Tyrone Boulevard North / US 19 and 66th Street North
Saint Petersburg, Florida
The Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation opened three fully-enclosed shopping malls during 1972; CASTLETON SQUARE {in Indiana}, SECURITY SQUARE {In Maryland} and TYRONE SQUARE. The single-level Florida facility was the corporation's fourth Sunshine State shopping hub. It was developed on a 71-acre parcel, located 6.2 miles northwest of center city St. Petersburg.
Construction commenced in July 1967. A 2-level (183,600 square foot) Sears, built as a freestanding structure, was dedicated in April 1968. Ground was broken for a Tampa-based Maas Brothers in September 1971. The 2-level (162,000 square foot) mercantile was dedicated on August 17, 1972. TYRONE SQUARE MALL debuted at a twenty-store Preview Opening, which was held on October 5, 1972.
The dedication was attended by Lieutenant Governor Thomas Burton "Tom" Adams, Junior (D), Suzanne Charles "Miss Florida 1972," and Edward J. DeBartolo, Junior. A written account of the grand opening describes the mall's interior as featuring "bold, Picasso-like colors, mirrored lights and shining, terrazzo and marble floors" with "accents of chrome, glass and satin silver." It goes on to say that "two large fountains decorated in chartreuse and purple geometric designs" graced court areas.
A 2-level (183,900 square foot) J.C. Penney opened its doors on January 3, 1973. The mall's 2-level (183,600 square foot), Saint Petersburg-based Robinson's of Florida began business on September 4, 1973. This was the first store in the newly-created division of New York City-based Associated Dry Goods.
Upon Robinson's completion, TYRONE SQUARE encompassed around 995,900 leasable square feet and contained 109 stores and services. This made it the largest shopping mall in the Tampa Bay Area. Charter inline stores included Egerton & Moore men's wear, Fremacs For Men, Foxmoor Casuals, Figure Fair, Disc Records, SupeRx Drugs and Hickory Farms of Ohio. The American Multi-Cinema Tyrone Square 6, an in-mall multiplex, showed its first features on December 25, 1972.
Major shopping hubs on the Pinellas Peninsula included GATEWAY MALL (1968-1998) {6.2 miles northeast, in St. Petersburg}, SEMINOLE MALL (1970-2015) {4.6 miles northwest, in Seminole}, CLEARWATER MALL (1973-2002) {11.1 miles north, in Clearwater} and PINELLAS SQUARE MALL (1977-2004) {3.9 miles northeast, in Pinellas Park}.
TYRONE SQUARE MALL was situated northwest of CROSSROADS CENTER (1958), an open-air strip complex. An adjacent J.M Fields discount mart and Pantry Pride supermarket (1971) were intended to be part of a fully-enclosed CROSSWINDS MALL, but this project was cancelled, due to community opposition, in 1975.
Anchor store rebrandings began at TYRONE SQUARE after the August 1987 acquisition of eight Robinson's of Florida stores by Baton Rouge-based Goudchaux's-Maison Blanche. West Florida locations were rebranded as Maison Blanche on July 28, 1988. They were acquired -and re-rebranded by Little Rock-based Dillard's- in August 1991. Maas Brothers stores were rebranded by Miami-based Burdines on October 20, 1991. They became Burdines-Macy's on January 30, 2004 and full-fledged Macy's on March 6, 2005.
The 1996 merger of the DeBartolo Corporation and Indiana's Simon Property Group brought TYRONE SQUARE into the Simon property portfolio. A major remodeling got underway in June 1998. A 9-bay Food Court and Tia's Tex Mex Restaurant were built at the mall's Main Entrance. The culinary complex was dedicated on July 19, 1998.
The 10 million dollar renovation included a face lift of all mall common areas and construction of a 1-level (24,300 square foot) Borders Books. This store was added to the northwest corner of the complex and opened for business in the spring of 1999.
A subsequent face lift, done between February and November 2005, rebuilt 40,000 square feet on the mall's northeast corner into a mini lifestyle center. A new mall entrance was created, with stores such as J. Jill, Jos. A. Bank and C.J. Banks added to the retail roster. TYRONE SQUARE now encompassed 1,096,000 leasable square feet and housed over 120 stores and services.
Borders Books was shuttered on September 12, 2011. DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) assumed the space and opened a store on October 11th. Two new sit-down restaurants joined the mall's lifestyle section in 2013. Lime Fresh Mexican Grill opened on August 22, 2013. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers debuted on October 7th. A freestanding movie megaplex, the Cobb Luxury 10, showed its first features on April 15, 2016.
The TYRONE SQUARE Sears was shuttered on January 28, 2017. The building was knocked down. A new store structure, encompassing 151,900 square feet, housed Dick's Sporting Goods and PetSmart, Five Below and Lucky's Market, a Boulder, Colorado-based gourmet grocer. Dick's began business on March 2, 2018. Other tenants in the new wing were in operation by the summer of 2018.
Sources:
The St. Petersburg Evening Independent
The Tampa Bay Times
www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
Pinellas County, Florida tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.org
A 2-level (183,900 square foot) J.C. Penney opened its doors on January 3, 1973. The mall's 2-level (183,600 square foot), Saint Petersburg-based Robinson's of Florida began business on September 4, 1973. This was the first store in the newly-created division of New York City-based Associated Dry Goods.
Upon Robinson's completion, TYRONE SQUARE encompassed around 995,900 leasable square feet and contained 109 stores and services. This made it the largest shopping mall in the Tampa Bay Area. Charter inline stores included Egerton & Moore men's wear, Fremacs For Men, Foxmoor Casuals, Figure Fair, Disc Records, SupeRx Drugs and Hickory Farms of Ohio. The American Multi-Cinema Tyrone Square 6, an in-mall multiplex, showed its first features on December 25, 1972.
Major shopping hubs on the Pinellas Peninsula included GATEWAY MALL (1968-1998) {6.2 miles northeast, in St. Petersburg}, SEMINOLE MALL (1970-2015) {4.6 miles northwest, in Seminole}, CLEARWATER MALL (1973-2002) {11.1 miles north, in Clearwater} and PINELLAS SQUARE MALL (1977-2004) {3.9 miles northeast, in Pinellas Park}.
TYRONE SQUARE MALL was situated northwest of CROSSROADS CENTER (1958), an open-air strip complex. An adjacent J.M Fields discount mart and Pantry Pride supermarket (1971) were intended to be part of a fully-enclosed CROSSWINDS MALL, but this project was cancelled, due to community opposition, in 1975.
Anchor store rebrandings began at TYRONE SQUARE after the August 1987 acquisition of eight Robinson's of Florida stores by Baton Rouge-based Goudchaux's-Maison Blanche. West Florida locations were rebranded as Maison Blanche on July 28, 1988. They were acquired -and re-rebranded by Little Rock-based Dillard's- in August 1991. Maas Brothers stores were rebranded by Miami-based Burdines on October 20, 1991. They became Burdines-Macy's on January 30, 2004 and full-fledged Macy's on March 6, 2005.
The 1996 merger of the DeBartolo Corporation and Indiana's Simon Property Group brought TYRONE SQUARE into the Simon property portfolio. A major remodeling got underway in June 1998. A 9-bay Food Court and Tia's Tex Mex Restaurant were built at the mall's Main Entrance. The culinary complex was dedicated on July 19, 1998.
The 10 million dollar renovation included a face lift of all mall common areas and construction of a 1-level (24,300 square foot) Borders Books. This store was added to the northwest corner of the complex and opened for business in the spring of 1999.
A subsequent face lift, done between February and November 2005, rebuilt 40,000 square feet on the mall's northeast corner into a mini lifestyle center. A new mall entrance was created, with stores such as J. Jill, Jos. A. Bank and C.J. Banks added to the retail roster. TYRONE SQUARE now encompassed 1,096,000 leasable square feet and housed over 120 stores and services.
The TYRONE SQUARE Sears was shuttered on January 28, 2017. The building was knocked down. A new store structure, encompassing 151,900 square feet, housed Dick's Sporting Goods and PetSmart, Five Below and Lucky's Market, a Boulder, Colorado-based gourmet grocer. Dick's began business on March 2, 2018. Other tenants in the new wing were in operation by the summer of 2018.
Sources:
The St. Petersburg Evening Independent
The Tampa Bay Times
www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
Pinellas County, Florida tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.org
