Manchester's The Mall of New Hampshire

The original logo of the Granite State retail hub. The complex opened for business during the summer and fall of 1977.
Graphic from State Properties of New England 

Beantown's Filene's established their first Granite State store at the MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. The 60,000 square foot operation welcomed its first shoppers in August 1977.
Advert from William Filene & Sons 

In 1980, THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE spanned approximately 525,000 leasable square feet and contained over eighty stores and services under its roof. The complex was the largest shopping mall in the state. It held this distinction until the completion of PHEASANT LANE MALL, in nearby Nashua (and a bit of Massachusetts), in 1986.

THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE TENANTS 1980:

FILENE'S / LECHMERE / SEARS (with Coffee House and attached Auto Center) / Amoskeag Banks / Artisans / A.S. Beck Shoes / Athlete's Foot / B. Dalton Bookseller / Bathique / Bit-A-Sweet / Brookstone / Casual Corner / Cherry, Webb & Tourraine / Chess King / Cummings / Darrell's Music / Designs by Levi / Digital Computer Store / Larring Tree / Fabric Gallery / Fanny Farmer Candies / Florsheim Shoes / Foxmoor Casuals / Game & Hobby World / GNC / The Gift Nook / Gingiss Formalwear / Great Expectations / Hanover Shoes / Heritage Gallery / Hermann's World of Sporting Goods / Hickory Farms of Ohio / I Natural / Jack & Jill / John's Hallmark / Joy of Cooking / Karten's Jewelers / Kay Jewelers / Kay-Bee Toys / Lamps & Shade World / Leen's / The Limited / London Harness / Lynchs / Mothercare / Music World / Ormond / Pearle Vision Center / Pennysworth / Perkins Tobacconist / Personal Touch / Phone Center Store / Photo Corral / Primavera / Proving Ground / Quality Pets / Radio Shack / Red Cross Shoes / Rite Aid Drug / Scandinavian Design / Shirts Plus / So-Fro Fabrics / South Branch / Spencer Gifts / Stowell / Stuart Shanes / Tarrant Cutlery / The Lodge / The Weathervane / Thom McAn Shoes / T. Shop / Tite Fashion / Tri-Travel / Tweeter, Etcetera / Ups 'n Downs / Wallach's / Wongs / Zales Jewelers    

FOOD COURT
Blake's Creamery / Famous Chocolate Chip / McDonald's / Memory Lane / Orange Julius / Paco's Tacos / Papa Gino's Pizza / Tiffany's Bakery / Yogurtime

The mall was enlarged between 1996 and 1998. Filene's relocated to a new store nearly three times the size of the original. Sears was expanded by 26,000 square feet. A new J.C. Penney was built and the existing Food Court enlarged. With these improvements, THE MALL AT NEW HAMPSHIRE enveloped approximately 930,000 leasable square feet and housed over 120 stores and services.

We now embark on a 2010s photo tour. Here, we see the mall's southern entrance. An Ulta Beauty cosmetic store and salon is on the left.
Photo from Wikipedia / John Phelan

The west mallway, in a section adjacent to the Macy's Court.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

Macy's Court, which is situated in the southwest corner of the complex.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

Several modifications have been made by 2020. Filene's was rebranded by Macy's in the fall of 2006. Store space adjacent to Best Buy (part of the old Lechmere) has gone through various incarnations. It is now divided between three tenants. Sears pulled up stakes in late 2018. The vacant store was partially demolished, with the remaining structure divided six ways.

THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
South Willow Street and Interstate 193 (293)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Plans for the first major shopping mall in the Granite State were announced in April 1976, with construction commencing in the following July. THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE was designed by Boston's Sumner Shein and developed by Newton-based State Properties of New England. The fully-enclosed complex was built on a 48.6-acre plot, located 2.7 miles southeast of center city Manchester.

The mall's first operational tenant, a 1-level (110,000 square foot) Sears, opened for business on July 18, 1977. The first Filene's in New Hampshire (a 1-level store of 60,000 square feet) was formally dedicated on August 11th. The first Lechmere built outside of Massachusetts (which comprised 1-level and 62,000 square feet) made its debuted on October 3rd.

A mall-wide grand opening had been held on September 20, 1977. The 12 million dollar shopping venue spanned 525,000 leasable square feet and housed forty-two stores and services (out of an eventual eighty-three).

THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE was the state's largest retail center. Charter stores included B. Dalton Bookseller, Casual Corner, Chess King, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Music World, Wallach's and Cherry, Webb & Tourraine. An 8-bay Food Court included McDonald's, Alamode, Orange Julius, Blake's Creamery and Yogurtime.

Shopping hubs in the THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE trade area included BEDFORD MALL (1969) {2 miles west, in Hillsborough County}, ROCKINGHAM MALL (1971-1999) {16.3 miles southeast, in Salem}, PHEASANT LANE MALL (1986) {17.1 miles south, in Nashua} and MALL AT ROCKINGHAM PARK (1991) {16.1 miles southeast, also in Salem}.

A prospective renovation of THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE first came to light in 1993. The 50 million dollar project got underway in March 1996. Its first phase involved construction of a new 2-level (165,000 square foot) Filene's, at the southwest corner of a newly-enlarged mall site.

After Filene's relocated into their new store, on November 21, 1996, the old location was demolished. A 2-level (101,300 square foot) J.C. Penney was built, which was dedicated on April 18, 1998. The mall structure had also been expanded to connect the new Filene's and Penney's stores. At the same time, Sears was enlarged to 136,400 square feet.

When the construction dust settled in late 1998, THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE enveloped 930,000 leasable square feet and housed over 120 stores and services. It now followed MALL AT ROCKINGHAM PARK and PHEASANT LANE MALL, as the state's third-largest shopping complex.

Lechmere's shuttering, in the fall of 1997, provided space for two new junior anchors. A (41,000 square foot) Best Buy welcomed its first shoppers on October 16, 1998. Kitchen, Etcetera filled the remainder of the space.

In February 1999, a joint venture of the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group and Canadian Pension Plan bought fourteen shopping malls from New England Development (a 1978 reincorporation of State Properties of New England). Included in the transaction was THE MALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Filene's received a Macy's moniker on September 9, 2006. Kitchen, Etcetera was shuttered in August 2004 and followed by a New Jersey-based A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts. This store closed in late 2015 and was replaced by Glowgolf, a glow-in-the-dark mini-golf course, in early 2016. This was short-lived. The vacated space was divided three ways, with new Comcast / Xfinity and Burgerim Gourmet Burgers stores setting up shop.

The mall's 41-year-old Sears went dark in November 2018. The vacant building was partially demolished, with the remainder reconfigured with six store spaces. The largest of these was occupied by a (45,000 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods, which debuted on October 31, 2019. A (44,900 square foot) Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe opened on August 24, 2020.

Sources:

The Union-Leader (Manchester, New Hampshire)

The Nashua Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire)
http://www.labelscar.com
https://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
https://www.nhdeeds.org / Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Register of Deeds

"Mall of New Hampshire" article on Wikipedia

New Hampshire's Nashua Mall 

New Hampshire's first fully-enclosed mall was formally dedicated in May 1969. The complex opened just one month before Greater Manchester's BEDFORD MALL, which became the second interior mall in the Granite State.
Graphic from Vickerry Realty

A circa-1967 rendering of southern New Hampshire's proposed GATE CITY MALL; so named for Nashua, The Gate City. Construction on the project started in August of that year. By the time the dumbell plan shopping center was completed, its name had been changed to NASHUA MALL.
Drawing from Vickerry Realty

NASHUA MALL was located 4.2 miles north of the Massachusetts State Line, in sales-tax-free New Hampshire. It was one of many Woolco-anchored, mid-tier malls built across the United States during the 1960s and '70s. Mass-based Almy's co-anchored the complex. Their NASHUA store was the chain's thirtieth branch.

NASHUA MALL & PLAZA TENANTS 1972:

IN NASHUA MALL:
WOOLCO (with Red Grille) / ALMY'S (with Coffee Shop and Beauty Salon) / Al Ouellette Hammond Organs / Anderson-Little / Bank of New Hampshire / Balsam's Card & Gift Center / CVS / Castro Convertibles / Cherry, Webb & Touraine / Davidson's Travel Service / Docktor Pet Center / Fanny Farmer Candies / Field's Hosiery / Friendly's Ice Cream / Rooks / Insight Optical / Household Finance Corporation / Karten's Jewelers / Leather Gallery / Morse Shoe Store / Nashua Mall Barber Shop / Nashua Mall Cinema I & II (outparcel) / Nashua Mall Tobacconist / Nugent's / Paperback Booksmith / Players / Singer Sewing Center / Thom McAn Shoes 

IN NASHUA PLAZA:
ALEXANDER'S supermarket / MONTGOMERY WARD (with Buffeteria snack bar and attached Auto Center) / Alexander's Bakery / Beaconway Fabrics / Bike Shoppe / Craft Connection / Mr. Brianci's Restaurant & Pub / Cash & Carry Cleaners / Child World Toys / Gloria Stevens / Henderson Whaland, Incorporated / Heritage Gallery / Pink Powder Puff / Nashua Plaza Laundromat / Male Shop / Nature Food Centre / Olan Mills Studio / Radio Shack / Tech Hi-Fi / Town & Country Pharmacy / Topiary

Montgomery Ward added a "shadow anchor" to the periphery of the mall in August 1972. At the time, the 95,800 square foot store was the chain's largest New England location.
Drawing from Montgomery Ward & Company 

For several years, the primary retail rival of NASHUA MALL was ROYAL RIDGE MALL, a twenty-store mini mall on the southeast side of the city. Originally anchored by Marshalls, a Purity Supermarket and Pharmacity Super Drugette, ROYAL RIDGE MALL opened for business in May 1974. 20 years later, it was redeveloped as ROYAL RIDGE CENTER, a six-store power plaza.
Graphic from Royal Ridge Mall Merchants Association

Meanwhile, back at NASHUA MALL, a new logo had been created in the mid-1980s. The mall and its adjacent convenience center were now promoted as a single entity; NASHUA MALL & PLAZA. Between the two, there were around fifty-seven stores and services.
Graphic from Vickerry Realty

The Woolco chain crashed and burned in early 1983. Its space at NASHUA MALL & PLAZA was retenanted by Mass-based Bradlees, who opened in May 1983. Almy's, on the south end of the center, shut its doors in May 1987. A Burlington Coat Factory welcomed first shoppers in October of the same year.

A new superregional mall had opened, in the southern hinterlands of Nashua, in July 1986. PHEASANT LANE MALL housed 150 stores and spanned approximately 825,000 leasable square feet. This super-sized shopopolis, which drew trade from two states, siphoned a great deal of commerce from NASHUA MALL.

Graphic from State Properties of New England 

L.L. Bean's NASHUA MALL store opened in September 2004.

Photo from www.mapleleafnh.com / Maple-Leaf Construction Company

Between 2001 and 2004, NASHUA MALL was  renovated and reconfigured. It morphed into an open-air power center. In the 2020s, the complex covered approximately 258,800 leasable square feet, with thirteen tenants and ten outparcel businesses.

 

  

 

NASHUA MALL faces competition from MERRIMACK PREMIUM OUTLETS. This off-price center, dedicated in June 2012, spans 560,000 leasable square feet and contains 100 stores and services.

Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group    

NASHUA MALL & PLAZA
Broad Street and Coliseum Avenue
Nashua, New Hampshire

Plans for the Granite State's first mall-type shopping center were announced in August 1967. GATE CITY MALL, a single level facility, would be constructed on a 32.6-acre site, located 1.5 miles northwest of downtown Nashua.

The complex, developed by Lowell, Massachusetts-based Vickerry Realty, was designed by Quincy, Massachusetts-based Edgar H. Wood & Associates and Boston's Sumner Schein. It was built north of a freestanding Alexander's Market grocery store that had opened for business on March 23, 1966.

A 1-level (80,000 square foot), New York City-based Woolco discount mart was the mall's first operational store. It opened, as the first Woolco in New England, on October 9, 1968. Woolco was joined by a 1-level (75,000 square foot), Salem, Massachusetts-based Almy's department store, which was dedicated February 26, 1969.

A mall-wide grand opening was held on May 14, 1969. By this time, the name of the complex had been changed to NASHUA MALL. The center encompassed approximately 225,800 leasable square feet and housed an initial twenty-six stores and services (there would eventually be thirty-one). 

The mall dedication was attended by New Hampshire Governor Walter R. Peterson, Junior (R) and Dennis J. Sullivan, Mayor of Nashua. A ceremonial ribbon was cut and there were three nightly fireworks displays, as well as a performance by the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps.  

Promoted as "a new experience in shopping", NASHUA MALL featured a fully-enclosed shopping concourse, complete with tropical plantings and shrubs, seating areas and three fountains. Charter tenants included CVS, Field's Hosiery, Rook's, Morse Shoes, Castro Convertibles, Fanny Farmer Candies, an Anderson-Little Factory Showroom and Cherry Webb & Tourraine specialty store.

The area surrounding the Alexander's Market was developed as NASHUA PLAZA, an open-air strip center. A Child's World toy store began business on May 3, 1971. Other stores included Beaconway Fabrics, Mr. Brianci's Restaurant & Pub, Nature Food Centre and Town & Country Pharmacy. Montgomery Ward opened a 1-level (95,800 square foot) "shadow anchor" store, in the southwestern periphery of NASHUA PLAZA, on August 23, 1972.

The General Cinema Corporation Nashua Mall Cinema I & II was built, as a freestanding structure, in the northeastern periphery of the mall. The theater showed its first features on March 31, 1972. It was expanded into the Nashua Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV in 1979, became a Canad Cinemas venue in 1992 and a Hoyts Theatres operation in 1997.

During the early years, the only commercial competitor of NASHUA MALL & PLAZA was the community-class ROYAL RIDGE MALL {4.4 miles southeast, in Nashua}, which was dedicated in May 1974. The superregional PHEASANT LANE MALL (1986) {5 miles southeast, in Nashua and Middlesex County, Massachusetts} held its official grand opening in July 1986.

The NASHUA MALL Woolco closed, along with the entire chain, in January 1983. It re-opened, as a Braintree, Massachusetts-based Bradlees discount mart, on May 5, 1983. Almy's was shuttered in May 1987. The store re-opened, as a Burlington Coat Factory, in October 1987. In the PLAZA, the Alexander's supermarket was rebranded -by Maine-based Hannaford- in 1991. A new Hannaford store was built nearby, in the mid-1990s.

Bradlees shut down in December of the year 2000. NASHUA MALL was substantially dead by this time. A redevelopment, which would take several years to complete, got underway with the demolition of the Woolco-Bradlees structure, in 2001. It was replaced by a 1-level (93,800 square foot) Kohl's, which was dedicated on April 7, 2002.

By this time, inline stores had relocated into the north end of the mall. The southern half, adjacent to Burlington Coat Factory, was razed in March 2002. A 1-level (50,000 square foot) Christmas Tree Shops was constructed, which debuted on August 29th.

A (17,200 square foot) strip center was built on the west side of the remaining north mall structure. When it was finished, mall tenants, such as Hallmark and Radio Shack, relocated. The north section of the old mall was then bulldozed. It was replaced by a (37,000 square foot) Babies "R" Us and (13,700 square foot) L.L. Bean. These opened in September and October of 2004.

Meanwhile, the old NASHUA PLAZA structure had also been demolished and replaced by a 1-level (116,000 square foot) Home Depot. This store held its grand opening on July 25, 2002. Montgomery Ward was shuttered in 1997. The building housed a Connecticut-based Ames until that chain went bust in 2002. The southern half of the building was refitted with a Chunky's Cinema & Pub, which opened in January 2007.

The freestanding cinema, at the opposite end of the mall site, had closed in March 2003. It was demolished and replaced by Wendy's and Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse restaurants. These opened for business in December 2003.

Sources:

The Nashua Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire)
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
http://www.geocities.com / "Zayre88"

http://www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
Comment post by Tim Clancy

https://www.nhdeeds.org / Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Recorder of Deeds

New Hampshire's Newington Mall

A mid-'70s-vintage logo commissioned for the "exciting, weather-conditioned" NEWINGTON MALL. The Seacoast Area shopopolis was officially dedicated in August 1974. It was a redevelopment of the NEWINGTON PLAZA strip center. Note: This logo was recreated by -and for- the Mall Hall of Fame.   

The enclosed mall was anchored by a previously-existing J.M. Fields and newly-built "Monkey Wards" and Porteous stores.

Maine's Porteous, Mitchell & Braun -a.k.a. "Porteous"- chain opened a NEWINGTON MALL store in September 1974.

Advert from Porteous, Mitchell & Braun Company

 

NEWINGTON MALL was implemented in stages. The aforementioned J.M. Fields opened in the fall of 1966. Montgomery Ward was dedicated in the fall of 1973, Porteous in the fall of 1974. The final component, a Shaw's supermarket, debuted in the fall of 1975. The mall now encompassed around 455,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty-one stores and services. There was free parking for 2,500 autos.

NEWINGTON MALL TENANTS 1975:

J.M. Fields (with snack bar and freestanding Auto Center) / MONTGOMERY WARD (with Beauty Salon, Buffeteria Snack Bar and attached Auto Center) / PORTEOUS, MITCHELL & BRAUN / SHAW'S supermarket / Anderson-Little apparel / Borman's Hallmark Card Shop / Brook's Fashions / Castro Convertibles / Chicken George's / CVS / Eastern Horizon, Incorporated / Eva Gabor Wigs / Fanny Farmer Candies / Field's Hosiery / Friendly's Ice Cream / GNC / Hanover Shoes / Hickory Farms of Ohio / Jewel Box / Karmelkorn / Kimball's / Midland Gift Shop / Music Unlimited / New England Piano & Organ / Orange Julius / Papa Gino's Pizza / Paperback Booksmith / Pet Emporium / Radio Shack / So-Fro Fabrics / Spectrum India / Thom McAn Shoes / Ti Shop & You / Tourraine apparel / You & You Levis / Zales Jewelers

NEWINGTON MALL was less than 10 years old before it faced a much larger "too close for comfort" competitor. FOX RUN MALL, built directly across the road, opened in 1983. 
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"

Competition from FOX RUN MALL led to the decline of NEWINGTON MALL. The past its prime property was demalled in 1996. The section shown in black was gutted. Vacant store space was also demolished. What remained was rebuilt as big box stores. A vacant Montgomery Ward was also razed and replaced by big box retail. By the time of this 1999 layout, a new power plaza, known as THE CROSSINGS AT FOX RUN, had opened its doors.

Best Buy and Barnes & Noble, two power center tenants. These stores were built on the site of a demolished NEWINGTON MALL Montgomery Ward.

Photo From http://www.joneslanglasalle.com

Two different movie houses have operated at the NEWINGTON MALL site over the years. A freestanding 4-plex opened in 1977, which was eventually expanded to 8 screens. It was replaced by a new 12-plex in 1997. The 12-screener was rebranded as the Regal venue seen here in 2005. It was expanded into a 15-screen operation in 2007.
Photo from http://www.thecrossingsatfoxrun.com

For years, the similarly-named FOX RUN MALL and CROSSINGS AT FOX RUN were confused with one another. To clear things up, both were renamed. The moniker of the power center was shortened to THE CROSSINGS. At the time of a circa-2014 layout, we see new peripheral structures (in light gray). Kohl's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Trader Joe's have also set up shop in the shopping center proper.