For everyone who keeps asking, the reason I got so scared at 15:30 was because my irrational fear of man made objects submerged in water (submechanophobia) and my fear of deep water (thalassophobia)

This was my mall growing up. Even when it was "thriving", Westland was viewed as not being as good as Northland and Eastland (Southland had no connection to the other malls). Westland didn't have Gap, American Eagle, Disney or a food court like Northland and Eastland did. Some other fun facts: 1. After the Chi-Chis closed, it became another Mexican restaurant but it was actually a drug front; owner was distributing brown heroin out of the restaurant 2. Next to Chi-Chi's was Wendy's Hamburgers. Next to Wendy's Hamburgers was Wendy's Bridal. No connection but it was odd 3. The JCPenny constantly had roof leaking issues. The store would have tarps filled with water strapped to the ceiling when it was open 4. The Limited (which you show in the video) had two entrances at an angle so shoplifters would just run straight through and grab stuff. Later they would keep the gate down on one of the entrances 5. Lazarus had an entrance right across from Waldenbooks. This entrance lead to their "Fast Lane" zone which was their "young, hip" department that competed with Chess King

As a high school student 1977-79…..Franklin Heights High….we ran to Westland being maybe 2 miles from my house every weekend and some weeknights just to hang out. Sears had free pac man and other video games to play and Orange Julius was favorite new drink of the times. Now 46 yrs later i drive by weekly and see an empty space that once thrived as did the GM plant in which now houses Hollywood Casino! Breaks my heart…the West side/Hilltop of Columbus was the place to be now gone forever💔

I live less than a mile from there, it's all gone now. So glad you got this footage while it existed

The water up that high on the stairwell is seriously a movie scene. You should have yelled “Rose, stay on the upper deck of the ship!!!”😂

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I feel sorry for people younger than about 37 who probably never had a change to experience malls in their heyday, and now only wander around in the “ruin porn” of their state today. Or then again, maybe I envy those people, because you don’t feel the heartbreak of someone like me, who is 44, and grew up in those golden mall years. But for someone like me who truly loved malls, it’s very emotionally scarring to see what the majority of them are today. I feel like I’ve lost my third place to go. Seeing malls like this feels like seeing a dying relative who you loved, in bed and unable to move, and a shell of their former self. It was surreal seeing the storefront for The Finish Line in this video. That logo is exactly the way the storefront logo in my local mall was when it opened in 1991. Even if my mall’s store was smaller. I have images from that time 32 years ago burned into my memory from how cool it all was.

This was an amazing episode! Exciting, eerie and sad all at the same time. I was thinking something was gonna pop out of one of those back rooms at any moment. This was one of the best episodes so far and a definite worthy finale! Thanks for risking your lives to get such good footage.

Cool video! I drive past this mall weekly. It’s since been torn down as of April 2024.

Genuinely amazed at the amount of unbroken glass in this abandoned mall. There’s certainly a lot of broken glass, but I’m used to seeing every last inch of glass smashed.

The timing of this post is interesting. The mall just started being demolished right around when you posted. Thanks for sharing as a Columbus local I have been fascinated with this mall we call it wasteland

I'm 21, so by the time I had the ability to form memories, the mall was already mostly gone, but one of my first memories that I can still recall to this day originates at Westland. I was probably 2 or 3 years old, my mom was pushing me through the mall in a stroller, and over the intercom speakers I heard "lifes been good" by Joe Walsh for the first time. Not sure how, or why, that stuck with me, but it did.

Hi from the UK, loving the vibe and story telling you give to these interesting structures.

I would’ve sworn this place was abandoned long before it was. That’s shocking how quickly it turned into that. I also can’t believe it wouldn’t be more of a priority for them to get rid of such a hazard! I don’t think I would’ve gone in if I were you, but glad you did to capture this footage.

Loved this mall as a kid. The Claire’s there with their 10 for $10 wall in the back made my little childhood so fun - hate to see it in such disarray.

Great work! I remember Westland like yesterday. I remember what it was like when it was busy. So many memories there. It is OFFICIALLY torn down

This was an amazing video. So scary and creepy, yet fascinating to watch. Reminds me of Rolling Acres. Ohio seems to have many dead and abandoned malls. You deserve more subscribers cause your videos are all awesome. Thanks for all the work you do to film the malls. I really appreciate it.

The contrast of that terrifying water and the lingering brick & woodwork...it gave the impression of something lurking just out of sight. And that one image of someone walking just far enough ahead to seem like a lost mall walker added to the unsettling impression.

Once a glorious mall filled with life has now been abandoned and left to rot. A mall that I am sure was once beautiful. Good Video!

I worked ar Sears from 1998 - mid 2001. Thank you for making this video. The mall is completely demolished now.

That intro music drew me in right away. Set the mood just right. Fantastic video.

I'm glad you had people with you on this one. I cant believe its been abandoned that long. I think jamestown looked worst. I would have to carry a weapon to go in jamestown by myself. I never heard of that phobia. I had to read about it. Thanks for another great video.

Update: the vast majority of Westland has now been torn Down with very few parts remaining

Hey! just wanted to tell you that im glad that your starting to make abandoned mall videos! thats rlly awesome!

Hey i live by this! It was actually just torn down, good timing getting this out!

So many great memories...mom worked at the Woolworths store..i worked at Aladins castle game room where it says Westland arcade was at lol...i was at Westland every day for years and years...use to go in Waldenbooks to look at wrestling magazines and they had playboy magazines next to them lol...there was an old record alb store i forget the name but when you walk out of Lazarus in the mall you would turn right walk down just a little ways and it sat on the left..great times..great video..ty

Fabulous as always! Man your absolutely crushing it on mall tours❤ This mall had the feeling of complete defeat emanating from it, so sad

I live in that area about a mile down the road. You are VERY lucky you didn’t get killed there. Broad is the most dangerous street in Columbus and every story I have ever heard about it was “I had a friend that was shot or stabbed on broad”. Again, you are extremely lucky.

Fun local fact! As of May 2024 The Westland Mall is currently under demo and once it's finished they're going to build more apartment housing

My youth captured once again. This is the second video I've seen of Westland, which I find strange. Here in Texas, dead malls hang on, transform or get demolished. A decaying mall just standing there...strange. I grew up with Westland. I recall the 2 screen theatre you spoke of. I saw Ghostbusters and Neverending Story there. My brother worked at the newer General Cinema Westland 8 when it opened across from the mall. In the other video, someone took video of the restaraunt space. I recall it being a Chi Chis. And we never went to that part of the mall much. It was a treat. I remember an arcade over there (Aladdins Castle?) and a Wendy's. I don't remember the Musicland. I remember a store called Record Town.

sunday morning and a dead malls episode. love your content, thank you

I drove by it the other day and it was just a pile of rubble. That was my childhood in the early 90's and I even worked there in the early 2000's. So sad to see it gone

I was in this one around later July 2022, came in the same way, man that smell is PUNGENT as heck when u first get in. We had respirators and it still bleed through them, it’s the worst place I’ve ever seen by far and I’ve seen some insane places

Fantastic episode! The water filled basement looked extremely dangerous.

I wouldn't have gone in I'd be too scared plus the smells would make me gag and I'd want to puke a lot LOL😂. I liked the old style with the wood and old signage with The Finish Line which I remember it as Finish Line the Finish Line where I live became a JD Sports at The Crossroads Mall in Kazoo. Yeah, The Crossroads Mall had many store fronts back in it's heyday 80s & 90s they got rid of those to expand some stores like H&M when that opened in July of 2018 & then Forever 21 was enlarged as well as that was a pretty small space they were in H&M took that space that Forever 21 was in and Forever 21 took where Guess & The Disney Store was along with The Wet Seal. Glad that you made it out alive and didn't get injured either.

Managed Thom McAn here as a 19 yr old in 1991 man what a scene this is...

Ok i'm impressed that you mentioned the Southland Mall. Most people in Columbus don't even remember that, and yes it was basically a glorified strip mall. It was very small. But how could you not mention Eastland and Northland?? Those 3 (Northlan, Eastland, Westland) were all designed by most the same firms. They all looked very similar and had the same anchor stores. either way, awesome videos, thanks!

Excellent video! I really loved seeing shots of the mall when it was open for shopping then abandoned!

I remember my dad taking my brother and I to a gun convention here some 13-ish years ago. At one point I slipped under the rope barrier separating it from the rest of the mall, and I just kinda stood there soaking in the desolate main walkway before I was dragged back in by my dad.

The loss of Central Ohio’s manufacturing base as there was a GM plant very close by, now a Casino, the erosion of the middle class that supported these malls, and technology that has killed many brick and mortar stores which includes malls. Northland, Eastland, Westland and City Center are all gone. All of this depreciated property values, crime rates increased. Sad story.

Great video. Loved it 👍. To also add to one of the topics you talked about. Anchor stores and mall stores are going the opposite way. Anchor stores were humongous in the 50s 60s and 70s, but now they've gotten smaller. Mall stores in lifestyle centers are larger than mall stores in the 50s 60s and 70s. It shows how time has changed and we don't need 200,000 2 level sears anymore.

Sears closed completely on September 3, 2017! I was shopping there that day and it was really empty and sad

My Mom and I frequented this mall for years when I was a kid, they recently tore it down, was abandoned for quite some time. The gun expo was the only thing it was used for, for years. At one point it was half abandoned and half operational. Like a lot of the standing water and broken skylights were there when a few shops were still open in the mall. Lot of memories there. Curious what they'll do with the lot now.

This was actually a really cool place during its "low end" phase in the 00s. It had all kinds of stores you wouldn't see in most malls like a used video game store, used book store and a local trying to be a fashion designer and opening up a shop. The Chi Chi's was turned into a night club. Yet it still had "mall credibility" with "real" stores like Foot Locker, Sears, etc. being there too. The Lazarus space in the middle of the mall would be rented out for random things like CD liquidation, gun shows and all kinds of random stuff. Ironically, I miss this era of the mall more than its 80s heyday.

I remember going to westland mall as a kid. Westland and northland were my two favorite places my parents would take me. Westland is now in the process of being demolished

They’ve officially demolished it. I remember shopping here as a kid, and watching it degrade. Near the end they had gun show expos. Last I heard they’re gunna make it a hotel for the casino down the road.

Good god! That moldy water filling the lower level gave me the creeps! Thanks for the video!

I live in Columbus near Grandview and shopped this mall in it's heydey. This video just breaks my heart. This is the mall Iost often shopped when my son was preschool and grade school age. I have many happy memories of going there. Of course when Tuttle mall opened we started going there as it was bigger with many more stores. Why they left Westland sit so long to just rot away is soo sad. more stores.🎉penevd27:26 as a

Nice video I had 116 degrees on Wednesday it was so nice… lol

You always show the coolest things! I wish I could have seen it in its heyday. TY CDogg!

Oh dang you are really close to a mall I used to visit as a child when my dad lived in the area--Southland/Marion Centre. Judging from the names, they are probably related.

I laughed so hard when you said you can even tell your cat to subscribe, I'm honored 😁🤣⭐🤩

After it closed, the former JCPenney store regularly hosted gun shows until Sears met its demise, at which point the shows switched over to the more recently-occupied (and maintained!) structure. I'm also mildly amused that in a mall full of vandalism and rot that nobody appeared to have broken into the old Lazarus store.

Times were so much better back then. Was beautiful back then. I was in jr hi /high school.

I love all the former stores frozen in the 80’s. The Foot Locker was especially cool.

This was a fantastic exploration!! Great upload!

I lived very close to Northland mall but went to Westland many times with a girlfriend that lived in Grove City, last thing I remember was the Orange Julius and my first ever Cinnabon around 1984. 😊

Great Video! My guess is you are going to Eastland Mall next as it closed December 31st 2022. Thanks for the great content.

Yes, after City Center mall was built downtown, which is around 88 or 89, Westland mall pretty much died. I remember going there in the mid 80s until about 91 or 92? I was probably 14 years old. That was the last time I went to Westland mall lol😂😂… but Northland was still popular until the mid 90s and Eastland was still popular until the mid 90s. I will say late 90s early 2000s…. Tuttle mall is still just hanging on but it’s so far out west that they still have people going there It’s probably the only legacy mall that’s pretty much left. I’m not sure why it’s still there but it’s still there.

As of late July 2023, this mall is still standing in ruins even if funding is available to demolish it. A few weeks ago, my dad and I dined at the last surviving York Steak House in America across the street. He said they still have gun shows held at the Westland, but I'm sure they are in the areas of the building that aren't unsafe. Now Tuttle Crossing that originally took some business away from Westland in the late 90s is struggling to stay alive. Polaris and Easton are the healthy malls in this area.

They warned you. Now, you're in The Backrooms.

Thanks for putting the music in the video!

I remember shopping that Sears in 2011. Still have a pair of Die Hard Moc Toe boots.

Wow, that was depressing. But not unexpected, as I spent a lot of time there when I lived a mile or so west of it in what was called Colonial Courts of Westland, then renamed to Lincoln Village during the 90's. It was already a bit on the dark & depressing side. Seemed old & run down, so eventually spent more time at City Center. Plus, after I was s a'd in the end of it by that once very popular Chi Chi's, in front of a lot of people, & nobody helped me, & there was no mall guard to be found at that end; & even trying to get help from cops when I had to go across the street to Media Play to use a pay phone, even the cops didn't help me! Yeah, that area went downhill fast the few years I was stuck living in it. I wish I had better memories of that place. But it was already turning into a mall a lot of people were bored with. If they would've put brighter colors on it, & lit it up better, instead of it looking like somebody's dark, brown 1970's basement rec room everywhere, would've made it more inviting.

This was so scary to watch that I had to skip some parts, and as I was comparing how beautiful was in the past, made me think something even scarier; "Are we looking to our future?"

I’m from this area! I barely remember the mall, only went there when I was a kid. It’s mostly torn down now. My mom brought me here to meet Santa a few times

i very fondly remember the westland arcade room, since i would always beg my parents to let me go in there. It was around for a bit but i remember that being one of the first few things that closed when the mall slowly started dying off. If i remember correctly, the room was more dim but there was neon lights and decorations that made the arcade pop

Ahhh, Chess King, Merry-go-Round, Spencers, Aladdins Arcade, the 80s.

I remember being in their karate class as a child at the mall

I’ve been looking for this episode for a long time! I watched it and forgot what mall this was. I kept thinking it was Jamestown Mall. They look a little similar. I’m glad I finally found it!!

It absolutely is blowing my mind that people would explore a mall in this level of decay, mold and standing water, and not wear masking and have their entire body covered. I’d be in a damn biohazard suit!!! Soooo hazardous!!!

Awesome episode. I’m taking a guess and saying the next episode you are heading to Eastland Mall?

As much as I hate to see something torn down this place is Beyond saving

That's too bad the Staples didn't have a mall entrance, that would be cool to see a Staples with an entrance into enclosed mall

The music sounds so beautiful. 🎶🎶

It's almost unbelievable how this place looks. Wonder if the restaurants have any decade old food stored in them 🤨 I remember visiting this place two years before it closed, remember going to Westland Arcade which I guess still had operational things in it. I also recall seeing this red stylized gumball machine with a face on it called Oscar's Wild Ride that could talk on its own. If these videos and photos are anything to go by I can only assume they got rid of it? Wow, that would've been the icing of the abandoned cake: You're walking anxiously and all of a sudden you hear in frazzled decaying quality: "LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK OVER HERE!" Then you turn and see the machine's disoriented eyes and smile, and to top it all in whatever state left by vandals.

Have you ever considered doing a dead mall exploration of a city in Canada or is it just too expensive?

Yesssss! The abandoned squad!

Just a few weeks ago, the demolition finally claimed the Sears. I think the J.C. Penney is all that is left now. (Here's a video that showed when it was midway through, this was May 24: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rLyZicqrnrOwZY0.html) Thanks for this look at the Westland. In the 80s, it was amazing to come here. Shame about this one and City Center. And the mall, I suspect, is the subject of your next episode, Eastland. It was really depressing coming here near the end because it felt like a flea market... But I am glad I have a couple arcade machines from the Westland Aladdin's Castle before it closed. It was interesting to learn that Menard's had expressed interest. I was hoping that IKEA would have placed their Columbus store here, as the store they placed in Renton, WA was the catalyst that transformed the area into the new place to live and shop. It could have helped the west side so much.

Other than the flooded basements, this looks to be on par with Sandburg Mall in Galesburg, IL. Not factoring in the basements here, they look to be degraded about the same.

15:03 is the place to be! 😮 Let’s all imagine what’s living in that water. 😮 Mmmmm, just take a nice quick dip and taste the natural freshness! 😂

Terrific tour, though sad to see: I spent many hours there in the 80's. The Westland Arcade used to be "Aladdin's Castle", where my allowance was spent every week.

I must be giving away my age because the worst mall I ever saw was Dixie Square! But, Westland is pretty putrid. They knocked down the Chi Chi's today - the whole front end is gone now and if you were walking out of the Penney's into the mall right now you'd be able to see Broad st.

Get your pictures of Tuttle now because it’ll probably be abandoned in the next 10 or 15 years

Judging by the water in the basement that is brown and green makes me think this has been abandoned since the Great Financial crisis of 2008. I'm betting this closed around 2007.

OMG, I thought this was Westland Michigan's mall. I was shocked and thought, did my childhood mall die and I didn't know. 😅 It is barely alive, but last I was there, a few stores seem to be busy.

Im sure a dead body down in that water some where!

Your photography is so sharp, even in uncontrollable lighting conditions. What cameras do you use?

Thank you for another awesome video!

How did you get in there? Were the doors locked or unlocked?

I live in Columbus and have never even heard of Westland Mall 🤣 (I've only lived here for 2.5 years)

I don’t really expect anyone to answer this question, but how the hell is everyone getting into this mall? I have been to this mall numerous times, and every time it turns out to be an almost violent affair. One time I was chased by a security car that tried to crash me, but I ended up running them into a giant pothole. And the most recent time several black cars came zooming up on me, trying to pin me in literally trying to crash into my car. I was doing like 80 through the parking lot trying to get out of there because I didn’t know if they were gonna pull guns at me or not there was a gun show going on that day and they were unmarked cars. In fact, one time a car rolled up on me while I was just driving around at this mall I took one picture of the outside, and the occupant of the car reached for something that appeared to look like a gun so I was out of there and I do have some of these encounters on video if you wanna see them on my channel.

I'm an idiot, I was like "why did someone write 'file transfer protocol' on the wall"

After Westland you must be going to Eastland Mall!

14:50 that among us really got me 😂

EPIC VIDEO BRO!!! MANNY QUACIOUA WAS THE FIRST TO EXPLORE WESTLAND MALL!!

I think now Westland should be demolished. Loved the pics of what it was like in 1969 with it not being enclosed as of yet to the 1982 reopening of the enclosed mall. Had great storefronts and stores I remember. enclosed

Hope you are safe and sound. That green water was something. Is the next mall in Ohio?

Rest In Peace Chi Chis

I left some stuff in there one time. Ita certainly gone now😊

The chairs facing each other in the courtyard are for Westland Friday night slap fights. 👋. What’s the first rule of Friday night slap fights? 🤫