PALOUSE EMPIRE MALL
West Pullman and Farm Roads
Moscow, Idaho
Idaho's tenth mall-type shopping center was built in the North Central (or Panhandle) section of the state, in a 20-square-mile region known as The Palouse ["Puh-loos"]. This area owes its name to the Paluse Native American tribe, its original inhabitants.
The mall's story begins in 1964, when the J.C. Penney Company asked Spokane developer Earl D. McCarthy to find a site for a prospective Palouse Penney's store. Land was secured in 1969, with McCarthy signing a lease with the University of Idaho, who owned a 45-acre site, located 1.2 miles west of downtown Moscow ["Mos-koh"].
PALOUSE EMPIRE MALL originated with a single-level strip center that was dedicated on September 28, 1976. Three tenants occupied the structure; a (40,000 square foot) Kmart, (30,000 square foot) Rosauers supermarket and (20,000 square foot) Pay 'n Save Drug.
An enclosed mall of 250,700 square feet was added to the west side of the strip center. This fully-enclosed addition featured a 975-foot-long concourse and opened, with fifteen tenants, on October 4, 1979. Two anchor department stores were dedicated; a 1-level (38,500 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (37,400 square foot), Seattle-based The Bon Marche.
The PALOUSE EMPIRE MALL grand opening was attended by US Representative Steve Symms (R), Idaho Senator Norma Dobler (D), Richard Gibb (President of the University of Idaho), Don Mackin (Mayor of Moscow) and Patty McCarthy (widow of mall developer Earl D. McCarthy).
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.
A 1-level (37,300 square foot) Ernst Home Center was built as a freestanding structure. Its official dedication was held on March 3, 1980. The mall's fourth anchor, a 1-level (39,200 square foot), Bellevue, Washington-based Lamonts, opened in August 1980. As a footnote, this store carried women's, men's, children's and infants apparel, domestics, linens, jewelry, cosmetics and shoes.
Now fully-realized, the shopping hub spanned approximately 371,000 leasable square feet and housed thirty-one stores and services. The Theatre Operators University 4 was built as a northeastern mall outparcel. This venue showed first features in early 1983.
Lamonts was acquired by Fresno-based Gottschalks in April 2000. They rebranded the PALOUSE MALL store on August 26 of the same year. Troutman's began a liquidation sale in February 2003 and eventually re-opened as a Ross Dress For Less. By this time. the shopping complex was being managed by Jameson Commercial Property, of Spokane, Washington.
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