Why yes, you do need this in your life.
A tribute to, as Rustwire calls it, the rise and fall of Randall Park, old video is spliced with current clips of the barren, deserted concrete warzone that rests there now.
Oh, and there’s a Rush cover playing over the whole thing.
You’re welcome.
This article appears in Jan 25-31, 2012.
Wow, how depressing. I remember when Randall Park opened and it was labeled “The biggest mall in all the world.”
Thank the east side thuggery for the downfall of RPM…Shootings, stabbings and smash and grabs caused it’s eventual decay…
It’s really breaks my heart to this. I loved going to Randall Park Mall as a kid.
How sad it is that this Mall as well as most of the rest in our area have come to this, Randell Park use to be so beautiful with all types of good stores in which to shop, now they are ghost towns.
We use to hang out and go to the movies in the early 80’s there!
There was some rich guy a couple of years ago who wanted to convert into a free-trade-zone. I went to hear he and his organization talk about their ideas and how they had taken old giant buildings and made them productive again. Must have not happened. The recession got too deep I guess. Sure would be nice to get some of these old buildings productive in some way.
,Da,mn, I miss Randall. The arcade, the movies, the corndogg spot, the cookie shop, Spencers, the record store, the pet shop, the toy store.. I loved walking thru one of the department stores before entering the mall. When you came thru there, it just came alive. Waking up Saturday morning and going to the mall. Boy, I really miss it. Wish my kids could’ve experinced Randall. Oh let’s not forget going to see Santa and the Easter Bunny at Randall. I remember Ccamelot was downstairs and the other ecord store was right up the escalator and I used to get a tape from Camelot and go up the escalator and buy anotherone from that store. I remember the downstairs arcade was livelier than the up.. I miss Randal..
Wow, great memories of this mall! It was an icon back in my high school days and will always hold a wonderful part of my growing up days!. To the post from the guy who says “East Side Thuggery caused the demise of RPM”, sounds like you are pinpointing a particular “race” of people who happen to mainly live on the East Side. I really hope that is not the case in 2012!
Three thoughts:
1. The only thing sadder than this is a video that does something similar but with the Richfield Coliseum. Now that’s a tearjerker.
2. Favorite moment of the video are the people in the car flinching when the air bags deploy in the demonstration. You knew they were going to open.
3. This is the future of Parmatown Mall if things there don’t turn around fast.
Very (sadly) well done.
Every time I read a comment like the one posted by “cbrbart” ,it makes me wonder if this person has kids that he is passing this cycle of hate down to by example.
One can only hope he is sterile and is just as empty down below the waist as he is in the head.
hello
Too bad the area youth destroyed this mall.
@Reginald…
Funny thing? It was my friends that are persons of color at work that said it first, so your comment is as about as baseless as my used morning coffee and also went right down the toilet…
Truth hurts though…
And Ms. Fulker…
No Ma-am color is not at issue, thuggery and crime is color blind just like disease and love…And stupidity right Reginald?
No Ma-am color is not the issue, thuggery and crime is color blind just like disease and love…And stupidity right Reginald?
cbrbart didnt play the race card….you did Ms. Fulker….therein lies the problem. Got a guilty conscious? Randall Park Mall fell victim to the east side thuggery and the misbehavior of youth….no matter what race. Parents didnt control their kids and the kids had no respect for other people and their property. Sad, sad state and speaks volumes about what is wrong in this country….and apparently from Ms. Fulker’s response…. it is still going strong. I moved from here in 1990 down to SW FL and just recently moved back…the attitude and prejudices are HORRIBLE here. I havent had to deal with such disrespect and fear in over 20 years. I cannot believe nothing has changed up here from ANYBODY. The south has it all going on…tolerance, acceptance…RESPECT. It’s a shame so many have not progressed and moved forward here. More will fall just like Randall Park Mall if nothing changes…if y’all don’t wake up. Peace and coexist.
Bought my Prom Dress from JC Penney in 1976. So sad.
Randall Park, Euclid Square, and very soon Parmatown will be joining the list (pretty close already). Sad……..
Randall Park Mall was THE place to hang out in the late 1970s and early 1980s for me before I moved from Ohio — fond memories. I guess it’s true, all good things must come to an end.
When the gangs moved in, we just found another arcade and hangout. Haven’t replaced those corndogs yet though. One good replacement was not having to stand anymore outside of Sears in the cold for Ticketmaster to open
If I had the cash, I would buy it and do something spectacular to try to revive that wonderful place. It’s wasn’t just the “East side thuggery,” that led to Randall’s demise. It was also places like Beachwood Place, and Tower City that made this place irrelevent. Once downtown began to thrive, what reason did people have to go to the mall? Beachwood Place expanded in 1997, which caused people to flock there to shop. The reality is, people like to shop in newer places. Why shop at Parmatown when Southpark and Crocker Park have more to offer? So everybody calm down and stop insulting one another. Unfortunately, that’s business.
We used to go up there almost every Saturday to hang out in the late 70’s. I do have to agree when the teenagers and gangs started hanging out and fighting the mall did go down. That’s not being racist it’s the plain truth.
There’s a huge white elephant in the room and some don’t want to recognize it. If you recall today’s NFL is promoting a drive called “NOMORE”. Look it up. If we as a society, all of society, don’t want to recognize the real problem in America, it will never be repaired. Bring back the family!!!
Beachwood Place is going the same way The Thugs are there as well and they will destroy it as they did RPM
Randall Mall was the best in its day. Had a great time with great friends. Sad, very sad
Winklemens, Bakers shoe store, Chessking….all the awesome stores, my sister and I went to RM every weekend in the 90’s….
Yes it was awesome hate to see that it’s not going to be rebuilt
Plain and simple call it what u want in the 90’s when I was growing up it was taboo to go to rpm.lookat the neighborhoods around these places, same thing with rolling acres.thugs all around never knowing if u could make it to your car without getting jacked for something other people can’t afford. Chapel hills next, but it’s funny how a different mall in the same metropolis with different kinda neighbors still thrives.summit mall still strong safe to walk to your car safe to take your family, now you tell me why?
RPM, and ESM were victims of the catch one bus rule….
The single buses (RPM – the #14/#19 – ESM the #1 bus) to RPM and ESM drove from downtown, through multiple neighborhoods,
Longwood
Outhwaite
Garden Valley
Mt. Pleasant
John Adams area
Shaker
Kennedy area
Warrensville
and across multiple school, and gang territories and dropped those kids off right smack at the front door. THE FRONT DOOR OF THE MALL!!!.
The fights, the disturbances were inevitable. PLUS the Mal managements VISIBLE reduction of security contributed to the perception that they were not safe places.
The truth IS what it IS. And I say this as a African-American male who hated going to these malls because of the foolishness. Once the foolishness came then the older money goes, then the older stores will go. Once they go then the spaces are filled up with “Teen/urban/2nd tier” stores, and its only a matter of time till the anchors leave. I think Dillards or Hornes was the first. Once the anchors are gone. then you can kiss it goodbye.
Its all about perception…. and the PERCEPTION is/was that RPM was not safe and you had to deal with kids acting stupid. Beachwood had better take note. Do you think Nordstrom or Sacks are going to stay if there are kids fighting in the corridors.
And yes in these cases ts our lovely Black kids/ children that are doing this stupid S***t… There I said it, the elephant in the room has been revealed