The Salisbury Mall was a one-level 600,000-square-foot (56,000 m 2 ) regional mall located on Civic and Glen Avenues in Salisbury, Maryland. The Salisbury Mall was the first enclosed climate-controlled shopping mall on the Delmarva Peninsula. In the October 16, 1968 edition of the Daily Times in Salisbury, it was reported that the overall cost of the mall had exceeded $7 million, and the parking lot alone could accommodate 3300 vehicles. It was anchored by Sears, Hecht's, Peebles, and Food Depot.
History - 1960s
Spanning 80 acres (320,000 m 2 ) of land, construction began in October 1967, and the official grand opening took place on October 16, 1968. At the time of its grand opening only sixteen of its forty stores were open for business, but by the holiday shopping season all of its stores were ready for business.
The front page of the Daily Times in Salisbury read "Miss America will be on hand for opening of $7,000,000 mall here." The article by Mike Meise states, "Opening ceremonies and speeches are expected to be brief, according to Will Hall, mall manager ... Before the day is over, hundreds — and perhaps thousands — of shoppers or sight-seers are expected to stroll the interior mall with its illuminated fountains and planters and new shops."
The Daily Times speculated that when fully functional, the Salisbury Mall would employ at least 1,000 workers with a payroll around $6 million per month.
The Salisbury Mall was originally anchored by Sears, and Hecht's (still known as The Hecht Co. at the time). The malls west wing spanned 1/10th of a mile.
Location
Its ideal location near Salisbury's downtown district, and no other regional mall competition within a fifty-mile radius, allowed the Salisbury Mall to thrive as the only regional shopping mall on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for two decades. It had a convenient location in East Salisbury on Civic and Glen Avenues, situated in between a residential neighborhood and business along U.S. Route 50. The Wicomico Youth and Civic Center was within 100 yards (91 m) of the mall, and a city park and zoo was within walking distance. A strip mall called The Twilley Centre, which also included a Toys R Us, soon built stores to take advantage of the traffic from the mall. It was built directly behind the malls west wing. Service Merchandise also built a store within two blocks of the mall. The Salisbury Mall's only other regional mall competition was the Blue Hen Mall (now the Blue Hen Corporate Center) in Dover, Delaware (60 miles away), which opened for business in 1969, and later, the Dover Mall which opened for business in 1982. This allowed it to draw from a substantial area in excess of fifty miles in any direction for its customer base. The Salisbury Mall also enjoyed a strong tourist customer base given its location on the major roadways of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and its close proximity to the popular tourist resort Ocean City, Maryland.
Renovation and expansion - 1970s
The mall underwent a major renovation and expansion in the mid 1970s, and an east wing was added and opened for business on September 12, 1976. The malls west section had a very classic look with pillared entrances where as the east section was more modern, though the entire building was made of white brick and stone. The malls interior flooring space was recovered with a wood parque during the renovation, replacing the original white ceramic tile. The parking lot was also expanded, accommodating parking for up to 5,000 vehicles.
This latest expansion would nearly double the malls size, which added two additional anchor's Hutzler's (later Peebles)and, Shoppers Food Warehouse (later Food Depot). A two screen movie theater was also added, including Friendly's , and space for nearly thirty additional stores. This would bring the total number of shops and restaurants to seventy, which now made the mall in the shape of an H.
The mall's peak - 1980s
The Salisbury Mall continued to flourish well into the 1980s, even though the owners at the time did little to renovate the interior or exterior mall, with the exception of its Tier 1 and 2 level stores, which did some minor renovations to keep up with the trendy styles of the 1980s. On April 30, 1987, Hutzler's closed its Salisbury location, and the anchor site was completely renovated, and converted to a Peebles department store, which opened for business on August 1, 1987. This would be the last major addition to the mall. On May 31, 1989 Shoppers Food Warehouse closed its Salisbury location, and in its place a similar type grocery store Food Depot, opened for business on September 1, 1989 after some minor renovations.
The mall's decline - 1990s
On July 27, 1990, The Centre at Salisbury, a 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m 2 ) super-regional mall located just three miles (5 km) north of the Salisbury Mall, opened for business, which signaled the beginning of the end for the aging mall. The demise of the Salisbury Mall came about when it became obvious that a US 50 extension of the Salisbury Bypass was necessary to relieve the annual downtown congestion.
The newly built Centre at Salisbury was able to attract slightly more upscale establishments that was lacking at the Salisbury Mall, including amenities that were standard at most regional shopping malls, like a food court, and a modern 10 screen multi-plex theater (later 16 screens). Before, most shoppers would have to travel more than two hours away to the Baltimore/Washington, DC. metropolitan area, specialty outlets in nearby Delaware, or elsewhere on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Hecht's and Sears vacated in 1991 as their leases expired, relocating to the newly built centre, leaving Peebles and Food Depot as the only remaining anchors, and it would remain that way. In the early 1990s some of the remaining merchants did some minor renovations to give them a more modern updated look, but this proved fruitless, as the current owners at the time did no renovations on the mall itself, which seemed stuck in the 1970s, with its use of brown and tan colors, low ceilings, and unremarkable architecture that was more common in mall design during that time period, including keeping the original Salisbury Mall marquee sign in the parking lot that had stood since it originally opened in 1968.
This was far different from other malls in the region, including the newly built Centre at Salisbury, with its more glitzy appearance, including heavy use of skylights, high ceilings, marble flooring, large atriums, and use of light tones and colors, that was popular in mall design in the 1990s. By the end of 1991, due to decreasing foot traffic from losing two of its four main anchors, and more than two-thirds of its Tier 1 and 2 level stores, and with the rising crime in the surrounding areas, its two-screen movie theater decided to close. At this time both of the mall's sit-down type restaurants, Friendly's and Tony's Pizza, closed as well. This was the final blow to the aging mall. Most of the remaining tenants would follow suit throughout the remainder of the decade as their leases expired, with the exception of its smallest shops.
Homicide - 1991
In September 1991 an eighteen-year-old Salisbury State University freshman student from Pennsylvania was murdered in the ladies bathroom of the mall in an apparent robbery attempt gone wrong. A previous homicide had occurred in a B. Dalton book store in the late 1970s, when a female employee of the store was shot and killed by her estranged husband, but its shoppers quickly returned after the story had faded from local media reports. This was not the case in 1991 as this was a random stabbing of a mall shopper. The more recent homicide made most shoppers feel unsafe to shop there, and with no full-time security staff at the mall and retail already shifting to the north side of the city, it was causing a demographic shift in the area surrounding the mall. Reports of rising crime from nearby neighborhoods surrounding the mall soon followed, forcing even more of the mall's tenants to the newly built Centre at Salisbury.
Closing of the mall's original west wing 1997-1999
The mall changed owners one last time in 1997, purchased by Salisbury Mall Associates, LLC of Baltimore, Maryland. It soon became obvious that the current mall owners had no intention of remodeling or renovating the structure. The new owners closed the original west wing of the mall in the Spring of 1998 by placing a divider made of nothing more than plywood, separating it from the eastern wing. The western wing was allowed to quickly deteriorate. Because of the mall's flat roof, leaks were often a problem. With several uncaring owners and the original west wing now going without the most basic of upkeep and maintenance, by the end of 1998, after several unsuccessful attempts to attract the required national anchor chains, and with the original west wing section of the mall in such disrepair, there was no other option but to accept the fact that the chances of breathing new life back into the thirty year old structure was slim to none. Peebles, Food Depot, and a few antique kiosks were all that were left by the end of 1999. Most of the remaining tenants either relocated to nearby strip malls, or simply went out of business. The nearby residents of the mall started complaining to the city of Salisbury because the structure was literally falling apart. Weeds had started to grow in the parking lot and it was becoming nothing more than an eyesore.
<
Mall Too Flat
Welcome to Mall Too Flat ... Welcome to Mall Too Flat KennyBoxer Shorts > Mall Too Flat
Welcome to Mall Too Flat ... Enjoy the roomy comfort of our sexy boxers as underwear or sleepwear. They're 100% cotton, open ... Mall Traffic Looks Flat Ahead of Xmas - Barrons.com
December has gotten off to a slow start for retailers, says Lazard Capital Markets.
Mall Too Flat
Welcome to Mall Too Flat, the exclusive online source for purchasing All Too Flat gear! Prices do not include shipping and handling (will be added at the register).
Flats to rent in Chiswick Mall
Flats, apartments and studios by bedrooms to rent and let, monthly or weekly prices in Chiswick Mall West London - Found in this location close to Turnham Green station and ...
Properties to rent in Chiswick Mall - Chiswick Mall ...
Properties to rent in Chiswick Mall. Search for properties to rent in Chiswick Mall. View houses, flats and apartments in Chiswick Mall and all Chiswick Mall property. Search for a ...
iPod Mini Mall Flat iPod Speaker | iPod Mini Mall
iPod Mini Mall Flat iPod Speaker Product Review
Flats for sale in Chiswick Mall West London
Flats and apartments for sale with photos in Chiswick Mall West London by Nestoria Search Engine - to buy Apartment that offers direct views across to turnham green together with ...
Properties for sale in Chiswick Mall - Chiswick Mall ...
Properties for sale in Chiswick Mall. Search for properties for sale in Chiswick Mall. View houses, flats and apartments in Chiswick Mall and all Chiswick Mall property. Search for ...
HDB flats linked to mall
Straits Times Headlines Moves to forge bonds unveiled Renault says race fixed; two top men quit Top Entrepreneur Inside Hatoyama has little time to make his mark View Points What it should have been Hatoyama is PM in ...