This looks like it would be fun to play in. Just saying.

I never thought I would say this but I actually miss going to malls. Where I currently live there has never been a mall. I think the last time my husband and I went to one was when we stayed in Portland Oregon on a road trip to go visit my mom and we went to a mall that was located downtown. I remember finding a Portland city shirt there that featured zombies on it so it wasn’t a waste of time at all.

When I was around 19/20 years old I used to drive down to Santa Clara from Fremont, which was about twenty miles away, and hang out at Valley Fair Mall with my best friend Sheri. Before the internet there really was no way to meet up with like minded people if you lived in suburban America. Unless there was a goth/punk club that let the under 21 crowd in you were totally fucked. I remember her and I going to the late great Cactus Club in San Jose on a disco themed night and having a blast! The only problem was that such things cost a good chunk of change and you also had to pay for parking. The only thing that was cheap to do was to go to the mall and cross your fingers that there were other weirdos there with the same idea.

No, we weren’t mall goths. This was in 90/91 before the Hot Topic invasion of American malls. The only store in that mall that somewhat catered to weirdos was Contempo Casuals. Their clothes were reasonably priced and would last forever. I bought a pair of black crushed velvet leggings that lasted me almost ten years from there. Oh, and they always sold really cool looking baby-doll type dresses. It wasn’t an embarrassing store to shop at like Hot Topic has always been. A lot of weirdos got at least some of their clothing from Contempo Casuals back then.

What has made me go on this nostalgia trip? I frequent a Reddit group call Dead Malls that features, you guessed it, dead malls. Here is the link if you are curious. https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmalls/ In it people share the photos and videos that they have taken inside dying or dead malls and frequently they talk about the subject as to why malls are dying a very painful death.

Rest in peace mall, rest in peace.

It’s really easy to figure out why a lot of the malls are dying. Shopping for things online is often cheaper than buying them in person so many people just stopped visiting them. A huge factor, that isn’t talked about as much, is the fact that starting in the 80’s too many malls were built in the same areas. Remember, the 80’s was the decade of conspicuous consumption so city planners, along with mall management companies, thought that there could never be too many of the same stores in one area. If a small city could support one mall, why not build a few more to give people a choice? The final nail in the coffin for most malls has been the arrival of the covid virus pandemic. People no longer feel safe going out in public, especially while there are others out there that refuse to socially distance themselves and wear masks.

The only type of malls that seem to be doing well right now are those that cater to the very wealthy. Ironically the mall that I used to visit with my friend, Valley Fair, is now jam packed with luxury type stores such as Prada and Cartier. How long though before this way of life, and lavish spending of money, becomes a thing of the past? It can’t last forever. Maybe wealthy people will start living in housing that is attached to the mall so that they don’t have to encounter people who openly look at them with destain. Something similar to the film Land Of The Dead, but minus the flesh eating zombie hordes?

I think I’m sad about malls dying because for my generation they became a place to meet and socialize. You didn’t even have to spend any money while there. The teenagers of today do not have an equivalent mass experience like this. Now almost all socializing is done online, which has both good and bad aspects to it. It’s good for people who live in isolated areas where meeting people to socialize with is difficult. It’s also bad though because there are people now who literally don’t know how to socialize with others in a public setting.

Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.