Welcome to the largest mall and retail history site on the internet. The MALL HALL OF FAME is a vintage shopping mall scrapbook. Its focus is on shopping complexes built -in the USA- between 1946 and 1979. Don't forget to visit our four Shopping Mall Memory Lanes, which transport you through time to a mall in 1956, 1963, 1970 and 1977!

A 2-level North Wing (in medium gray) was added to SALEM MALL in 1981, which included a new J.C. Penney. The west anchor, originally a Rike's, was also enlarged and rebranded. Picnic, a second food court, was installed in the center of the complex in 1985. With these modifications, the facility encompassed approximately 858,000 leasable square feet, housed 124 stores, and maintained free parking for 4,600 autos.



Shillito's and Rike's stores were merged in April 1982 and rebranded in June. The original logo read "Shillito/Rike's." In a newer trademark, the backslash and apostrophe have been omitted. The SALEM MALL store received a Lazarus nameplate in March 1986.
Graphics from Federated Department Stores


The shopping hub entered a downward spiral in the mid-1990s. There had been over 120 stores and services in 1985. By 1998, this number had dwindled to eighty-five.
Graphic from CIGNA Investments


Lazarus closed for good in 1998. In 2001, the abandoned store was demolished and replaced by a "shadow anchor" Home Depot. This store, built with hopes that it would incite a retail revival, failed to stop the mall's decline.
Original drawing from http://www.therousecompany.com (website on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)