I grew up not far from Sherman,. and still remember the day that midway mall opened and the old sherden mall closed. this place was a treat to come to as a young person. the place to go when got your drivers licence and look for the girls. used to always be packed elbow to elbow.
Hey Ryan, We were Dan Bell followers, and came across this video and the Collin Creek Mall video. We were very impressed with your detailed narration, informative comments, and great camera work. We live in New York, but feel like we know these malls after your video tours. We're now new subscribers, and really hope you continue to produce these excellent videos! Giving you a big like, two thumbs up, keep up the great work!
Chris Wilson wow, what kind words! Thank you so much! I'm still pretty new to the whole making videos process, and when I go back to watch this video, all I see are things that I could have done better, but it's my intention to keep getting better and better with the camerawork and dialogue. I'm going to have more videos up in the next few weeks so stay tuned and thanks again!
Ryan M for being new you did a great job! We appreciated your presentation as a local who is familiar with and frequented the malls.. you're not a tourist on a one day visit reciting info you found online.. we're definitely anticipating your future videos!
He ready did a good job capturing how depressing this mall has become. I've lived here all my life. Back in the 90s this mall put another mall out of business and was the place to be with an arcade theater a spencers, a Claire's and more. It had a big carousel (I think it was where all those circus rides were). There would occationly have other more thrilling rides during the holidays one was a gyro type ride that was hand powered by someone, i was too young to ride but my older brother did. Sadly the outside of the mall probably gets more traffic with traveling carnivals and Markets that set up there. If I do go in it'll be for bath and body works or Burlington which really is only around Christmas.
Thanks! I keep hearing about all the new housing being built in Sherman and Denison, but there's no high paying jobs and businesses are leaving town left and right. I don't know what to make of this area right now.
I just came across this by chance. This is very sad. I went to this mall with my parents as a kid and played at the arcades (Jolly Time and Pocket Change). My favorite store growing up was Gadzooks, and of course the music stores (Camelot Music/Musicland) and KB Toys. The bookstores (B. Dalton and Walden Books). Italian Affair used to be in the food court. I loved their huge slices of pizza. Of course, most of this was in the '90s and maybe early 2000s. I saw lots of movies at Midway Movies 5. I'm very sad to see this. It's going the way the Sher-Den Mall went, which used to be in that huge vacant lot on Texoma Parkway.
Thanks for the comments and feedback everyone, I really do appreciate it. I really had some good memories of this place, and I tried to make that the point of the video. I'm probably off on remembering exactly where every store was located, because I think the last time I visited the mall back in its heyday I was around 16. I grew up in Wolfe City and once I got my drivers license, the only malls I wanted to visit were in Dallas (you know how you are at 16). I'm 34 now, and moved to Sherman 4 years ago, and I couldn't believe what this place has become. And it's the only mall around for like 50 miles in any direction! It just fascinates me how much this place has fallen into ruin. Anyway thanks again, and I'm going to upload some more videos soon.
Ryan M I been to this mall before so many months and years. I'm pretty sure if someone might have an old video of 2000's The midway mall that's alive with lots of stores. I'm pretty sure they have the old rare 1999 or 2000 videos like this video the dead one but I hope the video in 2000's might have like this midway mall. 😌
Ryan M Yeah. I really bet someone might have an old rare video like this Midway Mall in 2000's in Sherman. One thing I miss also is the car wash at north of hwy 82 and 75 at Exxon by Walmart and Starbucks. I mean it's still here but like back in 2003.
Liquorhead My mom might have some pictures of me on the merry go round that used to be there when my preschool went to see Santa it would be around 1994 or 95. You were right about most things but after 2003 or so the smaller places have been shuffled so much I can't remember really.
the tents there had a purpose if the mall need more room for stores they was going add a second floor .but mall didn't make it cause town center.. I remember stores in this mall. there was not an empty store in there .but now it's dead.they need make one big night club and bowling alley out of it.or have a live music place in there.
Great job with this video. I like your sense of humor and detailed voice-over. This has to be the deadest dying mall that I have ever seen on RU-vid. Despite the fact that 3 anchors are still open, the complete disrepair and derelict nature of this building makes seem super depressing and sad, as stated in the video. Based on other RU-vid videos, dying malls are usually kept quite clean, whereas this one seems to be completely unloved. That carpet looks disgusting! Fantastic content.
I'm not actually sure what's going on with sears. I come to this mall frequently, last week be sears was closed but I'm siting here right now and it's open. Odd.
Hey dude, I really like your dead mall videos! You show us every detail and I love that. Keep taking your time. I also just love seeing everyone posting videos of their hometown or childhood dying mall. Keep it up!
Very Sad to see Midway like this, before I moved to Dallas, when I was a kid, this was the mall to go to, once Sher-Den mall closed, this was the new shiny mall back in the 90's. I was trying to remember where the old arcade was in that food court area, and you pointed it out. I remember some old retired guys who would sit in those chairs in the food court and play dominoes every day, every time I was there, they were too. It came back to me, and seeing the Movie theater also I remembered. I had alot of good fun at this mall, I wondered how it looked today. I haven't been back to it since I moved over 25 years ago, very sad. Thanks for posting this.
Wow!! Been a long time, that mall was new when I moved away from Sherman. It was Sher-Den mall's demise. I shopped Sher-Den mall. Met my ex hubby at Calhouns, went to the drive-in. And Gibson's was still there. Lived in a 2 story on Maxey st. Both my older girls were born in Wilson N. Jones hospital. I miss old Sherman. Don't know if you've seen it, but, my dream house was always, the woodmens circle home on 56/1417. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Great video, but sad. New sub.
I got to go in it, back in 80-81, people used to have bingo, around back, left side. Think it might have been the old dining area, not sure, but it was a huge room. I was so excited, just to be in it. I lived in Whitesboro for about, 5 yrs, until I married, then moved to Sherman, so I passed it daily, I worked at the Dairy Queen, for years. I also got to go in about 4-5 yrs ago, my friends daughter, got permission to do a photo shoot there, for a play she was in. I still wanted it. But it's just so far gone. So sad they left it to die. I always said, if I ever win the lottery, it's mine. Lol. Needless to say, haven't won yet. Going to watch yr video. Thanks for the heads up.
Awesome job! It's depressing as Hell, but I'm glad your archiving the closing malls in your area. Like you, im a 80's mall / arcade guy so it like watching an old friends pass away.
I went to high school in Durant, OK in the 80s and we did not have a mall. We use to come down and shop at Midway Mall. It seemed so huge back in the day and the food court was always full of people. Times have changed.
Nice walkthrough video! This mall does seem to fall under the radar on dead mall discussion groups such as Dead Mall Enthusiasts(facebook), but it's too bad this mall has fallen on hard times. It wouldn't take much for the plants to be maintained a little better, and to try to lure local shops into this mall as well. I wonder if they at least try to get seasonal shops to open in the anchor spaces, such as Spirit(Halloween store)? It's interesting Buckle hangs on here, since they often pull out of malls that are dying and/or dead. Not surprised Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret hang on, since they often seem to hang on even at deader malls.
Now that Sears is closing I will be shocked if this mall survives through 2018. I've been wondering if Shoguns is still open. The sushi is kind of popular. The times I've gone,I've seen people leave with take out orders since no one wants to sit in a sad mall to eat their meal. Interesting video to watch.
The burgers at that place is good. Not like they advertised mind blowing amazing. I keep wondering how much longer that place will survive and how many more bulbs they have to unscrew to cut cost.
Grew up in Sherman TX when SherDen Mall was the shopping place. Was sad when it closed and Midway Mall opened. I spent many hours at this mall. When pregnant with my first daughter in 87 I would come walk this mall it was the place to be. Really sad to see what has happened to this mall.
I used to work at the special fx game exchange for 2 years in the early 2000s...I cannot believe what has become of this place. ..truly saddened...spent many dates with girls and great times here. ..it's where me and my best friend met.
I’m almost 20 years old & I still remember when I was little, Midway was the place to be at. It used to be so busy all the time. I’ve grown up watching that place die. No one ever goes in there anymore, it’s pretty scary and eerie. I remember that there was a really good cookie place, there was always a long line for the Santa pictures, and people used to fill the food court.
Aimee Webber in our main part of town we got a strip mall, the midway mall is an old part of town, so stores starting moving to the new strip mall from midway mall. More and more stores left, causing others to close down because there was no business. There are very few stores in the mall left, only a handful. And now it’s starting to show signs of structural issues
According to an archived version of the mall website, it did have a Spencer's which seemed to have closed when JCPenney left. Being the store it is, it didn't relocate to the outdoor center and thus left the area entirely. This seems to be a trend with Spencer's, like the company seems to really be hurting due to not branching out of enclosed older malls.
I recall Spencer's briefly had a store at Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, IL years ago. Which if you don't know, is an all outdoor shopping center. It's now closed, though. Yeah, it is weird that unlike a lot of other stores, they seem to be resistant to operating stores in a lot of outdoor shopping centers, and mostly stick to enclosed malls.
The only other instance I've known is a Spencer's that was opened on the streets of Manhattan between 2011 and 2016. I guess the reason for that is just too many parental groups/political correctness groups would be rallying if a Spencer's was opened in a more populated fashion center/outdoor mall as compared to a lesser used enclosed mall. Always liked the store personally, so it sucks seeing them less and less, but their target demographic is something hated by both sides socially, due to the store's raunchy nature. Guess time will tell if they survive or not.
Yeah, I have no idea why Spencer's tends to not locate in outdoor shopping streets in bigger cities, or in shopping centers where all the shops are outside(i.e. Old Orchard in Skokie). As for protests, I've never heard of a single protest against Spencer's, anywhere. Correct me if any have ever occurred anywhere, though. It is weird they didn't make it at Old Orchard, and the only reason I can think it didn't make it is due to the fact that it is a shopping center with more upscale stores? And I'm sure higher rent/leases for stores there, as well? There is one a few miles away at Lincolnwood Town Center(indoor mall), so it isn't like there aren't any Spencer's serving this area.
There's always been those groups complaining about their raunchier merchandise, and the fact that a kid could wander into the back part of the store to witness all those sorts of less than savory for some goodies. Doesn't bother me, but people will always find a reason to complain. To be honest, it's a lot less messed up for Spencer's to openly sell adult toys when you have places like Justice or Abercrombie selling shirts for girls as young as 3 that have innuendos on the front. Also, recently there was picketing at some Spencer's stores due to their Donald Trump satire line. www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/01/spencers_says_sexually_explici.html
So on some extra digging, I've found that Spencer's has locations in a small handful of the Simon Premium Outlets, 2 of which are outdoor and also in Texas. The Round Rock Premium Outlets and Rio Grande Valley Outlets to be exact. So apparently it does work for the company, they just have yet to roll it out in larger numbers.
A real sad sight to see, none the least. I grew up in Denison my entire life and that mall used to be the spot to go to when I was a young teen. I remember hanging just hanging out at the food court with some buddies or playing video games at the arcade across the way. The place has fallen from grace really hard. Great video and would love to see more videos you have of how our lovely town (sarcasm) is progressing.
I grew up in Sherman in the 60s-70s and moved away in the mid 80s. I remember the very active downtown area when I was in elementary school. I used to go to the Texas theater to watch movies almost every Saturday. The whole downtown area and theater was killed off in the early 70s when Sherden mall opened up. Sherden was killed off by Midway a couple of decades later. I have family in Sherman I visit. I was Iast at Midway a few years ago to pick up a few items at Dillard’s. I live in Southern California now, my wife and son had never seen anything like it. It was post apocalyptic....
I liked how this video was a good length, but not too long. Sort of like watching a sitcom or something. I know RU-vid is all about short and sweet, but for me I like videos that take the time to really get involved and detailed. :)
i'm 12 now and i remember this mall. i remember getting on the circle ride one and i loved it. everyone would go there on a basis. i'm a dancer and we used to do sneak peeks there every year and now ever since a couple years we don't do it anymore, the parents and ourselves would be the only ones there. now it's full of just small shops no one goes there. there also used to be a place to hold parties and celebrations. i wish they could renew it instead of making more banks and liquor stores.
I visited Tokyo, Seoul, Manila last year and the malls are ALIVE and flourishing meanwhile in America malls are dying .....I live in the Bay are near San Francisco and the malls are not comparable to the ones in Asia.
Does anyone know where to find B-Roll or VO of the Mid-Way Mall in Sherman when it was teeming with life and people. When the arcade and food court was over run with shoppers.
Very good job! You can see the spotlight on mall closings but much more of the retail, restaurant and consumer spending related business problems are in the small strip shopping centers and town store front type of retail! The town I live in has about 50%, vacant retail and at least 50% of the ones still open are doing very poorly. This is most of the U.S..
Yes, there used to be a Spencer's. I started working there in 2009 after I left my job at Waldenbooks. I started as the assistant manager and was the store manager by the time the store went into liquidation and closed. I shut it down in 2012. It was the area with the black gate that is across from Bath and Body Works. That mall was long dead before Spencer's closed. I was lucky to have 15 transactions by the end of the day when I locked the gate. I worked at Waldenbooks for two years before Spencer's and it was dead even back then. It's sad to see the mall like it is now.
I used to live in Durant Oklahoma and would travel to Sherman to go to the few stores that were actually opened at the time in the mall. It was weird that the mall part was still open with only a few stores operating. I have a fascination with old abandoned places especially malls.
i think it feels especially depressing for me because my family moved here when i was 5 (in 2009) and the mall was packed. (sidenote: what the hell!!! i had no idea finish line closed! that store was so nice...) and i just kinda won't get to experience going to the mall with friends like other teenage girls? idk. plus there's bed bath and body works and victoria's secret which you cant get without going to allen or dallas smh.
Hey Ryan. thanks for the video! just seeing this old Mall brings back so many memories i spend most of my childhood here plus my mom used to work at the chick fl la here. good times.. good times..
I actually grew up in the area and that place holds a lot of memories for me. I remember going into the bookstore while my mom went to Old Navy, plus the Toy store, Claire's, and Spencers which was my favorite spot. It was always busy and you had to dodge people when you walked across the main foyer. It's sad to watch this. It has gone so far down hill.
My grandparents lived in Denison, so I spent a lot of time at this mall when visiting as a kid. Sad to see it this way! My grandparents loved to shop at Bealls haha
Why not use the old malls to help with those that need the shelter, especially for survivors of a major disaster? I can only imagine the amount of work as well as time it took to build the mall itself, the people who constructed the massive mall I the beginning as well as the development Before. The one thing I will always miss is the Arcade and food courts wish that those arcade games in the video would be used in the right way, I guarantee people woild come to play
i’m going to midway mall tomorrow mostly to go to the victoria’s secret that’s still there and to look around at all the used-to-be stores that i used to go to when i was a kid... from what i remember the mall was so cool and was full of life and people.. would always go there with my dad and grab a slice of pizza, which was sooooo good and took pictures with santa around christmas time and rode the carousel that used to be there along with some of those creepy circus/clown themed rides and even won a turtle once. used to be so much fun. makes me so sad what happened to this mall :/ i miss this place so much, or what it used to be. it’s so creepy in there now.. town center ruined everything
I grew up here and think the mall is so sad. I never understood why outdoor shopping centers became so popular here in Texas. It is so hot in the summer. At the mall you’re inside air conditioning the whole time and so much more comfortable. Burlington and Dillard are still out there. I know the main area was closed off during Covid, so I assume any little places are closed now, victims to Covid. Personally, I think highway 75 being rerouted was the beginning of the end for Midway Mall. Not enough traffic so most of the stores moved to the Town Center.
I have to say that Sears has been stuck in a time warp since I was a kid in the 60's!! Lol! I have no idea how Sears has even stayed open for the last 50 years!!!
Wow. We moved to DFW in 2013 and it was bad then. Now it looks like the set for Dawn of The Dead. I grew up in Sherman and spent my youth and money at the old Sher/Den mall. I expected this would happen. The town center was a big driver of Midway's demise but we had friends who ran businesses in Midway and mismanagement and ever increasing rent really screwed things up there.
I used to work here for about a year and a half, and grew up in the area. I can answer some very detailed questions about the history and why the mall is how it is now if youre interested.
Was in there tonight (Tuesday), about 30 minutes before closing. About half the stuff you showed that was open either closed early or had gone dead. The movie theater is closed for a projector upgrade, which appears to have taken almost 2 months at this point. Mishmash moved at some point into 2 adjoining spaces and then closed. And the space with the bunch of arcade machines... there's still a ton of them, but some of them are different and some of them have moved around. I wonder if somebody is using it as storage space? Of course Sears is gone. Management clearly has no idea what to do with it - I will say it seemed cleaner and nicer, and there was a security guy running around on a golf cart interrupting my solitude. I saw maybe 10 total "customers" and some of them seemed shady/mallwalkers.
I used to go here all the time with my dad. childhood memories all the time. it is the store my mom and father met. at the cookie place. now it's a depressing dead place. how sad times can change and things become obsolete over time.
nice find for your channel (youtube suggestion for me) excellent narrative along with story-telling. were you familiar with other youtubers's whose channels are DEAD MALLS journey? if you're not familiar with Dan Bell, you might be interested in his Mall series. didn't provide more info as this your channel. the music is intoxicating to view videos. DON'T CHANGE THAT, please; as that can be golden for others also. time flies watching. Appreciate fine work you've put into making. hmm, that shady guy was you?
Elisa Eck Thank you for your comments! I actually wasn't aware anyone else was doing Dead Mall videos. The Midway Mall was just something I wanted to film since the moment I moved to this area. Dan Bell commented on this video asking me to not use his series name "Dead Mall Series", which I originally had this video titled. I didn't know it was already in use... lack of research on my part I suppose. Rookie RU-vidr mistake. We talked, I changed the name, and all parties were happy. I had a background in still photography, especially photographing abandoned places. I've since given my camera equipment to my teenage daughter, and I've moved on to video, which I'm EXTREMELY new at. Anyway, I appreciate the kind words, and yes, I'm the shady character lol.
My dad takes me there to that mall when I was a kid, it would freak me out because we would go to the end of the mall and nothing is there, just old kid rides and abandoned fast food restaurants
at 16:57 use to be the original arcade..it was called pocket change..That Corny Dog 7 was so good back in the day..the place next to it was a juice bar
yep the red and black logo was a video game i use to buy one or 2 game there. i do remember sears my dad use to as well buy many of there craftsman tools for many years worth of tools.
Interesting that your first subject was Midway Mall. If I hadn't spent a week in Sherman/Denison back in 2012, I would have no clue. I didn't go in, though, Lake Texoma was more my speed.
I grew up in this mall. So sad to see it like this. The Candy Barrel, pocket change (arcade), Italian Affair (best pizza EVER), Gadzooks (best place to buy jncos lol), the giant cookie place, this was the spot to hang
I grew up in Sherman and I remember when that mall was the place to go! It’s so sad.. last time I went to Sherman I took my husband and he was just in shock... it’s really sad
I remember when they built sher den mail back in the 1970s my grandparents and mom from there. Does Sherman still have there on tv station? i remember seeing this mall back in 2004 it was busy then. I live in Wichita falls texas i guess i check out our mall i wonder if it like this mall. Does anyone remember Prestonwood mall in Addison tx i know its been demolished i guess soon all malls be bulldozed thanks for showing video i enjoyed it makes me feel old 51 years and counting.
I found out on kxii news they said there going to return this mall, but it will upgrade it (Everything) and putting the movie theater back and new stores but other new stores in this mall and new parking lots and new light poles new ceiling lights in the mall and maybe ether upgrading or keeping it the tents and maybe it will remove the old tent light pole with maybe a new light poles on the tents and maybe a new carpets or floors, And I actually saw when I was visit that mall last week ago the barber shop sign is back.
That was THE PLACE to be when i was a pre-teen/teen (1994-2000). It would be packed nonstop. This makes me so sad. Chick-Fil-A, CornDog 7, Italian Affair, Radio Shack, The Arcade, Gadzooks, NY & CO, Old Navy, Spencer's, Mervyns, Gap...so many more i can't think of. Sad.
Liquorhead It's been a few months since I've been there. They just lost Neiman Marcus and that whole end of the mall where it was is dead. Someone was shot and killed in the parking lot a few months back. They have had a lot of human trafficking/attempted kidnapping rumors around. They are about to put a big aquarium in some of the many closed storefronts. It's pretty depressing. They have a nice theatre which I believe is the only thing keeping it alive.
I was at Ridgmar a couple months ago. Besides Valley View Mall, it is the deadest mall I have been to. Where Macy's and Neiman Marcus used to be there is nobody there. Sears is dead, Dillard's is now a clearance center, and JCPenney is the only store there doing okay.
I remember going here almost every day with my brothers. One of them worked at Spencer's and I'd always go to the arcade where I'd get free play time because we knew the people there. There's going to be a gun show there soon too.
@LiquorHead Productions They have no future plans of closing anytime soon so anything is possible BTW Town Center all it has going for it is a Target and Cinemark and thats just about it and lets not forget Hobby Lobby but nothing to get excited about and driving around the town center is almost like bumper cars
Its sad to see what happened. I spent a lot of time here as a kid. It def had a Spencer's because some family freinds of ours worked there and we'd hang out sometimes. One of them once glued a quarter to the floor just to mess with people.
It's always 😔 sad to see what we use to luv going to is now a very sad place to visit because of time an technology an growing as a human race ..nothing in this life last forever ..may god bless us all ...🙏
