The Giant of the Mall

In the summer of 2012, three months after the Parade of Giants, Julien was moved to Valley View Center in North Dallas. He was joined by two of the other giants: Hattie Rankin and Rhoda Dragoo.

*Julien Reverchon on display alongside Rhoda Dragoo*

*Hattie Rankin displayed near the gallery with Julien visible in the background*

At this time in its history, Valley View Center was in decline. The Macerich Company, who had purchased the mall in 1996 with plans for redevelopment, lost ownership of the mall in 2010, with the company suffering a debt of $125 million. Two years later in early 2012, the property was acquired by Beck Ventures.

Beck Ventures, operated by by Scott Beck, sought to create an artist’s haven in Valley View, and that he did; dozens of artists made a home in the new Gallery At Midtown & Artist Studios, where visitors could browse and purchase from artists of diverse origin, style, and medium. The artist wing served numerous other purposes as it came to fruition. It housed studios, showrooms, private galleries, an actor studio, film classes, and more. On the third Saturday of every month, the Gallery at Midtown would come to life for a monthly art walk event.

Julien’s debut at the mall was during one of these art walk events, where he was a popular photo op for hundreds of visitors. While some were frightened by his appearance, others were charmed. From the start, he became an incredibly popular photo op for visitors of the mall.

*A man with a drink posed with the Giant in his original display spot*

Kevin Obregón was one of the artists of the midtown wing. It was at Kevin’s Studio, colloquially known as StudiObregón, where Julien would find a home. After his initial introduction to the mall, the giant was moved to the front of his artist’s studio, where he would stay for the majority of his time at the mall.

Julien would remain with Kevin for several years, regularly being rolled out to the food court and other areas of the mall during its busier days and art walk events. When given the chance, Kevin struck up conversations with passerby about the giant, and showed off internal mechanisms that allowed Julien’s eyes to move back and forth.

*A screencap of a conversation with Mr. Obregón, via Kane*

Despite the Mall’s decline, Valley View saw hundreds of visitors during its art walks, beginning in 2012. The art walks were managed by Douglas Winters and Kiki Curry-Winters owners of SkyPony Studio. It was Scott Beck who set them to the task, hoping to bring back art buyers and fill social gaps left by a prior art hub in Dallas that had been torn down years before. Every third Saturday of the month, the Gallery at Midtown would be flooded with music and bustling activity. Performers, food stands, activities, classes, and more would return Valley View to its former glory, if only for one day each month.

This was also a time when many people would visit the Giant for photos. If he wasn’t posted at StudiObregón, he was brought out to the atrium, serving as a mascot for creative events.

*Julien amid bustling crowds at the artwalk*

These videos are rare glimpses of the Valley View Center art walks, and Julien’s presence at the events. Mr. Obregón treated his Giant with the utmost care, and was happy to offer photo ops to passerby.

With Julien’s strange appearance and notable dexterity, he was a popular “toy” for rambunctious teenagers- at one point, he had been knocked over in the middle of the night, beard torn away in pieces and scattered all over the floor. By the time Mr. Obregón found him in the morning, there was little he could do but adjust Julien’s remaining beard and stand him back up. It occurred roughly somewhere in 2015, permanently changing Julien’s appearance and acting as a visual point in the timeline of his life at Valley View Center. A point that the Giant and the Mall would never return from.

*Kevin Obregón’s response when asked about the difference in Julien’s beard length*

*Julien near the start of his stay at Valley View vs. Julien near the mall’s shutdown*

Julien was often rolled to different locations overnight by teenagers and other mischievous visitors

As the months went by, the art walks continued. But as the art walks continued, so too did the slow decay of Valley View Center. Shops regularly vacated, knowing that spaces would face eviction for demolition in the coming years, and the mall became further gutted as time passed by.

Meanwhile, Mr. Obregón and most of the other artists stubbornly stayed put. Julien remained at his position near the shop, keeping constant vigil and gazing down at passerby. He saw a regular rotation between the shop front and a prominent mural of an orange octopus that Kevin had made to mask the old Dillard’s entrance. Every now and again, a visitor would still stop to take photos with the Giant.

*A man walks by the Giant, posted at the octopus wall*

Kevin Obregón, whose Studiobregón has been a fixture here practically since the Gallery at Midtown’s inception, has had plenty of experience riding the waves of uncertainty around Valley View’s fate. When he originally leased his space, he was told it was his for 18 months. Then, 10 months into the lease, he was told they would “revisit” the original plan. He says he’s now been there for roughly four years.

“Blissfully happy” is how he describes his overall experience. He has a large enough office area in the back of his store that he can work in private, all the while still keeping an attractive, open gallery area out front for prospective buyers. “An incubator for your thoughts,” is how Obregón refers to his space.

But how does it fare for retail?

“I see maybe half a dozen people a day in the store,” he says. “Nobody really bothers you.”

– Central Track, “Not Dead Yet”

The Midtown ARTwalk quietly hosted its final event on the 18th of February 2017. Immediately following, the last of the Midtown artists closed up shop and left the mall for new avenues. As demolition crews moved in, walls were set up between different wings, separating the public from areas of the mall going through asbestos abatement or complete demolition. The last business open at Valley View was the AMC Theater, whose cheap ticket prices attracted a small night crowd. Maintenance was neglected due to the impending demolition, and many visitors reported a terrible stench of sewage.

“We’ve had so many people leave in the last six to eight months. When the Foot Locker moved out that was pretty much what put [an end] to everything here because at that point, aside from the movie theater, nobody was coming on out here,” said Paul Riddell, owner of the The Texas Triffid Ranch, a gallery of carnivorous plants. “That was at the point where things started breaking down [and] they weren’t particularly worried about fixing it because demolition is impending.”

– Dallas Observer, “With Valley View Demolition Scheduled to Begin March 1, Artists Pack Up Their Things”

The Last ARTwalk was a shell of what the event had once brought to the dying mall. Most visitors were interested in the theater. Said visitors were sparse, most driven away by the prospect of the mall’s impending demolition, and by that point, the artists of the Gallery at Midtown had little reason to remain at Valley View.

The mall was dying, if not already dead.

An eerie darkness haunted the abandoned wings of the mall before entire sections became walled off. This period was when Julien was moved around the most, until access to the Midtown wing was cut off with temporary walls.

In a screenshot taken from a walkthrough video, the Midtown art wing is entirely walled off to the public

At this time, Kevin Obregon was locked out of communication with the mall management. While moving items out of his rented space was one thing, moving Julien was another. The giant had grown more delicate over the years, and moving him safely out of the building would be a difficult task.

Kevin would never be given the opportunity, as the management never spoke with him again. Julien remained behind the walls, waiting.

*Julien at his post, StudiObregon stripped behind him*

Even in the last days of the mall- despite the hardships -Julien was not alone. There were those who managed to find their way past the barrier, and in doing so, find Julien. To those unfamiliar, he was an unnerving sight in the dark.

It was during one of these encounters in the dark when Julien nearly met his fate. While some explorers left him alone, others would move him to different areas of the mall or knock him down, as seen in prior photos. One pair who found him had the plan to throw him from the second story balcony and film him breaking.

Ultimately, they decided against it, as the noise could risk attracting mall security. They would upload this video years later, telling their story in the comments.

For the time being, the rolling giant had been spared.

Time continued to pass. The day of the last ARTwalk, February 18th, had served dually as the liquidation date of the Valley View Center property. Artists remained leery, as Scott Beck and Beck Ventures had gone back on demolition dates multiple times in the past, but artists no longer had the option to remain. They were ordered by Beck to remove their belongings from the property by February. The mall would be barricaded, and demolition was to begin on March 1st.

Julien remained.

The artists had been right to worry that Scott Beck would not keep his word. Though the mall was boarded, walled, and all tenants evicted, demolition would not begin on March 1st. The mall remained through 2017. Then 2018. It remained a hollowed corpse, empty of all but one remaining soul. It is unknown how many passerby he would have watched in the dark.

As time marched through 2018 and into 2019, numerous break-ins were reported. Some were recorded by eager urbex youtubers, and many vandals left scars within the rapidly aging building. The walls were covered in all manner of graffiti. The floors became filthy with glass, dirt, and rainwater leakage. Those less fortunate used the corpse of Valley View as shelter, while others used it as a place to use drugs, get into fights, and set fires.

*The food court in the final days of Valley View. Fires have been set in the planters, and black graffiti coats the old fountain.*

Multiple fires and incidents at the decaying Valley View made the news in the followup to demolition. Tensions continued to rise between the city of Dallas and Beck Ventures, who struggled to bring down the building. Despite being originally scheduled to come down in 2017, the building remained standing until partial demolition took place in early 2019. This only occured after Beck Ventures faced a lawsuit from the city of Dallas. When the demolition halted once again, the threat of further lawsuits pushed them to finish the demolition in early 2023.

Quietly, patiently, the Julien Reverchon giant remained in the empty space that was once the Midtown Artists’ Wing. That was, until early 2019, when it came time for the Octopus Wall to come down.

In a corner of the internet as quiet as the vacant mall, urbexers posted what they thought would be the last glimpses of Valley View Center that the public would ever see. One person in particular, Retail Mix USA (whose channel has since been deleted), was allowed inside by workers to witness the abatement of the old Dillard’s.

The Dillard’s location, closed in 2008, had been walled off to reduce risk of break-in. It was located at the end of what became the Artists’ wing, and in the following years, Kevin Obregon was tasked with creating a mural to mask the drab brick. Having made multiple murals in the past, he was well-equip for the job. The final product was known as the Oztopus, a mural that was part of a collaborative art project themed around The Wizard Of Oz. Most people referred to the piece as the “Octopus Wall.”

Kevin standing in front of the in-progress mural

The video posted by Retail Mix USA suggests the octopus wall had been taken apart by March of 2019. The same video is believed to be the last known glimpse of Julien standing up in (mostly) one piece. He can be seen on the right side, standing in what would be one of his usual posts.

Even with an arm removed, pushed aside by workers, Julien did not go unrecognized. One last image with Julien standing was taken by an asbestos abatement worker, happily posing with Julien.

It was the last time someone would get the chance.

By late may, the asbestos cleanup of the old Dillards was nearly complete. Demolition crews had already begun tearing apart the structure from the outside, working their way into the artists’ wing. Scott Beck documented the process, posting an update on their progress on May 31st of 2019.

Those with keen eyes spotted Julien in this clip, on the ground just behind Scott as he makes his way to the remains of the octopus wall. Visibility of the Giant is brief, but his distinct flowery hands, cart, and black cloth give away his identity. At this point, the Rolling Giant had been partially destroyed, presumably by demo workers moving whatever they could out of the way.

The next, and final, sighting of Julien would be on July 29th, 2019. Demolition had moved forward, through the Dillard’s and into the Artists’ wing. Scott Beck would post another episode of the demolition documentation, titled “Expansion Joint Separation”. In this video, it is hard to know that you’re looking at Julien until his fate becomes clear.

Behind Scott Beck is a lone cart in the middle of the floor. Upon it rest two poles, tipped with red bows, and a plastic pipe embedded in the cart raised several feet high. To Scott’s right, plastic debris is visible floating in the water. A familiar tinge of green with smeared bits of color identity the item as one of Julien’s flower hands.

*Julien’s cart behind Scott beck, holding scraps of black cloth and the poles used to move the giant around*.

*Chicken wire that used to be Julien’s hand, still containing some plastic flowers. The plastic has potentially melted in the puddle of waste.*

Years later, everything seen here would be fully demolished. It is possible that explorers came and went out of the gaping hole that was once the Dillards entrance, but it is unlikely that any of them knew what exactly they were looking at, if they came across the cart or other stray pieces of what was once Julien.

The rolling giant was gone. Julien was destroyed. Forgotten by many of those who had passed him by, now a fleeting memory that joined the rest of the mall in decay.

Until someone remembered.

Further Reading: The Oldest View (WIP)
Sources and additional photos below. Images are still being found! Be sure to check this page for new updates.

Mall Giant – Long Beard

In the early years of the Giant taking residence at Valley View Center, Julien bares the same long beard that he did in the parade, nearly trailing to his wheelbox.

Mall Giant – Short Beard

The Giant’s later years in the mall are defined by an altered appearance after his beard was torn away by teenagers. This “trimmed” look offers a more distinct appearance compared to what he was before.