New Britain Avenue and South Road
Farmington and West Hartford, Connecticut
Built on a corporation line separating two municipalities, WESTFARMS MALL straddles the towns of Farmington and West Hartford. In this way, it is similar to other MHoF entries, such as California's VALLEY FAIR, New Jersey's BERGEN MALL, Iowa's MERLE HAY MALL and Pennsylvania's SOUTH HILLS VILLAGE.
WESTFARMS MALL was first envisaged in 1965, by Joseph Vetrano and Richard Sheehan. They owned the land that the mall was eventually built on. In 1972, Michigan's Taubman Company came on board as a co-developer. The mall-to-be would occupy a 111-acre plot, located 6.6 miles southwest of center city Hartford.
The first operational store, a 2-level (83,200 square foot), Hartford-based Sage-Allen, opened its doors on August 26, 1974. A 2-level (191,400 square foot) J.C. Penney and 3-level (208,800 square foot) Hartford-based G. Fox welcomed first shoppers on September 3, 1974.
A mall-wide dedication commenced on October 14, with festivities extending through the week of October 20th. Thirty-one stores opened for business. Mayors from the surrounding communities of West Hartford, Farmington, Newington and New Britain were in attendance. Entertainment was provided by the Deep River Fife & Drum Corps and Serendipity Singers (an early 1960s "hootenanny" combo).
Three major works of art were on display in the original mall. In the North Court was an untitled sculpture by Buky Schwartz. The Grand Court featured a "cybernetic," interactive creation crafted by Wen-Ying Tsai. In the South Court stood "Alphabet Spire VI" by William Crutchfield.
Charter WESTFARMS tenants included Herman's World of Sporting Goods, Singer Sewing Center, B. Dalton Bookseller, Ormond Shop ladies' wear, Michael's Jewelry and Burger King hamburgers. The United Artists & Taubman Theatres The Movies 1-2-3 triplex showed first features on October 14, 1974.
When fully-realized, WESTFARMS MALL encompassed approximately 869,000 leasable square feet and housed eighty-five stores and services. The complex was promoted as the largest shopping mall in New England for several years. The first expansion was completed in the early 1980s. A 29-year-old Lord & Taylor location in West Hartford moved into a new, 2-level (115,000 square foot) store, which had been built onto the west side of the mall. The new Lord & Taylor held its grand opening on April 11, 1983.
The regional-class WESTFARMS did not have any bona fide competitors during its first years in business. Other malls in the area were smaller, community-class venues. These included BRISTOL CENTRE MALL (1969-2008) {9.9 miles southwest, in center city Bristol} and FARMINGTON VALLEY MALL (1972-1999) {8.2 miles northwest, in Simsbury}. The first regional-class rival appeared in the early 1990s. PAVILIONS OF BUCKLAND HILLS {12.4 miles northeast, in Hartford County} was dedicated in March 1990. This center encompassed over 1 million leasable square feet.
As a competitive measure, a second expansion was proposed for WESTFARMS. It met considerable community opposition. The plan was scaled down, with construction commencing in March 1995. The first phase consisted of a face lift of the existing mall, which included remodeling of the north and west anchor department stores.
The second stage added two parking garages and a thirty-two-store Southwest Wing. Its 2-level (175,000 square foot) Nordstrom was dedicated on August 1, 1997. The 100 million dollar renovation increased the gross leasable area of the complex to approximately 1,271,000 leasable square feet. As part of the remodeling, the official name of the mall was shortened to simply WESTFARMS.
Anchor store rebrandings had begun on February 1, 1993 when G. Fox morphed into a Boston-based Filene's ["fiy-leenz"]. In the spring of the same year, Sage-Allen was shuttered. It re-opened, as a Filene's Men's & Home Store, on March 9, 1995. These two Filene's locations were "Macy-ated" on September 9, 2006.
As a competitive measure, a second expansion was proposed for WESTFARMS. It met considerable community opposition. The plan was scaled down, with construction commencing in March 1995. The first phase consisted of a face lift of the existing mall, which included remodeling of the north and west anchor department stores.
The second stage added two parking garages and a thirty-two-store Southwest Wing. Its 2-level (175,000 square foot) Nordstrom was dedicated on August 1, 1997. The 100 million dollar renovation increased the gross leasable area of the complex to approximately 1,271,000 leasable square feet. As part of the remodeling, the official name of the mall was shortened to simply WESTFARMS.
Anchor store rebrandings had begun on February 1, 1993 when G. Fox morphed into a Boston-based Filene's ["fiy-leenz"]. In the spring of the same year, Sage-Allen was shuttered. It re-opened, as a Filene's Men's & Home Store, on March 9, 1995. These two Filene's locations were "Macy-ated" on September 9, 2006.
Retail rivalry intensified with the November 2007 dedication of BLUE BLACK SQUARE AT WEST HARTFORD CENTER {2.6 miles northeast, in West Hartford}. As a keeping up measure, Taubman Centers announced a renovation of WESTFARMS in early 2008. Tenants were shuffled, some stores remodeled, and twelve new businesses added to the directory. These included Aerospostale, Tiffany & Company, Vera Bradley and Louis Vuitton.
During the 8 million dollar renovation, the mall's northeast corner was also reconfigured. Two upscale eateries, each with exterior entrances, were built in gutted store space. P.F. Chang's China Bistro welcomed first diners December 1, 2008. Brio Tuscan Grill opened on May 14, 2009.
During the 8 million dollar renovation, the mall's northeast corner was also reconfigured. Two upscale eateries, each with exterior entrances, were built in gutted store space. P.F. Chang's China Bistro welcomed first diners December 1, 2008. Brio Tuscan Grill opened on May 14, 2009.
In December 2020, Taubman Centers, merged with the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. At the same time, WESTFARMS lost one of its five anchor stores. Lord & Taylor went dark, as part of the shuttering of the entire chain, on December 29th. The store space re-opened -as a Jordan's Furniture- in early 2024.
Sources:
The Hartford Courant
Town of Farmington Land Record Search Utility
"The Caldor Rainbow /" Way Back Westfarms" / Nicholas Dimaio
https;//www.shopwestfarms.com
http://www.taubman.com / Taubman Centers (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
"Westfarms Mall" article on Wikipedia
The Hartford Courant
Town of Farmington Land Record Search Utility
"The Caldor Rainbow /" Way Back Westfarms" / Nicholas Dimaio
https;//www.shopwestfarms.com
http://www.taubman.com / Taubman Centers (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
"Westfarms Mall" article on Wikipedia
