Regency Mall (Part 1): Augusta, GA

Before I started this site, I was a contributor to the site Deadmalls.com.  A few of my posts are still found on that site today.  At the time, I was definitely part of the cult following of the long abandoned Dixie Square Mall in suburban Chicago discovered by Ross Schendel of Labelscar.  My enthusiasm got me to start noticing other dead malls outside of my area.  In August 2003, I was leaving Savannah taking the long way home through Augusta.  On that trip, I had taken photos of Savannah Mall on that trip thinking that mall would eventually be boarded up soon after losing three of its four anchors in a short time span, which I found later to be untrue.  Driving through Augusta, I was simply exploring the city going west of downtown on Gordon Highway (US 1).  I was certainly not expecting anything since I had never really explored Augusta much off of I-20.  There on a hill was a Montgomery Ward sign and an obviously abandoned mall.  I did not hesitate to pull in the parking lot and snap 9 pictures on my old and now retired film camera.

Needless to say, I was absolutely stunned.  This is the first time I had ever seen not just a mall, but a very large one completely abandoned.  Its gradually mildewing white paint made it a true-to-form white elephant, a big giant failed concrete chunk of retail history.  It was obvious not only was the mall abandoned, but that it was completely trapped in the 70's.  The sign along the road was plain and very dated.  The mall still looked to be in good condition, but was relatively recently boarded up all the way around.  I would find out the mall had only been closed about a year, but I did not know this upon my first encounter with the then-mysterious Regency Mall. 

A four-screen theater operating in the mall was later replaced with this 8 screen on the southwest side of the mall.  Photo by KJ.  The first photo is of the east court in the mall with the wing leading to an empty anchor pad and outside entrance.  Photo by BT.

Burnt orange tiles flank the exterior entrances of Montgomery Ward similar to the now-demolished Carolina Circle Mall in Greensboro, NC.  This store, however, is a more basic design with the tiles really showing up against the white building.  Photo by KJ.

Corner notch with more tile.  Photo by KJ.

East Wards entrance sitting in better lighting.  Photo by KJ.

Another entrance than a view of the Auto Center, which is attached to the store itself.  Photo by KJ.

Upper and lower level Belk Howard entrances look barren since the dark glass that flaked both sides has been completely removed.  Apparently the vandalism coupled with risk of falling panels was too great to keep them intact.  As older photos attest, they were striking.  Photos by KJ.

Cullum's stands out as the anchor with the most unique entrance designs.  It also was the only anchor to change hands later operating as Meyers-Arnold and finally Upton's before closing for good in 1993.  Photo by KJ.

For a store with one of the best logos, JB White had some of the plainest stores.  They corrected this by building a beautiful store at Augusta Mall.  Unfortunately, that meant they left this store and the mall for dead.

Upper-level entrance to JB White.  Photo by KJ.

Detail of street light in parking lot.  Photo by KJ.

The mention of the mall on Deadmalls.com definitely started a mini-phenomenon not unlike Dixie Square except for one thing: few photos existed of the mall and it seemed nobody could get inside to show the world what it really looked like.  It should also be noted that unlike Dixie Square, this mall is actually in "Dixie".  Thanks to the efforts of a few brave souls, the dearth of interior photos has now changed.  This was a mall with so much promise and hope, but its poor planning would ultimately be the death of it.  It was the first ever mall in Augusta and it would also be the first to die.  It has sat rotting ever since with almost a decade passing since it was abandoned.  The people want it used for something, but the people with the money to do something about it are uninterested.  The city just wants it sitting in a landfill out of sight and out of mind.  The local newspaper will not stop talking about it.  Like it or not, this prominent Fall Line feature stands out in more ways than one.

One of the coolest things left around the mall are these panels next to the garage doors used for trucks to deliver goods to mall tenants.  These list all the stores in the mall clearly when the mall was still in its prime.  These signs are clearly no older than the early 90's considering the mall largely emptied out in the late 90's.  Photos above by BT.

Mall entrances were plain and numbered all around the mall.  Mall entrance 3 is the empty anchor pad that was once planned for JCPenney.  Photo by BT.

The red Cinema sign has now faded out.  Next to it is one of the mall entrances into the Montgomery Ward wing.  Photo by BT.

Another view of the Cinema I-II-III run by General Cinemas.  Photo by KJ.

Lower-level mall entrance to the right of Cullum's.  Photo by KJ.

Another view of Belk Howard shows a parking lot of full of weed-filled cracks.  As time marches on eventually trees will start growing in these cracks as well.  Photo by KJ.

Overview of Wards to Cullum's.  Photo by KJ.

The Regency Mall nameplate has been replaced with a phone number.  "Yes, this is City of Augusta.  We'd like to buy your mall for way below market value.  No sir, that offer is too high.  Okay, well then we'll just condemn you then.  Like it or not bulldozers headed there tomorrow." *CLICK*   It's a definite minority that like the fact that all of this is still here and they definitely are not on the city council.

This remains a popular outside view because it captures a very 70's era of signage for the once venerable retailer that now only exists as an online store.  Photo by BT.

Just in case you didn't get enough orange tile, here's the north entrance.  It's definitely colorfast.  Photo by BT.

It should be kept in mind that Augusta is Georgia's second largest city and once the state's capitol.  While overshadowed by latecomer Atlanta to the west, it is a city with signficant history and a population that should have been able to support two malls, but as events unfolded that plan ultimately failed.  The story of Augusta's "other" mall has become well-known, so this post is essentially my summary of it.  The mall was the only mall in Georgia built by DeBartolo opening on July 27, 1978 in what was at the time paraded as the largest mall in the state.  If so, it was only a hair larger than Cumberland Mall in Atlanta.  It was Augusta's first mall for about a week.  One week later and seven miles away in almost the same side of town, Augusta Mall also opened.  Regency catered to more of a regional market while Augusta Mall was more of a showcase of big city names.  Regency's first anchors were Montgomery Ward, JB White, Belk Howard (Howard was unsigned) and junior anchor Cullum's.  Ruben's, another Augusta department store institution, opened in the mall as well in a large inline tenant near the Belk.  A three-screen cinema also flanked the mall as well.  Cullum's was not completed in time for the mall's opening, and Belk did not open until the following year.  It was a very large mall for a relatively small city featuring two levels; a simple, spacious and modern design and a distinctive Y-shaped layout.

Regency Mall road sign from August 2003.

Wards was not completely boarded up at this point, and it still looked fresh and clean vs. the moldy exterior of today.  Photo taken August 2003.

Cullum's exterior glass was still partially visible in August 2003.  However, the store had already been vacant 10 years when this photo was taken.

Belk Howard when the store had dark glass panels.  I guess these were removed due to the enormous safety hazard of falling glass.  They were striking, but very spooky after the store was closed.  Photo from August 2003.

Belk upper level entrance with dark/bronze glass.  Note the fresh boards on the doors.  Photo from August 2003.

The theater sign was obviously not nearly as worn when this photo was taken but the parking lot clearly had not been seeing much traffic even before the mall closed.  Photo from August 2003.

Back inside, we see the detail of a long unused fountain.  Needless to say, the mall would look far more glamorous with it running, but it seems most mall owners today just want to remove them.  If this mall had been renovated, the blandness probably would have driven customers off alone.  Photo by KJ.

A small stage in the middle part of the Wards wing.  Photo by KJ.

A wall mural decorates what would would have been a blank wall marking the anchor pad for a never-built fifth anchor on the back side of the mall.  JCPenney once considered the site but changed their mind opting for Augusta Mall instead in 1979.  The lower level functioned as an exterior entrance.  Photo by KJ.

Looking back toward the mall.  Note the terrazzo floor tiles.  Photo by KJ.

Here we see a computer store that is just sooooooo 1995.  Photo by KJ.

A typical problem with DeBartolo malls were their tendency to draw second tier anchors.  Sears decided to stay downtown during that time since they were not going to share a mall with Montgomery Ward.  JCPenney did, however, plan to locate at the mall, but they pulled out of the project opening instead at Augusta Mall in 1979.  Davison's, the Atlanta-managed division of Macy's which had been downtown for years, shunned the mall for Augusta Mall as well.  Ever-popular Rich's decided to put their first Augusta store at Augusta Mall also meaning three of the most popular stores in the state took a pass at joining the center.  The mall, however, scored Augusta-based White's, which remained a very popular store and a singular draw to the mall.  The mall was set up for fierce competition, and its honeymoon would only last about 7 years.

The quintessential Lerner New York was included among the lost anchor tenants, now known as New York & Company.  Photos by KJ.

The overhead skylights were among some of the least attractive I have seen, but they were at least distinctive vs. the usual glass dome or pyramid.  Photo by KJ.

View from the second level.  It's always Christmas at Regency Mall just as it has been since 2001, so let's deck the malls with moldy banners.  Photo by KJ.

Along a mall entrance wing is this mysterious and spooky looking store.  I pondered whether this was the former Ruben's location that closed early in the mall's history.  Photo by KJ.

More detail is visible here of the store entrance that definitely appears more like a junior anchor than regular inline tenant.  Photo by KJ.

Here we find a mall directory on its side.  Unlike the kids that got in one night in 2007, the mall directories have been smashed and trashed so that no map of the mall is available inside any longer.  Photo by KJ.

While it may have been bright and sunny outside, it is darker than midnight in what appears to be Mall Exit 7.  Photo by KJ.

Former food service establishment.  Photo by KJ.

The Belk wing was the darkest part of the main mall keeping these escalators in darkness.  Photo by KJ.

Another unknown store looking subtly funky.  Photo by KJ.

DeBartolo seemed to be a poor planner when it came to malls, and they likewise were a poor manager.  The decision to put a mall in blue collar South Augusta so close to its main competition was a boneheaded decision as well as what seemed to be a lack of interest in adequate security.  In addition, the mall was not placed near any freeway or interstate.  Augusta Mall, however, was next to Bobby Jones Expressway, which later became I-520, only a couple exits down from I-20.  Several DeBartolo malls in Florida failed miserably due to terrible locations, and one of Regency Mall's sister malls in Ohio recently was boarded up as well due to its less than stellar location.  If they had put Regency instead in North Augusta closer to I-20, the mall would likely not only be open, but would be doing extremely well.  Instead of Regency, this post would be probably about Augusta Mall and how it was struggling.  Both malls have suffered from similar problems, but Augusta Mall started with stronger anchors closer to the money: part of why it is still alive and thriving today.

Unknown storefront.  Photo by KJ.

While most of the mall is level, the mall right in front of JB White has a sloped section on the lower level.  Photo by KJ.

More detail of the sloped area.  It's hard not to like those completely retro brown linoleum tiles.  Photo by KJ.

More empty storefronts on the lower level next to White's.  Photo by KJ.

A very dark entrance wing emerges on the lower level.  Photo by KJ.

View of the Belk court.  Photo by KJ.

View of Wards court from lower level, which looks nearly identical to the photo above.  Photo by KJ.

Back in center court, the up escalators along the Belk wing are barely visible.  Note the mall's red and brown carriage logo on the wall above.  This is found in several locations in the mall.  Photo by KJ.

Looking up at the ceiling with the "street lights" in view.  Photo by KJ.

Lower level fountain at eye level.  Photo by KJ.

Somewhere in the mall, the photographer found some of the plans associated with the Belk store.  These should be rescued and placed in a museum somewhere.  Photo by KJ.

More so than location, though, Regency Mall's problems had much to do with lax security.  The problems of shrinkage from shoplifting dogged the mall from the day it opened causing the loss of both junior anchors early on.  Ruben's pulled out in 1982 and ultra-upscale Cullum's, laced with debt from building its largest suburban store in the mall, completely failed the same year.  Things got worse when in March 1986, a 16 year-old girl was abducted from the mall parking lot, raped and murdered with her body turning up a few weeks later outside of the city in the nearby town of Hephzibah.  Another incident in 1989 involving an 18-year old girl being shot in the back in a carjacking and paralyzed led to the family of the victim suing DeBartolo over security issues.  Clearly these were not a small issue for such a large mall.  These incidents cast a dark shadow on the mall giving it a fatally negative perception.  Its location was a problem, crime was becoming rampant in the declining neighborhood and the only thing keeping it from dying then was its anchors, and that, too, was changing quickly.

On Sale! On Sale! On Sale!  "Oh, I'm sorry we sold out of pretty much everything but check back tomorrow!"  Photo by KJ.

Treasure's?  I'd like to speak with Mr. Treasure, please.  Yeah, I want to tell him one city's trash is a retail geek's treasure.  Photo by KJ.

They couldn't compete with Mail Boxes, Etc.  That's just the fax.  Photo by KJ.

I'm sure GNC was here until the very end.  Apparently selling vitamins and creatine for meat heads is an activity not dependent on living, breathing customers, but they alone cannot keep the lights on in an 800,000 square ft mall.  Photo by KJ.

Offices, elevator and telephone.  Yes, the days when telephones were something you went to: not something you carried in your pocket.  Photo by KJ.

T-shirts Plus.  One of about a dozen inline tenants that left their signs up after closing.  This store is located right outside of Montgomery Ward.

Claire's Boutiques also had a location in the mall.  I do not recall ever seeing a sign in this style.  Photo by KJ.

Foot Locker was one of the very last stores to close and clearly received an updated look at some point.  Photo by KJ.

Oh?  Photo by KJ.

This store was clearly a latecomer.  It at least looks late 80's, but I am not sure what it was.  Photo by KJ.

Regency Mall's failure to attract Davison's, Sears and JCPenney definitely did not help the mall.  With all three anchors ending up at Augusta Mall and Montgomery Ward beginning to fail as a company, the early 90's were proving that having the top anchors in a market does matter.  Cullum's failure left a vacancy within 5 years of opening, and Greenville-based Meyers-Arnold would take over the store in 1984, but was downscale compared to Cullum's.  Upton's then bought out Meyers-Arnold in 1987 making it the last tenant to be in that location.  Upton's proved to be the canary in the proverbial coal mine when the store closed in 1993.  The mall would quickly decline from there.

These two photos show what appears to be the only staircase in the mall.  It is located on the Wards wing very close to Cullum's.  Photos by KJ.

Bottom of the very brown staircase.  Photo by KJ.

Old mall directory smashed in as if smashing in an old mall directory makes you so tough.  Photo by KJ.

Unknown restaurant.  Photo by KJ.

Empty store front next to "GQ" in a Star Trek-inspired doorway.  It sort of resembles an old arcade.  Photo by KJ.

Lower level "Anchor 5" court.  Was this mall entrance sealed off sooner?  Photo by KJ.

More lower-level detail.  Photo by KJ.

This extremely well-preserved store front beckons to a time when wearing a watch was still pretty fashionable.  It is located to the left of Cullum's.  Photo by KJ.

Street lights again.  Photo by KJ.

One more shot of the lower level of Wards court.  While parts of this mall are certainly dark it does surprisingly well with mid-day natural lighting.  Photo by KJ.

Belk, which had previously converted to an outlet a few years prior, closed at the mall in 1996.  The theaters on the south side of the mall left the same year.  By then, JB White had already planned to tack on to Augusta Mall with a newer, far more elegant store.  This new store was completed in 1998 leaving the brutalist brick structure behind that itself had resulted in the closure of the original downtown flagship White's.  The new store would be the very last JB White location built, and the Regency Mall location closed at the same time.  As the dust settled from the mass exodus troubled Montgomery Ward found itself the last anchor standing.  This turn of events left the mall in the death throes.  Over 20 years old, the mall had never received a renovation, and stores that closed at the mall were not replaced by chains but by mom 'n' pop shops and non-retail operations.  Even with that, there were not many of those.  Stores like Foot Locker would be the last to close, but the mall itself held little attraction with Montgomery Ward shutting off its mall entrance to save electricity, suggesting the air conditioning was no longer being used in the mall itself.  Even the escalators were shut off by this time.  As a result, the mall would gradually pare down to four stores.

Upper level Wards court.  Photo by BT.

View of down escalators in the Wards wing.  This part of the mall is very dark, and holes in the ceiling are visible next to the escalators.  Photo by BT.

A couple views of the escalator along the Wards wing.  Photos by BT.

Between Wards and Whites on the north side, the overhang and skylights give a very futuristic effect.  It is one of the most attractive design features in the mall.  Photo by BT.

An overview of the "Anchor 5" wing from the main mall/Wards wing.  Note the carriage and the Christmas decorations.  Photo by BT.

Gimme three steps, mister, and you'll never see me no more.  A view of the staircase from the top level.  Photo by BT.

Lerner is located near the "Anchor 5" wing.  Photo by BT.

Detail of the skylights and how they connect to the north side of the mall.  Photo by BT.

One of the very appealing aspects of Regency Mall is the presence of many angles and turns throughout the mall.  It is not a boring straight-shot by any means.  Photo by BT.

Another view of the one staircase.  Photo by BT.

The end finally came when Montgomery Ward liquidated in 2001.  While the store at the mall would last to the end, the closing was the final nail in the coffin for Regency.  Soon after, the remaining tenants were kicked out and the mall boarded up at the beginning of 2002.  Only a county marshal's station would continue to operate in the mall, finally leaving this past summer.  While the mall's "slumlords" Hayword Whichard and Paul Woo are blamed for the mall's demise, the real blame rests on the poor management and decisions of its original owners DeBartolo who owned the mall up to 1995.  Equitable Real Estate also owned the mall from 1995-1997 before selling it to Whichard and Woo.  The mall most recently was purchased by Cardinale Entities in 2002 who planned to market the mall, but failure to attract an investor led to them keeping the property in disuse resulting in heated disputes with the city about the condition of the mall.  As these photos show, the mall is in mostly good condition despite problem areas.  Proposals ranging from an outlet mall to county offices to an entertainment center were pursued, but nothing ever materialized.  Most recently, a church hoped to purchase the entire mall, but plans are still uncertain.

Escalators rise to the occasion (and the upper level of the Belk wing).  Photo by BT.

Diagonal wood is everywhere in this mall including this former restaurant outside of JB White.  Photo by BT.

A skylight overlooks the short JB White wing.  Photo by BT.

More skylights!  Photo by BT.

Looking back towards Wards.  Note the north side of the hall.  Photo by BT.

Another view of the "Anchor 5" pad.  Note the lone tree on the lower left.  This tree has to be fake to have lasted that long.  Photo by BT.

"Regency Mall" logo walling over a vacant store with the carriage in the background on the wall.  Photo by BT.

Since the mall's closure, Regency Mall has been a point of contention within the city.  The city has tirelessly sought ways to recycle or demolish the structure.  A referendum was held to borrow $8 million to demolish the mall, but it too failed.  A proposal to condemn the property and turn it into a city reservoir was also considered.  No matter what the plans, the mall is already a 21st century Dixie Square with big plans that always fall through, ambitious government initiatives that fall flat and an abandoned building that will ultimately decay beyond salvation if a realistic plan does not materialize within the next 5-10 years.  For now, Regency Mall remains one of America's most visible symbols of the decline of the all-American shopping mall.