Not Your Average Mall Crawl: 7 Surprising Shopping Mall Facts

Shopping malls weren’t always just for grabbing new jeans or a quick snack at the food court. In their prime, malls were bustling social hubs—a destination, not just a retail pit stop. But since their golden age in the ’90s and early 2000s, malls have slowly declined into obscurity. In fact, by 2020, vacancy rates in U.S. malls topped six percent, and bankrupt mall-based retailers shuttered over 5,000 stores. Today, images of abandoned malls—eerily quiet, empty, and desolate—capture a melancholy symbol of retail’s dramatic shift online. But is the mall truly dead, or is there more beneath the surface? Here are some surprising mall facts that prove these retail giants still have fascinating stories to tell.

1. The Secret Apartment Hidden Inside a Rhode Island Mall

In 2003, artists secretly built and lived in a hidden apartment tucked away in a Providence, Rhode Island shopping mall for four full years before security finally stumbled upon their fully furnished hideout. Michael Townsend, who led the artists’ cooperative, was initially charged with breaking and entering, later reduced to trespassing. Townsend received a lifelong mall ban, but the intriguing tale didn’t end there. In 2024, filmmaker Jeremy Workman brought the bizarre story to life in his documentary, Secret Mall Apartment.

2. The Mall Inventor Who Hated His Own Creation

Victor Gruen, the Austrian architect behind America’s first indoor shopping mall, eventually grew to loathe what his invention had become. Gruen intended malls as compact, walkable, community spaces accessible by public transport—a stark contrast to the sprawling car-centric complexes that took over American suburbia. Disillusioned, Gruen famously declared malls had “destroyed our cities,” regretting how far they’d drifted from his original utopian vision.

3. America Isn’t Home to the World’s Biggest Mall

Surprisingly, the largest shopping mall isn’t in the U.S.—it’s located in Iran. In fact, Iran also holds the fourth largest, while Kuwait claims second place. China dominates the list, securing three spots in the top ten. America’s largest, the Mall of America, ranks only twelfth worldwide, proving that size matters—and the U.S. might not be as obsessed as you thought.

4. Moldova Has a Mall Called “Malldova”

In the quirky world of mall trivia, Moldova makes a playful entrance with its capital city’s mall cleverly named “Malldova.” It’s exactly the sort of delightful, random fact perfect for dropping casually into conversations to impress—or confuse—your friends.

5. The Mormons Built a $2 Billion Mall

In Salt Lake City, Utah, the Mormon Church invested an eye-popping $2 billion to build a luxurious shopping center right next door to their temple. During its grand opening, the prophet enthusiastically proclaimed, “Let’s go shopping!”—not exactly the spiritual advice you’d expect, but certainly memorable.

6. Stranger Things Revived an ’80s Mall in Georgia

Fans of Netflix’s Stranger Things might remember Starcourt Mall from season three. The production transformed a nearly abandoned mall in Georgia into a vibrant, nostalgia-filled 1980s shopping haven. The show’s team meticulously recreated authentic ’80s storefronts, breathing temporary life back into the dying retail space.

7. Malls Intentionally Confuse Shoppers

Ever feel disoriented in a mall? That’s no accident. Like casinos, malls are deliberately designed to make visitors lose track of time and location, a phenomenon aptly called the “Gruen Transfer,” named after the mall’s regretful inventor, Victor Gruen. This confusion subtly encourages shoppers to linger—and spend—just a bit more.

While malls may be fading from mainstream popularity, their stories remain as captivating and strange as ever.