Dead malls and the interest in them across the country has seen a rise over the recent years. Pretty soon I feel that the need for shopping malls will become extinct, as it almost has already…I wonder where that will leave Great Lakes mall…

The feeling of wandering the corridors of a large abandoned mall are unmatched by many things, including the exploration of almost anywhere else.

Not many explorations can give you such a great feeling of tranquility as you stroll the space, which used to be occupied by hundreds or thousands of America’s consumers, angst-ridden teenagers, jocks and cheerleaders. The vastness now sits in darkness, with only the skylights illuminating the interior, while the silence grips open space and fills the air with a very real sound of emptiness.

It’s not very often that you can actually say a complete silence has such a great volume.

The Randall Park Mall was one of the world’s largest enclosed shopping malls, built by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. of Youngstown, a major developer of shopping centers.

Randall Park Mall opened in 1976 and closed in 2009. In 1995, there were 120 stores that employed 5,000 people. The mall began its decline in the early 2000s when J.C. Penney and Dillard’s left. By 2008, the mall was basically empty. The mall is currently being demolished and will be gone any day now. An industrial park will replace it.

As the country sinks into this large strip of decaying holes, which form the rust belt, all we do is sit back and watch as these buildings are stripped to their skeletons and eventually demolished, making space for either vacant lots or something else that may take the same fall.

Thank you to Matt Stopera at BuzzFeed for featuring my photos!