Cressona Mall: Pottsville, PA

Some malls stand out as major landmarks that are impossible to miss.  Cressona Mall is not one of those.  In fact, if you pass it driving along PA 61 you would easily mistake it for a strip mall.  If not for the name, you might not even notice that there was a mall there, but in fact there is.  A mostly dead one, that is.  While Cressona Mall has remained somewhat viable as a strip center, the interior mall is today barely hanging on with just a few local shops and a Goodwill store.  Nevertheless, for the lover of the mostly lost "community center" mall, this is one of the very few examples remaining today.

Most community malls were designed to be basically a strip mall turned inward.  Never large and never very fancy, the idea was that a climate controlled mall could house the same tenants normally found in an open-air strip center usually on less land.  Initially the typical strip mall tenants lined up to fill these malls mixed in with a variety of local stores.  In no cases did it work considering that shoppers proved unwilling to trek into these mini-malls, and chain stores likewise fled leaving a leaky, nearly derelict building with a few local businesses operating on very low rents.  Eventually the cost of maintenance led to the building being demolished in favor of a traditional strip mall.  Cressona so far has proved to be one of the very few exceptions.

The first photo is looking down the south wing of the mall toward what was Hills/Ames with a narrow office corridor to the right.  The next two photos are exterior shots looking toward Giant and Staples (former Grant's).  The second photo is looking to what was all originally Hill's, later Ames.

The mall directory shows significant vacancies in 2015, but apparently many of these have since been filled or shops combined for larger tenants.

Front entrance wing looking to center court.  It is not known what the Goodwill was originally.

When Cressona Mall opened in 1974, it housed three major tenants: a Grant's, Hill's Department Store and Bi-Lo (a local supermarket not to be confused with the larger Southern chain).  Grant's after closing with the chain became Lane Department Stores and today is Staples.  Hill's became Ames after Ames purchased the chain in 1998.  Ames at that point had overexpanded and went out of business four years later.  Today, the former Ames space is divided up into three spaces with Ollie's on the far end, a medical center in the middle and the portion connected to the mall itself still vacant.  In fact, an Ames sign remains today at the mall entrance in the Hill's oval.  Buy-Lo also changed twice: first to Insalaco (which today is a real estate development firm) and later to Carlisle, PA-based Giant.  The grocery anchor never had direct mall access.

A separate look at the front entrance wing, which is the most vibrant part of the mall.

A view of center court and what appears to have been a local department store in what was now the Goodwill judging by the fancy light fixture.

A view from the Grant's/Giant/Dollar General side of the mall looking toward Ames/Hills

This snack bar kiosk looks to have been pretty much untouched since the 80's, but does anybody know what it used to be?

The mall's struggles are by no means remarkable.  The fact that a mall is still there and open to the public is what is actually remarkable.  Not all of the mall, however, is still intact.  Dollar General built their store into existing mall space cutting off access to Staple's, which originally had been Grant's.  The mall otherwise exists today with few tenants dependent on inline access and the most vacancies found in the main part of the mall.  The front part, however, is the busiest and includes a candy shop near the front entrance is definitely one of the best I have run across.

A look at the entire Hills/Ames wing starting at the mall entrance moving to center court.  Dollar General is visible in the background, but the store does not have any mall access.

The Ames sign in the Hills oval still hangs on in 2015, but this sign will be removed very shortly for a Planet Fitness.  While sad, it is obviously not in the best interest of a mall to have a mall entrance and anchor pad sit vacant for 15+ years, so it is bittersweet.

Goodwill takes up a good size chunk of the mall in center court.

Cressona Mall is found on a corridor in a portion of Pennsylvania that has been struggling economically.  Once a center of heavy industry, it joins three other dying malls within a close proximity.  To the north is Fairlane Village Mall, which is anchored by Boscov's and Kohl's although only Boscov's maintains a mall entrance.  Fairlane Village is more than 50% vacant and at present is the only modestly healthy traditional mall in the area.  Further north is the infamous Schuyllkill Mall, a large and remarkably vintage mall located on the very top of a mountain that has been dying for years and may end up closed for good sometime within the next year.  Even further north is the infamous Centralia mine fire that led to the demolition of an entire town suggesting that happiness and a tax base remains a struggle for residents living along PA 61.  South of there is Fairgrounds Square Mall, another struggling mall in Reading, which is likely to be redeveloped after it's sale to Hull Property Group.  After Schuyllkill likely falls to redevelopment, Cressona may not be far behind considering that on April 2, 2015 it was announced that the mall was facing foreclosure.  It is clear the only real problems with the center involve the interior mall portion.

Inside the former Hills/Ames, many relics remain, but the scene only shows 1/3 of the store.  The other 2/3 was split off for Ollie's Bargain Outlet and a medical center.

Dollar General creates a mall entrance only to close it off.  It appears Dollar General filled some of the mall space with the Staples behind it the original entrance to Grant's.

The way to fill a small mall with few options for tenants is obviously to combine spaces into larger ones.  Rent-A-Center on the right takes up many spaces formerly occupied by several smaller tenants.

The owners of this little mall, however, have plenty of front-facing stores to keep this mall going as long as they want if they can just figure out what to do with or without the interior portion.  They just proved they have muscle when it was announced in 2016 that the former Ames/Hill's space would be filled with a Planet Fitness.  Many malls these days have been thinking outside the big box to fill these voids, but it remains to be seen if they will maintain the interior portion long-term.  The article states that out of 21 interior spaces that only six are presently vacant suggesting that either the economy must be picking up in the area or they are leasing to non-traditional tenants.  In addition, PennDOT just completed major improvements to PA 61, which will hopefully drive more traffic into the region.  Unfortunately, this change will also mean the loss of one of the last vestiges of dead retail in the mall: the Ames sign still found at the mall entrance.  At least with the possible jobs coming to a redeveloped Schuyllkill Mall and the continued viability of Cressona that possibly an economic renaissance may be coming to Schuyllkill Valley.

Houston Mall: Warner-Robins, GA

Once in awhile, I run across a mall so completely dead I wonder how it keeps the doors open. Malls like this tend to be creepy, run down, moldy and void of any reason anybody would want to go there unless they are, of course, a modern history photographer like myself. Houston Mall (pronounced "How-ston") is indeed a textbook example of a dead mall in one of Georgia's military towns. It is small, old, somewhat run down and creepy, but actually was not moldy at all and quite clean despite the fact it barely functions as a retail center in any form anymore. At 364,000 square feet, it was never much of a mall...a small, simple center with all of the trappings of a typical late 60's/early 70's mall. Nevertheless, finding malls of this vintage tend to be very difficult since those of this style in that period are centering on 40 years of business meaning they are either demolished, extensively renovated or expanded. The fact that the owners discovered that it could handle a myriad of uses is why the doors stay open and the air conditioner running in the sweltering Middle Georgia heat.

When the actual mall opened in 1971, it was more than just an enclosed mall. It was actually appended onto an existing strip mall that had opened in 1968, which made it a rare hybrid strip mall and enclosed shopping mall. The mall portion included anchors Belk Matthews and Sears with an existing Grant's tying onto the mall as the north anchor. Also previously existing in the strip mall portion was A&P grocery store, which was in a separate portion of the strip detached from the mall. In addition there was Elmore's, obviously a five-and-dime operation, that fronted the mall but had no mall access and may not have predated the mall. Eckerd Drugs was included in the mall with an old-fashioned soda counter [1]. Grant's was the first closure at the mall when it liquidated with the chain in 1976. After closing, Key Wholesalers Showroom took over the spot until it closed in the mid-1980's [1]. The former Elmore's location also saw new life operating as Goody's until it joined Belk and Sears at the new mall in 1994. It is curious as to why neither Burlington Coat Factory nor JCPenney ever considered that location. For the time it was built, Warner-Robins was a small town whose growth largely centered on Robins AFB (now Robins ARB), so the mall at that time was just right. Because it was a hybrid of the enclosed mall and strip mall, it also was one of the few true all-in-one shopping plazas where, as John Belushi said in Blues Brothers, "This mall has everything!".

Upon entering the mall, a few shops remain close to the outside entrance. Le Nails is the shop with the neon sign to the left. The first photo is of the mall sign, which is about as plain and old-fashioned as you can get.

Walking from center court towards the former Sears. The kiosk is original. It intermittently functions as a hot dog stand, but originally it was an Orange Julius.

Continuing toward what was Sears, no stores to be found here on the right. I wonder what the store was with the wood trim.

Approaching ahead is the former Sears. Medical billing offices took over the former Eckerd Drugs location on the left. Straight ahead is the Houston Medical Pavillion, which operated as Sears until 1994.

Looking back from the former Sears, this photo attempts to capture the entire length of the mall.

Inside, the mall is a basic t-shape with a non-functioning fountain in the center, a few planters, high windows, a few small skylights and flooring that looks original. About the only renovations that appear to have ever been done is the bizarre and depressing blue color painted on all the ceiling tiles and the addition of some new painting and trim. This mall has every reason to be boarded up or demolished, and the fact it hangs on 16 years after it was replaced is very odd. The only reason it is even open today is primarily due to the creative non-retail reuse. The old Sears is now Houston Health Pavilion, an outpatient center. Belk Matthews now houses the Air Force Reserve Command. Warner Robins Municipal Court uses one of the spaces in the mall in what was previously a book store. Also in the mall is a law firm, doctors office, tax service and janitorial service. The only actual retail left in the mall is near the front featuring a nail salon and a beauty supply store. Evelyn's, an upscale dress shop, obviously gave up before I arrived. Penny Pinchers Home Decor took over the former north anchor at some point once held by Grant's, but appeared to be either closed or out of business when I was there. In other words, with a few exceptions there is no real reason to go there. I did, however, observe two mall walkers while I was there so it still serves that purpose.

On the left is the former Belk Matthews mall entrance, which reminds me of a prop on The Price Is Right. The old fountain is visible to the right, which was completely dry.

Another view of the former Belk Matthews mall entrance. Were those doors there it or was some stuff plastered over with sheetrock?

Directly across from the Belk Matthews entrance is the opening to the main entrance corridor shown in the second photo.

A map I made of Houston Mall the way it was laid out when it opened.

The strip portion of the mall does not appear to be faring much better, but it is not empty. Tenants outside appeared to be those that were attracted to the low rents offered meaning all non-government were small mom 'n' pop businesses. One of those, a new/used office furniture store is located in the old Winn-Dixie, but did not appear to be open. A Disabled Veterans Services office is next door is there as well along with a hair salon, alterations shop and a local ministry in the corner. A local furniture store looks to be in what was either the Elmore's or the former Eckerd Drugs. In all, the mall inside and out reminds me of The Mall in Huntsville just before it was demolished except for the cheap stucco early 90's renovation.

I am now headed toward the former Grant's, which did not appear to operate as anything since then. On the right is the Warner Robins Municipal Court where those in the town treated to blue light specials often wind up.

This brick-fronted store piqued my curiosity as to what it was.

This is possibly one of my favorite shots of the mall. It reminds me of photos I've seen of Dixie Square Mall when it was still in business. A law office sits in the store with the faux arches.

The mall entrance to Penny Pinchers Home Decor, originally Grant's, obviously is not functioning as such anymore. It looked creepy with this brick entrance and Persian rugs piled up everywhere inside.

Houston Mall as it is was built in a strange location. It is situated on top of a hill at the intersection of Watson Blvd (SR 247 Connector) and Houston Road (Old SR 11). It is situated both away from the interstate and away from SR 247 (US 129), the major north-south highway connecting Macon to Hawkinsville through Warner-Robins. It was clearly built largely to serve the military families, and by and large it was a community mall since at that time the better shopping was found at Westgate Mall and in Macon. Since the area was largely undeveloped before the 1990's, the mall thrived for over 20 years.

A back entrance is found next to the old Grant's entrance. Apparently the entrance opposite to this one was sealed off years ago.

This shop next to that entrance was sitting empty. Was this where Evelyn's was?

Another view of the dead store, which looks 60's with its main-street style entryway.

By the time the 90's rolled around, Houston Mall was not adequately serving the needs of the area. With substantial growth taking place pulling away stores from the strip combined with a very basic mall, Zamias realty planned and constructed a new mall closer to I-75 in the Centerville community. Called the Galleria, the new mall was subpar by big city standards, but it was spectacular in comparison to the dreary Houston Mall. The new mall would also have far more anchor space as well, and in the process would easily lure away Belk Matthews and Sears. Both stores were joined by JCPenney and Goody's at the new mall, and in all it seemed that Houston Mall would have simply died and been demolished overnight. Many older malls were meeting the wrecking ball the year that Houston was essentially replaced in 1994, but Houston Mall's offbeat location close to the center of Warner Robins is probably why the mall found new uses in the years since.

Now, I am standing in front of the old Grant's looking back toward Sears on the opposite end of the mall. Here, I showed some detail of one of the four planters I noticed in the mall. The planters are located under the largest overhead skylights, which are a simple domed design.

Here, I am walking back toward the main entrance from the main mall. That seating area looks very odd.

Here, I am looking just inside the main entrance doors. The ceiling through here looks like shiny brass. From this angle, the mall looks lively and the parking lot outside was not exactly empty.

Other than that, I can only speculate as to why Houston Mall holds on. It is partly a strip mall, and for its size it could easily be transformed into a myriad of other uses besides a mall. The over-retailed environment along Watson Blvd has done little to make the mall appealing. Even worse, it is not facing Watson Blvd, and it is mostly removed from the bulk of the shopping that has sprung up around the Galleria. Despite the 3-4 stores that still operate in the mall, the medical center and government offices the fact that the lights are still on and anybody is even there is something to behold. The strip mall part outside is also just as dead as the mall itself, and the gray stucco retrofit only made the mall look worse.

"Penny Pinchers Home Decor", formerly Grant's, from the outside, which looks to be very much out of business. There is a small store on the end, which I understand was a Radio Shack. There is a small gap that separates the mall from the old Winn-Dixie strip portion just to the right.

The Winn-Dixie portion of the strip with the former Winn-Dixie in the center.

Looking back along the rest of the Winn-Dixie strip toward the mall. The old Grant's store is visible on the left. To all appearances, this is still fully tenanted.

Houston Mall's main entrance from the outside. A store called "Furniture Express" next door I believe was either where Eckerd's was, but I cannot confirm this.

One thing I pondered on was to whether Houston Mall could be revived through an expansion. That would basically mean that on at least one side of the mall, a new two-level portion was constructed luring in JCPenney and subsequently luring back Sears and Belk. This would, of course, mean buying adjacent property and would also mean the death of the mall that killed Houston Mall, but this is pure harmless fantasy. Obviously, Belk and Sears would both have to be reconstructed, possibly as two level stores, to accommodate the addition. I see a couple scenarios on how this could be built. One would be purchasing the lot next to the southwest corner of the mall and expanding the mall over that area extending from the southwest entrance. This would give a new JCPenney high visibility, and the new mall addition would essentially have escalators drop down to the lower level portion since the adjacent lot is on a lower grade. The new wing would make the mall far more appealing from the road.

While not the best angle of Sears, it is the one I had to use because the sun was making photos of the mall from the east side near impossible.

Here is a side view of the Sears, which I should have taken from the opposite angle but for some reason didn't. This was obviously the old customer pick-up area.

Another idea to fix this dead mall would be to expand the mall through the former Grant's location and turn it back east toward the parking lot where the old Winn-Dixie and strip is. The strip would be demolished and replaced with the same JCPenney store. In the first scenario, the old Grant's would either be converted to mall space or a junior anchor such as Books-A-Million or Barnes & Noble could fill the spot. The second scenario could replace the old Winn-Dixie strip mall portion with the same bookstore connected to the mall. Any way it was done, though, the original mall would have to be extensively renovated inside and out to make it more appealing. Would anybody want this, though? Such drastic measures saved previously dumpy Oglethorpe Mall in the 90's.

A Belk Matthews labelscar is barely noticeable on the side of this building. While the logo is not there, you can tell by the holes in the side of the building.

I never remember Belk entrances looking like this, but I also never remember a Belk from 1972. Obviously no arches were put at this store, and the design is completely brutalist.

A side view of the store with the sun casting an eerie glow on the side of the building. Where was the sign from this side? I couldn't make any labelscars from this side anywhere.

In all, Houston Mall is one of many second generation malls that still litter the landscape. Way past its prime and no longer a retail destination, the mall has avoided redevelopment. This is most likely due to the huge amount of sprawl to the west and easily available land in the area that the mall found new life despite complete failure as a retail shopping mall. Its plain and dark design is probably the reason that nobody ever tried to remake the center, but there is still an outside possibility that one day someone might try to revive it such as what I suggested if they had enough cash to do it. The most likely scenario, though, is that the enclosed mall will eventually be sealed off with different parts reverting to various non-retail uses. Still, as the mall in its state approaches 40 years old it is amazing that it is still around and open to the public.



ALSO: Check out this video link above on You-Tube created by KA Turner of the mall. The video entitled "Ill Mall Housto" was designed as a parody of never-released Paw Filmworks DVD about Dixie Square Mall.

[1] Turner, KA. (2010, May 14). Houston Mall. [Electronic mail message].

Cobb Center Mall/Four Seasons Mall: Smyrna/Fair Oaks, GA

Drawing from grand opening ad showing the front of the store with the open-air mall to the left.

 

A map I made from a 1993 aerial photo.  Please feel free to help me make corrections or additions to this map.  I am not positive of the location of Saul's, and if this was not Saul's where Kessler's was, what was that originally?

Cobb Center Mall was a major childhood haunt and a place that is still of great fascination to me today. I've posted information about the mall on both Wikipedia and Deadmalls.com about the history of the second oldest mall in Georgia, which completely died in early 2004 when the Rich's there was closed for good. The Rich's there was the fourth in the chain in what would be a major suburban expansion during the 1960's and 1970's. The story of the mall will be told here on the best of my memory as well as what others have told me.

Drawing from grand opening ad showing the base of one of the escalators. The escalators seemed to disappear into the wall going up. The pharmacy in the background is very curious: I never remember one at Rich's

What I do know about Cobb Center aside from its opening on August 15, 1963 is that it was originally an open-air mall built around the Rich's. It had upon opening about 50 planned shops in it, opening with about 35 stores including anchors Woolworth's, Saul's department store and a Colonial Stores supermarket. Davis House Restaurant, later Davis Brothers Cafeteria, would open soon after fronting the mall adjacent to Rich's.  Most of the original tenants were originally stores found in downtown Marietta and not chain stores. From the amount of ads in that era, the opening of this mall was a very big deal. It was the first mall in the suburbs outside of Atlanta proper. For the first time, shoppers on the fast-growing northern suburbs were offered an option besides downtown Atlanta or Lenox for better shopping. The problem was, this was the undoing of long-established retail in downtown Marietta.

Looking at the front of the grand Rich's store. The store was built too small for the sheer demand, and was expanded on a one-story addition to the right not long after it was built. The first photo was from November 2003 before it closed and the second was from early 2004.

The early 1970's were the beginning of trouble for Cobb Center. When Cumberland opened in 1973, the mall rushed out to enclose the mall.  The enclosure and renovation was completed on November 15, 1973 including a "wonderfall".  The original Japanese water garden, however, remained outside surrounded by windows.  Grant City, a division of W.T. Grant, would also replace Saul's with a new store at the mall where Saul's had been previously.  After W.T. Grant's liquidated in 1976, Kessler's would replace that location.  Kessler's was a downtown Atlanta store close to Rich's, and this was the only mall anchor they ever had. The enclosed mall was not hugely successful after Cumberland opened, but maintained a modest amount of A-list tenants throughout the 70's and 80's.

View of the east (main) entrance both with detail of the brickwork and up close. Note the similarities to North DeKalb.

Here are the northeast and north entrances along the one story addition. The bakery was located on the sealed off north entrance.

In 1987, Cobb Center was renovated again for it's 25th anniversary with work completed in early 1988. This time, it got the full 80's treatment and some interest in the mall. The long-closed Davis Brothers Cafeteria (originally Davis House Restaurant) reopened as Howard's restaurant. Originally a bar and grill across from the mall, the restaurant became a full line family restaurant and was initially quite successful. It seemed all through the history of the mall that an outdoor area was maintained in the center court that had been a garden area, but my memories of this are vague. It was located at the southwest corner of Rich's next to the Woolworth's where the south wing went off. That south wing had a Turtle's Records and opened outside to the side of the long-closed Colonial store. The renovation also supposedly included a food court, but I never recall seeing one. The renovation also resulted in a new name: Four Seasons Mall, officially "Four Seasons at Cobb Centre".

The northeast and north entrances as they appeared in November 2003 before the signs were removed.

The problem with the 1987-88 renovation was that the mall was in a very bad position. First, it had never been upgraded enough to become a major shopping mall. Had any major anchor been attracted to the mall during the period after 1972, the mall would have been in a better position. The problem was two-fold: the decline of the neighborhood around it and the opening of Town Center at Cobb to the north. At that point, you had two huge beautiful malls with an enormous amount of stores, all the popular department stores and easy access in the best sides of towns competing with an old, smaller mall nowhere near the interstates in a not-so-nice side of town. There was no hope for Cobb Center.

This sign was put on all the doors right after it closed. These may still be there.

During the early 1990's, Cobb Center slowly withered away. Rich's was converted in that time into a clearance store and the mall began to empty out of tenants. Kessler's closed in the early 1990's (the chain folded in 1995) and the mall had maybe 10 stores left in it. Howard's had moved down to Concord Road by then and the mall had maybe 10 stores including Eckerd (in the old Dunaway Drugs), Friedman's Jewelry, Florsheim Shoes and of course dear old Woolworth's. In 1995, the mall was purchased for redevelopment, and that was the end of Cobb Center.

An overview here of the entire Rich's structure with the one-story addition.

By the spring of 1996, the mall was promptly demolished and redeveloped. Unlike most redevelopments, though, the Rich's was strangely retained and converted into part of the strip mall. All entrances except the front two entrances were sealed off and the stores was completely a clearance center by that time. Publix anchored the new center, built precisely across where the original main mall entrance and Howard's was located. A strip mall was also added to the other side of Rich's, concealing its north entrance. The movie theater withered away and closed during that time as well as the neighborhood began to further deteriorate. The new development was sadly named "Cobb Center".

Last but far from least, a couple interior shots of the store. The first is of the main store, while the other is of the one-story wing. The lights were shut out soon after, and the store became a target of vandals.

In 2004, the Rich's finally closed at Cobb Center. It was the second Rich's to close in the entire history of the chain after Belvedere closed in 1986 and it closed at the same time as Century Plaza in Birmingham. Since 2004, the store has sat vacant and deteriorated awaiting redevelopment. A couple years after it was closed, the store was sold and proposals have been outlandish. Wal-Mart, of course, has this banked as a second site if the Belmont Hills redevelopment failed. Since that is apparently a done deal, the latest plan was to convert the Rich's into a private school. After five years of vacancy, I hope something good happens to it. The site is too sad, and a really depressing tribute to one of the earliest and most uniquely designed malls in Atlanta.

* Updated post from July 1, 2006 *