It’s been a while since much demolition was visible at the doomed Muncie Mall, and I’m beginning to get antsy. I emailed its owner to ask when the process might resume and, more importantly, when my stats might start climbing again! Of course, I heard nothing but crickets. Instead of an update, I decided to look at where some of the mall’s old stores have wound up instead. As it turns out, the Muncie Mall diaspora hasn’t scattered very far. In a couple of cases, groups of two or three former tenants are right next to each other!

I’ve spent the past year documenting the slow destruction of one of East Central Indiana’s most recognizable retail landmarks- Muncie Mall. I stop by to see what’s changed as often as I can! Sometimes the differences are dramatic, like the demolition of old cinema. Other times they’re more subtle. My latest visit found plenty of those transformations.

Make that thirteen threads: in February, people in Muncie learned that all of our mall would be demolished, beginning with the long-vacant Sears, J.C. Penney, and old three-screen cinema. At first, the wrecking ball was supposed to arrive in March¹. Later, the timeline was pushed back to April². Now, with two-thirds of May already gone and no visible signs of demolition outside, a strange limbo has settled over the property. Curious, I ventured in. A baker’s dozen of tenants are still hanging on compared to sixty-seven in 2004.