Post by Annalee Newitz 🍜

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What happens when a mall dies? In my latest newsletter, I visit two of San Francisco's moribund shopping spaces -- the former Twitter building, and the former Westfield mall. What I find is very liminal. https://buttondown.com/thehypothesis/archive/inside-the-dying-malls-of-san-francisco/ #sanfrancisco #urbanism

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These are two pictures of empty mall spaces. One is an empty rotunda, whose shopfronts are covered in butcher paper. The floor is fake brown marble. The other is a forgotten hallway, most of its doors and windows covered in paper. Only one sign remains etched on the glass: "Brow Savant." The text reads: As I ascended toward the blank spaces where Nordstrom once ruled, I found a glorious unbranded emptiness that future archaeologists will no doubt describe as “ceremonial chambers” or “special use spaces.” The mall seemed to degenerate into absurdism as I continued to ride the escalators up. Twinkling strands of gilded holiday decorations fell from the distant, illuminated ceiling, past five dark levels of unfilled retail space.

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@annaleen
That rotunda looks like a set from Sens8te

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@annaleen The last time I spent much time in the Westfield was during the November 2018 wildfires, for the breathable air. It's hard for me to see these malls coming back because given our mild climate, I would think any store would rather front a pedestrian-scale street outdoors so people can find it.

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@annaleen The once-thriving Berkshire Mall in Massachusetts.

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@annaleen the Center really should make more of a fuss about the curved escalators, because they seem ordinary but are actually unique in the US / western hemisphere / something like that.

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@annaleen For a more upbeat San Francisco shopping center experience, check out Japan Center. It used to have a lot of empty shops, but it's been pretty lively recently, especially on weekends.

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@annaleen This made me laugh out loud:

> [...] a glorious unbranded emptiness that future archaeologists will no doubt describe as “ceremonial chambers” or “special use spaces.”

Seriously, it's fascinating to compare those historical buildings with local counterparts, like the Unirea and Victoria stores in Bucharest, respectively. Or to contrast with modern malls, for that matter.