Inside Puente Hills Mall, seen in 'Back to the Future,' that is now a ghost town

24 January 2024 , 23:19

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Inside Puente Hills Mall, seen in 'Back to the Future,' that is now a ghost town

A once bustling mall featured in the iconic film "Back to the Future" now resembles a ghost town after multiple stores decided to shut their doors for good.

Consumers have been visiting the mall, known as the Twin Pines Mall from the 1985 film, less frequently, seemingly due to the recent closings of several popular franchises and family-owned businesses. Locals recalled how busy the mall used to be years prior as before all the closures.

Now, stores permanently marked "closed" outweigh other businesses that are still running. "It's sad seeing a lot of stores closing," shopper Isaias Zambrano said. "We probably went to like three stores and we're heading out already."

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Workers acknowledge the steep drop in business (ABC7)

The recent holiday season made that fact much more apparent. A comparison of other malls around the country, which were understandably packed as consumers snagged their last-minute holiday gifts, revealed that Puente Hills had lost its spark. Footage shows a very festive, but empty, mall that barely even looks open to the public.

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longtime visitors recalled how Puente Hills Mall used to be full of life (ABC7)

One shopper, Esther Garibay, said Puente Hills used to "be hoppin." She reminisced the old times when scores of children lined up to sit on Santa's lap. A man hired to play Santa this year even cited the lackluster turnout, saying he used to hear laughter echo throughout Puente Hills but now "it's silent."

Puente Hills was known as the Twin Pines Mall from the 1985 film "Back to the Future" (Universal Pictures)

A mall employee said business has been incredibly slow with Puente Hills attracting about six kids who want to see the big guy. Once the holidays edged closer, she said more families began visiting the mall. Some customers, like Esther, speculated that online shopping had eroded interest in visiting Puente Hills.

"As life goes on, we get busier and there's no more time to be spent for running to the stores," she said. One former Puente Hills enthusiast, named The Layman Collector on YouTube, said he was disappointed to learn of the mall's fate. He shares that as a child he'd frequent Puente's Kmart, which had fun activities and delicious food.

One customer suspected that online shopping eroded interest in Malls (ABC7)

While still in business, the Kmart now mirrors the vibe of Puente Hills itself: deserted. "In 2021 I went to a Kmart that I used to frequent as a child over 35 years ago," they said. "There used to be an arcade there and a pizzeria, and it was very busy and fun in the late 80s. When I went everything was shut down. The Kmart was open but it was completely deserted and looked barren. It was so sad to see - a clear reminder to people in mid-life now that some places they remember from childhood completely fade away."

Mataeo Smith