MALL HALL OF FAME

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Our Latest Update, Posted February 14, 2012,

Adds Three 1970s-era Centers

To Our Collection!

*CONESTOGA MALL, Grand Island, Nebraska

[Nebraska Link]

*CAPITAL MALL, Jefferson City. Missouri

[Missouri Link]

And

*CAPITAL MALL / WESTFIELD CAPITAL, Olympia, Washington

[Washington Link]

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Perhaps You Haven't Read Through The Following MALL HALL OF FAME Sections... If You Haven't Checked Them Out, We'd Like To Invite You To Do So!

[Simply Click On Their Respective Links>>]

*A BIT OF BACKGROUND

Describes various aspects of the "Baby Boom" era that may -or may not- be common knowledge.

*RETAIL TERMINOLOGY

Includes definitions for retail-related jargon such as "Mall", "Superregional Shopping Center", "Lifestyle Center", etcetera.

*EARLY MALLS (1950-1953)

America's very first mall-type shopping centers are featured in this section.

*MALLS OF THE MID-CENTURY

An almanac of the so-called "Classic Mall Era", which tells the first, foremost and largest. There is also a subsection detailing The Evolution Of The Shopping Mall and a 20th Century Shopping Mall Timeline.

In addition to all of this, four men who are credited with the creation of the shopping mall as we came to know it are documented in the following;

*EDWARD DEBARTOLO'S MALLS

Follows the illustrious Youngstown developer in his ascension to the position of the nation's most prolific mall builder.

*JAMES ROUSE'S MALLS

In this section, we highlight the career of the Maryland-based maven, who developed such properties as the HARUNDALE, CHERRY HILL and PERIMETER malls.

*JOHN GRAHAM, JUNIOR'S MALLS

This section commemorates the master architect who designed America's first shopping mall.

*VICTOR GRUEN'S MALLS

The Austrian designer who conceptualized Minnesota's revolutionary SOUTHDALE CENTER, the mall that became a blueprint for the hundreds that followed.

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Grand Island's Conestoga Mall

The Main Entrance into the Corn Husker State's CONESTOGA MALL, a circa-1974 example of Mid-America Malldom.

Photo from Malls of America Blogspot

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The original mall was decorated with a Wild West motif. Its Center Court, seen here, featured a recessed seating area, as did other sections of the shopping hub. These were removed -and filled in- during a 2005-2006 redo.

Photo from Malls of America Blogspot

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A site plan of how the initial mall must have been layed out. I was not certain that the original Miller and Paine encompassed only what is presently the northern half of the store (which is now a Dillard's). Documents from 1973 -when the mall was still under construction- seem to confirm this. In this configuration, the retail hub would have spanned somewhere in the neighborhood of 470,200 leasable square feet.

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By 1981, several expansions had been built. Sears now anchored the north end of the complex, with a new J.C. Penney on the northeast. CONESTOGA MALL now encompassed 612,900 square feet...as it does today.

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Sears, a late '70s addition to the original mall structure.

Photo from www.jherzog.com (J. Herzog and Sons, Incorporated)

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A present-day aerial view of the mall.

www.jherzog.com (J. Herzog and Sons, Incorporated)

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The only major commercial competitor of CONESTOGA MALL, GRAND ISLAND MALL, is a combo strip center with an small enclosed mallway. It is less than a mile north and was built at the same time as CONESTOGA.

Photo from www.loopnet.com

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Above we have a current site plan of the mall. Obviously, two of the anchors now have different nameplates. The J.M. McDonald space had been carved into smaller stores after that chain folded in the early 1980s. It is also plausible that inline store space had been expanded into the mall's Center Court area during an interior renovation.

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CONESTOGA MALL
Tom Osbourne Expressway / US 281 and West 13th Street
Grand Island, Nebraska

The city of Grand Island lies 126 miles southwest of Omaha and 83 miles northwest of Lincoln, on the plains of Central Nebraska. Development commenced on what would become the region's preeminent shopping mall in 1972. Originally envisaged with an x-shaped layout, the plan for the retail hub would be amended into one with a simple north-south mallway by the time construction got underway.

CONESTOGA MALL was built on a 52.8 acre corn field, located 1.2 miles northwest of the Central Business District of Grand Island. The fully-enclosed center, dedicated in 1974, was developed by WRC Properties and encompassed a single level of retail and approximately 470,200 leasable square feet. Original anchors were a 2-level (80,000 square foot), Lincoln-based Miller and Paine, 1-level (60,000 square foot), Omaha-based J.L. Brandeis and Sons / Brandeis and 1-level (58,300 square foot), Grand Island-based J.M McDonald.

Charter tenants included Sartor-Hamann Jewelers, Hastings Shop, Crabtree's Magnavox, Barrie Cheese House, World of Toys and Hobbies, Record Town and a freestanding Wells Fargo Bank. The interior of the complex was decorated in a Western motif, with copper fountain sculptures, cacti and old saddles. There were recessed seating areas in the Center Court and in other sections of the mall.

Plans for a 1.5 million dollar J.C Penney were announced in August 1979. This 1-level (56,800 square foot) store was built soon after a 1-level (72,000 square foot) Sears. Along with the two anchors, 16,800 square feet of inline store space was added to the existing mall, including the AMC Conestoga 4 Cinema.

Penney's dedicated their new CONESTOGA MALL store in August 1980. At -or around- this time, Miller and Paine built a 1-level (35,600 square foot) addition, with their store expanded to 121,000 square feet. CONESTOGA MALL now encompassed a total of 612,900 leasable square feet.

Cleveland, Ohio's Richard E. Jacobs Group acquired CONESTOGA MALL in the early 1980s. By this time, the J.M. McDonald anchor store had closed, with its area divided into inline store spaces. Anchor rebrandings commenced August 5, 1987, when all Brandeis locations in the state were rebranded by Iowa's Younkers chain. In the following year, the three Miller and Paine stores were acquired by Dillard's.

There would not be any major changes at the mall until 24,600 square feet of the old J.M. McDonald space opened, as a Framingham, Massachusetts-based Staples Office Superstore, August 8, 1998. The location at CONESTOGA MALL had an exterior entryway, with no connection into the mall corridor.

The Jacobs Group put the mall up for sale in August 1999. Denver's J. Herzog and Sons purchased the property in December 2002. Herzog performed an interior facelift in 2005 and 2006, when the circa-'70s sunken seating areas were filled in. The new owner also approached Columbus, Georgia-based Carmike Cinemas, operators of the Conestoga 4, concerning an upgrade and expansion of their motion picture venue at the mall. Carmike balked at the proposal.

Lenexa, Kansas-based Dickinson Theatres was -then- approached by Herzog with an offer to install a state-of-the-art theatrical venue at CONESTOGA MALL. The offer was accepted and work got underway on the new Dickinson Mall Stadium 7 in August 2003. Two inline stores, Coach House Gifts and Golf USA were displaced by the construction of the new theater. The first features were shown April 2, 2004. The existing Carmike Conestoga 4 would be in operation until January 12, 2006.

The most recent changes at CONESTOGA MALL involve the Staples Superstore and 7-plex cinema. Staples shut down in May 2005. Minnesota's Best Buy chain leased the space, renovated it and opened the following fall. An inline store to the east had been gutted and made into an interior mall entrance. On May 28, 2010, Overland Park, Kansas-based Showplex Cinemas rebranded the Mall Stadium 7.

Sources:

The Grand Island Independent
Malls of America Blogspot / "Conestoga Mall" article / Post by "Anonymous"
http://city2.grand-island.com
www.jherzog.com (J. Herzog and Sons, Incorporated)
Hall County, Nebraska property tax assessor website
http://www.shopconestogamall.com

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Jefferson City's Capital Mall

Mid-Missouri's CAPITAL MALL was officially dedicated in February of 1978. During its early years, Sears (off to the left of this photo) was its solitary anchor.

Photo from www.showcase.com

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A recent shot of the CAPITAL MALL Sears. It was one of the chain's locations with an attached -in opposition to a freestanding- Auto Center.

www.showcase.com

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The originial -335,400 square foot- retail center. As far as I have been able to discern, it was the sixteenth shopping mall developed by General Growth Properties...then based in Des Moines, Iowa.

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The same shopping hub, after Penney's, Dillard's and a 2-screener had been added. It now housed 534,400 leasable square feet.

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Little Rock-based Dillard's opened a CAPITAL MALL store in early 1985.

Photo from www.showcase.com

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The mall's original motion picture venue. It began as a twin cinema. Two additional auditoriums were eventually added. This theater shut down in the summer of 2009.

Photo from http://cinematreasures.org / Norman Plant

A second -freestanding- movie house opened, on the mall's northeast periphery, in 1996. It remains in business today.

Photo from http://cinematreasures.org / Norman Plant

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A 2012 physical layout of Mid-Missouri's CAPITAL MALL. The only physical expansion of the complex -since its mid-'80s Dillard's addition- consisted of an enlargement of the existing twin cinema into a 4-screen operation (indicated in gray). This motion picture venue, on the northeast corner of the mall, was shuttered by the time of this depiction.

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CAPITAL MALL
West Truman Boulevard (Ten Mile Drive) and Country Club Drive
Jefferson City, Missouri

Missouri's capital city mall was developed by Des Moines-based General Growth Properties and built on a 48.9 acre plot, situated 4.5 miles west of the Show Me State State House. The first phase CAPITAL MALL, officially dedicated in February 1978, enveloped approximately 335,400 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 1-level (87,900 square foot) Sears.

Charter tenants in the single-level, fully-enclosed center included Foxmoor Casuals, Musicland, Lane Bryant, Zales Jewelers, Waldenbooks, Athletic Attic, Endicott Johnson Shoes, Golde's, Thom McAn Shoes and the Land of Oz video arcade.

The second phase of the shopping hub was completed in late 1980. This consisted of a 1-level (75,100 square foot) J.C. Penney. There was also a connecting corridor of stores between the new Penney's and existing mall, which may have been completed some time after the Penney's opened. This new section of stores encompassed 39,400 leasable square feet.

At the same time that these additions were built, a twin cinema, the Capital 2 Theatres, was added to the north side of the mall proper. With the completion of the cinema, Penney's and new inline store section, CAPITAL MALL housed 458,700 leasable square feet.

The next expansion of "The Mall" (as it is locally known) consisted of a 1-level (70,000 square foot) Dillard's, added to the east end of the complex. This was completed in March 1985. Around the same time, a 5,700 square foot structure was added to the existing twin cinema. With its completion, the venue became the Capital 4 Theatres. CAPITAL MALL now housed approximately 534,400 leasable square feet and sixty-one stores and services.

CAPITAL MALL had -or has- no regional-class rivals in its immediate vicinity. However, it is not uncommon for Jefferson City locals to drive out of town to shop. When they do, they will go to COLUMBIA MALL (1985) {26.7 miles northwest, in Columbia, Missouri} or to OSAGE BEACH PREMIUM OUTLETS (1986) {37.5 miles southwest, in Osage Beach, Missouri}.

The basic structure of CAPITAL CITY MALL has not been physically expanded since the mid-1980s. However, a freestanding movie house, the Capital 8 Theatres, was built -as a northeastern outparcel- in 1996. This was joined by a Hy-Vee supermarket, on the mall's northwestern periphery. The in-mall Capital 4 Theatres was shuttered August 27, 2009.

Following the completion of COLUMBIA MALL, in 1985, CAPITAL MALL began to decline. Today, it has twenty-four vacant store spaces out of a total of sixty-one. Since its 1978 completion, ownership of the center has changed from General Growth Properties, to the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Prudential Insurance Company of America / CenterMark Properties and -then- back to General Growth Properties (in early 1994).

Sources:

www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)
www.neatocoolville.blogspot.com / Todd Franklin
Cole County, Missouri property tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.org / Post by Norman Plant
http://wikimapia.org

Click on the following link to view a collection of photos of a CAPITAL MALL Car Show, circa-1987 (Photos by Todd Franklin);

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2010/07/1987-capital-mall-car-show-jefferson.html

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Olympia's Capital Mall

Jet City-based The Bon Marche anchored the original -circa-1978- CAPITAL MALL.

Photo from http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/BonOlympia.html

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A 1980 depiction of Washington State's capital city shopopolis. The complex started out with three anchors; The Bon Marche, J.C. Penney and Lamonts. A Frederick and Nelson was completed a year and a half after the mall was officially dedicated.

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The original -and current- east end anchor store.

Photo from www.showcase.com

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A circa-1992 depiction of CAPITAL MALL. The only difference between this plan and that from 1980 is that Mervyn's was now in business in the old F & N space.

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Federated Stores' "Project Star" remade the mall's The Bon Marche / Bon-Macy's into a full fledged Macy's operation in March 2005.

Photo from www.showcase.com

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Today's Evergreen State retail hub, which became a Westfield property in November 1998. Since then, several changed have occurred. A Food Court was installed in gutted and rebuilt mall space in 2003, followed by a new Best Buy (in a vacated Lamonts). A freestanding cluster center, THE PROMENADE AT WESTFIELD CAPITAL, opened in 2006. The mall was physically expanded, -with a new 14-screener- in 2007. Lastly, the Mervyn's space -shuttered in 2009- re-opened, with new Forever 21 and REI stores, in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

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CAPITAL MALL
Black Lake Boulevard, Southwest and Capitol Mall Drive, Southwest
Olympia, Washington

In the early 1970s, two land parcels in the western environs of Olympia were being considered for the construction of a regional shopping mall. The first site, consisting of the pastoral Evergreen Park, was .9 of a mile southeast of the second site, which was situated between Cooper Point Road and Black Lake Boulevard. This 69.2 acre plot sat 1.3 miles northwest of the Washington State State House. It would be the site on which the capital city's mall would eventually be built.

After some initial roadway relocation, construction got underway on CAPITAL MALL in 1977. The single-level, fully-enclosed shopping hub was developed by El Segundo, California-based Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated. Its first operational store, a 1-level (81,000 square foot) Seattle-based The Bon Marche, came inline in the summer of 1978. The mall proper would be officially dedicated in the following fall.

The two other original anchors at CAPITAL MALL were a 1-level (93,400 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (34,700 square foot), Bellevue, Washington-based Lamonts. The Moyer Theaters Capital Mall Cinemas, an in-mall 4-plex, began business October 5, 1978.

CAPITAL MALL originally encompassed 480,900 leasable square feet. In March 1980, a 2-level (119,000 square foot), Seattle-based Frederick and Nelson was dedicated. It had been added to the west end of the mall, which now encompassed 599,600 leasable square feet.

Ownership of the retail hub also changed in 1980, when Toronto's Trizec Corporation acquired the real estate holdings of the Hahn company. The merged entities were known, henceforth, as the TrizecHahn Corporation.

The first anchor rebranding at CAPITAL MALL took place after the September 22, 1991 shuttering of Frederick and Nelson. Hayward, California's Mervyn's chain opened in the store space in July 1992. The next rebranding followed the year 2000 closing of Lamonts. This store was renovated by Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy, which opened there in 2003.

At this time, the interior of the shopping hub was being given a 12 million dollar upgrade, which was finished in October 2003. This project included the installation of barrel vaulted ceilings throughout the mall and an 8-bay Food Court, including eateries such as Subway, Teriyaki Japan, Thaiway Express, Villa Pizza and Panda Express.

The most recent anchor rebranding at the shopping hub involved The Bon March. As a result of Federated Stores' "Project Hyphen", all stores in The Bon Marche chain became Bon-Macy's operations on August 1, 2003. These same stores received a bona fide Macy's nameplate -due to "Project Star"- March 6, 2005.

Back in November 1998, ownership of CAPITAL MALL had changed hands. The Sydney-based Westfield Group acquired the center and saddled it with the lengthy WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN CAPITAL moniker...which was truncated to the more manageable WESTFIELD CAPITAL in June 2005.

In July of the same year, construction commenced on a 13.4 acre plot situated northeast of the existing mall. This would become the 140,000 square foot PROMENADE AT WESTFIELD CAPITAL, an open-air lifestyle-like shopping plaza dedicated August 18, 2006. Its primary tenants were a 33,500 square foot Borders Books and 50,000 square foot Bed, Bath and Beyond. Other inline stores and services included J. Jill, Ann Taylor Loft, Chico's, Coldwater Creek, Eddie Bauer, Talbots, Message Envy and the Tuscan Aveda SalonSpa.

THE PROMENADE was followed by an expansion of the mall proper, built on its north side. This was anchored by the 80,000 square foot Century Olympia 14 multiplex, with an additional 10,000 square feet of interior-accessed store spaces. The new theatrical venue showed its first features May 25, 2007. The mall's original 4-plex had closed August 25, 2005. With all renovations completed, WESTFIELD CAPITAL -sans THE PROMENADE- housed 789,500 leasable square feet and approximately ninety-nine stores and services.

Mervyn's had shuttered their WESTFIELD CAPITAL store December 31, 2006. The space was leased to temporary tenants, such as Spirit Halloween, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a mini-golf course. On August 13, 2010, a Los Angeles-based Forever 21 opened in a portion of the store. This was followed by a Kent, Washington-based REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated), utilizing the remainder of the F & N / Mervyn's structure, which opened for business May 31, 2011.

Sources:

www.westfield.com (Westfield Group)
"Westfield Capital" article on Wikipedia
The Olympian
West Olympia Access Study Background Report
Thurston County, Washington property tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org

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Little Rock's Park Plaza Center

The sole anchor of the original open-air shopping hub, Little Rock-

based Blass, was added to a previously-existing mall in 1965. The Blass

chain had been acquired by Dillard's in 1964. The store seen here oper-

ated as Pfiefer-Blass between 1967 and 1974. After this, it received a

bona fide Dillard's nameplate.

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PARK PLAZA, circa-1965, immediately after its Blass department store

had been added. The anchorless complex had opened -in 1960- as the

first mall-type shopping venue in Arkansas.

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The new and improved PARK PLAZA MALL, in 1988. The center
had just emerged from a massive renovation, which replaced every-
thing but the 198,000 square foot "Dillard's West" structure. The
old 2-level, open-air complex was now a 3-level, fully-enclosed
-and newly-upscale- retail center.

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Three pre-2006 views of PARK PLAZA. Since its grand re-opening
in July 1988, the 562,400 square foot galleria has maintained

its position as one of the preemminent shopping places in Little

Rock. A facelift renovation was completed in 2007 by the mall's

owner, Chattanooga-based CBL and Associates Properties.

Photos from www.loopnet.com

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A circa-2006 aerial of PARK PLAZA.
Photo from www.bing.com

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MIDTOWNE LITTLE ROCK opened in October 2006. The 130,000
square foot lifestyle center is located directly east of PARK PLAZA,
across University Avenue.
Photo from www.midtownelittlerock.com

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PARK PLAZA CENTER
South University Avenue and West Markham Street
Little Rock, Arkansas

The Natural State's first shopping mall was designed by Richard Savage and constructed on 22.2 acres, 2.9 miles northwest of the Arkansas State House. Consisting of two retail levels, PARK PLAZA was open-air in format. It was officially dedicated in 1960.

Shops and services included Joe's Hobby Shop, Bozo's Toys, Somers Shoes, Gold's House of Fashions, Park Plaza Photo, the Park Plaza Bowling Lanes, an S & H Green Stamps Redemption Center and Sterling's 5 and 10. A 2-level (125,600 square foot), Little Rock-based Gus Blass department store was added in 1965. The mall now housed approximately 354,600 leasable square feet.

The Blass chain had been acquired by a group of investors headed by Dillard's in February 1964. In the previous September, Dillard's had bought stores in the Little Rock-based Pfiefer Brothers operation. In 1967, the Blass and Pfiefer chains were merged into a single entity, branded as Pfiefer-Blass. In 1974, Pfiefer-Blass locations received Dillard's nameplates. The PARK PLAZA anchor was expanded (into a 198,000 square foot store) soon after.

A fully-enclosed complex, originally known as THE MALL, opened across the street from PARK PLAZA in 1967. This center was renamed UNIVERSITY MALL in 1975. SOUTHWEST CITY MALL {5.1 miles south, in Little Rock} was a 180,000 square foot community-class interior mall completed in 1969. A third regional-class shopping venue, McCAIN MALL (1973) {6.9 miles northeast, in North Little Rock}, had been dedicated in 1973.

By the mid-1980s, the open-air PARK PLAZA had been outclassed by its fully-enclosed neighbor across West Markham Street and was in foreclosure. The Houston-based Herring Marathon Group, new owner of the 27-year-old retail hub, announced a major renovation in January 1987. The mall structure of PARK PLAZA was razed in July 1987, leaving only Dillard's standing. Construction of a 3-level, galleria-style shopping venue was underway by September.

In addition to the existing Dillard's, the new 562,400 square foot mall would be anchored by a second, 2-level (86,300 square foot) Dillard's location (a Men's and Home Store). The 7-bay Market Food Court would be situated on a First Level, along with an underground parking deck, with two levels of retail stores above. Retailers in the new PARK PLAZA were to include Forbidden City, Shreveport-based Beall-Ladymon apparel and Chick-Fil-A.

The rebuilding project cost 55 million dollars. Forty stores (out of an eventual sixty-two) were dedicated with a gala grand opening held July 27, 1988. The festivities included a fashion show, presented by Dillard's, and music from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

Little Rock's sibling centers at West Markham Street and University Avenue coexisted peacably for several years. However, the glitzy PARK PLAZA soon gained a foothold, leaving UNIVERSITY MALL in decline. The aging shopping center was demolished in December 2007. It is being replaced by PARK AVENUE, an open-air power center. Its first phase, a 1-level (137,000 square foot) Target, opened for business October 10, 2010.

PARK PLAZA and UNIVERSITY MALL had been joined by a third sibling shopping center, MIDTOWNE LITTLE ROCK, in October 2006. It was built directly east of the PARK PLAZA property, on the northeast corner of the West Markham / University Avenue intersection.

Elsewhere in the metro area, new retail centers were springing up. PLEASANT RIDGE TOWN CENTER {4.2 miles northwest, in Little Rock} was dedicated in November 2006. A site 4.6 miles southwest, in Little Rock, had been plotted for the SUMMIT MALL project in 1987. The land was eventually developed as the SHACKLEFORD CROSSING lifestyle center, which opened in October 2007.

A prospective lifestyle-format complex on the southwest side of Little Rock (the site of the abandoned, circa-1986, OTTER CREEK MALL project) remains unrealized. Plans for a GATEWAY TOWNE CENTRE fell through in 2007. The third lifestyle venue in the region, PROMENADE AT CHENAL {6.5 miles west, in Little Rock}, was dedicated in 2011.

Today, PARK PLAZA is owned by Chattanooga-based CBL and Associates Properties, who acquired the shopping venue in June 2004. Its retail roster of over seventy stores includes Lane Bryant, Abercrombie, Hollister Company, Cache, Talbots and Brentano's Books.

Sources:

"Park Plaza Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Dillard's" article on Wikipedia
www.parkplazamall.com
Mark, Little Rock resident
Pulaski County, Arkansas tax assessor website
www.parkavenuelr.com
www.arkansasbusiness.com
www.schickels.com

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Little Rock's The Mall / University Mall

Little Rock's M.M. Cohn chain anchored the northeast corner of the

city -and state's- very first fully-enclosed shopping center.

Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky

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A circa-'75 physical layout of Little Rock's second shopping mall. It

had just emerged from a facelift-type reno, with its name being

changed from THE MALL to UNIVERSITY MALL. The single-level

center housed around 565,000 leasable square feet.

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The Little Rock block occupied by UNIVERSITY MALL, circa-1988.
A large-scale renovation and expansion had just been completed,

which added a second level of retail and expanded the GLA of the

mall proper to approximately 697,000 leasable square feet.

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A Bing's-eye view of UNIVERSITY MALL, obviously before its late 2007

destiny date with the wrecking ball.

Photo from www.bing.com

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The J.C. Penney at UNIVERSITY MALL was shuttered in September
2007. The store moved to the location seen here, at SHACKLEFORD
CROSSING, in Little Rock's west metro area.
Photo from http://www.loopnet.com

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A PARK AVENUE plan. The only remaining vestige of UNIVERSITY

MALL is its parking garage (surrounded in blue). Thus far, five stores
are up and running in the new shopping complex; Target, Radio Shack,
Sport Clips Haircuts, Carter's children's apparel and Cheddar's Casual
Cafe. The complex-to-be will also include two "luxury residential"
buildings.
Original drawing from http://www.parkavenuelr.com

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THE MALL / UNIVERSITY MALL
South University Avenue and West Markham Street
Little Rock, Arkansas

The second mall-type shopping hub in the capital city of Arkansas was built on a 28.3 acre tract that was situated directly across West Markham Street from the PARK PLAZA shopping center. Originally known as THE MALL, it was developed by Indianapolis' Melvin Simon and Associates (the precursor to today's Simon Property Group).

This single-level venue originally encompassed 565,000 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 2-level (136,600 square foot) Montgomery Ward, 2-level (141,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (27,800 square foot), Little Rock-based M.M. Cohn. The Penney's and Ward's stores had freestanding Auto Centers on the periphery of the mall.

Initial inline stores in THE MALL had opened in November 1967. By the spring of 1968, the full complement of fifty-five retailers was inline. Included on the tenant list were Osco Drug, Franke's Cafeteria and Forsythe's ladies' apparel. The first alteration of THE MALL took place in 1972, when a second level was added to M.M. Cohn, expanding the store to 70,000 square feet.

A third metropolitan Little Rock mall entered the picture soon after. McCAIN MALL {6.9 miles northeast, in North Little Rock} opened for business in 1973. 2 years later, THE MALL was given a facelift renovation, with its official name being changed to UNIVERSITY MALL. The remodeled retail hub was rededicated in March 1975.

In April 1987, PARK PLAZA was shuttered. It was renovated into a glitzy, fully-enclosed galleria, which was completed in July 1988. At this time, a 15 million dollar renovation and expansion was underway at UNIVERSITY MALL.

A partial Upper Level of stores was added, including a 10-bay Food Court. The central area of the mall was covered with a tent-type Teflon roof and a multi-level parking garage was constructed on the north side of the complex. Moreover, J.C. Penney was expanded into a 159,400 square foot operation.

The shopping center now encompassed approximately 697,000 leasable square feet and seventy inline stores. The formal rechristening celebration, held in October 1988, was attended by Corbin Bernsen, of NBC TV's "L.A. Law".

The newly-renovated complexes coexisted for a time, but eventually PARK PLAZA gained a foothold, with UNIVERSITY MALL losing its more upscale tenants to its neighbor across the street.

The first harbinger of doom for UNIVERSITY MALL came when its Montgomery Ward was shuttered in early 2001. With most national chain tenants gone, and its concourses populated by local stores, government offices and more than a few vacant storefronts, the Simon Property Group decided to demall the struggling center in 2006.

A plan, announced late in the year, proposed tearing down the mall, parking garage and outparcel Ward's and Penney's Auto Centers and replacing them with a mixed-use, retail / residential / office complex.

Simon, who was embroiled in a lawsuit filed by mall tenants who were dissatisfied with the company's upkeep of the shopping center, eventually decided to unload the outpositioned retail complex. It (and the acreage beneath it) was sold to the Dallas-based Strode Property Company in October 2007.

In the same month, J.C. Penney moved to a store in the newly-built SHACKLEFORD CROSSING lifestyle center {4.6 miles southwest, in Little Rock}. The last few remaining stores in UNIVERSITY MALL closed October 27, 2007. Demolition began in December 2007 and was completed in March 2008. The only structure left from the mall was its parking garage.

The Strode Company is currently building an open-air, mixed-use complex on the property. Known as PARK AVENUE, it will eventually encompass approximately 711,000 square feet. The new power plaza is anchored by a 1-level (137,000 square foot) Target, which opened for business October 10, 2010.

Target has been joined by Radio Shack, Carter's children's apparel, Mattress Firm, Sport Clips Haircuts and Cheddar's Casual Cafe. On the horizon are stores and services such as Staples, L.A. Fitness, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry and AT & T.

Sources:

"University Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.deadmalls.com / "University Mall" article / Submitted by Jerrod Long and Matthew Thompson
Pulaski County, Arkansas Tax Assesssor website
www.simon.com
www.parkavenuelr.com

2011-11-21T16:31:00.002-05:00

Baltimore's Reisterstown Road Plaza

B'more's Stewart's chain reigned over the regional retail scene between 1901 and 1983. The REISTERSTOWN store seen here was the second post-war branch.
Photo from Library of Congress

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Here we see logos of the primary stores at the original REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA. The Hecht Company nameplate would go through various updates through the 1970s and '80s. However, the script-style Stewart's store building nameplate would remain unchanged and be used on the final location, dedicated in September 1974.

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Food Fair, the original grocery store at "THE PLAZA", is represented by that company's "Honeycomb" logo, introduced in 1964. This trademark was replaced by that of Pantry Pride, in place at the mall by 1970. This gave way to Super Super Food in the early 1980s and Food King in the 1990s. Giant Foods opened a newly-built store in 2004.

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The original layout of the complex, which will soon celebrate its 50th year in business. It was a dumbbell design, open-air mall of nearly 700,000 square feet. For a time, it was the largest retail hub in Greater Baltimore.

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A January 1962 advert announcing the "stunning and dazzling" Stewart's Reisterstown, the grand dame anchor of "THE PLAZA". The store encompassed 3 floors and 229,900 square feet.
Advert from The Frederickburg News

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Now we embark on a set of twenty-seven vintage photos, these taken at the brand new Stewart's Reisterstown in early 1962. Above we see the interior of the elegant store's Reisterstown Road entry. In the next two photos are views of the Ground Level sales floor.
All photos from Library of Congress unless otherwise indicated

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The Ground Level escalators.

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In this photo we enter the realm of ladies' apparel. The next two stops; Stewart's Country Clothes Shop and Better Dresses.

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Our tour of Stewart's Reisterstown continues in sections selling ladies' apparel. Here we have the entry into the Camellia Room. In the next three shots, we see The Varsity Shop, Corsets / Foundations and Ladies' Shoes Departments.

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Piece Goods...a.k.a. Fabrics and Notions. This section of the store is on a balcony which provides a view out of the main entrance windows.

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Above, we see the posh store's Silverware Department. The Housewares, Garden and Stationery Departments follow...

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We arrive in the Stewart's Reisterstown Furniture Department.

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In a model room in the background, we have a more traditional-style dining set.

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Our second model room...this one displaying an Early American dinette.

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In this model room we see the latest in ultra-modern dining.

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And then a French Provincial boudoir.

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On to the Rugs Department...

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Now we enter the foyer area of the store's upper crust Chesapeake Room Restaurant (did we remember to make a reservation?). In the next three shots, we see more views of the restaurant.

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With our 1962 store tour now over, we descend via the third floor escalator...
Photo from Library of Congress

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After the closing of Stewart's Reisterstown, in January 1983, the building was divided and re-leased. The ground floor space hosted several retail outlets over the years...beginning with Connecticut-based Caldor (which shuttered and then re-opened in the same location). The most recent tenants are Ohio's Big Lots and Big Apple-based Shoppers World.

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The Baltimore Metro's inaugural stretch of rapid railway ran from Charles Center, in the center city, to a station stop situated southeast of the mall. The line opened for revenue service in November 1983.
Photo from Wikipedia / Adam E. Moreira

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By 1995, The PLAZA was configured as seen above. The original cinema, at the rear, had been expanded and converted into a 5-plex. Along the front of the complex was a twin cinema operation...for a total of 7 auditoriums.

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Today, "ThePLAZA" houses seventy-two tenants...including Marshalls, Big Lots and Modell's Sporting Goods.
Photo from www.showcase.com

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Burlington Coat Factory occupies most of the Hecht's store's ground level, which is the building's second story.
Photo from www.showcase.com

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A frontal view of the Hecht's structure, divided today between fourteen tenants.
Photo from www.showcase.com

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Giant Foods, an operative of Amsterdam, Holland's Ahold conglomerate, built a 63,700 square foot operation at REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA, which opened in July 2004.
Photo from http://www.inlandamerican.com

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Mass-based Marshalls joined the REISTERSTOWN retail roster in 2003.
Photo from http://www.inlandamerican.com

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A full frontal view of today's urban shopping hub.
Photo from http://www.inlandamerican.com/

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Lastly, we have a current PLAZA plan. One can see how much of the western half of the mall has been demolished and rebuilt as a power center. The old cinema, on the south side, was also bulldozed, with another big box-type store being constructed. The east end of the mall has not been physically altered...in fact, its interior mallway is still in place. Lower level stores and services in the old Hecht's building are indicated in gray.

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REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA
Reisterstown Road and Patterson Avenue
Baltimore City, Maryland

In October 1958, Philadelphia's Food Fair Properties announced plans for a prospective Baltimore shopping center, to be known as REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA. The complex was to be built on a 55 acre site, 6 miles northwest of the center city. The land parcel was entirely within the corporate limits of Baltimore.

REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA was designed by the New York City firms Abbot, Merkt and Company and Raymond Loewy and Associates and was officially dedicated March 14, 1962. It was originally an open-air structure of fifty stores and services, anchored by a 3-level (229,900 square foot), Baltimore-based Stewart and Company and 2-level (185,000 square foot) Hecht Company...a chain originating in Baltimore but based in Arlington, Virginia by this time.

The 20 million dollar -675,000 square foot- retail hub opened as the largest in the Baltimore region. Included were a Food Fair supermarket, Bond's Clothes, Read's Drug, Best and Company and F.W. Woolworth 5 and 10. The single-screen Trans-Lux Theatre was added to the rear of the mall in 1964.

Known colloquially as "THE PLAZA", the center had several regional-class competitors in its vicinity. These included MONDAWMIN CENTER / MALL (1956) {3.5 miles southeast, in Baltimore City}, WESTVIEW CENTER / MALL (1958) {4.7 miles southwest, in Baltimore County}, TOWSON ["tow" rhymes with "cow"] "PLAZA / TOWSON TOWN CENTER (1959) {6.3 miles northeast, in Baltimore County}, EUDOWOOD PLAZA / TOWSON MARKETPLACE (1962) {7 miles northeast, in Baltimore County}, SECURITY SQUARE CENTER / MALL (1963 & 1972) {3.6 miles southwest, in Baltimore County} and -eventually- HUNT VALLEY MALL / TOWNE CENTRE (1981) {10 miles northeast, in Baltimore County} and OWINGS MILLS TOWN CENTER / MALL (1986-2013) {5.3 miles northwest, in Baltimore County}.

REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA was given an enclosing renovation in 1975-1976. At this time, Baltimore's Hochschild-Kohn chain opened a boutique-type store. This was shuttered in late 1984. The mall's original anchor stores operated under their respective nameplates until the mid-1980s. Stewart's became the first to close, in January 1983. Hecht's followed, in September 1986.

The Stewart's space was divided. Its 88,000 square foot ground level became a Connecticut-based Caldor discount store. The two upper floors were sectioned into leased office spaces, which were accessed from a newly-built elevator structure added to the northern side of the building in 1986. Caldor pulled out of the mall in 1987 and was replaced by a Massachusetts-based Zayre soon after. This store was converted into a Connecticut-based Ames in 1988, which closed in April 1993.

On the opposite end of the mall, the Hecht's store had downsized into its ground level in 1983, with the 77,200 lower level being made into a Landover, Maryland-based Hechinger home improvement warehouse. After Hecht's was shuttered, in late 1986, the majority of the ground level became a 60,000 square foot Burlington Coat Factory. The Food Fair grocery had morphed into a Pantry Pride in the late 1960s and a Super Super Food in August 1981.

Rail rapid transit service came to the mall via the Baltimore Metro's 7.6 route mile Charles Center-to-Reisterstown Plaza starter line, which inaugurated revenue service on November 21, 1983.

The Towson, Maryland-based Continental Realty Company had acquired REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA in March 1980. By November 1994, the shopping center was in rather dire straights. Its proprietor was bankrupt, with the lending agent trying to seize the property. The melee was worked out in October 1995 and 12 million dollars was invested in a mall-wide renovation.

Following the 1993 departure of Ames, the ground level of the old Stewart's space was -once again- leased to Caldor. This store would close as the chain folded, in the spring of 1999. West Hempstead, New York's National Wholesale Liquidators opened there in May 2000. Hechinger, on the south end of THE PLAZA, shut down late in 1999.

Ownership of the northwest Baltimore shopping hub changed in late 2002...with Baltimore's Cordish Company taking the helm. The center was in the midst of a 3-year renovation, which had got underway in late 2001. The old Trans-Lux Theatre, which had been operating as the Reisterstown Premier Cinema 5 until being shuttered in 1995, was torn down. A 1-level (115,200 square foot) Home Depot opened November 21, 2002. A Food Court was installed in existing mall space, which also opened in November 2002.

Next, a 28,500 square foot Marshalls was installed in existing mall space. It opened in 2003. The exterior of REISTERSTOWN ROAD PLAZA was also given an upgrade. Lastly, store area to the west of Marshalls was ripped out, with a 1-level (63,700 square foot) Giant Foods built. It came inline in July 2004.

In August 2004, Cordish Companies entered into a joint ownership venture with the Oak Brook, Illinois-based Inland American Retail Trust. By this time, the vacant Hechinger space (in the old Hecht's building) had been subdivided between ten tenants.

The most recent changes at THE PLAZA involve the space occupied by National Wholesale Liquidators. Their store was shuttered in December 2008. A New York City-based Shoppers World assumed 53,000 square feet, with the remaining 35,000 opening, as a Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots, on November 11, 2011.

Sources:

The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Afro-American
"Reisterstown Road Plaza" article on Wikipedia
www.cinematreasures.com
www.foodarama.com
http://www.inlandamerican.com

FAIR USE OF STEWART'S GRAND OPENING ADVERT:

The graphic from The Fredericksburg News illustrates a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The image is of lower resolution than the original (copies made would be of inferior quality). The image is not replaceable with free-use or public-domain image. The use of the image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the image in any way. The image is being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and its use is not believed to detract from the original image in any way.

BLACK AND 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. / Samuel Herman, March 1962 / Raymond Loewy - Client / Photographs are in the public domain: no known restrictions on publication / www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html

2011-11-21T12:49:00.015-05:00

Baltimore's Golden Ring Mall

Signage which stood at the mall's two entrances. This shot was taken at the entry to and from Philadelphia Road. The '70s Mod Hecht Company store looms in the background.
Photo from the Baltimore Public Library Legacy Web

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Circa-'74 logos of the mall's main stores. The Stewart's trademark seen here, an updated "mod" version, was only used for shopping bags and newspaper ads. The traditional script logo graced the new store's exterior.

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A site plan of the original, dual-level GOLDEN RING MALL. The tri-anchor shopopolis housed over 700,000 leasable square feet, with a tenant roster of seventy stores and services.

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A view of the interior mallway, when it was thronged with shoppers. By the early 1990s, this had become a rare site to see.
Photo from the Baltimore Public Library Legacy Web

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A view of the GOLDEN RING Time Out video arcade.
Photo from http://timeouttunnel.com/ / Gary Heller

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The mall, struggling since the mid-1980s, was given a facelift redo in 1992. Here we see the remodeled Main Entrance.
Photo from CB Richard Ellis

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A circa-1995 site plan. Over its 26-year existence, GOLDEN RING MALL was never physically expanded. The only major change was the shuttering of Stewart's, in early 1983, which gave way to a Connecticut-based Caldor discount store. It would also shut down, in mid-1998.

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GOLDEN RING MALL was given a wrecking ball reno in 2002. Only the Montgomery Ward structure (surrounded in blue) was retained. The new age CENTRE AT GOLDEN RING power plaza is anchored by three big box stores, with a smattering of fast food outparcels in their periphery.
Original photo from www.bing.com

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This photo -and the one that follows- show the old Montgomery Ward building at GOLDEN RING MALL, which was sectioned into spaces for CENTRE AT GOLDEN RING stores such as Office Depot and Petco. These came inline in late 2003.
Photos from www.petrieross.com

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GOLDEN RING PLAZA, an adjacent strip center.
Photo from http://www.edensandavant.com/

2011-11-21T11:44:00.004-05:00

GOLDEN RING MALL
Pulaski Highway / US 40 and Golden Ring Road
Baltimore County (Rosedale), Maryland

Indiana's Melvin Simon and Associates and Missouri's May Centers announced plans for a northeast Baltimore shopping hub in April 1972. A dual level, fully-enclosed complex, known as GOLDEN RING MALL, was constructed on 42 acres, situated 7.1 miles northeast of Baltimore's Central Business District.

The site, in the unincorporated Baltimore County community of Rosedale, was adjacent to a 36-mile-long section of the Baltimore Beltway, which had been completed north of the Pulaski Highway / US 40 junction by 1962. The entire circumferential highway would be opened to traffic in 1977.

When completed in September 1974, GOLDEN RING MALL had joined Baltimore's other Beltway-adjacent malls; GLEN BURNIE (1964), EASTPOINT (malled in 1972), SECURITY SQUARE (malled in 1972) and WESTVIEW (which would be malled in 1985).

GOLDEN RING MALL encompassed 718,900 leasable square feet and seventy stores and services. Its anchors were a 2-level (160,000 square foot), Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's, 2-level (168,600 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 3-level (195,900 square foot), Baltimore-based Stewart's...the chain's sixth location and its final new store.

The court areas of the Brutalist-style shopping hub had bubbling fountains, tropical plantings and palm trees and featured sculptures by Rita Blitt and Bogdan Grom. Charter tenants included Orange Bowl, Musicland, Cole's Books, Buddy's, Reflections, Lerner Shops, Casual Corner, Jean Nicole, Bakers Shoes, Kinney Shoes, Thom McAn Shoes, Herman's Bakery, Jeans West and Spencer Gifts. There was also a Roy Rogers Restaurant and Italian Delight Pizzaria, Vittorio's Pizzaria, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Time Out Video Arcade, Horn and Horn Cafeteria and F.W. Woolworth 5 and 10.

On June 30, 1976, The Movies At Golden Ring -the mall's first theatrical venue- opened for business on the upper level of the complex. This 3-plex was soon expanded with an additional 2-screen venue...also on the upper level. A lower level 4-plex joined the mall in December 1985. By the demise of the mall's cinemas, in mid-2000, there were 12 individual auditoriums in service.

The major commercial competitors of GOLDEN RING MALL were EASTPOINT CENTER / MALL (1956) {3 miles southwest, in Baltimore County} and WHITE MARSH MALL (1981) {2.6 miles northeast, also in Baltimore County}.

By the mid-1980s, Baltimore had become substantially over-malled, with GOLDEN RING being one of the casualties. Stewart's departure in January 1983 was soon filled by a Connecticut-based Caldor discount store. The mall carried on. A facelft renovation was done in 1992, but by the turn of the century, GOLDEN RING MALL had run its course. Caldor vacated in the spring of 1998, with its space never being retenanted.

A redevelopment of the mall into a big box-based power plaza was proposed in March 2000, followed by the closing of the mall proper in October. The shuttering of Hecht's took place in January 2001. Montgomery Ward was fully committed to participating in a newly-envisaged GOLDEN RING project...but this was thwarted by the shuttering of that chain in February 2001.

The owner of GOLDEN RING MALL, now known as the Simon Property Group, sold the past-its-prime property to a joint venture of Annapolis-based Petrie Ross Ventures and Chagrin Falls, Ohio-based Heritage Development in April 2001. A wrecking ball renovation was soon underway, with work on new CENTRE AT GOLDEN RING structures already in progress in the former parking areas of the mall.

Phase I consisted of the construction of three big box bohemoths; a 1-level (157,500 square foot) WalMart, 1-level (131,500 square foot) Sam's Club and 1-level (138,000 square foot) Home Depot. These came inline in the summer of 2002.

Only the Montgomery Ward structure had been left standing when the mall was razed. It was gutted, with its lower level sectioned into sixteen store spaces. Included were a 16,000 square foot Office Depot, 15,000 square foot Petco, 12,300 square foot Factory Card Outlet, 5,500 square foot Dollar Buys and 2,400 square foot Footlocker.

These stores comprised Phase II of the redevelopment project, which was completed in late 2003. The fully-realized CENTRE AT GOLDEN RING power center encompassed 480,000 leasable square feet and twenty-seven stores and services.

Sources:

"The Centre At Golden Ring" article on Wikipedia
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Afro-American
www.petrieross.com
www.cinematreasures.com

FAIR USE OF GOLDEN RING MALL IMAGES:

The photographs from The Baltimore Public Library Legacy Web illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the images in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.

2011-11-21T11:38:00.001-05:00

Cleveland's Westgate Center

A rendering of the Halle Brothers Company WESTGATE store, designed by Raymond Loewy and dedicated in February 1954. It anchored Cleveland's very first shopping mall, which was also the first in the Buckeye State.

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A March 1954 view of the eastern store blocks at WESTGATE CENTER. The Halle's anchor store is off in the distance.
Photo from Library of Congress

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A second eastern block shot, with the mall's S.S. Kresge 5 and dime in view.
Photo from Library of Congress

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A 1954 physical layout. The open-air complex was one of the first in the nation to feature two anchor department stores. Other bi-anchor contemporaries would have been Yonkers, New York's CROSS COUNTY CENTER and Chicagoland's PARK FOREST PLAZA.

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An interior shot of the Halle's Westgate Budget Shop.
Photo from Library of Congress

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The Halle's Westgate Boy's Department.

Photo from Library of Congress

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Stouffer's operated a full-service restaurant at the original WESTGATE CENTER. This shot, and the three that follow, were taken at -and around- this restaurant. Its mallway entrance is seen above. The Orchard Room, with its golden apple trees, is shown in the last photo of this set.
Photos from Library of Congress

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The original south anchor, Dearborn, Michigan's Federal Stores, vacated the mall proper in 1960. Cleveland's Higbee's chain acquired the store, expanded it, and opened in October 1961. It was Higbee's first branch location.

Graphic from http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com