CLOSED - A Visit to Pembroke Mall 

I worked at the drugstore in this mall for a number of years in the mid 70s to early 80s. It was a busy mall then, with a great mix of stores and services. Miller and Rhoads was a very old-school traditional upscale-ish women's clothing store; I got my first credit card there and loved shopping their sales. My parents bought just about everything they needed at Sears from the 60s onward. And the movie theaters out back were awesome--2 huge round white buildings with enormous screens that were perfect for blockbusters like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pembroke was pretty great at one time, but that time is long, long gone, and now it's completely closed up. Sad to see it go. 😢

This was my mall in the 2000s. Always loved how dead it always was compared to the crowed Lynnhaven Mall.

The redesign in the later 2000s left the mall without any atmosphere. There was a feel to Pembroke Mall that was very comforting and cozy, afterward it felt sterile and lifeless.

Pembroke mall has been on its last legs for the last 20 years. If it wasn't for down town VA Beach that mall would have died years ago. It's a shame though they had a really good Chinese buffet, when it went I was basically done with that mall.

I’m from vb, this place has always felt like a cold hospital and you captured that perfectly. I want to make a mini do on it but from the perspective of the folks that grew up here. Thanks for featuring it.

Wow. I used to live in Virginia Beach from 2008 to 2010. I used to visit Pembroke Mall from the latter half of 2009 to the former half of 2010. I used to always carry around a backpack and hang out in the food court to write poems, short stories, and draw pictures. If I wasn't doing that, I was in the GameStop getting down on Guitar Hero Van Halen and Rock Band 2. I actually remember hearing the news that Michael Jackson passed away as I was playing Rock Band 2. Everybody crowded the Cox kiosk where the large television was to watch the breaking news story. I also used to hang out with a bunch of juggalo kids, they were the coolest bunch of people that I ever got to hang out with and made my time worth while there. After moving in May 2010, I never looked back until recently. So much has changed and all that's left behind are the memories that I'll never forget.

They are supposed to be adding 2 new high rise apartment buildings attached and a upscale 16 story hotel soon I wonder if they are just going to remove the middle part and make way for streets

Unrecognizable from the early 1990s when I saw it last.

interesting to see you at one of my local malls. nice video !

Visited this mall frequently through the 80's. Last visited in 2009 after not being in there since 1991 or 1992. Didn't care much for it in 2009 but still sorry to see it failing.

This mall is closing for good in one week. The last stores are packing up right now.

This area is being redeveloped now.

Dying but not the deadest mall I have seen

Good video.Thanks!

It really looks so much much different when I hung out here as a teenager in the 90’s Such great memories here. BTW Space Port was amazing along with. Chic fila

Nice job! At least the entry doors look modern.

I worked in Pembroke Mall from 2007 to 2009. I worked at the Pearle Vision when it was still thriving. The eye doctor left and took 2 opticians with and all the receptionists with him shortly after I left. They all work at Eye Care Optometry, which you see before the play area and Target. Pearle Vision stuck around for another decade with very few customers. The mall was in worse shape back then. Pembroke had always played second fiddle to the Lynnhaven Mall and there used to be a 2nd wing of the mall that was demolished about 15 years ago since it was completely empty save 2 stores. When I worked there, mall management was an absolute joke. They expected the White Horse Pub to adhere to mall hours and open their doors at 10AM, which is completely ridiculous for a bar, and ran the venerable institution out of business. The disgruntled owner slipped a few stink bombs under the door to their office. They sent the marketing director to a convention with a displayed that showed a bunch of high end designer items, which cost the mall $30K in licensing fees. This mall manager was later fired for getting drunk at one of the outparcel restaurants (Smokey Bones, I think , but I could be wrong). Here's the crazy part: the bar tender tried to cut off the manager and she said something to the effect of "do you know who I am" and the bartender called the parent company and got here fired.

The outside of the mall looks rather nice and modern.

Even when malls were thriving nobody liked this mall

The interior of this mall will be closing next Monday.

nice foretelling of the current storm at the end....

Intimately familiar with this mall in the past :) there was a pretty big renovation around 2013 or so. Sad to see it didn't really catch.

Doomie great work as always. Soneday I'd love to see you do a ranking or tier list of malls you've visited. :)

Very good info bro

I wish you could have seen the children's art exhibit.

This mall has always had a reputation for being dead. That was the only other mall I used to go to back in the early 80s, besides Military Circle. My brother and I used to bike to Pembroke, back in the day to play at the arcade Space Port. It was the same mall that had outside movie theater pods, before they built a theater inside the mall. We watched Return of the Jedi at the movie pod. Across the inside theater was a sort of Jungle Golf and arcade. I used to play Dance Dance Revolution there on my breaks in the early 2000s.

I MISS PEMBROKE MALL FROM 1981-1986 WHEN GOING TO PRINCESS ANNE HIGH AS A TEENAGER. LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT

Heeey! It's my mall! XD

Koki: Williamsburg, Virginia 1/31/16

What kind of camera are you using here doomie?

I was going to say you either been holding onto this footage a long time or they are really pushing easter early this year. 🤣

One of my least favorite malls. I never go there

It is a beautiful mall, but one level malls do not very well.

Ah yes, Goodmorning America. A good choice of music.

Any Music CD LP shops or book shops. Only fye exist they suck highest prices in the world don't shop fye.