William Collinson's Commentary:

It was by accident that I drove by this obviously dead mall in the rather comfortable suburb of Bloomingdale. The first day I cruised by for some evening outdoor pics, but the next day I visited to eat at the resident Red Robin (the only big chain eatery remaining) and was delighted to see that the entire mall remains open to explore. The biggest stores remaining are one anchor (Kohls) and inside the mall itself an FYI that seemed overstocked and undertrafficked.

The strange part is that, having seen a lot of dead malls over the years, Stratford Square is oddly well preserved. I spoke with a young lady in the anime/manga/k-pop shop (that is oddly marooned away from other operating stores) and she said the mall had been pretty much like that since she started working there a year or so ago.

Many of the empty spaces look like you could reopen them with little effort, especially the big bowling alley/entertainment center and the multiplex movie theaters.

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