Normandale Shopping Center: Montgomery, AL

Most retail relics of significant historical importance receive adoring attention either as they grow and change or as they fade away.  Some, however, do not get the credit they deserve.  This is very much the case in regards to one of the earliest shopping malls in the country in Montgomery, AL that has been largely overlooked in comparison to other early retail developments.  This place is Normandale Shopping Center, also referred to as Normandale Mall.  Normandale is a center that first fell to competition then failed to revive due to the rampant crime and poverty that worsened around the center so that is now an extremely depressed area.  This mall, unfortunately, is synonymous with a city that is difficult to understand: a city with extreme poverty and an extreme racial divide that has left large parts of the city a wasteland with little interest in fixing them.  Normandale Shopping Center is no exception, and it is a symbol of the decrepit neighborhood around it which is probably the only reason it is still standing today.

Normandale Shopping Center was once a great place to shop.  It opened in 1954, then constructed by Aaron Aronov, who built several major shopping malls mainly in Alabama spawning from the success of this shopping center.  Originally the center was a strip mall, then anchored by Winn-Dixie.  The Winn-Dixie was highly unusual in how it bows outward.  In 1956, the strip mall was appended with a small open-air mall.  The result was a very unusual type center that became a hybrid of a traditional strip mall and open-air mall off the middle.  Included in this expansion was a large two-level Loveman's department store, an A&P, Woolworth's and Parker-Sledge Hardware.  It is my understanding that Parker-Sledge Hardware formed the junior anchor at the opposite end of the mall, but I could be wrong.  Other tenants in the mall, according to information gathered on Mall Hall of Fame, were Brenner's Shoe Factory, People's Bank, Gulp Piano and Organ, Hancock Fabrics, Cohen's Records, Francis Cafeteria, Twix 'N Teens, DeShield's and Buster Brown Shoes coming to a total of 43 total stores.

The first photo shows the main mall entrance extending from the original strip mall parking lot.  The second photo is of the current sign along Norman Bridge Road.

The 60's and 70's were prosperous times for the mall despite the coming of a new rival in Montgomery Mall in 1968.  The two malls would compliment each other forming a thriving retail strip to the south along West Blvd (US 80/82), which was the then-new by-pass around the southeast side of the city.   Normandale, however, was in a bit of an offbeat location situated a block outside of view of West Blvd on Norman Bridge Road.  This location suggested the center predated the new by-pass for some time.  Everything seemed to be fine at the retail landmark up until the late 1970's when two events led to the demise of the center.  The first was the opening of Eastdale Mall further east in 1977.  This was soon followed in 1980 or 1981 when Loveman's went out of business.  This was only the beginning of hard times ahead for the mall.

Here is an overview of the original part of the shopping center with the old grocery store, which I am assuming was always Winn-Dixie on the right and Loveman's in the middle.

Here is a close-up of Loveman's, which did find life after it closed, but has been decrepit and abandoned for years since.

It wasn't just competition that hurt the mall, however.  The area around the mall was beginning to work against it, and in a very harsh way.  The main problem was that very old apartment housing was built in abundance all around Montgomery, but especially near Normandale.  In fact, some of these apartments, which appear to possibly be an old public housing project, are located across the street facing the mall.  If nothing else would deter someone from shopping at the mall, those certain would.  Throughout the next couple decades, most stores would leave the open-air mall, though the strip mall portion would continue to function.  No-name local retailers took over the old Loveman's and Parker-Sledge Hardware, though Winn-Dixie found continued life for many years in the original grocery store.  It gets worse.

A look into the mall itself.  I wish I had gone up to that fence, but I felt very nervous here.  This was partly due to the fact I just had been panhandled at McDonald's nearby just earlier.  I will go back and get a closer look at this eventually.

Another side view of the entrance with three poles in the front.  I always loved these poles like this.  Early open-air malls always seemed to have them.

Retail competition and neighborhood decline had already taken hits at the mall, but nature itself would take its own swing at the complex.  In 1995, a tornado made a direct hit on the open-air mall portion of the center.  While the damage was not extensive enough to completely destroy the structures, the already dead mall was damaged to the extent that the mall portion was closed off in lieu of being repaired.  Apparently, the owners were uninterested in repairing the mall portion, and any money used at all was applied to improvements to the older strip mall.  Obviously as a result of the tornado, I noticed an old truck situated right on one of the sidewalks in the mall part.  The mall part has been abandoned ever since with a high pointed fence keeping pedestrians away from most of the mall itself.

Here is a closer view of the grocery store with "Deli Bakery" in obvious Winn-Dixie font on the side.

The mall today is isolated in a cesspool of poverty and abandoned structures.  The parking lot of the mall is cracked and grown up with access blocked except along the strip mall portion.  Even worse, most of West Blvd in the area is also run down and decrepit with most retail gone.  Calhoun Foods occupied the old Winn-Dixie, though it appears that it to has closed.  Even Montgomery Mall closed down a few years ago and sits there abandoned just down the street.  Figuratively, the only bright spot in this area is the Montgomery Flea Market very close by.  It would take an enormous undertaking of gentrification to revive the area, but instead the middle and upper class in the city has shifted east outside of the city entirely.  Reviving the center for retail would be extremely difficult, and its visibility issues make it near impossible.  If the area was in better shape, it would either be torn down or converted to some other use, which makes me thankful in a roundabout way that the neighborhood is this bad.  Millions in damage left unrepaired from neglect and the tornado is bound to make the property even more worthless.  To me, though, it just seems to me like a diamond in the rough.

This is a side entrance on the opposite side of Loveman's.  I absolute love this covered walkway done like this.  It is deteriorated, but not beyond repair.

This view is from the opposite end of the mall.  It is a little less inviting.  Note the parking lot is starting to get grown up from years of disuse.  I did not travel it for fear of damaging my tires.

Here is a close-up of the backside of the mall.  What was the store on the left?

Amazingly, a plan still came forward to redevelop the long dead mall.  In 2005, a plan surfaced by Joseph G. Arnone, a mall developer from Kansas City, to revive the mostly vacant center.  The builder tried more than once, but failed due to being unable to secure financing for the project.  If that was true, it makes me wonder if redlining does indeed still exist considering that the builder's plan included condos and a revitalization of the entire center to a bit of its former glory.  Perhaps this could happen, but this would have to be a coordinated effort by the city and other developers to fix the rest of the area.  I am betting this is unlikely to happen now with the poor economy.

Here is a map I made.  The only information I know for sure is the location of Loveman's and Winn-Dixie.  I do not know if Winn-Dixie was something else, and I am speculating on the locations elsewhere in the mall.

This postcard aerial photo from the late 1950's shows better times for the mall.

50's malls, unfortunately, did not typically last the test of time.  Located in the earliest suburbs with small houses, drab strip malls and an early modernist design that is considered unsightly today, it was typically special circumstances that kept malls of this era afloat.  In the case of Lenox in Atlanta, the mall was situated in an extremely affluent area that did not change from that at any point.  The area around Normandale, however, was a comparatively blue collar area that simply aged to the point that the lower class took over.  In reality, it is not amazing that the mall died.  It is amazing, though, that is still around with the opportunity to be revived as well as being viewed by urban explorers and modern history buffs such as myself.  If the neighborhood can be turned around, perhaps this classic beauty could come back with it.  It would be miraculous to see a vintage 50's open-air mall restored to its original 1950's appearance regain its position as a retail landmark.  For now, it seems like a pipe dream but anything is possible.

If anyone would like to submit any additional photos of this fascinating place, please feel free to send them my way.  I would love to expand my coverage of this mall.

Eastgate Mall: Chattanooga, TN

Most every city had its first generation mall.  In a few instances, they survive and sometimes become completely dominant through proactive management.  However, such malls enjoy several factors including a neighborhood that remains prosperous enough to support it, continual modification/additions to the original structure and wisely choosing the right anchor tenants.  Eastgate, unfortunately, was not one of those malls.  Built in 1965, Eastgate was an open-air mall and the first in the city.  It lured both of its major downtown stores, Miller Brothers and Loveman's of Chattanooga along with JCPenney.  Sears also opened a store right next to the mall, resulting in a nearly four anchor complex when even three anchors on a mall was cutting edge.  It was in a highly visible location at the intersection of two major interstates, I-75 and I-24.  At the time, it is certain that the original builder probably never thought it could go wrong. 

For a mere six years, Eastgate faced no competition at all.  The nearest competition at all was in Atlanta and Nashville, and both cities were over 100 miles away.  However, the mall had one fatal flaw and that was that access to the mall was difficult.  While the mall was highly visible, getting to it involved using exits beyond the mall that included a confusing series of turns.  Nevertheless, the mall survived and thrived even after Northgate Mall opened in 1971.  Northgate had one advantage over Eastgate in that it was fully enclosed and was more convenient to the sprawling northern suburbs.  In response, Eastgate was enclosed and both malls thrived even though they had a similar anchor lineup.  One thing Northgate did not have at the time was Loveman's, which was off-site.

These photos were probably not published for so long because of my dissatisfaction on how dark they were.  My old camera underexposed terribly in low lighting, so these came out extra dark.  Nevertheless, the mall WAS dark which made these all the more spooky.  All photos were taken over four years ago in May 2006. The first photo was along the main part of the mall and this photo is of the northeast entrance wing.

Another view of the northeast entrance wing with better lighting.  Gold Rush was one of the few stores left, and it looked like it, too, closed after moving closer to the outside entrance.

The mid-1980's were the last successful time for Eastgate.  The remainder of the decade proved to be the beginning of its troubles.  The surrounding neighborhood began to go into decline, the mall was by then dated and a new mall opened up in 1986 on I-75 to the north in another sprawling suburban enclave.  This mall, Hamilton Place, was huge and had the capacity to crush both malls.  The new mall had five anchors, including one new to the region: Parisian.  This new mall had all new retail, its own exit and was the largest mall ever built in Tennessee.  In fact, that title remains today.  Eastgate renovated again at this time, but nothing stopped the downward spiral of the mall.

Foot Locker...always one of the last remaining stragglers...was apparently still in business, though they were apparently closed for the night.  The mall actually stayed open until 10 when I visited, and these photos were taken after 9 PM.

Entering the main part of the mall, the center features a pretty upscale design.  I am assuming it got a second renovation in 1998 on the inside as well as outside.  JCPenney would have started to the left on the opposite side and the mall formerly would have continued straight ahead.

As Hamilton Place joined the fray in 1986, Eastgate also saw two anchor changes at the mall at almost exactly at the same time that Hamilton Place opened.  Loveman's (not to be confused with Loveman's of Alabama) was bought out by Proffitt's and Miller's became Hess's.  At first, no anchor changes occurred at the mall despite a decline in traffic due to Hamilton Place.  However, Sears, which was located on the outlot, was lost to the new mall becoming an outlet for a short while. 

A couple more shots along the main mall.  I do not believe that any stores were still operational in the main mall...virtually all offices thus the boxy windows and doors in lieu of closed up shops.  Malls converted to offices look like...malls converted to offices.  It's like trying to pretend a pawn shop was not an old Pizza Hut.

This new mall, when opened, had Loveman's and Hess's, which had just bought out Miller's.  So did Eastgate.  Hess's closed their newly acquired location at Eastgate rather quickly.  JCPenney held on for awhile longer at Eastgate, but they eventually opened up at the new mall.  It is unknown exactly when they moved, however.  Although the mall had renovated again to compete, it was still not enough.  By 1990, all that was left was Proffitt's, who by then had acquired the former Loveman's location.  Also, at some point Goody's took over the former Miller's location propping up the north end of the mall.  Nevertheless, the mall was beginning to empty out and by 1992, Proffitt's left making Eastgate officially a dead mall.  However, the mall did not close down.  In fact, it still had a lot more life in it though much of this was not retail.

A little more of the same.  I'm really unsure what was where in the context of these photos.

This windowed wall once housed the Miller's mall entrance.  Morrison's Cafeteria was to the left on the northwest entrance corridor.  Goody's was long gone when I visited.  Goody's penchant for propping up dead malls is likely a big reason why they pretty much died off themselves, Stage Stores aside.

In the mid-1990's, plans were made to begin to convert the mall to more of a town center with a combination of offices and retail.  The mall was also renamed Eastgate Town Center, and at the time it was considered revolutionary.  While nothing new today, the idea of converting a mall to offices was a pioneering concept as the first generation malls were seeing their last gasp of life.  Portions of the mall were given a "main street" appearance and the former Loveman's/Proffitt's was turned into a call center.  By this time, the only "anchor" holding on was Goody's and the mall continued to hold on to a few stores and shops over the next decade.  Most of those shops that remained were those that had outside entrances, but the mall was still completely open mid-2006.

In the background was the Loveman's/Proffitt's mall entrance roughly in that corner.  In this pic, it looks like its merely a cutesy side entrance for employees hoping to take advantage of lunch at the dead food court.  A rather elegant rock fountain is in the foreground.

More detail of the fountain, which is definitely not original.  I like it, though...why can't something like this ever show up in living malls?  I believe this probably blocks the side entrance corridor between what was Loveman's and Penney's.

Needless to say, the redevelopment of the mall to an office/retail hybrid turned out not to work so well.  While the office component was successful, the retail component in the mall was in its last gasp in the mid-00's.  On top of that, the refacing of old anchors only helped to obscure the retail aspects making any remaining shops in there stand out even less.  Only about 3-5 stores continued to operate in the mall since there was absolutely no reason to go there.  At that point, the redevelopment plans had shifted to tearing down the mall structure, leaving only the anchors and cutting a new street through the center of the mall.  While these latest plans were ambitious, they have yet to take place.

 

A look along the southeast entrance wings includes trees, benches, blank walls and muted light.  Rather creepy I must say.  Twenty years before this area was hopping.

The food court looked to be an afterthought.  It did appear that one restaurant was still open at that point, but that may have just been left over.  However, Electric Cowboy, a bar with only an outside entrance, was definitely busy that night.  I have no idea if it is still around there today.

Today, the mall has become basically an office building in an area that has since seen significant decline since the mall opened.  Even worse, the economy is pulling away many of the office tenants who are leaving for nicer buildings...many vacated by other bankrupt companies.  With the economy of the city long strained, it would be difficult to revive the mall even in redevelopment with two other successful first-tier shopping malls already in the city.  It is miraculous that it supports that many, but it leaves no room for Eastgate.  The photos here are from 2006, which show the mall at its very end of any retail use.

Here I am looking from the north court in front of the former Miller's/Hess's down the northwest entrance wing.  Gold Rush had previously abandoned the store on the left.  I really am not positive where Goody's was, though I am told it was the old Miller's.

Here, I am looking back the other way at the northeast entrance corridor.  I talked a bit to a nice mall walker at the end of that row that evening who obviously remembered better days at the mall.

The same northwest wing from another angle.  Looking at this set, I sure wish I had come back for another set.  This part of the mall was sealed off more recently for expansion of one of the offices.  Morrison's Cafeteria was on this wing on the right.

No matter how well-intended, redeveloping very old malls tends to be risky business.  It does seem to work, but usually not in the long-term.  Part of the problem is most of the high-quality tenants never seem to come back even when the stucco hardens and the paint dries since malls are so dependent on their hinterland.  This includes even rebuilds into strip malls such as Westgate Mall in Macon, GA and Roswell Mall in Roswell, GA.  Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to attempt to save any of these structures as long as possible in lieu of just giving up.

Looking back down the northeast entrance corridor.  A once legendary mall was fading into history as I begin to leave.

Outside is the former Loveman's/Proffitt's.  It is the only original anchor at the mall that actually looks original.  I need to go back for more photos of this place soon with so much darkness.  This building used to be yellow, not white.

My attempt at an Eastgate Mall map of how it would have been in 1965.  Feel free to make any corrections since parts of this are unclear to me.

I think that demolishing the mall completely is the only real hope for reviving the area.  In fact, I would not even envision retail in its place since the entire retail corridor has ultimately failed, the city is over-retailed and access to the property is already poor.  A government complex, however, might be a good re-use of the property and would certainly pay more respect to the mall than the dicing it up for offices has.  Chattanooga Police Department already uses part of the structure for offices at current.   While I tend to be sentimental about classic malls, this mall has been modified to the extent that very little about it is classic.  In all, Eastgate had an interesting history, and a more unique layout since it was originally open-air.  For 12 years its conversion to offices worked quite well, but I think that may not last for the long term.  Nevertheless, the mall served the city well for nearly three decades and I am glad it is still around in any form.

Century Plaza Revisited: Irondale, AL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Western Hills Mall: Fairfield, AL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking back along the west wing toward center court.

Detail of planter and seating area.

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

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

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

Back side of Burlington Coat Factory.

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