Salisbury Mall; Salisbury, Maryland
In recent times, Labelscar has gotten some fantastic submissions from readers, and this piece on the Salisbury Mall in Salisbury, Maryland is one of ‘em. CCMoore, a regular reader, sent us these notes and photos of the Salisbury Mall, which was displaced by a larger and newer center about 15 years ago. It seems that there’s increasing local pressure to raze the abandoned, derelict, and apparently somewhat crime-ridden mall site, so if you happen to be in the area, swing by and take a look before it’s too late. Without further ado, here’s what CC had to say:
“I’m only 26, so the Salisbury Mall predates me by about 12 years. I do, however, remember going there as a kid, and while it wasn’t the most exciting place to go in the early 90s, I have since come to appreciate its place in local Delmarva History.
I’ve done some research, so before I describe the malls current state, here’s a bit of history.
The Salisbury Mall opened on October 16, 1968 in Salisbury, Maryland. At the time it cost somewhere around $5 million to build, with $2 million invested in interior details and the parking lot. The land covers about 80 acres and the mall’s west wing spans about 1/10 of a mile. When it opened, it was anchored by two national chains, The
Hecht Co. and Sears. On its opening day only 16 of the 40 stores were ready for business and Miss America was on hand for the ribbon cutting.
I would imagine a place like the Salisbury Mall was a big deal in this area. Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland aren’t exactly the most metropolitan of places. From the ads, Hecht’s especially seemed quite a showpiece. The mall also included a rather large McCrory’s and a Kinney’s Shoes.
The details from there are a bit sketchy. I’m still working out specifics, but this is what I know. The mall’s east wing was constructed in the mid-70s, which now made the mall in the shape of an H. The new section included another chain, Hutzler’s, a movie theater and more stores. The malls west section had a very classic look with pillared entrances where as the east section was more modern, though the entire building is made of white brick and stone.
The mall seemed to do fairly well into the 80s until a new mall, the Centre at Salisbury was built and opened in July of 1990. At that time both Sears and Hecht’s left, leaving both anchors empty, and they would remain that way. The west wing eventually emptied out and was closed off from the rest of the mall. I have been told the ceiling
leaked and the up-keep was far too expensive. Still the mall soldiered on. In around 1991 or 1992, there was a murder in the ladies bathroom which sent more business away.
As far as I know, Hutzler’s became Peebles and most of the stores left when their leases ran out. Some people tell me there were businesses in the mall up until about 2 years ago, but you wouldn’t ever know from the condition it is in.
I found it one night driving home from the beach and without any parking lot lights, it’s a scary sight at about midnight. It literally takes up about 2 or 3 blocks in a fairly urbanized section of the town. But within its perimeter, it’s just dead.
I have been there a few times. The west wing still looks like it did when it opened about 40 years ago, if you can look past the decay and age. There are plans to tear it down, which is a shame because the more I learn about it, the more I see how much history is contained within its walls.
I [have included these] pictures. I am working with some people to make a documentary about this mall and the surrounding area, because it really serves as a commentary on how fickle mall culture and commerce in general can be. About a mile
away is the city’s downtown district which felt the mall’s presence when most of its stores left for the new construction. Those same businesses then left the old mall when the new Centre was constructed. It’s very interesting and somewhat sad.”
Thanks again CC! Submissions like these are always welcome. As you might imagine, it’s *impossible* to be everywhere at once, and we’ve already missed tons of malls entirely. If you’ve got anything, we’d love to hear about it.
EDIT 8/19/2007: In the 10 months since we originally posted Chris’ photos and commentary, he’s been working on his own blog that’s entirely about the old Salisbury Mall. In addition to historic and current photos, he even has some shots of the interior, which is in a rather sad, Dixie Square-like state nowadays.
on October 14th, 2006 at 3:43 am
Looks good! I couldn’t get this article to you in time, but this newest bit has a few interior shots in it, as well.
Thanks again for posting this. cc
on October 15th, 2006 at 3:04 am
Great job, CC. Thank you for posting this.
Does anybody happen to know when the Hecht Company simply became known as Hecht’s? Or, in the event that people always called it Hecht’s, does anybody know when the store signs started to just say “Hecht’s”?
on October 15th, 2006 at 5:44 am
To answer your question, I believe everything became known as Hecht’s around 1980, but I’m not positive. I do know that Hecht Co. signage existed until about that time. There’s a picture of that somewhere on the former store at Golden Ring Mall in Essex.
on October 15th, 2006 at 11:51 pm
That parcel with the brown roofs looks like a 1970s-era Caldor, like the one at the departed Fairfield Mall and that vintage photo makes more of a case with the orange lettering.
on October 16th, 2006 at 12:50 am
Thank you very much, CC, for sharing the pictures and story with us!
on October 16th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Oh, I forgot to ask…I noticed what appeared to be two of Salisbury’s finest in one of your pictures outside of Hecht’s. Did you get any flak from them?
on October 16th, 2006 at 2:19 am
Xismzero, that was Sears from 1968 until 1991.
And as far as the cops, whenever I am on the property, I always seek them out and explain what I’m doing and they’re always pretty cool with it. They know my intentions aren’t to get involved in the politics of the old mall, I’m just chronicling it, so I pretty much get the run of the place when I’m there, which makes it easier. Plus, that place is somewhat creepy even in daylight. To be near (literally 2-3 blocks) from a major highway, it is DEAD.
on October 16th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I remember seeing “Hecht’s” signage on the Lakeforest store on photos dated 1978, so I would guess they started phasing out “The Hecht Co.” about that time. I liked the more elaborate logo shown on this store in Salisbury a lot, though the original, very thin Avant Garde logo was a classic.
Anyway, this looks like a really nice old mall. All three department stores look good, especially the Hecht’s and Sears.
on January 25th, 2007 at 12:09 am
When I was four years old, my family moved to Salisbury, MD, and the Salisbury Mall opened about a year later. CCMoore was correct in assuming the mall opening was a “big deal”. With an architect father, it drew more than its fair share of interest from my family. Believe it or not, the mall’s slogan shortly after it opened was, “The world’s most beautiful mall.” Compared to the balance of Salisbury - still comfortable living with a 40’s and 50’s look - the Salisbury Mall was incredibly progressive. Heck, the concept of a mall anywhere on the Delmarva Peninsula was revolutionary. Remember, when it opened, the World Indoor Tennis Championship tournament was hosted annually in Salisbury, where Stan Smith was celebrated and a boy with shaggy brown hair and a irreverant attitude was playing his earliest professional matches - Jimmy Connors. When the mall opened, Ocean City was a half-hour drive from Salisbury in any traffic conditions b/c there was no traffic. Where the six-block boardwalk ended, pedestrians encountered endless sand dunes rather than continuous condos and hotels. It was a simple, fun place, and Salisbury was a safe, quiet town that made daily summer beach access a breeze for a mom with a VW bug and a dollar’s worth of gas.
Thanks CCMoore for opening the floodgate to my childhood.
on June 19th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
I grew up with the Salisbury Mall and worked at the cinema from 1977 to about 1980 or 1981. This was the biggest shopping center around, and people would drive two hours just to shop there. On the way, they would encounter countless signs declaring it to be “America’s most beautiful mall.” For the longest time, Orange Julius was the only place to get anything to eat, but then they expanded the mall and added a Friendly’s.
It boasted Sears and Hecht’s as anchors, a bookstore (I beleive it was a B.Dalton, but I’m not positive) and several other stores.
One fun fact is that I was hired to work at the cinemas (a whopping two screens) because the manger didn’t think one particular film would do any business, so he only scheduled a skeleton crew. However, upon arriving to start his work day hours before the cinemas were to open, he was shocked to see that a line was already stretched halfway around the mall’s interior. The movie was Star Wars. We ran it for six months.
The peaceful nature of the mall was rocked one day when a man entered the bookstore (located next to the cinema) and shot and killed his estranged wife who worked there.
The mall was in decline long before the new mall was built. Outlet stores in Delaware and other areas on the Eastern Shore led shoppers away. By the end, it housed several antique stores and a warehouse grocery store.
on June 21st, 2007 at 10:56 am
The last large store I know of to be left in the mall before it closed was called the Food Depot. It was like a Sam’s Club type of store. I went there with my family plenty of times, especially because they would get these pastries I liked to eat. I mean it was kind of dead during the end, but there was always some kind of traffic going on. I think they could added more stores down there that were new to the area. I mean Salisbury has expanded so much in the past decade. I pretty much wen to that mall til it’s last year. Which wasn’t so long ago.
on July 9th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Just found this website today, and was surprised to find Salisbury Mall in the directory. I am from a nearby part of Delaware, so as a kid in the 70’s and a teen in the 80’s, this was my primary “mall experience”. I agree with what others have said, this place was a big deal in it’s day, because the region was and still is a backwater.
The decline of this mall is sad because of the effects of how the landscape around it has changed, and how developement engulfed other parts of town. After the competing Centre at Salisbury opened in the late 80’s, the whole section of Rt. 13 North developed rapidly. It’s now a trafficy, ugly mess, completed with Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc, while the area on Rt 50 near the old Salisbury Mall just went dead.
Some things I remember. Hecht’s of course. I think I remember when the “new” section of the mall opened. I was with my mom, grandmother and Aunts, and we were certainly in Hutzler’s. It had just opened and they had no mannequins yet, so store employees were perched and platforms modelling clothes. It was sort of creepy. I don’t know if they truly didn’t have their mannequins, or if it was an advertising gimmick.
The was an ice cream place, I think called “Bressler’s 33″. As a little kid, I remember the fountains, throwing pennies, and a little foot bridge. Some stores I remember (not in sequence of time) : McCrory’s, Casual Corner, a fabric store, Webster’s (mens), Ralph & Gaskill (mens) later Phillips, a cookie/bakery store, Merle Norman, Friendly’s, O Julius, English’s Restaurant. A store called The Connection that sold Levis and surf-type clothes. The owner had a twin brother who also had a similar store, in the same mall, but I forget the name of it. Oh, an organ store, and they’d usually be playing something for a crowd gathered around.
I don’t remember too many other details. Peebles was there up until the end, and for a while there were a lot of antique kiosks and stuff like that. I have not seen the mall in several years, but I visit the area regularly, and I’ve seen newspaper articles about it. It’s a huge chunk of land, and the last time I was around there, almost all the retail shifted from the East side of town near Rt 50 to the north side of town on 13, and continues to stretch north to the Delaware line. 13 is destined to become a huge retail parking lot, and I avoid the area completely if I can help it.
p.s. In reply to another above commenter, I’m not positive, but I think I saw “Star Wars” at this theater! My dad certainly did, because he saw it on the big screen 4 or 5 times when it came out.
on November 4th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I have some Aug./Sept. 2007 interior pictures of the old mall (don’t ask how). Email me if you are interested. cw92751@salisbury.edu
on December 26th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Loved finding this information on the Salisbury Mall. Was very sad to hear it has been torn down
We had a shop in the mall in the 90’s. We had many fun times and made many good friends while there. We started out as a record/gift store in the center of the mall across from the old movie theatre, and ended up next to the Food Depot when Payless Shoes moved out. We have since relocated to the mid-west and haven’t been back to Salisbury in 5 years. Needless to say, It won’t be the same to see the Mall gone. Like I mentioned many good memories there, and miss the people!!!
Troy & Jaynelle Howard
P.S. would love to find Frank Feathers and family!
on January 10th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I don’t remember how old or when it was when my family and I visited this mall, but it sure wasn’t in it’s hey day. We were visiting my brother at Salisbury State and my parents took us there because they wanted to see the antique shops inside. I remembered maybe a hand full of shops, mostly antiques, one tiny post office, and I think that was it, all seemingly huddled around each other.. Half of the lights were out and the floors were warped from rain I guess. I had never been in a building like that before. The high point was when I nearly punched the lone security guard because when my little sister asked where the nearest bathroom was, he proceed to tell us about the murder of a young girl that occurred in the bathroom with the creepiest look on his face. By far the craziest time I have ever had with my family without alcohol.
on March 11th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
The Old Mall as it became known is now gone. I wish I had a picture to post. I remember when it opened. On the Sears and Roebuck end it had a sign that advertised how it was always 72 degrees inside. I remember the water fountains and bridges that crossed little pools of water. Believe it or not but in the very early years somebody had the bright idea to put “baby alligators” in the pools. I don’t remember how long that lasted. Back in its day on Friday and Saturday nights the parking lot was packed. Christmas time was crazy. It was the only Mall on the eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia. The next closest was in Dover Delaware. Now the whole place is just one big ugly future construction sight. I’ve worked across the street for the past 21 years and watched as they tore it down. And just for the record I can’t stand the other one that opened in 1990.
on March 30th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
anybody remember the “delmarva chicken fry” that used to take placen annually in this mall? it consisted of some poor sap dressed up in a chicken suit flapping around in an oversized frying pan in center court (near the pool/bridges area) pretended to be fried up for our consumption. then we’d all get free hunks of fried chicken and cups of lemonade.
on April 13th, 2008 at 1:43 am
Its still hard to believe that the mall is now gone. I believe the final stores there were a Mitchel’s martial arts studio, Peebles, The Connection, and Food City. The connection and Peebles were practically the last ones in there.
Food city closed up near the end. Not sure about Mitchell’s. The building always fascinated me from a young age. Every time we would drive by when i was a kid going to the Wicomico youth and civic center, i would always want to go in, while some stores were open. That was the late 90’s. The last time I saw the place was back in May, late at night when I got detoured off 50. Seemed very creepy, yet so sad that a place once very prosperous has deteriorated so badly. Back to the signs, is it me, or was one of the signs from the 60’s or 70s? I thought there was like a small gray one, but there was also a red one, with writing almost like circus script and lights? I could never really figure out the age to it. Also, the entire building was condemed in 2005 when a fire broke out in the west wing of the building. I would love to see interior pictures. Does anyone have pictures from when the mall was in business? I also recall seeing somewhere online in the past few months that WBOC had a set-up in the mall if anyone can remember that.
on May 8th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
How said to see this place go. Many mnay happy memories there. I remember a bakery that had the best choco chip cookies. Does anyone rrremember the name..I would pay big bucks for one of those cookies! I use to buy them by the dozen and keep them in my car!
on May 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I remember the mall well. It was decorated wonderfully at Christmas. It was tradition to drive to the mall, pass Delmarva Power, to see the light displays, where were wonderful in those days. I remember when the new parts opened. The Chicken festival was the Delmarva Chicken Festival. It may still be an annual event, I am not sure,. The last time I went, it was held at the Civic Center. I think it travels to different areas. I am most curious about the connection. I would love to know what happened to the owner. It was a wonderful store and his bothers store was called Cradt International, I think. I still shopped the connection for jearns up until we moved to another state. He always carried hard to find sizes. I agree we have allowed a wonderful landmark to fade, and die. We have replaced it with a shallow unslightly replacement.
on May 13th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I just found out the Chicken Festival will be held June 19 and 20 at the Centre of Salisbury. “There will be traditional festival attractions like Delmarva’s famous giant fry pan that will be operated by the Salisbury Lions Club; a chicken barbecue that will be sponsored by the Salisbury Jaycees, and an abundance of other delicious festival foods.” There will also be a canval and music.
,
on June 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Thanks for all the info & pics . I too am an old fan of the mall ,my friends and i lived in Glen Garden apts. So u can see how great it was to us.
on June 20th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
This was a great memory booster! I grew up going to the mall every Friday/Saturday night while I was probably 10-14 years of age. We all would just walk around the mall for hours. We’d go to Friendly’s to have some fries. Go and check out the music at Camelot. Head to McCroy’s to buy candy. Parents would always take us to Kinney’s for school shoes. Loved to shop at Fashion Bug and The Connection for back to school clothes. They had cords of every color! The arcade was a big to-do thing also! Loved Orange Julius! Wow, thanks for the memories!
on June 29th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I grew up in Richmond, but was born in Salisbury and my father lived in Delmar, DE until a couple of years ago, when he moved to Laurel, DE. I used to go to the mall with my dad hen I would visit over the summer, especially Shoppers as at that time Delmar only had an IGA and the Salisbury Giant was the only other supermarket in the vicinity. I also remember the Levi’s Outlet that was there in the early ’90s. The whole area of North Salisbury has grown quite a bit. Delmar is now little more than a suburb of Salisbury, and the days when a young kid and his dad could stop by Salisbury Mall on the way back from a swim at Shoemaker Park are long gone.
on July 4th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Iam 37 now and I remember the Salisbury Mall in its glory days. I remember when the parking lots were full of people especially when there were concerts going on at the Civic Center, which has pretty much stayed the same since i was a teenager. I feel more progress needs to come to Salisbury. The Center at Salisbury is nice but it would be really cool to have a economy stimulator at the old mall site.
on July 13th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I worked on a job building a new mall or referbing one , I can’t rember witch in salisbury . Can someone tell me the name of the malls in that town?
on July 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
THIS WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO!
on July 22nd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Mishelle, The bakery was called Aunt Cindy’s cookies and you are right-they were the absolute best!