Abandoned Mid-Cities Mall (2011)

Archived urban exploration footage of the Mid-Cities Mall (later known as the Lakeview Centre) in Manitowoc, WI. This mall opened in 1968 with JCPenney and Montgomery Ward as anchors, supplemented by Osco Drug, Woolworth, a grocery store and a handful of smaller shops and services. A second mall, Edgewater Plaza, hoped to compliment Mid-Cities' success when it opened directly adjacent in 1979.

Montgomery Ward left Mid-Cities in 1983 amid the recession, it saw brief reuse as a store called Pierquet’s between 1988-1990 and was never occupied again. A full-service Hardee's restaurant (with drive-thru) was grafted onto an existing mall entrance in 1986; I believe at this point the mall underwent the rebrand as Lakeview Centre and was given the gaudy "Barbie's Dream Mall" makeover.

Economic development shifted toward the interstate in the 1990s, opposite this side of town. The two malls never had a chance, especially after Walmart opened. Lakeview Centre shuttered in 2000 with JCPenney soldiering alone into 2011 -- closing the day this video was filmed, an intensely-cold January evening. Lakeview Centre was entirely razed four years later and remains undeveloped. Edgewater Plaza (renamed Lakeshore Mall) survived on life support until 2018 and remains abandoned.

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