Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 2 - Peru Mall

If your lucky enough to find yourself stumbling out of the cornstalks on the north side of Peru, Illinois. You’ll find yourself looking at Peru Mall, a 1970s hidden treasure. Amid the 3 empty anchors lies an expanse of liminal hell. From the dozens of dead tenants, to The Oasis, one of the easiest ways to get into the Backrooms. Join me today as we explore Peru Mall, and dive into liminality, and what it all means.

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[holly]

Thank you for covering my hometown mall! I spent a large chunk of my childhood here. Pre-renovation, it was all dark stonework and brick, like a grotto. Over the holidays, they'd put out a bunch of creepy, animatronic elf-and-reindeer tableaus all over the mall. I still stop by Eyebrow Place for a cheap touch-up when I'm in town to visit my mom 😂

[dizzyherup]

Definitely didn’t expect to get so emotional from this video!! The Peru Mall was the place to be when I was growing up in the late 90s-2002. We would make an evening of it and drive over from Ottawa. Maid Rite was the BEST 50s diner with amazing milkshakes. We’d check out the dresses at Bergners, get our ears pierced at Claire’s, listen to some music at Sam Goody, and go check out the cute guys. Ha! Can’t forget all the nutty stuff in Spencer’s and enjoying our coolest store: Hot Topic. 😜 The bit about Sam Goody made so many bittersweet memories flood back. 🥲 The mall just makes me so sad… It was horrible watching it slowly die, store by store. There’s a lot of talk around town but it doesn’t seem anyone really knows what’s going on with the building. Surely, we ALL want something to happen. The owners don’t care, that’s very obvious. You can see the ceiling water damage in your video at the AMC entrance. We have a great, supportive community and that location is prime real estate off 80 & 251!! Here’s to hoping there’s something being planned behind the scenes! 🤞🏽

[architecturefan]

Wow! I am amazed to see the mall I always went to as a child in a video! This feels like a dream!

[Youdontknowme-xcmu]

The manager of the Peru mall would always come in to my place of employment to get food (around 5 years ago) he was in such denial of the mall being dead. He would always say everyone's dumb and our mall wasn't dead. Look at him now.

[wildbutterflytiedye]

*I have so many memories of being in the Peru Mall. Shopping at Spencer's, KB Toys, Bath & Body Works, Fashion Bug, Montgomery Ward's, going to the movies, and eating at Maid Rite. They had amazingly delicious Hamburger Horseshoes and french fries! Got my ears pierced when I was 9 yrs old in this mall. It's where I saw Gremlins for the first time. When I got older I took my kids there to get some school clothes. Kinda sad to see it so lifeless now.*

[puullssaarr]

The ending bit about Sam goody hit harder then it should of. This was the mall I grew up with. My dad would take our entire family there almost every weekend for music shopping in that exact sam goody. So many albums bought including some CDs that I played over and over and had most of my fondest childhood memories with. Thanks for visiting this mall man. I wish I could of ran into you there to chat about how it used to be there.

[travelingwiththegrays]

It is crazy seeing a place that i use to go to when i was younger. I remember going and hanging out with friends. Its sad to see how much has changed and how many stores are gone. It use to be a really great place to go to. They had a few good places to eat in there also. I also remember playing in the center court in high school when i was in band. We did this in the winter 2 different times.

[shaneeckman]

Holy nostalgia batman. I lived in small town north of there from like 98-02 and this was like the only place around to go to. Memories. Great job

[itdoesntmatter]

Walking down this hallway, I can tell you every store every space ever was. What was great about this mall is that it had the big mall stores as well as local business inside. That stage every year had a big Santa setup with a fireplace and snow. The Easter bunny lived there too. Anywho, this place really helped me cope with growing up in Peru, Illinois.

[jenaphura]

This made me cry. This is the mall near my home town and it stings. I wish you could jump in my memories.

[stevenrun]

I haven't been in this mall in probably 20+ years, but I grew up in LaSalle, so I spent a lot of time in this mall during its peak. I worked in the arcade across from the theater when it was a Tilt! arcade with a nice selection of 90s games that were well-maintained in my time-- a lot better than what's in there now, that's for sure.

While seeing this big empty place is kind of sad-- it is encouraging to see the downtown areas of Lasalle and Peru are seeing a resurgence in the absence of the mall's shops

[epicfoto]

The original design was brick and concrete walkways with new Orleans influenced streetlights and a large fountain at the center. There were food shops, a bakery, a florist, as well as the clothing stores and specialty shops.

[RyanCakici]

Peru, IL is my hometown, I moved away in 2015 to South Florida. Thank you so much for making this video about the Peru Mall. It's crazy how watching your video, I could literally place myself into the scenes. I could picture myself playing the claw machines at the Fun Zone like how I did as a kid, my mom even worked at the Marshall's there. It's sad to see how empty its become, as I vividly remember the mall absolutely jampacked with people and stores. Thanks for jumpstarting my childhood memories.

[alexjusti]

I grew up and still live in Dalzell, within eyesight of the mall to the west. I remember my mom and dad taking me there as a very young child to go to KB Toys when it was still open. At the time (early 2000's), the mall was still full of activity and I remember it very vividly. By the time I got to junior high, the place was on its way out. Anchor stores were closing and many of the long-time tenants were closing and being replaced by fly-by-night stores that lasted months at best. It's actually quite sad to see the mall fall into its current condition.

[stevebrewbaker]

I worked at Peru Mall Cinemas while going to IVCC and spent my breaks at The Gold Mine arcade. The stage area in front of Bergner's was originally a fountain. I remember going to the mall the week they opened and being excited about Baskin Robbins. Bergner's had a talking Christmas tree that was actually kind of scary.

[charlestonpinballarcade]

Neo!
That door in the back of the oasis was your way out of the matrix!
Go through the door!😮

[scottDchicago]

A combination of eeriness and sadness due to the complete and utter emptiness. Awesome episode!

[christrojak]

Perfect dead wall mall walk through, love your commentary, especially the emphasis on liminal spaces. Great dialogue, filming, perfect vibe captured and love the choice of hypnotic vaporwave muzak, thank you and keep up the excellent work

[JoshYT]

Always a good day when North uploads. I love that vintage Peru mall sign on the main road at the end too!

[JeremysRetailExploration]

I believe Lakeview Square Mall will be next!