting no exercise, no social interaction, no fresh air and sun and night air and walking and all of the true enjoyment of being in a mall. For those of us who lived thru the enjoyment of malls and that kind of entertainment, is the trade off worth it?
I completely agree
@@oliviarinaldi5963no not at all. I miss malls so much and I literally hate the idea of Amazon and online shopping being primary norm 😢
@@oliviarinaldi5963 most people are working 2 jobs to _barely squeeze by,_ or working a full-time job and can't afford to take days off work unless they have to for family issues.
on the rare occasion that we DON'T have to work or get any errands done in town or around the house, we're physically and mentally drained; and don't want to go back out. the prospect of cleaning up and going back out to a noisy, crowded mall that charges too much money for things we don't need cluttering up the house puts off most people's ideas of going to the mall.
we'd rather just use the time to catch up on sleep debt, maybe do some exercise to help with aching joints/injuries, or maybe do a hobby that costs less money such as crocheting or reading a book.
Amazon, Walmart and online orders sent these places to rest unfortunately… Malls aren’t in The New World Order.
Cheers
I was born and raised in the Montgomery area. So many memories of going to this mall on the weekends with my friends as a teenager (especially Steve & Barry’s and American Eagle). They closed it because The Eastdale Mall (which is also closed now) did a LOT better toward the end. I miss it. I’m so glad y’all did this one!
Eastdale Mall actually is still open, but has been majorly struggling for years. I.e. the Dillard's store there, was downgraded to being a clearance center. The mall slumlord Namdar now owns the mall(not sure the exact year original owner Aranov sold off this mall), so that's a bad sign for Eastdale. The ice rink is no longer open, either.
I was told it was closed too, but it definitely is open lol. That’s so sad though. The ice skating rink was one of my favorite places to go!
East Chase had just opened around that time, too -- the early 2000s. I remember going there when it was "new" in 2003 or so.
As a child of the mall generation these kind videos really hurt my heart, to see how life has moved on and my childhood has been left to decay. Thank you for once again letting me tag along, love y'alls work.
According to that one guy, everything about malls happened in the 90s. Neon lighting was dead by the 90s. All the bright loud colors are totally 80s. So much color that was the 90s. So much color, it was almost all beige and white.
It looks like they closed but told everyone they would be coming back in a couple weeks; they didn't.
80s (1980s) baby 90s (1990s) made me. I survived the Y2K Bug. I Also survived the Dumpster Tire fire that was Covid. If you have not seen it, may I recommend you watch the film: Mallrats. (No there are not actual rats.) Any abandoned place video on here hurts to watch. Especially if you had personally spent time there in the past. There's WAY TOO MUCH abandoned stuff out there.
@@jasonrhodes9726go away
Me too. Me too.... As someone in a wheelchair, malls were a place for me to feel more independent. Not as many doors, air-conditioned, I could go wherever I wanted on my own with little to no help. Now? It’s all online or outdoor strip malls which... Don't have near the same degree of comfort or freedom. I hate all the malls are dying. Eastdale Mall which is on the other side of town from this mall is now getting to the point it's almost gone too. So many good memories of my teens at Eastdale and all my old haunts from there are gone. We recently lost our Hot-Topic only for a knock-off Gucci bag and "Rolex" shop to take it's place. I nearly cried.
It's so sad to see what were people's hangout and meeting place just gone. Also it sad to think about all of the hundreds of people who lost their jobs when the mall shutdown.
Grew up in the '80s and '90s and went to this mall more time than I could count. It was awesome back in the day and I wish it was still were. As a matter of fact, that film developing store you guys showed developed a roll of film from my senior year of high school.
That’s awesome
The still-lit Exit sign was especially creepy. It could have been on a 277 volt "emergency power" feeder from one of the in-use anchor buildings.
Crazy to see what this mall has become today. I remember this mall very well. From having pictures and paintings done of me when I was a child. To singing Christmas carols in the food court when I was in elementary school. I used to dread the days my mom would drag me around to go shopping there, but now I look back and miss those days. Days I’ll never forget at a place I’ll never forget. People always told me when I was a kid that time moves fast and I shouldn’t take it for granted. They were right. I’m 28 and just had my first child was born 4 days ago. Kind of sad he will never experience anything like this mall. Everything and everyone nowadays moves so fast. Always in a hurry. Back then it was like time had stood still, and for The Old Montgomery Mall. It has.
Malls do still exist but if you don't go to them they will eventually stop existing. My son is 20 months old and I took him to the play place at our mall less than a month ago. You can make a change for your child.
Wait now since you have a child, they will be 20 years old in no time, time goes by even faster with a family. ❤
It'd be incredible to see those VHS tapes in the security room archived. I wonder what it'd look like.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. They seem to be in good condition
Probably from when it was a dead mall not when it was busy.
same...would need a portable VCR setup..would be very easy to do today, by using a small vcr, portable tv, and a jackery, and maybe even a capture card and laptop to record a direct feed, but recording via camera would work too. To be honest, there likely won't be much of interest, considering it's age, the video may be the typical "Bank security" quality, but regardless, it would still almost be like a "Window back in time", to see what it was like when the mall was still in operation.
Wonder if you could get a historical or archival/documentary subpoena
@@erueka6 There wouldn't be much to see, provided the tape hadn't decomposed. Most of those security outfits reused the same tapes repeatedly, re-recording over them in loops until the tape needed to be replaced. More often, the cameras weren't ever moved, so you'd get 'ghosted images' with little frame changes in lighting and lots of static. Given the lack of foot traffic when all was shut down, you'd probably have maintenance people walking around and lots of still images of a wall or doorway, maybe a long main thoroughfare in a wide angle. Albeit the condition of the mall would look better.
I remember when this mall was very active and vibrant. I remember when the new addition was added, which included the large food court and expanded shopping area past the court. JC Penny (now a public school area), Dillards (now MPD and MFD), Morrisons, Persians (now a public school area), Crabtree and Evelyn, Disney, Structures, Candle Cabin-so many others. My family and I enjoyed wonderful times of fun, food, and outstanding shopping here. Gone, but not forgotten. Thanks The Proper People for this sad but wonderful post.
Crabtree and Evelyn. I miss that store! All of it smelled so "English". Really a loss in the "smelling good" department. 😉
I used to be a mall rat in this mall in the 80's and early 90's, and yeah I remember when the addition added the big food court. Until then there was just a Chic-Fil-A and a Baskin Robbins, maybe a couple more.
I'm one to never take or mess with any of the property there but man it would be awesome to see what's on those VHS tapes just to see what the mall was like when it was booming
This has got to be one of THE creepiest dead mall videos I've ever seen! And that music made it even creepier! Pretty sad when the gumball guy didn't even bother coming back for his unsold stock... Great job, guys!
I bet the gumball guy went back and got his money out those machines though. Or did he?🤔
Another great video of yet another impressive building,
Some interesting facts of things you found, (5:22) Steve & Barry's (Mainly a clothing retailer) went into liquidation in 2009, The mushrooms you found at (6:20) are called Leucocoprinus Ianthinus which can contain dangerous toxins so they are best avoided, The clock at (8:34) is a replica of the historic Klein clock originally built in 1938 in downtown Montgomery, The Tadpoles in the water (14:35) were most likely to be Mosquito and hover fly larvae, The guy on the FBI Wanted poster (26:26) "Adnan Gulshair El Shukri Jumah" Was a member of Al Qaeda and was killed by the Pakistan Army on the 6th December 2014 aged 39,
Again a great exploration, It's become a ritual of mine over the last few years to watch your videos on a Sunday, Wishing you guys safe travels from the UK.
I guessed marasmius… how very papillate. I got the mosquito larvae though.
Thank you for this amazing set of facts, Always amazing to see people like you bring some of the mystery out of it! Truly appreciated
_Leucocoprinus:_ my *least* liked genus of mushroom because of _Leucocoprinus birnbaumii_ invading my indoor dirt gardens.
youre so fuckin cool bro
can it also be a ritual of yours to provide lore like this?
the mighty Montgomery mall, it is genuinely so sad. my mom tells me all the time about how she used to shop there and how vividly she rememberers the big clock in the food court.
i have watched you guys for many, many years and every video you put out is still a banger. i consider this a comfort channel and i’m so glad you still upload often. thank you guys for everything you do!! hope you’re thriving.
12:37 and 17:10 - absolutely loved these portions of the video. Contemplating an abandoned, stopped-in-time place while imagining its past and picturing it filled with people and movement.
Y'all are brave to go into an abandoned but not totally abandoned mall. It's crazy how some parts parts are completely destroyed but others are still salvageable looking.
Everything could be saved
I legitimately miss malls. It was nice to have physical place to visit and spend time. Now with everything online, it feels as though there's not much to travel and run around for.
IMHO that's part of 'the agenda'.
@@resofactor with what endgame? like, what does making us stay indoors and shop online achieve?
@@cannibalbunnygirlavoid idiots who shoot up malls for no reason.
@@cannibalbunnygirl You don't know about Communism at all. It's designed to divide everyone against each other. Just look at how heartless China is. The People's Army are totally isolated from the general population. That's how Tian Square Mass unalive happened in 1989. They got the People's Army thinking nationwide peaceful protestors were violent. Most people only hear the story of the last stand in Beijing. You youngens never learn that history keeps repeating
Can't afford to drive around anymore
The Montgomery Mall was one of my favorite hangouts in the early 90's
My brother did a lot of the sheetrock and ceiling work when the anchor stores were converted to the police and fire stations and the school. He was mad because they had to go back up and put firebreaks in the ceilings. He argued, "well the fire truck is gonna be right there."
Going into an abandoned mall with an active, attached police station is ballsy. Stay safe, guys.
Also: Mosquito larva. That's what was alive in that water.
Get over yourself. The worst that can happen is they are trespassed. They can't be arrested for that. Can't even be cited.
🤓@@Look_What_You_Did
@@Look_What_You_Did in Alabama trespassing is punishable by "a fine or a jail term not exceeding one year". You can be arrested. Different states have different laws. 😒
@Look_What_You_Did. Are you really that ignorant?
@@Look_What_You_Did In Alabama they tie you to a stump and let the ticks and skeeters eat you alive...I heard
Sad how the mall experience is slowly dying. So many memories from friends, to family, to shopping for big milestones... kids today won't really have that
This is just evidence of the breakdown of the community and shift towards vicarious living through a digital screen. Why go shopping and actually have to be around people when you can browse online for hours? Why meet another couple at the mall and split up into husband a wife pairs to go shopping for a couple hours when you can all be in separate rooms of separate houses while you shop?
I never got to experience that cuz i live in a small town that doesn’t have a mall, but my generation goes to malls all the time from what I’ve seen, its not going away, what?
@@LyntzbartzkyPerez big malls around here are. I grew up in the 90s, most are a fraction of what they were then
i gotta disagree, as a teen the mall is THE hang out spot at least in my town for kids my age. Just yesterday I was there with some friends messing around at stores and trying free samples.
Malls are still thriving and continue being build in Europe
Im glad that in Finland malls are thriving!! Malls are doing better than ever and there are lots of events, people and stores
Kamppi, Tripla, Iso Omena...🤘
Makes me want to relocate to Finland ;)
Malls are still popular depending on where you live and what’s near to you. It’s all about location.
I wish I lived in Finland too… but not because of malls. The USA has plenty of malls that thrive
So are malls in Washington State.
Wow, glad this video got reccomended to me. This type of thing fascinates me. Seeing something once so populated by people, now completely vacant is a unique feeling. Great content
The memories of having the film from your camera developed, the excitement and anticipation of getting to see the results of a disposable camera in one hour or less! Or when I was really young, my folks would drag me along to the mall twice! Once to drop off the roll of film and then to pick up the photos once they were ready! We've come a long way :)
Man, it would be crazy to see what is on those VHS tapes in the security room. Loved the video you guys!
prolly where they filmed the adult pornos of "catching shop lifters" :D
found footage horror be like
The choice of music was so nostalgic, like walking through the packed mall at christmas time, bustling with shoppers carrying bags full of gifts. You sit down at the food court and enjoy an ice cold coke and eat some subpar chicken and noodles, but it hits the spot. You have plans after this to see a movie with your best friend, the movie is supposed to be really good, everyone at school says so. Your feet hurt from all the walking so this was a nice break, now you're ready to make another loop to see if you can find a couple more things on your gift list
this has a very Life After People sort of vibe. This sort of thing equally interests me and makes me feel empty and sad at the same time. The mall I grew up going to, is also a dead mall and I last visited it in 1993 and then I saw it again in 2010 after it died. Watching this gives me the exact same feeling that that experience gave me. Nostalgic but also empty.
It seems almost dangerous that they are using a portion of that building doesn’t it? With the roof damage, mushrooms, standing water etc?
I have so many childhood memories about this mall, I spent countless hours here, visited Santa here, and it was the first place I drove to alone when I got my drivers license. It was THE social center of the area, I was very excited to see you that you explored it.
My first real job was in the Tacoma Mall in the early 80's, working in a poster store. Starbucks was still very new, and had a little kiosk thing stationed in the central hall area. At the time, it was such an exciting thing for people and the line at the kiosk was long but I wanted to try it too. I waited in line for 30 mins, for a tiny cup of espresso. I had no idea what it was, but everyone was into it so I wanted to see what was so great about it. I got a small, tiny cup of thick, black mud that tasted like waaaaaaaay too strong coffee. lol. When I got older and had children, we went to the mall for Santa pictures during the holidays, to buy shoes at Payless, the yearly JC Penney clearance sakes, and to eat Cinnabon. :)
Thank you so much Proper People for keeping records and archives of my childhood alive. You guys are the best discoveries I have ever come across. In comparison to others who discover abandoned places, your little history lesson and analytical observations make for an exciting and educational trip down memory lane. It's sad to see malls like these in this state, but I am happy they happened. I really am. I started to watch this and my mom started to watch it alongside me. She would tell me stories of places she would take me as a kid and all the stores she would recognize that I didn't made for so much fun conversations and nostalgia. From the bottom of my heart thank you so much for these mall videos. My mom and I started to bond after many years emotionally apart over just watching all of your videos and waiting for your new uploads of new discoveries and nostalgia. I hope you see this comment to really know how much you have impacted my life. Thank you for this archival of wonders.
I live in Montgomery and I remember when this place was open in its prime. This was the place to go! Several tornados that ripped through the area years ago cause most of the roof and structural damage to the mall. They just saw no point in repairing it since it was closed.
I love things like this, places frozen in time and abandoned. Just think of how many lost memories are in that place? How many relationships were created in those walls? How many good times were had, friendships were broken or mended. How many children smiles and laughed. How many teenagers learned about love and friendship. It's quite heartbreaking to know that a place from a great era in the 90s and early 2000s will never be again. Those times were truly special because people weren't controlled by social media and constantly uploading everything. I miss those days so much, maybe I have a hard time moving on from the past but it's rightly difficult because the past was so much better than the present day. I used to go to the mall and it was vibrant, not everyone had a cell phone and if they did it wasn't as nearly as advanced as they are now. People communicated with each other. People were living! Times were simple, it was magical, it was alive. We were alive. And now everyone seems to be dead, not physically, just on the inside. My heart truly breaks. Gone are the days. Gone. Are. The days. 😞
I understand how you feel. I'm a 60s child, so I remember when malls were just being built as the popular place to shop, hangout and meet people. It was the era of rap houses, free concerts in the park and coffee houses where people would meet and have interesting conversations. And of course people didn't have home computers or cell phones back then - meeting face to face and enjoying nature in the outdoors was just part of life. It definitely was a simpler time than now.
TLDR dont cry
That is very deep and beautifully written. Made me emotional 😭 reading that
Well said. I was one of those kids having fun times at this mall in particular. It was such a lovely place! So sad to see it rotting but oddly beautiful in some areas too.
Just returned from a trip to China and I was amazed at how many mega malls were in Shanghai, some had the subway right in them and 4-6 stories high. Every one of the stores was open and lots of people hanging out and shopping. It was like going back to the 1980s. What a difference. Food courts and all.
Dead malls are very much an American thing, I live in the UK and malls are still thriving here
In my country malls are still functional and active 🙌🏼
There’s something just so beautiful about the way abandoned places get reclaimed by nature
What blew me away was the Mello Yellow can
I so badly want some friends who would like to go to abandoned places with me. Would go alone but probably not the best idea, lol. These videos are great and it's so cool that you guys get to do this. Thank you :)
Same. I have no one to do with this either. :(
@@daveweaver3886 If only she looked like her thumbnail.
I was in my teens when shopping malls began. Met my husband at Miricale City Mall in Titusville, FL in 1970. That mall was one of my favorite videos you guys did!
I remember playing pool at the Silver cue pool hall in Sears town. lol @@GeneCash
Great video,I liked the Better Call Saul reference in the Security office. Well done.
Glad someone else noticed
Wow, what a fricken gem!!!! I never realized how much malls really have been “updated” since these 90’s styles. How NATURAL this mall looks and decayed is amazing!!! A lot of forgotten stores: Rave, Steve and Barry’s, etc etc
If anyone's wondering, while the specific version of the piece is listed in the description, the track playing around 12:35 is actually a section of the jazz piece Take Five by Dave Brubeck but just edited to sound like it's playing in a mall.
Thanks ❤
I love when you guys visit abandoned malls, movie theaters, and amusement parks! 😊
I agree, these are a lot more interesting than the medical facilities and so on.
Malls and amusement parks are my favorites
I just subscribed to their CZcams channel after watching this very cool 😎 video
It is very sad to see this place abandoned.
Thanks for the video!!!
I live near this mall and was actually just thinking about it the other day. My family used to go here when I was little and my mom talks about coming here in the 80’s. Interesting to see this now, I don’t remember too much since I was 6 when it closed.
Amazing spot and a you guys captured the essence just perfect. Talk about stuck in the past. That mellow yellow can looked ancient :)
That was Mountain Dew
@@kimberlyyoung6517 17:18 has a can
Yeah I saw that after I said that 😂
Now they just have to figure out how to get smells to transmit via radio waves or digitize the smell somehow! 😂 We could have smelled that door too! 🤣😎👍🤢
The quality of your video's are so incredibly professional. I love the instances when you stop and video a specific view, well thought out and balanced for an eye pleasing and composed 'photo'. I've seen all your videos and always look forward to your latest posts.
10:51 love the pssst psst psst at the cat part
Great video guys! I am a 90's teen and this brough back some good memories, You two were probably too young to remember these places fully but I do appreciate your work bring this to light, the 90's were truly an amazing time to be a teen, I was not a mall rat but I did like going there, hanging out with friends and just taking on the vibe a mall had back then. I really hope malls come back, I think they will one day, I am in Fresno California and out Malls are still very much alive and well for the most part as long as the staple stores stay in business. Thank you for this one, great work.
Abandoned malls are creepier than 'haunted' houses.
The music starting at 12:30 really contributed to the creepiness factor in this one.
It jut doesn't seem right without zombies.. 🙂
Its creepier when they do it at night but this one does have a cool feeling to it knowing there parts of it still being used.
Especially ones that have "free candy"
@@HomerJ1964 Yeah totally had the Shining vibes. There's also some creepy movement behind the window starting at 20:41. Haunted perhaps afterall.
12:20 . . . from decomposing candy to spinach souffle 12:36, this malls got it all.
The cinematography in this is beautiful. Im not sure which would be more haunting, the 90s mall/shopping music still playing in the pa system, or the silence where thousands of people once were. At 12:50 and 17:11 when the slow, distant jazz is playing behind shots of everything sitting still stuck in time rotting. Almost sounds like the it was never turned off, playing on a constant loop for the last 15 years uninterrupted while it's host rots away. Felt like a post apocalyptic movie / video game watching through 12:00 - 14:00, 17-19, & 28. Very end of civilization vibes
11:19 I don't know how malls are in the states but in Canada you can STILL go the bank in almost any mall.
14:29 NOT fish... Those are mosquito larvae.
21:02 The EXIT sign, Since the building still has occupied sections, this exit sign is powered from a lighting circuit form those sections.
The Clocks stopped at (1.05) 8:31, 28:20
I love these videos. Sad at the same time. Did anything that happened in this mall matter?? those photos from D image... where are they now?
Absolutely fantastic video as always!
In 2005 I had just joined the Air Force and was sent down to Maxwell AFB for a training that lasted several weeks. I didn't have very much money at the time, so on weekends I would come to this mall, buy a pretzel, and just hang out for a couple hours. If I was feeling particularly rich, I might pump a few quarters into the arcade games. I hadn't been back since, so it's surreal to see it in this condition.
What's interesting about this mall is the way that nature is reclaiming it. You don't see the same vastness of synthetic and inhospitable areas here. There aren't that many shots that I would call liminal spaces. Just a strangely beautiful transition of manmade structures back into nature.
So crazy thing about D-Image is that they would have been a very new company at the time this mall closed, so it's insanity that they left such expensive equipment behind.
EDIT: Also, it's kind of weird that with the type of things occupying the anchor stores that they wouldn't, like, at least keep an air exchanger going to cut down on the mold a little
I was thinking the same thing about the mold. I mean, you have kids going to school in 2 of the anchor stores with all this litterally on the other side of a wall.
This makes me sad knowing that the mall times are slowly dying
It's a great day to get to see Brian and Michael doing a abandoned video 😊
Thank you for the heart ❤️ Brian and Michael 👍
“Yeah this ain’t good for your lungs” *steps closer*😂
I work for a sign company that did work for the furniture store across the street, it was so wild to see what this mall has become today. I remember this mall so vividly
The water in the planter (or whatever it was) had mosquito larvae, not tadpoles.
Crazy how you mentioned that this place is full of "inspiration for video game and hollywood set producers".. Fun fact! The TV adaptation for the The Last of Us used an ACTUAL abandoned mall for the mall scenes in the post-apocalyptic world! Bella Ramsey said that after the filming for those scenes were done; that the mall itself would be demolished. So some of these places do have potential for great things!
The mall in the game dead rising is based on a real mall.
As someone who was born and raised in montgomery, this is kinda cool to see, but surreal at the same time. I remember going into that mall all the time as a kid
21:00 fun fact: exit signs have batteries that are designed to last for a long time without power. I'm surprised that a place that closed in 2008 would have batteries that would last so long though! The exit signs I've worked with were from ~2011 and those batteries (basically 2 AA's in a proprietary format) were long dead. But if they use nuclear power, they'll last virtually forever. I wonder if that sign just has a great battery, is somehow still hooked up to power, or actually used nuclear? Fascinating stuff. Thx for the video guys, I love your work.
Grew up there in Montgomery listening to stories from my Dad about how he and his buddies from high school would go there all the time, it was one of the big social places. Bus to school would drive us by there twice a day, and each time I'd be so intrigued about what it looked like inside and what it once was. Such an amazing opportunity to see all of this for the first time, even if it's now that I'm states away at college.
Your dad could probably tell you about the kids that hung out at Montgomery Mall. The preppies, tourists, and little kids went to Eastdale Mall. The metal heads, gearheads, cowboys (and cowgirls), tech nerds, gamers, rappers, breakdancers, skaters, and later on in the 90's goths hung out at MM.
I'm extremely grateful to have been an 80s kid to enjoy malls in their 80s and 90s heyday. It's sad to see them like this but my memory is packed full of good memories from them when they were so busy you couldn't walk. On a side note those little flippy things in the water were mosquito larvae. Dump bleach in standing water or empty it out.
Gotta say I loved your use of music in this video, the slow fade ins while having it sound like the crunchy echo of old mall speakers was just, yes~ *chefs kiss*
I love montgomery mall in particular for many reasons, the grandness of the foodcourt and other areas, and the fleeting colors and style of the ninties allways reminds me of my great grandparents, or just any old folk in a sense of their bodies overtaken by aging but the idea, the soul is still there.
Coming from a GenXer here, these are my favorite types of videos from you guys. Always loved hanging out at the mall in the 80’s & 90’s.
Still do from time to time as ours is thriving.
So sad to see . Was always fun visiting the mall. Buy holiday gifts great junk food and a good place to go on a Rainy day ! Will miss them !
This is my hometown, I used to come here with my family a LOT in the 90's and a bit in the early 00's. But that was when it started to decline, and we started going to Eastdale mall, on the other side of Montgomery. And now, it's starting to go the same way this mall did in the early 00's... It's so sad to see one of my favorite places as a kid rot away. But yet, it's oddly beautiful! The padded area near where you guys found the playplace props was where those all set. I remember one of my last times going there with my little cousins and watching them play in there. I'm in a wheelchair with brittle bones, so I think I only sat on the flat tree stump thing or on the benches. Was still a lot of fun. This Mall was the best! Even if Eastdale had a movie theater and an ice rink, both of which have recently in the last few years shut down.
I can also remember one of my last times in this mall. Sometime between 06 and 08 when it closed for good. But it was closer to 08 I think... I recall going into one of the old stores that had been turned into this bluejeans outlet... it had lots of wood paneling, I think you guys may have seen it. It was at one far side of the mall... I knew then it would be my last time there. The mall was so empty and so many past memories felt like ghosts. It felt so sad...
I can remember one time as a kid, I was in the center with that big round clock with the glass ceilings above. There was a Dollar tree on the corner across from me. I was seated in one of those umbrella folding strollers. Someone bet me if I could scooch myself up to the store, they'd give me 5 bucks. (I think it was my uncle) I could sort of.. scoot the stroller by leaning back slowly and jerking forward. It took me a while.. but damn if that 5$ didn't feel earned! I did it... Got me a toy or two and some candy.
I also remember seeing the mall Santa every Christmas in the 90's. He was our family Santa. Heck, he even came to my mom's job for their annual Christmas party when the new Sam's club opened in the early 00's. Such a kindhearted old man, he was MY Santa. The real deal in my eyes, even today as an adult, and while I know he's passed on, I still feel that way. Seeing the place I met him at now too, returning to the earth feels so... oddly poetic.
Thank you guys for checking in on the place to let us see it one final time. I REALLY wanted to map out the inside, so I could recreate it digitally in it's glory days! Maybe I still can.
i like the contrast between the natural decay and the the areas not decayed ,,,plus the grass growing in the food court
The mall series is one of your best ever. Please keep doing these, your inspiring people like me to have experiences like you
I absolutely love your abandoned Mall videos… This really made my day
It's amazing how nature just slowly starts to take over stuff like it is slowly taking back what belonged to nature in the beginning.
Those playlands (@ 0:22:26) were the best. You could park your stroller and let the kids run around and climb in the center to burn off some energy without worrying about them. There were limited points of egress and comfortable seating all around -- and no mom would let a kid (even if it wasn't her own) wander out of the circle.
3 of the malls in CT I go to still have them. My daughter loves to climb, but there’s so many kids that are way too old and big for it jumping and being crazy that I always have to watch her so she doesn’t get hurt.
The timing of this on the back of Kane Pixels' "The Rolling Giant" certainly made this a bit more exciting.
lmao, i was looking for this comment
@@LydiaReikome to I was going to post the same thing, it was a great video and as soon as I saw this one it was the first thing I thought of.
oh wow this is such a beautiful video, the state of decay is just perfection. amazing video as always !
Really very cool. Feels like an adventure! Love spending time watching this!
Born and raised in Montgomery, been to this mall many of times in my childhood, awesome to see yall explore it. Went to college across the street from that mall
Love how you added the mall echo version of Dave Brubeck at the 12½ minute mark, damn I felt like I was there in the 90s! Your slow pans give it a really nice feel as well, great work guys!!
Agreed. Really reminded me of The Caretaker’s “Everything at the End of Time” which - if you haven’t heard it, is well worth a listen.
I think what contributes to the apocalyptic feel is that almost all the clocks seemingly stopped at the same time (I assume someone went through and did that on purpose but it contributes to the creepy vibe)
I suspect they all stopped at the same time because the electricity was shut off to the entire mall at the same time.
This place is BEAUTIFUL- the combination of all that is left behind with the mold, mushrooms, and critters that have crept back over and around it is a testament to the planet’s resilience. As you rightly pointed out, there is SO MUCH I can learn from this place as an artist.
I LOVE the abandoned mall videos. I hope to see more! It’s so cool to see the dated interiors and a strange sense of nostalgia in such liminal spaces.
The greenery slowly taking over is magnificent
This is why i´am still a member. Love this mall videos.
I dont know why, but i have a shared feeling of melancholy watching abandon things, everything except old shacks in timbuk two or crumbling concrete prisons in the middle of knowwhere gives off this feeling of rememberence. Even though i was born in the early 2000s.
It's actually so funny I found this video. Just found urban exploring and this is the first video when I searched on CZcams. The best part is I live in Alabama and drive through Montgomery every day on my way to work. I live in Prattville which is about 30 mins away. I would go visit, but I'm 90% sure it's just turned into a place for violence. Montgomery is already a pretty unsafe place to be and I've heard so many stories about the East Dale mall has shootings like every week.
It's always these types of explorations especially with the abandoned malls that make you feel you're entering an alternate timeline that once used to be an experience for families and workers that used to be there
It amazes me that they leave things like that clock in the center behind. That thing must have costed a lot when it was purchased and I am sure some office building or something would buy that for their lobby.
@rationalbushcraft
Agreed, that thing was probably custom crafted and cost thousands. I can't understand why someone didn't take it.