I was there for the opening. I remember the ping pong balls, caught one, and received a laundry bag. But it was a madhouse. The thing I remember most was the pinball machines in the arcade. Spent lots of days in the arcade, lived so close we could ride our bikes.

Man I love NOLA, started going in the 70s with my mum. The trick at Cafe de Monde.,original location, is to get your coffee black and dump the extra bignet sugar into the coffee ☕

This is fascinating... In my limited experience, I've never seen the result of an open mall that has been enclosed. The skylights are just phenomenal, so much natural light. You're the man, Sal, awesome job!! Happy Holidays, stay safe!

Wow Lakeside really looks different. When I was there last, they had barely started the renovation near Dillard's. They pulled the neon fixtures that still remained, but that water fountain is pretty sweet. The Lakeside, Oakwood, and Esplande Cafe Du Monde stores are not as good as the 24 hour locations, but it will do in a pinch. I like the extras with the family, it is cool to see other peoples experiences in the city.

Happy that you have these great experiences with your dad! Continue to keep him close, and cherish those special times together. Merry Christmas!

Lakeside is the most successful mall in the greater New Orleans area. It's success is due to location, location, location, because being at the corner of Causeway and Veterans Boulevards and the I-10, it's accessible from all areas in metropolitan New Orleans including the North Shore. There are five other enclosed malls: Oakwood Mall on the West Bank which is partly occupied by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, Clearview Mall and Esplanade Mall which are struggling, Canal Place which caters to tourists and wealthy people in the area, and Riverwalk which is now an outlet mall. Lake Forest Mall out in the East and Belle Promenade on the West Bank are now closed and demolished.

That commercial!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. If that doesn’t capture the essence of New Orleans, i don’t know what does. People having fun in all situations. I lived in New Orleans for five years. Many happy memories. There’s no other place like it. Thank you so much for this video. I remember Lakeside Mall very well.

Sal this is a perfect video right before Christmas!

High school days in the early 2000s, spend many weekends at lakeside mall with friends LOL. Remember shopping there during the holidays and my mom would buy our summer and winter clothes at Dillards! In the 90s the plaza mall would have kids trick or treat throw back asf. I live in Texas now, more malls and they are much bigger !!

I can remember shopping here as a kid and the giant Mr Bingle hanging on the outside at Christmas.

Lol I’m watching the last episode of 2020 on the last day of 2023! Great vid Sal, can’t wait for what’s coming in 2024!

wow that mall is so cool also your dad is so cool guy happy merry christmas to yall

that is the most macy's looking penneys ever and i am loving it. really a great looking mall interior too. another great video.

Funny thing. Paul Kapelow was the developer of Terrytown (named for his daughter Terry). He didn’t develop Oakwood Mall, but the space for Oakwood was part of the original layout.

Sunglasses indoors 😎

i used to go to this mall back in the mid 70's. so much has changed. i miss the old lakeside. at 3:57 i remember that image. the old shoe store on the left and vision plaza on the right. the middle was always a holiday layout forever. where Thom McCanns was is now cafe duMond. but i also miss the old lakeside from the early 80's. the old Arcade with the Orange Julius stand with hot dogs as well as the old Popeyes and Chocolate chip cookie company. werleins music and record stores among other places. the old song by Eddie Money comes to mind...''I wanna go back''...

I need to go on a historic Cocktail Adventure at the Sazerac Bar. Fine log Sal

Can’t believe the Microsoft store was still open in 2019. Seemed like so long ago because my now preteen son loved that store. He also misses the Disney store. We like to hit up GameStop, the Lego store, and the Apple store whenever we go. That spider at your parents’ house is a spiny orb-weaver. Pretty common here in New Orleans.

That's a spiny orb weaver. Pretty harmless to people, but they can bite if you annoy them.

Happy holidays. Love the water feature and those crazy chairs. So thankful for this documentation!

I went to this mall back in 2018 for Wrestlemania weekend. There used to be a water fountain outside the Soma and White House/Black Market stores. From what I can see in the video its been taken down and just a stream from the ceiling

Thanks and Merry Christmas Sal.

Yes, thank you. Merry Christmas.

Wow, was life really like this? No masks, no dodging people to keep distanced, eating and drinking in restaurants - all together even! Even now, Jan 8, our entire city of Toronto Canada is yet again in lockdown with Covid 19 cases soaring, as they are everywhere. Going to be at least 5 or 6 months before we all get vax’d. Likely going to be a lot more abandoned malls to explore in the next year or so, Sal! Stay safe everyone, and hang in there!

The Roosevelt wasn't the same this year, that's for sure. I popped in for my annual pass through but super briefly. The line for the Sazerac Bar was also impossible due to limited seating. Fingers crossed for next year. For all the things! PS - Long live Lakeside!!! Over the summer they announced that JC Penney would be closing. This devastated me because I was afraid it would be the inevitable start of the end losing a major anchor like that. I went for the closing sale and learned from the cashier when I went to check out that the powers that be had changed their minds and it wasn't closing after all. Not sure what that was about but thankful nonetheless! Also, coffee with milk at Cafe Du Monde = cafe au lait. Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Always a joy to see you and your Dad having a good time. Happy Holidays!

It’s so sad to see dead malls I want all of them to succeed

my favorite youtube channel

I think what helped Lakeside and hurt the others is location. Lakeside is a short drive off I-10 to get there. To get to Clearview or Esplenade you have to go through a lot of lights.

Happy to see success

Gotta say, I would move back to Houston in a heartbeat, but I love living in the New Orleans area.

Born and raised in New Orleans and still live here. Love my city.. I resided in Metairie for about 30 yrs..

Merry Christmas to you and your family

One of my favorite videos. God that looked like a lot of fun. The good ole before times. New Orleans seems like a place that a person would bond with. Lakeview is gorgeous, the Christmas decorating is massive. Christmas goes right into MardiGras. Great job Sal, stay safe

Wow great video , makes me teary eyed with nostalgia. My momma and I always went lakeside , still do

This video felt short. I was enjoying the journey.

One of my favorite videos yet Sal! 🎄❄️

Happy Holidays Sal & Family from us, Liked

Wonderful video all around ! The commentary, information, footage, video quality, and humor is, in my opinion, consistently premium. Great job Sal, Happy Holidays to all !

Wow such a beautiful mall and that hotel!! The decorations! And your dad was so cool lol. Happy New Year to you and your family, Sal!

Sal, you are the best thank you so much for all you do. I found you almost a year ago and spent half a year unsubscribed yet constantly coming back to watch. Finally I grew some brain cells and subbed up after becoming enthralled in your "Epilogue to the Schuylkill Mall" video. Something about the background music you had chosen just went perfectly with the video, and literally gave me goosebumps. Not only did you seem to be extremely competent in your editing capabilities, but also well-spoken and astute. You are, in my opinion, the best and highest definition of a content creator. The amount of hours you sink into all of your videos that are so highly produced is absolutely incredible. Honestly you personally inspire me with what you do, because I can tell you before I ever even found you, I always had this sort of fleshed out idea of how I would want videos like these to be produced. It's like you read my mind and improved on those ideas 100x over. Not only are you all of the previously mentioned things, but you also seem to be extremely kind and considerate as well! I can't count the amount of videos I've seen you in where you've always treated others with kindness, even though they didn't offer you the same respect. Long story short, you've built up one hell of a community, and have a loyal fan in me (and I'm sure many others) always. It's gotten to the point that you're the first thing I watch on Christmas morning! So on behalf of me and everyone else that is apart of this amazing community that you've helped to build, we thank you for your hard work and dedication! Also Merry Christmas (if that's what you celebrate) and happy holidays!

12:44 I love the seating in this mall. Another great ExLog. Happy New Year :)

How faboulous for this mall, it's fascinating..This is so big, way so big.

My sister lives there...Merry Christmas all. Thanks for the great video

I visited this mall a lot in the late 1990s since I lived near it. I enjoyed it back then.

Love ya Sal. Merry Christmas.

If you end up back in New Orleans, you could always check out Southland Mall in Houma Louisiana. It's a smaller dead Mall that's been around since 1969 if I recall right may have some interesting history

Great video on Lakeside. I lived in Jefferson Parish when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s and again in the 90s. One thing I remember and it looks like it's still true is Lakeside frequently remodeled and changed their appearance, which seems to have worked well for them. I was about to finish high school when the Esplanade opened so I'm looking forward to that video. I left Jefferson for Baton Rouge 25 years ago and don't get back there much.

Merry Christmas to you Sal

10:51 that waterfall is cool at Christmas it has candy canes on it

You nailed it !

Great video as always, Sal!

Love your videos. Keep up the great work.

All those people... I forgot what crowds looked like.

Merry Christmas Sal and all the very best for 2021 o x o

I remember watching the live video of you and Capt Sal, down in bourbon st. When you did it last year.

I fucking love these God damn vids❤❤

Sal, being from outside of Nola in Destrehan and growing up in retail working in The Esplanade, Lakeside, and Oakwood (and almost New Orleans Centre and Riverwalk at times), I thank you. An$ if you ever come back this way, let’s grab drinks and sazeracs as that is one of my favorite cocktails.

Have a Merry Christmas Sal!

that furniture store ad lmfaoooo

Wow! As a person who is from Australia and has never had the privilege to visit NO - this was amazing

Your best episode yet, Sal! I have always been interested in New Orleans and wanted to go there :D

Some of the pics in the beginning I remember SS Kresge when I was a kid in the 80's. Thanks for sharing Sal. I love nola and from here but the job market is service industry so I'm moving back to Denver. Oh and the galleria in the beginning of your video when you're getting off the highway was a mall that was beginning built in three stages. It was said it was going to steal lakeside business and it had a movie show and you can see how that worked out lol

I can see my house from here! Lol. Merry Christmas from NOLA, Sal!

Happy late Christmas

Looks like you an tha Captain were feelin saucy! Oooooo, aye.... Great video, and .....as always...just adore your articulate vocabulary!

Omg!! I am middle aged now but as a kid and teen my pen pal was my Great Aunt who was a Domimican Sister ( Nun) Her Convent was in NOLA. She musta been REALLY* busy!! I think Loyala College owns the prop now. Reminds me of KEY West. 😄😄🎈🎉

Thank you for showing so many of my childhoood memories. I was born and raised here, and I get my fix when I watch these videos. Lakeside is my favorite mall, and some of my earliest memories are here. Love the Frankie &Johnnies commercial memory, but the best ones are when the red headed lady runs through the furniture yelling, "I got the 50 dollas!" I am not sure if anyone told you yet, but the locals always pronounced the mall in Kenner, Es-Pluh-Naid. Did the in-movers change the pronunciation? I would not be surprised, as a lot of the culture is drastically different, since Katrina. Also, Chicory does not add bitterness, it smooths the coffee. Coffee everywhere else is so bitter to me, I can barely drink it. I buy CDM coffee, and make it at home. Thank goodness the internet allows commerce for those whose local grocery does not carry beloved local items! Thanks again for showing my home! You are my favorite dead mall tour guide.

happy merry christmas

Gotta see the special man

That's so cute that the mall could be owned by a local family. That happens literally no where else.

I thought this was going to be a dead mall lol. Glad to see a thriving mall. I checked out their website, I counted 90 services there.

13:08 yea I was in that window while my mom shopped at that store when I was 7

I’m so excited Sal I’m you’re biggest fan you never knew I wish we could check out some malls together !!!!

I wish that there was at least one mall left in the world that had that late 60s aesthetic like in the pictures at the beginning of the video. Not a mall, per se, but Ober Gatlinburg in Gatlinburg, TN still has a bit of that aesthetic left. The Gatlinburg Mall still holds on to a bit of that nostalgic feel, too.

You should check out the Broadway square mall in Tyler Texas I love the design of the whole building

If you ever in the Houston area I believe Sharpstown/Plaza de Americas, Almeda Mall and West Oaks Mall would be some pretty cool expedition additions

Heyo, how have I not seen my home town's mall video despite being a follower of yours forever now? KZfaq didn't ring that bell. Also.. Morning Call > Cafe Du Monde I don't live in New Orleans anymore but I miss my hometown every day. It's so expensive to live there. Cherish the times you can visit! My parents even moved because HOA fees were crazy.

LETTA HAVE IT

It's nice seeing faces without masks. I miss it.

Hey Sal, are you going to post about this video in the Ain't Dere No More New Orleans Facebook group? I would write an introduction about it and share myself like I did for the Clearview video, but I couldn't possibly introduce this video as well as you personally could. The old school Nola crowd is going to flip when they see Frankie and Johnny's at the beginning of this video. Outstanding content as always.

omg ice head i havent heard that term in so long lol

Lettahavit!! 🤣

I suddenly want to re-watch 'Bad Santa'...

That might be my favorite commercial ever. Holy shit that can't be real. "tastes like mama!"

I really enjoy your videos keep up the great work any chance of doing Kenwood Towne Center in Ohio at some point?

10:04 Kendra Scott is the brightest store in the mall

Do we know the location of the old theater in the mall? Was it down that hallway? 12:00 I wish I could find a picture of it.

Kind of in line with Amy's comment below - to confirm, this was Christmas Eve of 2020, yes? And masks aren't required in Louisiana?! Or at least not all parts of it? LUCKY! XD our malls aren't even open currently, where I live.

13:51 yea I had my birthday during 2020 at flemings steakhouse

I ate at that cafe to and ate what you ate it is good

13:17 Random dog chilling on the bench.

Sal did you get those daiquiris at a drive-thru?

Nemo bites? Yikes!😳

17:12 where did he screw up?

Sal it might build your character drinking the coffee black. LOL I am joking with you!

"Tastes like Mama!"

Great video. My question is, what is the secret of Lakeside’s success? Many of the dead malls you’ve covered have tried similar pricey renovations and wooing high end retailers, to no avail. How does a mall continue to be successful in the online retailer world where others fail?

When was this recorded?

I'm confused, when was this video filmed Sal? I thought you had said something about just at the beginning of COVID yes? Because there is not a soul wearing a mask. It must have been early COVID I think. Great video as usual Sal! As far as I'm concerned, you are the KING of Dead Mall Videos!! Others try to imitate, but nobody can duplicate! 😋💕🙏