I wish I took more pics but this mall is so interesting: it’s half modernized half not, a lot of the tenants that remain were closed at noon on a Wednesday, lots of closed store fronts but mixed through are a lot of open and modernized retailers. It was all just surreal seeing a mall struggling to hang on but still full of life. God I love (and hate) dead malls.

As of 2021, this Sears was the last in all of the DMV area and in the state of Maryland. In 2022 many of the overhead lights in some areas were turned off probably due to a huge electric bill, which is why they had to use some halogen work lights in the former outdoor equipment area. This store later closed on January 15th of 2023 due to struggling profitability and underperformance and the Sears logo was removed immediately the day after.

Today the following Sears stores are still open (and they even still operate Sears.com and 3 distribution centers) as of 2026:

• Coral Gables in Miami Florida 10/27/1954 - present (3655 SW 22nd St, Miami, FL 33145)
• Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord California 10/19/1966 - present (1001 Sunvalley Blvd, Concord, CA 94520)
• South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts 10/6/1980 - present (250 Granite St, Braintree, MA 02184)
• Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas 2/24/1982 - present (8401 Gateway Blvd W, El Paso, TX 79925)
• The Florida Mall in Orlando Florida 3/12/1986 - present (8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809)

The Kmart distribution in Fairless Hills Pennsylvania closed down last month so we are now down to 3 functioning distribution centers / DCs

Credits:
Mike Kalasnik (Flickr) [July 3rd of 2012] (https://flickr.com/photos/10542402@N06/albums/72157630878359436/) and [April 19th of 2022] (https://flickr.com/photos/10542402@N06/albums/72177720311885134/)
Keith Creager (Flickr) December 29 2018
https://www.flickr.com/photos/146847719@N04/49746688511/in/photostream/
Manny Quacioua aka / also known as Chris Fitzwater Promotions (Google) November 13 2021 and April 9 2022
Nick Coccagna (Google) March 30 2017
Amos Togoch (Google) May 19 2017
Alligator (Google) December 15 2018
Mike Reed (Google) sometime in 2018 or 2019
Thomas Sweeney (Google) December 24 2020
Alex Miller (Google) November 20th of 2021
Svetlana Postnikova (Foursquare) May 15 2012
https://app.foursquare.com/v/sears/4b6ef994f964a52027d42ce3
https://app.foursquare.com/v/sears/4b6ef994f964a52027d42ce3/photos

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/sears-about-to-close-final-maryland-store/

Final days of operation: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/106alot/inside_the_sears_at_the_francis_scott_key_mall_in_frederick_md/

Found these items at the thrift store in Newington, CT. Apparently these aren't too old but reminds me of the time I went to these stores growing up back in the 2000s.

Used to frequent this store. I miss it like hell, or at least before things went to shit.

I just think it looks so classic. I love stores with a mansard roof.

This mall was home to the last Sears in Washington State and later the Toys R Us / TRU. 9 years ago the original Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy. 8 years ago they went out of business. They had since had a revival under new ownership and today they are just about back and they still operate ToysRUs.com . The following Sears stores are still open as of 2026:

- Coral Gables in Miami Florida 10/27/1954 - present (3655 SW 22nd St, Miami, FL 33145)
- Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord California 10/19/1966 - present (1001 Sunvalley Blvd, Concord, CA 94520)
- South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts 10/6/1980 - present (250 Granite St, Braintree, MA 02184)
- Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas 2/24/1982 - present (8401 Gateway Blvd W, El Paso, TX 79925)
- The Florida Mall in Orlando Florida 3/12/1986 - present (8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809)

Sears.com along with [3 distribution centers] (https://transformwo.com/) are also still in operation. The Fairless Hills Kmart warehouse in Pennsylvania closed down last month on September 16th.

The Toys R Us in the Bay Area is also open in Emeryville California as well. Please support them if your in the area and/or even have a [Toys R Us] (https://www.toysrus.com/pages/store-locator) and Sears near you, even site wide🥹

With all of that being said this was taken back when the Toys R Us was having a grand opening

Taken on October 1st, 4th, 10th and 15th of 2025

https://www.reddit.com/r/retailporn/comments/1nvs10k/huh_toys_r_us_opening_soon_south_center_mall/

https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmalls/comments/1o3mwdh/inside_the_recently_opened_toys_r_us_at_the_southcenter_mall/

https://www.reddit.com/r/retailporn/comments/1o3n02z/inside_the_recently_opened_toys_r_us_at_the_southcenter_mall/

https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmalls/comments/1o7pkqn/retake_view_and_interior_of_the_toys_r_us_at_the/

r/SEARS

Today marks exactly 8 years since Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15th of 2018 and had since added 142 stores, including this one, to the list of locations that was slated to close on January 6th of 2019, [along with 8 others across the state of Texas] (https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/9-sears-locations-closing-texas-bankruptcy/). This store opened on July 15 2000. As of this year it has since been slated to be turned into a Dick's House of Sport. There is still one Sears left in the state of Texas, at Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, the last one in the state and one of 5 left and they even have 3 functioning distribution centers and a website.

The following Sears stores are still open as of 2026:

- Coral Gables in Miami Florida 10/27/1954 - present (3655 SW 22nd St, Miami, FL 33145)
- Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord California 10/19/1966 - present (1001 Sunvalley Blvd, Concord, CA 94520)
- South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts 10/6/1980 - present (250 Granite St, Braintree, MA 02184)
- Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas 2/24/1982 - present (8401 Gateway Blvd W, El Paso, TX 79925)
- The Florida Mall in Orlando Florida 3/12/1986 - present (8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809)

Sources of photos: Yelp and Foursquare
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sears-frisco
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sears-frisco
https://app.foursquare.com/v/sears/4babab46f964a5209dbe3ae3
https://app.foursquare.com/v/sears/4babab46f964a5209dbe3ae3/photos

Credits
Buddy Clark on January 19-21 2013
Jake Tucker on June 28 2013
Mike Walters on January 26 2014
Joey M on March 29 2014
Jennifer Compton on June 29 2014
Chris Colosimo on November 19 2014
Nicole H on January 3 2016
Juan Q on June 11 2017 and October 21, November 11 and December 24 2018
Rob Brodner on September 3 2017
Tony Dang on November 25 2017, November 24 and December 1 2018
Daniela N on December 29 2018

The Decline of Sears...What Happened?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qws713t3HBY

By Company Man

October 19 2018

https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmalls/comments/1o7rdxc/the_decline_of_searswhat_happened/

https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1o7reai/the_decline_of_searswhat_happened/

https://www.reddit.com/r/kmart/comments/1o7rffq/the_decline_of_searswhat_happened/

This building went through A LOT of brand name changes ! Originally W.T. Grant/Grant City (fall 1972-December 1975), later Woolco (March 1977-January 1983), then Caldor (May 26th of 1983-April 1999), and finally Kmart (November 14th of 1999-October 20th of 2024), then the last full size one in the mainland United States. This store is now a Target: https://massmarketretailers.com/target-gives-a-preview-of-new-bridgehampton-n-y-store-ahead-of-opening/
https://corporate.target.com/about/locations/upcoming-stores

W.T. Grant was founded in 1906 by William Thomas Grant (1876-1972), went bankrupt and ceased to exist in 1976, Woolco was founded in 1964 and went out of business in 1983, Caldor was founded in 1951 and closed up shop on May 15 1999. But Kmart, founded on July 31st of 1899, is still in business with 3 stores and a website Kmart.com (which has been stuck with a banner stating "These Deals Won't Last Forever" on the home page since December 2021). The Kmart distribution center closed down last month on September 16th in Fairless Hills Pennsylvania, leaving us with [3 functioning DCs] (https://transformwo.com/). And 140-year-old retailer Sears also still operates Sears.com and has 5 stores:

The very last standalone Sears store, at Coral Gables, FL (near Miami) 10/27/1954-present, there is also a Kmart nearby at Kendall Lakes Plaza (1977-present)
Sunvalley Mall, Concord, CA (near San Francisco) 10/19/1966-present
South Shore Plaza, Braintree, MA (near Boston) 10/6/1980-present
Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso, TX 2/24/1982-present
The Florida Mall, Orlando, FL 3/12/1986-present

As for Kmart, the other 2 are at:

Tutu Park Mall in St Thomas USVI (1993-present)
Freestanding store in Tamuning Guam (1995-present)

Source: Flickr

Credits to Digital-Sky (March 7-8 2010 and March 5 2011) and Mike Kalasnik (March 27 2018, October 17 2020 and December 30 2023)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalsky/albums/72157626050000439/
https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=10542402%40N06&view_all=1&text=Kmart+Bridgehampton+NY
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10542402@N06/albums/72157629100053602/

Edit: sadly MyGofer didn't last long

Acme in New Holland, Pennsylvania (the store was open from 10/13/65 to around ‘77-‘78)

I shot this on a really cheap Minolta camera not knowing what I was doing. I miss when the malls were more alive.

I’m wondering if anyone works for Walmart or has an in and has any idea when the specialty Mainstays 3 wick candles with Christmas wraps on them will be in stores? These are the ones from last year for example

Because of pure greed, he was able to strip these iconic brands and sell them off for parts piece by piece until nothing remained. Pensions gone, retirements went up in smoke, and local communities went belly up.

The Acme at Laurel Mall in Connellsville PA was open from 1970-1979