Quintard Mall: Oxford, AL

I have to say that Quintard Mall is one of the strangest names for a mall.  Of course, that name refers to Quintard Ave, which is also US 431.  Quintard is also one of the earlier malls in the state, taking advantage of a dual economy of military (Fort McClellan & Anniston Army Depot) and college (Jacksonville State University).  It also was built to serve a small city located part ways between Atlanta and Birmingham with high visibility from I-20, and it helped usher in a small but notable retail strip stretching from downtown to I-20 just south of the mall.  I-20 at that point was partially completed, but the mall was also adjacent to US 78, which previously funneled traffic from Atlanta to Birmingham before it was completed. 

Generally serving a smaller population, the mall was likewise a very small center for years.   However, that changed dramatically when the mall was substantially expanded into a regional mall 30 years after it first opened.  Nevertheless, the construction of a large shopping mall further west of Atlanta and continued shifting of the population (and retail) east of Birmingham has eroded its market over time.  It would be interesting if we could look in an alternate universe to see how the mall would have done had that expansion happened much earlier.  The closure of Fort McClellan in 1999 also was not helpful to the mall, though the Anniston Army Depot continues to bring military money into the mall.  What was worse was construction of a new (and incomplete) US 431 by-pass lured significant new retail further east, meaning that the older Quintard Avenue retail strip is now forced to compete with a plethora of shiny new retail that all popped up on a by-pass still several years from completion.  This small exodus of several stores has leaders in both Oxford and Anniston worried, but the economy itself, not just the by-pass should take some blame.  Stores such as Circuit City and Foodmax had nothing to do with immediate competition.  Circuit City did not leave because of the by-pass, and Foodmax's parent company Bruno's is on the brink of extinction. 

A look along the original mall.  Center court is just ahead and Sears is right behind me.  The first photo is a small court on the Dillard's/theater wing.

 

Martin's Family Clothing has a mall entrance in both the old mall main concourse and along a side entryway near Sears.  It is a local Alabama chain headquartered in Anniston, next town up.

 

Now looking from center court to JCPenney.  JCPenney is the mall's only original large department store anchor, opening with the mall in 1970.

 

 A closer look at the JCPenney mall entrance, which obviously is not original.  I am betting the classic "Penney's" logo lasted here longer than most.

 

Looking back along the old mall from JCPenney.  Doomed Goody's is to the left, which is top priority for replacement.  I'm rooting for a nice bookstore.

This problem is not lost on the mall owners nor the city that Quinitard needs another boost, and they have indeed noted the effects not only outside, but also inside the mall.  Its last expansion was nearly ten years ago, but its first major competition set in only two years ago.  This is the fundamental weakness of small city malls: often the tenants choose a nearby strip mall or newer, larger shopping mall over the mall itself, but the owners of Quintard have not been afraid to continually reinvent the mall to keep it competitive.  Other malls such as Cookeville Mall in Cookeville, TN did not do likewise, and failed completely.  These instances are very serious.  Lack of action in the event of a sudden vacancy problem in the mall or hinterland surrounding the mall can empty a mall almost overnight.  However, previous malls on my blog also found themselves at a disadvantage such as Oglethorpe and Asheville Malls.  However, both were very proactive, and all prevailed against big threats to become completely dominate and much beloved in their markets.  I am pleased that Quintard and the city sees this themselves, because just recently plans were announced to expand and revitalize the mall yet again [2].

What was once the east entrance to the mall since 2000 now goes into what has become the heart of the mall.  The entrance into the newer wing of the mall begins with a ramp.

 

Close-up of the ramp into the newer mall, which comes into a strangely placed court area that functions on one side as a very small food court.

 

More detail of the main court coming from the wing off the original east mall entrance.  This distinct little court is cozy.

Quintard Mall has been around quite awhile.  It is one of the oldest malls in the state still operational, opening for business in 1970.  It is also unique in that the mall is apparently still operated locally in lieu of being part of a major mall conglomerate such as Simon or GGP.  The mall is today owned by the James Grimmer family.  He also helped in construction of Eastwood Mall, Alabama's first mall and the South's first enclosed mall [1].  Quite a few malls of this vintage did not make it this far, so Quintard has done very well remaining viable for nearly 40 years.  Its anchors today include Sears, JCPenney and Dillard's in addition to a 12 screen theater and junior anchor Martin's Family Clothing.  Goody's also operated as a junior anchor, but closed with the chain early this year.  A Garfield's Restaurant and Pub was in the mall as well, also apparently closing with the chain.  Bankruptcies are leaving voids in many malls that are proving difficult to fill with fewer and fewer chain stores available to choose from enhanced by a malnourished economy, and this proves even tougher in second-tier markets.  I do want to note, however, that the vacancies in the mall mostly had to do with corporate liquidation.

 

A look along the 2000 wing, which increased the size of the mall by 2/3.  It is anchored by Dillard's and AmStar 12 Cinemas.

 

Southeast entrance wing near Dillard's.  The military tends to dominate this wing, which is not surprising considering the strong military history of the area.

 

The new main entrance wing with Gap on the left.

Now-closed Garfield's Restaurant.  The only other location I have seen was at Biltmore Square Mall.  I know very little about this chain.

Historically, Quintard was much smaller.  It was originally a straight up-and-down mall directly aligned north-to-south connecting Britt's Department Store and JCPenney.  At less than 300,000 square feet, it also had less than 30 inline stores.  The original mall reminded me significantly of just-mentioned Cookeville Mall, which is part of why I brought it up.  However, different from Cookeville Mall, both anchors were constructed as two level stores, but only Britt's operated its second level originally.  Britts today is Sears.  Sears left downtown Anniston in 1983, moving into the former Britt's location after it closed [1].  Both Britt's/Sears and JCPenney are two levels, but neither Sears nor JCPenney operated the second level for many years.  Sears reopened the second level in 1997, and they also expanded the store as well [1].  It appears, however, that JCPenney either removed or never even constructed an escalator well while today Sears operates a two level store.  Both Martin's and Goody's also located in this original part of the mall as well.

Quintard Mall definitely has an interesting (and jagged) layout.  The original mall is quite obvious from this map.  Notice how incredibly small it was.

The first 30 years of the mall's existance were also pretty static.  The mall gained a small renovation in 1985, but this was the only undertaking for yet another 15 years.  This was when owners replaced the original polished concrete floors with terrazzo floors [1].  In 1991, the owners began work on an attempt to turn Quintard into a major regional mall in lieu of a small local mall.  This was a long and harrowing process, as owners had to go through many hurdles to obtain permits to build over a creek flowing along the then-eastern side of the mall.  That was the same situation that delayed completion of Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville, GA as well.  The original expansion was to have Gayfer's department store anchoring the new eastern end of the mall.  However, Gayfer's was bought out in 1998 by Dillard's.  Regardless, Dillard's did not fail on their obligation to join the mall.  Dillard's at this location is quite unusual, and it is even more unusual to have a small city mall that is not anchored by Belk in the South.  Work on the addition was completed in August 2000, completing the long anticipated addition [1].  This addition was very well received, and when completed the mall was more than doubled in size to just shy of 800,000 square feet.  AmStar Cinemas, the 12 screen theater, also was included in the new addition.  The 2000 wing is also elevated above the original mall, possibly due to concerns of flooding and difficulties surrounding capping Snow Creek.  This addition to the mall was extremely important.  The original mall was so vastly undersized that it would have definitely failed had that addition not been built when it was.

Dillard's mall entrance features a very strange angle.  It is also one of the smallest I've seen with only one level of shopping.  Dillard's has a more unusual assortment of locations in the state since they came here largely through buying out Gayfer's and Castner-Knott's parent company.  This store was slated to be Gayfer's.

Quintard Mall in terms of store offerings, though, seems to be a mixed bag.  The newer part of the mall definitely fits every definition of a successful, conventional mall.  However, the older part of the mall truly seems to be having some vacancy issues.  The poor store setup in the older mall I think is partly responsible for this.  Martin's and Goody's were not exactly the best traffic generators, and Goody's bankruptcy has had a drastic effect on malls in this South overall.  It was a weak junior anchor at best, but its closure has dumped several malls into the murky "dying mall" category when they otherwise just had a few vacancies.  Almost every second-tier mall had one, too, which was what was an even bigger issue.  Since these took up significant mall space, these mall owners are all still left at a quandary on what to do with this space, but apparently a plan is in place through a public-private partnership in conjunction with the City of Oxford exploring ideas on what to do with the mall [2].

Sears mall entrance.  It is nice to see it does not have the ugly tiles that most I've seen do have.  This store distinctly did not open as Sears, but instead as J.J. Newberry's ill-fated attempt at a department store, Britt's.  I think it looks classy, but would look even better if Sears returned to their 1950's script logo.

Inside Sears, I took this picture of the narrow gauge escalators.  These definitely do not look like 1997 escalators, suggesting they were original to Britts and hidden from view for years before the second level was reopened.

Next to Sears entrance is the northwest entrance corridor.  This is very original including the long brick wall (indeed wasted space) and second entrance to junior anchor Martin's in the background.

Nevertheless, Anniston is a decent sized city, and the mall is in a good location, so I think a few ideas could alleviate this.  I hope that Goody's can quickly be filled.  One quick, but not the best, solution to Goody's in my opinion is to encourage junior anchor Martin's to expand their store that is partly across Quintard Ave. into the former Goody's.  Martin's is strange in how they have part of their store in the mall and part in a strip mall across from it.  A second (and better) idea is to lure Borders or Barnes & Noble into the mall in the former Goody's location.  All Barnes & Noble locations are over 50 miles from the mall, and Jacksonville State students might appreciate having one of these at the mall.  Borders is even less available with the nearest location at the mall in Douglasville.  This is the perfect location for either of these two.  The former Garfield's, also, might be a good fit for one of these book stores, assuming Martin's takes up the former Goody's.  However, Martin's may not be the best choice to drive traffic into the old part of the mall, and I have another idea for the Garfield's area.

An older-style mall entrance is found at the northwest entrance adjacent to Sears.  Note the plaque in the first photo, which lists the owners and date of original mall construction.  I think those are a really nice touch.  I wish all malls did that.

 

An updated entrance flanks the east entrance to the mall.  The owners made sure that the addition to the mall matched the original mall in brick and design.

Martin's is marked outside the mall as a junior anchor.  That "M" looks sinister to me.

A more drastic consideration for Quintard is to move JCPenney to the wing next to Dillard's as a new mall anchor and add a second level to the original mall, chain bookstore included.  JCPenney would be built into that mall wing, absorbing that ailing entrance wing as part of the store with the rest of the store extending into the parking lot...essentially a built-in anchor.  The existing JCPenney would become either Belk or Macy's, provided a commitment was obtained from either.  One of those two anchors is necessary to make the mall super-regional, and Belk or Macy's would be willing to use the second level that is needed to draw more interest.  This second level is important, because it would make it possible to construct an effective second level into the mall between Sears and existing JCPenney.  In addition, the new Border's/Barnes & Noble should be constructed with two levels as a junior anchor, tying the upper and lower level together.  On top of this, I would consider bucking the trend of plain, pasty malls and would do a showy renovation with lots of color and cutting edge architectural touches to make the center stand out.  In addition, a large fountain should be constructed in the main court of the old mall or the smaller court at the start of the new wing (if it is not already there...it was hard to tell with the Christmas display).  While none of these suggestions are likely, this is what I think would make me want to spend my money at Quintard in lieu of making the trip to Birmingham or Douglasville.

 

Sears (former Britts), JCPenney and Dillard's.  Dillard's has the usual stucco arch, but it looks quite different with only one level.  JCPenney definitely looks two levels to me, but I could still be wrong.  Because only one level is used, it looks much bigger from the outside than inside.

With all of this considering, Quintard is a very interesting mall and with a few changes it would become a lot more interesting and a real destination.  It is currently not my favorite in design, but its history is long and fascinating.  I also love the spunkiness of its forward planning and small scale ownership.  All of this I had no idea about when I visited.  While it may not be Riverchase or Arbor Place, I hope that the people in the city will continue to patronize this classic retail center, because it is a decent mall compared to the typical small city malls I know of that offer a boring design flanked by a few low end stores and anchor choices uninteresting to the under 30 crowd.  I also hope that the mall will solicit from the public what stores they would like to see in the mall like the survey that was offered at Mount Berry Square in Rome, GA.  Anniston is an interesting town in the most scenic part of Alabama.  I think the mall alone should not have to market the place.  I believe the city itself should strive to make itself more of a destination for both jobs and retail.  It has always been one of my favorite parts of the state, so likewise I hope for continued success of their one and only mall.

[1] Dube, Kathryn.  "Ten Years and $40 Million Later, Alabama mall gets expansion".  Shopping Centers Today.  May 2001.  "http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0501/page141.php

[2] Whisenhunt, Dan. "Quintard Mall: Exciting news is coming soon". Anniston Star. 17 June 2009. 
http://www.annistonstar.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Quintard+Mall-+Exciting+news+is+coming+soon%20&id=2737350-Quintard+Mall-+Exciting+news+is+coming+soon&instance=home_news

Rich's at Oglethorpe Mall

I previously stated that Rich's was a relatively new arrival to the Savannah market.  Rich's here was nothing more than a name, unfortunately.  The Rich's of lore had all of its history, charm and character taken out of it by the time the Oglethorpe store opened, so its position in Savannah was by and large a corporate move.  Regardless, it was a good one considering Burdine's probably would not have set too well with people in Savannah.  Nevertheless, Oglethorpe needed more room.  The smaller Levy's/Maas Brothers, which had just been bought out and closed, was hampering the mall's efforts to stay competitive with Savannah Mall even though it had opened a mere 9 years earlier.  With that, the store was demolished, the mall was extended and Rich's joined Oglethorpe as its furthest south store in 1992.

The pictures here are all by Russell Wells.  He took those for me back in 2004 when I was in the process of photographing all of the remaining Rich's stores prior to consolidation.  While it definitely lacks the cache of the classic stores, it is still nice to include these in my collection.

First photo is the direct mall entrance, while the second photo is a peculiar side entrance to the store right next to the main entrance.

The entrance to the Rich's wing was graced with this overhead sign combined with a lit mall logo that I still find extremely attractive.

The ever infamous "Rich's-Macy's"...a two year time span when then Federated Department Stores severely downscaled Rich's to make people fall out of love with it so they would embrace Macy's when they changed it over.  Honestly, Rich's as it really was died 15 years before they changed the name.  In fact, the downtown store closed around the time construction started on this store.  It was still sad to see a classic and once heralded store marginalized to the point that nobody even cared.

The new Rich's when it was built was reasonably attractive and solidly designed.  The only problem is that nearly every store built after it is a practical clone of this one aside from the fact this store had far less stucco than the later models.

These "customer pick-up" signs caught my attention, too, during the changeover.  I photographed my share of them during that time.  What is so funny is that this font used for the logo is now very popular ever since Rich's went away.

The Rich's logo was also displayed on the front of the mall along with JCPenney since both stores are in the back of the mall pretty much hidden from view of Abercorn.  I imagine Levy's/Maas Brothers had a worse problem since they were even more hidden.

Savannah Mall Revisited

One of my first posts on what was then Georgia Retail Memories was about Savannah Mall and its scary turn of events that had it teetering on dead mall status.  Most malls could not have survived in that predicament.  The photos I took at that point were taken in 2003, so quite a lot of time has lapsed since then, and I also noticed a few cosmetic changes as well. Admittedly, I was thinking the mall was in real danger of sudden failure, but the managers were very creative in their efforts to revitalize it.  While it is today a second-tier mall, it is far from dead.  It still has Dillard's, Bass Pro Shops has made it six years in the old Parisian, and Belk Beery was subdivided into Target on the upper level and Burlington Coat Factory on the lower level.  A.C. Moore craft store also joined the ranks as a junior anchor.  In the case of Target, this is the first ever Target in retail-anemic Savannah, and they kindly put in a mall entrance to make sure that the two work together.  I am actually rather stunned by the brilliance of luring Target into a struggling mall.

Savannah Mall was not left unscathed from the 2003 exodus, so it does have quite a few vacancies.  Abercrombie & Fitch was never replaced, and most major apparel stores are gone, though I noted stores like Gap were still there.  The two previously existing mall restaurants, though, remain (Ruby Tuesday and a Mexican restaurant), and a Texas Roadhouse flanks one of the entrances.  More popular local stores such as Savannah Candy Company also operate stores at both malls as well.  The only loss of an anchor since 2003 was Steve & Barry's, which left because the chain itself went bankrupt.  This means that Montgomery Ward is very much back to vacant.  What is amazing, though, is the food court.  If this mall is ailing, you would never tell by the food court.  Not one restaurant was vacant...not one.  Dillard's also chugs along as well in the old JB White.  This is possibly one of the oddest Dillard's locations, and the company has lately been stuck with a few second-tier locations.  Since this survived the last round of closings, it must be doing fine.  I am sure they would like to tack on to Oglethorpe, but the mall is a bit landlocked, which would make any addition very expensive and difficult.

This mall court is situated at the crossroads between the former Montgomery Ward (background) and Dillard's (off to the right).

The former Montgomery Ward served for about three years as Steve & Barry's University Sportswear on the lower level.  Steve & Barry's went bankrupt, and for some reason the owners left this big empty department store open to view from the mall.

Looking down the Dillard's wing.  Dillard's opened as J.B. White, and its conversion in 1998 proved successful.

Six years after my last visit, I would definitely say that Savannah Mall was unusually creative in how they staved off disaster.  While I doubt they will ever recover their past glory without a major redevelopment, the area has seen substantial growth since I last visited while it lacks the retail development of other cities, allowing this mall to fill the void of stores Savannah doesn't have. This is something they should capitalize even more on. It already has a rather unique anchor line-up with Dillard's, Outdoor World, Target, Burlington Coat Factory and junior anchor AC Moore. They should note my post on Innsbruck Mall for a few more ideas.  I think a large Border's Book Store in the old Montgomery Ward would be nice.

Here, I'm looking at the main court.  In the middle is Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in a rather unique mall location.  The Outdoor World was Parisian until 2003, and it did not remain vacant long.  When Parisian closed here, they completely left the Savannah market.  With Belk absorbing them, there is no way it would have lasted anyway, so the timing was actually perfect.

Fountains were not left out in Savannah Mall's design.  This is one of two in center court.

A sure sign of a failing mall is a food court emptying out.  There were absolutely no vacancies whatsoever than this food court.  In fact, it looked great.

Savannah Mall has a not-too-exciting layout, but in 1990 just having a two level mall was something to celebrate since many of the 70's malls were quite small, plain and dumpy.

The state of Savannah Mall today means that the market is definitely sufficient to keep two malls, though not to the levels seen prior to 2003.  I wish the owners the best of luck, and I hope they find a good fit or plan for the old Montgomery Ward.  This is why I included a few new photos to compare yesterday and today.

This is the west court where A.C. Moore recently joined on as a junior anchor.  This was originally on the Belk wing.

In the former Belk, Target took the upstairs and Burlington Coat Factory downstairs.  The old Belk was partially demolished for Target.

One of the main flaws I see with Savannah Mall is that it has too much shadow.  This is a typical problem for multi-level malls, and I found it depressing.

Savannah Candy Company is found in both malls, and is a significant local operation.  Malls once had almost exclusive local operations or small regional chains with national chain stores coming later as big retailers discovered the potential.  The smell of chocolate coming out of the place was so rich it was intoxicating.

Ruby Tuesday is still found in a few malls.  This one has a classic design for sure.

The mall entrance is original, but it doesn't look bad.  The ironworks theme is always attractive, and it was the rage around 1990.

Outside of Dillard's showing an extremely plain store.  Most White's stores were not just somewhat lacking architecturally.

Carey Hilliard's Restaurant: Savannah, GA

In post-modern times, two extremes seem to exist in retail: single location small businesses or huge national chains, so it is always fun to be able to cover a local or regional chain since so few exist today.  That is how Carey Hilliard's caught my attention.  Carey Hilliard's is not a restaurant that is known to those of us in the northern part of Georgia or much of anywhere else, but this seems to be a staple of Savannah.  It was also previously located in Charleston, SC as well.  Up here, there is much to choose from ranging from succulent and expensive down to tasty, reasonable local joints offering a unique taste: several of which have gone national such as Moe's Southwest Grill.  Carey Hilliard's, however, seems to have remained a local fare and a bit more old-fashioned.  Its founder of the same name died in 1982, but the restaurant has remained successful for over 25 years since. [1]

It should be noted that Carey Hilliards is definitely a family style restaurant, featuring an odd combination of two Deep South specialties: seafood and barbeque.  It is modestly priced, but is also not for the health-conscious as most of their food is fried.  All in all, it is basically a few notches above Shoney's, but with a more local flavor.  It has since left Charleston, but the restaurant not only lingers in Savannah, but also a new location was recently opened in Statesboro.  The second is likely there to serve primarily the families of college students and crowds of football fans that come to Georgia Southern University: a relatively strong market for inexpensive family-style restaurants.

The story of Carey Hilliard's is that it opened in 1960, and it has since expanded to about 8 locations.  The location pictured here is likely one of the first, if not the original.  The Statesboro location opened this year as one of the newest locations.  Historically, Carey Hilliard's was quite popular and highly rated, though some of the latest reviews and Charleston closings suggest the chain unfortunately may be struggling.  I thought about trying it on my last visit, but did not.  Because of that, I have no opinion at this point: I just liked the sign and style of the place.  Nevertheless, I would be more than glad to expand this thread about the place once I find out a little more about it.

I really cannot vouch if this place actually has good food, but it is nice to see that a few popular local restaurant chains continue to operate such as this one.  If it is a good place to eat, places like this give a unique taste and identity to a city that helps to draw more people to visit.  While the buzz these days is largely around Paula Deen's restaurant, I wanted to focus on a low key local classic that came long before Ms. Deen put Savannah cuisine squarely on the national map.

1. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jan/08/the_legend_carey_hilliards67691/

Oglethorpe Mall: Savannah, GA

Shoppers have faithfully flocked to Oglethorpe Mall since 1969, the original mall in the Savannah.  When it opened, it was a very basic and dark dumbbell shaped mall anchored by major anchors Belk Beery and Sears.  Junior anchors were Adler's, Morrison's Cafeteria and Piggly Wiggly.  A theater was also located on an outparcel, which later briefly became Fine's department store.  The mall itself was one level, but both major anchors were two levels, though Belk would not open their second level for years after the store opened.  The mall is located fairly close to downtown along the city's prime commercial corridor, but it is not near an interstate.  In fact, the nearest interstate, I-516, ends a couple miles away from the mall.  Nevertheless, its location on Abercorn Expressway (GA 204) proves to have remained a highly viable area.  The development along Abercorn as a whole is highly unusual, since most suburban development tends to cluster around major interstate interchanges.  In all, Oglethorpe has proved a highly successful survivor that shows no signs of slowing down.

Oglethorpe Mall is unique for several reasons.  First, it was the first mall in not just Savannah, but all of Southeast Georgia.  Second, its Belk Beery location was the very first mall-based Belk store in the entire chain.  Mr. Beery, based in Wilmington, NC, built the store and opened it before the Belk brothers opened their own.  Oddly enough, this store was never signed outwardly as "Belk Beery", but simply Belk.  Third, it is a uniquely successful mall not to be located along a major interstate.  Fourth, the mall proved to be a survivor despite its age and a long-standing threat from newer major competition that proved that age is nothing but a number.

 

 

Along with the first photo, these additional photos show the elaborate design and money dumped into creating a showy center court.  In a city noted for its history and classic Victorian architecture, Oglethorpe could not exactly get away with a plain, simple and dumpy main court area in their malls.  They came through in spades, and this still remains an extremely contemporary look.

While Oglethorpe Mall is only one story, it was expanded greatly in the 1980's.  In fact, it was one of six expansions/renovations to the mall, which occured in 1974, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1992 and 2002 according to the mall's fact sheet.  The 1974 renovation was a very small renovation adding six stores in the back of the center court tied to what is today the JCPenney wing.  The 1977 renovation was tied to the closure of Adler's, which was replaced with the small section near the front of the mall known as the Prominade located near Belk, presumably where Barnes & Noble is today.  In 1982, a new wing was constructed off of center court resulting in a new JCPenney and Levy's.  Levy's was a very local department store with its only other known location in downtown Savannah.  Levy's proved to be too small to compete and sold out to Jordan Marsh in the late 1980's.  Their store at the mall was very small, thus proving to be inadequate and was later demolished.  The 1992 renovation was the most dramatic, transforming the city's first mall into an beautiful mall with elaborate skylight and ceiling treatments, better than average floor treatments and a more elegant appearance overall than your usual mid-market mall.  The 1992 addition also gave the mall a more competitive edge.  The Barnes & Noble was added in 2002 and I'm guessing the food court as well.  Other renovations aside from those renovations have been more subtle with the intent of keeping the mall completely up-to-date in decor and feel.  In all, I have seen few malls this attractive.

 

The 1982 addition continues straight back from center court, located directly inside from the front mall entrance.  All expansions to the mall went behind the original 1969 mall corridor.  The second photo shows the bend in the pathway.

Oglethorpe is a lot like a grunge song...like the soft melodies erupting into hard chorus lines of music, low key corridors open into bright, showy and extravagant court areas. The mall has three of such court areas.  This one is front of JCPenney, and originally in front of Levy's/Maas Brothers as well before it was torn down and expanded to a new Rich's.

Oglethorpe Mall changed because it had to.  It dominated the market for a fairly long period of time, but this all changed when a larger, shiny new mall came into town: Savannah Mall.  Savannah Mall was a very real and ominous threat when it opened in 1990.  Local residents feared that it would kill Oglethorpe Mall.  It had four department stores, two levels and an elegant, contemporary design that kept the mall formidable for over a decade.  Oglethorpe was old, had only one level and an outside appearance that suggested yesteryear.  This is why Oglethorpe tried harder than most malls to stay ahead, further upscaling the appearance of the mall in 1992.  The 1992 project was risky, but necessary, because the mall would have had no hope othewise.  In fact, Oglethorpe did not get a solid foothold on the market until around 2005 when Savannah Mall proved that its anchor line-up was not so strong, and its location not so ideal.

The mall map is the best way to explain how a simple basic straight shot between Belk Beery and Sears became a major mall.  The corridor pointing south was added in 1982 and the wing out to Macy's (former Rich's) in 1992.  It is possible to travel the mall in a circular fashion by leaving the mall entrance next to Macy's and re-entering in the Food Court. 

 

I made this map to show how the mall was laid out in the early years using 1975 as a reference point.  The 1974 addition suggested that the back entrance was originally intended for a third department store anchor.  Was Levy's always planned for the mall?

It must have been tough to be mall manager in those years considering that both malls had Belk, and any anchor loss at Savannah could have resulted in Oglethorpe losing an anchor of their own.  1998 must have been especially worrisome when Montgomery Ward closed their store there, leaving an opportunity for any anchor at Oglethorpe to jump ship.  This was all put to rest in 2003 when Savannah Mall was starting to show its age and subsequently received a two-fold crushing blow.  Both Parisian and Belk (no longer Beery) closed at the mall together almost at the same time  Belk had three locations and was cannibalizing their sales, and Parisian was underperforming.  This left the newer mall looking very precarious with only Dillard's left.  Of course, the truth of the matter was that Oglethorpe was only in danger if they gave up.  Oglethorpe always had the best anchors.  It had the original and largest Belk, Sears, Rich's and JCPenney.  In contrast, Savannah Mall had a sketchy anchor lineup with a more inconvenient Belk, over-expanded Parisian, doomed Montgomery Ward and Dillard's, which was less known and relatively new to the market at the time.

The Macy's wing blends in well with the rest of the mall.  It seemed owners were careful to maintain a consistent design throughout to make the mall not seem piecemeal.

 

The Macy's court (the third court) features two entrances into the mall, virtually side-by-side.

Gracing all the courts are large, classic-styled fountains.  Unfortunately, none were operational on my visit.  Note that all of the courts give the names of the anchors accessable by the connecting corridors.

Leaving the Macy's wing re-entering the JCPenney wing.

The story of how Rich's came to Oglethorpe Mall is the strangest.  Levy's was first bought out by Jordan Marsh, a major Federated-owned department store located in Florida and New England.  However, Jordan Marsh planned to leave to anchor Savannah Mall soon after opening there, so Maas Brothers, a Tampa-based chain, took over the spot.  Maas Brothers also took over the Levy's store downtown previously.  Family members were intermarried between the owners of the two chains, so Maas Brothers coming to Savannah was more than a coincidence.  In 1990, Maas Brothers was consolidated into Burdine's, Federated's then remaining Florida division.  Jordan Marsh never opened at Savannah Mall, however.  That same consolidation that eliminated Maas Brothers also included them as well.  Burdine's also posed a problem in the frenzy for Savannah as well.  The problem was, Burdine's was exclusively in Florida while Rich's was most dominant in Georgia.  At that point, the mall needed to expand to survive against new competition, thus the smaller Maas Brothers building was demolished, a new wing built, and a brand new two-level Rich's was built in lieu of Burdine's.  This Rich's looks a lot like the stores of today, but was a better constructed building with actual block in lieu of stucco.

Looking along the Sears wing, which is noticeably wider than the added parts.  Many of the stores on the right have outside entrances: a practice that fell out of favor for many years after the 1960's.

Arriving at Sears court, which like Belk's court is less elaborate, the mall continues on the left into the food court.  Also, Old Navy is on the right.  Over time, junior anchors took up several slots on the right (front).  Old Navy also has an outside entrance.  It previously operated as a McCrory's five and dime.

Savannah Mall has since lost many of the stores that were kept from Oglethorpe, and the two tended to overlap on many.  It once had the Abercrombie & Fitch while Oglethorpe did not.  Not long after the anchor closing spree at Savannah Mall, many of these stores either fled Savannah Mall or consolidated into Oglethorpe.  Because of that, Oglethorpe today is nearly 100% leased: in fact, it is likely the healthiest mall in Georgia.  Oglethorpe also gained a group of non-traditional anchors along the front of the mall that added significantly to its appeal including Barnes & Noble, Old Navy and Stein Mart.  It even oddly holds onto its Piccadilly Cafeteria today, suggesting that the mall has something for everyone.  The legacy Belk Beery also renovated its entryways, abandoning its basic arched canopies for a more elegant design more in tune with the legendary local architecture.

Looking down along the Belk (Beery) wing.

The Belk store at Oglethorpe Mall has been a baby of the company for a long time as one of their higher margin and well-established stores.

The older shoppers are provided a Piccadilly Cafeteria immediately outside the store.  This originally opened as Morrison's with the mall, and it has obviously been substantially renovated since it was Morrison's.  Why has the younger crowd so firmly shunned cafeterias?

 

Catty-corner to Piccadilly somewhat facing Belk is Barnes & Noble, which joined the mall in 2002.  I am always happy when Borders, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million anchor a mall since the smaller mall-based book stores have mostly faded away.  A decent book store provides a reason to shop at the mall besides clothing. The Barnes & Noble here was previously the "Promenade", which was built into what was originally Adler's department store.

Since the 2003 fiasco, the only change to the mall was when Rich's was merged into Macy's: hopefully the last department store merger to affect that store.  All other department stores at the mall were original.  Pretty much all that Oglethorpe Mall lacks today is Dillard's, which is likely hanging on due to lack of space at Oglethorpe among Savannah Mall offering attractive leasing terms, pressure or a long-term lease.  In fact, the only way that Dillard's could reasonably be built at Oglethorpe would be to create some very odd configuration such as tearing down and relocating one of the anchors or creating the confusing mall-thru setup on one of the anchors.  Rest assured, Dillard's will jump if the opportunity arises such as any of the anchors closing or relocating.

I am not back looking from the Sears wing into the food court.  The ocean blue lighting is surreal, but very beautiful.

Design-wise, this has to be the prettiest food court I have ever seen.  While food courts tend to be more comfortable and attractive than most of the mall these days, I want to give them accolades for this one.  Of course, food was always the order of the day in this part of the mall...it previously housed a Piggly Wiggly.

Walking back from the food court is this wavy, neon overhang going back to the Sears wing.  It seems Cumberland Mall in Atlanta employed this look into their renovation much more heavily.

In all, there is absolutely nothing I could say negative about Oglethorpe Mall.  It has everything I like: a fascinating layout, attractive design, interesting fusion of past and present, a good choice of stores and it is located in one of the most historical and beautiful of American cities.  This may sound like a promotion, but I have likewise been very harsh or dismissive about a few malls on my blog.  The thing I like the most about it, though, is that it is a survivor.  Most of us retail enthusiasts are disgusted when we see the classic mall in a city die because some new retail phenomenon came into town and crushed it along with everything around it.  This time, it was the other way around.  The older and wiser mall won the mall war, and a finer and classier mall was the result.

This open court area divides the outside entrance of the food court from the outside entrance into the Macy's wing.  Macy's is the large anchor on the right.

 

A couple views along the front of the mall facing Abercorn Expressway.

The mall's main entrance.  Note FYE also has an outside entrance.

 

Sears remains in its very original 1960's glory outside.  I am not lying, I really think this design still looks cool.  Sears did some interesting modernist stores in the 1960's. 

Macy's (former Rich's) today seems to be mimmicking this design, though this store thankfully uses real block instead of cheap stucco.

JCPenney, like Levy's before, was built too small.  Levy's was demolished, but JCPenney remains, looking straight out of 1982.  While plain, it still looks like new and somewhat eye-catching.  Perhaps its just the era I was born in?

 

Belk Beery retains its classic arches on the back.  Apparently it was too difficult to modify it when it was tied into the parking deck.  The front, however, was drastically modified from my last visit.  The front looks nice, but something just doesn't seem quite right about it to me.

Piccadilly was also greatly modified.  I wish I knew what this looked like originally.  I wish I could send modern architects and builders to Stucco Anonymous.  It looks cheap, period.

The mall logo looks great, though the sign obviously lacks the Googie flair.  The logo is fun, stands out and makes you want to shop there.

In another post, I will be adding pics taken in 2004 of Rich's at the mall.  Because of the length of the post, I am posting this separately like I did with the Mall of Georgia post.

Pineland Station: Hilton Head, SC

Pineland Station, while not an actual mall, certainly has some bona fide mall qualities.  It is a shady, cozy center tucked alongside the same road that The Mall at Shelter Cove is on (US 278 Business) closer to the bridge back to the mainland.  It is also very much of a boutique place with lots of local shops and a few restaurants that likely lost a few chain stores when Mall at Shelter Cove opened.  This open-air center is quite neat as well, coming back to an area featuring a small pond, a mill wheel and a bridge over the pond.  Every walkway is covered as well, meaning the lack of climate control does not necessarily mean that you will get soaked in the typical summer downpours.

Pineland Station looks to be the oldest mall-type development on the island.  Its design suggests it was built in the 70's with its mansard roofs covering all the walkways.  Gracing the outlot is a Starbucks, suggesting this place is largely about leisure other than actual shopping.  While very few chain establishments are found in the place, the main anchor in the center is a Stein Mart.  A Tuesday Morning is also found adjacent to the pond toward the back.  The center also boasts a couple restaurants and many local shops.  While today it is largely overlooked by chain stores, will it pick up the slack and possibly expand if Shelter Cove Mall fails? Time will only tell.  In alll, tourist-oriented development often results in some unique shopping centers, and this one is one of the more picturesque I have run across.  I am glad to show you this, since I almost passed it up.

The front of the center.  The open covered area is one of two front entrance areas.  Stein Mart is the building on the far right.  The first photo is looking along the second veranda-covered mall portion, which actually does not connect to the front.

It even has its own mall map!

Now, the map in conjunction with the main entryway.  This is still open-air.

The one thing open-air malls of any sort have over enclosed malls is the ability to provide patrons with very lush, perfect landscaping.  The fountain looks just right there as well.

Coming past the covered area, the mall area opens up into this huge courtyard surrounded by shops fronted with a covered walkway.

...and in the middle is this neat little pond with a mill wheel.  Tuesday Morning is the store on the right.  It is a little odd to see shopping carts in a place like that.  Lets hope they keep the alligator population down in that pond, though.

Continuing onward along the "mall".

Not one, but two fountains!

They also provide a bridge over the pond as long as you plan to use feet to cross it.

Can you pick out what is wrong with this picture?  If you can, your eyes aren't deceiving you.  I did not even notice it when I took it.

One final look at the courtyard.

Back in the corridor pictured in the first photo, this odd little flower bed sits to the side of the covered veranda.

The covered walkway to the right of the main entry veranda ends quite differently with this flat, transluscent cover.  The diagonal wood on the sides of the businesses speak volumes of the age of this place.  What's not to like, though?

The Mall at Shelter Cove: Hilton Head, SC

South Carolina fascinates me with its attempts at upscale malls.  One of the reasons for that is that for some reason, it never quite works out.  It seems the demographics must be there, or they would not build an upscale mall.  So why does it not work?  In all, three upscale malls were formed in the state: Greenville Mall, Richland Mall and Mall at Shelter Cove.  While the first two have fallen on hard times, the Mall at Shelter Cove lingers on, adjusting somewhat over the past 20 years to a not as realistic image of large crowds of Lexus and Acura owners, but definitely showing signs of struggling.  The mall itself is located actually on Hilton Head Island itself, and it is named for a cove along the marshy waterway located on the land-facing side of the island.  It is also located on US 278 Business, which functioned as mainline US 278 before the toll Carolina Bays Parkway replaced it recently.  US 278 itself terminates not far from the mall, and likely only Edgewater Mall in Mississippi is closer to the ocean.

The Mall at Shelter Cove is located in a very popular tourist area that has grown substantially over the years.  It is actually now part of the Savannah metropolitan area, oddly grouped into Georgia despite being near the heart of South Carolina Lowcountry.  Indeed, Georgians make up a substantial part of the tourism of the island, and resort development abounds on the island.  However, this development has proven a bit more midmarket than originally assumed.  Cars in the parking lot of the mall did not suggest the crowds I am accustomed to seeing at the upscale malls in Atlanta.  In fact, I am not sure if a mall is even really appropriate on the island today as tourism wanes in the off-season and the crowd is noticeably more elderly than what is needed for a viable upscale mall.

Center court strongly focuses on the spatial and elaborate vaulted ceiling treatments that provide a grand presence for an otherwise small mall.  A similar style is noted at Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah and Shannon Mall near Atlanta.  It is still uplifting nonetheless, and it captures light in such a way to minimize excess shadow.

When The Mall at Shelter Cove opened on April 18, 1988, its original anchors were Belk and Jordan Marsh.  It is not known if this was a Belk partnership store originally, and if so I cannot find any evidence.  Jordan Marsh had its only South Carolina location at the mall.  The mall itself is rather small, but somewhat elegantly designed.  The mall is surrounded by trees and lush landscaping, and it is far more shady than the usual mall in the middle of a blazing hot reservoir-sized parking lot. In fact, the main mall entrance has a thick arbor canopy covering the walkway, which is a pretty unique touch that screens the mall quite well.  The mall's developers tried very hard to create an air of elegance and beauty at the center, and the design is very eye-catching.  It is in fact one of the prettiest malls I have seen for its small size.  I also vaguely remember this mall, since I was there with family in summer 1988 eating at the Fuddrucker's next to the mall while it was still brand new.  The last is one of those weird memories you wonder why and how you still remember.

The two main concourses are quite narrow, but not suffocating and office-like like many of the 1970's malls.  This is because the vaulted ceiling treatments complete with significant natural lighting continues throughout the mall.  It gives the mall somewhat of an outdoor feel while remaining climate controlled.  The last photo is looking east while the first two are west, and it includes the soon to be closing Waldenbooks.

If I had not shown you the previous pics, this mall would not seem as interesting.  Its layout is otherwise a very basic late 70's/early 80's mall, and it is nearly identical in footprint to West Georgia Commons Mall in LaGrange, GA.

Over time, the mall saw a few changes.  Jordan Marsh disappeared in 1990, and the space was taken over by JCPenney in 1991.  JCPenney apparently was marginally successful at the mall, closing in a restructuring in 2000.  That same year, the mall was dramatically upscaled when Saks Fifth Avenue took over the space vacated by JCPenney.  Saks Fifth Avenue continued to operate at the mall until 2004, when the store was then downgraded to an Off 5th outlet as the mall was beginning to have trouble and losing stores.  Somewhere in that time, Belk also added a second location to the mall off the back of center court, which surprisingly never was considered by Parisian.  The mall also changed hands in 2004 coming under management of Petrie Ross Ventures, who lobbied the city council to allow a 12 screen theater to be added to the mall in 2008, citing it was essential to revive the ailing mall.

Anchors from east to west are shown here including the Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th Outlet (formerly JCPenney and Jordan Marsh), Belk Men's off center court and Belk Women's.  The Belk Men's is fronted by a very small food court area offering no national chains.

This one of the two rear entrance corridors seemed a little odd in the planning.  Perhaps they were both added after Belk tacked on their second store, because they just seem like an elegant hallway with no stores.

The new owners, too, were really emphasizing the importance of the theater insisting, "If the theater does not get approved, this mall will be on deadmalls.com" [1]  The plan was to try to get Saks to vacate their Off 5th store and replace it with a movie theater, whick Saks refused to do.  The city also tabled the decision, so the future looks very frightening now for the mall.  The mall has lost Ann Taylor, Crabtree & Evelyn, Bombay Co., White House Black Market and Hallmark over the past year, and the owner then stated after the loss of the theater option that the mall will inevitably decline [2].  The Waldenbooks at the mall also made the nationwide closing list, taking yet another key tenant.  All of this is unfortunately a very sad course of events for the over 20 year old center that has aged extremely well otherwise.  The city should have tried far harder than they did to save this mall with the economy in the shape it is in, and the fact that Belk just finished expanding their store proves that with the right mix the mall is still viable.  However, the lack of planning for the national retail hurricane may leave Belk the last store still standing when its blows over.

The first photo was of the front entrance court, and this is the front entrance itself.  On the left is Jos. A Bank and on the right, Talbots.  Why does Jos. A Bank abbreviate anyway when they never say that in the ads?

Just outside the front entrance is this distinct arbor and sitting area.

Looking back at the almost concealed main entrance.  The arbor worked quite well if that was their intention to hide how to get inside.

The same main entrance a bit further back in the parking lot.

Inside, the mall tenant roster reads more like a modern-day lifestyle center, though that seems to be increasingly less so.  Jos. A Bank, Banana Republic, Talbots, Williams-Sonoma and Chico's are all found within the mall.  A few more regular stores are there as well, including Waldenbooks (closing by 2010) and Victoria's Secret.  Unfortunately, these will all be gone within the next couple years if nothing is done.  What is worse is that the economy is not just affecting retail, but also wreaking total havoc on the tourist market that the mall depends on.  Despite A-list tenants, the mall has quite a few vacancies throughout, and trendy stores catering to a typical teenage crowd seem to be very limited (I noted a PacSun).  Also, and most importantly, Saks Fifth Avenue obviously was a reach for the market.  Since then, the downgrading of the store has shattered the mall's upscale image, and this is made more difficult since Saks Fifth Avenue refuses to vacate their outlet store since they are in a long-term lease.  Of course, when that lease ends will anything fill that void?  Both Belk stores, however, are doing phenomenal.  It is a strange situation overall, and the fact an island has its own mall is quite unique at that.

Saks "Off 5th" Avenue, formerly JCPenney and Jordan Marsh.  Note the labelscar in the second photo.

Belk Men's and Belk Women's, respectively.

This rear mall entrance really does not seem dated at all.  For a struggling mall, it has aged very well.

As to the mall itself, it is one of the easiest to miss malls ever.  If you were not specifically looking for it, you might mistake it for a strip mall or office building of some sort.  It also does not have any concentration of retail around it since the major retail is not concentrated anywhere due to strict city covenants.  All commercial development on the island must adhere to specific codes on overall design, and a very strict sign ordinance makes an obvious mall or business sign not possible.  Overall, trying to find a chain store in general is quite an eye strain when attempting to read small, wood engraved signs in front of buildings that do not match their normal suburban equivalents.  With that, this mall blends into the scenery almost too well.  It seems that at that, it also is quite a sleepy mall compared to major city malls such as Oglethorpe in Savannah, the Charleston malls or the over-the-top Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach.  Considering everything, I would reasonably call the mall quaint to describe this tiny boutique mall in one of the most popular, but less hyped coastal resort towns on the Atlantic seaboard.  I just hope in the future this mall is still around.

From here, the mall looks like a junior "Mall at Columbia" in Maryland.

And, of course, the sign.  This looks straight 90's to me.

[1] Faber, Jim.  "Will a movie theater be coming to a mall near you?"  Island Packet.  February 9, 2008. 
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/230444.html
[2] Faber, Jim.  "Questions still linger about doomed mall theater"  Island Packet.  April 3, 2008. 
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/269794.html