McCAIN MALL
McCain Boulevard and Warden Road
North Little Rock, Arkansas

Greater Little Rock's third major shopping facility was built on a 56.6-acre parcel. This was located 4.7 miles northeast of the Arkansas State House, in suburban North Little Rock. McCAIN MALL was developed by Indianapolis' Melvin Simon & Associates (the precursor of today's Simon Property Group).

The fully-enclosed complex was named in honor of Edward A. McCain, a former manager of the Park-Hill-Sylvan Water Company. This concern had been a division of the Justin Matthews Company, of Sherwood, Arkansas, who owned the land that the mall was built on. 

A 2-level (225,000 square foot), Little Rock-based Pfiefer-Blass opened, as the mall's first operational store, on September 14, 1972. A 2-level (148,300 square foot) J.C. Penney was dedicated on March 14, 1973. A mall-wide grand opening was held in April of the same year. The original mall's third and fourth anchors were a 2-level (110,000 square foot) Sears and 1-level (40,200 square foot), Little Rock-based M.M. Cohn. 

Charter inline stores included The Bamboo Tree, Musicland, Castle Shop, Brittany's Restaurant, Foxmoor Casuals, Chess King, John's Jeans, Orange Julius, Osco Drug, Baker's Shoes, Thom McAn Shoes, Moses Music, J. Riggings, Tiffany's Bakery, Franke's Cafeteria, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Mr. Dunderbak's Bavarian Pantry and a J.G. McCrory 5 & 10. 

The General Cinema Corporation McCain Mall Cinema I & II showed first features on August 1, 1973. McCAIN MALL now encompassed approximately 752,000 leasable square feet and contained over eighty stores and services. The only anchor rebranding in the history of the mall was done in 1974, when a Dillard's nameplate was installed on the Pfiefer-Blass store.

Shopping hubs in the McCAIN MALL trade area included PARK PLAZA (1960) and THE MALL / UNIVERSITY MALL (1967) {both 6.9 miles southwest, in Little Rock}. Upon its 1973 dedication, McCAIN MALL was the state's largest shopping center. This distinction was held until 1986, when an expansion was completed at Fort Smith's CENTRAL MALL.

A face lift renovation was done at McCAIN MALL in the early 1990s. The 3 million dollar project included the installation of new flooring, lighting, interior landscaping, banisters, handrails and seating areas.

Mall entrances were rebuilt, with the building's exterior given a paint job. J.C. Penney was also enlarged to 170,000 square feet. The shopping complex was re-dedicated on November 20, 1992. Festivities included a performance by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and appearance by Shannon Boy, "Miss Arkansas 1993."

M.M. Cohn shut down on September 16, 2007. The anchor space would sit vacant for over 4 years. In April 2011, the Simon Property Group announced an "Old To Bold" renovation. This was to include reconfiguring the vacant M.M. Cohn as a 12-screen multiplex.

The first stage of the 5.5 million dollar mall refurbishment was inaugurated on January 9, 2012. On the interior, new escalators and a Center Court elevator had been installed. On the exterior, two front-facing mall entrances had been remodeled. The final stage of the renovation, the dedication of the state-of-the-art Regal McCain Mall 12 & RPX, took place on September 17, 2012.

In the 2020s, McCAIN MALL spanned approximately 793,700 leasable square feet and contained ninety-three stores and services. An original anchor store went dark on February 2, 2020. Sears closed for good after operating in McCAIN MALL for over 46 years.  

Sources:

The North Little Rock History Commission

www.simon.com (Simon Property Group)
www.thebackwash.com / "Ode To McCain Mall" / Mark Hodges
Pulaski County, Arkansas property tax assessor website
http:findarticles.com / Arkansas Business, October 26, 1992
www.todaysthv.com