Dead Malls aka When malls were poppin'...

I'll still stop by the Footstores and sometimes peep the novelty shirts. Sneaker selection has gone down tho.
 
Every mall sneaker store has the same general crap. Since all the coveted releases are swooped up in a matter of seconds on release day. Kids these days won’t ever know the feeling of walking into a Footlocker, Champs, or a mom and pop shop and holding the new Jordans, or Penny’s or all that other 90’s heat.
 
My local mall is half empty since so many stores closed down. Glad the macys is still open and doing well.
 
Every mall sneaker store has the same general crap. Since all the coveted releases are swooped up in a matter of seconds on release day. Kids these days won’t ever know the feeling of walking into a Footlocker, Champs, or a mom and pop shop and holding the new Jordans, or Penny’s or all that other 90’s heat.
Pre FLX didn't seem as bad tho. There were still at least some retros on shelves that were non-hyped. I feel like after FLX/pandemic the shelves just got horrible and empty.
 
I can see one day, they’ll just consolidate all these brick & mortar shoe stores into one name and be in a corner of Targets/WM’s. Online will probably always be the same madness though.
 
The amount of reseller stores popping up in malls is gross in that same aspect. You walk into finish line it looks like a clothing store. Literally next to it there is a resell joint with the shoes you really want. Game done changed forever.

In Las Vegas, they have Urban Necessities at Caesars Palace smh.
 
I can see one day, they’ll just consolidate all these brick & mortar shoe stores into one name and be in a corner of Targets/WM’s. Online will probably always be the same madness though.
My mall has a footlocker, champs, and a footaction. Makes no sense since they're all owned by the same company, under the eastbay umbrella. Should just have one store.
 
The Malls that replaced the anchor stores that went out of business with places like Dave and Busters and restaurants are doing fine.

Others are turning into mixture of stores + office spaces, churches, apartments and gyms

Amazon will turn a some of them into brick and mortar stores plus distribution/ fulfillment centers since they are near the highway/interstate.
 
The amount of reseller stores popping up in malls is gross in that same aspect. You walk into finish line it looks like a clothing store. Literally next to it there is a resell joint with the shoes you really want. Game done changed forever.
Yea. The big names like foot action and footlocker aren’t even worth going into but I have found that snipes and JD sports still have nice stuff( no retros etc)
 
I rarely go into malls, so I am personally not sure about what a lot of our malls look like forreal.

I just asked my dude that still goes to malls looking for shoes and his response was. (Below)

All of them are dead bruh… Forestville and PG got make overs, but it’s nothing in there to make somebody like me stay in the mall. I’m in and out when I set foot in them joints. Same for Pentagon. It’s people there… But if they aren’t shopping… or eating… why are they there? Window shopping is doneski. Smartphones and online inventory killed window shopping.


are there any malls in the DC area that are somewhat thriving or the ones left barely holding on?

The last one I went to was Tyson's for my previous employer's all-hands meeting in 2019, which seemed lively enough.
 
My mall has a footlocker, champs, and a footaction. Makes no sense since they're all owned by the same company, under the eastbay umbrella. Should just have one store.
It was mainly just marketing and different stuff to buy. For example Nike always had just shoes and hoodies and jordan shorts etc. in champs I could buy jerseys, socks, baseball cleats, sneaker cleaner etc. just things to differentiate brands.
 
are there any malls in the DC area that are somewhat thriving or the ones left barely holding on?

The last one I went to was Tyson's for my previous employer's all-hands meeting in 2019, which seemed lively enough.

In the DMV Tysons Corner, Fair Oaks, Montgomerry Mall, Potomac Mills, Pentagon City and Springfield mall all got renovations in the past few years. Im guessing theyre doing ok, not sure about thriving
 
I decided to grave dig my own thread because the Fairgrounds Square Mall, which I posted about in the OP, is closing its internal operations in a few days. The few anchor stores and the movie theater will remain open.

I went back to the Fairgrounds a few days ago and took pics.



It's been three years since the Fairgrounds Mall closed and got torn down last year.

The two anchor stores (Boscov's and Burlington) are still there, as well as the movie theater, but everything else gone and replaced with roads and grass.

I should get some photos sometime.
 
Last time I was in a mall was to return an in-line order :lol …Was up White Marsh in the Baltimore area and it was pretty dead as far as the stores but the food court was live for some reason
 
By my house, I don’t know how the Puente Hills Mall (where they filmed a scene from Back to the Future) is still standing. It is beyond dead. It has a depleted Macys and Ross as anchor stores. No shoe stores other than an outdated Champs that only carries clearance items. Their store layout is still from the 90’s. They have an AMC theater, but with covid, not sure how much traffic they’re getting.
Because its a national treasure. :lol:
 
Our malls are doing fine here. Washington Sq. is the main one locals go to. I live downtown and go to Pioneer Sq. They just added a Raising Canes but it’s full of high end retailers and keep the Karen’s coming in so I stay away except the food court. But as far as best. Woodburn Outlets > *
 
wonder how long the Columbia Mall has left? I know Lord and Taylor Sears (replaced with event-something and a grocery store) shut down.

guess Harbor Place in Baltimore is dead too - Inner Harbor was fun as a kid...Espn Zone, National Aquarium, Science Center, and Harbor Place shops



DC is about to send me down this rabbit hole with this channel :lol:
 
Tyson’s and Pentagon City are probably the only ones doing alright around here. But in general malls are dead. I normally know what I want and hit that store. The days of wandering malls are over.
 
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