Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 3 - Lakeview Square Mall

Amid the bustling Interstate 94 of south central Michigan, lies Lakeview Square Mall. Built in the 80s as the mall for the city of Battle Creek, this mall just feels 80s in every way. Whether it’s the old tenant or anchor facades, the HUGE blue skylights, or the many trees and planters that go up and down with you as you explore the many elevations. Whatever you like about this mall, what you can’t deny is the fact of just how EMPTY it is. It was just me and the few lone souls of mall walkers that morning in July. And for an early morning visit to start my day off, I’m the pure silence of no radio. It was relaxing as all hell. So what’s the story of the jewel on the interstate? And how much longer does the nearly abandoned mall have? Join me today as we take a tour and tell the story of Lakeview Square Mall, in Battle Creek Michigan.

Thank you all for watching! Subscribe for more! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶

Links

#northcdogg22 #deadmall #deadmalls #northernfilms

[passholder_trav]

This dude has the BEST dead mall content on the net, period! The history and storytelling he brings to life in these episodes is really impressive. My favorite part of Saturday night is a new North video!

[susanrolls]

So sad and unbelievable how these gorgeous shopping centers are no longer relevant. Even with arcades, music, kiddie rides, benches, lovely decor, movie houses- no one is coming! The middle class is shrinking. Thanks for video!

[QuintusAntonious]

I'm a simple man with simple tastes. I see a new Dead Malls video, I click and watch.

[kevinbutcher]

I love Lakeview Square Mall. I worked there from 1987-89. Horrocks is now open in the old JCP and it's amazing!! ❤

[adrianmontelongo]

great video walk throughtout this lakeview square mall. i like that video game.

[samtron]

You’re the only one going to the really aesthetically pleasing malls consistently. A lot of other dead mall content creators keep going to these remodeled to hell dead malls with nothing cool to see and on top of that giving little information. Good job

[stot]

You forgot to include music credits! 😉 LOL! It's okay... all that driving doesn't help jog the memory. Nice mall that time has nearly killed. Thanks for sharing this blue skylight heaven with us.

[BurkhartDan]

I grew up with this mall, hard to believe where it is now. It was THE place to go in the 80s/90s. Always packed and full of people. The food court was much different then. It had a McDonald’s, Sbarro, Chinese, Subway, Auntie Ann’s pretzels, seemed like there were 10 or so fast food joints in the food court. When the movie theater came in it was the nicest one in town at the time. The center of the mall had a nice fountain in it and all the stairs and ramps had real wood planters with leather “couches” built into them. The center court was where Santa Claus was, Easter Bunny, special events. Lots of Penny’s in that fountain. It went down pretty fast, but impressed it’s still being maintained well. I feel this could be an awesome space still for entertainment. The skylights were awesome as it never seemed dark in there especially in the winter with all the trees and plants in the mall. It felt like an indoor Main Street. All the development in the area around the mall was all because of that mall. None of that development on Beckley Rd existed until that mall was built.

[michaelb]

Love the music! I watch your videos while eating breakfast. Much better than the local news.

[chuck_howard]

After you left Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee the Zumiez closed and moved to Algonquin, and now Rue21 is having a store closing sale. So we are losing two more stores.
By the way Wiebolts is pronounced Wee bolts.
It's been gone quite a few years so very few people that are younger would remember it.
There was a Wiebolts just three blocks from where I live in the early 70s.

[charlestonpinballarcade]

Great vid as always! You have a great talent for this. Keep them coming!

[iBry]

Thanks for visiting this mall, I visited it last month and I saw something very strange near the Macy's wing, There were 2 guys in their late 20s or early 30s talking to little children whose parents were not around and It was very suspicious and there was no security guards at the time so you never know what happens.

[sunsetrecords]

As always amazing video. A very beautiful mall especially that center court with the blue skylights. The "Fun Spot" made me laugh as the logo was a copy and paste of game stop; how creative.

[elevatingmetrodetroit]

Nice tour! It’s good that the mall now has a new farmers market as an achor, especially since this could save the place.

[Peajay]

whoever designed those mall benches must be sitting pretty on a hill in a massive mansion overlooking the ocean!

[junipers]

That FunShop Extreme arcade is really throwing me off, not just because of the logo, but because that was the exact location of the old Game Stop lol. I lived in the area for a brief period of time in the mid-2000s. This mall used to be jam packed with people even in 2006-2007. Crazy how desolate it is now compared to what I remember. I think the mall in Michigan that stood out the most to me that I visited in the past was Jackson Crossing. It had this weird almost industrial vibe with exposed piping everywhere, but also really tall skylights and ceilings at the central part of the mall. There was even a long corridor of the mall that almost felt like a strip mall, with one side of the corridor being store fronts, and the other being a massive windowed wall to the parking lot. It felt like that sort of trendy industrial vibe you get inside of a Chipotle, instead of being messy/unfinished. And the whole mall sat along a sloped hill so it was a constant walk up/down to get to the other side. I really wonder how that place is holding up, I haven't been there since around 2007.

[vhsmemories]

Heres some facts. Ill time stamp from things that I remember growing up visiting this mall

1:55 food court. Bdubs wasnt always there. It used to be a big open area with a huge glass wall pointing out into the parking lot. I believe there was one a ferris wheel or merry go round thing that was there at some point. Thag sarku japan has been there FOREVER. The curtain off stall used to be a cookie shop then If i rmember correctly, it turned into a jerky/barbeque spice store.

3:11. Arcade corner used to be a jewlery store i forget if it was a jewlers but if you did a 180 where you are there was another jewlery store right across from it.
Claires has also been in that location for a long time.

3:25 next to that GMC, there used to be a gamestop. (Walled off now) I bought my first xbox 360 there back in 05 or 06 next door that was a nail and hair salon. It was open for quite a while before covid shut it down.

3:45 this exact shot with all the black railing saddens me. All of those railings used to be a real pretty gold/brass.


5:06 Those mirrors on the walls near the staircases are original to the mall. I remember being a kid looking at myself in those exact mirrors. Again they paint those pretty gold railings black.

5:21 those skylites where always a huge thing I loved about this mall as a kid. Once you reach the big "center" of the mall, that's where the skylites really shine.

5:51 obligatory bath and body works to the left of this shot. It was open for quite some time before covid closed it.

5:57 used to be an Auntie Annies pretzel stall. That place finally bit the dust when covid hit.

6:16 These 4 pictures show what the mall was like as I remember it. It was like this up until like 1997 or sometime before they finally tore down all the woodgrain and fountains

6:29 this is where the fountains/plants were. Refer to 6:16 top right picture. This area was so beautiful at nightfall with all the warm yellow lights. People walking by with the fountain making its calming noises. I'd always get yelled at my parents because I'd try to take the coins people threw in in. This is also the area where the mall santa would greet children. Just before covid, I visited and it was so sad seeing the mall santa with no kids to entertain. Very dystopian feeling


6:56 Down this corridor straight ahead used to a custom hat and t shirt store. I remember seeing all sorts of cool wacky designs, but I never want in there. Always down that hallway was the mall family photo area. I had my first family photo there with my granlarents, aunts, uncles etc. To the left with the gray shuttered door used to be another jewlers.

8:21 this end of the mall never had much going on in it there was a sleeping tiger store that sold hippy stuff like wolf blankets and incense.

10:10 again with the dang black hand rails. Bring back the gold! Seriosuly those are the original rails. All they did was paint them

10:35 fye store to the right. I bought a lot of cds and vinly here.

11:28 This is now a horrocks store. Very cool place to shop. Lots of interesting stuff to look/buy. They have those tractors and old cars through the store as displays. As far as I know, you can not enter the horrocks store through the mall. You have to enter from the outside.

13:30 ye old hot topic. (Duh)

15:00 this is the corridor I was talking about with the t shirt and hat place. Family photos.

Covid absolutely wreaked this place. It was open during the pandemic, and it seemed like stores were leaving every day during it.

18:05 straight ahead was the gamestop. For some reason, they opened another gamestop jusy down the road, not even a mile away in 2005. About 2 or 3 yrs later, this one closed because of sales.

18:11 CURSE YOU BLACK HAND RAILS!!

18:20 Its sad really, because back when I was a kind in the 90s, this place was still a hip and happening place. My dad always hated going here because he hated the crowds.

[Battle_rifles]

Awesome thank you for making my Saturday night better

[ReallifeBambiDeerattheFarm]

I think this mall may have a date with the wrecking crew. That's really a shame because it looks so nice and clean inside. Thank you for the video!

[CoolCatProductions-]

Oh Bath and Body works closed!!! That is never a good sign for a mall yet Barnes and Noble is still open? Great video North!