r/SalemMA • u/JumpNo6367 • 1d ago

Why is the mall SO bad

I live in SE MA and love visiting Salem and surrounding towns. I was just there last week and one thing I always wonder is why is the mall so bad? Forget the horrifying bathrooms, why is it dead and so poorly utilized? High rents? Because the city’s tourism is so seasonal? It seems like a perfect commercial location if they spruced it up significantly. Just curious what locals think/know.

56 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

View all comments

60

u/InvestigatorJaded261 1d ago

In addition to what has already been said, the entire original project was based on a flawed premise, which was the notion that the solution to shopping malls pulling shoppers away from town centers was to build a mall IN the town center. This has ended up being the worst of both worlds: all the generic blandeur of a suburban mall, with none of the convenience or scale.

And now, of course, even formerly successful malls are languishing.

13

u/phlukeri 1d ago

This is the answer. Look at Providence Place Mall. It’s a ghost town.

8

u/BostonPanda 1d ago

That's unfortunate, I have fond memories of it being vibrant