West 44th Avenue and Harlan Street
Lakeside, Colorado
The story of Greater Denver's third shopping mall begins in 1953. A 58-acre site, along the southern rim of Lake Rhoda, is purchased by Markets, Incorporated, a company operated by Denver entrepreneur Gerri von Frellick. The plot was located 5.5 miles northwest of Colorado's Capitol, in the city of Lakeside. It was adjacent to the Lakeside Amusement Park and Speedway.
A mall-type facility, tentatively known as LAKESIDE VILLAGE, would be designed by Von Frellick Associates architects and Walter W. Ahlschlager, of Dallas, Texas. The 12 million dollar project would consist of two floors, the Lake Level (or basement) and Mall Level. There would be approximately 450,000 leasable square feet, with an open-air Center Court and two enclosed (and climate-controlled) wings. Deliveries would be made via an underground tunnel.
Construction commenced on July 13, 1955. A 3-level (130,500 square foot) Denver Dry Goods ("The Denver") was officially dedicated on July 25, 1956. The adjacent shopping hub, now promoted as LAKESIDE CENTER, debuted with a 3-day celebration held between August 30 and September 1, 1956.
Present at the grand opening were Von Frellick, Will Richardson (Mayor of Denver), US Senator Byron Giles Rogers (D) and other local dignitaries. Entertainment was provided by Bozo the Clown (of the Ringling Brothers Circus), Al Balater's Band, Kent Bailey's Western Band and The Lakewood Westernairs.
Among the initial twenty-seven inline stores and services were Russell Stover Candies, Richman Brothers men's wear, White Spot Restaurant, Fashion Bar ladies' wear, Maternity Modes, Luby's Cafeteria, Walgreen Drug, a King Soopers grocery and F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
Ground was broken, on October 3, 1957, for a 2-level (110,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward. The store, added to the west side of the mall, was designed by Bracton & Sutherland, Incorporated, of Denver. An official store dedication was held on August 13, 1958. Cynthia Cullen, "Miss Colorado 1958," cut a ceremonial ribbon.
On May 26, 1971, the Commonwealth Theatres Lakeside Twin showed its first features. Built as a freestanding venue, it was situated northwest of LAKESIDE CENTER, adjacent to -and west of- the Wheat Ridge-Lakeside corporation line.
By the mid-1970s, LAKESIDE CENTER was owned by the Denver Real Estate Investment Association. In 1977, they completed a 3 million dollar renovation. Designed by Warren Fleckenger & Associates, Incorporated, of Denver, the project enclosed the entire mall, New store space, and three "plant atriums," were added. When all construction dust settled, the facility -now officially promoted as LAKESIDE MALL- encompassed approximately 523,200 leasable square feet and housed sixty stores and services.
The remodeling continued in 1982-1983, when a single-level (82,600 square foot) Target was built onto the east end. The 13-bay Lakeside Food Court was also installed on the Lake Level, which featured the following vendors; Chubby's Mexican Food, Kool Bear, Lakeside Burger Hut, Omelette Factory, Phoenix Chinese Express, Scotto's Pizza and Steak Place.With these improvements, the shopping venue encompassed approximately 549,600 leasable square feet.
Major shopping hubs in the LAKESIDE MALL trade area included WESTLAND CENTER (1960) {2.4 miles southwest, in Jefferson County / Lakewood}, VILLA ITALIA (1966) {4.7 miles southwest, also in Jefferson County / Lakewood}, NORTH VALLEY CENTER (1967) {6.2 miles northeast, in Adams County / Thornton} and WESTMINSTER MALL (1977) {5.4 miles north, in Westminster}.
LAKESIDE MALL began to decline in February 1987, after the shuttering of its Denver Dry Goods. This store space sat unoccupied for several years. In 1996, a redevelopment plan was put in motion by Denver-based Sevo-Miller Incorporated. The structure was given a face lift and some of its retail area was leased as office spaces. Its official name reverted back to LAKESIDE CENTER.
In March 2001, the Montgomery Ward chain went bust, resulting in another major mall vacancy. This was filled by an Avanza groceteria, which opened for business on May 1, 2002. Around this time, it was decided to market the mall to the area's Latino community. A new moniker was announced, LA PLAZA DE LAKESIDE. However, this new name was never officially adopted.
Denver-based Chandelle Development acquired the mall in January 2006. A redevelopment plan was devised, but details were not made available to the public. In late 2006, the Avanza groceteria at LAKESIDE CENTER was shuttered. The following October, Target moved into a newly-built store in nearby Edgewater, Colorado.
The virtually vacant shopping complex was demolished in 2007-2008. The site sat empty for several years with no type of redevelopment plan on the drawing board. In December 2010, it was finally announced that a 1-level (150,000 square foot) WalMart SuperCenter would be built. A grand opening was held on January 23, 2013.
Sources:
The Denver Post
The Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado)
The Colorado Transcript (Golden, Colorado)
https://historicjeffco.files.wordpress.com / "Historically JeffCo" magazine / Jefferson County Historical Commission / 2012
National Registry of Historic Places / Multiple Property Documentation Forum / United States Department of the Interior / National Park Service / "Historic Residential Subdivisions of Denver, 1940-1965" / Revised March 1992 and October 2010
"Life Is A Roller Coaster, A History of Denver's Lakeside Amusement Park" / David Forsyth / 2012
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
www.ffgeeks.net / "Future Architect"
Chandelle Development
https://coloradocommunitymedia.com
"Fortress Commerce: Jefferson County Malls" / "Historically JeffCo" magazine / Rosemary Lewis / 2012
FAIR USE OF LAKESIDE IMAGE:
The photo from the History Colorado Collection illustrates a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The image is of lower resolution than the original (copies made would be of inferior quality). The image is not replaceable with a free-use or public-domain image. The use of the image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the image in any way. The image is being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and its use is not believed to detract from the original image in any way.
