THE LARGEST OPEN-AIR SHOPPING
MALLS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1956:

1. NORTHLAND CENTER, Southfield, MI
2. ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, Town of Hempstead, NY
3. OLD ORCHARD CENTER, Skokie, IL
4. LAKEWOOD CENTER, Lakewood, CA
5. CROSS COUNTY CENTER, Yonkers, NY

THE LARGEST OPEN-AIR SHOPPING
MALLS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1960:

1. GARDEN STATE PLAZA, Paramus, NJ
2. NORTHLAND CENTER, Southfield, MI
3. LLOYD CENTER, Portland, OR
4. ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, Town of Hempstead, NY
5. BERGEN MALL, Paramus & Maywood, NJ


NORTHLAND CENTER
Northwestern Highway and 8 Mile Road
Southfield Township (Oakland County), Michigan

Victor Gruen's third mall design was the first to be actually built. NORTHLAND CENTER was situated on a 163 acre tract, 10 miles northwest of center city Detroit, in (then) unincorporated Southfield Township, Michigan.

The complex was a sprawling, 1.2 million square foot, open-air structure. It encompassed two levels; one a shipping and receiving / service basement, the other devoted to retail.

The single anchor store, a 4-level (511,500 square foot) J.L. Hudson, was situated in the center of the complex and was the first suburban location in the Detroit-based retail chain. It was surrounded by eight store blocks, situated around several open court areas, which featured fountains, sculpture and attractive landscaping.

The 30 million dollar NORTHLAND opened March 22, 1954. For the next six years, it was the largest shopping center in the United States. The original mall opened with sixty-five stores. Within months, an additional forty-five were in business.

In keeping with the 1950s concept of a regional center as a one-stop shopping destination, the original NORTHLAND included a bank, post office, medical clinic and lost children office. There was also a public auditorium, Kroger supermarket and S.S. Kresge 5 and 10.

The mall was given greater access in late 1962, when the James Couzens (later John C. Lodge) Expressway was extended from Detroit's Wyoming Avenue to 8 Mile Road, in the recently-incorporated city of Southfield.

New shopping malls dotted the region, including TEL-TWELVE MALL (1967), in Southfield, LIVONIA MALL (1964), in Livonia and WESTLAND CENTER [May 2008 archive], in Westland, which was Michigan's second enclosed shopping mall. NORTHLAND had to do a major upgrade, in order to compete.

A renovation and expansion project was completed in 1974, which included enclosing the existing mall courts and concourses. Two anchor department stores were also added; a 2-level (284,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (118,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward. The mall, now encompassing 1.5 million leasable square feet, fared well throughout the 1970s.

Things began to change in the 1980s, when several national chain tenants vacated, including S.S. Kresge, Jo Ann Fabrics and The Limited.

The 1990s were also years of upheaval at NORTHLAND. Kohl's and T.J. Maxx came and went and Montgomery Ward closed. In spite of this, an addition was built in 1996, at the mall's southwest end. This included a new, 1-level (116,000 square foot) Target.

Along with the new century came more changes. J.C. Penney closed in 2000, leaving a large vacancy in the mall, but the old Montgomery Ward, which had been vacant for six years, was leased to National Wholesale Liquidators. Hudson's was rebranded as Marshall Field's in early 2001 and morphed into Macy's in September 2006

The 1.7 million square foot shopping venue, the largest in Michigan, was acquired by New York City-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation in December 2008.