This eastward VILLAGE GREEN view includes the Sign Tower, a 48-foot structure that includes four digital message boards. These tell time and temperature and also show ads and public service announcements.
Photo from https://villagegreentowncenter.com (website on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
Graphic from https://villagegreentowncenter.com
THE VILLAGE
South Lee Highway / US 11-E & 64 and Keith Street / US 11-W
Cleveland, Tennessee
August 17, 1961 is a special point in time in Tennessee retail history. On this day, the first mall-type shopping center in the Volunteer State was officially dedicated. Open-air in format, THE VILLAGE was built on a 22-acre site, located on the western fringes of Cleveland, Tennessee's downtown district.
The single-level shopping hub was developed by a joint venture of Cleveland-based Jafco, Incorporated and Life & Casualty of Tennessee. Atlanta's Toombs, Amisano & Wells firm designed the facility. In its original state, THE VILLAGE encompassed approximately 190,500 leasable square feet and contained an initial fifteen stores and services.
Grand opening festivities extended for 3 days. A ceremonial ribbon was cut by William Fillauer (Mayor of Cleveland), with a speech given by mall developer James F. Corn. In attendance were several Kresge Company officials, Bradley County officials, city commissioners and members of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.
Major tenants at THE VILLAGE were a 1-level (30,000 square foot), Knoxville-based Miller's of Tennessee, 1-level (27,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 and (14,000 square foot) White Stores supermarket. Charter inline stores included Cole Rexall Drug, Earl's Bakery & Catering Service, Joe Rodgers Office Supply and The Village Cafeteria.
New stores were signed during the mid-1960s, with unfinished areas of the mall being completed. New on the tenant list were The Bird Cage, Zale's Jewelers, Singer Sewing Center, Watson's supermarket, Hobby Mart, Lemon Tree Shoe Store and Lay's Clothing.
By the late 1960s, the complex was being officially promoted as the VILLAGE MALL. Its first -and only- cinema was completed. The Atco Theatres Village Theatre showed its first feature in 1969 and was twinned in 1985. Following this, the venue was known as the Village Twin.
The first VILLAGE MALL renovation was completed in the early 1970s. During the project, the interior of the northeast store block was gutted. The area was rebuilt as a 2-level (36,600 square foot) Parks Belk. Around this time, an adjacent open-air entry hall, known as The Arcade, was enclosed and redecorated. Its store fronts were rebuilt in a Bavarian motif, with the concourse being renamed Swiss Alley.
VILLAGE MALL was Cleveland's only mall-type shopping complex for 13 years. Its first commercial counterpart was CLEVELAND MALL {2 miles, north}, which opened in 1974. These shopping hubs coexisted. Things were different in the case of BRADLEY SQUARE MALL {3.5 miles northeast}. Dedicated in 1991, it quickly put the hurt on both the VILLAGE and CLEVELAND malls.
Only one anchor rebranding was ever done at VILLAGE MALL. Miller's morphed into an Allentown-based Hess's on February 1, 1988. This store closed for good in September 1990, with Hess's being snatched by BRADLEY SQUARE. Parks Belk went dark in late 1992. By this time, competition from BRADLEY SQUARE had sent VILLAGE MALL into a downward spiral. The mall was virtually vacant and on life support. It was acquired by financial entrepreneur Allan Jones in August 1998.
An indoor-outdoor renovation and repositioning of the former mall was done over the following decade. It emerged as a high-tech business and professional center with specialty retail and service-oriented businesses. A new name was also bestowed; THE VILLAGE GREEN TOWN CENTER.
The facility now encompassed approximately 211,000 leasable square feet and contained twenty-seven tenants. These included Learn Phone, Village Bake Shop, New Weigh Weight Loss Centers, WOOP-FM and Buy Here Pay Here, USA. The Bald Headed Bistro, an upscale restaurant, was officially dedicated on September 7, 2004.
Meanwhile, the mall's freestanding movie house had become a Martin Theatres venue in 1971 and Carmike Cinemas operation in 1982. In the early 2000s, the facility was repurposed as the Red Clay Theatre, a live-performance venue. After a couple of years, the theater re-opened as a full-service events center. The Venue Creekside was inaugurated on October 16, 2013.
Sources:
The Chattanooga Daily Times
The Cleveland Daily Banner (Cleveland, Tennessee)
S.S. Kresge Company Annual Report 1961
"Architectural Forum" / June 1962
https://www.reddit.com / "Village Green, Cleveland TN's funky 'Outdoor' Mall"
http://cinematreasures.org
https://www.chattanoogan.com
https://villagegreentowncenter.com
https://villagegreentowncenter.com (website on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://tnmap.tn.gov / Bradley County, Tennessee Property Info website
http://www.baldheadedbistro.com
FAIR USE OF THE VILLAGE IMAGES:
The images from Architectural Forum / June 1962 illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. 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.
