Exploring an 80's Time Capsule Dead Mall During its Final Days - Chambersburg Mall, PA

Sad to see a dead directory. Pretty cool to see they didn’t update much and kept that 80’s look.

You said that the antique mall was in the old sears, that entrance reminds me of Service Merchandise. The arched entrance.

In 20-30 years Mall will be extinct!

Went here on 2022-08-14 and there was only a nail shop open. Gate was half closed

So many Malls that have left the plant situation go and the fountains.
I go to Oxford Valley Mall mostly every Sunday to walk since my heart attack and I’ve seen so many changes and even though it’s still a major awesome mall is sad to see how much has changed.

Ray ,Happy Thanksgiving and many happy Thanksgiving Memories to you and your family.

Happy Thanksgiving ALL!

Thanks again, Ray for another great video.

There is a huge flea market on rt 30 going into Langcaster PA , it’s indoors and so nice many things to trigger memories and smiles.

Really enjoy your mall tours! North Hanover Mall in Hanover, PA is a soon to be dead mall, but it has a Black Rose (it moved from across the mall parking lot into the mall pretty recently). The mall itself has some past controversies and even a fire in a former Penney's. A Rural King moved into the old Sears about 2 years ago. If you haven't already, check it out!

That big plant reminded me of the "mini jungles" that existed near the fountains at my local mall. My mom had to grab me as a little kid because I wanted to go exploring and vanish into them. And since it was the early 90's it was pretty much a giant, leafy ashtray 😅

This was awesome to see, Ray.
Stunning little mall.
Such a shame that it's had to close.

Those plants were amazing and the mall itself looked like a great place to just walk and think.

The mall might be dead but Chambersburg is a major center for retail distribution and warehousing. Among other things it has big distribution centers for Target and Ulta Cosmetics.

Nice video Ray, I really enjoyed how you changed up your style, with the very smooth narration. Relaxing! This mall made me feel sentimental because it reminded me of the mall I grew up with, which is now closed. Thanks for taking us along again! Some of these places are real gems.

Great video! This mall was absolutely gorgeous, but also surreal. I still remember when I visited shortly after you. It was weird being the only one in there. Sucks to see another 80s Crown American gem bite the dust.

Best untouched time capsule I've seen sine the Old Town Mall in Reno, NV.

I love the ceiling & the brick floor.

this just may be your best video! love it!! thank you for sharing..

DEB liquidated not too long ago

"Mixed use" Smh Smh. Theyve been so hit or miss

Sadly the water damage did this mall in.

I've seen 100's of videos on this mall but yours is the best. Went to Chambersburg several times but never got to go to this mall I always went to the Kmart.

Radioshack still has locations

What a find! Such a great time capsule of a mall 👍

Surprised the front door was unlocked if truely abondoned. Maybe they will refurbish.?..that could happen to my 2 local malls in nj. First store in the mall fornme to close was sam goody where i used to get my music "cassettes". I cant use my cassette deck in my old highlander.😢

I've stayed at a hotel there once.

Hi Ray another great video!! you never disappoint Enjoy thanksgiving!!!

I grew up at this mall my wife and i would go on dates here the center of the mall was awesome they would have concerts there its sad to see my memories dwindle away

Thanks for doing this one Ray. I grew up a few miles up the road from this mall. My first date was at the movie theater in the Chambersburg mall. One of my first kisses happened just outside the Mall theater entrance. So incredibly nostalgic watching this. Note: There were local rumors / legend even that shortly after the mall died but before it closed, a family of coyotes moved in and lived in what used to be a JC Penneys. There were many reports of coyote sightings.

Wish I could've made it to this one before it closed. I had no idea there was a Black Rose Antiques there. I live about a mile from the Phillipsburg Mall, so I used to spend hours there. I was kind of a mallrat in the 90s, so it's both nostalgic and a bit depressing to see these places closing.

Nice video Ray!

my grandparents were mall walkers in the 90s and Id go a few times. I mostly remember the movie theater. I saw Mulan there. I remember there was a comic book store there, and I went to the gamestop

Loved the fun & upbeat 80’s music you paired with this tour! It made me see the vibrant former glory of this mall, rather than its dismal abandonment. I appreciated the special attention you gave to the indoor plants. I was looking at various modern mall photos yesterday & was gutted to see how none of them had plants. My favorite aspect of 80’s malls are big leafy greens thriving beneath the skylights. I don’t remember the last time I saw mall plants. I unfortunately never saw them in the 80’s either, because I wasn’t born then.

you should Check out Puente Hills Mall

I really appreciate your channel and hard work, please dont forget to research abandoned factory in Mays Landing New Jersey, built in 1920 i believe and still standing today

Beautiful mall and thanks for getting out there. I tell people that Pennsylvania has so many spots like this that are trapped in time. I've been having a blast myself visiting them. And it's true: you CAN travel back in time; your video proves it. If you ever come back to Western PA/Northern WV/Western MD, I'd be happy to share some with ya!

Should see the Phillipsburg Mall it has been boarded which is ridiculous. As that mall seen better days and needs demolition. Seems like the Chambersburg Mall needs to be demolished and the property needs to be a new housing area seeing it’s in a rural location it would make sense for houses or apartments. For the property of the Phillipsburg Mall Kolhs should be in the Pohantcong Shopping Center to take the place of the Regal Cinnamas Theatre as that may close down being said. As it make sense for the property of the Phillipsburg Mall will become warehouses it would make sense for Kolhs to leave the area. Even though it has been roumering for this property to be a multi development a housing area may be the bigger option for the property.

I someone could explain why these are open? If every store is closed why keep them open for people to just walk around? Paying someone to maintain, open/close etc. Even if just a few stores are open just close off the mall except that section. The mall walkers aren't buying anything from closed stores

Looks like the West Manchester Mall in York, which was also a Crown American property,

Such a retail wasteland we have everywhere!

I still live in Chambersburg, PA, I'm 41. This was the place to be growing up; the Aladdin's Castle arcade was always fun; there were a lot of nice places to dine, tons of clothing and shoe stores from the era, even a Fries Etc for a quick bit of deep-fried chicken strips/home cut fries, or a hotdog on the rollers, etc.

Also, make no mistake; that mall was always busy. You were walking down one side with lots of other people going the same direction, and people coming from the opposite direction in equal numbers; and then on the other side you had the same 'two lane traffic' thing happening, which is to say nothing of the people sitting on the myriad of benches and even on the stonework at all the plants. Chambersburg itself is a micropolitan in size, it has always had a lot of people, we're just spread out. I live in ACTUAL rural PA on the outside of Chambersburg, but that never stopped us from taking the 15-20 minute drive to the mall atleast twice a month. What actually killed the mall was Amazon and Walmart; as they have with most malls around the country. Cheaper prices, one-stop shopping; delivered to you or in a single large department store. Malls just had too much overhead and couldn't compete; despite offering a FAR better overall social experience. As the saying goes "Welcome to Walmart, get your shit and get out." I'll note that initially, Walmart had 40 check out lines that were always 10+ carts deep; now they're down to MAYBE 5 and a self-checkout area.


Next to the Bonanza Steakhouse(ate there maybe four times, always great), the pizzaria was Brothers(Bros) Pizza, the guys that worked there were always exceptionally nice and pleasant and the pizza was nothing amazing; but it was always perfect; you know how commercials have that melty gooey cheese? That's exactly how that pizza was, they never skimped on the ingredients.

Even as a child, I LOVED the architecture of the mall; everything just felt so well put together and thought out. The indoor fountains, the planters were always well taken care of for the plants within, the thumping music in the different stores and how the acoustics changed to a nice, calmer music when you made your way to the main halls.

When you walked around; you always felt invited and comfortable; you never once felt 'at risk' or like someone was going to harass you. It was obscenely chill and relaxed. The holidays were ALWAYS amazing aswell, they went all out for each one; and even if you went there on an average mid-afternoon; it was always a joy.

I miss that mall so much; my mom, sisters, brother and I would walk through and bounce around to all the stores and just spend a day or an evening there; just enjoying being out and about.

Sadly, I hoped I'd be able to still spend atleast one day a week enjoying 'the loop' as you casually walk around and check out each store; not even looking for anything until you see it.

I wish they'd renovate these and turn them into open community centers.

For the gamers:
I remember walking into the Electronics Boutique and being mesmerized by all the computer and console stuff for the first time; and the 30 year old manager walking around the store personally to talk to everyone and helping them find something, sparking up a conversation about the newest games and the industry in general. Sadly when EBGames pushed in, it all went downhill because it turned into edge-lord teens who ignored customers and never really cared to do anything out of the way, then you'd get 40 year old managers who just hated their lives and brought that to the job.

Hope the city gets a nice redevelopment plan.

The real thing is the old thing!

Love ur vidoes bro! I'm only 25 but I remember going to the mall as a kid in the early 2000's.

J&K Toys wasn't really a toy store. They sold sports memorabilia, primarily NASCAR diecasts.

The signs for the mall walker distance actually existed long before the mall's decline. I grew up very close to this mall and remember first noticing them in the late 90's to early 2000's.

What you identified as a "pretzel stand" was Flamerz Burgers and Chicken. I worked there for about 10 months in 2006. The owner had three stores in the mall at one point, as well as opening a (still open) store at the Valley Mall. In 2007 he closed this location due to struggling profits and challenges with managing multiple stores.

That dead wing was, surprisingly enough, the last prominent wing of the mall. Burlington moved in in 2009 when all the other anchor locations were still occupied. The mall declined a lot through the 2010's and they shutdown in 2018. There was also a Gold's Gym there that only existed a couple years. The owner passed away and no one in his family wanted the gym.

One thing to note is that this mall is/was in a dry township. Each township in Pennsylvania has its own laws on alcohol. Maybe it may have been a sustainable mall if there were an "anchor" restaurant or two that sold alcohol. Prime example, consider the Valley Mall in Hagerstown, Md, not far away. They have several restaurants that serve alcohol. That mall is still thriving. As to the plant situation, you have to wonder with the way the world ("going green" concept) is that there were more plants in malls.

I lived not that far from this mall and loved going to it every time I could even when I didn't have a license yet I rode my bike down to it in the last couple years it was open to just walk around or even check out stores I'm now 25 and it really sucked to hear that my childhood mall closed up after so many years, I remember when carmike cinemas was still their before AMC took over, the old gamestop and even some retro stores that still tried to make some cash in the mall, even when the antique store opened up I found a little wolf plush their that I still have just buying what I could with what little money I had at the time, I'm gonna really miss the mall as alot of my time with my parents grandparents and my older brother was spent their any time of the year, I really do hope that something comes around of that place but I do enjoy the video quite a bit^^ glad to see someone got what was the last few days before closing recorded for preservation keep up the great work

The mall of my youth in the 80’s and 90’s before I moved to central Florida in 1998.

My Mom worked at that Bon-Ton in the 80’s and later worked as a manager at the Fashion Bug in the mid 90’s.

This mall was our taste of civilization and pop culture. It still holds a warm place in my memories from back then.

I hadn't been to a mall in a really long time, but a couple of months ago I went to a nearby mall with my nephews. I was actually very surprised that it was still very much alive and kicking. There was a lot of people there and most of the storefronts were occupied. In a weird way I was sort of disappointed because after watching so many of your videos, I actually want to walk around a deserted mall on the brink of closure.

Kids today will never know

Oh I've heard that so many times that old malls were going to be made into mixed use properties but nothing ever happens. My favorite mall that I used to work at and shop at before that is basically almost closed it's so sad and there's very few stores left and they keep talking about making a mixed-use place but so far nothing it's just so sad