This is Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio, and this is what it looks like slowly decaying during all four seasons. I photographed this abandoned mall for almost a decade. Some people might find that odd, but considering I spent much of my childhood and my teenage years here, it seems only fitting that I would have returned regularly since its closure in 2007 to pay my last respects.
I usually visit the abandoned mall by myself, but over the years, I have taken the Guardian newspaper inside for a story and was even interviewed inside the mall live on the Today show a few months ago. I still remember how frightened some of the NBC Universal film crew was going into the darkened areas of the abandoned mall. Next month, I will be appearing on a new reality show for Viceland that will once again document this mall that will fascinate viewers all over the world.
The images are not only hauntingly beautiful but also a reminder of how American society has changed over the years. By 1980, there was a shopping mall on every corner in America, and malls weren't just a place to shop, either. These were communal spaces that were an intricate part of how we lived. We went to malls to meet and see other people. It was like a chatroom before the internet ever existed.
As a child, I remember balancing myself along the rails of the fountains scattered throughout the mall amongst the backdrop of the sounds of bustling shoppers and escalators. I remember being a teenager and meeting my friends here after school. We would go to the arcade and aimlessly walk around the mall for hours, window shopping for things we could never afford and girls we could never stomach the courage to talk to. Once, I remember going to the mall really early to get concert tickets at Record Den. The metal gate was down because the store wasn’t open, and several others gathered anxiously, waiting to get inside for concert tickets. I remember being smushed against the partition as my fingers gripped the metal gate.
This used to be America, and I miss it. That’s why I keep selfishly coming back to visit. I’m not ready to let go of those memories just yet.
