Westfarms Mall: Still Not a Dead Mall! Update 2023! West Hartford & Farmington, Connecticut.

I'm 58 now but I can remember going there on the bus from New Britain with my friend when we were about 13...it was a nice mall then too

I used to meet a lot of hot girls at this mall, haven't been there in a long time though

I fondly remember those water fountains in the mall. I think I read somewhere that they had to remove them because too many parts were worn down and it was getting too expensive to maintain. Still though, I miss those fountains.

I never went to westfarms that often. When I was a child I used to go to the Naugatuck Valley mall, that one has been closed for a good 25 years or more now though. There's a Staples and Walmart there today.

Then I went to the Brass Mill mall which is maybe a 5 minute drive from there, but I haven't been back there since like 2012 so I have no idea if that place is still functional in the slightest.

The forever 21 used to be a rainforest cafe. The lightning used to scare me when I was little lol

Westfarms is pretty much all apparel stores now. I wish they had more variety.

I grew up in New England but now reside in Florida ( I LOVE LIVING HERE) on a side trip to to MACON GA. The cleanest Dead Mall I've ever toured ! It used to be the second largest Mall in GA. The two story mall has only six stores ( formerly two hundred). The carpet is cleaned and light fixtures all function! If You ever get there, check it out!

I went to the Woodhall School in Bethlehem, CT. And was introduced to this Mall in the fall of 83' nothing like it in NJ

i really thought this place was going to fail 5-10 years ago but it seems they were able to rebound nicely and keep attracting some big name stores to keep coming in

I still enjoy going to this mall. Feels like malls used to feel like. Always preferred this mall to the other regionals when I was younger as well. No food court is odd, but I don’t go there to eat. Too many other good restaurants in WH

Thanks for all your videos grew up in Connecticut. Spend a lot of time walking around those malls grew up in Waterbury. Damn we went to Danberry fair a lot. Can you check that out and give us a tour love to see how it’s doing. I know Brassmill center is pretty much disasterzone 😂😂 thanks buddy

Over the years westfarms makes some great upgrades. I love to see that water fountain every time i visit. I use to go to sam goody, KB toys and Lord & Taylor.

Hey you went in through the bottom rear where GameStop was. I haven't been there in like 8 years. Last time I was there that CHAMPS was a bookstore and there was a Microsoft store at the top near the main entrance. This mall was like a second home for most of my youth and my 20s. Most of my favorite stores closed down so I only went there to visit friends who worked there and check out the GameStop or accompany my female friend when she went clothes shopping. Meridian became my main mall in the 2010s. I shop at the Target down that road and the road is always super busy so I always assumed the mall was doing fine.

I saw a premiere of Star Wars there when they had movie theaters. It was really cool they had all kinds of TV news crews there and R2D2 was there .

I remember down by the Alphabet Sculpture to the right of it was a KB Toy and Hobby and I loved going to that place.

I haven't been there in a while. Is the William Sonoma gone ?

Anyone remember the restaurant there called The Pie Plate?.?

Wow, I'm amazed to see how well it's still doing! I worked in the catalog department of JC Penny back in the seventies. Next door was a GNC health food store. There was a chocolate chip cookie store on the second floor, and they did tons of business because you could smell those cookies baking from all over the mall. With that, you didn't need a food court! Any idea why they removed the water fountains?

Hi Tom I remember coming to Westfarms Mall a lot as a little girl and also as a teenager! Thank you for a wonderful video of it! Looking forward to more of your videos too. 😊😊😊😊😊😊 I also remember eating at The Rainforest Cafe and the fountains as well.

Haven't been to Westfarms since probably sometime between 1976 to 1978 when visited my girlfriend in Hartford. Remember used to complain that mall was the only place to do real shopping in the entire central Conn. area.Never did like the Hartford region.

Thanks so much for this video! Not all malls are dead and some are thriving too. They just need to adapt to survive and attract people to come to dine, entertainment and other things besides just shop.

It was a premier mall at one time. It was a destination trip from the coast just to go there. I've (thankfully) moved away from the sinking state of Connecticut, so I have no direct information other than this video. Still looking good.
I'm glad to see a Macy's. I wasn't even sure if they were still in business.

nice mall . well kept for a 1970s mall

Yeah that’s my mall still open baby thank god

Around Christmas time, even getting down that main street in front of that mall is a nightmare. It's always packed. Christmas time fills every damn inch of that parking lot. Even on week days, it's usually pretty packed with people. I went there in early September on a Thursday afternoon and there were still crowds. I'd say it's doing pretty well. I don't shop there much though. NONE of the stores there really cater to my interests, and they're all so expensive. This mall kind of caters to people who have a bit more disposable cash than I do. Back in the 70's and 80's, this mall had a much more diverse mix of stores where pretty much everyone could find something for them in there. Not so, today. One thing that I REALLY REALLY miss about this mall was the AMAZING giant water feature and fountain setup that they had in the middle of it in the 70's and 80's. It was so relaxing to sit down in that comfortable, overstuffed, seats in the seating area all around the water feature, and just... listen to all the waterfalls and stuff. I really miss fountains and water features in malls. The Naugatuck Mall had my favorite water features. They were so artistic and fun. They ran the length of the mall, and they looked like recreations of seaside villages. surrounded by plants, with water running and falling all around in them. There were all kinds of moving elements in there too, like water wheels, buckets that would fill up with water, then get lifted up and dumped out... I really miss those days. Malls are really boring and almost sterile, now without fun, decorative, and relaxing, features like this.

Back when I was in high school, decades and decades ago, a friend of mine almost got me arrested in this mall. We were there, shopping, and I was kind of hitting on the girl who came with us. My friend decided to let us be alone for a little bit so he split off from us. The problem was that this friend was always a troublemaker. When we met up with him again after getting some food, we saw him sitting in front of one of the anchor stores laughing, while watching the store intently. For several minutes, I was asking, "What's so funny?" but he kept watching the store telling us, "Wait for it...". Then, I finally got it out of him. He said, "I just went in there, and got on their payphone and called the police, telling them that there was an armed robbery in progress!" He thought it was a joke and wanted to see the SWAT team run in and throw everyone in the store to the ground. Just as I screamed "YOU DID WHAT?!" in complete anger at him, all these police and security people literally popped out from everywhere, and grabbed us. They handcuffed all three of us and had us sitting in their office. The girl and I were explaining over and over again that we weren't aware of any of this and nor had we been there when he did this stupid thing. But they weren't having it. Me and the girl were completely guilty just by association. We just happened to be there talking to him when they pounced. They didn't believe us at all. The thing that saved the two of us was that I had the reciept from the food we ate in my wallet. It was time stamped so it showed that we weren't there when the call was placed. it was lucky I had that too. I was going to toss the reciept in the trash, but got distracted by the girl and put it in my walled with my change instead. So.. my friend went off to jail. They took all our pictures and banned us from every setting foot in the mall ever again. I never talked to him again. Oh... and I also never saw this girl ever again either.

I used to come here as a kid to hang out in KB Toys, Electronics Boutique. The smell of the fountains and of Moto Foto film development place are burned into my brain! Also, I'm pretty sure the cobbler and Sbarros are two of the oldest stores in there. They have been around in the same spot since the 90s. RIP FAO Shwarz & The Sharper Image

Best mall in ct its jst keeps getting better always loaded with new stores and people

I love Weatfarms! This is a wonderful mall This was my childhood mall They have Pizza Hut,and it's a success!

reminds me of short hills another taubman mall minus the super upscale stores

Corbin Corners across the street is pretty great too… from Sears Appliance to an Off 5th!

I remember the boxy seating sections and walkways near the water fountains. Sitting on the walls.

Before this was built, there was driving range.

love this mall been a while since ive been there

I’d love a walkthrough of the JCPenney and a 2024 update on Westfarms and Buckland Hills and Meriden mall. I’d love to see inside the restaurants at Weatfarms too.

Inside JCPenney id love to see mens and women’s clothing, jewelry, kids clothes, toys/games/kids section, any seasonal stuff they have for the holidays, the Sephora inside if it’s still there, luggage / home goods / kitchen stuff, and the optical center if it’s still there.

I’d love to see inside the new Abercrombie location at this mall too. It’s changed a lot since last time I’ve been there.

Interestingly, I’ve been to this mall hundreds of times throughout the years as I have family in the area, and never once noticed the sculptures!

I went to that mall in the 90s and early aughts a lot and the JcPenney logo has always been red in my lifetime, as far as I can recall. I could be confusing it with Meriden though as I grew up going to that one a lot more frequently.

Miss the Rainforest Cafe that was there!!! With the alligator....

This was always a busy mall, however across the street in the other stores Sears was the best. A large store and I’ll never Forget the smell of cashews

I don’t think that elevator was there in 1974. I think that was put in, in the early 2,000’s. As a matter of fact that whole wing was put on later.

I need some footage of photos of the Farmington Valley Mall. It was a small indoor mall on Rt44 and in 1996 was torn down to build what’s now the Simsbury Commons. I can’t find any documentation on the mall anywhere.

I was there christmas 2022 and it felt like i was back in the 80's, crowded.

My parents met at this mall in the 80s when they both attended CCSU. My father worked at the camera store and my mother worked at the cheese store. I have so many childhood memories of those fountains and the alphabet sculpture. I still shop here. So many memories.

Something that you mentioned near the end of the video made me realize that we are around the same age. I live in Maine, and grew up here too, but my paternal grandparents lived in West Hartford, so I've been to this mall many times. After watching, I wondered if the creator of the video remembers a store called Fan Club that was in the mall around 1990, similar to Journey's. It was on the lower level likely located in the area that is now Forever 21.

I think store walkthroughs would be nice - on your store walkthroughs Please mote the lovstion of escalators and elevators!!

This is definitely an old video. Lord and Taylor closed before Covid.

I would say it is CT most susscessful mall. !! What is the "The full treatment" ??

If that was Sunday, then it was Saturday like 👍🏽. Oh my lord 😅 i can only imagine it 😳 4/3/25

I think the Westfarms mall is proof the main reason malls are closing is because people are broke. The West Hartford area is generally higher income.

I miss the water fountain. I remember record town was on the upper level. Sam goody, CVS and KB toys was on the lower level. Plus taco Bell and burger king in the mall.

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