The Haunting Final Photos Of What Was Once The World's Largest Mall

Saying good-bye to Randall Park Mall.

Randall Park Mall was the world’s largest shopping mall when it opened outside of Cleveland in 1976.

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After staying open for over 30 years, the mall closed in 2009 and has been basically abandoned ever since.

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This week, it's being torn down.

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In its final days, it’s a literal shell of its former shelf.

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Photographer Johnny Joo took what could possibly be the last photos ever taken inside of it.

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Signs for old stores are still up...

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…the movie theater empty…

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…glass is everywhere...

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…and creepy relics of the past like wheelchairs and Christmas trees are strewn about.

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It’s dead.

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Randall Park once employed thousands of people and had 200 stores.

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In the mid-'90s things really started getting bad.

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Randall Park, like other malls around the U.S., suffered when smaller shopping centers and plazas started opening up.

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As anchor stores left…

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…people stopped going…

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…and eventually the mall was practically empty.

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Crime and shifting demographics, like most of America’s other dead malls, also played a factor.

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Still, in 1995, the mall had 125 stores and over 5,000 employees.

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After switching management many times…

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…multiple claims of revitalization were made…

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…and in 2004, it was sold for $6 million.

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The mall cost $175 million to build in the '70s.

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On Dec. 29, demolition began with the old Dillard’s store.

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A 100-acre industrial park with up to 1,000 job opportunities will be put there instead.

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Members of the North Randall community hope this new industrial park provides a much-needed boost to their economy, one as much as when the Randall Park Mall first opened in the '70s.

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