Trash To Treasure - The Abandoned Walmart 

A new Abandoned episode is out! Go watch -ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uzOgYu-EPos.html

“It was built on a garbage land-fill.” Yeah, you already said it was in Cleaveland.

Still has more registers open than my Walmart....

There is a novel called “Rats” that is about a town built on top of a paved landfill and how horrific it became... this totally reminds me of it!

It's amazing that anyone built there without first obtaining an engineering report from a reputable firm that would document gas permeation from the soil, as well as soil stability. It looks like the developers really didn't want to know. Just pocket the development money and run. And the city officials? They just wanted another tax base for additional revenue.

The sinking ground under and around Walmart was caused by Walmart's constantly lower prices.

So... The place is leaking Methane gas, and they think its okay to leave damaged power lines running through the stores?!!!?!

Actually, Wal-Mart has been known for abandoning buildings and opening locations just miles away from the original. Of course leaving the first building to decay and eventually the city is forced to tear it down for safety reasons.

3:03 damn, someone had to use this Walmart in an emergency, took a huge as explosive shit and exploded the damn toilet.

FYI - methane is an odorless gas. You could easily walk in and never leave. And the pet store had no air flow, enabling mold growth. Consider yourself lucky to have walked away.

What was the city thinking... They essentially used a dump to make another dump...

“This looks like it was a Subway.” *pans camera to where the words “f*ck Subway” are graffitied on the wall.*

A quick update from a local's perspective. I live in the area and checked it out recently, the Walmart is undergoing construction at the moment along with the entire parking lot. The giant eagle (the last store in this plaza staying open) had a scare during the epidemic and was almost going to close for good. Thankfully it is still open (because there are very few other options in this area and other locals did not want it to close). Most of the other stores have not been touched since this video came out, but they are still trying to sell and renovate a lot of the properties here. After seeing the replacement of the sinking parking lot there is already visible damage and sinking in only a few months. The mayor has been trying to get the police and others to move here though it may not be a huge improvement over where they are now. If you pass by around now you will definitely see machinery on the property, though progress is very slow and the direction that this update is taking is still unclear. Godspeed.

17:18 Dude you need to wear a respirator or something, these videos aren't worth your health. That mold (which was everywhere in PetSmart) is a serious indicator that the air isn't acceptable for breathing. Keep safe brother.

Trash to treasure.... To trash.

An abandoned Wal Mart sinking into the landfill it was built atop... what a suitable metaphor for the American dream.

“Supreme Dopeness” ~ some 12 year old who painted that on an abandoned mall

1:45 You can still see a walmart employee walking around looking at the mess and saying this isn't my department.

My dad hauled garbage and as a kid I would occasionally go to work with him, including to this dump in the early 70's. I can't believe people were stupid enough to try to build on hundreds of feet deep garbage. The toxic chemicals alone must be a nightmare.

Seeing a walmart without fixtures is absolutely incredible. It’s like an indoor stadium. I also admire the dedication of the vandal that spray painted “BUTT STUFF” near the roof.

When my husband and I went there and filmed,we left not long after we got inside Walmart because he heard a noise and he said "Let's get out of here!" Thinking it could've been a squatter or druggie,we got outta there fast!

Good job making it wear the background music truly sounded like it was actually playing in the store.

3 rules that every urban explorer should follow. 1. No matter where you go always wear a protective mask 2. Never explore an empty space by yourself. And 3. If you hear any crying, sobs, or whispering. Stop where you are and leave the area immediately.

It always amazes me that civil engineers, trained to be experts on construction projects like this, manage to get it wrong so badly

Abandoned Walmart: **Exists** All of the defunct and abandoned retail stores that Walmart has killed: Finally a worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary!

It astounds me how developers can mess up THAT BAD.

I love that you went into the men's restroom even in an abandoned building. Habits

It astounds me that these developers looked at an old, methane leaking garbage dump and said, “Yup, looks like the perfect place to build a shopping plaza.”

*"Cleveland: At least we're not Detroit."*

Fallout: new Walmart

All this time I was thinking how perfect that building was for skating

I lived in Cleveland when they started to build this. As a kid we drove by it while it was still an active landfill and it always smelled but... the stench coming from it now while trying to drive across that bridge was absolutely unbearable. I’ve dealt with weeks old corpses and every bodily fluid you can think of and this was 100 times worse. I assumed they breached/removed the clay cap on the landfill, whether intentionally or not, and I said there’s no way they can build a shopping center there.

Kind of ironic that a huge shopping center built on a landfill will have to torn down and hauled off to a different landfill.

Walmart = trashed and littered with graffiti Petsmart = relatively in shape and pretty much no graffiti.

Imagine spending a billion dollars and still not doing it right

“Looks like this was a Subway...” Graffiti on the wall: “Fuck Subway!”

So sad...I grew up here and remember the hype around this project. Bridgeview was supposed to be done next but never came to be. I remember shopping at all of these places while it was still open. There's an Applebee's still operating around the back side too. Honestly, most of the people my age (20 at the time) was super upset that they were building on our childhood stomping grounds call "The Dump" for obvious reasons. We used to dirt bike back there, light off fireworks and do everything else bored kids would do. We used to find a ton of old abandoned buildings and even a few houses from another failed building attempt in the 70's when a house blew up and that ended that.

The amount of WASTED resources.... all on-top of a landfill. The irony.

That's the cleanest Walmart restroom I've ever seen!

RESPIRATOR NOW. GAS MASK SOMETHING. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS MY DUDE.

My neighborhood was built on an landfill. (Somewhere around 1973... that's the earliest date I could find on a house on my street via public records.) my mother has lived here since the early 80's/super late 70's and in 2 of the houses. (my uncle lived in a another one) long story. Anyways she said that you could dig ANYWHERE in the backyard, and find carpet. And in my uncles backyard, there were bottles. We've never heard anything about methane, though. (or the soil.)

Building on a landfill is stupid. Building on a landfill which happens to be a big hill is insane.

Having worked in solid waste for several years, I can safely say that everyone involved in this disaster damn well knew the potential of subsidence on top of a landfill. That was an incredibly stupid idea to begin with. The EPA, above all, knew goddamn well what would likely happen. Unbelievable.

Board meeting: "Okay guys, I think... we should build the mega shopping center... on top of this landfill. Thoughts?" "I think it's a great idea!" "Genius!" "Gosh you're smart!" "But sir, isn't a landfill basically unstable, movable ground that can't support large structures?" (silence) "Peterson, nobody asked you. Get out."

5:41 I love that bank sign "Baking our way... Day and Night"

im really disappointed in the lack of quality graffiti

They moved the headstones but they didn't move the graves! Kinda reminds me of that.

When my mom first told me they were building a shopping center there, I was like “are they crazy”?! The scary part is that the only thing left there is a grocery store! That is just nuts! I keep telling my mom to quit shopping there!

Now that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase sunk cost

Toxic gas and water -- Nothing but the best for Walmart shoppers

This is an insane story. I had never heard about this before. Side note: I love how you never comment on the insane and gross stuff written in graffiti in a lot of these places. I don’t know why, but it always makes me giggle to see something totally bizarre on the wall while you give thorough historical information.

My cousin worked on the planning on this project here in Cleveland. They knew this was a possibility before they broke ground.

Apparently there are plans to redevelop this place as a business park. What the hell goes through the minds of these people!? This is NOT a place you "redevelop". This is a place you demolish and move on. Its going to have the same issues as before, so why even bother?

Build a massive shopping center on an old hillside landfill, they said. It'll be FINE, they said.

What I would give to roller skate in that gigantic empty Wal Mart. Just needs a good sweep. :)

So EPA gives developers the okay to build on the landfill but when problems happen EPA decides to fine the developers? Why am I not surprised.

I now have a tooth growing from my ankle because I explored this place.

I guarantee some EPA executive was bribed to approve building this

So who the hell was the group of engineers that said "sure you can build on a "DECAYING SINKHOLE" .....it'll hold" WTF ; did they even finish grade school ?????!!!!!!!

Well done production. I can't help but wonder if any animals were left locked in the back of PetSmart? I hope not.

In case you were wondering, the land has been converted into a business park.

I would kill to drive a go kart or dirt bike in the big empty room

at least you can just leave everything where it is and its already at the dump!

Very sad I loved coming to this shopping center. I had Walmart, Pet Smart n Giant Eagles which is still open, n my house was 20 min away. Get off work n hit all my stores. If you dont have a car in Cleveland I know it's very hard to get to a mall or nice plaza, what this once was. Great job buddy!!

Bruhhh, I literally drove by this plaza on the way home from a job interview today and I thought, "Wow, there are SO MANY empty spots on that Pylon sign! I wonder if it's abandoned?" Low and behold, I come home, turn on some Bright Sun Films and come across this video expecting it to be another shopping centre somewhere else in the country, but it legit turned out to be the exact same place! Def going back there for some urbexing.

METHANE. LANDSLIDES. POISON. OH MY!! I like how well versed you are with basic Walmart design. Octagon Bagging Areas. Wood floor distinctions. Haha. Great video.

You definitely need a mask or something on if you’re gonna be walking around abandoned structures bro.

After over 4 years later I wonder how this specific property is looking like 😲

My mind is blown because I was at that giant eagle in Nov 2018 and this was posted Sept 2018. I was so confused why the entire plaza was closed except the giant eagle.

Before this shopping center was built the smell from the landfill was terrible. I drove passed it every day on the way to work. When they started building it I thought to myself, that's not going to end well. I recently moved back to the area and I was certainly not surprised that the ground was leaking methane. What's difficult to see in these videos is that it's not just sinking, it's slowly sliding down the side of a steep valley toward the Cuyahoga river.

Here I was thinking, "man, this would make a great indoor gun range!" Then you mentioned methane gas.

"It was built on a landfill" But wouldn't it all sink? Narrator: "It did."

You know it's bad if the Walmart leaves😂

Why did they even build on that site? Such a waste of capital. It's not like it was built in the 50s where they probably didn't give a flip about environmental hazards and stuff but this was fricking the 2000s.

Affectionately known as Garbage Heights.

*My ex must live there if its that toxic.* 🤦🏽‍♀️

The and the fact that there's sad music playing in the store as it's abandoned just makes it depressing

Worker: Why does this always happen? “Hole on isle 7, hole on isle 7.”

Thanks for showing us what a bathroom in an abandoned Walmart looks like. I always wondered about that but I did not want to break the law by trespassing on private property. I could gaze upon the filth, graffiti and destroyed walls, ceiling and floors forever! This video is not only enlightening, but a pleasure to experience.

So, when you're in what's left of Walmart, the music (aka Muzak) was a truly brilliant touch!! Loved it!! This is both sad and uplifting at the same time! I try my best to NEVER stop at Wal-Mart but in this economy, it's not easy. Wouldn't you think SOMEONE doing the planning, etc part of this might've been informed of the coming epic fail!?! Great job, guys, as always! Keep up the good work and NEVER go into these empty places without a respirator!!

I honestly find the topic of abandoned locations absolutely fascinating. :D

The thing is...many successful things have been built on top of landfills. In CA we have a Field of Dreams stadium with multiple baseball parks and small stadiums that's been there for decades. They constantly recheck for any problems that might arise, especially since kids play on those fields. However, they made sure everything was solid and structurally sound, the land had been compacted, etc., so that these problems didn't arise. This seems like they just started building without having any freaking clue what they were doing. Either that, or they just wanted to save money and cut corners by now making sure it was done properly in the first place.

Hey Jake, started watching your films about a month ago and I’m hooked! I’ve noticed at several abandoned sites you’ve visited have still had mall music playing….. so creepy!

As soon as I saw the giant eagle sign I immediately yelled "Ohio!"

I’m surprised skaters haven’t taken it over and built ramps and diy concrete in there.

I'm surprised that scavengers haven't ripped all of the metal out of that place

I grew up a couple miles from this. We moved in 2003 and it looks like the timing was perfect to avoid the fallout from this monstrosity of a shopping center.

The fact that in the subway, there was graffiti saying "F*** subway!" Makes it the best graffiti of all time from how hilarious it is

Dont let the Giant Eagle sign fool you, It's not open. It's a warning of a mutant giant eagle there.

Thanks Vinny

I’m freaking out yall. I’m from cleveland and I honestly meet at the lot across from this place (there’s a GameStop, Starbucks, Chipotle, and orthodontist there) every other weekend. It’s crazy to see a whole video about it because while I’m there I always wonder why there’s only 1 store open.

This episode is great. I like seeing footage of you walking around anr talking aboot the history at the same time.

The incomplete structure was originally going to be a JC PENNEY outlet, on the site of the never completed Bridgeview Crossing on Transportation Blvd.

I live in an ex-coal mining area. Originally we had separate villages, each with its own mine. The land between the villages is where the coal was taken from. Roll on 40 years since the mines closed and developers are building massive housing estates to join the small villages together. I've checked to see what the builders are doing to make houses safe from the mining problems - they place a sheet of plastic beneath each house. That's it. The land is still sinking and houses are already starting to subside and crack and tip sideways. People are losing all their savings on 'investments' when buying those houses. I tell newcomers about the old mines but they choose to ignore me. They will learn soon enough when they're able to place a ball in one corner of their living room and it rolls to the far end by itself...

This is the first time ever seeing a abandoned Walmart never thought it would be a day to this.

August 2022: The Petsmart was just converted into a Goodwill (moved over from the complex at Rockside and Turney). Looks nice now, but we'll see how it holds up, still sitting over a landfill.

Do people not have anything better to do than spray-paint swears and insults in an abandoned center?

MASSIVE CLEANUP IN AISLE 5.

problem with landfills is over time the garbage they are on decays and erodes leaving air pockets where they were and if anything heavy is on the surface it caves in. The same happens in graveyards with coffins and some states make you pay more for vaults which are steel containers the coffins go into to prevent cave ins.

From trash to treasure to trash again, it's the circle of Walmarts