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00:01 Welcome back to the Dead Mall series. 00:02 And a quick shout out to Kristen Valley who correctly guessed our next stop. 00:04 Westfarms Mall and West Hartford, Connecticut. 00:10 Westfarms opened in 1974 and today it's about 1.27 million square feet. 00:14 But for a mall that's over 50 years old, this place certainly doesn't feel its age. 00:21 Walking the entire mall, we only noticed about two empty storefronts. 00:24 And the most recent occupancy figure I could find actually had Westfarms at an incredible 99% occupancy. 00:31 And just look around. 00:32 There are people everywhere. 00:34 This was easily one of the busiest malls that we've visited. 00:37 Outside, we even watched three buses pull up and unload people. 00:41 Honestly, it felt like a Saturday afternoon in the '90s or early 2000s. 00:45 When this was just what going to the mall looked like. 00:48 Westfarms underwent a $100 million expansion and renovation in the '90s, eventually bringing in the first Nordstrom's in New England. 00:58 And Jordan's Furniture. 01:03 Which replaced the former Lord & Taylor. 01:11 And one thing we couldn't find anywhere was a food court. 01:12 Instead, the food options are spread throughout the mall along with restaurants like PF Chang's, Brio, Texas de Brazil, and California Pizza Kitchen. 01:21 Walking through Westfarms really showed us something we haven't seen much in this series. 01:25 This is what a mall is supposed to feel like. 01:26 Stores open, people shopping, families walking around, and almost no empty storefronts. 01:33 For a few minutes, it honestly felt like we had stepped back in time 25 years. 01:37 So we came to Connecticut for another episode of the Dead Mall Series… and somehow ended up back in the glory days of the American shopping mall. 01:44 So tell me, does Westfarms prove the American mall isn't dying? 01:47 It's just changing.