MARYVALE SHOPPING CITY
West Indian School Road and North Maryvale Parkway
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix developer John F. Long built the state's third mall-type shopping complex as a de facto downtown for his sprawling, post-war housing development. The moderne metropolis had been named Maryvale in honor of his wife.
MARYVALE SHOPPING CITY was designed by Los Angeles' Victor Gruen Associates and constructed on a 65.3-acre site. This was located 7.4 miles northwest of the Arizona State Capitol. Ground was broken for the project on July 26, 1958. The first phase -which encompassed 250,000 square feet- opened for business on August 29, 1959.
The open-air center was dedicated with a "
Flavor of the Old West" celebration. This featured a show by The Arizona Gun Slingers. The grand opening of the Maryvale Bowlero Lanes included appearances by Jim Backus, George Raft and Jill St. John.
Charter MARYVALE SHOPPING CITY tenants included The Lantern Inn restaurant & cocktail lounge, First National Bank of Arizona, Ryan-Evans Drug and a (30,000 square foot) El Rancho Market grocery. A 2-level (24,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 was the Michigan-based chain's first Grand Canyon State store.
A 2-level (78,800 square foot), Phoenix-based Vandevers department store anchored the complex. This mercantile opened for business on October 29, 1959 and was rebranded, as a Phoenix-based Malcolm's, on February 11, 1961.
A second construction phase added a 2-level (65,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward, which was dedicated in mid-1960. A third phase consisted of a South Wing. Its (35,000 square foot) Fry's Food Store welcomed first shoppers on November 11, 1964. An adjacent (34,000 square foot) Walgreen Drug debuted on January 29, 1965.
The freestanding Harry Nace
Maryvale Theatres 1 & 2 was built in the northeast parking area and showed first features on December 25, 1971. The venue was acquired by United Artists in 1978. It was reconfigured as the
Maryvale 4 in the late 1980s.
Shopping venues in the vicinity of the MARYVALE complex included CHRIS-TOWN CENTER (1961) {4.4 miles northeast, in Phoenix}, VALLEY WEST MALL (1973) {3.5 miles northwest, in Glendale} and WESTRIDGE MALL (1981) {3 miles southwest, in Phoenix}.
The MARYVALE Bowlero morphed into a 2-level Pettett's department store in 1974, which was rebranded by Nogales, Arizona-based Capin's on December 3, 1977. Around this time, the Ryan-Evans drug store morphed into a Revco.
MARYVALE SHOPPING CITY was enclosed and climate-controlled in 1978-1979 and renamed MARYVALE
MALL. A new South Wing was built. This addition was anchored by a 1-level (57,900 square foot) Mervyn's, which was launched on November 3, 1979.
A fourth anchor store was added to the South Wing. A 1-level (65,000 square foot) Zodys discount mart was officially dedicated on February 12, 1981. Montgomery Ward had closed by this time. Its space was expanded. It became a new location for Malcolm's, which opened in October 1980.
The original Malcolm's was reconfigured as a LaBelle's Catalog Showroom, which opened on September 19, 1984. This store was rebranded by Best Products in August 1986. The second Malcolm's morphed into an Inglewood, California-based Boston Stores store in December 1983. Maryvale Pride Pavilion, a 2-level (40,000 square foot) indoor soccer arena, was added to the mall's northwest corner, This venue was dedicated on December 5, 1983.
Zodys morphed into a Target discount store on February 26, 1984. A Los Angeles-based Federated Group Electronics SuperStore set up shop in the old El Rancho Market space and welcomed first shoppers on August 31, 1984.
As these renovations and store dedications were going on, neighborhood demographics around MARYVALE MALL were shifting. Moreover, competition from WESTRIDGE MALL was putting the hurt on MARYVALE in a big way. A store exodus was soon underway. Mervyn's moved to WESTRIDGE in July 1993, followed by Target, who vacated their MARYVALE MALL store on July 20th.
MARYVALE MALL had housed fifty-five stores in 1992. By 1995, only three remained in business; Sports Fitness Planet, Factory-2-U and a Sears Outlet. The exodus of stores continued. The final operational tenant, Factory-2-U, closed its doors in early 1998.
John F. Long devised an ingenious plan to reinvent the moribund mall. It was offered to the local school district at a rock-bottom price, under the proviso that the original mall building could not be dramatically altered. A reconstruction project began in August 1999. The northern portion of the mall was reconfigured as the (111,300 square foot) Marc T. Atkinson Middle School, which opened in the fall of 2000. The (80,800 square foot) Bret R. Tarver Elementary School was dedicated in the fall of 2001.
There was also a (50,000 square foot) "transition school" installed, along with a police substation and community center. The old Mervyn's and South Wing were razed with a 1-level (189,300 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter built on their space. This store opened its doors on August 25, 2004.
Sources:
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona)
Mitch Glaser's mall memories
https://www.mcassessor.maricopa.gov / Maricopa County, Arizona
http://www.peterli.com
http://www.districtadministration.com
http://www.archrecord.construction.com / Clifford A. Pearson
https://www.cinematreasures.org
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