CHERRY HILL CENTER
Haddonfield Road and Kaighns Avenue
Camden County (Delaware Township-Cherry Hill Township), New Jersey
New Jersey's first fully-enclosed mall was designed by Los Angeles' Victor Gruen Associates and the George M. Ewing Company of Philadelphia. The complex was built by a joint venture of Philadelphia's Strawbridge & Clothier and the James W. Rouse Company's Community Research & Development subsidiary.
CHERRY HILL CENTER was developed on an 85-acre parcel. This was located 8 miles east of Center City Philadelphia, in an unincorporated section of Camden County, New Jersey known as Delaware Township. The area was officially renamed Cherry Hill Township after the passage of a voter referendum held in November 1961.
The first phase of the shopping hub had been officially dedicated on October 11, 1961, when a 3-level (215,000 square foot), Philadelphia-based Strawbridge & Clothier was dedicated. Seventy-four inline stores also opened their doors. These included Loft's Candies, Jacob Reed's Sons men's & boys apparel , Florsheim Shoes, Lane Bryant, Holiday Shoes, Orange One Hour Cleaners and Paris Hats.
A second stage grand opening was held on September 26, 1962. A 2-level (220,000 square foot), Newark, New Jersey-based Bamberger's joined the mall as a second anchor. Seventeen inline stores were added to the tenant list. Among these were Calico Fruit Tree Restaurant, Pets & Plants, Incorporated, Josephine's ladies' wear and Paperback Forum.
The original mall's junior anchors were a 1-level (34,800 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10, (1-level (47,900 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10, (25,600 square foot) Food Fair supermarket and General Cinema Corporation Cinema In Cherry Hill Mall. This venue showed its first feature on April 11, 1962.
When fully leased in early 1963, CHERRY HILL CENTER spanned approximately 1,100,000 leasable square feet and housed 104 stores and services. For a time, it was the largest enclosed mall in the United States.
Major shopping cxenters in the CHERRY HILL trade area included MOORESTOWN MALL (1963) {2.9 miles east, in Burlington County}, ECHELON MALL (1970) {6.1 miles southeast, in Camden County}, DEPTFORD MALL (1975) {8.1 miles southwest, in Gloucester County}, BURLINGTON CENTER MALL (1982) {12.3 miles northeast, in Burlington County} and FRANKLIN MILLS (1989) {10 miles northeast, in Philadelphia}.
Several renovations were done at CHERRY HILL CENTER over the years. The One Cherry Hill office tower was completed in 1968. Apparently, the Bamberger's store was expanded to 334,000 square feet at this time. The theater was renovated and re-opened, as the Cherry Hill Cinema I & II, on November 23, 1973.
The Market Court, and Pantry Pride (nee' Food Fair) supermarket, were demolished in the late 1970s. A 2-level North Wing, designed by Chicago's CRS Group, was built. This new section was anchored by a 2-level (174,000 square foot) J.C. Penney, which opened for business on January 3, 1979.
The 13-bay Picnic Food Court was installed in existing mall space in 1985. Its tenants included Food Works, Potato Pub, California Smoothies, El Taco Grande and Little Anthony & the Appetizers. On October 5, 1986, Bamberger's was rebranded by Macy's. The movie house was permanently shuttered in February 1987. A mall-wide face lift, which refurbished all interior space, was completed in 1990.
Officially promoted as CHERRY HILL MALL, the complex was acquired by the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) in April 2003. Following the shuttering of the Strawbridge's location in 2006, the new owners embarked on a 220 million dollar mall makeover. The old Strawbridge's building and adjacent Cherry Court were demolished. Their replacement was a 2-level West Wing, anchored by a 2-level (138,200 square foot) Nordstrom. This store opened for business on March 27, 2009.
A casual dining "Bistro Row" was added to the front of the complex in the early 2000s. Its first offering, Maggiano's Little Italy, served its first meals in March 2009. The grand opening of Maggiano's was followed by those for Seasons 52 (March 2009), Bobby's Burger Palace (November 2011) and Grand Lux Cafe (July 2012). With these modifications, CHERRY HILL MALL spanned approximately 1,306,000 leasable square feet and contained 160 stores and services.
Sources:
"Dual Anchor Shopping Centers 1952-1965" / Richard Longstreth
http://www.therousecompany.com (Website on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.labelscar.com
jmonthly.com/articles/lifestyle/newer-bigger-better.html
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.preit.com / Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust
