Muncie Mall has been a fixture of East-Central Indiana life for more than fifty years. After news broke that the complex will be demolished, my brother and I made one last trip inside for a walk down memory lane. It wasn’t quite the nostalgic farewell we had hoped for. If anything, it was a pretty depressing visit.
I’ve written a lot about the Muncie Mall lately. Like most of my recent visits, my first stop was MCL. I wanted one last fix before I’d have to drive to Carmel or Castleton. I went with the chopped steak -handmade and topped with mushrooms and Swiss cheese- along with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and a roll.
The steak was excellent, just as I’d hoped. Everything else needed a pretty generous shake of salt and pepper. In my experience, that was unusual. My brother got fried chicken, fries, and a slice of lemon cake. His meal was delicious! Unfortunately, today was MCL’s last day in business here in town.
After our enormous lunch, John and I walked around the mall proper. We passed the old Sears entrance at the mall’s north side first and found it to be inelegantly covered in unpainted drywall. Empty storefronts were everywhere.
Only a handful of businesses remained like Auntie Annie’s, Books-A-Million, Buckle, a cell phone store, Finish Line, GNC, Hot Topic, Maurice’s, Nirvana’s closet, a sports card shop, and Zales. That might have been it! We made our way west to mall’s only anchor, Buyer’s Market, a Big Lots or Ollie’s-type store in the former L.S. Ayres and Macy’s space. That’s the only building demolition won’t touch. We were surprised to find that its mall entrance was shuttered.
John peeled off to go to Books-A-Million as I wandered around towards the old JCPenney entryway. It had the same drywall treatment as Sears- a strange sight as I remembered what used to be there. The blank wall softly signaled that another piece of the mall’s past had slipped away.
There were more people in the mall than my pictures suggest, but it was still pretty dead- full of liminal spaces. A handful of shoppers drifted through the halls, and every now and then I passed someone carrying a bag or sitting with one on a bench. Honestly, it was hard to picture what they’d purchased, and from where.
Here are a few more photos I snapped on my last walk around the mall. Here’s Buckle and Mainstream Arcade, which was the entryway to the old Movies at Muncie Mall triplex. The former Icing and Carson’s are to the right.
Here’s Cell Tech, the recently-shuttered f.y.e, and Maurice’s, which, unfortunately, just moved from a strip mall to the real mall. I’m told that Buckle will take its place there. Books-A-Million is on the right. I’ve heard Books-A-Million is interested in relocating elsewhere in the Muncie market. Here’s hoping they do.
Here’s what most recently was Shoe Dept. Encore, which relocated further west of the mall in the recent past. When I was a kid, it was Old Navy. Prior to that, the space housed an Elder-Beerman home store. When my parents were kids it was Ball Stores, a department store run by a branch of the famous fruit jar family.
I seem to remember these stores as being Yankee Candle, Lids, and Claire’s when I was at peak mall age. Finish Line is just out of the shot; a huge stack of shoes helps frame it.
Finally, and apropos of nothing, I stumbled across this well-dressed feller. To the left was Country Charm, GNC, and what I think I remember as Blondie’s Cookies. To the right were Seals Furniture and Rue21. Rue21 black was my signature scent seventeen years ago!
John and I reconvened near the entrance and took one last lap around the parking lot. From the outside, the mall looked much the same as it always had, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the place is already mostly gone. One corner of the property, though, was clearly still alive. With tons of cars out front, Books-A-Million was doing brisk business!
So was Buyer’s Market. I’m not a huge fan of the store -I’d rather go to Ollie’s- but I must be in the minority. It was downright packed! I was surprised to learn that the chain had grown to twelve locations, with eight in Indiana and others in Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
For a place that spent half a century as one of the region’s busiest gathering spots, it was strange to see Muncie Mall in its final chapter. Walking those quiet corridors with my brother felt less like a farewell tour and more like wandering through the echo of something that used to matter. Still, not everything there has faded away. Books-A-Million was buzzing, Buyer’s Market was packed, and a few other stores were hanging on the best they could.
Most of it will be gone soon, but for generations, the Muncie Mall will always be more than a redevelopment site. It was where we shopped, met friends, killed time, and occasionally grabbed a pretty good chopped steak at MCL. That’s the version of the place I’ll try to remember.
ANother mall gone with the wind
They’re all on their way out!
I experienced this at Glendale Mall in Indianapolis. It was slated to close for redevelopment right after Christmas one year, and it seemed like a great way to avoid crowds. But I learned that there were no crowds for a reason. Many stores were gone, and those that remained had really thin, picked-over inventories. And it was horribly depressing. Sorry you are having that experience now.
Ah, Glendale. I got the idea that the redevelopment there was successful, though, at least. Right?
I was just at Washington Square the other day. Now that place is a war zone.
Yes, the Glendale redevelopment (that turned it back again from mall to shopping center) has done pretty well. Washington Square? The whole east side of Indianapolis has really struggled for the last 20-30 years.
There are a couple old survivors along the East Washington corridor I need to take photos of next time I’m down there. The Target (former Ayr-Way) the Washington Square store replaced. The old SuperStandard/Marsh/Election Board Service Center. Eastgate Consumer Mall, if there’s anything to be seen since they added all those solar panels over the parking lot. Then I’m reminded to hit up Lafayette Square while it’s presumably accessible and standing.
I drive past Lafayette Square occasionally. It’s standing, but may not be very accessible. The areas I see early mornings have the lots blocked off and security cars there. Maybe it’s just off hours, no idea.
Hmm. I ran into a similar situation at the old St. Joe County Home. Unfortunate!
Very sad to see – I have refused to go as it will simply be too depressing. We, as a society, are losing our ability to interact with real people…
I know! I wish I’d taken a second to chat with the several mall-walkers I encountered. Unfortunately, I look like a homeless bum after four months of unemployment and probably would have scared them off.
I grew up within spitting distance of a mall in northern Illinois. When it was being built in the early ’70s we actually took a family drive in my dad’s truck into what would become the lower level of Marshall Field. The mall’s still there but I haven’t been in it in ages; I should ask my mom what kind of shape business-wise it’s in.
I’m not familiar with Books-A-Million but anytime a bookstore’s busy it’s a good thing!
Hereabouts, Books-A-Million has slowly drawn down to Books-A-Thousand or Hundred as pop culture stuff like Funko Pops have come in. Still, Muncie loves it.
I have a daughter at BSU, and we frequent the Books-A-Million store a lot. I do hope they stay in Muncie.
I am a BSU grad…1990…so I remember this mall in its heyday. I had a car up on campus by my sophomore year…and would actually drive out to the Book Center (a used bookstore) on South Broadway (now MLK). I would then hit the mall.
Did quite a bit of shopping at the Muncie Mall in my day…I still have a Gunne Sax dress that I wore for Easter in 1988. It had been purchased at the Ayres Store in the Muncie Mall. Frequented Claire’s for jewelry. And ate in several of the restaurants…including MCL. A few years ago, the Muncie Mall closed off the hall that led to the original movie theater, where I saw several movies while attending BSU. This included my first time seeing Rocky Horror, which was shown every evening on Friday nights.
There was one of those old photo booths near the Mall Theater that printed out small black and white photos in a strip..I still have several of those that feature my college friends making goofy faces for the camera.
My daughter is a senior at BSU, and while we live in southeastern Hancock County…”our malls” were Washington Square, and Mounds Mall in Anderson. Yes we did occasionally visit Circle Center and Castleton and once in a great while Muncie. However, with a Cardinal in the family, and our trips to Muncie more regular…we found the Muncie Mall more often in recent years. Especially since Mounds closed, and Washington Square no longer has much.
It was sad to see all the empty storefronts in the Muncie Mall. Like I said…we help keep Books-A-Million in business. We also have shopped the shopping centers outside of the mall….frequenting Old Navy, Alta Beauty, T J Maxx and others.
I get it why the Muncie Mall is dying. Muncie is a shadow of what it used to be…with a population that used to support three high schools. It now supports only one. BSU…with all of the student population is on the opposite side of town, and for any kid without a car on campus (like my daughter) getting to the mall is difficult with no direct bus route going there.
I remember walking in the Muncie Mall in 2022, when my daughter was a freshman and being sad at seeing all of the vacant storefronts. I hadn’t visited Muncie Mall in awhile.
Mounds Mall in Anderson had just closed in 2018, and we had spent a lot of time in that mall when my kids were little. It was so sad seeing Muncie Mall struggling too.
But we decided to support the Bookstore. Love the BAM store. There just is no place for us to shop for books anywhere close in Indy or other nearby communities without driving an hour. So might as well support BAM in Muncie. I certainly hope they relocate.
Mounds Mall is closed. Muncie Mall is being torn down. Circle Center is being torn up. Washington Square is in bad shape, and with nothing much in it.
Eastgate is no longer a Mall. Glendale Mall doesn’t really exist. That leaves Castleton and Greenwood Park…and Lafayette Square (which isn’t in much better shape than WS).
Not really interested in open air shopping centers…like Hamilton Town Center. Who wants to run outside in bad weather from store to store? So it is doubtful that I would frequent any of these new designs.
I get it that shopping has changed with all of the online stuff.
But I liked the Mall experience. I liked going from store to store in a climate controlled environment…no heat in the summer, no rain, snow or ice. I liked visiting the food court…with its many options. The Mall was where I took my kids for their baby pictures, shopped for school clothes and Easter dresses. I got several perms in the beauty shop at JCPenney’s in the 1980s. Had my Glamour Shots done in the 1990s. It was where I bought a prom dress, and decor for my wedding. It was where I took piano lessons as a kid. Where I took my kids to see Santa and the Easter Bunny. It was a place to hang out on a date night. It was several visits to the movies.
Malls were a place for people to gather. For people to shop, eat and have fun. I don’t believe our need to do those things has changed that dramatically that they cannot be revived. They just need to adjust. Too bad that it won’t be in time to save the Muncie Mall.
I hope BAM stays too. I’m sort of bummed the Book Center didn’t last long after its relocation! I probably bought thirty Mad Magazine paperback compilations there over the years.
I’ve written about Mounds and was inside just a week or two before it closed. Also Five Points in Marion right before it shuttered. I was just at Washington Square last week and it was mostly a wasteland. It’s sad!
I also don’t think our need to do those things have changed. Something has, though. It’s unfortunate.
This comment will mean nothing in the context of nostalgia and person connection to places, but communities are and always will be dynamic. I am certain that at one point, this mall spelled disaster for downtown mom-and-pop type businesses. Now it too has been upended by different forms of commerce, which will ultimately cede to things we can’t even envision today.
It absolutely did spell disaster for downtown. Sears and Penney’s moved out. Other anchors came from earlier north side strip malls. Now downtown is on a small upswing!
How sad.
I saw some young person say in a video the other day “it would be cool if we had one place where we could go to a bunch of different stores and restaurants. You know, like inside so you don’t have to go out in the cold or drive to get to the next place.”
Facepalm.
Sigh. lol!