Eastland Mall

Рет қаралды 5,146

2 жыл бұрын

Requiem for a forgotten mall.
Eastland Mall was a shopping mall in North Versailles, PA. It opened in 1963 as the Eastland Shopping Plaza, an outdoor mall, and thrived through the decade, expanding in the 1970s when it became a fully enclosed mall. It's anchor stores included JC Penney, Gimbels, and Woolworths. It eventually met it's demise from competition from the nearby Monroeville Mall, Century III Mall, and South Hills Village. The building closed in 2005 and was demolished not long after. At it's height, it employed 800 people and was surrounded by other businesses, including the Eastland Theatre.
There are many videos of dead malls out there, but few about this one. This is my tribute to the mall, and the people who have memories of it.
For more information on it's history:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastlan...)
Archive materials created by:
Dead Malls.com
www.deadmalls.com/malls/eastla...
Duquesne Hunky
duquesnehunky.com/2014/08/13/...
Fuzzy Productions
www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzypr...
David White Hawk Wagner
/ _saved
Joseph Tatrai
• Video
rwmega
/ rwmega
Code: M2WNIF6RJYMCHMTP

Пікірлер: 43

@harrylohr9949 2 жыл бұрын

I sold Sunday newspapers every Saturday night in the 60's. Was a great hangout place.

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

I'm sure, I've heard from a lot of people that it was their nightly hangout spot.

@BarbaraHudson-xw6rz 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video of Eastland Mall. My dad and mom took my brother and me to Eastland Mall frequently in the late 1960's and into the 1970's. I have great memories of eating at McSorley's Restaurant and shopping at Gimbles, National Record Mart, etc. and going to the little penny arcade on the lower level. There was also a little movie theater behind the main mall. It brings back some wonderful childhood memories.

@tommyrregina1227 18 күн бұрын

US ALSO. FROM THE 1960'S TO THE DAY THE FINAL BUSINESS , BEER WORLD CLOSED IN 2005 (7/30 OR 7/31/2005 ? ?) MOM ♥️ & I WOULD WALK FOR EXERCISE INSIDE & OUTSIDE IN LATER YEARS. ( 1994--2005 ♥️) WOULD MAKE SPECIAL TRIP'S TO SHOP AT ' FOODLAND' ( ORIGIONALLY ' THOROFARE' SUPER MARKET. EATING AT WOOLWORTH'S & MENZIE DAIRY ( LOWER LEVEL ) ♥️ NATIONAL RECORD MART FOR 45'S & 33 1/3 LONG PLAYING ALBUMS , 8 TRACK CASSETTES 🤗AND OF COURSE THE LATEST WWWF WRESTLING MAGAZINES TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON BRUNO SAMMARTINO ❤️🙏🤗🤗 40+ YEAR'S OF ENDLESS WONDERFUL ❤️ JOY FILLED ❤️GREAT ❤️MEMORIES 😇♥️ WITH MOM & DAD ♥️♥️♥️🤗🤗🤗🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

@chrissasandlin8344 2 жыл бұрын

I've never been to this mall, but I've been watching this video on repeat--it catches all those half-remembered mall moments really well.

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your sweet message, that's great to hear it had that effect on you. Thanks for watching!

@davidadam6997 2 жыл бұрын

I went there many times with my parents in Eastland's heydeys of the 60s and early 70s. I remember it being an open shopping center with a small underground section that was more like a mall. You could access it from a set of enclosed escalators or the bottom floor of Gimbel's. There was a great hobby shop at the bottom of the escalator where my brother and I bought a lot of Aurora slot cars and accessories and Tyco train stuff. Later they covered the open air area with a roof and made it into a more 'traditional' mall. It was a great place at the time.

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your memories. One of the things that I think was unique about this mall was the fact that it started as an open air mall before being enclosed. Not many malls had to serve both functions.

@Wild1995 2 жыл бұрын

Great job. Your drone footage was incredible. My mom worked at Sun Drugs when the mall first opened. When I was a kid in the 70s she would take us there to shop. I remember Gimbles, Gee Bees, and Penneys. I always loved the view off the back of the mall behind Penneys. I also loved the Weiner World that was in the middle of the mall. It never had a food court but the hot dog stand fit in nicely. I remember one Saturday my mom took me and my friends there and they had that Bigfoot in ice exhibit where you would pay a few bucks and look at this hairy creature in ice. It looked so real but these exhibits would travel the country at various malls. It used to also have a nice movie theater. I hear now Amazon is looking to build in the property. Thanks again for the memories.

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your memories. That's been the best thing to come out of the video, viewers sharing their memories of the place. I didn't know the Weiner World stand was there, but I can see how that would fit in. The bigfoot exhibit sounds like a fun one. Would love to find some photos of that.

@tommyrregina1227 18 күн бұрын

@@MidnightonSaturdayProductionsWIENER WORLD WAS CENTER MALL , UPPER LEVEL , ALSO A LOTTERY RETAILER ♥️♥️♥️🤗🤗🤗😃😃😃

@jschadle1 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for making this! I love the old photos, some I've never seen before. I have fond memories of visiting the flea market and a few stores that were still open. It was such a neat old place, and I wish I could experience it again.

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Same. That was my experience of it, the flea market and the last stores still standing. Would give anything to be able to go there again.

@buckbabich Жыл бұрын

My memories of Eastland were from the late 80's and early 90's, when the mall was already well past its prime. Circa 1992, there was a mom-and-pop software store on the bottom level that sold freeware and shareware on floppy disks for between $3 and $6. This was a few years before home access to the internet became common, so it was a valuable service but also a business completely tied to that moment in time.

@backroom12 2 жыл бұрын

Used to buy my Star Wars guys at eastland. I remember bargain bins of them in warehouse outlet for a dollar . Gee bees even had some kind of event outside once and darth vader , C-3PO and R2 were there and I got them to sign a flyer they were giving out . I still have it .

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Talk about a steal! Hopefully you hung onto those figures!

@jrkuzel3786 2 жыл бұрын

i like your video and you did a good job on that video

@davidmitchell6873 5 ай бұрын

There was a grocery store on one end. I also remember the shoe repair guy and I think a Pappans or a Sweet Williams on the lower level.

@tommyrregina1227 18 күн бұрын

david6873: ACTUALLY A SUPERMARKET ON EACH END 😃 THOROFARE ( LATER FOODLAND' ) ACROSS FROM SUN DRUGS STORE . AND THE OPPOSITE END , A GIANT 🦅 EAGLE SUPERMARKET ( LATER A GEE BEE , THEN THE SUPER FLEA MARKET) OUTDOOR WWWF WRESTLING MATCHES SATURDAY AFTERNOON'S IN THE PARKING LOT OUTSIDE OF GIMBELS🤗🤗REMEMBER THE VERY LONG LINE'S SATURDAY MORNINGS/AFTERNOON'S AT THE EASTLAND AUTOMATIC CAR WASH ? & THEN FILLING THE GAS ⛽ TANK AT THE MOBIL GAS STATION PUMP'S JUST OUTSIDE THAT SAME CAR WASH ? 🤗🤗🤗 GIMBELS & PENNY'S EACH HAD THEIR OWN AUTO REPAIRS FACILITIES AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE HUGE PARKING LOT 🤗🤗😃😃♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️WOOOOWWWWW♥️♥️♥️😃😃🤗🤗🤗🤗

@tommyrregina1227 18 күн бұрын

david6873: TONY FROM VALLEY SHOE REPAIR & GABE BACCO'S BARBERSHOP . BOTH , ORIGIONAL 1963 PLAZA OPENING TENNANT'S, LOWER LEVEL , NEXT DOOR TO EACH OTHER ♥️♥️WHEN THE LOWER LEVEL CLOSED OFF , TONY & GABE BOTH RELOCATED TO THE UPPER LEVEL, BUT ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE MALL. THE MALL CLOSED IN 2005 & TONY RELOCATED TO THE ARCADE AT GREAT VALLEY MART ON RT 30 TILL HE RETIRED JUST RECENTLY. GABE RELOCATED UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME FURTHER UP RT 30 NEXT TO LOU MAGOO'S. IT'S STILL THERE BUT GABE IS LONG GONE. TONY ( I BELIEVE ) IS STILL LIVING ? ♥️♥️♥️♥️🤗🤗🤗🤗😃😃😃♥️🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

@billconserva1461 2 жыл бұрын

I was the manger at Gee Bee Furniture in the mall.

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Nice! I bet you have some stories to tell from your time there.

@Wild1995 2 жыл бұрын

Gee Bees had a great loss prevention program. There was a podium at the entrance of the store and they would staple your bags closed that you brought in from other stores.

@rayinpau.s.a.6351 2 жыл бұрын

I remember going to this Mall right before it became a flea market . You just knew it would not be long before it was torn down . water was leaking into every where and it smelled bad . It still sad to me knowing it will never return . I am certain Monroeville mall took their business away !

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

My memories of it were during that era. Would've been cool to see it during its heyday. And I agree, I think Monroeville and Century III were the biggest culprits.

@jamesslick4790 6 ай бұрын

Ironically EASTLAND was blamed for taking business away from Downtown McKeesport. The beat goes on.

@jamesslick4790 6 ай бұрын

@@MidnightonSaturdayProductions Ironically EASTLAND was blamed for taking business away from Downtown McKeesport. The beat goes on.

@rayinpau.s.a.6351 4 ай бұрын

As i lived in Mckeesport in the 70's . I would have to say you are right !

@14TND88 Жыл бұрын

This place got torn down when I was 3. The only memory I have of the mall was the little flea guy on the outside of the building on what I assume was the old gimbles. I have more memories of learning to drive, walking my dog, or just playing in the empty lot than I do of the actual building. Happy Amazon is bringing life to the place but damn I miss my lot

@rayinpau.s.a.6351 4 ай бұрын

Did AMAZON build on this sight ?

@tommyrregina1227 18 күн бұрын

@@rayinpau.s.a.6351YES , OPENED LATE 2023

@susansparanormalpennsylvan81 2 жыл бұрын

i am originally from santa clara, calif, but moved to rochester, pa in 2012, so people telling me about the stuff that has closed

@jeffreywilt7194 2 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know the list of stores that was in Eastland when it was at its peak?

@MidnightonSaturdayProductions 2 жыл бұрын

I haven't been able to find a concrete list of all of the stores. More a hodge podge from various sources, based on people's memories. I'd be interested in finding a list as well.

@jpears1100 2 жыл бұрын

For the the larger "anchor" stores, I remember Gimbels, J.C. Penney, Woolworth, and Gee Bees.

@t.h.anderson8187 2 жыл бұрын

Sears, Sun Drugs (if I remember correctly), Standard Sportswear, Wander Sales (appliances) and in the original lower mall there was McSorley's Restaurant, Menzies little lunch eatery, a health food store, National Record Mart, and a shoe repair place. There was also a grocery store on one end of the top level. I'm thinking it was Thoroughfair, but could have been A & P or Kroger or something else. I'm going back to the days when Eastland was new.

@seansullivan9837 2 жыл бұрын

Gimbals JC Penney Horne's GC Murphy's gee Bee records store islays

@RandyOnTheRadio Жыл бұрын

I remember them having a Pearl Vision Center. Got my first set of contact lenses there. Also, Wander Sales, Thom McCann shoes. Oh, and let's not forget, Flagg Brothers, where I bought all of my newest hip shoes of the day. And then, there was Two Brothers Boutique, who sold fashionable clothes for young folks. Eastland had a lot of cool stores. To be honest, I liked it better before they turned it into a mall. The mall always looked like they put it together on the cheap, and I'm sure they did. When it was an open air center, and you had two strip centers facing each other, I thought that was really cool. My mom would take us there at Christmas, and was so neat to come from one store to another, and be in the brisk air with the snow flying. And then you'd run into your next store to shop.