Mazza Gallerie, DC | a boujee dead mall with four levels and one tenant | ExLog 87 

If anyone wants to book the "Quite Studios Fashion Show Runway Exhibit" please just let me know. I can get the Mall PA Lady to DJ the event...she's pretty cheap and runs everything from a Zune, a bullhorn and some camping lights for ambiance. Sorry to any California viewers...I totally pronounced "Rodeo" wrong. Oops. Just put me on blast down in the comments, or let me know if I have to come offer a sacrifice at the Dolby Theatre or something. I'm down. Thanks for watching, everyone!

Update: the TJ Maxx closed in December 2022 and the Mazza Gallerie is currently being gutted.

Wait wait wait lemme get this straight: So the super expensive stores couldn't take Covid, thus damaging high end malls, but more standard stores could? There's something ironic about this super elite mall crashing and burning while my local somewhat lower class suburban mall is doing better than ever.

I live in the DC metro area, and I’ve been to this mall exactly once in the past two decades. That was to go to the AMC in order to see Spirited Away on opening night during its original US release. For some inexplicable reason, it was the only cinema in the DC area to show it, so I’ll tip my hat to the AMC Mazza Gallerie for that at least.

Wow, there is something deeply unsettling about a place that's so fancy being so dead. The luxury mall at the end of the world. Great video, really enjoyed this one.

I worked in Mazza in the mid-80s at B Dalton Bookstore. My two favorite memories were the day I sold books to the good Doctor (who you may ask? Yes, Who?) and the KGB guy who came to buy weekly magazines. He seemed to be fascinated by Penthouse Magazine... This is all terribly depressing...

So luxurious, and yet so lifeless... This place should be turned into a college campus or an office building.

My mother was with Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff, Pentagon. We lived comfortably in SE Virginia. About 6 to 12 times a year, Mom came into Dc for meetings, I frequently tagged along. I remember the small boutique cafe on the roof, "Pleasant Pheasant". Decent, very priced food. Not my favorite. Though I hated the McDonalds in the basement. My brother brought a girlfriend here and she freaked out over the dress prices. She ended up not being a good fit for the family. I couldn't afford everything in the mall, but I knew enough to find what I could. It helped having a N&M credit card. The Krön Chocolate was famous for its adult chocolates. That is, private parts rendered in chocolate. I never really made it to the basement, so today I was surprised to see the shop. I was raised on the grand department store experience of Richmond, VA. In the 19th Century, it was the largest city in the South. Atlanta started really overtaking Richmond after WWII. My family enjoyed the personal services they offered like haberdashers, sommeliers, book merchants and more.

Yo Sal...I could barely get through the opening without crying from laughter. Another great one!

Exxon left the DC area years ago, and a lot of the big money left the inner suburbs like Chevy Chase and Friendship Heights for the vast McMansion developments of Northern Virginia. The Tysons Galleria seems to be doing just fine. Why suffer in a tiny old house in the inner burbs when the surrounding neighborhoods were going to crap when you can get a huge fancy custom house and a chunk of land in NoVa.

as someone who has had my ankle broken to the point of my foot being 90 degrees to my leg, that fashion show segment was very painful to watch

It always struck me as odd that there was a Metro station in Mazza Gallerie when the kind of people who'd shop there wouldn't deign to step foot on the Metro.

My name for Neiman Marcus is Needless Markup. I saw a Polo shirt in Neiman Marcus in Houston that was $350. I saw the same shirt in Foley's for $25.

I was a poor college and grad student in DC between 1997 and 2004. I remember the *looks* I got walking through Neiman Marcus. I still have a coat I bought from Filene's Basement; I knew where I belonged. I remember the stores being built across the street; wasn't there some other shopping center on that side? It had a Starbucks and an Ann Taylor Loft.

Mazza Gallerie finally slipped into extinction just before Christmas in 2022. It is supposed to be "redeveloped" into high-end apartments with (maybe) some businesses, but I haven't had time to find details of the plans. I remember "way back when" during some out-of-area friends visited we were thinking of seeing a movie in Mazza Gallerie's theaters but tickets there were something like $3.50 more than the exact same film elsewhere so I never saw the interior of the theater, plus we were far too low on the food chain to even bother window shopping. (If I remember correctly, we ended up seeing a movie at White Flint Mall... another mall that would've been perfect for this channel if it hadn't been razed in 2015-2016 -- still an interesting story.)

It’s sad that this mall died. Here in Texas we call it needless markup.

I shopped at this mall when I lived in the district in the late 80s...Lord &Taylor and Neiman’s were my favorites...

OMG why is there something so soothing about the sounds of the Mall PA Lady. There should be an album of her singing the classics. LOL the fashion show was epic. Bravado often times cannot keep pace with relevancy. Such a gorgeous space. I loved the video there was a lot to digest with this Son. You did a great job Sweetheart. You always make me laugh.🥰🥰

I bought my prom dress from the Neiman Marcus in this mall in 2004 😊.

The shopping there was dying even before Covid but it put the final nail in the coffin ⚰️

You have a great voice command. Always enjoy your narrative, you make your vidio content interesting! Thanks..

I just got done reading a book on Texas millionaires that touched on Nieman Marcus. Some of the stuff they sell/sold is just insane and you wonder how some of that would be allowed today.

I don't think I have ever seen a metro station that empty.

Thanks for walking me through the MG; I haven't been there in ages. Great work as always!

Another brilliant video Sal, keep up the good work buddy, you're smashing it!

Love the flow of this vid, Perfect

LOVE your story telling bits. like at 28:30. You do such an excellent job painting a word picture.

The history and research combined with videos are so interesting. The thought of the hindsight for these investors after seeing what has become is crippling. Interesting mix.

Another beautifully shot vid Sal! Always a treat to see you pop up in my notifications : )

There’s so much retail space in Friendship Heights, and the majority of it is simply more desirable than the space in this mall. Across the street from this place is an ultra successful Bloomingdale’s, with additional shops next to it. A store would want to open there, not in this dinosaur of a mall.

I used to live in and near Chevy Chase, during and after attending American University, circa 1986-1994. Spent a lot of time and money in the Disc Shop, the cinema and other places. It always had a certain high brow snobbiness, but it was "our" mall. Good memories.

Very good history of the mall....Thanks for sharing!

Excellent and informative video ! Thanks for sharing.

RU-vid won't let me post link: Wash Post story from 12-28-93 where Princess Diana visited this mall. Title DIANA, PRINCESS OF SALES

The renovations are beautiful . The hardwood floors are fantastic. But I really like the view from the windows

Sal, another great piece. Memories. Thanks again.

Sal, this blew me away! I had seen the state of Chevy Chase Pavillon a couple of years ago but had no idea that Mazza Gallerie was going to end up like this!

“...an unwavering display of bravado.” Nicely put.

Sal, you are amazing describing all the events. Thank you ❤️👍

Loved this video, thanks! I worked for several years at Arnold's Disc Shop on the bottom level, two doors down from Gloria Jean's Coffee Bean and a few stores away from the only place that managed to both be an FAO Schwartz and feel ghetto! The open atrium went all the way to the bottom floor then, and the floors were white tile as I recall so it felt even more antiseptic than it did after the renovations.

Rest in peace to all those poor ankles in the intro

I love all that footage of the metro with no people. This is a gorgeous video!

I loved the McDonalds here. Was such a great place for commuters to grab a cup of coffee.

Another masterpiece, Sal. Thank you!

Very interesting video. I have never heard of this mall before. It seems crazy that something with such rich clientele would die, but the management seems inadequate. Seems ironic that such a ritzy mall would die with a TJ Maxx as it's lone tenant lol

Really enjoyed this video! Great job!

I grew up in Chevy Chase, DC (just as affluent as Chevy Chase, MD) and I had no idea about this story. I have so many memories from Mazza Gallerie. I go to the movies there. I even got accepted into my school from there.

Not gonna lie, seeing those models' ankles roll near the beginning makes me wince.

I often went walking through the neighborhood when I was a student at Wesley Theological Seminary from 2012-2016. While I did catch a couple movies at the AMC Theater, I never really explored the mall, though. Sad to see this so dead.

Mazza, along with the rest of Friendship Heights, was already hemorrhaging retail tenants well before Covid. Some decamped to a trendier development downtown, and others were victims of the ongoing retail apocalypse. COVID just gave the remaining stores a good excuse to give up on a dying retail scene.

I could see my great aunt shopping here. She was rich enough for high society and lived in the Highland Park Village neighborhood of Dallas.(My cousin went to Hockaday, a nice private school.)

That fashion show brings to mind Jim Vance and George Michael losing it watching a model fall down.

You and Dan are my favorites. Been subscribed for a long time 😊

I was here a day or two after Thanksgiving in 2019 to see a movie at the AMC. The mall didn't really seem dead at the time because there were a lot of people there going up the escalators to the theater, but now that I think of it, there were a lot of empty stores, and I think the AMC was bringing in influxes of people to see the next movie. The layout was also kind of weird, having to traverse several flights of escalators to finally get to the AMC at the top. Anyway, great video.

I really appreciate you speaking out and saying that violence is never okay. I wish more people were like you.

1:52 This looks like we're walking through the corridors of the Nostromo from Alien.

The opening sentence is mesmerizing, puts words into the feeling of liminality and short-lived infatuation about what lives and dies so fast should it be about brands or places or anything else. Knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing 🙏

I had a friend who worked at this branch of Nieman Marcus when the Mazza Gallerie first opened. She jokingly called it Name-brand Mark-ups!

This whole video can be summed up by a quote from the end. "You wanna buy some high end bullshit? Whelp, not no more!" Fantastic keep it up :D

This felt like a bizarre and eerie place to explore. Your "sponsor" segment was crazy, hilarious and sometimes painful to watch. Great video, Sal!

For goodness sakes you've eclipsed them all! Your video is so informative and interesting that we can't step away! You're the best young man, no matter where you are, keep filming. Your research FAR and away goes beyond Dan Bells pathetic attempts. And there's so many other objects! Loved your video, and I'm subscribed

Enjoyed the shot of you walking up to the glass, Sal.

Such a austere looking mall. Some go for that, but it looks expensive, so scares a lot of folks before they even go in.

Within the DC area is the only place I have seen a Subway all enclosed in lexan with a turntable to get your sub. And a slit in the plastic to slide you money through. It was in a very expensive part of DC, where there was once lots of retail. I haven't seen that anywhere else ( probably other places has it) and I have traveled a lot in the last 5 years, but not since Covid. With what seems like every other person is in security of some sort, I find that really weird.

Great job! 🍻

The main problem is more people shopping online. The Ralph Lauren "mansion" shop across the street was one of the most profitable stores in their portfolio. But corporate wanted to reduce their footprint. Neiman's was really small. The Saks mens store was small too but they moved it to their stand alone store across the street. Which they should have done to begin with. What really hurt this area is the City Center development. It has all of the high end stores that draw people downtown.

Been here since you went to Kinston Vernon Park Mall. Love your videos man.

Wow! It’s pretty eerie how EMPTY that place is! Unreal!

Comedian Mark Curry made a joke about models on the catwalk years ago. I wish I could find a RU-vid video link on it but I saw him do it at a comedy club. He said essentially models look unhappy on the catwalk because they are hungry and are likely hoping that someone will throw them a cookie or a chip. And then he acts like he is walking down a runway and "fashionably" stooping to pick up a piece of food. My mom did modeling in her teens (in the 70s) and said the stuff now is sometimes really weird what they put out, especially the heels/shoes the models can't walk in. She also said its not glamorous and there are some creepy people behind the scenes.

Another masterpiece. Very well done. Looks like Mall Lady found her new calling.

When you looked down those escalators, I felt I had to hold on to something.

Even without the water damage, the entrances look like a cold war relic in an eastern bloc country.

Was VERY pleasurable, as always ;)

My goodness. This came up in my recommendations; I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. I went to prep school in the Friendship Heights area. When I moved back to the area as an adult, Mazza Gallerie was a big deal, though not the place where I normally shopped (hello, Wheaton Plaza). I can't believe it's virtually empty, especially because DC usually does well no matter what the national economic situation because of the government payroll.

I was looking forward to this video, since in the early 2000s I used to work just up Wisconsin Avenue from Mazza Gallerie, and would go by there frequently. Even back then, the place had a weird -- not really very pleasant -- atmosphere, and I wondered even then how they stayed in business. Interesting to hear the history of the place before I arrived in 2001 and since I moved away in 2009.

Interesting insight into the design language the major developers used in their projects. Taubman had an interesting approach -- saying the expensive materials should be utilized on the 'touch surfaces' -- namely flooring, handrails, etc...and that lower priced materials be used elsewhere.

Even the uppity malls are going kaput. Your videos are always so fun and detailed! 👍

Yet another pice of art absolutely love it 🤌🤙 and what’s also funny is the most recent Call Of Duty has a mall map that got added right after I had been saying “gosh it would be real fitting if they had that” al be it that was a while ago lol. Anyway keep up the fantastic work

The metro stop must have been beautiful when it first opened here. It still looks good, but boy does it need some cleaning...paint...and better lighting! And as for the mall, I never was a fan of walking down hallways to go shopping...almost as though you are in some ones basement wreck room without the windows. You have to wonder what they could do to get stores back in this day and age. Half price rents? But without high end anchors...what would be the draw or reason,...besides a subway stop? And while that might get people to the location, what will make them open those wallets?

I find malls without natural light really unpleasant. They actually built a brand new one close by a couple of years ago, and it's always so gloomy in there.

Good lord, that... rotunda? at 30:00 is like something fron Dr. Strangelove or Star Wars. Another great vlog Sal. 👏👏👏

I used to live right down the street from this mall!

Hey Sal, I think this dead mall could be replaced by apartments and outdoor shops. Or, it could end up as a wilderness preserve.

Hey Sal great footage as always

One factual correction at 26:15 the GEICO headquarters across the street was not built in the 2010s, it was built in the late 1950s and is still there.

When I was little me and my mom used to stop at Mazza Gallerie all the time to go to the AMC. Sad to see it go down like this.

You had me at the title of this video 😂😂🙌🏾

I used to live in Northwest DC, about a mile from the Friendship Heights Metro Station, and I have pretty much no memory of this mall. I was a student at the time (2012-2014) and I shopped at the more approachable Chevy Chase Pavilion. I loved that World Market!

i worked briefly at World Market, there, in 2012

I went to a similar high-end mall once just to see it. Almost no high-end products are worth buying over normal name brands. I WILL say, Porsche Design and Bugatti make very nice lighters at reasonable prices (compare with S.T. Dupont)

"Mazza Gallerie, the largely empty shopping center along Wisconsin Avenue at the D.C.-Maryland border, used to be thought of as a local Rodeo Drive. But its stores have been closing over the last few years and now the very last retail business in the mall has closed." "Developer Tishman Speyer acquired the Friendship Heights building in May 2021 and announced it will redevelop it as apartments, but retaining a large portion for retail, as well as parking."

Second time I did not get a notification! I hate missing the live chat!

Hi Sal! I found your channel back when covid started and just recently went back to ex log 1 and watched all the ones I missed. I watch them on the you tube app on my samsung tv, hence the lack of comments until now. Love your work and your passion for the details. So glad you are doing D.C. area stuff now. My old stomping grounds as a kid. I lived in suburban VA and would take a metrobus down to Rosslyn or Balston station and the metro into town. I remember Union Station and Mazza Gallerie when they were thriving. I'm hoping you'll cross the Potomac at some point and hit the Virginia malls, besides Landmark (rest in peace). Ever hear of Seven Corners in Falls Church? I swear there was an enclosed mall there back in the 70s, but it looks like a strip mall now according to google maps. Also would love your take on Tysons, Manassas and Fair Oaks when you get the time. Thanks for being a calming voice in the storm over the past year or so. :)

Thanks for the video, growing up in Montgomery County in the 60s through 80s I had never been inside this Mall - have been to Montgomery Mall & Lakefofest Mall & other Malls outside Washington DC in Maryland & Virginia - I remember in the 1990s you could still smoke inside Virginia Malls & not in Maryland Malls since they have the Tabbaco Companies in Virginia

This is just astonishing.

Worked at TV station down the street for 15 yrs. This was a beautiful mall. Sad to see it go.

I remember going there a few times when I went to college in DC in the '90s. It was nothing compared to the ritzy Georgetown Park Mall though (another demolished mall).

This mall was so weird. It’s technically in DC but it’s not too far from Bethesda, which has several contemporary “name brand” stores and Montgomery Mall. As a DC native, I would come across this mall every now and then but it never seemed to have many customers except for the AMC theater. Outside the mall, there were more affordable stores like Old Navy or Gap.

I'm definitely going to hell for how much I laughed at the intro

Just looked up the latest, and it looks like the mall officially closed on December, with TJ Maxx closing. Looks like it is going to be redeveloped as apartments/retail, so looks like the end of the line for this one. I really only went here to see movies with a friend of mine a few times. Didn't know much about it otherwise.