This was the place to be in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It was buzzing and busy. I really did live in those “Stranger Things” times as a child and teen. Makes me sad and nostalgic all at the same time.
@@AcesAdventures1 I agree this was really great living in the IE my whole life his is amazing. Have you ever done anything about the Pomona Mall? That was the place when I was a kid. Buffums was the Harris’ of the 60’s and 70’s. Living in Cucamonga in the 60’s and 70’s we still had to shop in Pomona til the Montclair Plaza was built
@@SpiritGuide11111 I grew up in Rancho too and remember the Indian Hill Mall as well. Sears was there before they moved to Montclair and once Montclair added the second floor Indian Hill died out. Except for the swap meet, that is!
You've never made a video so close to my childhood until now. I grew up here and still live here and that older footage really brought back some memories. Really wish I caught you while you were here to say hi.
Not a financial advisor but you should look into crypto currency, It has been doing well this year. Ps. This might be me saying to much but Bitcoin is not a good crypto to invest in.
Hard to imagine San Bernardino ever had a new and thriving anything. It only took a few years for this area to become derelict since by the early 2000s this place was already struggling
These abandoned malls would make perfect retirement home villages. Housing healthcare facilities year round indoor street like atmosphere and shopping grocery store people can get out of their rooms walk or wheelchair around. Have A few restaurants game rooms it would be like a small indoor city
@@jimfaust6342 I love that idea since the homelessness situation has grown beyond one's imagination. They wouldn't have to become ghettos if the space used would be combined with services and shops as well. I think low cost housing can be very manageable if given the proper amount of thought and care going into it.
Thank you for posting this video. As a kid, I knew this mall as the “Central City Mall”. My Mother would bring us here to escape the smog and heat. Rest In Peace Momma 💚💚💗
This mall was my childhood. Many of my family members worked there. My grandma always tells stories of when she first started working there. My parents would take me basically every weekend. I still remember walking in through the entrance by the Chinese restaurant, that place was my favorite. My favorite horse from the carousel was the flower horse.🎠 So many great memories, thank you so much for creating this video!
I also remember there was a movie theater at the central city aka carousel mall. The Wolworth, Harris dept store…Good memories. It’s like a death in the family to see it go 😔
Breaks my heart to see it like this. I used to go as a kid all the time with my sisters in the 90’s. Can’t believe this is gone. I would have preferred the carousel mall than inland center. Really cool video.
@@uriah9638 Mr. You's chinese food Was open till the last day Helped that the bus stops were right outside on their side. Then they moved and killed lotta shops
Hello Anthony, great video...I worked at JCPENNEY from 84 to 88 and remember the when the City thrived with jobs and commerce. When Santa Fe Railroad closed their engine yard and Norton Air Force Base closed the decline began. I have great memories of this place.
@@AcesAdventures1 I worked night's at package pickup, back then, unless it was a weekend day. I do remember that the mall was a madhouse during the holidays.
I lived in San Bernardo until this past September 2020 just north of the Mall. The mall is located right in the middle of the homeless, drugs, crime, prostitution etc. The mayor didn't know what to do with it and SB went through bankruptcy. Last I heard, they were going to tear it down and build low cost housing and business offices hoping for new businesses to open up in the area, but I will tell you now that wont happen because the city will not take care the problems downtown has such as the homeless, drugs, etc...
I’m currently working on a construction project near downtown. The place is a dump through and through. The locals are ghetto as hell and don’t take care of the city, aside from the politicians running it to the ground. There is literally no nice areas in the whole city except for a small area on Valencia at the foothill of the arrowhead. If you live there. I feel sorry for you.
Yeah and there’s just no money in the budget and it’s not likely they’d spend it on demolishing an old building before putting those much needed funds to so emerging actually useful for the county (hopefully)
The Harris department store was a beautiful building there. Got to go inside when they had the tea room and hair salon upstairs back in the 90’s before they closed.
@@lashawncook5724 I recall because my older brother was in the Air Force at that time. And then once Norton Air Force base closed. That began the descent down hill .
It is after dark just eat lunch under a shaded tree in daylight and look at the pavement you will see the what is left from the night before. It is so so sad.
The city was run into the ground. The place is a shit hole and the local... oh man. Ghetto is putting it nicely. If you live there do everything you can to get out
Born and raised in San Bernardino, raising my family here too. I had so many flashbacks watching the old video footage. It was so much fun hanging out at the mall all day. Getting dressed up to take pictures with our friends. It had a theater inside. Then it got too ghetto and the Inland Center Mall opened with all this mall had to offer plus an arcade called Aladdin's Castle. So, we kids all hung out over there instead. Better stores and atmosphere at Inland Center, Carousel Mall couldn't compete. All the years here, not once did I get on that Carousel. I even worked in this mall for a few months. Quit and got a job in Inland Center. You walking through the mall, I remember every corner, every hall, every staircase; I remember what store was where and what I bought from said store. It was nice remembering my youth. Thanks for the vid!
I remember Aladdin's Castle. In the "basement" of the mall. I especially remember that arcade in the mid 80s. The had just installed a new game called "Dragon's Lair". It's claim to fame was that the images looked more like TV/Movie animation - than the typical pixels at the time. Much, much more fluid screen movements. The couple of months or so after it was installed, there were people constantly 3 or 4 rows deep trying to watch the monitor while it was being played. The owners placed 2 or 3 additional monitors (or mirrors?) about 10 feet up in the air above the actual machine so that people didn't have to crowd so closely to see the "cutting edge" action on the screen. It was insane.
I remember going to the mall on Saturday with my friends when I was 15, I’m now 58. So sad to see this. I Even to my kids to the movie theater they had there. Wow🥺🥺
You picked a really good time to document this mall. With all of the leaks and standing water inside of the building the condition of the interior is going to rapidly decline without intervention. This place is such a nice time capsule.
I also went there in the 80s and 90s. Back than that mall was packed with shops and shoppers. Compared to now it was a different world in total. Makes me sad when i see this.
@Piernas Locas you should look in the mirror and remember that the person to say things of that nature often are fighting their own demons of sexual molestation. Go find that family member who put his fingers in your sugar bowl. With a name like yours I'm sure you'll find him next to the salsa
Last time I been here when it was a mall-mall was like 94' as a 4 year old. I used to love this mall. Now I'm 30 and everytime I see it (along with all of downtown) I think to my self. Wtf happened to my hometown. Someone told me last thing opened in there was a Chinese restaurant lol. So sad. Everytime I pass by 2nd Street I look at it.
These videos bring back SOOO many memories for me, my mom was working in that mall from 1999- when it was getting ready to close and I just remember being a kid on summer vacation being at her store everyday , all day running up and down the mall. I had friends who’s parents owned stores in there too and we just had a blast every summer 😩
@@liaarvizu6466 how old are you?I had great Memories of the Carousel 🎠in the 90's and Mt wards and The Street Clothes in the bottom store right by the Carousel
My parents had a business in this mall in the mid 70's, we were across from Howard Johnson's restaurant. Saw Star Wars at the theater there to. Lots of memories...mostly of when it was Central City Mall.
The good ol -Central City Mall-was my mall !! So many memories.. first visited it in 82 when I was 5. I still remember that day ..The Movie theater Downstairs , Kay bee toys upstairs. Was alive and fun throughout the 80’s and into the 90’s. Sucks they are gonna tear it down.
@@jogmas12 was before my time , but I know what was before. I’ve researched San Bernardino history. 3rd street ran thru it. Harris building on the corner is all that remains.
It could be put to use for something radically new. As radical as what "the mall" was at it's inception to the public. After the collapse of the roman empire, Old basilicas that were property of the roman empire were used by the newly emerged christian church to build what are now cathedrals. While I'm not saying to literally build churches, we could in a sense build new forms of civic centers.
@@ocnus1.61 Yes true. There’s a huge mall they turned into an apartment building somewhere on the East Coast. The tenants literally live in what we’re once the individual stores.
Same here. I even remember the cheesy "Central City Mall" jingle music they would play through the PA system in the parking lots. What I would give to be able to hear that again. Even back then, I sensed the struggle to overhaul the "identity" as a result of financial struggles. When they went "all in" for the neon lit Carousel motif, I just knew somehow that was the beginning of the end. Just seemed too desperate. I'm a 70s kid. So many stores I'd love to list as near and dear from that time. Just a handful here: Toy World (before KB Toys) Musicland (before Sam Goodys) Busy Bee Hobbies Orange Julius Carl's Jr. Woolworth (loved that it was a "discount" store with 2 floors) Montgomery Ward (got some REALLY cheesy low budget school clothes from there - Yikes!) Walden Books Lou Miller's Levis ...and of course - the movie theatre(s) Probably others that time has erased from my memory. Wouldn't mind hearing from others to knock those cobwebs loose.
Thank you... although the contrast of the mall's present condition and the vintage footage is so said to watch, it is such a treat for people who has been here before.
I showed my Mom this vid and she named all the stores from the intro. Esp “ZODYS”! She almost teared up viewing this. As kids, we have tons of pics in this mall. Esp the children’s train station downstairs 🚂. 🥲
I used to run an office at that mall back in the mid 2000s when it was no longer a regular mall. Office space was cheap as hell. A 1000sq foot space had $800/month rent with utilities included as the city ran the utilities at that that point. Most of the 1st floor became school district offices at that point as well. Leaving the office after dark was sketchy as hell through the service areas as the service doors to the back parking lots were never locked so you never knew who was roaming the back service areas. Overall it was sad seeing the mall as a broken down building as I remember it being the place to be at in the early 90s. Hopefully the corrupt city officials finally make something out of this instead of letting it keep dying and not serving any purpose.
"Corrupt city officials." Being some one who was born and raised in San Bernardino, this hurts. I moved away in '10 and it makes me sad to see the state the city is in when ever I come back to visit.
I was just wondering if the place had good bones so that it could be rehabbed and then in 2022 become office space, or a school (they did this in Pomona) or perhaps a DCFS location. There will be plenty of county type facilities that could use this sort of space, think of it, tons of parking, bathrooms are already there, etc.
I use to audit the military credit unions in the early 90's and we use to go there for lunch. In the '00 years I would visit the IRS in that black building. The one and only time I stepped foot in there I saw the conversion and I was shocked!
The corrupted officials would let you do anything to that place as long as they could pocketed something from you... other than that, take a walk regardless how great your ideas were.
Also I just got to the Wards section. I cannot believe you got inside. It brought back a flood of memories and tears. Thank you SO much for posting this. You have no idea what it means to those of us who grew up in the area.
This mall always struggled. I used to know someone that worked in mall management 20 years ago. She mentioned the anchor stores weren't obligated to pay rent to the mall. They were stand-alone stores prior to the mall being built so they weren't part of it, financially speaking.
Love the music and the feel of this video. When I was an adolescent, that was the first big deal, you know? Getting to go to the mall by yourself with your friends.
Oh my gosh. The intro to this video is SO cool. Major “Stranger Things” vibes. Love it! Like many of you, I spent a lot of time at this mall growing up. And also the Inland Center Mall. My grandfather actually helped to build the Inland Center Mall in the 1960’s. These places are time capsules of a time and place in our lives where people came together, just as we are coming together here now. ! My dad sent me this video today. So many nostalgic emotions. Thank you for this awesome footage and amazing memories!
I don’t know this mall, but it makes me sad to see it like this. Especially the photoshop! I remember back in the early 90’s - those shops were everywhere! I can still smell the fresh printed photos that came from those shops. 😔
I remember the animatronic bear that was cool, a batman returns meet and greet KB toys, Walden books, Woolworths, and a movie theater inside. Also, hot dog on a stick and orange julius. I can remember vividly walking around with my mom, supposedly the propery was built on a marsh or swamp and the pumps are under the court house or something similar. There was a fudruckers across the street. The staircase in Harris was so immaculate. The whole Harris building was Victorian. Very cool mall in its heyday.
I think this is probably the best video you’ve made so far. Loved the music and what I felt was a big bump up in your production presentation. Great job.
This was AMAZING!!! I especially love that there is music throughout except for when there is dialogue. The vintage footage was perfect as well. Nice!!!
four twenty-six am ― another night in. sitting in the darkness while sipping a third glass of straight whiskey. im watching carousel mall and wallowing in nostalgia for a time i never lived in .
Do not fear, Anthony “Ace”: we’re all out here watching and enjoying these time capsules (and that’s what they really are) of a time long gone. If anyone is watching and is bad mouthing and trolling you, just let them go back to their troll hole where they belong. There’s a LOT more of us appreciating your videos than there’ll ever be of them. Keep up the good work!!!
Great video!! I grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs in the San Gabriel Valley and lived walking distance to the Montgomery Wards in Rosemead, California. Great memories of walking to that Wards with my mom in the early 90's and buying a Super Nintendo! Keep up the great work, Ace!
It boggles my mind they tear down all these malls.. so much could be done with them.. the big department anchor stores could hold indoor flea markets.. the rest could be used for office space and apartments.. maybe for those that need to be close to work for mobility reasons.. etc.. here they have gyms and practice area for pitching baseball.. one time an indoor ice rink.. think outside the box people..
makeing. Some amazing stuff done with shut down buildings. Up in victorville they took a old target and made it a indoor car lot.and in Vegas I saw a small not to old bank turned into a goodwill Express.
San Bernardino just too poor. I believe still one of the poorest in the entire country. The city council were caught stealing money back in 2011, bankrupt my entire city. Real messed up
i was thinking of a VR themepark / Rave .. the 'doomed' mall adventure.. 25 min stroll around with a headset and laser gun. Ghosts, Demons, Haunting Sound Cues ... TEAM play, LEADERBOARD and most important streaming support & Sponsers
I was put into a foster care system here, came and visit my case worker every weekend and my eyes always glowed with joy every time 😔 this mall will always be a special place to me 🖤🖤
Never thought I would hear Frank Zappa in one of your productions. The story of "San Berdino" has always been a favorite. Imagine being arrested for vulgar lyrics today in a sting operation no less! This is one of your best videos ever, Anthony. I haven't been to Carousel but I found myself getting misty eyed over the place. Glad the Ward's sign was preserved. Ward's memorabilia is getting almost as scarce as Ames stuff these days.
"....the rest of their lives in San Ber'dino..." (just the way it was sung - not poor spelling). Was raised in San Bernardino. Knew of the song. Of course the lyrics caught my ear. The mention seemed equally specific and odd. Had no idea of the inspiration. I'm glad to have been educated after all these years.
Fantastic job, Anthony! You always come with some amazing work. The fact that there was any remnants of Wards in there was left for you guys to find. Thanks for sharing all of this. Please continue preserving mall history! We all enjoy it!
Might be a bit bias since I grew up in the area but this is one of your best videos! The 80’s footage was a gem and really shows the mall’s peak. Would love to see the same for following videos!
The ladies in the offices made me roll on the floor laughing. So funny and typical of what real offices are depicted as in comedy shows. Well those offices could be the anchor for remodeling instead of destroying. If the guts like electrical and plumbing are still healthy, then creative builders and architects could find it challenging and interesting in turning it into much needed affordable housing, but combined with other needed services, like doctors offices, senior housing, retail and grocery stores. A virtual potpourri of much needed services for the middle income population which lately seems to fall into the cracks. And a proper balance and management of each sector could be a factor in avoiding ghetto like conditions. Bring on more if this project develops into something instead of luxury housing.
I love the music in this clip. It makes me so nostalgic for the 80' s. It is so sad to see what the mall was like them and what it looks like now, empty, abandoned, and that carousel😢
It's so interesting to see the mall all alive and well in the 80s and early 90s, and then... seeing how it is now. Enjoyed the vid, thanks for it, I will definitely stay tuned for the next one.
Thanks for this amazing video. As a san Bernardino resident this mall was part of my childhood! So sad because in a way the death of this mall literally mimics whats happening to our city all together. 💔
It almost seemed like the way Carousel Mall went, so went the rest of San Bernardino. Like an unfortunate portent of doom. I share your heartbreak. It's like looking at my childhood through a shattered mirror. Distorted - and unreal. (spoken as a Former resident). But it doesn't make the hurting any less. Take care. P.S. Ignore the hater. Seems like one that would look for ANY excuse to get angry. Peace.
I am so in awe of everything you've captured in 2017, VHS videos from the past, and now. Thank you for documenting all of this. People worked here, shopped here, had family photos taken, and selected prom dresses. WOW. I am checking out my area's lost shopping malls and I hope to document a new era of a lost times. I love finding an Aladdin's Castle with the color schemes still present, and Sandburg Mall in Galesburg, IL has just that.
Wow Ace! You are really doing some great stuff! Before and after vintage footage is my absolute favorite way to watch a dead mall series! You keep elevating your game and it shows in the quality of your productions. Keep up the great work my man!
So happy to have had a chance to watch this! I am still reeling over that found footage you got - an absolute time machine! I wonder if the office guy painting his wall knew his co-worked would be filming that day?! So fascinating. I also appreciated your personal endeavor to find "what makes each mall different" as a driving force in your process of documentation and discovery... there certainly IS a lot of sameness, and being able to highlight those differences - from the aesthetics to the presence of particular stores (OMG Montgomery Ward!) is what makes your work fascinating and a joy to watch. Great work on this portrait of Carousel Mall! :)
Thank you for this video..It brings back so many memories.I used to go this mall all the time, when I was little and also my teenage years. It makes me sad to see it like this.
Thank you. Extremely well put together and I could’ve watched another 30 minutes. While I don’t live in the area anymore your comments at the end brought a ton of emotion to me. So many memories with my parents eating at the Kings Buffet. We were fortunate as a family to have experience many aspects of the mall. As we got older and the crime increased my parents moved us out of San Bernardino and to a coastal city in San Diego county. The stories we tell my nieces and nephews about living in San Bernardino is something they just can’t fathom. The decay of what the city has become is heart breaking and sad. I still have family in the area and will never forget the Central City Mall (I could never call it the Carousel Mall). Thank you for the preservation!
So many memories in that mall. Among other things, it's where I first saw Star Wars in the summer of 1977. That was back when it was still the Central City Mall.
Inland Center has been slowly losing traction over time. Places keep moving into their vacant spots and then moving right out and it's pretty sad. The bigger malls like Ontario Mills, Victoria Gardens, and Tyler mall really have them beat. It's sad because my sister worked there and we shopped there all the time when I was a kid because it was so convenient. I hope it stays open but the area is kind of sad.
This is heartbreaking. I took dates the movies there in the 80's. I saw Fast Times at Ridgemont High there, Friday the 13th Part 3 on Friday the 13th, so many movies. My mom worked at the mall for a while, I worked security there for a while. Thanks putting this video up. It's bringing back so many memories.
That was so awesome that you got into the Wards! I grew up with that store so I've been hoping to see someone get into one, I'm glad you did! This was probably my favorite video of your's so far. Thank you for doing this!!
They need to turn old malls into artist loft /condos / apartments. Im sure the investors would make their money back. IF you renovated the entire interior to include a couple of places to eat a community type club with immenities
Woke up this morning to my childhood, WOW so many memories in that mall. That's when things were good even if it was bad, we did not know. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!!!!
Thank you so much for making this. I have literally never commented on a RU-vid video before, but this means so much to me. My family and I had been going here since it was Central City and I spent a lot of time here growing up. It breaks my heart to see what it became, but I'm so grateful that this video exists. Even seeing how the freeway exit used to look made me feel like I was back in my childhood. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this. You have no idea how much it means. I'm absolutely gonna share this with my whole family.
The Mr. You's Chinese food restaurant had the best orange chicken in town👌😋 Amazing to see the 2nd street/central city exit ramp back in the '80s way before my time! 👀 😄👍
You unlocked a memory I didn't even know I had-my parents would have to go to San Bernardino for business every year and I would always hang out at this mall-it was already so dead and that was at least 15 years before they closed.
I'm from here, I no longer live in SB but I was born there and lived there until I was 18yo. I remember riding the carousel and getting my ears pierced for my 4th birthday at this mall. Thank you for doing this video, I've always followed abandoned exploration on reddit and other yt channels, but haven't found one so close to home. Thank you for this video.
