holy fuck, that's MY mall! this place used to be the hang out spot in high school, and everyone who lives here that remembers when this place used to be filled with people are sad to see it like it is today. I still remember going to see Santa every year for Christmas. They hired a guy who played the Easter Bunny to take pictures with too and he had me laughing every year because he was so animated in his costume. We used to beg mom to let us go to the Baskin-Robbins for ice cream before they were bought out by a different lesser known ice cream shop. My cousin and I were banned for a few years when we were teens because we were dumb and decided to cause trouble in the parking lot by throwing glass bottles and watch them shatter everywhere. I spent so much time in the old arcade they put in and we wasted so many quarters playing House of the Dead. I've struck out with so many girls in high school here than I'd like to admit. It's shame, but it be like that sometimes...
This is the mall I grew up going to and still have so many fond memories of, even though it's fallen on some pretty hard times. There was an arcade in the food court that kids had their birthday parties at, and you could bring your report card to Taco John's in the food court and get free tacos for As. Barrels & Bins is where you'd load up on sugary treats. If you were the 100th (?) customer at Venture that day (week?), your entire purchase would be free. I miss stopping into Waldenbooks and browsing for a bit when we had some time to kill, and Camelot Music was the jam. That wood-paneled restaurant used to be a Ruby Tuesday and people would actually wait 30+ minutes for a table because it was so busy. The entire mall had a very early 1990s vibe--feels kind of like Ft Meyers airport whenever I go there--and, yes, the fountains are glorious in person.
There is something majorly nostalgic about a fountain in a mall with pastel-ish colored lights glimmering through the movements of the water. Nice job, Anthony.
Welcome to IL!! I've only been here once and this could be such a nice mall if it weren't for all the vacancies. Seems very clean and well maintained just a bit too empty. Looking forward to that Northridge part 2!
As others have said you just keep getting better. And you know how to make the most of many elements from commentary to music to using those awesome vintage TV ads. The haunted ad for Northridge excellent touch. Funny how they have two Carson's in the mall. That's going to be a major slap to Northridge, downward plummet to dead mall, especially with jc Penney struggling. All that empty BonTon space. Irony is you and the other artists will have lots of interesting videos. Look forward to what's next
Fascinating video Ace. This mall is going be in real trouble once both Carson’s close. I’m surprised the amount of national retailers in there being a dead mall. But I️ can’t imagine stores like Maurice’s, Express, and Christopher and Banks are going to last long once Carson’s closes their doors
Didn't know this even existed, down by Kankakee. Looks like it's been stuck in 1990... Great video... Those Venture commercials bring back a lot of memories...
The production quality keeps getting better and better! I like the loudspeaker echo effect as a switch up to the normal voice over. Still prefer the regular voice over though.
Anthony, love your videos man. You should visit the Nittany Mall in State College, PA. It also has a very late 80s early 90s pastel colored theme from when they remodeled around that time when Sears expanded (now closed and vacant). Two of its four anchors are closed and the mall is pretty dead and sad and to my knowledge no one has filmed it yet. Great work on these videos, I love them a lot, keep up the great work!
Another awesome video. Your videos keep getting better as you just keep on making minor adjustments, lol. Love that fountain, an old Sam Goody I haven't seen in the area here since just after 2003. This mall reminds me of when South Towne Mall was built in Sandy Utah in I think the early 80's? Same layout, pastel and skylights. 💜💜
yep bourbonnais illinois. the property was taken back by the bank as i understand it. they repainted all the light green to that brown you can see now. Everything that has a plant in it used to be running fountains when i was a kid. Had a small arcade, Electronic Boutique, Off the wall, Rue21, Fannie Mae, (A nice Record/music store was to the left, forgot name), Several jewlers Barrels n Bins candy store. Food court had Ming dynasty chinese, great steak and potato company, sbarro pizza, a&w. Never remember venture anytthing being there. Had a Sears on the north side, JC Pennys on the south side, CInemark movies 10 on the back NE side, Carson Prairie Scott (women's) front and centered on the West and a Carsons for men on the SE back part of the building. Used to really enjoy going there. I was just recently there for a watch repair and they didnt have the fountains on. This is the first time I have seen the operational in well over a decade.
I went to this mall once, and am very impressed you chose to film here! I remember when I visited here a few years ago(mid 2010s but don't remember the year), that the food court was down to only 2 tenants(A&W and also Carribean Delight). And that visit was also during when coincidentally, Aeropostale was closing here(2015 or 2016?), plus also a nearby Super Kmart(biggest reason I did a trip to this area then). I wonder if you also filmed at River Oaks Center in Calumet City? Which is a little north of here, started its life as an outdoor mall in the 1960s(I believe), and later became enclosed around 1994. River Oaks still has an operational fountain, a vintage Marshall Field's store(now a Macy's of course), and the only time I'd ever seen a half walled off FYE if you needed any more encouragement to visit there. :) For a while I thought River Oaks would lose its Macy's, but I'll guess its Macy's is safe for now, since I read not long ago that store added a Macy's Backstage(clearance center). Simon used to own Northfield Square for a number of years after they bought out DeBartolo, but not surprisingly they sold this mall off, along with River Oaks as well.
I lived in Wilmington Illinois as a kid early 90s still remember going to Kankakee for shopping. It was very very rural back then-when the tornado hit Plainfield in 1990 it was all cornfields back then. My memory is hazy I was born in 86 we lived there from 89-92. I remember Venture stores that’s where we got my school clothes it was an awesome store. I say Venture was like Target before there was a Target. This mall is awesome I love that fountain. I haven’t been back there in years I bet it’s changed so much in the 20 some years since I’ve been gone!
This mall is in Bourbonnais, IL. Very close to Kankakee, and inbetween the Chicago and Champaign-Urbana areas(closer to Chicago though). It's funny I incorrectly thought this was in Bradley, IL, for whatever reason all these years.
When I moved here in '96 this mall was packed with people and had alot of great stores. It's crazy how over the years I've watched its downslide and ultimately it's demise.
It's weird finding a tour of my local mall on the internet and seeing comments talking about how beautiful and interesting it is, as well as bets on how long it's going to last...
I was just in this mall today. Sadly, it’s gotten even worse. Reminds me of my own mall back home, in design… also a dead mall. (Cedar Knoll Galleria, later KYOVA) Thanks for the video.
this mall is in trouble with carson's taking two anchor spaces and another one is already vacant. I wouldn't give the JC Penney much more time and after that......a mass exodus of inline tenants.
Des Moines IA once had a couple Ventures in the area for around 2 to 3 years in the early 90s. Kmart did took over their buildings after they left only to you guessed it, all had closed and one Kmart left and about to close this September. I still have a few black plastic crates I had used for laundry baskets or clothing storage that I had bought from Venture back when they were open (1992 -1993 ish)
Damn, looks like the Cinemark isn't helping save it like the one at a nearby mall to me is :( Real cool mall tho and holy shit that fountain is beautiful
Great video, Anthony! Next weekend, I'm going up to Traverse City, MI and plan to get some footage of Grand Traverse Mall (which is still doing OK but has a TON of empty spaces) and Cherryland Center (which used to be an indoor mall but converted into a power center, did OK for a while but is now almost empty; they lost Kmart and losing Sears and Younker's).
Vinny Pooh Unfortunately, it doesn't have any great vintage aesthetics like the other malls in his videos. None of the St. Louis malls really do. It's a shame. I miss Crestwood Plaza.
Fun little fact: a few more hours south on I-57 & there's a damn near IDENTICAL mall in Marion, IL on Route 13 a few lights west of the interstate. Unfortunately, I'm much more certain that place is in more trouble than this place, at least based on the conditions this past march/early april... right before BonTon's fate was sealed... As the one in Marion has ZERO food court tenants & no more than a dozen stores left in the entire mall. Surprised Dillard's, to this day, is there...
Funny about the man-made water cistern out behind the parking lots -- perhaps put there to replicate wetland.. Mall closures are happening a lot more quickly than I figured they would.
Lots of stuff has happened ever since you made this video. So this is gonna be a list of updates of what happens at the mall: UPDATE 7/7/19: The AT&T is now closed and is being taken over by a gaming cafe. The vacant store next to Candy & Cakes is being taken over by a Premium barber. The Daily Journal in the mall is closed. Tasty’s Cafe is now closed but another tenant is in the food court and that is Papi’s Pizza. They have now walled off the entrance to Sears. Carson’s is now closed (of course). There might be a small Toys R Us in the mall during the holiday season (due to the possible return of Toys R Us). UPDATE 12/12/19: Papi’s Pizza is now closed and has gotten replaced by Windy Hill Grill Pizza.
Its gonna get even worse once Carson's is gone ever since they filed for bankruptcy. We had a mall on the southside called Evergreen Plaza that was so dead they tore it down. Its now a strip mall, but the stores are great! Sadly they built a Carson's there that is now closing.
It's a shame so many malls are dying and already closed. The workmanship put into the aesthetics was amazing. When you come south, you may want to check out Mount Berry Square Mall in Rome, Georgia. It's a dying mall that has much the same color scheme as this one. There's even a stripe in the floor decor going around the entire perimeter inside. It's there for those who walk for exercise and is a specific length. I don't remember how long it is though. There used to be a carousel right inside the front door, but it was taken out when the mall changed ownership a few years ago. bit.ly/2uYXqAE
@@HonestOtter He did. He mispronounced Bourbonnais as well. I think it’s narration with an effect, not a real announcement. I’m from the area and this was “my” mall. It was poppin back in the late 90s.
this mall is in trouble with carson's taking two anchor spaces and another one is already vacant. I wouldn't give the JC Penney much more time and after that......a mass exodus of inline tenants.
