San Jacinto Mall - Baytown, TX | a dead mall, pantomime of wealth and effete | ExLog #33 

I lived in Baytown tx my whole life, this mall will always have a core childhood memory, going to the play court, the wishing well, the movies, I remember this mall always being full. As on 2022 it’s now gone. Thank you for showing us around and recording memories.

am i trippin or do y’all remember when the san jacinto mall was POPPIN in the early 2000’s ? i remember a long ass line at the photo studio all the time and googleheim had mortal kombat lol

Now that whole mall is gone. Sad to see it go. I've had many fun memories visiting it with my mom back in my child days. She took me to it on the day it first opened & it was the place. RIP San Jacinto Mall

None of us,who live nearby,consider this a mall💯

Living in Baytown I can say we have not gone to this mall in 5 years. We drive 40 mins away to baybrook mall

Hey Sal. Watched because I was born in Baytown. I wanted to mention something that you didn't cover that is especially relevant with this mall in particular. The city gave big tax breaks for the initial building of the mall that were supposed to expire if the mall was sold, but when the Yar group took over the city extended those tax benefits, because renovations were promised. When that investment group took over coincides directly with the failing maintenance and overall operation of the mall. It was the worst kept secret that it was being used as a tax write-off, and therefore; there was no incentive for the Yar group to invest in maintenance or upgrades or remodels that other malls received at the time. It was an out of state investment group that could have cared less about the continued success of the mall because the East Side of Houston was not growing at the same rate as the North, South, or West sides (Woodlands, Clearlake, Katy). While there WAS significant flooding in the area during those storms, it was NOT the primary reason for the poor physical state of the mall. The City government recently rescinded the tax breaks and THAT is when the Yar group sold the mall. It wasn't the weather that doomed that mall, it was an absent tee landlord in California.

Thank you for documenting our mall! Lots of memories here. Hopefully they'll start on the rebuild soon.

I live by this mall this is weird seeing a video

I remember accompanying my mom to San Jac mall frequently when I was a boy. It was alive, chatter everywhere, the food court full, kids laughing (or crying). I remember playing in the fountains, staring at the enchanting cloud murals, and being mesmerized by the colored LEDs in one of the department store’s ceiling ( I think JCPenny?). It’s so weird how quickly that’s over. I go there 2 or 3 times a year now but it will never be the same.

All those planters used to be fountains. Including the giant blue pillar in the food court

Edit (Sept. 8, 2019) -- The mall is currently being demolished, and most of it is unfortunately gone... So sorry to the locals that have to see their mall go. Hey guys! Happy Holidays! This episode kicks off the 2018 Gulf Mall Tour, which will come out over the next few weeks (I'll try to get them out as quick as possible)... Thanks for watching!

On behalf of all Houstonians, please allow me to extend my deepest apologies for both San Jacinto and Greenspoint Malls. Please don't base your assessment of our fine city off of these two abysmal, rotgut atrocities. We are better. I promise. -Sincerely, Houston

That “massage parlor” did a great job! And had super low prices lol

I love the background music you use in your dead mall vlogs - it gives everything a really strong "after the zombie apocalypse" vibe. And happy Christmas to you too :D

Interesting video. This was the mall of my childhood during the whole of the 80’s, the malls boom period. I remember shopping for school clothes at Sears and then later, Mervyn’s. So I know the history of the mall very well. I wanted to clarify that the ceiling sky murals are not original and came during the Yari years. They were originally just plain white ceilings. The yellow metal benches you mentioned aren’t original either as I remember wooden, park style benches. The interior was not as colorful and was a very muted beige, white and brown throughout. Each department store interior courtyard entrance had unique colorful, sculptural canvases that formed a shape or animal (think one was a whale) which hung from the ceiling. In fact, I could see in your video, the metal rack they hung from still hanging from the ceiling. Service Merchandise was originally Wilson’s, a catalog store. The Fair was a junior anchor out of Beaumont, after it closed I remember Marshalls going in soon after. I’m not sure but I don’t believe Bealls (pronounced BELLS) was ever retenanted again after its closure. The upper play area above the Market food court was called “Physical Whimsical” in the 80’s. There were actually two small movie theaters in the mall as the food court movie theater is not original and came in the late 90’s or early 2000’s. The large pole in the center of the food court with the multiple signs on it was actually a huge multi-cupped waterfall. In fact, there were fountains at most of the department store interior mall entrances. We’d always ask for pennies to throw into them. The floor tiles are original but they definitely weren’t as high gloss and overwaxed as they look currently. Sears was usually our point of entry, I remember they had a snack/candy counter in the middle of the store. We’d always get popcorn; etc from there before we started shopping. We got our Santa and Easter bunny pictures from San Jac. Most of our xmas gifts and toys were from stores within the mall as well. By the early 90’s something changed and my mom stopped shopping there choosing to frequent Deerbrook Mall in Humble instead.

Keep the Expedition aspects of your work going. That and the depth of your research is what sets you apart from your competitors.

Hi! Here in 2021 and the mall is still dead... the part that they haven’t demolished... it’s a gross disservice to the community bc that’s thousand of jobs that could be provided but for some reason I guess that’s not important enough to the city, owner and realtors 🙄

this video is such a trip. i went here religiously as a child and all those empty stores that you showed, i can still remember what was in them. crazy

This mall was life! Mid 80's through early 90's believe me when I say you couldn't be at a better mall to hang out at.

This is creepy because I live in Baytown and I would never expect to see a video about this mall

Man I miss Picadillys!

Born in Baytown. That mall represents my childhood. Oh nostalgia. The upstairs used to be called “Physical Whymsical” back in the day and there was a ton of stuff to play on and activities to do and games to play. That was a long time ago, probably early 90s.

I remember in highschool the San Jacinto mall was the spot to hangout. I havent been there in years

As a Houston native, I have been to all of these malls mentioned and it is a damn shame you could not see them in their prime. Search "tears of a mall" on here (RU-vid) to get some of the real footage of what San Jacinto was back in the day.

Awesome feature. :) Back in 2011, an area native put together, hands down, the best retrospective of a mall I've ever seen - called "Tears For A Mall", it's an exceptionally poignant "then and now" feature on one guy's hometown mall, the San Jacinto Mall in Baytown, Texas. The first part of the video features tons of pictures and ad scans from when the mall was under construction, the dedication and original building features/fixtures. The second part of the video features incredible footage this guy took of himself and a buddy on a trip to the mall on July 2, 1991 (VHS camcorder, of course ;) ). And then, the third and last part of the video features the sad state of the mall in present day (2011), including showing yet unrepaired damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008. Anyways, here's the video in question: "Tears For A Mall" featuring the San Jacinto Mall in Baytown, Texas from February 7, 2011: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NaMsAE-yo2g.html

So many memories here.

I opened that mall at Sears in 1981 - used to be a great place to hang out - and I still miss Corndog 7!

These just keep getting better! You are killing it, Sal.

Yes yes yes! I asked dan bell to do this mall but I’m glad you got to it first! Right down the road from me! You’re awesome!

From Baytown! San Jac Mall is no good anymore, but apparently going to be remodeled by 2020.. we shall see. Lol

It's always a treat to see these older malls that have never been renovated, but sit as a time capsule to architecture and design of the past. Hopefully they will redevelop it though, and give the local economy a boost. Thanks for another great expedition!

When this mall was built it was the largest in the state of Texas. The second level over the food court used to have a playground and a huge elaborately decorated carousel. My children, now grown, had and attended many birthday parties there. Macy's actually acquired all Foley's. 20:00 The space that is gray wooden along the outside with the white wood outlined display windows used to be a train collectors' store. My sons, now both grown, loved that store when they were toddlers and preschool age. This store was on the left of Service Merchandise. I miss SM, but was not surprised when it closed. I am surprised JCP can stay in business these days. It was sad when we lost our Sears but they were barely keeping a skeleton crew to run it. It used to be our go-to place for tires and other automotive services, but the last 2-3 times we went you had to hunt to find someone to help you. Prices couldn't be beat but service was literally missing. Sears used to have a huge and amazing photo studio on the second level and those ladies who ran it did a phenomenal job. I had my oldest children's pictures taken there when they were babies and toddler ages. I have never understood why someone doesn't jump on the opportunity to take advantage of this place's potential. Houston continues to grow like crazy and there are many neighboring areas around Baytown: Highlands, Mont Belvieu, Barrett Station, Beach City, Crosby, Liberty, Old River, Anahuac, I'm sure there are even more I am leaving out. Also, I-10 is just about the most major interstate running right next to San Jac Mall, stretching from Florida to California, literally from one ocean to the other, Atlantic to Pacific. The next mall along I-10 from San Jac is located on the west side of Houston as you are about to leave the city, which is Memorial City Mall, or all the way in Gulfport Mississippi, which is a huge outlet mall. There are miles and miles of dead space on either side running of Baytown. Case in point: Buccee's (known to be the biggest gas stations in the world) just opened a new 96-gas pump location near the mall, and on the same side of the interstate too. They saw the potential in this booming growth area. In the meantime, Baybrook Mall, which is also in the Bay Area of Houston, but on I-45 south, can't build fast enough and keeps adding more and more retail business and restaurants beyond belief, along with a new upscale outlet mall south of it on the way to Galveston Island. Go figure ... it has never made sense to me. Hurricanes hit worse there than in Baytown. No one is willing to invest in this mall. Money is out there because booming business expansion IS happening. But it's just happening in other places. Baytonians take their money outside the city limits every day, and congested busy I-10 traffic wait to make their stops elsewhere along their trips.

I remember going to this mall every weekend in the 90s. Crazy to see how much it's changed.

I've been coming to this mall since the 80s. I practically grew up here. Met my first boyfriend here in The Market. I watched and videoed them demo parts of this Mall and it makes me cry. A part of my past is now history and it hurts my heart so much. I learned to drive a stick in the parking lot outside of the Premiere Cinemas when I was 15... along with just about every other Baytown teenager. I have many, many fond memories here. Was even able to introduce my kids to this Mall as they were growing up. They sat with me and watched as dozers knocked down the walls of Mongomery Ward, Foley's (yes, forever Foley's) and JC Penney. I celebrated my 16th birthday inside Casa Ole, just inside The Market, (beginning of video) with my family. Thank you so much for sharing these videos and for me, especially this one. I also enjoy reading other people's comments and sharing their memories of these glorious malls bustling with life back in their hayday. This has to be one of my most favorite videos ever. Thanks, Sal!!! 😊 Now I'll go finish crying. ❤

I worked there for about 4 weeks in 1990. I worked for Hastings records, and they needed help there. I drove from texas city. Our mall, Mall of the Mainland is getting a makeover. The man that bought it is putting local restaurants in it. There’s a gym where Sears was. A salon of salon suites and office spaces.

I grew up in this mall…tons of great memories from the late 80s to mid 90s. I had several birthday parties at the upstairs playground. It was called Phymsical Whymsical.

Love your work, I miss malls so much and following you through these spaces, listening to your information allows me to not only relive my teen years but learn more about the demise of these once great retail epicenters. Thank you.

Love this video!! I used to go here with my family when I was little. It brings back a lot of memories. I love dead mall Series!

You filmed this around the same time I first drove west from Savannah to Coachella Valley area. I caught only a glimpse of this decrepit mall at 70 MPH on interstate 10. "I'd love to check out that mall." I said out loud to myself and travel companion. I could see from the interstate at a quick glance the state of disrepair. I knew it's days were numbered. This most recent trek from east to west and back solidified my hunch. It's gone, bulldozed, an empty lot now. But thanks to your video, I can manifest myself in the corridors of a damn near unmolested 80's architectural beauty. Thanks Sal.

Watching this video, I felt this mall is special. Something about all the hallway/door arch decorations together with those quarter-round sky murals...I really like it!

I just recently discovered that Montgomery Ward still exists as an online retailer. I had no idea!

I used to work at the Sears in this mall in the late '90's. I remember when the mall decided to get the carousel working again and all the tenants in the mall got excited. Then they decided it was too loud then turned off the carnival music it made then no one wanted to ride it anymore. In the 80's this mall was a destination for shoppers that would drive in all the way from Louisiana. The mall in Beaumont Texas decided to update and add more store fronts to capitalize on that trend and its local gossip that says that was when the decline of Baytown mall began.

Being from Baytown and seeing this is mad weird but yay! I love any kind of dead mall series and always thought our mall fit in 🙃

You’re right about Baytown economic growth. Our Main Street, Garth road, has so many new stores. They keep popping up out of nowhere. I speak for most people that it sucks having to drive to Baybrook/galleria/Deerbrook for decent stores.

That is crazy just seen my dad on the video he was a janitor for over 15 years here ! Brings back memories.

Now the only things that are still there are the palm trees over by where Macy's rear entrance use to be at, parking lot light poles, & fire hydrants. Not to forget the property is surrounded by a fence.

I remember going to this place when I was a kid. We'd always get pizza and leave out of JC Penney. I visited the mall recently, and all I can say is that the visuals on the walls and ceilings and abandoned stores are engraved in my childhood.

I found you channel a few weeks ago and I just find them all fascinating. Don’t know why but seeing them are just so interesting. Your commentary and the background you provide are outstanding. Thanks for such a great channel filled with good info.

I was 9 when the san jacinto mall opened, and it's sad to see it going so downhill. I worked at sears Baytown and they closed for good t his past week. The plan is to knock down the whole mall and make an open air market place. It's ashame they couldn't just refurbish what we have now keep sears Baytown open and other stores. you do good work.

i used to go to this mall all the time i have so many memories of it 😭

Found memories. My family owned Pet World in the mall during the early to mid 80's. It was really an awesome place for an early teen to be able to roam and interact. We loved it.

The upstairs actually used to be a place for kids called physical wymsical. It had all kinds of fun stuff for kids from toddlers up to about 10. I think it closed down sometime in the late 90’s.

This is fantastic Sal. Your presentation with the historical details makes it so interesting. Thank you!

To go along with the anchor store fronts with the geometrical shaped planters there use to be giant hanging fabric art pieces that hung from the ceilings. Each part of the mall had a different one. I loved those.

When I was a child my mom would take me back in the late 2000s - early 2010s I remember the beautiful sky mural, the fountain with all the coins in it, and the upstairs play area. It's a shame they never kept the place in shape. I miss it Edit: I also remember taking pictures with Santa there several times.

My grandparents used to own a flower ship here

Classic ExLog goodness!!! This mall is great and now I want to go to Texas. This one has some great designs.

So many great memories and FILA tennis shoes . Definitely remember lighting hitting the flag pole as i stood 15 feet from it.

Your Intro to the videos is some of THE best that I have come across. It pulls a person in and that says something on RU-vid. If you don't catch a person within the first 20 seconds of a video you've lost 'em.

another wonderful vid Sal - glad you're releasing a bunch at this time - over the Holidays I'll be able to sit and watch without interruption! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! ♥

Yassss!!!! I've been waiting for a new video from you and this one didn't disappoint!

This video was absolutely amazing. Thought I’m a native of the DFW, Houston retail has always fascinated me, as they are just as if not even more overmalled than we are. You got the history correct for the most part, however I have a few corrections: Bealls, Montgomery Ward, and Service Merchandise all closed in early 2001 which really propelled this mall into a rapid decline, Mervyn’s closed in 2006, and Palais Royal did not close until 2020. And Foley’s didn’t technically close it was just bought out by Federated Department Stores and renamed Macy’s.

Can you come back in 2020? It’ll be remodeled by then and you can make a better video of a before and after ?😂

Hey, Sal :o) LOVE LOVE LOVE this Mall, everything about it and you did another awesome job videoing this beautiful place. What a shame that Houston has had so much hurricane and flood damage over the last several years! My family and I grew up on the east coast of Florida near the ocean and a river, and we went through more shingles, roofs, and fences in the years that we lived there due to storms, hurricanes, and flooding. Well, I think this is my favorite mall so far - I LOVE the sky mural on the ceilings, the floors, the idea that it has a carousel, AWESOME :o) Well, on to the next awesome mall video and thanks again for bringing us all to these wonderful places!

You should be able to find pictures of the upstairs on google. It was called physical whimsical. Also, there is a video floating around on RU-vid how it use to look in the 90’s . I was 3 years old when they built this mall, and nothing looks the same. The painting on the ceiling is NOT original nor is the yellow chairs. The ceiling had animal flags at the top, the seats were brown, The whole floor was the dark brick, The market place you walked through with the signs use to be a fountain, and it was over 8ft deep. Kids use to jump in there so they put dirt

Thank you so much for making this video, used to live in Baytown and wanted someone to archive it.

I remember power power play had a massive game area.

Merry christmas Sal! I came here for the intro ( quite a piece of art ) and stayed for the whole video. Because of your narration. And your excellent camerawork. You have an eye for camera angles that look interesting. Lastly, it´s the fascination for those half-dead, almost-abandoned malls. I´m from europe, and you know that´s quite a cramped space. Almost all of the malls you have in your log would have been closed years ago over here. It´s puzzling to see malls where you encounter a customer every 2 minutes, and they are still open? Over here, they are stuffed full of people. Like: No way there isn´t at least 5 people within 20ft range around you. And most of the time it´s hard to find your way through the crowd. I simply don´t understand how those mails you portrayed survive. Are the land prices, taxes and costs for energy actually this low in the U.S.? Fascinating stuff. Lastly, I love that 80s style of this mall. It was part of my childhood.

Wow I’m 35 and I live only 20 minutes from this mall and I haven’t been here since seventh grade. LOL used to love the upstairs. Can’t believe it is fallen so far from when I was a kid. I can’t wait until you show off guns point mall as we call it here in Houston LMAO. Great video

Man, Sal. Your videos are absolutely haunting. Everytime you walk through one of these malls, I feel like you're taking us through a tableau of broken dreams and things that might have been. Incredible. I especially love the muffled background music. It adds to the haunting dreaminess, if that makes sense. Keep up the good work.

I grew up going to San Jacinto mall. So many memories from childhood to teen years. Its broke my heart of how much it became crap and finally they are fixing it. I can't wait til our mall is rebuilt and bring this community back to life.

Wow, fascinating video. The architecture of this mall is so 80s and looks bizarre to today’s standards. At the same time it’s absolutely beautiful. This mall is like a time capsule and I’m glad you documented it before it is gone

Born and raised in Houston and have spent plenty of time at this mall so thank you for doing such a great video on it!! As of yesterday they have begun demolition on San Jac Mall

I remember going to this mall with my family and always seeing the giant trampoline (idk what was the actual name of the attraction)in the courtroom I always wanted to go on it. It’s a shame I never got on it I saw it get demolished and all I remember of the mall was the marshalls,Ashly home furniture and the good Chinese food and the cool water fountain in front of the marshalls that was now replaced by plants. Anyone else remember this in your childhood?

I live in Baytown and worked in the mall in 1982 /1983. It was Booming. Crowded ev ery day.. it's a shame it's so empty. Thank you for seeing the beauty in it and including it in your videos. Sharon

I breaks my heart seeing the state of this mall now. In the 90s, it had so much life. Its honestly some of my fondest memories as a kid.

Nothing is more disturbing, unearthly and disquieting than a moribund mall . Your passion is peculiarly facinating.

19:30 Service Merchandise. My dad managed that store in the mid to late 80's. I remember the layout and upstairs offices like it's an old house of mine. But it was so long ago that it feels like a previous life. Would love to explore that vacant store!

The overall look of this place inside is so blatantly-90s. I love it.

drove by yesterday. the sign is the only thing left standing.

The mall did finally close after 38 years on January 4, 2020. On July 31, 2020, JC Penney put 21 stores up for sale, this one included. On August 13, 2021, it was announced that JC Penney would be closing in Fall 2021, which will leave Macy's as the only anchor left.

Music and ambient sound effects are absolutely on-point. I live in the Houston area so I'm very familiar with this mall and several others you've covered.

If you come back to Texas sometime soon, stop by Collin Creek Mall in Plano. It's nearly dead. There are a lot of half dead strip malls here, too. Collin Creek was purchased by a developer that plans a mixed use neighborhood, with housing, offices, and retail. I'm sad to see it go. Demolition begins in January 2019.

I can’t believe that a little over a decade ago that mall playground was lit af as well as there used to be a Wendy’s and Chick Fil A 🤯 Those fountains used to have water and coins all in them. Rainbow was the ONLY store I would hit up in there and seeing it empty makes me so sad 😭 We used to have a Claire’s and Marshall’s 😔

Hi Sal I love your video's and the commentary you have a very easy to listen to voice. Happy Holidays to you

looking back at this, the mall was finally demolished this past month

That makes three reasons I need to go to Texas now. Thanks for another lovely video, Sal.

Merry Christmas Sal! Yet another great video! I love the sky mural it’s beautiful! I’ve been out west to Oklahoma with my husband almost 10 years ago but I’ve never made it to Texas. I hate to see it demolished but there is so much damage from the hurricanes sadly. I can’t wait to see more of your videos I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to watch like I normally would. Hope your holidays are great! 😊

This mall is said to be completely torn down and rebuilt as an outlet or outdoor mall

This really hit home. I grew up off I-10 closer into Houston and we always went to Almeda Mall, off I-45, in my younger years. I went to San Jacinto Mall in high school, college, and aftet I got my first job as a teacher was in Baytown. Bought my first, big, stereo at Montgomery Ward. Loved Mervyn's. Sal, the closed Montgomery Ward was used after Hurricane Rita to distribute relief supplies. People could drive through the auto repair shop, have supplies loaded in their car, and drive home. Saw the worst movie I ever saw at San Jacinto Mall. "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" starring Steve Martin. When you first walked in there was a Casa Ole Mexican food restaurant on right. The state office you referred to was the local school district. Lots of memories. You are right.... it looks just like it did in the 80's.

I remember coming here as a little kid in the early 90's. This was an awesome place to go. I remember as a kid I fell off one of the obstacles on the second floor and hit my head and face on the metal frames. Hurt pretty good, lol. Also seeing movies when I was 9 and 10. My favorite stores where F.Y.E, Sam Goody, Suncoast, KB Toys, and the bookstore I believe might have been called Walden Books. Lots of good memories here. Edited my comment, can't forget the Arcade, Power Play, lol.

I live on the other side of Houston now, but growing up, this was my mall! We would play at the arcade, have birthday parties at physical whimsical upstairs, eat dinner at Casa Ole, and see a movie. That was one heck of a Saturday right there. They had those water features at the food court. I remember everything about this mall. I have heard it is completely gone now, but I can't bring myself to go by and see an empty field. Sad. There are so many great memories there.

This mall once had gigantic kites hanging from the ceiling in front of each anchor store. I remember one of the kites looked like an alligator.

I remember going to the San Jacinto mall back in the early 90's to watch Pocahontas in theaters, as well as several visits throughout my younger years that more often then not involved at least one carousel ride. I remember it being full of laughter and life. The last time I visited was in 2013, and although there was an obvious lack of people I did get to see my daughter ride the carousel. It's sad to see it so empty, but wow what memories!

Man that trailer hauling that combine harvester. I've never seen a trailer that sits that low before.

I had no idea there had been a Physical Whimsical and this mall too. I only knew of the one in Sharpstown, which i loved going to. I haven't been inside this mall in decades or even driven by it in the daylight in forever. It's impressive because there are still some big name stores in it. Good work, yet again!

It’s crazy to think this is all gone now

Look forward to seeing the other malls in this new series. Liked the high gloss brick/wood floor and the period architectural design

I was born and raised in Houston and I remember all of the hoopla when this opened. I only visited it based on the movies being shown at the cinema, I am subscribing in anticipation of the Greenspoint Mall walk through. Another wondrous opening when premiered.

My family would take me here to shop for school clothes back in the late '90s and early '00s. I think the last time I stepped foot in this mall was maybe between 2000 - 2003. Ironically, there were still plenty of people going there but not as many as before. However, nowadays it seems very sparse but it's still shocking to see patrons walking around. Everyone goes to other malls nowadays.