Beckley-Mt. Hope Road / US 19 & 21 [now Robert C. Byrd Drive / US 19] and Dunn Drive
Raleigh County (Beckley), West Virginia
West Virginia's third mall-type shopping facility was developed by the Johnstown, Pennsylvania-based George D. Zamias Real Estate Company. The single-level RALEIGH MALL occupied a 40-acre site. This was located 1.7 miles north of downtown Beckley, in a section of unincorporated Raleigh County known as Skelton. Ground was broken on August 19, 1973.
The first tenant to open in the Phase One project was a (14,100 square foot) SupeRx Drugs, which was dedicated on June 30, 1974. A (26,000 square foot) Kroger supermarket began business on July 2nd. These stores were located in a freestanding Convenience Center on the south end of the mall site. A 1-level (88,900 square foot) Murphy's Mart, situated north of Kroger-SupeRx, welcomed first shoppers on October 7, 1974.
Phase Two of the construction project added a fully-enclosed mall to the north side of Murphy's Mart. Its shopping concourse featured works by local artisan Peter Kalaboyias. These sculptures depicted the history of the coal mining industry in West Virginia. A mall-wide grand opening was held on October 9, 1975. Stores dedicated at this time included a 1-level (95,400 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 1-level (50,200 square foot), Wheeling-based Stone & Thomas.
RALEIGH MALL now spanned approximately 353,300 leasable square feet. Among thirty-nine charter tenants were Kinney Shoes, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Henry's Men's Shop and Friar Tuck's Pub. The Grant Thomas Cinema 1 & 2 In The Raleigh Mall showed first features on December 25, 1975.
BECKLEY PLAZA, an open-air strip center, was located across the US 19 & 21 highway from the mall. Also developed by George D. Zamias, it opened in stages, beginning in May 1965. In April 1970, a small enclosed concourse, known as the Plaza Mall, was dedicated.
Eleven years later, the first bona fide rival of RALEIGH MALL was launched. CROSSROADS MALL {2.3 miles northwest, in Raleigh County} was dedicated in April 1981. Murphy's Mart at RALEIGH MALL was shuttered in 1985, with Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames taking the store space. Ames closed when its operations were consolidated with another location in the city.
The store sat vacant until Morgantown, West Virginia-based Gabriel Brothers Discount Family Fashions opened, in 2002. This (62,200 square foot) store shared the former Murphy's Mart space with a (26,700 square foot) Goody's Family Clothing.
Meanwhile, Stone & Thomas had morphed into a Dayton, Ohio-based Elder-Beerman on October 7, 1998. Montgomery Ward folded in March 2001. Its anchor spot sat vacant until being sectioned into two tenant spaces. One of these was filled by a (31,000 square foot), Brentwood, Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Company. This store opened for business on March 22, 2006.
RALEIGH MALL encountered two new competitors in the early 2000s. CRANBERRY CREEK & BECKLEY GALLERIA{1.3 miles southeast, in Beckley} were dedicated in 2005. The Goody's store in RALEIGH MALL relocated to a larger location, in the CRANBERRY CREEK-BECKLEY GALLERIA complex, in April 2005.
By this time, RALEIGH MALL was seventy-percent vacant. The struggling center was acquired by the Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based H.L. Libby Corporation in September 2010. They initiated a demalling in July 2011. The inline store portion of the mall was razed, leaving three anchor structures, and two outparcels, standing.
The demolished mall section was replaced by an expanded parking area. Elder-Beerman was given a new facade. A (62,200 square foot) Dunham's Sports was installed in the southern section of the old Montgomery Ward and held its grand opening on November 18, 2011.
Two freestanding restaurants, Olive Garden and Cheddar's Casual Cafe, were also built in the east parking area. The adjusted gross leasable area of the new -open-air- RALEIGH MALL now stood at 275,600 square feet. The complex housed ten stores and services. One of these (Elder-Beerman) was shuttered in January 2015. The vacant building was divided between new Jo-Ann Fabrics and Party City stores. The latter held its grand opening on March 10, 2016.
Sources:
The Raleigh Register (Beckley, West Virginia)
The Register-Herald (Beckley, West Virginia)
http://Jeff560.tripod.com / "History of Beckley and Raleigh County"
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.wvdo.org / West Virginia Development Office
Http://www.paramountdevelopment.com
https://mallsdb.com / MallsDatabase.com
http://www.hllibbycorp.com / H. L. Libby Corporation
The Raleigh Register (Beckley, West Virginia)
The Register-Herald (Beckley, West Virginia)
http://Jeff560.tripod.com / "History of Beckley and Raleigh County"
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.wvdo.org / West Virginia Development Office
Http://www.paramountdevelopment.com
https://mallsdb.com / MallsDatabase.com
http://www.hllibbycorp.com / H. L. Libby Corporation
