I’ll agree with you on that.
We have a traditional mall, a “lifestyle center” (read: outdoor mall). I never understood the “lifestyle center” here in Metro Indy, where the overnight low is gonna be -5 F.
At any rate, the ahem, “diversity” at our mall here, and the mall downtown have all but kept me and my family from visiting on the weekends. We rarely go to the mall as it is, but, it has become too much of a thug hangout. If I go to the mall on the weekends or even during the evening on the weekends, it is just me, as my wife is super uncomfortable with the demographic that hangs out there on the weekends.
I grew up in the same kind of harsh climate. It's true we had to go outside and experience some midwestern weather to go from store to store in the old-style "downtown." I didn't mind that one bit!
IMO you can't get more charming, or more authentic, than what we had in the days when "downtown" was the place to go.
Each store had its own unique sights and smells, and none were cut from a cookie-cutter mold like most mall chain stores today.
Even the chill air was bracing (and you only had to dash a few yards to get to the next store). All that may be gone forever ... I'm so nostalgic, I could cry.