Auburn Mall

“Reviewing the Auburn Mall is a strange one for me because I’ve known this place through several different eras of my life. When I was a kid, I remember this being a real mall. It could be bustling in a way that I associate with the Maine Mall today. I remember coming here for things like Halloween and trick-or-treating when the corridors were packed with families and people were actually here to shop. Then in my early 20s, as malls everywhere were beginning their long downward slide, the Auburn Mall became more of a hangout. I bought video games at GameStop, grabbed lunch at McDonald’s, bought books at the bookstore and then sat out in the mall reading them. When I first got out on my own, I even came here to buy clothes at JCPenney. I also bought my first engagement ring at Kay Jewelers here. That engagement didn’t exactly work out, so I subsequently got the equally memorable experience of coming back to the mall to return my first engagement ring. Life! Walking through it now is almost surreal. The mall isn’t completely dead, but it feels like a shell of the place I remember. There are large stretches of shuttered retail space, the bathrooms have gotten pretty dingy, and the remaining stores sometimes feel like little islands trying to hold on while everything around them disappears. Even the old directory and some of the architecture feel like artifacts from another era. I recently came back with my nephew primarily to check out Spirit Halloween, and we wandered into a few of the other stores while we were there. Spencer’s, remarkably, is still hanging on and somehow still feels like Spencer’s. And of course there’s always Thatcher’s. There are businesses here and people clearly trying to make something work, and I really hope the recent attempts to bring new tenants into the mall lead to some kind of revitalization. Personally, I think the owners should stop fighting the mall’s age and start embracing it. We’re living through a huge wave of ’80s and ’90s “mallstalgia” right now. Shows like Stranger Things have made that old-school mall aesthetic cool again, and the Auburn Mall still has pieces of the real thing. That old turquoise-and-pink Auburn Mall signage? Keep it. The neon around the clock and skylight? Lean into it. Instead of trying to make the place look like a lesser version of a modern shopping center, go completely in the opposite direction. Make the Auburn Mall aggressively 1980s/1990s. Turn one or two empty storefronts into retro mall museum spaces. Fill another with nostalgic toys, games, VHS tapes, old advertising, vintage clothes and other things people can actually buy. Bring back some neon. Create photo spots. Preserve old signs and storefront pieces instead of throwing them away. Make it colorful, weird, photographable and Instagrammable. Give people a reason to drive here besides needing something from one of the handful of stores that remain. I don’t know whether any of that would actually save a struggling mall. But I do know I’d rather see the Auburn Mall become a celebration of what malls once were than watch it slowly become another empty building. There’s still something here worth saving. I hope somebody figures out what to do with it.”

“It's kept up nicely. This mall is a throwback to the 80s. It hasn't changed looks at all. Fun mall to go take a quick walk”

“Empty and sad. In poor condition, too. It’s kinda dark and mostly empty of stores. For some reason the owner apparently uses empty stores for his motorcycle and cars. I mean, I guess it’s something to look at, but idk. It is also in need of redecorating, but since it’s so empty I doubt that’ll happen.”

“Very cool mall, very late 70’s-early 80’s feel. Sad to see not as many stores in operation and the only traffic in the mall seems for those looking to get their steps in. Wish I saw this mall in its prime. Very great to look back on how malls used to be designed!”

“Plenty of parking. But not many stores open, they have left the building. But the stores that were left were having great sales. Shoe stores, Olympia sports and JCPenney to Name a few. The staff was friendly and helpful. 👍🏼Please follow me 👍🏼🇺🇸”