The footprint of the mall ten years later. A Charlotte-based Ivey's
had just been built in front of the center's main entrance. It
became a Dillard's in early 1991. The Little Rock retailer ended up
acquiring Jordan Marsh of Florida and Belk Lindsey stores. Had
the mall not been on the skids, they surely would have set up a
"double-header" operation, utilizing one of the vacant anchors. As
it turned out, they never rebranded either. Jordan Marsh folded
in 1991...Belk Lindsey in 1994.
12 comments:
I'm a little confused by your write-up on Colonial Plaza in Orlando, FL. I am almost certain that the spot you have located Belk on the map was actually JC Penney, which moved down the street to Fashion Square Mall. I'm sure the Dillard's was always at Fashion Square Mall after buying Maison Blanche (which had been Robinson's before that)
James
James,
Thanks so much for providing info about COLONIAL PLAZA. As I stated in the caption of the circa-1975 site plan...I am quite confused as to the anchor stores of the olden days shopping mall.
It is for certain that there was a Jordan Marsh at the southern end of the first, enclosed, addition to the 1950's strip center (this store was later in the middle of the enclosed corridor, after it was extended).
However....the anchor store at the northeast corner of the shopping center (a part of the original -circa-1950's- strip center) is a mystery. I cannot make out the store nameplate in the circa-60's aerial photo of the mall....does it say "Belk's"...or "Ivey's"?
Commentary on Dead Malls.com indicates that the store was a Belk Lindsey.....but then, later in the same commentary, it is mentioned that a Belk was built onto the southern end of the mall (south of the Jordan Marsh).......
Also, it is mentioned that a Dillard's was built onto the front of the mall??
I deduced that this Dillards was actually the original (circa-1950's) anchor......which might have originally been an Ivey's??
Or an original Belk...which moved to the south end of the mall, into a newly-built store.
However....you recall that the southern anchor store (south of the Jordan Marsh) was -in fact- a J.C. Penney (which moved from COLONIAL PLAZA to the new ORLANDO FASHION SQUARE...circa-1973 ?).
So....COLONIAL PLAZA had an Ivey's in front (?) [the northeast -circa-1950's] anchor store? A Jordan Marsh [at the end of the first [circa-1962] enclosed corridor. A J.C. Penney was added, along with a second, enclosed, corridor [probably in the mid-1960's]? And this Penney's moved to the new, ORLANDO FASHION SQUARE in 1973?
My question now is.....what department store moved into the old, COLONIAL PLAZA J.C. Penney in 1973 or sometime thereafter?
Hopefully, this all isn't even more confusing than the current COLONIAL PLAZA article.....
I regret that I have done such a shoddy job in attempting to record the history of this mall. There was quite a bit of conflicting information when I assembled the present article.
However, being as how this was (apparently) the very first enclosed shopping center in the entire state, I wanted to include it on the blog here.
When in doubt about facts and details, I do my best to logically try to figure things out.....and put the info on here. Hopefully, readers (such as you) will come along and straighten out some of the details.
Thanks again....
Cheers,
I spent approx 1 year living in Orlando two times while Colonial Plaza was an enclosed mall, once in the 80s and once in the 90s. I have since moved back, but it had been rebuilt by then. You are correct about Jordan Marsh in the center of the mall. I know that there are still four portions of the original mall standing.
1) The out building you show which recently re-opened as a very large wine store after having been a Just For Feet shoe store. I don't remember what it was years ago.
2) The western edge next the the Publix you show which was a Walgreens and is now a Barnes & Noble and a Petco.
3) The anchor in the rear which was either Belk or JC Penney. It is now split into a Babies 'R' Us, a former Rhodes furniture store, and something that slips my mind at the moment.
4) There is a external building that used to be a single screen theater which would be on the upper left corner of your map.
I'm certain that the Robinson's->Maison Blanche->Dillards was at Fashion Square as early as the mid 80s. At some point, Fashion Square expanded adding JC Penney as an anchor and moving Maison Blanche further out. What I think I remember is that JC Penney moving from Colonial Plaza to Fashion Square is what killed the mall since it was the last anchor they had, Jordan Marsh was long gone.
Now that you mention it, I do think there may have been another anchor on the north end. I'm sorry my memory is so vague on it.
James
Sorry, the theater would be in the lower left of your map on Bumby away from Colonial.
James
One more try. After more research I see my memory has been faulty. The Penney's that I remember moved from the further away Winter Park mall which was converted to an outside mall at about the same time. You are correct that Jordan Marsh, Ivey's and Belk-Lindsey were the anchors.
Ivey's and Maison Blanche both became Dillard's and rather than have 2 stores in a mile of each other, they consolidated at Fashion Square (not sure exactly what order that all happened in).
I think you have the anchors positioned correctly, but I don't trust my memory anymore. I'm sorry for causing confusion, you might want to delete my comments so I don't confuse anyone else.
James
James,
Naw....I won't delete the comments. Hopefully, anyone reading through will take in all the comments....and come to the conclusion at the end here.
With the anchor store placements in the olden times COLONIAL PLAZA (probably) correct, I did need to feature info about the Plaza Theatre.....which I failed to include in the original article and site plan.
I try to include details about mall movie theaters in all my articles, if a particular mall did, indeed, have a theater [either as a part of its actual structure...or as an outparcel].
I missed the boat on the Plaza Theatre. Thanks for filling me in....
Thanks, as well, for patronizing and posting.
Cheers,
Let me try to clarify once and for all about the confusion of the anchor store history of both Colonial Plaza (CP) and Orlando Fashion Square (OFS). I visited Orlando in 1993, and rode by bus to Fashion Square past Colonial Plaza and saw that Jordan Marsh was already vacant by then, acquired by Burdines already at OFS. Dillard's had just then expanded the former Ivey's store they acquired three years earlier. Their OFS store today was occupied at the time of my visit by Gayfers, the Mobile-based division of Mercantile Stores before being acquired by Dillard's in 1998. Here is a historical chronology of the Dillard's OFS store: 1973-1987 Robinson's Florida; 1987-1992 Maison Blanche; 1992-1998 Gayfers; 1998-present Dillard's. The history of Robinson's Florida can be checked on the July 2007 blog of Tampa's Westshore Plaza. When Mercantile acquired the New Orleans-based Maison Blanche, their Florida stores were renamed Gayfers, while the Louisiana stores retained the MB banner until the Dillard's acquisition.
Randy,
Thanks much for the clarifications.
I will surely be able to use them when and if I ever induct ORLANDO FASHION SQUARE.
If I do do this...it would be after an article has been posted about WINTER PARK MALL....which was one of Orlando's early malls.....There are some wonderful photos of it around.
I don't know if I have seen any of OFS.
Cheers,
Thanks for taking me down memory lane. I will add to your blog a few clarifications regarding the diagram and some of the information in the other posts.
I don't have a memory of Colonial Plaza before Jordan Marsh since my family moved here in '62 when it was nearing completion. I remember very well the second addition (the South Mall and new Belk Lindsey location) and the third and last addition, Ivey's. Ivey's was not in the location identified in the diagram as J.B.Ivey. Ivey's was built in the very center of the parking lot in front of the mall entrance, built on a 45 degree angle to the other buildings.
The store identified as J.B.Ivey was the original Belk Lindsey location. When the second addition was done Belk Lindsey moved to the back of the mall where you have it shown. I don't recall everything that happened to the old Belk building, but it was subdivided to some degree. There was a uniform store on the South side as well as another small store next to it on the corner.
Ronnies was much larger than the diagram shows and not an out building as shown. It took up the east end of the plaza, a section of black in your diagram. The out building shown as Ronnie's was actually split between a State Farm Insurance office and something else.
The Walgreen's, Barnes & Noble, Plaza Theater, Total Wine (old Belks), and the Goodyear store behind Walgreen's are what remain of the original structures. I guess I should include the bowling alley/restaurant on the southeast corner of the property (Colonial Lanes and Lee's Restaurant).
I have vivid memories of the mall including the Walgreen's which had a medicine odor, which I thought funny since it also had a full service restaurant. You'd have thought the food smell would have overpowered the medicine odor.
The entrances in the diagram are incomplete and in some cases incorrect. The primary entrance and main drive is as it is today. On the Bumby end you entered as you do now, in front of the Walgreen's. It ran the front of the plaza passed Ronnies and along the south side of Belk Lindsey out to Primrose. I traveled this a lot in my teens as it was part of the loop that teen's with cars would drive on Friday and Saturday nights after the mall closed for the evening. We would enter from Primrose, drive slow across the front of the mall and exit right on Bumby. After leaving the mall parking lot we drove east on Colonial Drive past Primerose, pulling into the Steak & Shake parking lot for another slow drive. Then we looped back to the mall along Irving, Fairgreen, and Primrose and did it all over again. This would go on for hours both nights and every weekend. Groups of cars and kids would congregate in the mall parking after having a steakburger and fries watching cars pass by at Steak & Shake.
Some of my older memories of Belk Lindsey include the listening booths in the record (music) department where you could sample the 45s. Belk also housed Denmark's Sporting goods which later moved inside the mall. Denmarks is where you went to buy little league uniforms. Belk is also where my Cub & Boy Scout uniforms were purchased along with lots of cloths, Hush Puppie shoes and round pink wintergreen mints sold at the candy counter in the middle of the store.
The bakery at Ronnie's is where at least half of my sister and my birthday cakes came from. Their sundaes were something to marvel.
We'd occasionally eat at the food counter in the mall owned by McCrory's 5 & dime. I liked the hot dogs because they were served in buns that were cut from a long flat loaf and grilled on each side (outside of the bun). McCrory's is also where I bought most of my Hot Wheels.
The memory of Jordan Marsh that stands out is the escalators to the top floor. The escalator to the top floor was narrower than the lower floors. My sister and would grab the handrails, extend our arms out lifting oursleves off the ground. We would make it a game keeping our feet off the steps for the whole ride.
As I got older I enjoyed going to Decor/Infinte Mushroom. It was a head shop, not that I really knew what that was at the time. It was where I bought my Easy Rider and other blacklight colored posters which adorned my bedroom walls. Infite Mushroom was in the outbuilding next to Goodyear and behind Wallgreen's/Publix.
Well there's lots more that I'm recalling, but I have things to do.
Anon,
Thanks much for the rectifications. Until now, I was unable to correctly place COLONIAL PLAZA'S J.B. Ivey anchor store.
Apparently, it was added during a major renovation and expansion that was finished in 1984....and was (as you say) built in the front (Colonial) parking lot...connecting into the Main Entrance (?).
I haven't been able to find any type of aerial photo (or mall map, etc.) to show exactly how this store was situated....so I have not done a "circa-1985" site plan.........yet.
However, I have "renovated" the original, circa-1975 site plan drawing, adding the corrections you mentioned. Please look it over and indicate ANY further corrections that need to be done.
Thanks much.
Happy Holly-Daze!
As a follow on to my Nov 29th update, here are two additional corrections that I didn't mention. McCrory's is not in the location you have identified. It was located at the main entrance to the mall on the East side. There was also a mall walkway that ran the length of Jordan Marsh with entrances on both ends. On the West end of that walkway was a sporting goods store that was previously located in the old Belk Lindsey store and on the East end of the walkway was a savings & loan. If you send me an email address I can forward you a corrected floorplan drawing.
Anon,
I've added the corrections that you mention. Is the floor plan more accurate now?
Regretfully, I'm rather reluctant to post my email addy here...what with all of the scumbag "fishing" things and all.
Anyway, thanks much for posting.
Hope that you're having a great holiday.
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