Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 2 - Peru Mall 

*I have so many memories of being in the Peru Mall. Shopping at Spencer's, KB Toys, Bath & Body Works, Fashion Bug, Montgomery Ward's, going to the movies, and eating at Maid Rite. They had amazingly delicious Hamburger Horseshoes and french fries! Got my ears pierced when I was 9 yrs old in this mall. It's where I saw Gremlins for the first time. When I got older I took my kids there to get some school clothes. Kinda sad to see it so lifeless now.*

Thank you for covering my hometown mall! I spent a large chunk of my childhood here. Pre-renovation, it was all dark stonework and brick, like a grotto. Over the holidays, they'd put out a bunch of creepy, animatronic elf-and-reindeer tableaus all over the mall. I still stop by Eyebrow Place for a cheap touch-up when I'm in town to visit my mom 😂

Man, I remember growing up in Earlville and going to that mall all the time.

Rodriguez Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is still going strong. Stop in.

i grew up going here after most of the stores closed and it was sad to see it die but its also kinda weird to imagine it full?? the early 2010s was a weird time for dying malls. i think the only place that people still go is marshalls tbh

I think a big part of our problem was it just wasn't cost effective. I have spoken to quiet a few people that ran stores and it seems like the tremendous cost of rent had such an impact of pricing that it simply made product to over priced. If they didn't up charge they simply couldn't afford it. Mixed with this being small town America it was also the hang out for teenagers. There's not much else to do. Teenagers don't buy much and adults didn't want to deal. So just allot of cons and never enough pros. It was great having more then walmart and target for clothing while it lasted. Now they have talked about making it into apartments.

Rue 21 is now gone along with Spencers since filming

the one next to boost used to be a justice

I go there just for bath & body works and Marshall just to buy things for me and bath & body is awesome but I am really sad for JCPenney and bergner's and Kmart and Victoria's secret and Sam and goody and your CVD store I am really sad for those stores so I guess it's going to turn into an office or something like that now 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Wow! I am amazed to see the mall I always went to as a child in a video! This feels like a dream!

The manager of the Peru mall would always come in to my place of employment to get food (around 5 years ago) he was in such denial of the mall being dead. He would always say everyone's dumb and our mall wasn't dead. Look at him now.

It is crazy seeing a place that i use to go to when i was younger. I remember going and hanging out with friends. Its sad to see how much has changed and how many stores are gone. It use to be a really great place to go to. They had a few good places to eat in there also. I also remember playing in the center court in high school when i was in band. We did this in the winter 2 different times.

The ending bit about Sam goody hit harder then it should of. This was the mall I grew up with. My dad would take our entire family there almost every weekend for music shopping in that exact sam goody. So many albums bought including some CDs that I played over and over and had most of my fondest childhood memories with. Thanks for visiting this mall man. I wish I could of ran into you there to chat about how it used to be there.

I haven't been in this mall in probably 20+ years, but I grew up in LaSalle, so I spent a lot of time in this mall during its peak. I worked in the arcade across from the theater when it was a Tilt! arcade with a nice selection of 90s games that were well-maintained in my time-- a lot better than what's in there now, that's for sure. While seeing this big empty place is kind of sad-- it is encouraging to see the downtown areas of Lasalle and Peru are seeing a resurgence in the absence of the mall's shops

The original design was brick and concrete walkways with new Orleans influenced streetlights and a large fountain at the center. There were food shops, a bakery, a florist, as well as the clothing stores and specialty shops.

I believe Lakeview Square Mall will be next!

This made me cry. This is the mall near my home town and it stings. I wish you could jump in my memories.

I grew up and still live in Dalzell, within eyesight of the mall to the west. I remember my mom and dad taking me there as a very young child to go to KB Toys when it was still open. At the time (early 2000's), the mall was still full of activity and I remember it very vividly. By the time I got to junior high, the place was on its way out. Anchor stores were closing and many of the long-time tenants were closing and being replaced by fly-by-night stores that lasted months at best. It's actually quite sad to see the mall fall into its current condition.

Holy nostalgia batman. I lived in small town north of there from like 98-02 and this was like the only place around to go to. Memories. Great job

I worked at Peru Mall Cinemas while going to IVCC and spent my breaks at The Gold Mine arcade. The stage area in front of Bergner's was originally a fountain. I remember going to the mall the week they opened and being excited about Baskin Robbins. Bergner's had a talking Christmas tree that was actually kind of scary.

Definitely didn’t expect to get so emotional from this video!! The Peru Mall was the place to be when I was growing up in the late 90s-2002. We would make an evening of it and drive over from Ottawa. Maid Rite was the BEST 50s diner with amazing milkshakes. We’d check out the dresses at Bergners, get our ears pierced at Claire’s, listen to some music at Sam Goody, and go check out the cute guys. Ha! Can’t forget all the nutty stuff in Spencer’s and enjoying our coolest store: Hot Topic. 😜 The bit about Sam Goody made so many bittersweet memories flood back. 🥲 The mall just makes me so sad… It was horrible watching it slowly die, store by store. There’s a lot of talk around town but it doesn’t seem anyone really knows what’s going on with the building. Surely, we ALL want something to happen. The owners don’t care, that’s very obvious. You can see the ceiling water damage in your video at the AMC entrance. We have a great, supportive community and that location is prime real estate off 80 & 251!! Here’s to hoping there’s something being planned behind the scenes! 🤞🏽

Walking down this hallway, I can tell you every store every space ever was. What was great about this mall is that it had the big mall stores as well as local business inside. That stage every year had a big Santa setup with a fireplace and snow. The Easter bunny lived there too. Anywho, this place really helped me cope with growing up in Peru, Illinois.

The original mall was darker and had a grotto décor. I remember lots of brown shades. The JCP was later added at the north end. It had the skylights you show, plus JCP's façade was mirrored, so it was the brightest area of the mall. I'd always sit there if I had to meet my parents. The older part of the mall was too dark, institutional and claustrophobic for me.

Neo! That door in the back of the oasis was your way out of the matrix! Go through the door!😮

*Wow!! So Sad~I spent a lot of time there in the Gold Mine Arcade but always started at KB Toys~ I always bought a model there first, then went across to Spencer's and got black lite stuff and strawberry incense they had burning in there~Always~Smelled fantastic~Then the change I had left over would be used at the arcade till my ride got there~It was a full Saturday afternoon as a kid in the 70's and early 80's~Saw a lot of movies there as well~First being Airplane 2~The last time I went to the mall was to watch the Three Amigo's in 1987~The last movie I saw in any theater btw*

I miss Suncoast. They use to sell Swedish nudie movies on VHS. I never bought any, I swear.

This used to be a great mall packed with stores, but in internet age all these malls, and stores are dying out

Loved this mall. I used to go there in early 2000s with my friends and pick up chicks (werent all that succesful but there were some successes lol). Spencers recently moved out of there and is now by kohls up the road.

I live in Peru and my sister had a store there. The Mall management drove out smaller businesses out with extremely high rent. They never 'Filled' all the empty stores due to the "Rent", hence to small income they could have received. The big stores issues were not 'The Malls' issues, but, effected the outcome. Had management done a much better job, the mall would still be properous due to longiity of building costs, plus rent. Like I said, the Mall was never filled. I certainly blame Management. You cant blame Downtown stores. They never/or even came close to coming back. We are still struggling.

Interesting video. I am a past employee of a few stores in that mall thew the 1990's. Kay Bee toys, Disc Jockey records, and even Bath and Body works. Great time of my life in the hay day. Had a few mall romances and one has grown to 23 years of marriage with 2 children. Wife worked at Hair Cuttery. Our oldest daughter works at JoAnne Fabrics. Second generation mall rat. It's sad these malls are dying like this. Some of the best times of my life, friends I've met and how it developed my life. Kids today will never understand.

Being an employee here, the busiest we get is Christmas or the Insanity Haunted House during Halloween

I'm from Peru, IL and I remember the mall a bit before 1989. I remember it being 70s brown and orange with wood and plants and waterfalls in some areas, specifically where JC Penny was originally and what is now a play place.

Never been to this mall, it does look like there was a fountain at one point in this mall which is covered up. Haven’t been to that many out of the Chicago area.

This is a good video. A lot of Iowa malls had Maid-Rite in it in the 1990s and early 2000s - also SouthPark Mall in Moline IL did too.

Great video, never been to Peru mall, but the only survivor in the malls seems to be the gum ball/lounge chairs/small kid rides/and in many cases the hurricane box. I keep wondering who must of lost a lot of money putting them into every mall in the USA. My local mall in upstate NY is dying, one store about every month goes bye, bye. Like everywhere else. I love your soothing voice and quiet manner as you describe what is happening. Keep up the good work, until the last mall is closed, which will be a sad day indeed.

Wow! The mall is well past dead at this point. I worked there as a teenager. I remember the mall looking much like it does now. Only full of tennants and lots of people there starting Friday night to Sunday. I believe the benches and the trash can's through the center were the same ones that were there when they started. I worked at the Lowrey Organ Center. That business history mirrors much like the story of the mall. This particular mall had not one but two organ stores in it. There were (LMD stores) Lowrey Mall Development stores in almost every mall you could find in the 70's through the early 80's. Lowrey organs were made in Chicago at the time and they had thousands of line workers assembling them. The business sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of organs. Unfortunately the craze for them went with the malls. I went to work at the Lowrey store in this mall the week I got my driver's license and eventually ended up being Lowrey's Vice president of sales until they discontined manufacturing a few years ago. The management of these malls were very powerful people in the day. Rents were incredible and you would be fined if you opened 5 minutes late or closed the store 5 minutes early. Our store was just a few bays down from the center of the mall where the stage is. In the mall's early beginnings that was a fountain. Thank you for the tour.

Peru, IL is my hometown, I moved away in 2015 to South Florida. Thank you so much for making this video about the Peru Mall. It's crazy how watching your video, I could literally place myself into the scenes. I could picture myself playing the claw machines at the Fun Zone like how I did as a kid, my mom even worked at the Marshall's there. It's sad to see how empty its become, as I vividly remember the mall absolutely jampacked with people and stores. Thanks for jumpstarting my childhood memories.

I grew up there. So much a sad video. This was once a very busy mall and so fun to go to. The area around the mall was vibrant as well.

A combination of eeriness and sadness due to the complete and utter emptiness. Awesome episode!

This week it says no views. So, i think that could mean another gold medal for being first. i am getting confused.

This mall officially died when the FYE, a.k.a. Sam Goody, closed just a couple years ago. I went there all the time for new vinyl records and other cool stuff. It was sad when they abruptly closed.

I am surprised it is closed because there isn't another around for at least an hour plus drive. I was always told that the owner charged the stores WAY too much for rent and the only stores who could keep it up were the big money anchors. When they left, there was no hope. Proof of this is that chains in the area find it more profitable to build their own buildings than just add in to the readied space here. There was a plan to make it into condos for single people, but the smarter focus would be senior living.

I dig the opening music! You got that Dan Bell flavor my guy!🎉🎉🎉

The next mall will be the depressing Lakeview Square Mall

I didn't know what to expect when I clicked on your video, But I'm glad I did! Good content bro; nostalgic, thought provoking, and entertaining. Cheers!

Always a good day when North uploads. I love that vintage Peru mall sign on the main road at the end too!

The exterior and parking lot remind me of Midway in Elyria. If you didn’t know the mall was open, you would just drive away…

I was just in this mall over the weekend. It's been depressing to watch the Peru Mall die slowly over the years. I used to work at the Suncoast and Sam Goody here in the late 90s and early 2000s when it was still full of businesses

This mall should be one big backroom like an escape room but a mall and that would be cool and creepy I would pay to experience that. Love the vids

You need to do Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth Texas!!

I live here and I really want the mall to be destroyed. It's an eye sore and makes the town look run down. I thought the plans were to knock down the back half and build fancy apartments, while putting the remaining stores (and new ones) in the front of the mall, and remodeling it.

Many hours spent at this mall as a teen. Downtown areas are actually starting to flourish again with the decline of the mall

Before the movie theater moved in, that space was a great, dimly-lit arcade called The Gold Mine. When it closed and the theater came in, a Tilt! arcade moved in across the hall. I used to love going to Peru Mall. I looked forward to visiting the Swiss Colony and getting a jar of their hot mustard. It is sad to see it now.

All those mirrors & the creepy story...does it need a haunted house? (of course it does)

When the mall opened, it had a disco in it called Crazy Pete’s - which is where my parents met.

Those Pastels, and the square pastel lighting package around the skylights are incredible! I've never seen mall decor quite like that before. Combined with your liminol music, it made me feel like I was walking the corridors of a 1950's asylum.

idk why but dead malls make me feel nostalgic for the 80s even though I was born in the early 2000s

The S is silent in Illinois the S in towns are silent S too.

great video, moving to la salle / peru soon and this is great

Funny thing is, now Rue 21 is closed. It's a little more dead than it was

I think this mall is all but completely dead. Sounds like GK Development is another Moonbeam or Michael Kohan slumlord victim. I don't know why outside malls are more the rage these days, but my guess is because of cost of upkeep in said liminal spaces. One thing I would like to request if you can, please include your music credits... Artists like Dan Mason, Opus Science Collective and even my personal favorite Your Sister Is A Werewolf are all great selections of artists for your mallumentaries. (I doubt I coined that one.) 😉🙂

Very poetical but trust me be careful about nostalgia it is a drug that can make someone avoid reality. A suggestion for your art form , relate the old time better times to the now times it’s not sadness its time moving forward naturally

oh no freaking way i used to go here all the time!!!!

Interestingly enough, my love of the idea of liminal spaces are what not only introduced me to Dead Malls with things like the Neon Palm Mall, but this obsession of liminal spaces have also grown my appreciation seemingly exponentially about rooms and spaces that are taken for granted. Weirdly enough, this is what gotten my declare my major in Architecture Design. This liminal space phenomenon shaped my life, hopefully for the better.

Wow this mall just makes me sad of what once was!

I remember at time stamp 6:00 there at one time was a fountain there with coins in it. that was later covered up with a stage...

Used to love going to Peru mall back in the day always a store to look through and things to do in the evening it’s such a shame it’s not even a third of what it once was

Got spooked when I realized this was the mall right by where I live. My mom worked at the Sears there until it closed down, and we got a lot of stuff from there at the end. Still got a roll of caution tape I've been keeping for god-knows why

Seriously… how are these stores still in the mall? Sorry if I missed it, but what day and time did you film?

Lakeview square mall

And you add in some new techniques...philosophical exestentiaism towards the end about sam goody.... a little spirit of unicomm.

Honestly, this mall is more active and alive than about 90% of malls I've visited! It reminds me a lot of my hometown mall in Western PA.

I worked at Spencers in this mall maybe 1979

The courtyard areas look like a Minecraft creation!😂

The old globe lights on the outside of Bergners are awesome!

They killed downtown and now they are a dead place burned the flames.

Awesome video, I’m currently in the process of filming dead malls of the west season 1 right now but I also plan on having a whole season or two dedicated to exploring popular and local liminal spaces

Should do Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines Iowa. Theres an underground part that they closed off too. Might be able to access it through the bowling alley yet. But the entrance used to bewhere the kids play place is now... there was a statue of a woman down there and a hippie shop when i was in highschool... used to love going down there, it also had that really creepy vibe like something was watching you and that something bad had happened there.

I have pictures from 1995 of Chess King,Northern Reflections,Payless,Things Remembered, Piercing Pagoda

The haunted house is suprisingly really cool and gets good business during Halloween

I stopped going once FYE closed. But hey, they paved some new road in front.. that will def bring company’s back😂😂😂

God I friggin love your videos! I don't know what it is all these landmarks are just so beautiful without anybody in them.

You also have easy access to Peru via I-39. Peru is in between Bloomington and Rockford. Also, is your next mall CherryVale Mall in Rockford?

what do you uses to film these videos what kind of camera

My Grandparents use to take me & my siblings here when we were younger during our visits. We'd go to watch a movie but arrive about an hr early to play some games at the Gold Mine arcade & also to the food court to get one of those giant pretzels. I don't remember the name of the pretzel stand but they were delicious!

Imagine if you were dead, and your ghost stucks in this mall, and you can just keep wander around in this empty space with this kind of background music. To me.... hell yeah! I am sick of the society.

I worked at GKC in the late 90s. It was wild to watch you walk in that entrance and down that hall. I spent a lot of time at Suncoast Video on the right side at the end of that hall. I remember grabbing lunch at Sbarro's and A&W. My grandma would take us to KB Toys. So crazy to see the place so empty now.

I'm surprised that Marshalls & Jo Anne still have mall entrances into the mall should just close it off and act like there is no mall LOL. GK is a slumlord and going to another GK location Lakeview Square Mall in BC. There was no Sam Goody where I lived the closest one was Woodland Mall in GR or if I went to Detroit. RecordTown was at Maple Hill Mall & Crossroads Mall and Camelot Music was Music stores in the malls in Kazoo. Fun fact Crossroads Mall had 2 FYE's don't ask why they had 2 from the summer of 2001-03 they closed one FYE which was Camelot in May of 2003.

Ironic fact, real Peruvian malls are always packed.

As I was only a child in the 80's I remember there being a lot of browns and oranges at the mall. I do remember being excited about the " new" look back in 89

Love your content so much, and yume nikki has been one of my favorite games since childhood. I didn’t catch the music at first but it gave me such an intense feeling that I can’t place. Keep making these great vids pls💗

Funny how you talk about unease & liminal spaces in this one, when the intro text flashing "WELCOME BACK" in that colour, with that bg music and the scenery altogether already makes my chest feel like capsizing

Hey great work as always. Quick question how often do you see those hurricane machines in dead malls? I've been to my fair share of dead malls here in Michigan and it seems like everyone has a hurricane machine! Can't wait to see where you head next. Ill guess Dort Mall in Flint.

Wow! I spent a chunk of my life here. I used to work at Sbaros, KB Toys and Waldenbooks when it was in its heyday. Remember standing outside of that Bergners entrance waiting for Ticketmaster to open.

Dang, I remember going to the Peru Mall with my family and friends throughout my childhood and teenage years. I still go every now and then to see a movie at the AMC theater, but it’s wild to see it grow into a barren wasteland 😢

Dang, I remember going to the Peru Mall with my family and friends throughout my childhood and teenage years. I still go every now and then to see a movie at the AMC theater, but it’s wild to see it grow into a ghost mall 😢

I was last at this mall in 2019 when I was driving down to Bloomington (I think). It was bad back then, but it’s way worse now. So sad

I was a child when this mall opened. It was a hangout for teenagers in the 70's and early 80's, and was always busy with activities. So much so, that it was extended to include more stores and JC Penney. Fountains, Gold Mine arcade, Orange Bowl, Baskin Robbins., Musicland, Sears, Montgomery Ward, Swiss Colony, Foot Locker, and more trendy women's clothing stores than I can name. It is now like touring a dead celebrity's home.

I loved going to this mall. I can remember when my mom would take me and thinking it was “big”. I don’t remember exactly where but they had a helicopter ride that went up and down. I want to say it was close to where the carousel is now(I think whatever the sewing store was it was outside that). The Orange Bowl was a favorite. I loved going into Swiss Colony. I spent a lot of time as a preteen and teen there with my friends. Stores were slowly closing but it still was busy with stores and ppl. Mid 2000’s is when it started it decline. So sad because it was the place to go since we really didn’t and still don’t have much to do on a weekend night

Nice vintage mall. That Sam Goody though. Rare find.