James Wilson Rouse (1914-1996), a major mid-century mover and shaker, was instrumental in the creation of the American shopping mall...a concept that was copied around the world.
Photo from Maryland Historical Society Library
A list of shopping malls developed by James Rouse and company between the mid-1950s and 1978. Those indicated in green have been inducted into the Mall Hall of Fame.
1. MONDAWMIN CENTER, Baltimore City, MD (October 1956)
2. HARUNDALE MALL, Anne Arundel County, MD (October 1958)
3. CHARLOTTETOWN MALL, Charlotte, NC (August 1959)
4. NORTH STAR MALL, San Antonio, TX (September 1960)
5. CHERRY HILL MALL, Camden County, NJ (October 1961)
6. THE MALL, Saint Matthews, KY (March 1962)
7. NORTHWAY MALL, Allegheny County, PA (August 1962)
8. GREENGATE MALL, Westmoreland County, PA (August 1965)
9. PLYMOUTH MEETING MALL, Montgomery County, PA (February 1966)
10. SALEM MALL, Montgomery County, OH (October 1966)
11. EASTFIELD MALL, Springfield MA (April 1968)
12. ALMEDA MALL, Houston, TX (October 1968)
Photo from Maryland Historical Society Library
James Rouse helped to change America's mid-20th century landscape. After World War II, the nation was experiencing a massive population shift from the inner city to outlying suburbs. This was brought on by new mega-housing developments, which had no specific downtown areas.
Mr. Rouse, along with developers Edward J. DeBartolo and A. Alfred Taubman, and architects Victor Gruen, John Graham, Junior, Welton Becket and Lathrop Douglass, devised the shopping mall to fill this void and make suburban life more convenient.
A HUMBLE BEGINNING
James Rouse was born and raised in Maryland. After briefly attending the University of Virginia, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in law. With a business partner, he formed the Moss-Rouse Company, a mortgage banking concern, in 1939.
Serving in the Navy Air Force during World War II, Rouse returned to the mortgage business and quickly expanded services from financing single-family dwellings to funding the construction of apartment complexes and strip shopping centers.
THE JAMES W. ROUSE COMPANY
In 1954, he bought out his partner and reorganized the business under the heading of the James W. Rouse Company. A subsidiary, Community Research & Development, evolved in 1956; its forte being commercial real estate development.
By this time, Rouse's first shopping mall was under construction in the northwestern environs of Baltimore City. Rouse toyed with the idea of building the 2-level shopping center as a fully-enclosed structure but, according to him, "lost his nerve." Architect Victor Gruen beat him to the punch, so to say, by designing America's first regional-class, interior mall. It opened, in Edina, Minnesota, on October 8, 1956.
Six days later, Rouse's first mall, the open-air MONDAWMIN CENTER, was officially dedicated. Community Research & Development's first shopping complex, HARUNDALE MALL, opened October 1, 1958, in Greater Baltimore's Anne Arundel County. This time around, a fully-enclosed complex was constructed. Mr. Rouse's business interest, which was renamed The Rouse Company in 1966, would develop several shopping malls across the eastern half of the United States during the 1960s and '70s.
Mr. Rouse, along with developers Edward J. DeBartolo and A. Alfred Taubman, and architects Victor Gruen, John Graham, Junior, Welton Becket and Lathrop Douglass, devised the shopping mall to fill this void and make suburban life more convenient.
A HUMBLE BEGINNING
James Rouse was born and raised in Maryland. After briefly attending the University of Virginia, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in law. With a business partner, he formed the Moss-Rouse Company, a mortgage banking concern, in 1939.
Serving in the Navy Air Force during World War II, Rouse returned to the mortgage business and quickly expanded services from financing single-family dwellings to funding the construction of apartment complexes and strip shopping centers.
THE JAMES W. ROUSE COMPANY
In 1954, he bought out his partner and reorganized the business under the heading of the James W. Rouse Company. A subsidiary, Community Research & Development, evolved in 1956; its forte being commercial real estate development.
By this time, Rouse's first shopping mall was under construction in the northwestern environs of Baltimore City. Rouse toyed with the idea of building the 2-level shopping center as a fully-enclosed structure but, according to him, "lost his nerve." Architect Victor Gruen beat him to the punch, so to say, by designing America's first regional-class, interior mall. It opened, in Edina, Minnesota, on October 8, 1956.
Six days later, Rouse's first mall, the open-air MONDAWMIN CENTER, was officially dedicated. Community Research & Development's first shopping complex, HARUNDALE MALL, opened October 1, 1958, in Greater Baltimore's Anne Arundel County. This time around, a fully-enclosed complex was constructed. Mr. Rouse's business interest, which was renamed The Rouse Company in 1966, would develop several shopping malls across the eastern half of the United States during the 1960s and '70s.
ROUSE MALLS 1956-1979
1. MONDAWMIN CENTER, Baltimore City, MD (October 1956)
2. HARUNDALE MALL, Anne Arundel County, MD (October 1958)
3. CHARLOTTETOWN MALL, Charlotte, NC (August 1959)
4. NORTH STAR MALL, San Antonio, TX (September 1960)
5. CHERRY HILL MALL, Camden County, NJ (October 1961)
6. THE MALL, Saint Matthews, KY (March 1962)
7. NORTHWAY MALL, Allegheny County, PA (August 1962)
8. GREENGATE MALL, Westmoreland County, PA (August 1965)
9. PLYMOUTH MEETING MALL, Montgomery County, PA (February 1966)
10. SALEM MALL, Montgomery County, OH (October 1966)
11. EASTFIELD MALL, Springfield MA (April 1968)
12. ALMEDA MALL, Houston, TX (October 1968)
13. NORTHWEST MALL, Houston, TX (October 1968)
14. ECHELON MALL, Camden County, NJ (September 1970)
14. ECHELON MALL, Camden County, NJ (September 1970)
15. FRANKLIN PARK MALL, Tolodo, OH (July 1971)
16. HIGHLAND MALL, Austin, TX (August 1971)
17. MALL IN COLUMBIA, Howard County, MD (August 1971)
18. PERIMETER MALL, DeKalb County, GA (August 1971)
19. WOODBRIDGE CENTER, Middlesex County, NJ (November 1971)
16. HIGHLAND MALL, Austin, TX (August 1971)
17. MALL IN COLUMBIA, Howard County, MD (August 1971)
18. PERIMETER MALL, DeKalb County, GA (August 1971)
19. WOODBRIDGE CENTER, Middlesex County, NJ (November 1971)
20. EXTON SQUARE MALL, Chester County, PA (March 1973)
21. PARAMUS PARK, Paramus, NJ (March 1974)
22. TAMPA BAY CENTER, Tampa, FL (August 1976)
23. GALLERY AT MARKET EAST, Philadelphia, PA (August 1977)
24. HULEN MALL, Fort Worth, TX (August 1977)
25. AUGUSTA MALL, Augusta, GA (August 1978)
25. AUGUSTA MALL, Augusta, GA (August 1978)
26. GOVERNOR'S SQUARE, Tallahassee, FL (August 1979)
