Walking at the Ghost Mall

The wonderful thing about my area (a city kind of famous for NO wonderful things) is the nearly-abandoned mall about 2 miles from my house. More or less on the way to my parent’s house, it’s a breeze for me to stop by and do my 8 laps on their faux-marble track!

I took a photo so you can see part of it’s vast space.  This was THE mall when I was in high school and even into the 1990s.  No one knows exactly what happened but gradually the shops emptied and the people disappeared. The mall stayed — anchored by a Sears at one end and (now) a Macy’s at the other.  In between up until about a month ago was a abandoned cat store.  And that was pretty much it (maybe some shops on the lower level but, I’ve got a Twilight Zone inspired fear of exploring the nether-regions of the place.)

Many stores long forgotten still bear the names of former tenants permanently affixed above their gated entrances, which block the few who still come to the mall from entering the vacant stores.

The off-white-and-salmon-colored tile floor reflects the white lights from above.

Some of the indoor fountains still run. Music popular during the era when the mall was still vibrant emanates from ceiling speakers. Air conditioning flows through vents.

Except for the outdated decor, which likely hasn’t changed since the mall was built in 1967, and the empty stores, the mall looks like it should still function.

But the only people who still use the mall between its remaining anchors Sears and Macy’s — with the exception of the few who work in offices that have located there — are the walkers.

“We don’t understand it, but we like it,” Dick Saplata said Thursday of the empty mall, which remains open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. “We appreciate it.”

The Leawood resident has walked laps in the mall’s vast corridors with his wife, Anne, anytime it’s cold, hot or rainy for the last three years.

We’ve had other Ghost Malls in the area.  One of them was taken over by a local school district which rejuvenated the food court when it was discovered that school administrators like to eat.  Another one was a popular place for local murders and it was recently completely  bulldozed.  Yet another mall went from being pretty active – nearly successful to being bull dozed.

THIS mall was destined for greatness revisited.  The owner, a stubborn man who has refused all offers to be bought out, made a deal with another ghost mall in an area of the city so remote, I’ve got no idea where it is. They were going to make twin luxury malls that would re-invigorate their respective neighborhoods.  The plans were published in the papers.  Plans were approved by the appropriate administrators.  And work was supposed to begin . . . in October 2008.  In fact, we were supposed to see the first of the improvements this year ::

I wonder what happened?  (I think we all know what happened) It’s pretty obvious those plans are on hold.

It turns out SOMETHING is happening at the Ghost Mall though. And it’s quite a surprise.

A month ago it was just the abandoned-cat store. But, over the last month the shops in the mall have been filling up with stand alone business.  The first was a bead/jewelery supply shop.  Almost all of them have gaudy displays of purses decorated with huge rivets. Stores with odd knick-knacks, do-dads and hippy skirts.  It’s sort of like a suburban China Town.  Except that they’re hardly ever open.

And everyone of them has a sign that says you have to have a Business Tax ID to shop.

Could this be a new thing?  ARE there enough businesses needing ugly purses to keep these shops in business?  I might never know for sure.  But, meanwhile – it’s fun having something to look at!