Man Builds Secret Apartment in Mall and Lives There for 4 Years Before Being Caught | #shorts

Michael Townsend, an artist from Providence, Rhode Island, managed to live in a secret apartment inside the Providence Place shopping mall for four years from 2003 to 2007. The apartment was hidden in an unused, undeveloped space that he discovered during a daily run in 1999. When he was facing homelessness after being evicted from his previous residence due to property development, he decided to move into the mall space as an act of protest against runaway capitalism and gentrification. The secret apartment was furnished with a sofa, a PlayStation, and other essentials. Townsend and his friends built a cinderblock wall and utility door to keep it hidden. They lived there for four years, utilizing the mall's bathrooms for running water. The group took extra precautions, including only using the apartment at night, to avoid detection. However, their secret was eventually discovered when mall security guards busted in after the arrival of a visiting artist from Hong Kong. Townsend was charged with trespassing but insisted that the entire endeavor was done out of a compassionate understanding of the mall and life as a shopper. He was given probation by a judge but was banned from the mall for life. Despite being banned, Townsend looks back on his time in the secret apartment with fondness. He considers it a unique living space that allowed him to express his creativity and resist the forces of gentrification and property development. The secret apartment remains a symbol of his defiance and a testament to his commitment to his artistic vision.