Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 26 - Eastland Mall (OH) 

giggity

As a 75 year old senior I saw these malls in there hay day. It's sad to see these fails. I live in Rockford, IL and we have CherryVale Mall still hanging on but the signs have been there for years as all the anchors have left. It's hard to imagine what to do with these gigantic complexes since it is almost to expensive to demolish them and businesses do not work. One idea I've had for a few years is to turn them into senior citizen living centers. These complexes could be totally self contained living areas with apartments, small grocery, drug store, doctor offices, indoor walking, plenty of outside parking, etc. But the key is the rentals cost can't be excessive. A problem that has driven previous tenants out of these malls. Just stand in these malls and look around and imagine what could be done with all this space instead of retail. Just my 2 cents worth.

I am ex W Worthington Franklin OH. I do rember the Northland Mall, Eastland Mall and Westland Mall ALL was top notch back in the 1960 to 1980's ALL was a open mall but in the 1970'sh to earlier 1980's then enclosed them! In the 1990 and 2000 things had turn to the worst beside the high crime, HIGH lease terms and change of malls owner! ALL are RIP! Columbus Ohio been trying to bring back these malls as outlets but not all made the cut! Northland Mall gain a major face lift but no mall mostly office, and few new grocery stores but that it!

Came across your channel today. Makes me think back to when going to the mall was an exciting event as a kid and continued into my 30’s. I even carried on the tradition with my own kids, until they got older. Going to the mall, wasn’t always about “the shopping”. It was the place to meet… my moms cousins and sisters use to make it a weekly visit as a group to catch up, chat about the latest gossip and they loved to people watch. Thanks for the nostalgic Christmas pic… I was disappointed when companies tried the “Outdoor-Outlet malls” those are dying out too. It’s not the same as the indoor malls in the north where you were escaping the long winter weather blues. I never thought Malls would become a thing of the past. Thank you for showing and giving bits of their life history.

Maybe it’s just the nostalgia, but I find your content soothing and sad at the same time 😢….The Tri-County Mall episode in Cincinnati hit different, because I used to work at the Suncoast video in high school in the late 90’s….Your production value is excellent…Keep’m coming

I had thought FOR CERTAIN that Eastland had closed well before Dec of 2022... I live only a few miles from it and grew even closer to the mall and visited many many times over my youth - to be honest I sort of avoid the area in general and there's little to no reason to travel down Hamilton Road that direction. The initial shots of the visits with Santa brought back some memories - heck I may have been in line there at that year from the looks of the clothing ;-) What was actually more impressive were the businesses surrounding the mall - there was a Brown Derby restaurant, a great arcade, a Stereo Lab (which sold Commodore computers where my dad bought our first VIC-20), an eight screen movie theater (then more screens when that had moved across the street), various other restaurants and my favorite Children's Palace. The amount of shopping was very impressive for the 60's, 70's and into the 80's....

Seeing this well documented mall fall over the years is truely heartbreaking, it was about time to say goodbye but it will be missed. Thank you for filming this 60s beauty one last time for us all to enjoy. Also, seeing that anchor store closed for 17 years is crazy! I wanted what its like inside...😲

I was almost 5 when Eastland Mall opened and lived within a few miles of it all the way until I was 20, so this video took me right back to the 1970s. The mall was a huge part of my childhood. Almost all Christmas shopping, Santa visits, Easter Bunny pictures, meeting friends, chasing girls, going to movies, etc., all centered around this mall. Parents could just drop us off when we were in 4th grade through junior high and not worry about us for hours. Eastland had a great run for about 15 years to the mid-80s. When busing was ordered in the Columbus schools in 1979, white flight occurred for the next decade and by the 1990s Polaris Mall and Tuttle Mall on the city's north and northwest sides were being planned. I doubt if I went into Eastland more than two times from 1985 until it closed in 2022, and I'm sure my experience is the same for most of us who grew up on the east side in the 1970s. Eastland, like so many malls, became unsafe, and just 10 years later into the late 1980s one wouldn't dream of dropping off their 11-year-old kid and letting them roam there for four hours.

Grew up close by in the 70's and 80's ....eating on the 2nd floor of Lazarus was "cool" if you could afford it. Saw the first Star Wars movie there in 1977!!! In the 80's/90's Sears 2nd floor had one of the original call centers for Discover Card Bank . Hundreds of employees would go to the mall during their lunch break or after work to eat and shop . I remember eating at the Wendy's during my lunch break. There was a Ponderosa steak house there too that was very popular. Some of the older viewers on here probably remember them! When all the bigger malls started opening up downtown, and northern Columbus when there was a lot of new deveolopment there , that's when Eastland started struggling . Many of these larger malls had twice a as many stores, restaurants and also drew higher end retailers as well. And the community around it went from blue collar to a bit lower than that. It had a rep as being a bit dangerous to go there and that was it. Thanks for posting this. As sad as it seems, this is still a great location in the middle of a highly populated area and could be turned into something else by someone with the vision and $$$$ to make it happen. My personal feeling is that malls got over built , so when online shopping became a thing it just dropped bigtime. Another thing, in other countries its common for grocery stores to be anchors at their malls , but not here in the USA. Maybe, thsi is something we need to start doing .

18:03 perfectly framed.. you froze the camera at some perfect spots in this vid this mall has such a vibe for liminal photography, filled with nostalgia, there was such a great natural light great episode !

You should see Tuttle Mall in Columbus Ohio. It's not dead yet but it is almost there.

It's so strange seeing childhood malls on here. I know you're going to Century III and I saw the photos you posted of Shenango Valley Mall on Instagram. Hard to believe some of these small town malls matter to anyone.

I can almost hear the mannequin in the beginning asking the rest of them if they're going someplace after this. Loved the bright concourse which worked against the fading of the mall itself. Excellent video.

Fun mall fact of the week: I believe the mall that lasted the longest without an anchor was the Carousel Mall in San Bernardino with a whopping 14 years without an anchor. Btw loved the video

Your music choices are always spot on. The blue bricks really looked great. I saw my old debartolo mall today in Tampa today. Only the center section is left with the food court and several stores. The anchors were torn down. They put up a sprouts where the dilliards was. College housing will be on the other side. Thanks for another great video.

I find it odd how drawn I am to dead mall content, as someone who kind of hates malls, mall-like suburban consumerism, and shopping in general. Maybe it's catharsis for every time I was dragged through one of these places as a kid. Growing up just outside the MSP metro area in Minnesota, this happened frequently, and now when I go to even the merely half-dead malls like Southdale, Maplewood, Har Mar, and Northtown, I can't help but think... good riddance. Yet, other people did have good experiences in these places. First jobs, first dates, Christmas shopping, hanging with friends. But I didn't. I showed up too late for the prime mall-years. But when you tour these spaces, big and empty as they are, once filled with life and activity, I can't help but think I missed out on something. I mean I still go to MOA sometimes, but that's very different. These local malls for local people probably were something special at one time. It's just something I never felt.

Eastland was always the 2nd best option if you didn’t want to go to Westland. Frenchy’s was an awesome restaurant in the Sears wing that served the best onion rings. And I always wanted to eat in the restaurant on the balcony in Lazarus but my mom always said it was too expensive. The addition of Kaufman’s was a dumb decision. Kaufman’s had some success with their Polaris store and wanted to build near Easton but Steiner blocked them from opening in the area. Eastland was the only option

As a cusp 80's, 90's kid it sucks to see some of these places like this one go down like this. I remember when we could hang out with friends, get stopped by security for roller blading/skateboarding in the mall, go shopping with family, or just plain go there to relax.

Sucks to hear another mall leave us but thank you for capturing it's beauty before it's gone forever. Great video!

Wackiest, craziest and zaniest... You must be going to the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. As always great dead mall content thanks for the videos.

Saw the original Ghostbusters here back when it came out. A trip to Eastland was such a treat!

Great video! Just got to see it now. My final visit here was in September 2022. It was silent and crazy. It felt like it was even gonna close then. Im amazed this place lasted as long as it did.

I remember this one as a kid in the 80s. It was at the top of its game at the time. Had some cool fountains. Lazarus had a restaurant on the top floor. Of course the arcade and all the 80s mall staples. The neighborhood used to be filled with other big stores, restaurants, etc, then other malls opened and times changed and the area went downhill. Sad to see what it’s become.

Malls used to have it all. From clothing stores of all prices ranges, shoe stores, toy stores, book stores, etc but with online retailers, Walmart, and Target most of those stores have left the malls. There was something for everyone. I see retailers that used to be in malls that are only online.

Your in my area😊 so I’ve obviously visited and documented this mall many times including it’s final days. Here is an interesting story. So I visited just before the pandemic and yes it was dying. I then came back sometime during the pandemic right around the time when blm riots were going on and I found the mall in a terrifying state. There was graffiti all over the outside and it looked apocalyptic. I had thought for sure it was over and the mall was closed at that point. I was visiting Columbus at a time the mall would have normally been closed so who knew if it was permanently closed. I then came back a week or so later and it was as though none of the graffiti happened and it was open as normal. So weird and I have footage I am going to compile into a video and tell the story.

When you put bucket on the floor to catch the water, maybe someone should empty them every now and then

Pittsburgh Mills is a whacky and zany type of mall. Has to be the next one!

So sad to hear / see Eastland Mall abandoned. I spent 2 years here in the mid 1980s attempting to get an education at DeVry & lived in one of the apartment rental places nearby & worked at Showbiz Pizza Place on Macsway Ave. I shopped & walked all over this area.

I remember all the malls in and around Columbus I worked in the Sign Industry. Everything has Changed. Once nice a safe place to raise a family and prosper is no longer.

your narration is so great

That picture of the wonderfall outside of JCPenny with the funny shaped P then reminds me of Brookfield Square mall in the Milwaukee Wisconsin area. In fact I almost thought that picture was Brookfield Square at first.

- if mall walls could talk,...

Great video dude. It’s ashamed what happened to this place. I hope it doesn’t sit abandoned like Westland.

I loved this mall as a kid! Damn man this is like watching a funeral! You hit the right music!

Amazing video North!

I used to go to this mall occasionally. I lived closer to Northland Mall so that was my main mall, though.

Excellent video my dude. If you’re headed to Pittsburgh, you have to be headed to Pittsburgh Mills and Century III.

Blazing into Pittsburgh soon! On fire my guy! 🎉🎉🎉

Could the next mall be Northway mall in Pittsburg PA?

I grew up on the east side of Columbus and visited Eastland a lot. So sad all these malls are gone now.

Great video. I never new how bad shape Eastland was until seeing your video.

I looked for social media but couldn't find it just patreon. Great job I watch a lot of urban exploration vids of years after they are empty. Your going to have to circle back to the Twin Cities soon as I expect the Maplewood Mall in Maplewood,MN will have the same fate soon. Keep up good vids 👍🤟

It is wild how over malled the state of Ohio was. I lived in the state in the late 90s and remember checking out a different mall every weekend with my college roommate. She loved to shop, I loved to drive and people watch when I got to the mall. So many of these malls were still pretty busy in the 1990s and many weren’t even ‘updated’ yet, meaning they still had character and fountains. So wild to see so many of these places completely empty and no longer maintained. Thank you for documenting them.

Jimmy Jazz!

Seems like a lot of these malls die because of poor location in proximity to the interstate/exits .. (among other things of course) developers are so stupid. Love the vids!

What a comparison at 0:30!!! Yikes!

Very good video love it! Have a good weekend! There is one of those water ones from top to bottom in a column at the Brookfield Square mall in Brookfield Wisconsin

Man that Cajun express used to have the BEST burbbon Chicken, Former Akiba Arcade employee here. (it was in the corner by the old lazarus)

I don't remember a theater in the mall. There was one outside the mall behind the strip mall and it didn't close until maybe late 90's. I went to see Jerry Mcguire there with my now husband in 1997.

Funny enough there's an Eastland Mall in Evansville Indiana that as far as i know, is still flourishing.

🎉 I went to Santa Cruz today!

At 17:45, the creepy background music truly is the music of “death!” Yikes, well done!

Awaiting the final episode of the season which will no doubt be worth waiting for....Century III

i lived a few blocks away from this mall when i was in Columbus for college. That part of Columbus sux

Wishing I knew the Pittsburgh malls. But this one sort of reminds me of Southridge in Des Moines. I wonder if that is totally abandoned or anything. Never hear much on it. I think Target might be the only thing still out there. The food court was demolished in 2011 I believe. It at one point was great and had a carousel.

This was the last one left with Westland closing years ago and Northland gone now to this was last land mall left 😢

I wanna say you're going to Pittsburgh Mills next. I've seen a couple videos about it in the past, and I would certainly describe it's look as a trip if you know what I mean.

Amazing video. Maybe college dorms.

The mall is now closed and sitting abandoned to rot. You should go back to explore it.

Reminds me of Lakewood mall

Very well put together vid❤❤❤ Pittsburgh Mills?

If you want to visit a dying mall go to Cherry Vale mall , it might not be dead but it is close.

You need to visit east hills mall in saint Joseph Missouri it is completely dead but somehow still open

you should hit lakeshore mall in sebring florida!

Fun I sub

have you ever been to Tangle wood mall? If not i recommend checking it out

69 gigity you are not slick North 😂

Great video! What's the song playing at around 13:00

I think we figured it out... My 15 year old son and I were walking through the Mall of Alexandria in Louisiana. We were talking about the demise of malls and noticed there were no traditional bridal shops. There were; however, three shops for prom dresses and trendy, colorful tuxedos for young men. That's when we realized malls were not dying from Amazon. They were dying from changes in the courtship rituals of today's youth. Most young ones dress up for prom. They chose their mate at prom, then shack up with them after high school. No traditional weddings. No ring. No business clothes to wear to the fancy job to attract a mate. The prom is the new wedding. All the stores after that are made redundant.😢

Have you ever visited Woodland mall in Bowling Green Ohio? It’s an interesting little mall, no larger in size than a Walmart super center (at least according to the measurements on google maps)

I love Eastlandd Mall in Columbus Ohio.

Is it Pittsburgh mills Mall i used to pass by this Mall all the time when I lived in the area

Malls were a terrible idea. We should have spent all that money investing & improving our towns. But I'm British & we don't really have huge malls here. Maybe one or two. We just have towns & cities that are becoming ghost towns lol. So who knows what the answer is. So many people shop online now. We'll all regret it one day. Very sad to see.

Why was this posted 1 day ago when it was recorded in December?

Do you plan on still doing River Oaks in Lansing?

69 giggity 🤣🤣🤣

I know do a lot of abandoned malls. Can you please do me a favor ❤🥺Visit the Palisades Mall in NY/NJ. It's 3 floors and has a Farris wheel and Rollercoaster 🎢

@ 5:56 I've played enough games to know there a secret at that light.

So is the mall closed or not? Because some of those stores looked open and had merchandise inside them.

Is the next mall Century III?

I found the artist mentioned on Spotify and am wondering what’s the first song called? I want to use it in my yoga classes 😊

just a random question. is this mall still there today???

Hey dude nice vid!!!

Thanks

Dude, I like your videos, but this video had a lot of ad interruptions. A bit much.

Could it be any chance Galleria at Pittsburgh mills?

Hard to say anything nice about Ohio.

when I look at the racial demographics of the area, I can see exactly why the mall closed

I am not sure where you got your information, but Eastland mall was never called Eastland center. I have lived in Columbus, Ohio all my life, and not one time Eastland was neve referred to as Eastland Center and changed to Eastland mall in 1976. Please add a correction to your video, since you do not live in Columbus.

Lived in whitehall my entire life and spent many days there..haven't been in it in probably 10yrs or more..used to be a decent little mall back in the 80s