GULFGATE SHOPPING CITY
Gulf Freeway and Woodridge Street
Houston, Texas
What was first shopping mall in the Lone Star State? Some may cite Houston's GULFGATE SHOPPING CITY, which was dedicated in late 1956. However, there is another -slightly older- contender. PALMS CENTER, on the southeast side of the Bayou City, opened for business in late 1955...a full year before the official dedication of the GULFGATE mall.
PALMS CENTER encompassed a modest 268,000 leasable square feet and had a dry-goods-only J.C. Penney as its anchor. On the other hand, GULFGATE spanned a whopping 802,800 leasable square feet and contained full-line Joske's and Sakowitz department stores.
The gargantuan GULFGATE was built on a 70-acre parcel, located 5 miles southeast of downtown Houston. The site was adjacent to the Gulf Freeway; Greater Houston's first motor expressway. Its first segment opened to traffic in September 1948.
Originally open-air, the 20 million dollar GULFGATE was designed by Seattle's John Graham, Junior and Houston's Irving R. Klein. The complex was developed by Boston-based Theodore W. Berenson & Associates. It consisted of a main Mall Level and service basement, which was accessed by three tunnels.
There were initially sixty-two stores. A 3-level (208,000 square foot), San Antonio-based Joske's opened during the September 20, 1956 grand opening. Junior anchors were a 3-level (69,400 square foot) J.J. Newberry 5 & 10, 2-level W.T Grant variety store and single-level Weingarten's supermarket. Charter inline stores included Flagg Brothers Shoes, Chandler's Shoes, Baker's Shoes, Lerner Shops, Gordon's Jewelers and a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio. Houston-based Sakowitz Brothers' dedicated their 3-level (92,500 square foot) store on October 21, 1956.
Actor Jack Carson was Master of Ceremonies at the September mall dedication. Texan Governor Allan Shivers (D) made an appearance. Music was provided by Shep Fields & His Rippling Rhythm, the University of Houston Band and the Milby High School band. $25,000 in prizes were awarded, including three 1957 Cadillacs.
In its original state, GULFGATE featured Texas' largest Walgreen Drug and the first shopping center-format Piccadilly Cafeteria. At the southern end of the main shopping concourse was a pedestrian bridge, which eventually connected to the General Cinema Corporation Gulfgate Cinema I & II. This venue showed first features on April 14, 1965.
By the mid-1960s, ALMEDA MALL {6.2 miles southeast, in Houston} was under construction. To remain competitive with its up-and-coming competitor, GULFGATE was enclosed and climate-controlled and renamed GULFGATE MALL. In 1970, a section of the Interstate 610-South Loop expressway was completed. It passed beneath the pedestrian bridge and provided additional access to the shopping center.
GULFGATE was now facing increased commercial competition. BAYBROOK MALL {13.5 miles southeast, in Houston} opened in July 1978. PASADENA TOWN SQUARE {5.6 miles east, in Pasadena} welcomed first shoppers in August 1982. By the late 1980s, GULFGATE was in decline. Sakowitz had shuttered their store in November 1985. The store space was never retenanted. Joske's was converted to a Dillard's Clearance Center in July 1987 and closed for good in January 1997.
J.J. Newberry morphed into a Baton Rouge-based H.J. Wilson Catalog Showroom which was rebranded by Nashville-based Service Merchandise in 1985. This store was shuttered in the spring of 1997. The Weingarten's grocery became a Pic-N-Save closeout store, which was converted to a MacFrugals in 1991.
Houston's E.D. ("Ed") Wulfe purchased the past-its-prime property in early 1998 as part of a joint venture with the City of Houston. A redevelopment got underway in May 2001, with the entirety of the mall being demolished. Its replacement was GULFGATE CENTER, a 450,000 square foot power plaza. A first phase was dedicated on May 24, 2002.
Sources:
The Houston Chronicle
https://www.texasfreeways.com
https://houstonhistorymagazine.org
"Dual Anchor Shopping Centers 1952-1965" / Richard Longstreth
https://www.cinematour.com
https://www.houstonarchitectureinfo.com / Houston Architectural Info Forum
Houston Business Journal / May 17, 2002 / Nancy Sarnoff
https://www.wulfe.com / Wulfe & Company
"Sakowitz"and "Joske's" articles on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF GULFGATE MALL IMAGE:
