Awesome video! The very first shot of the mall, where the kayaks were placed in the octagon portion missing flooring, used to sit a large planter with fake trees, fake plants, and rubber mulch. People would sit and smoke cigars, pipes, etc. Once smoking indoors was not allowed, the smell of cigars stayed in the fake plants for several years until the planter was removed altogether. Where the “Elder Berman” store is, was a Kmart with a food court inside for several years. I grew up about 10 minutes from this mall and spent a lot of time in it during the 90s
Yes so much missing fom this mall like the huge gazebo that was dead center in the mall. And the soft pretzel stand that sat in front of the food court. Crazy how much is gone now and how it has changed. It looks so tacky and gloomy now. I remember when it was always busy. Lived in alliance until 97 wich was the last time I was at this mall and its truly sad to see it like this. Best childhood and teen memories in that mall.
Aww! The Carnation Mall! I grew up there exactly in that time between the early 80s and 2000 and worked at the K Mart. Yes, it once was a very bustling place. There was a time where there were very few unoccupied storefronts in the 90s, and as others have mentioned, the Walmart that moved in next door was what brought it down fast. Fun fact about that Walmart for you - at the time it was built, it was the largest Walmart that had yet been built in Ohio (obviously it's no longer the biggest). I was last in the Mall there a few years ago. The lighting now is all different than I remembered it as a child. It was always darker than the newer, glassier malls, for sure, but the lighting was warmer somehow when I was younger. Perhaps it was because back then the stores were fully occupied with glass storefronts and not dark and closed in like they are now, so there was a lot more ground-level lighting from the stores themselves. I also don't remember the ceiling being blue back then. I really want to say it was a more beige/cream color, but I'm not perfectly certain of that. Either way, the ceiling wasn't as noticeable because there was so much going on below them. When I think back on it, only near the mall entryways (where there were never lots of storefronts) did it feel dark. After Walmart came in, and the strip mall that was subsequently built between Walmart and the mall, they did try a few interesting tenants, like a branch of the local library which stayed there for quite some time.
I worked there for many months in 2018. This mall was a great place to work at in the Cinemark with friends and the memories I made there. Used to have a comic shop one of our managers owned and we would cosplay there. :)
This mall is where my husband bought my engagement ring, back in 1991. We used to walk around this mall quite a bit in the early 90’s when we were dating, but even then, it had a very small town feel compared to the Belden Village mall in nearby Canton. Later, I would come over to the Elder Beerman to exchange yet another well meaning Christmas gift from an older relative for something I might like better. That was a challenge, though, as Elder Beerman was a store geared to older people. I remember when people would plan a getaway to the Comfort Inn, for a fun family weekend. People liked the idea of it connecting to the mall. Anyhow, I have come to this mall since the early 90’s and its decor looks the same as ever.
Awwww. Those are such nice memories! All of these places are full of stories like that, and that’s why I want to document them before they’re gone. Thank you for sharing!
@@peterjszerszen Unfortunately a lot of them go to Walmart now. I agree that Elder Beerman had started to look pretty dated-even their stores still had that Golden Girls mauve carpet at the end.
i remember going to Taz's card shop and the arcade in that mall when i made trips to see my friends in mount union. So many memories in that mall and it sad to see the state its in. Glad you covered this mall.
When I was a teenager that sofa store had a sign that said "no teenagers" I guess they had a few bad experiences with us kids 😂 You could always see kids from school on the weekends. It wasn't as busy as the nearby beldon village mall but it was never quite this desolate.
Man, I really really do like your work. The transfer of audio tone when you first cut to the inside of the mall for example is spot on. I just appreciate the overall warm refined balance of texture in your videos and the lack of A.D.D. editing. Plus other things, but I'm going to stop now before you think I'm some kind of total spaz. Cheers
@@UniCommProductions You're welcome! I work hard on my audio too, it's under rated and largely unnoticed when done right, but it really makes a league of difference.
Brown tiles, blue ceilings, and even an old Bath & Body Works! I’m in love with this mall! And don’t even get me started on the surviving Elder-Beerman signage. The high ceiling and the old Bath & Body Works reminds me a ton of Midland Mall in MI, even though Midland is way whiter and brighter and contains neon.
I do love that wood front JCP that was so common for that time ! The blue painted exposed ceiling is something more you would see in a 90s mall . Mixed with the brown brick and street light esthetic it’s definitely unique. Great little vintage mall
Used to come here all the time in the 2000's and early 2010's. Decent amount of people at the time too. We would always go to the arcade and loved looking around the mall since most of the stores weren't what you would typically see in a normal mall. Unfortunately, the mall announced it is being turned into a meijer. Every store besides Fever Nails and the Cinemark are closed for good already, and the movie theater will show its final move August 28th. Went today to watch Top Gun and it was a bittersweet moment to know that would be my last time in the mall of my childhood. An article said demolition could begin as soon as September, so sad to see.
Nice job as always Julie😉! For some reason I get an outlet mall vibe from that aqua blue impregnated covering above the beautiful cobblestone pathways with non straight grout lines. Definitely an interesting design. In a side note I'd like to have seen that Kmart. Thanks for a mall cruise this weekend.
I grew up in the area, and I use to go to the Carnation City Mall all the time. It has certainly gone downhill over the years. Nowadays, I think the citizens of Alliance should collectively own the mall, the movie theater, and the Comfort Inn. The citizens could work together with the city to turn the property into one big Human Services Center. They could offer existing businesses and human services professionals, with established clientele, lower rent to move into the mall. The city of Alliance could provide its citizens with affordable housing, food, schools, daycare, healthcare, training, and jobs all in one place.
It's interesting you say that because that actually is exactly what they're doing with another mall I've covered (Fair Oaks Mall in Columbus, IN). It really feels like a lot of these places would be best reborn as the community hub they were intended to be.
lived about 15 minutes from here via the backroads, it was the closest place to take the girl out when growing up lol, spent probably 75-100 weekends here as a kid (theater was the closest one too) and I can't remember the ceiling being blue lol. It was definitely smaller and more closed down then the BV mall in Canton but even in the early 2000's it still had enough people there to be a social spot on the weekends, plus we didn't have much else to go to lol
Another great video! And as a native Ohioan, I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know the true story of the carnation. Very cool history lesson. I’m also convinced that at the end of days, the only thing left standing will be a Bath and Body Works and maybe a nail business 😉. Can’t wait for the next one!
Bath & body works in the nail place where the last two stores and besides salon 183 and the arcade. The mall was supposed to be torn down in spring, not only so what's going on.
Another brilliant episode from the best cruise director Kristin Rose. I love your work, the sound scape you create is amazing its like candy for my ears (as weird an analogy as that is) and I love the footage you shoot. The outro is perfect I love it. The production value for a one woman show is excellent. I really enjoy your work its like a journey in a dystopian movie at times or like a horror movie and yet really entertaining at the same time. Thanks for your time and efforts I really enjoy this content it is far more entertaining than most of what I see these days. Cheers.
The alliance mall was owned by the same family that owned Ferguson house of furniture but I was told it was recently sold by them. Check out Fort Steuben Mall in Steubenville OH if you want to bend a rim lol
I was Beaten and robbed in the parking lot of this mall after seeing a late night movie . Ive spent so many hours in this mall ' seen so many movies ' the ceiling was never Blue as far as I remember i'm guessing they painted it that color to hide the water damage that was highly noticeable . I don't remember the arcade being out in the Food court Alliance is A Getto these days anyways so no reason to even go there even thou it is the closes place to my town.
Can you imagine what it must be like to get up everyday and go to work at the Bath and Body Works. I don’t know if it would be depressing or mind numbing. Also I could see a huge arcade doing well at a dead mall space. Then do laser tag or indoor paintball course.
Bath and Body Works is such a weird anomaly among mall stores, probably because they have a product that’s hard to envision shopping online. They’re often the only store in a lot of these malls with any activity at all.
Can confirm the parking lot is extremely bad. It's a lot like driving through a warzone hit with mortars. You definitely will screw up a rim if you didn't play dodge the pot hole. As downhill as the mall went over the past 10 years, I will miss it and some of the stores that have come and gone out of that place. I will DEFITELY miss the movie theater because ticket prices were $5 dollars as opposed to 10-20 dollars in other movie theaters in the extended area.
Fantastic video as always Kristin, this one is very interesting! I forget if I’ve told you about this or not but there is redevelopment in the future of Kyova Mall!😸
I'm from the area and have lived in Alliance for 20 years. The latest idea for redeveloping this mall is to entice Meijer as a new anchor store, but I don't see that happening unless they tear down most of the mall (Maybe move every existing tenant into the Dunham's wing and leave that and the theater) and build the Meijer onto what's left. Nothing will work unless they also repair that disaster of a perking lot, and I've heard so many ideas for redeveloping that mall that I won't believe it until it happens. Speaking as a local, I just want any redevelopment to include keeping the theater.
I'm 28 and went there all throughout my kid and teen years. It still looks the same. When I was a teen it was typical to hit up the McDonalds out front and then wonder through inside the mall and mess around in the stores until you got bored and went into the cinema. Every week! This was around 2008-11. The mall was still filled with stores but I have happier memories of it from when I was very small. It had a Kay Bee toys, Sam Goody, and a Walden Books. So great! We actually JUST repainted the water tower behind the mall and there are plenty of rumors of what's gonna happen to the mall next....
it was a big draw with a lot of business and lots of stores when i moved to ohio the year before the walmart opened.... its been heading down hill since then for obvious reasons. Covid was the last straw, when they shut down the entire mall while allowing the walmart to remain open. The theater with its 4 dollar matinees kept it going until then, and now that they have reopened things may pick up a bit.. ill hate it if they close it down for one reason, the movie theater, but my hope is that there will be some revival soon.
Even as empty as it is I don't know if I see this mall as being in danger of closing--between the hotel and the movie theater it certainly has its draws, and their overhead has to be fairly low.
They're turning it into a Myers grocery store but they're going to keep Dunham's. They're going to keep the movie theater I don't want to go to Canton to watch a movie.
Sorry if I missed it, but I assume the Comfort Inn is still open and attached to the mall? I visited this mall a few times several years ago. It’s most likely hanging on, or has some value to a possible buyer, because Alliance is uniquely located between Youngstown and Canton. I remember the parking lot being like a mine field…
It seems like every troubled mall I go to lately is really dark. I think they've done something with the lighting to try to save electricity, or maybe I'm just more used to brighter, more modern lighting.
Clearly, the ceiling paint was picked by someone who is colorblind. If that is what the sky looks like to them I'd love to know how the rest of the world looks.
I'm from alliance and I remember when they painted that ceiling. I was pretty young so maybe 10 years ago? I might be mistaken though. Very nice video! Thank you for posting.
You guys need to visit Tuttle crossing mall in Dublin Ohio. It's not dead, but it's definitely not what it used to be...however between Polaris and Easton and Tuttle it's my favorite mall in the area. Fairfield Commons in Dayton is the best though. They have "Original 151" which is an all Pokemon store. It's so cool!
@@UniCommProductions I did see that. I loved it. I forgot about it until a bit ago, but it would be cool to do an update a year later and see how it compares to a year ago. If the time and opportunity permits.
It is actually a cover of the underwater music from Super Mario Brothers 3! It's a very weird look. It looks like the set of a local theater group's summer play.
BUENAS TARDES, KRISTIN! It looks like the parking lot of this "colorful" mall needs to survive either a Wrangler, the new Bronco, a Defender, 4Runner or a 4x4 BOF pickup. YIKES!! 😮 A real "Calle Luna" 🌑 (for the craters, not for the name). You KNOW a mall is REALLY DEAD when you see a NAIL SALON on one of its' prime corners... And talking about the "pre-Mills aesthetic", there is more BLUE paint in the interior roof of this mall as in several (even all) Mills / Simon "neighborhoods" combined (they only use the design in a part of the mall, not the whole thing).
The whole place has been going down for years. It was mainly a mall walker spot for at least the last decade. They used to open super early for walking and I was still going there in 19 to walk and hang out with the seniors in the morning. I got sick in 19 so I havent been in since then.
The mellow tones of "Wont Last a Day Without You" came to mind as I watched this. The state of this mall, like so, so many others is more than just a shopping center gone dead. It's a society gone dead, we are not really moving forward, we are going backwards, back to a life sequestered in tiny boxes. I hope they utilize this land for something important like affordable housing or wind farms or something.
I have viewed many dead mall videos. In every video the mall is owned by an LLC or investment group. They make lots of promises they never keep. The property resells multiple times before it's demolished.
That’s fairly standard-LLCs are used to protect the individual or parent holding company from liability. The new owners have announced they are going to be adding a Meijer to the complex. I agree these situations end in broken promises quite often…but unless a particular owner’s reputation precedes them, I like to give them the benefit of the doubt until they have a reason for me to do otherwise.
I live in the area Carnation Mall serves. It was popping in the mid 90s when it still had Kmart and Kaybee Toys. I used to shop there several times per month. It's sad the owners have let the parking lot go to shit. But at one point, it was busy then Walmart came to town. It's best feature is the movie theater. I remember the one time where some girl suffocated to death in the middle of Kmart because she had a peanut allergy and had eaten something at the Chinese restaurant that wasn't supposed to contain any peanuts. Methinks it had traces. Sad story though.
I grew up in Youngstown and always wanted to check out Carnation Mall but have never gotten there. Alliance was too close to Canton, Akron, and Youngstown to ever really have a successful mall and was too small to ever May Company build an O'Neils (Akron) or Strouss (Youngstown) there as an anchor store. Thanks for this!
@@UniCommProductions you should make a road trip to the Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage, PA (it's 25 minutes NE of Youngstown and is in the Youngstown-Warren-Sharon MSA). Shenango Valley Mall had a Sears, JCPenney, and a Strouss/Kaufmann's/Macy's. Sears and Macy's announced they were leaving Shenango Valley within 14 days of each other. Kaufmann's built the addition to the original Strouss store, and in the 1990s, Kaufmann's Shenango Valley made more per square foot than Kaufmann's Eastwood Mall (about 25 minutes west Shenango Valley). You'd go to Shenango Valley if you wanted something and they didn't have it in your size at Southern Park Mall or Eastwood Mall. Worth checking out. Shenango Valley also also has a 'north annex' section that's practically been forgotten about that was an addition (maybe in the 1980s?) and was connected to the main concourse by a narrow, non descript hallway.
I have to agree with others that blue ceiling really does clash with that early 80's brown flooring, and man those street lamps are just really out of place.
Which makes me wonder if the ceiling was always that color. It seems entirely possible that there may have been a drop ceiling that's been removed at some point, and someone decided to go with a "fun" inexpensive naked beams ceiling painted blue.
@@UniCommProductionsThat honestly sounds very plausible as drop ceilings where very popular from the late 60's - the 90's, as builders thought it would be less space to cool, but in reality in a lot of cases it just creates more problems in the long by trapping moisture in the drop ceiling space, along with creating more homes for bugs, and rodents, and I can confirm this as the old building I work in that was built in the 1950's was remodeled just over a decade ago with a drop ceiling put in, and it's created all 3 of these problems over the years that have had to be addressed.
@@CommodoreFan64 I worked in an old building with dropped ceiling and raised floors for a few years and it was disgusting how many critters would emerge from the ceilings and floors.
Or point floodlights at it so it actually has some light coming from it or maybe cut some skylight in it. A dark ceiling doesn’t feel like sky no matter what colour it is.
They’re tearing down the entire mall for the Meijer? I was under the impression they were putting it on the pad for one of the anchors and the mall was staying
Hey Kristin, if it's not a trade secret, what sort of camera and rig do you use to film your videos? And is it something noticeable to passers-by? I've been planning a short film that I'd hoped to partly record in a somewhat similar style, where the camera isn't noticeable to people nearby, and maybe with room to maneuver it enough to record downward to avoid people's faces showing up in the footage. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. And kudos on your channel, I'm excited to see what your hinted-at big reveal is in the next video!
For most of my videos where the mall is open, I use a DJI Pocket 2, most people don’t notice it and if they do it’s not obvious it’s a camera. I don’t generally have much of an issue with catching people on camera although I do try to avoid filming kids when I can.
@@UniCommProductions Thank you so much! I hadn't experimented with cameras with that much stabilization before, and I love the effect. For my purposes I definitely need something that won't turn a lot of heads. Have you used it rigged up rather than handheld?
@@MikeReidWrites no I usually just use it handheld-if I’m in a situation where I can use something less discreet I have a Sony Alpha series camera and a full size gimbal.
@@UniCommProductions Oh wow! I wouldn't have guessed these were all handheld since the stabilization is so smooth! As someone with a bit of a tremor, you just sold me on this camera, haha. I'll see if I can find some way to rig it up more discreetly. Thanks again very much for all this info!
I was going to ask C3 parking lot...but then you answered. Must be a mine field. Have to pick on you, you spelled my name wrong in the patron list. I'm used to it, lol. Only one I.
I don't think there is any better indicator of a dead mall than a gingham Bath and Body Works. I'm digging the floor with the teal blue industrial 1985 vibe. The theater area looks lively, but the pizza place was abandoned? Another great video 💖💙💙💙💙
There's a little snack bar that I'm not sure appears on camera next to the theater that had the sort of menu you'd see in something like a bowling alley? A lot of fried this and that. It seems like mall pizza places don't have the staying power they used to.
The Southland Mall in Taylor Michigan looks horrible and this nasty is the security people were people just got tired of it started going to the stores where there was less hassle and Carnation Mall wasn't like that but the owner didn't do anything to improve business like running TV and radio commercials he was too busy raising prices and treating clients like dirt
@@brionjohnson2985 from what I understand Meijer pays their employees pretty well. They’re unionized and the company is still family owned. It’s definitely a step up from something like a Walmart.
I lived in alliance 89 to 92. This was always a funky mall. Main anchors were jcp and Kmart. Other stores were always a hodge podge of no name places. Actually, it looks nicer now 😆. No offense but alliance is a hillbilly town and this was always a hillbilly mall IMHO.
It's odd they have a mall at all, but that was sort of that developer's thing--building small malls in small towns. They did the same in Bowling Green, Defiance, and Piqua.
I was born in Alliance in 1979 and left in 1998. My memories were that this mall may have been a mall of choice in the mid 80s - I’m positive my parents took me to see many movies there - but during the time that I’d have wanted to hang out at malls most, Belden Village would have been preferred. There was a Waldenbooks and a Camelot Music in the Carnation Mall, both of which we visited often.
Great video but I’m sorry.. what an ugly mall… who on earth thought that that blue ceiling was a good idea plus the faux street lights not adding anything lol… I can’t see this mall holding out much longer as there is nothing there to entice you in… trying to get new anchor tenants … good luck with that then !
Gosh, this mall is ugly! So ugly I would take a detour and go out of my way just to visit it! It seems dark ... does it appear so dark in real life? To me the pseudo "antique" or "Victorian" street lamp at 11:30 is emblematic of this mall ... decoration-wise completely disconnected from the faux-industrial interior design, mismatched light bulb colors and one lamp burned out. So bad it's actually high camp!
It’s a couple-years-too-late remnant of the Midcentury Colonial look, what with the brown and blue and those street lamps. It’s a weird looking little place-it’s just wrong enough.
