West Pullman and Farm Roads
Moscow, Idaho
Idaho's sixth mall-type shopping center was built on a 45-acre site, located 1.2 miles west of downtown Moscow. This city is located in the North Central -or Panhandle- section of the state, in a 20-square-mile region known as The Palouse. This area owes its name to its original inhabitants, the Paluse Native American tribe.
PALOUSE EMPIRE MALL originated with a single-level strip center, built on land leased from the University of Idaho. The complex, developed by Spokane's Earl D. McCarthy, was dedicated in October 1976. Three tenants occupied the 96,000 square foot structure; a (40,300 square foot) Kmart, Rosauers supermarket and Pay 'n Save Drug.
An enclosed mall of 250,700 square feet was added to the west side of the existing strip center. The addition opened to the public on October 4, 1979. Comprised of a single level of retail, the expansion was originally anchored by a 1-level (38,500 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (37,400 square foot), Seattle-based The Bon Marche.
The grand opening of PALOUSE EMPIRE MALL was attended by US Representative Steve Symms (R), Idaho Senator Norma Dobler (D) and Don Mackin (Mayor of Moscow). Charter stores and services included Kinney Shoes, The Dog's Ear, Waldenbooks, Naturalizer Shoes, The Cover Up apparel, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Betsy's Candle Magic, House of Fabrics, Lerner Shops, Musicland and Orange Julius.
The shopping hub now spanned approximately 371,000 leasable square feet. A 1-level (39,200 square foot), Bellevue, Washington-based Lamonts was dedicated in August 1980. It was followed by a 1-level (37,300 square foot) Ernst Home Center. This store was added as a southwestern outparcel of the mall proper. The Theatre Operators University 4 was built as a northeastern outparcel. This venue showed its first features in early 1983.
PALOUSE EMPIRE MALL was -by far- the largest retail complex in -or around- Moscow. Its primary competitor, MOSCOW MALL (1978) was located 2.1 miles southwest. This partially-enclosed facility spanned approximately 150,000 leasable square feet. It was eventually renamed EASTSIDE MARKETPLACE.
A mall-wide face lift was announced in March 1996. During this project, the mall's exterior was remodeled, a vaulted ceiling Main Entry built and new interior lighting installed. Kmart had been shuttered on September 27, 1995. The vacant store was expanded by 13,000 square feet (to 52,300). It re-opened, as a Salem, Oregon-based Waremart Foods, on July 22, 1996.
Newly-renovated, the shopping hub was re-dedicated on November 13, 1997. As part of its remodeling, its name had been shortened to PALOUSE MALL. J.C. Penney went dark on August 1, 1998. Eugene, Oregon-based Troutman's Emporium renovated the building and opened their thirty-first location on September 5, 1998. Waremart Foods morphed into WinCo Foods in January 1999.
Lamonts was acquired by Fresno-based Gottschalks in April 2000. They rebranded the PALOUSE MALL store on August 26 of the same year. The Troutman's store began a liquidation sale in February 2003 and eventually re-opened as a Ross Dress For Less.
The Bon Marche was rebranded as a Bon-Macy's on August 1, 2003 and became a bona fide Macy's on March 6, 2005. Gottschalks closed their PALOUSE MALL store on January 27, 2007. The structure was divided between Old Navy and Bed, Bath & Beyond stores. These opened for business on August 14 and 15, 2007.
By the 2010s, PALOUSE MALL housed forty-one stores and services, with eight outparcel tenants. Major stores included Ross Dress For Less, Bed Bath & Beyond, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Rite Aid Drug, Michaels, Winco Foods and Marshalls. The mall's Macy's was shuttered in April 2016. The building would sit vacant for nearly 5 years.
Sources:
The Lewiston Morning Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho)
The University of Idaho Argonaut (Moscow, Idaho)
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News
http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
www.palousemall.com
www.wsulibs.wsu.com
A mall-wide face lift was announced in March 1996. During this project, the mall's exterior was remodeled, a vaulted ceiling Main Entry built and new interior lighting installed. Kmart had been shuttered on September 27, 1995. The vacant store was expanded by 13,000 square feet (to 52,300). It re-opened, as a Salem, Oregon-based Waremart Foods, on July 22, 1996.
Newly-renovated, the shopping hub was re-dedicated on November 13, 1997. As part of its remodeling, its name had been shortened to PALOUSE MALL. J.C. Penney went dark on August 1, 1998. Eugene, Oregon-based Troutman's Emporium renovated the building and opened their thirty-first location on September 5, 1998. Waremart Foods morphed into WinCo Foods in January 1999.
Lamonts was acquired by Fresno-based Gottschalks in April 2000. They rebranded the PALOUSE MALL store on August 26 of the same year. The Troutman's store began a liquidation sale in February 2003 and eventually re-opened as a Ross Dress For Less.
The Bon Marche was rebranded as a Bon-Macy's on August 1, 2003 and became a bona fide Macy's on March 6, 2005. Gottschalks closed their PALOUSE MALL store on January 27, 2007. The structure was divided between Old Navy and Bed, Bath & Beyond stores. These opened for business on August 14 and 15, 2007.
By the 2010s, PALOUSE MALL housed forty-one stores and services, with eight outparcel tenants. Major stores included Ross Dress For Less, Bed Bath & Beyond, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Rite Aid Drug, Michaels, Winco Foods and Marshalls. The mall's Macy's was shuttered in April 2016. The building would sit vacant for nearly 5 years.
In September 2020, Minnesota's Target chain confirmed plans to renovate and expand the structure into a 1-level (60,000 square foot) store. Construction was underway by February 2021, with Target opening its doors on October 24, 2021.
Sources:
The Lewiston Morning Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho)
The University of Idaho Argonaut (Moscow, Idaho)
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News
http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
www.palousemall.com
www.wsulibs.wsu.com
https://www.nwpb.org
"Palouse Mall" article on Wikipedia
