Johnstown, Pennsylvania's Richland Mall
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Flood City's first shopping mall was dedicated during the final months
of 1974. It encompassed 650,000 leasable square feet, with a retail
roster of around ninety stores and services. It was among the last in
the nation to include a mallway-accessed supermarket.
The mall's logo, presented by its mascot, Richie The Pook.
Graphic from www.straightouttajohnstown.blogspot.com
The mall's west anchor, originally Sears, had morphed into a Hills
discount store by the time this photo was taken. It was rebranded
by Ames in 1999 and closed for good in late 2001.
Photo from www.hillsstores.com
RICHLAND MALL in 1992. The center's Sears had just been snatched
by GALLERIA (JOHNSTOWN), the new mall on the block. This shiny
new shopopolis caused the decline -and eventual demolition- of
RICHLAND.
Interior views of RICHLAND MALL, taken during -and after- its twenty-
four years in business.
Photos from "TheBubster6"
The southwest entry of the Penn Traffic / Hess's / The Bon Ton store,
showing some of the very '70s, rounded corners that were used on
virtually every structure in the complex.
Photo from "TheBubster6"
The mall's Main Entrance was remodeled, as seen here, during a 1989
renovation.
Photo from "TheBubster6"
K-Mart, an original 1974 anchor, was refashioned into a Big K-Mart-
format store in the 1990s. The building had no exterior doors, hence
the only way to enter or leave was via the mallway opening. The
exterior doorways seen here comprised the mall's northeast entrance.
The entry into K-Mart was inside and down the hall.
Photo from "TheBubster6"
RICHLAND MALL bit the dust in 2003. It was replaced by -you guessed it-
a "Wally World" SuperCenter. This anchored the new RICHLAND TOWN
CENTRE, which opened between 2004 and 2006.
Photo from www.loopnet.com
RICHLAND MALL
Elton Road and Theatre Drive
Richland Township (Cambria County), Pennsylvania
Ground was broken for Johnstown, Pennsylvania's first shopping mall on April 30, 1973. Built by James O'Rourke and James Streeter, under the auspices of Michigan-based Unimich Development and the Somerset Trust Company, the single-level RICHLAND MALL was situated on 58.9 acres, 4.8 miles southeast of Downtown Johnstown.
Anchoring the 650,000 square foot complex were a 1-level (86,400 square foot) Sears, 1-level (83,400 square foot) K-Mart and 1-level, Johnstown-based Penn Traffic.
There were over ninety retail spaces in RICHLAND MALL, which had a tropical sunken Garden Court at its center. Stores opened between October and December of 1974.
Charter tenants included GNC, Thom McAn Shoes, Thrift Drug, Sweet William Restaurant, the Richland Mall Twin Cinema and a mall-accessed Shop 'N Save supermarket.
Anchor alterations commenced in March 1982, when four of the six Penn Traffic department stores were sold to the Johnstown-based Crown American Corporation, who also owned the Allentown-based Hess's chain. The RICHLAND MALL Penn Traffic was remodeled and rebranded as a Hess's.
The mall was given a facelift renovation in 1989, which included the removal of the sunken center court. It was filled in and replaced by a merry-go-round. New floors were also installed throughout the complex and its exterior refinished with stucco surfaces.
Moreover, the original twin cinema was replaced by an 8-screen multiplex, fitted into space previously occupied by the supermarket.
Commercial competion arrived in 1992, with the completion of GALLERIA (JOHNSTOWN). The new megamall was located just 1.1 mile northeast of RICHLAND. It immediately snatched the older center's Sears.
This store space was filled by a Canton, Massachusetts-based Hills, which was rebranded, by Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, in 1999. Hess's had been rebranded in 1995, reopening as a York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton. It closed for good in 1998. Ames shut down in late 2001.
Suffering from its run in with GALLERIA (JOHNSTOWN), RICHLAND had been in a state of decline since the mid-1990s. In 1998, the mall corridors were closed off, leaving only the hallway stretching between K-Mart and the mall's northeast entrance open. The Ames store and cinema also remained in business, as they had exterior entries.
The Jupiter, Florida-based McGill Property Group came on the scene in the early 2000s. K-Mart was evicted and -in 2003- the mall, save for its cinema and outparcel Michaels Arts and Crafts (in the old Sears Auto Center), was demolished.
A 480,000 square foot power-format complex, RICHLAND TOWN CENTRE, was erected, anchored by a 1-level (203,600 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter.
The first inline stores opened in September 2004. Michaels and the cinema relocated into newly-built structures, with their old locations being bulldozed.
Tenants included TJ Maxx 'N More, Ross, Bed Bath and Beyond and Circuit City. The final new store grand opening was held in early 2006.
Sources:
www.deadmalls.com / Posts by Daniel Hull and Jeremy Durst
www.therichlandmall.com
www.gis.co.cambria.pa.us
http://www.mcgillpropertygroup.com/
Elton Road and Theatre Drive
Richland Township (Cambria County), Pennsylvania
Ground was broken for Johnstown, Pennsylvania's first shopping mall on April 30, 1973. Built by James O'Rourke and James Streeter, under the auspices of Michigan-based Unimich Development and the Somerset Trust Company, the single-level RICHLAND MALL was situated on 58.9 acres, 4.8 miles southeast of Downtown Johnstown.
Anchoring the 650,000 square foot complex were a 1-level (86,400 square foot) Sears, 1-level (83,400 square foot) K-Mart and 1-level, Johnstown-based Penn Traffic.
There were over ninety retail spaces in RICHLAND MALL, which had a tropical sunken Garden Court at its center. Stores opened between October and December of 1974.
Charter tenants included GNC, Thom McAn Shoes, Thrift Drug, Sweet William Restaurant, the Richland Mall Twin Cinema and a mall-accessed Shop 'N Save supermarket.
Anchor alterations commenced in March 1982, when four of the six Penn Traffic department stores were sold to the Johnstown-based Crown American Corporation, who also owned the Allentown-based Hess's chain. The RICHLAND MALL Penn Traffic was remodeled and rebranded as a Hess's.
The mall was given a facelift renovation in 1989, which included the removal of the sunken center court. It was filled in and replaced by a merry-go-round. New floors were also installed throughout the complex and its exterior refinished with stucco surfaces.
Moreover, the original twin cinema was replaced by an 8-screen multiplex, fitted into space previously occupied by the supermarket.
Commercial competion arrived in 1992, with the completion of GALLERIA (JOHNSTOWN). The new megamall was located just 1.1 mile northeast of RICHLAND. It immediately snatched the older center's Sears.
This store space was filled by a Canton, Massachusetts-based Hills, which was rebranded, by Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, in 1999. Hess's had been rebranded in 1995, reopening as a York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton. It closed for good in 1998. Ames shut down in late 2001.
Suffering from its run in with GALLERIA (JOHNSTOWN), RICHLAND had been in a state of decline since the mid-1990s. In 1998, the mall corridors were closed off, leaving only the hallway stretching between K-Mart and the mall's northeast entrance open. The Ames store and cinema also remained in business, as they had exterior entries.
The Jupiter, Florida-based McGill Property Group came on the scene in the early 2000s. K-Mart was evicted and -in 2003- the mall, save for its cinema and outparcel Michaels Arts and Crafts (in the old Sears Auto Center), was demolished.
A 480,000 square foot power-format complex, RICHLAND TOWN CENTRE, was erected, anchored by a 1-level (203,600 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter.
The first inline stores opened in September 2004. Michaels and the cinema relocated into newly-built structures, with their old locations being bulldozed.
Tenants included TJ Maxx 'N More, Ross, Bed Bath and Beyond and Circuit City. The final new store grand opening was held in early 2006.
Sources:
www.deadmalls.com / Posts by Daniel Hull and Jeremy Durst
www.therichlandmall.com
www.gis.co.cambria.pa.us
http://www.mcgillpropertygroup.com/
A second Keystone State mall dedicated during 1974. This one was
located near the western shore of the Susquehanna, in the outlying
reaches of Harrisburg. The single-level retail hub, the third mall built
in -or around- Pennsylvania's capital, originally encompassed 578,600
leasable square feet.
CAPITAL CITY MALL, following its mid-'80s renovation. This was done
as a competitive measure against nearby CAMP HILL CENTER, a circa-
1959 strip complex rededicated as CAMP HILL MALL in September 1986.
For a time, it put the hurt on CAPITAL CITY. However, by the mid-
2000s, CAPITAL CITY had emerged victorious, leaving CAMP HILL
being demalled in the dust.
The first Food Court at CAPITAL CITY, which was added in 1985. This
photo, snapped by Labelscar's "Caldor", faces to the northeast, with
Knobloch's Deli, Boardwalk Fries, Great Steak and Potato and
McDonald's in view.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
A second renovation of CAPITAL CITY MALL concluded in late 1995.
Hess's was shuttered, expanded and reopened as Hecht's in October.
Ames was also shuttered, renovated and reopened, as J.C. Penney, in
November.
Logos of CAPITAL CITY MALL. The first dates from 2001...the
second, from 2004.
Graphics from www.shopcapitalcity.com (Internet Archive Wayback
Machine)
Two shots of the same store; the center anchor of the center. The first
was taken during its eleven year tenure as Hecht's. The second displays
the present-day nameplate, installed in February 2006.
Photos from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor" and www.preit.com
Photos from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor" and www.preit.com
(Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust)
CAPITAL CITY MALL 2006. The old Garden Grove Food Court, at the
Main Entrance, had just been replaced by a larger culinary complex, in
the northwest store block. This area had been a 6-screen cinema and
three adjoining stores. The original restaurant row was -then- gutted
and refashioned into a six store "Specialty Wing".
The restyled Main Entrance of the mall, which goes into the Specialty
Wing.
Photo from www.preit.com (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust)
A shot of the east end of the main mallway. Back in the days, you would
have been looking at a Murphy's Mart mall entrance and a drug store
(replaced by Old Navy in May 1999).
Photo from www.preit.com (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust)
The new Food Court, a facet of the mall's recent 11 million dollar facelift.
Photo from www.preit.com (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust)
CAPITAL CITY MALL
Hartzdale and Lower Allen Drives
Lower Allen Township (Cumberland County), Pennsylvania
Greater Harrisburg's first mall-type complex, the 353,000 square foot COLONIAL PARK CENTER, was completed in August 1960. Fast-forwarding fourteen years, we find that the third shopping mall in the metro area was constructed on a 54.9 acre plot, located 3.6 miles southwest of the Pennsylvania Statehouse.
CAPITAL CITY MALL, developed by the Johnstown-based Crown American Corporation, was dedicated in 1974. It encompassed a single retail level, 578,600 leasable square feet and approximately seventy-five stores and services.
The complex was originally anchored by a 1-level (101,400 square foot) Sears, 1-level (100,000 square foot), Harrisburg-based H.H. Bowman and 1-level (102,800 square foot), Mckeesport-based Murphy's Mart.
Charter tenants included York Steak House, Amity House Restaurant, Rea and Derrick (later Peoples) Drug, Radio Shack, Spencer Gifts and the exterior-accessed -but mall connected- Capital City Mall 6 Cinema.
Commercial competitors in the immediate vacinity included the aforementioned COLONIAL PARK CENTER (1960), 7.8 miles northeast, in Lower Paxton Township (Dauphin County); HARRISBURG EAST MALL / HARRISBURG MALL (1969), 5.5 miles northeast, in Swatara Township (Dauphin County) and CAMP HILL MALL (a circa-1959 strip center malled in 1986), .6 miles north, in Lower Allen Township (Cumberland County).
The first anchor conversion at CAPITAL CITY MALL involved the rebranding of Bowman's, by Allentown-based Hess's, in 1979. Murphy's Mart was shuttered and reopened, as a Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, August 15, 1987.
Meanwhile, the mall experienced its first physical expansion, with the addition of the 30,000 square foot, 9-bay, Garden Grove Food Court, in 1985.
The second enlargement of the shopping venue consisted of the addition of 20,100 square feet to Hess's. The store closed as a facet of its remodeling. It reopened, as an Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's, October 2, 1995.
Ames, shuttered months before, was also renovated. It became a J.C. Penney on November 8, 1995. Sears was renovated during 1999.
The Crown American Corporation had been split into two entities during 1993. The first, dubbed the Crown American Realty Trust, managed the corporate portfolio of twenty-eight shopping malls. Crown American Hotels was involved in the hospitality industry.
In November 2003, the realty division was sold to the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT). They announced a mall makeover for their CAPITAL CITY property in November 2004.
The cinema, shuttered December 19 of the same year, would be renovated into a 9-bay Food Court. A sit-down bistro, Garfield's Pub and Restaurant, would also be within the new culinary complex.
Moreover, existing mall space would be thoroughly updated. Inline tenants, such as Spencer Gifts and FYE, would be relocated, with new leasees, including Lady Foot Locker and Victoria's Secret, brought onboard.
In November 2005, the relocated Food Court came inline. The older complex, at the mall's Main Entrance, was gutted and refashioned into a Specialty Wing.
New tenants, Hollister Company, Wet Seal, Body Central and Forever 21 were joined by a second sit-down restaurant at the mall, Davenport's Italian Oven. These businesses came inline in the spring of 2006.
This happened in conjunction with the conversion of Hecht's into a Macy's. This was finalized February 1, 2006.
Today, the 608,600 square foot CAPITAL CITY MALL houses eighty-six store spaces, with nineteen kiosks. A 46,100 square foot Toys R Us, added as a northeastern outparcel during the 1985 renovation, is still in operation.
Sources:
"Capital City Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.shopcapitalcity.com
Comment post by Aaron
www.preit.com (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust)
www.cinematreasures.com
Hartzdale and Lower Allen Drives
Lower Allen Township (Cumberland County), Pennsylvania
Greater Harrisburg's first mall-type complex, the 353,000 square foot COLONIAL PARK CENTER, was completed in August 1960. Fast-forwarding fourteen years, we find that the third shopping mall in the metro area was constructed on a 54.9 acre plot, located 3.6 miles southwest of the Pennsylvania Statehouse.
CAPITAL CITY MALL, developed by the Johnstown-based Crown American Corporation, was dedicated in 1974. It encompassed a single retail level, 578,600 leasable square feet and approximately seventy-five stores and services.
The complex was originally anchored by a 1-level (101,400 square foot) Sears, 1-level (100,000 square foot), Harrisburg-based H.H. Bowman and 1-level (102,800 square foot), Mckeesport-based Murphy's Mart.
Charter tenants included York Steak House, Amity House Restaurant, Rea and Derrick (later Peoples) Drug, Radio Shack, Spencer Gifts and the exterior-accessed -but mall connected- Capital City Mall 6 Cinema.
Commercial competitors in the immediate vacinity included the aforementioned COLONIAL PARK CENTER (1960), 7.8 miles northeast, in Lower Paxton Township (Dauphin County); HARRISBURG EAST MALL / HARRISBURG MALL (1969), 5.5 miles northeast, in Swatara Township (Dauphin County) and CAMP HILL MALL (a circa-1959 strip center malled in 1986), .6 miles north, in Lower Allen Township (Cumberland County).
The first anchor conversion at CAPITAL CITY MALL involved the rebranding of Bowman's, by Allentown-based Hess's, in 1979. Murphy's Mart was shuttered and reopened, as a Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, August 15, 1987.
Meanwhile, the mall experienced its first physical expansion, with the addition of the 30,000 square foot, 9-bay, Garden Grove Food Court, in 1985.
The second enlargement of the shopping venue consisted of the addition of 20,100 square feet to Hess's. The store closed as a facet of its remodeling. It reopened, as an Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's, October 2, 1995.
Ames, shuttered months before, was also renovated. It became a J.C. Penney on November 8, 1995. Sears was renovated during 1999.
The Crown American Corporation had been split into two entities during 1993. The first, dubbed the Crown American Realty Trust, managed the corporate portfolio of twenty-eight shopping malls. Crown American Hotels was involved in the hospitality industry.
In November 2003, the realty division was sold to the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT). They announced a mall makeover for their CAPITAL CITY property in November 2004.
The cinema, shuttered December 19 of the same year, would be renovated into a 9-bay Food Court. A sit-down bistro, Garfield's Pub and Restaurant, would also be within the new culinary complex.
Moreover, existing mall space would be thoroughly updated. Inline tenants, such as Spencer Gifts and FYE, would be relocated, with new leasees, including Lady Foot Locker and Victoria's Secret, brought onboard.
In November 2005, the relocated Food Court came inline. The older complex, at the mall's Main Entrance, was gutted and refashioned into a Specialty Wing.
New tenants, Hollister Company, Wet Seal, Body Central and Forever 21 were joined by a second sit-down restaurant at the mall, Davenport's Italian Oven. These businesses came inline in the spring of 2006.
This happened in conjunction with the conversion of Hecht's into a Macy's. This was finalized February 1, 2006.
Today, the 608,600 square foot CAPITAL CITY MALL houses eighty-six store spaces, with nineteen kiosks. A 46,100 square foot Toys R Us, added as a northeastern outparcel during the 1985 renovation, is still in operation.
Sources:
"Capital City Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.shopcapitalcity.com
Comment post by Aaron
www.preit.com (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust)
www.cinematreasures.com
Northwestern Pennsylvania's megamall, as it was configured
at the time of its completion, in 1976. It extended for 1,095,700
leasable square feet with five anchors and approximately one
hundred and ten inline stores. An urban legend has circulated
for years making light of the fact that the mall structure
resembles a pistol pointed at Downtown Erie.
Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's opened their first shopping mall branch at
the MILLCREEK complex. The store was dedicated in October 1975 and
had 160,000 square feet of retail area. It was rebranded by Macy's in
September 2006.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
Today's Burlington Coat Factory opened as a Cleveland-based Halle
Brothers Company. The store had a stint as an Erie-based Dahl-
kemper's Catalogue Showroom before reopening with the nameplate
seen above, in August 1997.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
The north anchor of MILLCREEK MALL, J.C. Penney, came inline in
October 1975. The building encompasses 148,200 square feet.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
Originally a Penney's Auto Center, the outparcel structure seen above
was rebranded by Firestone when the Penney's chain sold off its auto
repair division, in 1983.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
The southeast anchor of the mall opened as a Sears in 1976 and still
sports the same nameplate; albeit an updated version.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
By 1986, MILLCREEK MALL proper had been supplemented
by several peripheral structures. A Children's Palace opened
in 1983, followed by a second -six-screen- cinema in 1986.
Inside the mall, two anchors had been rebranded.
The Children's Palace building became a Warren, Pennsylvania-based
Blair Outlet for a time before reopening as the Erie Institute of Tech-
nology seen here.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
Opening as the General Cinemas Millcreek Mall VI, in the mid-1980s,
the theater complex seen here was acquired by Cinemark in the 1990s.
They renamed it the Millcreek Cinema VI.
Photo from http://www.eriecountygov.org/
MILLCREEK MALL in 1999. By this time, the south and southwest
anchors had been rebranded a total of five times. A new strip plaza,
the MILLCREEK MALL PAVILION, had just opened on land west
of the mall proper.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The new PAVILION was anchored by an outparcel Hills, which was
rebranded by Ames soon after it was completed. Ames shut down in
2002, with the store structure eventually reopening as the All Seasons
Marketplace flea market.
Photo from http://www.eriecountygov.org/
Photo from http://www.eriecountygov.org/
A MILLCREEK MALL logo from the year 2000.
Graphic from www.millcreekmall.net (Internet Archive Wayback
Machine)
Almost inexplicably, McDonald's moved from a location inside the mall,
where a new Food Court was to be installed. The freestanding store
seen here, an outparcel of the mall proper, came inline in 2007.
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
Photo from www.eriecountygov.org
Today's MILLCREEK is often cited as the fourth-largest mall in
the USA. However, a total of 1,107,300 leasable square feet hardly
puts it in the same league as something like Houston's GALLERIA
(2,400,000 sf), Long Island's ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL
(2,224,500 sf) or So-Cal's SOUTH COAST PLAZA (2,212,000 sf).
Apparently, the grossly-inflated 2.2 million to 2.6 million sf figures
quoted for MILLCREEK include every peripheral structure within
a quarter mile radius. The accurate determining factor here should
be the GLA under one roof.
MILLCREEK MALL
Peach Street / US 19 and Interchange Road
Millcreek Township (Erie County), Pennsylvania
The first -and only- regional-class shopping mall in Erie County, Pennsylvania was built on an 87.5 acre parcel, situated 3.4 miles southwest of center city Erie, on land adjacent to the Interstate 79 expressway.
Developed by Youngstown, Ohio's Cafaro Company, MILLCREEK MALL held its official grand opening October 6, 1975, with new store dedications stretching into the following year. Upon its completion, the single-level, fully-enclosed complex encompassed 1,095,700 leasable square feet.
The original anchors were a 2-level (160,000 square foot), Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's, 2-level (148,200 square foot) J.C. Penney, 2-level (86,800 square foot), Cleveland-based Halle's, 2-level (137,100 square foot), Erie-based Boston Store (not affiliated with either the Milwaukee or Phoenix-based chains) and 2-level (143,600 square foot) Sears.
Junior anchors in MILLCREEK MALL were Ashtabula-based Carlisle's, a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10 and the mall-accessed Millcreek Mall III Cinema. There was also a 91,800 square foot, outparcel retail annex in the northwest parking area.
Inline stores within the mall proper included Orange Julius, Hot Sam Pretzels, Florsheim Shoes, Spencer Gifts, Ciro's Supper Club, York Steakhouse, KarmelKorn, Hickory Farms of Ohio, CVS Drug, County Seat, Musicland and a branch of the Erie County Public Library.
Anchor store rebrandings commenced in 1979, when The Boston Store became a Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company. This, in turn, turned into a Columbus, Ohio-based Lazarus, in 1994.
Lazarus pulled out of MILLCREEK MALL March 14, 1998 and was replaced by a Dayton-based Elder-Beerman in October. The final conversion of the old Boston Store structure transpired when York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton acquired the Elder-Beerman chain, in 2003, and rebranded the MILLCREEK MALL location.
Halle's was the second store in the mall to change nameplates. The chain went defunct in 1982, with its MILLCREEK MALL location soon reopening as an Erie-based Dahlkemper's Catalogue Showroom. This lasted until 1993. On August 1, 1997, the vacant store reopened as a Burlington Coat Factory.
Carlisle's, shuttered in 1995, was renovated with an 11,500 square foot addition. The expanded store space was occupied by a Cleveland-based HomePlace (a retail operation along the lines of today's Bed Bath and Beyond).
HomePlace was shuttered April 1, 2001...eventually being divided between Berlin, New Jersey-based AC Moore Arts and Crafts and Port Washington, New York-based Steve and Barry's University Sportswear. The Steve and Barry's chain was liquidated in early 2009.
The final nameplate change at MILLCREEK MALL involved the conversion of Kaufmann's to Macy's on September 8, 2006.
Peripheral structures had been added to the shopping center site during the 1980s. These included a 40,700 square foot Children's Palace, built in 1983, and a second multiplex, the Millcreek Mall VI, completed in 1986.
An additional strip center of stores was proposed by the Cafaro Company in 1989; this to occupy a 62 acre site west of the existing mall. Many hurdles were to be overcome before this addition would come to fruition.
After ten years of litigation and negotiation, Cafaro was finally able to proceed with the construction of MILLCREEK MALL PAVILION. Ground was broken for the project in the fall of 1998, with stores coming inline during the following year.
Canton, Massachusetts-based Hills opened an 85,300 square foot outparcel store, which closed only months later to reopen as a Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, in July 1999.
Stores in the 227,700 square foot PAVILION included Dick's Sporting Goods, Linens 'N Things, Old Navy, DSW Shoe Warehouse and Michaels Arts and Crafts.
Although MILLCREEK MALL, itself, had been given a facelift in 1996, by the late 2000s it was ready for another update. Cafaro announced a mall makeover in March 2008, which was to extend for seven months.
The original 3-screen cinema, shuttered March 21, 1997, had been renovated and retenanted by Albany-based FYE (For Your Entertainment) in November 2002. The store was reduced in size, with the surrendered area, and four adjoining retail spaces, being reworked into a 5-bay food court.
Common areas of the mall were refurbished with Italian porcelain floors, new ceiling treatments and skylights. Three mall entrances were remodeled, with the fourth being sealed off.
Its adjacent Bazaar Court was gutted and reoriented with exterior-entranced storefronts, along with most of the existing space on the west-facing front of the mall. This area was to become an upscale PROMENADE, populated with various high-end boutiques and bistros.
The renewed MILLCREEK MALL was re-grand opened November 14, 2008. The complex, encompassing 1,107,300 leasable square feet, housed one hundred and sixteen stores and services, with twelve kiosks.
Sources:
"Millcreek Mall" article on Wikipedia
Erie County, Pennsylvania property tax assessor website
www.cafarocompany.com
www.cinematreasures.com
Peach Street / US 19 and Interchange Road
Millcreek Township (Erie County), Pennsylvania
The first -and only- regional-class shopping mall in Erie County, Pennsylvania was built on an 87.5 acre parcel, situated 3.4 miles southwest of center city Erie, on land adjacent to the Interstate 79 expressway.
Developed by Youngstown, Ohio's Cafaro Company, MILLCREEK MALL held its official grand opening October 6, 1975, with new store dedications stretching into the following year. Upon its completion, the single-level, fully-enclosed complex encompassed 1,095,700 leasable square feet.
The original anchors were a 2-level (160,000 square foot), Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's, 2-level (148,200 square foot) J.C. Penney, 2-level (86,800 square foot), Cleveland-based Halle's, 2-level (137,100 square foot), Erie-based Boston Store (not affiliated with either the Milwaukee or Phoenix-based chains) and 2-level (143,600 square foot) Sears.
Junior anchors in MILLCREEK MALL were Ashtabula-based Carlisle's, a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10 and the mall-accessed Millcreek Mall III Cinema. There was also a 91,800 square foot, outparcel retail annex in the northwest parking area.
Inline stores within the mall proper included Orange Julius, Hot Sam Pretzels, Florsheim Shoes, Spencer Gifts, Ciro's Supper Club, York Steakhouse, KarmelKorn, Hickory Farms of Ohio, CVS Drug, County Seat, Musicland and a branch of the Erie County Public Library.
Anchor store rebrandings commenced in 1979, when The Boston Store became a Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company. This, in turn, turned into a Columbus, Ohio-based Lazarus, in 1994.
Lazarus pulled out of MILLCREEK MALL March 14, 1998 and was replaced by a Dayton-based Elder-Beerman in October. The final conversion of the old Boston Store structure transpired when York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton acquired the Elder-Beerman chain, in 2003, and rebranded the MILLCREEK MALL location.
Halle's was the second store in the mall to change nameplates. The chain went defunct in 1982, with its MILLCREEK MALL location soon reopening as an Erie-based Dahlkemper's Catalogue Showroom. This lasted until 1993. On August 1, 1997, the vacant store reopened as a Burlington Coat Factory.
Carlisle's, shuttered in 1995, was renovated with an 11,500 square foot addition. The expanded store space was occupied by a Cleveland-based HomePlace (a retail operation along the lines of today's Bed Bath and Beyond).
HomePlace was shuttered April 1, 2001...eventually being divided between Berlin, New Jersey-based AC Moore Arts and Crafts and Port Washington, New York-based Steve and Barry's University Sportswear. The Steve and Barry's chain was liquidated in early 2009.
The final nameplate change at MILLCREEK MALL involved the conversion of Kaufmann's to Macy's on September 8, 2006.
Peripheral structures had been added to the shopping center site during the 1980s. These included a 40,700 square foot Children's Palace, built in 1983, and a second multiplex, the Millcreek Mall VI, completed in 1986.
An additional strip center of stores was proposed by the Cafaro Company in 1989; this to occupy a 62 acre site west of the existing mall. Many hurdles were to be overcome before this addition would come to fruition.
After ten years of litigation and negotiation, Cafaro was finally able to proceed with the construction of MILLCREEK MALL PAVILION. Ground was broken for the project in the fall of 1998, with stores coming inline during the following year.
Canton, Massachusetts-based Hills opened an 85,300 square foot outparcel store, which closed only months later to reopen as a Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, in July 1999.
Stores in the 227,700 square foot PAVILION included Dick's Sporting Goods, Linens 'N Things, Old Navy, DSW Shoe Warehouse and Michaels Arts and Crafts.
Although MILLCREEK MALL, itself, had been given a facelift in 1996, by the late 2000s it was ready for another update. Cafaro announced a mall makeover in March 2008, which was to extend for seven months.
The original 3-screen cinema, shuttered March 21, 1997, had been renovated and retenanted by Albany-based FYE (For Your Entertainment) in November 2002. The store was reduced in size, with the surrendered area, and four adjoining retail spaces, being reworked into a 5-bay food court.
Common areas of the mall were refurbished with Italian porcelain floors, new ceiling treatments and skylights. Three mall entrances were remodeled, with the fourth being sealed off.
Its adjacent Bazaar Court was gutted and reoriented with exterior-entranced storefronts, along with most of the existing space on the west-facing front of the mall. This area was to become an upscale PROMENADE, populated with various high-end boutiques and bistros.
The renewed MILLCREEK MALL was re-grand opened November 14, 2008. The complex, encompassing 1,107,300 leasable square feet, housed one hundred and sixteen stores and services, with twelve kiosks.
Sources:
"Millcreek Mall" article on Wikipedia
Erie County, Pennsylvania property tax assessor website
www.cafarocompany.com
www.cinematreasures.com
A rendering of Syracuse's first suburban shopping center, which held its
official grand opening gala in March 1954. The center featured Walgreen
Drug, F.W. Woolworth, two supermarkets and a 2-level -with mezzanine-
dry goods-only J.C. Penney.
Photo from www.syracusenostalgia.com
SHOPPINGTOWN TENANTS 1954:
J.C. PENNEY / F.W. WOOLWORTH (with lunch counter) / WALGREEN DRUG (with lunch counter) / Jonas Shops / Wilbur-Rogers Women's and Children's apparel / Grand Union supermarket / ACME supermarket / Endicott-Johnson Shoes / Fanny Farmer Candies / G.R. Kinney Shoes / Kearny-Goodyear Automotive / Alexander Grant Hardware / Harry Cook Dry Cleaning / Shoppingtown Shoe Service / Mason's Barber Shop / Addis Company / Shoppingtown Launderette / Shoppingtown Antiques / Dr. John P. Kavanaugh, Optometrist
J.C. PENNEY / F.W. WOOLWORTH (with lunch counter) / WALGREEN DRUG (with lunch counter) / Jonas Shops / Wilbur-Rogers Women's and Children's apparel / Grand Union supermarket / ACME supermarket / Endicott-Johnson Shoes / Fanny Farmer Candies / G.R. Kinney Shoes / Kearny-Goodyear Automotive / Alexander Grant Hardware / Harry Cook Dry Cleaning / Shoppingtown Shoe Service / Mason's Barber Shop / Addis Company / Shoppingtown Launderette / Shoppingtown Antiques / Dr. John P. Kavanaugh, Optometrist
A physical layout of the original, SHOPPINGTOWN. The center
started out -in March 1954- as the L-shaped plaza indicated in
in black. This was expanded northward in 1956 and '57, with
a W.T. Grant, a few new inline stores and the Kallet Shopping
Town Theatre. This addition is shown in gray. A 2-level (143,500
square foot), Syracuse-based Dey Brothers became the first bona
fide anchor of the complex, in 1962.
The first of three cinematic venues that have operated at the retail
complex over the past six decades. The Kallet ShoppingTown Theatre,
seen here, showed its first feature film in March 1957. The single-screen,
1,009-seat movie house was in operation intil 1968.
Photo from www.cinemasightlines.com / George E. Read
1975 and SHOPPINGTOWN evolves into a fully-enclosed complex!
It is unclear whether -or not- the original strip center was completely
demolished. It may have been partially-knocked down and rebuilt into
the West Wing of the new interior mall. Whatever the case, at the time
of this depiction, the center housed 476,200 leasable square feet, with
a retail roster of seventy-five stores and services.
A 1975 newspaper advert proclaiming the grand opening
of the newly-malled SHOPPINGTOWN.
Ad from www.syracusenostalgia.com
SHOPPINGTOWN in the mid-'80s. Encompassing 608,700 leasable
square feet, the bi-level retail hub featured three major anchor stores.
Syracuse's Chappell's had just opened a location in the mall's new
extended South Wing. Rochester-based B. Forman had come onboard
with a junior anchor-sized location.
A circa-1987 aerial of the mall. The outparcel USA Cinemas Shopping-
town I, II, III and IV is visible in the lower right. It was replaced by an
in-mall multiplex in October 1997.
Photo from www.syracusenostalgia.com
A vintage view, taken in the Octagonal Court, in the West Wing of
SHOPPINGTOWN. Barely visible is the DeWitt Community Library,
on the Lower Level.
Photo from www.syracusenostalgia.com /Mike Hepp
Looking north in the West Wing, toward the Dey Brothers anchor store.
Lechters Housewares, an '80s and '90s shopping mall staple, may be
seen on the left. The chain went under in 2001.
Photo from www.syracusenostalgia.com /Mike Hepp
Another vintage view of the SHOPPINGTOWN interior.
Photo from www.syracusenostalgia.com /Mike Hepp
The megamall that killed nearly all the others in -or around- "Cuse".
Pyramid Companies' CAROUSEL MALL opened in October 1990. Soon,
a "mall-o-caust" was underway in the Emerald City, leaving centers
such as SHOPPINGTOWN, PENN CAN MALL and GREAT NORTHERN
MALL in the proverbial dust.
Photo from Wikipedia / "BearGoldenRetriever"
The West Wing of the mall. The Sears nameplate, of the northwest
anchor store (originally a Syracuse-based Dey Brothers), may be seen
in the distance.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
A southward view of the West Wing. Scheduled for demolition in 2007,
this section of SHOPPINGTOWN was given a stay of execution by the
economic meltdown of the late '00s. The most recent expansion of the
mall, Dick's Sporting Goods, may be seen in the background.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
A mid-'90s depiction of the SHOPPINGTOWN center. Two years
before, the Northeast Wing (indicated in gray) had been dedicated.
It's Addis and Dey's anchor had been rebranded, by Pittsburgh-
based Kaufmann's, in 1993. Chappell's, in the southeast anchor spot,
became a York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton in the following
year.
The South Wing and its J.C. Penney anchor. The 3-level, 150,000 square
foot store was added to the original strip center in 1968, opening as a
Syracuse-based E.W. Edwards. Its space had been taken by Penney's
by the time that the South Wing was dedicated, in August 1975.
Photos from www.labelscar.com / 'Caldor"
Exterior and interior views of the Northeast Wing, added to the
mall in 1990-1991. The addition consisted of two levels, with
a 120,400 square foot -Syracuse-based- Addis and Dey's and
10-bay Food Court (seen directly above).
Photos from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
The latest incarnation of Syracuse's SHOPPINGTOWN. After umpteen
renovations and expansions, the shopping center extends for 933,200
leasable square feet. Kaufmann's, the northeast anchor, was "Macy-
ated" in September 2006. The Bon Ton had been shuttered in January.
Most of its area was remodeled into an expanded (14-screen) multiplex
cinema.
SHOPPINGTOWN CENTER
Erie Boulevard East and Kinne Road
Onondaga County (DeWitt), New York
Among the very first Post-War, suburban retail hubs in Upstate New York was SHOPPINGTOWN, built on a 68.8 acre plot, 3.7 miles east of center city Syracuse.
The open-air plaza, developed by Syracuse-based Eagan Real Estate, was anchored by a dry goods-only J.C. Penney, with F.W. Woolworth, Walgreen Drug and Grand Union and Acme supermarkets.
A grand opening celebration, commencing March 22, 1954, had to be postponed by a severe snow storm. It resumed the following May. By this time, SHOPPINGTOWN housed twenty stores and services.
The complex was expanded in 1957, with a W.T. Grant variety store, Flah's apparel and single-screen, Kallet ShoppingTown Theatre. The cinema was installed below the newly-added stores and was accessed from a lower parking area on the east side of the site. It opened March 20, 1957.
A 2-level (143,500 square foot), Syracuse-based Dey Brothers was added, to the north end of the center, in 1962. This was joined by a 3-level (150,000 square foot), Syracuse-based E.W. Edwards in the spring of 1968.
This store was built in front of the Kallet Theatre. Rendered useless, it was replaced by a new twinplex, the Kallet ShoppingTown I and II, an outparcel at the southeast corner of the site. This venue was grand-opened December 26, 1968.
A major renovation and expansion was done to SHOPPINGTOWN in the mid-1970s. The existing complex was demolished, leaving Dey Brothers, Edwards and the twin cinemas standing.
A fully-enclosed mall was built, linking the two previously-existing department stores. The new SHOPPINGTOWN MALL, designed by Syracuse-based Sargeant, Webster, Crenshaw and Foley, was dedicated August 7, 1975.
The center now consisted of a main (upper) level and small lower level (at the east end) and encompassed 476,200 leasable square feet and eighty stores and services. Before the renovation, J.C. Penney had relocated into store space vacated by E.W. Edwards.
A fifth renovation / expansion was done during 1984. Syracuse-based Chappell's, encompassing 2 levels and 70,100 square feet, was added along with thirty-one inline stores. Moreover, the Shoppingtown I and II was sectioned into a fourplex.
SHOPPINGTOWN MALL now housed 608,700 leasable square feet and one hundred and eleven stores and services.
For some time, the complex had competed with two rival malls in its vacinity. FAYETTEVILLE MALL, 2.2 miles southeast, in Onondaga County / Manlius, had opened in 1974. PENN CAN MALL, 7.9 miles northeast, in Onondaga County / Cicero, came inline in 1976.
In October 1990, a more formidable adversary opened for business. CAROUSEL CENTER, a seven-level, million+ square foor buying bohemoth, was situated 5.6 miles northwest, in Syracuse proper. The super-sized center began to decimate its many mall-type competitors.
As a competitive measure, SHOPPINGTOWN was expanded and completely renovated. A Northeast Wing was built, housing forty-eight inline stores and a 10-bay Food Court. It was anchored by a 2-level (120,400 square foot), Syracuse-based Addis and Dey's (a late 1980s merger of mall tenants Addis Company and Dey Brothers).
The 53 million dollar remodeling also included a new parking garage, linked by skybridge to three anchor stores. The renewed retail center, officially dedicated August 22, 1991, spanned 883,100 leasable square feet and housed one hundred and seventy stores and services.
Addis and Dey's was rebranded by Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's in 1993. Chappell's was rebranded by York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton in 1994.
The northwest anchor, opened, as a Dey Brothers in 1962 and vacated when the new store opened in 1991, was renovated. It reopened as a Sears in 1994.
The lower level section of the mall, added in 1984, was gutted and rebuilt as the Hoyt Shoppingtown Mall 10 Cinema. It held a grand opening October 3, 1997. By this time, the late '60s vintage outparcel 4-plex had been shuttered and demolished.
Between April and October 2000, the most recent expansion of SHOPPINGTOWN MALL was completed. It added a 50,100 square foot, Binghamton, New York-based Dick's Sporting Goods (which had relocated from a smaller location within the mall). The 10-plex cinema became a Regal Cinemas operation in 2002.
In April 2005, SHOPPINGTOWN changed hands. Santa Monica-based Macerich acquired the portfolio of Rochester-based Wilmorite Properties, Incorporated.
The most recent changes at the shopping center have been the shuttering of The Bon Ton on January 28, 2006. 50,200 square feet of its 70,100 foot area was renovated into an expanded (14-screen) Regal Cinema, which was completed in July 2008. Kaufmann's had come under the Macy's moniker September 8, 2006.
An eighth renovation of the mall property was announced by Macerich in March 2007. This was to entail demolition of the West Wing, between Sears and Dick's , with an open-air lifestyle-format replacement.
However, the economic downturn of the late '00s caused the project to be delayed indefinitely...if not abandoned entirely. SHOPPINGTOWN, recovering from its clash with the newer and larger CAROUSEL MALL, presently lingers in a state of semi-vacant, retail twilight.
Sources:
"Shoppingtown" article on Wikipedia
http://www.syracusenostalgia.com
www.cinemasightlines.com / T.J. Edwards and George E. Read
http://movie-theatre.org
Onondaga County, New York tax assessor website
www.labelscar.com
www.macerich.com
Erie Boulevard East and Kinne Road
Onondaga County (DeWitt), New York
Among the very first Post-War, suburban retail hubs in Upstate New York was SHOPPINGTOWN, built on a 68.8 acre plot, 3.7 miles east of center city Syracuse.
The open-air plaza, developed by Syracuse-based Eagan Real Estate, was anchored by a dry goods-only J.C. Penney, with F.W. Woolworth, Walgreen Drug and Grand Union and Acme supermarkets.
A grand opening celebration, commencing March 22, 1954, had to be postponed by a severe snow storm. It resumed the following May. By this time, SHOPPINGTOWN housed twenty stores and services.
The complex was expanded in 1957, with a W.T. Grant variety store, Flah's apparel and single-screen, Kallet ShoppingTown Theatre. The cinema was installed below the newly-added stores and was accessed from a lower parking area on the east side of the site. It opened March 20, 1957.
A 2-level (143,500 square foot), Syracuse-based Dey Brothers was added, to the north end of the center, in 1962. This was joined by a 3-level (150,000 square foot), Syracuse-based E.W. Edwards in the spring of 1968.
This store was built in front of the Kallet Theatre. Rendered useless, it was replaced by a new twinplex, the Kallet ShoppingTown I and II, an outparcel at the southeast corner of the site. This venue was grand-opened December 26, 1968.
A major renovation and expansion was done to SHOPPINGTOWN in the mid-1970s. The existing complex was demolished, leaving Dey Brothers, Edwards and the twin cinemas standing.
A fully-enclosed mall was built, linking the two previously-existing department stores. The new SHOPPINGTOWN MALL, designed by Syracuse-based Sargeant, Webster, Crenshaw and Foley, was dedicated August 7, 1975.
The center now consisted of a main (upper) level and small lower level (at the east end) and encompassed 476,200 leasable square feet and eighty stores and services. Before the renovation, J.C. Penney had relocated into store space vacated by E.W. Edwards.
A fifth renovation / expansion was done during 1984. Syracuse-based Chappell's, encompassing 2 levels and 70,100 square feet, was added along with thirty-one inline stores. Moreover, the Shoppingtown I and II was sectioned into a fourplex.
SHOPPINGTOWN MALL now housed 608,700 leasable square feet and one hundred and eleven stores and services.
For some time, the complex had competed with two rival malls in its vacinity. FAYETTEVILLE MALL, 2.2 miles southeast, in Onondaga County / Manlius, had opened in 1974. PENN CAN MALL, 7.9 miles northeast, in Onondaga County / Cicero, came inline in 1976.
In October 1990, a more formidable adversary opened for business. CAROUSEL CENTER, a seven-level, million+ square foor buying bohemoth, was situated 5.6 miles northwest, in Syracuse proper. The super-sized center began to decimate its many mall-type competitors.
As a competitive measure, SHOPPINGTOWN was expanded and completely renovated. A Northeast Wing was built, housing forty-eight inline stores and a 10-bay Food Court. It was anchored by a 2-level (120,400 square foot), Syracuse-based Addis and Dey's (a late 1980s merger of mall tenants Addis Company and Dey Brothers).
The 53 million dollar remodeling also included a new parking garage, linked by skybridge to three anchor stores. The renewed retail center, officially dedicated August 22, 1991, spanned 883,100 leasable square feet and housed one hundred and seventy stores and services.
Addis and Dey's was rebranded by Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's in 1993. Chappell's was rebranded by York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton in 1994.
The northwest anchor, opened, as a Dey Brothers in 1962 and vacated when the new store opened in 1991, was renovated. It reopened as a Sears in 1994.
The lower level section of the mall, added in 1984, was gutted and rebuilt as the Hoyt Shoppingtown Mall 10 Cinema. It held a grand opening October 3, 1997. By this time, the late '60s vintage outparcel 4-plex had been shuttered and demolished.
Between April and October 2000, the most recent expansion of SHOPPINGTOWN MALL was completed. It added a 50,100 square foot, Binghamton, New York-based Dick's Sporting Goods (which had relocated from a smaller location within the mall). The 10-plex cinema became a Regal Cinemas operation in 2002.
In April 2005, SHOPPINGTOWN changed hands. Santa Monica-based Macerich acquired the portfolio of Rochester-based Wilmorite Properties, Incorporated.
The most recent changes at the shopping center have been the shuttering of The Bon Ton on January 28, 2006. 50,200 square feet of its 70,100 foot area was renovated into an expanded (14-screen) Regal Cinema, which was completed in July 2008. Kaufmann's had come under the Macy's moniker September 8, 2006.
An eighth renovation of the mall property was announced by Macerich in March 2007. This was to entail demolition of the West Wing, between Sears and Dick's , with an open-air lifestyle-format replacement.
However, the economic downturn of the late '00s caused the project to be delayed indefinitely...if not abandoned entirely. SHOPPINGTOWN, recovering from its clash with the newer and larger CAROUSEL MALL, presently lingers in a state of semi-vacant, retail twilight.
Sources:
"Shoppingtown" article on Wikipedia
http://www.syracusenostalgia.com
www.cinemasightlines.com / T.J. Edwards and George E. Read
http://movie-theatre.org
Onondaga County, New York tax assessor website
www.labelscar.com
www.macerich.com
Albany's first shopping mall, as it was configured for its grand opening
in the mid-'60s. At the time, it encompassed 709,300 leasable square
feet, with three outparcel structures; Sears Auto, B.F. Goodrich Tire
and the United Artists Center Theater.
Sears and Roebuck, the south anchor at COLONIE CENTER. The
246,000 square foot store was built as part of the original, circa-1966
complex.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
A circa-1992 physical layout, showing the expansions just completed
at COLONIE CENTER. The original Macy's had been replaced and
renovated into two levels of inline stores. Moreover, a third anchor,
New Jersey-based Steinbach, had opened in October 1991. It was to
be short-lived.
The mall's current Macy's, its north anchor, opened in October 1990.
The 3-level, 305,000 square foot store replaced a 2-level, 180,000
square foot structure, built as part of the original, circa-1966 shopping
center.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
*
Photo from Wikipedia / "Flyer84"
*
Two shots of the newly-renovated interior at COLONIE CENTER. The
unique, 2-story fireplace is seen in first photo.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
Today's COLONIE CENTER. A second major renovation and expansion,
done between 2005 and 2008, added an open-air lifestyle facade and
third level multiplex.
COLONIE CENTER
Central Avenue and Wolf Road
Albany County (Colonie), New York
The first shopping mall in New York's Capital Region was located 4.9 miles northwest of the State Capitol, on a 96 acre plot, in the Albany County town of Colonie. The COLONIE CENTER site was adjacent to the junction of the New York State Thruway / Interstate 90 and Adirondack Northway / Interstate 87 highways.
Construction had commenced on the 2-level, fully-enclosed shopping venue in October 1964. The mall, built by Illinois-based Homart Development, opened for business November 1, 1966. It was anchored by a 2-level (246,000 square foot) Sears and 2-level (180,000 square foot) Macy's and encompassed 709,300 leasable square feet.
Charter tenants included Gingiss Formal Wear, Mack Drugs, Florsheim Shoes, the Barnsider Restaurant and a B.F. Goodrich Tire Center.
The United Artists Center Theater, a single-screen venue eventually twinned, was a southeast parking area outparcel. A second movie house, the Fox Colonie, opened across Wolf Road from the mall proper in 1969.
Commercial competitors of COLONIE CENTER sprang up over the following decades. NORTHWAY MALL, .1 mile southwest, in Albany County (Colonie), was completed in 1970. MOHAWK MALL, 5.7 miles northwest, in Schenectady County (Niscayuna), also opened in 1970.
CLIFTON COUNTRY MALL / CLIFTON PARK CENTER, 10.2 miles northeast, in Saratoga County (Clifton Park), was officially dedicated in 1976. LATHAM CORNERS CENTER (1957), 3.4 miles northeast, in Albany County (Latham), was renovated into the fully-enclosed LATHAM CIRCLE MALL in 1977.
In 1984, COLONIE CENTER came up against its most daunting competitor. CROSSGATES MALL, 1.6 miles southwest, in Guilderland, immediately put the hurt on the smaller and older shopping venue.
As a countermeasure, the owners of COLONIE CENTER, the Boston-based Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, announced a renovation and expansion of the eighteen year-old shopping center. However, the project never got off the ground.
Four years later, in December 1988, a revised renovation plan got underway. Comprised of three phases, it included the construction of a new, 3-level (305,000 square foot) Macy's, renovation of the existing Macy's into sixty new inline store (with a 10-bay Food Court) and the addition of a 2-level (80,000 square foot) third anchor.
Macy's opened its new store October 3, 1990. Asbury Park, New Jersey-based Steinbach, the third anchor at COLONIE CENTER, began business October 17, 1991.
The 68 million dollar renovation was dedicated, with a $75 per person, black-tie charity gala, November 1, 1991. The soiree was hosted by singer / actress Diahann Carroll, with festivities continuing for ten days.
COLONIE CENTER had surpassed the 875,000 square foot CROSSGATES MALL, with its expanded GLA of 1,177,800 square feet. The retail roster had grown from ninety stores and services to one hundred and fifty...making COLONIE CENTER the largest shopping mall in the Capital Region.
The next enlargement of the shopping center involved the expansion of the Steinbach space vacated in August 1995. At first, a multiplex cinema was considered as a replacement, but the store was eventually gutted and rebuilt as a 2-level (228,000 square foot), Reading, Pennsylvania-based Boscov's, officially dedicated October 30, 1998.
Great Neck, New York-based Feldman Mall Properties acquired COLONIE CENTER in February 2005 and embarked on a 110 million dollar makeover the following November. This time around, 123,000 square feet of interior space was remodeled. New lighting and flooring were installed and a 2-story fireplace became a fixture of Center Court. This first phase facelift was completed in July 2006.
Next, the north-facing front of the complex was extended with an open-air lifestyle facade. This included new boutiques and bistros, which utilized previously-existing and newly-built space. In all, 105,000 square feet was added.
Cheesecake Factory, the first of the new lifestyle stores, was dedicated August 29, 2006. L.L. Bean came inline September 14, 2007. P.F. Chang's China Bistro opened October 8, 2007 and Barnes and Noble began business November 13, 2007.
The third -and final- phase of the COLONIE CENTER makeover, the dedication of the Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13 multiplex, took place May 16, 2008. The 65,000 square foot cinema was built on a third level, on top of the mall's Main Entrance.
COLONIE CENTER had cemented its position as the preeminent shopping center in Albany. Its GLA now measured 1,495,800 square feet.
Feldman Mall Properties, who ran short on cash during the mall's extensive renovation, brought in Chicago-based Heitman Value Partners, as a co-owner, in 2006. In June 2009, Heitman bought out Feldman and established one hundred percent ownership of the property.
Sources:
"Colonie Center" article on Wikipedia
www.labelscar.com
www.bizjournals.com
www.regmovies.com
www.rejournal.com
Central Avenue and Wolf Road
Albany County (Colonie), New York
The first shopping mall in New York's Capital Region was located 4.9 miles northwest of the State Capitol, on a 96 acre plot, in the Albany County town of Colonie. The COLONIE CENTER site was adjacent to the junction of the New York State Thruway / Interstate 90 and Adirondack Northway / Interstate 87 highways.
Construction had commenced on the 2-level, fully-enclosed shopping venue in October 1964. The mall, built by Illinois-based Homart Development, opened for business November 1, 1966. It was anchored by a 2-level (246,000 square foot) Sears and 2-level (180,000 square foot) Macy's and encompassed 709,300 leasable square feet.
Charter tenants included Gingiss Formal Wear, Mack Drugs, Florsheim Shoes, the Barnsider Restaurant and a B.F. Goodrich Tire Center.
The United Artists Center Theater, a single-screen venue eventually twinned, was a southeast parking area outparcel. A second movie house, the Fox Colonie, opened across Wolf Road from the mall proper in 1969.
Commercial competitors of COLONIE CENTER sprang up over the following decades. NORTHWAY MALL, .1 mile southwest, in Albany County (Colonie), was completed in 1970. MOHAWK MALL, 5.7 miles northwest, in Schenectady County (Niscayuna), also opened in 1970.
CLIFTON COUNTRY MALL / CLIFTON PARK CENTER, 10.2 miles northeast, in Saratoga County (Clifton Park), was officially dedicated in 1976. LATHAM CORNERS CENTER (1957), 3.4 miles northeast, in Albany County (Latham), was renovated into the fully-enclosed LATHAM CIRCLE MALL in 1977.
In 1984, COLONIE CENTER came up against its most daunting competitor. CROSSGATES MALL, 1.6 miles southwest, in Guilderland, immediately put the hurt on the smaller and older shopping venue.
As a countermeasure, the owners of COLONIE CENTER, the Boston-based Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, announced a renovation and expansion of the eighteen year-old shopping center. However, the project never got off the ground.
Four years later, in December 1988, a revised renovation plan got underway. Comprised of three phases, it included the construction of a new, 3-level (305,000 square foot) Macy's, renovation of the existing Macy's into sixty new inline store (with a 10-bay Food Court) and the addition of a 2-level (80,000 square foot) third anchor.
Macy's opened its new store October 3, 1990. Asbury Park, New Jersey-based Steinbach, the third anchor at COLONIE CENTER, began business October 17, 1991.
The 68 million dollar renovation was dedicated, with a $75 per person, black-tie charity gala, November 1, 1991. The soiree was hosted by singer / actress Diahann Carroll, with festivities continuing for ten days.
COLONIE CENTER had surpassed the 875,000 square foot CROSSGATES MALL, with its expanded GLA of 1,177,800 square feet. The retail roster had grown from ninety stores and services to one hundred and fifty...making COLONIE CENTER the largest shopping mall in the Capital Region.
The next enlargement of the shopping center involved the expansion of the Steinbach space vacated in August 1995. At first, a multiplex cinema was considered as a replacement, but the store was eventually gutted and rebuilt as a 2-level (228,000 square foot), Reading, Pennsylvania-based Boscov's, officially dedicated October 30, 1998.
Great Neck, New York-based Feldman Mall Properties acquired COLONIE CENTER in February 2005 and embarked on a 110 million dollar makeover the following November. This time around, 123,000 square feet of interior space was remodeled. New lighting and flooring were installed and a 2-story fireplace became a fixture of Center Court. This first phase facelift was completed in July 2006.
Next, the north-facing front of the complex was extended with an open-air lifestyle facade. This included new boutiques and bistros, which utilized previously-existing and newly-built space. In all, 105,000 square feet was added.
Cheesecake Factory, the first of the new lifestyle stores, was dedicated August 29, 2006. L.L. Bean came inline September 14, 2007. P.F. Chang's China Bistro opened October 8, 2007 and Barnes and Noble began business November 13, 2007.
The third -and final- phase of the COLONIE CENTER makeover, the dedication of the Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13 multiplex, took place May 16, 2008. The 65,000 square foot cinema was built on a third level, on top of the mall's Main Entrance.
COLONIE CENTER had cemented its position as the preeminent shopping center in Albany. Its GLA now measured 1,495,800 square feet.
Feldman Mall Properties, who ran short on cash during the mall's extensive renovation, brought in Chicago-based Heitman Value Partners, as a co-owner, in 2006. In June 2009, Heitman bought out Feldman and established one hundred percent ownership of the property.
Sources:
"Colonie Center" article on Wikipedia
www.labelscar.com
www.bizjournals.com
www.regmovies.com
www.rejournal.com
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH, as it stood at its grand opening.
K-Mart and Price Chopper were the first stores to open, in April 1975,
followed by "Monkey Wards", soon after. J.C. Penney came inline in
1976.
The Plattsburgh and Saratoga Springs PYRAMID properties were
completed in 1975 and 1973, respectively. Both malls were renamed
in 1987 and both were demolished in 1999. Their sibling center near
Ithaca is the only Pyramid Companies "Pioneer Mall" still standing.
A 1987 newspaper advert announcing the grand
re-opening of PYRAMID MALL...which was now
going as CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH. The
mall was being marketed along with its brand new
neighbor, CHAMPLAIN CENTRE NORTH. This
effort to promote the two shopping centers as a
single entity was unsuccessful.
Ad from www.nnyln.org (Northern New York
Library Network)
The power center that replaced Plattsburgh's PYRAMID MALL in the
year 2000. In the upper right is the K-Mart that anchored the original
center. It was left standing when the mall was bulldozed in 1999. The
structure at right center, formerly a Price Chopper supermarket, was
also retained and remodeled. These were joined by Lowe's (upper
center) and a new Price Chopper (lower left).
Photo from www.rmsp.com (Robert M. Sutherland, PC Engineers)
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH
Blake Road and Smithfield Boulevard
Plattsburgh, New York
Syracuse's Pyramid Companies was formed in 1970. Through self-described innovation and entrepreneurial spirit (and more than a bit of controversy), the Pyramid organization rose to prominence and has become the largest privately-held shopping mall developer in the nation.
The first of their so-called "Pioneer Malls", PYRAMID MALL SARATOGA, opened near Saratoga Springs, New York on October 18, 1973. It was followed by PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH, in April 1975, and PYRAMID MALL ITHACA, in Lansing, New York, in 1976.
Today, only the Ithaca property remains. It was renamed SHOPS AT ITHACA in August 2007. The first Pioneer Mall, near Saratoga Springs, was renamed SARATOGA MALL in 1987. It had a destiny date with the wrecking ball in 1999.
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH was officially dedicated April 11, 1975, with various stores holding grand openings into the following year. The single-level center was constructed on a 28 acre parcel, located 1.6 miles west of downtown Plattsburgh, which was adjacent to the Adirondack Northway / Interstate 87 highway.
Encompassing 340,000 leasable square feet and forty-five stores and services, PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH was anchored by a 1-level (74,000 square foot) K-Mart, 1-level (75,600 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (46,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Inline stores in the original PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH included Fay's Drugs, Ye Olde Smoke Shop, Kinney Shoes, Friar Tuck Bookshop, Record Town, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Noah's Ark Pet Shop, The Plattsburgh Cinemas I and II and an outparcel Price Chopper supermarket. A Burlington, Vermont-based Magrams also operated in the center, although it is unclear whether or not it was a charter tenant.
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH was in the enviable position of being the only regional shopping center for several miles. Located only 21 miles south of the US-Canadian border, it attracted a great deal of commerce from The Dominion.
This changed when Pyramid Companies decided to build a larger mall directly north of their Plattsburgh property. The primary reason for doing this was that the original complex was hemmed in on all sides, making any kind of expansion impossible.
The shiny-new, 493,000 square foot CHAMPLAIN CENTRE NORTH was nearing completion when the official grand re-opening was held for the original complex, on June 21, 1987.
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH had been given a 3 million dollar facelift, with its dark, 1970s decor brightened up with new paint, floors and lighting. A name change was done in an effort to market the new CHAMPLAIN CENTRE NORTH and renamed CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH (PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH) as a single entity.
Shuttle bus service was instituted between the two malls, but was soon halted. The exodus of stores from the old into the new property, which began with the expatriations of J.C. Penney and Hickory Farms of Ohio, continued into the 1990s. Soon, CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH was virtually vacant.
The closing of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, in September 1995, resulted in an economic slowdown in the entire region. This was exacerbated by the shriveling of the Canadian dollar.
When Montgomery Ward pulled out of CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH, in December 1997, the end was near. The mall was shuttered and demolished in 1999, leaving K-Mart and the Price Chopper building intact.
These were worked into a new power format complex in the year 2000. Anchored by a 1-level (115,000 square foot) Lowe's and larger Price Chopper, the new CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH included Bed, Bath and Beyond, Yankee One Dollar and Applebee's.
The complex was acquired by Plattsburgh-based Champlain Center South Associates in November 2001.
Sources:
"Pyramid Companies" article on Wikipedia
www.nnyln.org (Northern New York Library Network)
www.pyramidmg.com
Blake Road and Smithfield Boulevard
Plattsburgh, New York
Syracuse's Pyramid Companies was formed in 1970. Through self-described innovation and entrepreneurial spirit (and more than a bit of controversy), the Pyramid organization rose to prominence and has become the largest privately-held shopping mall developer in the nation.
The first of their so-called "Pioneer Malls", PYRAMID MALL SARATOGA, opened near Saratoga Springs, New York on October 18, 1973. It was followed by PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH, in April 1975, and PYRAMID MALL ITHACA, in Lansing, New York, in 1976.
Today, only the Ithaca property remains. It was renamed SHOPS AT ITHACA in August 2007. The first Pioneer Mall, near Saratoga Springs, was renamed SARATOGA MALL in 1987. It had a destiny date with the wrecking ball in 1999.
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH was officially dedicated April 11, 1975, with various stores holding grand openings into the following year. The single-level center was constructed on a 28 acre parcel, located 1.6 miles west of downtown Plattsburgh, which was adjacent to the Adirondack Northway / Interstate 87 highway.
Encompassing 340,000 leasable square feet and forty-five stores and services, PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH was anchored by a 1-level (74,000 square foot) K-Mart, 1-level (75,600 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (46,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Inline stores in the original PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH included Fay's Drugs, Ye Olde Smoke Shop, Kinney Shoes, Friar Tuck Bookshop, Record Town, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Noah's Ark Pet Shop, The Plattsburgh Cinemas I and II and an outparcel Price Chopper supermarket. A Burlington, Vermont-based Magrams also operated in the center, although it is unclear whether or not it was a charter tenant.
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH was in the enviable position of being the only regional shopping center for several miles. Located only 21 miles south of the US-Canadian border, it attracted a great deal of commerce from The Dominion.
This changed when Pyramid Companies decided to build a larger mall directly north of their Plattsburgh property. The primary reason for doing this was that the original complex was hemmed in on all sides, making any kind of expansion impossible.
The shiny-new, 493,000 square foot CHAMPLAIN CENTRE NORTH was nearing completion when the official grand re-opening was held for the original complex, on June 21, 1987.
PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH had been given a 3 million dollar facelift, with its dark, 1970s decor brightened up with new paint, floors and lighting. A name change was done in an effort to market the new CHAMPLAIN CENTRE NORTH and renamed CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH (PYRAMID MALL PLATTSBURGH) as a single entity.
Shuttle bus service was instituted between the two malls, but was soon halted. The exodus of stores from the old into the new property, which began with the expatriations of J.C. Penney and Hickory Farms of Ohio, continued into the 1990s. Soon, CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH was virtually vacant.
The closing of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, in September 1995, resulted in an economic slowdown in the entire region. This was exacerbated by the shriveling of the Canadian dollar.
When Montgomery Ward pulled out of CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH, in December 1997, the end was near. The mall was shuttered and demolished in 1999, leaving K-Mart and the Price Chopper building intact.
These were worked into a new power format complex in the year 2000. Anchored by a 1-level (115,000 square foot) Lowe's and larger Price Chopper, the new CHAMPLAIN CENTRE SOUTH included Bed, Bath and Beyond, Yankee One Dollar and Applebee's.
The complex was acquired by Plattsburgh-based Champlain Center South Associates in November 2001.
Sources:
"Pyramid Companies" article on Wikipedia
www.nnyln.org (Northern New York Library Network)
www.pyramidmg.com
The original layout of HONEY CREEK SQUARE, following the
August 1970 dedication of its Terra Haute-based Roots anchor
store. The fully-enclosed complex housed 384,400 leasable
square feet.
August 1973 and the center's first expansion comes inline. This
consisted of a 70,380 square foot Meis and nine stores and services.
Now, both of Terre Haute's hometown department stores had
shopping mall branch locations.
1981 and the mall's 200,000 square foot expansion is opened. This
included a 140,300 square foot Penney's and approximately eleven
inline stores. The mall now housed 680,000 leasable square feet.
A name change from HONEY CREEK SQUARE to HONEY CREEK MALL
was implemented as part of the complex's 1992 renovation.
Photo from http://www.waymarking.com/
The east-facing facade and Main Entrance, seen here, were given
remodelings during the 1992 and 2007 mall makeovers.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Bedford"
A present day plan of HONEY CREEK MALL. Over the years, two
of its anchors have been rebranded and a food court was fashioned
from vacated store space. The center enjoys its position as the only
major shopping center in the region. This insulates it from the"mall-
o-caust" that has decimated so many of its mid-century counterparts
across the nation.
HONEY CREEK SQUARE
South Honey Creek Drive and West Honey Creek Parkway
Terre Haute, Indiana
Tera Haute's first -and only- major shopping mall was designed by the firm of Ewing Miller and Associates and developed by Evansville's Guthrie May.
Originally known as HONEY CREEK SQUARE, the single-level complex was centered on a 52 acre site, 2.2 miles south of the urban core. At the time, the mall was within the confines of Vigo County's Honey Creek Township.
Encompassing approximately 384,400 leasable square feet, the shopping center's stores opened for business between 1968 and 1970. The original anchors were a 1-level (108,600 square foot) Sears and 1-level (177,000 square foot), Terre Haute-based Roots.
Charter stores at HONEY CREEK SQUARE included Hillman Jewelers, Hooks Drugs, The Gap, Spencer Gifts and Waldenbooks.
A 1-level (70,300 square foot), Terre Haute-based Meis was added to the complex, as a third anchor, in August 1973. It was joined by a 1-level (140,300 square foot) J.C. Penney in 1981.
Inline store space built along with these two expansions increased the GLA of the complex to 680,800 square feet. The center, and its acreage, were annexed into the City of Terre Haute in 1983.
Department store rebrandings commenced in 1989, when Dayton-based Elder-Beerman moved into the Meis space. In 1998, Fairfield, Ohio-based Mercantile Stores, which owned the two Roots locations, was acquired by Dillard's.
Little Rock's retailer sold the Roots division to May Company / Famous-Barr, with Roots stores eventually being rebranded by Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres. The HONEY CREEK location was "Macy-ated" September 9, 2006.
The first major renovation, completed in 1992, had added the 9-bay Food Courtyard in previously-existing space. Moreover, the eastern-facing front of the mall was given a facelift, with exterior-entranced storefronts. A new name was also bestowed on the shopping center; HONEY CREEK MALL.
Chattanooga-based CBL and Associates purchased the property in April 2004. Three year later, they completed a remodeling, comprised of new flooring, lighting, restrooms and entryways. The renewed retail complex was dedicated November 9, 2007.
Sources:
"Honey Creek Mall" article on Wikipedia
Vigo County, Indiana property tax assessor website
www.honeycreekmall.com
www.tribstar.com
South Honey Creek Drive and West Honey Creek Parkway
Terre Haute, Indiana
Tera Haute's first -and only- major shopping mall was designed by the firm of Ewing Miller and Associates and developed by Evansville's Guthrie May.
Originally known as HONEY CREEK SQUARE, the single-level complex was centered on a 52 acre site, 2.2 miles south of the urban core. At the time, the mall was within the confines of Vigo County's Honey Creek Township.
Encompassing approximately 384,400 leasable square feet, the shopping center's stores opened for business between 1968 and 1970. The original anchors were a 1-level (108,600 square foot) Sears and 1-level (177,000 square foot), Terre Haute-based Roots.
Charter stores at HONEY CREEK SQUARE included Hillman Jewelers, Hooks Drugs, The Gap, Spencer Gifts and Waldenbooks.
A 1-level (70,300 square foot), Terre Haute-based Meis was added to the complex, as a third anchor, in August 1973. It was joined by a 1-level (140,300 square foot) J.C. Penney in 1981.
Inline store space built along with these two expansions increased the GLA of the complex to 680,800 square feet. The center, and its acreage, were annexed into the City of Terre Haute in 1983.
Department store rebrandings commenced in 1989, when Dayton-based Elder-Beerman moved into the Meis space. In 1998, Fairfield, Ohio-based Mercantile Stores, which owned the two Roots locations, was acquired by Dillard's.
Little Rock's retailer sold the Roots division to May Company / Famous-Barr, with Roots stores eventually being rebranded by Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres. The HONEY CREEK location was "Macy-ated" September 9, 2006.
The first major renovation, completed in 1992, had added the 9-bay Food Courtyard in previously-existing space. Moreover, the eastern-facing front of the mall was given a facelift, with exterior-entranced storefronts. A new name was also bestowed on the shopping center; HONEY CREEK MALL.
Chattanooga-based CBL and Associates purchased the property in April 2004. Three year later, they completed a remodeling, comprised of new flooring, lighting, restrooms and entryways. The renewed retail complex was dedicated November 9, 2007.
Sources:
"Honey Creek Mall" article on Wikipedia
Vigo County, Indiana property tax assessor website
www.honeycreekmall.com
www.tribstar.com
The original footprint of WOODMAR.
The concave complex and its pentagonal
Carson's anchor store were dedicated
in 1954 and '55. At the time, the retail
hub encompassed 200,000 leasable
square feet.
Click on image for a larger view.
WOODMAR CENTER TENANTS 1955:
CARSON PIRIE SCOTT / J.J. NEWBERRY / NATIONAL FOODS / Walgreen Drug / Woodmar Grill / Kinney Shoes / Andes Candies / Mailing's Shoes / Maternity Modes / Ritz Millinery / Chapman Laundry and Dry Cleaners / Benson-Rixon Men's Wear / Einhorn's Women's / Hansel and Gretel Shop / Hoosier State Bank / Lerner Shops / Miles Paint and Wallpaper / O'Connor and Goldberg Shoes / Powell Bakery / Rothchild Women's / The Cotton Shop / Watland's Camera
CARSON PIRIE SCOTT / J.J. NEWBERRY / NATIONAL FOODS / Walgreen Drug / Woodmar Grill / Kinney Shoes / Andes Candies / Mailing's Shoes / Maternity Modes / Ritz Millinery / Chapman Laundry and Dry Cleaners / Benson-Rixon Men's Wear / Einhorn's Women's / Hansel and Gretel Shop / Hoosier State Bank / Lerner Shops / Miles Paint and Wallpaper / O'Connor and Goldberg Shoes / Powell Bakery / Rothchild Women's / The Cotton Shop / Watland's Camera
1966 and WOODMAR CENTER evolves
into WOODMAR MALL. The open-air,
mid-50s complex is sealed-in with steel
and glass mallways and Carson's is
extended, with a mall-accessed addition.
The shopping venue now houses 245,000
leasable square feet.
Click on image for a larger view.
What proved to be the final footprint of
WOODMAR; a depiction dating to 1985.
The mall had seen its second physical
expansion, when a small 30,000 square
foot addition was built on the southeast
corner. Three years later, this area
became part of the Woodmar Cafe Food
Court.
Click on the image for a larger view.
An exterior view of the south end of WOODMAR MALL.
Photo from www.praediumdevelopment.com
*
*
The mall proper and its 3-level Carson Pirie Scott. The store was
given a facelift renovation in 1996, which now seems rather odd,
being how the store was plotted for demolition not more than
10 years later.
Photo from www.praediumdevelopment.com
The Carson's Court, in Hammond, Indiana's mall-no-more.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prangeway"
The main retail corridor, showing the somewhat makeshift mallway that
was tacked-on to the open strip center in 1966.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prangeway"
A view taken at the entrance into the Court of Turtles...looking toward
the Cafe Woodmar Food Court and south mall entrance.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prangeway"
A tentative site plan for a redeveloped
WOODMAR.
Drawing from www.praediumdevelopment.com
A rendering of the new shopping center-to-be...or is it? A change in
ownership of the Chicago-based Carson's chain has resulted in the
delay of construction on the 100,000 square foot store, seen at the
left of this drawing, and its associated WOODMAR shopping center.
Photo from www.praediumdevelopment.com
WOODMAR CENTER
Indianapolis Boulevard and East 165th Street
Hammond, Indiana
One of the earliest regional shopping centers in Chicago's Indiana suburbs was developed by Herbert Heyman and Howard Landau, who were based in the Windy City.
WOODMAR CENTER, situated on 19.7 acres, 1 mile south of downtown Hammond, was anchored by a 2-level (65,000 square foot), Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott. The store, which was the chain's third branch location, opened November 1, 1954.
Eight stores in the adjacent, single-level strip center were dedicated May 19, 1955, with the full complement of twenty-two stores and services in operation by the end of the year. The 3 million dollar complex encompassed 200,000 leasable square feet.
Charter tenants included Kinney Shoes, Lerner Shops, Maternity Modes and Benson-Rixon Men's Wear. There were also a National Foods supermarket and J.J. Newberry 5 and 10.
The center's first commercial competion came along eleven years later. DIXIE SQUARE MALL [January 2008 archive] held its grand opening in August 1966. This fully-enclosed shopping venue was situated 9.6 miles northwest, in Harvey, Illinois. RIVER OAKS CENTER, an open-air complex located 3.6 miles west, in Calumet City, Illinois, was dedicated in October 1966.
As a keeping up measure, WOODMAR CENTER had embarked on a renovation in late 1965. The open-canopied storefronts had glass-enclosed walkways installed and the Carson's store was expanded, to 110,000 square feet, with a connecting mall entrance and third level.
The newly-enclosed shopping center, now known as WOODMAR MALL, was dedicated in March 1966, with the remodeled Carson's being completed in June.
A subsequent renovation, in 1975, turned the recently-vacated Newberry's (on the north end of the structure) into a 12-store, mini-mall...the Court of Lions.
Three years later, the old supermarket spot (on the mall's south end) was remade into an 8-store "mall within a mall"...the Court of Turtles. New stores included So Fro Fabrics and Foxmoor Casuals.
A prospective expansion of the WOODMAR property, into a 3-anchor, 750,000 square foot retail hub, was abandoned due to the sour, late '70s economy.
A smaller enlargement, built onto the southeast corner in 1982, added five inline stores. This area, and the lunch counter portion of Walgreen Drug, became the 6-bay Woodmar Cafe Food Court in 1985. WOODMAR MALL now encompassed 275,000 leasable square feet and fifty-two stores and services.
The location of the mall, in a largely industrial area, contributed to its decline, along with the closing of several steel plants in the vacinity, which took its toll on the local economy. A new Wal-Mart and supermarket, built on adjoining property to the west of WOODMAR, was the final nail in its coffin.
By the early 1990s, the mall was housing too many vacant spaces. By the end of the decade, its owner, the Woodmar Liability Corporation, was bankrupt. The center was acquired by a Denver-based insurance company, but continued its decline.
A group of California-based investors bought the past its prime property in February 2003, with a redevelopment announced in May. Unfortunately, the project never got off the ground.
The twelve remaining tenants complained about the center's leaking roofs, overflowing sewers and pot-holed parking lot. The mall's management was around only when rents were due.
Northbrook, Illinois-based Praedium Development came on the scene in 2005, with a plan to demolish all of the shopping center, save for Carson's.
The plan was to build a new 127,000 square foot strip center, and 2-level (100,000 square foot) Carson's, and then raze the original Carson's and pave its area as a parking lot. Demolition of the mall structure got underway in February 2006.
A snag was encountered when Saks Incorporated sold the Carson's chain to York, Pennsylvania-based Bon Ton Stores in March 2006. At present, it is unclear whether or not Bon Ton will go ahead with plans for the new Carson's location at a reconfigured WOODMAR. This has apparently delayed construction of the new shopping complex
Sources:
http://www.geocities.com/Jaloweplays/woodmar.html / John Arthur Lowe
www.hammonindiana.com
www.labelscar.com
www.praediumdevelopment.com
Indianapolis Boulevard and East 165th Street
Hammond, Indiana
One of the earliest regional shopping centers in Chicago's Indiana suburbs was developed by Herbert Heyman and Howard Landau, who were based in the Windy City.
WOODMAR CENTER, situated on 19.7 acres, 1 mile south of downtown Hammond, was anchored by a 2-level (65,000 square foot), Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott. The store, which was the chain's third branch location, opened November 1, 1954.
Eight stores in the adjacent, single-level strip center were dedicated May 19, 1955, with the full complement of twenty-two stores and services in operation by the end of the year. The 3 million dollar complex encompassed 200,000 leasable square feet.
Charter tenants included Kinney Shoes, Lerner Shops, Maternity Modes and Benson-Rixon Men's Wear. There were also a National Foods supermarket and J.J. Newberry 5 and 10.
The center's first commercial competion came along eleven years later. DIXIE SQUARE MALL [January 2008 archive] held its grand opening in August 1966. This fully-enclosed shopping venue was situated 9.6 miles northwest, in Harvey, Illinois. RIVER OAKS CENTER, an open-air complex located 3.6 miles west, in Calumet City, Illinois, was dedicated in October 1966.
As a keeping up measure, WOODMAR CENTER had embarked on a renovation in late 1965. The open-canopied storefronts had glass-enclosed walkways installed and the Carson's store was expanded, to 110,000 square feet, with a connecting mall entrance and third level.
The newly-enclosed shopping center, now known as WOODMAR MALL, was dedicated in March 1966, with the remodeled Carson's being completed in June.
A subsequent renovation, in 1975, turned the recently-vacated Newberry's (on the north end of the structure) into a 12-store, mini-mall...the Court of Lions.
Three years later, the old supermarket spot (on the mall's south end) was remade into an 8-store "mall within a mall"...the Court of Turtles. New stores included So Fro Fabrics and Foxmoor Casuals.
A prospective expansion of the WOODMAR property, into a 3-anchor, 750,000 square foot retail hub, was abandoned due to the sour, late '70s economy.
A smaller enlargement, built onto the southeast corner in 1982, added five inline stores. This area, and the lunch counter portion of Walgreen Drug, became the 6-bay Woodmar Cafe Food Court in 1985. WOODMAR MALL now encompassed 275,000 leasable square feet and fifty-two stores and services.
The location of the mall, in a largely industrial area, contributed to its decline, along with the closing of several steel plants in the vacinity, which took its toll on the local economy. A new Wal-Mart and supermarket, built on adjoining property to the west of WOODMAR, was the final nail in its coffin.
By the early 1990s, the mall was housing too many vacant spaces. By the end of the decade, its owner, the Woodmar Liability Corporation, was bankrupt. The center was acquired by a Denver-based insurance company, but continued its decline.
A group of California-based investors bought the past its prime property in February 2003, with a redevelopment announced in May. Unfortunately, the project never got off the ground.
The twelve remaining tenants complained about the center's leaking roofs, overflowing sewers and pot-holed parking lot. The mall's management was around only when rents were due.
Northbrook, Illinois-based Praedium Development came on the scene in 2005, with a plan to demolish all of the shopping center, save for Carson's.
The plan was to build a new 127,000 square foot strip center, and 2-level (100,000 square foot) Carson's, and then raze the original Carson's and pave its area as a parking lot. Demolition of the mall structure got underway in February 2006.
A snag was encountered when Saks Incorporated sold the Carson's chain to York, Pennsylvania-based Bon Ton Stores in March 2006. At present, it is unclear whether or not Bon Ton will go ahead with plans for the new Carson's location at a reconfigured WOODMAR. This has apparently delayed construction of the new shopping complex
Sources:
http://www.geocities.com/Jaloweplays/woodmar.html / John Arthur Lowe
www.hammonindiana.com
www.labelscar.com
www.praediumdevelopment.com
The Hoosier State's first enclosed shopping mall was built
in the southeastern environs of Evansville and opened
during 1963 and '64. The single-level center encompassed
approximately 285,000 leasable square feet. Apparently, its
Sears had moved from a center city location, which had
opened -as the chain's very first freestanding store- in
October 1925.
1969 and WASHINGTON SQUARE is enlarged into a
443,500 square foot shopopolis. Sears was joined by a
second anchor, Lousiville-based Stewart's, and A & P was
shuttered and refitted as additional inline store spaces.
The complex was to enjoy its status as the only mall within
miles for thirteen more years.
A new mall on the block, so to say, opened in 1982. As a "keeping
up with the Jones" (or in this case, the EASTLAND's) measure,
WASHINGTON SQUARE was given a comprehensive remodeling.
Sears was enlarged, a food court installed in previously-existing
space and the mall proper given an interior and exterior facelift.
The identity of a third anchor store, built on the east side of the
structure, is elusive. Would anyone out there care to recall what it
was?
WASHINGTON SQUARE MALL
South Green River Road and Washington Avenue
Evansville, Indiana
The first shopping mall in "Eville" was also the Hoosier State's first enclosed shopping center. WASHINGTON SQUARE MALL, developed by Erie Investments, was built on 32.5 acres, located 4.2 miles southeast of Evansville's center city.
Comprised of a single retail level, the 285,000 square foot mall opened for business during 1963 and '64. It was anchored by a 2-level (174,800 square foot) Sears and an A and P supermarket.
Charter tenants included Levinson's Men's Wear, Woolsey's Toys, Kinney Shoes, Schlutz's, Schmitt Photo and Lib's Candies.
Its first expansion, which came inline in 1969, saw the A & P structure sectioned into smaller store spaces. A 23,000 square foot store block was added to the mall's southeast corner and a 2-level (134,900 square foot), Louisville-based Stewart Dry Goods was built on the south end of the complex.
WASHINGTON SQUARE now encompassed 443,500 leasable square feet. A cinematic venue, the Washington Square II twin, opened inside the mall in 1975.
The Stewart's store, a division of New York City-based Associated Dry Goods, was merged with (and rebranded by) Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres in 1980.
Commercial competition, shopping mall-wise, came along in 1982. EASTLAND MALL, developed by Des Moines-based General Growth Properties, was located 1.3 miles northwest of WASHINGTON SQUARE. The newer center siphoned-off a great deal of trade from its older counterpart.
As a countermeasure, WASHINGTON SQUARE was given a 30 million dollar renovation in 1986 and '87. Sears was enlarged into a 195,000 square foot operation and a third anchor store (encompassing 50,000 square feet) was built onto the mall's east side.
Moreover, the existing complex was given an interior and exterior facelift...which included the installation of a Teflon tent-covered food court. The mall now housed 513,700 leasable square feet. Its renewal was successful for a time, but eventually EASTLAND MALL prevailed.
WASHINGTON SQUARE went through a succession of owners during the 1980's and '90s. In the spring of 1991, mall management shot themselves in the foot, so to say, by instituting a 10 dollar "mall walkers registration fee". After receiving national media attention -all negative- the fee was dropped in August.
This was followed by the shuttering of L.S. Ayres, on January 19, 1992. Dayton-based Elder-Beerman was recruited to lease the vacant store space; opening for business October 16, 1993.
Elder-Beerman pulled out of the mall in December 2000. Filling the vacancy proved challenging. Evansville's Eugene Hahn and Paul Kite acquired the shopping center in March 2002.
They took it upon themselves to retenant the empty anchor spot and opened a Values Unlimited discount outlet, in a portion of the store, in October 2004. The endeavor was unsuccessful and the space was vacated again in March 2007.
There was talk of the local Bethel Temple Church leasing the empty anchor in April 2009. So far, this hasn't taken place.
Since the turn of the century, tenants in the shopping venue have come and gone. A shift toward medical-oriented leasings, in 2004, filled some of the mall's vacancies. Moreover, the local Civic Theatre's Underground at the Annex live performance venue is bringing business into the shopping complex.
Sources:
"Washington Square" article on Wikipedia
http://movie-theatre.org
www.civic.evansville.net
Vandergurgh County, Indiana property tax assessor website
South Green River Road and Washington Avenue
Evansville, Indiana
The first shopping mall in "Eville" was also the Hoosier State's first enclosed shopping center. WASHINGTON SQUARE MALL, developed by Erie Investments, was built on 32.5 acres, located 4.2 miles southeast of Evansville's center city.
Comprised of a single retail level, the 285,000 square foot mall opened for business during 1963 and '64. It was anchored by a 2-level (174,800 square foot) Sears and an A and P supermarket.
Charter tenants included Levinson's Men's Wear, Woolsey's Toys, Kinney Shoes, Schlutz's, Schmitt Photo and Lib's Candies.
Its first expansion, which came inline in 1969, saw the A & P structure sectioned into smaller store spaces. A 23,000 square foot store block was added to the mall's southeast corner and a 2-level (134,900 square foot), Louisville-based Stewart Dry Goods was built on the south end of the complex.
WASHINGTON SQUARE now encompassed 443,500 leasable square feet. A cinematic venue, the Washington Square II twin, opened inside the mall in 1975.
The Stewart's store, a division of New York City-based Associated Dry Goods, was merged with (and rebranded by) Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres in 1980.
Commercial competition, shopping mall-wise, came along in 1982. EASTLAND MALL, developed by Des Moines-based General Growth Properties, was located 1.3 miles northwest of WASHINGTON SQUARE. The newer center siphoned-off a great deal of trade from its older counterpart.
As a countermeasure, WASHINGTON SQUARE was given a 30 million dollar renovation in 1986 and '87. Sears was enlarged into a 195,000 square foot operation and a third anchor store (encompassing 50,000 square feet) was built onto the mall's east side.
Moreover, the existing complex was given an interior and exterior facelift...which included the installation of a Teflon tent-covered food court. The mall now housed 513,700 leasable square feet. Its renewal was successful for a time, but eventually EASTLAND MALL prevailed.
WASHINGTON SQUARE went through a succession of owners during the 1980's and '90s. In the spring of 1991, mall management shot themselves in the foot, so to say, by instituting a 10 dollar "mall walkers registration fee". After receiving national media attention -all negative- the fee was dropped in August.
This was followed by the shuttering of L.S. Ayres, on January 19, 1992. Dayton-based Elder-Beerman was recruited to lease the vacant store space; opening for business October 16, 1993.
Elder-Beerman pulled out of the mall in December 2000. Filling the vacancy proved challenging. Evansville's Eugene Hahn and Paul Kite acquired the shopping center in March 2002.
They took it upon themselves to retenant the empty anchor spot and opened a Values Unlimited discount outlet, in a portion of the store, in October 2004. The endeavor was unsuccessful and the space was vacated again in March 2007.
There was talk of the local Bethel Temple Church leasing the empty anchor in April 2009. So far, this hasn't taken place.
Since the turn of the century, tenants in the shopping venue have come and gone. A shift toward medical-oriented leasings, in 2004, filled some of the mall's vacancies. Moreover, the local Civic Theatre's Underground at the Annex live performance venue is bringing business into the shopping complex.
Sources:
"Washington Square" article on Wikipedia
http://movie-theatre.org
www.civic.evansville.net
Vandergurgh County, Indiana property tax assessor website
A 1969 physical layout of the first enterior mall in Greater Indianapolis.
At the time, the mall extended for 934,300 leasable square feet and
housed somewhere around eight-four stores and services. One of these
was a mall-connected Kroger. This was to be one of the last American
"shopping mall" supermarkets.
A vintage view of Center Court at LAFAYETTE SQUARE, peering
northwest, into the Sears Wing. Looking back on the late '60s, when
this shot was taken, it seems that nearly everything -interior decor,
outfits worn by Doris Day on her TV series or graphic design elements-
was done in shades of orange and hues of deep brown..."earth tones"
as we referred to it. This is readily apparent in this photograph.
Photo from Malls of America Blogspot
1975 and LAFAYETTE SQUARE grows into a million+ square foot
operation. Two anchor stores, Columbus-based Lazarus and Indy-
based L.S. Ayres, are added and a second cinema complex is built as a
southeastern outparcel.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE TENANTS 1985:
WILLIAM H. BLOCK COMPANY (with outparcel Auto Center) / SEARS (with outparcel Auto Center) / J.C. PENNEY / F. and R. LAZARUS / L.S. AYRES / AFNB / Athlete's Foot Shoes / Athletic Department / Bacharach Men's Wear / Baker's Shoes / Baldwin Music / Bermans Leather / Bresler's 33 Flavors Ice Cream / Brockman Hallmark / Brooks / Buster Brown Shoes / Butler Shoes / Camelot Music / Card America / Card Cage / Carousel Snack Bar / Casual Corner / Charlie's Restaurant / Chess King / Cinema Theatre I and II / Claire's Boutique / Cookie Factory / Crawford's Bakery / DaVinci Jewelers / Deck The Walls / Docktor's Pets / Edrich Men's Wear / Fannie Mae Candies / Feminine Accents / Flagg Brothers Shoes / Florsheim Shoes / Fun-N-Games / Gallenkamp Shoes / The Gap / Gemstone Jewelry / GNC / Goodman Jewelers / Goodyear Tire and Auto / Hair Event / Hanover Shoes / Harry Levinson / Hickory Farms of Ohio / His Place / Hot Sam Pretzels / Hot Shots Photo / J. Riggings Men's Wear / Jean Nicole / Joan Barri Bags / JoAnn Fabrics - Singer Sewing Center / Kay Jewelers / Kimmel Shoe Repair / Kinney Shoes / Lafayette Square Cinemas III, IV and V (outparcel) / Lerner Shops / The Limited / Limited Express / Lowrey Organ / Luca Pizza / Marroti Shoes / MCL Cafeteria / Merry Go Round / Merle Norman Cosmetics / Morrow's Nuts / Mother To Be / National Health and Nutrition / National Record Mart / National Uniform / Naturalizer Shoes / Osterman Jewelers / Orange Julius / Parklane Hosiery / Paul Harris / Piercing Pagoda / The Pine Factory / Radio Shack / Rave / Red Cross Shoes / Rost Jewelers / Silver and Gold Trading Company / Spencer Gifts / Stuart's Women's / Super X Drug / Sycamore Shop / Tammey Jewelers / Tes Optical / Things Remembered / Thom McAn Shoes / The Tinder Box / Top Hat / Vitamin World / Waldenbooks / Wendy's / York Steak House / Your Father's Moustache / Youthland / Zales Jewelers
A late '80s plan of the mall. By this time, Lazarus had moved from the
northeast corner to a spot on Center Court, formerly inhabited by
Indy's William H. Block. The original Lazarus space was retenanted by
Ward's soon after. This store lasted until 1998.
WILLIAM H. BLOCK COMPANY (with outparcel Auto Center) / SEARS (with outparcel Auto Center) / J.C. PENNEY / F. and R. LAZARUS / L.S. AYRES / AFNB / Athlete's Foot Shoes / Athletic Department / Bacharach Men's Wear / Baker's Shoes / Baldwin Music / Bermans Leather / Bresler's 33 Flavors Ice Cream / Brockman Hallmark / Brooks / Buster Brown Shoes / Butler Shoes / Camelot Music / Card America / Card Cage / Carousel Snack Bar / Casual Corner / Charlie's Restaurant / Chess King / Cinema Theatre I and II / Claire's Boutique / Cookie Factory / Crawford's Bakery / DaVinci Jewelers / Deck The Walls / Docktor's Pets / Edrich Men's Wear / Fannie Mae Candies / Feminine Accents / Flagg Brothers Shoes / Florsheim Shoes / Fun-N-Games / Gallenkamp Shoes / The Gap / Gemstone Jewelry / GNC / Goodman Jewelers / Goodyear Tire and Auto / Hair Event / Hanover Shoes / Harry Levinson / Hickory Farms of Ohio / His Place / Hot Sam Pretzels / Hot Shots Photo / J. Riggings Men's Wear / Jean Nicole / Joan Barri Bags / JoAnn Fabrics - Singer Sewing Center / Kay Jewelers / Kimmel Shoe Repair / Kinney Shoes / Lafayette Square Cinemas III, IV and V (outparcel) / Lerner Shops / The Limited / Limited Express / Lowrey Organ / Luca Pizza / Marroti Shoes / MCL Cafeteria / Merry Go Round / Merle Norman Cosmetics / Morrow's Nuts / Mother To Be / National Health and Nutrition / National Record Mart / National Uniform / Naturalizer Shoes / Osterman Jewelers / Orange Julius / Parklane Hosiery / Paul Harris / Piercing Pagoda / The Pine Factory / Radio Shack / Rave / Red Cross Shoes / Rost Jewelers / Silver and Gold Trading Company / Spencer Gifts / Stuart's Women's / Super X Drug / Sycamore Shop / Tammey Jewelers / Tes Optical / Things Remembered / Thom McAn Shoes / The Tinder Box / Top Hat / Vitamin World / Waldenbooks / Wendy's / York Steak House / Your Father's Moustache / Youthland / Zales Jewelers
A late '80s plan of the mall. By this time, Lazarus had moved from the
northeast corner to a spot on Center Court, formerly inhabited by
Indy's William H. Block. The original Lazarus space was retenanted by
Ward's soon after. This store lasted until 1998.
A much more current view of Center Court.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prangeway"
The racetrack-themed Food Court and Burlington Coat Factory; a 1999
rebranding of Montgomery Ward that rebranded the circa-1974 Lazarus.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prangeway"
The Sears mall entrance. This store, a circa-'69 charter anchor, was
shuttered in January 2009.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prangeway"
Photo from www.specialtyretail.com
One comes, one goes...recent anchor store revisions at LAFAYETTE
SQUARE. The Xscape, in the first photo, filled the Lazarus space
vacated in 2003, which housed a church for some years. The shot
directly above shows the Macy's that took over the Ayres that was
added to the mall in 1975.
Photo from www.shoplafayettemall.com
Today's LAFAYETTE SQUARE. Indy's original interior mall perseveres,
although it is no longer the destination center of days gone by. Two new
anchors came inline, in late 2008, to fill vacancies made by Penney's and
Lazarus. However, Macy's (C) and Sears (A) pulled out early in the next
year, leaving vacancies still unfilled. The old Murphy's spot (B) was a
Waccamaw Pottery between the mid-1990s and 2001. Steve and Barry's
operated a store there between 2006 and 2008. This area is presently
vacant, as well.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE
Lafayette Road and West 38th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana
The first interior mall in Indianapolis was developed by the Youngstown, Ohio-based Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. The single-level complex was centered on a 113 acre site, situated 4.8 miles northwest of downtown "Indy". The mall proper opened for business in August 1968, with some anchors and stores coming inline in 1969.
Originally encompassing 934,300 leasable square feet and approximately eighty-four stores and services, LAFAYETTE SQUARE was anchored by a 2-level (150,000 square foot), Indianapolis-based William H. Block, 2-level (230,000 square feet) Sears and 2-level (100,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Its junior anchors were a Kroger supermarket, G.C. Murphy 5 and 10 and single-screen, mallway-accessed cinema (eventually twinned). Charter tenants included Camelot Music, Spencer Gifts, Claire's Boutique, Goodyear Tire and Auto and Super X Drug.
The mall was expanded during 1974 and '75. A 2-level (134,000 square foot), Columbus-based Lazarus was built on the northeast corner. This addition featured a court area with eight inline stores, including J. Riggings, Osterman Jewelers, Charlie's Restaurant and Radio Shack.
Kroger, on the mall's southeast corner, was razed and replaced by a 2-level (160,000 square foot), Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres. Moreover, a tri-screen, outparcel cinema was constructed at the southeast corner of the mall site. This was accessed by a bridge spanning a creek and connecting with the cinema and its parking area.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE now housed 1,214,300 leasable square feet and one hundred and four stores and services.
Retail rivals were aplenty in Indianapolis. GLENDALE CENTER, 6.5 miles northeast, opened in 1958. GREENWOOD CENTER, 4.4 miles southeast, was completed in 1966. CASTLETON SQUARE, 10.2 miles northeast, began business in 1972. WASHINGTON SQUARE, 13.4 miles southeast, came along in 1974 and FASHION MALL AT KEYSTONE, 8.8 miles northeast, in 1978.
Anchor store alterations commenced in 1987, with the conversion of Block's to a new Lazarus location. The first (opened in 1974) was shuttered and retenanted by Montgomery Ward. This store lasted until 1998. Burlington Coat Factory moved in in May 1999.
By this time, LAFAYETTE SQUARE had started to decline. Its first tier tenants were gradually replaced by more and more local, mom and pop-type stores and discount outlets. The shopping venue, rather infamous for car jackings, shootings and muggings, became known as "Lafayette Scare" for a time.
Moreover, commercial competition was provided by new shopping complexes in the metropolis. These included CIRCLE CENTER, one of the few successful center city redevelopment malls in America(dedicated in 1995); PLAINFIELD COMMONS SQUARE, a lifestyle venue 10 miles southwest, in Plainfield, Indiana (completed in 1995) and CLAY TERRACE SQUARE, a power center 13.2 miles northeast, in Carmel, Indiana (opened in 2004).
The G.C. Murphy space, vacated in 1993, operated as a Myrtle Beach-based Waccamaw Pottery until shutting down in June 2001. Port Washington, New York-based Steve and Barry's University Sportswear leased the building between 2006 and 2008.
Lazarus locked its doors for good in April 2003. Its first level was utilized as the New Life Worship Center, a 2,500 seat sanctuary. The church eventually relocated. Its spot was retenanted by the first prototype Xscape location, in December 2008. As a matter of note, Xscape is an indoor amusement park, which includes tiny tot rides, a go kart track, mini bowling and a 4-D motion-ride experience.
J.C. Penney pulled out of the mall in December 2003. The building sat vacant until a New York City-based Shoppers World discount outlet opened, in November 2008.
The good news of two new anchor space leasings was dimmed by announcements of two that would soon be shuttered. L.S. Ayres, "Macy-ated" in September 2006, closed in January 2009. Sears, a 1969 charter tenant, moved out in the same month. These stores remain vacant to this day.
Indianapolis' Simon Property Group acquired LAFAYETTE SQUARE with their 1996 buyout of DeBartolo. In December 2007, they sold the mall to the New York City-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation.
Sources:
"Lafayette Square" article on Wikipedia
www.deadmalls.com / Comment post by "Cory"
www.specialtyretail.com
www.acrealty.com
Lafayette Road and West 38th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana
The first interior mall in Indianapolis was developed by the Youngstown, Ohio-based Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. The single-level complex was centered on a 113 acre site, situated 4.8 miles northwest of downtown "Indy". The mall proper opened for business in August 1968, with some anchors and stores coming inline in 1969.
Originally encompassing 934,300 leasable square feet and approximately eighty-four stores and services, LAFAYETTE SQUARE was anchored by a 2-level (150,000 square foot), Indianapolis-based William H. Block, 2-level (230,000 square feet) Sears and 2-level (100,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Its junior anchors were a Kroger supermarket, G.C. Murphy 5 and 10 and single-screen, mallway-accessed cinema (eventually twinned). Charter tenants included Camelot Music, Spencer Gifts, Claire's Boutique, Goodyear Tire and Auto and Super X Drug.
The mall was expanded during 1974 and '75. A 2-level (134,000 square foot), Columbus-based Lazarus was built on the northeast corner. This addition featured a court area with eight inline stores, including J. Riggings, Osterman Jewelers, Charlie's Restaurant and Radio Shack.
Kroger, on the mall's southeast corner, was razed and replaced by a 2-level (160,000 square foot), Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres. Moreover, a tri-screen, outparcel cinema was constructed at the southeast corner of the mall site. This was accessed by a bridge spanning a creek and connecting with the cinema and its parking area.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE now housed 1,214,300 leasable square feet and one hundred and four stores and services.
Retail rivals were aplenty in Indianapolis. GLENDALE CENTER, 6.5 miles northeast, opened in 1958. GREENWOOD CENTER, 4.4 miles southeast, was completed in 1966. CASTLETON SQUARE, 10.2 miles northeast, began business in 1972. WASHINGTON SQUARE, 13.4 miles southeast, came along in 1974 and FASHION MALL AT KEYSTONE, 8.8 miles northeast, in 1978.
Anchor store alterations commenced in 1987, with the conversion of Block's to a new Lazarus location. The first (opened in 1974) was shuttered and retenanted by Montgomery Ward. This store lasted until 1998. Burlington Coat Factory moved in in May 1999.
By this time, LAFAYETTE SQUARE had started to decline. Its first tier tenants were gradually replaced by more and more local, mom and pop-type stores and discount outlets. The shopping venue, rather infamous for car jackings, shootings and muggings, became known as "Lafayette Scare" for a time.
Moreover, commercial competition was provided by new shopping complexes in the metropolis. These included CIRCLE CENTER, one of the few successful center city redevelopment malls in America(dedicated in 1995); PLAINFIELD COMMONS SQUARE, a lifestyle venue 10 miles southwest, in Plainfield, Indiana (completed in 1995) and CLAY TERRACE SQUARE, a power center 13.2 miles northeast, in Carmel, Indiana (opened in 2004).
The G.C. Murphy space, vacated in 1993, operated as a Myrtle Beach-based Waccamaw Pottery until shutting down in June 2001. Port Washington, New York-based Steve and Barry's University Sportswear leased the building between 2006 and 2008.
Lazarus locked its doors for good in April 2003. Its first level was utilized as the New Life Worship Center, a 2,500 seat sanctuary. The church eventually relocated. Its spot was retenanted by the first prototype Xscape location, in December 2008. As a matter of note, Xscape is an indoor amusement park, which includes tiny tot rides, a go kart track, mini bowling and a 4-D motion-ride experience.
J.C. Penney pulled out of the mall in December 2003. The building sat vacant until a New York City-based Shoppers World discount outlet opened, in November 2008.
The good news of two new anchor space leasings was dimmed by announcements of two that would soon be shuttered. L.S. Ayres, "Macy-ated" in September 2006, closed in January 2009. Sears, a 1969 charter tenant, moved out in the same month. These stores remain vacant to this day.
Indianapolis' Simon Property Group acquired LAFAYETTE SQUARE with their 1996 buyout of DeBartolo. In December 2007, they sold the mall to the New York City-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation.
Sources:
"Lafayette Square" article on Wikipedia
www.deadmalls.com / Comment post by "Cory"
www.specialtyretail.com
www.acrealty.com
The original SOUTHTOWN footprint. The mall spanned around 567,000
leasable square feet, with three anchor stores, a 60,000 square foot
Murphy's 5 and dime and single-screen cinema.
Center Court, in the circa-'69 part of the mall.
Photo from www.deadmalls.com
This photo, taken shortly before the mall's 2004 wrecking ball reno-
vation, shows the pristine state of its late '60s, "Mid-Mod"decor. In
a way, it was fortunate that the mall fell upon hard times so early in
its history, else all of these design features would surely have been
smeared over with newer, gaudy-glitzy, 1980s and '90s touches. If
only the mall (and all of its historic architecture) could have been
left standing...
Photo from www.deadmalls.com
A more recent floor plan of SOUTHTOWN, which includes the South-
west Wing addition (indicated in gray). In retrospect, it appears that
it might have been better had this expansion never been built. Within
a few years of its dedication, the mall was in a downward spiral that it
never escaped from. A new Sears, added as a fourth anchor, could
have waited a while and simply moved into the "Monkey Wards",
vacated the year after the Southwest Wing -and new Sears- were
completed.
Photo from www.deadmalls.com
*
Two shots of the Southwest Wing, added to the mall in 1981 and '82. The
first shows the fountained court area which linked the new addition with
the original, circa-1969 structure. The photo directly above includes a
view of The Patio Food Court.
Photo from www.deadmalls.com
SOUTHTOWN MALL
Lafayette Road / US 27 and South Anthony Road
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Metropolitan Fort Wayne's first fully-enclosed shopping venue, GLENBROOK SQUARE, was completed in 1966. Indianapolis' Melvin Simon and Associates (today's Simon Property Group) developed the area's second shopping mall, which was built on an 86 acre site, 4.3 miles south of the center city and 6.7 miles south of GLENBROOK SQUARE.
SOUTHTOWN MALL was dedicated in July 1969. The single-level complex encompassed 567,000 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 1-level (100,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (114,000 square foot), Fort Wayne-based Wolf and Dessauer.
A 2-level (183,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was completed soon after the mall opened. The Wolf and Dessauer chain was acquired by Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres in 1969. They rebranded the store within a few years of the buyout.
Inline stores in the original SOUTHTOWN included Lane Bryant, Waldenbooks, Kinney Shoes, Patterson-Fletcher, Richman Brothers and an MCL Cafeteria.
A 60,000 square foot G.C. Murphy operated in the center as a junior anchor. The mall also included the single-screen Southtown Cinema. The venue was twinned in 1972 and expanded into a triplex in 1982.
The enlargement of the cinema, into the Southtown I-II-III, coincided with a major addition to the mall. A southwest Wing was constructed, which was built through a vacated G.C. Murphy. It extended to a 1-level (95,700 square foot) Sears.
New inline stores included GNC, Casual Corner, Maurice's, Card Cage, Thom McAn Shoes, Malek's Ice Cream and Service Merchandise. In addition, there was The Patio Food Court. When the construction dust settled in late 1982, SOUTHTOWN MALL encompassed 858,100 leasable square feet.
Unfortunately, the addition couldn't have been built as a worse time. International Harvester, a major employer for the region, eliminated 10,000 jobs during 1982, leaving the south side of the city, and SOUTHTOWN MALL, in dire straights. The new Southwest Wing was never fully-leased.
The mall entered a downward spiral that it never recovered from. Montgomery Ward became the first anchor store to pull out, on April 15, 1983. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl's stepped in to fill 70,000 square feet of the empty store space. Spiece, an apparel retailer, leased the remaining 30,000 square feet.
Richman Brothers, Old Mill Pottery and Spiece were shuttered in 1992. After a three year vacancy, Kohl's opened a prototype Outlet Store in the old Spiece space. This operation was short-lived.
1997 was an especially brutal year for SOUTHTOWN. L.S. Ayres, who had planned on shuttering their store in 1992, decided to continue on until the lease expired. The store closed for good July 31, 1997. J.C. Penney had shut down June 28. Service Merchandise moved on at around the same time. MCL served its last meal in August.
On March 6, 1999, Kohl's locked its doors, reopening the following day in the newly-completed APPLE GLEN CROSSING lifestyle center, located 5.5 miles northwest of SOUTHTOWN. This left the meandering, 800,000 square foot mall with only Sears and a smattering of smaller retailers.
Simon, after considering various renovation scenarios, finally disposed of the moribund mall in July 1998; the buyer being the rather infamous absentee mall-lord, North Carolina's Heywood Whichard. Within two years, he was $222,000 in arears for property taxes.
The shopping complex was put on the auction block in March 1999; no one made a bid on the property. Its sale was confounded by revelations of asbestos in the older structures and eight underground storage tanks not in compliance with more recent federal standards.
It appeared that progress toward redevelopment was being made in June 2000, when two local land developers made an offer to buy the mall for its delinquent taxes. However, this effort was stymied by years of litigation between the de facto proprietor of the property and the City of Fort Wayne.
Meanwhile, Sears was shuttered January 26, 2002. The mall, itself, was shut down February 1, 2003. The city government condemned the property and took possession. The wrecking ball was brought in in August 2004, leaving only the old Penney's Auto Center standing.
The site was redeveloped with a 1-level (225,000 square foot) Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based Menard's Home Improvement Center and 1-level (217,000 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Menard's held it's grand opening March 20, 2006, with Wal-Mart coming inline September 20.
A strip center structure, the SHOPPES AT SOUTHTOWN, was also built, which included T-Mobile, Great Clips and Star Financial Bank.
Sources:
www.deadmalls.com / Posts by Robert Gaul, Michael Woehnker and Ross
www.movie-theatre.org
www.cityoffortwayne.org
Lafayette Road / US 27 and South Anthony Road
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Metropolitan Fort Wayne's first fully-enclosed shopping venue, GLENBROOK SQUARE, was completed in 1966. Indianapolis' Melvin Simon and Associates (today's Simon Property Group) developed the area's second shopping mall, which was built on an 86 acre site, 4.3 miles south of the center city and 6.7 miles south of GLENBROOK SQUARE.
SOUTHTOWN MALL was dedicated in July 1969. The single-level complex encompassed 567,000 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 1-level (100,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (114,000 square foot), Fort Wayne-based Wolf and Dessauer.
A 2-level (183,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was completed soon after the mall opened. The Wolf and Dessauer chain was acquired by Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres in 1969. They rebranded the store within a few years of the buyout.
Inline stores in the original SOUTHTOWN included Lane Bryant, Waldenbooks, Kinney Shoes, Patterson-Fletcher, Richman Brothers and an MCL Cafeteria.
A 60,000 square foot G.C. Murphy operated in the center as a junior anchor. The mall also included the single-screen Southtown Cinema. The venue was twinned in 1972 and expanded into a triplex in 1982.
The enlargement of the cinema, into the Southtown I-II-III, coincided with a major addition to the mall. A southwest Wing was constructed, which was built through a vacated G.C. Murphy. It extended to a 1-level (95,700 square foot) Sears.
New inline stores included GNC, Casual Corner, Maurice's, Card Cage, Thom McAn Shoes, Malek's Ice Cream and Service Merchandise. In addition, there was The Patio Food Court. When the construction dust settled in late 1982, SOUTHTOWN MALL encompassed 858,100 leasable square feet.
Unfortunately, the addition couldn't have been built as a worse time. International Harvester, a major employer for the region, eliminated 10,000 jobs during 1982, leaving the south side of the city, and SOUTHTOWN MALL, in dire straights. The new Southwest Wing was never fully-leased.
The mall entered a downward spiral that it never recovered from. Montgomery Ward became the first anchor store to pull out, on April 15, 1983. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl's stepped in to fill 70,000 square feet of the empty store space. Spiece, an apparel retailer, leased the remaining 30,000 square feet.
Richman Brothers, Old Mill Pottery and Spiece were shuttered in 1992. After a three year vacancy, Kohl's opened a prototype Outlet Store in the old Spiece space. This operation was short-lived.
1997 was an especially brutal year for SOUTHTOWN. L.S. Ayres, who had planned on shuttering their store in 1992, decided to continue on until the lease expired. The store closed for good July 31, 1997. J.C. Penney had shut down June 28. Service Merchandise moved on at around the same time. MCL served its last meal in August.
On March 6, 1999, Kohl's locked its doors, reopening the following day in the newly-completed APPLE GLEN CROSSING lifestyle center, located 5.5 miles northwest of SOUTHTOWN. This left the meandering, 800,000 square foot mall with only Sears and a smattering of smaller retailers.
Simon, after considering various renovation scenarios, finally disposed of the moribund mall in July 1998; the buyer being the rather infamous absentee mall-lord, North Carolina's Heywood Whichard. Within two years, he was $222,000 in arears for property taxes.
The shopping complex was put on the auction block in March 1999; no one made a bid on the property. Its sale was confounded by revelations of asbestos in the older structures and eight underground storage tanks not in compliance with more recent federal standards.
It appeared that progress toward redevelopment was being made in June 2000, when two local land developers made an offer to buy the mall for its delinquent taxes. However, this effort was stymied by years of litigation between the de facto proprietor of the property and the City of Fort Wayne.
Meanwhile, Sears was shuttered January 26, 2002. The mall, itself, was shut down February 1, 2003. The city government condemned the property and took possession. The wrecking ball was brought in in August 2004, leaving only the old Penney's Auto Center standing.
The site was redeveloped with a 1-level (225,000 square foot) Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based Menard's Home Improvement Center and 1-level (217,000 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Menard's held it's grand opening March 20, 2006, with Wal-Mart coming inline September 20.
A strip center structure, the SHOPPES AT SOUTHTOWN, was also built, which included T-Mobile, Great Clips and Star Financial Bank.
Sources:
www.deadmalls.com / Posts by Robert Gaul, Michael Woehnker and Ross
www.movie-theatre.org
www.cityoffortwayne.org
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