North Narragansett and West Diversey Avenues
City of Chicago, Illinois
The thirty-fourth major mall in Chicagoland was developed by Southfield, Michigan's E.N. Maisel Associates and the Windy City's Harry F. Chaddick. The complex was situated on a 50-acre site, located 7.9 miles northwest of The Loop, in the Belmont-Cragin section of Chicago.
For several years, the land parcel had been undeveloped. Due to subterranean clay deposits, it was deemed unfit for any type of use for residential or commercial construction. In the meantime, the Carey Brick Company (a brick manufacturing plant) thrived there. Eventually, the clay deposits were used up and the brickyard closed.
By the early '70s, a ski slope had been built on the property, using rubble and soil removed from the construction of a new expressway. Two large pits remained from the brick factory. These were filled with garbage and refuse and served as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
In April 1975, plans for a Brickyard site shopping complex were announced. Ground was broken on September 17th, with Mayor Richard Daley turning the first shovel of earth. A (250,000 square foot) Convenience Mall was built. This was anchored by a 1-level (90,400 square foot) Jewel Grand Bazaar and Osco Drug Center on the north and 1-level (118,700 square foot) Kmart on the southeast.
Phases I and II of THE BRICKYARD were designed by New York City's Edward M. Cohen and E.N. Maisel Associates. Phase I (a.k.a the Convenience Mall) was officially dedicated on March 16, 1977. Twelve inline stores lined a single-sided, enclosed shopping concourse. These included Bresler's 33 Flavors ice cream, Page Two Card & Gift, Gladan Jewelers, Ricky's West Restaurant, Fayva Shoes, Radio Shack and Fashion Action.
In April 1975, plans for a Brickyard site shopping complex were announced. Ground was broken on September 17th, with Mayor Richard Daley turning the first shovel of earth. A (250,000 square foot) Convenience Mall was built. This was anchored by a 1-level (90,400 square foot) Jewel Grand Bazaar and Osco Drug Center on the north and 1-level (118,700 square foot) Kmart on the southeast.
Phases I and II of THE BRICKYARD were designed by New York City's Edward M. Cohen and E.N. Maisel Associates. Phase I (a.k.a the Convenience Mall) was officially dedicated on March 16, 1977. Twelve inline stores lined a single-sided, enclosed shopping concourse. These included Bresler's 33 Flavors ice cream, Page Two Card & Gift, Gladan Jewelers, Ricky's West Restaurant, Fayva Shoes, Radio Shack and Fashion Action.
A 2-level, fully-enclosed mall was built to the southwest -and on top of- the Convenience Mall. This Phase II mall was anchored by a 2-level (180,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward on the north and 2-level (190,800 square foot) J.C. Penney on the south. The Wards store -and the new enclosed mall- opened on March 1, 1979. J.C. Penney began business on July 11th.
THE BRICKYARD cost 50 million dollars to construct. The 3-level complex housed approximately 920,800 leasable square feet. Among its 117 stores were Richman Brothers, Claire's Boutique, Woman's World Shops, Susie's Casuals, The Orange Bowl snack bar, Joe Singer Shoes and Legion Magnavox.
There were several major retail centers in the vicinity. These included the Belmont-Central business district {.5 of a miles northeast, in Chicago}, HARLEM IRVING PLAZA (1956) {1.8 miles northwest, in Norridge}, NORTH RIVERSIDE PARK MALL (1976) {4.3 miles southwest, in North Riverside} and LINCOLNWOOD TOWN CENTER (1990) {6.7 miles northeast, in Lincolnwood}. In spite of all of the competition, THE BRICKYARD was an astounding success in its early years.
In 1983, the southwestern and southern sectors of THE BRICKYARD site were still undeveloped. They were acquired by the owner of the mall and cleared and graded. In December 1986, E.N. Maisel Associates sold THE BRICKYARD to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The newly-cleared land was developed with BRICKTOWN SQUARE, a 277,400 square foot strip plaza. The open-air complex housed tenants such as Toys "R" Us, SportMart, a Fretter SuperStore and 6-screen Cineplex Odeon Bricktown Square Cinema. This venue showed its first features on May 14, 1989.
THE BRICKYARD was given an indoor-outdoor face lift in the early 1990's. Mall entrances were rebuilt and a food court installed. A new name was bestowed; BRICKYARD MALL. As part of the renovation and renaming, a new logo was commissioned, which was used on banners and mall entries.
A refurbished Kmart re-opened, as a Big Mart, on April 23, 1997. This was the Michigan-based chain's first Big Kmart conversion. Unfortunately, this store remodeling was not enough to stave off the impending decline of the mall. By 1998, it was in a downward spiral; this exacerbated by an anchor store exodus.
Big Kmart closed in the summer of 2000. Montgomery Ward went dark in February 2001. J.C. Penney, which had been demoted to an Outlet Store in April 1999, was shuttered in April 2001. These three anchor boxes were never retenanted. Jewel-Osco remained as the mall's only major operational store.
By late 2002, New York City's Whitehall Street Real Estate had acquired the "functionally obsolete" shopping mall. It was decided that total demolition was in order. A joint venture was formed with the Illinois-based Mid-America Real Estate Corporation. A wrecking ball was brought in in December 2002. The mall was leveled, with the Jewel-Osco structure temporarily left standing until a new store could be built. The BRICKTOWN SQUARE strip center was also left intact.
A 40 million dollar power plaza -known as THE BRICKYARD- was built. Its first phase, including a new (64,200 square foot) Jewel-Osco, opened for business in March 2004. Phase II of the 551,000 square foot complex featured Target and Lowe's stores. Target's grand opening was held on October 10, 2004. At the same time, the new and improved BRICKYARD was acquired by the Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Investment Group.
Sources:
The Chicago Tribune
http://www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"
Cooke County, Illinois property tax assessor website
http://www.shopthebrickyard.com
http://chucksphotospot.com
Sources:
The Chicago Tribune
http://www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"
Cooke County, Illinois property tax assessor website
http://www.shopthebrickyard.com
http://chucksphotospot.com
https://www.nreionline.com
