Cleveland's Westgate Center

Torn from the headlines! The first mall-type shopping complex in Greater
Cleveland -and Ohio- opens for business. First stores debuted in February
1954, with a mall-wide dedication held in April.
Article from The Cleveland Plain Dealer 

A rendering of the Halle Brothers Company WESTGATE store. It consisted of two shopping levels, with a third (penthouse) floor dedicated to employee functions.

A March 1954 view of the eastern store blocks at WESTGATE CENTER. The Halle's anchor store is off in the distance.
Photo from Library of Congress

A second eastern block shot, with the mall's S.S. Kresge 5 & dime in view.
Photo from Library of Congress

In 1954, WESTGATE CENTER encompassed around 511,000 leasable square feet and contained forty-four stores and services. It was surrounded by a "sea of parking," with space for 3,600 autos. WESTGATE was one of the first shopping hubs in the nation to feature two anchor department stores. Other bi-anchor contemporaries would have been Yonkers, New York's CROSS COUNTY CENTER and Chicagoland's PARK FOREST PLAZA.

WESTGATE CENTER TENANTS 1954:

HALLE BROTHERS COMPANY (with Antoine Beauty Salon and Westgate Hall public auditorium) / FEDERAL department store / S.S. KRESGE 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / KROGER supermarket / PICK-N-PAY supermarket / GRAY DRUG (with luncheonette) / MARSHALL DRUG (with luncheonette) / Associated Cotton Shops ladies' wear / Burrows Books / Cleveland Sabre Shop / Edison Shoes / Eggleston-Morrell Records / Engel & Fetzer ladies' wear / Fanny Farmer Candies / Gun & Tackle Shop / Handy's Select Meats / Harden Scientific Shoes / Hirkala's Shop of Gifts / Hough Bakeries / J.J. Holliday shoe repair / Joe Potaro Beauty Salon / Kaase Bake Shops / Lane Bryant ladies' wear / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / Lyon Tailors / Mari-Ann Shops ladies' wear / Marlen Jewelers / National City Bank / Peck & Peck ladies' wear / Peter S. Zappola barber shop / Richman Brothers men's wear / Sherwin-Williams Paints / Shuttler's men's wear / Singer Sewing Center / Southside Federal Savings / Stouffer's Restaurant / Stone Shoes / The Mullaire Company Cleaners / Theodore F. Brooks-Jack & Jill children's wear / Turney-Lee Hardware / Wilhelmy & Sons Floral / Winkelman's ladies' wear

Halle's west side exterior is seen in this image.
Photo from Library of Congress

Passing through the store's entrance doors, we see the main sales floor, as it appeared in March 1954.
Photo from Library of Congress

In this snapshot, the Women's Wear department is frozen in time.
Photo from Library of Congress

Another view of Halle's Westgate main sales floor.
Photo from Library of Congress

The Junior Dresses department is shown in this view.
Photo from Library of Congress

Here, we see the Halle's Westgate Women's Sportswear department.
Photo from Library of Congress

We move on to the Seven to Fourteen Shop.
Photo from Library of Congress

A general view of the store's upper floor is seen here.
Photo from Library of Congress

In a secluded corner of the building is the Antoine Salon beauty parlor.
Photo from Cleveland State Museum library / Rebman Photo Service

Here we see the Halle's Westgate Men's Shop.
Photo from Library of Congress

On to the store's Millinery department.
Photo from Library of Congress

And the Halle's Westgate Boy's department.
Photo from Library of Congress

Here we see Children's Shoes.
Photo from Library of Congress

In this view is the Layette department.
Photo from Library of Congress

The Gift's department is shown here.
Photo from Library of Congress

A generous selection of fabrics -or Piece Goods- are on display.
Photo from Library of Congress

As well as the latest ideas in Curtains & Drapes.
Photo from Library of Congress

Here we have China & Glass.
Photo from Library of Congress

And then Housewares.
Photo from Library of Congress

We end our 1954 Halle's Westgate tour in the Toys department.
Photo from Library of Congress

Stouffer's operated a full-service restaurant in the original WESTGATE CENTER. In this March 1954 view, we see the northwest corner of the Halle's anchor store on the left, with Stouffer's on the right.
Photo from Library of Congress

In this snapshot we see the Stouffer's mallway entrance. The WESTGATE location was the chain's first shopping center store.
Photo from Library of Congress

A night view of the north side of the store.
Photo from Library of Congress

Now we see the interior of Stouffer's WESTGATE.
Photo from Library of Congress

The main dining area Orchard Room, with its golden apple trees.
Photo from Library of Congress

Federal -also known as Federal's- was a Michigan-based chain of department stores. A Federal's unit anchored the southwest corner of WESTGATE CENTER for 7 years.

Graphic from Federal Department Stores

Federal's relocated into a new freestanding store in August 1961. In the meantime, Cleveland's Higbee's chain had acquired the original building (seen above) and was doing a 6 million dollar renovation and expansion. 

Photo from Cleveland State University Library / Joseph E. Cole

Higbee's Westgate opened in October 1961. It was the retailer's first branch. The single-story building seen here is Higbee's Westgate Budget Store. It welcomed first shoppers in January 1966.
Photo from Cleveland State University Library / Joseph E. Cole

In an interior view, we see the gift counter at the Higbee's Westgate store. 

Photo from Cleveland State University Library / Joseph E. Cole

The first major renovation -which enclosed courts and concourses- was completed in August 1969. In a circa-1971 plan, we see that a freestanding Federal store is now a Spartan-Atlantic discount mart. Moreover, the 20800 Westgate Mall office tower now stands in the south parking area. Inside the mall, Kroger has just been replaced by the 4-screen Westgate Cinema City.

A snapshot from 1969 shows the newly-enclosed WESTGATE MALL concourse.

Photo from http://images.ulib.csuohio.edu / Cleveland Memory Project

The mall was given a major renovation in the late 1980s. A freestanding multiplex was built and food court installed. The west mall entrance was also rebuilt. With these improvements, WESTGATE MALL housed ninety-six stores, with eleven kiosks.   

The Promenade Food Court seated 426 diners. The 10-bay food facility replaced a 4-plex cinema (that had replaced a Kroger supermarket).
Photo from www.joneslanglasalle.com

Zooming through time to a circa-1999 site plan, we see that Kohl's is now a third mall anchor. Moreover, Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar has joined the tenant list. In 1992, three existing WESTGATE stores were fashioned into the first Dillard's "Triple-header (i.e., three Dillard's operating simultaneously in one mall). With these modifications, the shopping complex covered approximately 975,400 leasable square feet.

Outpositioned by newer shopping venues in the Cleveland suburbs, WESTGATE MALL was in a downward spiral by the dawn of the 21st century. In early 2006, it was demolished, leaving the 9-year-old Kohl's store standing. A power center was conceived and new logo commissioned.
Graphic from http://www.westgateohio.com/index.aspx (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

A circa-2006 rendering of the new power-center-to-be.
Drawing from http://www.westgateohio.com/index.aspx (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

A plan of the fully-realized WESTGATE power plaza. The only structures remaining from the mall (Kohl's, the office tower and LongHorn Steakhouse) are indicated in black. This shopping mall reboot includes a grocery (albeit a natural foods store). This harkens back to the Kroger, Pick 'n Pay and Fisher Foods groceries that operated in the original shopping center. 

Target anchors the new & improved WESTGATE with a 126,800 square foot store. It opened its doors in the summer of 2007.

Photo from https://jresgroup.com / Jacobs Real Estate Services

Lowe's serves as a third anchor store at today's WESTGATE. This home improvement center covers 119,700 square feet...on a single level. Lowe's Westgate was dedicated in late 2007.

Photo from https://jresgroup.com / Jacobs Real Estate Services

WESTGATE CENTER
West 210th Street and Center Ridge Road / US 20
Fairview Park and Rocky River, Ohio

The first shopping mall in Greater Cleveland -as well as Ohio- was developed by a joint venture of Anthoni Visconsi and B.L. Boykin & Son. The complex was designed by William T. Snaith, of New York City's Raymond Loewy Corporation, and the Fordyce, Hamby, Strobel & Panero firm. 

WESTGATE CENTER was situated on a 48.5-acre parcel, located 8.5 miles southwest of Cleveland's Public Square. The northern quarter of the site had been occupied by the Fairview Outdoor Theatre, a drive-in cinema, between 1947 and 1952.

A Stouffer's Restaurant became the first operational WESTGATE CENTER store on February 1, 1954. On the following day, a 3-level (140,000 square foot) Cleveland based Halle Brothers Company opened its doors. A 1-level (100,000 square foot), Dearborn, Michigan-based Federal department store was dedicated, along with the mall, on April 1, 1954. On hand for the grand opening were Anthoni Visconsi, B.L. Boykin and William Boykin. Henry W. Speeth (Cuyahoga County commissioner) snipped a ceremonial ribbon.  

Encompassing approximately 511,000 leasable square feet, the open-air complex housed forty-four stores and services. These included Turney-Lee Hardware, Winkelman's ladies' wear, Gray Drug Eggelston-Morrell Records and two supermarkets; Kroger and Pick-N-Pay. The debut of the center's S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 was delayed by a blaze. A fire sale preview opening was held on March 20, 1954.

WESTGATE was joined by PARMATOWN CENTER {8 miles southeast, in Parma} in 1960, and GREAT NORTHERN MALL {4.5 miles southwest, in North Olmstead} in 1976.

Federal closed and set up shop in a new 1-level (65,000 square foot) store in August 1961. This was built, as a freestanding structure, in the northeast parking area of WESTGATE CENTER. Meanwhile, the original in-mall store had been leased by Cleveland-based Higbee's. They enlarged it -to 2 levels and 180,000 square feet-  and opened for business on October 29, 1961. This was the Higbee's chain's first branch.

By 1968, a roofing renovation was underway. Upon completion of the remodeling, in August 1969, the name of the shopping hub was changed to WESTGATE MALL. The second Federal store was shuttered in 1969 and replaced by a Spartan-Atlantic discount mart. This store opened on August 23, 1970 and was in business for nearly 4 years. The vacant building was renovated by Higbee's, who opened a new Home Store in October 1974.

Meanwhile, Kroger had closed in 1970. Its vacant store was reconfigured as the General Cinema Corporation Westgate Mall Cinema City. This 4-screen venue showed first features on June 30, 1971. It closed as a new 6-plex was being dedicated. The General Cinema Corporation Westgate Mall 6 was built -as a freestanding structure- adjacent to the Higbee's Home Store. The new movie house was officially dedicated on June 3, 1986.

At this time, WESTGATE MALL was undergoing a major renovation. Entrances were rebuilt and the Promenade Food Court installed in part of the old 4-plex cinema space. These improvements were done by Cleveland's Richard E. Jacobs Group, who had acquired WESTGATE MALL in 1984. 

Meanwhile, Halle's (which had closed for good in 1982) re-opened as a Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company. In June 1992, there were reports that Horne's stores at GREAT LAKES MALL, SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER and WESTGATE MALL would re-open as "double-header" Higbee's locations. This never happened.

The WESTGATE Horne's closed on July 12, 1992 and re-opened, as a Dillard's Women's, in August. The former Higbee's at WESTGATE was rebranded by Dillard's and made into a Men's & Children's store. The outparcel Higbee's Home Store was also rebranded by Dillard's in August 1992.

By the mid-1990s, the complex was showing its age. The proliferation of newer and larger shopping venues in the Cleveland suburbs was providing more competition than the 50-year-old shopping center could withstand. A 1-level (94,500 square foot), Wisconsin-based Kohls was dedicated in the summer of 1996. However, it failed to halt the mall's downward spiral.

By 2004, the end was near. The WESTGATE MALL Dillard's were struggling, with the Home Store being shuttered. The two department stores were consolidated into the larger Halle's / Horne's building (the north anchor). However, on March 31, 2005, Dillard's pulled out of the mall entirely. The multiplex cinema had been rebranded as an American Multi-Cinema venue in mid-2002. It was shuttered on January 26, 2006.

In February, the mall and cinema were demolished, leaving only the 9-year-old Kohl's, and a few peripheral structures, standing. Work soon got underway on a new, open-air power center, to be known as simply WESTGATE.

This 618,900 square foot complex was anchored by the existing Kohl's. A 1-level (126,800 square foot) Target opened on July 25, 2007. The third destination store, a 1-level (119,700 square foot) Lowe's, was dedicated in the following November. The new WESTGATE had been developed by a joint venture of the Cleveland-based Richard E. Jacobs Group, New York City-based New Excel Realty Trust and Chicago-based Transwestern Investment Company.

In February 2007, the New Excel Realty Trust was acquired by Australia's Centro Property Group. Centro's United States holdings were sold to New York City's Blackstone Real Estate Partners in June 2011. A new entity, the Brixmor Property Group, was created in September 2011. 

 

Over the ensuing years, The WESTGATE complex would change hands several times. Chicago's Inland Real Estate Corporation acquired the property in March 2012. Kansas City, Missouri's R.H. Johnson Company bought it in July 2021 and sold it to Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Company June 2025. 

Sources:

The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Dual Anchor Shopping Centers 1952-1965" / Richard Longstreth
https://cinematreasures.org
http://www.westgateohio.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.centro.com.au / Centro Properties Group
http://www.ulib.csuohio.edu / Cleveland State University / Michael Schwartz Library

https://www.crainscleveland.com

https://www.phillipsedison.com / Phillips Edison & Company

"Westgate Mall (Fairview Park)" article on Wikipedia

Cleveland's Great Lakes Mall

The first shopping mall developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation was located approximately 20 miles northeast of downtown Cleveland, in the bedroom community of Mentor. A sign such as this beckoned mid-century shoppers.  

 

 

A June 1961 ad commemorates the "fabulous," shiny new, GREAT LAKES MALL. 

Graphic from the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. 

Some of the original GREAT LAKES MALL stores. Theses opened for business between 1961 and 1963.

From humble beginnings! In 1963, the fledgling shopping center spanned around 275,000 leasable square feet. It consisted of two open-air concourses on the north and south, with an enclosed section in the middle. Free parking was provided for 2,000 autos.

GREAT LAKES MALL TENANTS 1963:

J.J. NEWBERRY (with restaurant and snack bar) / J.C. PENNEY / KROGER supermarket / FISHER FOODS supermarket / Associated Hardware / Bond Clothes / Diamond Brothers men's wear / D.O. Summer's / Doctor Hefenback / Elsie O'Brien Beauty Salon / Frank's Village Dairy / Firestone Tire & Appliance / First Federal Savings & Loan / Gray Drug (with luncheonette) / Kinney Shoes / Lake County National Bank (outparcel) / Mall Barber Shop / Nobil Shoes / Optometrist / Palumbo Bakery / Plaza Restaurant / Record Carnival / Red Robin / Richard's Jewelery / Schauer's Meats / Sherwin-Williams Paints / Signal Finance / The Curiosity Shoppe gifts / The Fun Shop Toy & Hobby / The Trio Shoppe ladies' wear / Watkins Furniture 

The GREAT LAKES Newberrys store was located along the covered mall concourse.

Photo from J.J. Newberry Company Annual Report 1961

"May's Great Lakes" was added in 1964. The store included the Circle of Beauty Salon, Mentor Room restaurant and freestanding May Company Tire Center. It is said that Edward DeBartolo sold May Company the land for the store for 10 dollars. 

The north shopping concourse was enclosed and climate-controlled as part of the May Company's construction. The south concourse would be roofed-in in 1970.

Photo from https://cityofmentor.com

By 1971 a tiny community-class complex had evolved into a superregional-size center! Penney's was enlarged into a full-line store in 1966. Higbee's joined the mall in 1969, with a south-end Sears having just opened for business at the time of this plan. GREAT LAKES MALL now encompassed around 1,114,600 leasable square feet, with over 4,000 free parking spaces.