Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone, hope you are enjoying the effort i put into these, I am really curious to know who is thumbing these down lol, more content soon!
Some people don't know how the "like" feature works and thumb it down because they don't like that the mall is closing or some shit. Other people are just dicks.
OMG OMG OMG THIS IS MY CHILDHOOD MALL! 😲I literally got my ears pierced when I was 7 there! My mom grew up in Swansea and we lived in RI 20 minutes away 😭
This is so sad😭All the memories I had there... I got my ears pierced there, I took photos with Santa there, I had a dance recital there... thank you so much for this video, this is a great memory
Thanks for covering the old Swansea Mall. It would have been a trip if you got in the old closed off Apex portion that's been just sitting there for 20 years, but probably impossible and/or unsafe. The closed-off anchor at 4:30 was a Sears. To the left and going up that side was a Payless, Borders Books (closed years ago) and FYE. The arcade at the end was a Hot Topic in the 2000's. The closed-off southwest style looking corner in the food court was a Taco Bell that had been closed off since 2007 or '08. Dunkin Donuts was next to it. I had one last trip here in January 2019 when Macy's was closing.
This was my childhood mall. I remember going here all time when i was little. Emerald Square Mall opened in the late eighties and I think that is what started Swanseas demise. Wal-Mart certainly did not help. Thanks for taking me back to my childhood again.
I lived in Swansea for most of my life and lived pretty close to Swansea Mall. I used to go there fairly often as a kid and teenager but pretty much stopped going once FYE closed. My uncle used to work at the Sears in this mall. I would often stop by Sears whenever I was at the mall to see if he was working that day. Wouldn't be surprised if Swansea Mall closed down because of Providence Place.
Probably add in 1989 renovation. I remember our hometown mall got a renovation about the same time and also added a ton of Neon. It was a trend for sure.
So many memories in this mall. Still can’t believe it’s closed. At one point in the early 00s it seemed like Swansea was doing well while other local malls (Dartmouth & Harbour) were dying...then within 10 years everything changed. Wal-Mart moving from the main building definitely was the nail in the coffin.
Really sad. This was my teenage hangout. Thank you for this footage. Edgar's was a small department store. I don't remember it too well - they had clothes for sure, and i believe perfumes/colognes but i don't think they had electronics.
Thanks for preserving the memory of Swansea Mall. It's ashame the mall faded into closure, but I guess losing big anchors and other stores sealed it fate. It's a better looking mall than those bland, cookie cutter Simon Malls. Swansea has color and neon and plants and some life to it, even though it was dying. Don't know why they didn't try to get other tenants in there. Also keep the fountains...rushing water is supposed to relax people. Too bad they could not leave the mall open for the mall walkers, give them somewhere to go before they really have to tear down the mall. Thanks for the early preview for my Patreon membership, and the very fun bit of you at the end of the video. Look forward to what's next.
In the early to late 80's it was a great mall. I loved going there. It was always clean and well run. The arcade was great and there was a hot dog stand next to it that had amazing chili dogs. Hot Dog Connection? Can't remember the name. Good job. Sad to see it go.
Dad worked on building a few stores there during the renovations in 81 or 82, remember they had Bob Eubanks as the ribbon cutter for the grand reopening, my mom was so underwhelmed at him. Miss all the fountains.
I'm 48 YO and I NEVER dreamed in a million years that Malls would close their doors and Anchor Stores would be gone.I always thought Malls and Anchor Stores would be around FOREVER.Ex : K-Mart,Sears,Bon-Ton,JcPenny.These stores were around when I was growing up. The Mall is where you went to on a Friday night,what's becoming of Our Malls ???
I will always remember the water feature.. I was just a kid when they took it out. Those post had little spaces between them and us kids used those instead of the stairs
So sad to see my home mall (grew up in nearby Somerset) gone after all these years. It just went out with a wimper, except when they called back the mall rats for one last walkthrough. Still, I'm surprised they didn't close it down sooner.
I grew up in New Bedford but over the years went to Swansea mall dartmouth mall taunton galleria and emerald Square mall, emerald Square is in a death spiral, same for providence place, dartmouth mall tho small seems to be holding on for now
The Pawtucket, RI-based Apex Store, which was the anchor store on the north side of the mall. still has an online presence, and for a time, continued to operate a small brick and mortar location in Pawtucket, long after their mall locations and Pawtucket flagship stores closed. I recall that the Apex Pawtucket flagship store was used as a RI drivers' license and vehicle registration facility after it was shuttered. Seeing that I haven't been back to RI since I left in 2012, I have no idea if Apex is still operating any sort of walk-in store, however, their web site is still operating as of this date. One of the access roads leaving the Swansea Mall (from the west) used to have a somewhat challenge of a hill I would repeatedly ascend on my bike on for short-hill climbing practice. Where I lived, the hill was the best one around. That whole area of Rte. 6 and 118 in Swansea is an area of retail ghosts, such as Stuart's, Ashmont, Building 19, Jordan Marsh, and Service Merchandise. Was my wife's favorite area to shop back in the day when we were (much) younger.
The Spencer's corpse was shown at 9:21 in their store type from before the "Design1" warehouse/brick/slatwall look theyve been using for the last 15+ years. Its the purple uprights with white adjustable shelves. That was my first job back in 2004 in a metro-Detroit mall and then we remodeled to the design1 store type in 2007
You should attempt Festival Bay/Artegon/Deezerland in Orlando. It was a complex that legit has been cursed. A mall that has been reimagined three times with no success. Some guy (Deezer) is trying to open an entertainment complex and car museum in it but he has had several issues getting it off the ground. Worth a look if you are ever in the area.
Here’s 2”what I found on Edgar Department Stores: “Edgar Department Stores was the name of a U.S. Based department store that operated in New England. Originally called "The Boston Store," it was founded in Brockton, Massachusetts in 1890. After a second devastating fire in less than 20 years James Edgar, an immigrant from Edinburgh, Scotland, bought out his partner and in a purpose-built, fire-proof building, re-opened the business as Edgar's in Brockton, Massachusetts.[1] Every December starting in 1890, James Edgar dressed up as Santa Claus to entertain the children of shoppers, thus becoming the first department store Santa.[1] Trains brought families from Boston and Providence to Edgar's to see Santa. In the early 1960s Edgar's was bought by Almy, Bigelow and Washburn, Inc. The corporation ran department stores under various names in eastern Mass. By the mid 70s, some of the stores were renamed "Almy's." The store sold clothing, home goods, jewelry, cosmetics and some toys. All locations featured distinctive bright green carpeting that was one of the stores trademarks. Edgar's operated in at least three other locations; one in Fall River, Massachusetts, one in the Dartmouth Mall in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and one in the Swansea Mall, in Swansea, Massachusetts. For a number of years the stores struggled to compete with chain stores such as Bradlees, Ames, Zayre's and Mammoth Mart while maintaining the "department store cachet." This, along with the company's refusal to abandon city-centers for (by-then) popular malls, forced the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They were subsequently bought by Bradlees, who closed most of the Almy stores. By the turn of the century Bradlees was driven into bankruptcy and closed.”
If you're heading down to texas , I just walked "La Plaza" in McCallen, tx.(Not a dead mall , on the contrary it brought back memories of when malls were actually gathering places and heavily shopped). It's Easter week so it was jammed packed on a wednesday at noon. It's adjacent to their airport as well, so it's easy to just fly in and walk to the Penny's entrance. It heavily draws cross border shoppers. That's got to be one of Simon's most profitable malls and land must be cheap as heck down there cuz it's one level and a heck of a walk. Any where else and that would be a two story mall. (Hurry down before the Easter bunny hops away)..
Good to hear Waterfront Dining back on your videos. Seems crazy that this one closed, looks well maintained mostly. Still that's modern retail. I keep meaning to get on and do some videos in the UK. I have just started working in a local town and the centre is dead, virtually everything closed bar a couple of shops
Heeey, Because of your video on North Ridge in Milwaukee people started going there, and now they are gonna have to demolish it because of safety concerns. They even referenced your video. Sucks! That was an awesome building. Cheers
Just found out Swansea Mall was sold for $4.6 million dollars to New Hampshire based Anagnost Companies. There was a church using the old Macy's with rent at 8 thousand a month. They were the last occupants.
I didn't even know the place closed until I drove by recently. Wish I went to visit before it closed, but Emerald Square has always been my go to mall.
I did a tour of this Swansea Mall in December, 2018, after relocating back to the area after 15 years..it looked like it was on life support back then. Sad to see it go! I bought a London Fog Trench Coat at this Mall back in early 1981, I think it was Jordan Marsh.., then Macy's.. times certainly have changed..I still have the London Fog Trench Coat, in perfect shape!
I bought gardening stuff there at Apex, videogames at GameStop. I ate at Ruby Tuesdays, and had a quickie in the parking lot before a movie, good times.
There's something to be said about holding the goods you're about to purchase in your hand and see them in person. I guess now with the continuing advent of home delivery, free shipping and no hassle returns, we have no need for these malls anymore. I miss going to to mall sometimes, but I sure don't miss the crowds of people, especially around the holidays and weekends.
Oh it’s not going to be long before my local mall, the Hanover mall in Hanover mass will be closing and turned into a market basket or whatever. All my memories are in that mall :(
I visited this Mall 2 years ago, and honestly the Walmart didn’t kil it as it is one of the smaller and junky stores ever built. There were already most of the typical Mall retailers going under, and with just two anchor stores, tough to absorb. A sister Mall to this via the Walmart anchor, would be the Barre Mall in VT. Very, very small Walmart as well as Mall, but just as beautiful not more so! JC Penny anchors the other side, but Smart they are to build a free standing Kholes and more adjacent to the Mall. Tons of Mall walkers too.
I used to work at this mall for only 2 months back in 2010 after I quit Ruby Tuesday in Dartmouth,MA. I started going to this mall as a customer in 2001 and I thought it totally reeked of awesomeness,I thought it had an 80s vibe there. Once I started working there as a housekeeper,I didn't like it. So I got transferred to the Dartmouth Mall in July of 2010. I'd rather go to the Swansea Mall as a customer than as an employee. But,it is sad to see it gone now. Surreal,man.
Providence Place... Emerald Square... Patriot Place. Swansea was destined to close. too much local competition. Bye Swansea... Solomon Pond/Auburn/Greendale are next to close in Massachusetts.
How many malls are largely converted to office space? The mall where I live was quite small but the largest areas are occupied by Storage, Community College and State Family Agency.
As a side note for fans of dead malls, the city of milwaukee gave the owners of the former Northridge mall 20 days to start demolishing it. That was 2 days ago. T -18 and counting So apparently I didn't read far enough down the comments at 1st, as someone else mentioned this yesterday.
When you consider all of the effort that you put into driving to these locations, filming, and producing the content, giving these videos a thumb down is just pure stupidity.
