Cortana Mall - Baton Rouge, LA | a dead mall nearly abrogated from torpid ownership | ExLog#39 

Hey everyone! This video marks the end of Phase II of the Expedition Log Series... Make sure you go back and have a look through the series, as Phase III will be coming super soon, and will kick off with a huge Episode! Catch up on the full Expedition Log Series! ru-vid.com?list... Support the Expedition Log on Patreon, if you like! - www.patreon.com/salvatoreamadeo Follow my Expeditions in Real Time: Twitter - twitter.com/salvatoreamadeo Instagram - instagram.com/salvatoream... Join the discussion on Discord! discord.gg/g4tKbpu

I grew up in this mall. My prom dresses were purchased here. My mom would pick up my school clothes from the catalog center in JC Penney! My first (few) jobs were in this mall! I remember the days of the Disney store & the fountain! The nachos & corn dogs! Ruby Tuesday & Best Image Photography Studio! My heart aches as Cortana dies.

Cortana was officially closed for business on September 18, 2019. RIP to another once wonderful place.

I'm 48 and I grew up going to that mall. It used to be such a beautiful place to shop, especially during Christmas time. When they built Hammond Square Mall we went to Cortana less frequently because we lived closer to Hammond but Cortana was bigger and we considered it a treat to go there. You brought back many memories with this video, Godchauxs was a distant memory brought back to me. Thank you. Oh the memories.

I have many memories of Cortana mall. I used to go there in the 80s,90s. And helped out working at the radio shack. The mall went down hill fast when the mall of Louisiana was built. I feel like the zombie apocalypse could start in that mall.

The echos of loudspeakers ringing through dead malls is pure magic.

I grew up going to that mall. I remember taking an elementary school field trip there to sing French Christmas carols in one of the courtyards during the mid 80’s. Thanks for documenting it while it’s still standing.

Great video - I was the specialty leasing mgr, retired in 2005 - was there in the glory days - you brought back some great memories.

In my opinion shopping malls would make perfect colleges or charter schools, they have a food court which could be rented again to vendors, and all the stores could be converted into class rooms or administrative offices. You cannot build any college for 4 million dollars.

I've lived in Louisiana since 1980 and moved to Baton Rouge in 1989 and my wife and I loved this Mall. In it's heyday it really was a magnificent place. Sad to see it go.

The Salvation Army of Greater Baton Rouge, was allowed to use the old Mervyns for our Angel Tree program. That's why you saw all of the donations.

Oh my -Sal you've won my heart. I grew up in Baton Rouge and remember when Cortana was built. I worked at Dillard's from the early 80's through 90's. I loved my job and the mall. I never heard of any crime or violence. That Price Leblanc commercial sure brought a nostalgic smile to my face. Yes sure and yes mam. ❤️💋🤗. It makes me so sad to see it now when it was the best mall in town 😔

This is so sad. I grew up about an hour away from Cortana Mall and made many shopping trips there. I'm actually old enough to remember the Bon Marche' Mall ... that was the first shopping mall in these parts, and it was a big deal. But Cortana made a huge splash when it opened. I remember back in 1976 when a group of ladies from our church took the church van to Cortana for the first weekend it was opened. I was at a scouting meeting when they returned to the church. I can still see them getting out of the van with a bunch of shopping bags and talking about their feet hurting. It peaked my curiosity at what this mall must be like. From 1976 until I moved away in 1995, Cortana was the epitome of shopping. I still have a few things I remember buying there (Christmas decorations, cookware). My brother and I would often do our Christmas shopping there. I knew, when the Mall of Louisiana opened, that Cortana wouldn't last ... MOL is just much too fancy and "shiny new." But I'm still a little sad. I guess the last time I visited Cortana was about 2003. Nice work on the video.

Thank you Sal for covering my childhood mall! I was excited and saddened to see what shape Cortana is in now. I absolutely loved this place as a kid! The last time I remember seeing this mall thrive with stores and shoppers was 2005-06. I would be surprised if this mall survives another 2 years.

2:30 Wow I grew up watching those commercials back in the 80's. I Loved when he would say DARLIN'.Those were the good ole days 😑

Back in 2006-2008 I used to go to Cortana regularly. But in 2009 that whole area around it seemed to shut down. Circuit City was gone, Toys R Us was leaving, and the mall was becoming a gang hang. I moved out to Walker from Baton Rouge in 2010, and from then onward went to the Mall of Louisiana instead. Until 2014 when I moved north to Elmira, NY. I gotta tell ya... malls ain't doing any better up here. haha

29:55 "Because nobody's there to enjoy this." That's not true, because we're there. Shoutout to Sal and all of us who appreciate and immortalise dead malls that are an important part of American society. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.

You're soooo very lucky to have your Dad still trooping along with you, Sal. MY pop died back in early 2002, and I still miss him terribly...so here's to the senior Amadeo as the two of you hang out and do all that father-son stuff I miss so terribly...Shalom, all.

Ah...the memories....I didn't only shop there. I would go there to walk around, to get my exercise, visit my boyfriend who worked there, and to find the best bargains. Good times!! It was a a beautiful place to relax, have a cup of coffee from the kiosk there, and sit by the fountains. Sad to see it go.

That was my go to place when I was feeling down. It’s so sad. It had a small movie theater for a short time when it first opened, but Bon Marche had the biggest theater. That’s the only thing that kept it open as long as it was.

So sad, spent many a days hanging out there as a kid in the 80's and even more time when I had my own car in the 90's. Spaceport, Mama Brava's, Everything's A Dollar, Piccadilly, Maison Blanche/Goudchaux's, Mervyn's, Service Merchandise, I could go on and on.

As I watch these documentary videos, my heart breaks.

As a kid who was born in 96 I was a little young during the boom of mall culture but I still feel such a strong nostalgic feeling when watching dead mall videos and listening to vapor wave and stuff like that. I feel alot of the magic of the 80s and 90s still carried on into the early 2000s. I remember as a kid not really understanding that things would change all around me as time would go on and now i miss how vibrant and "xtreme" everything used to be. It really helps me understand why as we get older we hold onto things from our past and childhood and are always finding the new generation of things to not be as good. The feelings we get when we see those visuals or hear those sounds we used to hear , there's nothing that compares to it and I'm so grateful people like you take the time to provide us with content like this. It gives me the chance to feel, breath, smell, hear all these sensations the same way I felt them back then and to not take them for granted I thank you so much for that.

Haha! Those Price LeBlanc ads are so funny!

I grew up in BR. I remember as a kid the great excitement when the new "huge" Delmont Village shopping center on Plank Road. Later, the really great fanfare of the opening of Bon Marche shopping Center. In 1969 as I recall, there was an outdoor production of "Jesus Christ, Superstar" on the property that later was developed as this mall. Moved to Houston in 1971 before the mall was built. Was back once while the mall was a busy place, and now when I visit I have no reason to be in that area. Living in Houston, I have seen malls come and go throughout the greater Houston area. One thing that seems to be a common thread among mall declines, is the immediate vicinity. Typically there will be large apartment complexes and older neighborhoods around, and as the apartments entered their inevitable declines, and the neighborhoods similarly fall in stature, the mall follows shortly after, as the area becomes a place where people with money to spend don't want to be. Cortana Mall is just one sad story among many similar ones. It stands out here, because it's in a smaller city. I can think of half a dozen or more that suffered virtually identical fates in Houston, most with the same major tenant anchors. Federated had Foleys and Macys. There was Dillards, Montgomery Ward, Sears, J.C. Penney, and later Mervins. Really nice shopping malls from the early 1970's, starting declines by the mid 1980's and deserted by 2000. One on the west side of Houston, Town & Country Mall, was completely demolished and the property redeveloped. Almost ironically, the redevelopment has been tremendously successful and resembles Baton Rouge's old downtown area more than a shopping center. City Centre includes streets with multiple individual stores, restaurants, high-end apartments, hotels, and a movie theater. As to traditional shopping malls, besides areas of town turning bad, the 21st Century has brought Amazon.com--the Sears Roebuck of the new century. As Sears hastened the end of the local small town stores, Amazon is crushing retail stores everywhere. Now add the effect of Covid and lockdowns, and the decline of the mall era is accelerating.

I remember when this mall was the shit! All the locals in Baton Rouge would shop there.

Muck foonbeam

It's surreal watching this considering I worked there off and on for many years. I remember it being full of life and the smell of popped popcorn and fresh baked cookies. Christmas music blaring in the halls during the Christmas season and lines out the door for the next tennis shoe or video game release. Wild! Great video. The history takes me back through time. BTW that was in fact Mervyn's.

I did a google search to see if I could scope out old videos of Cortana mall because I was feeling nostalgic and my memory was fuzzy on what it used to look like. I was a kid/teen in the 80s and 90s and spent so much time here. This video took me back and forgotten memories come pouring in as I watched it. Thank you!

Fantastic production. I love how you create relevance by documenting those life events from the period. It enables me to realise just how quickly retail and our lifestyles have changed in such a relatively short timeframe . Does anyone else find it incredibly sad that these monuments to consumerism have become wastelands? As an 80’s child who grew up in mall culture ( for all its sins 😂) I find the demise of this 20th century western lifestyle to be something that future generations will look back on as a unique period in our evolution. All that aside, the waste of resources, and ‘abandonment’i is so wasteful, and it’s incredible that so few have successfully been repurposed. In Australian and New Zealand our malls have increasingly integrated apartments, commercial spaces, open air ‘streets capes’ as well as the traditional mall offerings, and even though on line is huge, they have mostly managed to thrive - smart urban design? Smart planning? Less land and smaller populations?

11:30 "The Mall at Cortana makes holiday wishes come true..." ...so creepy these announcements for the benefit of no one. It's like wandering through the Overlook Hotel in 'The Shining', listening to the ghosts...

Another moonbeam victim, it never seems to amaze me how bad moonbeam is and just runs things right in to the ground. Great video sal. I'm looking forward to phase 3.

Another fantastic production, Sal. Good for you for calling out Moonbeam. Special thanks too for the sweet glimpse of the KB Toys storefront at 12:12. Worked there 20 years and loved every minute. Can't wait for the next episode!

Love all the background history and timeline info especially what was taking place in the world at the same time. Great video.

You do a great job of telling the full history of all of these malls and really paint a picture of their decline. The breadth of your coverage really helps to make the entire video engaging and stand out above other "dead mall people" who just walk around the dilapidated old retail complexes. Go you!

My dad has so many stories from going to Cortana growing up, he always seemed so happy telling those stories

When I've had a bad day, these videos are where I go. Things just get better.

Sad, so sad. 😭. I remember how cool malls were. I miss those days.

Sorry I missed the premiere! This was EXCELLENT as always-and I really enjoyed your historical-for-context additions (Y2K, movie releases etc). Great content as always my friend

Thank you for this🙏🏻..cant wait for your upcoming content

Loved it! P.S. That restaurant was a Ruby Tuesday’s.

I went to LSU from 1985-1989 and used to visit this mall all the time. My ex and I always did our Christmas shopping here, and even bought our wedding rings at the Service Merchandise (the Wilson’s). Yes, this place was always packed and there was a lot of great shopping to do. I was surprised to see the Gamestop still open in the beginning, that was the first Babbage’s I ever saw back in 1988. It’s depressing to see this, and the mall finally closed last month (Aug 30, 2019). I knew it wasn’t doing well but was stunned at this. Btw the outparcel building you asked about, was a Sears Tire Center. It’s just outside the old Sears. Thanks for posting this. Gotta admit, the music echoing throughout this empty place was just surreal. Edit 10/2021: Cortana Mall was demolished in the spring of 2021 to make way for an Amazon Fulfillment Center.

So excited to see another video! Great job.

My BF and I always love it when you get something new up. Grab a good dinner, spark up, and sit back and enjoy! Keep these coming!

That brought back memories. The land the mall was built on was used for the state fair when I was a kid. The mall opened up when I had just begun LSU. It was the place to be for the youth. There was also a multi-screen movie theater. Sometimes during very heavy rains the parking lots would suddenly flood and people couldn't get to their cars and it was possible that some of the cars were ruined. During these floods, one of the security people using unintelligible Black pronunciations would get on the echoing and jamming PA system to warn shoppers. There was a lot of noise, but few could understand. Talking about pronunciations, LeBlanc, which means " The White" in French is pronounced so that the "c" at the end is silent, the "n" is soft and the "a" is stretched. It almost sounds like LeBlahhh. Considering its layout, I would think it might be able to find a future as a distribution center; although, it isn't that close to the Interstate. It is at the intersection of Airline Highway and Florida Boulevard. It could also provide a lot of relatively inexpensive office space, but no potential large users come to mind.

Love the old KB Toys toys soldier logo still visible above a repurposed storefront.

This makes me sad. I used to frequent this mall back in undergrad from 2000-2005. Spent many hours here and never had a desire to visit mall of Louisiana. It seemed like it was going to make a comeback after Katrina around 2007-2008 when that Macy's opened. Then it slowly started to decay around 2010. That's a shame

Holy crap! I was watching some of your other videos and thinking of this mall. I went there so much as a kid. Thanks for the video!

Finally able to sit down and watch this awesome piece of art.

That small building was part of Sears auto center

I can't believe I'm going to catch the latest episode as it drops!

You would think they would drain those fountains.🤢 It still looks like a beautiful mall.

After waiting and waiting, I’m a day late! Can’t wait for Phase III! Thanks for the ExLogs Sal!

this is my favorite "dead mall series" on youtube! i do love architecture and its a shame these one pristine malls are slowly being forgotten.

Great cinematography.

Well done vids.. Always happy to see a new post

Much praise for your work. The history behind the creation and finality to the mall and the tenants in the narration is really nice. Keep up the good work.

Your dad cracks me up. He is definitely a trooper, getting out to check for open doors and being your lookout. 😁

Love these mall videos glad you were in my recommendations

Love to you and your Dad. Ty for sharing your experience.

thanks sal, insightful and interesting as always

Hi ! just wanted thanks for being so kind to the old girl.I must have walked hundreds of miles in her ,the last place you wounder what it was . In 1985 it was the Chelsea Street Pub where i met my wife for the first time, we have been together to this day...

Thanks for the history lessons on the movies and such. EXCELLENT content!

Thanks for documenting this. THIS was my childhood mall. One of them, anyway. We also frequented Mall of Louisiana. But even though the Mall of Louisiana was awesome with its carousel, this was the mall I liked to go to, because this was the one with the toy store--- which Mall of Louisiana didn't have, for some reason. (I wonder if they have one now...?) Anyway. My time period for going to this mall was during the 2000s. I remember there being quite a lot of stores operating, people bustling around, though it was always less crowded than Mall of Louisiana--- which I preferred, being a shy kid who didn't care much for crowds. It was in the late 2000s that I started to notice that there were less stores open, but the place wasn't dead at that point. Seeing recent video of it is so weird, because there's almost nobody there! And the fountains. I remember the fountains most clearly about this mall. They fascinated me. They were never that green and gunky then--- I recall them being a light blue-green color. Minimal algae. And people were always throwing coins into them. (I always wanted to reach in and grab the coins but I never did... Mom didn't want either me or my sister getting too close to the edge.) And I'm pretty sure that decrepit little building was some sort of auto center. Don't put too much confidence in that. I'm going on 10-year-old memories at this point. XD

Great video! Thanks for filming.

Your informative narrations make your channel a favorite of mine.

This video gives me goosebumps. My mom side of the family had lived in Baton Rouge for many years before moving to Arlington, TX in the early 2000s. Seeing this brings back so many memories as a young kid being here with my uncles.

I really live the work you do. Please keep it up

Perfect timing! I will have just finished eating dinner, and will be sparking up a big one for desert!

Thanks for recording and sharing this awesome era in time . Lots of retail lessons learned, lots of wonderful lifelong friends and lots of beautiful memories made whilst working for Gaudcheaux / Maison Blanche, Parisians then Macy’s at Cortana Mall and surrounding area Louisiana malls. Here here to the gifted good times!!!🎉🎄🎁

Always interesting! Thanks...always enjoy sitting down to a meal and one of your videos...

Sal some of your best work. Thank you.

Great Video Sal!

Well, the last few stores at Cortana have been given 2 weeks to vacate the mall. Amazon has bought it to use as a distribution center.

I remember the Price LeBlanc commercials. Lived in Lafayette in the 80s and we got the Baton Rouge stations on cable.

Wow man, amazing as usual!

I love watching these! Thank you Sal for your expeditions!! While watching, i cannot get over the signage to "rediscover a great shopping legend"!! Yes, come see all 10 stores left lol. There is nothing quite like a place clinging to one last strand of glory as it dies a slow death. Sad, because the furnishings look rather nice (well except for that leak in the roof)

Great job!

Totally enjoyed this as bittersweet as it was after I went and searched it up before I watched it, finding the demolition video readily available to view and very sad. Thank you for documenting this mall as well as all the others you do, and yes, it was no surprise to hear Moonbeam mentioned in this either *rolls eyes* Still watching through all your old vids and watching new ones as they come out too!

I love your channel. Your research is very impressive and fascinating. I've always been a fan of abandoned spaces but going into a dead mall that's still open would be so great. Thank you for the peek into the world of change.

Well done, Sal! Really looking forward to your Atlantic City video!

I remember shopping at the Cortana Mall when I was a kid. The area around it has gone hill since the Mall of Louisiana opened. We never go there anymore. In fact the only time I go to that end of town is when I have to go to our Baton Rouge office on Mondays for our weekly meetings and to pick up my paycheck. Great job on this video, it brings back memories from when we used to shop there.

Sal been watching your videos Al well as other channels that show what you it's sad that time has changed so much I'm 1980s kid malls used to be the ultimate place to be as a kid it's crazy how all this history is disappearing as we leave this world new genrations miss the true fun of past childhood joys we had keep the history alive so glad people like you are keep these memories alive thanks for everything

Thanks for the awesome video, Sal! I'm from Canada and even I've heard of how grotesquely Moonbeam runs their company! Look forward to what comes next! 😃

Sal, excellent video recording and super-narrative.

This mall looked wonderful even in its final days. If only those nasty fountains were cleaned out & refilled with cleaner water. Also, wise that you backed out of that service tunnel. That is where you will disappear & never be seen again. That's probably why you didn't see the cart's owner.

Omg, you have captured my childhood in this video! All I needed was the Rosenbergs commercial... I grew up going to Cortana mall for back to school shopping, dates, movies... sad to see what it's become.

Yet another excellent video, Sal! I so appreciate your cutting, but calm, narration and background history. So cool to see your Dad in this one! This mall was so sad but as you said, still being kept up pretty well. Are malls truly dead in our society because of online shopping? I'm particularly disturbed by the acres of parking lots and the huge decaying buildings. What will ever be done with them? It's so very sad when I think of what malls used to be like. Great channel, great content, great editing, etc. I am looking forward to Phase III!

another benchmark video, good information on big, sometimes dangerous trends/failures. great that some usually scarce inter-generational video success is also included!!!

Live video from my hometown, Baton Rouge!!! ❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜

I remember this really cool pet store that was there in the 80's and Toys by Roy. Loved that place.

wow I remembered this place kickin ass in the 80's!

I love the old commercials

Lavish Christmas decorations!

Whenever you say "Moobeam", my heart sinks. You just know it's going to end badly!

Epic video Sal, thanks for posting! I'm just so thrilled to have caught the newest video when it first went up, even though for the last week and some change I've been enjoying your older videos. I came home from work half asleep and waiting to see this video go up, it got me all jacked up with interest! It looks like that mall is done for, but to its credit it hung in there longer than most. Even with 2 competing newer smaller more modern malls a minutes drive away, Cortana mall started having big problems much later on than most malls. I'm sorry to say it but the mall is dead, expect a wrecking ball in that malls future. BTW, I can't say I blame you for not trying out the elevator on your way out at the end. I know in hindsight you regret not giving the elevator a try, but with all the volunteers in that one dead anchor somebody may have gotten security involved or something? I don't know, maybe I'm being over paranoid but that's just me. Also the disgusting fountains, its LA buddy! Water fountain inspection probably isn't even in the health inspectors jurisdiction, there state and local governments are heavily deregulated in regards to businesses. Don't forget, its the deep south buddy. Thanks again Sal, thank god smell is impossible through a PC screen!

Is no one gonna mention that the mall closed in September 2019? ok

I really should comment more, I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your work seen all your videos ! I love trippin thru these malls Thanks for bringing me along! BTW definitely Mervyns

I am so glad I didn't miss that sponsor spot. It truly wasn't anything I was expecting.

Hello, I enjoy videos of this nature. I watch alot of these types of things all the time. I'm glad I found your channel. Most of what I watch is on abandone places.