c/dead-mall-adventures

Picked the south side entrance at Willowbrook Mall, big mistake

I drove 3 hours last weekend to check out Willowbrook Mall outside of Akron. I had two choices for where to start, the old Sears entrance on the north end or the food court entrance on the south. I picked the south side because I wanted to grab a snack first. Turns out that whole wing was totally sealed off with plywood, like 20 stores in a row just dark and blocked. I walked all the way to the other end before I found an open hallway. The north entrance wouldve put me right next to the only working escalator and a Dollar Store that was still open. Has anyone else picked the wrong spot to start and missed something cool because of it?

1 comments

hunt.jana•2d ago

Can we talk about the Orange Julius at the old Cloverleaf Mall?

I stopped by that spot in Richmond last spring and the kiosk was still there, just abandoned with a dried up cup on the counter. Has anyone else found weird artifacts like that in a dead mall?

1 comments

tessa_kim3•3d ago

That conversation with my dad about the old food court hit me hard

I was telling my dad about my last trip to the Granite Run Mall near Philly, and he just got quiet for a second. Then he said 'you know, that Sbarro pizza tasted better when I had to share a table with strangers.' It made me realize the empty spaces aren't just about stores closing, it's about losing those random moments with people you'd never talk to otherwise. He told me about this guy he met in 1987 who gave him stock tips by the lemonade stand, and he actually made $200 off that advice. Now I walk through those halls and just see silence and cracked tiles. Has anyone else had a parent or older friend change how you see a dead mall by sharing a memory from back when it was full?

c/dead-mall-adventures

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