We traveled to Warren Pa to look at the old Warren Mall. The concourse has been destroyed and there were construction workers in there. The bon ton was pretty cool to see as well as the old Kmart!
The Warren Mall opened on October 4, 1979, in North Warren, Pennsylvania. Developed by George Zamias, it was built near Conewango Creek with a diagonal bend to avoid the floodplain. It aimed to keep local shoppers from crossing into New York, where retail taxes were higher. At its peak, the mall was anchored by Kmart, JCPenney, and The Bon-Ton, and featured classic staples like Aladdin's Castle arcade, Kay-Bee Toys, and Waldenbooks. The decline began in 2000 when JCPenney closed (later replaced by Big Lots). The mall fell into bankruptcy in 2003, and the opening of a nearby Walmart Supercenter further drained foot traffic. The remaining anchors folded one by one: 2013: Big Lots closed. 2014: Kmart closed. 2018: The Bon-Ton closed, leaving the interior entirely empty. Before its demolition, the mall was famous among retail historians as a pristine 1979 time capsule, complete with original brown floor tiles, wood trim, retro planters, and faux skylights. Most of the enclosed indoor concourse has since been demolished or sealed off. Today, the property operates as an open-air retail strip anchored by Dunham’s Sports, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, and Label Shopper.
Hey guys, I'm at Warren, Pennsylvania at the Warren Center.
This was formerly the Warren Mall.
The mall as it was an enclosed mall basically ended in 2018 when they demolished the inside
walkway but they left these certain stores standing and it kind of doesn't make a lot
of sense.
I'm seeing a Kmart behind me that was partially demolished.
That was one of the anchors.
JCPenney was one along with the Bantan.
This Kmart closed in 2014, the Bantan was formerly a Hesse's, the Bantan closed in 2018,
the JCPenney closed in I think it was the 90s and then now they have Ollie's shoe department
Encore, they have Tractor Supply, is that a Tractor Supply, and a Dunham Sports.
So yeah, let's go walk around and see what we can find.
Was this the front of it?
This is where it would have said.
Did they rip down more than I'm thinking?
That's insanity.
Whoa.
That is insanity.
Look at all the floor tiles.
What?
It almost looks like, look if you were like rails then you could get in there.
I'm just kidding, I don't even think a person could get in there.
So hard to tell where that, I think it was right here.
They made it unrecognizable.
Now this, I don't even know what that was.
So was this brick?
I don't know if that's what they bricked over or if that's what, it is, it's pretty hard
to tell.
Yeah, that was the, okay I see now.
These designs up here, that was the Kmart design and that's what was under it.
There's the classic garden section that we all know and love.
Ooh, nasty in there.
Nasty and moldy.
No propane cylinders allowed in store.
And that must be parts of the store.
Oh, wow.
Those doors are all busted.
Wow.
A Kmart travesty.
It is very hot out today.
Are they actively demoing this place?
There's a bunch of pallets over here.
Very nice day today.
I knew there was water down here.
Yeah, there's a car.
Oh, is that a, is that a river?
Yeah.
You want to walk around this way?
Yeah.
Yeah, he's representing the east side.
Old Kmart.
Is that a Kshed?
Is it a Kshed?
Might be.
Is this still the Kmart?
No.
I think this is the mall.
No, that's Kmart right there.
And then when it goes up the slab, it does it.
Oh, there's workers here.
What are they doing here?
I don't know.
I think that's a good thing we came today.
It might be industrial stuff.
Yeah, they're definitely doing something.
Well, that's my kind of work right there.
Here's a former.
Is this the mall entrance?
It looks like one.
Oh, my goodness gracious.
Wow.
It smells like, you can smell mold.
I can see the floor.
Really?
No, that's tables.
Is that the mall?
Yeah, that's the mall.
Where's these guys at?
Are we looking at something?
Is this the mall?
Let's go to the other side.
I don't know if this was...
So here's shoe department.
And then, um, there's the Kmart that we just seen.
Oh, there's, um...
I think they...
Oh.
Is this where they demolished...
Yeah.
We gotta look at these.
Because I think...
Yeah.
Okay, yeah.
We have to look at this.
Oh, this was the...
Yeah, it's in there.
And I was gonna miss that.
Look at it.
There it is.
So this was the mall right here, see?
Oh.
And now it's a parking lot.
Oh, man.
$2.60 for the fixture.
So this right here.
They're taking a siesta.
Oh, somebody had a list of things.
Oh, that guy's belching.
I don't know how to get there.
Whoa.
I zoomed all the way in.
Did you?
Yeah.
That's frickin' insanity.
Yeah, I can see it right in there.
Where's that one fixture at?
Now it's for sale.
Oh, it's right here.
The counter.
You can see the tag right there.
That guy keeps belching.
I think he's on break.
Yeah, that's the...
They tried to hide it.
Oh, here, let's look at this, too.
Oh, you know what's funny?
330?
That's a Youngstown Akron number.
Yeah.
I wonder why they own this.
This is like two hours away from there.
What's in there?
Nothing.
So that was the mall.
Right here?
Yeah.
If you could get in there.
We could get into that gardening center.
So this was some kind of auto...
Wow.
Auto section.
I mean, what was it for, though?
Because there was no Sears.
The Paws and Shop Thrift Boutique.
Donations to the animals.
Is this...
Let's look at this same one.
That looks like a vintage light.
Oh, look at that.
Is that open?
Cinema.
The Sheep Detectives.
The Mandalorian and Grogu Star Wars.
Cinema's three.
Is that back to the...
This is...
This was all really the mall,
but I think it was detached.
Yeah, it was detached.
So yeah, so then...
This was a former...
This was a former Kroger.
Alright, and that will complete my look
at the former Warren Mall,
now the Warren Center
with the remnants.
That was pretty cool with the Bund
and the K-Mart.
There's people working in there
and the door was open,
but obviously it was, you know,
for them.
So I felt like I couldn't really get in,
but it was still cool to see
what's here.
I don't really know what they're doing.
Like if they're demolishing that K-Mart
or are they going to turn it into...
I don't know.
But yeah, that was
pretty cool to see.
Hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you on the next video.
