Dead Mall: Concord Mall - Elkhart, IN 

To add to the knowledge, the center where the "play area" is used to be a huge fountain! It sprayed water pretty high up! Back in the 90's this was the go to mall, so much stuff to do there.

Born and raised down the street. Enzo's keeps that place alive. IT IS THE BEST PIZZA and the manager Jerry is the coolest guy!

I remember being there at the grand opening, and pretty much living there through the 70's and 80's. The fountain when new was mesmerizing as it used lighting and preprogrammed water feature sequences to entertain. I ate pizza slices at Orange Julias, with the drink of course, Friendly's was a great date place, bought albums, and my first stereo from Music Land, and the other stereo boutique on the other end of the mall. Hung out at Robertson's , especially in the Christmas section during the holidays, and snuck into Spencers a few times too. When I got married, our first two cats came from the pet store there, and I had my photos done in an hour at the Fuji Film Kiosk My first car loan was from the First National Bank by the front door, had lots of prescriptions filled at Osco's and I could go on. Went to a lot of the weekly displays they had there including the 1976 new car show. Saw Star Wars many times in 77 at the Concord Cinemas, where it was held for over a year. Saw the last movie ever played there too, Space Jam. Had a fun time growing up there. Hope someone can save it.

The mall started to decline when they removed the fountain. Then they jacked up the rent significantly & many stores left. Very sad! I loved sitting by the fountain eating a soft pretzel. 😕

I hope once this mall “dies” the city preserves it as it really does have special character not found in many places. It’s a little sad seeing it dye little by little over the years

So sad. Loved going to this mall as a kid, the fountain running was amazing, the pay tv's in the waiting areas outside of the department stores. I have Many memories hanging out in that mall. I haven't been there in years despite not living far from it.

As a person who lives in Indiana, i loved this mall when I was little. The potted plants, Carson's. The streamers on the ceiling. All gone. Ben's pretzels and a bunch of other stores are gone. The parking lot is never full. But it's still a historic landmark for the crossroads of America. It might be dead. But it was hella fun! I'm 13 now. 4 or 5 it was still alive but, seeing a huge chunk of my childhood slip away and rot. Hits me hard. But on 1997, its grand opening, and creation. Gives me a sense of joy for the people who stepped foot on the smooth tiles of the Concord Mall.

I remember running along the sloped sides of those "pyramid" planters as a kid (late 70s/early 80s). DEFINITELY climbed on those. The signs were added later. ;) There used to be an Olan Mills back down the hall on the closed off Carson's wing. Had many family pics taken there AND my engagement pics. They're epic. Got my ears pierced at the Claire's. Went into the Spencer's when I was at the mall without my parents (scandalous!) My best friend's family had a book store down one of those side halls. So many memories at that mall! I was there a bit before this video was taken and it felt really sad to me, not Zen, but that's because of the memories. (Side note - I never noticed that the skylights matched the planters!)

I went to this mall frequently when it was new. We used to go into almost every store. I really miss the fountain that was in the center. It was fun to watch and almost went to the ceiling.

I used to hang out at this mall with my friends all the time in high school honestly surprised that they didn’t completely shut the mall down. that was a well put together video!!!

Good job on the Concord video! We did a video tour here about a year ago, this is a real treat to the senses!

I have pics of the fountain decorated for Christmas!! The fountain is gone now, but manys the time I sat and watched the fountain , and tossed a nickel, or a penny in it just for fun! The first time I came here , was 1976! I remember eating at the Orange Julius!!

Spent so much time there in the 80's & 90's. Used 2 b jam packed! Forgotten memories. Wow! Different world then & gone now

I really enjoyed this video. I was born and raised in Ohio, but my Grandparents lived in Goshen, IN. I spent a lot of time at this mall while visiting my Grandparents. So many memories came to mind while watching this..

I remember the fountain in the middle and how it was decorated for Christmas. There used to be a Waldon books and the Grove used to be an Oscos. MCL was a great place to eat. There used to be an arcade by JC Penny's that was popular in the early 2000s. If the mall ever closes I hope Enzo's finds a new home. I look forward to grabbing a slice when I go back home to visit my family.

I grew up in Goshen, just down the road, and I remember going to Concord Mall with my family on a regular basis throughout my childhood, and once I reached my high school years, it was one of the more popular places to hang out with my friends. We spent a lot of time at the arcade (Aladdin's). :) There was a movie theater in the parking lot, Concord Cinema, where I saw many of my favorite movies during the 80's. I eventually stopped shopping there years later as a lot of stores started to disappear, and then I moved out of state in 2001. I didn't realize how many memories I had at Concord Mall until I saw this video. Thanks for sharing!

This used to have a HUGE fountain where the kid’s area now is. It was massive. It had a very large circle with water in it surrounded by brick for the walls. Some giant metal pipes extended way up toward that high ceiling. The water would be pumped up through the pipes and then fall all the way back, creating a huge, constant splash. It was amazing. Eventually, they didn’t want to spend the money to run the fountain. So they turned it off and filled it with fake dirt and plant. Which sealed the death of this mall. Since no one was visiting it, they tore it out and added the kids area which was also an abysmal failure.

Great job making this video! I grew up with this mall...is a gem and it is a shame it is all going to waste....but maybe there is something promising in the future? Let's only hope.🙏 They should build a performance center for theater and music productions .... and retail, arcade, and restaurants....bring it all back!

I would love to see this mall come back. I would also love to see the fountain return if the mall ever does return. It was a staple of the mall.

I spent many hours of the 90’s in here and loved it

So haunting - I grew up across the street from that mall. It was the most popular spot in the area and I have YEARS of Santa photos taken there. I really miss the giant fountain in the center.

This is my home town mall. Grew up a few blocks away, and this was -the- hangout spot for us in the early 90's. I got my first ever pinball high score at the Timeout Arcade that used to exist in the space seen at 8:11. so many memories here. I moved away from Indiana in 2010 and it's crazy to see it so empty now. I know malls are over, but it hurts to see this one go.

Got my ears pierced there in the 90’s!

The center used to be a fountain. Oh I miss that thing. The grove. Used to have a Subway inside. They wanted to make it a strip mall but they had petitioned it. I guess people claimed it to be the place to walk out of the elements. I haven’t been to the mall in 3 years and I live across the street. The stores just went down hill.

Loved going here as a kid! Super Sounds was a great record store and place to get concert tickets. I barely remember Aladins castle, as my generation had the Sega Time Out arcade. Great Enzo’s Pizza! Shame to see it so empty these days.

I remember coming here as a kid and I loved the fountain that used to be where the play area is. My mom and I used to get a soft pretzel and sit by it and eat and would spend a few hours going into all the stores that used to be there.

My heart is broken, I lived in Elkhart from 1978 til early 1983 I spent so much time in that mall with my best friend and my mom shopping for back to school only good memories, my mom passed 2.5 yrs ago now this mall is dead. So sad.

The middle used to have a wonderful water fountain with 3 or 4 huge wooden poles that would shoot water down from various holes. This was my childhood mall and it used to be incredible.

Great video! Loved the mall. Thanks.

I used to go there all the time!! It used to be a VERY busy place! As a family we used to go out to eat at a popular buffet! There used to be a big fountain where the children’s play area is. Montgomery Wards had a big auto center that was busy. As kids we used to play in those planters!

My dad had a pet store in that mall called Pet Palace over where Hobby Lobby is at, it was the spot where the safari is painted on the wall! I am not sure when he opened it there, but I think he closed it in 1994!

I spent a ton of time here in the 70's and 80's. The fountain where the kids area is was truly impressive, looking like giant vertical pipe organ pipes almost. KB, music land, super sounds, waldenbooks, Spencer gifts. All great places. Robertson's used to have a little restaurant inside of it where you could get lunch. also you mentioned that this was the first mall built in Indiana, but I don't believe that's true because Pierre Moran Mall in Elkhart was there first.

This mall was my childhood I used to go here everyday from a kid to a teenager to my early twenties

Thanks for trip down memory lane. Moved here in 1973 and the mall drew people from 6 counties of small farming towns. Just outside were K-Mart, Radio Shack, Burger Chef, & Bonanza (still remember those steak & potato platters).

The center play ground used to be a large fountain, it was set up so it looked like telephone poles, three of three of them if I remember right, and the poles had many holes that water came out of, when I was a kid this was one of my favorite things to see here, aside for KB toys.

Loved going there when I was younger. It’s so sad to see it so dead now😩

Somebody should alert Hollywood. Great setting for a 70’s, 80’s movie/show!

My first job was at a little deli-type cafe in the mall called Polish Bill's. It was around 1976 and couldn't have been more than 15-16 years old. I was trying to earn money for the Concord band trip to Hawaii! After that I worked at J.C. Penney. My best friend Jodi got me the job and we always tried to plan our schedules so we worked together. My brother worked at MCL Cafeteria. The mall was always so busy back then! Other than downtown Elkhart or, to a lesser degree, Goshen, there were no other places for a teenaged girl to shop. But the mall had Gantos, Sycamore, Casual Corner, County Seat, Robertsons! I remember getting my ears pierced at Claire's Boutique! We lived at that mall as 1970s-era teenagers.

Classic roman architecture with hints of Spanish tile and exquisite mid century art deco. A rare find!

Enzo pizza is the BEST!

really like this one. loved your tone through the whole thing, really makes me feel like i'm there.

I as well grew up going there firstly in the mid to late 70's & on through the 80's. It was always so exciting when mom would say "let's go to the mall". I just visited yesterday to get a 2 mile walk in. Hadn't been in there for about 2 years maybe. Definitely was shocking to see the changes that have occured since I was last there. The blocking off of the wing that heads down to where Carson's was wasn't there on my last visit. Also, maybe it's only me but does anyone else smell a weird smell when you visit there?. Each time I've visited in the past 5 years I've smelled it & it seems to stick to me after leaving.🤔

I remember coming here as a kid and it was so lively. I miss this mall so much and it was nice and close (next closest being the University Park mall in Mishawaka). I hope they can bring it to life again!

Great stuff, I really miss this place. I grew up about a mile away in the 70s and 80s, and worked at Wards for years. That central area had an incredible fountain in the middle, which stopped working in the 90s and was torn out around the turn of the century. And that food court used to be a big L-shaped Osco drugs (you can sort of see entrance on the other wing of the mall, boarded up.) I've written a lot about this mall on my blog rumored dot com. Feel free to drop a line there if you have any more questions - I know a lot of the history behind what stores were where.

Great video!

it wouldnt had been dead but they ran us kids out back in the day..told us that this was not for kids and forced out the stores that made it popular

Grew up in Elkhart. Spent a great deal of time in the mall. Even worked at Penneys. Looks as nice as it did 30 years ago! Hate to see it so empty!!!!

I worked there in the 90's. At Shirk Piano. Was in and out all the time. Miss the fountain... They turned it off and made a planter out of it for a few years...but finally took it out in favor of the play area. My wife used to walk there with friends during the winter. Had many many you stores go through it. Especially at Christmas time. You should come back during the Holidays to see it. They used to do a really nice job decorating. Oh and see Santa..😂

They closed it's sister mall of Pierre Moran. Now is Glemwood plaza. Still not enough store there also. That had early American with wooden Indian staues of a little deco style once, then refurbish in a different style.

I live nearby and cannot understand how this mall stays open. Nearly all the anchor stores are gone. Just small shops here and there. It used to be the place to go, but then South Bend built the University Park Mall, which pretty much put the Concord Mall, and the Scottsdale mall out of business.

Oh man... I worked at that Enzo's Pizza in high school. Thank you for doing this!

Love the mall and the vintage aesthetics. The play area was typically a central water feature before conversion.

Just went to the shoe shop there last weekend its mindblowing how empty it is there now compared to just 10 years ago. At least enzos pizza is still popping lol.

I grew up in Dunlap and went to Concord my whole life. In the mid to late 80s we spent a lot time there, tripping on acid, smoking bud, and playing video games while eating nachos and trying to get laid. No one was there more than us.

Yep I went here a lot. I remember the big fountain in the atrium. Aladdins Castle arcade was my favorite place in the mall. Montgomery Wards was where Hobby Lobby is, and Carson’s was LS Ayers. Used to be a security guard there around 2000. The Grove used to be an Osco Drugs

Definitely one of my favorite malls around in terms of appearance

Went here all the time while in high school. Was lively then.

I actually got to drive a car inside this mall, the dealership I worked at in high school would have display cars in the open areas. I had to switch one out one time. Pretty cool experience having security clear a path so I could drive it out.

You missed when it had a fountain in the center. It looked like several giant flutes at different heights, spraying out water here and there, sticking up from an about 12 to 15 foot diameter pool.

We even had a guy that new how to fix the fountain!

We were just there Saturday and we asked how long Penny's was going to stay open....she said they have no plans of leaving. This used to be the best Mall. The Fountain that was in the middle was awesome. When I was young and in Brownies we had a regional gathering were we all spent the night at the mall and had several activiries. I saw the Willie Wonka show there, several Bands and my favorite was Silly Safaris an animal education program.

This video was posted to the I Grew Up in Elkhart, IN FB page ❤️

We still frequent Hobby Lobby but haven't actually been in the mall in years.

I spent a lot of time at that mall in the 1970s, especially the video arcade, remember those? It's decline started when the University Park Mall opened in Mishawaka/South Bend in the late 1979, I'd love to see how that mall is doing now.

Please bring concord mall back. We made money b4 new management in 90's

I remember not actually having an official play place like that as a little kid. We just ran around in the conversation pits like that one there when my parents took me to Northridge Mall.

This is fantastic. Our Church occupied the space near JCPenney from 2013-2019 which was a former Sam Goody music shop, and the space next to it which was a former Gadzooks. Oh the 90s shopping! During our years there we definitely noticed many stores leaving, and when we left last year, it was very similar to how it is now although even a few more have vacated since we left. Thanks for sharing this video. Really cool!

the built in seating circles were smoking areas that a little( possibly black and white) tv .

This is really sad. I used to go here a lot as a kid.

I’ve been there many many times. It use to be popular.

so many memories,it was our last mall

I was a security guard there when I was 19 lol....Good times.

Too late. The mall is closed and being repurposed into a warehouse. I managed to get inside and look. It absolutely broke my heart

While you were in the area, you should have visited the Essenhaus Inn atrium.

where did the fountain go? I grew up in Elkhart . so sad to see this happen.

I live five miles or so for there and it is sad to see it going down.

Watched this video after seeing a photo online of the burger king that used to be here that was found behind a wall and left in perfect condition

Beautiful mall

Our poor mall lmfaooooo. Man I ran up and down those pyramid things as a kid bahahaha

My old hang out late 80s.2 music stores Kay B toys MCL cafeteria spencers pet store and Aladdin's castle arcade.

So the pizza is the best part of Concord Mall. This is the only mall I have went to my whole life. PS Tiger King had been there 😂

My local mall, used to have a great arcade, rumor has it that it is going to be remodeled eventually

Please dont let concord mall die !

They put a Friendly’s in when I lived there. Where I live now is where Friendly’s was started... Friendly’s just Closed it doors here in Hyannis Ma Cape Cod.

Concord Mall is in the process of beginning redevelopment as of 7/10/2023.

This is sad. My grandma and I used to shop there when I visited for the summer. We ate at MCL cafeteria.

7:30 Is that an actual mall arcade?? That alone makes it a rarity.

The food court used to be a drug store that had another entrance on the Hobby Lobby wing.

This is basically golf mill mall

You should come back and renew the video before the mall shuts down for good. There's only one week

If u plan on coming back I would do it sooner then later. The owner is behind on their power bill and have had power outages

If I wasn't for this Mall I wouldn't have my youngest son I met my x at this Mall lol hahaha 🤣 oh the memorys

You should check out Marquette mall in michigan city its abandoned

i work in louies, idk how its still open tbh

I used to work in the KB Toys it became an asian import store then a church. Sadly the fountain was ripped out long before i started working at the toy store.

Are you going to visit the Logansport mall

Man,this kind of sad. Kay-Bee toys,Super Sounds,Alladins Palace,and MCL diner are all gone. And have been for years unfortunately. The pet store as well.

Wait a second...the mall si dead?!!? :'(

What did new owners do 30 yrs ago? Ran us out sad. We would all have stayed. I still talk to previous(contract store) owners. Many! They ran us out. Here is the true story!

My dad works at ENZO’S pizza