Interstate 35 West and East Seminary Drive
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth's first mall-type shopping center was also the first built by major, mid-century mallmaker Homart Development. This Chicago-based concern was a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck & Company. In addition to SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER, Homart built Austin's HANCOCK CENTER (1963), New Mexico's CORONADO CENTER (1965), Rhode Island's MIDLAND MALL (1967) and Northern Kentucky's FLORENCE MALL (1976), to name a few.
A groundbreaking for SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER was held April 5, 1960. The complex was built on an 85-acre spread, located 6 miles south of center city Fort Worth. The site was adjacent to the newly-completed "South Freeway." Katy Lake, occupying most of the site, had been drained in early 1959.
The design of the shopping hub was handled by Preston Geren (of Fort Worth), George Dahl (of Dallas), Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett (of Chicago) and Copeland, Novak & Isreal (of New York City). An official dedication, with twenty-four operational stores, was held on March 14, 1962.
The festivities began with a flag raising by the Boy Scouts of America. A mile-long ribbon, wrapped around the mall, was simultaneously cut by thirty-three Delta Delta Delta sorority sisters (from the nearby Texas Christian University). Music was provided by the Technical High School Band. There were also strolling musicians, puppet shows, clowns and fashion shows. The event was covered, in living color, by WBAP-TV, who broadcast live from the new shopping venue for several days.
Open-air in format, SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER was situated on 2 levels. A lower floor included a retail arcade, basements for major stores and the Town Hall community auditorium. Mall Level concourses were lined with oak and magnolia trees, attractive planters and six fountains. A 2-level (105,500 square foot), Fort Worth-based Stripling's, the chain's first branch, sat on the north end of the mall. A 3-level (225,000 square foot) Sears anchored the southeast corner.
Open-air in format, SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER was situated on 2 levels. A lower floor included a retail arcade, basements for major stores and the Town Hall community auditorium. Mall Level concourses were lined with oak and magnolia trees, attractive planters and six fountains. A 2-level (105,500 square foot), Fort Worth-based Stripling's, the chain's first branch, sat on the north end of the mall. A 3-level (225,000 square foot) Sears anchored the southeast corner.
Inline stores included Thom McAn Shoes, Foreman & Clark, National Shirt Shops, Kinney Shoes, Milam's Toyland, Margo's la Mode, Wyatt's Cafeteria and the El Chico Restaurant. Major inline stores were a (17,000 square foot) Buddies supermarket, 2-level (67,000 square foot) G.C. Murphy 5 & 10 and 2-level (40,000 square foot) Finger Furniture. There were also a 7-story Seminary South Office Building. A 3-level (127,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was built on the north end of the shopping hub, utilizing existing store space and an addition. The store, dedicated in the fall of 1964, included its own freestanding Auto Center.
The General Cinema Corporation Seminary South Cinema I & II welcomed its first patrons on December 25, 1969. It was built as a northwestern outparcel of the mall. A third auditorium was created in the late 1970s.
Retail rivals of SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER included NORTH EAST MALL (1971) {11.9 miles northeast, in Hurst}, NORTH HILLS MALL (1979) {11.6 miles northeast, in North Richland Hills}, RIDGEMAR MALL (1976) {7.3 miles northwest, in Fort Worth} and HULEN MALL (1977) {3.9 miles west, also in Fort Worth}.
Stores in the Buddies chain were rebranded by Winn-Dixie in 1976. Soon after, a bowling alley at the northwest corner of SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER was demolished and replaced by a 3-level (127,000 square foot) Dillard's. This store held its grand opening on October 4, 1978. The north anchor was rebranded as a Stripling & Cox in 1983, with the store being shuttered in January 1986.
Meanwhile, Homart Development had sold SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER in December 1985. Texas Center Associates, the new owner, announced a 20 million dollar renovation in April 1986. During this project, concourses were enclosed with vaulted ceilings and domed courts that were part of a Teflon-coated roof structure.
On April 23, 1987, the mall was renamed FORT WORTH TOWN CENTER. It was formally dedicated on September 1st. The complex included a 13-bay Food Pavilion (in the lower level of the old G.C. Murphy), as well as The Limited, Contempo Casuals, the Rox-Z Nightclub and sixty additional stores and services. The General Cinema Corporation Town Center Cinema 8, an in-mall multiplex, replaced the freestanding Seminary South Cinema I-II-III.
The gross leasable area of FORT WORTH TOWN CENTER now measured 942,000 square feet. The mall was modestly successful for a time. However, by the early 1990s, it was in foreclosure. J.C. Penney pulled up stakes in January 1993. Dillard's and Sears followed in 2002. The mall was left anchor-less and virtually abandoned.
Montebello, California's Jose de Jesus Legaspi came to its rescue. In April 2004, he and a consortium of Dallas-based businessmen acquired the struggling venue, which had changed ownership three times over the past 11 years. Legaspi's plan was to reinvent the center as a Latin festival-style marketplace. The first phase of a proposed 40 million dollar renovation was announced in June 2004. The remodeling included an exterior face lift, giving the structure the appearance of a Mexican village. The name of the shopping center was changed to LA GRAN PLAZA de FORT WORTH in February 2005.
A portion of the vacant Stripling's store had re-opened, as a (25,000 square foot) Levine's discount apparel, in August of 1998. As part of the LA GRAN PLAZA renovation, a large section of former Stripling's Upper Level became the (35,000 square foot) OK Corral nightclub. The vacant Dillard's morphed into El Mercado ("The Marketplace"). After numerous name changes, the 1980s-vintage multiplex had been shuttered in March 2003. It was renovated and re-opened, as Cinema Latino de Fort Worth, on May 1, 2003 (actually predating the LA GRAN PLAZA conversion).
The Lower Level of the old Sears re-opened, as a Burlington Coat Factory, February 29, 2008. This was joined by Ross Dress For Less, on the Upper Level, on March 6, 2010. A shuttered Winn-Dixie had been leased as a Fiesta Mart Groceteria, which moved to a new freestanding store in early 2008. In the 2010s, LA GRAN PLAZA was being managed by Houston-based Boxer Properties and housed over 200 stores and services. In addition to the aforementioned Burlington (Coat Factory) and Ross Dress For Less, these included Everest College, Bealls, Kids For Less and Citi Trends.
Sources:
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Mid-Cities Daily News
http://www.thelegaspi.com / The Legaspi Company
http://www.boxerproperties.com / Boxer Properties
http://www.lagranplazamall.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org / Comment post by "DallasMovieTheatres"
http://www.hometownbyhandlebar.com
Tarrant County, Texas property tax assessor website
http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com
The General Cinema Corporation Seminary South Cinema I & II welcomed its first patrons on December 25, 1969. It was built as a northwestern outparcel of the mall. A third auditorium was created in the late 1970s.
Retail rivals of SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER included NORTH EAST MALL (1971) {11.9 miles northeast, in Hurst}, NORTH HILLS MALL (1979) {11.6 miles northeast, in North Richland Hills}, RIDGEMAR MALL (1976) {7.3 miles northwest, in Fort Worth} and HULEN MALL (1977) {3.9 miles west, also in Fort Worth}.
Stores in the Buddies chain were rebranded by Winn-Dixie in 1976. Soon after, a bowling alley at the northwest corner of SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER was demolished and replaced by a 3-level (127,000 square foot) Dillard's. This store held its grand opening on October 4, 1978. The north anchor was rebranded as a Stripling & Cox in 1983, with the store being shuttered in January 1986.
Meanwhile, Homart Development had sold SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER in December 1985. Texas Center Associates, the new owner, announced a 20 million dollar renovation in April 1986. During this project, concourses were enclosed with vaulted ceilings and domed courts that were part of a Teflon-coated roof structure.
On April 23, 1987, the mall was renamed FORT WORTH TOWN CENTER. It was formally dedicated on September 1st. The complex included a 13-bay Food Pavilion (in the lower level of the old G.C. Murphy), as well as The Limited, Contempo Casuals, the Rox-Z Nightclub and sixty additional stores and services. The General Cinema Corporation Town Center Cinema 8, an in-mall multiplex, replaced the freestanding Seminary South Cinema I-II-III.
The gross leasable area of FORT WORTH TOWN CENTER now measured 942,000 square feet. The mall was modestly successful for a time. However, by the early 1990s, it was in foreclosure. J.C. Penney pulled up stakes in January 1993. Dillard's and Sears followed in 2002. The mall was left anchor-less and virtually abandoned.
Montebello, California's Jose de Jesus Legaspi came to its rescue. In April 2004, he and a consortium of Dallas-based businessmen acquired the struggling venue, which had changed ownership three times over the past 11 years. Legaspi's plan was to reinvent the center as a Latin festival-style marketplace. The first phase of a proposed 40 million dollar renovation was announced in June 2004. The remodeling included an exterior face lift, giving the structure the appearance of a Mexican village. The name of the shopping center was changed to LA GRAN PLAZA de FORT WORTH in February 2005.
A portion of the vacant Stripling's store had re-opened, as a (25,000 square foot) Levine's discount apparel, in August of 1998. As part of the LA GRAN PLAZA renovation, a large section of former Stripling's Upper Level became the (35,000 square foot) OK Corral nightclub. The vacant Dillard's morphed into El Mercado ("The Marketplace"). After numerous name changes, the 1980s-vintage multiplex had been shuttered in March 2003. It was renovated and re-opened, as Cinema Latino de Fort Worth, on May 1, 2003 (actually predating the LA GRAN PLAZA conversion).
The Lower Level of the old Sears re-opened, as a Burlington Coat Factory, February 29, 2008. This was joined by Ross Dress For Less, on the Upper Level, on March 6, 2010. A shuttered Winn-Dixie had been leased as a Fiesta Mart Groceteria, which moved to a new freestanding store in early 2008. In the 2010s, LA GRAN PLAZA was being managed by Houston-based Boxer Properties and housed over 200 stores and services. In addition to the aforementioned Burlington (Coat Factory) and Ross Dress For Less, these included Everest College, Bealls, Kids For Less and Citi Trends.
Sources:
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Mid-Cities Daily News
http://www.thelegaspi.com / The Legaspi Company
http://www.boxerproperties.com / Boxer Properties
http://www.lagranplazamall.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org / Comment post by "DallasMovieTheatres"
http://www.hometownbyhandlebar.com
Tarrant County, Texas property tax assessor website
http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com
