CLOSING TIME: Inside Metcalf South Mall For The Last Time
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Published 2017-04-26
Metcalf South Mall opened in Overland Park, KS at the corner of Metcalf Avenue and 95th Street in 1967 as the first enclosed shopping mall in the Kansas City area. It thrived for decades as the premier indoor shopping destination in the region. By the 1990's, a plethora of other indoor and outdoor shopping centers had sprung up around the area and tenants began to leave Metcalf South. By the mid 2000's, the majority of the facility was empty except for two anchor stores (Sears and Macy's), the small Glenwood Theater, and a handful of small boutique shops scattered throughout the cavernous structure. In the spring of 2014, the original owner / developer of the property MD Management finally sold Metcalf South to Lane4 Property Group. In 2017, Lane4 announced plans to demolish and redevelop the property (excluding Sears).
For more photos: www.flickr.com/photos/joshweinstock/albums/7215764…
All Comments (21)
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Beautiful, sad and haunting Video. R.I.P. Metcalf South Mall. 😢
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My whole childhood was spent here,, My mom worked at Jones for 20 years. My Grandma wolf Brothers and I worked at Taco Via ...I am my only one alive left in family now .. Thanks for memories 😢
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When I was a kid in the 70's and 80's, this was my mothers favorite mall. We were always there. I remember eating at Putsch's Cafeteria, Sears, Jones Store, etc. I still have fond memories of the mall. Thanks for the video.
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I always thought this was a very beautiful and unique mall compared to all the others in the Kansas City area. I always preferred the look and feel of this mall over Oak Park any day. It is sad that they tore down such a beautiful Mall, it seems like such a waste to me. Thank you for this video, it is nice to know that I can still watch this video to remember the mall.
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Amazing to see it again. I used to go there and walk all the time when I lived closeby. Ppl called it The Dead Mall but it was alive for those of us who came there to walk and enjoy the solitude. Long Live Metcalf South Mall!
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I got my ears pierced at Claire's there in 1992. I loved the weird colorful fountain. Saw Pocahontas and the lion king at Glenwood on my birthdays...i remember thinking that movie theatre was so fancy. Good video.
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I went here in the early 2000's with my dad and grandpa. The mall always reminded me of him because it was the only trip I've ever taken with him and my dad, I was a sad when it was torn down. My grandpa passed in 2015. Thank you for sharing this, it brought back a lot of memories.
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thank you for keeping images of my child hood
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Hi Josh. Thanks so much for making and sharing this great video! I moved to Overland Park, KS in June, 1969, and started my senior year of high school at Shawnee Mission West in early September, 1969. I didn't have to take many courses to graduate, so I got a part-time job at Sears in Metcalf South. I worked in sporting goods a few nights per week and Saturdays. On Saturdays, I worked all day and had a lunch hour. I'd go out into the mall to the cafeteria (name forgotten) for lunch. It was my first job and I was pretty excited (made $1.80 per hour). 1969 was the first year of the Royals, and they played in old municipal stadium. I went to around 20 games that summer/fall, and about the same number the next summer. I went into the Navy (submarines) on 09-09-1970. I'd appreciate anycomments of those that remember the mall and Sears in that time period. I'd also like to know what cafeteria was in the mall at that time. Thanks, and God Bless!
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This mall was a large part of my early childhood. In these images I still see the places I roamed as a six and seven year old boy. My Dad had a job at an engraving kiosk on the second floor called "Impressions" I see the spot where it used to be. I see the empty store that used to house a pizzeria. It was where I played Super Mario Bros for the first time. (Didn't even make it past the first Goomba.)
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I remember going to Carousel Park when I was a kid
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Used to hang out here with my boyfriend back in 1969 - 1971. Great memories of a first love walking around the mall - going to Orange Julius :)
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We drove by the old mall yesterday. The Sears portion of the building still exists, but they are already building something else on the other part. My mother said it was so wasteful to tear down a perfectly good building when it could have been upcycled into something else.
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I worked at The Jones Store that used to be in that mall. Went through them being bought out after Mercantile. They went through being owned by Dillard’s then Famous Barr and it just wasn’t the same after that. I used to go on my lunch breaks to the food court or go get my nails done. Those were the good ole days!
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Anybody remember Orange Julius at Metcalf South?
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Now, this is sad. All these stunning mid-century architectural designs splashed throughout the Metcalf South Mall to end up completely unappreciated and erased. Such a shame. RIP beautiful mall.
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Wow, I remember walking through the empty mall with my grandma. I can recall almost every image. I wish I could have captured it but you did a great job.
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I'm so glad someone was able to get a video of its final days. I went in there the last day it was supposed to be open and got chased out by security pretty much as soon as they saw my phone come out.
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These Dead Mall videos are becoming really popular and I love them. Malls just aren't gonna exist anymore and there's nothing we can do about it. They have a certain feeling about them because before our modern computers and phones, we would actually go to the mall to see and been seen. The fixtures and decorations inside them used to provoke our thoughts and inspire us. Now they're literally left to decay or be torn down. Sad doesn't even begin to describe it.
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I'm now 68 yrs old and this was a hang out place while in my teens
