Mall rats desert sinking ship: Inside the abandoned shopping centers that were once a beacon of the American Dream




When they were built in the 1970s these two gleaming Ohio malls were symbols of the boom years in the U.S., and their wide walkways were filled with shoppers.



Now the verdant foliage that decorated them has died off and the fountains inside are dry as store after store deserted the out-of-town malls.



The demise of the Rolling Acres and and Randall Park Mall have been documented by photographer Seph Lawless, who remembers visiting them when he was a child and even had his first job at one of the them.



Deserted: The once busy walkways of Rolling Acres Mall in Ohio are now desolate

Closed for business: Dead foliage and a grimy poster that used to advertise the store as a place to meet friends while shopping litter the walkways in Rolling Acres mall

Water feature: Green puddles have formed in a seating area of Randall Park Mall

'The goal was to show the world a different side of America. A vulnerable side. I think an abandoned mall is symbolic of the economic decline of America and is a true indication of what happens when cities like Cleveland suffers massive population loss due to loss of manufacturing jobs,' he told Mail Online.



'Cleveland has lost nearly half its population since these malls opened in the mid 1970,' Lawless added. 'We're not talking white flight here. People fled the state to find jobs and the problem hasn't gotten any better.

'My city is not only losing jobs. We're are losing people and it's frightening. During my recent art curation at the City Club last month I spent most of that time urging Cleveland residents and city officials to adopt a plan to merge East Cleveland with Cleveland so we can maintain our population, because doing nothing is no longer an option.'



Lawless returned to the malls, which were closed in 2008 and 2009, to document them before demolition crews move in and flatten the buildings later this year. He explained that when North Randall mall was built it was the largest in the world, with 5,000 employees.



'It was such an intricate part of the city that the town is represented by the two shopping bags appearing in the municipal seal,' he said.



The powerful images make up the basis of his book, Black Friday: The collapse of the American Mall - a powerful piece of photojournalism that documents the broken parts of the U.S.



Smashed display cabinets at a jewllers and stained floors are in Rolling Acres mall

Shattered glass, broken ceiling tiles and pools of dank water cover the floor of Rolling Acres mall

Empty planters and deserted stores are all that remain in Rolling Acres mall

It is the end of an era for Rolling Acres mall, which is due to be demolished four years after it closed 'I chose to focus on malls for this book because I think a mall is a human connector. We all can relate to a mall in a very personal way. We all remember spending time there and for the most part it was in happier times,' Lawless said. 'I remember visiting Santa Claus as a kid at these malls during Christmas and eventually getting my first job at the mall. The mall had character and the architecture was beautiful.'

The once gleaming walkways and modern designs look outdated and grimy in his images, and it is hard to imagine the buildings filled with families and friends enjoying a day out. But when Lawless returned, his memories helped bring the malls back to life.

'Strangely enough as I explored these abandoned malls I found myself acting like a kid all over again. At times jumping up on to nearby fountain ledges trying to balance myself as I became mesmerized all over again by the futuristic skylights that dangled fearlessly over my head.

'It was enough beauty to make your chest feel like it was going to cave in...all over again.'

The self-declared 'artivist', who combines activism through works of art, promotes his work on inequality and injustice through his Facebook and on his Instagram and Twitter accounts. He said his work often is seen as controversial but that it leads to 'constructive dialogue and healthy debate'. When he returned to the malls Lawless, pictured, became mesmerized once again by their beauty and futuristic designs

Wide walkways that once would have bustled with shoppers are now eerily empty in Rolling Acres mall

A faint shaft of light falls on the dusty floor of Rolling Acres

Moss and algae appear to be taking over the floor near the JC Penney store

Stacks of trash and old shelving units fill one of the walkways

The once busy Randall Park Mall is now filled with dust and drained fountains

Photographer Seph Lawless has documented the decaying malls as a comment on the state of the economy

An empty directory board and broken pay phone add to the sense of decay at the old malls

The bright colors and jaunty design of the Randall Park Mall

Felled trees and potholes lead up to the doors of Randall Park mall

Ripped out movie theater seats have been piled up next to the popcorn stand

One of the central plazas of the Rolling Acres mall

Dead leaves, dirty ground and gaping holes in the ceiling show how far the mall has fallen into disrepair

Piles of wires and glass surround an escalator at Rolling Acres

A seating area where friends would have once caught up over coffee is now flooded

Stores have been stripped bare and many windows have been shattered in the deserted malls

Electric cables have been left hanging and pools of water are forming under the leaky roof of Rolling Acres

Rolling Acres has started to fall apart four years after it was closed to shoppers