Metcalf South Mall in Overland, Kansas
Overland Park, KANSAS—All across the United States, once-thriving shopping malls are slowly becoming extinct. I’ve spent the better part of a decade documenting the decline of American malls, which were such an important part of my life growing up. Malls weren’t just places to shop; people went there to meet other people and walk around. Malls were communal spaces for many Americans, and, as a result, a lot of people share fond memories of the local mall where they grew up. I remember meeting friends after school, visiting the arcade, meeting girls, and indulging at Orange Julius and Hot Dog on a Stick at my local mall. However, times have changed; we now socialize through the use of smart phones and shop online using the latest tablets, and we have lost the desire to take a trip to the mall.
METCALF SOUTH MALL
Over the next 20 years, many economic experts believe that half of all malls in America will fail. Recently, J.C. Penney announced it was closing 138 stores as it attempts to cut costs. Sears Holdings has had several rounds of store closings so far this year. Any mall becomes increasingly vulnerable when it loses an anchor tenant. This makes these latest revelations from Sears and J.C. Penney a bleak reality for the future of shopping malls nationwide.
When malls fail, there may be opportunities to repurpose these spaces, although I’ve only witnessed this a handful of times. Most of the time, malls slowly decay until they are eventually demolished. However, some malls are quickly demolished to make way for new development opportunities. That was the case with the shopping center in Overland Park, Kansas, called Metcalf South Mall.
A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to document the final moments of Metcalf South Mall as it was being demolished to make way for a new Lowe’s home improvement store to go in its place. Metcalf South Mall was different than other dead malls I had documented before. It was like taking a time machine back to the 1970s with all its austerity, drab earth tones, rock walls, and inane colors. The mall was like a time capsule filled with the remnants of America's yesteryear.
Metcalf South Mall celebrated its grand opening on August 3, 1967, which is exactly 50 years ago today. These images and video are the final pieces of footage of Metcalf South Mall, which epitomizes the death of an era. This is not only the end of a shopping mall but the end of a once intricate part of American life.
You can see more images below and a video of this mall on my Youtube Channel
