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.
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.
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
http://architype.org/project/northpark-center / "Architype Review"
http://openbuildings.com / Northpark Center / "Open Buildings"
"Northpark Center" article on Wikipedia
