GATEWAY CENTER
O Street / US 17 and North 66th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska
GATEWAY CENTER was built on a 76.2-acre parcel, located 3.3 miles southeast of the Nebraska State House. The 385,000 square foot retail hub was developed by Chicago's Draper & Kramer on land owned by Lincoln's Bankers Life Insurance Company of Nebraska. The open-air facility was comprised of a ground floor Mall Level and partial basement along its east side.
Gateway Bank, the first operational tenant, opened for business on August 15, 1960. Next in line were a 2-level (118,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 2-level (23,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10. These were dedicated on August 18th. An (18,000 square foot) Hinky Dinky supermarket began business in February 1961.
Other charter tenants included Ben Simon's apparel and Walgreen Drug. A 3-level (156,800 square foot), Lincoln-based Miller & Paine was added to the north end of the shopping center. This store was dedicated on May 6, 1964. By this time, Magee's apparel had also opened a GATEWAY CENTER store.
The mall was expanded eastward between 1970 and 1972. A 2-level (130,000 square foot) Sears opened for business on October 21, 1971. This store anchored a fully-enclosed concourse, known as the Gallery Mall, which linked Sears with the existing shopping complex and included a parking deck on its lower level.
The first Gallery Mall stores opened in March 1972. When fully-leased, the new wing housed tenants such as Nebraska Clothing, Bostonian Shoes, B. Dalton Bookseller, Exotica Imports, Kings & Queens and a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio.
As the Sears and Gallery Mall were being built, a parking garage was constructed north of Miller & Paine. Moreover, a freestanding group of buildings known as the North Convenience Center and East Convenience Center had been built along the rim of the north parking lot.
Stores in the two new strip plazas included Baker Hardware & Home Center, Gateway Barber Shop, Gateway Liquor & Beer, Northeast Fabrics and a relocated (26,000 square foot) Hinky Dinky supermarket. This store began business on July 21, 1971.
In the mall proper, the vacant Hinky Dinky space was retenanted by a Lincoln-based Hovland Swanson junior department store, which opened in February 1972. A Bishop Buffet cafeteria was added to the Hovland Swanson structure, which served its first meals in May 1972.
Omaha-based Brandeis ["bran-diys"] added a 2-level (101,700 square foot) store to the mall's northwest corner, which was dedicated on July 30, 1977. Anchor alterations began August 5, 1987, when Younkers (then headquartered in Des Moines) rebranded the Brandeis chain. In August of 1988, Miller & Paine was rebranded by Dillard's.
A second expansion of GATEWAY CENTER was done between 1994 and 1996. This project enclosed the circa-1960 mall, with a small Food Court installed in the newly-roofed Center Court. A thirteen-store Northeast Wing and 2-level (125,800 square foot) J.C. Penney were also built. The new Penney's debuted August 9, 1995.
GATEWAY CENTER had no sizable competition until the completion of SOUTHPOINTE PAVILIONS {5.3 miles southwest, in Lincoln}. This open-air lifestyle center opened for business in the fall of 1999.
With the new century came the shuttering of Montgomery Ward, which closed its GATEWAY store in the summer of 2000. In 2001, the retail complex was acquired by Australia-based Westfield, who renamed it WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN GATEWAY. This was truncated to WESTFIELD GATEWAY in June 2005.
A third major renovation was underway at this time. The existing Food Court was shifted westward and expanded into a 10-bay facility, which included a merry-go-round. The exterior of the complex was also redone with a "prairie-style" facade. When the 45 million dollar remodeling was dedicated, on November 4, 2005, WESTFIELD GATEWAY encompassed around 1,002,000 leasable square feet and contained 107 store spaces under its roof.
The old Ward's spot had been subdivided and retenanted by Qdoba Mexican Grill and Steve & Barry's University Sportswear. This store began business in November 2003 and closed for good in November 2008. Its vacant space was leased to temporary tenants until a 1-level (23,000 square foot) Forever 21 opened, on June 15, 2013.
Westfield sold the mall in June 2013; the buyer being Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group. The shopping complex received a new name...GATEWAY MALL.
A freestanding Granite City Food & Brewery opened, in the southeast parking area, in 2005. This store was shuttered in September 2016, as plans were being finalized for a new Dick's Sporting Goods. This would be built in the vicinity of the old Granite City store. A relocated Granite City welcomed first customers on December 14, 2016. The 2-level (70,000 square foot) Dick's opened for business on September 21, 2017.
Openings of these new stores were followed by the closings of two mall anchors. Younkers went dark in August 2018, with Sears shutting down in March 2019. Omaha-based The Rush Market, a home furnishings store, operated in the Younkers space between May and October 2019. In the early 2020s, GATEWAY MALL changed hands. Columbus, Ohio's Washington Prime Group acquired the shopping hub in May 2022.
Soon after, the Lower Level of the vacant Sears was retenanted. A Tesla Service Center, occupying the old Sears Auto Center, opened for business on December 18, 2023. A (40,000 square foot) Burlington opened its doors on October 4th, 2024. On November 23rd, a (30,000 square foot) Sierra Trading Post outdoor apparel store made its debut. A (50,000 square foot) Total Wine & More welcomed first shoppers in 2025.
Sources:
The Journal-Star (Lincoln, Nebraska)
"Hinky Dinky News" / Volume XXVI Number 5 / August 1971
Lancaster County, Nebraska tax assessor website
https://www.eyecorp.com
https://www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
https://starwoodretail.com / Starwood Retail Partners
https://wpgus.com / Washington Prime Group
http://www.shoppinggatewaymall.com
https://www.1011now.com
"Gateway Mall" article on Wikipedia
