'Secret Mall Apartment' and the pull and promise of abandoned spaces

What do we do with all this empty space? We take it over!

An 1800s Sea Monster show at Ofelia’s in Bangor in 2007. 73 Central St. is still an abandoned building. Surely that’s a better use for it than a community arts center? Photo by me.

Last week I watched “Secret Mall Apartment,” a 2024 documentary that, on the surface, is about a group of eight artists who between 2003 and 2007 built a secret apartment in a…