MALL HALL OF FAME

ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL, 2017. Recently-completed renovations are indicated in shades of gray. Neiman Marcus, rumored to be joining the mall for years, has been added as part of a new Southwest Wing. A fourth parking garage has also been built, which connects with Macy's and Neiman Marcus.

The Dining District replaced the early '90s-vintage Zeppelin Food Court in January 2015.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

The 17-bay District includes indoor and outdoor seating and houses fast-food outlets such as Johnny Rockets, Juice Generation, Sarku Japan, Charley's Philly Steaks and Patsy's Pizzeria.

Drawing from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

The newly-refurbished Main Entrance.

Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

The ROOSEVELT FIELD Neiman Marcus was dedicated in February 2016.
Drawing from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER

Meadowbrook Parkway and Old Country Road
Nassua County (Town of Hempstead), New York

Long Island's first post-war retail center, NORTH SHORE SHOPPING MART, was dedicated in 1951. It was followed by a rapid succession of mall-type complexes. Three of these, ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER, GREEN ACRES CENTER and MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA, opened over the course of a single year...1956. Two more followed soon after. WALT WHITMAN CENTER and SOUTH SHORE MALL were dedicated in 1962 and 1963, respectively.

The land on which Long Island's first shopping mall was built contained an airfield. First known as the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, it was renamed Hazelhurst Field in 1916. In 1918, the facility was rechristened Roosevelt Field in honor of Quentin Roosevelt (son of "Teddy"), who was killed in combat during World War I. Roosevelt Field was the departure point for "Lucky Lindy's" historic transatlantic flight in 1927. A military airbase also operated there; this decommissioned in June 1951. The Old Westbury Golf Club occupied the south section of the future mall site

Another section was used for the Roosevelt Raceway, an auto-racing track that was converted to harness racing in September 1940. The bulk of the airfield and golf club property was devoted to the gargantuan ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER. This facility, developed on 125 acres, was located 24.5 miles east of Times Square. The site was situated in Nassau County's Town of Hempstead, with a small portion lying in the Village of Garden City.

Initial plans were announced in August 1950. The prospective shopping hub would be developed by a joint venture of New York City's William Zeckendorf (under the auspices of Webb & Knapp) and R.H. Macy & Company. It was designed by Chinese architect Ieoh Ming Pei, the Rudolph Boehler & Rene Brugnoni firm, of New York City, and the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm, of Chicago.

Ground was broken on April 26, 1955. As originally constructed, the open-air complex encompassed approximately approximately 902,900 leasable square feet. It was comprised of a main Mall Level and service basement, which included a small Concourse Level of shops and services.

ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER was officially dedicated on August 29, 1956. Anchoring the complex was a 4-level (320,000 square foot) Macy's. Charter inline stores included Walgreen Drug, Buster Brown Shoes, Howard Clothes, The Corsetorium, Paree Millinery, Singer Sewing Center, Wallachs men's wear, Thom McAn Shoes and a Horn & Hardart Restaurant.

There were two 5 & 10s; a (37,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth and (37,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge. Two supermarkets also operated at the original shopping hub; a (30,000 square foot) Food Fair, which opened for business on October 31, 1956, and a (30,000 square foot) Grand Union. Mall services included the Flight Room public auditorium and an outdoor ice skating rink (this completed in February 1958).

ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER was not initially successful. Vacant store spaces were difficult to lease. In 1958, one of the supermarkets pulled up stakes. Food Fair (on the northwest corner of the complex), closed for good. Grand Union (in a northeast store block) moved to the former Food Fair building.

By the early 1960s, the fortunes of the mall had improved. A 3-level (240,300 square foot) Gimbels was added, which began business on August 20, 1962. In order to be one up on its primary retail rival, Macy's had a fifth level added in 1963...so that their 461,000 square foot ROOSEVELT FIELD store would be substantially larger than the one operated by Gimbels.

With this addition, the retail hub spanned approximately 1,261,200 leasable square feet and contained 113 tenant spaces. The Century's Roosevelt Field Theatre, a freestanding venue built at the northwest corner of the mall, showed its first feature on August 28, 1962. It was divided into a 3-plex in 1981 and an 8-plex in 1987.

Major malls in the vicinity of ROOSEVELT FIELD included the aforementioned GREEN ACRES CENTER (1956) {7.4 miles southwest, in Nassau County} and MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA (1956) {4.6 miles northeast, in Nassau County}. In addition there was SUNRISE MALL (1973-2022) {9.8 miles southeast, also in Nassau County}.

New York City-based Corporate Property Investors acquired ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER in 1966. They embarked on an enclosing renovation in April 1967, which was completed in June 1968. The shopping hub would be known, henceforth, as ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL. The complex was expanded further in the early 1970s. Alexander's 3-level (314,000 square foot) unit opened for business on October 15, 1971. J.C. Penney, with a 3-level (260,000 square foot) store, began business on July 19, 1972.

In 1974, a small, Tudor-style section, known as Le Petit Mall, opened. This mall within a mall was installed in the existing southwest store block. It housed stores such as Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Chess King, TV-Stereo Service Center, The Cave Hair Salon and Lum's Restaurant.

Another enlargement of ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL was done in stages between 1991 and 1997. The first stage, which was a 150 million dollar endeavor, added a partial Upper Level. This contained a 14-bay, zeppelin-motif Food Court and sixty new stores and services. Among these were J. Crew, Bebe, Banana Republic and Mondo men's wear. The new mall floor was officially dedicated on April 23, 1993.

Alexander's had been shuttered in February 1991. The store was gutted and remodeled into a New York City-based Abraham & Straus, which held its grand opening on October 17, 1992. This store was in operation until April 30, 1995. New York City-based Bloomingdale's assumed the store space on November 3nd of the same year.

The second half of the ROOSEVELT FIELD remodeling cost 120 million dollars and was completed in two stages. The Upper Level was extended over the mall's southern section. Two parking structures were also built; one replacing an existing garage on the mall's southeast corner. Fifty stores were added to the mall directory. These included FAO Schwarz, AX / Armani Exchange, BCBG, Kenneth Cole, Pottery Barn and Modell's Sporting Goods. A grand opening was held in October 1996.

A fifth anchor department store was built as the final facet of the 1990s makeover. A 3-level (225,000 square foot) Nordstrom, added to the southeast corner of the complex, opened on August 15, 1997. With its completion, the facility spanned approximately 2,228,000 leasable square feet, with over 150 stores and services. It was promoted as the nation's third-largest shopping mall. In September 1998, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group acquired the assets of Corporate Property Investors, which included ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL.

Gimbels Roosevelt Field had shut down in August 1986 and was followed by a New Jersey-based Stern's, which was in operation between February 1987 and August 2001. After Stern's closed, the structure was divided three ways. Indianapolis-based Galyan's Trading Company renovated a 2-level (105,400 square foot) space and opened for business on October 17, 2003.

A 2-level (65,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery was installed in adjacent area. The old Gimbels basement was renovated into a (70,000 square foot) XSport Fitness, which was dedicated in September 2006. Meanwhile, the Galyan's store had been rebranded, by Pittsburgh-based Dick's Sporting Goods, in October 2004.

In September 2013, a comprehensive interior-exterior makeover got underway. In addition to giving the existing structure a thorough update, the 200 million dollar project included construction of a fourth parking garage, Dining District (which replaced the early 1990s-vintage Food Court) and new Southwest Wing. This would include a 2-level (105,400 square foot) Neiman Marcus and approximately 25,800 square feet of inline store space.

These components were dedicated in the following order; the parking garage in November 2014, Dining District in January 2015 and Southwest Wing and Neiman Marcus on February 19, 2016. With all work completed, the shopping hub encompassed approximately 2,377,000 leasable square feet and housed 283 stores and services under its roof.

In late 2019, the Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery at ROOSEVELT FIELD consolidated operations into the mall's Bloomingdale's department store. The Century 21 chain planned to open a store in the (68,000 square foot) space. This plan was abandoned due to the chain's bankruptcy in 2020. Ireland's Primark opens a store in the old Bloomingdale's Furniture Gallery in December 2022.

Sources:

The New York Times

The New York Daily News

The Long-Islander (Huntington, Long Island)

The Islip Bulliten (Patchogue, New York)

http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com

http://www.airfield-freeman.com

"Dual Anchor Shopping Centers 1952-1965" / Richard Longstreth

https://lrv.nassaucountyny.gov / Nassau County New York

https://www.cinematreasures.org

http://www.rooseveltfield.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

https://www.newsday.com

https://gardencitypatch.com

https://libn.com / Long Island Business News

https://www.highbeam.com

New York City's Green Acres Center

Long Island's second mall-type shopping center was built in Nassau County's Town of Hempstead, on a site adjacent to the Village of Valley Stream. The first operational stores in the retail facility were dedicated in October 1956.

Graphic from the Chanin Organization

As stated, the mall opened in 1956. However, during its first 4 years, it operated with a single anchor, Gimbels Valley Stream. A second department store -Lanes- was dedicated in May 1960 (in medium gray). At the time of this 1964 plan, the GREEN ACRES complex covers approximately 980,300 leasable square feet and contains eighty stores and services.

GREEN ACRES CENTER TENANTS 1964:

GIMBELS (with The Roost restaurant, soda fountain and pharmacy) / J.C. PENNEY / LANES / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / J.J. NEWBERRY 5 & 10 (with The Eating Place luncheonette) / FINAST supermarket (outparcel) / GRAND UNION supermarket (outparcel) / A.S. Beck Shoes / Allstate Insurance Agency (outparcel) / Aunt Jemima's Kitchen / Baker's Qualicraft Shoes / Barricini Candy / Bond Clothes / Burt's Shoes / Cardinal Shops / Century's Green Acres Theatre (single-scren outparcel) / Chandler's Shoes / Cooky's Restaurant / Corsetorium / Country Girl Cosmetics / Curtain Shop / Cut & Curl Beauty Salon / Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn / Duane's Florsheim Shoes / Ebinger Baking Company / Elner & Pike Meats / Famous Fashion Shops / Fifth Avenue Card Shop / Flagg Brothers Shoes / Flower Lane Florist / Foamland U.S.A. / Franklin Simon / Friendly Frost / G. Fried Carpets / Gallery International / Gilson Uniform Center / Gleicher's for Interiors / Glick Brothers Kosher Meats / Golden Krust Pizzaria / Green Acres Bowl / Green Acres Camera Exchange / Green Acres Kiddie Shop / Green Acres Opticians / Green Acres Photographers / Green Acres Travel Agency / Green Acres Wash 'n Dry Clean coin laundry / Greenhouse Decorators / Hollywood Barber Shop / Horn & Hardart Retail Store / House of Chang / Jewel of the East / Kaufman Carpet Company / Kay Jewelers / Len's Sandwich Shop / Lerner Shops / Loft's Candies / Lory Jewelers / Macy's Tire Center (outparcel) / Maternally Yours / Miles Shoes / National Shirt Shops / National Shoes / Nichol's Foot Form Shoes / Pagoda Gifts / Parklane Hosiery / Party Bazaar / Pergament Paint & Wallpaper / Peter Pan Cleaners / Red Cross Shoes / Red Top Coffee Shop / Regent men's & boy's wear / Roger Kent / Sam Goody records / Scot Ties / Sid's Pants / Singer Sewing Center / Smilen Brothers / South Shore Opticians / Susan Ives Sportswear / Suzy Hats / Tami Reid, Incorporated / The Nut Shop / Tress men's & boy's wear / Valley National Bank / Walgreen Drug

The New York City-based arm of Gimbels built their second branch store at GREEN ACRES CENTER. Gimbels Valley Stream encompassed 218,700 square feet and contained 124 selling departments.

Drawing from Gimbels Brothers, Incorporated

We begin a photo tour of Gimbels Valley Stream with a broad view of the main sales floor. This snapshot, and the vintage photos that follow, show the store as it appeared in March 1957.
Photo from Library of Congress

Our first stop, Budget Dresses.
Photo from Library of Congress

Then on to Ladies Coats and Suits.
Photo from Library of Congress

Here we see the Juniors Shop.
Photo from Library of Congress

And Bridal Shop.
Photo from Library of Congress

In this view, we have the Millinery Department.
Photo from Library of Congress

The Women's Shoes department is seen here.
Photo from Library of Congress

Now we move on to Men's Furnishings.
Photo from Library of Congress

The Men's Cruise Wear Shop is nearby.
Photo from Library of Congress

Men's Shoes is not far away.
Photo from Library of Congress

A series of escalators whisk shoppers between the building's 4 levels.
Photo from Library of Congress

We continue our Gimbels Valley Stream tour with a visit to the Boy's department.
Photo from Library of Congress

Then we come to Children's Shoes.
Photo from Library of Congress

The spacious Glass and China department has an attractive array of merchandise...
Photo from Library of Congress

As does the store's Housewares department.
Photo from Library of Congress

The latest concepts in lamps are on display, with an adjoining area stocked with paintings and artwork.
Photo from Library of Congress

Above, we have the Gimbels Valley Stream electronics department. There are televisions, monophonic record players (stereo systems have not been introduced yet), radios and records. "Platters" are available in 33 & 1/3, 45 or 78 rpm.
Photo from Library of Congress

The Epicure Shop has a fine variety of gourmet foods.
Photo from Library of Congress

And now, we board the "escalator up" to go to our final destination...
Photo from Library of Congress

Our Gimbels Valley Stream store tour ends at The Roost restaurant.
Photo from Library of Congress

J.J. Newberry was one of two 5 & 10-type stores in the original GREEN ACRES mall (the other being F.W. Woolworth). The GREEN ACRES Newberry's, which encompassed 52,000 square feet on 3 levels, opened for business in May 1957.

Drawing from the J.J. Newberry Company Annual Report 1959

A rare peek inside Newberry's GREEN ACRES store. In this snapshot, we see the Home Furnishings Department.

Drawing from the J.J. Newberry Company Annual Report 1959

In April 1970, a fully-enclosed GREEN ACRES CENTER emerged. This advert appeared in local newspapers, promoting the new "weather-controlled mall."

Advert from The Chanin Organization

In 1982 and '83, a North Wing (in light gray) was added to the complex, now officially promoted as GREEN ACRES MALL. In this circa-1986 plan, Stern's has moved into the east anchor space, with Gimbels' store converted to an A & S (Abraham & Straus).

The GREEN ACRES Sears, which anchored the new North Wing. Upon its completion in October 1983, the mall encompassed around 1,215,300 leasable square feet and contained 200 stores and services under its roof.
Photo from Nassau County, New York

From Lanes to Macy's Men's. We assembled a logo collage of stores that have operated in the east anchor space at GREEN ACRES MALL over the years. At last count, there were seven.

The mall's Best Buy big box. In the spring of 2007, it replaced a strip center originally occupied by a First National Stores supermarket.
Photo from Nassau County, New York

A circa-2007 view of the 14-bay Food Court at GREEN ACRES MALL. The culinary complex was added during the center's early '80s expansion and was given face lifts in 2007 and 2015.
Photo from http://www.vno.com/ / Vornado Realty Trust

A lot has changed at GREEN ACRES MALL by 2015. Kmart opened a freestanding store (1992), which became a Wal-Mart (2003). Alexander's was replaced by a newly-built Caldor (1994), which was joined by Home Depot (1994). Caldor morphed into a Target (1999). BJ's Wholesale Club opened on the mall's southern periphery (2007). Lastly, a Century 21 store has just been installed in gutted and rebuilt North Wing space.

A major renovation of GREEN ACRES MALL commenced in June 2014 and was complete by May 2016. The first phase of the project entailed a face lift of the south facade. An existing H & M store was expanded and new Streetscape-style restaurants -Panera Bread, Chipotle Mexican Grill and PizzaRev- opened for business.
Drawing from www.macerich.com / The Macerich Company

California's Macerich Company acquired GREEN ACRES MALL in October 2012. Known within the retail industry as "the mall doctor," their 80 million dollar resuscitation of the Valley Stream shopping hub included an indoor face lift. When all construction dust had settled, the facility still covered 1,215,300 leasable square feet, but now contained 114 store spaces.
Drawing from www.macerich.com / The Macerich Company

As the 2010s redo was wrapping up, a 20-acre parcel in the northwestern periphery of the mall was redeveloped. A movie megaplex had operated there for several years. This theater was demolished and replaced by a 350,000 square foot strip center, known as GREEN ACRES COMMONS. Its first stores opened in October 2016.
Drawing from www.macerich.com / The Macerich Company

On the horizon is a redevelopment of the eastern end of GREEN ACRES
MALL. A vacant Sears is being bulldozed and replaced by a supermarket,
al fresco dining and open-air retail. Such a massive -and expensive-
project flies in the face of the clueless news media and their "all malls
are dead" obsession. If all malls are dead, why is Macerich investing all
of this money into a mall remodeling?
Drawing from www.macerich.com / The Macerich Company

GREEN ACRES CENTER
Sunrise Highway and Green Acres Road
Nassau County (Town of Hempstead), New York

Plans for the second shopping mall on Long Island were announced in mid-1954. A 104-acre plot, previously the Curtiss Airfield, became the construction site for a 30 million dollar retail facility. The land parcel was located in a section of Nassau County's Town of Hempstead and was adjacent to the Village of Valley Stream.

GREEN ACRES CENTER was developed by the New York City-based Chanin Organization and designed by Irwin S. Chanin. The shopping complex was built as a component of the Chanin Organization's Green Acres housing development. This community was implemented between 1936-1942 and 1951-1959.

Open-air in format, the mall encompassed approximately 763,900 leasable square feet and consisted of a main mall level and service basement. In its original incarnation, GREEN ACRES CENTER contained seventy-one stores. The first to open for business was a 3-level (218,700 square foot), Gimbels-New York, which began business on October 11, 1956.

Charter inline stores included Lerner Shops, Regent Men's Shop, Oppenheim Collins and J.J. Newberry and F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10s. On the periphery of the mall were two supermarkets; a (38,000 square foot) First National Stores and (40,000 square foot) Grand Union.

The mall's (52,000 square foot) J.J. Newberry welcomed first shoppers on May 20, 1957. One of the final charter stores was a 1-level (53,400 square foot) J.C. Penney, which was dedicated on June 6, 1957. New York City-based Lanes added 3-level (216,400 square foot) department store to the east end of the complex. Dedicated on May 5, 1960, it shared space with Dime Savings & Loan.

The Redstone Theatres Sunrise Drive-In occupied a site adjacent to the west end of the mall. This venue, which was the first open-air cinema in New York State, had opened on August 10, 1938. The Century's Green Acres Theatre was built on the northwest corner of the mall site and showed its first feature on September 15, 1961.

The First National Stores grocery morphed into a Finast in January 1964. Another peripheral GREEN ACRES structure was a 4-level (320,000 square foot), New York City-based Alexander's. This store opened on September 18, 1967.

Shopping malls in the GREEN ACRES trade area included ROOSEVELT FIELD CENTER (1956) {7.4 miles northeast, in Nassau County}, KING'S PLAZA (1970) {10.8 miles southwest, in Brooklyn} and QUEENS CENTER (1973) {9 miles northwest, in Queens}. In order to keep up with its climate-controlled competitors, GREEN ACRES CENTER was roofed-in in 1969-1970.

In 1978, the mall was sold to the New York City-based Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Equitable formed a joint venture with the Kravco Company, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. A second mall renovation commenced in August 1982; this designed by the Gilboy, Sauffer, Giombetti, Skibinski and Davies firm, of Clark Summit, Pennsylvania.

During the 46 million dollar project, store spaces in the existing mall were reconfigured. It is likely that the sales area of J.C. Penney was expanded into the store's basement at this time, increasing its area to 113,160 square feet. A center store block was demolished to make way for a 2-level (235,000 square foot) North Wing. Skylights were installed in the existing mall, along with fountains, trees, hanging plants, terra cotta brick flooring and a glass-enclosed elevator. The new addition was anchored by a 2-level (150,000 square foot) Sears, with an attached parking garage and Auto Center.

The 16-bay International Food Court occupied a second level of the new mall wing, which was dedicated on October 10, 1983. With its completion, the complex, now promoted as GREEN ACRES MALL, encompassed approximately 1,215,300 leasable square feet and housed 200 stores and services. By the mid-1980s, the two anchor stores at GREEN ACRES MALL had been rebranded. Gimbels morphed into a New York City-based Abraham & Straus on October 10, 1986 and was rebranded by Macy's on April 30, 1995.

The mall's east anchor space has a more involved history. Lanes was shuttered in late 1965. The space re-opened as Love's, a division of New York City-based S. Klein, in March 1966. By early 1968, the store was operating as a bona fide S. Klein. This lasted until 1975, when Klein's was replaced by a New York City-based Korvettes discount mart. This became a Queens-based Gertz on October 1, 1981. Said store was rebranded by Paramus, New Jersey-based Stern's in late 1983. Stern's closed in August 2001 and re-opened as a Macy's Men's Store & Furniture Gallery.

Meanwhile, the Sunrise Drive-In had closed and been replaced by the National Amusements Sunrise Cinemas 1-6, which began business on December 7, 1979. The freestanding Alexander's department store had been shuttered in June 1992. Its building was demolished, with a 1-level (135,000 square foot), Norwalk, Connecticut-based Caldor discount mart built nearby. It was dedicated July 28, 1994. A Home Depot, situated on the mall's southwestern periphery, had opened for business in May of the same year.

More changes occurred during the late 1990s. The mall's owner, the Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based Arbor Property Trust, merged with the New Jersey-based Vornado Realty Trust in August 1997. The Caldor chain went bust in May 1999. The GREEN ACRES store was assumed by Target. A Kmart, located in the adjacent PLAZA AT GREEN ACRES strip center went out of business in 2002. Wal-Mart occupied its spot in October 2003.

In March 2007, GREEN ACRES MALL emerged from its third remodeling. The interior had been given a face lift and a parking garage added south of Macy's. New peripheral stores were built, such as Best Buy, Levitz Furniture and a 1-level (122,000 square foot), Westborough, Massachusetts-based BJ's Wholesale Club. The Century's Green Acres Theatre closed for good in September 2011.

In October 2012, Southern California's Macerich Company acquired GREEN ACRES MALL. In June 2014, they embarked on a 2-year-long renovation. The south facade was rebuilt with new entrances and a small Streetscape housed three exterior-entranced restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread welcomed first diners in February 2015. PizzaRev began business in May 2016.

The final phase of the 80 million dollar renovation added a 2-level (72,200 square foot), New York City-based Century 21 discount fashion store. Installed in existing North Wing space, it was dedicated on October 25, 2015. An interior remodeling included a rebuild of the existing Food Court and installation of new soft-seating, escalators and lighting in common areas.

In January 2015, the Sunrise Cinemas 1-6 was shuttered and demolished. Work got underway on Green Acres Commons, an 84 million dollar strip complex, in August 2015. The 350,000 square foot power plaza opened for business in October 2016. Some of its tenants were Ashley Furniture HomeStore, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, Burlington (Coat Factory) and Dick's Sporting Goods.

J.C. Penney shuttered their GREEN ACRES store on April 24, 2020, ending over 62 years of operation. The ground floor space was divided two ways. Ireland's Primark opened a (35,000 square foot) unit on June 22, 2023. Japan's Uniqlo dedicated an (18,300 square foot) store on October 22nd. The Century 21 chain folded in December 2020. New York City-based Shoppers World leased the vacant space, debuted on September 30, 2021, and had closed for good by July 2024.

Sears at GREEN ACRES had gone dark on April 18, 2021. This prompted Macerich to envision another mall redevelopment; this project announced in January 2024. Some 400,000 square feet of retail will be reconfigured or built from the ground up. The abandoned Sears, and its Auto Center, will be demolished. An (80,000 square foot) ShopRite supermarket and new northeast mall entrance will be constructed.

Sources:

The New York Times
The New York Daily News
The Long Island Herald (Lawrence, New York)
http://www.vsvny.org / "Green Acres: The Greatest Planned Neighborhood You've Never Heard Of" / Ted Orosz & Sean Di Luccio / 2014
https://lrv.nassaucountyny.gov / Nassau County New York
https://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.newyorkdriveins.com
http://www.vno.com / Vornado Realty Trust
http://www.greenacresmallonline.com (website on Internet archive Wayback Machine)

https://www.shopgreenacres.com
http://www.macerich.com / The Macerich Company

https://investing.macerich.com
https://patch.com

https://therealdeal.com

https://corporate.primark.com

https://greaterlongisland.com

"Green Acres Mall" article on Wikipedia

New York City's Mid-Island Shopping Plaza

MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA was the third retail mall opened on Long Island during the year 1956.

Graphic from the Stackler & Frank Company

The complex was built over a network of subterranean service tunnels. Here we see the east end of the mall and its east tunnel portal.
Photo from Library of Congress

Our first PLAZA plan dates to 1960. The layout shows the network of truck tunnels that extend from the mall in three directions. The original shopping hub featured two 5 & 10s, two supermarkets and a small kiddie ride area. There was sixty-five stores and free parking for 8,000 autos.

MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA TENANTS 1960:

GERTZ (with Long Island Room restaurant, freestanding Car Care Center and Garden Center) / J.J. NEWBERRY 5 & 10 (with The Eating Place restaurant, luncheonette and snack bar) / S.S. KRESGE 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / FIRST NATIONAL STORES supermarket / FOOD FAIR supermarket / A.S. Beck Shoes / Albrecht's / Atlantic Book Shops / Barricini Candy / Bond Clothes / Bonnet Shoppe / Brown Cow / Buckner's Bridal Shop / Buster Brown Shoes / Casual Shop ladies' wear / Chandler's Shoes / Courtesy Drug (with luncheonette) / Duane's Shoes / East Isle Printing / Eastern Camera / Electronic City / Famous Fashion Shops ladies' wear / Flagg Brothers Shoes / Foam Rubber Center / Frankel's Home Furnishings / Higgins & Beckett Opticians / Horn & Hardart Retail Shop / Household Finance Corporation / Jay Dee Juvenile Center / Jordan Cleaners / Jose Master Hair Stylist / Hicksville Florist / Kitty Kelly Shoes / Lerner Shops ladies wear / Little Charmers / Lodge Coffee Shop / Loft's Candies / Long's Chinese Restaurant / Long Island National Bank / Lorrys Town & Countryman men's wear / Maisel Restaurant / Martins Paint / Maternally Yours / Mid-Island Bake Shop / Mid-Island Bowl / Mid-Island Kosher Meat & Poultry Corporation / Mid-Island Music Shop / Mid-Island Outdoor Store / National Shirt Shops / National Shoes / Oppenheim Collins ladies' wear / Paulmar Meats / Pizza D'Amore / Piccadilly Shops ladies' wear / Plaza Barber Shop / Plaza Hardware / Raphan Carpet Corporation / Sach's Quality Stores / School of Music / Slenderella Figure Salon / Stevens ladies' wear / Sutphin Service Station (outparcel) / The Cotton Shop ladies' wear / Thom McAn Shoes / Tip-Top Appetizers / Woods Jewelers

Gertz Long Island, which faced on Center Court at MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA. In the accompanying logo, the store is commemorated as the Gertz chain's "Hicksville" branch.

Photo from Library of Congress

The gargantuan Gertz stretched upward for 5 levels. The store covered 325,000 square feet and included the Long Island Room restaurant and two outparcels; a Tire & Auto Center and Garden Center.

Drawing from http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org / Queens Library

An architectural drawing of the up & coming Gertz Long Island store is given to Robert F. Waltz (on the right). He is Store President. The two fellows awarding the drawing are Leonard L. Frank (left) and Walter G. Stackler (center). They are developing MID-ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA.

Photo from http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org / Queens Library