OVERMALLED: CINCINNATI. Episode 3: 1981 - Now

Who killed the mall? The answer may not be who you think.

Missed the other episodes? Watch them here:

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[LuisHColon]

This is one of the greatest things I’ve watched on YouTube!

[ryandal]

Great series! I appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into this.

[zacharyking]

This was a very informative and nostalgic trip through a very small section of my memories, but it was an enjoyable none nonetheless. Being 32 and absolutely hating shopping as a kid, it's nice to be able to go back and look at all the things I missed out on through the eyes of an outgoing adult, instead of those of a reserved child/pre-teen. I REALLY appreciate what you've done here, and I look forward to exploring your channel more.

[johnkelly]

Outstanding job on this mall history! I was the project manager for the 1992 Northgate Mall renovation (along with Valley View Mall in Dallas as well as Sharpstown Mall in Houston). All I can say is it seemed like a good idea at the time).

[alancranford]

I liked this series.

I'm a business school graduate and I have worked in contract security for three decades. The business plan for malls dooms those projects, sometimes before groundbreaking. Mall security can drive off the customer base.

Retail business is gambling--worse than Las Vegas casino games. Malls require mass quantities of paying customers. Mall owners, mall management, and the retailers leasing mall space all have different goals, sometimes in opposition to each other. It's cheaper and there's less red tape to erect a new mall on old farmland or even wilderness than to demolish old city centers and rebuild--with the added problems of historic buildings or traffic congestion in urban areas. Building on virgin land usually means building away from population centers--and relying on the automobile and the road network to fill the mall with customers. Disneyland is a pedestrian mall that features retail shops and dining plus rides and shows. The fact is that the modern shopping mall is a show, is entertainment--thinking of malls as mere retailers constricts. Clothing sales seems to be the number one merchandise sold in malls, and if social nudity ever takes hold, most malls will go out of business. One of the draws of the old marketplace dating back to at least 3000 years was socialization. People would meet each other at the marketplace.

I took a guided tour at Disneyland and the official tour guide asked my tour group, "who is Disney's competition?" My answer was "everybody." Even just taking a nap was competition. Understanding the product, the goods or services put on the market, can be more than a blind guess. Load those dice.

As for the security problem, we humans thrive on a degree of chaos, yet we need safety as well. There's a lot to protect. Protection can throttle business. Malls NEED bunches of kids who have money wandering the mall areas, but most malls prohibit more than three teens from forming. The flash mob was an answer to over policing the mall in the name of safety--and peace, and order. No mall can afford to have a force of 500 uniformed security along with the undercover loss prevention personnel--uneconomical. Cell phones and bored kids can mass hundreds on a specific place in a very short time--and then disperse after damaging or looting. Bad things happen at malls and that's bad for business, among other things.

[chriscalridge]

You're the first person that has accurately touched-on, what I stated years ago, to all people I knew:
eBay and Amazon are NOT the main villains in this story.
We simply had/have a super-saturation of mall space.

[Crobinso]

10/10. It all saddens the 90s mall rat in me, but I loved seeing all my old haunts and some new places I hadn't even heard of. Thank you!

[dougonodera]

Fantastic! You really nailed this one! Well done! Just “binge watched” all 3 episodes. (I had no idea about CUT’s flirtation will being a “mall, ” and you’re so right as to that saving it.) You and Sal over at ExLog set the standard for the research and care taken to document not just video, but the entire stories behind the malls. Thanks for doing what you do!

[AnMuiren]

I'm 66 and lived in Madisonville during the late 1950s and early 1960s, just down the hill from Kenwood, where I had my first mall experiences. Across the street was the first McDonald's I ever saw. To be honest, I preferred Frisch's Big Boy next to Madison Bowl. Most of the first films I ever saw were at the Twin Drive-in Theater also just up the road from Madisonville, and catching the B&O from Oakley Station was the fastest, cheapest, least stressful way to get to Cincinnati without a car. If was I good, my Grandma would stop at Aglamesis Brothers and buy us kids ice cream sodas. Anyway, thanks for the memories and insights. Well done.

[imgonnaplum]

whole series, bravo...the nostalgia is palpable

[BrennanSawyer-ov]

I am from a small remote canadian town that had a population boom in the 70s and 80s. Despite only ever reaching a population of 7, 000 at its peak it was overmalled!!! It was supposed to act as a regional hub and saw three shopping malls built in just a few years, today they are all dead malls, one of them is so dead its actually eerie, locals call it "the ghost mall". The town is Port Hardy Canada. Also love your videos btw❤

[adventuresofscottandmichel]

We watched all three of your overmalled episodes and loved them! You should do one about Chicago and other cities too!

[awoglyshipper]

Damn, that ending gave me chills. Keep up the good work!

[scottlight]

Great series! I really enjoyed it and seeing pictures of things from my childhood growing up in the late ‘60s and the 1970’s. The yearly school shopping at Manley & Carew, Shillitos, and Pogues were some of my fondest memories. Thank you.

[mattrost]

Great series! When I was was younger, I bartended the "Grand Opening Gala staring Marie Osmond" at Forest Fair Mall. During the catered meal for 500+, I was a server. Everyone got a tossed salad, prime rib, a baked potato, broccoli and cheesecake. It was a formal affair.

[cincy]

These videos are excellent! This should be shown on TV. Really appreciate the effort you put in these videos, and really enjoyed all the info and retro photos.

[EMAyo]

Great video series! I visited many of these places in the early ‘90s as a UC student and it was great to see all the old stomping grounds again. I went on one of my first dates with my future husband to the movies at the Forest Fair Mall. That place seemed so fancy when it first opened.

I wondered about Newport on the Levee, and also Liberty Center, although that one may be too new, or may be more of the “outdoor lifestyle” concept, which Cincinnati still seems to have too many of. I also never knew about Union Terminal’s brief mall past. Good thing it kept that building from being demolished, it’s a real treasure!

Thanks again for the trip down memory lane!

[sangomoon]

I really enjoyed this series. Thank you

[kelly]

The only Cincinnati mall I visited was Tower Place back in 97’. It was a cool mall! I loved that the mall, hotel, and convention center was all connected by sky walk. It’s sad to see it gone...

[stephenshaul]

interesting series... when I return to the area to visit family, I'm amazed at the changes I've seen, and how the landmarks I once navigated by are long gone. I once had an idea of doing a series on Cincinnati-area neighborhoods, but that was way before YouTube or even digital video. Since I moved away over 25 years ago, it doesn't look like that will ever happen. Thanks for sharing!