It’s easy to blame Amazon.com for the downfall of on-site shopping, but there are larger social forces at work, generational and technological shifts in how people buy and move their goods. Still, many of the shrines erected to shopping over the last half-century stand empty, a testament to the continued migration to the digital world.

The enclosed shopping mall began life in the mid-1950s in Sweden, Wisconsin, and New Jersey, part of a movement from urban flight to suburban sprawl. The rest of America followed.

In the Gulf Coast resort town of Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Square Mall opened on September 28, 1977. Forty-six years later, it lies virtually empty of anyone except walkers seeking shelter from the sun. During its heyday, it featured more than a million square feet of shopping with storied merchants such as Macy’s, Sears, and JCPenney, a 12-screen AMC Theatres, and—as an add-on—a Costco. As late as 2019, the mall’s website listed 44 stores and other businesses. Today, only AMC, Costco, and two restaurants in the food court remain.

Plans to redevelop the mall into everything from senior housing to county offices have floated for years. The current owner, Torburn Partners, wants to build 1,200 apartments on the site, with grocery, retail, and restaurant space. JCPenney, Costco, and AMC would remain.

Everything old. . . .