I finally saw the before and after of that dead mall in Ohio over 4 years

The old Westgate Mall in Cleveland went from having a working food court in 2018 to being a total ghost town by 2022 - all the anchor stores just pulled out one by one after the Sears closed. Do you think it's the online shopping that killed it faster, or just bad management by the owners? Anyone else notice a similar shift in their local mall?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileynguyen1mo ago

Gotta call out @stella279 on one thing though: Westgate's Sears was actually already gone by 2017, so the timeline is a bit off. That said, you're right that it was circling the drain way before the pandemic hit, just seems like the last few stores gave up faster than I expected. Honestly feels like the owners just stopped caring once the big anchors left, and online shopping just sealed the deal.

stella2791mo ago

Honestly, is it really that deep? Malls have been dying for the last 15 years, this is just another one. It's not like Westgate was some thriving place before Sears closed, it was already on the downswing for years. Bad management probably sped it up, but let's not act like online shopping isn't the main reason nobody goes to these places anymore. People just want convenience and better prices, not a sad food court and a Bath & Body Works. Yeah it sucks to see a building empty, but it's just the cycle of things.