Visit to the site of the former Mid-Cities Dead Mall in Manitowoc, Wisconsin

 

That was then (2011)

 

Photos and videos by Retiring Guy

This is now (2023)

The Mid-Cities Mall opened to great fanfare in 1968. But by the time I met JoAnna, it was already in a state of decline. Before the end of the 1980s, it lost one of its three anchors, Montgomery Wards. Woolworth’s soon followed suit. Penney’s, on the other hand, was the last of the mall tenants to close, hanging on until late 2010. 

While the building sat empty, the property steadily deteriorating, the site became a magnet for vandals, graffiti, and seagulls. The birds left behind feathers and mounds of a hardened white paste. Areas of the roof sprouted small trees and shrubs. The city finally demolished the structure in 2015 and the site remains unused. I’ve documented its decline on my blog since 2011.

The site, as you can see, remains abandoned.  A plan for redevelopment is barely in the discussion stage. The mayor and city council have investigated the possible purchase of the site, but this option would require an added burden on the city’s taxpayers. And as the mayor admitted to a reporter, they have no ‘appetite’ for that. Such a move would likely get all of them voted out of office, if not recalled first.

 

That's Manitowoc other 'dead mall in the distance, as seen from the Mid-Cities site.

Lots of weeds poking up through the concrete.

Related posts:

Welcome to the Mid-Cities Mall graveyard in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  (11/28/2021)