Photo from https://www.flickr.com / "Zayre88"
AIRPORT MALL TENANTS 1970:
WOOLCO (with Red Grille) / FREESE'S / DOUG'S SHOP 'N SAVE supermarket / Allied Radio Shack / Bell Shops / Chess King / Consumer Value Stores / Docktor Pet Center / Eastern Trust & Banking Company / Fabric Bazaar / Fanny Farmer Candies / J.E. Chandler, Limited / Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio / Mr. Paperback / Orange Julius / Parklane Hosiery / Rines Company / Spencer Gifts / Standard Shoe Company / Suzy Boutique / The Homespun, Incorporated / Thom McAn Shoes / Weeks Ice Cream Shop
Bangor's Freese's department store chain opened its first location in 1892, with an AIRPORT MALL branch being dedicated in March 1970.
Graphic from Gorin's, Incorporated
Here we see the former mall entry of the AIRPORT MALL Freese's. After that store closed, its space was divided between Staples, Weight Watchers and Fashion Bug. The latter closed in early 2013 and was replaced by Bangor Discount Mattress & Furniture.
Photo from http://sites.google.com / zayre88
Mr. Paperback, another Bangor-based chain, operated an AIRPORT MALL store between March 1970 and March 2012.
Photo from http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com / Kendra Bird
Photo from http://www.wprealty.com / WP Realty
A circa-2002 aerial view of AIRPORT MALL. The east anchor (on the right), which had housed Woolco and Ames stores, was in the process of being renovated into three junior anchor spaces. The first of these opened, in November 2003, as a Marshalls.
Photo from www.choosebangor.com
Another section of the Woolco-Ames space became the Ocean State Job Lot seen here. This store was dedicated in July 2008.
Photo from http://wwwchartweb.com
AIRPORT MALL
Union Street and Griffin Road
Bangor, Maine
WESTGATE MALL, the first mall-type shopping center in Bangor, was built on an 11.5-acre site located 1.6 miles northwest of Bangor's center city. This strip complex -with a steel and glass enclosure- had opened for business in November 1967.
Ground was broken at a 20-acre site, located 2 miles northwest of center city Bangor, in August 1968. The land parcel was directly across the street from Dow Air Force Base, which had just been decommissioned. The facility re-opened, as the Bangor International Airport, in 1969.
In January 1983, the Woolco at AIRPORT MALL was shuttered. A Salem, Massachusetts-based Rich's discount mart assumed the Woolco space in May of 1984. Freese's closed in 1985 and was divided into spaces housing Fashion Bug, Staples and Weight Watchers.
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based WP Realty acquired AIRPORT MALL in August 1998. Rich's had went out of business in January 1997, with a Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames opening in the building on September 24, 1998. This store lasted until 2002. Doug's Shop 'n Save was rebranded by the Hannaford supermarket chain in 2001.
The Woolco-Ames store was sectioned into three retail spaces. A (30,000 square foot), Framingham, Massachusetts-based Marshalls opened on November 1, 2003. A (19,800 square foot), Chesapeake, Virginia-based Dollar Tree was inaugurated on May 30, 2008. The final tenant, a (27,500 square foot), North Kingston, Rhode Island-based Ocean State Job Lot, commenced operation on July 10, 2008.
Fashion Bug closed in early 2013 and was replaced by Bangor Discount Mattress & Furniture. The adjacent Staples shut down in March 2014. The furniture store expanded into its space and now encompassed a total of 31,400 square feet.
Sources:
The Bangor Daily News
http://www.geocities.com / "Zayre88"
http://www.wprealty.com / WP Realty
http://www.chartweb.com
http://www.choosebangor.com
https://www.acadiarealty.com
BANGOR MALL TENANTS 1979:
SEARS (with Beauty Salon and attached Auto Center) / J.C. PENNEY (with Beauty Salon and attached Auto Center) / PORTEOUS, MITCHELL & BRAUN / DOUG'S SHOP 'N SAVE supermarket (outparcel) / Anderson-Little men's wear / B. Dalton Bookseller / Bakers Shoes / Baskin Robbins ice cream / Benoits apparel / Betts Bookstore / Brooks Fashions / CVS / Card-O-Rama / Carousel Snack Bar / Chess King men's wear / Davidson's Jewelers / DeOrsey's Record & Audio / Deering Ice Cream Shop / Designs apparel / Everybody's / Donut Haven / Famous Chocolate Chip Company / Fanny Farmer Candies / Field's Hosiery / Finishing Touch / Foxmoor Casuals / G.M. Pollack & Sons Jewelers / GNC / Gordon's Jewelers / Great Expectations Beauty Salon / Hickory Farms of Ohio / Jack & Jill Shoes / Jean Seen / Kay-Bee Toys / Kinney Shoes / Knapp's Book & Music / Marianne Shops ladies' wear / Marlene's Uniforms / Merrill Bank / Morrow's Nut House / Mothercare / Newsboy / Pearle Vision Center / Perfect Pretzel / Photo Land / Radio Shack / Randy's Leather / Rines Company ladies' wear / Rings & Things / So-Fro Fabrics / Spencer Gifts / Standard Shoes / Terra Art / The BonBon Shoppe / The Earring Tree / The Electronic Boutique / The Gap / The Learning Tree / The One Maine Savings Bank / The Pet Menagerie / The Tinder Box Tobacconist / The Weathervane ladies' wear / Tiffany's Bakery / Unobskey's Fashion Plus / York Steak House / Ward Brothers ladies' wear / Zales Jewelers
The first snapshot in a three-image, 2010s photo set shows the Main Entrance at BANGOR MALL.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
BANGOR MALL
Stillwater Avenue and Bangor Mall Boulevard
Bangor, Maine
In September 1976, plans were announced for a new shopping center that would serve Bangor and its environs. The fully-enclosed complex would be built on a 60-acre portion of a 150-acre tract; this located 2.3
miles northeast of the center city. Up to this time, the site has been utilized as the Davis Dairy Farm.
Ground was broken for the 30 million dollar BANGOR MALL in August 1977. The complex was designed by Philadelphia-based Evantash Associates and developed by a joint venture of Philadelphia's Kravco, Incorporated and New York City's Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States.
Consisting of a single retail level and 494,900 leasable square feet, BANGOR MALL held its official "Supergrand Opening" on October 5, 1978. The keynote speaker was US Congressman William Cohen (R). Linda Carroll, "Miss Maine 1978," officiated. Music was provided by the University of Maine U.M.O. 30-piece Orchestra.
The interior of the shopping hub was done in subdued earth tones. There were ceramic tile floors, skylights and live tropical plantings. Center Court featured snowflake pattern skylights above a large fountain and reflecting pool. There was an adjacent waterfall and tropical garden.
A 1-level (110,300 square foot) Sears had become the mall's first operational tenant, on October 2, 1978. A 1-level (70,000 square foot), Portland, Maine-based Porteous, Mitchell & Braun held its dedication as part of the October 5th Supergrand Opening.
Charter inline stores included B. Dalton Bookseller, Mothercare, Card-O-Rama, Anderson-Little, Fanny Farmer Candies, Foxmoor Casuals, DeOrsey's Record & Audio, Morrow's Nut House, Spencer Gifts, Chess King and a CVS (Consumer Value Store). The third anchor, a 1-level (94,400 square foot) J.C. Penney, was launched on February 28, 1979. BANGOR MALL now housed seventy stores and services.
Two other, less flashy shopping venues pre-dated BANGOR MALL. WESTGATE MALL {2.6 miles southwest, in Bangor} commenced operation in 1967. AIRPORT MALL {2.9 miles southwest, in Bangor} opened for business in 1970.
A face lift renovation of BANGOR MALL was completed in November 1997. This was followed by the dedication of a 160,000 square foot expansion, which was held on November 12, 1998. The addition included a 2-level (120,000 square foot), Boston-based Filene's ["fiy-leenz"] and nine inline stores. These included The Disney Store, Northern Experience, Claire's Boutique and a Hallmark Store. The mall now encompassed approximately 655,000 leasable square feet.
The Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group established majority interest in Philadelphia's Kravco Investments and Kravco, Incorporated in November 2003, which brought BANGOR MALL into the Simon property portfolio.
Anchor rebrandings at BANGOR MALL began with the shuttering of Porteous, on January 18, 2003. That store re-opened, as a Pittsburgh-based Dick's Sporting Goods, in August 2004. Next in line was Filene's, which morphed into a Macy's on September 9, 2006. This store went dark in March 2017.
By this time, the mall was in dire straits. An inline store exodus played out between January 2016 and January 2018. Tenants such as The Gap, New York & Company, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Pacsun and Charlotte Russe closed for good. Sears pulled up stakes in April 2018. Among all of the store closings came a new tenant. Furniture Mattresses & More set up shop in the vacant Macy's space in July 2018.
Meanwhile, Simon had defaulted on their mall loan in October 2017. Miami's LNR Property, Limited Liability Company assumed management and operation. A new manager, Fort Worth, Texas' Woodmont Company, was placed in charge in July 2018. A new owner eventually acquired the struggling shopping complex. It was purchased by a joint venture of Mason Asset Management, the CH Capital Group and Namdar Realty Group, in April 2019.
The Bangor Daily News
http://www.geocities.com / Zayre88
https://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
Retail Traffic Magazine
https://bangormall.com
Photo from Portland Public Library Archives





























