I go to Montgomery mall often and the only place showing signs of life is the food court.

My teens go to the mall with their friends at least 2 or 3 times a month. Still pretty popular thing to do in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:Tyson's is packed on weekends. We live pretty close to it and my teens have both gone to hang out with friends at the mall.

But we've lost so many great stores - LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Lord and Taylor, even Soma is gone.

I try to shop in person when I can.

Tysons was packed today!

The mall was so useful when I had babies and it was cold outside! My kids are elementary age now and still love malls.
Retail in general is disappearing in this country. I read that 75% of the retail spaces in the NYC subway are empty. I blame Amazon.
My sister lives in Japan and her small town is completely packed with businesses. Every little closet sized storefront was full of shoppers. She said it's because homes are so tiny and poorly insulated that people go shopping just to get out.

I think Tyson’s and Montgomery are the only local viable malls left. Dulles is a shell of its former self, being kept alive by the movie theater and the Dick’s.

I miss shopping in person. So many fewer returns that way. I almost never had to return back when you could buy most things in person.

I loved the malls as a teen and young adult. They were also great places to take the kids when they were little since we could walk around indoors on a cold/rainy day, maybe do an indoor train ride, play in the play area, eat in the food court and I could pop into a few stores. Everyone was happy. My DD loves the mall and goes multiple times a week. But I rarely go anymore. Just yesterday I had an errand at Montgomery Mall and was thinking it was a pain to deal with parking and walking through the mall for what would take less than 5 minutes at an outdoor shopping area. Still, I’d be sad to see the malls go.

Anonymous wrote:DP. Sentimentality about old shuttered malls.

This is also a trend in commercial properties that have been abandoned since COVID. Some of the old office buildings are really quite beautiful and ornate.

Yeah there was a good article recently about old classic skyscrapers that are symbols of their respective cities but aren’t set up well for todays office customers and would be incredibly expensive to convert to residential, so they sit vacant.
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/office-buildings-empty-conversion-16cf3a62?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqfNvgDio6ROva9y9FDzoe_OUhBOUxwWpP7a_9Az3F6zjsd-m1FXX5eCb-TmMLI%3D&gaa_ts=6913966d&gaa_sig=bl19H3QxIMh70llpUQM8mENhpwVQxd4INXdQHYDLyUqCqH2CkxWE9JKk16Tezr_A1MnxSF6dMq8FNM4hHT6KOQ%3D%3D

Tyson's is packed on weekends. We live pretty close to it and my teens have both gone to hang out with friends at the mall.

But we've lost so many great stores - LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Lord and Taylor, even Soma is gone.

I try to shop in person when I can.

Anonymous wrote:I miss vibrant malls. I grew up with strip malls and shopping plazas and remember the excitement when the first indoor mall opened near St Petersburg FL.
Later, it was Burlington Mall outside Rt 128 in MA.
Then Tysons, Tysons II, White Flint a few times, Westfield Montgomery several times, but every work day through Ballston to the Metro. I could get all my Christmas shopping done in a visit or two at Ballston and Tysons in its heyday.
Poor Ballston has cycled through ghost town/renewal a couple of times now, and it seems like a ghost town now.

I was just on vacation in Greece. I was in the hotel lobby and I looked around and every single person was staring at their phone. No one talking. Here we are in a public space in a gorgeous vacation destination and there is no vibrancy.

I miss vibrant malls. I grew up with strip malls and shopping plazas and remember the excitement when the first indoor mall opened near St Petersburg FL.
Later, it was Burlington Mall outside Rt 128 in MA.
Then Tysons, Tysons II, White Flint a few times, Westfield Montgomery several times, but every work day through Ballston to the Metro. I could get all my Christmas shopping done in a visit or two at Ballston and Tysons in its heyday.
Poor Ballston has cycled through ghost town/renewal a couple of times now, and it seems like a ghost town now.

Anonymous wrote:I had to go to Montgomery Mall over the weekend to pick something up and it was humming along. I was surprised how many people were there. The old Sears space is still empty (or maybe it's been torn down, I didn't really look) but most of the rest of the storefronts are occupied.

Malls have mostly been replaced by either big box strip malls or "downtown" shopping areas (like Bethesda Row).

I’m going today with two kids who are excited to go. They don’t go as often as I did at their ages, but it’s still something they each want.

I had to go to Montgomery Mall over the weekend to pick something up and it was humming along. I was surprised how many people were there. The old Sears space is still empty (or maybe it's been torn down, I didn't really look) but most of the rest of the storefronts are occupied.

Malls have mostly been replaced by either big box strip malls or "downtown" shopping areas (like Bethesda Row).

DP. Sentimentality about old shuttered malls.

This is also a trend in commercial properties that have been abandoned since COVID. Some of the old office buildings are really quite beautiful and ornate.

Summary please

I miss touching things, having items curated instead of endless scrolls & there being a third space - vital for teens.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/magazine/dying-mall-beauty.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0U8.rqTU.PRd8VblfMYe_&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

You may like
“You Are Here”(Lin-Greenberg) if you feel sentimental about tr mall.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/you-are-here_karin-lin-greenberg/37277418/item/58374583/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_shopping_zombies_hvml_22797775610&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=764091475358&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22797775610#isbn=1640095438&idiq=58374583