My exclusive tour of the Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Ga, featuring a tour of the stranger things season 3 80s food court and mall set! www.patreon.com/acesadventures www.teespring.com/acesadventures
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It would be sweet if some dead mall people started making scale models of defunct malls! Not me, though; I already have too many projects. Anyway, you certainly have all the source material you'd need.
Dani McD Well then, look up videos of Portage Place Mall Winnipeg, it looks exactly the same as it did in 1987! I love hangin out there sometimes on a Saturday or Monday
Yeah. Any small town, really. I remember one time about a decade ago I went to South Carolina for a family vacation. We went to both Walmart and Kmart in separate rural-ish areas and both of them were like stepping straight into the 80's. They had 80's color schemes. The Kmart had a small food court with orange and red tables, brown counters. The walls were orange.
Gee it's like a museum! They should keep it like that after stranger things...I think a mall as a museum is an excellent idea for the future generations, yes?
From what I can tell the "Waldenbooks" in Stranger Things was the actual Waldenbooks that closed there. I wouldn't be surprised if there were tons of things in those stores that the production team was able to use. I'm pretty sure that the mall has never been remodeled, with the exception of replacing flooring. I remember when this mall opened.
For sure. I’ll never forget it, going to the mall ruled in the 80’s. Going to see awesome movies, arcades. As an adult I fucking hate the mall though lol
The base's entrance was a fake loading dock that doubled as an elevator. The base was located in the basement. Those Soviet Russians were trying to break the seal to the Upside Down...
That’s crazy someone died at the start court mall, when dufferbrothers saw that she died there they were probably like ”this is the perfect mall to film in👌🏿”
lillipuff 702 I find it weird they used a location where someone died. It's super creepy. Also the counter where she died was highly featured in the episodes. Wow!
kevin jones Yup. Blame the lousy security that mall had. Last time I went there half the mall was closed, and I remember seeing meth heads outside. Sad seeing our childhood mall die. This was my favorite mall.
This mall was our weekend shopping destination as a kid. It was absolutely booming through the 90s, and even into 2000 and a short time after. As others stated, The Mall of Georgia and Discover Mills decimated the business. All of the famous mall stores were here including a Disney store, Suncoast, and other usual suspects . Good times
I was so confused about why this old mall had all its neon lights on and working and looked perfectly retro until I looked at the description about ST3 filling here.
Fro Yo I live close to this. The mall has always had this 80's look because they never remodeled it. So I think that why Stanger Things thought this is perfect for our show! And they closed off the wing with the food court to renovate it for their show
Sam Goody's by some freak of nature as of this posting (July 2022) still has two stores left. Which puts it just above Blockbuster (one remains) and one below Suncoast Video (three).
I can see why they used this mall as a filming locations. It's beautiful. That fountain looks really cool. I do agree that the carpet sucks. Malls should not be carpeted.
@Ashley Sayers Yep, I agree. She is an 80's beauty. I can see why NETFLIX nailed it down as one of the prime film location spots for STRANGER THINGS S3. The Gwinnett Place Mall is totally on point. I love the old school 70's/80's/90's retro architectural designs of our malls in the US. Well, sadly what's left of them in our country that is. Here is New Jersey we have a lot of malls & luckily all doing pretty well. One of our largest malls (& coolest ) in Central Jersey still has it's 1987 mall renovation intact. It's called the Woodbridge Center Mall. It doesn't have all the lux anchor stores, but the mall is neat & clean & always packed with shoppers. Great daily Mall Walkers program too for those who enjoy a one-stop shopping kinda experince lol ;D
The last time i went in march there wasn’t a single restaurant open in the food court and there was 1 store for every 3 vacant lots that were all having crazy sales.
I watched Stranger Things Season 3 on first day... I was a kid again when they went into that mall... I wanted to cry! It was so packed with feels, man! To top if off, the mall I grew up in is being torn down at this very moment. Can't stop the tears!
Jamie Yayme and yet they remodelled a wing and other areas with incredibly accurate detail. The actual mall itself looks like a complete shithole, they made it look so good despite that
@@mybawzarerichie yup, I'm thinking they made a special deal with the mall and rented out a couple of spots and paid extra to tie up their space. And the mall took it because hey, that's business right there. Anyone nearby will be curious enough to at least check it out.
I miss how live malls used to be! I remember my mom would drive me and my sister to the mall give us $40 each and we’d be sooo happy. Malls were jam packed on Friday nights. I wish we could go back in time just for a day.
The mall around where I live is still pretty jam packed on the weekends, weekdays a little less but it’s always pretty busy. But it is one of the nicest (and only) malls in the area so maybe that’s why. There’s a nice mall downtown that I don’t get to go to very much since it’s too far to go to just any ol day but it’s pretty much always busy!
Shaneia Marcelin I know right. Young people have no idea how much more fun weekends were back in the day. No phones, people lived in the moment. Way better IMO.
I love seeing all those 80's logo's. The old school Taco Bell logo really caught my eye. I may have to start watching this show. Congratulations on gaining access to the set.
John Becker Sorry about the late reply but this show definitely feels as if you were in the 80s. I personally would want to be just because of this show and I think you should give it a watch with the amazing soundtrack and clothing and storyline.
Yeah. Did people knew there was filing there? I had no idea. Last time I went there I remember half the mall was closed. This was a couple of years ago.
Used to live in Gwinnett too. Too bad that area in general is deteriorating. You only hear that county mentioned in state news for murders and drug busts. I haven’t been to Gwinnett place like in 3 years. Honestly thought that mall shut down years ago. Wish I would’ve known they were filming here. :(
I grew up with this mall when it opened in 1983 (Gwinnett Place). I worked at Del Taco in the eatery during High School. It's amazing how they brought the mall back to life for Stranger Things. It brought back so many fun 80s memories.
wait....wait... WAIT! was this mall converted just for Stranger Things? will this mall be in season 3 like all of season 3? because I don't remember a mall at all in seasons 1 and 2....that is so totaly coo!
Alyfe Poison Bunny Shadow This mall was built in the 80's and they never remodeled it so it is true to the 80's look. It's called Gwinnett Place Mall. Around May or June they blocked off one wing with the food court and some stores so they could make the set for Stranger Things. In the middle of the food curt is a pretty fountain with a fish on each side. It was jade green and they painted it gold. I want to get footage like him but it's blocked off. Idk how he got through becaus they prohibit cameras. But then again the security sucks.
Actually, they did do a major remodel in the mid 90s, ripping up the old brown tile, replacing it with lighter colors. There were smaller renovations after that, eventually laying carpet in the walkways, as well as adding an entire wing with the store Parisian in 1993 or so. The hanging sign is original, and the neon rings on the columns in the food court are, too. There were two additional large Roman style columns in the food court that were torn down in the 90s as well. I grew up in this mall, it didn't look exactly like this in the 80s, it had a darker aesthetic. But it's cool, they still did an awesome job with the set design.
If you are ever visiting Victoria, BC Canada, there is a Mall called "University Heights Shopping Centre" and it too was built in the 80's and has never been remodeled. When you walk in, it's as if TIME STOOD STILL. Same 80's color scheme and original paint of Teal and White, the floors are that classic 80's mall tile, even the bathrooms have original fixtures and dispensers that are not even made anymore. And to add to the strangeness, it's very quite inside with hardly ever anyone in it or around. I really don't know how some of the stores stay open there. So many of the spaces have been sitting vacant for years.
I live in Georgia and in the same county as this mall. Time has not been kind to it. The county's demographics have indeed changed and the area is perceived as a high crime rate area. Mall of Georgia and Discover Mills doomed it once they opened since they were much nicer malls. I remember when the site for Gwinnett Place was just trees. Two of the county's movie theatres were there. One was torn down a long time ago and the other abandoned. Not sure if it has been torn down yet but it's in front of Fry's Electronics. There was even a NASCAR store in this mall along with an awesome arcade, Wizard's of the Coast store, and Ruby Tuesday's which, of course, are all gone.Nice work on the video!
It's only one still standing, they haven't torn it down yet and I hope they dont. I use to love leaving the mall and a group of my friends walking over to the movies on a Saturday night. Discover Mills did hury GPM vibe and Mall of GA came in for the kill but it's still a great memory. I loved going upstairs to the Ruby Tuesdays or the pizza spot to use my mall discount.
When I saw the 80s looking Radio Shack, my jaw hit the floor (mainly because I recognized most of the stuff in there!) The two identical radios on the top shelf in the front were Realistic Patrolman multi-band receivers.
That was absolutely incredible to see all they actually built. It looked like you took a time machine back to the 80’s and shot HD video at a mall back in its glory days. So surreal. Thank you for covering this!!!!
I don't watch Stranger Things and I wasn't born until the late 1980s, but based on pictures and home movies I've seen from the 1980s (when "Dead Mall Videos" were "Active Mall Videos"), the 1980s authenticity of that set was breathtaking.
Crazy level of detail they went in to for the show. Huge respect!!! Sad about the remainder of the mall. They should have kept the set in place as a museum at least for a small time. Could have got a lot of people coming to see it.
I found it interesting that pretty much all the food stalls have real names, except for the old Subway store where the dead girl was found. That one is called "Hawkins Heroes". I wonder if they had to pay to use the names and no one wanted to have their name used for the stall the murder happened.
grew up around this mall and remember when it opened was big deal, many skipped school that day to be there. Everything around mall was built up within a couple of years of opening. Mall of GA and Discover/Sugarloaf mills just up I-85, a drastically changed demographic and increased crime in area were the nails in the coffin for this mall. Used to be one of the biggest malls in region in its heyday, very sad but its the reality of now
yaLL I WENT TO THIS MALL BECAYSE I HEARD THAT IT WAS BEING SHOT THERE AND I ASKED SOME GUY ABOUT IT AND THEY SAID THE CAST WAS THERE LIKE 3 HOURS AGO,, DHKDHDKD
agh oof my heart like one of my favorite bands being at the zoo maybe same time I was before a show. Or another fave musician being at my go-to coffee before his show hahh
John Sweeney the mall is open and running but half of it is closed off because of all the stranger things stuff. there’s a security guard outside of the closed off area but the person might have had some sort of deal or just snuck in. the lights are on because other parts of the mall are being used
Excellent video ace. I really like how they turned a few of the stores back to the 80s. Sam goody and chess king really brought back the memories for me.
So back in 1991, the spot in the food court occupied by "Hot Dog on a Stick" in this video was a Chick-Fil-A, where I worked in the summer and on holidays. Many years later, my daughter signed up to be an extra on Stranger Things and ended up "working"... at Hot Dog on a Stick. A full-circle moment.
I went to this mall as a kid! I’ve been back several times, each time it having less and less traffic. My favorite store as a kid was the “Warner Brothers Store” :) Your awesome for doing this mall! Thanks! So much nostalgia!
These comments are hilarious! This mall already looked like this!!! Hardly NOTHING was changed! It’s....a......DUMP! So please GTFOH with the “aaaaaw, it’s so charming! They should keep it like that!” Uh, no the f@&# they shouldn’t! 😂 Trust me, I’m in the A. This mall is a hair away from being demolished...
The food court had no restaurants. Security and janitors do half ass jobs because nobody checks on their work. Also top it off there are no cameras down there lol.
A couple years ago I was at this mall at like 2:00 a.m. Our theater group was using one of the spaces to work on stuff, there were no security guards the entire time we were there.
@@v31.48 I wanna know this too. I have never heard of a mall where the power stays on and there is no security at all. I can't believe a body was not found for 3 weeks. That's just messed up.
I grew up going to this mall. I will never forget the glass exterior of Rich’s (now Macy’s) or the Chick-fil-A on the second floor. #RIPGWINNETTPLACEMALL
I get emotional seeing the state this mall is in now because I quite literally grew up there. Me and my mom would always go shopping there when I was little.
I live right next to the Gwinnett Mall. It used to be an alright place to shop but now its like a ghost town. The only places that get business are the macys and the couple of shoe stores there. Its actually quite an ominous place to go, especially after they found the students body there. Its in a great position for people to visit just nobody wants to put their business in a mall thats pretty much dead
The attention to detail is truly staggering, especially when you consider more than half of these locations are literal set dressing. They're only there to fill the space as if it were an actual mall, yet even in the stores that we barely see, they're given just as much TLC as "Scoops Ahoy," where the bulk of scenes take place.
Dude thank you for this video. It gives a lot of info on it and I love that you go inside of it. I can't believe Stranger Things filmed here. They made it look brand new
I live in Duluth and work right across the street from Gwinnett Place Mall. I've been going to this mall since moving to GA in the 90's. This was the mall I went to all through high school. I remember when every single store in the mall was packed and like you said after Mall of GA opened and Sugarloaf Mills, poor Gwinnett Place went down hill. Since this video was shot the Sears officially closed and so did the Payless and a few other stores. There may be a total of 10 stores open still and that's being generous. Very sad!
It’s so sad to see the mall so rundown and empty, I remember loving going here as a kid and all the people shopping. And sitting at the fountain and watching it because I thought I was so cool. even went and saw the mall Santa around holidays
Sherry K. Spickler Stein I had the same thought, but most of Dan Bell's videos involve some mention of a bad smell so they figured par for the course in a dead mall?
Pastel🌙Pixie it was simple times, no social media life had to be lived, it was an adventure. Made friends, had fun, go out. You only see it now with your eyes!
When I grew up, I used to visit Gwinnett Place Mall all the time as a child. I remember when it was a huge and busy mall. Not so much now. Seeing it revived for Stranger Things is just so beautifully surreal. Never ran into any evil Russians as a kid though. 😅
Woh I thought it was a warehouse conversion/studio lot, didn’t realise it was a real 80s mall which hasn’t been demolished yet. It should be preserved for historical reasons. Agree changing it to 80s theme would attract lots of nostalgia fans. Omg it’s sooooo 80s.
If you are ever visiting Victoria, BC Canada, there is a Mall called "University Heights Shopping Centre" and it too was built in the 80's and has never been remodeled. When you walk in, it's as if TIME STOOD STILL. Same 80's color scheme and original paint of Teal and White, the floors are that classic 80's mall tile, even the bathrooms have original fixtures and dispensers that are not even made anymore. Nothing has been touched, and everything in the mall is original And to add to the strangeness, it's very quite inside with hardly ever anyone in it or around. I really don't know how some of the stores stay open there. So many of the spaces have been sitting vacant for years.
a week ago i went back to this mall and snuck in. It's completely abandoned. it looks like a skeleton compared to what it used to be. However it is strangely very clean, theres no signs of graffiti or vandalism. It feels like a ghost of a time that used to be
When it opened it was the best mall in the south with incredible shops and restaurants surrounding it. Penney's is closed and no one dares to go near it.
This brought back hella memories. Gwinnett use to be the spot when the movie theater was opened across the street. I use to work at DTLR from 06-10. GPM will always be a great memory of mine from middle school even to now. Only the real 85 Nawf crew knew how much fun we had back in the day. 🤟🏼RIP GWINNETT PLACE MALL🤟🏼
