‘Secret Mall Apartment’ Documents 8 Artists Living Undercover in RI Mall

Even if living at a mall isn't a fantasy of yours, the Secret Mall Apartment documentary will blow your mind a bit.

Growing up in the '80s and coming of age with '90s pop culture was a trip. I can remember my friends and I chilling at the mall Food Court and babbling about how long we could last if we lived there. Taco Bell for every meal, endless music at Sam Goody.

And that was before any of us saw George Romero's 1978 masterpiece Dawn of the Dead. You know, the zombie movie with the survivors trying to gut it out in a mall. Shopping malls and survivalism. Two American staples. And they're together on screen again.

As the Providence Journal recently reported (and reminded Rhode Islanders and those in the know), back in September of 2007, a strange discovery was made at Providence Place. Actually, the discovery was made inside the mall's garage.

Hidden in plain sight in a corner of the south parking garage was a 750-square-foot cinderblock abode. Michael Townsend, his then-wife Adriana Yoto, and six other artists were living there, siphoning power from the mall.

They'd been living there for four years.

Had it not been for an inquisitive security guard, maybe they'd still be living there today. Lucky for us, they were shooting video all along the way. So now we have Secret Mall Apartment, the documentary that debuted at South by Southwest in 2024.

The doc has its own IMBD page here. And there's a SXSW piece on director Jeremy Workman below. All told, it's a fascinating story about a prank that takes on a life of its own and becomes something more meaningful. And it all happened in Rhode Island!

I thought you could only get Del's Frozen Lemonade in Rhode Island. Turns out there's a few Del's locations in Massachusetts.

Here's the funny thing. When you visit the Del's website, the first thing you see is the Del's logo and, in all caps: STOP AT THE SIGN OF THE LEMON. And that's exactly what I did. I was taking an alternate route home from work earlier this summer to avoid traffic. Said alternate route took me down Mass. Ave. in Arlington. That's where I saw the sign of the lemon.

Here's another funny thing. Before pulling over and parking on a side street so I could run across Mass. Ave. and grab a frozen lemonade and a small popcorn, I had never in my life had a Del's. I knew of the storied history of the beloved Rhode Island item only through Narragansett's Del's Shandy, which is a favorite summer beer of mine.

Having the genuine article for the first time was even better than quaffing a pint of the Del's-inspired beer on a hot summer day. It was beyond refreshing, with it's slushy consistency and bits of frozen lemon pulp dancing across my tongue as spooned and slurped with my straw. And you know how you get that melted bit at the end of a slush or a Slurpee? With a Del's, you're getting lemonade. Divine.

Apologies if this isn't news to you, but since it's news to me, I'm guessing there are more people that need to get wised up. I've laid out the spots in Massachusetts where you can get a Del's Frozen Lemonade and all the other goodies they sell at Del's stands. As summer wanes, don't let it fade away fully without making a refreshing trip.

1050 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington

The first Del's Frozen Lemonade was actually made almost 200 years ago! Great Grandfather DeLucia created it in Naples, Italy back in 1840.

80 N Washington St, North Attleborough

Great Grandfather DeLucia would carry snow into nearby caves in the wintertime. He'd insulate the snow with straw so it would still be there in the summertime.

775 Washington St, Attleboro, MA

When summer would arrive, the lemons on his lemon tree would be ripe. He'd mix the lemon juice with sugar and snow and...voila! Frozen lemonade!

1624 Grand Army of the Republic Hwy, Somerset, MA

Grandfather Franco DeLucia brought his father’s recipe to America in the early 1900s. His son Angelo worked on a machine to make the frozen lemonade consistently delicious.

21 Berdon Way, Fairhaven, MA 02719

In 1948, the first Del’s Frozen Lemonade stand opened in Cranston, Rhode Island. Mobile units were rolled out statewide shortly thereafter.

15 Circuit Ave, Oak Bluffs, MA

Angelo's son Bruce has worked to grow the locations all over Rhode Island and into Massachusetts. And his daughter Stephanie is now in the family business, too!