Dead Mall: Exploring Marley Station Mall - A NEON Dream | Glen Burnie, MD

In today’s adventure, we’re exploring the Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Opening in 1987 near the end of the golden era of the regional mall boom, Marley Station struggled to succeed from the outset.
Despite being located in a predominantly blue collar region, the owners initially attempted to cater to both blue collar and affluent residents resulting in a mixed atmosphere that neither customer base felt particularly connected with.
The mall was expanded in 1994 and 1996 to add both JCPenny and Sears anchor stores, providing several additional middle class shopping offerings. These additions ultimately didn’t have the positive impact management was hoping for though.
Arguably the final straw for Marley Station’s hopes, however, came in November 2000 with the opening of the Arundel Mills mall just 10 minutes away. Arundel Mills was nearly twice the size of Marley Station, included twice the tenant space and was more conveniently and centrally located to draw from multiple communities across the region.
Over the last 20 years, Marley Station has been in a state of steady decline. Currently, the mall has a random assortment of sporadically placed tenants including an entirely walled off former department store that is now privately owned and operated as a data center.
The biggest draw for me though is the unusually large amount of neon that adorns the ceilings throughout the building and…when, mixed with the outdated styling, makes me feel like I’ve stepped back in time to some place like Miami in the 80s.

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00:00 Introduction
01:24 Mall Exploration
17:30 Oops
18:59 Outro