SUNSET CENTER
Plains Boulevard and Dixie Steet
Amarillo, Texas
The first major shopping center developed by Denver's Gerri Von Frellick was built in the northwestern environs of the Mile High City. LAKESIDE SHOPPING CITY, an open-air venue, was completed in August 1956. BIG TOWN MALL, in the eastern periphery of Dallas, was dedicated in February 1959. It was the Lone Star State's first fully-enclosed shopping center.
SUNSET CENTER was Texas' second interior mall and the third shopping center project that Von Frellick was involved with. The complex was built by Sunset Center, Incorporated, a joint venture of Von Frellick, Amarillo's M.T. Johnson (Senior), M.T. Johnson (Junior), and the Industrial Uranium Company of Salt Lake City.
The 60-acre mall site was located 2.4 miles southwest of center city Amarillo. The Sunset Golf Course had opened on the property in 1940. Ground was broken for a 1-level (115,000 square foot) Sears on December 10, 1956. Situated in the northeast corner of the site, the store was officially dedicated on November 7, 1957.
The remainder of the parcel was developed as SUNSET CENTER. Ground was broken on December 14, 1959. Designed by Dallas' Jim Collier, the original complex covered approximately 300,000 leasable square feet and contained forty-seven stores and services under its roof.
A formal dedication was held on September 15, 1960. SUNSET CENTER included a 2-level (45,000 square foot) J.C. Penney, (17,200 square foot) Safeway supermarket and (21,100 square foot) White Stores (a.k.a. White's). The mall's F.W. Woolworth and S.H. Kress 5 & 10s each encompassed 26,000 square feet.
Amarillo's original suburban shopping facilities were all located in close proximity to SUNSET CENTER. WOLFLIN VILLAGE {.8 mile southeast} had opened in August 1953. WESTERN PLAZA {.5 mile south} welcomed first shoppers in February 1968. These three centers coexisted peaceably for several years.
J.C. Penney at SUNSET CENTER was doubled in size in the mid-1960s. Store space was added to the west and south sides of the building and a partial upper floor was fully extended. An attached Auto Center was dedicated on November 10, 1965, with new furniture, home appliance, sporting goods and hardware departments in operation by the spring of 1966. This new "New Generation" store encompassed 102,000 square feet.
The days of SUNSET CENTER as a major regional shopping complex came to an end in the early 1980s. WESTGATE MALL {2.6 miles southwest, in Amarillo} held its grand opening in October 1982, snatching the shadow anchor Sears from SUNSET CENTER.
As a competitive measure, SUNSET CENTER was given a face lift in the mid-1980s. New flooring and landscaping were installed. Circular stained glass windows were placed at the two mall entrances, a Food Court built in existing space and small (7,000 square foot) expansion added to the northeast store block. The revitalized retail hub was renamed SUNSET MARKETOWN.
Its vacant Sears had been expanded and reconfigured, as the home office and distribution center of Hastings Entertainment, in 1985. J.C. Penney pulled up stakes and re-opened -in a new WESTGATE store- on January 5, 1986.
Over the ensuing years, nationally-known chain stores at SUNSET MARKETOWN were replaced by mom & pop-type tenants. These included Merchandise Recycler Liquidators, Tejas Western Outlet, One Price Fashion Shoes, Marmac Mini Market, the Penney Pincher Thrift Store and Country Squire Dinner Theatre. Goodwill Industries and Dollar General Stores also operated in the mall for a time.
Amarillo's C.W. and Anna Crouch acquired the SUNSET MARKETOWN mall in June 1992. After Mr. Crouch's passing, Mrs. Crouch continued to oversee operation of the complex. A renovation was performed between 2003 and 2004. Fifteen retail and service tenants were relocated to exterior-entranced spaces, with the interior mall section being reconfigured as office suites.
As the remodeling was in progress, Mrs. Crouch was approached by Hunter Ingalls, a professor at West Texas A & M University-Amarillo. He wondered if it would be possible for some of his art students to rent space at the mall to use as studios. A leasing arrangement was made which led to the shopping concourse being repurposed as an art gallery and studio facility known as the PANHANDLE ARTS CENTER.
In 2005, the art mall was renamed SUNSET ART GALLERY OF AMARILLO. Comprised of fifty-five galleries and art studios, it including Sunset Gallery, Amarillo Art Institute, Panhandle Gallery, Art Gecko Studio & Gallery and Atomic Axe Studio & Gallery.
Mrs. Crouch passed on in 2017. She left behind a substantial estate. However, if funds were used to operate or renovate the for-profit SUNSET GALLERY, a 6 million dollar inheritance tax would be charged to the estate. By this time, the mall structure, which was nearly 60 years old, was rapidly deteriorating. Its roof leaked and the air-conditioning system frequently broke down. The typical electric bill for the energy inefficient structure was 18,000 dollars per month.
It was decided to close the art mall, with a shuttering bash held on August 2, 2019. Demolition of the north section of the complex began in April 2021. The remaining south section was refurbished and an outdoor events plaza built on a portion of the demolished north section. In all, nearly 7 million dollars was spent.
Meanwhile, a non-profit entity -known as the Crouch Foundation- was established to pay for the remodeling and operate a new art mall. The revitalized ARTS IN THE SUNSET complex was officially dedicated on April 14, 2023.
Sources:
The Amarillo Globe-Times
The Texas Observer (Austin, Texas)
http://www.amachron.com / Amarillo Chronology
http://wolflinvillage.com
www.sunsetartgalleryofamarillo.com (defunct website on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
"Amarillo: The Story of a Western Town" / Paul Howard Carlson
https://www.amarillopioneer.com / Trent Rosser
https://www.artsinthesunset.org
Potter County, Texas property tax assessment website
http://www.amarillomagonline.com
http://www.thebowerbirdlbk.com
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