PHOTOS: Chapel Hill Mall…is Not Going Anywhere
I know it has been some time since my last post,and I apologize as I have been back and forth between many projects, including completing the writing from my last Oregon venture (yes, it’s quite a bit.) I apologize for being absent from here for so long but I promise to attempt at creating more shorter posts so that there is still a continuing flow for those who enjoy seeing what I have to share here.
Can we please stop calling every mall a “dead mall” just because it has a few vacant shops? Trust me; I love a “dead mall” just as much as any other explorer or lover of urban decay, but with Chapel Hill Mall in Akron, Ohio, this surely is NOT the case. Upon seeing some rather negative reports of the place, I visited to find that it is, in fact, still a very vibrant, beautiful and lively mall. There are no signs of this mall falling apart anytime soon. With the abundance of stores still occupying this mall, I doubt that the loss of Macy’s, F.Y.E. and DEB will be all that damaging to the mall’s life.
This mall is fine, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, no matter what you may read online. Can we calm the dead mall stories for a minute and showcase some of the awesome things out there? I think this mall itself is worth visiting because of the great scenery and perfect selection of shops. What I had expected to be a dying mall (from how the articles made it seem) was actually quite the opposite, and I found it to be an awesome place! If you get a chance, give this mall a visit, and see part of our country’s lively history before that’s all it is; history.
If only I could visit..it looks alive and kicking.
I’ve patronized Chapel Hill all since the seventies. It’s still a good mall. There have been several owner changes and big stores come and go. There have been rules in place about random teens and gangs that limits these problems. The two awful examples are Rolling Acres and Randall Park .Poor management allowed these malls to expire within twenty years of being built. I take my two yo grandson there and have no concerns.
The local mall near me in SW Washington state has made a surprising comeback after losing two of its five anchors over the course of a year in 2014 and beginning the calls of “dead mall” in the press. With threats of losing two of the other three, the mall management made a push and secured a local upscale movie chain and a Golds Gym to take over and completely refashion those anchor spaces. It’s seen a definite uptick since this.