Trending: Demolition Crew Finds Time Capsule Buried Under US Shopping Mall

In the last two decades, many shopping malls in the US have lost their charm and customers. What were once thriving hangout spots for many, have now lost businesses. The Richland Mall in South Carolina, US, was one such mall. Recently, the local authorities decided to demolish the mall to make way for a new mixed-use development space. During the mall’s demolition, the construction crew stumbled upon a time capsule. The time capsule is a box or container that holds items from the present day such as newspapers, letters or photos. It is often buried at the foundation of buildings and is discovered during renovation or reconstruction.

Often time capsule boxes have the date when they were made alongside the ideal time when they should be opened. As a tradition, institutions often replace the old time capsule box with a new one, or keep adding new objects alongside the old objects and seal them in a newly minted time capsule box. In case, time capsule boxes are found earlier than anticipated, they are buried again.

On March 21, Forest Acres City Councilman Stephen Oliver took to X to share a photo of the time capsule box and wrote, “Fun little treasure from the Richland Mall demo. The time capsule is safe and will be buried in the new Forest Acres park behind the mall."

The time capsule found at the Richland Mall was inscribed with the words, “Richland Mall & Centre Time Capsule. To commemorate Richland Mall’s conversion to a mixed-use property featuring retail and class A office space. Placed here January 20, 2000 AD. To be opened January 20, 2033 AD."

The Richland Mall closed its last store on September 2023. Its redevelopment plan includes a six-acre open space for hosting events, apartments, grocery stores, and a brewery. The mall’s demolition began on March 20.

In May last year, the fire department of the city of Marion in the US’s Ohio discovered a 118-year-old time capsule that was kept under the cornerstone of a soon-to-be demolished building.

The fire department opened the box at a public meeting. The time capsule had nine fire department badges, documents and contracts related to the building, a roster of 1905 city officials, four copies of the local newspaper The Marion Star from July 1905, a rule book of 1905 fire department regulations, and a letter written by then fire department chief which was dated July 20, 1905.