Main and North Washington Streets
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin was one of the first US metropolitan areas to enlist the talents of master mid-century architect Victor Gruen. He and his Los Angeles-based company, Victor Gruen Associates, devised a downtown redevelopment plan for Green Bay in 1956.
A slightly amended plan was approved in 1960 with the expressed aim of "returning downtown Green Bay to the regional shopping hub of northeast Wisconsin." To achieve this goal, 7.8 million dollars in federal funds were secured, property was acquired and businesses relocated. Demolition of a seven-city-block section of the city commenced in March 1967. By 1972, the entire 5-acre parcel had been cleared.
The site sat vacant for 3 years while tenants were signed. In the meantime, Chicago's Sydney Morris & Associates were brought in to design the mall-to-be. J.C. Penney, an original participant, pulled out of the project in 1971...only to come back on board in 1974. Construction finally got underway in 1975, under the auspices of the Port Plaza Mall Company, of Green Bay, and Mansur & Associates, of Chicago.
A gala grand opening was held on August 10, 1977. Mike Monfils (Mayor of Green Bay) officiated as an initial fifty stores opened for business. The fully-enclosed, center city shopping hub encompassed approximately 709,000 leasable square feet and would eventually house over 100 tenants. PORT PLAZA was anchored by a 4-level (260,000 square foot), Sheboygan-based H.C. Prange ["Prang-ee"] and 2-level (160,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
The site sat vacant for 3 years while tenants were signed. In the meantime, Chicago's Sydney Morris & Associates were brought in to design the mall-to-be. J.C. Penney, an original participant, pulled out of the project in 1971...only to come back on board in 1974. Construction finally got underway in 1975, under the auspices of the Port Plaza Mall Company, of Green Bay, and Mansur & Associates, of Chicago.
A gala grand opening was held on August 10, 1977. Mike Monfils (Mayor of Green Bay) officiated as an initial fifty stores opened for business. The fully-enclosed, center city shopping hub encompassed approximately 709,000 leasable square feet and would eventually house over 100 tenants. PORT PLAZA was anchored by a 4-level (260,000 square foot), Sheboygan-based H.C. Prange ["Prang-ee"] and 2-level (160,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Inline stores included Things Remembered, Carousel Snack Bar, Tiffany's Bakery, The Swiss Colony, Karmelkorn, Kay-Bee Toys, Flowerama, Stone Jewelry, Sons of Britches, Waldenbooks, Galaxy of Sound and Orange Julius. Junior anchors were a 2-level (21,600 square foot) Nau's apparel and 1-level (14,000 square foot) Osco Drug.
Suburban shopping malls were eventually built. BAY PARK SQUARE {3.2 miles southwest, in Ashwaubenon} was dedicated in 1980. EAST TOWN MALL {2.8 miles southeast, in Green Bay} welcomed its first shoppers in 1982.
The only physical expansion of PORT PLAZA got underway in 1981. The 3 million dollar project was to add 49,700 square feet of inline store space. A Food Court was installed in an existing skybridge connecting the mall with the Prange's department store. Food Court vendors included McDonald's, Sbarro the Italian Eatery, Taco Bell and Arby's.
A third anchor, a 2-level (110,000 square foot), Milwaukee-based Boston Store, was also built onto the southwest corner of the complex. This store was dedicated on August 4, 1982. With its completion, PORT PLAZA (including the Prange's structure) enveloped approximately 868,700 leasable square feet and contained 120 stores and services.
PORT PLAZA was acquired by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1986. They performed an interior face lift in 1986-1987, with neon lighting installed throughout the complex. On October 29, 1992, Des Moines-based Younkers ["yonk-erz"] absorbed the twenty-five store Prange's chain. The PORT PLAZA store had been rebranded by the end of the year.
By this time, PORT PLAZA was experiencing competition from its suburban shopping mall rivals. The mall was sold in 1997, with Whitehall Funds becoming its new owner. Zamias Services was recruited to manage the property. Four years later, Whitehall sold the complex to Green Bay-based Development Associates. They initiated a plan to reinvent the struggling shopping center as a mixed-use, retail and office facility. A new mall name was bestowed; WASHINGTON COMMONS.
In spite of the mall repositioning, a tenant exodus was underway. The Boston Store was shuttered on March 5, 2000. Inline stores, such as Osco Drug, PayLess ShoeSource and Champs Sports, closed their doors. Younkers went dark on July 25, 2004, followed by J.C. Penney, on October 1, 2005. The vacant Prange's / Younkers was demolished in 2007.
The last operational stores at WASHINGTON COMMONS closed on February 27, 2006. The vacant shopping mall was foreclosed on in April of the same year. The City of Green Bay acquired the property and transferred ownership to a local redevelopment authority. In June 2011 a plan was announced, whereby Green Bay-based Schreiber Foods would build a 5-story World Headquarters & Global Technology Center on the mall site, relocating from the adjacent First Wisconsin Bank tower.
Recyclable materials were removed from WASHINGTON COMMONS, with demolition commencing in early 2012. By April of the year, all that remained were the Boston Store building, J.C. Penney building and two parking garages. Eventually, the abandoned Penney's was demolished. Construction of the Schreiber Foods complex began in June 2012, with the facility being officially dedicated on September 15, 2014.
Sources:
The Green Bay News-Chronicle
The Green Bay Press-Gazette
Port Plaza Mall Blueprints / Levels 1 & 2 / Michael Steeber
Mall plan by Justin Hill
http://www.labelscar.com
http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us
http://www.washingtoncommons.com (website from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://portplazamallmemorialsociety.webs.com
https://en-academic.com
"Washington Commons" article on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF PORT PLAZA IMAGES:
The graphics from The Green Bay News-Chronicle illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The images are of lower resolution than the original (copies made would be of inferior quality). The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the images in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.
