16 years of planning went into the original PLAZA. By 1957, the 15 million dollar center encompassed 482,000 leasable square feet and housed fifty-eight stores. In addition to The Fair and Carson's, it included a Lytton's junior department store, Kresge 5 & dime and Walgreen Drug (that chain's first shopping center store). The split-level parking lot could accommodate 2,300 autos.

EVERGREEN PLAZA TENANTS 1957:

UPPER LEVEL
THE FAIR (with Beauty Salon & The Fair Restaurant) / CARSON PIRIE SCOTT / JEWEL TEA COMPANY supermarket / KROGER supermarket / S.S. KRESGE 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / A.S. Beck Shoes / Barnett's Handbags / Bramson ladies' wear & fashion accessories / Burny Brothers Bakery / Chandler's Shoes / Fabric Fair / Fannie May Candies / Faye Nettler Corset Shoppe / Fredrick's Of The Plaza ladies' wear / Howard Clothes / Hudson- Ross Home Appliances / Iwan Ries Company Tobacconist / Kinney Shoes / Lee's Children's Shop / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / Lytton's / Mach Importers / Marks Brothers Jewelry / Maternity Modes / Morrow's Nut House / Ritz Millinery / House of Schiller ladies' wear / Shapiro's Shoes / Singer Sewing Center / Slenderella Figure Salon / The Cotton Shop / Mrs. Snyder's Candies / Walgreen Drug (with luncheonette) / Watland Camera Shop / Wimpy's Grill

TERRACE LEVEL
Corned Beef Center restaurant / De Haan Hi-Fi / Evergren Plaza Cleaners / Evergren Plaza State Bank / Ralph Kelley Paints / Styled Kitchens By St. Charles / Vim Sporting Goods

ARCADE SHOPS
Evergreen Plaza Currency Exchange / Famous Beauty Salons / Fran's Tog Shop / J.M. O'Brien, Medical Doctor / Plaza Barber Shop / Sam The Shoe Doctor 

A 1950s PLAZA promotion beckons one and all to "put (their) Easter shopping in one basket." The convenience of one-stop -in the suburbs- shopping was just beginning to catch on in Chicagoland and other major cities in the United States.
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