THE FINAL DAY OF THE LAKESIDE MALL - STERLING HEIGHTS MICHIGAN - FINAL HOURS OF OPERATION 

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This was probably the most crowded the mall had been in years.

I think what hits the hardest is Christmas time it was magical at the malls I think that's where all our childhood hides forever

Lakeside went down for 3 reasons. 1) Somerset Mall, 2) Partridge Creek, 3) Great Lakes Crossing. These newer and “cooler” malls surrounded Lakeside from the East, North, and Southwest. This is what choked the life out of Lakeside. It’s not because of online shopping or Covid. Those malls are doing fine regardless of that. Oh and Sears and Lord & Taylor going down didn’t help either.

I grew up in Michigan in the 80’s and 90’s. It was an icon of malls in the state. My grandma, who will be 95 soon, still lives in Sterling Heights very near it.

I feel like the entire internet was there while it closed. Sick music bruh

You've seen one shopping center, you've seen the mall.

Man, I remember this place. They used to have a 2 floor carousel in the food court

Rest easy, my old friend. You will be missed. Thank you for doing this, Anthony. 🙏

Lifelong Metro Detroiter here.......living in Macomb County, this was my fav, go-to mall since I started driving, back in the mid-80's. I always liked it, especially at Christmas time. Stopped going there toward the end of the 90's, and since then Partridge Creek and Somerset have taken over for me. Thanks for showcasing this once soecial place ❤

Thank you so much for the kind words, man. Love ya brother. It was such a bittersweet weekend but man was it fun. Especially you showing up unannounced! What a great surprise. And yes... some of those neighborhoods were quite... "interesting." LOL! But i had fun driving around with ya. And those bloopers. 😂😂😂

Lakeside Mall was extremely popular. Me and my friends hung out there every weekend about 20 years ago. We used to get free samples from the food court lol and just walk around for hours. Don’t understand why this mall in particular went under, when we have a few other malls in SE Mi still going strong (Somerset, 12 Oaks, Oakland, Macomb)

Crazy to see this mall go out before Macomb mall.

It was my mall! I did a lot of shopping in that mall. Many memories. I saw Dawn of the Dead in that mall and then came out after midnight and had to walk all the way around the mall to the car because we had parked on the wrong side and didn't think about it closing while we were watching the movie. It was truly freaky!

Awesome video, Lakeside was a great mall in its day. While in Michigan you should check out the Kohan properties Lansing, Jackson, and Port Huron- Fort gratiot

Thank you for capturing the essence of Lakeside Mall on its final day. The amount of people there speaks to the emotion Detroit had with this mall and the legacy it left behind. This video brought back so many wonderful memories of the times spent there with friends and family. I have been following your channel for sometime but it hits differently when it is your childhood mall. Time is passing us all by. Thank you for the amazing tribute of this timeless mall.

surreal is the right word for sure. I have this reoccuring dream like twice a year that my childhood mall repoens to the public, none of the stores are open but the whole community is there walking around, this is like a perfecr representation of that dream.

Is it ridiculous having emotions about the closing? Spent plenty of time at Lakeside as kid. My mom worked there at JcPennys. My wife as well years later. The old brown leather couches.. the smell of the water fountains, putting your hands in the cascading water. The Christmas decorations… Tilt back in the day.. Seeing my 1 yr old in 2002, play on the breakfast food playscape.. It’s silly I guess but .. goodbye old friend. Thank you for being part of our lives… a fond part.

Grew up 3 miles from Lakeside. Rode my bike up there to meet some girls randomly met calling prank phone calls. Had many jobs there: Merry-Go-Round, Hudson’s and JCPenny. Dropped a lot of quarters playing Defender and Galaga drinking frozen cherry cokes at the Sears arcade. So many memories….

2:21-3:03 That's me and my dad! I have the red polo and my dad has the orange and black hoodie. Long Live Lakeside Mall! ❤

Ace these videos are truly TV worthy. I am amazed how far you have come. Please don’t ever stop

I love the geometrical structures in when these mall are empty out like this. But in actual operations, it's just like all malls. The structures giving out that prime 70s-80s vibe but till the 90s it was just there. Somewhat renovated; mostly never change. If I own this mall! Im definitely making it into The Pines (MW) or the Twin Pine from Back Into Future, with all those old school neon with new tech. Cause sometime these mall only have grey, light brown, beige and white. It gets pretty dull

Grew up as a 90s kid and that was the best mall to go to with friends. It was hands down the best mall around at one point. You couldn't get near it during christmas time and it looks like a lot of others there feel the same walking around and just sitting and looking and remembering. I spent hours and hours and hours at that place. Tilt and meeting girls, eating and looking at singles there at harmony house was just the best.

Intro gave me chills… Taubman malls are beautiful… Incredible job man! Wish I could have made it…

Love the 70's aesthetic. With so much public interest on closing day I wonder why it failed. There are a good many malls still doing well in California. RIP

thanks for doing this Anthony. i was planning on coming out there to visit one last time as Lakeside was my childhood mall and wanted to be there when it closed, but as you would’ve known, the Police closed the entrances early. it sucks that i wasn’t able to be there on sunday, but i was able to be there a few days prior.

That Lord & Taylor facade is super cool looking, with the pre-2015 font and all.

I'm glad I documented and visited this mall many times. I did not grow up in this area and visited the mall it's last 6-7 years so I am happy I was able to roam the corridors and admire the history and architecture.

tanglewoods was a fancy restaurant back in the 1980's , thank you for doing this video 😀

Ive lived in Sterling Hts about 1 and 1/2 miles from Lakeside since 1974. The big three and Lakeside grew this area from one lane to 3 lane Hall rd/M59. I'll miss that land mark basically 5 mins from home, but i'll never forget the memories. My thing was the ice rink which was located where the food court and carousel was. The Rink and movie theater were the first to open in 1975. They shut the Rink down in the mid 80's in favor of a indoor water park. Needless to say, i didnt frequent the Mall much after the rink closed. But i drove by and still do at least 3 times a week. Thank you for documenting the last day, not surprised how busy it was. Very popular mall from 75' till 2020' which was the final nail for many malls.

I met with you briefly with John Rev, glad to see this all so well documented, some places dont get the coverage like this one did

so sad this call closed, this mall looked nice ball

Tanglewoods was a restaurant that closed many years ago (like 15-20 years ago)

Very sad moment to see a mall closing down 😢

I got to see you filming! I even show up for a few seconds here in the video, I didn't want to bug you while filming though. This was definitely a different atmosphere for a closing mall on it's last day. I went to Northland Center on its last day, also in the Detroit area, and hardly anyone was around. Thank you for the great videos as always.

Looks like they got a good turnout on the last day. Those skylights keep reminding me of Randle Park Mall

When I see “Lakeside Mall,” I’m reminded of the competitor of Al Bundy’s New Market mall that hired a Santa Claus to skydive in.

I really wanted to go, just one more time before it finally closed for good. It's been on the cards for years and the last time I went, a few years ago, I was shocked how quiet it was. Nothing to how I remembered it from the 1990s. Such a shame. 😊

Macy's hangin on til the bitter end.

Being Canadian I really only get to dead malls on visits to the States (we have a few here, but not as many). I happened on this one just over a year ago when I ate at an Olive Garden and noticed the enormous mall behind it. Got in there and took a few pics. Thanks for sharing the last day.

Thank you for filming this. I use to go here with my mom all of the time as a kid and then with my friends in my teens. Kind of started to die off as I got into my 20s and 30s. Pretty sad to see it go. Wish I would have visited on the last day.

This had been one of my favorite malls. One of the go-to malls. I was actually able to go in a few weeks before the last day when the very last of the stores were in the process of closing. It's interesting how many people were there on the last day.

It has a near twin that opened on the same day (March 4, 1976) in Dearborn, MI (Fairlane Town Center) that has been taken over by Kohan and already got the utility disconnect notice so we'll see how long until the inevitable pipe burst.

I was there on June 29th. I live 1/2 mile away from the mall.

Man, you could’ve probably got some good money for that MC sports sign and those sealed up calendars on eBay

Man, I don't know much about malls outside of these videos but living near Columbus, I know a Taubman mall when i see it.

Great video as always! Seeing Walter Bee 26 🐝 at the end was a treat! 🤣🤣🤣

I was there on closing day as well, such a sad day

Thank you for filming Lakeside's final hours of operation. I remember when my parents took me and my (then only) sister to Lakeside to slide down the Hydro Tubes, and that glass elevator descending into the water fountain was so cool back then! My final visit was two weeks prior to close for one last trip to Anime GT (the only reason I visited Lakeside nowadays) to buy an armful of anime figures. I'm sad to see this mall I've known since childhood gone, but I'm looking forward to checking out the new retail center that will eventually take its place! I'll be sharing this video with my friends & family!

I am really kicking myself for not going the last day. I would have met you and Wallie. Shit. This mall is an old friend. It wasn’t cookie cutter to me. This mall was hurt by Partridge Creek. Best of luck to you on baby Ace. They are demolishing the mall as we speak. They will break ground next spring.

Tanglewoods was a restaurant . After it closed it became storage for the fixtures from Lord & Taylor. The upper level glass windows in front of L& T were used for mannequins and displays.

Great video, Anthony; sad to see another mall close... I'm surprised at how busy this mall is, for it to be closing. Heartbreaking as usual 💔 Awesome footage, and love to see your videos, as always!! Keep up your amazing work, and take care of your little family - he'll be here before you know it!! ❤

It seems that one by one stores began leaving and as a result people started to leave as well. I would like to think that with a little imagination, the mall could be revitalized without tearing it down!

Interesting to still see a Taubman mall that still has a conversation pit. The ones in my Taubman mall were converted to children’s play areas.

Sept 2008 to early 2020: Mall death in slow burn mode. 2020 to now: Pedal to the Metal!!!

Awesome video as usual Anthony. Of course we don’t expect anything less. Thank you for documenting this beautiful mall on its final hours. I’m filled with emotions right now seeing another beautiful mall died. I wish they could repurpose it instead of tearing the building down. Look forward to your next mall visit.

Malls have memories. Would love to see a Buffalo 🐃 V Detroit 🦁 SuperBowl in 2025 !

3:52 I see me haha, neon green pants lol. Anyway it was a pleasure meeting you. I was the guy with the mall book. I wish we got to chat more but I knew you are a busy guy. Thanks for all your content and you're an inspiration for me to do this as well and write about it. I was surprised by the turnout that day. I had Jollibee for lunch lol. It was nice to see so many young people there and hopefully some of the take up the mantle as well. I sat in the conversation pits and just listened to some of the people reminisce about Lakeside Mall. I first wen there in 2020 and also Ace not sure if you saw but there was a table in the food court that a bunch of us signed as the mall closed. Truly something I will remember for the rest of my life.

I was in this mall just after 4 PM in August 2004 when the big eastern US power outage happened. I just got to work at a kiosk and was a little late because I wanted taco bell. Started eating it and a few bites in, the power went out. I kept eating while people were scrambling about, though people didn't freak out much. No looting or fights. There was one store where the employees were stuck for hours because their store's gate was electronic and they couldn't walk out with expensive merchandise just sitting there. All I had to do was put the tarp back on the kiosk so I was able to leave.

I dont think all malls will die off. There will still be like maybe 1 or 2 in cities thats everyone goes to and can stay afloat, providing they also change with times and offer more than just shopping (example entertainment options) but i think most will die unfortunately

Thank you for the great video, Ace!

The American era is coming to an end.

Fantastic video, Ace! My hat's off to you! Absolutely loved the intro with the perfect monolog, music, and visuals! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🤗🎩 Like you said in the video, yes, there are a lot of people filming malls, but they aren't you, Sal, or the other amazing content creators of DMOD. I seek out yours and Sal's videos for your unique styles/aesthetics and your talent for capturing the true essence of these malls and tapping into that bittersweet nostalgia. 🙏🏼

There is still a partial Debartolo mall here in Tampa. They kept the center section. There is still a Spencer's in there. Thanks for another great video.

Sad.

RIP Lakeside Mall 1976-2024 😢😢😢😢

Ace I wish you could have seen Randall Park in it's heyday. It was an amazing place. But like a lot of others the knuckle heads came in and started making trouble. It became a very unsafe place to visit. Now it's an Amazon hub.

Grew up in the area, it's always where we did 4/5ths of our xmas shopping. Mother-in-Law used to call it the Dawn of the Dead Mall, because it used to have a theater, and she saw that there, and came to associate them. Bought my favorite Stetson cap from there, one Memorial Day weekend. Asian Connection, FYE, Spencer's, or even the lounges by the indoor fountain, where Santa would set up every year for pictures... Gonna miss this place. Yet another casualty of the times. RIP Lakeside... and thanks for the memories.

I used to work across the street from Lakeside Mall. Had many memories at Lakeside.

This mall wasn’t cookie cutter even if there was a near exact replica in Maryland. This mall was thee place to be in late 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s. I know because I was there. In Decembers back in the day people used to have to park up on the lawn on the outside edge of the circle. Thats how packed it got.

I never thought I'd see big retail drop like it has or shopping malls fall flat.we used to go to parks back in the day for free and now they charge to go in to see the history of the nation 😢

This man was the shit back in the day. When I was little this thing stood up to Somerset mall in Troy. It got so busy some seasons in Lakeside you couldn't even move it seemed like

ace "i'll shut up now" ace : talks for two more minutes nonstop 😂

I,live in Detroit, Michigan and I am a new subscriber to your channel. From 1975-1980, I used to work at Hudson's Eastland Mall in Harper Woods, a suburb of Detroit. I,remember when Lakeside Mall opened up. Lakeside Mall opened on March 2,1976 and I used to shop at Lakeside Mall. I,know that I'll miss Lakeside Mall. At,least J.C.PENNEY and MACY'S will remain,during the redevelopment of Lakeside Mall area. 19:06

Malls will not disappear. There will be fewer, to be sure, but the country was over-malled in the first place.

It was a great mall. Loved Sears!!!

So sad 😢

I wish they would save the conversation pits and add them back to the Taubman mall near me. They took ours out years ago.

If people had been there like that all the time, this mall wouldn't be closing, but sadly, everyone does there shopping online 😢

This place used to be awesome. Went there back on the 21st and it was dead. R.I.P. to another real one :(

Was the Macy's staying open? Kind of looked like it. The rest? Somebody grab a plant on the way out!

Tanglewoods was a restaurant that closed a long long time ago. I was in there about 5 years ago to take out a massive dough mixer...its like a time machine in there. Almost everything was left in there.

Love seeing this. It looks much busier than its sister mall in MoCo Maryland did on its last day. Thanks for capturing this Ace and as always fantastic work. P.S. Congrats on the new little one on the way.

Great video 🔥🔥🔥🔥thanks for my shout out !

Never been to Lakeside Mall looked like a beautiful mall too bad it became a dead mall.

You should go to birchwood mall, it's a mall that's like 45 minutes north of lakeside and it is also a dead mall. It's dead but is still dying more and more. It has a lot of those nick nackey stores that are there for a couple months and then go out of buisness.

My mother used to take me and my brother to this place as kids, which was just like 30 minutes away. While my mother checks out stuff from Victoria’s Secret, I looked around looking at weeb stuff, and go to FYE, etc. It was where I got my tiger plush in Build-a-Bear. Flaming Wok in food court was our go-to food place. I still remember the Christmas decor and seeing people visiting Santa Claus at the bottom floor. It’s hard to imagine a time where I can’t go there anymore. It’s crazy to see this on the front page. It wasn’t the same after Covid… it didn’t help that there were other “cooler” malls around. It hurts to see this mall I went to since childhood turn into a shell of its former self. Even though there’s a new Jollibee’s location in front of it, I feel a sadness looking at that mall, knowing what would happen in the future. The moment I saw the empty Flaming Wok in this video, I was about to cry…

Tilt. That is all.

Great video as always ace. I was also there for the closing and was astonished about how meny people came to say goodbye to this place. This was the largest mall in Michigan and hasnt been renovated much over the years so it looks mostly like it did when it open in 1976.

Wow, the malls got people out and about. I think malls should stay open.

I wouldn't say "before there's not a single one left". Believe it or not there are malls that are still active and thriving. It's just that the dying malls tend to get most of the attention because that's what people want to see.

R.I.P. Kirby's Coney Island 😢

The accelerated closing of so many malls and iconic stores is beyond sad! Are we ultimately going to be stuck with Amazon or Walmart as our shopping choices? I can't believe that people will find this acceptable!

As a Gen Xer & 80s kids I think what ultimately killed the malls and really a lot of American Department stores and stores that filled malls was NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) because it put American's out of work. Most of us that grew up middle to working class in the 80s remember our parents taking us to the mall every weekend to buy things and go out to eat somewhere. Before NAFTA there were plants and factories all over America, you could find different things from clothes, towels, machinery, you name it made proudly in small towns all over America. After NAFTA those factories shut down and moved operations and production to places like Mexico or China where there were no labor standards and minimum wages. The ultimate death of malls and stores in America is that the middle/working class is dying and struggling to stay afloat.

Just like life, nothing lasts forever

You should see the fashion place mall Utah The security guards hide in the stores in the morning and take pictures of mall walkers They then do the same thing throughout the day walking inside, They are driving customers away .

Great video

They missed a up coming generation that would of loved it here

"It must have been a popular mall..." In the early 199os, the choices for a mall if you lived in northern Macomb County (which is NOT Metro-Detroit) was Lakeside or Birchwood in Port Huron (which was brand new.) If you wanted to see a movie, the choices were Marine City (guaranteed to be cheap), Kraft in Fort Gratiot, 16 Mile Road, or Hall Road. I haven't been to Lakeside for 10 years now, and it was looking pretty sick then. But then, my main reasons for going there was when Harmony House music was there.

Tanglewoods was a restaurant.