Riverchase Galleria: Hoover, AL

Not too long ago, Labelscar did a post on Riverchase Galleria.  For me, I was reluctant to cover a mall they had already done, but since I am covering Birmingham in general, others encouraged me to cover it as well.  I guess it does not hurt to have a second set of photos of anything, because I photographed pretty much every little angle of this mall.  While it definitely manifests the effects of consolidations, excessive competition and a rocky economy, this mall has nothing to be ashamed of unlike quite a few these days.  At the time it was built in 1986, it was probably one of the largest malls in the country and a unique one at that.

What makes Riverchase Galleria stand apart is that it is a mall that incorporated two mid rise hotels into its design.  In other words, they didn't just want it to be a mall: they wanted it to be a major tourist destination.  On top of that, the mall incorporated four anchors and 1.2 million square feet...a very large mall for that time.  Original anchors included Rich's, JCPenney, Pizitz and Parisian.  The following year, Macy's, then part of R.H. Macy, built onto the front of the mall under the Galleria Tower as a three level store...the first in Alabama meaning previous parent Davison's of Atlanta had never had a presence in the state.  Pizitz, however, was very short-lived as it was converted to McRae's the same year Macy's joined the mall.  However, the Pizitz family still owned the building McRae's moved into despite selling the store operations to them.  In all, this was a pretty solid lineup for a moderately upscale mall.  No mall in the region had Rich's, Pizitz and Parisian all together like that before.

The first photo is a view from the small third level balcony over the center court, food court and view through the glass of the Winfrey Hotel in the background.  The second photo is a typical escalator in the mall.

An ad in the mall was advertising Alpharetta, GA.  That is too funny.  What are they saying?  You can do better than this place?  Please fill me in on this!

A typical mall concourse is pretty typical mid-80's as well.  Outside of center court, I wouldn't call the skylights spectacular.  This reminds me a bit of Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw, GA.

A map of how it all comes together today.  The mall was definitely Belked for sure!

If not for the hotel, office tower and the amazing huge all-glass atrium throughout, this otherwise would probably be just another conventional large 80's mall.  Most of the mall is on two levels, and the center is shaped overall in a simple Y fashion with a big food court on the lower level in the center.  The mall does, however, contain many smaller wings including one to the Winfrey Hotel and two for Parisian.  A small third level overlooking the food court also exists providing access to the office towers as well as offering an overlook.  All of the anchors are multi-level, and the 1990's brought significant expansion to the mall, which was something that unfortunately negatively affected other malls in the area.  1995 would see Parisian greatly expand its store in the mall into a new flagship...an expansion that gave the store an oblong design as well as the fore mentioned two mall entrances on separate wings.  In 1996, Sears would close at tiny now-demolished Todds Mall in Vestavia Hills to join the mall along with a new wing.  These changes pushed the mall from four to six anchors and 1.2 to 1.9 million square feet.  This would prove to be the peak of the mall's success as it firmly establish itself as not only a premier shopping destination in Alabama, but also much of the Southeast.

The skylights make the court in the center...it is impressive how this much glass is held up without a system of trusses.

Looking from center court into the more typical parts of the mall.

This is bound to look pretty scary during a severe thunderstorm.  Thunderstorms had rumbled through before I took these photos.  Note the third level on the left.  The former Macy's mall entrance was on the two levels below that.

Looking straight on at the old Macy's/Proffitt's/Belk entrance and the lower levels of the office tower.  The office tower here is accessible from the third level visible here.

Department store consolidation proved to be challenging for the mall after 2000.  With six anchors, the mall found itself somewhat overbuilt for a shrinking anchor market.  Macy's merger with Rich's was when things got problematic.  When Macy's closed and moved into the old Rich's, apparently Dillard's was not invited to the party.  Instead, of all things, Proffitt's of Maryville, TN opened up in the old Macy's in 2004 after the subsequent closure of the original 1987 Macy's.  This store was there so briefly that if you blinked you would miss it much like Pizitz originally.  With Saks, Inc. then owning three positions in the mall, they then conveniently closed McRae's, which was the smallest and least visible of all of the mall's anchors.  This move angered the Pizitz family who still owned the building.  Apparently, the McRae's had a major roof leak problem that the Pizitz family, once the head of Alabama's largest regional department store, did not address and Saks, Inc. was unwilling to deal with.  The result was that Saks, Inc was smacked with a lawsuit apparently for breaking terms of their lease.

A view of the upper level entrance wing between Belk Men's (former McRae's/Pizitz) and Macy's (former Rich's).

Looking along the same entrance wing.

A view of the mall near a smaller court area from the second level.

A view from the third level balcony toward JCPenney.  This was kinda cool.  Third levels in mall are rare in any form.

The wing connecting the center court to Winfrey Hotel lacked the grandeur of the other parts.

When Belk came along, the lawsuit simply fell into Belk's hands.  Belk opened in the former Macy's/Proffitt's with no intentions of opening in the old McRae's initially.  Apparently, the agreement was settled when Belk ultimately opened a Home store in the upper level of the old Pizitz/McRae's while moving their store otherwise to the former Parisian.  Belk moved again into the old Parisian since they bought them out the same year.  Apparently, Belk decided that the old Parisian was a more appealing store than the old Macy's, so by 2007 the 20 year-old Macy's would finally go dark.  Today, this leaves 1 1/2 anchors in the mall dark in a mall designed for far more department store anchors than are typically available today.  In a reasonable scenario, Dillard's would take up the old Pizitz/McRae's spot, but so far that has obviously not been considered.  The original Macy's, however, awaits a Nordstrom.  It is rumored that Nordstrom plans to open in that spot, and the Nordstrom would be the first in the state.  No doubt if this works out this will be a huge deal.  Apparently the success of the Saks Fifth Avenue at the Summit has created the right conditions for a further upscaling of Alabama's (and one of the South's) largest mall.  Whether they will use the existing Macy's building or not is unknown, however.

One of the three entrances to the main Belk store (former Parisian).

The second entrance to the main Belk store (former Parisian).  This is probably the original 1986 store in lieu of the 1995 addition.

Here is the third entrance to the main Belk in the wing next to Winfrey Hotel's entrance.  Behind me (not pictured) is the side entrance to Belk Men's (former McRae's/Pizitz).

Nothing too terribly unusual about JCPenney right here from the inside.

Since Sears and Macy's make up different ends of a Y-shaped split, these overhead signs are in place.  These remind me of similar found all over Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah, GA.

Macy's entrance is the most elegant.  It was Rich's up until 2003, and their 80's designs inside and out were elegant and very cutting edge.  I couldn't say the same for their stores from the 1990's on.

Sears...meh...very cookie-cutter.

In all, while not my favorite mall design-wise, it is a truly massive and impressive structure in every way.  Its glass skylights are the most expansive and open I have ever encountered giving the mall an almost outdoor feel, and its massive size is almost overwhelming.  The two towers over the mall also make the mall feel like it is part of a huge downtown instead of a typical suburban center...a rare and unique arrangement in malls at any point.  Few malls have ever incorporated either an office tower or hotel, much less both, into its design like Riverchase has.  Its array of six huge anchors, two mid-rise towers. a large food court and such an enormous amount of stores speaks of optimism and excess we may never see again.  It was a time when malls seemed to be in a race to be the biggest and the best...finally culminating with a few monoliths in the 90's such as Mall of America and many leaner versions such as Mall of Georgia.  It is also still a traditional mall in every sense...maintaining its size without the trendy "lifestyle" addition that flanks many malls today including later-built Mall of Georgia.

Macy's original store was...um...sunny?  The huge arched design over the small doors was pretty stark indeed.  This is still a pretty brutalist three-level store here I must say.

JCPenney's store here was apparently cloned for Asheville Mall.  The designs are identical pretty much.

The old Parisian, now Belk, was kinda neat.  Of all the anchors, this one had the most appealing and eye-catching design features while still keeping it simple.  Winfrey Hotel is to the left.

Sorry this picture came out blurry.  The McRae's/Pizitz here was all about arches as well.  

This had to be one of the best designs for a Rich's department store ever.  It is so classy looking.  The Macy's logo intrigues me.  It actually looks like it must have come off of its original 1987 store and was replaced on the old Rich's.  It is definitely not the newer "red star" logo, and this must have been done at the request of mall owners.  Was the original Rich's sign here white?  I never saw this store with Rich's nor have I ever seen any photos of it.

I kinda figured Sears arrived fashionably late when I saw this store.  It opened here in 1996 and is a match to the store at Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville, GA that was built in 1999.

While the mall today may seem excessive, it brought Birmingham a true big city shopping experience that most other malls in the city never offered.  With exception of two-level Century Plaza and the peculiar Brookwood, all other malls in the city were not only quite small but also plain.  Their success relied on the lack of competition from a major shopping destination like Riverchase.  Perhaps Eastwood, West Lake, Century Plaza, Todds Mall and even the Five Points West mall addition might still be around today if this mall would never have been built, but you can be sure that local patrons would be disenchanted with what they would see as outdated, second-rate and outmoded offerings.  This is a problem that would have led to Birmingham residents skipping the city altogether to go to Atlanta instead.  Local developer Jim Wilson, who originally built Riverchase, was not about to let that happen.

I did manage a night shot in 2007 of the Belk store at Riverchase when it was still Parisian.  I should have done more.

This older photo from 2005 I believe came from Birmingham's newspaper, but I am not positive who to credit this to.  This shows McRae's at the mall after it closed. 

Indeed, it seems that Birmingham has been moving full speed ahead both before and since.  Even today, only Riverchase and Brookwood remain viable malls in the city as both now have to deal with another Birmingham first...the lifestyle center.  Both malls today compete with tony The Summit in Mountain Brook and the newer Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farm while Western Hills Mall seems to be making the last stand in the older suburban retail scene.  Even Riverchase may have to change soon to adapt to a market far different than the mall was when it opened in 1986.  I would expect the future to bring a demolition of one or more anchors and possibly the creation of a lifestyle-type addition in the place of those anchors.  Perhaps the mall may even be turned inside out with the roof removed and replaced with an outdoor plaza.  Time will tell, but for now the mall is a stunning monument to the runaway popularity of the mall era.

Century Plaza Revisited: Irondale, AL

I previously mentioned on my Brookwood Village post about the "two malls in Irondale" that failed.  One of those, of course, is Eastwood Mall, which I was too late to ever see.  The other, though, I covered in 2007.  That was Century Plaza...a fading mall just across the street from Eastwood Mall that initially seemed poised to take a boost from the closure and demolition of Eastwood.

When Eastwood was failing, the mall only featured one major department store anchor, which was Parisian.  Service Merchandise had long since left the mall, and Books-A-Million held on as the one other junior anchor there.  Eastwood at that point was hopelessly doomed, but at that point Century Plaza was troubled but still modestly successful.  With Rich's, McRae's, JCPenney and Sears it seemed to be doing okay.  I really doubt that anybody really saw it coming, but at the time Russell Wells tipped me off that the mall was not doing well as Rich's suddenly departed the mall in a small round of closings in 2004 that also included the store at the former Cobb Center Mall in Smyrna, GA and a store in Ohio.  Rich's was the most interesting part of the mall featuring a built-in anchor tenant that extended back behind stores on the upper floor to an odd side entrance on the upper level of the McRae's/Belk wing.  Unfortunately, that was long closed and sealed off when I arrived.

Rich's one outside entrance looks dated and forelorn over the parking lot with its filthy tinted glass windows shielding the glass entrance fronting a dark store.  The first photo shows a mall sign with the letters removed showing the Century Plaza name.  Clearly, nothing on the outside has ever been updated since the day it opened.  No signs, barricades or any other information indicates that a massive shopping mall was closed for good.

The blame game on the failure of the mall has been everything from the economy to racism to excess competition, but even if those were factors, the real factor was that a lifestyle center killed it.  In 2006, a new lifestyle center opened in Trussville known as the Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farm.  What a cute name!  Too bad it killed a huge mall!  Perhaps it wasn't planned that way, but here's how it happened.  First, the center lured away JCPenney.  Also included in the center was Parisian in a new prototype store.  While Parisian was not at Century Plaza, it was at Eastwood, and it was the death knell for that mall.  Belk, however, did open in the old McRae's.  The problem was, though, is that when Belk bought out Parisian they couldn't leave fast enough.  With Rich's already gone and two other major anchors hotfooting it for the latest retail craze, this left a mall with quite a few chain stores taken by surprise and a lonely Sears flanking the west end of the mall.  In reality, the mall did not look all that dead.  At least 50% of the stores were still operational.

One of the biggest problems that Century Plaza faced was that it was so completely, hopelessly dated on the outside.  Its brutalist trappings were nothing short of severe with its bright red brick, dark glass and plain, simple lines.  When I first saw it I thought it was the ugliest mall I had ever seen, but on the inside I was pleasantly surprised.  This store opened as Loveman's, but also housed Pizitz (1980-1986), McRae's (1986-2006) and Belk (2006-2007).

An overview of the JCPenney with a mall entrance on the left.  If that was a third level, it looked to be very small.  The entrance to JCPenney was on the right.

A backside entrance to JCPenney.  This aspect of being so plain, dark and somewhat cheap looking riled up frustrated boomers to quickly apply the bulldozer therapy to the less successful of 70's retail creations, though the stucco clad replacements actually ended up looking far trashier.  This would have happened here, but the timing of the mall's closing could not have been worse.  Who knows what will end up happening to the mall.

A close-up of a secondary outside entrance to JCPenney, which obviously was where store services were.

I do have to say, though, that the jump of the anchors I am sure had some basis in race.  Race relations are historically more strained in Birmingham than Atlanta, and the city's high crime and poverty haven't helped mend those fences.  When I was in the mall last, it was much like in Western Hills Mall where I was likely the only white "shopper" in the mall.  The neighborhood there, too, was aging and less prosperous than more outlying areas, so a once prime mall in the 70's suddenly was not so prime despite an otherwise excellent location with high visibility.  For two more years after my visit, the mall was fading quickly and garnering national attention for the modern "dead malls" phenomenon.  When Sears finally announced that they, too, were closing, the mall quickly announced that they would do the same.  Its owners, General Growth Properties, were likely caught off guard themselves, and the company's recent bankruptcy was likely influenced by the sudden failure of Birmingham's first mega mall.

A cavernous entrance labeled simply "Entrance 2" looms next to the vacant restaurant.  Rich's began just to the right forming the entire wall on the right extending into the mall.

Another entrance on the other side of Rich's.  The sidewalks still lack the inevitable weeds that will soon take over the cracks no longer disturbed by pedestrians that once sought the shopping mecca found within.  This could have been avoided if the unnecessary lifestyle center had not been built.

Sadly, as Sears closed so did the rest of mall on May 31, 2009.  Today, Century Plaza is a hulking shell of bright red brick with no cars and no shoppers.  Despite its 80's interior renovation, it is obvious today how truly dated the mall was.  Its mall entrances look no different than the day it opened, and outside it is completely uninviting architecturally in any way.  While the mall was always beautiful inside, it was clearly a dated center that was low on the list of priorities of everyone involved.  In less than 10 years it went from a decently thriving mall to an abandoned hulk much in the same fashion as Regency Mall in Augusta, GA did almost a decade before.  Today, it seems there are no plans for the mall much in the way there has been nothing concrete for Regency since the day it closed.  However, unlike Regency, its absence of life is very visible, so it presents a major challenge for the Birmingham area as a whole.  It is always sad to see such a substantial place as this completely die, but the timing could not have been worse.  Only time will tell what becomes of a cornerstone of Birmingham retail history.

Brookwood Village Mall: Homewood, AL

The average big city American shopping mall, prior to the Lifestyle Center craze, was a pretty exhausting center from the outside.  If featured a huge four to six anchor center surrounded by an enormous parking lot that was typically torturous to walk across in boiling or freezing weather due to the crowds and walking distance.  Inside, the mall was so vast that you could literally walk yourself to death to go from store to store after that.  This was the natural setup for a mega mall with plenty of available land, but in the case of Brookwood Village in a suburban city of Birmingham, this was far from the case.

Brookwood Village is decidedly smaller than many malls built in the 70's, and it features one of the strangest layouts for a mall in one of the most scenic settings.  Situated in a narrow valley between two long, steep hills, the mall itself is wedged between one of those hills and Shades Creek.  Building the mall itself was a challenge, because unlike most malls, the available parking area was hardly existent.  Not only that, but the fact it was built along a creek bed led to the site being situated on poor soils that called for the entire mall being built on piles driven deep in the ground to support its own weight.  To accommodate for the parking situation, a two level partially underground parking deck was constructed under the mall to offset the limited parking on the outside.  This resulted in the majority of the mall itself being elevated over the parking deck with only a small basement level shopping area in the middle to tie the parking deck to the mall itself.  The mall was built by local family as well, the Shepherd family.

Looking at mall with the Belk entrance behind me toward Macy's.  The first photo is from the opposite court in front of Macy's.

A basic view along the mall looking toward Macy's.  From here, the mall looks like a simple one-level mall, but this is not the case.

When the mall opened in 1973, it featured Birmingham's very first installment of Atlanta-based Rich's on the east end and Birmingham-based Pizitz on the other.  It was intended to be a more upscale mall, and this image was enhanced by the presence of upscale junior anchor Gus Mayer on the lower level, which is still there today.  Since the mall obviously featured only regional department stores when it opened, the shakeup in the mall anchor-wise left it completely different today from when it opened.  While Rich's simply went to Macy's in 2005, the Pizitz location went through a big cycle of anchors much like other locations in the city.  First, McRae's took the spot in 1986 after buying out the Pizitz chain.  The store would last the longest as McRae's, and it was probably pretty interesting to look at since Rich's and McRae's used the exact same font in their logo.  After Belk bought McRae's in 2006, instead of converting to Belk right away, it was converted to Parisian as a divesting of some stores in the buyout.  Apparently, Belk did not want the more upscale locations initially.  A year later, the store did become Belk anyway, which to all appearances is appropriately an A-class store.  It arrived in late 2007, and the A-class designation is closer to Parisian in merchandise quality and offerings.

A look at center court atrium.  The first photo shows tables for food court seating leading up to a large window overlooking the main entrance and lifestyle wing in front of Shades Creek.  The second photo looks back toward the food court in the back side of the atrium.  The main mall crosses over in the middle in the upper level bridge here.  The lower level is also clearly visible here from the atrium as well.  Note the escalators down to the subterranean parking deck level from the lower level.

Aside from the anchors, what is also interesting is the Books-A-Million in the mall.  Most Books-A-Million (sometimes called BAM!) locations today are generally one level stores that provide decent book stores to mid-sized markets overlooked by Barnes and Noble and not yet tapped by struggling Borders.  This one is different, though.  It has a distinctly upscale look inside, and it is the only two-level Books-A-Million I have ever seen.  Since Books-A-Million is based right in the area, this is likely the flagship store.  According to Evans Criswell, this store was originally a Book & Co. store, a division of Books-A-Million.  In all, I was definitely impressed, and inside it reminded me of the late 70's with its rich black coloring enhanced by bluish lighting.  The rest of the mall, however, is overall mid-market these days despite its appearances and the presence of a few upscale stores such as Z Gallerie.  It is undoubtedly a bit strained by so much competition since it was built, especially the wildly popular The Summit in nearby Mountain Brook, which was the very first lifestyle center in America.  The redevelopment of Todds Mall that created Vestavia Hills Shopping Center nearby has also attempted to steal some its thunder, though recently the center has been struggling.  Nevertheless, the mall did not look in any danger from so much competition around, so the owners have successfully kept overzealous competition at bay.

Macy's mall entrance definitely has the look of a 70's Rich's mall entrance including the sign suspended over glass like this.  Of all of the modern Macy's mall entrances, I think I like this one the most by far.  It is classy and sophisticated.  Note the escalators to the parking deck in the first photo.

From the base of the escalators to the parking deck level is this parking deck entrance to Macy's.

A look at the escalators down from the main mall (top) down to the two levels of parking decks below it.  The top level parking deck is divided by the mall's lower level.

Walking across the upper level parking deck, I came to this parking deck level entrance to Books-A-Million, which is a two level store.  Its upper level connects directly into the mall as an inline tenant.

One of the oddest things about the mall is the entrances to the two main anchors.  In front of the anchors is a set of escalators, which connect to the parking deck.  Access to each anchor directly from the mall was only possible from the second level, so the escalators were put in place from the parking deck to provide access to the mall from the lower level parking deck entrance.  More escalators go further down to the subterranean parking level.  From the parking deck level, getting to the mall otherwise is tricky.  When I walked across the deck from Macy's, I did not arrive at the mall but to the lower level entrance of Books-A-Million.  Books-A-Million on the lower level did not have any direct access to the mall, but I was able to go in and go up the escalator into the main mall from inside the store.  In fact, when I explored the lower level shopping area, I found only a few shops down there other than Gus Mayer, though none appeared to be vacant.  This lower level shopping area is in the middle of the mall.  I found it amazing that any shop could survive in such a weird environment, but the mall owners worked out a way that could happen.

The current Belk mall entrance, which has previously served, respectively as Parisian, McRae's, JCPenney and originally Pizitz.

Upscale junior anchor Gus Mayer, which is found on the lower level on a wing off to the side of the atrium.

In the mall's last renovation, the mall added its own lifestyle center wing and was substantially renovated.  Completed in late 2001, the mall renovations costed $50 million coming after the purchase by Colonial Properties in 1997, who renamed the mall Colonial Brookwood Village.  While this was not much overall, it did add a few upscale restaurants and it placed them on the front of the mall.  This was a tight squeeze indeed as it took some of the front parking area between the mall and Shades Creek.  Shades Creek, as it is, divides the mall from Shades Creek Pkwy (AL 149) by a series of bridges over the creek.  This new strip of restaurants, though, helped create a way to funnel traffic not only in front of the mall but into the lower level front entrance into the mall.  It also helped create more diverse offerings in addition to the 65-store mall.  This lower level is also built into a huge court that extends above the second level, so it is clearly visible from the food court on the second level.  The food court itself is integral in the mall, and it features a more interesting mix of restaurants than are found in many food courts including McAlister's Deli and local favorite Golden Rule Bar-B-Que. 

A couple more views along the lower level mall space.  Both photos face the main mall entrance.

Design wise, the current owners have done a significant amount of work to make the mall attractive.  Its design is contemporary and elegant, though like most malls today is completely voided of any fountains or significant plant features.  In reality, it would be a fairly simple mall if not for the complex parking structure built under most of the mall.  With that, as well as the presence of some unusual anchor tenants and decidedly upscale design, the mall turned out to be far more interesting than I imagined.  Most of all, though, I find its setting to be absolutely intriguing.  In no other instance have I ever noted a major shopping mall to be built in a narrow creek valley like that.  Having a mountainous backdrop like that is unusual enough as well.  Today, the mall has also seen an increase in importance as both major shopping malls in Irondale have since faded into history.  With so much major competition in such a small geographic area, there would be winners and losers, and Brookwood was one of the winners despite being in one of the most geographically constrained settings for a mall ever.

Exterior shot of Parisian from 2007, which is today Belk.  Since Rich's was already gone, I made no effort to photograph the Macy's that took its place.  Returning to the mall at night made exterior photography too difficult, so only interior photos were made on this trip.

MORE: An older post I made shows photos of the Rich's taken by Birmingham native Russell Wells from the outside in 2004.  Also, here is a site plan of the mall from the mall's website.

UPDATE 1/6/2025: Brookwood Mall closed for good in 2024 to be redeveloped. After the closure of Belk (former Pizitz/Parisian) in 2018 and Macy's (former Rich's) in 2022, the mall was left anchorless and was ultimately unable to survive without any anchors.

Western Hills Mall: Fairfield, AL

What do you say about a little mall that seems to have been hit on every front yet survives?  Western Hills Mall turned 40 this year, and it also turned a new leaf over its lifespan as Birmingham's second oldest and now smallest shopping mall.  When it opened in 1970, it was the south side of the city's complement to Eastwood Mall on the north.  However, unlike Eastwood, it already had competition built down the road only a year before with West Lake Mall.  Nevertheless, it was closer to the city in what was at the time a thriving early suburb, and the mall featured JCPenney and popular local department store chain Loveman's.  Other tenants included Sokol's (of Bessemer), Aland's, Woolworth's and Britling's Cafeteria.  Oddly, the mall also included a Pizitz Bake Shop despite the lack of a Pizitz.  In all, it was a pretty basic center, and it is amazing it survives today with all of its original anchors gone and so much competition in the city built since then.

While a typical mall from that era, it did receive a significant touch that made it really stand out.  More importantly, though, was the large ramp and fountain in front of Loveman's.  The fountain here was quite a showpiece with a curving rock wall, planters and elevated, self-supporting ramp crossing the fountain.  Not only did this provide a grand and dramatic entrance to Loveman's, but it was quite beautiful and unique.  The fountain attempts to capture the feel of the hills and limestone gorges of the area, and it pulls it off well.  Unfortunately, on my visit the fountain was not operating.  Also, the rock wall was painted jet black, which only cheapened the appearance of the feature.

Awkward photo of center court from west wing followed by photo of main entrance corridor.  It was impossible to get a good photo of center court due to the presence of a seated mall cop at the information booth.  Note the fountain in the first photo.  The small overhead skylights are clearly not original.

The mall over time would see several important changes.  First, Loveman's changed hands repeatedly since the chain folded in 1980.  Pizitz would replace the store that year, replacing a store at Five Points west leading to the death of the center's mall addition.  Soon after in 1986, Pizitz sold out to McRae's, thus become McRae's.  In 1999, Parisian relocated from their 60,000 square foot High Points West store into the McRae's when owners Saks Inc decided to convert the store to the Parisian banner.  Parisian would remain in that location before closing in 2005.  It was that same year that JCPenney would also close at the mall.  With such a cruel twist of fate, any other mall would be doomed, but this was not so for Western Hills.    Despite spending over a year with two dead anchors, the mall would soon find new life.  When JCPenney was closed, the vacant store was soon after demolished when Wal-Mart decided to move from its former location next door in an old Woolco to the mall.  Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in 2006, and it was built on the site.  However, it was not attached directly to the mall.  In fact, the old JCPenney mall entrance became a new west entrance where Wal-Mart shoppers had to walk across the parking lot to access the store from the mall.  In 2007, Burlington Coat Factory also came and took over the Parisian.  Somewhere in that time, most likely in the 90's, the mall was renovated also, but that information was not available.  The mall inside does not look to have been modified since that time, but outside the very big and dominating mall entrance sign looks to have come with the 2005 changes.

Looking along the east wing from center court toward Burlington Coat Factory, originally Loveman's.

Looking along the western wing to the west entrance, which previously had been a mall entrance to JCPenney.

Through these doors, shoppers can walk across the parking lot to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, but Wal-Mart did not anchor the mall itself.  This was for the best since Wal-Mart typically refuses to provide mall entrances to its stores.  The last I have seen like that was a Wal-Mart in Harrisonburg Mall in Harrisonburg, VA, which has long since closed.

Western Hills Mall also saw significant demographic changes.  When the mall opened, the neighborhood was mostly white and its residents largely families of steel mill workers.  As the steel mills closed and the white population shifted north and east, the mall gradually became a mall mostly serving an African-American clientele similar to, but less successfully than, Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta and Southland Mall in Memphis.  While its offerings today seem to be more of the urban variety, it is hardly a dead mall.  It seems that malls in such areas tend to be far more resilient to anchor losses in comparison with other malls.  In other words, its anchor loss did not detract from the local popularity of the center as it hosts full parking lots and heavy business.  The mall also has remained under the same ownership since it opened.  It was built by local developer Aaron Aronov, who also help build many major shopping malls and centers across the state.  The huge success of his malls including University Mall in Tuscaloosa as well as constructing one of the nation's very first malls, also in Alabama, have made him a legend in the state.

The Burlington Coat Factory, originally Loveman's, mall entrance.  The entrance has been painted over and modified significantly since it was Loveman's.  Parisian closed here in 2005.  The railing is for the drop down to the entrance, which includes a sweeping fountain.

Looking out toward the southeast mall entrance.  From this angle, the mall reminds me very much of West Lake Mall, but with a more interesting east court.  Burlington Coat Factory is on the left.

Note the sweeping ramp over the dry fountain dropping from the mall wing down to the Burlington entrance (behind me).  I'm sorry about the quality of these shots.  Note the painted over stone wall in the background.  The fountain was not running, either.

A look from the top of the ramp toward the southeast entrance.  Alabama Power apparently has an office in the mall in the background.

Most malls in the complicated circumstances of Western Hills Mall would be completely gone today.  As the smallest in the city, its anchor losses could have been devastating for the mall, so it is impressive how well it adapted.  City leaders in Fairfield in conjunction with Aronov Realty made it happen by successfully lobbying Wal-Mart to replace their aging store across the street with a location at the mall.  As stated before, the former Wal-Mart was located in an old Woolco...one of the last to still use that space.  It is now a full-size Wal-Mart drawing shoppers both to the store and to the mall with the mall functioning like an enclosed strip for the store.  While Burlington Coat Factory typically spells doom for malls, this does not seem to be the case at this point...at least not yet.

Looking back along the west wing toward center court.

Detail of planter and seating area.

Though its prospects overall seem less than bright, it does have one of the most popular stores in the country funneling traffic indirectly into the mall.  It also maintains a devoted shopping base: something its older competition with Eastwood Mall was unable to maintain.  While I do not expect the mall to survive in its current form for many more years, it is at present still looking to be one of the few surprises in a nation full of dead or dying outmoded malls mostly of older vintage. 

Western Hills Mall main entrance from the outside.  It looks like a mix of Hollywood and industrial...very gaudy indeed, but it definitely makes this little mall look bigger.

Side entrance to Burlington Coat Factory, formerly Loveman's, Pizitz, McRae's and Parisian.  All but the front entrance was sealed off.

Back side of Burlington Coat Factory.

PLUS:
Historic information and photos on Western Hills Mall on Birmingham Rewound.
More photos of the mall from major site contributor Mike Kalasnik

Former Golbro/Golbro Jewelry Center: Irondale, AL

I do not know a whole lot about Golbro, but what I do know about it is that it is was a lot like Service Merchandise, so I am assuming the catalog merchant part of the business was closed in the mid to late 1990's.  Service Merchandise was just one of many catalog merchants, but through a series of acquisitions including Ellman's of Atlanta it became the largest.  Up until the 1990's, Alabama had many stores and chains that were very specific to the state only.  One of these was Golbro, which was at least in Birmimgham and also in Huntsville.  A tattered Golbro sign in Huntsville also became a famous photo after a large tornado destroyed the shopping center it was located in.  In Birmingham, a Golbro sign today remains at a location along Crestwood Blvd (US 78) in Irondale just east of the former Century Plaza and Eastwood Malls.

What is most curious about Golbro is that, like Service Merchandise, it did not completely close down.  What it did instead was downsize into a jewelry-only operation much in the way Service Merchanside continues to operate only as a web site.  This might explain why today the signs for the otherwise defunct chain remain.  Most of the Golbro space, however, was taken over by Superpetz...lesser competition to better known PetSmart and Petco.  It also appears that, much like stores of its kind, it had a rather distinctive design.  Nevertheless, what remains today appears quite dated, but "dated" is something worthy of photography for me.  Considering all this, I would like to hear a little more about this chain since I ran across it.  For me, it was one of those "finds" I always encounter on these trips, but I'm sure others of you have stories to tell about it, and I would love to hear them!

The smaller Golbro sign looks much more deteriorated looking southeast than looking west.  It looks like a creepy afterthought next to the modern Superpetz sign.  In both pics, I-20 is in the background on the overpass.

The tall sign looks newer, but still is designed in a fashion that looks no later than 1982.

Golbro Jewelry Center itself looked out of business.  It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week and there was a metal screen on the inside of the door.  The original Golbro took up the entire building where Superpetz is today.

A view of the store and building in greater detail.  I am guessing this was built in the mid to late 70's.