![]() The 1978 film Dawn of the Deadwas filmed almost entirely in the Monroeville Mall in Pennsylvania Even horror films celebrated mall culture. Mall Rats was another film dedicated to the role malls played in youth culture. It was the film that introduced the talents of Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh to the world. Pop culture celebrated shopping malls with films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High in which a large portion of the cast spent their days and nights working in the malls food courts and movie theaters. The 1980’s were truly the Glory Days for indoor shopping malls. Theses are only a sampling of the many malls in New York that have closed. These malls are either closed or have been turned into such ghost malls that they are now considered “Dead Malls.” In the Hudson Valley, there is the Kings Mall, The Apollo Plaza, The Orange Plazza, The Nanuest Mall that have all suffered the same fate as the upstate New York Malls. Examples of some mall upstate are the Amsterdam Mall, Cohoes Commons Mall, Johnstone Mall, Latham Circle Mall, Malta Mall,Mohawk Mall, and Northway Mall. Most of the closed malls have been located in upstate New York. These days however, not only are the malls closing, but the small adjacent shopping plazas that would come into view as patrons exited the mall parking lots have been demolished or converted to office space. New York State has one of the highest rates of closed shopping malls in the country. To be able to shop and have lunch in one area reminded the old timers of the cafeterias and automats in New York Department Stores. Eventually another McDonald’s opened adjacent to the Putnam Plaza shopping center. It was big news for the little town of Mahopac. In 1970, local media announced the opening of a McDonalds in the Baldwin Place Shopping Center. It was easy to expand the site, add benches and overhead coverings to give any shopping center the distinctive mall feel. ![]() Some of these malls started out as outdoor shopping centers, like the Baldwin Place mini mall in Mahopac, New York. ![]() It’s interesting to note that Upstate New York has the largest number of dead malls, as the malls were built to accommodate the growing population in that area. Once upon a time back just twenty years ago, big cities like Syracuse and even smaller towns like Fishkill had malls that were a major part of growing up for the kids in the area. Yes, Manhattan does have malls, particularly the huge, gorgeous Westfield World Trade Center Mall at 185 Greenwich Street or the Shops at Columbus Circle however, the suburban getaways that were once a part of nearly everyone’s shopping experience are fading fast. Sitting at one of the tables, plastic fork in hand, was a great way to people watch, flirt, and while away the time. Not only could you shop, but the large hub of the mall, the food court, provided everything from pizza to chop suey. These shopping nirvanas provided an indoor escape for the masses, particularly in New York, where those who didn’t live in the city itself could revel in an atmosphere of hustle and bustle. Photo: By Bellerophon5685 (Own work), via Wikimedia CommonsDuring the seventies and well into the eighties, new shopping malls were opening up all over America.
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