Metropol

WillPS wrote:

Philip wrote:The main Lewis's shop in Liverpool's fifth floor is somewhat of a 60s time capsule, opened in the 50s and closed in the 80s with pretty much everything left intact. What was there was a mystery to most people until the closure of the store meant we could finally see it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/ ... -liverpool

Yes, see post 2.

Whoops, missed that.

WillPS wrote:

stu wrote:The Debenhams at the Merry Hill Centre was delightfully 1988 last time I visited - old logos abound. (popped in just for the decor and to see if the small branch of Game was still in there). Probably gone all modern now.

There's a nice massive glass frontispiece for it too.

Pretty sure it's been updated, but the rest of the centre is a right mish mash of retail fashions from the last 3 decades. It seems whenever a wing was stuck on there would be no effort to modernise the rest of the centre. Presently there's a swanky modern Westfield-house-style food court which leads you straight out in to a mall that clearly hasn't been refurbished since its mid-80s début.

A must for any fans of hilariously outdated/strange retail experiences.

It also has what has to be one of the strangest ASDAs - previously a Carrefour, it has the checkout line flush to the mall, meaning you have to take your trolley in to the mall to get to the end of the checkout. Weirder still, the tobacco and lottery kiosk is actually in the middle of the mall, like one of those cart-based outlets! A very weird experience - and to make it even weirder there's a normal (so far as I can tell!) ASDA supermarket just outside the Merry Hill development.

near off-topic Merry Hill fan waffle warning:-

I remember the modernisation programme that went on in the early 90's - it was all still accessible even though there was building works everywhere. Got rid of the large red hot air balloon thing by where Virgin Megastores was (the cafe at the asda was named after it) and most of the monorail stuff, plus the amazing Woolworths Music and Video only store disappeared. I was last there about this time last year and the Asda wing is still more or less as it was in the late 80's. As you say a snazzy large food court has appeared on the upper floor which sort of fits in I thought but feels a bit out of the way. The other Asda is at Brierly Hill (excellent range of homewares and hard goods compared to Merry Hill one - first place I ever saw a DVD) and is there really for people who can't be bothered to to park at the mall just for supermarket stuff - it always has been a hassle to park there (by the bus station).

Here's an interesting one for you: Hartlepool's Co-op department store has been closed for almost a year... but the coffee shop, at the back of the store, remains open. So I guess that makes it a partially abandoned store!

tillyoshea wrote:Here's an interesting one for you: Hartlepool's Co-op department store has been closed for almost a year... but the coffee shop, at the back of the store, remains open. So I guess that makes it a partially abandoned store!

Here's another one from Soult: https://twitter.com/soult/status/177392834909966336

Amazing they haven't blocked in a corridor - is that cafe still trading from there? What's to stop you roaming about?

WillPS wrote:Amazing they haven't blocked in a corridor - is that cafe still trading from there? What's to stop you roaming about?

Yep, it's still going. I didn't venture in, but as far as I could see from the entrance, there's nothing to stop people wandering about! I guess access to other floors might be blocked off, though...

Steve in Pudsey wrote:remind me, it's the building next to Primark (as viewed from Piccadilly Gardens) that used to be 'Old' Broadcasting House?

No, it's above Natwest on the adjacent side of Piccadilly Gardens (to the right if you're looking at Primark) that used to be Broadcasting House (I think it used to be a Natwest there even when the BBC used the building).

So woah mentioned a dead mall in the OP, time to bring up the quintessential dead mall Dixie Square. The mall opened in Chicago satellite Harvey in 1964, and by 1979 was completely closed. The closure itself is a monument to how quickly the demographic of an area can change, and how prevalent the concept of 'white flight' can/could be in America; in 1964 Harvey was from what I can tell a reasonably affluent area, but by the close of the 70s it's reputation had deteriorated seemingly past breaking point.

After a brief period where parts of the mall were requisitioned in to use as a temporary school (which must have been interesting!), the mall was famously used for a chase scene in The Blues Brothers. Interestingly, many of the stores were refitted for this one appearance. At the close of filming, the keys were handed back and for over 30 years... well, here's the last set of photos of the mall before it was finally demolished earlier this year:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30611969@N ... 517581452/

I read a story on the BBC News website Magazine section today entitled China's Ghost Towns. These places aren't abandoned, but so far not occupied - and doubtful if they ever will be. Just continually maintained in anticipation.

The fascinating one on that page is the New South China Mall. The blog post referred to by the BBC is fascinating, with a film of a 90% empty shopping mall. The bouncy castle bit around 5:18 feels really creepy to me.

There's also a link to a video by an Australian news crew on there.

TJ Hughes here in Sheffield about three hours ago. By pure co-incidence I ended up going up here and finding it ripped to bits - it turns out this level, the second (top) floor is closing to the public from tomorrow - that also means an end to the restaurant and toilets.This is no doubt because the landlords are kicking them out so they can redevelop the building, so they are reducing stock in anticipation of moving to smaller premises. Some of the old product displays around the building have vanished too.

Not especially fair on the company after the store was saved only a year ago and some of the staff are going - but I am half glad that the site is getting re-vamped as the store itself has barely changed since it's House of Fraser days about 30 years ago!

What are all the biddies who have decamped from the Co-op Cafe going to do now?

Answer: Wilkinson's Cafe.


I think this Lewis's Home Retail venture is going to go exactly the same way as Vergo retail.

WillPS wrote:

Philip wrote:I sometimes visit this site and also get lost in it for hours...

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk

Not enough shops on there it is great though.

There are a few threads on there of
an abandoned shopping mall in Reading

Although it is being used for the Zombie Battle Experience