Sunrise Mall : Corpus Christi, TX
Sunrise Mall : Corpus Christi, TX
The Legend of Billie Jean (and @aimee.exploring...)
“The beautiful and nostalgia-ridden Sunrise Mall stands baking in the Corpus sun, boasting (nearly) original signage and motifs straight out of a late ‘80s coming of age movie. This is the first mall I’ve ever been to that has a pirate ship in the middle of the food court, and the second mall I’ve ever been kicked out of.”
As a Brit, nothing strikes fear in my heart quite like the message that “violators will be prosecuted” at the bottom of No Trespassing signs in the US. Why? Because foreigners are always one ugly encounter with the police away from being unable to return to America…unless they’re willing to lie on visa or ESTA forms.
That’s why I’m indebted to YouTube and Instagram explorers like Aimee – she goes by aimee.exploring on Insta – who shared a ton of photos and information with me for this post. They give the anxious among us a chance to adventure vicariously through them, and I’m incredibly grateful for those opportunities.
Most of the content – images and text – featured below, comes from Aimee. It features some brief interjections by me, italicised, and has been lightly edited to fit the Mall Talk format. And it features some fantastic nuggets of info. So let’s get into it!
Sunrise opened in 1981 as the second mall in Corpus. Actually, the second mall in a 1,000 feet radius. Corpus’ existing mall, Padre Staples (now La Palmera) opened 10 years prior on the same side of the freeway.
The reason for this decision is unclear, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen it happen. Houston even had a similar situation in the ‘80s-‘90s with their neighbouring Memorial City and Town & Country malls, the latter of which had fully closed by 2006.
The idea is presumably that, if well executed, increased competition will be beneficial to both malls.
I’m reminded of a common interview question about the best location to set up a new gas (petrol, for the Brits) station. Counterintuitively, the “correct” answer is to build near one already operating – because it demonstrates existing demand in that area – rather than starting up somewhere completely different. I’m still not convinced.
This turned out not to be the case for Sunrise. Both malls had many of the same national brand retailers, pushing these companies to choose the more profitable location despite some initial success with this model. Most of them found their solution in the newly renovated La Palmera.
Originally housing a Joske’s, Frost Bros, and a Sears (pictured above) in its anchor spots, Sunrise faced a slow and steady decline over a 15 year period between the late 80s and early 2000’s. By 2010, it was clear the mall’s days were numbered.
Sunrise closed in August 2021 after the pandemic dealt a final blow to its remaining tenants, and the mall has sat boarded up since then.
But we all know that a few boards aren’t enough to keep a good urban explorer down…
Why risk sneaking into Sunrise? What made this place special to you?
This was my boyfriend’s childhood mall. It was nice to have him there to tell me what everything had been, as he remembered it. And it seems that this mall has a special place in a lot of hearts, as I’ve received many requests to cover it in the past.
The mall features heavily in 1985 cult movie, The Legend of Billie Jean, and was covered in Dan Bell’s Dead Mall Series back in 2017 when it was still open. It remains visually striking in its abandoned state, the sun-bleached interior an antithesis to Seph Lawless’ iconic picture of Rolling Acres Mall’s centre court underneath a foot of snow.
We got inside with the help of two locals who had been in there before. We went through a board that was halfway undone, and walked right into the food court where there were two guys who I thought were looting walking around inside.
They looked at us but didn’t say anything or chase after us, so we kept walking. There were definitely some folks living in there, who called out to us from inside the storefronts or service hallways but didn’t bug us otherwise.
We made it as far as the Burlington wing before the two guys from earlier started coming after us. They stayed far away, over the concourse, but yelled at us something to the effect of “Hey, you can’t be in here! It’s private property, we’re on the phone to the police RIGHT NOW!”
They waited until we walked over to the other side and escorted us out, while “on the phone” to the cops. I remember one of them saying that “they brought their fancy cameras and everything,” which I thought was funny.
But we left after that and the cops never came. I wish I would’ve been able to get more photos – there are a few more shots on Aimee’s Instagram – but we got stopped about halfway through the mall by the maintenance crew. Maybe one day I’ll go back!
Aimee’s story underscores the extent to which dead malls today are like the Wild West. Her liberal use of quotation marks suggests doubt that the two guys in question ever actually called the cops. And, if they really were a maintenance crew, why did they let Aimee and her boyfriend start exploring the mall in the first place?
It’s possible that the “maintenance crew” was a pair of urban explorers who wanted the property to themselves, or perhaps lookouts for a larger group of scrappers – that would explain the voices from inside storefronts and service areas – or worse. This story could have had a much unhappier ending, and I’m glad that it didn’t.
Regardless, it’s not a stretch to say that urban explorers take their lives in their hands when they visit places like this one – we all know that there are worse things out there waiting in the shadows than a policeman with his arms folded across his chest.
But my dad used to say that, if you’re in an eerie situation, you should never call out “hello?” Because the only thing worse than not getting a reply would be getting one.
I started this project because I want to share stories about malls, living or dead, that deserve to be heard. Regardless of the size of your existing following, if you have one, or whether you even consider yourself a creator.
Whether it’s a mall job that saved you, an explore gone wrong (or right), or a mall that defined your childhood, I want to hear it! If not, that’s cool too. But I’d really appreciate it if you’d consider sharing the project and spreading the word.