All sales final: retail buffs chronicle the history of bad shopping malls.
7/14/2003
Shopping malls die for all kinds of reasons: good location gone bad; bigger and better competition; changing consumer habits. But the death of a mall seems always to be lingering and sad, with once-vibrant esplanades turned into empty corridors, top-notch anchors replaced by second-rate retailers, and an ever-increasing number of empty retail fronts. Their stories are recorded at Deadmalls.com, a site "designed to promote the history of the malls as well as their nature, whether thriving or declining, and the impact of time and competition on these establishments." Not all of the malls here are officially dead, but the authors contend the writing is on the wall. Each mall mentioned (most are in the East) is given a capsule history with photos, and an analysis of what went wrong. This is not a scholarly journal—the entries are subjective, personal, and at times misspelled. But it is entertaining and informative. You'll also find here a good but short compilation of retail resources, store locators, and a deadmall dictionary ("Labelscar: Fading or dirt left behind from a sign on or in a mall").