Gadsden Mall: Gadsden, AL

Gadsden, AL is another one of several small to medium sized cities located along US 431 (historically known as the Florida Short Route) and I-59.  It is located about 50 miles northeast of Birmingham and the state's largest mall, Riverchase Galleria.  It is also one of the more scenic locales in the state due to its crown jewel, Noccalula Falls Park, a city park built around a small gorge and amphitheater-style waterfall that remains a popular regional tourist draw.  The waterfall exists at the southern end of Lookout Mountain, a long limestone plateau with numerous significant natural features that extends northeast through Georgia to end at Point Park in Chattanooga.  The city itself is situated mostly at the foot of it with the Coosa River, one of Alabama's major rivers, flowing through it on the other side.  It is also a town that has historically been an industrial town, and its Goodyear plant remains operational despite an industrial base that has eroded in a similar fashion to many Midwestern towns.  It is a uniquely Northern situation in the Deep South where not only is the struggling local economy dependent on this industrial giant, but also of course Gadsden Mall.

Gadsden Mall sits in a fairly interesting setting.  It sits near the end of I-759, a spur off of I-59 into the city, and the mall is backed by Neely Henry Lake where it starts backing up the Coosa River.  The mall itself opened in 1974, and is a basic one level center that is today anchored by Sears, Belk, JCPenney and a 16 screen stadium-seating theater located off of center court.  It also has a small food court and one junior anchor, Books-A-Million.  Books-A-Million has been a godsend to second tier malls and markets overlooked by Barnes & Noble and Borders, though in many cases the chains overlap.  Ruby Tuesday previously operated at the mall as well, closing in a recent downsizing of the chain.

 

Here is a look at the north court.  Sears is to the left, the main mall is to the right and I am in the back right entrance corridor facing the front right entrance corridor.  Ruby Tuesday formerly operated in the background.  The first photo is a view along the main mall with Chick-Fil-A and the entrance to the built-in food court on the right just beyond it.  The direction of the photo is walking away from Belk to center court.

A look along the back right entrance corridor, which features a lot of wall with the sign of stores in the background.  The problem is that these aren't empty stores apparently.  It seems this was just a flaw in the design.

 

Facing the back right entrance.  I think that was the original movie theater on the left.

Gadsden Mall inside is a pretty basic design with a strange combination of some contemporary elements and some extremely vintage elements, but its interior design is far different from most malls these days.  In contrast with the drab white and tan scheme being applied to most malls, Gadsden Mall features a spacey violet blue and lime green throughout the mall oddly reminiscent of the late 70's when it was built to start with.  In the center of the mall is a large fountain, which was unfortunately covered in a Christmas display on my visit.  All the shops also have a fascinating angled overhang that slants toward the mall, and the skylights have been muted with a wavy pattern covering them up partially.

 

A view of center court facing the JCPenney wing (original main entrance).  Normally this is a fountain, but it was covered up for Christmas.

  

This less than ideal picture including the fountain was taken on May 3, 2008.  The slight difference in color is due to the fact I was using my older camera.

Another view along the main mall heading toward Belk this time.

 A look at the South court with the left front entrance court straight ahead and the back entrance behind me.  Belk operated there previously as Parisian, McRae's and Pizitz.  It was McRae's the longest.

A look along the left front entrance corridor walking away from Belk.

The main mall concourse is fairly healthy, though the fringes of the mall are definitely showing the effects of the economy.  The mall also features fairly strange long entrance corridors next to all four anchors with shops located only near the entrances with an otherwise big gap between them and the main mall.  This was not exactly the best planning, since these corridors did not integrate with the shops in the main mall.  Most of these have not done well, which gives these areas definite dead mall aspects.  At least one of those empty stores was an arcade, another an older theater and another a location of long-closed Morrison's Cafeteria.  All strangely had doors opening on the inside as well in lieu of the usual pull down metal grates today.  None of these shops remain operational along the back entrance corridors, though the ones facing the front of the mall were tenanted.  That is not exactly a surprise, either, since these backside stores faced nothing but Lake Henry and no department store exists on that side to lure shoppers.  Also, the food court seems to be rather anemic.  I'm not exactly sure why some food courts do well while others don't, but it seems food courts in small city malls definitely have a lot of trouble.  Of course, Chick-Fil-A proved a noteworthy exception as it remains faithful just outside of the food court.  Indeed, by 1974 they still had a ways to go before they mastered mall design for maximum sales per square foot but they were still more fun.

The Food Court, which at the time seemed to be struggling, a carousel attempts to draw children while the aroma of grease would draw the adults.  Since carousels were the rage in the 90's, I am guessing this came with the 1994 renovation and was likely a Woolworth's or McCrory's previously.

The anchor shifting over the decades has been highly confusing.  Belk has moved three times and JCPenney twice.  Only Sears has remained static.  The original anchors when the mall opened were Pizitz, Belk Hudson and Sears.  The Belk Hudson appeared to have the largest store, possibly two levels, but only one level was used if so.  The building still stands as the back anchor, and is now a theater.  Belk Hudson operated at the mall for around 20 years before closing the location in 1994, reopening in a new store in the front of the mall as just Belk across from the original Belk.  At that point, JCPenney took over the former location and operated there until it closed in 2000 due to a company restructuring.  In 2003, the former Belk Hudson/JCPenney was replaced with a stadium seating movie theater.

On the back of center court is the Premiere 16 Cinemas, which operated previously as JCPenney and Belk Hudson.

 

Across center court is this wing, which ends in JCPenney.  This was the original main entrance up to when Belk built in front of it in 1994 to replace its original Belk Hudson location in the back.

Another view of Belk, which made its third move to this spot.  If Sears wanted to trade, then they could warm their feet at every anchor spot in the mall.

 

Of course, Sears will have to die before they'll leave this spot.  In a town perfect for Sears, it has been holding firm here since 1974.

The Pizitz store (south anchor) had the most anchor changes.  It became McRae's in 1987 and remained so for years.  In 2006, Belk bought out McRae's.  The problem was, Belk was already at the mall.  As a result, Parisian replaced the former McRae's while the struggling Saks division was on its last legs.  Parisian was an odd fit for the mall, which was by no means upscale enough to support it, but this was a short-lived corporate move.  Belk soon abandoned its recently built location, moving into the former Parisian after buying it out and effectively taking control of both major department stores in Alabama.  The second Belk location did not remain empty long, though.  JCPenney wanted back into the mall, and they gutted the store for a brand new JCPenney.  This new one-level JCPenney features a very contemporary look inside and out, showcasing their new red logo and a radical departure from their often dingy looking stores in the past.  Its design is identical to the new free-standing store recently opened in Hiram, GA.  In all, this is an extremely confusing chain of events that took place, and I thank previous contributor Evans Criswell (The Mall) for clearing this up for me.

 

Entering the main mall from the north court with Sears behind me.

 

A happenin' spot in the mall with Gap on the right and Books-A-Millon on the left.  It looks like a wavy design was used to partly cover the industrial-style roof (or how was it originally?).

It doesn't look too complicated now, but this map in 1974 would completely disorient any potential shopper.

Aside from the department store musical chairs played to piped elevator music, Gadsden Mall has been renovated somewhat less than other malls.  Its last renovation came in 1994.  Malls like Gadsden Mall are in a precarious position today, but Gadsden Mall is better off than many like it in the state.  It is the right size for the market, its anchors are popular department stores and it is not situated too close to any other city.  It is also better off because Gadsden lacks many suitable building sites due to terrain, waterways and the odd configuration of the transportation infrastrucutre.  While there might be a better site for a mall land-wise, it would fail on other factors.  The mall, however, faces dangers related to the city itself.  The economy in the country is fragile enough right now, but the risk lies in the fact that Gadsden is an industrial town in an era when American industries have been closing and shipping overseas at a steady, even accelerated pace.  If for any reason, that plant closes it won't just be Gadsden Mall that suffers, but it will definitely be a casualty. I guess my point is that considering this mall was faring better in 2008, the economy in a relatively blue collar city is having an effect.

 

The front north entrance has a simple, but very contemporary touch.

  

But the rear south entrance is straight up 1974, I love it!  The window on the left was for the Morrison's Cafeteria, which was accessible just inside the door.

While I have painted a picture that seems less than rosy, I still want to point out that this is a successful mall with solid anchors and A-list tenants.  In fact, it has seen an enormous investment lately for a mall its size and age adding in a brand new JCPenney and Books-A-Million as two major anchor tenants.  How many other malls these days are getting new department stores?  In all, I think the food court is probably the biggest problem it faces, which seems to have seen its better days.  I still find that odd, though, considering that a trip on any given day to the mall greets you with a full parking lot, and the mall is not to any knowledge on any dead mall lists.  In fact, when I visited on a random Saturday in spring 2008 it was swamped.

 

The only thing that is not 1974 in this photo is the Sears logo.  Too bad they changed it.  The strange stone they used on the gray part of the exterior made the store look even older.  A plaque denoting opening day is found on the front.

From this angle, you would think the mall was new with JCPenney and Books-A-Million sporting their latest looks.

Belk has been considerably modernized on the outside, though it is not known which store did that.  It still has similarities to the original Pizitz, though.

While this loud theater entrance is the first thing you notice, this is the same building that Belk Hudson and JCPenney used.  You can faintly make out a Belk Hudson labelscar on the upper left.

  

Sears also has an auto center off-mall.  Since the 70's, most Sears Auto Centers are built into the store itself in lieu of an outlot.

For me, while it is a simple mall I am charmed by the vintage trappings including the big modern fountain, moody colors and left-over architectural styles from the era it was built.  While not particularly special, it is a mall that makes me feel nostalgic for those like it in my youth such as long-demolished Riverbend Mall in Rome, GA.  It also helps, too, that Gadsden as a city is noticeably more modest in its retail offerings placing more emphasis on the mall.  In an era where 25 year old malls are treated as dinosaurs, this 36 year-old mall serves its purpose well, and it also continues to provide one badly needed climate controlled escape from the Alabama humidity which tends to be severe in the Coosa Valley.

 

A mall panorama from JCPenney to Sears on the front.

A stucco clad sign is found on the road, replacing the much more distinct tuning fork used for the original mall logo.

More Gadsden Mall images, ads and drawings coming from opening day are coming on the next post!

Savannah Mall Revisited

One of my first posts on what was then Georgia Retail Memories was about Savannah Mall and its scary turn of events that had it teetering on dead mall status.  Most malls could not have survived in that predicament.  The photos I took at that point were taken in 2003, so quite a lot of time has lapsed since then, and I also noticed a few cosmetic changes as well. Admittedly, I was thinking the mall was in real danger of sudden failure, but the managers were very creative in their efforts to revitalize it.  While it is today a second-tier mall, it is far from dead.  It still has Dillard's, Bass Pro Shops has made it six years in the old Parisian, and Belk Beery was subdivided into Target on the upper level and Burlington Coat Factory on the lower level.  A.C. Moore craft store also joined the ranks as a junior anchor.  In the case of Target, this is the first ever Target in retail-anemic Savannah, and they kindly put in a mall entrance to make sure that the two work together.  I am actually rather stunned by the brilliance of luring Target into a struggling mall.

Savannah Mall was not left unscathed from the 2003 exodus, so it does have quite a few vacancies.  Abercrombie & Fitch was never replaced, and most major apparel stores are gone, though I noted stores like Gap were still there.  The two previously existing mall restaurants, though, remain (Ruby Tuesday and a Mexican restaurant), and a Texas Roadhouse flanks one of the entrances.  More popular local stores such as Savannah Candy Company also operate stores at both malls as well.  The only loss of an anchor since 2003 was Steve & Barry's, which left because the chain itself went bankrupt.  This means that Montgomery Ward is very much back to vacant.  What is amazing, though, is the food court.  If this mall is ailing, you would never tell by the food court.  Not one restaurant was vacant...not one.  Dillard's also chugs along as well in the old JB White.  This is possibly one of the oddest Dillard's locations, and the company has lately been stuck with a few second-tier locations.  Since this survived the last round of closings, it must be doing fine.  I am sure they would like to tack on to Oglethorpe, but the mall is a bit landlocked, which would make any addition very expensive and difficult.

This mall court is situated at the crossroads between the former Montgomery Ward (background) and Dillard's (off to the right).

The former Montgomery Ward served for about three years as Steve & Barry's University Sportswear on the lower level.  Steve & Barry's went bankrupt, and for some reason the owners left this big empty department store open to view from the mall.

Looking down the Dillard's wing.  Dillard's opened as J.B. White, and its conversion in 1998 proved successful.

Six years after my last visit, I would definitely say that Savannah Mall was unusually creative in how they staved off disaster.  While I doubt they will ever recover their past glory without a major redevelopment, the area has seen substantial growth since I last visited while it lacks the retail development of other cities, allowing this mall to fill the void of stores Savannah doesn't have. This is something they should capitalize even more on. It already has a rather unique anchor line-up with Dillard's, Outdoor World, Target, Burlington Coat Factory and junior anchor AC Moore. They should note my post on Innsbruck Mall for a few more ideas.  I think a large Border's Book Store in the old Montgomery Ward would be nice.

Here, I'm looking at the main court.  In the middle is Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in a rather unique mall location.  The Outdoor World was Parisian until 2003, and it did not remain vacant long.  When Parisian closed here, they completely left the Savannah market.  With Belk absorbing them, there is no way it would have lasted anyway, so the timing was actually perfect.

Fountains were not left out in Savannah Mall's design.  This is one of two in center court.

A sure sign of a failing mall is a food court emptying out.  There were absolutely no vacancies whatsoever than this food court.  In fact, it looked great.

Savannah Mall has a not-too-exciting layout, but in 1990 just having a two level mall was something to celebrate since many of the 70's malls were quite small, plain and dumpy.

The state of Savannah Mall today means that the market is definitely sufficient to keep two malls, though not to the levels seen prior to 2003.  I wish the owners the best of luck, and I hope they find a good fit or plan for the old Montgomery Ward.  This is why I included a few new photos to compare yesterday and today.

This is the west court where A.C. Moore recently joined on as a junior anchor.  This was originally on the Belk wing.

In the former Belk, Target took the upstairs and Burlington Coat Factory downstairs.  The old Belk was partially demolished for Target.

One of the main flaws I see with Savannah Mall is that it has too much shadow.  This is a typical problem for multi-level malls, and I found it depressing.

Savannah Candy Company is found in both malls, and is a significant local operation.  Malls once had almost exclusive local operations or small regional chains with national chain stores coming later as big retailers discovered the potential.  The smell of chocolate coming out of the place was so rich it was intoxicating.

Ruby Tuesday is still found in a few malls.  This one has a classic design for sure.

The mall entrance is original, but it doesn't look bad.  The ironworks theme is always attractive, and it was the rage around 1990.

Outside of Dillard's showing an extremely plain store.  Most White's stores were not just somewhat lacking architecturally.

Galleria Specialty Mall: Smyrna/Vinings, GA

The Galleria Specialty Mall is the interesting idea for a mall that both time and people forgot. In the time that malls were being touted for everything from neighborhood shopping to the palace of commerce, quite a few not-so-good mall ideas came on board. Short-lived and long-lost Parkaire Mall and Rio Mall come to mind in the mall-obsessed 70's and 80's. Since the public still had only one acceptable idea of what a mall is, these other experiments pretty much were doomed to fail from the start. However, Galleria Specialty Mall seems to have been the oddity since it has somehow lingered for 27 years. It is a lot like Cobb Center Mall in how it lasted on life support for a long period before it was finally put out of its misery, and the end is close for Galleria Specialty Mall.

Up escalators in the mall. These go to the convention center, once the mall's second floor of shops

Opened in 1983, this mall that was created as an upscale attachment to the multi-story Waverly Hotel that opened a year earlier. When it opened, it joined the area retail powerhouse that included Cumberland Mall across the street. Attempting to capitalize on what was then one of the premier retail corridors in Atlanta, the mall was initially successful. Into the 80's, however, the opening of Town Center at Cobb and the decline of Cumberland Mall from its prominence in the early 80's would take its toll on the mall portion of the Galleria. In addition, marketing an upscale mall without an anchor and outside of the periphery of most upscale shoppers was rather difficult.

West mall entrance followed by view when first entered. Chow Baby on the left was Ruby Tuesday fairly recently.

The mall directory shows three entrance corridors and a separate corridor going into the Waverly Hotel. The upstairs is not shown since it is no longer considered part of the mall.

As a kid, we never even visited the mall even though we wore out the floor at Cumberland. By the early 90's, it was fairly obvious that the mall was not going to survive in its current form. While the mall was meant to be Cobb's version of Phipps, its fundamental weakness was fairly obvious: no department store anchors. Phipps had Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. Galleria had...lots of pricey local shops. The fact the mall is still in business in any form is odd, and it can pretty much be described as a mostly dead mall with absolutely no hope of ever being revived in a truly successful fashion.

Looking down the northwest entrance corridor off of the main court. The last Jocks & Jills still operates in the mall.

Walking back towards main court. Peter Glenn ski shop is one of the major stores in the mall. Other locations are found around the city.

Prior to 1992, the mall encompassed two levels, which connected to the hotel. How big the mall was overall at that point is not clear, but the second level today is now part of the Cobb Convention Center with only the lower level continuing to function as a mall. That might explain why the remaining ground floor outside of the main court today is so dark and dreary. Since 2005, the plan has been to shut down the mall and convert it to more convention space. Apparently, those plans are on hold because the mall is still very much operational though void of life most of the time.

Between the northwest and northeast entrance corridors looking toward the Waverly Hotel entrance hall.

Northeast entrance corridor including the long-closed AMC 8 Theaters. The theaters moved off-mall to Cumberland Blvd at US 41 in a 15 screen theater.

Walking back towards the main court approaching the Waverly Hotel entrance hall.

The Galleria Specialty Mall has been weird for quite some time. During an actual convention the place is packed with people, the fountains turned on and businesses open for customers to the mall. Other times, the mall is as deserted as if it had been evacuated. What stores are in the mall are still mostly local specialty stores and not the chain variety. In fact, the majority of the stores in the mall are closed. Some look to have been gone quite some time in fact. What remains in the mall are a couple restaurants including Chow Baby in the former Ruby Tuesday and the last Jocks & Jills location known. A Peter Glenn ski shop and Subway also operate in the mall. An eight screen AMC cinema also operated in the mall, but it has long since closed. It left for the 15 screen theater down the road on Cumberland Blvd in November 1998. Its closing left that wing mostly vacant.

Looking down along the Waverly Hotel entrance hall. This is the darkest, dreariest and deadest part of the mall overall. Something just doesn't seem right about it heading into a hotel instead of a department store. It makes it feel like a dark basement.

Looking back along the Waverly Hotel entrance hall to the main corridor. Note on the second photo the very old-school door treatments to the closed store.

What is also amazing about the Galleria Specialty Mall is that the building is literally frozen in time. Of all of the 70's and 80's malls in Atlanta, this is the only one to never see any renovations. It looks absolutely no different than when it opened with the same fountains, foggy glass squares, lattice roof, brown tiles and planters. The tiles match those that used to be in Cumberland Mall in the 70's, but the mall overall has touches of what would be considered an elegant mall in the late 70's and early 80's. Today, though, the mall is an extremely depressing relic that is made worse by the fact that the dark corridors lead not to a bright department store but to an aging hotel and convention center.

This photo is looking back into the main corridor headed back to main court. The northeast entrance corridor is on the right of me.

The condition of the mall is not lost on the owners, either. The plan as far back as 2005 was for the mall to close, be torn down and replaced with an expanded convention center. Considering the mall was a strange concept in a time when malls themselves are having an image problem, the only renovation that could save this mall for shoppers would be replacing the hotel with actual stores and making it a true mall. However, the relic it is seems like it belongs in my childhood. I love seeing it, but its late 20th century elegance is useless if the mall has no stores. Nevertheless, it is neat to see one last piece of 80's era retail in Atlanta and I hope others will check it out before it is gone.

Detail of the glass elevator in main court.

Fountains in the seating area next to Subway and other former food court type restaurants. These fountains were dry, but when flowing went under those glazed glass squares as a stream along the bottom level.

The fountains also flow around the elevator on bottom level with glazed glass square bridges.

Some views of the top floor. There is not really much to see up here anymore other than overlooking the mall.