Dead malls: You could shop... until they dropped

Shopping malls across America have been left in a state that not even Paul Blart could save, and the Lakeland area is no exception.

Known as “dead malls,” these abandoned, dilapidated, or mostly vacant shopping centers have become a subject of fascination — especially thanks to the online popularity of liminal space aesthetics .

🛍️ Let’s go to the mall

You likely won’t find much on what was Polk County’s first-ever shopping mall. Lake Parker Mall , once anchored by Montgomery Ward and Woolco, was renamed Lakeland Mall in 1974 before losing its anchors in the ‘90s and sitting empty for years. Eventually, the entire mall was purchased by a Southern Baptist church .

Just outside of Lakeland, Winter Haven Mall was once in its heyday. The indoor mall was built in the early ‘70s with anchors such as Sears, Byrons, and Burdines. By the late ‘90s, however, Winter Haven Mall had lost popularity — the mall was torn down and redeveloped into an outdoor shopping area called Citi Centre in the early 2000s.

☄️ Back to the future

Originally known by locals as “Church at the Mall,” the former Lake Parker Mall is now called “Lakes Church” due to the church’s expansion to other locations. The mall is still home to Lakes Church today.

As Citi Centre, the former Winter Haven Mall site now consists of a Lowe’s home improvement store + several other restaurants and shops.

Though these malls have changed, Lakeland still has a number of other thriving shopping centers or districts where you can make like *NSYNC and buy, buy, buy :

• Lakeside Village | This outdoor shopping center is constantly adding new shops and restaurants to its offerings and also regularly hosts events like the Second Sunday Market .
• Lakeland Square Mall | Anchored by tenants like Dillard’s and JCPenney, this indoor mall located off I-4 in north Lakeland has been serving Lakelanders since 1988.

Do you have memories of a local mall from back in the day? Share them with us and we may feature your story in a future newsletter: First date at the food court, trying on prom dresses at the department store, hitting up Orange Julius before picking up the perfect graphic tee at Hot Topic — we wanna hear it all.