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21 hauntingly beautiful photos of deserted shopping malls

Jul 10, 2014

21 hauntingly beautiful photos of deserted shopping malls

Hundreds of shopping malls across the U.S. have been forced to shut down following years of debilitating declines in consumer traffic.

In many cases, the shuttered malls are left to decay for years before developers or local governments raise the funds to bulldoze or renovate the space.

Pseudonymous photographer Seph Lawless traveled the country for years to find these forgotten malls and document their decay from the inside.

The photos he captured are haunting and apocalyptic, featuring dead trees and abandoned shopping carts against landscapes of broken glass and crumbling walls.

He compiled the photographs in a new book, “Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall,” and shared some of them with Business Insider.

You can also see his work on Facebook and Instagram.

Lawless said he started taking photos of shopping malls in 2012 for a project focusing on some of the most “abandoned and forgotten cities in America.”

Seph Lawless

He was taking photos of abandoned houses, factories and hospitals, when he decided to focus on dead shopping malls.

Seph Lawless

Most of his photographs were taken in the Rust Belt, including Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Seph Lawless

t was nearly impossible for him to legally gain access to closed shopping malls due to liability factors, he said.

Seph Lawless

As a result, he trespasses.

Seph Lawless

“I don’t condone what I do and it’s very dangerous on many levels,” he said.

Seph Lawless

Lawless has been arrested in the past for trespassing and recently a warrant was issued for his arrest, he said.

Seph Lawless

“I turned myself in with my lawyer present last week,” he said. “We plan on fighting those charges later this month.”

Seph Lawless

Lawless hopes the photos will increase awareness of economic strife in the U.S.

Seph Lawless

“I want people to see what is happening to their country,” he said. “I think most people care and love their country but most are sheltered from reality.”

Seph Lawless

He partly blames social media for the disconnect he describes.

Seph Lawless

Despite that, he uses social media to share his work.

Seph Lawless

“My work isn’t complete until it’s shared,” he said.

Seph Lawless

He said he wants his images to “scare people.”

Seph Lawless

“I hope people see my images and see the beginning of the end of the greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen — America,” he said.

Seph Lawless

Many of the malls that have closed in recent years are in lower-income neighborhoods that were hit hard by the recession.

Seph Lawless

The first signs of trouble for a shopping mall often comes with the closure of traffic-driving anchors like Sears and JCPenney, which have been shutting down stores for years.

Seph Lawless

It’s often difficult for mall owners to find retailers big enough to replace these anchors.

Seph Lawless

Slowly, over time, entire wings are closed down and stores are consolidated into a few sections of the mall.

Seph Lawless

Eventually, some non-retail businesses — and in some cases churches — may move into the vacated stores.

Seph Lawless

It takes several years for most dying malls to completely close down.

Seph Lawless


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