Chatter, dressing rooms, and a food court. These all share a common home: the mall. Malls have always been the go to shopping centers for gifts, back to school shopping, and  hanging out with friends. However, our once beloved meetup is in danger of becoming a waste of space. The two nearest malls to our area and our hearts are the University Mall (Carbondale) and Star Centre Mall (Marion). It’s no secret to the public that stores in our malls have been closing. Star Centre Mall is currently a center for disaster.

Some of my dearest memories of the Marion mall are dwindling down just as the mall itself is. I remember walking from the parking lot to the front doors. Lines of parking spaces still visible from all directions. I walk with my dad hand in hand so passing cars could not harm me. Inside the doors now, we walk to the arcade to the left on the entrance. The walk to Dillards seems like miles. Palm trees as high as skyscrapers. Next stop, the pet store. The aquariums fascinated me, for my young self loved any animal that swimmed. Finally, no trip to the mall would be complete without popcorn from Target.

As of today, there are currently eight running stores and three restaurants in Star Centre Mall. Maybe with one more Chinese restaurant the mall could get out of this funk. But why are these stores fleeing Southern Illinois? Many stores have gone to online only shopping if the location was not getting enough business. After the holiday season, stores like Sears, Claire’s,and Macy’s are closing nationwide due to a decrease in sales.

The sad thing is that once a mall is dead, that building can only be used in the future as another mall. The structure of a mall is complex, which makes it inhabitable to other company options. No one is left to pull the sinking ship to shore, or in this case that is our mall. A Sears appliance guru who commented on the status of the mall mentioned, “We have heating, air conditioning, and plumbing issues. The owner is in prison, so they are closing us down.” Our questioning of lights turned off and no maintenance is finally answered.

The mall, like all great things, is coming to an end. But we will always have our memories to keep us connected. The strangest thing after the mall is completely closed, will be driving by the abandoned building. Goodbye Star Centre Mall, on behalf of Southern Illinois.