In one of my favorite abandoned mall exploration videos — a growing subgenre of YouTube content where creators (illegally) enter derelict shopping malls to explore, film and preserve the deserted structures — the team behind the channel The Proper People stumble onto a gold mine. While rooting through the forgotten contents inside the staff office at the Knoxville Center Mall in Tennessee, the channel’s creators, known only as Bryan and Michael, find a rolling cart stocked with vintage photo albums. Inside, pictures of daily life at the mall from decades past are preserved in perfect condition, organized by date, month and year. For anyone interested in archival media, vintage photography, mall culture or even just plain nostalgia, the discovery is a jackpot. A voice huffs with excitement behind the camera: “We’re going to be here a while.”
There’s a bittersweet irony to that sentiment. In the not-so-distant past, the shopping mall was the premier place for social gathering, a spot where the sweet pull of capitalism united people of all ages and backgrounds. But malls weren’t just a place to buy things; they were structures that housed and enhanced an entire day’s activities. At many a local mall, you could spend hours wandering around from store to store, window shopping here and splurging there, taking a break to grab some sustenance at the food court to fuel you through the sales racks at the next anchor store. In larger locations, like the Knoxville Center Mall, you could even catch a movie or attend high-production events in a sunny atrium, where teen pop stars got their start doing mall tours. You could come with family, friends, or just by yourself. At the mall, you were never alone. You were going to be there a while, and it was exciting.
