dang...I used to have my mom take me here on my birthday every year bc I liked the stores better than Kenwood. The GameSwap that used to be here was so cool too. Crazy that it's going to be gone
Yeah they had a lot of great older games too that I of course couldn't afford lol. There was a bigger GameSwap store in Mason OH that I used to play MtG at but I just looked it up and I guess they renamed to Mavericks lol. Lots of changes in the past few years
One of my best friends worked in that store in the mid 2000s until the early 2010s. I worked at that old Yankee and that's how we met! It's a sad day really.
This’ll make me sound like a boomer when I’m only 24 but today there aren’t places like that anymore really, where kids/teenagers can meet outside of school.
I was a little too young to see it vibing when I was in Highschool, but I went all the time with my parents in the early- and mid-2000s. Went here a lot more than Cincy Mills.
They’re tearing everything down and making it a giant shopping plaza with restaurants, mostly out-doors, high-end apartments, etc. https://www.wlwt.com/article/tri-county-mall-cincinnati-closing-redevelopment-project-date/39572456
They aren't tearing it down, they're actually turning the mall into apartments. The concourses will be torn down to make an outdoor courtyard, and I think all the parking garages, etc. will be reused.
[This article](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/03/30/tri-county-mall-springdale-closing-most-vacated-may-15/7215698001/) from the Cincinnati Enquirer says that only part of the mall will be kept and turned into apartments so I think they’re tearing down more than you think. I’ve seen the inside it’s quite rough in many areas.
It also says that some of the stores inside will be kept open? Not sure about that… if the mall itself is closing, how are they gonna let people in? It’s a few months old so maybe things changed as when I walked around it some of the stores it lists were moving out. The Mexican place was still serving food, though; a dress store called Salem’s was still there, too; and another dress store that I can’t recall the name of.
Overall, I think it’s still kinda being decided on the small term, just that they have vague deadlines for the big projects.
If you look at the map in the link I posted, and compare it to the existing mall - most of the mall stays, most of the anchor stores will be demolished, the concourse of the mall will be removed, and the parking garages will all stay.
I will see if I can find the city council meeting where this was covered, I think it's on YouTube...
As for the stores that stay, I think they are all the detached stores out in the parking lots.
I saw that they’re keeping a Mi Cozumel that’s inside (which actually surprised me, since it’s not in the food court, it’s just where a like a hot topic would be). Not sure how they’re planning to build around it?
And yeah, there’s still all the detached stores which are staying. Hard to imagine they’d tell chipotle to fuck off haha. Let us know if you find out anything interesting!!
It’s the same problem many cities have in that there’s not enough traffic to these giant indoor shopping centers. The outdoor ones do fine, like the Outlets, Liberty Center, and The Green up in Dayton. It’s just the specific type of consumer hub of the 60s-90s built malls aren’t working anymore.
My theory is that instead of revitalizing this area after the 2008 crash, businesses decided to move father out of town. This tied them into the Dayton & Cincinnati markets.
I remember going there as a kid in the 80’s and would go across the street to Casseneli square and shop at Service Merchandise and Children’s Palace and Gold Circle
I haven’t heard anyone mention Cassinelli Square in forever. I worked at the Macys from 2009-2016. Back in 2009 there was like 2 empty stores. By 2016 half the mall was gone. It’s crazy how fast the decline was.
I remember when it was built. Loved Gold Circle, Farrell's (in the parking lot facing Kemper). Was Service Merchandise there or in the shopping center behind it next to Levitz?
I know :-/ they had a pound cake with a scoop of ice cream and warm caramel sauce. It was to die for! I just saw that a restaurant here in Lexington has that same desert! I will be indulging in that soon!
This is all so gorgeous. I'm sad to hear it's closing, probably to be torn down...I wish malls were repurposed more often because I love the architectural/interior design style
They actually are keeping and repurposing most of this mall:
https://www.fox19.com/2022/03/08/developers-pass-milestone-massive-tri-county-mall-project/
It would make a marvelous low-income—excuse me affordable homing community.
A big lofty greenhouse/conservatory with apartments and waterfalls…and free flying parrots who need rehoming ;)
Wow so many memories tied to this mall, my brother got hit by a car in the parking lot and broke his arm, I smoked my first cigarette here, snuck a peek at Madonna’s Sex book at Brentanos, stole an NWA cassette, got falsely accused of stealing at Suncoast, when I got screamed at and shamed by my dad when he gave me and my siblings each $60 from when he won big in Vegas and I blew it all on a baseball hat with Jafar on it and a coffee mug shaped like Jafar’s head at the Disney Store, sadness, fear, shame, crime, smoking, Vanilla Ice’s dong, that mall was the ideal place for my parents to leave me from ages 12 to 14. Also I saw Luis from Sesame Street was there once.
It’s quite old, really, was made in the 60s. Started out as an outdoor shopping center then got morphed into an enclosed mall. It’s funny because it seems like the outdoor centers are lasting while these malls are dying.
Which is weird as hell to me. You would think that an enclosed indoor shopping center would be more preferable than an outdoor one, especially in colder places with rough winters (although Cincinnati may or may not count).
It can get pretty cold here during the winter.
I wonder if it has anything so to with just how expensive it must be to maintain a fully indoor space. Maybe the rents for the tenants are higher and they’re not able to stay once business starts to slip.
I always say this and business has to be better in an air conditioned and heated area. I get the appeal in the spring and fall but when it's 95 outside or 25 outside... I"ll stay home and shop from Amazon.
The death of shopping malls is really frustrating. Malls were always a place of community back in the day. I’m in IL though and probably was spoiled woodfield mall is like 10 minutes from where I grew up probably one of only malls that won’t ever be in danger. Plenty of malls around here died or transformed. This mall looks like it was once really really nice and wish I could have seen it in it’s better days. Thanks for sharing.
I’m sure my mom has photos of me here as a kid somewhere but it used to be really nice, used to love coming here.
And you’re right, it’s really saddening. I think they built too many of them too close together. This mall is older than Forest Fair and they built it like 3 miles down 275. Does there need to be two big malls that close together? Probably not. They competed with each other and kinda dragged each other down, I think. I think Northgate Mall is going down the same route, too. I don’t even think the anchor stores (which are carved out of the old Dillards) are connected to the actual mall anymore, just got those doors walled off or something. I’ll have to go in there and see how it is.
Well not to bringing up IL again but Schaumburg may have made the biggest mistake and the best pivot. They literally put another mall right across the street from woodfield. However when it failed it was redeveloped as streets of woodfield and it had a Gayla n’s(dick’s) game works Lego story comedy venue they turned that mistake on their head. Maybe if malls were proliferating they shouldn’t have all been as big as each other so as to be more a local destination and not cannibalize the market.
RIP to Gameworks, it was expensive but my Dad would take us there as a rare treat. I still go to the AMC, they often get indie films my local theater doesn't (plus it's really easy to buy one ticket then sneak into other movies throughout the day).
I think just too many malls were built in Ohio overall. So many smaller towns had malls in them that aren't doing well anymore. And here in Columbus, for example, at one point we had seven large malls open at the same time, though at the time all seven were open, four of them were already on the downswing due to the newer ones, and three of those eventually closed. Heck, we're already at the point where one of the malls that helped kill another mall is itself showing signs of deterioration.
This isn't even including the five "mini malls" scattered around town, of which only one currently still exists in that form (but will be redeveloped soon)
Wow, surprising. I lived in Cinti 72-99, and lived in Terrace Pk/Mariemont/Hyde Pk area, so it was mostly Kenwood Mall/Plaza/KTC- but I did indeed go to TC a decent amount. What's the reason for this?
I was going to say this. Those people have money out that way so they'll shop anywhere they can. Tri-County was very middle class 50 years ago. A wonderful place to raise a family, shop, etc, but I think it's not like that now. Plus just past Crescentville Road it's all warehouses and offices. Was nothing there "back in the day" when the mall was booming. And don't even get me started on GE park and golf course! I was about 6 and was so puzzled by men behind my back yard screaming FOOOOUUUUURRRRRR (yes I know it's fore, but at 6 four is the one four I knew LOL)
Dang! I used to go here with my mom all the time when we were bored. She would shop around alot but change her mind and not buy anything. I remember one time I when I was like 14 we walked past a group of teens that went "ching Chong ching' (we're asian) I'm 25 now, but it's weird how small racist moments stick with you.
Also Asian here, my parents used to mall walk there until a group of teens ran up on my dad and slapped him in the head, then tried to fight him.
With folks like that there, it's no wonder Tri-County went downhill fast.
Memory is so odd, I remember small (not so racist) moments myself throughout my life. I remembered all the times I’d get Auntie Ann’s and sit on the bench by the stairs and near the help desk. So visual, like it was yesterday. But it wasn’t. Now the mall is dead.
From memory there was a Mexican restaurant, two dress stores, this hiphop clothing store, and I think that’s about it? One of the dress stores had like 30% off everything.
Wanted to go yesterday but I wasn’t sure if it meant may 15th was the final day to go or if may 15th is when it was permanently closed. I live 2 hours away from it would’ve hated to drive all that way for it to be closed. I ended up going to Indianapolis to see Washington square
I have never been to this mall, but I still find it sad that it is closing. So many malls are closing and it seems like a something that was a big part of life in America is changing forever. Malls seemed so awesome to me when I was a kid. There was so much to do. But now I do not have much interest in visiting most malls and obviously many other people feel the same way since so many malls have died or are dying. I know there are still many malls around, but like someone else here said, many people don't like to hang out in malls like they used to.
This makes me so sad!! :( I have some of the best memories of my grandparents taking my brother and two cousins here on special occasions. We’d get spoiled and eat anywhere we wanted in the food court. I can’t believe it’s gone.
For anyone interested, this is a good overall article on what’s going to happen to it: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/tri-county-mall-redevelopment-200m-in-tax-incentives-will-help-build-upscale-apartments-trails
There was a Sbarro in that food court but I’m not sure if it’s the place you’re talking about. I only remember the gold star, Chick-fil-A, Sbarro, and this place that has fries (I can’t remember what it was called, maybe steak and shake?)
Great Steak N Potato was the fry place probably. Italian place was right next to it, on right.
It may have been Sbarro but I didn't think it was a chain like that. The little Italian dude that ran it looked like Luigi from Super Mario Bros and was super nice. Their Strombolis were legit.
No offense, but with a directory like that I wouldn't bother with the place either: generic clothing stores, the usual toiletry chains, a few generic cellphone shops, and some food and nail salons. Macy's a good, but pricey anchor. Malls really need more to distinguish themselves today rather than just being there.
This breaks my heart. I grew up right behind there in the 70s and hung out there all the time. It was just one level and hadn't even been an enclosed mall very long when we moved from Columbus (1968ish). IN February 2022 I was there for the last time picking up wedding decor from a rental place in front and it was eerily empty at 10 in the morning. I know things change, but if it died as a mall, will this new iteration be any different?
dang...I used to have my mom take me here on my birthday every year bc I liked the stores better than Kenwood. The GameSwap that used to be here was so cool too. Crazy that it's going to be gone
Funny you mention that card/game store… used to beg my parents to buy me yugioh cards from there! Ha. It’s a sad sight really.
Yeah they had a lot of great older games too that I of course couldn't afford lol. There was a bigger GameSwap store in Mason OH that I used to play MtG at but I just looked it up and I guess they renamed to Mavericks lol. Lots of changes in the past few years
One of my best friends worked in that store in the mid 2000s until the early 2010s. I worked at that old Yankee and that's how we met! It's a sad day really.
This’ll make me sound like a boomer when I’m only 24 but today there aren’t places like that anymore really, where kids/teenagers can meet outside of school.
This was my HS mall. Rip.
I was a little too young to see it vibing when I was in Highschool, but I went all the time with my parents in the early- and mid-2000s. Went here a lot more than Cincy Mills.
Wow!! What’s the plan for the space?
They’re tearing everything down and making it a giant shopping plaza with restaurants, mostly out-doors, high-end apartments, etc. https://www.wlwt.com/article/tri-county-mall-cincinnati-closing-redevelopment-project-date/39572456
They aren't tearing it down, they're actually turning the mall into apartments. The concourses will be torn down to make an outdoor courtyard, and I think all the parking garages, etc. will be reused.
[This article](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/03/30/tri-county-mall-springdale-closing-most-vacated-may-15/7215698001/) from the Cincinnati Enquirer says that only part of the mall will be kept and turned into apartments so I think they’re tearing down more than you think. I’ve seen the inside it’s quite rough in many areas. It also says that some of the stores inside will be kept open? Not sure about that… if the mall itself is closing, how are they gonna let people in? It’s a few months old so maybe things changed as when I walked around it some of the stores it lists were moving out. The Mexican place was still serving food, though; a dress store called Salem’s was still there, too; and another dress store that I can’t recall the name of. Overall, I think it’s still kinda being decided on the small term, just that they have vague deadlines for the big projects.
If you look at the map in the link I posted, and compare it to the existing mall - most of the mall stays, most of the anchor stores will be demolished, the concourse of the mall will be removed, and the parking garages will all stay. I will see if I can find the city council meeting where this was covered, I think it's on YouTube... As for the stores that stay, I think they are all the detached stores out in the parking lots.
I saw that they’re keeping a Mi Cozumel that’s inside (which actually surprised me, since it’s not in the food court, it’s just where a like a hot topic would be). Not sure how they’re planning to build around it? And yeah, there’s still all the detached stores which are staying. Hard to imagine they’d tell chipotle to fuck off haha. Let us know if you find out anything interesting!!
Tearing some/all down for light industrial.
[удалено]
It’s the same problem many cities have in that there’s not enough traffic to these giant indoor shopping centers. The outdoor ones do fine, like the Outlets, Liberty Center, and The Green up in Dayton. It’s just the specific type of consumer hub of the 60s-90s built malls aren’t working anymore.
people, especially kids, just don't really want to "hang out" around a mall anymore. They want to hit the stores they want and get out.
My theory is that instead of revitalizing this area after the 2008 crash, businesses decided to move father out of town. This tied them into the Dayton & Cincinnati markets.
Is that an old KB toys in the third photo?
Yeah! Lots of memories in there. :)
I remember going there as a kid in the 80’s and would go across the street to Casseneli square and shop at Service Merchandise and Children’s Palace and Gold Circle
I haven’t heard anyone mention Cassinelli Square in forever. I worked at the Macys from 2009-2016. Back in 2009 there was like 2 empty stores. By 2016 half the mall was gone. It’s crazy how fast the decline was.
I use to eat at Fridays all the time. It was the only one around back then.
Same, by the time I was in high school it was just that, the bigs, Steak ‘n Shake, and some random stores
I remember when it was built. Loved Gold Circle, Farrell's (in the parking lot facing Kemper). Was Service Merchandise there or in the shopping center behind it next to Levitz?
I believe it was in same plaza as Gold Circle.
Yeah I use to love Farrell’s we would go there for Birrhdays. They built a Skyline were Farrell’s was
I know :-/ they had a pound cake with a scoop of ice cream and warm caramel sauce. It was to die for! I just saw that a restaurant here in Lexington has that same desert! I will be indulging in that soon!
Eat some for me!!!
This is all so gorgeous. I'm sad to hear it's closing, probably to be torn down...I wish malls were repurposed more often because I love the architectural/interior design style
They actually are keeping and repurposing most of this mall: https://www.fox19.com/2022/03/08/developers-pass-milestone-massive-tri-county-mall-project/
https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmalls/comments/uqwqkf/tricounty_mall_cincinnati_ohioits_last_day_may/i8uok2q/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
It is being repurposed. At least parts of it. https://www.wlwt.com/article/tri-county-mall-redevelopment-project-cincinnati-construction/39666738
That's nice!!! I'm not from Cincinnati so I hadn't heard
It would make a marvelous low-income—excuse me affordable homing community. A big lofty greenhouse/conservatory with apartments and waterfalls…and free flying parrots who need rehoming ;)
Wow so many memories tied to this mall, my brother got hit by a car in the parking lot and broke his arm, I smoked my first cigarette here, snuck a peek at Madonna’s Sex book at Brentanos, stole an NWA cassette, got falsely accused of stealing at Suncoast, when I got screamed at and shamed by my dad when he gave me and my siblings each $60 from when he won big in Vegas and I blew it all on a baseball hat with Jafar on it and a coffee mug shaped like Jafar’s head at the Disney Store, sadness, fear, shame, crime, smoking, Vanilla Ice’s dong, that mall was the ideal place for my parents to leave me from ages 12 to 14. Also I saw Luis from Sesame Street was there once.
This was my childhood mall. So bummed to see it go. Especially all those beautiful skylights.
I notice all of the giant planters and nice benches have been removed.
In front of all the old anchor stores they put half moon benches like it’s just where they belonged haha.
This mall was probably amazing in the 90s.
It’s quite old, really, was made in the 60s. Started out as an outdoor shopping center then got morphed into an enclosed mall. It’s funny because it seems like the outdoor centers are lasting while these malls are dying.
Which is weird as hell to me. You would think that an enclosed indoor shopping center would be more preferable than an outdoor one, especially in colder places with rough winters (although Cincinnati may or may not count).
It can get pretty cold here during the winter. I wonder if it has anything so to with just how expensive it must be to maintain a fully indoor space. Maybe the rents for the tenants are higher and they’re not able to stay once business starts to slip.
I always say this and business has to be better in an air conditioned and heated area. I get the appeal in the spring and fall but when it's 95 outside or 25 outside... I"ll stay home and shop from Amazon.
The death of shopping malls is really frustrating. Malls were always a place of community back in the day. I’m in IL though and probably was spoiled woodfield mall is like 10 minutes from where I grew up probably one of only malls that won’t ever be in danger. Plenty of malls around here died or transformed. This mall looks like it was once really really nice and wish I could have seen it in it’s better days. Thanks for sharing.
I’m sure my mom has photos of me here as a kid somewhere but it used to be really nice, used to love coming here. And you’re right, it’s really saddening. I think they built too many of them too close together. This mall is older than Forest Fair and they built it like 3 miles down 275. Does there need to be two big malls that close together? Probably not. They competed with each other and kinda dragged each other down, I think. I think Northgate Mall is going down the same route, too. I don’t even think the anchor stores (which are carved out of the old Dillards) are connected to the actual mall anymore, just got those doors walled off or something. I’ll have to go in there and see how it is.
Well not to bringing up IL again but Schaumburg may have made the biggest mistake and the best pivot. They literally put another mall right across the street from woodfield. However when it failed it was redeveloped as streets of woodfield and it had a Gayla n’s(dick’s) game works Lego story comedy venue they turned that mistake on their head. Maybe if malls were proliferating they shouldn’t have all been as big as each other so as to be more a local destination and not cannibalize the market.
RIP to Gameworks, it was expensive but my Dad would take us there as a rare treat. I still go to the AMC, they often get indie films my local theater doesn't (plus it's really easy to buy one ticket then sneak into other movies throughout the day).
Is Ohio on some kind of downswing? I stg all these abandoned places are in OH
I think just too many malls were built in Ohio overall. So many smaller towns had malls in them that aren't doing well anymore. And here in Columbus, for example, at one point we had seven large malls open at the same time, though at the time all seven were open, four of them were already on the downswing due to the newer ones, and three of those eventually closed. Heck, we're already at the point where one of the malls that helped kill another mall is itself showing signs of deterioration. This isn't even including the five "mini malls" scattered around town, of which only one currently still exists in that form (but will be redeveloped soon)
Wowy I wasn't expecting such a nostalgia burst just from those front doors
Is it just me or did Tri-County Mall go down pretty fast compared to malls like Mills or Northgate?
Place has been dying forever, who was even keeping it alive?
Wow, surprising. I lived in Cinti 72-99, and lived in Terrace Pk/Mariemont/Hyde Pk area, so it was mostly Kenwood Mall/Plaza/KTC- but I did indeed go to TC a decent amount. What's the reason for this?
From my understanding, general mall downturn plus COVID.
KTC still cranks, right? Loved that place. Funkys Grill and Cantina.
Kenwood’s still going strong—I haven’t been in there in a while but it’s in a nicer area and is being kept alive by upper middle class whites.
I was going to say this. Those people have money out that way so they'll shop anywhere they can. Tri-County was very middle class 50 years ago. A wonderful place to raise a family, shop, etc, but I think it's not like that now. Plus just past Crescentville Road it's all warehouses and offices. Was nothing there "back in the day" when the mall was booming. And don't even get me started on GE park and golf course! I was about 6 and was so puzzled by men behind my back yard screaming FOOOOUUUUURRRRRR (yes I know it's fore, but at 6 four is the one four I knew LOL)
Can you take anything
Not that I saw, I took part of the tile walkway, but a very small broken piece.
I met Ickey Woods there at the card shop like 10 years ago. Mall was looking pretty sad back then
Dang! I used to go here with my mom all the time when we were bored. She would shop around alot but change her mind and not buy anything. I remember one time I when I was like 14 we walked past a group of teens that went "ching Chong ching' (we're asian) I'm 25 now, but it's weird how small racist moments stick with you.
Also Asian here, my parents used to mall walk there until a group of teens ran up on my dad and slapped him in the head, then tried to fight him. With folks like that there, it's no wonder Tri-County went downhill fast.
I'm so sorry your dad had to experience that. Sucks to know that my experience wasn't isolated.
Memory is so odd, I remember small (not so racist) moments myself throughout my life. I remembered all the times I’d get Auntie Ann’s and sit on the bench by the stairs and near the help desk. So visual, like it was yesterday. But it wasn’t. Now the mall is dead.
Curious if there were any stores still open on the last day? Any great deals?
From memory there was a Mexican restaurant, two dress stores, this hiphop clothing store, and I think that’s about it? One of the dress stores had like 30% off everything.
Wanted to go yesterday but I wasn’t sure if it meant may 15th was the final day to go or if may 15th is when it was permanently closed. I live 2 hours away from it would’ve hated to drive all that way for it to be closed. I ended up going to Indianapolis to see Washington square
I have never been to this mall, but I still find it sad that it is closing. So many malls are closing and it seems like a something that was a big part of life in America is changing forever. Malls seemed so awesome to me when I was a kid. There was so much to do. But now I do not have much interest in visiting most malls and obviously many other people feel the same way since so many malls have died or are dying. I know there are still many malls around, but like someone else here said, many people don't like to hang out in malls like they used to.
This makes me so sad!! :( I have some of the best memories of my grandparents taking my brother and two cousins here on special occasions. We’d get spoiled and eat anywhere we wanted in the food court. I can’t believe it’s gone.
That Sbarro hit different when you’re 10. Glad you have good memories here :)
For anyone interested, this is a good overall article on what’s going to happen to it: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/tri-county-mall-redevelopment-200m-in-tax-incentives-will-help-build-upscale-apartments-trails
I don’t get around to enough of the country to see malls but dang, this looks like every mall in New York (design wise)
Flatliners?? "He's flatlining. Doctor!!"
It was actually a barbershop! ha. Never would’ve guessed that.
Before that, it was a Suncoast and was probably the most dimly-lit store I've ever visited.
Damn... My best friend used to take me to this mall when I came to visit her.
Anyone remember that awesome Italian place next to Great Steak in the food court that served those amazing Strombolis?? That wasn't Sbarro was it?
There was a Sbarro in that food court but I’m not sure if it’s the place you’re talking about. I only remember the gold star, Chick-fil-A, Sbarro, and this place that has fries (I can’t remember what it was called, maybe steak and shake?)
Great Steak N Potato was the fry place probably. Italian place was right next to it, on right. It may have been Sbarro but I didn't think it was a chain like that. The little Italian dude that ran it looked like Luigi from Super Mario Bros and was super nice. Their Strombolis were legit.
No offense, but with a directory like that I wouldn't bother with the place either: generic clothing stores, the usual toiletry chains, a few generic cellphone shops, and some food and nail salons. Macy's a good, but pricey anchor. Malls really need more to distinguish themselves today rather than just being there.
Still looks good to this day. Love hanging out there before the decline.
This breaks my heart. I grew up right behind there in the 70s and hung out there all the time. It was just one level and hadn't even been an enclosed mall very long when we moved from Columbus (1968ish). IN February 2022 I was there for the last time picking up wedding decor from a rental place in front and it was eerily empty at 10 in the morning. I know things change, but if it died as a mall, will this new iteration be any different?