Most of our retail “fall from glory” tales are variations on the same theme.  Larger, more modern competition swoops in and leaves behind a swath of older retail in the dust.  Literally.  This particular story is no exception; however, it’s a lot more complicated (and interesting) than that, at least from a retail history standpoint.  Apparently if you kick a retail center down once, it dies, but if you kick it down twice, it reinvents itself completely to be somewhat immune.

Waukegan, Illinois is one of several older satellite gateway cities orbiting the periphery of greater Chicago.  Located 40 miles north of downtown Chicago, the city has grown to house nearly 100,00 residents today.  Much like Gary, Hammond, Joliet, Aurora, Elgin, and arguably others like it, these cities grew up not necessarily as post-war suburbs of Chicago, but in tandem with Chicago from the early 19th century onward.  Unlike the suburban post-war boomtown suburbs of Schaumburg, Gurnee, Orland Park, and countless others which all barely existed before the mid-20th century suburban explosion, these gateway cities have a history more common with that of Chicago’s in the manufacturing era a century previous. 

Understanding this is important because it helps us pinpoint how suburban sprawl has impacted these older gateway cities.  Modern sprawl has filled in the rural pockets in between these cities and Chicago with relatively affluent bedroom communities, complete with cookie-cutter housing development and strip retail everywhere.  In response, these older anchor cities became fallow during the latter part of the 20th century.  While cities adjacent to Waukegan in northern Lake County such as Gurnee have benefitted from the massively explosive post-war sprawl to have large-scale amusement parks, huge malls and more, cities like Waukegan, Elgin, Joliet, and Aurora have quietly rusted away behind the scenes as if embattled in a forgotten identity crisis. 

Left out of the picture, these anchor cities began creating suburban developments of their own.  In Joliet, Elgin and Aurora, suburban sprawl accounts for much of the city’s land area today, and because these cities benefit from having room to grow and farmland to gobble this process will continue unabated until it reaches some sort of natural break, or demand wanes.  Cities like Gary, Hammond, and Waukegan, however, weren’t so fortunate.  Each of these cities has had almost no room to build out to keep up with the trend of suburbanization, due to being directly up against Lake Michigan on one side and against other established cities of suburban sprawl on the other.  By the time they were willing to get in the game, it was almost too late.  Also consider these cities are older on the whole, and their residents’ egress caused the suburban sprawlburgs to happen in the first place, and you have a vicious cycle of simultaneously more sprawl in the new suburbs and more blight in the older cities’ cores.  In Waukegan’s case, it is a pall on the wealthy suburbia that makes up the rest of Lake County. 

Waukegan did, however, make some attempts to join the sprawl-party in the mid-20th century.  It gobbled up as much farmland as it could on the southwest side of the city, the only side not already occupied by something else.  There it expanded quite far, creating the same young cul-de-sac subdivisions as everywhere else, and even two enclosed malls.  The first of these opened in the 1960s (conflicting sources list different years) along Belvidere Road (Hwy 120), a fast growing strip of retail and services at the time.  Rather appropriately, it was named Belvidere Mall.

When Belvidere Mall opened it was anchored by a large Montgomery Ward and, for a time, was the only large enclosed mall along the Lake Michigan shoreline between Milwaukee and Chicago.  However, Belvidere Mall enjoyed only a modicum of popularity due to competition in the form of a much larger super-regional mall which opened just up the street in 1971. Lakehurst Mall opened immediately successful and at over one million square feet with three behemoth anchors, outsized most other shopping venues in northern Chicagoland and the surrounding areas of Wisconsin.  Furthermore, it was better situated than smaller Belvidere Mall, two miles away.  Lakehurst was located adjacent to the junction of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), US 41, Waukegan Road (IL 43) and Belvidere Road (Hwy 120).  It was also situated in one of the only “modern” areas of Waukegan, far from the urban, decaying, and industrial downtown core.  In addition to all that, Lakehurst was designed to be as modern as possible itself (for the 1970s) by famed retail architect Victor Gruen.

As the 1970s progressed, Lakehurst Mall achieved further dominance under the city of Waukegan and Lake County’s master plans, which called for ancillary retail and residential areas to be built along the Lakehurst ring road adjacent to the mall.  These included strip convenience centers, many apartment complexes, chain restaurants, and family fun centers.  Although placing these activities together is common now, it was a relatively new idea in the early 1970s and the Lakehurst model was something of a pioneer for this type of development. 

In contrast, all through the 1970s and into the 1980s, sales at Belvidere Mall slumped as it could not keep up with its more popular sibling down the road.  In 1988, the bottom fell out at Belvidere Mall and it lost its most important anchor, Montgomery Ward, to Lakehurst Mall in order to fill the Wieboldt’s vacancy after the chain went under.  From that point on, and arguably from a point long before that, Belvidere Mall ceased to be of much importance as a regional destination.

Complicating matters further, the retail dynamic in and around Waukegan changed more dramatically in 1991 when the Mills Corporation opened a newer, even larger mall than Lakehurst in the adjacent sprawlburg of Gurnee across from an already well-established Six Flags amusement park.  The 1.8 million square foot Gurnee Mills was a huge success, and drew shoppers from all over southeastern Wisconsin, northeastern Illinois and beyond because it was a new hybridized format of enclosed mall with trendy, popular outlet stores.  Gurnee Mills didn’t didn’t feel like an outlet mall, however, so sales skyrocketed and the Mills corporation went on to build many more malls like it across North America.  Immediately following Gurnee Mills’ opening, a slew of retail boxes and strip centers sprang up around it, mostly along Grand Avenue (IL 120), just a few miles north of Lakehurst and Belvidere Malls. 

Following the opening of Gurnee Mills, the tables turned on Lakehurst Mall, and many stores and even anchors jumped ship as profits sank during the 1990s.  By the end of that decade, Lakehurst was just a shadow of its’ former self.  In fact, most of the mall structure closed permanently in 2001, with the Carson Pirie Scott anchor hanging on until January 2004.  The whole thing was demolished soon after, and after much debate about what to do with the site it was replaced with a rather bland yet useful strip center development featuring a Wal-Mart called Fountain Square of Waukegan.

As for Belvidere Mall, it ironically weathered the second competitive blow of Gurnee Mills in 1991 far better than it had Lakehurst Mall in 1971.  Throughout the 1990s, following the 1988 departure of Montgomery Ward, Belvidere Mall repositioned itself to be ancillary-on-purpose, which is often a boon for these smaller, much older enclosed centers, especially when encroached upon by more popular competition.  A Builders Square home improvement center replaced the vacated Wards soon after Wards fled to Lakehurst, and the same spot quickly became a Home Depot following the demise of the Builders Square chain in 1998.  Also in 1998, the mall revamped its image with a new name of Belvidere Discount Mall, and not only attracted discount retailers, but local ethnic/hispanic ones as well.  As the city of Waukegan is 50 percent hispanic, and a large hispanic population resides in several other cities in northeast Lake County, the mall serves an underrepresented population and thus has carved out its own niche, unaffected by the woes of traditional retail competition.

Ironically, Belvidere Mall was hit not once, but twice, and the second blow allowed it to stay in the game, albeit a far cry from the traditional enclosed mall it opened as over four decades ago.  The photo set included here was shot in 2001.  Make sure to check out the interesting shops, the antique laundromat, and the cinema.  Has the mall changed significantly since?  Any other stories or information to tell?  What was Belvidere Mall like during its heyday? 

Update 11/15/07: John G. has sent once again sent us some great vintage pictures.  Enjoy them.

If there’s a flaw in modern shopping mall development, it’s that most malls developed or extensively renovated in the last decade and a half lack drama. Natick Collection totally bucks that trend.

The Natick Collection (which was, until very recently, known as the Natick Mall) has been big news here in New England since it opened on September 7. With the center’s dramatic new expansion, the Natick Collection is suddenly New England’s largest mall, with somewhere between 1.7 and 2 million square feet of floor space. But as you’ll see from these pictures, it’s also easily the most dramatic; with vaulted, undulating ceiling lines, a faux-white birch forest, and some truly daring external architecture, Natick Collection strives to be a place you want to go, not just a place you can shop. It could (and probably should) be a model for how to maintain the relevance of super-regional malls.

There’s kind of a long and complicated history of this mall, so it’s necessary to step back a bit. The metrowest region of Massachusetts (or is it better defined as a region of “Boston”?) is a populous and affluent suburban area about 20 miles west of downtown Boston, along the Massachusetts turnpike. Like most New England suburban areas, it’s relatively diverse, from the post-war suburbia of Framingham to extremely affluent enclaves like Weston, but Boston’s western suburbs have long been amongst some of the wealthiest in New England, and they continue to grow in population.

In the 1960s, when this area was first beginning to attract a substantial population base due to suburbanization, the area frequently known as the “Golden Triangle” began to emerge as a shopping district. Defined roughly as the triangle created by Route 9, Route 30, and Speen Street along the Natick/Framingham town line, the Golden Triangle became one of the largest and most active shopping districts in New England, and has been home to (at one time or another) no less than five enclosed shopping malls and many other smaller outdoor shopping centers.

The Natick Mall itself opened in 1966, and some reports have placed it as the first enclosed shopping mall in Massachusetts (I thought this distinction belonged to the Westgate Mall in Brockton?). At the time, it was a small one-level mall with Filene’s and Sears as anchor stores, and around 30 or so stores in the interior. In size and influence, it was somewhat dwarfed by its neighbor, the outdoor (but mall-style) Shoppers World, and in later years by the many other small enclosed malls to spring up in the neighborhood, including the Cloverleaf Mall, the Framingham Mall, and the mysterious, nameless Route 30 Mall.

By the early 1990s, the facility was beginning to look seriously dated and it was also woefully undersized; the Mall at Chestnut Hill and Atrium Mall a few miles to the east in Newton were pulling most of the business from the Natick/Framingham area due to the lack of a single major mall as a focal point. In 1992, Homart Development acquired both the Natick Mall and the neighboring, outdoor Shoppers World, and developed a master plan for the entire parcel. Shoppers World would be “de-malled” and turned into a big box center, and the Natick Mall would be dramatically reconfigured. Truth be told, the “original” Natick Mall ceased to exist at this time. Except for the Filene’s store, which was dramatically remodeled and expanded, the entire mall was demolished (click for video!) and replaced by a larger two level structure, which included a new Sears store (built further down the lot than the older store, to accomodate for a larger mall space) as well as two other anchors: A Lord & Taylor and the final Jordan Marsh store ever constructed. The new (ca. 1994) Natick Mall opened with over 100 stores and approximately 1.2 million square feet of floor space.

The 1994 Natick Mall became the dominant retail center in the metrowest area as a result, and caused the downfall of the area’s remaining small malls, including the Cloverleaf Mall, Framingham Mall, and Route 30 Mall. In 1996–two years after Natick opened–Solomon Pond Mall, a second major mall, opened about 20 minutes away in Marlborough, and since the two centers have co-existed peacefully as the major enclosed malls in the area. But realizing that there was a trend towards larger, super-regional malls (and that Natick Mall’s store roster was pretty straight down the middle and indistinguished), the mall’s owner–now General Growth Properties–announced in 2002 their plans to acquire the adjacent, vacant Wonder Bread factory and add a significant expansion of the Natick Mall to accommodate more upscale tenants. After many negotiations and false starts that woudl last many years, all of which are detailed on the Framingham/Natick Retail Website, it was announced that the expansion would add two anchor stores: Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, as well as 65 other stores and up to 4 new restaurants. Perhaps even more interestingly, the development would incorporate a 12-story condominium tower attached directly to the new wing of the mall.

Construction took place through most of 2006. During this time, the Federated/May merger caused more shake-ups at the mall, as Macy’s vacated their space (which, again, was the former Jordan Marsh) to move into the former Filene’s, the only building that remained from the original 1966 mall–albeit in dramatically reconfigured form. The vacant Macy’s store was quickly snatched up by JCPenney, who has a limited presence in the Boston market. The older portion of the mall was also renovated to complement the expansion when it was ready to open. During this time, GGP announced their plans to rename the mall simply as “Natick,” a plan that brought on strong opposition from the community, and was dumped in favor of the (almost as) obnoxious “Natick Collection,” which sticks to today.

On September 7, 2007, the newly expanded Natick Collection opened to much fanfare. The expanded mall includes six anchor stores: Macy’s, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Sears, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus, as well as over 200 specialty retailers. The Natick Collection is now the largest mall in New England, and reportedly the fourth largest on the East Coast and 12th largest in the United States. As of October 2007, construction is underway on a small lifestyle village along the route 9 facade, and when complete will include restaurants such as Maggiano’s Little Italy and Cheesecake Factory. The remainder of the exterior features dramatic, lush landscaping (as shown in these photos) and some truly unusual architecture, especially at the Neiman Marcus building. Inside, the new wing of the mall sports dramatically undulating ceiling lines, a lush “birch forest,” and a spacious center court with a sweeping fountain. The old wing has also been renovated to incorporate hardwood floors on the second level, and the colors have been softened throughout.

What can we say? We’re impressed. For a long time, malls have been treated as disposable entities, not as interesting places to gather. The consideration that went into a center’s architecture was usually limited to discussions on how to maximize sales. General Growth’s approach with Natick Collection places the center as a kind of modern cousin to some of the stunning, classic Victor Gruen malls, and that’s very high praise.

Original 1994 mall:

New 2007 expansion:

Located in the middle of downtown Milwaukee, the Grand Avenue Mall opened in August 1982.  Part of a larger civic revitalization effort, the mall premiered downtown during a time when retail (and nearly everything else) had moved out to the ‘burbs and downtown Milwaukee was left to the 9-to-5ers and the bums.  A nationwide problem not unique to Milwaukee, the loss of downtowns across America led city planners to develop resurgence programs, and many plans offered up enclosed malls.  I suppose they figured what was working well in the suburbs at the time might work in the downtowns and save them.

The plan worked.  For a while, at least.  Many who had abandoned downtown to shop in the suburbs returned to this large, glassy, modern two-level structure.  Occupying two city blocks on two levels with a third level food court at center court, Grand Avenue Mall skywalks over a street on the second level and is split into discontiguous pieces by the street on the first level.  The 1980s and early 1990s saw the mall at near 100 percent capacity, with upmarket local stores as wel as chains such as Laura Ashley and Banana Republic. 

However, you can’t reinvent the wheel, especially in the midst of dramatically changing demographics.  As soon as the mall opened, Milwaukee’s manufacturing economy began to erode, with unemployment jumping high as more and more factories left town for cheaper labor elsewhere.  As a result, crime in the city spiked at unprecedented highs during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the murder rate doubling in the eight years between 1982 and 1990. 

While few of these murders occurred in the heart of downtown, where the mall is located, many were too close for comfort in the poorer neighborhoods adjacent to downtown to the west and north.  As a result of these changing demographics, shoppers jumped ship and instead chose to plug their money into malls closer to where they lived, like Bayshore, Southridge, and Mayfair.  Vacancies skyrocketed at Grand Avenue in the mid- to late- 1990s.  Longtime east anchor Marshall Fields, which was previously a Gimbels flagship, decided to leave in 1997 after years of declining sales.  This sent the mall further into a downward spiral, and many stores in the eastern section of the mall (Plankinton Arcade) closed as a result.  The western section of the mall, with the large third-level food court and Boston Store anchor, fared slightly better but also eventually faltered.

By 2002 the mall was on life support.  The few stores remaning were mostly athletic and urbanwear chains, and the food court remained viable due to the large number of office workers nearby.  However, a huge breath of life came in the form of a remodel and repositioning.   The mall’s dated, early-1980s look was replaced with a more modern facade inside, and the main entrance on Wisconsin Avenue was given a facelift as well.  Management leveraged this remodeling to attract new stores, citing the recent growth of residential space downtown.  Extensive development in the third ward, downtown, and lower east side would provide a significant local retail base to give Grand Avenue viability again.  Also, crime in the city scaled back dramatically to pre-1980s figures, and job loss in the region was slowed.   

But, instead of reinventing the wheel and trying to re-establish a top-tier superregional mall downtown to compete with Mayfair, Bayshore, and Brookfield Square, management sought to instead establish a different niche for Grand Avenue.  The first step in this transformation was to rename the center from Grand Avenue Mall to The Shops of Grand Avenue.  In-line small store space was scaled down dramatically in the eastern section of the mall by replacing all of the stores on the first level and the hallway with two box stores, Linens ‘n Things and TJ Maxx.  The result is kind of interesting, design-wise.  One can look down from the second level of the mall directly into the stores, as little was done to change the old configuration other than removing the small stores’ walls.  Old Navy was also brought into the mall, replacing another large section of vacant in-line space.  Also, the vacant Marshall Fields was redeveloped into a Borders and Residence Inn and renamed ASQ Center.  Although not technically part of The Shops of Grand Avenue, ASQ Center is connected to it by the same skywalk which connected Marshall Fields. 

Today, The Shops of Grand Avenue is chugging along all right.  By no means is the center as successful as it was during the 1980s, but neither is that the current owner’s intention.  Instead, the mall functions to serve the needs of the retail base which supports it, the newer neighborhoods downtown, and the 80,000 office workers which funnel in and out of the city center daily.   The store roster speaks to this, and the food court is still as busy as it ever was.  If management continues to woo more tenants in, it could really work out.  The design features of the mall, and the way it’s hemmed in with hundred-year-old buildings, is rather unique and pleasing to the eye.

At any rate, Grand Avenue is currently the last enclosed shopping mall in the city of Milwaukee.  As of ten years ago there were three others: Southgate, Capitol Court, and Northridge, but each met its own fate largely due to the same demographic problems which felled Grand Avenue.  We took the pictures featured here in April 2007. 

(photo via trummerkind.com)

As some of you have noticed, we’ve been having some server issues the past few days. That’s part of the reason we haven’t gotten much content up lately, but trust me, we’re working on something pretty neat.

Here’s some miscellany to tide you over, in case you’re starving for some mall-related reading:

An artist who set up a secret apartment inside of the Providence Place Mall in Providence, Rhode Island gets probation. Usually when people talk about apartments or condos at the mall, this isn’t what they have in mind:

“Michael Townsend, 36, said he and seven other artists built the apartment in a 750-square-foot loft in the parking garage four years ago and lived there for up to three weeks at a time while documenting mall life.

“The apartment included a sectional sofa and love seat, coffee and breakfast tables, chairs, lamps, rugs, paintings, a hutch filled with china, a waffle iron, TV and Sony Playstation 2 — although a burglar broke in and stole the Playstation last spring, Townsend said. The artists built a cinderblock wall and nondescript utility door to keep the loft hidden from the outside world.”

You can read about the clandestine mall apartment, watch a video about it, and see some photos at a website they established for it. According to a whois search, their site has been online since February. And it took mall management that long to find it?

(photo from CNN.com)

Also, this isn’t mall-related, but it is about a unique piece of 20th century commercial architecture that’s been saved:

“As in the Tee Pee Motel, a throwback to the 1940s and ’50s, when taking a drive was still in style and roadside businesses used gimmicky architecture — like a gas station that looked like an oil derrick — to lure customers. The Tee Pee Motel is one of just a handful of tepee-themed lodges left in the country.

For years, however, Wharton’s Tee Pee Motel was little more than eleven gutted shells engulfed by a tangle of overgrown weeds and a broken sign that once beckoned guests with neon lights and an image of an American Indian chief.”