In the age of Amazon, people don’t go out on shopping sprees as much anymore. Even groceries can be delivered directly to our doors. But before online shopping became the norm, you had to go to the mall to get clothes, food, skateboards, technology, toys, and pictures with the Easter Bunny.
And not only that, but if you were a kid, you were probably headed to the mall with about five bucks in your pocket, and no plans to make any purchases. Just walking around all day and running into other kids from your school.
Malls used to be bustling hubs, filled with people and over-the-top decor. Those days are long past now, with most malls looking sterile and empty, like the first act of a zombie movie. Let these pictures transport you back to the golden age of malls, the 1990s, when they were the place to be.
1
Taking a photo with Mall Santa in 1999. Check out that chunky camera.
2
Learning about the internet at a mall kiosk, 1996
3
KB Toys in a mall in New Jersey, 1996
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A mall with classic 90s interior design on display
5
The West Edmonton Mall had a replica of Columbus’s ship, the Santa Maria, in it
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A shopper seemingly mystified by brand-new Windows 98
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A mall in St Louis in the 90s
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FAO Schwarz customers buying real, physical, non-video-game toys
9
A comic book store in the Minnesota Mall of America, 1999. It doesn’t get much more 90s than this.
10
Buying a Super Nintendo at KB Toys, 1996
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This is about as empty as a mall could get in 1995
12
Chinese New Year parade inside a mall in Orange County, 1996
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A group of friends entering the Mall of America in Minnesota for a day of doing absolutely nothing
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Multiple generations of mall fan in the Mall of America, Minnesota, 1992
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A horde of Beanie Baby collectors in a Denver mall, circa 1999
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Christmas shopping at Brea Mall in Los Angeles, 1996
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Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen from Saved by the Bell greeting fans in the mall in 1990
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A specialty bridal store in Minnesota’s Mall of America that you could even get married in, 1999
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1996, back when Lite-Brite and Easy Bake Oven were still on the shelves
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Even the escalators were packed
21
Mall crowd in the 90s. Nobody had anywhere to be.
22
A gyroscope ride, hard to imagine seeing something like this in a mall nowadays
23
Skater kids hanging out in the mall. Those baggy pants are an escalator hazard.
