MAJOR MIAMI MALLS & SHOPPING CENTERS

1. BISCAYNE SHOPPING PLAZA -1955 / open-air strip complex / Miami

2. 163RD STREET CENTER -1956 / open-air / MALL AT 163rd STREET - 1982 / enclosed / MALL AT 163RD STREET / enclosed & open-air -2005 / Dade County

3. WESTCHESTER SHOPPING PLAZA -1959 / open-air strip complex / WESTCHESTER MALL -1970 / open-air strip complex / CORAL WAY PLAZA -2006 / Dade County

4. NORTHSIDE CENTER -1960 / open-air / Dade County 


5CUTLER RIDGE REGIONAL CENTER -1960 / open-air / CUTLER RIDGE MALL -1978 / enclosed / SOUTHLAND MALL -2003 / Dade County (Cutler Bay)

6. PALM SPRINGS MILE CENTER -1961 / open-air strip complex / Hialeah

7. DADELAND CENTER -1962 / open-air / DADELAND MALL -1973 ? / enclosed / Dade County

8. SHOPPES AT SUNSET PLACE -1965 / open-air / South Miami

9. BAL HARBOUR SHOPS -1966 / open-air / Dade County

10. SKYLAKE MALL -1969 / enclosed community-class complex / Dade County

11. MIDWAY MALL -1970 / enclosed / MALL OF THE AMERICAS -1987 / Dade County

12. 79TH STREET STAR MALL -1970 / enclosed & open-air community-class complex / Dade County

13. WESTLAND MALL -1971 / enclosed / Hialeah

14. OMNI INTERNATIONAL -1977 / enclosed / Miami

15. KENDALE LAKES MALL -1977 / open-air / KENDALE LAKES PLAZA / Dade County

16. LOEHMAN'S FASHION ISLAND -1979 / open-air / Dade County (City of Aventura)

17. MAYFAIR SHOPS IN THE GROVE -1979 / open-air / Miami  

18. THE FALLS -1980 / open-air / Dade County

19. MIAMI INTERNATIONAL MALL -1982 / enclosed / Doral

20. AVENTURA MALL -1983 / enclosed / Dade County (City of Aventura)

21. BAYSIDE -1987 / open-air festival marketplace / Miami

22. DOLPHIN MALL -2000 / enclosed / Dade County


23. BRICKELL CITY CENTRE -2016 / semi-enclosed mixed-use project / Miami


[Structures indicated in green have full articles on the MALL HALL OF FAME site, while those in blue have a full article on the SHOPPING MALL MUSEUM site]
Miami's 163rd Street Center


The Queen of Shopping Centers! A bi-fold newspaper spread announces the official dedication of Miami's first shopping mall, which took place in November 1956. Forty-eight stores and services opened their doors.
Advert from Food Fair Properties, Incorporated

Promoted as "The South's largest shopping center," the original 163rd STREET complex encompassed approximately 525,000 leasable feet. With the opening of its Richards anchor store, at the west end of the mall, the tenant roster grew to forty-nine stores. There was free parking for 4,000 autos.

163rd STREET CENTER TENANTS 1957:

BURDINE'S (with Hibiscus Tea Room restaurant) / RICHARDS / FOOD FAIR supermarket / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / J.C. PENNEY / WALGREEN DRUG (with luncheonette) / Arcade Barber Shop / Arnold's Kiddyland / Bank of Dade County (with drive-thru window) / Abe Barnett Luggage & Jewelry / A.S. Beck Shoes / Blessed Event Maternity Shop / Chandler's Shoes / Chase Federal Savings & Loan Association / Cole's Candy Shop / DeLoy of Hollywood / Dr. Arthur Eichner, Optometrist / Especially for You Gift Shop / Ferris Groves Fruit Shipping / Flair Fashions In Hair / Ben Graber's Dress Shop / Grable's Bakery / Graymor Studios & Photo Center / Harmony Music Shop / The Home Mart / The Hub / Johnson's Travel Agency / Junior Town / M & M Cafeteria / Mangel's Department Store / Merchants Green Trading Stamps Redemption Center / New Fairfield Dress Shop / Niagara Massage Equipment / Parsons Bridal Shop / Patrician Florist / Pestuggia Shoe Repair & Dry Cleaning / Pincus Record Shop / Post's Beauty Shop / Rabin's Delicatessen / Samson's / Sarron / Schiff Shoes / Slack Bar, Incorporated / Stardust Jewelers / Stauffer System Slenderizing Salon / Swim 'n Sport Shop / Termplan Financing / Three Sisters ladies' wear / Walls Beautiful / Woodrow Store for Men / Young Fashions       

A full-color aerial of 163rd STREET CENTER. The complex included Arcade Shops, an enclosed mall-within-a-mall, that occupied the southeast corner. Among its twenty-six stores and services were Rabin's Delicatessen, Swim 'N Sport Shop, Stauffer System Slenderizing Salon and Pincus Record Shop.
Photo from Hannau Color Productions


Another color snapshot; this of the Central Mall that bisected the shopping center. The 3-level Burdine's Sunshine Fashions store appears on the left. On the right, in the background, is Walgreen Drug.
Photo from Hannau Color Productions

Burdine's Sunshine Fashions at 163rd STREET CENTER originally housed 130,700 square feet. It was the fifth branch in the Miami-based chain.


We now begin a photo tour of the shiny-new Burdine's store at 163rd STREET CENTER. All photos were taken in March 1957.
Photo from Library of Congress


In our first interior view, we see the store's China & Glass department.
Photo from Library of Congress


Another view of the China & Glass department.
Photo from Library of Congress


A broad view of a sales floor. The Housewares & Domestics department is seen on the left.
Photo from Library of Congress


Here we see one of the store's "going up" escalators.
Photo from Library of Congress


In this snapshot is a detail view of a a classic Mid-Century Modern fixture. Today, it would be known as a Googie-style Dingbat.
Photo from Library of Congress


Our photo tour continues with a view of a second mode of inter-store transit, an elevator. It is seen on the left. We can presume that the doorway on the right leads into a storeroom area.
Photo from Library of Congress

A broad view of the store's Second Level, which -when taking into account its basement- was actually the third floor of the building.
Photo from Library of Congress


Burdine's Better Dresses department. No doubt, there were plenty of Sunshine Fashions for sale here.
Photo from Library of Congress


The Foundations department.
Photo from Library of Congress


On to Women's Shoes.
Photo from Library of Congress


And Women's Sportswear.
Photo from Library of Congress

Here we see the Men's Clothing department.
Photo from Library of Congress


And a view of Men's Sportswear.
Photo from Library of Congress 


The Men's Shoes department is not far away.
Photo from Library of Congress


In this view, we have the Boy's Clothing department.
Photo from Library of Congress 


Here is Girl's Apparel 7-14, with the High School Shop on the right.
Photo from Library of Congress 


Burdine's 163rd STREET CENTER Sporting Goods department.
Photo from Library of Congress 


The all-analogue Burdine's Record Department. At the time this snapshot was taken (March 1957), chart-topping singles were probably available in both 45 and 78 rpm. These included "Young Love" -Tab Hunter, "Too Much" -Elvis Presley, "Banana Boat" (Day-O)" -Harry Bellafonte and "Love Is Strange" -Mickey & Sylvia.
Photo from Library of Congress

The Burdine's 163rd STREET CENTER Furniture department. This was back in the days when a regional department store was all things to all people. Stores carried a much larger variety of items than is found in the typical department store of today.
Photo from Library of Congress


The Burdine's Model Kitchen for 1957! All of the new, ultra-modern conveniences are on display, such as a wall-mount oven and counter-top range unit. There's even a below-the-counter dishwasher.
Photo from Library of Congress


It's now time for some rest and relaxation, and perhaps a bite to eat. The entrance to the store's trendy Hibiscus Tea Room is on the right.
Photo from Library of Congress


A view inside the restaurant, which is located on the top level of the store. Its windows provide a vista view of the west end of the shopping complex.
Photo from Library of Congress


Another view of the Hibiscus Tea Room.
Photo from Library of Congress


Our tour ends at the back of Burdine's, which faces Northeast 167th Street. The entrance seen here accesses the store's basement, while those along the front facade lead into the second (or ground) floor. Apparently, the store was expanded on two occasions. A 2-level addition (basement and ground levels) was in place by 1965. A third level was then built, along with a multilevel parking garage. These were complete by 1969.
Photo from Library of Congress

Miami-based Richards anchored the west end of the original 163rd STREET CENTER. The store, which was originally 2 levels, opened for business 5 months after the mall's official November 1956 dedication.
Drawing from City Stores Company


A Food Fair supermarket anchored the east end of the mall. It was rebranded as a Pantry Pride in the late 1960s. A second Pantry Pride location was built at the rear of the shopping complex, with the store depicted above being town down to accommodate a Jordan Marsh department store.
Drawing from Food Fair Properties, Incorporated


Speaking of which, we have a message from Jordan Marsh Florida. This advert, which appeared in November 1956, wished the new 163rd STREET CENTER well. "Jordan's" did not have a store in the mall at the time (but would open one 14 years later).
Advert from the Allied Stores Corporation

The Wometco 163rd Street Theatre opened in September 1960The single-screen venue was built on a pad northwest of the mall, as part of a small strip center. It was accompanied by the Patio Theatre, which showed its first feature in October 1970.
Drawing from http://search.pbase.com / Don Boyd


Jordan Marsh Florida completed their new 163rd STREET store in February 1971. It included an adjacent parking garage.
Photo from Allied Stores Corporation Annual Report 1971


The 163rd STREET store encompassed 4 levels and 244,000 square feet.
Photo from Allied Stores Corporation Annual Report 1971


The mall grew substantially in the 1960s and '70s. Burdines was expanded thrice; Richard's was enlarged twice. Penney's and Woolworth's doubled their sizes and Jordan Marsh added a third major anchor. Moreover, three parking garages were built and a small enclosed concourse accessed a relocated Food Fair (Pantry Pride). When construction dust settled, the mall covered 1,100,000 leasable square feet, housed seventy-five tenants, and provided parking for 4,700 autos.

Another major renovation of 163rd STREET CENTER was completed in November 1982. The shopping hub was enclosed with a teflon-coated fiberglass roof. It was America's very first "Teflon tent" mall. During the early '80s remodeling, the official name of the shopping facility was changed to MALL AT 163rd STREET (a.k.a. "Miracle At 163rd Street").


During the early '80s redo, previously open areas were filled in with new retail space (light gray). Richards, shuttered in 1980, was reconfigured as two levels of inline stores, with a Food Court installed on the third. This renovation was completed just before the mall faced a major competitor. The shiny new AVENTURA MALL made its debut in April 1983 and eventually threw THE MALL AT 163rd STREET into a downward spiral. 

The next major reworking of the MALL AT 163rd STREET was done between 2004 and 2005. The eastern third of the complex was razed, with the remaining mall being refurbished. Home Depot and Wal-Mart stores now shadow-anchored a hybrid enclosed and open-air power plaza of 707,000 leasable square feet.

A view of the fiberglass-covered concourse at MALL AT 163rd STREET. This type of enclosure was cutting edge back in the 1980s. Now, very few of the malls that had them are still standing. WASHINGTON SQUARE {Indiana} and KA'AHUMANU CENTER {Hawaii} are among the chosen few. 
Photo from http://properties.brixmor.com / Brixmor Property Group


Ross Dress For Less was one of the big-box stores that opened as part of the 2004-2005 renovation. The store occupies space on the ground floor (or second level) of the old Burdines.
Photo from http://properties.brixmor.com / Brixmor Property Group

Mass-based Marshalls set up shop in MALL AT 163rd STREET in August 1990. The store went into the third level of the old Richards, which had housed the mall's first food court. The escalator seen here whisks shoppers between the first and third levels (completely bypassing the second).
Photo from http://properties.brixmor.com / Brixmor Property Group


A close-up view of the long-haul escalator and Marshall's store entrance. Marshalls is also covered by a fiberglass roof.
Photo from http://properties.brixmor.com / Brixmor Property Group


The center's East Entrance was built to enclose the truncated mallway after one third of it had been removed, as part of the 2004-2005 remodeling. 
Photo from http://properties.brixmor.com / Brixmor Property Group
163rd STREET CENTER
Northeast 163rd Street and Northeast 15th Avenue
Dade County, Florida

Greater Miami's first shopping mall was built by New York City-based Food Fair Properties. The company, a retail development subsidiary of Philadelphia's Food Fair supermarket chain, was formed in 1955. Their first endeavor was 163rd STREET CENTER.

The complex was developed on a 55-acre parcel, located 9 miles north of center city Miami. The site, within unincorporated Dade County, was adjacent to the suburb of North Miami Beach. Originally encompassing 525,000 leasable square feet, 163rd STREET CENTER was designed by Fort Lauderdale's Gamble, Pownall & Gilroy firm and Raymond Loewy & Associates, of New York City.

At its grand opening, held on November 1, 1956, the complex housed forty-eight stores and services. Festivities included a pageant saluting Latin American nations and the "Dominion of Canada," with 5,000 invited guests. Dr. Kurt Peisner (President of 163rd Street Center) presided over the dedication ceremony. Entertainment was provided by Caesar LaMonaca and His Bayfront Park Orchestra. Two local Boy Scouts opened a large replica of the Liberty Bell, from which Mrs. Nadeen Kirkland, theme girl of 163rd Street Center, emerged.

The primary anchor of the 15 million dollar shopping complex was a 3-level (130,700 square foot), Miami-based Burdine's ["bur-diynz"]. The chain's fifth branch, the 163rd STREET store followed locations in Downtown Miami (1898), Miami Beach (1928), West Palm Beach (1941) and Fort Lauderdale (1947).

Charter 163rd STREET CENTER tenants included Walgreen Drug, M & M Cafeteria, a (32,200 square foot) Food Fair supermarket, 2-level (35,400 square foot) F. W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and 2-level (54,100 square foot) J.C. Penney. A 2-level (120,000 square foot), Miami-based Richards department store was dedicated on April 12, 1957.

The shopping facility was situated on a main retail level, with the larger stores having basements. Its exterior design incorporated what came to be known as "MiMo" ("my-mow"), or Miami 1950s Modern architecture. A large open Mall Plaza in front of Burdine's served as the main entrance to the shopping venue. By the late 1950s, this area had become a mini-amusement park, with six kiddie rides. Included were a merry-go-round and sky-copter that lifted riders high in the air as they pulled back on a lever.

A mini-train track (with tunnel) surrounded the kiddie ride area. Urban legends circulated around Dade County, telling of shoppers who had been hit by the choo-choo at 163rd STREET CENTER. These stories were never substantiated. By the early 1960s, the mall also had a go-kart track in its northeast parking lot. This attraction was destroyed by Hurricane Cleo in August of 1964 and was never rebuilt.

The Wometco (Wolfson Meyers Theatres Company) 163rd Street Theatre showed its first feature on September 23, 1960. The single-screen venue was built as part of a freestanding strip complex. This housed Duke's Restaurant, an S & H Green Stamps Redemption Center and Harmony Music Shop (which had relocated from within the mall proper). The 163rd Street Patio Theatre, also a single-screen house, was added to the back of the original cinema and opened on October 29, 1970. The 163rd Street Theatre was twinned in the early 1980s, with the three auditoriums promoted, henceforth, as the Wometco Theatres.

Major shopping centers in the 163rd STREET CENTER trade area included NORTHSIDE CENTER (1960) {6.9 miles southwest, in Dade County} and SKYLAKE MALL (1969) {2.4 miles northwest, also in Dade County}.

163rd STREET CENTER was expanded in the 1960s. A third floor was added to Richards in 1965, with the store encompassing 180,000 square feet. A 2-level addition was also built on the north side of Burdine's, with a third floor extended over the store. It now encompassed over 200,000 square feet. A parking garage was included in the late '60s Burdine's expansion.

The northeast corner of the mall was reconfigured in the early 1970s. Food Fair relocated to a new (31,200 square foot) store. A 4-level (244,000 square foot), Miami-based Jordan Marsh Florida was constructed on a portion of the old supermarket site. This store, which included a parking garage on its east side, held its grand opening on February 15, 1971. By this time, the existing Woolworth 5 & 10 had been enlarged into a 60,400 square foot store. Richards was expanded with a south side addition and west side parking garage. This store now housed approximately 222,200 square feet.

Food Fair Properties, who had built 163rd STREET CENTER, created a subsidiary known as Amterre Development, Incorporated. They sold the mall to Canada's Nu-West Development, Limited in October 1978. Nu-West re-sold the complex in April 1981; its new owner being New York City's Equitable Property & Development Company. A large-scale mall renovation had been announced in February 1980.

The 40 million dollar renovation got underway in September 1981. Richards, which had closed in January 1980, was sectioned into a 3-level mall-within-a-mall. The 12-bay Grandstands Food Court was installed on its top floor. Original eateries included Upstairs Chinatown, The Yogurt Garden, Potatoes Etc., All American Hero, Orange Julius, Benihana's Teri Yaki U.S.A. and Chick Gourmet. 

A Teflon-coated fiberglass enclosure, measuring 60 feet by 1,000 feet, was fitted over the main shopping concourse. Locals would refer to it as The Dome. As part of the mall refurbishment, open areas were filled with new retail spaces. Now encompassing approximately 1.2 million leasable square feet and 145 stores, the revitalized retail hub was dedicated on November 9, 1982. Its name had been changed to MALL AT 163rd STREET. 

Within months, the complex would encounter a formidable rival. AVENTURA MALL {3 miles northeast, in Dade County} opened in April 1983. It wasn't long before effects were being felt at MALL AT 163rd STREET. AVENTURA snatched the 26-year-old J.C. Penney. 

Pantry Pride was shuttered in September 1983, with its space re-opening as a Service Merchandise. The main level of the old Penney's space was divided among six inline tenants. The basement floor became a Texas-based Oshman's Sporting Goods. In January 1990, The Grandstands Food Court was shuttered. Massachusetts-based Marshalls opened a (40,000 square foot) store in the vacated area in November 1990. A smaller culinary complex was dedicated, on the second level of the old Richards, in June 1991.

Jordan Marsh closed for good September 30, 1991. Mervyn's, occupying the first 2 levels of that store, held its grand opening on June 7, 1992. Mervyn's closed in 1995. Woolworth, a charter tenant, went dark in July 1997. Burdines shut down on July 31, 1999, with a new store officially opening the following day at AVENTURA MALL.

Meanwhile, the cinema and Theatre Mall Stores complex at MALL AT 163rd STREET had been demolished. A 1-level (117,700 square foot) Home Depot opened, as a freestanding structure, on January 5, 1995. Inside the mall, new Radio Shack, Plumb Gold, Snack Shack and Foot Action Superstore locations began business in March 1995.

A joint venture of the Toronto Dominion Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank had owned MALL AT 163rd STREET for a number of years. In March 1999, they sold the property to a partnership of New York City's New Excel Realty Trust and Phoenix, Arizona's Wilton Partners.

MALL AT 163rd STREET had been in varying stages of decline since the late 1980s. A second reworking of the center got underway in mid-2004. One-third of the mall, and the north and east parking garages, were razed. A 26 million dollar refit was done to the remaining mall, which included replacement of elevators, a new escalator, an exterior face lift and the construction of two mall entrances.

The northern section of the vacant Burdines building was torn down, returning the structure to its original 1956 footprint. A 1-level (30,500 square foot) Ross Dress For Less went into the second (or ground) floor in August 2005. Steve & Barry's University Sportswear would briefly inhabit the third.

New tenants in other sections of the mall included an (11,900 square foot) Anna's Linens and (19,200 square foot) Office Depot. These welcomed first shoppers in August 2005. A 1-level (216,000 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter, built in the northeast parking lot, opened on September 14 of the same year.

MALL AT 163rd STREET was now a hybrid enclosed mall-power center with approximately 706,900 leasable square feet and seventy-one store spaces. The complex was acquired by Australia's Centro Property Group in April 2007. In June 2011, the United States holdings of Centro were sold to New York City-based Blackstone Real Estate Partners. They formed a new management entity, known as the Brixmor Property Group, in September.

Sources:

The Miami News
The Miami Daily News
The Miami Herald
The Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Food Fair Stores, Incorporated Annual Reports 1956 and 1969
City Stores Company Annual Report 1956
Impressions of Ed Morgan, Miami-Dade resident, 1957-2006
http://nreionline.com / National Real Estate Investor
www.bizjournals.com
www.cinematreasures.org
New Wal-Mart Now Completed - Mall At 163rd Street Getting Extreme Makeover" Article / March 22, 2006 / http://www.citynmb.com
T & G Contractors

BLACK & WHITE PHOTOS:

From the Gottscho-Schleisner Collection / Repository: United States Library Of Congress Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, D.C. / Taken by Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., January 1957 / Photographs are in the public domain: no known restrictions on publication / www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html
Miami's Cutler Ridge Regional Center


The logo of Greater Miami's first major south side shopping hub, circa-1960.
Graphic from Cutler Ridge Regional Shopping Center, Incorporated

A full-page newspaper spread heralding the arrival of the 13 million dollar retail facility. A circus-type atmosphere prevailed at its gala grand opening.
Advert from Cutler Ridge Regional Shopping Center, Incorporated


The original strip plaza was anchored by Miami-based Richards. The 60,000 square foot store opened its doors in October 1960. It was the chain's third branch.
Drawing from the City Stores Company 

The Cutler Ridge Cinema was the first theatrical venue to operate in the complex. Promoted as "The Showplace of South Dade," the theater made its debut in April 1963.
Advert from www.cinematreasures.org / Al Alvarado


A circa-'63 site plan includes the new Cutler Ridge Cinema. The movie house, with entrance "thru the mall," was built in the rear parking area and was accessed via a landscaped arcade. Another rear parking area addition is a new Richards Auto Center. In its original state, in 1960, the strip shopping complex covered approximately 230,000 leasable square feet. With said Cinema, it now encompassed approximately 246,100.

CUTLER RIDGE REGIONAL CENTER TENANTS 1963:

RICHARDS (with freestanding Auto Center) / FOOD FAIR supermarket / W.T. GRANT / NEISNER'S 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / LIGGETT REXALL DRUG (with luncheonette) / Anne's Flowers / Blue Box Gifts  / Butler's Shoes / Cities Service Gas Station (outparcel) / Cutler Ridge Bowling Lanes (outparcel) / Cutler Ridge Camera Shop / Cutler Ridge Cinema (single screen) / Cy Clyde Men's Stylist / Dita Sportswear / Kent Cleaners / Kiddie Brooks / Mario Barber Shop / Mario Beauty Shop / Marco Shoes  / Maternity Togs / Princely Shops / Ridge Bakery & Delicatessen / Rite-Way Shoe Repair / Weinkle's Liquors / Western Auto