Remember When The Poughkeepsie Galleria Parking Lot Collapsed?

Every once in a while my friends and I will get together, have a couple of adult beverages, and next thing you know we're on a roundtrip down memory lane.

Growing up in Poughkeepsie, the Galleria was our go-to hangout on a Friday night or weekend. That was until they implemented the rule about teens needing a parent or guardian with them after a certain time. That really threw a wrench in my early 2000s plan to hit up Bath and Body Works for their latest shimmer spray with my friends.

I digress.

Our latest nostalgia adventure involved one of the most talked about incidents of 2007 and the collapse of the Poughkeepsie Galleria upper-level parking lot.

It was February 2007 and it was either right after or during a snowstorm, where excess snow was plowed to the upper-level parking structure at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. The heavy amount of snow caused the parking lot structure to cave in.

The Vassar College Newspaper covered the possibly devastating collapse and wrote:

Part of the upper deck of a parking area collapsed at the Poughkeepsie Galleria at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, burying several cars under snow and debris. The southeast section of the mall, ranging from Target to JCPenney, was subsequently shut down to allow rescue teams to survey the wreckage

The college publication also notes that there were no injuries, but several cars were damaged and the collapse left a gaping hole "50 feet by 100 feet, with a mound of snow at its center."

Thankfully, there were no injuries. But news crews from all over covered the collapse. My friends and I jumped into our parent's cars and drove over to the mall to catch a glimpse of the news vans from CBS, ABC, and NBC lining up.

What a time to be alive!

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the circled part of the photo below is part of the parking lot that collapsed:

Google Maps/Canva

Thankfully, the mall is still standing and providing shoppers with a safe shopping experience throughout.

If you're anything like me and like living through the nostalgia of the mall era check out some vintage photos of the Poughkeepsie Galleria below:

These 40 Flashback Images of the Galleria Will Make You Totally Nostalgic

The Poughkeepsie Galleria has gone through some major changes in the past 34 years. Scroll down for a trip down memory lane. How many of these stores do you remember shopping at?