Shelbyville Road / US 60 and Interstate 264
Jefferson County (St. Matthews), Kentucky
The first shopping mall in the Commonwealth of Kentucky was developed on a 67-acre parcel, located 5.8 miles east of downtown Louisville. The shopping center site was adjacent to a major thoroughfare, which followed its eastern boundary. Opened in 1948, as the Innerbelt Highway, it was renamed the Henry Watterson Expressway in 1952 and was incorporated into the Interstate Highway system in 1956.
Work started on the prospective SHELBYVILLE CENTER in early 1961. By the time of the official dedication, on March 21, 1962, the name of the shopping hub had been changed to THE MALL. Attending the grand opening were Lieutenant Governor Wilson Watkins Wyatt (D), Arnold J. Mayo (President of Kaufman's of Kentucky) and James W. Rouse. Music was provided by the Waggener High School Band.
Baltimore's Rogers, Taliaferro, Kostritsky & Lamb firm designed THE MALL, which was the fifth shopping hub built by Maryland's Community Research & Development Incorporated (a James W. Rouse Company subsidiary). The single-level complex was originally anchored by a 2-level (78,200 square foot), Louisville-based Kaufman's of Kentucky, 1-level (46,200 square foot), North Carolina-based Roses 5-10 & 25 Cent store and (20,400 square foot) A & P supermarket.
Charter inline stores included Taylor Drug, Rodes men's, Davidson's Milliners, Fleischer's ladies' wear, Bond Clothes, Benton's Tweed Shop, Maud Muller Candies, Baker's Shoes, Bell Shoes, Sutcliffe's Sporting Goods, Blue Boar Cafeteria and Variety Records.
The original complex, also known as SHELBYVILLE ROAD MALL, housed thirty-nine stores and services and encompassed 320,000 leasable square feet. It was situated around two court areas. The West Court, fronting on Kaufman's, had a fountain and stairway to a small upper level, which housed public restrooms, a Community Room and entrance to the Kaufman's second floor. An over-sized chess set was also located in the area. The East Court, fronting on Roses, featured a waterfall fountain, tropical garden and bird aviary.
Directly across Shelbyville Road was an outdoor movie venue. Originally known as simply the J. Shinbach Drive-In Theatre, it had opened for business on August 29, 1941. The name eventually morphed into the East Drive-In Theatre. The facility was demolished in the late 1960s and replaced by a Giant Foods supermarket and Almart discount department store.
Meanwhile, the Kaufman's at THE MALL had closed in 1966. Stewart's, another Louisville-based department store, moved in in October of the same year. The building was expanded, with a western addition, to 117,100 square feet.
Major shopping centers in the vicinity included SHELBYVILLE ROAD PLAZA (1955) {.2 miles west, in St. Matthews} and MID-CITY MALL (1962) {5 miles southwest, in Louisville}. GREENTREE MALL {8.7 miles northwest, in Clarksville, Indiana} opened, as a fully-enclosed, regional-class complex, in 1968.
An enlargement of THE MALL was soon undertaken, which added a sixteen-store South Wing and 2-level (178,400 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store opened for business on January 8, 1970. The gross leasable area of THE MALL now stood at around 552,000 square feet. In 1971, OXMOOR CENTER {.8 of a mile east, in Louisville} was dedicated. This was followed by BASHFORD MANOR MALL {4 miles southwest, in West Buechel} which opened in 1973.
The official name of THE MALL was changed to MALL IN ST. MATTHEWS in the mid-1980s. Its Stewart's store morphed into an Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres on November 1, 1985. 2 years later, a renovation and expansion got underway. During its first phase, a vacant L.S. Ayres was enlarged with a second westward addition. The remodeled (195,000 square foot) store re-opened, as a Louisville-based Bacon's, in September 1988.
A second phase remodeling had been in progress since February 1988. During this project, a vacant Roses was reconfigured as the 10-bay Picnic Food Court. Moreover, the official name of the shopping hub was shortened to MALL ST. MATTHEWS (the "In" being omitted). A dedication of newly-renovated areas was held on November 16, 1989.
By the early 1990s, MALL ST. MATTHEWS was in decline; this precipitated by the too close for comfort OXMOOR CENTER. In December 1991, a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in MALL ST. MATTHEWS was shuttered. Demolition was soon underway on the mall's north end. A (25,000 square foot) Limited-Express Superplex was built, as the exterior of the shopping hub was given a face lift. New landscaping was also installed. Twenty new stores, some in the new Limited-Express Wing, opened on November 6, 1992.
The renovation resulted in an upturn in business. This prompted the Rouse Company to begin another expansion in early 1994. This included construction of a new South Wing and third anchor department store. A 3-level (230,000 square foot) Dillard's welcomed its first shoppers on March 26, 1995.
A fifth expansion of MALL ST. MATTHEWS added a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor and multilevel parking garage. This project was dedicated on October 21, 1998. With its completion, MALL ST. MATTHEWS became Kentucky's largest shopping mall, with 1,118,700 leasable square feet.
On August 15, 1999, stores in the Bacon's chain were rebranded by Dillard's. The Bacon's at MALL ST. MATTHEWS morphed into a Dillard's Men's, Children's & Home Store. The mall's original Dillard's was refashioned into a Women's Store.
A new century brought more modifications. A deal, whereby Seattle-based Nordstrom was to open a store at MALL ST. MATTHEWS, fell through in early 2001. Lord & Taylor shuttered their store on February 6, 2004. The Rouse Company, builder and owner of the complex, was acquired by Chicago-based General Growth Properties in November 2004.
In October 2005, Lexington's FAYETTE MALL dedicated a Southwest Wing expansion. The complex now covered approximately 1,313,200 leasable square feet. It reclaimed the title of Kentucky's largest shopping mall, which it had relinquished -to MALL ST. MATTHEWS- in October 1998.
Dillard's Men's moved into the old Lord & Taylor space in 2007, leaving the previous location vacant. The original plan was to demolish the structure and replace it with an open-air "lifestyle component". However, the building was left intact, at least for the time being. A 2-level (110,000 square foot) section was renovated and re-opened, as a Los Angeles-based Forever 21, on February 12, 2011. This store relocated from a 7,000 square foot mall space.
In mid-2012, plans were announced for a new theatrical venue, which would be the first to operate in the mall. The remainder of the old Kaufman's store (the part not occupied by Forever 21) was gutted. The state-of-the-art Cinemark Mall St. Matthews 10 opened on May 16, 2013.
MALL ST. MATTHEWS now spanned approximately 1,076,200 leasable square feet and contained 140 stores and services. Forever 21 downsized their store into its first floor in 2017. The (45,000 square foot) second floor was refitted as a Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe, which welcomed its first patrons in early 2019.
Meanwhile, Brookfield Property Partners, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, had acquired a share of General Growth Properties in 2016. In August 2018, Brookfield established 100 percent ownership of the corporation. Hence, MALL ST. MATTHEWS became part of the Brookfield retail center portfolio.
Sources:
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky)
City Stores Annual Report 1960
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
http://www.therousecompany.com (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://drive-ins.com/theater
http://www.aboutnordstrom.com / "Nordstrom Cancels Plans For Louisville Store" / February 21, 2004
www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
www.macerich.com / The Macerich Company
