When I was a little girl they had a huge antique carousel and really nice floors and the lighting was much more pleasing. Loved going to that mall when we visited my aunt in Huntington. Big Loafer is so good.

The huntington mall was the mall all the people in charleston would take a weekend day trip to when they got bored of the town center. Super nostalgic.

I grew up going to this mall. My mom wasn't fond of driving to Charleston to the CTC so this was the mall we almost always went to until I got my own license. I would say the CTC was a show place during its hay day. This mall wasn't a glitzy, but it was a darn good mall in the 80s up through at least the very early 2000s. I remember some of the original stores: Stone & Thomas (a WV store and what a wonderful store it was), Hickory Farms, Jarman men's shoes, Casual Corner, San Francisco Music Box Company, The Gap, Morrison's Cafeteria, The Limited, Kay Bee Toys, York Steak House, Taco Grande and of course Lazarus with the Petite Cafe restaurant inside on the second floor. Lazarus was an original anchor and by far the best department store ever as far as I am concerned. When Federated decided to rename Lazarus (along with Goldsmith's, Rich's, Burdine's, etc.) as Macy's, sales declined at this mall (and other others!) due to the name change (yes, Macy's, you were a major reason for the demise of the great American department store) and as a result higher end merchandise Lazarus sold was replaced with nothing or junk. I was last in the Macy's store at the Huntington Mall during Christmas 2020 and just about cried at what I saw... bare shelves, bare wall space & lack of just about everything that once made this store a true gem. As for the rest of the mall... most national chains have been replaced with local small businesses or mom and pop stores. Of course the economy here is horrifying and the major reason I left in 2010. With a bad economy and no jobs people obviously don't have money to spend and as a result you get what is left of the Huntington Mall. Folks in this region that have money to spend opt for the short 2 hr drive to Easton Town Center & Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus OH or Fayette Mall in Lexington KY. I hope this mall survives, but I suspect the only way it will comes with a price tag Cafaro Corp may not want to pay. Over time this mall will have to be converted to an open air market style shopping experience. The enclosed mall is sadly coming to an end.

Thanks for posting this. I grew up in Huntington in the 1980s. I have so many memories. I’m amazed how much this changed. I know you were bored but this means a lot that you took the time so that we can go back in time. You wouldn’t know it but you briefly caught a glimpse of an iconic restaurant Big Loafer. That’s the only thing I recognized. It’s been there since the mall opened I think. Does anyone else remember the Chick-fil-A and the TJ Cinnamon? Wasn’t TJ Cinnamon the best? Wish it was still around. I remember the ceilings in the 80s in some parts of the mall were vaulted and had a multicolored look and a huge dome above a fountain. I loved it as a kid. Who remembers Fiesta Bravo and Childrens Palace? What about the pet store that used to be beside the Zondervan Christian bookstore? I spent so much time in those stores as a child.

This mall is one of just a handful of malls in West Virginia that are still thriving.

Went there when it opened. I remember the Pied Piper and the record store.

Looks pretty good actually! I'm jealous. In Cincinnati the malls are dilapidated Simpsons Jokes.

Fun Fact. Toy's R Us is Re-Opening in The Huntington Mall . Also a Specialty Store Opened in The Mall Specializing in Board Games & Vintage Toys. And a Career Technology Center Took Over The Former Sears .

Great video Doomie Grunt. 😁😁😁

Basically grew up coming here. Some of the first video games I ever played was at an old arcade here

Honestly this Mall is still thriving speaking as someone who literally lives 20-minute drive from it. Also there's another great mall across the river in Ashland Kentucky called the Ashland Town Center mall which is also doing very well. Also you should have seen the Huntington Mall back in the 90s when the Tilt arcade was open there was constant fighting game tournaments being held. I participated in probably four of them there was a Tekken 4 tournament a Mortal Kombat tournaments Marvel versus Capcom 2 tournament awesome Soul Calibur 2 tournament. Also every few years the mall would host Retro Game conventions which was awesome 👌. Honestly there's a very long and fascinating history around the Huntington Mall 😎 .

My favorite West Virginia mall!

Man this footage hit me hard 😂 That Sears has been closed for months and walled off the Mall entrance, as of right now it's being used as a Covid Vaccine Center. The Forever 21 closed sometime ago and now Fun City arcade is in F21's old space and that's actually where I work!

Glad you made a visit! I live in Huntington. This is all we have. As of today, it's still here. Thanks again.

i like the florencent lighting on the upper sides of the walls, looks great.

I spent a lot if time there, back in the glory days of the 80s. So many wonderful memories of all those record stores and clothing stores with all the latest fashions. The 3 record stores were Musicland, National Record Mart and Camelot. Some of the cool fashion shops were Jeans West and Chess King along anchors like JC Penny (still there) and Lazurus. So many cool restaurants have come and gone there (remember Taco Grande?). However, it's nice to know that Chick-fil-a and Big Loafer is still there since 81 (go try the pizza loaf and chili-cheese fries...yum). I can still remember the AMC jingle before the previews at the cinema. It's where I saw so many great movies after newly released. Movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, ET and Mr Mom. Also played those old Atari games at the arcade. Aww good times! Will always love The Huntington Mall!

If you were wondering why it was called the “ Huntington Mall“ when it was located a good 10 miles out in Barboursville, that’s because the city of Huntington failed in their quest to put them all within the city limits there in the “super Block“ commercial District in the 1970s when it was developed due to a lot of NIMBY and other concerns.

9:19 OMG A LATE 90s-EARLY 2000s DISNEY STORE!!!!!

An actual open Hollister :o I agree with you on the Macy's entrances being modern. Even JCP looked different than normal.

What about the Big loafer facade in the Foodcourt it looks nice with the woodwork

the mall of my childhood

Maybe it's because I'm 57 years old, but I sort of like both the interior and exterior of this mall. I'm very sorry to hear about your dog though.

I grew up in Huntington and I used to go there in the late 80s and early 90s it was cool, spent a lot of time in the arcade. Then I moved back to TX made my way to Dallas and experienced the Galleria. Edit: This place looks dead now

10:10 I think Huntington Mall will stay thriving bc it has a high occupancy rate and the only nearby competition is Ashland Town Center.

Great to see that the mall me and my family would go to every friday night is still doing good. Haven't been there since 2015. I use to go to the toy store, bam!, hot topic, and radioshack all the time when i went there. Just watching this brings back memories i had there. Great video!

This mall was a big deal for my parents when they were young, theyre born in (1980 and 1976) this mall is what made the area what it is. I love this mall so much, I grew up going here all the time and when I bring people who aren’t from WV they’re very uncomfortable bc it’s not modern but this mall is my childhood. It’s really boring and mundane. This mall has always looked like this, seems dead but isn’t. The old movie theater was awesome, it was dimly lit and had neon lights and that crazy theater carpet and a little arcade.( I was young so my memory is mainly all the good things so I could be so off on some of the old stuff). I’m from Cincinnati so we’re used to the good malls like the Kenwood Mall, but this mall will always have a place in my heart. There’s a little restaurant called Big Loafer and my dad says it’s been there for as long as he could remember. If you go for one thing, go to try the pepperoni roll. This was just me rambling about whatever so I’m sorry for dumping this lol.

Ah my old stomping grounds in Thundering Herd Country...I wonder in your opinion if it is one of the strongest malls in the state?

It doesn't look so bad to me

As someone who is going to move to WV from SoCal, I am just glad there is any mall and I’ll like that it’s there. As soon as my kids are done with school I am heading to this area. It’s not busy but considering the population in the area I think it seems ok.

I miss this mall, thanks for sharing this.

I grew up about an hour from here in Ohio and this mall was a destination once every couple of months. Back to school shopping, Christmas shopping, clothing shopping for my teacher grandma, a get away for a day on the weekend, different restaurants from the usual where I lived and that toys r us was always a needed stop. It wasn’t just a go to for the Barboursville/Huntington area, but for the region and beyond.

The larger spaces of this mall remind me alot of an airport...

Hey doomie hope all is well excellent video as long as Cafarro owns it'll be fine

It’s 2022 and its still thriving 😂🤣😂🤣

I grew up in Huntington. As a teenager, I use to think this mall was amazing... It is many years later and now I live in Asia. Most of my year is spent in China, as I own companies here. Though, I still spend a couple weeks a year at my home in Denver. After living in Asia for many years, seeing Huntington mall is depressing. Actually, seeing almost any mall in the US is depressing. Bland, no architectural interest, layouts that totally suck, and the same brands scattered throughout. I love my country and I'm proud to be an American, but damn... We seem to have been on a downward trajectory for way too many years. Airports, shopping centers, public transportation, and the infrastructure in general is quite embarrassing when compared to many countries throughout Asia.

I grew up in Barboursville and spent a lot of time here in my youth. I'm in Alaska, now. Believe it or not, there's a lot of folks with a lot of money in the surrounding hills and hollows in Barboursville. They come to spend it here. I haven't been there in about 10 years, and I have to agree; the new esthetic is pretty bland. Gone are the stained glass ceilings and water features. I know what the people of Barboursville are like. They're loyal and this mall is kind of their status symbol. It's not going anywhere. One memory I have was in the old six-screen cineplex. I got head for the first time in 1995 during Apollo 13 from a schoolmate named Allison. It was not fun. I got a little too excited and pushed down on the back of her head and shoved myself down her throat. She puked in my lap. She was furious. It was nasty. It caught the attention of other movie goers. And the stench....holy hell. A lot of pissed off people. Luckily, I could make a fast break out the emergency exit and I was parked just a few dozen feet away. Horrible ride home with the sliminess and the smell until I could finally get home and into a hot shower to dig her chunks outta my taint. Anywho, thanks for the nostalgia trip. P.S. Alison, if you see this, it's Mark. I've gotten a lot better if you care to try again

Haven't been there in 20 years I like it.

First mall I've ever been to that had sharps containers in the restrooms because of all the drug activity in the region.

Memories. Mom lives down the road from there. Thank you for the video.

This Mall looks more alive than the Mall where I live in Binghamton New York . Huntington mall looks cleaner to .

Not a bad mall, it is very bland. Bonus points for Books a Million. The mall will be fine.

Did you visit Billy Bob’s wonderland?

I remember Charlie Chan’s Chinese restaurant. I loved the food there!!! Used to visit the arcades every time we went.

This mall is okay I guess. It does leave a lot to be desired, such as the empty center courts and the carpeting that almost slightly resembles Hull, but it has a lot of potential. It seems to be doing pretty well too, and I think it will probably come out the other side.

You know a mall is in trouble when the first thing you see is a Government (Post) Office. Full carpet (even if it's indoor/outdoor) is not a good idea either (water leaks show up badly). No way, the Sears is open - and no indication of the generic "Store Closing" signs (by that point you said yeah, it's toast) and it has that facade that I mentioned is a dead giveaway for "former Sears".

I grew up going to that mall the old arcade was there and us "mall rats" would hang out there after school.the huntington mall seems to be doing better then it was years ago.theres not much to do around here and the mall is 1 of like 5 things around here to do.

It's so sterile and cold despite all the open stores. It probably used to have more trees and fountains at some point.

Your criticisms aside, I can confirm that despite the current state of the ongoing crisis we're going through. The Huntington Mall is doing really well despite suffering anchoritis. The old Sears entrance is being used as a vaccine center and several temporary stores did open throughout 2021. I personally love the Huntington Mall and I did like the renovations they did but I do miss the old aesthetic that was present during the 2000's and presumably the 90's.

Almost heaven...

Only thriving mall around. The mall in Charleston wv isn’t doing so hot right now.

I shopped there many a time. It was really busy! 😢

Estuve trabajando ahí serca en comida asiática. Cada vez que yo puedo visiba ese super centro comercial

It does not look that bad.

You should’ve seen the mall and its heyday in the 80s, slightly better with colored light fixtures instead of just the spotlighting. The small was part of a chain, it was built similar to other malls like the Ohio Valley Mall (Saint Clairsville).

It used to stay packed. Was this taken when it's was closed?

3:06 books a million opened as a borders.

You should check out downtown Huntington, depressing too

A total fucken BANGER of an opening song

6:10 he was 101% wrong on this one lol.

The Huntington Mall is still going strong. The way they remodeled it several years ago is definitely bland.

What time of day and day of the week was this recorded? Makes a huge difference. For number of shoppers.

1 of the thriving malls still?

Where are all 5he shoppers?

5:13 Is that starbucks closed, I cant find it in google maps... :(

That is what a mall is supposed to look like what do you mean blan and boring what are you expecting

The sign on the back of the train is my family I’m the little girl

UGH any Abercrombie store is total cringe at this point

and it will die because it's already dead...

You’re right…it looks boring and bland with low energy and insipid tores.

huntington my god💪 love it but the crack heads are nuts

This video was boring…and the voiceover low energy…