An aerial view of the mall soon after its August 1965 dedication. With nearly 900,000 leasable square feet, it was one of the largest fully-enclosed shopping centers in the nation.
Photo from Dexter Western All-Tom Corporation
Showing posts with label Dallas' NorthPark Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dallas' NorthPark Center. Show all posts
Shoppers stroll the Neiman-Marcus Garden Court on the mall's grand opening day, August 19, 1965.
Photo from www.northparkcenter.com
The NORTHPARK Penneys, which anchored the northeast corner of the complex. In 1965, it was -reputedly- the largest JCP operation in the Southwest. The store encompassed 2 levels, 250,000 square feet, and included an attached Auto Center.
Photo from www.northparkcenter.com
NORTHPARK CENTER was the second enclosed mall in the Texas Metroplex. Back in the day, it was more of a mid-market merchandiser, with a Woolworth 5 & 10, SupeRx Drugs and outparcel Kroger supermarket. There were, however, upscale tenants, such as Colberts and Neiman-Marcus.
NORTHPARK CENTER TENANTS 1965:
TITCHE-GOETTINGER (with Granada Restaurant and freestanding Auto Center) / NEIMAN-MARCUS (with The Little Mermaid Restaurant) / J.C. PENNEY (with Coffee Shop, Beauty Salon and attached Auto Center) / F.W. WOOLWORTH (with luncheonette) / American Express Company / Black Forest Bakery / Bombay Shop / Bond Clothes / Butler Shoes / Canterbury Shop / Card Corner / Card Shop / Carriage Shop / Centennial Liquors Mall Store / Chandler's Shoes / Coiffure Continental / Colberts / Commonwealth Club / Community Hall / Contour Chair / Cullem & Boren / Doubleday Book Shop / Dreyfuss & Son / El Fenix Restaurant / Florsheim Shoes / Freeman Shoes / Games Imported / Gittings N-M / Home Furniture / Hong Kong Fashions / Hot Shoppes Restaurant / House of Nine / I. Miller Salons / Jarman Shoes / John Bull Pub / Kinney Shoes / Leeds Ties / Lerner Shops / Linz Jewelers / London House Restaurant / Margo's La Mode / Marlowe Camera / Marriott Cafeteria / Vivian McNeil / Melody Shop / Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio / Milton's Clothing Cupboard / Mode O'Day Frock Shop / Murata Pearl / National Shirt Shops / Northpark Cinema I & II (outparcel) / Olan Mills Studio / Page Boy Maternity Shop / Pants Parlour / Parklane Hosiery / Paul's Shoes / Realife Vitamins / Red Cross Shoes / James F. Riggs Offices / Russell Stover Candies / Saybrook Fabrics / Seeburg Piano & Organ / Shaw's Jewelers / The Shoe Box / Singer Sewing Center / Stylish Stout Shop / SupeRx Drugs / The Swiss Colony / Texaco East service station (outparcel) / Texaco West service station (outparcel) / TSO (Texas State Optical) / Thom McAn Shoes / Toy World / WFAA studio-Dallas Morning News offices / Jas. K. Wilson / Woody's NorthPark Barbers / Zale's Jewelers / Zenith Cleaners & Launderers / Zinke's Shoe Repair
CONVENIENCE CENTER:
KROGER supermarket / Centennial Liquors Park Lane Store / NorthPark National Bank of Dallas
Crowds in the Fountain Court (Titche's Court) on grand opening day. By the way, the fountain looks exactly the same in the 21st century. Of course, the nameplate on the wall has been changed a couple of times.
Photo from www.northparkcenter.com
Presiding over the southeast corner of NORTHPARK was a very "Mid-Mod" Titche-Goettinger. The store, which originally encompassed 3 levels and 250,500 square feet, was the Dallas-based chain's fifth branch.
Photo from the Allied Stores Corporation
An inside view of the NORTHPARK Titche's shows the store's elegant decor.
Photo from Allied Stores Corporation Annual Report 1965
In a second interior view, we see the Mediterranean-style Men's Department.
Photo from Allied Stores Corporation Annual Report 1965
Center Court in the original NORTHPARK.
Photo from Curteichcolor
Colberts was a Parisienne-inspired ladies ready-to-wear emporium. The posh NORTHPARK establishment also carried a full line of fur coats. The Texas-based retailer was in business at the mall until 1981.
Photo from http://www.northparkcenter.com / Shelby Foster
Lillie Rubin was a Florida-based ladies' wear chain. The NORTHPARK store opened in 1967 and closed for good in 1996.
Photo from http://www.northparkcenter.com / Shelby Foster
Zooming up to the 1990s, we see a train set on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit. DART light rail extended service to the Park Lane station in January 1997. Although said station was not directly adjacent to NORTHPARK CENTER, the two are connected via the NorthPark Trolley shuttle bus...or -heaven forbid- a brisk walk.
Built on the site of an abandoned and demolished J.C. Penney, Houston's Foley's opened at NORTHPARK in October 2000. As one might surmise, the 250,000 square foot store now sports a Macy's nameplate.
Photo from Wikipedia /"02080"
In May 2004, construction commenced on a large-scale expansion of NORTHPARK CENTER. In a circa-2005 snapshot, we see the Foley's Court in the throes of construction. A second level of retail stores is being added.
Photo from Dallas County, Texas
In May 2004, construction commenced on a large-scale expansion of NORTHPARK CENTER. In a circa-2005 snapshot, we see the Foley's Court in the throes of construction. A second level of retail stores is being added.
Photo from Dallas County, Texas
The NORTHPARK CENTER Nordstrom, which anchors the mall's northwest corner. The store, which was the piece de resistance of the early 2000s expansion, welcomed first customers in May 2006.
Photo from Wikipedia / "020808"
Barneys New York, another luxury retailer, operated stores in two different locations at NORTHPARK CENTER. The first, encompassing 19,000 square feet, was in business between 1990 and 1997. The second, consisting of 88,000 square feet, is seen here. It operated between September 2006 and April 2013.
Photo from Wikipedia / "020808"
The 2004-2006 expansion added the aforementioned Nordstrom, a 2-level North Wing (light gray) and 15-screen megaplex. The mall's shopping concourses now form a loop, with an anchor store on each corner. The structure surrounds an open CenterPark. There are now over 1.8 million leasable square feet and over 220 stores and services.
Over the years, NORTHPARK CENTER has become known for the works of art gracing its courts and concourses. In the foreground we have "Large Leaping Hare" (1982), by Barry Flanagan.
Photo from www.northparkcenter.com
The Constructivist piece "Ad Astra" (2005) was created by Mark Di Suvero.
Photo from www.omniplan.com / Omniplan Architects
Joel Shapiro was commissioned for "20 elements" (2004-2005).
Photo from www.northparkcenter.com
Lastly, we have "Companions" (2008), crafted by Tony Craig.
Photo from www.northparkcenter.com
The mall's position as purveyor of fine art and haute couture is
accented by its reverence for history. Other malls renovate; regularly ripping
out historic architecture and replacing it with the latest style du jour.
Not at NORTHPARK. The design aesthetic used in the '60s has been
repeated with every expansion. On its 60th anniversary, the center was being promoted with a classic, circa-1965 graphic.
Graphic from NorthPark Development Company
NORTHPARK CENTER
North Central Expressway / US 75 and Park Lane
Dallas, Texas
The completion of Texas' BIG TOWN MALL, in 1959, inspired Raymond D. Nasher, a Dallas developer and art connoisseur. He began to plan a second air-conditioned mall for the Metroplex. It would be built on a 97-acre cotton field, owned by the Caruth family foundation. This parcel was located 7.2 miles north of Downtown Dallas, at the intersection of the North Central Expressway and Northwest Highway.
NORTHPARK CENTER was designed by E.G. Hamilton of the Hamilton & Harrell -now Omniplan Architects- firm. Kevin Roche, of Eero Saarinen & Associates, and John Dinkeloo also contributed to the layout of the original shopping center.
The complex was one of the first retail facilities in the nation to use a unified design aesthetic in construction and graphics. Built of white Texas brick with floors of highly-polished concrete, the mall featured simple, clean lines. Several works of art in Raymond D. Nasher's personal collection were used to decorate interior and exterior spaces.
NORTHPARK CENTER originally housed three anchor department stores. A 3-level (250,500 square foot), Dallas-based Titche-Goettinger ["Tiytch Get-injer"] and 3-level (164,000 square foot) Neiman-Marcus were dedicated on July 22, 1965. A 2-level (250,000 square foot) J.C. Penney opened for business -along with seventy-seven stores and services- on August 19, 1965.
A ribbon-cutting dedication included a performance by vocalist Gordon MacRae, as well as music from the Richardson High School and Wilmer-Hutchins bands. There was a prayer by Rabbi Levi Olan and speech by Raymond D. Nasher.
Charter NORTHPARK tenants included Marriott Cafeteria, Doubleday Book Shop, SupeRx Drugs, Singer Sewing Center, Melody Shop and an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. There were also two large outparcels. A (47,000 square foot) Kroger was situated in a Convenience Center. The General Cinema Corporation NorthPark Cinema I & II showed first features on September 9, 1965.
Major shopping hubs in the NORTHPARK trade area included TOWN EAST MALL (1971) {4.3 miles southeast, in Mesquite}, VALLEY VIEW CENTER (1973) {4.3 miles northwest, in Dallas}, RICHARDSON SQUARE (1977) {6.4 miles northeast, in Richardson} and GALLERIA DALLAS (1982) {4.5 miles northwest, also in Dallas}.
The first expansion of NORTHPARK CENTER was completed in the mid-1970s. A 2-level (135,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor opened its doors on April 8, 1974. A 2-level -thirty-store- Northwest Wing was dedicated on August 7th. Four parking structures were also built. With these modifications, the mall encompassed around 1.3 million leasable square feet.
Titche-Goettinger morphed into a San Antonio-based Joske's on February 4, 1979. Stores in the Joske's chain, including the NORTHPARK location, were rebranded by Dillard's in 1987. Meanwhile, a fourth level had been added to Neiman-Marcus, increasing its size to 208,000 square feet. The newly-expanded store re-opened on October 11, 1984. Dillard's was enlarged with a fourth floor, as well. This project was completed in October 1994, with that store encompassing 299,500 square feet.
J.C. Penney pulled up stakes in August 1999. The abandoned store was torn down, with a 2-level (250,000 square foot), Houston-based Foley's opening on October 6, 2000. The freestanding twin cinema had closed in 1998 and was bulldozed in 2001. Lord & Taylor, who conducted a retail retraction during 2004, closed their NORTHPARK location on January 25th. With this store -and the cinema- now sitting vacant, plans for a major mall expansion were given impetus.
Nancy Nasher and husband David Haemisegger acquired the land that the mall sat on in 1999. They sold a fifty-percent interest in their shopping complex to Santa Monica's Macerich Company, while retaining full operational control. Dallas-based Omniplan Architects were recruited to design a northern expansion. Ground was broken for the 235 million dollar project in May 2004.
North and northwest parking garages were demolished. A 3-level (203,000 square foot) Nordstrom was built, along with a 2-level (260,000 square foot) mall concourse. The new wing housed the American Multi-Cinema Northpark 15 and NorthPark Cafes Food Court. Two new parking garages were also built.
The expansion reconfigured the tri-wing mall as a four-concourse quadrangle, surrounding a 1.4 acre CenterPark green space. The new NORTHPARK CENTER, officially dedicated on May 5, 2006, now encompassed approximately 1,809,800 leasable square feet and contained 220 stores and services.
On September 29, 2006, Barney's New York opened a branch of their luxury department store, which was the second to operate in the mall. The new NORTHPARK location, occupying part of the old Lord & Taylor, encompassed 2-levels and 88,000 square feet. In November of 2012, the Nasher-Haemiseggers bought back the share of NORTHPARK that had been sold to the Macerich Company in 2004. This returned the shopping center to family ownership.
The NORTHPARK Barney's went dark in April 2013. The store's second level was refitted with two stores. PIRCH, a San Diego-based home appliance, plumbing fixture and outdoor furniture emporium, was dedicated on August 23, 2014. Cleveland-based Arhaus debuted on November 14th.
On September 29, 2006, Barney's New York opened a branch of their luxury department store, which was the second to operate in the mall. The new NORTHPARK location, occupying part of the old Lord & Taylor, encompassed 2-levels and 88,000 square feet. In November of 2012, the Nasher-Haemiseggers bought back the share of NORTHPARK that had been sold to the Macerich Company in 2004. This returned the shopping center to family ownership.
The NORTHPARK Barney's went dark in April 2013. The store's second level was refitted with two stores. PIRCH, a San Diego-based home appliance, plumbing fixture and outdoor furniture emporium, was dedicated on August 23, 2014. Cleveland-based Arhaus debuted on November 14th.
PIRCH was short-lived. The chain did a retail retraction during 2017. Locations in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Georgia and Texas were shuttered, with only stores in California remaining in business. The NORTHPARK location was shuttered on September 30, 2017. PIRCH was replaced by 3-level (48,000 square foot) Eataly. This Italian-style food hall included sit-down restaurants, beverage counters, a bakery, cooking school and upscale grocery. It welcomed first shoppers on December 9, 2020.
Sources:
The Dallas Morning News
http://www.northparkcenter.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
Dallas County, Texas tax assessment website
https://www.dart.org / Dallas Area Rapid Transit
https://www.cinematreasures.org
Sources:
The Dallas Morning News
http://www.northparkcenter.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
Dallas County, Texas tax assessment website
https://www.dart.org / Dallas Area Rapid Transit
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.dallasnews.com
http://architype.org/project/northpark-center / "Architype Review"
http://openbuildings.com / Northpark Center / "Open Buildings"
http://architype.org/project/northpark-center / "Architype Review"
http://openbuildings.com / Northpark Center / "Open Buildings"
https://northparkcenter.com
https://dallas.eater.com
https://www.dallasobserver.com
"Northpark Center" article on Wikipedia
"Northpark Center" article on Wikipedia
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