11th Avenue / US 12 and North Oakes Street
Helena, Montana
The Treasure State's capital city shopping mall was developed by a joint venture of Helena's William R. Miles and Don F. Robinson, of Great Falls. The original complex was built on 9 acres, located .3 mile northeast of the Montana State House.
CAPITAL HILL CENTER encompassed approximately 98,400 leasable square feet and contained twenty-four stores and services beneath its roof. The venue was anchored by a 1-level (40,400 square foot), Butte-based Hennessy's. Charter tenants included Schiff Shoes, Zale's Jewelers, Three Sisters ladies' wear, a (7,500 square foot) Super Save Drug and (16,500 square foot) Albertsons Food Center.
A formal dedication was held March 4, 1965. Governor Tim Babcock (R) cut a ceremonial ribbon, assisted by Helena Mayor-Elect Dave Lewis, East Helena Mayor David Foster and Wolf Creek Mayor Robert Funk. Other state and local dignitaries attended the ceremony, with twenty-one stores opening for business.
By the late 1970s, plans were being drawn up for an expansion of CAPITAL HILL CENTER. To accommodate said expansion, a 1-block section of North Sanders Street needed to be removed, so that two city blocks could merge into a 13.5-acre plot. The City Planning Board approved the merger in June 1979, making it possible for the shopping complex to expand westward.
The renovation would be conducted in three phases. The first entailed a face lift of the existing structure. Mall entrances would be rebuilt, inline store parking lot entries sealed off and new lighting, ceilings, skylights and landscaping installed. Construction commenced on February 8, 1982.
Phase 2 added approximately 47,800 square feet to the west end of CAPITAL HILL CENTER. Eighteen new tenant spaces were created. The third -and final- stage of the remodeling added a 1-level (32,500 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store made its debut on September 12, 1984, with a complex-wide re-grand opening being held on November 1st.
CAPITAL HILL MALL now encompassed approximately 178,800 leasable square feet. By September 1985, there were thirty-five stores and services. During the mall's reconstruction, Maurices and Orange Julius had set up shop in the original structure. Stores in the new addition included Sweetbriar ladies' wear, Naturalizer Shoes and a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio.
In the late 1980s, Hennessy's expanded their store into adjacent space in the East Wing of the mall. Gallenkamp Shoes and K-G Men's had closed down, with Leslie's Hallmark and Montana Treasures stores being relocated. The enlarged Hennessy's was re-dedicated on August 23, 1987. It now spanned 57,400 square feet.
Hennessy's had moved its corporate headquarters to Billings, Montana in 1980. The chain had been a division of the Mercantile Stores conglomerate since 1914. Dillard's bought Mercantile Stores in 1998, with all Hennessy's locations coming under the Dillard's banner in October of the same year. Dillard's enlarged the store -to 93,800 square feet- by incorporating its unused second floor.
Operating as the only fully-enclosed shopping center in -or around- Montana's Queen City, CAPITAL HILL MALL was the region's prominent retail center. It was given face lift refurbishments in 1992 and 2001. Then, new open-air complexes, such as GREAT NORTHERN TOWN CENTER (2002) {in downtown Helena} and SKYWAY CENTER (2007) {1.9 miles north, in Helena} began to dot the landscape.
The outmoded, downtown shopping mall began to falter. Its physical structure was owned by Salt Lake City-based Westfield Properties / WPI Commercial, with 9.7 acres of the site leased by Helena's Intermountain Deaconess Children's Home. By 2007, there were thirty stores in operation, out of a total of forty-two spaces.
A proposal to sell the mall and its acreage had been announced in 2002. The buyer would be the Montana Historical Society, who planned -at first- to renovate the existing shopping center into a Montana State Historical Museum. Eventually, a more ambitious plan was devised, whereby the entire mall would be demolished and replaced with a 29 million dollar museum complex.
The controversial plan was debated for 6 years. In June 2008, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) challenged the citizenry with the daunting task of raising 13 million dollars within five months to keep the museum project alive.
As it turned out, the challenge was not met. On January 16, 2009, it was announced that only $100,000 (of the 13 million) had been raised. The mall-museum project was abandoned, with a site across the street from the existing museum mentioned as a possible location for a new structure.
In May 2010, Dillard's closed its CAPITAL HILL MALL store. Soon after, the center's owner defaulting on their loan payment. An auction was planned for October 2010. It was delayed until November 2010, then until March 2011 and -lastly- until April 2011. This sale ended up being cancelled, as well.
An auction was finally held on the Lewis & Clark County Courthouse steps on August 13, 2013. Los Angeles' City National Bank acquired CAPITAL HILL MALL, which had ten operating tenants. The bank added new landscaping and performed maintenance on the aging property in hopes of reselling it.
With the departure of Leslie's Hallmark and Christopher & Banks in 2015, the shopping hub was left with just five operational tenants; Lucky Lil's Casino, GNC, American Eye Care, Cliff's Jewelry and J.C. Penney. By early 2016, this number had dwindled to just three. An eastern section of the interior mallway had been blocked off. Salt Lake City's Kimball Investment Company bought the moribund mall in June 2016.
J.C. Penney announced the shuttering of 120 mall-based stores in March 2017. The CAPITAL HILL MALL location was on the list. A liquidation sale commenced in April 2017, with the store going dark in June. By mid-2018, Lucky Lil's Casino (a mall tenant since August 1995) was the only operational tenant. Lucky Lil's closed for good on January 13, 2019. Demolition of the 53-year-old shopping facility commenced in February.
Sources:
The Independent Record (Helena, Montana)
www.helenahistory.org
www.capitalhillmall.com
Comment post by Trevor Westphal
www.helenair.com
http://www.kxlh.com
https://www.kulr8.com
An auction was finally held on the Lewis & Clark County Courthouse steps on August 13, 2013. Los Angeles' City National Bank acquired CAPITAL HILL MALL, which had ten operating tenants. The bank added new landscaping and performed maintenance on the aging property in hopes of reselling it.
With the departure of Leslie's Hallmark and Christopher & Banks in 2015, the shopping hub was left with just five operational tenants; Lucky Lil's Casino, GNC, American Eye Care, Cliff's Jewelry and J.C. Penney. By early 2016, this number had dwindled to just three. An eastern section of the interior mallway had been blocked off. Salt Lake City's Kimball Investment Company bought the moribund mall in June 2016.
J.C. Penney announced the shuttering of 120 mall-based stores in March 2017. The CAPITAL HILL MALL location was on the list. A liquidation sale commenced in April 2017, with the store going dark in June. By mid-2018, Lucky Lil's Casino (a mall tenant since August 1995) was the only operational tenant. Lucky Lil's closed for good on January 13, 2019. Demolition of the 53-year-old shopping facility commenced in February.
Sources:
The Independent Record (Helena, Montana)
www.helenahistory.org
www.capitalhillmall.com
Comment post by Trevor Westphal
www.helenair.com
http://www.kxlh.com
https://www.kulr8.com
