Austin Peah Highway and Yale Road
Shelby County (Memphis), Tennessee
Youngstown, Ohio's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation was the mid-20th century's most prolific shopping mall developer. After opening his first mall project in Mentor, Ohio in 1961, "Mr. D" established a shopping center empire that eventually stretched between New York State, Florida, Washington State and Southern California.
By late 1980, DeBartolo & company had built thirty-nine mall-type retail centers. Greater Memphis' RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL was DeBartolo's sole Volunteer State endeavor. At the time of its official dedication, the shopping hub was located in an unincorporated section of Shelby County known as Raleigh. It would be annexed into the City of Memphis in 1973.
The Raleigh community had developed, in the 19th century, around the Raleigh Springs, whose artesian water was reputed to have medicinal and curative powers. A large inn was completed in 1892. However, by the early 20th century, the resort had fallen out of favor. Within a few more years, the spring had dried up.
Fast forward to June 1970. Ground is broken at a 63.5-acre parcel, located 9.3 miles northeast of center city Memphis. When fully-realized, RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL will encompass approximately 876,900 leasable square feet. It's first operational tenant, a 2-level (132,000 square foot), Memphis-based Goldsmith's, opened its doors on August 11, 1971.
The Raleigh community had developed, in the 19th century, around the Raleigh Springs, whose artesian water was reputed to have medicinal and curative powers. A large inn was completed in 1892. However, by the early 20th century, the resort had fallen out of favor. Within a few more years, the spring had dried up.
Fast forward to June 1970. Ground is broken at a 63.5-acre parcel, located 9.3 miles northeast of center city Memphis. When fully-realized, RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL will encompass approximately 876,900 leasable square feet. It's first operational tenant, a 2-level (132,000 square foot), Memphis-based Goldsmith's, opened its doors on August 11, 1971.
A 1-level (176,000 square foot) Sears was inaugurated -along with twelve inline stores- on September 29, 1971. New tenants included Mary Jane Shoes, Zales Jewelers, Chess King, Florsheim Shoes, Thom McAn Shoes and Spencer Gifts. The General Cinema Corporation Raleigh Springs Cinema I & II showed its first features on November 24, 1971.
J.C. Penney's 2-level (194,000 square foot) unit welcomed its first shoppers on January 26, 1972. The fourth -and final- anchor, a 2-level (63,000 square foot), Memphis-based Lowenstein's, was dedicated on February 27, 1972. A (47,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 -and Harvest House Cafeteria- were dedicated on April 12, 1972, with a (10,900 square foot) Walgreen Drug opening its doors on July 27th.
By the time of the mall's first anniversary, in September 1972, seventy-one stores and services were in operation. These included Merry-Go-Round, Card Cage, Lerner Shops, Richman Brothers, The County Seat, Butler's Shoes, Jaccard's Jewelers, The Swiss Colony, Male Call, Tall & Big Men Shops, The Children's Photographer, and King's Row Furniture Shop.
For its first 10 years, RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL was the preeminent shopping center in Greater Memphis. Its only commercial counterpart was SOUTHLAND MALL (1966) {14.8 miles southwest, in Memphis}. In 1981, two new regional retail centers were dedicated. HICKORY RIDGE MALL {10.7 miles southeast, in Memphis} and MALL OF MEMPHIS {10.1 miles south, in Memphis}. These were joined by OAK COURT MALL {6.8 miles south, in Memphis} in 1988.
The first anchor nameplate change at RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL took place following the demise of Lowenstein's, on January 2, 1982. Little Rock-based Dillard's acquired the Lowenstein's store and re-opened it under a Dillard's nameplate on March 31, 1982.
The first anchor nameplate change at RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL took place following the demise of Lowenstein's, on January 2, 1982. Little Rock-based Dillard's acquired the Lowenstein's store and re-opened it under a Dillard's nameplate on March 31, 1982.
Goldsmith's expanded their RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL store in the late 1970s. Several departments were enlarged, a Goldsmith's Home Store refurbished, a rooftop parking deck built and new Green Leaf Restaurant added. The (172,000 square foot) unit was re-dedicated on August 12, 1979. Dillard's mall store was expanded in the mid-1980s. This 2-level (150,000 square foot) mercantile held its grand re-opening on March 7, 1985. With these additions, RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL covered approximately 1,003,900 leasable square feet.
RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL faced a formidable retail rival in February 1997. WOLFCHASE GALLERIA {6.6 miles southeast, in Shelby County} quickly assumed the position of dominant shopping center in the region. RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL was soon in a downward spiral.
J.C. Penney was demoted to an Outlet Store in March 1999. Dillard's followed suit, with its Clearance Center being established on August 27, 1999. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group had acquired RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL as a result of their 1996 merger with the DeBartolo Realty Corporation.
In an attempt to curtail the mall's decline, Simon announced an 11 million dollar makeover in February 2000. During Phase One, new floors, ceilings and skylights were installed. The Main Entrance was also rebuilt. A re-grand opening was held on November 24, 2000. The Phase Two project repurposed a vacant Woolworth space, which had been sitting vacant since late 1993. It was reconfigured as the Malco Raleigh Springs 12. This new movie house held its grand opening on July 4, 2001.
Alas, the renovation of RALEIGH SPRINGS MALL was unsuccessful. The J.C. Penney Outlet Store closed for good January 25, 2003, followed by the shutterings of Goldsmith's and Dillard's, in April. This left the mall with only Sears and the Malco multiplex to sustain it. A deal with Wal-Mart, to raze the vacant Penney's and replace it with a SuperCenter, fell through in June 2009.
In October 2009, Raleigh, North Carolina's Whichard Real Estate acquired the shopping center. Its final operational anchor, Sears, went dark April 3, 2011. The J.C. Penney structure, vacant since 2003, had been severely vandalized over the years. The dilapidated building was knocked down in December 2012.
An entity known as Raleigh Springs Mall, Limited Liability Company purchased five of the mall's ten land parcels in May 2013. Simultaneously, The City of Memphis, who owned (or was closing on) the remaining five parcels, announced a redevelopment plan for the moribund mall. This project would entail complete demolition of the structure and construction of an open-air retail, office and entertainment complex encompassing 700,000 square feet.
Tentatively known as RALEIGH SPRINGS CIVIC CENTER, it would cost approximately 66 million dollars and feature 100,000 square feet of retail, a farmer's market, skateboard park, two lakes, walking trails, a Memphis Public Library branch and Memphis Police traffic precinct. The plan was approved by the Memphis City Council in March 2014.
Meanwhile, Raleigh Springs Mall, LLC was pursuing a modest renovation and retenanting of the existing mall. They filed suit against the City of Memphis and won their case in August 2015, presenting a major stumbling block to the city's demolition and redevelopment plan.
Alas, all issues and litigation were eventually resolved. Demolition began, in earnest, in March 2017 and was complete by June. The new mixed-use facility, known as RALEIGH SPRINGS CIVIC CENTER, was officially dedicated on November 19, 2020.
Sources:
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee)
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee)
The Memphis Press Scimitar
http://www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
“I Remember Raleigh” / M. Winslow Chapman
http://thewhileyreport.blogspot.com
http://www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
“I Remember Raleigh” / M. Winslow Chapman
http://thewhileyreport.blogspot.com
http://www.bizjournals.com
Shelby County, Tennessee tax assessor website
https://www.cinematreasures.org
"Raleigh Springs Civic Center" article on Wikipedia
Shelby County, Tennessee tax assessor website
https://www.cinematreasures.org
"Raleigh Springs Civic Center" article on Wikipedia
"Raleigh Springs Mall" article on Wikipedia
