Mall Series: 21 Photographs Capture Daily Life of People at Shopping Malls in the 1980s

From fashionable teenagers dressed in their finest clothes to an older woman simply sitting on a bench with her walking stick, this series of photographs capture what people looked like when they ventured out to the mall three decades ago.

The photo series called Mall Series, offers a glimpse of the teenagers, staff, and shoppers who were nicknamed 'Mall Rats,' and enjoyed nothing better than spending hours in the shopping centers in the 1980s.

In 1984, the photographer, who had just begun teaching at Clark University, lived only a short walk away from the bustling mall and was given exclusive access to photograph its inhabitants. Over the course of three years, he became as much fixture of the complex as the stores it housed, known universally by its security personnel, who he explains would often allow him to photograph young rowdy mall-goers before stepping in to control the situation. Limited only by the owners’ mandate that he not capture any obscene moments, DiRado amassed a collection of thousands of images featuring characters of all ages.

(Photos by Stephen DiRado)