Mall Drive and West Montague Avenue
North Charleston, South Carolina
1972 was an eventful year in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The City of North Charleston was incorporated on June 12th. On the previous day (June 11th), NORTHWOODS MALL, the region's first fully-enclosed shopping center, had opened its doors. ASHLEY PLAZA MALL, the second enclosed shopping hub in Greater Charleston, was dedicated in August.
The third air-conditioned mall in -or around- the Port City was developed by Indianapolis' Melvin Simon & Associates (the precursor of today's Simon Property Group). CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE was designed by the Lafaye, Lafaye & Associates firm, of Columbia. The single-level shopping hub was built on a 36.7-acre plot, located 6.9 miles northwest of downtown Charleston. The mall site was adjacent to a section of the Interstate 26 expressway that had opened to traffic in March 1969.
A 2-level (150,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward became the mall's first operational store on November 5, 1975. On March 3rd, 1976, a 2-level (158,200 square foot) J.C. Penney was dedicated, along with a (36,500 square foot) Edward's 5 & 10 and twenty-four inline stores. A mall-wide grand opening was held on March 25, 1976.
CHARLES TOWN SQUARE encompassed approximately 550,000 leasable square feet and, when fully leased, housed sixty-four stores and services. Charter tenants included Sharpe's Formal Wear, So-Fro Fabrics, Pete Banis Shoes, Spencer Gifts, The Bandbox ladies' wear, Reynold's Menswear, Musicland, Brooks Fashions, The County Seat, Topps & Trousers, Athlete's Foot, Zales Jewelers, a John Huguley & Company Book Store, Aladdin's Castle video arcade and Piccadilly Cafeteria.
The official dedication of the mall was a star-studded occasion, with an American Bicentennial motif. Governor James B. Edwards (R) proclaimed March 25, 1976 as "Charles Towne Square Day." Ed McMahon, co-host of NBC-TV's "Tonight Show With Johnny Carson", donned Revolutionary War attire and served as Master of Ceremonies.
Celebrity guests included actor Claude Akins, star of NBC TV's "Movin' On" series, and Roosevelt "Rosie" Greer, NFL star player. The dedication day commemoration included a parade, fife and drum music and an appearance by the Marine Corps Band & Flag Review.
Commercial competitors of CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE were the aforementioned NORTHWOODS MALL (1972) {4.7 miles northwest, in North Charleston} and ASHLEY PLAZA (1972) {4.3 miles south, in Charleston}. Eventually, there was CITADEL MALL (1981){5.3 miles southwest, also in Charleston}.
The General Cinema Corporation Charles Towne Cinemas I & II showed its first features in June 1976. In September 1977, the Edward's chain was absorbed by Nashville, Tennessee's Kuhn's-Big K. All former Edward's stores, including the CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE location, were rebranded as Big-K-Edward's. The store received a third nameplate in 1982, when it became a Baton Rouge-based Wilson's Catalog Showroom. In mid-1985, a fourth nameplate was installed; that of Nashville-based Service Merchandise.
J.C. Penney began renovating their CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE unit in April 1985. The building was given an interior face lift, with various product lines being expanded. The revitalized store was re-dedicated on November 6, 1985.
By early 1992, a store exodus was underway at CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE. The center had been eclipsed by two of its competitors; NORTHWOODS MALL and CITADEL MALL. Service Merchandise pulled out of CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE in the early 1990s. J.C. Penney relocated to NORTHWOODS MALL in February 1993. Both store spaces at CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE would never be retenanted.
By August 1996, the complex, with just one operational anchor, was 60-percent vacant. The Simon DeBartolo Group announced a redevelopment plan in June 1997. The majority of the mall would be razed and replaced with two big-box-type stores and a power-format strip plaza of seven retailers. Wards, its Auto Center -and a freestanding bank- would be left standing.
Demolition of CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE commenced in September 1997 and was complete by November. Piccadilly Cafeteria had relocated into a freestanding store, built at the southwestern edge of the mall site, on August 14, 1997. Piccadilly was joined by a new multiplex, the Regal Charles Towne Square Stadium 18, which showed its first features on May 19, 1999. The Marriott Courtyard Charleston North-Coliseum hotel also opened in 1999.
Montgomery Ward shut down in March 2001; in effect, throwing a monkey wrench into Simon's plans for a power center redevelopment. The Wards structure would sit vacant until August 2004, when Verizon began renovating it into the Carriage Hill Executive Center (call center). This facility was officially dedicated on February 28, 2005. A new City Hall for North Charleston opened on September 20, 2009.
Sources:
The News-Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)
The Post & Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)
Charleston County, South Carolina property tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.verizon.com
"Charles Towne Square" article on Wikipedia
