Bardstown Road / US 31E and 150 and Bashford Manor Lane
West Buechel, Kentucky
Plans for Greater Louisville's fourth major shopping mall were announced in 1970. Developed on a 58-acre parcel located 5.6 miles southeast of the city's urban core, BASHFORD MANOR MALL was built by a joint venture of the Long and Bashford Manor corporations.
The enclosed shopping center, which encompassed approximately 560,000 leasable square feet, was designed by Curtis & Davis Architects. The land on which the mall was built had been part of the palatial estate of James Bennett Wilder. He built Bashford Manor, a French Second Empire home, in 1874. The property was sold to George James Long, who established the Bashford Manor Stable in 1888.
It became a leading Thoroughbred horse farm, breeding three Kentucky Derby winners. The facility closed in 1922. It was annexed into the City of Louisville in 1953. The mansion eventually fell into decay and was demolished in June 1973, as the mall built on its southern flank was preparing to open.
The decor and graphic design of BASHFORD MANOR MALL used an equestrian theme that reflected its heritage. The interior had a large mural in one of its court areas and the sign at its main roadway entry featured three horseshoes. Original flooring consisted of earth tone-shade carpeting. There were also recessed seating areas with televisions, and two large court area fountains.
A 1-level (85,500 square foot), Indianapolis-based Ayr-way discount mart became the first operational BASHFORD MANOR MALL store on August 30, 1972. A 2-level (190,000 square foot), Louisville-based Bacon's welcomed its first shoppers on September 27th. A mall-wide dedication was held on October 8, 1973, with a 1-level (63,900 square foot), Louisville-based Ben Snyder's opening its doors.
Among forty-eight charter tenants were Byck's, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Karmelkorn, Musicland, Levy Brothers, Walgreen Drug, Cassano Pizza King, Marianne Shops, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, Regal Shoes, a Blue Boar Cafeteria, (25,300 square foot) Thrifti-Mart supermarket and freestanding Liberty National Bank.
Rival shopping centers included THE MALL / MALL ST. MATTHEWS (1962) {4 miles northeast, in St. Matthews}, OXMOOR CENTER (1971) {4.1 miles northeast, in Louisville}, WESTLAND MALL (1975) {11.5 miles southwest, in Jefferson County}, RACELAND MALL (1975) {1.6 miles southeast, in Jefferson County} and JEFFERSON MALL (1978) {3.9 miles south, also in Jefferson County}.
The first renovation of BASHFORD MANOR MALL got underway in July 1989. New flooring, landscaping and skylights were installed, with all fountains being removed. A clock tower and new mall entrances were built on the north-facing facade. The 4 million dollar project was completed and dedicated on November 10, 1989. Levy Brothers shuttered their store around this time. The space re-opened, as a Bacon's For The Home Store, in January 1990.
Hoffman Estates, Illinois' Rubloff Development Group bought BASHFORD MANOR MALL in November 1999. They proposed a 3 million dollar remodeling in January 2000, with work commencing in February 2002. New ceilings, lighting and landscaping were to be installed, along with other improvements. However, midway through the project, work stopped.
Target announced that they were vacating their anchor space and building a new store on an adjoining parcel to the west. This new location opened on October 13, 2002. Next came Dillard's defection. Both BASHFORD MANOR MALL stores went dark in January 2003.
Alas, the 30-year-old retail hub was now anchor-less, with only twenty operational stores. These included Nite Life Boutique, Great American Cookie Company, GNC and PayLess ShoeSource. Chi-Chi's restaurant closed in March 2003. All remaining stores went dark in July 2003. A wrecking ball began knocking down the mall in December 2003, but work was halted in January 2004.
A lawsuit had been filed by an electrical contractor who had not been paid for work that they had completed. The matter was settled and demolition commenced in March 2004. When all was said and done, only the main Dillard's store remained standing. It was to be renovated and retenanted by a "national big box retailer." This never came to fruition.
Meanwhile, a 1-level (196,000 square foot) WalMart SuperCenter was built on the west end of the mall site, which opened on January 26, 2005. It was joined by a 1-level (116,000 square foot) Lowe's, at the east end of the parcel, which opened on September 9, 2005. In 2008, the decaying Dillard's was bulldozed and replaced by a 1-level (80,000 square foot) Burlington Coat Factory. This store welcomed its first shoppers in March 2009.
Sources:
FAIR USE OF BASHFORD MANOR IMAGE:
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky)
http://pastperfectvintage.com/louisvillestores.htm
https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bashfordmanormall.com
https://www.wave3.com
"Bashford Manor Mall" and "Bashford Manor Stable" articles on Wikipedia
The image from the Herald Post Collection / University of Louisville (Kentucky) illustrates a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The image is not replaceable with a free-use or public-domain image. The use of the image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the image in any way. The image is being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and its use is not believed to detract from the original image in any way.
