Meadowbrook Parkway and Old Country Road
Nassua County (Town of Hempstead), New York
Long Island's first post-war retail center, NORTH SHORE SHOPPING MART (1951), was followed by a rapid succession of mall-type complexes. Three of these, ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, GREEN ACRES CENTER and MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA, opened over the course of a single year...1956. Two more followed soon after. WALT WHITMAN CENTER and SOUTH SHORE MALL were dedicated in 1962 and 1963, respectively.
By the early 1960s, the fortunes of the mall had improved. A 3-level (240,300 square foot) Gimbels was added, which began business on August 20, 1962. In order to be one up on its primary retail rival, Macy's had a fifth level added in 1963...so that their 461,000 square foot ROOSEVELT FIELD store would be substantially larger than the one operated by Gimbels.
With this addition, the retail hub spanned approximately 1,261,200 leasable square feet and contained 113 tenant spaces. The Century's Roosevelt Field Theatre, a freestanding venue built at the northwest corner of the mall, showed its first feature on August 28, 1962. It was divided into a 3-plex in 1981 and an 8-plex in 1987.
Major malls in the vicinity of ROOSEVELT FIELD included the aforementioned GREEN ACRES CENTER (1956) {7.4 miles southwest, in Nassau County} and MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA (1956) {4.6 miles northeast, in Nassau County}. In addition there was SUNRISE MALL (1973-2022) {9.8 miles southeast, also in Nassau County}.
New York City-based Corporate Property Investors acquired ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER in 1966. They embarked on an enclosing renovation in April 1967, which was completed in June 1968. The shopping hub would be known, henceforth, as ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL. The complex was expanded further in the early 1970s. Alexander's 3-level (314,000 square foot) unit opened for business on October 15, 1971. J.C. Penney, with a 3-level (260,000 square foot) store, began business on July 19, 1972.
Another enlargement of ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL was done in stages between 1991 and 1997. The first stage, which was a 150 million dollar endeavor, added a partial Upper Level. This contained a 14-bay, zeppelin-motif Food Court and sixty new stores and services. Among these were J. Crew, Bebe, Banana Republic and Mondo men's wear. The new mall floor was officially dedicated on April 23, 1993.
Alexander's had been shuttered in February 1991. The store was gutted and remodeled into a New York City-based Abraham & Straus, which held its grand opening on October 17, 1992. This store was in operation until April 30, 1995. New York City-based Bloomingdale's assumed the store space on November 3nd of the same year.
The second half of the ROOSEVELT FIELD remodeling cost 120 million dollars and was completed in two stages. The Upper Level was extended over the mall's southern section. Two parking structures were also built; one replacing an existing garage on the mall's southeast corner. Fifty stores were added to the mall directory. These included FAO Schwarz, AX / Armani Exchange, BCBG, Kenneth Cole, Pottery Barn and Modell's Sporting Goods. A grand opening was held in October 1996.
A fifth anchor department store was built as the final facet of the 1990s makeover. A 3-level (225,000 square foot) Nordstrom, added to the southeast corner of the complex, opened on August 15, 1997. With its completion, the facility spanned approximately 2,228,000 leasable square feet, with over 150 stores and services. It was promoted as the nation's third-largest shopping mall. In September 1998, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group acquired the assets of Corporate Property Investors, which included ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL.
Gimbels Roosevelt Field had shut down in August 1986 and was followed by a New Jersey-based Stern's, which was in operation between February 1987 and August 2001. After Stern's closed, the structure was divided three ways. Indianapolis-based Galyan's Trading Company renovated a 2-level (105,400 square foot) space and opened for business on October 17, 2003.
A 2-level (65,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery was installed in adjacent area. The old Gimbels basement was renovated into a (70,000 square foot) XSport Fitness, which was dedicated in September 2006. Meanwhile, the Galyan's store had been rebranded, by Pittsburgh-based Dick's Sporting Goods, in October 2004.
In September 2013, a comprehensive interior-exterior makeover got underway. In addition to giving the existing structure a thorough update, the 200 million dollar project included construction of a fourth parking garage, Dining District (which replaced the early 1990s-vintage Food Court) and new Southwest Wing. This would include a 2-level (105,400 square foot) Neiman Marcus and approximately 25,800 square feet of inline store space.
These components were dedicated in the following order; the parking garage in November 2014, Dining District in January 2015 and Southwest Wing / Neiman Marcus on February 19, 2016. With all work completed, the shopping hub encompassed approximately 2,377,000 leasable square feet and housed 283 stores and services under its roof.
Nassua County (Town of Hempstead), New York
Long Island's first post-war retail center, NORTH SHORE SHOPPING MART (1951), was followed by a rapid succession of mall-type complexes. Three of these, ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, GREEN ACRES CENTER and MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA, opened over the course of a single year...1956. Two more followed soon after. WALT WHITMAN CENTER and SOUTH SHORE MALL were dedicated in 1962 and 1963, respectively.
The land on which Long Island's first shopping mall was built served as the Roosevelt Field airstrip. This was named in honor of Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt (Teddy's son), who had been killed in World War I. The facility was the departure point for "Lucky Lindy's" historic transatlantic flight in 1927. A military airbase also operated there, that was decommissioned in June 1951.
A section of the property was used for the Roosevelt Raceway, an auto-racing track that was converted to harness racing in September 1940. The remainder of the airfield property would be devoted to the gargantuan ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER. This facility would be developed on 125 acres, located 24.5 miles east of Times Square. The plot was situated in Nassau County's Town of Hempstead, with a small portion lying in the Village of Garden City.
Initial plans were announced in August 1950. The prospective shopping hub would be developed by a joint venture of New York City's William Zeckendorf (under the auspices of Webb & Knapp) and R.H. Macy & Company. It was designed by Chinese architect Ieoh Ming Pei, the Rudolph Boehler & Rene Brugnoni firm, of New York City, and the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm, of Chicago.
A section of the property was used for the Roosevelt Raceway, an auto-racing track that was converted to harness racing in September 1940. The remainder of the airfield property would be devoted to the gargantuan ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER. This facility would be developed on 125 acres, located 24.5 miles east of Times Square. The plot was situated in Nassau County's Town of Hempstead, with a small portion lying in the Village of Garden City.
Initial plans were announced in August 1950. The prospective shopping hub would be developed by a joint venture of New York City's William Zeckendorf (under the auspices of Webb & Knapp) and R.H. Macy & Company. It was designed by Chinese architect Ieoh Ming Pei, the Rudolph Boehler & Rene Brugnoni firm, of New York City, and the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm, of Chicago.
Ground was broken on April 26, 1955. As originally constructed, the open-air complex encompassed approximately approximately 902,900 leasable square feet. It was comprised of a main Mall Level and service basement, which included a small Concourse Level of shops and services.
ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER was officially dedicated on August 29, 1956. Anchoring the complex was a 4-level (320,000 square foot) Macy's. Charter inline stores included Walgreen Drug, Buster Brown Shoes, Howard Clothes, The Corsetorium, Paree Millinery, Singer Sewing Center, Wallachs men's wear, Thom McAn Shoes and a Horn & Hardart Restaurant.
There were two 5 & 10s; a (37,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth and (37,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge. Two supermarkets also operated at the original shopping hub; a (30,000 square foot) Food Fair, which opened for business on October 31, 1956, and a (30,000 square foot) Grand Union. Mall services included the Flight Room public auditorium and an outdoor ice skating rink (this completed in February 1958).
ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER was not initially successful. Vacant store spaces were difficult to lease. In 1958, one of the supermarkets pulled up stakes. Food Fair (on the northwest corner of the complex), closed for good. Grand Union (in a northeast store block) moved to the former Food Fair building.
By the early 1960s, the fortunes of the mall had improved. A 3-level (240,300 square foot) Gimbels was added, which began business on August 20, 1962. In order to be one up on its primary retail rival, Macy's had a fifth level added in 1963...so that their 461,000 square foot ROOSEVELT FIELD store would be substantially larger than the one operated by Gimbels.
With this addition, the retail hub spanned approximately 1,261,200 leasable square feet and contained 113 tenant spaces. The Century's Roosevelt Field Theatre, a freestanding venue built at the northwest corner of the mall, showed its first feature on August 28, 1962. It was divided into a 3-plex in 1981 and an 8-plex in 1987.
Major malls in the vicinity of ROOSEVELT FIELD included the aforementioned GREEN ACRES CENTER (1956) {7.4 miles southwest, in Nassau County} and MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA (1956) {4.6 miles northeast, in Nassau County}. In addition there was SUNRISE MALL (1973-2022) {9.8 miles southeast, also in Nassau County}.
New York City-based Corporate Property Investors acquired ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER in 1966. They embarked on an enclosing renovation in April 1967, which was completed in June 1968. The shopping hub would be known, henceforth, as ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL. The complex was expanded further in the early 1970s. Alexander's 3-level (314,000 square foot) unit opened for business on October 15, 1971. J.C. Penney, with a 3-level (260,000 square foot) store, began business on July 19, 1972.
In 1974, a small, Tudor-style section, known as Le Petit Mall, opened. This mall within a mall was installed in the existing southwest store block. It housed stores such as Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Chess King, TV-Stereo Service Center, The Cave Hair Salon and Lum's Restaurant.
Another enlargement of ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL was done in stages between 1991 and 1997. The first stage, which was a 150 million dollar endeavor, added a partial Upper Level. This contained a 14-bay, zeppelin-motif Food Court and sixty new stores and services. Among these were J. Crew, Bebe, Banana Republic and Mondo men's wear. The new mall floor was officially dedicated on April 23, 1993.
Alexander's had been shuttered in February 1991. The store was gutted and remodeled into a New York City-based Abraham & Straus, which held its grand opening on October 17, 1992. This store was in operation until April 30, 1995. New York City-based Bloomingdale's assumed the store space on November 3nd of the same year.
The second half of the ROOSEVELT FIELD remodeling cost 120 million dollars and was completed in two stages. The Upper Level was extended over the mall's southern section. Two parking structures were also built; one replacing an existing garage on the mall's southeast corner. Fifty stores were added to the mall directory. These included FAO Schwarz, AX / Armani Exchange, BCBG, Kenneth Cole, Pottery Barn and Modell's Sporting Goods. A grand opening was held in October 1996.
A fifth anchor department store was built as the final facet of the 1990s makeover. A 3-level (225,000 square foot) Nordstrom, added to the southeast corner of the complex, opened on August 15, 1997. With its completion, the facility spanned approximately 2,228,000 leasable square feet, with over 150 stores and services. It was promoted as the nation's third-largest shopping mall. In September 1998, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group acquired the assets of Corporate Property Investors, which included ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL.
Gimbels Roosevelt Field had shut down in August 1986 and was followed by a New Jersey-based Stern's, which was in operation between February 1987 and August 2001. After Stern's closed, the structure was divided three ways. Indianapolis-based Galyan's Trading Company renovated a 2-level (105,400 square foot) space and opened for business on October 17, 2003.
A 2-level (65,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery was installed in adjacent area. The old Gimbels basement was renovated into a (70,000 square foot) XSport Fitness, which was dedicated in September 2006. Meanwhile, the Galyan's store had been rebranded, by Pittsburgh-based Dick's Sporting Goods, in October 2004.
In September 2013, a comprehensive interior-exterior makeover got underway. In addition to giving the existing structure a thorough update, the 200 million dollar project included construction of a fourth parking garage, Dining District (which replaced the early 1990s-vintage Food Court) and new Southwest Wing. This would include a 2-level (105,400 square foot) Neiman Marcus and approximately 25,800 square feet of inline store space.
These components were dedicated in the following order; the parking garage in November 2014, Dining District in January 2015 and Southwest Wing / Neiman Marcus on February 19, 2016. With all work completed, the shopping hub encompassed approximately 2,377,000 leasable square feet and housed 283 stores and services under its roof.
In late 2019, the Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery at ROOSEVELT FIELD consolidated operations into the mall's Bloomingdale's department store. The Century 21 chain planned to open a store in the (68,000 square foot) space. This plan was abandoned due to the chain's bankruptcy in 2020. Ireland's Primark opens a store in the old Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery in December 2022.
Sources:
The New York Times
The New York Daily News
http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com
http://www.airfield-freeman.com
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.do
Nassau County, New York Tax Assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.rooseveltfield.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.newsday.com
http://gardencitypatch.com
https://libn.com / Long Island Business News
https://www.highbeam.com
http://consumergrouch.com
