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.

Sears 2011-12 Store Closings in the Southeast: Many already featured on Sky City

Sears and Kmart just posted their closing list.  To no surprise, many of these malls have or will soon be covered on Sky City.  Here is a run down of Sears stores and Kmarts with links to ones in malls I covered:

1. Middlesboro Mall: Middlesboro, KY (Sears Hardline store)
2. Halls Mill, AL [5451 Halls Mill Rd] (Sears Essentials)
3. Multiple Sears Grand/Essentials locations in FL:

• 101 E Interntn'l Speedway Deland FL 32724
• 3020 Se Federal Hwy Stuart FL 34997
• 4560 Forest Hill Blvd W Palm Beach FL 33406
• 1363 Nw St Lucie W Blvd Port St Lucie FL 34986

4.  Ellicott City, MD [9200 Baltimore Nat Pike] (Sears Grand/Essentials)

Sears full-line stores listed below:

5. Metrocenter Mall: Jackson, MS (this is the last department store anchor)
6. Hickory Hollow Mall: Antioch, TN (this leaves Macy's as the sole remaining anchor)
7. Macon Mall: Macon, GA (the mall has now lost half its anchors since 2007)
8. Military Circle Mall: Norfolk, VA

Both photos above are of the Military Circle Mall store taken by Mike Kalasnik on July 31, 2011

9. Oak Hollow Mall: High Point, NC (this leaves Belk as the sole remaining anchor)
10. Leigh Mall: Columbus, MS
11. Edgewood Mall: McComb, MS
12. Cypress Bay Plaza (strip center): Morehead City, NC
13. Bradley Square Mall: Cleveland, TN (mall also has a Kmart)
14. Oak Ridge Mall/Downtown Shopping Center: Oak Ridge, TN (store anchors a long-abandoned mall)
15. Sumter Mall: Sumter, SC (previously a Capitol and later Tapp's)
16. Crystal River Mall: Crystal River, FL (mall also has a Kmart)
17. Golden East Crossing Mall: Rocky Mount, NC
18. Signal Hill Mall: Statesville, NC (former Woolworth and Hills)

Sears at Signal Hill Mall.  The store was renovated from its former life as Woolworth and later Hills.  Photo taken October 16, 2011.

Signal Hill Mall mall entrance to Sears.  Photo taken October 15, 2011.

Kmart stores listed below:

19. Winchester, KY [951 By-Pass Rd]
20. Buford, GA [1605 Buford Highway]
21. Hazard, KY [101 Town & Country Lane]
22. Fernandina Beach, FL [1525 Sadler Road]
23. Callaway, FL [225 S Tyndall Pkwy]
24. New Smyrna Beach, FL [1724 State Road 44]
25. Douglasville, GA [9552 Highway 5]
26. Hendersonville, TN [237 East Main]
27. St Augustine, FL [1777 U S 1 South St.]
28. Auburn, AL [2047 E University Drive]
29. Gadsden, AL [75 E Broad St] (Very close to Sears at Gadsden Mall)

Kmart in Gadsden, AL in May 3, 2008

Abandoned Kmart Foods, later Food Giant, adjoining the store.  Photo taken May 3, 2008.

30. Atlanta, GA [230 Cleveland Ave] (Last Kmart in Atlanta City Limits)
31. Orange City, FL [810 Saxon Blvd]
32. Columbus, GA [5600 Milgen Rd]
33. Jonesboro, GA [7965 Tara Boulevard]
34. Midlothian, VA [11003 Hull St Rd]
35. Pompano Beach, FL [2421 N Federal Hwy]

It should be noted this list is preliminary with more closings likely.  At least one on those list I predicted which was the closing of the store at Signal Hill Mall.  I expect the store at Southlake Mall in Atlanta to probably join this list when they wrap this up (and this post will be modified to show that).  It should be noted that no Kmarts in malls were on this list.  However, Sears locations in malls also anchored by Kmart were included.

Valley Hills Mall: Hickory, NC

Hickory has well defined itself as the major retail center of the North Carolina foothills region, and Valley Hills Mall is the centerpiece of this.  The most upscale shopping to be found is in and around the mall, which arrived with a bang in 1978 and has been going strong ever since.  As Hickory's only active shopping mall, it left its former older competitor Catawba Mall in the dust over two decades ago.  Today, it is a solid two-level mall with four anchors and plenty of business.

Valley Hills Mall is a curious mall in that it was apparently built on a narrow plot of land that required interesting design modifications.  The mall first opened as an L-shaped mall (or a "V" depending on how you see it) anchored only by Belk Broome and Sears.  Apparently Mr. Beery (of Belk Beery) built the store, but the ownership was transferred to the Broomes.  It did not seem at the time the mall was built that the owners were interesting in killing off their older nearby competition, though both malls shared a Belk.  However, it was pretty obvious by that time which mall had more to offer in size and architecture, and its name did not start with a C. 

Looking towards JCPenney at center court.  The first photo is of center court looking towards the Sears wing.

Traversing the Sears wing.  Note the style of skylights along the Sears and Belk (original) wings.

Sears features the same old mall entrance other than for some reason being completely off-center.

Looking back along the Sears wing to center court.

Dull Dillard's features the dullest wing of the mall with a dull, boring skylight and bland design unlike the rest of the mall.

Valley Hills Mall grew into a dominant mall in the 1980's when JCPenney left its large two-level store at Catawba for a brand new store at Valley Hills in 1988.  At the same time, Belk consolidated its operations into Valley Hills ending any chance that the two malls would be complimenting each other at all.  At the time, no other mall in the region had Belk, Sears and JCPenney though the mall would have been more ideal with anchors like Ivey's or Thalhimer's, neither of which the city could apparently support at that time.  Spainhour's might have also joined the mall, but at the time they seemed to be looking more into phasing out their department store business.  It would still be another decade before the mall would attract a more upscale anchor tenant.

The above two photos show the Belk wing approaching the store itself.

At the end of the wing is one of the best Belk mall entrances I have ever seen!

Looking back along the Belk wing to center court.

Looking down from the upper level at center court is this very attractive, albeit small, fountain.

1999 would be the next and last major modification the mall would see.  It was in that year that the mall added two new wings.  One included a food court fronting a new main entrance to the mall on the north side between Belk and Sears.  The second was the addition of a longer wing for a new Dillard's store giving the mall a Z-shape.  Dillard's at the time was new to the market, so its arrival was likely exciting for mall patrons.  The then-aging mall also received an interior renovation, updated entrances and a new logo.  The improvements did not strip away all of the 70's features, but it made the mall seem less dated and sufficiently contemporary.

These guys clearly look bored and a bit irritated as the wife clearly wore the pants that day so that she could go to try on some.  They were staring into space imagining more exciting ways they could spend their time such as watching football or doing something that involves a hammer or loud machinery.

Here is the mall map to explain what is hard to explain.  It is an interesting layout.

The food court is reasonably attractive and includes a carousel typical of 90's malls.

Valley Hills Mall sign along the street.  Definitely not the worst I've seen.  The name sounds a bit like a trailer park, though.  I like the name Catawba better.

 What does remain vintage at the mall is quite striking.  The skylight configuration through the older part of the mall is somewhat SouthPark inspired with its skylights along the sides instead of in the center.  The skylights, however, are placed at a 45 degree angle with the roof sloping back down on the opposite side.  Bigger, brighter skylights are found in center court.  Fake plants give the mall a more lush feel.  About the only thing that looks different is the Dillard's wing, which contains a less inspired, more conventional design.  What is also nice in the mall is the small terraced fountain in the lower level of center court.  This likely replaced a much grander fountain before, but it is still a nice feature that they did not have to install.  The mall as a whole is bright and cheery compared to the dark and plain Catawba Mall.  In all, it is a well-designed mall that is a step above the average small city mall.

JCPenney arrived in 1988 with a basic but eye-catching exterior shell.

A view of Belk from the parking deck entrance.  The renovation wasn't great, but some elements remain.  The parking deck here was built just for Belk.

If you look below you can see some of the original stonework that was retained from when the store first opened.

The last photo features the rear mall entrance between Belk and JCPenney.  I did not include any photos of Dillard's or Sears because neither store retained any distinctive design elements.  The Sears looked like the typical 90's remodel and Dillard's looked like every other stucco atrocity they've thrown up.

Hickory today pulls from a large, although largely rural market.  Because of that, the mall will probably never attract more upscale stores or anchors, but for its market is still a far nicer mall than what cities of its size tend to have.  Because of that, the mall is fully leased and not likely to be crushed by a large power center or "lifestyle center" project.  In truth, it is even nice compared to other malls I have seen in the state, and its ownership by GGP makes it a first-tier mall.  My only beef with the mall is that its anchors look bland and boring.  Belk renovated away its stone-clad 70's elements, Sears has been upgraded to bleached-out blandness, Dillard's is the usual clone and only JCPenney really seems to stand out although still colorless.  The main issue the mall faces in the future is potential failure of 2-3 of its anchors.  Sears is on very shaky ground with JCPenney and Dillard's both known to be struggling as well.  Management will have to be creative if an unraveling occurs due to that issue.  Obviously, many other malls will have this problem but this is a very difficult challenge for malls in second tier markets with fewer stores to choose from.  If such a shake-up does not occur, this is a pretty standard, reasonably attractive mall that will likely avoid the worst of the current mall insurrection wiping out so many malls every year.

Catawba Mall: Hickory, NC

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Hickory is the largest city in that region as well as the only significant outpost between Asheville and Winston-Salem.  While nearby cities such as Lenoir and Statesville have malls, the former is dead and the latter has less to offer than the average strip mall aside from its anchors.  Hickory as a population center is significant with the city holding about 40,000 residents and the region holding over 300,000.  Hickory is also the center of North Carolina's furniture manufacturing industry, and it was the first city in the state to commence furniture manufacturing.  This is part of why Hickory has the region's dominant shopping mall, Valley Hills Mall.  Before Valley Hills Mall, however, this title was held by tiny Catawba Mall.

Catawba Mall, today Catawba Furniture Mall, was the first shopping mall in the region as well as one of the oldest in Western North Carolina outside of Charlotte when it opened in 1968.  For its compact size, it was effectively the only enclosed super-regional mall in that part of the state since Charlotte had yet to build a mall like Catawba and the nearest mall like it opened itself in High Point around the same time.  Surprisingly, this mall was also built by Simon: obviously one of their first.  Unfortunately, this potential was offset by the fact that Catawba was a plain, brutalist building that over time proved much too small for the city.

Front entrance hallway headed to center court.  Originally, Rose's would have been straight ahead.

Center court walking toward west wing.  This way went to Belk Broome, Spainhour's and Big Star.  It looks so spooky from this angle.  The mall is very dark outside of the court areas.

After turning left at the former Belk Broome entrance, I am walking toward the back entrance where Big Star used to be.  Spainhour's would have been somewhere on the right here.

Belk Broome here would have been on the left and possibly straight ahead.  It had only one outside entrance.

When Catawba Mall opened, it featured a large JCPenney as well as Rose's, Belk Broome and Spainhour's.  Spainhour's was centered in Hickory, so it was a logical anchor since early malls always had at least one local or regional department store.  A Big Star supermarket also anchored the southwest corner of the mall, possibly opening as Colonial, but it did not connect to the interior portion of the mall.  The single-level center featured an L-shaped main hallway with one additional entrance wing connecting through center court.  JCPenney was the largest anchor and the only anchor with two levels.  Rose's extended straight back from center court also containing an outside entrance behind the mall, which is now bricked up.  Center court features a rectangular room with high windows roughly halfway between the former JCPenney and the former Belk Broome.  Spainhour's was situated on the west side behind Belk Broome (and attached). In all, it was a very tiny mall packed with anchors that to all appearances left room for no more than about 15-20 inline tenants aside from the anchors.

Here I'm further back from the last photo in the vicinity of where Spainhour's entrance once was.

Here, I'm back in center court with full view of the small fountain with the front entrance hall on the left and the east wing on the right heading to what was JCPenney.  How much, if any, part of this fountain is original?

I am now looking down the former JCPenney wing just east of center court otherwise known as the world's longest furniture showroom (my bad joke).

This photo was captured precisely where the JCPenney mall entrance was.  The former JCPenney has since been integrated into the "mall".  What I'd give to see this seen with that funky old Penney's logo.

When Valley Hills Mall opened in 1978, Catawba Mall did not immediately die as a traditional shopping mall.  While it was clear that Valley Hills was the superior mall, the mall curiously opened with only two anchors including Belk Broome, which duplicated stores at both malls, and Sears, which the older mall did not have.  JCPenney did not initially relocate to the mall, and Spainhour's stayed put.  Regardless, Belk Broome had a small one-level store at Catawba while its Valley Hills Mall store a mere 2 1/2 miles east was a spacious, elegant two-level store with a wider assortment of merchandise.  Only because Valley Hills opened with skimpy anchor offerings was the game not already over for Catawba.  In fact, the two malls completely complimented each other for a decade.  If Catawba's owners had been proactive and enacted an immediate expansion through the back of the mall making it larger and more attractive, perhaps the ultimate outcome would have been very different.

The mall's main entrance along U.S. Hwy 70 looks a bit gaudy, but it appears it was always plain.

Belk Broome is now "In Your Home Furnishings".

Further inspection of Belk Broome reveals the display windows are still intact next to the entrance.  Instead of looking at chalky mannequins shaped like bulimic chicks, you can imagine yourself looking at them while instead fawning over the couch in the window.  At least you can sleep on the couch (after you buy it).

The northwest corner of Belk Broome reveals no outside entrance but a steady line of ribbed concrete protrusions extending along the back side as well.

Despite the complimentary nature of the two malls, Catawba proved to be very outmoded by the late 80's.  By then, the mall was already struggling, and this became painfully obvious when in 1988 JCPenney built onto Valley Hills Mall, closing their Catawba Mall store once the new store was completed.  Without a major anchor to pull in traffic, Belk Broome joined JCPenney simultaneously in the exodus finally recognizing that they only needed one store in the market as well.  Rose's also joined the exodus moving west into a new strip mall just west of the US 321 expressway at U.S. 70 and 12th St with Big Star likely anchoring that new strip as well.  With an exodus like that, the mall was in a tail spin.  Nevertheless, Big Lots moved in to replace Rose's and Spainhour's continued to do good business.  Even then, the Spainhour's location no longer appealed to the company.  At the time, they were already in the process of phasing out their department stores.  Spainhour's itself left the mall in 1991 leaving the mall dead.  Big Lots would ultimately leave as well seeking more space than the Rose's had to offer.

At the very rear of the mall is this bricked up entrance, which was originally the back and outside entrance to Rose's, later Big Lots.  Bricking up any entrance always looks spooky like a dark secret is hiding on the other side.

Here is more of the back side of the mall with Penney's on the right and the mall on the left.  It is unknown what the solitary door connected to.  Was this a drug store of some sort?  The store would have been very deep.

The southwest entrance is the only rear access to the mall today.  The grassy lot to the left was the former location of Big Star before the building was demolished a couple years ago.

This photo lacks detail of the entrance due to a couple annoying yokels haunting the door, but this brick portion was where Spainhour's was located.  Spainhour's was the last anchor to leave the mall in 1991.

The death of one of the state's oldest malls was not lost on the city nor developers.  Several developers came forward with proposals to resurrect the mall, but all fell through.  The city also considered, but rejected the mall site for a civic center.  Of all the proposals, the most unusual one of all came forward in the late 1990's: transforming the mall into a "furniture mall".  A novel concept indeed, a "furniture mall" is essentially different furniture vendors setting up as tenants throughout one center.  The concept was also tried on nearby Lenoir Mall, but failed.  In the case of Catawba Mall, though, it was a total success.  The mall reopened in 1998 as Catawba Furniture Mall, and it is still going strong today.  As a city people travel to just for furniture, it was definitely the best way to reuse as well as rescue a mall that otherwise would have been doomed to a date with dump trucks.

Last but not least is JCPenney...the largest single anchor at the mall.  This is the front entrance.

Here is a side view of JCPenney, which is now simply a mall entrance for the rest of the bizarre furniture bazaar.

More detail of the JCPenney side entrance.

Behind the mall, prior to the conversion to a furniture mall this very peculiar building was spotted on an aerial photo.  Apparently this was a Carmike Cinema.  It was divided into four screens and downgraded to a dollar theater before closing in the 1990's.  It has since been torn down as part of a state road improvement project.

Here is a map of the mall showing its anchor line-up the way it was during its peak of success around 1977.  It is still unclear what other tenants were in the mall, how they were positioned or how many.  I also do not know if any other hallways existed.

The sad part about Catawba Mall is that its contemporaries have for the most part not been able to survive next to competition, demographic changes and even natural disasters.  Charlottetown failed due to its small size and poor offerings.  Tarrytown in Rocky Mount was ultimately demolished after being destroyed in a long, devastating flood.  If Hickory itself had built any more malls, Catawba would have likely seen a similar fate.  While it is sad to see the old anchors with their iconic signs re-dubbed as something less glamorous, at least it is still possible to see Catawba for what it was for the most part.  As expensive, elaborate and expansive as malls are to build, even the small ones, it is worthwhile to try to save every one even if its use is not retail.  Catawba was fortunate enough to find a second life as a retail center: even if the only "retail" being sold there is furniture.