Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 14 - Northridge Mall 

I could go for some Chunko’s right about now.

Malls in the 70's and 80's were magical. So glad those were the decades of my youth!

Showing the mall when it was booming and then showing how it look now is a great addition and you should always do that that's one of my biggest gripes with others that explore dead malls

this took me back to the good old days, where malls were so extravagant and fun, now I feel like the world I knew is dying, no one seems to notice or to care, back in those days, malls reunite people, friends, family, having fun, enjoying simple little things and treasuring every moment, life was simple, I miss that so much. I enjoyed this very much, thank you.

It always amazes me how pictures of young people in the 80s walking around in malls all have big smiles on their faces. Take a picture of young people today. They're always grimacing like they're about to take a dump. Staring at their phones, of course. Social media has destroyed the minds of America's youth. And it's all by design folks.

It's sad to see this. Malls used to be a place where people went in the weekends to go shopping back in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

I lived in Brown Deer, Northridge was our shopping destination. The biggest reason for the downfall of the mall was crime, that area of the city was just full of crime, and still is. Bus routes also brought the criminal element in to the mall area, that didn't help either. Just wasn't safe or comfortable to shop or live there, and that is why it quickly fell apart.

The editing tied the footage together so well and made this into a masterpiece, this is soooo well made 🤩

I can attest as a child, going to Northridge or Mayfair on a Saturday or Sunday was akin to packing up the car to go to Disneyland. Always with a good chance you were going to be able to have McDonalds for lunch. Great editing and early footage...really well done.

Finished my final exam yesterday, slept 10 hours, wake up & there’s new dead mall video from one of my favorite channels. Life is good

This is a Masterpiece. One of the best dead/ abandoned mall YT videos in years. Production, research, current & past images juxtaposition, vibe, backgroud music is top notch. A story from beginning to end (?). Brilliant, well done!

"Those who got to experience this, consider yourselves lucky. Everything from 1989 on was downhill." This statement sums up the entire American experience over the last 60 years

The before and after shots are by far what I enjoy watching most because it shows how extreme the change is

Dude, another winner! It takes a lot of patience to produce a power episode like this. Thanks for carrying the torch for the dead mall community as the original trailblazers start to move on to other things in life…🎉🎉🎉

Happy to be living here in Asia where mall life is alive and doing well.

This is amazing to see! A lot of that mall looked pretty 90s-ish but that theater was very 70s-80s. Amazing. Also a lot of that graffiti made me laugh lol

I normally don't watch dead mall videos this long but I could not stop watching. This one was riveting and creepy. It's a shame that the time capsule was stolen by vandals. I would have love to see what they put in there as a Generation X'er I'm sad . Great video man

Wouldn't it be nice to see these malls come back to life in a different way? A developer could create multiple 2-story homes/condos on each mall level, add patios/courtyards out the condo's back doors, create an all season indoor park with running track, basketball/tennis/racket ball courts, and even a couple of "outside" small eateries.

To me, the concourse ceilings steal the show for this mall. Whoever designed those was gifted.

I'm from Green Bay, and visited this mall a couple times back around '89/'90... it was absolutely beautiful... and full of life! It breaks my heart to see the juxtaposition in shots between then and now - a whole world gone into the past. On a side note, I used to buy incense at Wicks 'n' Sticks at Port Plaza Mall (now demolished) - thanks for that old footage of the store-front!

I have seen a lot of video's of Northridge, but this one stands out. So many things others seem to have missed.. And what makes it even better are the superb before and after shots 👍

I hadn’t even imagined in 1994 that shopping malls would one day go under! Great video.

The guy that stopped you to say that you are cute is super creepy given the circumstances being alone in an abandoned mall. I am glad you are okay man please be careful going into these places alone. I have to say you have bigger balls than I do for sure, I couldn’t go in alone.

I didn't live in WI and so never went to this mall, but your video brought up so many good memories of growing up in the 70's and 80's and mall culture. I literally teared up looking at the Christmas pictures and sang the lobby song from memory like not a minute had passed. I loved the presentation, with the heavy reverb on the music and transitions between now and then of the same areas. Thank you for reminding me of the best decades of my life. And you showed there was a Gimbels! That threw me right back to 70's Manhattan and I haven't heard that name in decades!

I remember being a teenager in the early 80s and the malls being so full during the weekends. People shopping, teenagers eating and going to the movies...or just hanging out. Where do the kids hang out today? I feel for young people. I really do. Everything is so damned expensive now. We could go to the mall, eat and watch a movie for about $10 back in 83.

Wow. That was an elegy. Great balance of old photos and current ruins.

If a retail store has to pay a cashier $15/hour and half the merchandise gets shoplifted, theres no way it can earn a profit.

as a foreigner who ended up enjoying dead mall videos from over there (dead malls aren't really common where I live) and who only has videos from the genre as my only experiences of said malls, knowing you got to cover this one got me pretty excited, as your coverage is always pretty thorough, and i've always been intrigued for whatever reason by the history behind this one mall in particular. great job as always!! amazing video editing too!

This is your best work to date. I love how thorough you’ve been with your research clips and back story. There’s something really eerie about this place when you look at it completely derelict with its feeling of emptiness. Great job!

This is such a great update to the status of Northridge. I’ve been following its journey on RU-vid since the early days of the pandemic and to see it still so brightly lit by the naturally light I’m the daytime is both amazing and sad…here’s to hoping that it actually gets demolished once and for all!

It's hard to watch when you used to live there, and shop there, and see it end up like that.

Growing up in Milwaukee, my mom would taking me to this mall often in the early 80s. I remember her always parking by Gimbles (then Marshal Fields) or Bostons. I’d always run up the stairs that were right next to the escalators as my mother rode up. The information booths were really fun looking and I remember the flower theme coming in later. I moved back to Chicago in 1990 and totally missed the decline of this mall. Instead, I had another mall that died before dead malls were a thing, Randhurst Mall, but all my high school friends worked at the Woodfield Mall - it was SUCH a stark contrast of dead and UBER thriving. So sad to see what has become of Northridge. I saw many Easter Bunnies and Santas here, great memories with my mother. Thank you for covering it. I enjoyed your presentation.

The music is so eerie. Like it’s still being played in the mall

Wild. I’ve seen this mall before, but never been there. But I grew up in central Michigan in the 80’s and 90’s. You mentioned going to that theater and seeing Back to the Future II. In 1989 I went to see that movie with it dad, after a whole lot of anticipation. Maybe the first movie I was that excited to see when I was just 10. Afterward, just after pulling out from the parking lot, my dad tried to have the “birds and the bees” talk with me. 😬 I was from a very conservative family who never talked about that stuff and it was very taboo. I can remember being in sort of shock when he said “So, you know, we’ve never talked about sex. Do you have any questions?” I was so scared that I just said “Nope…I’m good. No questions.” and left it at that. Then 6-8 miles down the freeway, my dad said again “So you’re SURE you don’t have any questions?” Again I said “Nope. I’m good.” I was just so scared and it was so awkward. A few weeks later mg parents gave me a sort of cartoony book for kids about human reproduction, thinking it would be easier not taking to them about if directly. I still love the BTTF trilogy like crazy, but that’s one of my very vivid memories of the second one. I’m sure my dad had planned it all out, trying to find something I really wanted to do, and then making it something just he and I did together. But I was was totally blindsided by it.

Love the introduction you did it justice great to see old footage and then compare it to what it is today. This has to be on top of list for longest standing abandoned malls. Really gave it justice like seeing it in better times sad condition in now. 😢

Looks like jamestown mall with a second floor

Extremely well made doco. Great job on presenting it's history, I thoroughly enjoyed 👏

Man you should totally do university mall in Pensacola Florida. It's unique because someone eventually changed it into a storefront type mall but somewhere in the back is still the remnant of a tradition mall. The JCPenney is still there but the mall part is completely blocked as if it was never there from 2013

I grew up going there, my mom would hate having to park at Sears (now Menards). It breaks my heart that building looks now. Real eyesore. Thanks for the awesome video!

Great video, the transitions between the busy mall to the empty corridors are similar to what James Cameron accomplished in Titanic that shows the glory to demise, granting a nostalgic feeling for a place you've never been, but are somehow a part of. Well done!

Its the video weve all been waiting for with an hour of mall, history, and treasures to enjoy with great editing! Super amazing work North, and like others said, thank you for continuing to be here through the years creating content as that can take a lot of work to do. Its an acomplishment 🎉🤩

I can't believe this is happening in the US. Now I understand why Americans who go to my country look surprised and happy. In my country, malls are huge, beautiful, crowded and are everywhere. Some would even be located a block from each other. Christmas and other holidays would be hell because of street traffic to the malls, crowds and parking problem.

One of the most notorious abandoned malls in the world probably.

It is honestly incredible to see how far your channel has improved since season 3. Your videos have gotten better and better each time I have watch them and I can’t wait to see what is in store in the future. Amazing video and I’m ready to go vandalize black spruce HQ so they can understand how the mall feels about how they have treated it.😂

This was an amazing journey. Thank you for all your effort! 💪💪💪

Oak View Mall, Omaha NE Great Video! Wisconsin is really an amazing state, for malls and other landmarks.

I was 14 years old when I started going to Northridge Mall, and I miss it so much 😢

About time my favorite mall of all

New subscriber here, without a doubt the most fascinating abandoned mall video i have ever seen.

Duuude the way you edited it showing how full and alive the mall was to present was insanely cool thank for this entoer video omg

Did not know dead mall vids was a thing, now I do, now my life is complete

I cannot believe that my one of my favorite dead malls is being toured by my favorite youtuber, NorthCdogg22!

My Mom worked at this mall in the late 1970's untill sometime in the 1980 before I was born. I remember visiting it once when I was little.

My best memories growing up was riding my bike with my brother through the north ridge complex. We go there to the mall or to fudruckers across the street to play the arcades. Used to live in the north Meadows and at one point around 91 my entire family lived up there on one block, north 95th street. Even my dad had a house on fairy chasm Rd that lead you right to the west side of the mall. It wasn't always bad on the north side of Milwaukee. A far cry from what it is now. Man, Just looking at the video I can see the place I got my ears pierced like 25 years ago LOL.. At the piercing pagoda. Damn man, I remember going to see Batman at that movie theater! A Lot of good memories there.

I spent most of the day at Southridge today for my work. I'm an old guy, having gone there with my parents when it opened. Phoenix has now given up on Northridge and has walked away from it, unlikely to ever be reborn. The city didn't back their plan for it, probably because they saw it as not much more viable than the Chinese plans that failed previously. Since the time Northridge closed, crime has really spread in the area. A lot of stores and car dealers have closed so there isn't the market for retail. Thanks for the awesome video.

Realities are malls will be distant memories and sometimes malls thriving just feel the joys on all parts ❤

This structure would make an amazing memory care facility! Shops and apartments and restaurants and socializing! You could have a medical facility, quarters for staff, beauty shops, exercise, all in an enclosed area so everyone stays safe!

Wow. Stunning film. The music really adds a sad and creepy vibe at the same time.

The video with the audio intro is absolutely amazing

Waukesha is pronounced Wok-ka-shaw. I was having a conversation with my grandpa a year ago he ran the Southridge JCPenney and helped out with the opening of the Northridge mall. They knew back then the mall was going to have problems. It's the area it was built around. It wasn't just the one event in 95. People were more often coming in to hangout and cause trouble vs coming in to purchase items. Southridge Mall was built next to Greendale which is a upper middle class area with more expendable income. It's too bad doing things like going to the mall on the weekends isn't a thing anymore. Now we all are glued to our phone ordering of Amazon.

Another great video. I like when you put old video clips in the beginning. I noticed the graffiti idiots have a fascination with drawing peters in most of the abandoned structures. Keep up the great work.

Phenomenal Video! It was such a treat watching the whole video! It's my favorite take on Northridge Mall. Amazing Video.

Great job with the flashback clips. Too many dead mall RU-vidrs neglect to provide what a mall was like in its hey day so thumbs up. This was a beautiful mall. I love the ceiling and design.

This is your best video yet! I love your music choices, it really helps tell the story!!

This is the most fascinating dead mall exploration I've seen!

I still say that dead mall should be turned into studio apartments. Modify a store into a home, walk around in the mall and hang out with the other tenets, turn some of the anchor stores into office areas or a grocery, and relive the food court. It would be like living in a vaporware photo.

Thanks for the hour long video! Great work!

This was a great upload! Excellent exploration!!

As always an amazing video!

Awesome movie 🔥🔥🔥🔥😎😎

Wow, looks like it was a winner. There is a Northridge Mall in CA as well that was similarly packed and popular (that's what brought me here initially) but I'm enjoying this video too!

Pretty sad. I remember when this mall opened in 1971. The people that used to go there are grown up or married and moved away. Most probably have already passed away. That time will never come back. Not for any of us.

Excellent. Perfect.

Great video and great editing! Keep it up!

You are very talented and have an extraordinary gift in conveying a story through video. I hope good things come your way my friend. Great work.

53:32 JCPenneys Looks So Scary Inside Bro 😅

As a kid of the 80’s and 90’s who loved malls, if I could find the idiots who did all of this vandalism, I would beat the living crap out of them. WHY would people do what’s been done here??

Great footage amazing editing.

My childhood mall. Those video clips from the winter holidays just take me back when I was a kid going to this mall with my parents. It declined throughout the 90s. By the time I was in high school in the late nineties and the turn of the millennium, it was getting pretty bad already with stores leaving, a couple anchor stores already closing and crime rising. I was discouraged from going there then and would go to Brookfield Square, Mayfair, Southridge and Bayshore instead.

This a really great video showing a mall I grew up in. I’m sad seeing the destruction but I really appreciate seeing so much old footage. Personally I preferred the original colors and style. The makeover was awful to me. I have autism and loved staring at that metal fountain even if it got rusty. I also liked the red carpets and sunken conversation pits. I think at some time we played with legos in there while my dad napped. After visiting Radio Shack he was done lol. I remember a guy with one arm worked at Radio Shack and he inspired me bc I wondered how he did everything so well. Also the Childrens Place was super fun! Wish there were pics of that. Thank you!

Great job on the editing and overall project. Impressed with the archive video and pictures as well as the commentary of the mall over the years. Hard to believe iPhones are capable of the clarity and sharpness of the video. Great writing, narration and I like how you “echoed” the music in the background. It at times seemed remarkably similar to the piped-in music you would hear inside the mall. Keep up the good work, sir.

I haven't even seen your face and I'm mesmerised already haha. Great contents and narrative, subscribe.

Nice video and history of it

The 80s were my youth and Malls were golden havens then. Honestly, unless you were alive then you just can't know how wonderful they were back then. How utterly depressing to see the demise and degradation of these great Malls.

Not to be confused with Northridge Fashion Center (often referred to as "Northridge Mall") in Los Angeles. It's very much alive.

Went and explored this building in January was so surreal to see how it was when it was open great video

I grew up in Northwest Milwaukee and hung out at Northridge frequently. Thank you for this.

This is so sad 😢. I grew up in the 80's and 90's. We would have never imagined this outcome. Basically every mall I grew up enjoying is gone now. We are a throw away society.

80’s neon was very cool 😎

Awesome 👍

You need to make a playlist. Amazing video.

I’ve been here so I’m all about this place XD so cool

I loved the malls in the 80s. The dark colors, the fountains, the smell of cigars. Malls used to be a magical place and as a whole society was happier in those days. I wish we could go back.

I traveled extensively through the US during the mid 80's and the last two years of the 80's. And malls like this, and I visited this one, were essential to the recreation and shopping of my fellows. We were performers on tour together. I'm a Los Angeles, CA native. And a few malls have closed here too.

To whom that made this video, I absolutely loved watching this . Especially because I grew up shopping in malls ❤

I hear the Bespin Cloud City Mall looks like this now also…

Great video documentary and walk through of North Ridge Mall!!! 🤗🏢❤️ I decided to screen mirror my new iPhone 11 I got for Mother's Day on my secondary service to my TV to see how it worked and I watched along with my husband. I was feeling just a little dizzy at times since I was sitting quite close to the TV and I suffer from vertigo since after my heart aneurysm back 2020. We both enjoy documentation of this mall. I think there's some life in that place I would like to see the mall turned into like the one in Rhode Island called the Arcadia it was the first ever shopping mall turned into part shopping/micro loft apartments. I really love looking at that place and I swear if I wasn't married and didn't have lots of stuff I would rent an apartment in that place. It's just an idea but I know they will not ever do anything with Northridge Mall??? 🤔🏢🤔🏢🤔🏢 I have been doing lots of studying up about mall and I got 3 books for Mother's Day about shopping and malls and I have several PDFs on my ebook reader about abandoned malls. And I love watching your videos and all the other mall documentaries and walk throughs because not only do I to walk a mall through RU-vid but it's also relaxing too. I know it probably sounds silly but it's true it's relaxing. Again great video and keep up the great work your doing with providing such great mall content to everyone!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Superb

Why didn't you go down the escalator in "The Movies", what was down there? I'm guessing more empty auditoriums. I miss "Babbages" the computer store and Software,Etc, which became "GameStop". I miss "Musicland"! I won a contest where the 1st Prize was a "Bram Stoker's Dracula" poster, autographed by Francis Ford Coppola. The grand prize was a trip to Romania/Transylvania. Very cool video!! The transition from how it is now to how it was then and back again, were very cool!!

LOL @ the way you pronounced Waukesha. I grew up in Milwaukee, so Northridge has always haunted the landscape of the northwest county corner. Thanks for the video.