The Retail Apocalypse, In Pictures

It’s easy to forget that the big box store is still young. Even in the relatively short history of U.S. suburbs, it’s a newcomer, spawned in the late 1960s and reaching its apex before the recession in the late 2000s. But within those four decades or so, tens of thousands of warehouse stores and malls changed what the U.S. looks like–a testament to how cheap and easy they are to build (about $45 per square foot, a third of what the average home costs per square foot). “These places defined a very uniquely American experience,” says photographer Jesse Rieser. “There were a couple of years where that could have been a meeting place for you and your peers, a place to try to flirt with girls and fail miserably, or head to the arcade–or whatever it was. It was this 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s experience that a lot of people shared around the country.” See more at Fast Company.