This brings back many memories for me. I had spent countless hours here in the 1980s as a teenager. Back then the malls were one of the main social hubs for young folks. I always loved the atrium in front of the old Caldor entrance especially when it had the water features. My favorite places were the arcade, the music stores, the hobby shop and of course Ben & Jerrys. Thank you for the video!

The atrium area had water and fountains in the mid to late 80’s through the early to mid 90s. This is my childhood mall. ❤ The mall was going pretty strong until after I was out of High School. It really took a downturn around 2010 and onward. I could tell you all the stores in those spots in the 90s and early 2000’s. The McDonalds used to have a large sunroom area. It got pretty chilly and had condensation issues. Lol I spent so many hours there with my Mom. There used to be Sears, Champion, Payless, Radio Shack, Claire’s, TJ Max, Zumies, Old Navy, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Maurice’s, American Eagle, Bon Ton/ Caldor before that, Hallmark, Bath and Body Works, VIctoria’s Secret, Alternative Nation, Jade Gifts, Johnathan Reid, Fannie Farmer chocolates, FYE, The Weathervane, Steve and Barry’s, DEB, Regis salon. Sooo many stores.

This is my 2nd Childhood mall. I go there a lot but it’s kinda a healthy mall. Recently I got a puppy from that pet store.

I love I found this! Trip down memory lane! This was my childhood mall between ‘84-‘90. My father would tell us he took the ‘secret road’ into the mall - nope just a shortcut lol ☺️loved the atrium with the fountains! Always threw a penny in them. I remember going to KB ToyStore, the tiny cookie store & a treat would be a dinner at The Ground Round where we would watch cartoons & eat popcorn.

This is really cool not to many malls have. Pet stores with puppies anymore

This is my childhood mall. It’s absolutely dead. The only thing that people really go there for is to work out at Planet Fitness or shop at Target. My mom walks there everyday that’s it. Growing up here, I thought the liminal forest was the norm and never really appreciated how unique it is. It is pretty cool and hope it stays around. The greenhouse you describe was part of the McDonalds and remember eating in there as a kid. There used to be a huge wooden propeller from an old airplane that was hung on the wall, which was pretty cool. The space with the purple/pink stone next to the food court was an arcade. In the mid-90s, my dad would take me there after we ate lunch in the food court (which would usually be full at lunch time). Funny enough, the taco place was where Taco Bell used to be. You are correct about the entrance where Target is. Before the addition, you could go out to the parking lot there. It seemed like it was unnecessary at the time with three front facing exits all in close proximity. Additional thoughts: The staying power of Auntie Anne’s shouldn’t be underestimated. This is the only stores that has survived besides JC Penney (which I think it will outlast) since the mid-90’s when I first remember coming here. Every other store has disappeared or changed hands (like the cinema). Spencer’s might have been around then, but I can’t remember if it’s been there that long or not. CVS had it’s own store and then moved into Target, so that might count too.

I work in the area. That Atrium is definitely a nostalgia vibe.

Never been to any of the malls you covered (appreciate seeing how large they are compared to my area Rhode Island/Mass.), sadly watching all these malls they clearly have moved on to our new era. Stunning to see malls completely empty (compared to the 45 years of malls being mobbed year round). Thanks for your malls and input.

I really like all your videos

A couple of notes: The Regal Cinemas were Regal Cinemas for as long as I can remember (at least before 2004). 2017 was just when they did a renovation there. TJ Maxx moved to a local strip mall several years back. The Wow entertainment center used to be a Game Stop before they left to go to another local strip mall. The abandoned shop across from the Chinese restaurant/restrooms used to be the arcade.

I worked here for months at Famous Footwear. It was rough 😅

back in the day I used to pass by Andy Rooney every day in the Summer ... Christmas shopping was fun for me. I was away at College and did everything the week before.. I started at the Ground Round ( would be across where 99 restaurant is now ) a beer at the bar then off to shop .. return to the bar for another beer after standing in line .. then head back to the crowded stores !! was a busy place !!!

As always great video 👍

This mall has acted like a "dead mall" for decades... every time you think it's fully dead, it isn't as things happen to prevent it from going under. But it definitely is far from healthy. Couple notes: So the original JcPenny before 1994 expansion was in the wing you were in, with the mall entrance being right next to what is now Target. Dick's: Prior to this, it was a vacant spot in the mall's expansion. The Target was 1/2 parking lot and 1/2 smaller stores like Sam Goody's before it was installed T.J. Maxx left Aviation Mall to move into the nearby Northway Plaza, where Peter Harris Clothes was until the two swapped. The former Sears, once they left, was home to the Spirit of Halloween shop, and in 2020-21 was the region's vaccination center. 18:45 - You are correct, before Target came in, this was an entrance wing. At the end of the wing was a Ground Round restaurant. 21:20 - That glass "greenhouse" location was where the McDonald's was. In the mall's heyday before McDonald's left in the 90's, the food court consisted a smoothie station, McDonald's, Long John Silvers, Sbarro's, Taco Bell and Arby's. The McDonald's left because they wanted to focus their business on the nearby Route 9 location.

I worked in the office of JCPenney when the store opened in 1975. It was bustling back in the day. I wish I remembered more about the stores in it at the time. I do remember Kay Jewelers and Erlanger Fashions though. I moved from the area years ago but it's still upsetting to see it declining.

A dead mall near where I used to live has a boat show around this time of year where they’ll load in boats you can buy right in the mall! Oh my is that atrium beautiful!

Only 1 or 2 active restaurant in the food court is a sign of a dead mall. I think it's more dead than dying.

Certainly doesn't look like it's flyin' high!

I grew up in the Lake George area with my grandparents when my family frequently visited them. The Aviation Mall was one of the malls I grew up with in Queensbury.

I worked here in the early 2000s and it was still pretty busy. Holidays were especially packed around the anchors. Everything went downhill after the 2008 recession.

The 80s especially the early 80s really were the days of malls They had a full food court. Separate food places and even McDonald's in some like Latham Circle Mall Really sad seeing the end of an era Malls used to be 100% full and rent was very high. It was good for the customer because they had only popular places The cinemas were another massive change of the late 79s early 80s Before the late 70s you would have a single screen theater in town that used to be a vaudeville theater I remember the twin screen Drive-Ins and the United artists one and two The movie industry usually only released two new movies each week So they didn't need to have more screens In the late 70s and early 80s they would have 2 to 4 A films and a few B films released and they had some Wednesday releases as well. The late 80s early 90s there were some big hits that released on the Same weekend The Batman from 89 or around that time had UHF and I think Bill & Ted released that same weekend

Thank you for this fun to walk around aviation virtually 15 years later after moving to socal where we have lots of dead malls. The one near me is still healthy.

I was there in October 2023. The Chinese place is pretty good. Got free donuts, which was pretty cool. That Sears houses a Spirit Halloween during spooky season.

Farmington Valley Mall??? Wow, I worked for Sage Allen across the river in high school in the 80’s and went to university in California and stayed! Farmington Valley Mall was like a hallway with Sage and D&L!

You are a truly great KZfaqr. I really love your work. Thank you for entertaining us. This is a beautiful mall. I have a great idea. Please come to Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. It's a mall from 1968 which has been dying. They're waiting for someone to buy the grounds. Also, do you like Batman? I live in a Batman museum and you're invited.

The atrium outside of Caldor absolutely had fountains and running water. :(. Grew up at this mall. I remember playing tag with my brother and friends in the atrium. The biggest problem this mall had in its later years was you had multiple stores all owned by the same company all selling the same things. So you think there were a lot of stores but no variety. Grew up in the mall in the 80’s and 90’s. Sadly it is a dead mall has been for a long time. Not too many people take it seriously as a shopping option after mid 2000’s.

The one thing you really don't see any more is pet stores with live animals in shopping malls. Especially in Mass. That's mainly due to increased regulations against puppy mill dogs and other health codes passed in the state.

Love that you’re in my neighborhood we are from Saratoga Springs!

Very few traditional mall stores. Another sure fire sign of a dead mall.

I say dying but will stay around for a long time due to its rural location

Chances are Ollie's would have to pay higher rent if it had direct mall access and Ollie's doesn't seem like the sort of business that will pay any more than it has to. And access to that dead duck of a mall would not mean any meaningful increase in foot traffic.

It's interesting because I am from Plattsburgh and visit this area frequently only being about an hour and a half away and I remember visiting this mall roughly 5-6 years ago and it was incredibly dead. Like, 90% of the stores were closed and it was a ghost town. Then, I came back last year and noticed several new additions from before and was quite surprised to see more stores opening back up. Typically in malls these days once they start to decline they don't turn around and start adding new things into them, but this seems to have been doing that. It's definitely still a dying mall, but it was even worse several years ago believe it or not.

Seeing the difference between the way the Saratoga and Lake George region was back in the 70s, so rural, and now all the new housing development and new massive retail Exit 15 is just completely different. There was nothing there back in the 70s and now it is 100% built out

I'm amazed no one mentioned the bookstore that used to be here in the 80s. I think it was B Dalton, but could have been Waldenbooks. Spending summers in Lake George you could get a lot in the Lake area. But if you wanted books, this was where everyone went. It was one of the busiest stores in the Mall. A lot of fond memories here from 40 years ago now. And yes the atrium did have fountains and waterfalls. I also distinctly remember the dark brownish/Terra cotta shade tiles the whole Mall had. It looked so much different.

i swear ive been here before edit: yes i have and this was so calming it made me wanna age regress out of nostalgia

The size of these places !yet there's hardly anybody in there is very surreal ? Even more so to me living in U.K. We just don't have that here !! deathly quite and empty very bizarre ??

As far as that pontoon boat, Queensbury is just down the road from Lake George, so that's not an unusual thing to see in the area.

The mall is in a mostly vacation area with limited market during the winter though the summer the area gets pretty busy, Walmart which is just up the road gets most of everyone, so that could be why its dying

The mall is dead, but I’m not sure if it would ever close cause Dicks, The 99, and Target being connected to it

I'd say this is dying. I think Target being there would be enough to keep it hanging on. Any plans to go to the mall in Ithaca? I haven't been there in over a decade and I am wondering how it is doing.

A pet store with puppies for sale, yikes. I didn't know any of those places existed anymore. My local pet stores are partnered with the local animal shelters to help adopt out their animals.

Do the Outlets in Queensbury kind of replace the mall?

Damn! Sucks seeing puppies in stores like that. You'd think by now there would be regulations on that (maybe there is). I hope they get time out of the crates.

Lake George is just a few minutes north of this mall and that is a mostly summer vacation area with two ski resorts north of it but the summers are pretty busy with americade a bikers holiday being the most popular time

How do these places even afford to keep the lights on? The power bill itself must be staggering, let alone the property taxes.

I think I found some doggies certainly they're really cute they're really and I'm still cold to get one how are you go get one let's get the doggies cuz I love doggies they're so cute yeah I love them I think that place still open a couple times cuz I love them I love doggies then my favorite month I do love cats too certain the guests are really good too so anything dogs sometimes go crazy so crazy says I love cats and dogs they're so crazy with theirselves I love them they're so cute and curly Yes they're really cute

Yup, its dead. Filling empty stores with fence retailers.

Those red banners with stars attached are rather sad.. not a lot of Christmas cheer

Dying mall, sure. Dead mall? Absolutely not. It has pretty consistent activity, and they're definitely taking risks to keep it alive. Like it's definitely recovering from some lows but not in the sort of catastrophic tailspin that happens when malls lose most of their anchor stores. This might be that the stores they do have outside of their anchors are actually providing regular services like the planet fitness or stuff that's harder to get around town like the weed store. The AMC there is the only theater around town so that's also helping with consistent traffic. It's a mall that's at least on life support but it's in no way dead yet.

This was a big deal back in the 70s

A mall night be a good place for a university and re-education for high tech trades... Tell me how we are going to compete with the rest of the world without education?

things i can say i've never seen in a mall: pet adoption center a target

looks liek sangertown mall new hartford ny keep charging crazy rent and see more decline

imo, it’s definitely dying. It’s creeping up on the line that crosses over into dead mall.

Thanks for ignoring my store because it was actually open, Merry Christmas 🎄

At one point in time this was a decent mall but not even worth going to anymore

I like that this mall has a cannabis dispensary inside 😂

Your info is so wrong... Dicks, was never pennys.. Pennys is where it is now., always.,.. target was a whole section of the mall... you crack me up.