That old mall in Kalamazoo taught me a hard lesson about floor stability

I used to just walk anywhere in abandoned malls without thinking twice. Then three years ago I was exploring the Meadowbrook Mall in Kalamazoo and stepped onto what looked like solid tile near the old food court. The floor gave way under my left foot and I dropped straight through to my hip, caught myself on a pipe. Now I always tap the floor ahead with a crowbar before I put my full weight down. Has anyone else had a floor collapse on them or am I just unlucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicaflores1mo ago

Oh my goodness, that sounds terrifying! I think there's something people miss about old mall construction from the 70s and 80s, they often had these sunken seating areas or fountains that were covered over later with cheap materials. Building codes for public spaces were different back then too, so you can't trust that anything underneath was built to last.

amy1541mo ago

My friend Jenna had a similar thing happen to her at an old mall near Detroit, the one they closed down after the water damage got bad. She was taking photos for some art project and stepped on a spot near a former indoor fountain area. The floor just caved in under her right leg like a trapdoor, and she ended up hanging there by her armpits on the edge of a hole. Like @jessicaflores said about those covered over areas, that's exactly what happened, someone had just put plywood and thin tile over an old sunken fountain pit. Jenna was lucky she didn't drop all the way through because there was like a broken pipe underneath that she could brace her foot on. Now she carries a walking stick everywhere just to test the ground before she goes anywhere sketchy.