MOUNDS MALL

South Scatterfield and Mounds Roads

Anderson, Indiana

Indiana's Melvin Simon & Associates developed their first mall-type shopping center in Fort Collins, Colorado. Originally known as UNIVERSITY PLAZA, the partially-enclosed complex was officially dedicated in November 1964. Simon chose Bloomington, a satellite city of Indianapolis, as the site for their second covered shopping center. COLLEGE MALL was dedicated in March 1965. 

Simon's third shopping mall was developed in Anderson, another Indianapolis satellite. Ground was broken on December 30, 1963 for the "Mall Shopping Center." This was being developed on a 32-acre tract, formerly a landfill, that was located 2.5 miles southeast of downtown Anderson. The land beneath the mall-to-be was owned by the Cook Family (of Anderson) and was leased to Melvin Simon & Associates.

By May 1964, the name of the prospective shopping hub had been changed to MOUNDS MALL. The single-level complex would be anchored by a 2-level (87,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (53,000 square foot), Indianapolis-based H.P. Wasson. These stores held grand openings on November 12, 1964. Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Frank Allis (Mayor of Anderson), Louis C. Wolf (President of the H.P. Wasson Company) and Richard D. McCloskey (Manager of Montgomery Ward Mounds Mall).

A (15,600 square foot) Kroger supermarket was dedicated in March 1965, with an (18,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 making its debut in April. A mall-wide grand opening, with twenty-three participating stores, was held on May 1, 1965.

Charter MOUNDS MALL tenants included Hoyt Wright & Company, Paul Harris ladies' wear, Roselyn's Bakery, Zale's Jewelers, SupeRx Drugs, and an MCL Cafeteria. The primary feature of the original mall was a large, Center Court Sunken Garden. An elevated stage provided a venue for fashion shows, concerts and other public events.

A 2-level (134,000 square foot) J.C. Penney opened on January 2, 1969. The Cinecom Theatres Mounds Cinema showed a first feature on December 25, 1970. The venue was a southwestern outparcel of the mall. It was eventually expanded into a two-screen -and then four-screen- facility. The mall's second movie house was built south of the mall proper. The General Cinema Corporation Mounds Mall Cinema I & II debuted on August 16, 1974. 

MOUNDS MALL had no major rival, as it was the only mall-type center in -or around- Anderson. Moreover, the malls nearest to it, MUNCIE MALL (1970) {in Muncie} and Indianapolis' CASTLETON SQUARE (1972), were also Simon-owned.

Anchor store rebrandings at MOUNDS MALL were many. Montgomery Ward closed and was replaced by Sears in 1983. H.P. Wasson went dark in January 1981 and re-opened, as a Terra Haute-based Meis, in August of the same year. The store became a Dayton-based Elder-Beerman on August 13, 1989.

The mall was given a major overhaul in 1986, when the Sunken Garden was torn out and replaced by a Food Court. In the mid-1990s, Sears expanded their store space. A small addition was built onto the southwest corner, with the interior being renovated. When the remodeled Sears was rededicated in October 1995, it encompassed around 109,100 square feet.

J.C. Penney was shuttered on April 28, 2001, with its building being demolished. The Kerasotes Mounds 10 Theatre opened on its space on April 16, 2004. By this time, the mall's Kroger had morphed into an Elder-Beerman Home Store.

MOUNDS MALL was acquired by the Coral Gables, Florida-based Bayview Financial Corporation in January 2003. They initiated a renovation of the 407,400 square foot facility soon after. This included new skylights, signage and an updated Food Court. As part of the renovation, the official name of the complex was changed to MOUNDS MALL OF ANDERSON. The mall structure was sold again in September 2009, with the buyers being a joint venture of the Cook Family and Natalie Campbell.

Anchor store rebrandings continued into the 21st century. The mall's two Elder-Beerman locations were rebannered as Carson's, another operative of York, Pennsylvania-based The Bon Ton Stores, on August 14, 2011.

Sears pulled up stakes on April 29, 2012. The two Carson's stores closed for good on April 1, 2018. Being as how the complex was going to be left with no operational department stores, it was decided to also shutter the shopping hub at this time. Two tenants remained in business; the Mounds 10 Theatre and an optometrist's office. The Mounds 10 shut down in 2019.

Sources:

The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, Indiana)

www.cinematreasures.org

https://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest

https://tedshideler.com / "Three shuttered cinemas a stone's throw apart" / Ted Shideler / February 2023

http://www.moundsmallanderson.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

http://moundsmall.com

"Mounds Mall" article on Wikipedia