For some of a certain age and demographic, the mall was a centerpiece of teen social life. You could see a movie, hang out at the food court, get your ears pierced. But the mall as it existed in its heyday is no more. Lately the Web is filled with photos of abandoned shopping centers, ruins marking the death of a particular chapter in American consumerism. So what's the future of the mall? Can it continue to exist as a community hub, or would we all rather stay home and wait for drones to deliver our Amazon.com purchases?
Photo: UrbanExplorationUS / Via architecturalafterlife.com
Pamela Ring, President and Founder of Ring Retail Advisory
Eric Strain , Las Vegas architect, worked at the Mall in the ‘70s
Robert Gibbs , consultant, author, Principals of Urban Retail Planning and Development