Shopping Mall - Dead Malls

Dead Malls

In the United States, as more modern facilities are built, many early malls have been abandoned due to decreased traffic and tenancy. These "dead malls" have failed to attract new business and often sit unused for many years until restored or demolished. Interesting examples of architecture and urban design, these structures often attract people who explore and photograph them. This phenomenon of dead and dying malls is examined in detail by the website Deadmalls.com, which hosts many such photographs, as well as historical accounts. Until the mid-1990s, the trend was to build enclosed malls and to renovate older outdoor malls into enclosed ones. Such malls had advantages, including temperature control. The trend has turned and it is again fashionable to build open-air malls. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, only one new enclosed mall was opened in the U.S. in 2006: The Mall at Turtle Creek in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Some enclosed malls have been opened up, such as the Sherman Oaks Galleria. In addition, some malls, when replacing an empty anchor location, have replaced the former anchor store building with the more modern outdoor design, leaving the remainder of the indoor mall intact.