MAYFAIR CENTER
North Mayfair Road and West North Avenue
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Milwaukee's first regional retail complex, SOUTHGATE SHOPPING CENTER, opened in 1951. This was followed by BAYSHORE SHOPPING CENTER in 1954. Both complexes started out as strip centers, which were later renovated into enclosed shopping malls.
The metro area's first bona fide shopping mall, CAPITOL COURT, came along in 1956. It was followed by the region's second mall-type shopping venue, which was built in 1958. The center, tentatively known as WESTGATE, had had its name changed to MAYFAIR SHOPPING CENTER by the time of its official dedication in 1959.
The open-air complex was designed by Milwaukee-based Grassold-Johnson and Associates, Chicago-based Perkins and Will and Los Angeles-based Welton Becket and Associates.
It was developed by Milwaukee malting maven Kurtis Froedtert, Marshall Field and Company and Chicago's Philip Klutznick [January 2008 Archive]. The center occupied an 86 acre tract, located 9.6 miles northwest of center city Milwaukee.
The north end of the shopping venue was anchored by a 3-level (288,500 square foot), Chicago-based Marshall Field's, which opened in January 1959. A 2-level (210,700 square foot) Gimbels-Milwaukee, the third store in the chain, anchored the mall's south end. Towering over the expansive Center Court was a 6-story office building.
Inline stores at the original MAYFAIR CENTER included S.S. Kresge, Lerner Shops, Larry Lynde's Toys, Fanny Farmer Candies, Brooks Brothers apparel and a supermarket.
The third of Milwaukee's malls, BROOKFIELD SQUARE, opened as the region's first enclosed center, in 1967. This was followed by SOUTHRIDGE MALL in 1970, and NORTHRIDGE MALL in 1973.
The single-level MAYFAIR was enclosed and climate-controlled in 1973. At this time, a 2-level "Bazaar" was built at the center of the center, featuring an indoor Ice Chalet, McDonald's and retailers such as Hot Sam Pretzels, Merle Harmon's Sporting Goods and Soap Opera.
Moreover, the north and south concourses were fitted with artificial streams; these running the length of each and seperating the east and west store blocks.
A second mall makeover was completed in 1986. The circa-'70s Bazaar and Ice Chalet were gutted and replaced by a 160,000 square foot Atrium, with a Food Court on its second level. The artificial streams, in the North and South Wings, were filled-in and floored.
1986 was also the year in which the Gimbels chain was divested, with the MAYFAIR MALL location becoming a Milwaukee-based Boston Store.
In June 1998, Chicago-based General Growth Properties acquired the mall. The next year, a third renovation got underway.
During this project, the second level (in the Atrium area) was extended for the entire length of the mall. 170,000 square feet of retail area was created out of existing mall space.
Moreover, the Atrium and Food Court were doubled in size. Three new restaurants, and a Talbot's family apparel store, were built onto the mall's west side. Lastly, an 18-screen multiplex cinema was constructed on the mall's northeast corner, which was dedicated in May 1999.
The latest renovation / expansion at MAYFAIR MALL consisted of the addition of a 34,000 square foot Crate and Barrel, built in front of the main mall entrance. This store opened in 2005.
In 2009, the 1,110,000 square foot shopping venue features over one hundred and eighty stores and services, is billed as the premier upscale mall in Milwaukee and is the largest mixed-use shopping center in Wisconsin.
Sources:
www.retro.com (Milwaukee Memories) "In 1951, Southgate Changed Shopping" / by John Gurda / Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel / December 5, 1999
"Mayfair Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)
Malls Of America blogspot / Keith Milford, webmaster
www.hunzinger.com (Hunzinger Construction)
Two "Anonymous" posts
Posts by "Panda"
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A self-confessed mall-o-phile since 1969
20 comments:
I'm a bit confused on the two-level "bazaar". Was it like a flea market/downscale store-like revenue, or what???
It sure is intriguing though.
Jonah,
Of course, I was never, ever at MAYFAIR MALL, either in 1973 (when this "Bazaar" opened) or any other time.....
I imagine that the Bazaar was not so much a "flea market" thing, or "downscale" even (even tho this was 1973, when the last remnants of a shopping mall as a "middle market" marketplace was still the norm....but the situation was beginning to change).
The Bazaar is described as a 2-level area with a skating rink on the lower, a "central atrium". This leads me to conclude that it was just a newly-built section of the mall that would have had the typical mall merchant stores of the day.
Back then, every area of a mall tended to have its own, cute, name...look at the CINDERELLA CITY article on here, i.e., "Shamrock Mall", "Blue Mall", "Cinder Alley", etcetera.
The CHERRY HILL MALL had the "Market Court", "Cherry Court".....blah, blah, blah.
The info about malls on here that I had a lot of data on (from back in the days) mentions areas of a particular mall, with a catchy name for each area.
This stuff faded out by the mid-70s, I guess....and a mall was just a mall.....with...maybe a "center court" area or (later on) "food court".
Getting back to MAYFAIR/Milwaukee's "Bazaar" deal, I would bet that this was named so due to the fact that Chicago's RANDHURST had a "Bazaar Level" back in the days....
Cheers,
I grew up at Mayfair Mall and remember the bazaar area quite well. The ice skating rink exactly in the center of the mall and spanned both the first and second levels -- you could stand at the railing on the second level to look down on the rink.
The rink was, of course, surrounded by mall walkway on all sides, the north and south of which extended down the two concourses on the first level. To the east and west, however, there was also a certain amount of room as well. To the east, McDonald's extended across the entire length of the ice skating rink and featured windows that also looked over the rink itself. To the west (which also happened to be the area where you entered the rink), the mall built the bazaar, which was a group of shops arranged slightly more haphazardly than the rest... after travelling west, you would have to turn to the south to continue along to the rest of the shops. Back there, you could find a record store, Hot Sam's (the best pretzels EVER), the arcade, Merle Harmon's sporting goods (great for 1970s and 80s Brewer gear!), a pet store and a soaps shop called 'Soap Opera' (if I remember correctly!), among other things. The decor was distinctly different than the rest of the mall, kind of a mosaic-y tile theme going on with much dimmer lighting. It was never as well-travelled as the rest of the mall, for obvious reasons, and some of the shops struggled as a result. I do also recall that you could walk the length of this area, going west and then south, and then meet up with one of the "arms" of the mall that would eventually lead you back to south concourse... I believe you came out where Fanny Farmer's was -- not sure what's there now but Brooks Brothers would have been just to the east of it.
Ah, memories. I should mention, though, that the bazaar area was not two levels in the way you might be thinking -- there was a first floor and then some additional space in a basement area that you reached by going down a set of stairs in the middle of the entire area. I remember this fairly vividly because I took piano lessons here for a short while before my teacher decided to give up the space and teach from her home (her husband had been a salesman at the music store that was located along the walkway that led to the bazaar).
Wow, sorry that was a long 'comment'... I didn't realize how much I remembered until I started typing!
Anon,
Don't EVER feel the need to apologize for making a lengthy post on here.
It is wonderful to hear about the MAYFAIR of olde (circa-1970s) in such detail!
It can be real difficult to conjure up a "classic mall" article (for the Mid-mod Mall Museum here), when there is not much vintage/historical inormation to be found on said mall.
Posts such as yours make the job a LOT easier.
Thanks much.
Do you possibly remember much about CAPITOL COURT?
I'll add my 2 cents worth. I also grew up in this mall having lived my entire childhood only about three blocks from the place (60's and 70's). I remember when it was an open air shopping center. It was as beautiful as the two postcards suggest. Favorite stores included Gimbels (with the Tasty Town restaraunt), Kresghes (sp?) Dime Store, Larry Lynde's Toy Store (my first Frisbee and most of my Tonka trucks), Chappy's (?) Sporting Goods, and the fancy Marshall Fields at the North End (where I got caught stealing a toy motorboat by an old store security lady). Also remember a grocery store in the area where the Bazaar eventuallly was built. The west side of Wauwatosa was booming at the time, lots of new homes going up and new high school was being built to handle all the Boomers' children. All sorts of local "events" were held there, my favorite being the annual 4-H Club show with it's tractor rides around the parking lots. A fun game was to see how far into the underground access tunnel you could get before being chased out (and being afraid they'd close the big door behind you). Messing with the parking lot street cleaner on warm summer mornings was also a blast. They then, in classic '70's style, enclosed the mall as has already been discussed. I believe the Bazaar was the first part of the mall enclosed, followed by the rest of the mall with it's ice rink and streams. At the time we enjoyed that as it gave us some respite from the cold Wisconsin winters on our walk to school. Messing with the security guard those mornings was also a blast, as he couldn't figure out which doors we were going to come in from. Also tried to catch one of the gold carp from one of the streams. The ice rink was a cool for a while but the novelty soon wore off. Loved the old Mayfair Theater also (gone now) where I can remember seeing the original Batman Movie and the first Charlie Brown movie. The mall has changed considerably since those early days. Was there last fall and I have to say it was rather depressing. Although significantly more shopping opportunities exist, the charm is not there. The clientele rep isn't all that great either, especially around the new movie theaters. Anyway, the original open air shopping center, in my opinion, was the best of Mayfair's configurations. I'll never forget...
Thanks for the additional MAYFAIR MALL info, Anonymouses.
I've incorporated some details into the written content of the article here.
Mayfair holds so many great memories for me. There was always something special about that mall. Other malls were just places to shop. Mayfair was an EVENT. It was big, brassy and fancy.
My earliest memories of Mayfair were of the streams along the main concourses. I remember there were footbridges over the streams and I always liked climbing over them, back and forth and back and forth again. I liked to see the fish in the stream, and would watch them swim up and down the channel.
Then of course, there was the "bazaar" area with the ice rink and the McDonald's that overlooked the rink. I remember many times sitting in the McDonald's watching people skate below, and even a time or two where I actually did go skating on that rink. (I was never much of a good skater.)
I remember there was a picture of the mall in the Marshall Field's store from when it was an open-air mall. I believe it was next to the elevators, but I can't be 100% certain. I do remember asking my mom if that was the same mall, and she confirmed that, yes, at one time, the mall did not have a roof and that's how it looked. I remember wishing I could have seen it back in those days. It looked prettier to me.
In the mid-80s, I was saddened to see the streams paved over and signs proclaiming the "new and improved" Mayfair on its way. I remember signs placed throughout the mall that said things like, "Where did all the fish and the trees go?" And then the answer would be something like, "They're gone, but a new experience will take its place." The signs proclaimed a new walking surface would "make walking more comfortable in the mall." I just wanted the trees and streams back.
After the transformation, it truly was easier to navigate the mall (especially without the cumbersome rink and the pathway around that area reconfigured), but it had definitely lost a lot if its charm. It felt like another typical mall. And with the added level above, it was a lot bigger and took much longer to navigate.
Another commenter mentioned about the 70s Bazaar that the western side was more haphazard that the rest of the mall, and I do remember this as being true. I remember it being confusing to navigate that area, but there were some fun places to see there, and contributed to some of the odd charm of the place. When the mall was reconfigured, that whole area changed completely.
Finally, I remember shopping at Gimbels- the only Gimbels I ever remember patronizing as a kid. I think I bought a watch there once. Interestingly enough, if Gimbels had stuck around, the mall would now be anchored by Gimbels and Macy's-- the two main competitors in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street." Think of the mall promotions that could have happened... :)
Thanks for your wonderful site-- I'm really enjoying it a lot!
Rick,
Thanks for relating the MAYFAIR MALL memories. It was a special place for a lot of people....I've received a lot of comment posts about it.
I wish I could see a mall store plan, circa 1974 or so.....I've heard so much about the "Bazaar" and Ice Rink. It would be cool to be able to draw out a site plan to add to the article here.
Maybe some day...hee hee.
I'm flattered and pleased that you enjoy the site.
Thanks so much for posting.
Cheers,
I was super young when the Bazaar was there at the mall - in fact, I had no idea of what they called it until I read this blog. My memory consists of visits to a particular store which my mother like that I remember a small circular staircase (very 70's) that took you from the lower level of the store up to the next. I totally remember the ice rink next to the McDonalds as a cousin had his b-day party there once...and I remember Gimbles and lots of red carpet - and when you entered the store, I remembered stairs that went down like right where cosmetics and fragrance is now..not really down low, but just like bi level stairs.
Anon,
Thanks for perusing and posting.
I wish I had enough reference material to create 1959 and 1973 site plans for MAYFAIR.
Thus far, I haven't found enough material to compose such plans.
Maybe someday.
Here is another thing I thought I might mention: down the corridor on the first floor of the food court wing there is a hallway which will take you to restrooms. At the end is an elevator and a staircase - this area hasn't been refurbished and looks very 60's to me - the staircase if you go down it leads to maybe 2 or three offices. This area is definitely original to the mall and it's nice to see the contrast. Also, when in Macy's (which used to be the anchor Marshall Fields) if you are near the entry ways on the main floor that lead to the back storage areas where the employees go, it's also got the old "original" look to it and hasn't been remodeled. My intuition leads me to think that perhaps if someone would just simply ask the mall, one could probabably get blue print copies from when the mall was in the 60's and 70's. I did a presentation for a marketing class back in the early 90's about promotion of Mayfair Mall and it seems to me that my group did have some brief background information that we had to get directly from the mall because the internet just didn't exist back then. ;)
Friday, August 18, 2006
Publisher's Journal
Nostalgic Mayfair found on long-forgotten reelThe Business Journal of Milwaukee - by Mark J. Sabljak
Print Email Reprints RSS Feeds Add to Del.icio.us Digg This CommentsThe discovery Dennis Ervin made would be like digging up a time capsule in your backyard.
He remembered putting the reel of tape in his basement years ago, a gift as he helped clean out the basement of Mayfair Mall with a marketing colleague.
Ervin worked at Mayfair for 15 years in several capacities, including advertising and as director of the mall's ice chalet, which closed two decades ago.
Yes, this column is going to date you a bit.
But back to the film. When Ervin found the tape, he threw it on a projector and then had it transferred to a videotape. He couldn't wait to show it to me recently.
It was a documentary about Mayfair Mall, probably filmed in the late 1950s or very early '60s.
With a voiceover by then-famous actor Frank Lovejoy, it tours the newly opened Mayfair Mall, which it labels the "General Store of the Jet Age!"
The film is a time trip for anyone living in the late 1950s and early '60s.
It follows a fictional family of mom and dad, complete with pipe, young daughter and son as they spend a day shopping, eating, playing and spending at the mall.
The mall is lauded for its design (open air at the time, but filled with landscaping and flowers), its "Buck Rogers" control systems, its underground loading docks and its variety of stores.
The store names are themselves memorable:
Gimbels
Lerners
SS Kresge
Stumpfs
Mayfair National Bank
And soon, Marshall Field's.
Ervin, who is 54, can recite history not only of Mayfair Mall, but other great -- and now gone -- Milwaukee shopping places in the area, such as Southgate and Capitol Court.
He talked of the first "renovation" at Mayfair, when it was enclosed in 1973. And he became part of the history when he joined the staff when the ice chalet opened later that year. He left several years after the chalet was torn down for another renovation in 1986.
The ice legacy of the Ervin family continues, however. His wife, Sue, coaches internationally competitive figure skaters.
Now Ervin, who sells at Suiters Distinctive Clothiers in Brookfield, would like to see the videotape put to a good use.
"Mayfair Mall was created by Kurtis Froedtert with the intent of using the profits to establish a hospital," Ervin said. "I would like to find some way for it to derive income, which could be donated to a sports medicine clinic at Froedtert."
Ervin's film is certainly marketable, if for no other reason than its nostalgia.
"All you have to do is show this to someone who shopped Mayfair Mall in the early 1960s and watch their faces," he said.
To contact Ervin, e-mail him at sunsetbowl@msn.com
Mark J. Sabljak is publisher of The Business Journal. He can be reached at 414-278-7788 or msabljak@bizjournals.com.
Photograph at the Mayfair Mall Ice Chalet and article about it.
http://www.onmilwaukee.com/family/articles/icechalet.html
Panda,
Thanks so much for the posts and info. I rewrote the copy of the article a bit to include a few details....
I will try and contact Mr. Ervin (at the email addy included in the material you posted) and see what happens.
I have tried -on several occasions- to contact mall-operator REIT's requesting info.
This has -almost completely- resulted in no answers...or replies saying that *they* don't have info (about their own mall) that "goes back that far".....or some similar type of brush-off.
Sorry to come off so negative here, but it does get rather frustrating. I finally vowed to not bother contacting the huge, mall-maker mega-conglomerates and just research things -as best I could- on my own, hee hee.
Maybe Mr. Irvin will be able to provide enough info for me to be able to concoct more historically-oriented site plans for MAYFAIR (circa-early 1960s and 1970s) and CAPITOL COURT.
Thanks again,
http://books.google.com/books?id=pAbTf8H92PYC&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=MAYFAIR+MALL+GIMBELS&source=bl&ots=FZxGbkD4Vi&sig=aZRBJM7bVYiQDokpvrmgCN6oEqw&hl=en&ei=JQrRSY2OE9nfnQeCsdDICQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result
Page 122 in a book about Wauwatosa WI shows a couple photo's I've never seen before. I hope you get some sort of answer from Erwin - that would be very cool! ;)
Panda...
An update. The photos were quite revealing. I was able to do a site plan of the original, open-air mall. However, it would help to know the locations of the major inline stores...such as the supermarket, Kresge, etcetera.
Perhaps someone out there can recall......
The email to D. Ervin bounced back undeliverable....
Back to the drawing board, I guess.
Cheers,
So the ice rink was inspired by THE GALLERIA! Wow...who knows how many malls took inspiration from that place? Probably every mall named "Galleria", for one.
Jonah,
And that article negelected to mention that the venerable GALLERIA HOUSTON had -most likely- been influenced by ice rinks at malls such as Long Island's ROOSEVELT FIELD (1956), Portland's LLOYD CENTER (1960), LA's TOPANGA PLAZA (1964) and the Bay Area's SUNVALLEY (1967).
The Houston shopping center's "Galleria" mall moniker was much emulated, as well.
Cheers,
Nah...maybe the original inspiration was MONROEVILLE MALL. The other malls had ice rinks as a small side feature. Nothing that could be used as even NFL practice. Still, THE GALLERIA (not HOUSTON GALLERIA, mind you) did have several notable firsts:
First mall centered around an ice rink
First mall with three stories of retail (no, RANDHURST CENTER doesn't really count. Neither does CINDERELLA CITY MALL)
First ice rink with a skylight
First mall with directly attached hotel
I still wonder whether -or not- LLOYD CENTER's ice riink might not have been an influence on the GALLERIA in Houston (I say "GALLERIA HOUSTON" or "HOUSTON GALLERIA" to differentiate it from the umpteen "Galleria" malls that followed it....).
Although just about all of the shopping mall ice rinks were off in a seperate structure (Roosevelt Field, Southland [Hayward, CA], etcetera....the one at LLOYD CENTER was/is at the epicenter of the center...altho on a basement level that is overlooked from above).
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