Dead Malls Season 5 Episode 8 - Dort Mall

As a much as auto correct wants to tell me this is Fort Mall, or Sort Mall, no, this is Dort Mall. Or Small Mall, or Mid America Plaza. Just about one of the oldest malls which has never been renovated I have ever seen. Dort Mall was built by a local developer in Flint in 1964. Originally the mall was just a small community place for the people, meant to house a variety of local businesses. It opened in 1965 as a community shopping destination. However years later when Eastland, and Genesee Valley Center opened, it was doomed. 3 malls scattered across the dying Flint, MI was a melting pot of trouble. Coupled with the fact that Dort Mall was just in a bad spot, in a lower income neighborhood, while the others sat proudly away from the crime on interstate 69. Dort Mall would see a plethora of strange tenants over the years as itself was a strange mall. Sears Hardware, Yankee Stadium, A&P, Peranis Hockey World, a theater, and even a basement nightclub which closed in the early 80s. By the 2000s while the others struggled through closure, Dort Mall didn’t have to worry about much of that. The mall was locally owned by Bob Perani, and was so small and had such a good cycle of small discount business that it never feared closure. The mid 2010s would even see Bob hang up and strew about the halls his DOZENS of antiques and collectibles. So it was always to the locals and traveling tourists such as myself, more of a museum. As of my July 2022 visit, most of the antiques have been sold at auction and the mall sits very quiet most days. Sure Dort Mall never reached the success it was supposed to have, but with the competition and it’s size, maybe it was always meant to be just a community space. So what’s it like in Dort Mall as of July 2022? Well, let’s head in, tell the short story, and find out for ourselves. And let’s also take a quick peek at a long abandoned Kmart way up north at the end..

Music used

Mall Muzak of 1959

1970s Kmart Jingle

Kmart 1983 MUZAK

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