With its primary stores having pulled up stakes, SUNSET CENTER continued on in a state of retail twilight. Tenants came and went until the mall was repurposed, as an arts facility, in the early 2000s.
Photo from http://www.thebowerbirdlbk.com
An interior view of the SUNSET ART GALLERY OF AMARILLO, which housed over fifty galleries, studios and instructional facilities. The early 2000s reinvention of SUNSET CENTER was a novel reuse of an obsolete shopping mall.
Photo from http://www.thebowerbirdlbk.com
By the late 2010s, Amarillo's art mall was over 50 years old and in a deteriorating condition. The complex closed in August 2019. It was partially demolished and rebuilt. A new ARTS IN THE SUNSET facility was dedicated in the spring of 2023.
Graphic from https://www.artsinthesunset.org
As part of the art mall's reconstruction, its north section was demolished in 2021. The remaining south section was renovated, with a new open-air component replacing the razed section. 6.5 million dollars were spent on the refurbishment.
Drawing from the Plaza Design Studio
