I grew up going to malls. For a time, they were a genuine cultural phenomenon, temples to consumption perhaps, but also places to gather, wander, discover, and simply be around other people.

There was something distinctly analog about the experience. You held things in your hands. You browsed without knowing what you were looking for. There was that smell in the department store you entered through, all the perfumes at once, almost painful. You tried on shoes while someone disappeared into the back and returned with each new pair in a partially opened box. You encountered things that hadn't been selected for you based on what you had clicked on before.

I photograph these places now as they empty and disappear. I don't necessarily mourn the version of capitalism they represent, but I do wonder about the social experience we might be losing with them. These enormous buildings were designed around the presence of people. Without them, what remains feels both strangely beautiful and haunted.

Empty parking lot in front of a large, mid-century modern building with a distinctive overhang supported by two columns.
Overgrown wildflowers and weeds growing on an empty parking lot.
Empty storefront with black and wood-paneled walls, tile floor, and a large glass window on the right.
Empty parking lot at night with wet pavement, lit by a few streetlights and the exterior of a large retail store in the background, no people or cars present.
Two small trees with orange and red leaves grow in front of a large white brick wall, with some shrubs and greenery at the base.
A building with a large black wooden door, beige upper wall, and a parking lot in front with white parking lines and some small plants growing through cracks.
Empty parking lot with yellow painted lines and a cracked asphalt surface in front of a beige building with a plain facade and a decorative concrete upper section.
An empty parking lot with overgrown plants and a white signboard
Empty parking lot in front of a modern building with a blue concrete facade and red framed windows, with a single tree with orange leaves to the right.
Abandoned commercial building with a flat roof, orange awning, and black boarded-up windows, surrounded by cracked pavement and overgrown weeds under an overcast sky.
Abandoned building with a large, curved glass facade reflecting cloudy sky, with overgrown plants and bushes in front.
Empty storefront with boarded-up entrance, concrete pillars, and a parking curb.
A large, mostly empty parking lot in front of a modern building with a brick entrance. The building is surrounded by a white wall and has leafless trees on either side. Light from inside the building glows through the glass doors.
A brick wall painted in turquoise with a white concrete flower bed in front. The flower bed contains overgrown bushes with autumn-colored leaves. Fallen leaves cover the sidewalk and part of the street in front.
Empty parking lot in front of a closed SEARS store at night with dark sky
Empty parking lot outside an abandoned building with a brown and pink facade and a clearance sign reading 12 feet.
Six leafless trees planted in a row along the sidewalk, with red and orange shrubbery at their base, beneath a gray sky.
Empty retail space with glass storefronts and a metal security gate inside a mall or commercial building.
Exterior of a beige modern building with glass doors and large white columns, with a sidewalk in front.
A fenced enclosure with a tree stump, partly covered in ice, and a patchy grassy ground.
Overgrown outdoor area with trees, bushes, tall weeds, and grass in front of a gray building wall, under a clear blue sky.
Empty street view of a modern building with white brick walls, large glass windows, and two trees with snow on their leaves, during winter.
A weather station with a metal pole and yellow base in a grassy area, surrounded by trees with a cloudy sky overhead.
Empty parking lot in front of a beige brick building with four covered garage doors.
Large, mostly empty parking lot with some patches of snow in front of a big retail store with beige and dark gray exterior walls and tall light poles. The store has a peaked roof and glass doors at the entrance.
Overgrown sidewalk and landscaping in front of an abandoned building with a pink exterior and triangular windows, under a cloudy sky.
An abandoned building with overgrown bushes, a cracked parking lot, and a flagpole without a flag, under a partly cloudy sky.
Empty display case with glass front and metal frame, with a wooden floor base inside a building.