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Worst Southern Mall?

mallguy

By mallguy
in USA South

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Plasticman Hamlet

Plasticman

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It's located on US 64 near Sailsbury St. It seems to be somewhat decent tho as it is anchored by a movie theater, JC. P., Sears, Belk and Dillards. I hope to visit it next week as were going to the zoo(2 dollar Tuesdays) so I will try to take some pics. The website:http://www.shoprandolphmall.com/shop/randolph.nsf

Man this is gettin' weird. You are from Lexington and we did the Barbeque festival there a couple years ago. I met Hal Lindsey that played Goober on Andy Griffith and had my picture made with him.

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satalac Burg

satalac

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Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville/Antioch is on the rebound bigtime. The lost JCPenny but quickly re-filled the space, MAcy's is replacing Hechts, and it was recently renovated. AS the I-24 corridor grows HHM, will reap the benefits.

we'll see. i don't think that dave and barry's is going to do all that much for the mall. just like jcpenny didn't. another thing that is going to hurt hickory hollow is the development that's going on in murfreesboro. that's going to keep some business away from the area. in order for hickory hollow to rebound, something MAJOR has to be done to change the city's attitude about the mall. many people perceive it as a violent and dangerous mall. and at some times it can be. but as a mall employee, i still feel safe working there, even walking to my car by myself at night. the same cannot be said for those who have been scared off to cool springs and opry mills (well some might leave there too from recent events). a new store isn't going to be able to change the view of a mall being violent. CBL is going to have to do something drastic to change the mall around. i am hoping that you do prove me wrong however. because while i eat crow, i can also look at my bigger commission check from more customers :D .

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mallguy Town

mallguy

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Worst outlet mall I've seen is the Carolina Pottery mall near Fort Mill, SC/Charlotte, NC. It's a largely vacant blue metal box anchored by a Hamrick's, which is extremely downscale- even in my view lower than Wal-Mart- and Carolina Pottery, and the tenants consist of a Best Buy interview office, a Hotel Charlotte memorabilia store (selling odds and ends from a hotel in Charlotte that was torn down about 15 or 20 years ago), a dollar store, a few fast food places, a Bass outlet, and maybe one or two other junk stores.

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The Tot Pack Whistle-Stop

The Tot Pack

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My vote is Bellevue Mall in Nashville as "Most Useless Mall", it was a horrible idea for them to build that mall when most residents in that area do shopping in Cool Springs or Green Hills Mall.

Opry Mills is a great mall. And hello. See the parking lots out there. Jam packed.

Shootings are rare and thin, that can't make it one of the South's Worst Malls.

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Bears Hamlet

Bears

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Good God, man.... that's awful! Were they "fresh kills" or bodies that had been hidden under brush or something for that long?

They were there for a few months I would think. The parking lot of the mall was ripped and they just let the grass grow. The bodies were found by a guy cutting the grass.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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Does anybody else have issues with Simon?

They're the nation's largest mall owner and own malls throught the nation but it seems they kind of have a pattern of abandoning older properties.

In my hometown of Little Rock, University Mall has been really run down and department stores have closed. Two department stores slots have been vacant for nearly a decade and vacancy in the mall is greater than 50%. JC Penney's is leaving for a newer development and only an old MM Cohn's will remain (if for long).

Meanwhile, across the street Park Plaza Mall is 98% occupied and is undergoing $12.5 million in renovations in what was already a nice mall, so it's not location that's the problem.

Simon tried to build a new larger mall across town but the site wasn't approved because of traffic issues.

Another Simon mall in North Little Rock (McCain) is largely occupied but hasn't been renovated in 20 years.

In Richardson (a north Dallas suburb) Simon has run what appears to be a nice mall, Richardson Square, into the ground as well. Simon opened a new mall called Firewheel Town Centre a few miles away and is just letting the older one stagnate as tenants jump ship left and right.

Has anyone else had the experience with Simon not maintaining their malls appropriately in their community?

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davidzLA Whistle-Stop

davidzLA

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I'm still mad that it took the place of Opryland, so I could care less if it burned to the ground. I still miss all the fun times at Opryland.

I'm right there with you. I don't get to Nashville that often anymore, but I have no intention whatsoever of going to Opry Mills.

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davidzLA Whistle-Stop

davidzLA

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I'm willing to bet that Atlanta was probably the first major Southern city to get really "malled up", which means we've got quite a few malls that were built in the 60's that have not aged gracefully and whose neighborhood's demographics have shifted dramatically since they first opened.

I'll see your Atlanta and raise you a Houston. I'm not familiar with Atlanta's crappy malls, but I lived in Houston and it was similar: a vast number of malls, around 20, in inner rings of decay and outer rings of fresh growth.

Since I stopped collecting toys and mall record stores either died or began to excessively suck, I don't really hit the malls much anymore. However for several years I made a habit of checking out the malls along any road trips home. My top Southern crappy malls would have to include:

  • Birmingham's Eastwood Mall, so bad it was demolished.

  • Birmingham's Century Plaza, where I worked for about 4 years 90-95, at that point the mall was salvagable but now the neighborhood has self-destructed, this mall is the Bronx of Birmingham. All that's left are bling shops and leather coat stores.

  • Muscle Shoals, Alabama's Southgate Mall. The first mall I experienced growing up, now has a Merle Norman and a Roger's department store. Even the police substation closed.

  • Houston's Almeda and Northwest Malls - they are essentially identical, built simultaneously, at northwest and southeast, and they identically suck.

  • Little Rock's University Mall, that was a fast 5 minute walk thru NOTHING.

  • Irving, Texas' Six Flags Mall (it might be one town over), a bright and airy sorta outlet mall, it's easy to see there's nothing there.

  • Houston's Greenspoint & Sharpstown Malls... hope you're packin'.

  • Shreveport's South Park Mall. That one was scary, was glad to get out of there.

  • Laurel, Mississippi's Laurel Mall. It looks like it opened in the mid 70s but I wonder how it ever even got developed even then, and now of course, old dirty Chinese restaurant and arcade ville.

  • Chattanooga's 'other mall'... Hardin Springs maybe? Hasn't adapted well.

  • Hattiesburg, Mississippi's 'other mall', Cloverleaf Mall maybe? Recruiting station & mall walkers.

  • There's a truly terrible mall in Lafayette, Louisiana right off I-10, the good mall is 5 miles south.

  • But the winner would have to be... Baton Rouge's BON TON MALL! Holy St. Simon does that thing need to be put out of it's misery.

  • And so many others...

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jamieh Unincorporated Area

jamieh

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The Oxford Mall in Oxford, MS is a shell of its former self. It used to be anchored by JC Penney on one end and Wal-Mart on the other with an arcade, movie theatre, toy store, music shop, kings den hair salon, several shoe and clothing stores such as footlocker and stage, a book store, university sporting goods, etc. It was small with only 35 stores or so, but it was a pretty good mall with something for everyone.

Wal-Mart moved to a new location and the mall fell apart. Only a few stores remain. They did build a new 8 screen Malco movie theatre in the mall recently so maybe it is on the upswing.

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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I'll see your Atlanta and raise you a Houston. I'm not familiar with Atlanta's crappy malls, but I lived in Houston and it was similar: a vast number of malls, around 20, in inner rings of decay and outer rings of fresh growth.

Since I stopped collecting toys and mall record stores either died or began to excessively suck, I don't really hit the malls much anymore. However for several years I made a habit of checking out the malls along any road trips home. My top Southern crappy malls would have to include:

  • Birmingham's Eastwood Mall, so bad it was demolished.

  • Birmingham's Century Plaza, where I worked for about 4 years 90-95, at that point the mall was salvagable but now the neighborhood has self-destructed, this mall is the Bronx of Birmingham. All that's left are bling shops and leather coat stores.

  • Muscle Shoals, Alabama's Southgate Mall. The first mall I experienced growing up, now has a Merle Norman and a Roger's department store. Even the police substation closed.

  • Houston's Almeda and Northwest Malls - they are essentially identical, built simultaneously, at northwest and southeast, and they identically suck.

  • Little Rock's University Mall, that was a fast 5 minute walk thru NOTHING.

  • Irving, Texas' Six Flags Mall (it might be one town over), a bright and airy sorta outlet mall, it's easy to see there's nothing there.

  • Houston's Greenspoint & Sharpstown Malls... hope you're packin'.

  • Shreveport's South Park Mall. That one was scary, was glad to get out of there.

  • Laurel, Mississippi's Laurel Mall. It looks like it opened in the mid 70s but I wonder how it ever even got developed even then, and now of course, old dirty Chinese restaurant and arcade ville.

  • Chattanooga's 'other mall'... Hardin Springs maybe? Hasn't adapted well.

  • Hattiesburg, Mississippi's 'other mall', Cloverleaf Mall maybe? Recruiting station & mall walkers.

  • There's a truly terrible mall in Lafayette, Louisiana right off I-10, the good mall is 5 miles south.

  • But the winner would have to be... Baton Rouge's BON TON MALL! Holy St. Simon does that thing need to be put out of it's misery.

  • And so many others...

Great list, and I couldn't agree with you more about Shreveport's South Park Mall. I hated to see it get so scary.

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davidzLA Whistle-Stop

davidzLA

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I've never heard of Bon Ton Mall. Do you mean Bon Marche Mall? If so, it's been redeveloped into a technology park.

That's the one! Bon Marche Mall. When I walked through it 3 or so years ago it was virtually empty, with stained carpet and ceilings, spectacularly tacky. I'm glad to hear it's been redeveloped - Houston's Westwood Mall had the same fate.

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Charlotteman Burg

Charlotteman

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When I lived in Jacksonville, Gateway Mall was clearly the least desireable mall. Not sure if it's even open anymore(?)

In the early 1980s Jacksonville's Normandy Mall completely lost steam when a large regional mall was built within a 20 minute drive. Normandy Mall suffered a slow painful death until it finally closed it's doors. When I moved from Jax in 1995, the mall was still there and vacant.....a mall is a sad thing to see die.

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Cadeho City

Cadeho

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Fairfield Commons is the ghettoest mall in not only the south but the entire US... Henrico County didn't pay attenion to it while they were focusing on chasing the rich folks westward. It was left to become the what it is today. It has a sign saying "Now Open" because of all the vacant parking spots and the vacant look. Supposedly a drive-thru self storage place will boost it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!

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shane828 Unincorporated Area

shane828

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In Statesville, NC there is the Signal Hill Mall. Statesville itself is a decent city but has alot of issues with crime and crap. I was actually born there. But anyways the "mall" there is pathetic. It's basically one main really small building with a SEARS, JC Penneys, and Belks. And of course, people get robbed alot in the parking lot. I've always said I have no idea how they call it a mall. I also agree with the Gastonia mall one. It was almost completely bare the last time I went there.

Eastland mall is falling apart pretty quickly also, so I hear. I haven't actually been in awhile but there's also alot of crime issues with it where it's located, in the past there have been large fights there and stuff. They do have a big ice skating rink right in the middle of the mall though..so i'll always love them for that.

Anyways, on the opposite subject, Northlake Mall, and SouthPark Mall in Charlotte are all nice. Valley Hills Mall in Hickory is also one of my favorites because it's so close, and nice. They re-designed the food court and a bunch of stuff about 6-7 years ago. It's gotten nicer since.

***EDIT***

Searching around I couldn't find any good pics of SouthPark or Northlake. I found one of the Valley Hills main entrance/food court area right after they finished it 6-7 years ago.

VALLEYHILLS2.JPG

At Christmas time(usually near Thanksgiving) they put a huge red bow on it. Right as you go in there's a big old restored carousel or whatever that operates on I think like..1 or 2 coins? $1 for 4 coins or something like that. I think I see it in the windows there up front in this pic. Not entirely sure.

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