This has to be the end for Metcalf South, right? (Overland: 2014, amusement park)

[ProspectiveTransplant]

Macy’s to close Metcalf South location as company restructures, cutting 2,500 jobs - KansasCity.com

It probably should have closed long before as it is. About a month ago, I had to stop by at night to visit a testing service there. There was hardly anything left open other than the anchors; there was some karate place open, and a bar, and that's about it. Walking about seemed rather creepy in light of what I remember it being in the 90s (when, admittedly, it was still on a downward trajectory, but not yet a ghost town).

[PVPete]

Yea, the real news is this place is still open. Good heavens.

[esanboy]

I went into this Macy's a few months ago and there was hardly anyone in the store. So i'm not surprised at this. Walked around the rest of the mall and some floors were closed off. My friend and I thought it would be a great place to film a zombie/horror movie, since it is so empty.

[TabulaRasa]

I was last there at least five years ago, and Macy's, Sears, the testing center (what I was there for) were the only things open on that particular occasion. There were some elderly people power walking in the corridors, and other than that, totally empty.

[luzianne]

Kind of sad. Metcalf South was THE mall in the early to mid-70s. When I was in high school I made trips to Metcalf South to look for prom dresses, a graduation dress, clothes to wear to concerts. I liked it better than Oak Park. I wonder if Oak Park had never been built if Metcalf South would have continued to flourish?

I like the music at Metcalf South MUCH better than the music at Oak Park! I forgot about County Seat! (the store). Loved that place!


Metcalf South and Oak Park Mall - YouTube

[MRG Dallas]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Kind of sad. Metcalf South was THE mall in the early to mid-70s. When I was in high school I made trips to Metcalf South to look for prom dresses, a graduation dress, clothes to wear to concerts. I liked it better than Oak Park. I wonder if Oak Park had never been built if Metcalf South would have continued to flourish?

I like the music at Metcalf South MUCH better than the music at Oak Park!


Metcalf South and Oak Park Mall - YouTube

It is sad to hear. I was at Oak Park Mall when I was back in August and it seemed pretty vibrant still. Are there any other shopping centers that have opened as Joco has grown south, or are malls even persona non grata now?

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by MRG Dallas

It is sad to hear. I was at Oak Park Mall when I was back in August and it seemed pretty vibrant still. Are there any other shopping centers that have opened as Joco has grown south, or are malls even persona non grata now?

Oak Park is still busy. Town Center Plaza at 119th and Nall - it's not an enclosed mall, but lots of stores and very busy. I usually go there instead of Oak Park.

[luzianne]

Overland Park, KS Metcalf South Shopping Center (a dead mall) stage and stairs | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[vimeo]67356008[/vimeo]
Giving Up the Ghost, Metcalf South Mall on Vimeo

[ProspectiveTransplant]

Between Oak Park, Zona Rosa, and the Legends... there's only so much of a mall market in the area (I know the latter two aren't technically malls per se, but for all intents and purposes...) The Great Mall in Olathe is probably only kept afloat by the kids' amusement park, the Johnson County DMV, and the theater. I still find it hard to believe that when it opened less than 20 years ago, they were actually directing tour buses there.

[TabulaRasa]

Oak Park still does okay despite the enclosed mall concept getting somewhat out-trended by the "lifestyle center" model.

When my fiance was growing up in Mission in the late 70s and 80s, Metcalf South and Indian Springs Mall were where his family shopped. Both dead malls, now, or nearly so.