A Trip to the Crossroads

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I've been meaning to visit the Crossroads Mall in Waterloo, IA for a while. However, the city of Waterloo recently approved a plan to close and demolish the mall, with the plan to re-develop the land into mixed use buildings. I figured this was as good of an excuse I needed to visit this mall as soon as I could. Here's how that trip went.

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First, we started in Coralville at the Coral Ridge Mall. That mall is big, lively, and kinda pretty. I don't have any photos of this mall, but I did buy a couple things here. After that, up to Cedar Rapids to order a way too big pork tenderloin sandwich at The Blind Pig, and off to Waterloo to visit the Crossroads Mall before it closes for good.

I took two of my cameras, my Sony A6000 for high-resolution photos, and a Kodak DC210 for late 90's digital camera photos. Photos on this page are from my DC210.

This photo shows both the west and east courts, taken from the east and facing southwest.

A photo of the center court of the Crossroads Mall, looking southwest from the east court. Visible are storefronts in the east and west courts, all empty.

These photos are taken in the east court. First one is the former Sears, second is the former Payless ShoeSource, and the third is the elevator tower. The fourth photo is a look from the center of the mall, looking east into the court.

The closed Sears storefront in the Crossroads Mall, shown from the first floor. To the left is another closed storefront. A closed storefront in the Crossroads Mall, likely a Payless ShoeSource. The bottom two-thirds of the storefront is glass, with white pillars separating the glass and metal gate. The top third is black drywall. The elecator tower in the Crossroads Mall. At the top of the tower is a metal arch, with the mall's compass logo in the middle. The elevator cab is at the bottom. The east court of the Crossroads Mall, facing the anchors. All storefronts shown are empty, with the elevator tower to the left of the image, with kids rides, a play area, and escalator in the middle of the court.

These photos are of the west court of the mall. The first image is looking west from the center. The second image shows the storefronts on the north side of the court, the third shows storefronts on the south side of the court. Fourth shows the closed Younkers on the 2nd floor, fifth shows the closed Spencers, and the sixth shows the closed Bath and Body Works.

The west court of the Crossroads Mall, facing the anchors. All storefronts shown in the photo are empty. Metal columns are in the middle of the court, decorated with lights. The northern storefronts in the west court of the Crossroads Mall. Storefronts like Bath and Body Works, Victoria's Secret, and Finish Line are visible, all empty. Southern storefronts in the west court of the Crossroads Mall. Storefronts like Rue21 are shown, all storefronts are empty. The closed Younkers storefront in the Crossroads Mall. Younkers signage is still above the doors, sealed shut with black plastic inside. The closed Spencers in the Crossroads Mall. The door of the store is down, with Spencer's graffiti outline logo at the bottom. A somewhat blurry photo of the Bath and Body Works in the Crossroads Mall. The storefront is the old wood design, with green metal frames where an awning would go. 10 green lights are at the top of the storefront.

Here's a look at the Dillards wing of the mall, taken from the first floor.

The first floor of the Dillards concourse in the Crossroads Mall. To the left are two empty storefronts, with the large empty Dillards storefront at the end of the hall.

Here's the south entrance corridor. First shows an overview, and the second shows what used to be a Diamond Dave's mexican restaurant.

The south entrance corridor of the Crossroads Mall, looking towards the door. To the left and right are empty storefronts, with a trashcan in the middle. A closed restaurant in the Crossroads Mall, likely a Diamond Dave's. The storefront is barn-shaped, with a wall consisting of brown barn boards, and an awning of red tin roofing.

Now, the outside. First photo shows the south entrance of the mall, second photo is of the closed Dillards.

The south entrance of the Crossroads Mall. In front is a sign for the mall on blue mesh, supported by lime metal posts. Two trees are on either side of the entrance sidewalk. The enterance of a closed Dillards. The doors have a tan metal gate blocking access, with orange temporary fencing on the ground in front of the entrance.

And finally, a reminder to turn your flash off. I went into preview mode to look over the photos I had taken, and when returning to capture, I forgot to disable the flash. Naturally, it fired, and I was shortly after kicked out of the mall. Fortunately, I had all of the photos I wanted to get.

A photo of the east court of the Crossroads Mall, taken from the first floor and facing east. Posts decorated with lights, kids rides, and a play area are visible in the middle of the court. The underside of the 2nd floor is illuminated from a camera flash that I forgot to disable.

The photos I took with my Sony A6000 are in a Flickr gallery:
Crossroads Mall in Waterloo, IA

After the Crossroads Mall, we went to College Square Mall in nearby Cedar Falls. I didn't bring my DC210 in, still embarrassed from the accidental flash, but I brought my A6000 in to snap some photos. Those photos are also in a Flickr gallery:
College Square Mall in Cedar Falls, IA

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