I remember the downstairs area was a food court down there back in the day maybe in the 80s . Also the upstairs main part of the mall there used to be an arcade and as you walked in it looked like walking into space mountain it was like a blue tunnel with flashing lights. I grew up going through that mall as a kid as a preteen as a teenager and saw the changes over the years. Amazon and e-commerce has ruined malls forever. If people would just take time to spend a few extra dollars and support small business none of this would happen. I still do it and if I need something right away I don't mind paying a few extra dollars then have an amazon, fedex, ups, truck coming into our neighborhood everyday making it look like I live in a commercial zone. It's very annoying now it's getting really old. People nowadays spend way too much money on junk that they don't need. If it's not required for human survival you don't need it.
The Arcade was called Aladdin's Arcade. Not Aladdin's Castle like most malls. The long hallway to get in was very cool. It was mirrored on the left side and had blue strips of light on the right side. They didn't flash but it was very similar to walking into Space Mountain. I miss the downstairs food court. There was an Orange Julius and a Perry's Pizza. Right across from the Orange Jullius was a Vans shoe store. A couple of doors down to the right of Vans was a store called Fashion 2000. For some crazy reason I remember the name. I bought an outfit there I wore to my Junior Prom in 1987. Then of course there was a UA multiplex theater. I remember it was the first of it's kind in the area. It had some many theaters that a couple were so small they only had about 50 seats in them. There was also a toy store near the bottom entrance by the piano store.
Actually, I remember the arcade was downstairs near the old movie theatre location before it moved outside. The mall isn't dead because of the location near Knott's Berry Farm, lots of tourists in the area.
@@chuckjones6055 After Aladdin's Arcade upstairs closed a smaller one did open downstairs by the movie theater but I don't think it was there very long.
It wasnt all about spending an extra dollar or two, Amazon abused the Government tax break and incentives and kept rolling their debt to crush competitora and then monopolized retail within the industry of e-commerce. The issue was that Corporations have too much power and the government is letting them abuse it. These politicians are placed in by corrupt people with money.
I've lived in Buena Park my whole life. Have fond memories of Sears, Fedco, and KB Toys. Wanted to say I laughed whenever you referred to something as being "crusty" especially that security truck in your other video. 😆
Really strange to see the BP mall this was once a open air mall, 50+ years ago Thanks brother, I grew up in BP honestly very happy I left 33 years ago, hard looking a memories die . Blessings to you all 🙏🏼✝️🕊️
I grew up in the 80s and 90s, so seeing shopping malls becoming ghost towns is really shocking. Interesting to see how some malls die while others survive. South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island and Los Cerritos seem to be doing okay. Lakewood Mall not so good.
Hey, don’t knock the Buena Park Mall! They got a Chilis, Walmart, TJ Maxx, Ross, Sanrio (Hello Kitty), Buffalo Wild Wings, John’s Incredible Pizza, 24 Hour Fitness, a Krikorian movie theater, etc. Asia Buffet (sushi buffet) also draws big weekend crowds. BPM got stuff & parking lot in front is always full and filled up on weekends! BPM maybe half empty in some parts-but it is certainly NOT DEAD. Plenty of people and crowds in certain parts. Best of all, BPM is the not-so-secret free parking lot for Knott’s Berry Farm! I see people walk to their parked cars at 11 pm at night & I know exactly what they did and where they came from!
Well, since people can see what i filmed they can make a decision on taking a trip there or not. Yes the outer parking lot has resturants & the Wal-mart that makes the place look busy
@@HEYMANWITHJAYMAN Well, BPM is NOT a dead mall & though it is obviously struggling; it still has some stuff there & gets a decent amount of traffic. BPM doesn’t fit into that Dead Mall Motif of your typical RU-vidrs’ videos. Struggling? Yes. Dead? Nope. Either you are: (1) publicizing a half-way decent mall that is faring better than several others & still benefits the Buena Park regional economy or (2) just cruelly punching down and spitting on a struggling mall that has never been 100% occupied even during the good times. Which are you?
Your friends are right, it was a May Co store--not a Broadway. I've been going to that mall before they enclosed it and added the lower level in 1975 or 1976 (I was in the 7th grade). When it was an entirely outdoor mall they had an Orange Julius stand that we loved to go to as a kid. Also, there was an old-fashioned record shop with semi-soundproof booths to try out a record to see if you liked it before buying it! That was the late 1960s. There's a few photos of the outdoor BP mall on Google's Images.
In the 70's Westminster Mall was epic! We would go just to girl watch. I drive past it all the time now and it looks apocalyptic! They could shoot an "End of Time" movie there
@@HEYMANWITHJAYMAN my family did to, Westminster Mall and South Coast Plaza mainly. Living in Fountain Valley those malls plus Huntington Center (now Bella Terra) where extremely convenient
It was true originally that building was a may company. I remember going there as a kid my mom used to go there a lot. I remember down in the first floor in the center of the store there used to be an escalator there and there used to be a candy and popcorn shop right next to the escalator. I always had my mom buy me candy corn and caramel corn popcorn. They used to put the caramel corn in a white box. 🤣
The May Co building was two stories with a balcony that faced the inside of the Mall. My Junior High School Boy’s Glee club sang on the balcony a couple of times each Christmas. The May Co building was torn down and replaced with the Walmart. I grew up going to this Mall. When I was a kid, it was open air with big boulders all through the atrium part.
I remember the May Co in Lakewood. Had a candy dept / candy counter. Mom hardly ever bought any candy, but she'd get their Bridge Mix and Catalina Mints. I was so little I couldn't see over the counters. 😊
I'm rather impressed by what the BP Mall looks like today. Back when I was living in BP in the late '90s/early 200s, that that mall was really run down looking and dead with hardly any people in it.
I grew up in the neighborhood behind the mall. There is a catwalk straight into the parking lot. We all hing out there all the time. It used to be single story and an open mall. There was a woolworth in there if i remember right. Sears on one end and may co on the other.
Plans are that the BPD Mall will soon be demolished (at least a great part of it) and it will be turned into a 7-story apartment complex with shopping area. Walmart will remain. Not sure what else. So very sad...😢😢 City Council giving the OK to the Developers, whether anyone complained or not. We have no voice anymore....😢
Great video! I’ve only been to this mall once, last year when I wanted to check out 17th Door (a Halloween attraction that is indeed open during Sept/Oct) and Spirit Halloween. I go to Knott’s a lot so I need to stop by this mall again. Ever since my childhood mall (Laguna Hills) was demolished, I’ve wanted to check out other old malls before they’re gone!
@@HEYMANWITHJAYMAN I used to go to that theater when it first opened. That area never took off when they built it. I now go to the theater at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach. I grew up off of Crescent and Dale on the Anaheim/ Buena Park border.
This mall would be perfect for a double the size “Americana at Brand” outdoor mall and a Top Golf is the entire mall property was available meaning everything from Sears to Walmart. Stanton to Dale.
My daughter came out to visit in July and I wanted to take her to Gudetama. We were afraid it would have been so busy so we ended up going elsewhere. Its kind of sad its not busy anymore. Not sure how much longer they will stay in business if it looks like that inside.
The rent is low at the mall. That's how the vendor s stick around. I love the Ross for deals. It's very untidy but very inexpensive. I don't know how they price some of the stuff they sell so low.
grew up in Buena Park in the 80's and 90's, I remember when they did the add on and created the downstairs section of the mall. The food court was down there, and the movie theatre was too at the far end. very surprised this mall has so many open stores left. Does John's take up the entire downstairs or did they block off a big portion of it?
@@HEYMANWITHJAYMAN it’s my go to whenever I’m down that way. We moved our business. And used to go all the time. I’m in Northern Cali and our business moved to Las Vegas. We were over on Stanton Ave and Orangethorpe Ave just up the street.
You need to lease out a space Jayman!!! You can sell your Heyman with Jayman merch!!! Official Heyman Barricades, custom towels and mugs. Get yours today! Gudetama ran out of smalls again! 😂
