Do you like indoor shopping malls? Me too! But not for shopping or even window shopping. Instead, I enjoy observing them as gathering places. Their place in relation to surrounding residential and commercial development as well as the regional transportation network also intrigues me. For many suburban communities for a very long time, they have served as the defacto Main Street. I should note that the term "indoor" mall includes places like Horton Plaza in San Diego. Most California malls were built without a roof over the common area. But virtually everything else about them is the same as a totally enclosed climate controlled facility.

Like anything else, malls don’t last forever. In fact, so many of them are dead or dying, they should be considered for endangered species protection. The surest way to kill a mall is to build newer, better malls nearby. Demographic change and a decline in a community’s disposable income is also toxic to retail endeavors. And Walmart has built many of their stores close to existing malls in order to siphon off their business. Today developers consider the traditional indoor mall design to be obsolete. With one or two exceptions, they are no longer being built in North America. Instead, outdoor designs are once again the “in” thing for retail construction, even in areas with unfavorable climates. The current trend is the sprawling "town center" style shopping center where you can park outside of the door of your favorite store... almost a throwback to pre-mall days. This article also nicely describes the challenges traditional malls face. http://www.theinternational.org/articles/354-the-death-of-the-american-mall-and-the-re

It wasn’t that long ago that the thought of malls failing seemed inconceivable. But what was once a rare occurrence has become surprisingly common. This is what prompted a couple of shopping mall fans to start a website called Deadmalls.com. http://deadmalls.com/index.html

Another popular website that deals with malls is Labelscar. Unlike Deadmalls, successful malls are featured too. Best of all, readers are able to leave their own comments. One dying mall that is of current interest to me is Shore Mall in Atlantic County, NJ, just a few miles outside of Atlantic City. This is Labelscar's report on Shore Mall. http://www.labelscar.com/new-jersey/shore-mall I visited this mall early this year and while it had a low vacancy rate, it was clear the rents were low too. While community oriented non-profits and a model train club are nice things to have, they can't pay enough to support a mall's overhead, mortgage, and property taxes. So the inevitable happened on January 31, 2013 when most of the tenants were ordered to leave so demolition could begin. It is being demolished except for the far end with the Boscov's and Burlington Coat Factory.

But in a sense, Shore Mall is an exception. Most malls, by the time demolition comes, are already more than 50% vacant. Some corners of a dying mall have nothing but closed store fronts and an almost eerie post-apocalyptic feel to it. A perfect example of this is Owings Mills Mall which is in the Baltimore area, in case anybody going to Bronycon is interested. You half expect to see zombies walking around. But I prefer to reflect on the pleasant memories, moments, and lives touched during better times.