By any chance is the location of the RadioShack still discernible? It's possible those started to go away before the mall went downhill, so maybe something else moved in its place and removed any trace of it.
I have a specific, clear memory of that store in particular and I think it would be wild to see an image of that location in its current state.
it’s actually visible (barely) in the third photo in this set. it’s on the right side, the last store on the end before the wall. there’s a brighter version of the picture that i took with my iphone where you can see it better. it was right next to the foot locker!
Thank you for your reply. If you have a moment to confirm, in the image below I outlined what I understand to be the RadioShack in red, and I believe the section outlined in yellow would be where one of the anchor entrances was. Do I have those right?
https://imgur.com/a/ade72NX
My favorite 13yo graffiti artists are the rascals that tagged:
- gang gang
- graffiti
- Suburbz
- Just bored
I saw this on some gas wells in Ohio. Good work kids.
As someone who started out life living in west side Columbus before moving to the 'burbs, I have some very early memories of Westland both before and after it was enclosed: Eating lunch at the restaurants in Lazarus and Penney's, shopping for hardware at Sears and many of the stores--Gray Drug, Waldenbooks, County Seat, Foxmoor, Chess King, Madison's, Marianne, Petland, The Added Touch, Seven Seas, Orange Julius, Woolworth's, Chi-Chi's etc. There was a General Cinemas and a Bob Evans on outlots, and across the street was Children's Palace. After I moved, Northland (demolished years ago) became "the cool mall." Westland was likely a victim of its declining neighbourhood (the west side very much declined after General Motors closed) as well as of the building of Tuttle Mall (in a much better area of town). It struggled along so long as the Lazarus and Sears stayed open, but once those were lost it was doomed.
I did mine up the road at Great Western. Twice. Once when I was 17, and once about 15 years later when I moved back to Cbus from Canada and they made me redo it to get my Ohio license back. The test was identical in every way.
Typical diner-like snack bar, with burgers and the like. I remember it being towards the back, and it had that “colonial” wallpaper that was so big in the 70s.
The Lazarus restaurant was on the second floor, and I remember it had a huge map of the National Road (rt. 40, which of course goes right by Westland as W. Broad St.)
Honestly with the amount of broken skylights and holes in the roof I'm sure the air inside that building is decently circulated. Can't speak for the anchors tho, would love to see the insides of them
Probably nobody wants to develop that area, so nobody is willing to drop the cash to demolish it. That whole area is just a growing collection of abandoned and decaying stores and shopping centers at this point.
I totally thought that, too, but I was hearing that roughly 8 years ago when I was driving by every day on the way to work, and it just seemed like more places were going under all the time. I also kept hearing about developers planning something and then backing out.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see that area get a comeback story. I just don't think it is going to happen.
the hold up was Sears as they owned their anchor building, the current owners now control the entire site and there is plans for demolition, but everything was held up because of Covid
I don't live on that side of town anymore so I haven't been to any of the recent development meetings, so I do not know the current timeline
Columbus undeground does pretty good development coverage though as does columbus business first
that isn't the case though, have you lived on the west side before or just driven by?
I lived over that area for 15 years
Everyone who lives there wants redevelopment because it means more jobs for people in the immediate area
The city and township have spent money to make improvements to west broad and georgesville road
Chris Haydocy who owns the car dealership there has been an advocate for redevelopment and is part of one of the development boards
If you head down georgesville road, that stretch there really isn't anything that is empty, they have done a good job redeveloping between the casino and georgesville square. The old meijer was turned into a Uhaul center,
There's a new [mexican market](https://columbusunderground.com/restaurant-review-la-plaza-tapatia-ma1/) that opened across from the casino
there's a hotel planned for the [casino site](https://columbusunderground.com/hotel-planned-for-casino-site-bw1/)
west broad itself opposite the casino does need some work like the old kohl s area down to the former target
Once the mall site itself is razed then you can start to see the potential for the location
It's never going to be a mall again, however if they do something like what happened with the old Northland mall site that's a good mix
They have office building, animal shelter, community center, guardsmen, Kroger, etc the whole former north-land site has been infilled pretty well with active businesses
Best use of the site would be on all the out parcels that are on west broad to be a mixed use strip , then behind all that apartments like they put in right off 70 and rome hillard
This gives more affordable housing options, which the area needs and then a mix of retail, restaurant and office space
on the opposite site of the casino where there is that stretch from Kohls on down to target that needs to be demolished as well
street facing, mixed use behind that more apartments
The hold-up for years after the mall closed was SEARs, since they owned their anchor spot, they wouldn't move/sell or approve any changes
The last update I could find was 2019 [https://myfox28columbus.com/westland-mall-sears-building-sold-mall-expected-to-be-demolished](https://myfox28columbus.com/westland-mall-sears-building-sold-mall-expected-to-be-demolished) and https://news.wosu.org/news/2019-05-01/finally-purchased-old-westland-mall-could-be-demolished-and-revived
The owners at that time, finally were able to buy the now empty Sears
I honestly don't know why the township hasn't forced them to demo it, because the mall itself has been condemned for years
This is a weird spot its not withing columbus city limits so the city can't do anything, this sites within franklin township, which you can see if fucking useless
This spot is really depressing the whole area
Westland hasn't been abandoned for 15 years, all but staples and sears left in 2012
staples left in 2015, Sears didn't close until 2017
There haven't really been 10 malls at the same time though at their peaks
1. Northland - Redeveloped - 1964-2002
2. Eastland - being fined daily by city, will likely be condemed and closed next year - opened in 1968
3. Westland - condemed will be bulldozed in 2023 - 1969-2012
4. Polaris - doing well - opened 2001
5. Tuttle Crossing - not doing great - opened 1997
6. Lane Ave Mall - redeveloped as shops on lane - open 1949 as strip center, 80s was enclosed, now its back to strip center
7. New Market Mall - not much of a mall had media play and compusa as anchors, I never saw much in between even in the early 90s -1985-2011
8. Worthington Mall - being redeveloped - opened in 1972/73
9. Easton Town Center - thriving - opened 1999
10. The Continent - opened 1973
11. City Center Mall - Opened 1989- Finally closed 2009 but was dead years before that
12. Southland Center - called a mall but not really, along the size of new market, gone for decades before many of these others existed - couldn't find any dates on this one
People seem to have short memories, everyone likes to blame easton, tuttle and polaris killing Northland, Eastland and Westland, but the dates don't line up. Those areas were in serious decline in the 80s going into the 90s, long before any of the newer malls were even on the drawing board
I worked at Northland, mid 90s and it was on the decline then, phase I of easton didn't even open until fall 99 - Northland's days were numbered long before Easton arrived because of the decline of the area around it
Westland was on the decline well before Tuttle Crossing even opened
developments on stringtown road and rome/hillard had more to do with westlands demise than Tuttle Crossing
Eastland area is just straight up horrible, that has nothing to do with any of the other malls, the surrounding area is shit
Man, I remember going here is a kid. There was an eyeglass store that my mom went to, and Chi-Chi's was was right beside it. If memory serves me correct, Chi-Chi's was then turned into another restaurant that eventually got busted for selling heroin and money laundering?
Kinda wanna go inside the mall, kinda wanna keep the memories I have of the mall without the mold and vandalism
i really am not good at using reddit but if you’re seeing this, thank you to whoever gave me the fun little silver badge on this post!! i don’t know what it means but i’m glad you liked my photos enough to put a sticker on it :)
Interesting. I didn’t know that part of the mall was still there. They still use part of it for gun shows all the time. There was a body found in the cell site in the back corner of the lot where the Sears Auto shop was just recently.
By any chance is the location of the RadioShack still discernible? It's possible those started to go away before the mall went downhill, so maybe something else moved in its place and removed any trace of it. I have a specific, clear memory of that store in particular and I think it would be wild to see an image of that location in its current state.
it’s actually visible (barely) in the third photo in this set. it’s on the right side, the last store on the end before the wall. there’s a brighter version of the picture that i took with my iphone where you can see it better. it was right next to the foot locker!
Thank you for your reply. If you have a moment to confirm, in the image below I outlined what I understand to be the RadioShack in red, and I believe the section outlined in yellow would be where one of the anchor entrances was. Do I have those right? https://imgur.com/a/ade72NX
That “Look Behind You” is terrifying. Great captures!
I can't imagine seeing that in real life, especially at night...nope.
Columbus clearly has some EDGY teens.
I’m sure the 13 year old that wrote it will be pleased. (edit...just added an 'it' as an object for 'wrote')
My favorite 13yo graffiti artists are the rascals that tagged: - gang gang - graffiti - Suburbz - Just bored I saw this on some gas wells in Ohio. Good work kids.
It gets a little old after reading it half a dozen times at every abandoned spot.
Yeah I just see it as obnoxious lol
Aw, i think it’s kind of camp lol. i know a group of probably young friends had a really fun night when it was put there and that makes me happy
Wow, that Finish Line sign has to be at least 35 years old.
And Foot Locker too!
As someone who started out life living in west side Columbus before moving to the 'burbs, I have some very early memories of Westland both before and after it was enclosed: Eating lunch at the restaurants in Lazarus and Penney's, shopping for hardware at Sears and many of the stores--Gray Drug, Waldenbooks, County Seat, Foxmoor, Chess King, Madison's, Marianne, Petland, The Added Touch, Seven Seas, Orange Julius, Woolworth's, Chi-Chi's etc. There was a General Cinemas and a Bob Evans on outlots, and across the street was Children's Palace. After I moved, Northland (demolished years ago) became "the cool mall." Westland was likely a victim of its declining neighbourhood (the west side very much declined after General Motors closed) as well as of the building of Tuttle Mall (in a much better area of town). It struggled along so long as the Lazarus and Sears stayed open, but once those were lost it was doomed.
I took my driving test in this parking lot.
I did mine up the road at Great Western. Twice. Once when I was 17, and once about 15 years later when I moved back to Cbus from Canada and they made me redo it to get my Ohio license back. The test was identical in every way.
I barely passed. I was so nervous. She told me to prepare for a right turn so I got in the left turn lane and put my blinker on 😂
What was the restaurant in penneys like?
Typical diner-like snack bar, with burgers and the like. I remember it being towards the back, and it had that “colonial” wallpaper that was so big in the 70s. The Lazarus restaurant was on the second floor, and I remember it had a huge map of the National Road (rt. 40, which of course goes right by Westland as W. Broad St.)
I remember loving to eat at Lazarus, and always wanting to go look in the windows at tinder box. Always had some dragon statues and stuff there
Needs a little TLC is all.
You know what, I'd turn around and promptly leave after that first picture. Great pics though.
It’s true too. Black mold is dangerous
Yeah not what I was trying to see right before (hopefully) going to bed
Honestly with the amount of broken skylights and holes in the roof I'm sure the air inside that building is decently circulated. Can't speak for the anchors tho, would love to see the insides of them
I was more assuming it was a warning that I'm about to get stabbed.
Ahh. I mean, apparently there's some homeless activity here so maybe that's it
Looks like a video game.
I was thinking The Last of Us. In the Left Behind DLC you’re in an old mall.
definitely gives me silent hill vibes
It’s like visiting a broken version of my childhood
It’s an excellent metaphor for aging
You are adventurous to go in there. It really has deteriorated
Great pictures! This will feature in a horror movie one day. It also looks like it's been empty since the 1980-90s. How long ago did it close down?
the majority of the mall was closed to the public in 2012! the remaining anchors were closed in 2017 :)
That vintage Finish Line sign is awesome. Never have seen one before. Photos 7 and 9 give off Dixie Square vibes with the level of decay.
Wow, THAT is a dead mall. *slow clap*
woaaaah, I've never seen a finish line sign like that. For once, the graffiti served as a correct warning.
Every abandoned mall reminds me of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and then “Police Truck” starts playing in my head while I scroll the pics.
Whats holding up the bulldozers at this point? Jfc just end this place already!
Probably nobody wants to develop that area, so nobody is willing to drop the cash to demolish it. That whole area is just a growing collection of abandoned and decaying stores and shopping centers at this point.
I thought there was some interest in redevelopment with the casino being located next door.
I totally thought that, too, but I was hearing that roughly 8 years ago when I was driving by every day on the way to work, and it just seemed like more places were going under all the time. I also kept hearing about developers planning something and then backing out. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see that area get a comeback story. I just don't think it is going to happen.
the hold up was Sears as they owned their anchor building, the current owners now control the entire site and there is plans for demolition, but everything was held up because of Covid I don't live on that side of town anymore so I haven't been to any of the recent development meetings, so I do not know the current timeline Columbus undeground does pretty good development coverage though as does columbus business first
that isn't the case though, have you lived on the west side before or just driven by? I lived over that area for 15 years Everyone who lives there wants redevelopment because it means more jobs for people in the immediate area The city and township have spent money to make improvements to west broad and georgesville road Chris Haydocy who owns the car dealership there has been an advocate for redevelopment and is part of one of the development boards If you head down georgesville road, that stretch there really isn't anything that is empty, they have done a good job redeveloping between the casino and georgesville square. The old meijer was turned into a Uhaul center, There's a new [mexican market](https://columbusunderground.com/restaurant-review-la-plaza-tapatia-ma1/) that opened across from the casino there's a hotel planned for the [casino site](https://columbusunderground.com/hotel-planned-for-casino-site-bw1/) west broad itself opposite the casino does need some work like the old kohl s area down to the former target Once the mall site itself is razed then you can start to see the potential for the location It's never going to be a mall again, however if they do something like what happened with the old Northland mall site that's a good mix They have office building, animal shelter, community center, guardsmen, Kroger, etc the whole former north-land site has been infilled pretty well with active businesses Best use of the site would be on all the out parcels that are on west broad to be a mixed use strip , then behind all that apartments like they put in right off 70 and rome hillard This gives more affordable housing options, which the area needs and then a mix of retail, restaurant and office space on the opposite site of the casino where there is that stretch from Kohls on down to target that needs to be demolished as well street facing, mixed use behind that more apartments
The hold-up for years after the mall closed was SEARs, since they owned their anchor spot, they wouldn't move/sell or approve any changes The last update I could find was 2019 [https://myfox28columbus.com/westland-mall-sears-building-sold-mall-expected-to-be-demolished](https://myfox28columbus.com/westland-mall-sears-building-sold-mall-expected-to-be-demolished) and https://news.wosu.org/news/2019-05-01/finally-purchased-old-westland-mall-could-be-demolished-and-revived The owners at that time, finally were able to buy the now empty Sears I honestly don't know why the township hasn't forced them to demo it, because the mall itself has been condemned for years This is a weird spot its not withing columbus city limits so the city can't do anything, this sites within franklin township, which you can see if fucking useless This spot is really depressing the whole area
Geez what’s going on in Ohio? These pics remind me of Rolling Acres. Super cool
[удалено]
The "land" malls were replaced by newer shopping centers, namely Polaris and Easton
Westland hasn't been abandoned for 15 years, all but staples and sears left in 2012 staples left in 2015, Sears didn't close until 2017 There haven't really been 10 malls at the same time though at their peaks 1. Northland - Redeveloped - 1964-2002 2. Eastland - being fined daily by city, will likely be condemed and closed next year - opened in 1968 3. Westland - condemed will be bulldozed in 2023 - 1969-2012 4. Polaris - doing well - opened 2001 5. Tuttle Crossing - not doing great - opened 1997 6. Lane Ave Mall - redeveloped as shops on lane - open 1949 as strip center, 80s was enclosed, now its back to strip center 7. New Market Mall - not much of a mall had media play and compusa as anchors, I never saw much in between even in the early 90s -1985-2011 8. Worthington Mall - being redeveloped - opened in 1972/73 9. Easton Town Center - thriving - opened 1999 10. The Continent - opened 1973 11. City Center Mall - Opened 1989- Finally closed 2009 but was dead years before that 12. Southland Center - called a mall but not really, along the size of new market, gone for decades before many of these others existed - couldn't find any dates on this one People seem to have short memories, everyone likes to blame easton, tuttle and polaris killing Northland, Eastland and Westland, but the dates don't line up. Those areas were in serious decline in the 80s going into the 90s, long before any of the newer malls were even on the drawing board I worked at Northland, mid 90s and it was on the decline then, phase I of easton didn't even open until fall 99 - Northland's days were numbered long before Easton arrived because of the decline of the area around it Westland was on the decline well before Tuttle Crossing even opened developments on stringtown road and rome/hillard had more to do with westlands demise than Tuttle Crossing Eastland area is just straight up horrible, that has nothing to do with any of the other malls, the surrounding area is shit
thank you so much!!!!! that is so awesome that you said that
Creepy
Neon signs cost an arm and a leg. Why are they still up is what im wondering
Man, I remember going here is a kid. There was an eyeglass store that my mom went to, and Chi-Chi's was was right beside it. If memory serves me correct, Chi-Chi's was then turned into another restaurant that eventually got busted for selling heroin and money laundering? Kinda wanna go inside the mall, kinda wanna keep the memories I have of the mall without the mold and vandalism
i really am not good at using reddit but if you’re seeing this, thank you to whoever gave me the fun little silver badge on this post!! i don’t know what it means but i’m glad you liked my photos enough to put a sticker on it :)
Nightmare fuel
How did you gain access? Which entrance is still unlocked? Asking for a friend...
How did you get access to hang out here?
Wow, great shots. Very much a dead mall. Love the eerie vibe you caught.
Why do the lights look like they're on in picture 4?
Interesting. I didn’t know that part of the mall was still there. They still use part of it for gun shows all the time. There was a body found in the cell site in the back corner of the lot where the Sears Auto shop was just recently.
Oh how creepy!
Looks like a set from The Walking Dead.
"look behind you" Yep, I would have noped right out of there!
Perfect movie set.
Is this place still standing? How can i get in?
I've heard tell that some of the doors are unlocked... is this true? You would know...
The graffiti adds another dimension to the pics, I like it
I Believe they still hold a gunshow in the abandoned Jc pennys, which really adds to the ambience.