South 24th Street West and Central Avenue
Billings, Montana
We continue our focus on the Treasure State with a visit to the great indoors of Billings' RIMROCK MALL. The fully-enclosed complex was developed by a joint venture of El Segundo, California's Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated and Billings' Bruce D. Crippen.
The original 518,000 square foot complex was designed by Los Angeles-based Charles Kober Associates. It was built on a 53-acre parcel, located 3 miles southwest of downtown Billings. Plans were announced for a -yet- unnamed west Billings shopping hub in July 1974. By October, RIMROCK MALL had been established as the name of the prospective complex.
The 25 million dollar venue would be built in three phases over the next 5 years. An official dedication for the Phase I mall was held September 11, 1975, with sixteen stores opening their doors. One of these was a 1-level (101,000 square foot), Billings-based Hennessy's.
A second construction phase added a 1-level (41,500 square foot), St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Herberger's, 1-level (97,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward and several inline stores. All of these commenced operation as part of a second grand opening celebration. This was held on March 4, 1976.
By mid-1976, fifty-eight stores and services were in operation. These included Casual World apparel, Tinder Box Tobacconist, GNC, Musicland and The Cattle Company restaurant. The Theatre Operators Rimrock 4 Theatres had showed its first features on October 15, 1975. The venue, reputedly the first 4-plex in Montana, was divided into a 5-screen venue in the early 1990s.
WEST PARK PLAZA {1.6 miles northeast, in Billings} was the city -and state's- first fully-enclosed retail hub. It had been formally dedicated in June 1961. This center was eventually outpositioned by the newer and larger RIMROCK MALL.
Colorado's Denver Dry Goods added a 1-level (62,000 square foot) "The Denver" store to RIMROCK MALL, as part of a Phase III construction project. This mercantile, which anchored a ten-store South Wing, opened on October 25, 1978. New inline stores in the 5 million dollar South Wing debuted in early 1979.
At the same time, a nine-tenant Convenience Center opened for business in the mall's north parking area. Stores included Rag Time, Shampoo Plus Unisex Hair Styling and Spas Unlimited. An adjacent cinema, the Theatre Operators Incorporated World West Twin, showed its first features on June 1, 1979.
RIMROCK MALL now encompassed approximately 579,000 leasable square feet and housed seventy-seven stores under its roof. "The Denver" was shuttered in late 1981. The vacant structure was renovated by J.C. Penney, who opened for business on February 24, 1982.
Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated established 100 percent ownership of RIMROCK MALL in December 1994. In November 1996, Southern California's Macerich Company acquired the shopping hub. The north parking lot Convenience Center was partially demolished in 1998 and replaced by the Wynnsong 10 megaplex. Its first features were shown May 14, 1999. The in-mall Rimrock 5 was shuttered at this time.
Meanwhile, Dillard's had rebranded the Hennessey's store in October 1998. Between 2000 and 2001, a game of merchandising musical chairs played out. Montgomery Ward shuttered their RIMROCK store in January 1999. The building was acquired by Dillard's, who expanded it to 107,000 square feet and relocated on October 27, 2000.
J.C. Penney renovated the vacant Hennessy's / Dillard's on the north end of the mall. Their old store, on the south end, closed on April 26, 2001. The new Penney's was dedicated on May 2nd. The vacant (south end) J.C. Penney was reconfigured as a Dillard's Men's & Home Furnishings. This store was inaugurated August 10, 2001, with the existing Dillard's being refashioned into a Women's & Children's store.
A (12,000 square foot) strip center was built in the mall's southeast parking area. It originally housed four tenants; Talbots, Chico's, Starbuck's Coffee and Coldwater Creek. THe latter began business on October 27, 2003.
Scheels All Sports, a RIMROCK tenant since 1999, doubled the size of their store with a westward addition in 2004. It now encompassed 40,000 square feet. At the same time, Herberger's enlarged their store, to 53,600 square feet, by incorporating four adjacent store spaces.
In the 2010s, RIMROCK MALL encompassed 615,000 leasable square feet and housed eighty stores and services. In June 2013, Macerich sold the property to Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of Greenwich, Connecticut's Starwood Capital Group.
Billings' preeminent shopping venue had had no sizable competition for over 39 years. This changed with the completion of SHOPS AT SHILOH CROSSING {1.8 miles southwest, in Billings}. This new lifestyle center snatched the RIMROCK Scheels store, which shut down on August 24, 2014.
Herberger's renovated the space, expanding it into two adjacent store slots. The new Herberger's, which encompassed 60,000 square feet, welcomed first shoppers on November 5, 2015. The original Herberger's was sectioned into several inline stores. A (23,000 square foot) H & M was dedicated April 28, 2016.
Billings, Montana
We continue our focus on the Treasure State with a visit to the great indoors of Billings' RIMROCK MALL. The fully-enclosed complex was developed by a joint venture of El Segundo, California's Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated and Billings' Bruce D. Crippen.
The original 518,000 square foot complex was designed by Los Angeles-based Charles Kober Associates. It was built on a 53-acre parcel, located 3 miles southwest of downtown Billings. Plans were announced for a -yet- unnamed west Billings shopping hub in July 1974. By October, RIMROCK MALL had been established as the name of the prospective complex.
The 25 million dollar venue would be built in three phases over the next 5 years. An official dedication for the Phase I mall was held September 11, 1975, with sixteen stores opening their doors. One of these was a 1-level (101,000 square foot), Billings-based Hennessy's.
A second construction phase added a 1-level (41,500 square foot), St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Herberger's, 1-level (97,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward and several inline stores. All of these commenced operation as part of a second grand opening celebration. This was held on March 4, 1976.
By mid-1976, fifty-eight stores and services were in operation. These included Casual World apparel, Tinder Box Tobacconist, GNC, Musicland and The Cattle Company restaurant. The Theatre Operators Rimrock 4 Theatres had showed its first features on October 15, 1975. The venue, reputedly the first 4-plex in Montana, was divided into a 5-screen venue in the early 1990s.
WEST PARK PLAZA {1.6 miles northeast, in Billings} was the city -and state's- first fully-enclosed retail hub. It had been formally dedicated in June 1961. This center was eventually outpositioned by the newer and larger RIMROCK MALL.
Colorado's Denver Dry Goods added a 1-level (62,000 square foot) "The Denver" store to RIMROCK MALL, as part of a Phase III construction project. This mercantile, which anchored a ten-store South Wing, opened on October 25, 1978. New inline stores in the 5 million dollar South Wing debuted in early 1979.
At the same time, a nine-tenant Convenience Center opened for business in the mall's north parking area. Stores included Rag Time, Shampoo Plus Unisex Hair Styling and Spas Unlimited. An adjacent cinema, the Theatre Operators Incorporated World West Twin, showed its first features on June 1, 1979.
RIMROCK MALL now encompassed approximately 579,000 leasable square feet and housed seventy-seven stores under its roof. "The Denver" was shuttered in late 1981. The vacant structure was renovated by J.C. Penney, who opened for business on February 24, 1982.
Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated established 100 percent ownership of RIMROCK MALL in December 1994. In November 1996, Southern California's Macerich Company acquired the shopping hub. The north parking lot Convenience Center was partially demolished in 1998 and replaced by the Wynnsong 10 megaplex. Its first features were shown May 14, 1999. The in-mall Rimrock 5 was shuttered at this time.
Meanwhile, Dillard's had rebranded the Hennessey's store in October 1998. Between 2000 and 2001, a game of merchandising musical chairs played out. Montgomery Ward shuttered their RIMROCK store in January 1999. The building was acquired by Dillard's, who expanded it to 107,000 square feet and relocated on October 27, 2000.
J.C. Penney renovated the vacant Hennessy's / Dillard's on the north end of the mall. Their old store, on the south end, closed on April 26, 2001. The new Penney's was dedicated on May 2nd. The vacant (south end) J.C. Penney was reconfigured as a Dillard's Men's & Home Furnishings. This store was inaugurated August 10, 2001, with the existing Dillard's being refashioned into a Women's & Children's store.
A (12,000 square foot) strip center was built in the mall's southeast parking area. It originally housed four tenants; Talbots, Chico's, Starbuck's Coffee and Coldwater Creek. THe latter began business on October 27, 2003.
Scheels All Sports, a RIMROCK tenant since 1999, doubled the size of their store with a westward addition in 2004. It now encompassed 40,000 square feet. At the same time, Herberger's enlarged their store, to 53,600 square feet, by incorporating four adjacent store spaces.
In the 2010s, RIMROCK MALL encompassed 615,000 leasable square feet and housed eighty stores and services. In June 2013, Macerich sold the property to Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of Greenwich, Connecticut's Starwood Capital Group.
Billings' preeminent shopping venue had had no sizable competition for over 39 years. This changed with the completion of SHOPS AT SHILOH CROSSING {1.8 miles southwest, in Billings}. This new lifestyle center snatched the RIMROCK Scheels store, which shut down on August 24, 2014.
Herberger's renovated the space, expanding it into two adjacent store slots. The new Herberger's, which encompassed 60,000 square feet, welcomed first shoppers on November 5, 2015. The original Herberger's was sectioned into several inline stores. A (23,000 square foot) H & M was dedicated April 28, 2016.
With the bankruptcy of Pennsylvania's Bon Ton Stores conglomerate, 267 department stores, in twenty-six states, closed for good. All forty-one Herberger's were included in the mass shuttering, which wrapped up on August 31, 2018.
As a result of the so-called retail apocalypse and mandatory Covid-19 mall closures, Starwood Retail Partners was in dire straits. They returned several properties to loan lenders. The deed to a struggling RIMROCK MALL was surrendered in October 2021. The shopping hub was acquired by Great Neck, New York's Kohan Retail Investment Group in October 2024.
Sources:
The Los Angles Times
The Los Angles Times
The Billings Gazette
http://www.macerich.com (Macerich Company)
http://www.starwoodretail.com (Starwood Retail Partners)
http://www.macerich.com (Macerich Company)
http://www.starwoodretail.com (Starwood Retail Partners)
"Dillard's", "Hennessey's", "Herberger's" and "The Bon Ton" articles on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF RIMROCK MALL IMAGE:
The image from The Billings Gazette illustrates a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The image is not replaceable with a free-use or public-domain image. The use of the image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute it 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.
