Taunton's Silver City Galleria Vandalized Days Before Demolition

It didn't take long for the graffiti artists to bid their farewells to the Silver City Galleria once word got out that it was being demolished.

As soon as Maddie Levine from The Michael and Maddie Show broke the news of the impending demolition of the beloved Taunton mall, memories began to flood the newsfeeds of SouthCoast residents across social media.

From the endless salad bar at Ruby Tuesday to the pet store that always had the most adorable puppies in the front window, the Galleria was its own entity and differentiated itself from other surrounding malls. It was a modern marvel back in the day as one of the largest malls in our area at the time.

With the advent of online shopping, the era of malls is coming to slow end. Nobody has the patience or time to find parking, walk thousands of feet to the mall entrance and just walk from store to store like in the good ol' days, especially with everything being right at the tip of your fingertips or with the click of a mouse.

A buddy of mine, Kyle DeSousa, was taking one last victory lap around what felt like a mile stretch across the perimeter of the Galleria and noticed something upon exiting the property:

Courtesy Kyle DeSousa

Some hoodlums spray-painted "Our Mall Forever," sounding like the last true mall rats.

Perhaps it is an unorthodox farewell, but the Galleria has been the stomping grounds for a couple of generations since its opening back on March 1, 1992. Indeed, it was "our mall" for so many.

Regardless, vandalism is still illegal, people, whether a business is closed or not. Now if you excuse me, I have a date with the movie Mallrats for a ride aboard the nostalgia train.