Dead Mall: Signal Hill Mall - Statesville, NC **2023 Revisit** **OFFICIALLY CLOSED** 

Wallie…. Wilson is the name of the maintenance guy. He has been there every time we have visited. We have waved hello to him on past visits but actually chatted with him this last visit. Very nice, quiet man. He has not been told of any plans to close the mall or redevelopment. We feel very sorry for him, he must be getting sick from breathing the moldy air.

I worked in that Sears for years . Asbestos was sealed up in the ceiling above the offices in the back. I was told it was too costly to remove so they sealed it in. I imagine the whole mall has asbestos. It breaks my heart to see how that mall has been left to rot. That’s the only mall I went to growing up.

Can't believe the fountain's are still in use plus the ceiling is falling apart 😮

Dead malls are fascinating and strange at the same time. Leaves an odd feeling inside hard to explain. And a retro radio shack sign, loved that store

I grew up going to this mall. I remember that when the mall was new, JC Penney/Peebles wing didn't exist. Instead, that was a Spainhours. At some point (I think in the early 1980's), they added that wing and moved Spainhours to the space that later became Peebles. I also remember when all of the items that are now painted blue were bright orange in typical 1970's fashion. This was such a fun mall and I really loved going here as a kid in the 1970's and 1980's with my mom and grandmother. I spent hours admiring the fountains and browsing the Radio Shack just looking at the gadgets, which at least partially explains why I am an engineer now. I'm sad to see a happy part of my childhood in such decay.

I love the 80s music!!!

The piano shop most likely has a owner that has passed away or cannot handle the store. Nothing has moved in the store for the last few years we have come here and also ceiling tiles are falling all over the store. The pianos are most likely ruined from absorbing the moldy damp air.

I remember going to SHM in the 80s and across the street was a godfather’s pizza and Kmart. Those were the days.

I was born and raised in Statesville. This mall was built when I was a kid in the early 70s. The Sears building that you showed started out as a Woolworth's complete with a lunch counter. This used to be main hang out in Statesville and it was part of the migration of Stores like Belk's and Spainhour's moving from the downtown area in Statesville to the mall. Belk is the only tenant that owns their store. There used to be a Chic Fila in this mall as well. The Chic Fila was opened when all of the restaurants were in the malls in the south. Sad state of affairs for this mall.... a lot of child hood memories in the this mall. How many people remember the video game arcade and Record Bar music store !!!!

I can't believe this mall is still allowed to be open. That Lerner's must have been closed for at least 20 years because they were rebranded as New York and Company around 2000 or so.

Hard to believe that malls are still around with 2024 being around the corner, there's a JCPenney up the street from my house that has been sitting vacant for close to 8 years now, the exterior of the building is still maintained but everything that was left in there is still sitting exactly where it was left but everything's completely covered in dust

This is my hometown. This was once a thriving fun mall in the 1980s. I spent all my weekends there cruising around the mall and walking through the mall with my friends. I remember the arcade, a record music store, Peebles, Sears and K&B toys. It is sad the owners have let it go.

Goodness I got anxiety just watching. Imagine what employees/visitors are breathing in🤢😷 Fountain shot was nice 👍🏻 Thanks for another one Wallie☺️

Great video! With August 1st around the corner, it will mark the 50th anniversary of Signal Hill opening (August 1st, 1973). They should close Signal Hill at end of day August 1st and let it be 50 years. That would be the best way to close it IMO.

Don’t Stop Believin’ playing with the fountain is such a good but weird combination.

I grew up with that mall. So sad! The fountain was always my favorite part!!

I wonder why they keep the fountain running and music playing 🤔

I would love to get the Radio Shack signage

It's an odd feeling to be there now. I remember how busy that mall was in the 80s and 90s.

A mall in my city is almost completely empty. A friend that once worked there told me that owners of the property were charging such a high monthly rent that most retailers could not stay in business. Those investors do not give a crap about keeping these malls open, they just write it off as a capital loss and get big tax breaks. The owners are in it for the money...do not care about jobs or community.

You don't know what you got until it's gone 😢

Back in the 70s Malls were a very huge part of our lives. They had character and fulfilled our lifestyles. But there were always plans to progress and implement convience as a solution into a more of a faster life style. So catalog ordering was one of the first steps into convenient shopping. As time has moved on, convience has taken a huge step forward...leaving Malls etc slowly behind. With the increase in crime and maintenance cost. Malls started to loose visitors/shoppers for a more convenient shopping experiences. As time went on, more and more jobs were lost due to convenient shopping by just using a cellphone. So convience cost jobs and made a lot of personal shopping almost an after thought. Thanks Wally for the Mall videos. It makes us think!

There's a relatively newer mall just outside Huntersville NC that soon will look the same. Northlake Mall is losing anchor tenants, high vacancy rates, and too much crime. It most likely will go the way of Eastland Mall in Charlotte (now mostly empty lots) Maybe a video of Northlake today a revisit in 5 years would be interesting and shocking to watch.

I used to work at Allegheny Center Mall (after it’s mall days). They had these large potted plants spread throughout. I concluded that it they were strategically placed to catch the water from the leaky roof😂

It's amazing they allow the mall to remain open with all that mold in there...thanks wallie always enjoy

I'm getting a dan bell vibe and I'm here for it! Since he stopped making quality videos

IHOP now has it's own building near the Walmart.

Days of old, long gone.. I have such awesome memories from here... cheers to all from the ville... the Brewskis and the states-villains... oi oi oi

I really enjoyed watching your video. I only went to Signal hill mall once in 1997. I was 15. I was from Charlotte but I had a Buddy who was having problems with his Long distance girl friend. She lived there in Statesville. We rounded up some money and grabbed another friend and got a taxi from Charlotte to Statesville. We all met in the Mall.. They went off to go talk. and me and the other guy went to walk around and look at the mall. All the stores were open back than but there still was not many shoppers. Some security guards and cops outside watched our every move while we were there. After that the 4 of us all crashed out in an abandoned house. For 2 days. I wonder if thst house is still there. Than we agreed okay we're done and we went back home to Charlotte. The girl friend of his went home somewhere in Statesville close to this mall. They broke up. The whole reason she asked him to come there was so she could dump him in person. The ride home was very quiet. I got to experience this mall one time and I'm glad I had the chance. I just watched this video and I remember walking down those really thin halls and that walking around in that Peebles. That was 26 years ago wow.

Yes! Let's see what's going on with Signal Hill!

Sounds like Mr Rogers Neighborhood when he’s talking to the kitties

Everything, and i mean everything, that you see painted blue used to be painted a sweet 70's orange until the 2000's.

You are great at making mall videos. My husband and I enjoy watching every one of them.

The Belk store is owned by Belk as far as I have read. It will be staying regardless of what happens to the rest of the mall.

Thanks for doing a revisit to this mall. For twenty five years, I worked just a few miles from this mall, and over those 25 years I saw it slowly fade away…so so sad!! I hate seeing most of the malls in this country, close and go away. I’m never would have imagined malls closing like this. I don’t think you’ve done a video on the Valley Hills Mall in Hickory NC, but in my opinion, it’s also a dying mall. Back in the day, it used to be crowded and alive with activity, now there’s very little activity. Most of the parking lot surrounding the mall is mostly empty, except for the main entrance at the Food Court. However, even that main entrance isn’t nearly as active as it used to be 20 and 30 years ago. I really believe that one day, it too will close.

Oh yeahhh life goes onnnn.... long after the thrill of going to the mall has gone...

I can not believe they allow this place to continue operating under the condition that it is in any how thanks for another great video Wallie

The employees of Wooten Jewelers and the cell phone store may want to invest in respirators. I can’t imagine being exposed to that air on a daily basis. That’s pretty scary.

Makes me sad. So many fun memories at the Mall in its day.

Bought my first guitar amp back when open.

Cool mall video

It is weird the two remaining stores are both in the worst part of the mall.

I went to high school in Statesville during the 90’s. Very sad to see, even then with nearly full occupancy it wasn’t a great mall and I always thought it would close at anytime. I’m amazed almost 30 years later it’s still open. The entire area is in bad state. I heard the owner of the mall and the surrounding buildings (JR’s, Winn Dixie, Mexican restaurant, movie theater) stopped renewing leases for stores and that’s what led to its decline. Like others said that side of town was rather happening back in the day, me and my friends spent many hours cruising there.

The architecture shares the same layout as the outlet mall that used to be in Morrisville, NC. It sat vacant for almost 10 years but was recently re-worked into a modern office/lab space. Seeing that fountain structure and tiling was very nostalgic.

Wallie it 😔 to see our mall go through this .we all remember how the mall was a weekend go to hang out with our friends and family

Omg growing up in Statesville and that being the go to mall for everyone, until it just died... I had an uncle who worked at a footlocker in the mall until it closed down.

I used to see this Mall full of people on Friday nights back in the day

Great Video Wallie so Do the Best Video You Can

Here in Virginia Beach Virginia they closed Pembroke Mall in 2021. They are going to make it onto Apartments, Assisted Living and offices. Virginia Beach only has one mall left Lynnhaven Mall. Norfolk two malls Norfolk outlet mall Chesapeake has two malls Greenbrier Mall Chesapeake Square Mall Newport News has one mall Patrick Henry Mall and Hampton Virginia has a mall don't remember the name of it

Great video with how loud that music is I'm surprised youtube didn't try to be RU-vid and do stupid copyright strikes ! Hate them sometimes

unreal it was open so long

Those disgusting ceiling tiles at the beginning of this video reminded me of the gross ceiling tiles at The Bon Ton at the Washington crown center mall in Washington Pennsylvania. At least the fountain still works for what that's worth.

Owners owned this mall and the adjoining strip mall. All the stores moved out because the owners wouldn't fix it up. But alas Statesville doesn't want progress anymore

The panels that have popped off the front of the JCP also show how much dampness is in the walls. The accordion doors at JCP covered in mold is ridiculous… you would think it’s fingerprints, but this mold spores!

As always great video 👍

You do a fine job, Wallie! There’s several malls like that in the area. I’m about 30 mins from statesville in Salisbury. Our mall is just as bad, minus the mold ha. Between statesville and Salisbury in the town of Cleveland, I believe is where Dale Earnhardt Jr. just moved to. If you make the journey to Salisbury,,hmu we have a place called Haps Grill which has some killer burgers & bottle Cheerwine!

So many memories. On the right when you walk in, there was a tuxedo shop. On the left, the nail shop and Little Pigs. As kids, we watched fireworks. We brought our kids once we had them.

remember all those dystopian movies from the 1980s where everything in the USA was pretty much in ruins? back then, we still had all of our factories, great stores, great restaurants, clean, safe neighborhoods and for the most part, people knew how to dress and act like civilized human beings. we thought it was just entertainment but things would never actually get that bad. what we have now is even worse than any nightmare any script writer could have dreamed of.

Wow

That moldy ceiling is the same at Regency Square in Jacksonville, FL.

Traveling thru on I-77 several years ago and stopped at the IHOP for breakfast. First time I have ever seen an IHOP attached to a mall. Sad to see any mall close in favor of box store behemoths such as Wallfart!

Next time in NC visit Northlake Mall also on I-77 closer to Charlotte. Nice mall with Belk, Macy's and Dillard's but still struggling due to violence and shootings in the past few years. Beautiful mall but can it be saved or become a dying mall?

Ok glad i seen this these Malls can be used to help people who are homeless, families ect. Pass the word

Cool 😎 I haven't ever seen an IHOP in a mall that's neat

I grew up in Statesville and this mall used to be the spot in the 80's and 90's! We used to be able to walk through there and smoke cigarettes as teenagers lol. The arcade was my favorite place of course! Man I miss those days... Seeing this place now is just sad. Malls just aren't really a thing anymore and that's a shame.

The wing at the beginning with all the mold on the ceiling, I'm surprised that wasn't sealed off or anything like that.

Great video. Thanks.

Please come do a send-off for the Chambersburg PA mall, officially dead now with locked doors and zero tenants.

haha, that's not too far from me. we went there from time to time, but usually only bc my wife had ordered something from Penny's lol. I haven't been inside for at least 10 years. Didn't even know it was still open.

I love all your videos buddy, but the mall ones are always my favorite! Thanks you for another great video and keep up the amazing work as always!

It's interesting that the Penny's wing is in the worst shape. It's the newest addition. I remember it being built when we first came to Statesville in '79 or '80. Peebles used to be Spainhour and Sears used to be Woolworth. The store with red tile was Chic-fil-a. It was popular among kids to get some Chic-fil-a and hang out at the raised tables right outside the store. The store with the round entrance was the arcade. The store right across from where Bath and Body Works was was the Hallmark store. The kids didn't buy much except something for their boyfriend of girlfriend, but we always stopped in to say hello to the cashier who was an older lady (I'm now probably as old as she was then) who was popular among the kids. All those little hallways were places to find kids - I want to remember that some of them had pay phones then. There was a toy store with models and D&D stuff. The Music and CD store had records and tapes and it was popular to go look for the latest album of your favorite bands. As it declined whatever nice restaurant was in the front left and was replaced by IHOP. They featured a separate smoking section so people who didn't want to smell smoke could be separate from the smokers. That was in the '90s. Then they banned smoking altogether. I would go to Radio Shack for my electrical components until they closed down. I went to Bath and Body Works because my wife liked one of their scents. Then they stop making that scent so I only went for the air fresheners. The empty store next to Chic-fil-a and across from the record store was where we did the Guinness Book Of Records musical performance. I held the fort for 4 hours of playing and singing in the middle of the night in there. We also did a craft show fundraiser down the Penny's hall that is now so moldy. My daughter and some friends from school provided music on that weird stage between the Penny's and Peebles entrances. I set up and ran a small sound system for them. So many memories in what is now a sad place. The area definitely needs to be redeveloped, both it and Newtown. Maybe across the street too. A good bypass through Newtown and the back of the Mall could be capitalized on to provide ease of access to all kinds of retail areas. Make it new and beautiful and bring in stores that people want and it can be a vibrant place again. Look at the Shoppes at Broad Street and how active they are. Look at how things are still bustling over at Highway 21 and the Walmart area. Downtown is still active. Signal Hill and Newtown could be, but it needs redeveloping.

Hey 👋 WallieB 26 I love to watch your malls videos 😊❤

man me and my girlfriend drive though the backroads to get to 85 to go to UNCC, we always past this mall and assumed it was abandoned or used as some sort of office space. We usually stop at that mcdonalds since it's never as busy as the one further up the road.

I remember when this opened. Where is Spainhour s, Home Bakery etc. Things change.

Awesome video

Great video!!! I live on the other side of NC but would love to make it out there before it dies for good. Love the content Wallie!

I'm so glad someone made a video of this place. I've been wanting to talk to someone about getting inside to take some pictures and video.

Thank you so much for the video. I’m going to go sit by the fountain awhile before it’s all gone. That was always my favorite spot in the whole mall.

Wallie ….this was an excellent video….it is sad to see another ….dead mall 😢

💦Amazing that the fountain is still flowing 💦 🙀 the pianos 🎹!!! When you ended the video you said “Stay amazing!” It reminded me of when classmates would sign our yearbook they would say things like that! 🥳

i played wierdcore music over this and it fits so well

Wallie, this was an excellent video!! It really captures the decline of malls in America. I know because just yesterday in my hometown of Springfield Massachusetts, the Eastfield Mall, which opened around 1968, closed yesterday for the final time. To us folks in that area, that mall was an amazing staple of fun and activity for years. So on that last day I walk through it and shot a video of it myself. But again, this was an excellent video that you shot keep up the good work 👍👍

I do remember the videos of this mall ... wow, how has it fallen. Too bad -- I really like this place despite the clear maintenance issues & lack of business. I particularly like the RadioShack signage and the wood framing in the store near it.

You should visit the West End Plaza in Salisbury, NC

Dead malls are like a reminder of when life was good as a kid it was a privilege to go to the mall with my mom and look at all the stuff I couldn't have and now as a adult the mall is gone just like the good times and its a reminder that we had it so good and let it all be stolen out from under us

Despite the mold, the overall design (and the fountain!) gave it the appearance of a good place to wander. It seems that there should be some combination of shops/offices that would do well there.

I worked at GNC in this mall back when I was younger. Sadly the mall was dying out back then. It was a very slow burn. Used to be a pretty decent mall to go to. I guess things change.

i never knew this existed and it’s 30 mins from me

Why can't we have malls anymore 😢

Went to a mall yesterday went in 2 stores and walked rt back out its over Johnny

oh my !!!!!

I worked at a major department store in Seattle until the end and 30 years later we still get about 200 to a Christmas luncheon talk about good old days

It is completely closed now. The fountain is no longer running and most of the plants are dead as well. Very sad to see, the only store open is the Belks, it’s still sealed off from the inside.

This genuinely breaks my heart to see. I was raised going to this mall in the 90's and early 00's. It was still a very active then. I was just there a couple of weeks ago when i visited home. I couldnt make myself go in because i was kinda afraid what it would look like, and i wasnt entirely sure if it was still open. I rode around it, and tried my favorite entrance in the back knowing it would be locked. It was. So its kinda ironic this video came up. Anyway, theres a home video on here of this place in the late 80's or early 90's that show this place still in amazing condition. Thank you for documenting it for what will likely be the last time. *edit* that piano store has been there maybe since the 90s even, and I've never seen it open or anyone inside it. The JC penny wing is also the worst, because it was the most empty for the longest I think. The store across from lerners has never had anything in it at all as far back as I can remember. 😊

That piano store probably has insurance on the merchandise. I'm sure they're just waiting for the damage to occur to claim the losses. That would probably be more profitable than moving them to a new location to sell. Hell if they weren't selling there the odds of them ever selling is pretty low. I'm sure they were there for years.

Back in the 1980s to the 90s the mall was a good safe place for kids to meet up with friends, older people met there on Fridays for old timers meeting, talking about the good ole days. I loved buying clothing at JCPenney, Sears when they land's end. Montgomery wards. A mall is a past now, the online shopping takes over. My local mall in northern Virginia every has shut down, they put in a go cart race track, a very large one, a new food court, the only reason it's still open is there's a super Walmart there.

Looks like it would have been a cool place long time ago

Mold does not grow on inorganic items. No toxic mold in NC either. More like mildew on the glass. Common misconception. Nice video.

We have a mall in Anderson, South Carolina that is small with only a few stores inside.

It’s kind of like a Stephen King movie and sad at the same time. I appreciate your work. But I’m also amazed that the mall is still open, has electricity and a tenant or two!