Northridge Mall Theatre, Milwaukee
We met up with some amazing people in Milwaukee who brought us to the vandalized ruins of the Northridge Mall (opened in 1972). Northridge is one of the last remaining dead malls of America. Others, such as Rolling Acres (Akron, OH) or Dixie Square (Harvey, IL) are long gone. Northridge is close to that fate. "The city wants to pull the plug," said a Milwaukee Magazine article. "But a nebulous, name-changing, promise-unfulfilling [corporation] with unclear intentions is keeping the ventilator plugged in." The million-square-foot building almost seems cursed - starting in 1992, Jesse Anderson stabbed his wife to death in the parking lot and claimed that two African American men were to blame. Later, it was revealed that Anderson (a White man) fabricated the story. More recently, 37-year-old father-of-six, Victor Diaz (a handyman at the abandoned mall) died after being electrocuted by a damaged transformer outside the mall (likely due to vandals or copper thieves).
It's possible the Northridge Mall could have been reused, but the building's corporate owners neglected to keep the building heated. Earlier owners placed thermometers along the walls of the building and asked the building to be kept at least above 32 degrees. When journalist Andy Tarnoff visited the building in 2012, he noted that the thermometers were all below freezing. Undoubtedly, pipes burst that winter, causing irreperable water damage.
By 2019, the City of Milwaukee ordered the demolition of the building and later that year, Victor Diaz was electrocuted while trying to repair a fuse box. Ironically (and perhaps unsurprisingly) this symbol of conspicuous consumption is now beyond salvage. Even worse, taxpayers will be partly responsible for its demolition and removal. In December of 2023, Governor Tony Evers awarded a $15 million American Rescue Plan Act grant to cover the demolition costs of this private development...
Northridge Mall Theatre, Milwaukee
We met up with some amazing people in Milwaukee who brought us to the vandalized ruins of the Northridge Mall (opened in 1972). Northridge is one of the last remaining dead malls of America. Others, such as Rolling Acres (Akron, OH) or Dixie Square (Harvey, IL) are long gone. Northridge is close to that fate. "The city wants to pull the plug," said a Milwaukee Magazine article. "But a nebulous, name-changing, promise-unfulfilling [corporation] with unclear intentions is keeping the ventilator plugged in." The million-square-foot building almost seems cursed - starting in 1992, Jesse Anderson stabbed his wife to death in the parking lot and claimed that two African American men were to blame. Later, it was revealed that Anderson (a White man) fabricated the story. More recently, 37-year-old father-of-six, Victor Diaz (a handyman at the abandoned mall) died after being electrocuted by a damaged transformer outside the mall (likely due to vandals or copper thieves).
It's possible the Northridge Mall could have been reused, but the building's corporate owners neglected to keep the building heated. Earlier owners placed thermometers along the walls of the building and asked the building to be kept at least above 32 degrees. When journalist Andy Tarnoff visited the building in 2012, he noted that the thermometers were all below freezing. Undoubtedly, pipes burst that winter, causing irreperable water damage.
By 2019, the City of Milwaukee ordered the demolition of the building and later that year, Victor Diaz was electrocuted while trying to repair a fuse box. Ironically (and perhaps unsurprisingly) this symbol of conspicuous consumption is now beyond salvage. Even worse, taxpayers will be partly responsible for its demolition and removal. In December of 2023, Governor Tony Evers awarded a $15 million American Rescue Plan Act grant to cover the demolition costs of this private development...