Is It a Dead Mall? Westfield Trumbull Mall. Trumbull, CT. September 2022. Full Walkthrough! 

The original FYE was about 5x larger than the current one. It had a book section, music, movies, electronics and an arcade/fun center. The current store is mostly franchise-based merch.

I thank god this mall is still somewhat busy I know it won’t last forever and at some point in the future it will suffer the same faith as the rest of the malls in the country but for now it’s still a popular place I always have a smile on my face when I walk in and still see it’s somewhat busy.

This mall was the best back in the early 2000’s literally would come here almost every weekend with my family just to get out of the house even if we were window shopping. I have lots of fond memories in the original arcade at FYE, game stores like eb games and Shakespeares, Walden books, kb toys. I even like the middle of the mall kiosk that had random things like one guy was always selling old school kung fu movies. I currently live in ohio but man oh man this mall blessed me with great times as a child so it’s kind of sad to see it now…… 😞

This is the mall of my childhood and teen years, so hold on for a dump of random memories! FYE was originally in the Forever 21 space. Korvettes used to have a great Toy Dept. We would get lunch at Woolworth’s and you could buy goldfish and small pets (gerbils, birds, etc) there. When you got groceries at Waldbaum’s, you could not take the cart into the parking lot-they paid teens to guard your cart and help you load your groceries into the car when you pulled up. Stores I remember from the past: a Warner Bros. Store, which I loved. Kinney Shoes, Thom McCann, Spencer Gifts, Godiva Chocolates, Lane Bryant, Avenue. Macy’s used to be G. Fox, and prior to that, Jordan Marsh. There was also a nice restaurant inside the Read’s store. WaldenBooks, Book Beast (which was a great bookstore), an arcade. The lower level (where Cinnabon is now) used to be decorated like an outdoor park, including a big, fake tree and a dark, cobblestone floor. It’s not as busy as it was, but still feels reasonably safe.

I remember there was a Kay-B Toys store on the second level. I remember seeing all the NES games in the window in the late 1980s. Good memories.

I've been going to the Trumbull Mall since I was a kid in the 1970's. I worked in the Orange Julius in the "old" food court in the late 80's. The original building was a basic rectangle with Korvette's (now Macy's) at one end and Read's (now Target) at the other end. The Woolworth's had an old fashioned lunch counter. The JC Penney wing was an 80's addition, hence the irregular layout upstairs. Lord and Taylor and the current food court were additions in the 90's and early 2000's, if memory serves me correctly. One of the popular stores was Graf-Wadman Records, a local music store. I remember buying concert tickets there. There was also a free standing movie theater where LA Fitness now stands. Love your videos!

Guacamoles near the Apple Store and old Lord & Taylor site used to be a Ruby Tuesdays like pretty much my whole young life. Many fond memories at that Ruby Tuesdays, probably a couple of foodborne illnesses from that wonderful salad bar

Brought back many fond memories. I was mall cop there for many years. Observed that many eateries come and go as well as many of the non-anchor clothing stores. Tech store like Apple store has heavy, consistent foot traffic and the Lafitness gym which is separate but also on the campus gets most vigerous traffic. This is probably true of most malls. Also note that there is a large residental comlex comsisting of market rate rentals (1 & 2 bedroom units) being constructed on the property by the entrance on Main Street. This attractive mixed use revitalization is a good long term strategy. Likewise a strong presence of college students from nearby Sacred Heart Universith throughout the year and especially at beginning and end of school year greatly benefits the mall. Speaking of which, I recommend re-use of underutilized building and parking areas for possible expansion of the college.

Looks like it's not dead by any means, but it's certainly lost a few stores. A shame - I remember they refurbished the top floor around 2014, and I was really happy with what they did with the place. Not a decade later, its future hangs in the balance. Thank you for traveling to this mall and unearthing my childhood memories.

I grow up in Bridgeport & Saturdays in this mall was everything damn memories salute C.Bendolph

Was there a bunch of times in the 2000s I want to say the FYE was right where you walked in and started the video on the left there. It was a pretty big space. Also, I remember onleating there once there was a Bennigan restaurant in an out parcel right near the mall.

G Wizz, Herman’s Sports, Spectors Jewelers, Arthur’s, Card America, J Gotch, Buster Brown, J Silver…… I could go on lol

I grew up in Bridgeport (b. 1971) and spent many a Saturday and Sunday afternoon in "Trumbull Shopping Park" with my mom. I used to like hanging out in the East & West store that had all the knives, nunchucks and throwing stars, lol. It was like an Eastern import store. Then we'd get an Orange Julius and go home.

I grew up with the Trumbull Shopping Park in the 70's & 80's. Was born in 72, this was my mall during my childhood in the 80's. I still remember the original layout before their big renovation. I used to take the escalator up & Kay-Bee Toys & Graf Wadman records were right next to each other on the right. Then I'd walk over to the middle & check Woolworth's & Super X Drugs for new toys. So many memories! So depressing that it's just memories & that entire life doesn't even exist anymore. I haven't been up there since the 90's so I don't know what it looks like now. There was a separate movie theater in the parking lot. I saw the 1986 Transformers movie there 4 times. I also remember seeing Ghostbusters, Witches Of Eastwick, the '89 Batman & Krull there. I saw tons of movies there.

I used to enjoy visiting this mall as a young adult back around the turn of the century. I’ve since left the state, but am glad to see that it’s still doing okay.

So many memories for sure I did security here from 2015-2016 so much has changed since 😮

I live just around the corner from that mall. It’s still open but it’s no longer Westfield of Trumbull. It was bought out but as of today it still has not been given a new name and is just “Trumbull Mall” until it’s renamed.

My mom worked as an Assistant Manager at Stuarts!

So many childhood memories here... almost every day, a group of us would just be hanging out here. Either outside just hanging out/smoking, or inside the FYE arcade taking turns playing DDR, or just walking around/shopping. Security knew who we were, that's how often we would hang out here lol. Just the local mall goths bumbling around

Read's was a nice department store. If I recall you could have a meal there. Also, Woolworths had a dining counter. They had some great stores there. It has expanded a lot. Gfox and Filenes were there as well. Michael's Jewelers is also still there. Expensive place but a nice store.

Years ago, all the major cities in Connecticut had a home-town department store. Hartford had G. Fox, New Haven had Edw. Malley, and in Bridgeport it was Read’s. Eventually, they opened locations in Danbury and Trumbull. When the mall first opened in the 60s, Reads was still an old school, one-stop department store with a beauty shop, and a restaurant on the top floor. They sold everything one might need: clothing, toys, furniture, appliances. E.J. Korvette was a discount department store out of New York or New Jersey, not sure exactly, and they opened a branch in the mall when it opened in the early 1960s. They went out of business sometime in the 1970s.

I was 10 when it was built. Went with mom, then teen years with friends. Ate lunch at woolworths lunch counter, then to buy a parakeet or fish. My Early 20's (1975-1980) my mom took my 2 toddlers there to a child care center, was very small but parents could drop their kids off while they shopped, 25 cents an hour and yes, if was safe to do so then. It gave my girls someone to play with and they loved it. In 1987, I worked opening JCPENNEY and worked there until 1990 when we moved out of state. To see the state of this mall now, with no shoppers is heart breaking. The hustle and bustle of the 60's, 70's and 80's are gone forever I fear. Thanks for helping me remember the good ol' days.

I work at the Westfield Trumbull Target, and the upper parking lot has been closed for a few months because a portion of the parking caved in creating a massive hole, there’s construction working on it most days, but it’s still closed off to this day

I wouldn’t say it’s dead but could be in trouble in the next 5-10 years. This along with Connecticut Post Mall is in a very over-retailed area and is too close to nyc. You have multiple malls and shopping centers within 20-30 miles. Only so many will survive.

In January Westfield sold this mall and the South Shore Mall on Long Island for a combined $196 million as part of its planned exit from the US market. The buyer was ... Namdar. That sounds ominous, but I think/hope that it may show that Namdar is moving away from dumpster diving and wants to own quality malls. I haven't been in the Trumbull mall for many years, but I'm familiar with South Shore and while it has some weaknesses, most notably too many local stores as opposed to national chains, overall it's in good shape. Combined with the substantial purchase price it's a sign that Namdar really wants them to succeed.

I think this mall has changed a lot as the nearby universities have massively expanded in the last decade or so (the addition of a mall-hours 7Eleven, etc)

So many memories in this mall😢

I don't know much about Read's except that Read's Artspace in Bridgeport used to be an old Read's store I guess and they converted it into (literal) studio apartments for people involved in the arts. I kind of dreamt of living there at one point but it was way too expensive for me, plus it would've been inconvenient to live there

One casualty of Covid, most likely, was McDonalds. It had been there forever, and was always busy, but closed recently.

I think Reads became Filenes became Lord n Talor became Target (I moved to Colorado in 2006) I remember there used to be a Roy Roger's. I worked at Taco Bell and Arby's in the mid to late 90s when I was in high school. Also, remember there was a detached movie theater with only 3 theaters that became Circut City. Now it's an LA Fitness, I believe.

WOW! This mall is actually very impressive. I may drive the 2 plus hours from RI to see this place. Thank you for such interesting content. Can still remember how FYE was record town back in the day & how it’s competition was Sam Goody.

I remember way back when they had Steve and Barry's, Mrs. Fields Cookie's, Nathan's, Orange Julius, Disney Store times has change these days for sure.

Some of the stores I remember from the past 20 years are: Uniqlo (where Ulta is), a bookstore (where the Kids playplace is), Teavana (near the escalator next to the brow place), Lush (in the middle section next to the jeweler), Wahlburgers (near Cheesecake Factory), Kiko Milano makeup (next to salon across from Ulta), another tea/coffee place (next to entrace by Cheesecake Factory). Some that I half-remember and am not totally sure on, but I believe there was a Windows store next to the Apple store, a hair salon/ beauty supply place near Lenscrafters, and a gift shop type of place where they sold Vera Bradley (among other things) upstairs by Victoria's Secret. Oh, and I think before the 7-eleven was there, it was another makeup store. I can't remember the name but it was a competitor to Sephora - I thought it was weird they were right next to each other. I couldn't tell from your video if the Yankee Candle is still there? It would have been near the Victoria's Secret as well, I think.

4:11 Damn! That's weird! I never even heard of Target back in the 80's.

Went there as a kid and worked there in college; could go on forever about the stores, but two things of note: Michael's Jewlers at 9:27 has been there the whole time (and used to be allowed to close on Sundays) and the hallway leading to that corner is where Woolworth's was, on the left. Cafe was on that level and there was an escalator to get to the bottom floor. That part was the original mall: everything that the section that grew out to JCP's came first and then again out to what was Lord and Taylor (vacant anchor now.) LA Fitness was a Circuit City and a movie theater before that. It's kinda funny, that picture you found of the first Westfield sign: Trumbull Shopping Park may have been their first mall, but it took over two decades before the Westfield name stuck (which is why it's so huge in the picture but still kept the name the locals used.) Same was true of the Milford Post Mall.

The whole mall has been moved around the pass 20 years I been going there and the food court is brand new

I know what's been throwing me off about this mall, the second floor has very limited viewable access to the first floor. Definitely makes it feel more claustrophobic than it should.

I can remember seeing it being built in 1960 on Sunday drives with my parents …. Before the post was built we would go to Kings plaza….. before that the shopping destination was Milford center

This makes me sick because if I had known we would have the internet & RU-vid in the future I would have begged my parents to get a video camera & I would have video taped everything & everywhere. Bradlees, Caldor, Child World, Kay-Bee, Town Fair, Woolworth's & the original Trumbull Shopping Park. I wish there was some way to extract my memories so everybody could see what it used to be like in the late 70's & the entire 80's.

Can confirm that the FYE has moved around several times

I'm almost 100% positive that Wow arcade use to be the Sanrio I use to work at. :c

There was Schatz store, CardSmart, Waldenbooks, Disney Store, Lord & Taylor (anchor), Ruby Tuesday’s, Bombay Company, Front Row (athletic gear), Filene’s, G Fox, Crabtree, Thom McCann Shoes, Arthur’s (kid shoes & scouting uniforms), K-B Toys, Hallmark Cards, Waldbaum’s Grocery Store, New York Steakhouse, Bennigan’s Restaurant!

I walk at this mall three times a week. It has lost a ton of retailers. On the top floor Target, Apple, Cheesecake Factory, Ulta and Sephora are the only places with consistent traffic. There's a nail salon next to Apple that seems to do well also. The carpets smell like Cheetos.

I love the Westfield/trumbull mall I was there Saturday with my family and it was crowded I love the food court downstairs they got a lot of selections to choose from yummy and I love there’s a lot of bathrooms in there

I grew up in this mall. Amazing that Woolworths was still up and running into the 80s if it was one of the original stores. I remember when FYE jsut opened...ironically they took over the bottom floor of Woolworths. The FYE was waaay bigger than it is now and took up alot of space on the first floor.

I worked at a driver's ed school that was in the mall in the 90s called "Top Driver." It was across the hall from the Old Navy at like 5 minutes in. I was a sales associate. We didn't make many sales. Especially since driver's ed was free in high school

Herman’s World of Sporting Goods was where the Old Navy is now. the gap (later GAP) was where the Sephora is now. United Colors of Benetton was where Foot Locker is. There used to be a huge fake tree at the bottom of the escalator in the food court. Going right off the escalator which now leads into the main food court, was a sketchy hallway that led to the parking lot. There was a tiny shop in the hallway called Paul’s Coin and Cards which sold old baseball cards and collectible coins. My mom worked at Reads in the late 60’s, drawing models with the clothes for sale to be put in the Reads circular in the Sunday Bridgeport Post.

Reads was once New England's largest department store. In the years before G Fox and Jordan Marsh, it's flagship Bridgeport store was bigger than those competitors Hartford and Boston locations. It had a dozen and a half or so locations by 1980, 8 in CT. with others in update NY, Western MA, VT and So RI.

DM Reads eventually got bought out by what eventually became Federated Department stores, but that was before they slapped the Macy's name on all their stores. Immediately after it was Reads it became Jordan Marsh, and then Filenes, and finally they gutted the premises because there was already a Macy's anchoring the other end of the mall. That was when Target came in. Meanwhile at the other end of the mall I think G Fox came in when Korvettes went out, and when Federated retired the G Fox brand it became Filenes. I'm like 75% sure that's where they were; I might have swapped the locations of Filenes and Jordan Marsh in the memory fog of 40 years. Then the current Macy's location became the current Macy's location, and Federated retired the Jordan Marsh brand and moved Filenes to the old Reads location - I *think* that's how it went - and Federated eventually decided that two anchor stores in one mall was one too many. JC Penney has always had that location in the mall; that wing got built in the early 80s and while other stores in that wing came and went, Penneys held on. The Lord and Taylor wing came in probably late 80s, early 90s. I don't know if anyone's got their eye on the floor space now that L&T is gone. 16:40 the upper entrance to Target is closed because the adjacent garage has structural damage. They've been repairing it for a couple of years now. Oh. I've lived with this mall in my back yard now for about 50 years. My first job in high school was bagging groceries at Waldbaums.

1:49 That FYE is awesome. First one ever!

Stuart’s, Woolworths, Dancing Bear, Fashion Bug, Payless Shoes, Circuit City (free standing building where the gym is…used to be a 2 screen movie theater)!

My Great Aunt worked at Reid’s in the Trumbull Shopping Park in the 1970s-1980s!

this mall has been my childhood mall. still to this day

As a kid, my sister dragged me shopping. Korvettes was low cost, but IMO dumpy looking (Then again Reads had the best look). When a pocketbook at Korvettes fell off a stand, I said (and the mgr was nearby) "This store is so bad, even the merchandise commits suicide.". In its prime, though, this was a very good mall, as was the Connecticut Post in Milford.

The fye was massive before, it had massive music section and massive movie/TV section and it had a good size arcade. Also there was around 2006ish to 2015ish there was a Johny Rockets that took up the front part of the now cheesecake factory. There was a ruby Tuesday next to it which became walhburgers.

Years ago I would travel an hour to this mall because they had a Uniqlo store. It has since closed.

Original E J Korvette was on Main St downtown Hartford since at least the mid-50’s.

Never heard of DM Reads? You're young. Main store was downtown. Most upscale department store in Bridgeport area.

I have not been to this mall since the start of the pandemic. Traffic is really down. I usually parked on the north side and entered through Macy's.

The reason why the upper entrance area of Target is roped off is because of structural problems with the entire parking garage structure…it’s crumbling & a section of the lower level of it crashed down & injured a few people!

Spent a ton of money in Contempo Casuals on the second floor in the late 80's. The lay out of the mall always drove me nuts though. There used to be a huge Barnes and Nobles at the top of the other escalator as you came up from the food court, assuming they haven't moved it around. Haven't been there in 15-20 years.

Mall was sold to a “realty group” right after this and the Westfield signs removed - don’t know what’s going to happen. In past years it was often packed with people but seems slower now. My mom first took me there in 1968 - that original setup was not really a mall but was just three stores connected by a hallway or two.

They Closed off the top level parking area next to Target for repairs. That level the concret was falling apart and it was not safe to drive a car in it.

This is the liveliest mall I have seen in your collection. But not as lively as I remember it. I remember browsing for movies on DVD so it must have been a while ago.

I worked at Waldenbooks on the 2nd floor from 1998-2002!

6:37 That’s the DankPods Headphone Test Song in the background!!

FYE moved 2-3 times already! It was first located where Forever 21 is now!

there used to be a comic book store there back in the day called Dream Factory. 😁

Again, all the major fast food outlets are gone. There was McDonald's, Nathans, Popeyes, Subway, I think. Panera is still there? I think they're closed now.

I haven't been there in years, since I was a little kid.

I didn't know that . I thought the Naugatuck valley mall was . I use to go there in the 60s . Thx .

Born in 1966 started going to mall while in high school ? There was a restaurant in the lower level that had an iron gate had the best muffins does anyone else remember that restaurant?

i dont think this mall is dead i saw many people i also like the architecture it matches my vibe and it actually has good department stores

oddly enough the target was a macy's b4 that then they redid and b4 the macy's was over there it was a jordan marsh, macy's took over filene's when they went under . and where guacamoles is that was a ruby tuesday

U didn't walk thru the foodcourt u walked right by it when u passed fye at the end of that corridor it was on the left

WHY AM I SEEING A VIDEO ABOUT A TOUR IN A MALL IN MY STATE?? CONNECTICUT CONTENT FR Now I wondering about if you've been to the mall in Milford, the place I went to almost all the time with my family. It's very populated, as I can remember, and I'm very fond of it. Also the aquarium is terrible, don't go there. At all. I don't know the specifics but my mother has said that they abuse the animals there

another question I can answer, the upper Target parking deck has been closed for a while now due to crumbling and structural issues

Hallmark, FYE, Saborro, McDonalds, Arbys

Thank you

Also where the Ulta Beauty is, there used to be a Disney Store

Did you stop by the Disney Store, Radio Shack, and Walden Books?

Pics with Santa ❤

Cool Video.

Same i never see a 7 eleven instead a shopping 🛍️🛍️ mall

Reads was a bridgeport based store

Maybe the top parking for Target was closed because they don't want to man the entrance?

There used to be a GAP store near the food court, and the original food court was MUCH different. There was a children's play ground in front of the JC Penney. I remember taking soda from the McDonalds because their fountain was outside

In the 1960s this was an outdoor mall. Lots of stores but no inside connections. I guess you would call it a strip mall back then.

SamGoodie used to be right next to that lord n Taylor

I think their making them into apartments idk tbh my mom told me and they have recently started building apartments next to this mall.

All malls are on borrowed time.

That is where FYE has been since the beginning

Who was the first owner of the mall ?

This mall refuses to die.. and what I mean by that is the people/shoppers won’t let it die despite the current slum lord owners attempts to kill it. The worst mall management company in America is dragging their feet with repairs, in particular the Target/JC Penney parking garage. It was chained off because it collapsed several months back. They just opened up half the lower lever 2 weeks ago. A/C is on a limited timer forcing tenants to use expensive portable units. Several empty spaces that could be used for pop-up shops to generate revenue remain empty, and have been for years. The list goes on.. sad. However people continue to shop here. It’s a staple in the area and I wish the owners would make it a priority. They could do so much but lack any sort of imagination or creativity. Terrible business sense.

1:57 what the hell is that in short shorts and belly shirt? for the love of GOD!!

I'd say "slowly but steadily declining" but not dead.

I hated that mall

The reason why the parking lot of target is close is because it's falling apart

This was the place to go when I was a kid/teen…… it’s dead now….But it is the place to go if you want to be robbed in the parking lot! Lol so many good and varied stores back in the old days

Dont do a video inside of Seaquest or if yoi do, please talk about the rampant animal abuse, neglect, and unaliving Seaquest does. Its not an accredited aquarium for a reason, they dont get anywhere near the safety or living conditions for being accredited.