Dan Gilmore’s Commentary:

I
was able to gain access into Westland Mall in Columbus Ohio on Dec. 21st,
2012. The mall has been closed and vacant since November and is scheduled to
be torn down sometime in 2013. I was allowed to photograph the inside of the
mall as well as the Penneys store and the old Lazarus store (in great
detail)because I know one of the maintenance guys. They do not allow people in
there anymore and photography is still forbidden.
The mall looks much as it
did when my family used to shop there in the 1980's. It is in a sad state with
a leaking roof that has soaked many stores causeing a mold problem. The owner
has turned off the heat and water. Looks like they are waiting on the end to
come for this great old mall.
I managed to shoot about 350 photos inside
the mall if you are interested in seeing them.

J. Hoffman’s Commentary:

I am old enough to remember westland mall in it's heyday. Before it was enclosed in the early 80's, it was a very upbeat place to be. Friends would "meet at the mall", Lazarus had a wonderful restaruant in the upper level and a bakery on it's first floor, which by the way sold the best "cheese bread" in the world..or at least I thought so. It had every inch full of fantastic stores and in the middle was a beautiful water fountain in which of course people used as a wishing pond. It was simply a wonderful place to meet people and check out some of the unique stores. The Tinder Box for the cigar folks, and also some pretty cool collectables. A store called Seven Seas was very popular and had all sorts of items there. This place at one time had it all.

Then they enclosed it, thought it was dumb at the time myself. But this apparently is what the public wanted at the time, so it was done. Now the demise of the mall is easy to see I believe. There is a huge apartment complex right behind Westland mall. This was a fabulous community for a long time and therefore people there went to Westland all, not bad huh? Well, I agree as this was the best place for apartment living folks to be in the 70's and 80's and even the early 90's. Then it changed management, see where I'm going? When management changed the people changed, one went downhill the other followed. How do you say this properly...when the high standard of occupants changes to any occupant to keep capacity of units filled, things go south and I mean quickly. The mall then had less than desirable people hanging out in the mall, not spending much, causing problems for the actual shoppers and then crime in the parking lots. Shoppers who want to spend
their hard earned money will stop going to a place where they may get mugged.

Soon enough your shoppers become less and hanger-out people start to rule. Shops close, interest drops and the mall is where it is today. Such a shame in my opinion, had many good memories there and it makes me a little sad to see what it has become. I say close it and the apartments behind it and start from scratch. Would be extremely expensive I know. Hey it was only a suggestion.

Well, this is one man's opinion.
Take care and thanks,
J.Hoffman

Blake Hutchison’s Commentary:

Westland Mall in Columbus, Ohio was my favorite mall growing up. My family lived halfway between Dayton and Columbus, and we frequented the malls in both cities.

Westland was built in 1969 at what is now the intersection of I-270 and West Broad Street. Original anchors were Lazarus, Sears, JCPenney, and Woolworth.

Westland Mall was the official shopping destination for the west side of Columbus until 1997, when the Mall at Tuttle Crossing opened five miles north of Westland.

Woolworth pulled out in 1993, but was soon replaced with a Staples, which is not accessible from inside the mall.

JCPenney closed their Westland mall location when Tuttle Crossing opened in 1997.

Sears and Lazarus are still in the mall, and still doing all right, but there are relatively few other stores in the mall. Mostly the mall just serves as a covered walkway between Sears and Lazarus, with a small store, usually mom-and-pop, here and there.

There were talks for a while that Dillards might put a store in the old JCPenney location, but that has never materialized.

I have to give the Westland management credit for trying to get stores back into the mall, though. Last year they had a contest to encourage stores to lease space in the mall, and one lucky store would get a free lease for a year.

If Westland keeps up their efforts to bring people back to the mall, it may stand a chance of survival. They still have two healthy anchors, and the other stores in the mall are pretty unique. However, there are talks now of building a super-regional shopping mall on the Southwest side of Columbus -- only a few miles from Westland -- so only time will tell if Westland Mall sinks or swims.