The Livingston mall which was years ago full of life and busy with people is now an empty lot of space, only full of one thing: memories. If you grew up around the area, chances are you know the Livingston mall. People from all the nearby towns have gone to this mall to enjoy its various stores, pop-up shops, VR experiences and kids have enjoyed its colorful play area after a long day of shopping with their parents. Teenagers often regarded this mall as a great hang-out spot, enjoying food from Applebees and walking around with their friends. However, today it’s rare to see anyone walking around this mall. The only reason people go now is to marvel at how empty and rundown this iconic mall is now and to wonder; what happened to Livingston mall?
The downfall started in 2020 when some of the stores in the mall that attracted the most customers began to close. These stores included Sears and Lord & Taylor which was very detrimental to the mall as a whole because they are big stores with a lot of product. During this period, visitors and local officials increasingly raised concerns about the mall’s deteriorating condition and apparent lack of maintenance.. The parking lot experienced a lot of damage and was not being repaired so there were many pot holes and cracks in the pavement. Visitors and reporters have described potholes and, following at least one snowstorm, an unplowed parking lot. This escalated and soon visitors reported uncomfortable temperatures inside the mall, including periods when the air conditioning appeared not to be operating.
Alone, these components would have destroyed the mall’s allure, but on top of that soon to come was the Covid pandemic. Everyone and everything was in a complete lockdown for about a year which not only kept people off the streets and away from busy centers, but it also increased online activity such as online shopping and more time spent socializing on electronics rather than in-person.
As foot traffic declined and maintenance concerns continued, additional tenants closed or relocated. The last anchor store in the mall, Macy’s, closed this year as well, leaving the mall with nothing. Earlier this year there were various power outages in the mall and a burst sprinkler system. As of May of 2026, the mall is officially closed and there are plans for redeveloping the space for housing. Now, when researching the most abandoned malls in the country, the mall that used to be an exciting and busy attraction for people in all the neighboring counties, Livingston mall, is among that list.
Attached to the mall, is a store that still receives much attention and a ton of popularity, the infamous Livingston Barnes and Nobles. However, they are moving locations, so it will too become abandoned and need to be re-renovated. There are major sales at the bookstore for 20-40% on merchandise including top selling books, games, records and CD’s. The store is moving to a new space on Mt. Pleasant Ave, Livingston shopping center. The sales will last until July, when they are expected to close and the new store will open in August. They believe that this decision will increase the store’s profits and overall the popularity of the Livingston shopping center for the surrounding areas. As for the old lot with both the abandoned mall and bookstore, the area will be relatively empty until it gets transformed into a new vision.
