A BIT OF BACKGROUND

For those who weren't around all those years ago, here are a few facets of mid-20th century Americana. These are discussed here to make your trip down shopping mall memory lane seem a bit more vivid and to help you get the proper mind-set to better understand the times.

TELEPHONE

As strange as it may seem, until the late 1970s, it was (in essence) illegal to physically own your phone. All hardware was provided -and possessed- by the respective phone company (there was but a single, major one back then). Everyone was charged a "rental fee" on their monthly bill for their standard, wall-mount or "Princess" model.

The phone you would have rented at your local shopping mall "Ma Bell Store" would have utilized analogue, "rotary-dialing". "Touch Tone" telephony did not appear until around 1969. Moreover, answering machines did not become commonplace until the late 1970s.

Oh yes, no one had a cellular phone until the mid-1980s, and these were rather large, clunky things...nothing like the super-miniaturized models of today.

TELEVISION

It might be difficult to fathom now, but -back in the days- a woman could not say the word "lover" on broadcast TV. Men or women, either one, could not utter the words "toilet paper" or "pregnant". Moreover, the typical, tv mom and pop usually slept in single beds.

In the pre-cable and satellite TV era, analogue -over the air- reception was all there was. After the mid-1950s, there were only three TV networks and -basically- just three programming choices at a time. Keep in mind, as well, that a station usually signed off the air at around midnight, to return to broadcasting at 5 am or so.

All programming was broadcast in black and white until January 1954, when NBC "colorcast" the Rose Parade. NBC, with co-company RCA, had perfected the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard, which had been approved by the FCC in December 1953.

So, the NBC network had a monopoly, of sorts, on color TV broadcasting, until CBS and ABC reluctantly adopted the NBC-RCA colorcasting system in the early 1960s. Of course, a "living color" program was quite a big event, usually reserved for specials and spectaculars. If you went to someone's home and saw that they had a color set, you were duly impressed!









The various logos that announced NBC colorcast programs in the mid- century years. At the top is the Color Chimes graphic, which was used in 1954 and 1955. The second shows the "in-color and black and white", panel, from an early 1956 broadcast. The final two images are stills from the famous NBC Peacock animated sequence, which first appeared in September, 1957. An announcer would proudly proclaim "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC!"


NBC's western-themed soap opera, "Bonanza", became the first major, regularly-scheduled, in-color TV series on September 12, 1959. In 1964, NBC became the first all-color network. By 1968, all three networks had converted virtually all programming to color. However, some commercials would still be in black and white.

MOVIES

Up to the 1960s, a stringent "Production Code" dictated what could (and could not) be shown in a Hollywood motion picture. Kisses on film were timed and a commode, for example, could not be shown.

A film, such as Warner Brothers' "Baby Doll", extremely tame by today's standards, was considered "dirty" in December 1956 and was banned to such a degree that it was shown in very few cinematic venues.

The code began to crack in the late 1950s. In 1968, as films became more explicit, a rating system was assembled by the Motion Picture Association of America; G - All ages admitted, M - Parental discretion advised, R - Those under 17 not admitted without parent or adult guardian and X - Those under 17 not admitted.

This system was revised in 1970, when the M rating was altered to GP. Unfortunately, GP was widely regarded to indicate "general public". It was revised again, in 1972, to read PG (parental guidance suggested).

MUSIC

In the early period mid-century years, the standard "Top 40" AM station (FM was still a novelty) would play a variety of music. Things were not like today, when every song and artist is categorized, homegenized and pigeon-holed into a specific genre...with radio stations also being highly genre-specific.

Back then, you would have the standard pop vocal tunes by Al Martino or Kay Starr. Instrumentals were quite in vogue. Tunes such as "The Poor People of Paris" (Les Baxter-1956), "Wonderland By Night" (Bert Kaempfert-1961) or "Love Is Blue" (Paul Mauriat ["mary-ahht"]-1968) hit the Billboard number one spot.

DJ's would also throw in a cross-over Country and Western song now and then, such as "Ring of Fire" (Johnny Cash-1963) or "Harper Valley PTA" (Jeannie C. Riley-1968)...and even a jazz tune or two, such as "Take 5" (Dave Brubek Quartet-1961) or "Desafinado" ["day-zaf-uh-nah-dow"] (Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd-1962).

Before the advent of "Rock and Roll" in 1955, there were the various girl and guy groups; i.e., The Andrews Sisters, Four Lads, McGuire Sisters and Ames Brothers, to name a few. Rock and roll changed things a lot in the late '50s and early '60s.

Things changed more when the "Fab Four" came along, from Liverpool, in January 1964...and changed even more when the recording industry experienced its largest growth period ever, in the late 1960s. This was due to the record buying habits of the emerging "Baby Boom" generation.

The entire recording industry was reoriented away from its former emphasis on mature, martini-set music (of the older generation) toward the "together", "with it" sounds of those on the younger side of the "Generation Gap".

RECORDS AND TAPES

A music purchase at the nearby shopping mall National Record Mart, Sam Goody or Camelot would consist of 33 or 45 rpm vinyl discs or (for the audiophile) pre-recorded reel-to-reel tapes. In 1962, the 4-track cartridge tape made the first practical car audio possible.

This format was proceeded by the 8-track format, which had been introduced in 1965 and had become the prerecorded tape standard by 1968.

The 2-channel, "stereophonic" LP record was first mass-marketed in 1958. In 1969, things advanced to four channels, or "quadraphonic" sound, with the first 4-channel, prerecorded reel-to-reel tapes.

These were followed, in 1970, by the first "matrix quadraphonic" LPs, utilizing either the "SQ" (Columbia-Sony) or "QS" (ABC-Sansui) systems, and by "Quad-8" 8-track cartridge tapes from Capital Records. RCA-JVC countered all of these with the 1973 introduction of its "discrete quadraphonic" format, known as "CD-4" or "Quadradisc".

The three competing -and non-compatible with one another- systems duked it out through the remainder of the 1970s, with none emerging victorious in the end. Quad Sound was a passing fad by the advent of the digital, compact disc, in 1982.

HOME APPLIANCES

The electric or gas range was essentially the same in 1947 and 1997. The first microwave oven appeared in 1947, but this appliance did not become a standard fixture in the home intil the 1980s.

The typical electric refrigerator was quite a bit different in the mid-century than it is today. Although "frost-free" models became available in 1952, they were something of a novelty for years thereafter.

Back in the days, your mom would have to spend hours "defrosting" the conventional, non-frost-free 'fridge. All food in the freezer compartment would have to be removed. The task of getting rid of several inches of ice that had accumulated on the inside walls of the freezer was a tedious, messy chore.

This was done (carefully) with an ice pick or (haphazardly) with several splashes of warm water onto the affected parts. Of course, the thawing, dripping mess would need to be mopped up several times during the defrosting ordeal...which had to be done every couple of months.

Another mid-century housewife-type drudgery would be doing the family laundry. Only the more well-to-do would enjoy the luxury of owning a new-fangled automatic washer and dryer. Everyone else would have probably bought their wringer-type washing machine at the local shopping center Sears or "Monkey Wards".

The first automatic washer was marketed, by Hotpoint, in 1949. Up to then, and into the late 1960s, the wringer washer, such as the Maytag Master seen here, was the modern way to launder your clothes.

The wringer washer was manually filled with water, using a garden hose. With dirty laundry in place inside the tub of the machine and detergent added, an agitator lever, or button, would be flipped "on". Mom could agitate the clothes for as long as desired, but there was no "automatic" setting.

When the clothes had been agitated sufficiently, every piece had to be run between the two rubber rollers of the wringer aparatus. Many a time, a kid would get their hand or arm caught in the wringer, causing an emergency situation for the family.

The wringed-out clothing would then go into a seperate tub of rinse water and then be run though the wringer a second time. Then, everything would need to be hung out to dry on the typical, backyard clothes line.

With clothes all dried and taken down, mom would have to spend at least a couple more hours ironing everything. With all that was entailed with homemaking in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, is it any wonder that it was highly unusual for anyone's mom to work a regular job back then?

SUBURBS AND HOUSES

After World War II drew to a close in 1945, America experienced an economic boom, the likes of which has not been witnessed before or since. An enormous housing shortage created the need for large-scale, suburban housing developments.

The "Pre-Fab" (pre-fabricated tract house) became the norm. One would have a plat with -maybe- one thousand houses all being built at the same time...or at least in rapid succession. These would surely consist of only four different models; the oblong ranch with picture window, the oblong ranch with bay window, the L-shaped ranch (with neither) or the "split" or "tri" level.

These large, outlying developments, and the new freeways linking them with the center city, necessitated the suburban shopping center or mall presently held so near and dear. Let us now explore this mid-20th century, merchandising manifestation.

A 20th Century Shopping Mall Timeline:

*

Click on images for larger views.

Photos from: Wikipedia / "Slo-mo", http://www.hpvillage.com/, Malls of

America Blogspot, www.shopsofsaddlecreek.com and

www.centro.com.au

Click on image for a larger view.

Click on image for a larger view.

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS:

Facts and Figures About America's Mid-20th Century Shopping Malls

THE LARGEST:

*In 2009, the largest mid-20th century shopping mall is the 2.4 million square foot GALLERIA in Houston Texas. Its first phase was completed in November 1970. The complex was expanded in 1971, 1976-1977, 1986 and 2003.

*The largest shopping mall anchor store ever built is the 511,500 square foot J.L. Hudson location in Southfield, Michigan's NORTHLAND CENTER. The 4-level store opened in March 1954. It was rebranded by Marshall Field's in 2001 and Macy's in 2006.

*Macy's, at Long Island, New York's ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, would be the next contender. This store, opened in August 1956, originally encompassed 3 levels and 343,000 square feet. In 1963, a 4th level was added. The square footage of the structure was increased to 428,000.

The Largest US Shopping malls in...

1956:
(all open-air)
1. NORTHLAND CENTER, Southfield, MI
2. ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, Town of Hempstead, NY
3. OLD ORCHARD CENTER, Skokie, IL
4. LAKEWOOD CENTER, Lakewood, CA
4. CROSS COUNTY CENTER, Yonkers, NY

1960:
(all open-air)
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

1968:
(all fully-enclosed)
1. CINDERELLA CITY, Englewood, CO
AND
1. YORKTOWN CENTER, Lombard, IL
2. SUNVALLEY MALL, Concord & Pleasant Hill, CA
3. RANDHURST CENTER, Mount Prospect, IL
AND
3. TYSONS CORNER CENTER, McLean, VA
4. ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, Town of Hempstead, NY

1973:
(all fully-enclosed)
1. WOODFIELD MALL, Schaumburg, IL
2. ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL, Town of Hempstead, NY
3. METROCENTER MALL, Phoenix, AZ
4. CINDERELLA CITY MALL, Englewood, CO
AND
4. YORKTOWN CENTER, Lombard, IL
5. SUNVALLEY MALL, Concord & Pleasant Hill, CA

2009:
(all fully-enclosed)
1. MALL OF AMERICA, Bloomington MN
2. AVENTURA MALL, Dade County, FL
3. THE GALLERIA, Houston, TX
4. SAWGRASS MILLS, Sunrise, FL
5. ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL, Town of Hempstead, NY

FIRST AND FOREMOST:

-Malls In General-

*Seattle's NORTHGATE CENTER is considered to be the first (quote / unquote) "shopping mall" in the nation. At the time of its opening in April 1950, the open-air complex consisted of a single retail level and service basement.

*The first shopping complex in the nation to be officially named a "mall" was BERGEN MALL, which opened, in Paramus, New Jersey, November 14, 1957. By the late 1960s, retail hubs were becoming generally referred to as "shopping malls". Before this, they were usually called a "Center".

*America's first shopping mall with two levels of retail was Framingham, Massachusetts' SHOPPERS' WORLD. The open-air complex came inline in October 1951.

*The first regional-class, fully-enclosed, 2-level shopping mall was Edina, Minnesota's SOUTHDALE CENTER. Its grand opening was held in October 1956.

*The earliest 2-anchor shopping malls in the nation were WESTGATE CENTER, Fairview Park, Ohio (bi-anchored in February 1954); PARK FOREST PLAZA, Park Forest, Illinois (bi-anchored in March 1955) and CROSS COUNTY CENTER, Yonkers, New York (bi-anchored in September 1955).

*The earliest 3-anchor shopping mall was Mount Prospect, Illinois' RANDHURST CENTER, dedicated in August 1962.

*With the completion of its first expansion in 1967, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota's BROOKDALE CENTER became the nation's first 4-anchor shopping mall.

*Phoenix, Arizona's METROCENTER was the earliest 5-anchor shopping mall in the United States. The complex opened in October 1973.

-Shopping Center Cinemas-

*America's first shopping mall movie house was dedicated in September 1951, at Seattle, Washington's NORTHGATE CENTER.

*The first twin cinema in a shopping mall was dedicated at Kansas City, Missouri's WARD PARKWAY CENTER, in July 1963.

*The nation's earliest shopping mall four-plex came inline at La Habra, California's FASHION SQUARE in August 1969.

MISCELLANEOUS MALL FACTS:

*The earliest shopping mall parking garage was dedicated at THE CENTER, in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1955.

*The first shopping mall food court opened in 1971 at Philadelphia's PLYMOUTH MEETING MALL. This venture, a rather unsuccessful enterprise, was repeated -with greater success- at New Jersey's PARAMUS PARK MALL in 1974.

ANCHOR STORES:

The first shopping mall Macy's:

San Mateo, California's Hillsdale Center



San Fran's second shopping mall was anchored by the 185,000 square
foot department store seen above, which opened in November 1954. By
building it in a mall, the Macy's San Francisco division beat it's New York
City-based counterpart by two years. The first New York "mall Macy's"
was dedicated -in August 1956- at Long Island's ROOSEVELT FIELD
CENTER.

Coming Soon!

The first shopping mall Sears and Roebuck:

Framingham, Massachusetts' Shoppers' World



Chicago-based Sears opened a store at America's second shopping mall
in 1951. The catalogue and appliance-format location was in operation
until 1966. Here we see the primary anchor of Greater Boston's
SHOPPERS' WORLD center, the spaceship-shaped Jordan Marsh.

See September 2008 archive for the complete article

The first full-line shopping mall Sears:

Denver, Colorado's Cherry Creek Center



Colorado's first shopping mall opened between 1953 and 1955. A
133,400 square foot Sears -across the avenue and connected via
pedestrian tunnel- was completed in 1954. The store was renovated
and worked into a new, high-end mixed-use complex, known as
CLAYTON LANE, in 2004.
Photo from www.claytonlaneretail.com

See February 2007 archive for the complete article

The first shopping mall J.C. Penney:

Sacramento, California's Country Club Centre



The Penney's chain opened several new stores during the intitial
malling of America. The first to be located in a shopping mall-type
complex opened in 1952. Stores of this format were smaller, dry
goods-only operations of 28,000 to 60,000 square feet.
Photo Malls of America Blogspot

See January 2009 archive for the complete article

The first full-line, shopping mall Penney's:

New Jersey's Black Horse Pike Center

A vintage view of the mallway at BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER.
Obviously, that's a Woolworth in the foreground. Farther back we see
a bit of roof signage proclaiming Penney's. Although the store was a full-
line location, it did not have an outparcel Auto Center. This concept
would come to fruition two years later with the opening of the chain's
first "new look" store, in Philly's KING OF PRUSSIA PLAZA.
Photo from www.boroughofaudubon.com

BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER was completed in late 1961 and encom-
passed 497,000 leasable square feet. Over its forty-three years of
existence, the complex was never enclosed and climate-controlled.

An aerial of today's AUDUBON CROSSING complex, which replaced the

mid-century BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER in 2004. The AUDUBON

COMMONS complex, seen in the upper left corner, predated the BLACK

HORSE PIKE CENTER. It escaped the wrecking ball and was renovated

at the same time as the old open-air mall was redeveloped.

Photo from www.live.com

BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER
Black Horse Pike and West Nicholson Road
Borough of Audubon (Camden County), New Jersey

In the 1950s, the J.C. Penney chain was based in New York City. The retailer had expanded into the suburbs, with an early shopping center format store opening in Sacramento's COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE in 1952.

This store was a dry-goods-only operation, dealing in men and women's apparel, fashion accessories, linens and the like. These stores measured in the neighborhood of 28,000 to 60,000 square feet.

Examples would include Penney's at LOS ALTOS CENTER (1955), in Long Beach, 163rd STREET CENTER (1956), near Miami, GREEN ACRES CENTER (1956), outside New York City and BIG TOWN MALL (1959), near Dallas.

With the dawn of the 1960s came a new concept. J.C. Penney decided to build new, full-line stores in suburban malls and strip centers. These locations would offer the aforementioned soft lines, but would also sell home appliances, furniture, electronics, sporting goods, paint and hardware.

The first such store opened November 16, 1961 at Camden County, New Jersey's BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER. This J.C. Penney encompassed 72,200 leasable square feet on its main level. A basement included additional sales area.

The BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER, itself, was situated on 33 acres, located 4.9 miles southeast of Centre City Philadelphia, on land that was formerly a part of the Fromm Farm.

The 497,000 square foot, open-air mall consisted of a single level of retail. In addition to J.C. Penney, it was anchored by a 1-level (138,000 square foot), New York City-based E.J. Korvette discount mart, with an F.W. Woolworth 5 and 10 as its junior anchor.

The complex was soon outclassed by several large interior malls built in its vacinity. These were CHERRY HILL MALL (1961) [May 2008 archive], 4.8 miles northeast, in Camden County; MOORESTOWN MALL (1963) [February 2008 archive], 7 miles northeast, in Burlington County; ECHELON MALL (1970), 5.2 miles southeast, in Camden County and DEPTFORD MALL (1975), 3.9 miles southwest, in Gloucester County.

BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER persevered, but its Korvette's went bust in 1980. It was soon replaced by a Columbus, Ohio-based Woolco, which turned out to be a poor choice for a replacement, as this chain folded in January 1983.

Next came a Braintree, Massachusetts-based Bradlees discount mart. This location lasted until 2001. Its closure was joined by the shuttering of J.C. Penney in the same year. Woolworth had been gone for nearly four years, leaving the mall with only twelve operational stores.

The owners of the property, the Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania-based Wolfson Verrichia Group, decided that a complete reconstruction of the aging shopping center was in order. An adjacent (110,000 square foot) cluster of stores, anchored by an Acme supermarket, was also redeveloped.

The original sections of BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER were razed in 2004 with a groundbreaking, for a new complex, held September 14, 2004.

Dubbed AUDUBON CROSSING, the open-air retail hub was anchored by a freestanding, 1-level (137,000 square foot) Wal-Mart, freestanding Staples and freestanding Pep Boys automotive center (which had been a part of the original BLACK HORSE PIKE CENTER). Two strip center store blocks included tenants such as Avenue, Payless ShoeSource, Dot's and Deb Shops.

The entire complex, encompassing 475,000 leasable square feet, was completed in the summer of 2005. The adjacent, Acme-anchored complex, redeveloped simultaneously, was renamed AUDUBON COMMONS. It was also dedicated in the summer of 2005.

Sources:

www.departmentstorehistory.net
www.boroughofaudubon.com
www.retailtraffic.com

The first shopping mall Montgomery Ward:

*

Denver, Colorado's Lakeside Center

The venerable Chicago-based retailer opened their LAKESIDE CENTER

location in August 1958. The store encompassed two levels and 80,000

square feet.
Photo www.pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com

See January 2008 archive for the complete article

The first shopping mall Dillard's:

Austin, Texas' Hancock Center

The primary anchor of HANCOCK CENTER, a 147,800 square foot Sears.
Photo from http://www.pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/

A 1964 physical layout of Austin's first shopping mall. In addition to
Sears, it was anchored by the first shopping mall-connected Dillard's
location. This store was in operation until 1990.

HANCOCK CENTER, as it was configured following its first renovation,
done in 1991. The southeast store block had been bulldozed and the
inner Courtyard stripped of its flora, fauna and fountains. Unfortunatrly.
these changes did not result in a retail resuscitation of the complex. It
would be demalled six years later.

The humongous -90,200 square foot- H-E-B SuperStore that anchors
today's HANCOCK CENTER. It replaced a 60,700 square foot location
in the original, open-air mall.
Photo from www.regencycenters.com

HANCOCK CENTER, circa-2009. The structures outlined in blue
are sections of the original shopping center that were renovated
and worked into the power center-format complex dedicated in
1998.

HANCOCK CENTER
East 41st and Red River Streets
Austin, Texas

By February 1964, Little Rock-based Dillard's Department Stores had five locations, which operated under the names Mayer and Schmidt, Brown-Dunkin and Gus Blass. These stores were located in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

A sixth store, the first to open under the (quote / unquote) Dillard's banner and the first to be located in a shopping mall, came inline in May 1964.

Encompassing 2-levels and 88,000 square feet, the store was one of two anchors at Austin, Texas' new HANCOCK CENTER, the city's first shopping mall. The 500,000 square foot, open-air complex was built by Chicago-based Homart Development (a Sears subsidiary) and sat on 34 acres, located 2 miles northeast of the Texas State Capitol.

Its primary anchor was a 2-level (147,800 square foot) Sears. The single-level center included Wyatt's Cafeteria, Sommers Drug, Leons, the El Chico Restaurant, a G.C. Murphy 5 and 10 and H-E-B (Howard E. Butt) supermarket. There was also a subterannean Town Hall community center.

Subsequent shopping malls in the ever-expanding Austin metropolis were HIGHLAND MALL (1971) [June 2009 archive], 1.6 miles north; WESTGATE MALL (1972-1997), 6.6 miles southwest; NORTHCROSS MALL (1975), 3.9 miles northwest and BARTON CREEK SQUARE (1981), 5.7 miles southwest.

The proximity of HIGHLAND MALL created a great deal of commercial competition for HANCOCK CENTER. Fairly well hemmed-in by its location on a small 34 acre site, the mall was physically expanded only once; the H-E-B grocery doubled its size, with a 30,600 square foot northern extension, during the late 1970s.

HANCOCK CENTER's Dillard's location was shuttered in early 1990. Homart relinquished ownership of the mall in April; the buyer being Bethesda, Maryland-based Interstate Equities. They initiated a 10 million dollar renovation in July 1991.

An 88,000 square foot block of stores on the southeast, which had housed Sommers Drug, was demolished. Remaining exteriors were spruced-up and the fountains and flower beds of the original mall were removed and grassed-over.

Unfortunately, the shopping center did not enjoy a retail renewal and slipped into decline once again. A second renovation commenced in February 1997. This time around, 143,100 square feet of retail area was knocked down.

The existing Sears, its outparcel Auto Center, the original H-E-B structure and a two small sections of stores were retained and remodeled. A 90,200 square foot H-E-B Superstore was built, along with three open-air store blocks.

H-E-B commenced operations at its new location March 21, 1998. The remainder of the new-style, new urbanism-inspired complex was dedicated soon after.

HANCOCK CENTER now encompassed 410,400 leasable square feet and housed tenants such as Petco, 24 Hour Fitness and Bath and Body Works. The shopping venue was acquired by Jacksonville. Florida-based Regency Centers in 1999.

Sources:

http://companies.jrank.org/pages/1297/Dillard-S-Inc.html
Austin Chronicle / Feb 14, 1997 / "Hancock Center, R.I.P. : Everything Old Is New Again at 41st & I-35" / By Mike Clark-Madison
www.ci-austin.us
www.regencycenters.com

The first Dillard's "double-header":

Kansas City, Kansas' Oak Park Mall

OAK PARK MALL opened -in 1975- with three anchors; Montgomery
Ward, Stix and Macy's Kansas City. A fourth department store, J.C.
Penney, came inline in 1976. At the time, the mall encompassed
1,128,800 leasable square feet.

1986 and Dillard's opens it first "double-header" combo at OAK PARK
MALL. The center's south anchor had been rebranded as a conventional
Dillard's in 1984. With the chain's buyout of Macy's Kansas City, in late
1985, the north anchor is refashioned into a "Women's Store". The first
location is reoriented to sell only men's, junior's and children's items.

1998 and the gargantuan 1,128,800 square foot shopopolis grows into
a 1,490,800 square foot megamall. Two existing department stores
are expanded and a fifth anchor -Nordstom- is added.

An interior shot of today's OAK PARK MALL.
Photo from Wikipedia / David Holmes

Nordstrom cemented the mall's position -as the preeminent shopping
venue in metropolitan Kansas City- with its March 1998 grand opening.
Photo from www.thespree.com

A current plan of OAK PARK MALL. Only one small expansion has been
carried out since the major enlargement of 1998. A 2-level -35,000
square foot- Barnes and Noble was added to the northwest corner in
2009. The original mall's east anchor went through a permutation as The
Jones Store before being "Macy-ated" in late 2006. The Rainforest Cafe
closed in 2009.

OAK PARK MALL
West 95th Street and Quivira Road
Overland Park, Kansas

As a result of their aggressive department store chain acquisitions in the mid-1980s, Dillard's found themselves with two anchor locations in metro Kansas City's OAK PARK MALL.

The first store, originally a St. Louis-based Stix, Baer and Fuller, had been rebranded by the Little Rock retailer in 1984. The second, which had opened as a Macy's Kansas City, received its Dillard's nameplate in 1986. The Stix store became "Dillard's South" (the Men's Store); Macy's Kansas City morphed into "Dillard's North" (the Women's Store).

And so, the Dillard's "double-header" format, with two stores operating simultaneously in a single shopping mall, was born. The concept was for the first location to merchandise women's apparel, accesories, cosmetics and home furnishings, with the second store handling men's, junior's and children's apparel.

OAK PARK MALL had been developed by a joint venture of Sherman Dreiseszen, Frank Morgan and Kansas City, Missouri-based Kopaken, White and Blitt. The 2-level shopopolis occupied an 81.8 acre plot, located 10 miles southwest of Kansas City, Kansas' urban core, and was officially dedicated in 1975.

Originally encompassing 960,900 leasable square feet, the shopping center featured three anchors; a 2-level (157,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward, 2-level (174,800 square foot) Macy's Kansas City and 4-level (205,067 square foot), St. Louis-based Stix, Baer and Fuller.

Inline stores included Kay Jewelers, Worth's, Dale's Sports, Naomi's Hallmark and The Gap.

A 2-level (167,800 square foot) J.C. Penney was completed in 1976, which increased the GLA of OAK PARK MALL to 1,128,800 square feet. The mall's first movie house, the Oak Park Mall VI, opened in 1976, as well. It was located adjacent to the northeast parking area.

Rival malls included WARD PARKWAY CENTER (1959), 5.9 miles northeast, in Kansas City, Missouri; METCALF SOUTH CENTER (1967), 2.7 miles east, also in Overland Park; BANNISTER MALL (1980), 10.2 miles east, in Kansas City, Missouri and -finally- GREAT MALL OF THE GREAT PLAINS (1997), 8.3 miles southwest, in Olathe, Kansas.

OAK PARK MALL got its second cinematic venue in November 1985, with the dedication of the 6-screen Oak Park Plaza. The outparcel theater was adjacent to the southwest parking area.

The center received a 2 million dollar facelift renovation in the fall of 1993. Its original "Mid-Mod" interior features were removed and replaced with a more elegant style of design. This included new marble and tile floors, elevators and exterior entryways.

A large-scale expansion was done four years later. The existing Dillard's North was enlarged to 224,400 square feet and Penney's to 217,800 square feet. A 2-level Southeast Wing was also added. It's 2-level (200,000 square foot) Nordstrom held a grand opening March 6, 1998.

In all, 362,000 square feet was added to the mall. It now housed 1,490,800 leasable square feet with a retail roster of over one hundred and eighty stores and services. It assumed the position of largest mall in metropolitan Kansas City.

The third anchor rebranding, following the Dillard's conversions of 1984 and 1986, took place after the shuttering of Montgomery Ward in April 2001. The store was totally renovated inside and out. It reopened, as a Kansas City, Missouri-based Jones Store, August 14, 2002.

Macy's returned to OAK PARK MALL, following a twenty year hiatus, on September 9, 2006. The Manhattan merchandiser, which had sold its Kansas City division to Dillard's in 1986, acquired -and rebranded- the Jones Store chain in 2006.

The mall -itself- had been sold to Chattanooga-based CBL and Associates in November 2005.

Sources:

"Oak Park Mall" article on Wikipedia
http://companies.jrank.org/pages/1297/Dillard-S-Inc.html
www.cinematreasures.com
http://www.thenewoakparkmall.com/

The first shopping mall Target:

Grand Forks, North Dakota's Columbia Mall

A circa-'78 physical layout, showing the configuration of the first mall-
connected Target store. The 120,300 square foot operation served
as an anchor at COLUMBIA MALL for twenty-two years.

COLUMBIA MALL TENANTS 1978:

DAYTON'S / J.C. PENNEY (with outparcel Auto Center) / TARGET / B. Dalton Bookseller / Baker's Shoes / The Better Half / The Body Shop / Braun's / Bridget's / Brooks / Buttrey's Drug / Capezio / Cargo 360 / Casual Corner / Churchill's Florsheim Shoes / Claire's Boutique / County Seat / Craft World / Designs Unlimited / Evenson Hallmark / Fanny Farmer Candies / Footlocker / Foxmoor Casuals / The Great Hotdog Experience / Helzberg Diamonds / Herberger's / Hickory Farms of Ohio / International Restaurant / Jeans West / Joyce Selby / Kids / Kinney Shoes / Morrow's Nut House / Naturalizer Shoes / Nutrition World / Orange Julius / Poppler's / Rings 'N Things / Ruetell's Clothing / Seeger's Fashion Center / Serendipity / Shirley's Maternity / Shirt Works / So-Fro Fabrics / Spencer Gifts / Squash Blossom / Stevenson's / Straus / Strausbaugh's / Stuart's / Susie's Casuals / Team Electronics / Thom McAn Shoes / Town and Country / Wayne David Jewelers / Young America

Photo from "MatchboxND"

*

*

The mall's south anchor, originally a Minneapolis-based Dayton's. The

top photo shows the store with its present-day nameplate. The interior

view below it was taken during the store's five year stint as a Marshall

Field's.

Photo from www.gkdevelopment.com

Photo from "MatchBoxND"

Exterior and interior views of the COLUMBIA MALL Penney's...the

only 1978 anchor that still has its original nameplate.

Photo from www.gkdevelopment.com

Photo from www.petersonconstruction.com



Two shots of the Sears anchor store at COLUMBIA MALL.
Photo from Grand Forks County, North Dakota tax assessor website

A physical layout dating to 2005. The mall featured four anchor
stores for a brief period in the early '00s. Sears joined the fold
in 2000, only to have Target pull the plug and move to larger
quarters in 2001. Marshall Field's was "Macy-ated", along with
the rest of the chain, in September 2006.

The Dakota Cafes Food Court opened in late 2005.
Photo from www.eyecorps.com

COLUMBIA MALL
32nd Avenue South and South Columbia Road
Grand Forks, North Dakota

Minneapolis' Dayton-Hudson Corporation opened its first shopping mall-based Target in 1978. The location was one of three original anchors in Grand Fork's North Dakota's COLUMBIA MALL; a Dayton-Hudson development.

The single-level center, which encompassed 571,800 leasable square feet and fifty-three inline stores, was built on 62.2 acres, 2.6 miles southwest of downtown Grand Forks. Its official grand opening took place August 2, 1978.

In addition to its 1-level (120,300 square foot) Target, COLUMBIA MALL was anchored by a 1-level (99,100 square foot) Dayton's and 1-level (96,500 square foot) J.C. Penney.

Charter tenants in the 20 million dollar shopping venue included Buttrey's Drug, County Seat, Foxmoor Casuals, Seeger's Fashion Center and a small-format, St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Herberger's.

For several years, the only commercial competitor for COLUMBIA MALL was SOUTH FORKS CENTER (1964), located 1.2 mile northeast, also in Grand Forks.

This retail hub, which eventually became known as SOUTH FORKS PLAZA and -then- GRAND CITIES MALL, was a much smaller operation. It was relegated to secondary shopping center status by the advent of the regional-class COLUMBIA complex.

The only physical expansion of COLUMBIA MALL involved the addition of Sears. The 1-level (108,400 square foot) store, which moved from a 50,000 square foot location at SOUTH FORKS PLAZA, opened August 12, 2000.

This addition increased the GLA of COLUMBIA MALL to 680,200 square feet. The construction project was accompanied by a $925,000 mall facelift, which included new flooring, restrooms and exterior touches.

Four-anchor status at COLUMBIA MALL was short-lived. GRAND FORKS MARKETPLACE, situated 3 tenths of a mile southwest, opened in 2001. The new power-format complex snatched the circa-'78 mall's Target. It reopened, as a "SuperT" operation, March 7, 2001.

The next anchor alteration also occurred early in 2001, when the COLUMBIA MALL Dayton's was rebranded as a Chicago-based Marshall Field's. This store morphed into a Macy's September 9, 2006.

Target (nee Dayton-Hudson) Corporation had sold its interest in COLUMBIA MALL to Barrington, Illinois-based GK development in April 2004. A 2.5 million dollar rehab of the property was soon in the works.

A new Children's Play Area (in the old Target Court) was dedicated in August 2005. The first store in the 7-bay, Dakota Cafes Food Court (installed in previously-existing mall space) opened for business November 3 of the same year.

There was also talk of a 12-screen multiplex, that was supposed to replace the vacant Target. However, the theater never materialized. The store remains vacant to this day.

Sources:

"Columbia Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Grand Cities Mall" article on Wikipedia
Grand Forks County, North Dakota property tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.com
www.shopcolumbiamall.com
http://www.gkdevelopment.com/

The first shopping mall Wal-Mart:

Bryan, Texas' Manor East Mall



Photo from www.btutilities.com

The first phase of what would eventually become MANOR EAST MALL.
In 1966, a freestanding Montgomery Ward and Kroger supermarket
open at the intersection of East Villa Maria Road and South Texas
Avenue, in the southeastern environs of Bryan. A drive-in theater
had been on the site previously.

1972 and the shopping options in smalltown Bryan grow exponentially.
The previously-existing Ward's and Kroger are joined by 159,900
square feet of air-conditioned mall. Counting Kroger, the complex
encompasses 235,400 leasable square feet.

In 1981, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart abandoned the
"Discount City" moniker that it had used since its
inception in 1962. The new "Brown-era" logo, seen
above, was the design aesthetic used for "Wally
World's" first shopping mall-connected store, at
Bryan's Texas' MANOR EAST MALL.

1981, and the first shopping mall-connected Wal-Mart opens, as a
third anchor at MANOR EAST MALL. The 83,900 square foot
store was in operation for thirteen years. In 1994, it was replaced
by a new SuperCenter, built 1.3 miles away.

Two views of today's TEJAS CENTER, a redress of MANOR EAST MALL.
A demalling carried out between 2003 and 2006 demolished nearly
half of the mid-century center and replaced it with a power-format complex.
Photos from www.arkitex.com / Arkitex Design Studio

A contemporary site plan of TEJAS CENTER. Structures high-
lighted in blue are sections of the 1972 and 1981 mall that were
substantially remodeled and reoriented with exterior entries.
Drawing from www.stalworthonline.com

MANOR EAST MALL
East Villa Maria Road and South Texas Avenue
Bryan, Texas

Finding an answer to the question "where was the first shopping mall Wal-Mart?" proved quite elusive. An email querie sent to the corporate website resulted in a less-than-helpful, standard form, "check our website" (which had no such information) response.

Readers of the MALL HALL OF FAME submitted several likely candidates. The most plausible, it seems, was a "Brown era" store, which was added to Bryan, Texas's MANOR EAST MALL.

The shopping complex started out with two freestanding stores; a 1-level (57,500 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (18,000 square foot) Kroger supermarket. These were situated on a 34 acre plot, 1.9 miles southeast of downtown Bryan. Developed by Bryan, Texas' John Culpepper, they opened in 1966.

In 1971-1972, a single-level, fully-enclosed shopping mall was added northeast of the existing Ward's. It was anchored by a 1-level (59,200 square foot) J.C. Penney and included Karmelkorn, The Fair, Orange Julius, Beall's, Britt's and an Eckerd Drug.

Including Ward's and Penney's, MANOR EAST MALL encompassed 217,400 leasable square feet. With its completion, Bryan became the smallest city in the Lonestar State with its own fully-enclosed shopping center.

The complex was expanded with a third anchor store in 1980-1981. Wal-Mart built a 1-level (83,900 square foot) location onto the southeast side of the existing mall, with the Manor East 3 triplex sandwiched between. MANOR EAST MALL now housed 308,100 leasable square feet and fifty-eight stores and services.

Retail rivalry came along in February 1982. POST OAK MALL, located 2.8 miles southeast, in the adjoining community of College Station, encompassed 800,000 leasable square feet and eighty retailers.

An expansion of POST OAK MALL -completed in 1985- snatched J.C. Penney from MANOR EAST. The vacant store in the older mall was retenanted by Food 4 Less and then a 50 Percent Off store before being sectioned into Bealls, Jo-Ann Fabrics and a Life Church.

Wal-Mart relocated to a SuperCenter-format store (located 1.3 miles northeast) in the fall of 1994. Its abandoned space sat vacant for several years. Meanwhile, MANOR EAST declined into a less-than-prestigious property. Adding insult to injury, Montgomery Ward was shuttered in 1997.

Jack Culpepper, son of the mall's original builder, began to envisage a redevelopment of his retail center in 1999. The three phase project got underway in April 2003 and included demolition of 150,000 square feet...comprising the vacant Ward's and two south store blocks of the old interior mall.

The remaining structures were demalled, with stores reoriented with exterior entrances. Modern, creme-colored facades were added. A newly-built (93,000 square foot) H-E-B opened, as a primary anchor, December 12, 2004.

Encompassing 360,000 leasable square feet and thirty-five stores and services, the complex, renamed TEJAS CENTER, was completed in August 2006.

Tenants included JoAnn Fabrics, Bealls, Family Dollar, The Theatre Company (a live-perfomance venue in the old triplex space), Hastings and Gold's Gym.

Sources:

Posts by Jonah Norason
Houston Architecture Information Forum / Posts by "RJC0618", "Iron Tiger" and "Scotch"
www.btutilities.com
http://gen.culpepper.com/
www.stalworthonline.com
Bryan, Texas property tax assessor website

YESTERDAY AND TODAY:



Click on image for a larger view.

Click on image for a larger view.

NOW, JUST FOR FUN...

Click on image for a larger view.

A Note:

These facts (or factoids) were assembled using the information that I have on hand. I have gone ahead and established them as accurate, as (in most cases) there was no previously-established precedent.

If you know -for certain- that any corrections are needed, please let me know.

Lastly, I wish to thanks those who submitted info about "Shopping Mall
Firsts", i.e., the first "mall" Dillard's, Dillard's double-header, Wal-Mart, etcetera.

Along with Victor Gruen [May 2008 archive], James Rouse helped to change America's mid-20th century landscape. The Post-World War II population shift from the inner city to outlying metro areas brought newly-created satellite cities, with no commercial or municipal centers.

Gruen and Rouse, along with Edward J. DeBartolo [October 2008 archive], John Graham, Jr. and A. Alfred Taubman, 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 attending the University of Virginia and graduating -with a law degree- from the University of Maryland, he formed a company to underwrite mortgages.

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, Incorporated. A subsidiary, Community Research and 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 two-level shopping center as a fully-enclosed structure but, according to him, "lost his nerve". Victor Gruen beat him to the punch, so to say, by designing America's first regional-class, interior mall, which opened, in Edina, Minnesota, on October 8, 1956.

Six days later, Rouse's first mall, MONDAWMIN CENTER, was officially dedicated. Community Research and Development's first shopping complex, HARUNDALE MALL, opened October 1, 1958. This time around, a fully-enclosed complex was constructed; the first of many built by James Rouse and Company during the 1960s and '70s.

PLANNED COMMUNITIES

Rouse's first endeavor into urban planning, Baltimore City's mixed-use Village of Cross Keys, was completed in September 1965. Three years previously, the company had embarked upon a series of clandestine property purchases in Howard County, thirteen miles southwest of downtown Baltimore.

News of an entirely new city was announced in October 1963. The self-contained suburb, to be known as Columbia, was to occupy 14,000 acres. It was to feature housing, employment, shopping, schools, healthcare and interfaith churches. Carefull planning, it was said, would consolidate and regulate its development and eliminate racial, economic and religious segregation.

The first of Columbia's ten utopian-type villages, Wilde Lake, was dedicated June 21, 1967. The centerpiece and commercial core of the planned city, MALL IN COLUMBIA, opened for business August 2, 1971.

Columbia, Maryland's People Tree, a symbol
of community spirit, was used in the logo
for the original MALL IN COLUMBIA. The
artwork was created by Pierre du Fayet.
Photo from Wikipedia / David Levinson



A statue in Columbia commemorates James W. Rouse
(on the right) and his brother Willard. The work was
sculpted by William F. Duffy.
Photo from Wikipedia / Jeff Kubina

MARKETPLACES & DOWNTOWN MALLS

Mr. Rouse's next endeavor would be to attempt to revive the declining downtowns of America's large cities that the Post-War exodus and malling of the nation had created.

His first "festival marketplace" was dedicated in Boston in 1976. FANEUIL HALL MARKETPLACE, an urban renewal redevelopment of an eighteenth century public market, was an astounding success. Other such marketplaces and downtown shopping malls followed.

Marketplaces 1, 2 and 3;
FANEUIL HALL MARKETPLACE (1976) in Boston
HARBORPLACE (1980) in Baltimore
SANTA MONICA PLACE MALL (1980-2007)
Click on image for a larger view

Marketplaces 4, 5 and 6;
SHOPS OF GRAND AVENUE / GRAND AVENUE MALL (1982) in Milwaukee
SOUTH STREET SEAPORT (1983), in New York City
ST. LOUIS UNION STATION (1983)
Click on image for a larger view

Marketplaces 7, 8 and 9;
RIVERWALK MARKETPLACE (1986), in New Orleans
JACKSONVILLE LANDING (1987), in Jacksonville, Florida
BAYSIDE (1987), in Miami, Florida
Click on image for a larger view

Marketplaces 10, 11 and 12:
UNDERGROUND ATLANTA (1989)
ARIZONA CENTER (1990), in Phoenix
PIONEER PLACE (1990), in Portland, Oregon.
Click on image for a larger view

A PHILANTHROPIC END

James Rouse retired from the presidency of the Rouse Company in 1979, although he retained chairmanship on its Board of Directors. From this point, his life became dedicated to promoting the urban renewal concepts so close to his heart. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in September 1995 and passed away in April 1996.


Now, follow along as we review some of his more important shopping mall projects.

The James Rouse Company's mid-20th century shopping malls.
Click on image for a larger view.

Baltimore's Mondawmin Center



Photo from www.ggp.com/ (General Growth Properties)

Rouse's -and Maryland's- first mall, circa-1956. At the time, it was a
bi-level (with basement), 450,000 square foot complex of sixty inline
stores, anchored by a 189,500 square foot Sears.

"Bawlmer's" Metro subway began revenue service in late 1983. Its
inaugural section included a station adjacent to the MONDAWMIN
MALL.

A site plan of the shopping center, as it was configured at the turn of
the century. The original Sears anchor space is shown in dark gray.
The store had been shuttered in 1973. It sat vacant until being
sectioned into smaller retail spaces ten years later.

Renderings of a renovated and expanded MONDAWMIN MALL. A
68 million dollar remodeling project got underway in early 2007 and
was completed in the summer of 2008.
Drawings from www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

Two aerial views of the mall. On top, we see the center as it was before
its recent renovation got underway. The bottom view shows the mall in
the midst of reconstruction. The parking garage on the left side of the
center, which was added during an early '80s remodeling, has been
razed. A new Target is being built in its place.
Photos from www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

A physical layout of MONDAWMIN MALL, showing its newly-added
stores and reconfigured parking areas. The renovation-expansion of
2007-2008 brought a new Target, as well as a Shoppers Foods and
Pharmacy grocery and A.J. Wright discount apparel outlet.

MONDAWMIN CENTER
Gwynn Falls Parkway and Liberty Heights Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland

The James Rouse Company's first shopping center project was built on a 46 acre plot, located 3 miles northwest of Baltimore's center city. At one time a country estate, the site was developed into a 450,000 square foot retail hub, known as MONDAWMIN CENTER, which was dedicated October 14, 1956.

The name MONDAWMIN was derived from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem about "Mondamin", the Native American spirit of the cornfields. Cartographers charting the city of Baltimore and its neighborhoods eventually added the "w".

At the time, a suburban-type shopping center located so near to a downtown core was heralded as new concept in that which James Rouse later dubbed "urban renewal".

The 2-level -with basement- shopping complex, designed by Pietro Belluschi, was situated around an open-air concourse and anchored by a 3-level (189,500 square foot) Sears on its east and Penn Fruit supermarket on the west.

There were fifty-eight other retailers in the original venue. These included Franklin Simon, Bond Clothes, Lerner Shops, a Food Fair supermarket and G.C. Murphy 5 and 10.

Retail rivals included WESTVIEW CENTER (1958), in Catonsville, REISTERTOWN ROAD PLAZA (1962), in Baltimore City and SECURITY SQUARE MALL (1972) in Baltimore County.

A Baltimore-based real estate company acquired MONDAWMIN CENTER in the mid-1960s. Community Research and Development, the mall-making subsidiary of the James Rouse Company, was -by then- busy building shopping malls (such as Pittsburgh's GREENGATE, Philadelphia's PLYMOUTH MEETING, Dayton's SALEM) and creating the planned community of Columbia, Maryland.

MONDAWMIN was successful through the 1950s and 1960s. It had even been renovated into a fully-enclosed mall by 1971, becoming MONDAWMIN MALL in the process. However, the decline of its surrounding area resulted in its decline, as well.

Sears departed in 1973, with no retailer recruited to fill the cavernous, empty space. By 1978, the center was only 83 percent leased. Rouse and Company bought back the complex in December 1982 and initiated a major renovation of the aging structure.

The vacant Sears was sectioned into several smaller stores, the basement made into additional retail area and a parking deck built onto the west side of the mall. This renewal was capped-off by the opening of Baltimore's initial Charles Center-to-Reistertown Plaza Metro subway line, in November 1983, which included a station stop adjacent to MONDAWMIN MALL.

Moreover, the Social Security Administration and Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles both located regional hub offices as outparcels to the mall. The revitalized shopping mecca rode a wave of success throughout the 1980s, but was in a second state of decline by the late 1990s.

The Rouse Company proposed a second renovation / redevelopment in 1999, but this never came to fruition. What did occur was a reinvention of the Mondawmin Metro Station into a major, bustling transit center, which served to revitalize the area.

With the purchase of the Rouse Company -by Chicago-based General Growth Properties- in 2004, MONDAWMIN MALL was added to the GGP retail center portfolio. General Growth initiated a 225,000 square foot expansion and renovation of the mall in early 2007.

The 68 million dollar project included the construction of a 67,000 square foot Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, dedicated November 17, 2007, as well as a 1-level (127,000 square foot) Target, the chain's first store in Baltimore City. Its grand opening took place July 27, 2008. A 22,000 square foot A.J. Wright discount clothing outlet came inline August 8, 2008.

The existing structure was refitted with widened mallways, glass entrances and new lighting, flooring, restrooms and exterior landscaping. The revitalized MONDAWMIN MALL now encompasses 700,000 leasable square feet and one hundred and eighteen stores and services.

Sources:

www.baltimorestyle.com "From Hope to Heritage: The Story of Mondawmin" / Jamie Michael Kendrick / Maryland Transit Administration / April 2002
www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)
http://www.stevenswain.blogspot.com/
http://www.mtamaryland.com/
Maryland Department of Taxation website

Baltimore's Harundale Mall

The 2-level, Hochschild-Kohn anchor store; the fifth location in the
Baltimore-based chain. It was in operation until late 1984. It then
reopened as a Baltimore-based Hutzler's.



The Food Fair at HARUNDALE, one of two supermarkets at the
original center. At the time, grocery stores were a common fixture
in American shopping malls. This had changed by the early 1970s.

A circa-'58 site plan of James Rouse's ultra-modern HARUNDALE.
The 350,000 square foot complex was the Rouse Company's second
major shopping center and the second mall in the nation to be
officially referred to as a "mall" (New Jersey's BERGEN MALL
[March 2007 archive] was the first).

The mall's main concourse and Card Mart / Information Booth.
Photo from Malls Of America Blogspot

The South Court area and Sidewalk Cafe.

Photo from www.mdarchives.state.md.us / Marion E. Warren,

photographer

HARUNDALE MALL TENANTS 1958:

Hochschild-Kohn (with beauty salon and Severn Room terrace restaurant) / Community Room (2nd level) / Food Fair Supermarket / G.C. Murphy 5 & 10 (with lunch counter) / S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 (with lunch counter) / Read's Self-Service Drug (with lunch counter and 45 table seating area on the mall), / WNAV "Glass Studio" broadcasting booth / Lerner Shops / Raymond apparel / Bonnie May ladies apparel / Italian Delight Pizzaria / Broger-Gutman's Dry Goods / Gamerman's Toys / Plotkin's Youth-O-Pedic Shoes / Franklin Simon apparel / Calby's boys and young men's apparel / Beltz / Harundale Barber Shop / Cobblers and Cleaners / Card Mart

-In the Harundale Annex / southeast parking area-

Eddie's Supermarket / White Coffee Pot Cafe / Anticipation Maternity / Tony's Sub Shop / Pixie Shop

HARUNDALE PLAZA, built on the site of the circa-1958, enclosed mall.
The strip center opened in 1999 and incorporated Value City as its
primary anchor. The store occupied the old Hochschild-Kohn / Hutzler's
space. It was shuttered in April 2008 and soon reopened as a Burlington
Coat Factory.

The SuperFresh Superstore, an anchor of HARUNDALE PLAZA,
harkens back to the Food Fair that operated for several years at
HARUNDALE MALL.

Three recent photos of the renowned HARUNDALE ROCK, which was

a fixture in the Palm Court of the original mall. After its demolition,

the stone was placed in a sheltered area at the new HARUNDALE

PLAZA.

Photos from Jan B.

HARUNDALE MALL
Ritchie Highway and Aquahart Road
Glen Burnie, Maryland

Noteworthy as the first fully-enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi, HARUNDALE MALL was located on a 25 acre tract, 9 miles south of downtown Baltimore.

The 8 million dollar, 350,000 square foot complex was designed by the firm of Rogers, Taliaferro and Lamb. It was the first shopping complex built by Community Research and Development (a subsidiary of the James Rouse Company).

HARUNDALE held its grand opening October 1, 1958, with a great deal of fanfare. Its major anchor was the 2-level (81,700 square foot), Baltimore-based Hochschild-Kohn department store, which occupied the northeast corner. There was also a 1-level (42,000 square foot) G.C. Murphy 5 and 10, S.S. Kresge 5 and 10, 26,000 square foot Food Fair supermarket, Read Drug, Gamerman's Toys and Sidewalk Cafe.

There were thirty-eight other stores and services in the mall proper and annex building, which was in the front parking area. The Harundale Cinema was not physically a part of the enclosed structure, but was located nearby, on Aquahart Road.

The mall was centered on two court areas. The first, the Palm Court, featured a large rock, which was the centerpiece of a tropical planter and fountain. Hochschild-Kohn's Severn Room overlooked the area. This terrace restaurant, and a Community Room, were part of a second level that was accessed from a Palm Court stairway.

The second court had a 35 foot-high bird aviary as its focal point. An urban legend, in circulation a few years after the mall's opening, told of mynah birds that had been taught several off-color words by local teenagers. The "cursing mynahs", and their cage, were eventually removed.

HARUNDALE was the premier shopping destination in the southern environs of "Bawlmer" for several years. The opening of GLEN BURNIE MALL [October 2008 archive] in 1964 did not effect commerce at HARUNDALE, even though the new shopping center was located only 3 miles north.

It wasn't until February 1987 that HARUNDALE faced real retail competition. The new MARLEY STATION MALL was built only 1.5 miles south, and was much larger. It wasn't long before tenants at HARUNDALE began to move to MARLEY.

*

Hochschild-Kohn was shuttered in late 1984, with its space being leased by Baltimore-based Hutzler's. This store closed in 1988 and was retenanted by Richmond, Virginia-based Value City in 1989. Most of the original tenants at HARUNDALE had long since vacated.

*
The struggling center was acquired by the Columbia, Maryland-based Manekin Corporation, who decided to raze the aging -but historically significant- shopping center. Demolition got underway in March 1998, leaving only the Hochschild-Kohn / Hutzler's / Value City store standing.

*

This was incorporated into a new, 218,000 square foot strip center. Known as HARUNDALE PLAZA, it opened in 1999 and was anchored by Value City, Super Fresh Foods and A.J. Wright Family Apparel. Value city was shuttered in early 2008 and soon reopened as a Burlington Coat Factory.

*
Today, the PLAZA is owned and operated by Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty, who acquired it in February 2007.

Sources:

Barbara S. and Jan B., past and present Maryland residents

"Harundale Mall" article on Wikipedia

"Hochschild-Kohn" article on Wikipedia

"Hutzler's" article on Wikipedia

www.city-data.com / Baltimore Forum / "Ecloedl"

http://www.ddr.com/

North Carolina's Charlottetown Mall



Logo from www.groceteria.com / David Gwynn

The Central Mall at CHARLOTTETOWN. Mr. Rouse's second
fully-enclosed complex was decked-out with flora, fauna and
a fountain. There were also Googie-style, rocketship-shaped
bird aviaries and a Sidewalk Cafe.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot



The exterior of the complex; the third shopping mall developed by the
James Rouse Company. Much to Rouse's chagrin, the Asheville-based
Bon Marche was only in business for a few years after the mall's 1959
debut. The store space was eventually taken by Charlotte-based
Ivey's.
Photo from www.groceteria.com / David Gwynn

The first interior mall in the Southland. Its twin cinema,
on a site directly north, was one of the first multiple movie
houses in the nation. The original shopping complex housed

256,000 leasable square feet. The plan was to double its

size -to around 500,000 square feet- with a later addition.

This never came to pass.

An aerial of the shopping center, with the twin-screen Charlottetown
Mall cinemas at top center.
Photo from www.grocerteria.com / David Gwynn

The mall as OUTLET SQUARE. This early '80s remarketing effort
never quite panned out. The shopping center remained in a state of
retail twilight until it was unceremoniously demolished in 2006.
Photo from http://www.groceteria.com/ / David Gwynn

An aerial view of the new METROPOLITAN mixed-use project, a
replacement for the beleaguered CHARLOTTETOWN MALL. The
first phase of the complex opened in October 2007.
Photo from www.colonialprop.com

The "vertically-stacked" Home Depot Expo Design Center and Target,
which anchored the Phase One segment of the METROPOLITAN
development. The Expo Design Center was short-lived. It closed in
April 2009.
Photo from www.cpwadv.com/pr/target

CHARLOTTETOWN MALL
South Independence Boulevard / US 74 and South Kings Drive
Charlotte, North Carolina

The first fully-enclosed shopping center in the Southeast -and fourth regional-class interior mall in the United States- opened in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 28, 1959.

CHARLOTTETOWN MALL was situated on a 10 acre parcel, on the southeastern fringes of Charlotte's center city -or "Uptown"- area. The mall was designed by A.G. Odell, Jr and was the third major retail complex built by the James Rouse Company (under the auspices of its Community Research and Development subsidiary).

The complex had 256,000 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 2-level (45,000 square foot), Asheville-based Bon Marche department store (this North Carolina Bon Marche' had no connection with the Seattle-based retailer of the same name).

Forty tenants were situated around a 2-story-high Central Mall, which featured a fountain, several rocketship-shaped bird cages and planters filled with tropical foliage. There was a Colonial supermarket, Eckerd Drug, P.H. Rose variety store and SW Cafeteria on the mall's first level. The second level had an auditorium and several leased office spaces.

In 1964, the Charlottetown Mall Cinemas opened, which occupied a 6 acre tract, located across Independence Boulevard from the mall. This was one of the nation's first twin-screen movie houses.

By this time, CHARLOTTETOWN MALL'S Bon Marche had gone out of business, with the location being occupied by a Charlotte-based Ivey's department store.

The opening of SOUTHPARK MALL in 1970 and EASTLAND MALL in 1975 had a negative effect on business at CHARLOTTETOWN. Both of the new shopping centers were built within 5 miles of the older mall, and were much larger.

Soon, CHARLOTTETOWN began to decline. It is thought that the completion of the John Belk Freeway / Interstate 277 Loop, in 1981, had a negative effect on CHARLOTTETOWN, as well.

The first renovation of the mall was undertaken in the early 1980s, when its name was officially changed to OUTLET SQUARE. 9 years later, the still-struggling shopping center was re-renovated. Two parking garages were added and a new name adopted; MIDTOWN SQUARE. Unfortunately, this latest remodel and new name did not rejuvinate the 30 year-old shopping mall.

The Ivey's anchor store had been reduced to a clearance center some years before. Eventually, its space became a Burlington Coat Factory. The Colonial supermarket had become a Big Star and then operated under the Harris-Teeter nameplate, until closing for good in 1988.

In 1993, the Charlottetown Mall Cinemas were shuttered. After languishing as a dead mall for several years, MIDTOWN SQUARE also west bust. Both structures were bulldozed in 2006. A mixed-use, retail, condominium and office complex is being built on the sites of the old cinema and shopping mall.

The 225 million dollar METROPOLITAN project was developed by a joint venture of Charlotte-based Pappas Properties / Collette Associates and Birmingham-based Colonial Properties Trust. Its retail segment included a vertically-stacked Home Depot Expo Design Center and Target. This Phase One portion of the project was dedicated in October 2007.

Stores opened as Phase Two were Trader Joe's, Best Buy, Staples, West Elm and Marshalls. These came inline in the fall of 2008, with completion of the entire project scheduled to take place in 2009.

Sources:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
Malls Of America Blogspot "Charlottetown Mall" blog [Keith Milford, Groceteria, Rob, Matt from CLT & Anonymous]
Urban Planet.org / North Carolina / Charlotte / "Uptown Living" [Metro.M]
http://www.cinematreasures.com/ / "Charlottetown Mall Cinemas" article [Tommy Conner, JCE, Cantnot]
Groceteria website "Charlotte: The 1960's" article /David Gwynn webmaster
http://www.pappasproperties.com/
Colonial Properties Trust press release / October 3, 2005

San Antonio's North Star Mall

Mr. Rouse's fourth shopping mall project was built in the northern
environs of San Antonio. The center featured a single anchor store
-Wolff and Marx- and encompassed 260,000 leasable square feet.

A circa-'63 aerial of the shopping center. The Frost Brothers store
was under construction. Work had not yet begun on the twin
cinema.
Photo from City-Data / "940"

A mid-'60s physical layout of NORTH STAR MALL, with the expansion
of 1963 and '64 shown in shades of gray. The first anchor, San Antonio-
based Wolff and Marx, had been joined by another San Antonio-based
retailer, Frost Brothers.

The "Giant Justin's", largest pair of cowboy boots
in the world. The 40 foot high sculpture, by local
artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade, was installed at the
mall in 1980.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Clipper 471"

Fast forward to 2009 and the current site plan of San Antonio's
meandering mall. The remaining sections of the original 250,000
square foot shopping center are shown in black, with the 1963 and
1969 additions indicated in medium gray. Expansions done in the
mid-1980's are shown in light gray.

NORTH STAR MALL
San Pedro Avenue and West Rector Road
San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio and Minneapolis were the first American cities to have more than one fully-enclosed shopping center. In the Alamo City, NORTH STAR MALL opened in September 1960. WONDERLAND SHOPPING CITY [November 2007 archive] was officially dedicated in September 1961.

NORTH STAR MALL was the fourth regional retail hub built by the James Rouse Company; the third endeavor of its Community Research and Development Corporation affiliate.

The complex occupied a 53.9 acre tract, 9 miles north of downtown San Antonio, which was adjacent to a newly-completed stretch of the "Loop 13" Expressway (later known as "Loop I-410 / John Connally Loop").

The grand opening of the shopping mall was held September 23, 1960. At the time, it encompassed 260,000 leasable square feet and housed fifty-three stores and services.

The primary anchor was a 2-level (60,000 square foot), San Antonio-based Wolff and Marx department store. There were also an H-E-B (Howard E. Butt) supermarket, Walgreen Drug, Guarantee Shoe Store, Mr. Dunderbach's Deli, Pants Parlor apparel, La Fuente Restaurant, Lerner Shops, Pet Pantry, National Shirt Shop and Texas State Optical store.

An eastward expansion, commencing in February 1963 and coming inline the following October, added a 2-level (94,000 square foot), San Antonio-based, Frost Brothers and several new retailers. NORTH STAR now spanned for 500,000 leasable square feet, with a directory of seventy-five stores and services.

On December 25, 1964, the North Star Cinemas complex was completed. It was adjacent to the northeast corner of the mall, but was not connected with the interior mallway.

CENTRAL PARK MALL became the primary competitor of NORTH STAR MALL in 1968. The new complex was built next door, directly across San Pedro Avenue.

A second eastern addition to NORTH STAR MALL, the Phase III / "La Fuente Del Sol" expansion, was completed in 1969. The mallway was built over to a 5-level (204,000 square foot), San Antonio-based Joske's. NORTH STAR MALL now encompassed 800,000 leasable square feet and one hundred and thirteen stores.

The existing twin cinema was incorporated into the enclosed mall at this time and a 2-level parking deck built in the southeast parking area. In 1970, Wolff and Marx, by then owned by the Joske's chain, was sold to (and rebranded by) Tacoma, Washington-based Rhodes Brothers. This, in turn, became a Honolulu-based Liberty House in the mid-1970s.

The next renovation of the complex took place in 1981, when the H-E-B supermarket and Walgreen Drug -on the west end of the mall- were razed and replaced with a 3-level (200,000 square foot), Houston-based, Foley's.

Moreover, in 1982, an underground arcade area was added at the center of the complex, beneath a north entrance. This arcade included a music store, record store and Oshman's Sporting Goods. A parking garage (at the northeast corner of the mall) was completed in 1983.

The fourth addition to NORTH STAR MALL came inline in 1986. A 3-level (178,000 square foot) Marshall Field's was built, along with a 2-level (104,000 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue. Both stores were situated at the end of newly-constructed, 2-level concourses, with the Marshall Field's wing including a 14-bay Food Court.

Two new parking structures were built, as well. The first at the northwest corner, the second at the southwest. Moreover, the Foley's store was expanded to 250,000 square feet, via a northward extension. With these additions in place, the mall encompassed 1,260,000 leasable square feet and over two hundred stores and services.

Several anchor store changes occurred over the ensuing years. Joske's was rebranded as a Dillard's in 1987. Two years later, Frost Brothers was liquidated. Its former store space became a Mervyn's in 1992. 1997 brought the shuttering of Marshall Fields, which reopened as a Macy's in the same year.

Chicago-based General Growth Properties purchased the Rouse Company in 2004 and assumed ownership of NORTH STAR MALL. In March 2005, they announced a major refurbishment of the center, which was concluded in 2008.

The renovation included comfortable furniture for the common areas of the mall, as well as new tile flooring, landscaping, ceilings and exterior entrances.

During this project, the original Macy's relocated into the former Foley's, which closed as a result of the May / Federated merger of 2005. In mid-2007, J.C. Penney opened a store in the old Marshall Fields / Macy's location.

The most recent anchor alteration involved the shuttering of Mervyn's in late 2008. In August 2009, it was announced that Los Angeles-based Forever 21 will be retenanting the space with a large-format store.

Sources:

"North Star Mall" article on Wikipedia
Bexar County, Texas Tax Assessor website
Comment posts by Randy and Jonah Norason
Cinema Treasures / "North Star Cinema" article / submitted by "Outtafocus"
ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

New Jersey's Cherry Hill Mall

*

Opening, in October 1961, as the first major interior mall on the East

Coast, South Jersey's CHERRY HILL was the first collaboration

between master mall designer Victor Gruen and James Rouse. It was

the fifth mall built by Mr. Rouse's Company.

Photo from Malls of America Blogspot

*

See May 2008 archive for the complete article

Louisville's The Mall

Photo from http://www.labelscar.com/ / "Prange Way"

The nucleus from which today's MALL ST. MATTHEWS originated.
In 1962, THE MALL housed 240,000 leasable square feet and was
anchored by Kaufman's of Kentucky, a P.H. Rose variety store and
A and P supermarket.

The first of several expansions was completed in 1969. A 2-level
J.C. Penney was added, along with sixteen new stores. THE MALL
now spanned 552,500 leasable square feet.

The recently-renovated Penney's, added to THE MALL during its
first expansion.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"

The mall, following its late 1980s renovation and expansion. There
were now a new -north-facing- Limited / Express Wing and Picnic
Food Court (in the old Rose's spot). By this time, the Kaufman's store
had gone through four nameplate changes. The shopping center, itself,
sported a new moniker, as well.

The sprawling shopping venue in 1998. Two expansions, in 1992-
1995 and 1998, increased the size of the center to 1,094,000 leasable
square feet. Eleven years later, the site plan above still serves as a
basic footprint of the mall. However, Lord and Taylor is now a Dillard's
Men's. The old Dillard's Men's will soon reopen as a Forever 21.

The Picnic Food Court, built in what had been a P.H. Rose variety store
in the circa-'62 mall. The culinary complex was dedicated in the mid-
1980s.
Photo from www.labelscar.com/ / "Prange Way"

Lexington, Kentucky-based Dawahares temporarily tenanted the
Lord and Taylor spot, vacated in February 2003. In 2007, the store
was reconfigured into a new Dillard's Men's and Home Store.
Photo from http://www.labelscar.com/ / "Prange Way"

THE MALL
Shelbyville Road / US 60 and Interstate 264
St. Matthews, Kentucky

The first shopping mall in the Commonwealth of Kentucky was located 6 miles east of downtown Louisville, in the suburb of St. Matthews, on a land parcel adjacent to the newly-opened Watterson Expressway / Interstate 264.

Known simply as THE MALL, or SHELBYVILLE ROAD MALL, the single-level, fully-enclosed shopping center was built on land previously comprising the Arterburn Estate. The complex was the sixth mall built by the James Rouse Company; the fifth to be completed by Community Research and Development.

At the grand opening, held March 21, 1962, THE MALL was anchored by a 2-level (80,000 square foot), Louisville-based Kaufman's of Kentucky. There were also a 20,400 square foot A & P supermarket, Taylor Drug, Rodes-Rapier, Davidson's apparel and 1-level (46,200 square foot), North Carolina-based P.H. Rose variety store.

The circa-'62 shopping center encompassed 240,000 leasable square feet and was situated around two court areas. The first -fronting on Kaufman's- featured an oversized chess set. The second -at the P.H. Rose- served as a children's play area.

THE MALL was the only enclosed shopping center in the "Kentuckiana" metropolis until GREENTREE MALL opened, in nearby Clarksville, Indiana in 1968.

The following year, an addition to THE MALL was completed, which included a 2-level (178,400 square foot) J.C. Penney. However, newer malls in the area began to drain business and tenants away.

In 1971, OXMOOR CENTER was built less than a 1 mile east. This was followed by BASHFORD MANOR MALL, located 4 miles to the southwest, which opened in 1973.

Soon, THE MALL was in decline. Kaufman's closed, with Stewart's, another Louisville-based department store, moving in. This lasted a few years and was proceeded by an Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres in 1985.

In the mid-1980s, a major renovation and expansion of the center began, which included the installation of a Food Court in the old Rose's spot. A new North Wing, including a Limited apparel store, was built on the front of the structure.

Moreover, the recently-vacated L.S. Ayres was expanded by 90,000 square feet. The 170,800 square foot structure was leased to Louisville-based Bacon's in 1989. The newly-remodeled shopping center was now officially known as MALL ST. MATTHEWS. An upturn in business prompted Rouse Company to begin another expansion in 1992.

This included the construction of a new Southwest Wing and third department store. This 2-level (230,000 square foot) building was occupied by Little Rock-based Dillard's in 1995. The retail hub now encompassed 965,000 leasable square feet.

The fifth expansion of MALL ST. MATTHEWS added a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Lord and Taylor and multi-level parking garage. This project was completed in 1998. At this time, Bacon's department stores were absorbed into the Dillard's chain, with the old Bacon's store reopening as a Dillard's Men's location.

With the dawn of the new century came more changes. A deal, whereby Seattle-based Nordstrom was to open a new store at MALL ST. MATTHEWS, fell through in early 2001. Lord and Taylor pulled out of the mall in February 2003.

The mid-'00s brought even more developments. Rouse Company, the builder and owner of the complex, was acquired by Chicago-based General Growth Properties in 2004.

Three years later, Dillard's Men's moved into the old Lord and Taylor, leaving the previous location (in what had been the Kaufman's / Stewart's / Ayres / Bacon's) vacant. The plan was to demolish the structure and replace it with an open-air "lifestyle component".

Alas, the store building is to be left intact. In August 2009, it was announced that Los Angeles-based Forever 21 will be opening in the space, with a large-format store.

Today, MALL ST. MATTHEWS encompasses 1,094,000 leasable square feet and one hundred and forty stores and services. It is the Bluegrass State's largest enclosed shopping mall, having 17,078 more leasable square feet than the number two contender, Lexington's FAYETTE MALL.

Sources:

"Mall St. Matthews" article on Wikipedia
"Rose's" article on Wikipedia
"L.S. Ayres" article on Wikipedia
"Dillard's" article on Wikipedia
www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)
http://www.macerich.com/
Malls Of America Blogspot / "Retro Louisville Malls" / "Anonymous" post
Comment post by Jonah Norason
http://www.aboutnordstrom.com/ / "Nordstrom Cancels Plans For Louisville Store" / February 21, 2004

Pittsburgh's Northway Mall



Opening in August 1962 as the first interior mall in the Keystone State,
NORTHWAY MALL was a Rouse Company redevelopment of a circa-
1953 strip shopping center.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot

See August 2009 archive for the complete article

Pittsburgh's Greengate Mall



The eighth Rouse retail mecca was the second of
three collaborations between Victor Gruen and
James Rouse. GREENGATE MALL was dedicated
in August of 1965. It had a destiny date with the
wrecking ball in 2003.
Photo from Photo from www.freewebs.com /
"Greengate Mall Revisited"

See May 2008 archive for the complete article

Philadelphia's Plymouth Meeting Mall



The first of two malls opened by James Rouse and Company during
1966, Philly's PLYMOUTH MEETING was officially dedicated in
February. It was the third -and final- Gruen-designed / Rouse-built
shopping complex.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot

See May 2008 archive for the complete article

Dayton's Salem Mall



Beginning business in October 1966, SALEM MALL retained
its original logo for forty years.
Photo from Innovative Auctions website

A 1970 depiction of the sixty store mall. At its center was a tropical
Garden Court with fountain. Lush foliage was a standard fixture of the
early Rouse malls. A single-screen cinema was an imposing feature at
the front of the complex.

A view of the breezeway leading to one of the

entrances of the mall. Sears is on the right.

Photo from Innovatine Auctions website

An eastward view of the main corridor. This was a part of
the original -circa-1966- mall.
Photo from Innovative Auctions website

The newly-expanded shopping center, in 1982. A Food Court now
occupied its center area and a 2-level concourse -and J.C.Penney-
extended to the north. The complex now encompassed 817,000
leasable square feet, with one hundred and ten stores and services.

Two views of the newer -2-level- mall corridor, added to the original

1-level mall in the early 1980s.

Photos from Wikipedia / Dave Lansing

A rendering of THE LANDMARK, which was plotted to replace
the SALEM MALL. The mid-century center was demolished
(save for Sears) in the summer of 2006. Several hurdles were
encountered, which indefinitely delayed the start of construction
on the new lifestyle project. In fact, it appears likely that it will
never be built.
Drawing from Trotwood Chamber of Commerce

SALEM MALL
Salem Avenue and Shiloh Springs Road
Trotwood, Ohio

SALEM MALL was the Dayton area's first fully-enclosed shopping center. It was situated on a 39.9 acre parcel, 6 miles northwest of downtown and was the tenth regional-class center to be built by the James Rouse Company; the ninth undertaking of its Community Research and Development subsidiary.

The mall opened in October 1966 and, in its early stages, had sixty retailers. It was anchored by a 1-level with basement (121,700 square foot) Sears and 1-level (112,209 square foot), Dayton-based Rike's.

1966 tenants included Camelot Music, Spencer Gifts, Merry-Go-Round, Casual Corner, Mayor's Jewelers, Mayor's Records, The Metropolitan apparel, Cassano's Pizza King, a Liberal supermarket and Hot Shoppes Cafeteria. The single-screen Salem Mall Cinema showed its first feature, Billy Wilder's "The Fortune Cookie", in October 1966.

When originally built, SALEM MALL was located in unincorporated Montgomery County / Madison Township. However, in May 1969, the then-existing Village of Trotwood annexed it. Over the ensuing years, the City of Dayton made several unsuccessful attempts to annex the shopping center, which -at the time- was the second-largest in the region.

A large-scale renovation was completed in 1981. The center Garden Court was gutted. In its place was built a large Food Court, with a bi-level mall concourse extending northward to a 2-level (167,200 square foot) J.C Penney.

Rike's was also expanded into a 196,553 square foot store. The mall now encompassed 817,000 leasable square feet and over one hundred and ten retailers.

The eventual demise of the shopping center was underway by the late 1970s, although this was not apparent at the time. The center's site had been selected due to its proximity to the proposed Wolf Creek Expressway. However, the superhighway was never built and the area surrounding the mall eventually began to decline.

By the late 1990s, SALEM had the dubious distinction of being one of America's original "dead malls".The Rike's anchor had been rebranded as Shillito-Rike's in 1982. Four years later, all Federated Stores in Ohio were put under the Lazarus nameplate.

The store continued under this heading until it was shuttered in 1998. In 2002, it was razed and replaced by Home Depot.

The nearly-deserted mall had gone through a succession of owners by this time. Several attempts were made to secure new tenants.....all met with little or no success. In October 2004, the City of Trotwood purchased SALEM MALL. The center was shuttered and most of it was demolished in the summer of 2006.

Sears is now all that remains of the original center. It, and Home Depot, were to be incorporated into an open-air, lifestyle complex, with shoppes, a 14-screen multiplex cinema, offices, housing units, a public library, a higher education branch campus and new city hall for Trotwood.

This complex, to be known as THE LANDMARK, was originally scheduled for completion in 2008. However, budget problems in the City of Trotwood have resulted in the delay of its construction. It appears likely that the project will be entirely abandoned.

Salem Mall Musings:

This bit of verbage is surely some real "retro retail" reminiscing! I first went to Dayton's mall that was in the winter of 1970. It had opened in 1966....so, when I went to it "way back when", it was only four years old.

SALEM MALL preceded its big sister sibling, the DAYTON MALL (13 miles to the southeast), by three years. DAYTON MALL [June 2008 archive] was an ENORMOUS mega-mall; the first mall of any type that I ever saw, or went to. When I first ventured there in 1969, I was in awe. However, my first trip to SALEM MALL, a year later, found me almost as impressed.

Admittedly, SALEM MALL was very different from DAYTON MALL. SALEM was much smaller (in its early days), and the design and decor of Dayton's two enclosed, suburban shopping centers was dissimilar.

SALEM followed the typical mid-'50s-to-early '60s shopping mall styling, with its fountained, center Garden Court and sunlit, clerestory window corridors. DAYTON MALL, on the other hand, was built to echo the early 1970s concept of a dark, stark, windowless concrete caisson.

Looking at these two examples, as they originally stood, it becomes clear that "vernacular architecture" had changed quite a bit within only three years. This was, after all, the 1960s, when things in America would change radically almost overnight.

SALEM MALL originally had four corridors. All of these began at the Garden Court. The first ran to the Sears anchor store (at the mall's east end). The second ended at a mall entrance, in front of the second anchor store, Rike's (at the mall's west end).

The two other corridors were shorter than the aforementioned. The third extended southward, to the mall's main entrance, in front of the Salem Mall Cinema. The fourth ended at the mall's rear entrance, which was in front of the Liberal supermarket.

The Salem Mall Cinema, at the front of the complex, was a major focal point of the structure. It was quite a large -and imposing- building. Perhaps some younger readers may be suprised to know that, at this time, there was only one screen in the cinema. Virtually every movie theater in this day and age was not a "multiplex" deal. You would have only one screen -and one feature movie- showing in the cinema at a time.

Likewise, in the circa-1970 version of SALEM MALL, there was no Food Court. If you wanted something to eat while hanging out , the best bet would have been to head down toward Sears, go out the rear entrance, and walk to the Cassano's Pizza King, which was located outside of the enclosed structure, on the rear parking lot. There were also restaurants in Sears, Rike's, and a drug store. An MCL Cafeteria was also a prominent feature.

I think the coolest store at the circa-1970 SALEM MALL was East East. It was on the southeast corner of the Garden Court, and was a psychedelic, emporium type of establishment. Here was the place to go for all of your blacklight posters, Buddha incense burners and lava lamps. Sounds archaic now, but that kind of stuff was very much in vogue at the time.

There were two record stores in the mall then; Camelot Music and Mayor's (adjacent to a jewelry store). My only other recollection is of the single-story, Rike's department store, which seemed REALLY small. I'm sure that I felt this way because I was more accustomed to going to the huge 2-level (230,000 square foot) Rike's in the "new" DAYTON MALL.

I moved away from southwestern Ohio in 1972, so I didn't go to SALEM MALL for several years. On my last visit, in the early 1990s, I dined at the Food Court that had been built during the 1981 renovation. I was impressed by how much larger SALEM MALL was, with the addition of the eateries and 2-level concourse.

Still, I think that I liked the original -circa-'60s- mall better.

Sources:

Comment posts by "Thanoss", "Shatzi" and "Anonymous"
http://www.trotwood.org/
http://www.urbanohio.com/
www.deadmalls.com / Comment posts by "Matt", Troy Lightcap, Sidney New and Blake Hutchinson
www.cinematreasures.com / "Salem Mall Cinemas" article, contributed by David Sparks

Houston's Northwest Mall

One of the twin malls opened by the Rouse Company in Houston, Texas
in October 1968, NORTHWEST MALL encompassed 794,000 leasable
square feet, with a retail roster of eighty stores.

One of the main entrances into the center. These were remodeled in
1990.
Photo from www.levcor.com

The Center Court and entryway to "The Food Court",

which was also a component of the 1990 renovation.

Photo from www.levcor.com

The mall's Macy's, in better days. The store was damaged
by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. It is unclear whether
Macy's Inc. will reopen the location. The sister store, in
ALMEDA MALL, was also damaged by the storm. It will
return to retailing in September 2009, after a thorough
renovation.
Photo from www.levcor.com

Today's NORTHWEST MALL. Structurally, it differs little from the
circa-1968 center seen above. The only expansion, done in the early
1970s, enlarged the existing Foley's by 89,200 square feet. Of course,
the store line up is quite a bit different than that of the original mall.

NORTHWEST MALL
Hempstead Road / US 290 and Magnum Road
Houston, Texas

The James Rouse Company developed two fully-enclosed shopping malls simultaneously in Houston, Texas. These twin centers, NORTHWEST MALL and ALMEDA MALL, encompassed 794,000 and 797,000 leasable square feet, respectively, and opened in October 1968.

NORTHWEST MALL sat upon a 65.7 acre plot, 5 miles northwest of central Houston. ALMEDA MALL was located 17.8 miles southeast of NORTHWEST. These single-level sibling centers were nearly identical in design and shared the same anchor stores.

A 2-level (209,600 square foot), Houston-based Foley's and 2-level (209,300 square foot) J.C. Penney anchored NORTHWEST MALL. The original complex also included a 1-level (49,500 square foot), Houston-based Battelstein's as a junior anchor.

Inline stores included GNC, Gordon's Jewelers, Farrell's Ice Cream, Margo's, Hallmark Store, Palais Royal and an F.W. Woolworth 5 and 10. An outparcel movie house, the AMC Northwest 4, opened for business December 25, 1969.

The only physical expansion of NORTHWEST MALL was done in the early 1970s, when Foley's was enlarged into a 298,800 square foot operation.

Retail rivals were aplenty in the over-malled Houston metropolis. SHARPSTOWN MALL (1961) [July 2008 archive] was located 7.2 miles southwest; MEMORIAL CITY MALL (1962), 5.4 miles southwest; NORTHLINE MALL (1963) sat 4.7 miles to the northeast and TOWN AND COUNTRY MALL (1983) was 6.2 miles southwest.

Houston's GALLERIA (1970) [June 2007 archive] was situated 4 miles south of NORTHWEST MALL but was such an ultra-upscale operation that the two centers were not in direct competition.

NORTHWEST MALL was given a facelift renovation in 1990, with an 11-bay Food Court installed in the center of the center. New entrances were also included in the project.

Over the years, inline stores came and went at the shopping venue. Bealls (which possibly replaced Battelstein's) was shuttered in February 1989. BizMart, on office supply chain, opened June 20, 1990 and closed in January 1991. Woolworth folded in December 1993. Things really began to falter when J.C. Penney pulled out of the mall in June 2000. Its store space was never reoccupied.

The Rouse Company relinquished ownership of the shopping center in 2002; the buyer being the Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust. They, in turn, sold the ailing property to Houston-based Levcor in October 2007. A large-scale renovation was planned, that would rework the complex into a mixed-use, lifestyle-type center.

This project was delayed when the mall site was included in an economic redevelopment zone surrounding a "Northwest Mall" passenger station on Houston's prospective US 290 Corridor / Cypress-to-Intermodal Terminal commuter rail line.

NORTHWEST MALL took a hit from Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Its Macy's (a February 2006 rebranding of Foley's) incurred roof damage and closed. At present, the store is still closed. Macy's has been unclear about whether or not it will reopen.

Sources:

"Northwest Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.northwest-mall.com
www.levcor.com
"METRORail" article on Wikipedia

Toledo's Franklin Park Mall



The Rouse Company's seventeenth shopping mall was acquired by the
Australia-based Westfield Group in early 2002. The Elephant Bar
bistro seen here opened -as part of a large-scale mall expansion- in
May 2005.
Photo from Lucas County, Ohio AREIS

See September 2008 archive for the complete article

Austin's Highland Mall



The south anchor of the central Texas center, originally a San Antonio-
based Joske's, became a Dillard's in April 1987.

The original footprint of Austin's first fully-enclosed mall. The bi-level
shopping venue, which encompassed 859,000 leasable square feet,
was one of three regional malls opened by the Rouse Company in
August 1971. The other two were MALL IN COLUMBIA, in Maryland,
and PERIMETER MALL, north of Atlanta.

A circa-'79 site plan, showing the only expansion that has been done
to the shopping venue. The 213,800 square foot Foley's, built on the
east side of the center, was "Macy-ated" September 9, 2006.

Interior of the dual-level HIGHLAND MALL. Apparently, the center
was given its last renovation in 1987.
Photo from www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

Today's HIGHLAND MALL. The center, outpositioned by the newer
and larger BARTON CREEK SQUARE (on the west side of the city), is
losing two anchors -its double Dillard's- sometime in 2009. This will
leave only Macy's to sustain it.

HIGHLAND MALL
Airport Boulevard and East Koenig Lane
Austin, Texas

The first shopping mall in the Lonestar State's capital came inline in 1964. Open-air in configuration, HANCOCK CENTER encompassed 500,000 leasable square feet and was anchored by Sears and Dillard's.

HIGHLAND MALL, the second mall-type center in the environs of Austin, was the eighteenth regional center developed by the James Rouse Company. The fully-enclosed center opened in August 1971 and occupied an 81 acre plot, located 5 miles northeast of the central city. The site was adjacent to the intersection of the Interstate 35 / Interregional Highway and US 290 Freeway.

Originally encompassing 859,000 leasable square feet, the bi-level shopopolis was anchored by a 2-level (233,600 square foot) J.C. Penney, 2-level (80,000 square foot), Austin-based Scarbrough's and 4-level (191,200 square foot) San Antonio-based Joske's.

A 2-level (213,800 square foot), Houston-based Foley's was added to the east side of the existing mall in 1979. With this expansion, the complex encompased 1,072,000 leasable square feet and one hundred and thirty-seven inline stores.

HIGHLAND MALL encountered its first taste of commercial competition in 1975, with the dedication of NORTHCROSS MALL, which was located less that three miles north. The 326,000 square foot center, very much a community-size mall, was no match for the much larger, superregional HIGHLAND.

In 1981, BARTON CREEK SQUARE came along, which had the size and commercial clout to put the hurt on the eleven year-old HIGHLAND. Another northside retail rival, LAKELINE MALL, came inline in 1995.

In a keeping up with BARTON CREEK SQUARE measure, HIGHLAND MALL had been given a full-scale renovation in 1987, which included the installation of new fountains, skylights and landscaping. This kept the mall current...but it was eventually eclipsed by BARTON CREEK, especially after that mall was expanded to over 1,400,000 leasable square feet in 2003.

The first anchor store alteration at HIGHLAND MALL occurred in April 1987, when Joske's stores were acquired -and rebranded- by Dillard's. Likewise, two stores in the Scarbrough's chain were bought by Dillard's in 1992, including the location at HIGHLAND MALL. The former Joske's became a Dillard's Women's. Scarbrough's was reconfigured as a Dillard's Men's and Children's Store.

J.C. Penney pulled out of the mall in 2004, leaving a vacancy that remains to this day. 2004 was also the year that Chicago-based General Growth Properties [March 2008 archive] acquired the holdings of the Rouse Company, which owned a fifty percent share of HIGHLAND MALL.

Ownership of the shopping center consists of a joint venture with Indianapolis' Simon Property Group [March 2008 archive]. Simon had acquired their share in the mall when they bought the portfolio of New York City-based Corporate Property Investors in September 1998.

Along with the economic downturn of the late 2000s came news that Dillard's was planning to close its two HIGHLAND MALL stores in 2009. This would leave the center with three vacant anchors, encompassing 504,800 square feet, or roughly half of the mall's GLA.

The potential shuttering resulted in some rather nasty litigation between the Little Rock-based retailer and the joint owners of the shopping mall. The case has yet to be resolved.

Sources:

www.simon.com
www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)
Austin Business Journal
"Foley's" article on Wikipedia
Comment post by "ChasRich"

Maryland's Mall In Columbia

The Main Level of the original retail complex. The mall
served as the commercial center for Columbia, the Rouse
Company's planned city, which had been dedicated in
June 1967.

The Hochschild-Kohn Court, at the north end of the circa-'71 MALL IN
COLUMBIA. Apparently, the interior decor of the original mall was the
epitome of late period "Mid-Mod" style.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot / Ed South

One of the twin-spray fountains at Center Court, in
the original MALL IN COLUMBIA.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot / Jeanine Long

An exterior view of the south end of the mall, well before the
Southwest / Sears Wing was added. Here we see Woodward and
Lothrop's 2-level store and the four glass pyramids that helped light
the mall's interior. These were joined by four additional ones, added
during subsequent expansions of the shopping center.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot / Ed South

The "Woodie's Court", at the south end of the shopping center.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot / Ed South

1981 and "COLUMBIA MALL" is expanded with a 146,000 square foot
Sears and new Southwest Wing, which includes an 18-bay Food Court.
The complex now encompasses 1,010,000 leasable square feet and
one hundred and fifty-seven stores and services.

A turn of the century physical layout. The four-anchor shopopolis now
featured five. A new Northwest Wing brought such retailers as Bose,
Restoration Hardware, April Cornell, Godiva Chocolatier and Yankee
Candle Company.

Nordstrom joined the anchor line up in September 1999.
Here we see a southeastern view showing the Seattle-
based retailer, its adjacent parking garage and two of
the distinctive glass pyramids at the top of the mall.
Photo from www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

Maine-based L.L. Bean opened a 30,000 square foot outparcel
store at MALL IN COLUMBIA in March 2001.
Photo from Wikipedia / "WallStreetHotRod"

The oft-enlarged retail hub as it stands in 2009. The modest, 640,000
square foot complex of 1971 has grown into the 1,330,500 square foot
mega-mall of today. The two original anchor stores have been joined
by three more and the retail roster, totalling one hundred and two in
the early '70s, has burgeoned to one hundred and ninety-seven...and
this does not include those in the northwestern outparcel structures!

MALL IN COLUMBIA
Little Pawtuxent and Governor Warfield Parkways
Howard County (Columbia), Maryland

Conceived as the commercial and civic center of the Rouse Company's planned city of Columbia, Maryland, MALL IN COLUMBIA was officially dedicated August 2, 1971. The 2-level, fully-enclosed complex was built on a 170 acre site, sitting 13.5 miles southwest of Baltimore's central city.

The shopping venue, the nineteenth mall built by Rouse, originally encompassed 640,000 square feet. It was anchored by a 2-level (135,000 square foot), Baltimore-based Hochschild-Kohn and 2-level (122,600 square foot), DC-based Woodward and Lothrop...making MALL IN COLUMBIA the first shopping mall to feature department stores from the two adjacent metro areas.

Eighty inline stores, out of an eventual one hundred and two, came inline during the grand opening of the center. These included Merle Norman Cosmetics, Fashion Bug, Peck and Peck, Lerner Shops, Hyatt's For Men, Florsheim Shoes, Temptation!, Capitol Stationers, National Photo, Chick-Fil-A, Kinney Shoes, Joseph R. Harris, Tuerkes Leather Goods and a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10.

Nearby Baltimore area malls included WESTVIEW CENTER (1958), 8.2 miles northeast, in Catonsville, SECURITY SQUARE (1972), 8.5 miles northeast, in Baltimore County and, eventually, ARUNDEL MILLS (2000), 8 miles southeast, in Anne Arundel County.

The first anchor alteration at MALL IN COLUMBIA transpired in 1975, when Hochschild-Kohn was rebranded as an Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's.

In 1981, the mall opened its first expansion. A 2-level (146,000 square foot) Sears was added, along with a multilevel, 224,000 square foot, fifty-five store Southwest Wing. Included was an eighteen bay Food Court. The GLA of the retail hub was increased to 1,010,000 square feet.

Woodward and Lothrop was shuttered in November 1995, with the store space reopening as a J.C. Penney the following July.

A second expansion of MALL IN COLUMBIA got underway July 28, 1997, when demolition began on the parking structure along the east side of the mall. Construction commenced the following March on a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Lord and Taylor, flanked on the north and south by newly-built parking garages. These improvements were completed in November 1998.

At the same time, the existing Hecht's was enlarged with a third level (to 202,500 square feet). Moreover, a multilevel, 80,000 square foot Northwest Wing was built, which housed forty stores and services.

This addition was anchored by a 2-level (173,000 square foot) Nordstrom, which opened September 17, 1999. The mall proper now encompassed 1,330,500 leasable square feet and one hundred and ninety-seven stores and services.

The expansion also included a third parking deck and 20,000 square foot PLAZA AT THE MALL restaurant outparcel. These were built in the northwest parking area and came inline during 1999.

As an adjunct to the mall's large-scale expansion, the interior of the existing structure was given an overhaul. This included the installation of new lighting, flooring, ceilings, and foliage. This project was completed in February 2000.

A freestanding, Freeport, Maine-based L.L. Bean opened its doors in March 2001. This was followed by the most recent addition to MALL IN COLUMBIA, the AMC Columbia 14 megaplex, which opened in late 2003.

Ownership of the mall reverted to Chicago-based General Growth Properties, with their acquisition of the Rouse Company in 2004.

Sources:

"Mall In Columbia" article on Wikipedia
www.themallincolumbia.com
Malls of America Blogspot / Keith Milford, webmaster
www.baltimorebuisinessjournals.com

Atlanta's Perimeter Mall

An aerial view of the super-sized Dekalb County shopping center; which

was a catalyst for the development of a ginormous edge city in Atlanta's

northern environs. The original bi-anchor complex was expanded in

1982, 1986, 1998 and 2000. It has grown from 865,000 leasable square

feet to 1,560,000.

Photo from www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

See April 2008 archive for the complete article

New Jersey's Paramus Park Mall

The original footprint of the Rouse Company's
22nd shopping mall. The 755,000 square foot
shopopolis, anchored by Abraham and Straus
and Sears, housed over one hundred stores and
services.

The famous bronze statue, a fixture in the Abraham and Straus
court of the original mall. It was moved to a less prominent position,
in the upper level Food Court, during an early '00s renovation. In
the Lenape Native American tongue, "Paramus" means "Land of
the wild turkey"...hence the origin of the statue.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot / Charles Freericks



A 1970's photo of the south end of the mall.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot / Charles Freericks

After a less than successful attempt at a Food Court -installed in Philly's
PLYMOUTH MEETING MALL in 1971- James Rouse tried again -with
a larger version at PARAMUS PARK MALL- in 1974. This time around,
the concept worked. Mr. Rouse's culinary complex was replicated in
nearly every mall across the nation during the 1980s and '90s.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Nightscream"

That well-known, Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retailer anchored

the original PARAMUS PARK MALL and still maintains its store

there today.

Photo from Wikipedia / "Nightscream"

*

The main entrance into the mall was remodeled during a 2001-2002

renovation and expansion.

Photo from Wikipedia / "Nightscream"

Unlike such Rouse properties as PERIMETER MALL,
MALL IN COLUMBIA or AUGUSTA MALL, PARAMUS
PARK was not doubled -or tripled- in size with several
expansions. The only enlargement to the circa-'74
center was completed in 2002. Shown in dark gray on
the site plan above, it added 30,300 square feet of retail
area.

PARAMUS PARK MALL
Garden State Parkway and East Midland Road
Paramus, New Jersey

Maryland's James Rouse Company built the fourth mall to be located within the city limits of Paramus, which now has one of the largest concentrations of retail in the United States.

PARAMUS PARK MALL, the twenty-second regional complex built by the Rouse organization, occupied 66 acres 14 miles northwest of Times Square and was dedicated March 14, 1974.

Encompassing 755,000 leasable square feet and one hundred and ten stores and services, the predominantly single-level structure featured the nation's first successful food court, which was situated on an upper / mezzanine level, overlooking a tropical Garden Court and terraced fountain at the center of the complex.

The original anchors of the fully-enclosed center were a 3-level (289,000 square foot), New York City-based Abraham and Straus and 2-level (170,000 square foot) Sears. Charter tenants included Fortunoff Jewelry, Chick-Fil-A and Swiss Colony.

Commercial competitors included GARDEN STATE PLAZA (1957) [May 2008 archive], 2.3 miles south, in Paramus; BERGEN MALL (1957) [March 2007 archive], 2.6 miles southeast, in Paramus; FASHION CENTER (1967), one half mile northwest in Paramus; WILLOWBROOK MALL (1969), 10.7 miles southwest, in Wayne and RIVERSIDE SQUARE MALL (1977), 3.7 miles southeast, in Hackensack.

Unlike so many other malls built by the James Rouse Company, PARAMUS PARK was not physically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. Its Abraham and Straus was shuttered in April 1995, reopening as a Macy's soon after.

A small-scale addition, first proposed in early 1998, was not completed until 2002. This entailed the construction of 30,300 square feet of retail area, including a Super Foot Locker and Old Navy. These were added to the northeast side of the center, expanding its GLA to 785,300 square feet.

Along with their construction, the mall was given a complete facelift, with new flooring, lighting and entrances installed. Moreover the Center Court was modified with a smaller fountain, new landscaping and escalators. A carousel was also set up in the Sears Court, on the south end of the complex.

Ownership of the mall reverted to Chicago-based General Growth Properties, with their acquisition of the Rouse Company in 2004.

Sources:

"Paramus Park Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.paramuspark.com
Malls of America Blogspot / Keith Milford, webmaster

Philadelphia's Gallery at Market East



The first segment of Center City Philadelphia's inner city shopping
mall, originally known as GALLERY ON MARKET EAST, opened
for business in August 1977. It was a prime example of the urban
renewal concepts espoused by Mr. Rouse.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"

See March 2009 archive for the complete article

Georgia's Augusta Mall

The original -500,000 square foot- AUGUSTA MALL. In
1978, it had only two anchors, Atlanta-based Rich's and
Davison's, and housed around 100 inline stores.

1987, and the first of many expansions opens at the Rouse
Company's east Georgia property. With its new Penney's,
it encompasses 632,000 leasable square feet; still 168,000
square feet smaller than its DeBartolo-built rival 2.9 miles
away.

1990 and AUGUSTA MALL grows again! This time
around, 434,000 square feet of retail area was built
onto the existing complex. This included a new Sears
and Food Court. The GLA of the center now stood at
1,066,000 square feet. It's size surpassed that of
REGENCY MALL...which, within a few years, would
be in a downward spiral.

The complex after its third expansion, which was
completed early in 1998. A fifth anchor was built
onto the eight-year-old South Wing, increasing the
GLA of the mall to 1,286,800 square feet.

The mall's J.B. White. The store opened in March 1998 and was
rebranded after Dillard's bought Fairfield, Ohio's Mercantile Stores.
The Dillard's nameplate replaced the White's moniker in February
1999.
Photo from Wikipedia / "020808"

A rendering of the Promenade expansion, which was to take the place
of the vacant Davison's / Macy's anchor store.
Drawing from www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)

The mall entrance and fountain at the Promenade lifestyle center, on the
north end of the mall.
Photo from "Seekayofrome"

AUGUSTA MALL in the present. The original
500,000 square foot retail hub has been nearly
tripled in size over the years. Its new Promenade
addition, built in 2007, opened to much fanfare
and confirmed the center's position as the
preeminent shopping center in eastern Georgia.

AUGUSTA MALL
Bobby Jones Expressway / Interstate 520 and Wrightsboro Road
Augusta, Georgia

The twenty-sixth shopping mall built by the Rouse organization was situated on an 80 acre tract, 5.9 miles west of the downtown area of Augusta, Georgia. The site was accessed from the Bobby Jones Expressway, which was redesignated as Interstate 520 in 1980.

Planning got underway for AUGUSTA MALL in 1972, but the project's construction was delayed by the economic recession of the mid-1970s. By 1976, work was underway on the fully-enclosed, 2-level complex. Its official grand opening took place August 3, 1978.

Starting out as a 500,000 square foot complex of ninety inline stores, AUGUSTA MALL was originally anchored by a 2-level (152,500 square foot), Atlanta-based Rich's and 2-level (156,000 square foot), Atlanta-based Davison's. Charter tenants in the 25 million dollar shopopolis included Frisco Fashions, Pearle Vision Center and Bailey, Banks and Biddle Jewelers.

Rival developer Edward J. DeBartolo [October 2008 archive] had opened his REGENCY MALL just a week before business began at AUGUSTA MALL. The REGENCY MALL complex was over 300,000 square feet larger than the original AUGUSTA MALL and was located 2.9 miles to its southeast.

Anchor store rebrandings commenced at AUGUSTA MALL in 1986, when stores throughout the Davison's chain were rebranded as Macy's.

The first of many expansions at AUGUSTA MALL was completed in 1987, with the addition of a 2-level (139,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. This was followed by a more ambitious enlargement, concluded in 1990.

A 2-level (157,000 square foot) Sears anchored a 2-level, forty store South Wing, which featured the 14-bay The Park Food Court. Moreover, the interior of the existing mall was given a 32 million dollar facelift. AUGUSTA MALL now encompassed 1,066,000 leasable square feet and one hundred and thirty stores and services.

Augusta's sibling centers had coexisted peacably for some years, but, by the early 1990s, AUGUSTA MALL had gained prominence...leaving the REGENCY property in a state of decline. AUGUSTA MALL continued to renovate and expand while REGENCY MALL stayed the same, becoming more and more dated and obsolete.

A third enlargement of AUGUSTA MALL consisted of the addition of a 2-level (160,800 square foot), Augusta-based J.B. White. The 14 million dollar store opened March 11, 1998. It was to sport the "White's" nameplate for less than a year, for on February 19, 1999, it reopened as a Dillard's.

Other nameplate changes occurred. Macy's closed their anchor location at AUGUSTA MALL in March 2002. In February 2003, Rich's morphed into Rich's-Macy's. The lower level of the old Davison's / Macy's reopened as a Rich's-Macy's Furniture Showroom in the fall of 2003. The upper level of the store remained vacant.

The Rich's-Macy's monikers were removed as part of the conversion of stores to the Macy's nameplate on March 6, 2005. Macy's Furniture Showroom was shuttered in 2006, in anticipation of a fourth renovation and expansion of AUGUSTA MALL.

The upper level of the Davison's / Macy's structure was demolished in late 2006, with the existing lower level being renovated into a Dick's Sporting Goods. Construction of a 180,000 square foot, open-air lifestyle component, built over Dick's, commenced in January 2007.

Known as The Promenade, the lifestyle-format addition was officially dedicated November 8, 2007. It featured tenants such as Williams-Sonoma, Sephora, The Buckle and P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

AUGUSTA MALL now housed 1,388,800 leasable square feet and one hundred and sixty-two stores and services. Ownership of the mall had reverted to Chicago-based General Growth Properties, with their acquisition of the Rouse Company in 2004.

Sources:

"Augusta Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Regency Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.augustamall.com
http://chat.augustachronicle.com/