The Decline of Shopping Malls

 

The American retail landscape is changing. The love affair with the enclosed shopping center peaked about a decade ago and has been waning as consumers seek out revitalized urban centers and mixed-use retail, office and residential developments.

Between 1956 and 2005, approximately 1,500 indoor malls were constructed. Aided in part thanks to the Interstate Highway Act that allowed for the development of 54,000 miles of interstate highways, residents began moving from rural settlements and dense, urban cities to suburban tracts. Whereas shopping was once done in downtowns and neighborhood business districts, roomy shopping centers took their place. Customers could now drive their automobiles to a sea of asphalt and fit their vehicles within generously-sized parking spaces, and then spend their time within an artificial and heated concourse.

 

Few traditional malls have been constructed in the 21st century, though. The rise of the Internet shopping have been partly to blame, as the convenience of one-click ordering made it easier to acquire hard-to-acquire items, but a physical shift also occurred. Suburban mixed-use developments that incorporated retail, office and residential components became favored, such as Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio or Crocker Park in west Cleveland. To an extent, urban projects, such as Pullman Square in Huntington, West Virginia, have siphoned some of the glitz and attention away from traditional malls. There is also direct competition with newer malls that have caused older facilities to languish and be forgotten, too.

 

 

Randall Park Mall is one of those malls. When it was completed during the mall boom of the 1970’s, it boasted its motto, “Much More Than Everything.” It boasted five anchors and more than 100 inline stores, and was surrounded physically with other department stores, restaurants and hotels. Randall Park, a rural settlement turned suburban powerhouse, even put an image of a shopping bag into its municipal seal.

 

But newer developments in newer suburbs began to siphon away business. One by one, retailers left and ownership changed until the mall closed in March 2009. After being in a state of abandonment, demolition began in December 2014. It is to be replaced with an industrial park, arguably more sustainable and tax-producing than a mall, but only time will tell if it will be a success.

 

 

Higbee's/Dillard's

 

 

 

Sears wing

 

 

 

 

JCPenny wing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dillard's wing

 

 

 

General Cinema 3-screen movie theater

 

 

Magic Johnson Theaters

 

 

Even my hometown was not spared. When Cedar Knoll Galleria opened in 1989 on the outskirts of Ashland, Kentucky, it’s developers boasted that it would become a powerful regional shopping destination. It was a risk that was not well received: Ashland Town Center opened shortly before near downtown.

 

Cedar Knoll Galleria, never boasting an occupancy above 69%, featured Sears, Elder-Beerman, K-Mart and Phar-Mor as its anchors, but in 2002, Phar-Mor closed all of their stores in the southern United States, including the Cedar Knoll location. K-Mart also pulled out later in the year and was replaced by Artrip’s Market and a flea market in late 2004. Inline stores began leaving and in 2014, Sears left. Elder-Beerman is the only major tenant remaining, other than a movie theater that relocated in the former Phar-Mor.

 

Elder-Beerman

 

Former Sears

 

Food Court entrance

 

 

 

 

Former K-Mart

 

Former Sears

 

 

There is no redevelopment proposal for Cedar Knoll, though. It’s languishing with a scattering of offices inside, some moribund retailers and some eateries – and while it’s not completely devoid of activity, it will never be fully appreciated at what it was once destined for. Far better uses of the building and land could surely be found.

 

The American retail landscape is changing, and thankfully it is no longer favoring just enclosed shopping malls.

Of course, there were also too many malls and too much square footage of retail space overall. Ashland certainly didn't need two malls.

Excellent photos.

 

I've wondered if future generations will be denied the experience of shopping in a vibrant mall--as my generation was denied the experience of the mega department stores that once dominated our downtowns. I doubt it; it seems like higher-end malls are chugging along fine.

Nice shots Sherman!  I was literally going to start a Randall thread tonight.  In any event, here are a few to add to Sherman's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incredible images.

Stunning.

ahh randall park mall, the once ballyhooed largest mall in america. the original mall of america before there was a mall of america.

 

for such an indistinct kind of place i have a very distinct memory of it. back in its heyday, i'll never forget seeing the jewish guys hanging around the seating by the escalators in short sleeve shirts, umm for lack of a better word, rocking their concentration camp tatoos. coming down the escalators, that powerful image was very seared into my young brain.

North Randall hadn't been "rural" for at least 50 years.

 

The timing on this thread is ironic.  There was a big "Randall Park Mall" group on Facebook that just imploded in a peeing contest so bad it was splashing into my Maple Heights group.  I had to exercise moderator privilege post a "no, I am not cleaning up your mess" reply and the battlers formed a new group.

 

The problem with indoor malls is that those in mixed SES areas have never come up with a graceful solution to the loitering issue.

I love all the geometric shapes in these malls. Very cool photos...especially loved the movie theater ones.

As a kid, Randall was awe inspiring.  To see several retailers have duplicate stores was a powerful indicator to me as a kid that the place was huge!

 

The problem with indoor malls is that those in mixed SES areas have never come up with a graceful solution to the loitering issue.

 

 

tell me about it. those damn old people that never bought anything, but used to take over these malls to 'powerwalk' in the 80s drove me up the wall.

 

The problem with indoor malls is that those in mixed SES areas have never come up with a graceful solution to the loitering issue.

 

 

tell me about it. those damn old people that never bought anything, but used to take over these malls to 'powerwalk' in the 80s drove me up the wall.

 

Actually, Randall had a really good solution to that.  They'd open the mall itself well before the stores were open, like 8am or so.

 

The problem with indoor malls is that those in mixed SES areas have never come up with a graceful solution to the loitering issue.

 

 

tell me about it. those damn old people that never bought anything, but used to take over these malls to 'powerwalk' in the 80s drove me up the wall.

 

Actually, Randall had a really good solution to that.  They'd open the mall itself well before the stores were open, like 8am or so.

 

Mall walkers (old people powerwalking) are still typical everywhere, and most malls open by 8:00am at the latest, I've been to some that are open at 6:00am (I used to do some work that involved surveying stores in malls) and was always amazed at how many old people there are just walking around.

Pretty much every dead mall I've photographed has nothing more than mall walkers. Someone commented on another forum (who worked at Cedar Knoll Galleria/Kyova Mall) that they saw plenty of people walking around every day, so it wasn't dead. I corrected them in exhibiting just how many stores were open and how many were high paying retail tenants (only the two anchors left), and that all of the pedestrians were mall walkers. They come for the warmth!

Anchors actually do not pay very high rents per square foot. They're there to attract people to the national inline, national kiosk and food court tenants who do pay high rents.

I'm old enough to remember the advent of shopping centers and malls.  When I was a little kid, I'd walk to school (yes, we actually could do that way back when) along the main street of my neighborhood which was lined with many vital small businesses.  All of that changed of course.  And later on when school busing caused total abandonment of cities and older suburbs which led to exurban sprawl, neighborhood business districts, which were barely surviving by then, pretty much died.

 

Therefore the trend towards urbanism, sustainability and walkable neighborhoods is so exciting to me.  I'm starting to see things come full circle.  Incredible!  I love living downtown and have told my husband many times that it reminds me of when I was a kid and we'd walk to various stores.  One thing that'll probably never come back to downtown Cincinnati though are the huge department stores of yore.  Only very large cities/markets -- especially those that attract tourists like NYC, London, Paris, etc. -- can support those old-fashioned behemoths that are throwbacks to traditional retailing's heyday.  I have to admit I buy tons of stuff online anymore.  Too easy and convenient!

I was going to the mall in the 60's before the "mall walking" phenomenon began. In fact, I was one of the original mall rats at the Great Lakes Mall. At least back then teenagers didn't go to provoke gang fights. No, we just sat around and made fun of other people (like we weren't total dorks).

 

Changes in area demographics have much to do with killing malls and retail centers. There is a closed mall around 10th and Shadeland in Indy.

Everything, big box, HomeDepot, went further East into Warren Twp. I rarely go to Malls anymore. Macys in Florence, and Eastgate off of 275 a

couple of times a year (never crowded).

Guys saying they don't go to malls isn't a very big deal. Women make 86% of purchasing decisions.

Guys saying they don't go to malls isn't a very big deal. Women make 86% of purchasing decisions.

 

Perhaps, but that means women perceiving a specific mall as unsafe (accurately or not), is a huge deal.

My grandma just died last week. She had her purse nabbed at Randall Park Mall in the mid 90s and kept going back, much to the chagrin of her children. She was a trooper. It's almost fitting that the mall was torn down the same week she died, because I will always associate "Randall Mall" with her. Great photos.

Guys saying they don't go to malls isn't a very big deal. Women make 86% of purchasing decisions.

 

Perhaps, but that means women perceiving a specific mall as unsafe (accurately or not), is a huge deal.

 

For sure. We don't really have any unsafe malls left around downstate that I can think of.

My grandma just died last week. She had her purse nabbed at Randall Park Mall in the mid 90s and kept going back, much to the chagrin of her children. She was a trooper. It's almost fitting that the mall was torn down the same week she died, because I will always associate "Randall Mall" with her. Great photos.

 

Sounds like my grandma.  She lived in the Hyacinth neighborhood and insisted on walking to church most mornings even when it was becoming an iffy proposition in several ways.  One of the reasons she finally moved into assisted living was it was at the old Lumen Cordium and the chapel was literally downstairs.

 

The "old ladies" of our youth, especially the ethnic ones, were a tough breed.  And stubborn could be what one of my favorite authors called a "charming understatement".

 

The problem with indoor malls is that those in mixed SES areas have never come up with a graceful solution to the loitering issue.

 

 

tell me about it. those damn old people that never bought anything, but used to take over these malls to 'powerwalk' in the 80s drove me up the wall.

 

Actually, Randall had a really good solution to that.  They'd open the mall itself well before the stores were open, like 8am or so.

 

except that wasnt a solution when they powerwalked during mall hours anyway - which they did.

Wow, post-apocalyptic. I saw Terminator at Randall Park in 1984. Never thought I'd see that mall look like one of the 21st-century scenes from the movie! I spent a lot of time in at Randall Park. Probably at least a half-dozen trips each year from 1976-1985 and less after I moved to Kent for school. I'm no fan of malls, but seeing this is like losing part of your childhood.

The decline of Randall Park Mall has taught me that all of us genius on this board should question whether we are able to predict the future no matter what "facts" are thrown in our faces currently.

 

When I was in high school in the mid seventies I worked at Bonds Clothing Store at Southgate in Maple Hts., about 2 miles from Randall Park.  At the time Southgate was one of the largest open air shopping centers in the country and it was thriving, serving a mostly middle class blue collar cliental (who at that time has a far amount of disposable income).  It was huge but not in the least "upscale".  It had three department stores (Sears, Pennys and The May Co.) and lots of national chains but also a fair amount of local stores (Richmond Brothers, Newman Sterns Sporting Goods (remember them...started by Paul Newman's family) and mom and pop type stores (I remember a really cool butcher shop).  It was served by multiple bus lines that dropped you off right in front of the stores (almost like a downtown even though it was your classic shopping center of the time with huge parking lots).  It was surrounded by lots of houses and apartments so many people walked to the center.

 

When DeBartolo started developing Randall Park everybody said that was it for Southgate.  It would be out of business in 2-3 years.  Who would shop there now that there was a shiny new (huge) indoor mall two miles away that was also going to have a May Co and Sears and Pennys as well as Higbees, Hornes from Pittsburgh and Halles (although the Halles never did open)?

 

Well it is now 40 years later.  Southgate did take a hit and lost many of it's stores (all three department stores eventually), but it adapted, bringing in new stores and selectively demoing other sections of the center.  It is definitely not what is was in the 70s and earlier.  While copetition from other centers took its toll,  a large part of its reduction in size and change in stores had more to do with shifting demographics, as the population of the inner suburbs that patronized it aged and move out farther, replaced by those with less disposable income.  It is not a destination shopping center by any means but it still serving the area.

 

Bottom line, Southgate, while not the greatest shopping center in the world, still survives despite the predictions back in the 70s and it is the shiny new mall that is now gone.

 

 

 

Exactly, which is why I dislike when people (including you Htsguy) call someone optimistic or pessimistic. There's no way to know whether either outcome, positive or negative, is going to happen. While I don't know what the future holds either, I do have my beliefs of what should happen to create the kind of city I want to live in. So I try to influence those outcomes as best I can. I am often pleasantly surprised or disappointed, but I have no regrets if I've spoken up at some point to say what outcome I prefer.

 

So, along that line...  An industrial park is probably the best outcome for the site of Randall Park. And hopefully Cleveland Commercial Railroad can gain the interest of prospective shippers to justify building a spur track into the site and pick up some new customers. Just remember -- one railcar takes three pavement-damaging trucks off our taxpayer-subsidized roads and puts it on privately owned and maintained rails.

The decline of Randall Park Mall has taught me that all of us genius on this board should question whether we are able to predict the future no matter what "facts" are thrown in our faces currently.

 

When I was in high school in the mid seventies I worked at Bonds Clothing Store at Southgate in Maple Hts., about 2 miles from Randall Park.  At the time Southgate was one of the largest open air shopping centers in the country and it was thriving, serving a mostly middle class blue collar cliental (who at that time has a far amount of disposable income).  It was huge but not in the least "upscale".  It had three department stores (Sears, Pennys and The May Co.) and lots of national chains but also a fair amount of local stores (Richmond Brothers, Newman Sterns Sporting Goods (remember them...started by Paul Newman's family) and mom and pop type stores (I remember a really cool butcher shop).  It was served by multiple bus lines that dropped you off right in front of the stores (almost like a downtown even though it was your classic shopping center of the time with huge parking lots).  It was surrounded by lots of houses and apartments so many people walked to the center.

 

When DeBartolo started developing Randall Park everybody said that was it for Southgate.  It would be out of business in 2-3 years.  Who would shop there now that there was a shiny new (huge) indoor mall two miles away that was also going to have a May Co and Sears and Pennys as well as Higbees, Hornes from Pittsburgh and Halles (although the Halles never did open)?

 

Well it is now 40 years later.  Southgate did take a hit and lost many of it's stores (all three department stores eventually), but it adapted, bringing in new stores and selectively demoing other sections of the center.  It is definitely not what is was in the 70s and earlier.  While copetition from other centers took its toll,  a large part of its reduction in size and change in stores had more to do with shifting demographics, as the population of the inner suburbs that patronized it aged and move out farther, replaced by those with less disposable income.  It is not a destination shopping center by any means but it still serving the area.

 

Bottom line, Southgate, while not the greatest shopping center in the world, still survives despite the predictions back in the 70s and it is the shiny new mall that is now gone.

 

One of the things Southgate had going for it was the "Dunham Road" line, a Maple Heights Transit/RTA route than wandered through the west side of Maple then up the east side to Southgate, then proceeding to RPM and the Van Aken Rapid.  I would say that losing this line when RTA fully took over MHTS had nearly as much impact on the center as Randall did. 

 

Yet it survived, and one of the reasons was if you needed one or two things, it was quicker to go to Southgate, park close to your destination store, get it, and go.  In other words, stereotypical "guy shopping".  Personally, I never thought it would completely shut down.

 

Two semi-contradictory reasons in the context of this forum, perhaps.  But outdoor centers seem more resilient than indoor.

My limited memories of Randall Park Mall mostly only include driving up there with friends on the weekends shortly after receiving my driver's license in the late 1990s. There may have been a department store or two still open at the time, but most of the stores were jewelry shops, hair salons, etc., and one store that sold metal goods including the only "real" ninja stars that I had (or have) ever seen. I think by then the writing was definitely on the wall and I vaguely remember my parents suggesting that I find other places to hang out.

 

I hate to be "that guy" considering the upthread discussion, but I can't help but wonder if we're repeating the same mistakes we made 20-30 years ago with this newest arms race that's occurring on the eastside with the expansion of Beachwood Place and Eton and the building of the new shopping center in Orange. Part of the problem is indeed the balkanization of this region. Each city is chasing that ever elusive retail tax dollar and it's leading us to make decisions that may not otherwise have been made if these areas weren't each their own municipality. (And as an aside, perhaps with Randall Park Mall being torn down maybe it's time to merge North Randall with one of its neighbors?)

In the late 90s all the department stores were still open. It had Kaufmann's , Dillard's, JC Penney, Sears and Burlington. Department store departures began in 2001 with Dillard's.

 

Two semi-contradictory reasons in the context of this forum, perhaps.  But outdoor centers seem more resilient than indoor.

 

To me as a guy, the get-in/get-out aspect of outdoor centers is the big attraction. I don't like to shop. I like to buy.

If you've worked in a mall you can turbo through them pretty fast. The skills are similar to turboing down a busy sidewalk. In contrast, turboing through a Wal-Mart is nearly impossible due to the sheer size and all the Type II diabetics.

If you've worked in a mall you can turbo through them pretty fast. The skills are similar to turboing down a busy sidewalk. In contrast, turboing through a Wal-Mart is nearly impossible due to the sheer size and all the Type II diabetics.

 

During the wee hours of the morning it's not difficult.

My guess is that shopping malls are closing because the mall walkers (those older folks with lots of disposable income)  have moved on to other places, too much turboing by others got really annoying. 

^actually it's malls that are located in working class areas that are dying/have died. A lot of people hardest hit by the 2008 recession never fully recovered and lived in those areas. Malls in upscale locations (or those solidly middle class), however, are thriving. Obviously there are exceptions to this. (or maybe it just is all those damn mall walkers! :laugh:)

 

On a side note, I have a question: When Cleveland's big 3 department stores--May Co., Higbees, and Halle's--were still around, was there one mall that had all three stores? I couldn't think of one; just some that had two of them and a third anchor (like Sears).

Mall walkers are usually an AM thing and don't affect the peak selling hours after 3pm weekdays and after noon on the weekends.

^actually it's malls that are located in working class areas that are dying/have died. A lot of people hardest hit by the 2008 recession never fully recovered and lived in those areas. Malls in upscale locations (or those solidly middle class), however, are thriving. Obviously there are exceptions to this. (or maybe it just is all those damn mall walkers! :laugh:)

 

On a side note, I have a question: When Cleveland's big 3 department stores--May Co., Higbees, and Halle's--were still around, was there one mall that had all three stores? I couldn't think of one; just some that had two of them and a third anchor (like Sears).

 

Halle's had an option at Randall but never used it, remember they closed in 1982.  Horne's, Penny's, and Sears were the anchors with May Company (which also kept the Southgate store for awhile) and Higbee's.

Belden Village in North Canton had a Higbee's, Halles, and Oneil's (May Company's Akron nameplate) and also a Stern and Mann's (Canton Dept store), and Sears at one point.

http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2015/02/photojournalist_captures_snow-.html#incart_m-rpt-1

I was going to the mall in the 60's before the "mall walking" phenomenon began. In fact, I was one of the original mall rats at the Great Lakes Mall. At least back then teenagers didn't go to provoke gang fights. No, we just sat around and made fun of other people (like we weren't total dorks).

 

The Great Lakes Mall in its earliest years (early 60's). Here looking from what was the May Co. (now Macy's). That was the one major store at the time. I had forgotten about those zen-gardenish rock and gravel displays :laugh:

another from the other end--who remembers Newberry's??

I was going to the mall in the 60's before the "mall walking" phenomenon began. In fact, I was one of the original mall rats at the Great Lakes Mall. At least back then teenagers didn't go to provoke gang fights. No, we just sat around and made fun of other people (like we weren't total dorks).

 

The Great Lakes Mall in its earliest years (early 60's). Here looking from what was the May Co. (now Macy's). That was the one major store at the time. I had forgotten about those zen-gardenish rock and gravel displays :laugh:

another from the other end--who remembers Newberry's??

 

How long since there have been grocery stores in enclosed malls?

^Grocery stores seem to still have a presence in European malls.

^and Canadian malls.

A bench-clearing brawl at Northgate Mall:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/colerain-township/hundreds-of-teens-storm-northgate-mall-start-fights-police-say

9 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

A bench-clearing brawl at Northgate Mall:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/colerain-township/hundreds-of-teens-storm-northgate-mall-start-fights-police-say

 

this happened in Connecticut too! The Christmas break is different from when we were young. Back in the day I just went to the mall to make fun of other people?

 

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-haven/large-police-presence-reported-at-ct-post-mall/

Quick drone shots of Westland Mall in Columbus edited on my phone from the other day:

Ha, I never noticed that treachery they did to make the JCPenney look like it was two stories.

I wondered about that too. But when you look at the McAlpin's (later Lazarus and now Macy's) at the Fayette Mall in Lexington, KY, it was two-stories expanded into three. Did JCPenney do this with the hope of expanding upward?

They might, then found west side spending habits didn't justify it.

On 3/19/2015 at 2:51 PM, E Rocc said:

 

How long since there have been grocery stores in enclosed malls?

 

Forest Fair Mall's first major tenant was Bigg's and it was one of the last to leave before the complete collapse of the mall. In fact I think it was still there in the early and mid-2000s, so at least a 15-year run, if not 20. I remember how much more excited the news and people in general seemed to be about a gigantic grocery store as opposed to the original high-end stores that anchored the mall. 

 

Quote

bigg's

 

In June 2008, Biggs closed their Cincinnati Mills location due to declining sales. It was the mall's largest tenant.

 

In 2009, Kaczynski left, and on March 29, 2010, SuperValu announced that it would be selling six Bigg's locations to Remke Markets and would close the remaining five.[3]

 

On April 8, Remke announced it would be buying a seventh store in Harrison that had been scheduled to close.[4] Remke said that the stores it purchases would retain the Bigg's brand immediately after the transfer, but they may make changes in the future.

 

The stores not purchased were closed in June 2010. The Bigg's in Eastgate closed and became a second location of Jungle Jim's International Market. The remaining Bigg's were renovated to remove the general merchandise (in the stores that had them) and were renamed Remke Markets bigg's.

 

In October 2013, it was announced that the Remke bigg's banner would be dropped and all Remke bigg's locations would assume the Remke Markets banner.[5]

 

In late 2018, the Rempke location in Mt. Washington hosted a 30% off sale due to closing its location at Skytop Pavilion. An Anderson Township council member said the location had been underperforming for “any period of time” in 2019, and that building upscale apartments was the “highest and best use for the property.”