They'll Hurt You and Desert You Quiz

Answer: Los Angeles

Also known as the Hawthorne Plaza, the Hawthorne Plaza Shopping Center opened in 1977 in Hawthorne, California. This city is located within Los Angeles County in California, and is relatively close to the city of Los Angeles. The mall was quite popular when it first opened, but from the start, it was associated with many unfortunate events. For example, several shootings occurred in the mall just years after it opened, and its stores also suffered heavy losses due to the 1992 riots in protest of how Rodney King was arrested.

Though there have been a few proposals to revive the mall over the years, these have continuously failed. Instead, the abandoned mall has become a popular place to film movies. Some of these include "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Agents of Shield".

Answer: Acres

The Rolling Acres Mall opened in 1975 and at one point had over 100 stores inside, such as Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's. For the rest of the 20th century, the mall saw the opening of more stores like Kaufmann's and Target, but the shopping center still did not reach the popularity its owners were expecting. Rolling Acres continued to decline in the 2000s, as more and more stores announced their departure from the project. The mall's downfall was made even more evident by the discovery of a homeless man living in one of the unoccupied spaces and keeping himself fed with items that were leftover in what used to be a GNC store.

Even though the mall closed its doors in 2008, some stores like Sears and JCPenney continued to operate until 2013, and the building was demolished in 2019. The reference to Winnie the Pooh refers to the Hundred Acre Wood that Pooh and Christopher Robin would frequently be in.

Answer: Illinois

The Dixie Square Mall was located in Harvey, Illinois. It opened in 1966, and its tenants included well-known brands like Walgreens, JCPenney, and Woolworth. Unfortunately for the mall's developers and patrons, the area experienced a dramatic uptick in criminal activity in the 1970s, which directly affected the mall's surrounding area and the resulting clients that wanted to shop there. Some of these crimes happened inside the mall itself, further alienating customers. The shopping center continued to deteriorate since shops were experiencing vandalism and shoplifting. All of these issues finally resulted in the mall's closing in 1978.

The Dixie Square Mall is perhaps best known in popular culture for its brief appearance in the "Blues Brothers" film. The abandoned piece of land continued to create problems even after the mall's closing, and the full demolition of the building was finally completed in 2012.

Answer: Yes

The Metro North Mall opened in Kansas City, Missouri in 1976. Though it was certainly an attractive sight when it first opened, it has been described by many as a "creepy" place now that it is shut down. The mall's tenants included JCPenney, Dairy Queen, an AMC movie theater, and even an arcade with a Nickelodeon theme. The competition created by the Zona Rosa development (which, interestingly, was owned by the same owners of the Metro North Mall) created a downturn in mall attendees. Even though the shopping center had beautiful common areas and even a pool, it was officially closed in 2014.

Today, the area where the mall used to sit in is unrecognizable. Videos posted on the internet show the mall in complete disarray, with shattered glass and mold all over the place. Photographer Seph Lawless once posted a popular video showing the terrible conditions of the abandoned property.

Answer: Virginia

The Cloverleaf Mall opened in 1972 in Chesterfield, Virginia. The mall was heavily attended in its early weeks, since it featured stores that sold upscale goods and clothes (such as Sears and its Crystal Room). It also housed other attractions, such as cafeterias and a cinema. Even though the mall was partially damaged by a fire in 1995, it continued to operate for several more years.

In a rather odd turn of events, the Chesterfield County Police Department opened a police station inside the mall in 1999. Soon after this (but not necessarily causally connected to the opening of the police station), the mall began a steady decline, leading to the closure of multiple stores.

It eventually closed in 2008 and was demolished in 2011.

Answer: Wayne Hills Mall

Once a popular spot for families in Wayne, New Jersey, the Wayne Hills Mall slowly became deserted and eventually was forced to shut its doors for good. The mall opened in 1973 and was beloved by the local community. It was especially visited around holidays like Christmas. Sadly, the 1990s decade saw the mall deteriorate as fewer people were shopping there.

This triggered a series of store closings that eventually resulted in the mall itself having to close. The shopping center ended up being abandoned, and suffered heavy damage due to snowfall and flooding. Several stores closed in the 2010s, and the mall was shut down for good in 2015.

Answer: Apartments

North Randall is a very small and sparsely populated city in the state of Ohio. It received a great boost to its economy, however, through the opening of the Randall Park Mall in 1976. The shopping center replaced a horse racing track that used to be on that same land, and this multimillion-dollar investment resulted in the construction of what was then one of the largest malls in the world. In addition to several large stores being on the property, the mall also included features like a movie theater, a performing arts center, and even had multi-story apartments within the property.

The mall began to decline in the 2000s and was associated with negative publicity, including the killing of a suspected shoplifter by a security guard and incidents of vandalism. The mall officially closed in 2009 and was demolished years later. Amazon then took over the property and turned it into one of its "fulfillment centers".

Answer: Fiesta Mall

Mesa, Arizona, was the home of the Fiesta Mall, which opened in 1979. The mall had many high-profile shops in it, including Sears, Macy's, and Best Buy. It underwent a successful renovation in 1989 and even featured events like an Avril Lavigne concert in 2004. Unfortunately, a combination of factors such as lower sales, increased competition, and higher crime rates, contributed to the Fiesta Mall's demise throughout the first part of the 21st century. The mall even had crimes like murder occur inside the property. All of this led to the eventual closing of the mall in 2018.

The word "fiesta" means "party" in Spanish.

Answer: Carousel Mall

The Southern Californian city of San Bernardino got its own shopping mall in 1972 when the Central City Mall was inaugurated. Despite having big anchor stores like The Harris Company and JCPenney, the shopping center struggled in its first decade of operations, and decided to renovate it and change the name to Carousel Mall in 1991.

Its refurbished look included colorful decorations and a big carousel attraction. The mall's facade also featured a logo with a white horse on it. Nevertheless, the Carousel Mall did not perform as expected; it was closed in 2017 and subsequently demolished in 2022.

Answer: Old Town

The Old Town Mall in Baltimore, Maryland actually has an extensive history: it originally opened its doors in 1818 as the Bel Air Market. In the late 1960s, the building went through major renovations hoping to attract more customers and restore its reputation. Unfortunately, the mall failed to attain any meaningful success and the area where it sits is now one that many residents of Baltimore would rather avoid. In 2018, the online documentary channel Uncharted Travel produced a video called "The Most Dangerous Mall in America", in which they showcased the poor condition that the mall was in. For example, they found broken windows, walls with graffiti on them, and even drug paraphernalia.

In 2019, American musicians Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus released the hugely successful hit "Old Town Road".