UNKNOWN

This is the most detailed, research-heavy autopsy of an American mall ever put to paper.

Most accounts of "dead malls" are built on surface-level sentimentality—empty hallways and shattered glass. They document the decay, but they fail to explain the cause.

Using Tucson’s El Con Mall as a primary case study, this book reconstructs the life and death of a community hub. It is a deep-dive into the mall’s historical origins, its profound impact on the local community, and the protracted conflict with big-box stores that ultimately redefined the landscape.

This is the definitive record. Inside this volume, you will find:

• The 20th-Century Town Square: A detailed history of how the mall functioned as a physical social foundation for decades.

• The Big-Box Conflict: A forensic account of the retail shifts and corporate tensions that dismantled the traditional mall experience.

• The Universal Blueprint: Why the documented history of one Arizona landmark provides a map for the death of malls across America.

• The High-Texture Evidence: Over 100 images, technical infographics, and exhaustive mall directories that reconstruct a lost world in archival detail.

This isn’t a light trip down memory lane. It is an exhaustive examination of the vital role malls once played in the community, the specific forces causing their demise, and the far-reaching impact their disappearance has on the social fabric of our neighborhoods.