A security guard at the old Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights changed my whole approach

I was taking pictures of the empty food court there last month, focusing on the broken tiles and faded signs. A security guard came up and I thought I was in trouble, but he just started talking. He said he'd worked there for 22 years and pointed to a specific spot, 'That's where the cookie shop was, my daughter got her first job there.' He told me how the anchor store leaving in 2018 was the real killer, not online shopping like everyone says. It was the first time I really listened to a person connected to a place instead of just looking at the decay. Now I always try to find someone who worked or shopped there if I can. It makes the story so much more real. Has anyone else had a chat like that that gave you a new angle on a dead mall?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron1972mo ago

I used to just see dead malls as sad empty boxes, you know? My whole thing was getting the perfect shot of a fallen ceiling tile or a busted fountain. Then I met this older woman at the old Vallco Mall who was walking the empty halls for exercise. She told me she bought her wedding dress at the JCPenney there in 1979, and pointed to the exact spot where the register used to be. It hit me that I was just taking pictures of a corpse without ever knowing who the person was. Now I try to slow down and ask a question if I see someone around. The stories are the real picture.

jessel352mo ago

Met a janitor at Northgate Mall, 30 years there.

anthony_wells12d ago

Noticed an old security guard at the flea market last weekend who'd been there since the 80s, back when it was a proper drive-in. @jessel35 it's wild how those long-timers just become part of the building, like the dust or the flickering lights. The guy pointed to a concrete slab where the old snack bar used to be and said that's where he asked his wife to dance at the weekly car-hop nights. Makes you wonder what else those floors have seen that nobody's around to tell about anymore.