Power has been shut off, but skylights provide natural light here. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) The once popular mall has been closed since 2017. Security Melvin Fernandez patrols inside the abandoned Carousel Mall in San Bernardino on Tuesday, Aug. We walk inside in the dark, path lighted by flashlights until we get to the concourse. “They’re stealing whatever they can to feed their habit,” Guy says. The man should have been embarrassed.Ī man was stopped recently while backing a U-Haul up to the loading dock, as if he were going to pick up his new sofa. the morning of my tour, security arrested a man inside who was completely naked and unembarrassed about it. 19 as they attempted to burn their way out. Two squatters set a small fire in the roof Aug. The mall, which used to produce revenue, is now a drain on city resources, with facilities staff spending 25% of their time addressing issues there and Redwood being paid $40,000 a month for more aggressive patrols until demolition can take place. “By the time we get in at one end of the building,” security guard Joe Guy said of the two-story mall that sprawls over 1 million square feet, “they’re either exiting or hiding.” Carousel Mall has been closed since 2017 and demolition is being planned. “It’s been a battle.” A person rides a bike past the abandoned Carousel Mall in San Bernardino on Tuesday, Aug. “We’re boarding up here, they’re breaking in there,” says Manuel Sanchez, a public works maintenance mechanic. A drive around the mall shows dozens of potential entry points, even if they are boarded up and blocked by metal strapping. It’s effective, Kraus says, but it’s a losing fight. 1 began providing eyes on the mall 24/7, with multiple indoor sweeps a day. (I’m worried City Hall considers me the newspaper equivalent of a wrecking ball.)Īs arranged, I show up in the parking lot Tuesday morning, meet a half-dozen city employees and security guards, and am handed a KN95 mask and hard hat. Offered a tour of the mall myself, I accept. “It’ll be coming down later this year or early next year,” says Jeff Kraus, the city’s spokesman. A half-dozen demolition companies have already toured the mall. For art, a framed optical poster on the wall.Īfter a raft of break-ins and fires at the mall, the City Council decided in July to seek bids for demolition rather than wait for a developer to tear it down. An improvised mattress on the floor is made of fluffy white insulation, folded over, a blanket over it like a duvet. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)įour walls, kind of cheerful, kept up neatly. Security guard Melvin Fernandez finds makeshift bedroom inside the abandoned Carousel Mall in San Bernardino on Tuesday, Aug. “This is for surveillance,” a security guard theorizes.Īnd in the back reaches of a former anchor store, beyond what was once the shoe department, is a small bedroom.Ī guard’s flashlight plays over the details in the darkened room. The location is near an entry point to the mall that has been repeatedly breached. Off a loading dock, a small sleeping berth occupies a nook 6 feet off the floor, reached by a wooden ladder exactly like one from a bunk bed. Clothes and blankets are found as security patrol for squatters inside the abandoned Carousel Mall in San Bernardino on Tuesday, Aug.
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