South Missouri Avenue and Lakeview Road
Clearwater, Florida
On September 18, 1967, ground was broken at a 45-acre parcel, located 1.8 miles southwest of downtown Clearwater. SUNSHINE MALL, the Pinellas Peninsula's second mall-type shopping center, was being developed by the New Haven, Connecticut-based Gambest Corporation. The structure was designed by Clearwater's Frank Mudano.
An official dedication was held on September 26, 1968. In its original state, SUNSHINE MALL encompassed approximately 345,000 leasable square feet and contained seventy-two stores and services. The complex was anchored by a 2-level (135,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. Charter inline stores included Fremacs for Men, Stuarts Ready-to-Wear For Ladies, a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio, SupeRx Drugs, Pantry Pride supermarket and J.G. McCrory 5 & 10.
At the center of the center was a large court area with two water-less Wonderfall Fountains. There was also a smaller court area, on the north end of the complex, facing the McCrory dime store entry.
A 1968 account of the shopping center's grand opening mentions that H. Everett Hougen (Mayor of Clearwater) and Sheri Kooken, "Miss Clearwater 1968," were on hand to cut a ceremonial ribbon. It goes on to say that "mini-skirted cowgirls" operated a shopper's shuttle between the parking lot and mall entrances and that traffic was backed up on South Missouri Avenue for 10 miles.
The Trans-Lux Theatre, a freestanding venue north of the mall proper, showed its first feature on December 20, 1968. It was renamed the Sunshine Mall Theatre and then divided into two auditoria. The cinema re-opened, as the Sunshine Mall Twin, on December 14, 1977. A 3-screen addition was built in 1986, with the venue known, henceforth, as the Sunshine Mall 5.
A Miami-based J. Byron had been built south of the mall proper. The single-level (60,000 square foot) store was dedicated on November 18, 1970, in conjunction with a J. Byron at St. Petersburg's GATEWAY MALL. The SUNSHINE MALL store was joined to the mall by a thirty-three store addition, which was completed in mid-1972. With this expansion, the complex encompassed 470,000 leasable square feet and housed approximately 110 stores and services.
The halcyon days of SUNSHINE MALL were short. The center was joined by CLEARWATER MALL {3.6 miles east, in Clearwater} in August 1973. An even larger venue, COUNTRYSIDE MALL {5.2 miles northeast, in Pinellas County}, opened in September 1975. BAY AREA OUTLET MALL / CROSSROADS MALL {4.4 miles southeast, in Largo} debuted in 1984.
In an attempt to keep SUNSHINE MALL competitive, a small face lift was done to the interior during 1981. Vacant space on the South Mall was refashioned into The Boardwalk, a 16-booth bazaar. The Community Room on the North Mall became The Marketplace, which housed 10 booths. Mirrored ceilings were installed in the main shopping concourse. New stores were also signed, such as Toy King, Foster's Exotic Pets, Clearwater Sports Unlimited and Captain Tom's Restaurant.
The renovation failed to halt the mall's decline. By the early 1990s, the complex had declined into a dilapidated, virtually vacant property. The New Haven, Connecticut-based Fusco Corporation, who had acquired the shopping center in March 1972, proposed a retail-centered redevelopment in early-1995. However, their big box-based plan did not pan out. The shopping center was shuttered and demolished in July 1998. Four residential complexes were built on the site, along with three restaurants and two small office buildings.
Sources:
St. Petersburg Times
The Evening Independent
Lisa Mudano-Dalton and George R. Miller
http://www.clearwater-fl.com
www.cinematreasures.org
A 1968 account of the shopping center's grand opening mentions that H. Everett Hougen (Mayor of Clearwater) and Sheri Kooken, "Miss Clearwater 1968," were on hand to cut a ceremonial ribbon. It goes on to say that "mini-skirted cowgirls" operated a shopper's shuttle between the parking lot and mall entrances and that traffic was backed up on South Missouri Avenue for 10 miles.
The Trans-Lux Theatre, a freestanding venue north of the mall proper, showed its first feature on December 20, 1968. It was renamed the Sunshine Mall Theatre and then divided into two auditoria. The cinema re-opened, as the Sunshine Mall Twin, on December 14, 1977. A 3-screen addition was built in 1986, with the venue known, henceforth, as the Sunshine Mall 5.
A Miami-based J. Byron had been built south of the mall proper. The single-level (60,000 square foot) store was dedicated on November 18, 1970, in conjunction with a J. Byron at St. Petersburg's GATEWAY MALL. The SUNSHINE MALL store was joined to the mall by a thirty-three store addition, which was completed in mid-1972. With this expansion, the complex encompassed 470,000 leasable square feet and housed approximately 110 stores and services.
The halcyon days of SUNSHINE MALL were short. The center was joined by CLEARWATER MALL {3.6 miles east, in Clearwater} in August 1973. An even larger venue, COUNTRYSIDE MALL {5.2 miles northeast, in Pinellas County}, opened in September 1975. BAY AREA OUTLET MALL / CROSSROADS MALL {4.4 miles southeast, in Largo} debuted in 1984.
In an attempt to keep SUNSHINE MALL competitive, a small face lift was done to the interior during 1981. Vacant space on the South Mall was refashioned into The Boardwalk, a 16-booth bazaar. The Community Room on the North Mall became The Marketplace, which housed 10 booths. Mirrored ceilings were installed in the main shopping concourse. New stores were also signed, such as Toy King, Foster's Exotic Pets, Clearwater Sports Unlimited and Captain Tom's Restaurant.
The renovation failed to halt the mall's decline. By the early 1990s, the complex had declined into a dilapidated, virtually vacant property. The New Haven, Connecticut-based Fusco Corporation, who had acquired the shopping center in March 1972, proposed a retail-centered redevelopment in early-1995. However, their big box-based plan did not pan out. The shopping center was shuttered and demolished in July 1998. Four residential complexes were built on the site, along with three restaurants and two small office buildings.
Sources:
St. Petersburg Times
The Evening Independent
Lisa Mudano-Dalton and George R. Miller
http://www.clearwater-fl.com
www.cinematreasures.org
