TAMPA, Fla. — Like an archeologist identifying traces of the past, Tyler Gantert strolled the tiled corridors of University Mall in Tampa, filming as he passed dormant storefronts with rolled-down cages and dusty potted plants.
“This mall is a perfect example of what I’m looking for,” the 18-year-old retail history fanatic said, pointing out the blocky columns at Chic, which gave the store away as a former Gymboree, and noting the floor tiles spelling Gadzooks, the long-defunct teen chain.
It was four days before Christmas. The holiday village stood roped off, but the mall no longer employed a Santa Claus. Soon, Gantert would upload his visit for a corner of the internet spellbound by an uncanny phenomenon of the modern era: the so-called dead mall.
