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.

Grove Arcade: Asheville, NC

Enclosed shopping malls were not an entirely new idea when they were introduced to the world in the 1950's.  While the multiple-anchored all-inclusive pedestrian downtown surrounded by a sea of parking was new, the enclosed shopping center was definitely not.  Before that, downtown shopping districts sometimes featured a smaller, classical version of the mall, which was known as an arcade.  Not to be confused with the gaming place that teenagers frequented from the 70's to the 90's, these arcades were typically mixed use structures with at least three levels under one roof.  In these, one or more levels were devoted to shopping with design details more ornate and elegant than their later, larger cousins. They usually fit nicely into a block of buildings downtown, and were typically not connected to any nearby department stores. 

Arcades, likewise, should not be confused with the disastrous "downtown shopping malls" of the 70's, which featured such outrageous atrocities such as demolishing blocks of historic buildings for a huge bunker surrounded by ugly parking decks or parking lots.  Unlike these ill-fated "urban renewal" schemes, arcades blended in with the downtown fabric with outer windows and architecture that appropriately complimented other buildings in the city.  They were typically intricate and elegantly designed inside and out with the main recognizable feature comparable to modern malls being the central overhead skylight.  They also typically covered a much smaller footprint being built up instead of out, typically carrying 3-4 stories.  In addition, the shopping component tended to be much smaller, holding at most 20-30 shops.  Grove Arcade was exceptionally large holding around 50: the size of most early 1960's shopping malls.  Upper levels were also typically devoted to other uses than shopping such as offices and residences meaning they were mixed-use in contrast with modern malls.  Also dissimilar from malls is that they were not designed to have "anchors".  While they may have been near a downtown department store, they were never anchored by one.  Usually, arcades had all entrances opening into the streets with their main crime being that they might have covered a large portion of a city block, but never resulting in the leveling of an entire downtown business district to make room for its quickly despised presence.

A couple exterior views of the arcade.  Due to the parking difficulties, I was not able to take as many outside photos as I would have liked.  The first photo is of the south hall looking back towards the entrance pictured above.

Today, most downtown arcades of the early 20th century suffered much the same fate as the department stores either reverting to other uses or being demolished for bigger projects because the land they sat on became too valuable for a building of their typically smaller size.  In most larger cities, highrise buildings replaced the lowly arcade although small downtown malls often anchored, less successfully, many of these newer projects.  Of the few that remained, most were ultimately converted to other uses with their original retail component long abandoned.  The historic arcade was no match for modern-era progress beginning in the 1950's.  Grove Arcade almost became a casualty itself: an almost forgotten artifact of Asheville's past until the past 15 years with plans to expand and convert the building to a government-owned high-rise very much in the works.

Here is another view of the south hall looking north.  Note the winding staircase on the left.  These have unfortunately been closed to the public.

One of the second level balconies crossing over at the center of the arcade.  If only they had looked at this place and taken notes when they designed Biltmore Square Mall.  It is no wonder that mall has failed.

The west hall features a stunning three-level vaulted ceiling with walls adorned with marble.  Imagine any mall looking like this when you walked in.

Grove Arcade followed the typical pattern set forth with conversion to other uses.  Opened in 1929, the arcade was a hit.  Its builder stated it was one of the finest buildings ever constructed, and few would argue the sheer size, opulence and attention to detail that went into this building was a marvel of its time.  It would continue to operate as the premier shopping destination in the city until WWII arrived.  This is when the federal government seized the facility under the authority of the war effort literally evicting all the tenants within almost overnight.  From there, the building would house various federal operations with the last involving weather forecasting.  A movement to preserve and restore the building to its original use did not gain steam until the 1990's when the government began plans to expand the building to suit their needs.

 Looking back toward the central elevators in the west hall.

This view is looking back down the north hall toward the elevators.  The guy pictured proves this is not a bad place to kick back on a warm August morning.

When one of Asheville's most distinctive structures was threatened, citizens mobilized.  A strong push was then made to get the government to sell the building back into private hands.  In this time, the structure was placed on the historical register with steps beginning in 1995 to restore the building to its original appearance and use.  This finally culminated in 2002 with the reopening of Grove Arcade back to what it was originally intended for.  Since then, the bottom level was converted back to retail with upper levels being sold as housing units.  Indeed, it has been a huge success.  While the refurbished center has failed to attract any chain stores, the lower level is nearly fully leased with various local shops and cafes.  With Asheville's tourist industry, the center is now pivotal in that district and attracts a whole new generation of crowds into its four glorious halls.  Imagine if such an attitude could prevail when a classic 1960's shopping mall is threatened with demolition.

Here is a view of the east hall and entrance.  Being designed in the same era as the Biltmore House, the attention to detail, elegance and gothic trappings are similar.

Detail of the winding staircase coupled with the tiny door below.  It seems the popularity of winding staircases sadly died out by the 1980's due to their impracticality.

The success of Grove Arcade, though, suggests the need for further experimentation.  Asheville, after all, is one of the few cities that could likely support a successful downtown shopping district like it once had.  Currently, Asheville still lacks some chain stores many other cities have.  The city also has three malls, but one is failing, and all three are landlocked by roads, buildings and steep terrain.  While one of those does have room to expand, even it would still require a substantial updating and vertical design to utilize the space.  This presents a unique opportunity as the city currently lacks a Macy's or upscale department store such as Nordstrom.  The idea I have is to consider purchasing and demolishing the RBC bank building across the street from the arcade and expanding the existing parking deck across from both.  In the RBC building, a 5-6 story structure would take the place of the current two-level structure housing a new downtown Macy's or other department store designed on the outside to look like the arcade.  Doing this would spotlight the arcade, bringing more shoppers downtown and possibly helping the arcade to truly evolve into a downtown mall without repeating the mistakes of the 1970's.  The potential is there to create a one-of-a-kind shopping destination not usually found outside of New York City or Chicago.   In a time when society is turning cold on the effects of over 60 years of suburban sprawl, such an idea seems more realistic.

Another view of a winding staircase in the south hall.

Lastly, detail of the south entrance to the arcade.  Rest assured, shoppers here were of the upper class and dressed in their finest back in the day.  I tip my hat (if I actually wore one) to the successful preservation of a historic retail treasure.

Ideas aside, the interest in historic preservation has revived some surprising treasures.  Before I saw this place, I did not even know that any arcades like this still existed: at least not as public shopping and gathering places.  Grove Arcade itself had fallen out of public use for over 50 years, and today is one of only five arcades to still exist in North Carolina.  Grove Arcade, along with the Biltmore Village retail district are beautiful works of art as well as fun shopping areas in one of the country's most beautiful cities.  With that, it is not a wonder that the malls in the city are anemic.  I hope that Grove Arcade continues to not only be a success, but also brings a new wave in experimentation in constructing new arcades with similar architectural detail to possibly bring upscale shopping back into the larger cities without wrecking them.  Just as they were a good idea in the pre-mall era, they are again a great idea today in an increasingly post-mall era.

Village Inn Pizza Parlor: Lenoir, NC

Wherever a vintage dead mall is to be found, it seems nearby that other vintage items tend to linger.  Places like this ultimately survive, but tend to not update due to multiple factors including that they simply do not have to since they are surrounded by old things and probably do not get the business to modernize as often.  In Lenoir, I found many such places along Morganton Blvd including an abandoned car wash, a very retro 2-screen movie theater and last but not least this gem of a pizza place.

Village Inn Pizza Parlor is not to be confused with the larger Village Inn chain, but does seem to be part of a once national chain that was fractured into similar, but smaller operations run by local businessmen.  Other separately run locations of the same name are found in Michigan and Illinois.  I also covered on this blog a possible former location next to Tri-City Mall.  This place doesn't serve pancakes, and this set of restaurants only has 12 locations in the Foothills/Piedmont region of North Carolina.  This North Carolina group in particular is run by Ray Lackey Enterprises.  Reviews of the restaurant are generally good, but it is also stated that every location is very old as well.  All seem to have distinctive and dated designs, but the one I'm featuring here stood out enough for me to turn around for a few pics with a highly eye-catching Bavarian A-frame design coupled with a 1970's period road sign. 

A moody bavarian-gothic A-frame building with a dimly lit interior greets diners which apparently were few in number early in the afternoon.  The skies were just as moody with a severe thunderstorm about to hit.  The first photo is the sign posted along Morganton Blvd (U.S. 64) looking southwest.

Angry skies overlook a small, quaint and fascinating pizza place.

Since I did not try it, I have no opinion on the food here.  One thing I do know is that apparently each location has its own distinctive design.  The location in Morganton has a Spanish influence, including arches.  Its original location, according to the website, was in Statesville.  My guess on the chain is that it probably has not seen any significant update in 30 years hitting their stride in the mid-to-late 1970's.  I guess that they do what they can to stay profitable.  I would love to hear if anybody has tried this time warped local pizza chain.  Places like this are part of the joy of traveling: especially these archaic chains with dated architecture that give every community some distinction as well as something new for me to blog about.

Lenoir Mall: Lenoir, NC

It is rare today to find a truly vintage mall: one that has never been updated at all from the day it opened over 30 years old.  It's even rarer to find a mall far past its useful life still open to the public.  If the mall is successful, it's been renovated one or two times at least since it opened usually stripping out everything fun.  If it is unsuccessful, the mall has been either boarded up or torn down sometime between 1995 and 2005.  Lenoir Mall is all of the above: vintage, dead and still open!  It is even more unusual, too, considering a mall that has been largely unsuccessful for 20 years usually would have been gone by now.  This is why Lenoir Mall is such an amazing find. 

A few things do exist online about Lenoir Mall, but it is not terribly easy to obtain.  The mall itself was not well-positioned to survive long-term.  It is located away from the main retail district in Lenoir, it was situated with anchors that folded and it was located in a city with too much competition both from nearby strip malls and a much better mall in Hickory a mere 20 miles away.  Even worse is the decline of the local economy, which has heavily been very dependent on furniture manufacturing.  All of the furniture factories have closed plants, outsourced jobs and downsized operations in the city resulting in fewer people to shop and a higher poverty rate.  All of this combined with a mall that was relatively weak to start with have brought the mall to the end of its life with no hope of ever salvaging the property for retail use.  So why has it lasted this long?

The first two photos are of the center court, which still features planters and a dry fountain basin that apparently once had four bubble fountains. The ceiling dips down at an angle towards the fountains with reflective panels magnifying the sunlight from the skylight onto the fountain.

Another view of the center court fountain looking down the Belk wing.

Walking down the Woolworth's wing toward Woolworth.  The only thing lighting this corridor were the skylights, which probably partially explains why this mall closes at 6 PM.  The two operating stores still have electricity, though, so they are probably just keeping them off to save money.

Woolworth's mall entrance.  Unlike the rest of the mall, the wall is simply hiding the medical facility that took over the Woolworth's space on the other side.  The medical facility does not maintain any direct access to the mall.

Another shot of the Woolworth's mall entrance.  Note the unusual style planter at the bottom of the photo.  Does it resemble an in-ground trash can to you?

The doors in this shot are one of three mall entrances.  They lead to the back of the mall and are locked.  Another picture showing the writing above the door is shown below.

Opposite those doors is where "the Rock" church was.  This had formerly been mall space, but was consolidated into space for the church, which saw the light and rose above this place.

The mall did, however, have a successful era.  When it first opened in 1979, it hosted three anchors and a solid roster of tenants in a relatively compact mall with its period of success stretching for 10 years.  Inline tenants included national and regional chains such as Junction, Spencer's Gifts, Cato, Fashion Bug, Sound Shop (was also Musicland), Foot Locker, Regis salon, B. Dalton Bookstore and Barrel of Fun.  Anchor stores were Belk (confirmed not to be a partnership store), regional chain Spainhour's and an unusually large Woolworth comparable in size to the early Wal-Marts.  Trouble brewed when Spainhour's closed at the mall in 1989 with no replacement.  This was soon to be followed by the closure of Woolworth's around 1992 leaving Belk as the sole anchor.  For awhile, Belk was trapped at the mall but seized an opportunity when Kmart closed on US 321 in 2002.  They then left when they renovated space in the old Kmart to became a new Belk store in 2003 leaving the mall to fade into oblivion.  In most instances, the mall would have been closed and boarded up, but the owners got creative before that happened.

The homemade signs posted by mall management (which from what I can tell is all of two people) is a hoot.  There were maybe two people in the mall, and both worked in the two stores left...except me and my friend.  Even mall walkers are apparently terrified of this place.

A look back into the rest of the mall from the former Woolworth's.  The small store siding is clearly not original indicative of the mall's second life as a furniture mall.

The friendly snowman is bundled up and there to inform you it's a chilly day in August.  If they were running any air-conditioning at all, that might explain why all the lights were off. 

Another sign: "THIS IS NOT A TRASH CAN".  Well shoot, it looked like one to me.  I wondered what that plant was growing in there for.

GNC apparently was the last to be informed that this mall is, in fact, completely dead.

The planters and uncomfortable wooden benches next to GNC seemed to be the only non-carpeted part of the mall featuring those quintessential brown tiles.

The skylight shines brightly into an otherwise dark interior.  The scene looks like a square alien spaceship is landing in the middle of the mall.

The first attempts to save the fading mall came in the 90's.  Around the same time as Hickory's oldest mall was being considered for a furniture mall, the same plan emerged for Lenoir Mall in 1996.  With the town a center of furniture production, this seemed a logical course.  It did, in fact, work for some time with local companies Broyhill and Bernhardt both opening showrooms in the empty stores of the mall.  The timing was right for this, because it came in conjunction with the beginnings of the real estate boom.  In addition, major anchors Belk and Woolworth were both finding new life for other non-retail uses.  The Belk store was converted partially into space for an electronics manufacturer known as AMP-RTI in 2006, Woolworth was also converted during this time into a medical facility with Quest 4 Life Medical Center as the main tenant in that building and the Spainhour's was recycled as a showroom for Bernhardt.  In addition, a church called "The Rock" took over a large inline space next to the old Woolworth's and a few local shops continued to operate within the mall.  .  Of those listed, only the medical campus in the old Woolworth remains today.

Detail of the skylight in the previous photo, which is actually a high window with a wedge shape reflecting light into the mall.  These were very similar to the skylights on older Richway stores.

Back in center court, I am focusing on the view looking towards Belk showing all the planters and the ball-shaped light fixtures in the center.

A closer-up shot of the same.

Detail of the fountain itself with an ironically placed American flag.  Is this some unusual statement about the economic and financial situation of the country?

Just off the center court from the first photo is the Spainhour's mall entrance.  It was far more spartan than the Belk and Woolworth's entrances with no skylights overhead.  Apparently Peeble's was never interested, but it was last used by Bernhardt for a furniture showroom.

A couple stores retained their original signage long after the mall closed.  This is one of those.  Just realize there is a long wait for a haircut here.  You'll be waiting forever.

The Belk wing features three skylights instead of one.

The mall's revived fortunes seem to darken again in 2007.  This is when the mall changed ownership to business partners from Miami.  It is not known what changes transpired, but it was after the mall was sold that the mall's revival failed.  This was also, of course, a factor of the failing real estate market and economy as well.  Since the beginning of the year, what few stores remained in the mall have all left but two.  Even the local church known as "the Rock" has left for more sacred ground.  Amazingly, one of those two stores left is GNC.  Is GNC a company not dependent on mall traffic for business?  Located next to center court, the sign lights up an otherwise dark corridor other than natural light coming from the skylights.  The only other store is a Christian bookstore known as Corner Stone located next to the main mall entrance.

The Belk mall entrance is a wonderland with the best planter features, the awesome stone, wood and copper overhang design, seats and best of all...a trash can!  The trash can is there so that unwary shoppers do not mistake those planters as a good place for their sticky Dairy Queen Blizzard cup to end up.

Why can't department store mall entrances look like this now?

Diagonal wood trim, fake stone, lantern light fixtures and a funky shaped copper overhang...pure 1979 at Belk.  Sadly, Belk couldn't wait to leave this place.

The indoor garden was noticeably more lush next to Belk.  I wonder if Belk would still be here today if JCPenney had anchored the mall instead of Woolworth's.

Looking back from Belk into the dusky beauty of the mall.

Walking back into darkness away from Belk toward center court.

The mall directory is now blank.

Aside from the skylights, the mall is basically in darkness with all lights shut off obviously to save electricity.  Climate control also appears to be kept to a minimum if used at all.  I am assuming that the only thing that keeps the doors open is rent collected from the medical facility, but that is hardly covering the increasing disrepair of the mall.  Carpet is bunched up on the floors, a couple skylights have started to leak and the grounds outside the mall are becoming overgrown from a total lack of maintenance.  Still, the building is in amazingly good condition considering the state of the mall, suggesting the rent-draining exodus from its last attempt at re-purposing is very recent.

This now abandoned store was last Corner Stone books, which has since moved next to the main mall entrance, including outside access.

A row of dark stores not hidden from view at all leading to center court.

A look inside one of the vacant stores.

Vacant stores next to Belk.

More diagonal wood on a long-closed store.

At least one sign was left over.

Walking towards the front entrance.

Walking through the mall, it was an eerie silence.  There was literally no noise at all other than the popping sounds coming from the likely settling of the building with the occasional sound of a door slamming or foot steps probably coming from the two stores in the mall or the other side of the old Woolworth entrance.  Thunder could also be clearly heard from an approaching thunderstorm adding to the suspense.  The features in the mall that remain are fascinating.  The skylights were extremely well designed with the wedged look similar to those used on old Richway stores, providing uniquely filtered light.  Shiny metal panels in the center court amplified the light from the skylights onto the non-working bubble fountain.  Planters exist all throughout the mall forming all different shapes of islands surrounded by brick still filled with tropical plants.  The carpet is also original, possibly one of the first carpeted malls.  Old mall directories also remain with the mall maps removed.  Storefronts also reflect an earlier time with many featuring wood trim common in the era it was built.  The former Belk mall entrance also features its distinctive copper, wood and rock look that fronted many stores built in the late 70's.

Don't go towards the light!  Actually you NEVER will because we locked the doors bwhahahahaha.

However, you may kindly leave the mall through the FRONT doors.  We hope you'll come back soon, but we doubt you ever will.

Another angle of center court just to show how cool malls used to be before the late 1980's.

Detail of the globe light fixtures hanging over center court.  Photo by digital sky taken April 10, 2011.

Inside another vacant store.  This looks original.

My best guess is this was a jewelry store.

And now outside...a view of the spooky main mall entrance missing an "L".

An unusual idea I have for future use of the mall if anyone considered it is to use the mall for TV shows and movies.  In all, it is a perfect set for a mall scene based on the 1970's or 1980's.  With so much original in the mall, a little sprucing up would make this mall a great choice for shopping scenes in TV shows and movies.  In addition, the mall is in amazingly good structural condition considering how long it has struggled.  It would bring money to the town, creating the sets would be minimal cost and the the mall is attractive and distinctive enough to work well for that purpose.  Of course, I would definitely put a JCPenney sign on the Spainhour's mall entrance and whatever regional anchors needed to be represented on other mall entrances for the maximum effect.

Another mall directory mentions has flyers mentioning the stores that gave up and headed for the busier strip malls down the road.  Photo by digital sky taken April 10, 2011

Belk front entrance featuring the exact same look that used to front Monroe Mall as well.

Detail of the outside entrance.  It looks good even today, and would fit nicely into Gatlinburg.

Belk has been gone 8 years and AMP-RTI once operated here, but nobody ever bothered to remove the Belk stickers on the doors!  Photo by digital sky taken April 10, 2011.

No longer a mall entrance, but still marked as such.  This is the rear entrance next to Belk.  The other rear entrance looks just like this except it's not missing part of an "L".

Close-up of the same mall entrance next to Belk with a rusty door and weeds.

Another photo of the Lenoir Mall front entrance.  This photo was taken by digital sky on April 10, 2011.  Note the "L" is missing here, too.

Whatever happens, it is unclear what in all is happening at Lenoir Mall.  It is plain that an exodus is occurring in what is left of the mall with the mall likely closing for good by Christmas.  For certain, the original re-purposing plan failed as badly as the mall itself did with exception of the medical portion.  My best guess is that the mall will be demolished or reconfigured entirely for a medical center or some other non-retail use if not outright abandoned.  In fact, a real estate listing referred to it as "Lenoir Medical Mall" suggesting that is their final plan to save the mall.  What I do know is that the mall seems to be very similarly designed and built to Monroe Mall in Monroe, NC and Boone Mall in Boone, NC.  Of those three, it is by far one of the most attractive as well as the only one to completely retain its original design.  Unfortunately that is only because the mall has been slowly dying since the early 1990's.  While Lenoir Mall leaves nothing to the residents there but blight and disappointment, the mall also left a unique window into the past in apocalyptic style.  Will this doomed mall see the wrecking ball, become abandoned or just become something else like a hospital or government center?  We will find out soon enough.

"the Rock" (notice the cross in the "t') included a small outside entrance thus the light shining in on the first photo.  This is the only visible evidence of the former tenant of worship.

Spainhour's looks lonely and forgotten in the back side of the mall.

Amazingly there was still a sign here a few months ago referencing its last use as a furniture show room for Bernhardt.  Photo by digitalsky taken April 10, 2011.

Spainhour's outside entrance looking in.  An old Master Card logo is on the door clearly dating to 1989.  I guess old stickers were just not important to the last tenants...or maybe they found them cool like I did and left them alone.

Looking inside Spainhour's with the mall entrance in the background.

Woolworth is the one exception maintaining nothing of its original appearance.  This looked so ghastly and out of place I didn't bother to get a picture of my own.  Photo by digital sky taken April 10, 2011.

Leaving Lenoir Mall with a mostly blank sign.  Corner Stone & GNC are Open, according to the billboard.  It was fun shopping with you!  Thanks for the experience Lenoir Mall!

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An aerial shot of Lenoir Mall.  The east anchor was Belk, south anchor Spainhour's and west anchor Woolworth.