Metrocenter Memories

Props to Keith at Malls of America for finding this 1970's Metrocenter postcard

Fellow "mall blogger" Steven Swain passed along this solicitation in the September 24 edition of the Arizona Republic:

<<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>>

Mall seeking memories

Sept. 24, 2005 12:00 AM

Thousands of Arizona residents have passed through the walkways of Metrocenter since its 1973 debut as the nation's first two-level, five-anchor-store mall.

Metrocenter and its parent company, Westcor, want to collect shoppers' favorite memories of the Valley icon, such as skating at the ice rink and eating at the airplane restaurant.

"Almost anyone who has lived in the Valley for a period of time has visited Metrocenter. Many happy memories have been made here," said Sherry Decovich, senior marketing manager of Metrocenter.

Metrocenter plans to incorporate the recollections in future advertising and redevelopment plans. Stories can be submitted through Dec. 31. Essays can be sent to Sherry DeCovich at sdecovich@ westcor.com or submitted to the management office at 9617 Metro Parkway West, Phoenix, AZ 85051.

For more information on Metrocenter, go to westcor.com.

<<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>>

As you might expect, I am more than happy to heed this call. Metrocenter is very near and dear to me; in fact, I credit it for jump-starting my insatiable mall fetish. As proof, I offer the following from my All the Malls of Southern California Web Site:

I have been fascinated with all aspects of urban development for as long as I can remember, but shopping centers have always been of particular interest to me. I remember the excitement I felt as a boy growing up in Phoenix whenever my family went to Metrocenter, the largest mall in Arizona. The mammoth building was impressive inside and out, with five department stores, over two hundred smaller stores, restaurants, banks, movie theatres, and an ice rink. Not only was it a major retail development, it was an institution in the Salt River Valley, a social center, a "downtown" in a city that lacked most of the traditional institutions of city life. This mixture of commerce, consumerism, and community fixed the shopping mall in my mind as a unique and essential part of our modern city and our modern society.

I plan on drafting one hell of an essay and remitting it to the fine folks at Westcor. By the way, Westcor is a company I've long admired, as it has been the "king" of mall development and management in greater Phoenix for decades. In the 8th grade, my English class was charged with the task of writing a "business letter" to an actual company, and of course I chose Westcor. I was pleasantly suprised to recieve a warm reply, along with several sets of blueprints I had requested. I was even invited to a lunch with one of the company's executives! (More on this story in a future post) While Westcor was recently acquired by Macerich, one of the nation's largest mall owners, the company has kept its identity and Phoenix headquarters. Buttressed by Macerich's financial might, Westcor has acquired the few Phoenix malls it did not already own and has embarked on its ambitious "Phoenix 20/20" initiative, which will add five more malls to the Phoenix metropolis in the next fifteen years.

I will post my essay on Metrocenter here once it's finished. In the meantime, I'd like to share the mall's history.

In 1971, the era of the "super-regional mall" began with the opening of the massive Woodfield outside Chicago. Westcor realized that fast-growing Phoenix was the perfect place to develop a similar center, and in 1973 Metrocenter opened along the city's northern fringe on former farmland. The mall was the first in the nation to feature five department stores: Diamond's, Goldwaters, Rhodes, Sears, and The Broadway. Phoenix was already home to numerous malls, but Metrocenter dwarfed them all and set a new standard.

Metrocenter featured many innovations that would influence future super-regional malls in Phoenix and across the country. It was built alongside the Black Canyon Freeway (I-17), providing easy access to motorists and unparalleled visibility. When planning the mall, Westcor acquired far more land than was needed, allowing it to develop the center's surroundings with compatible uses and reap the resultant profits on its own. The "ring road" circling Metrocenter became home to numerous other stores and shopping centers, hotels, office buildings, and an amusement park now known as Castles 'n Coasters. It wasn't until the mid-1990's that the last vacant land was developed.

One of the mall's most novel features was an indoor skating rink, a compelling draw during hot Phoenix summers. Metrocenter's food court, along with a cocktail lounge and restaurant shaped like an airplane, looked down onto the ice rink, creating a unique and exciting environment. In the early 1990's, the ice rink was replaced with an arcade and indoor amusement park known as the "Metro Midway." Alas, the Midway proved too loud for the food court patrons above and attracted too many teenagers and was quickly shut down. The atrium was sealed, allowing the food court to expand. The former ice rink/amusement park space was occupied by an expanded Harkins Theatres multiplex.

Metrocenter underwent a major renovation in 1993, the same year that Westcor's new Arrowhead Towne Center mall opened in the northwest Salt River Valley. Westcor realized the new center could cannibalize some of Metrocenter's sales, necessitating a more contemporary look. Numerous skylights were added, along with new fountains, elevators, tile, seating, and other fixtures. The exterior entrances were also revamped. While today's Metrocenter is nice enough, I'll always remember it as it is pictured in the postcard at the top of this post.

There have been many changes in the anchor line-up over the years. Diamond's was acquired by Dillard's in the mid-1980's. Goldwaters was rebranded as Robinson's in 1989, which in turn was rebranded as Robinsons-May in 1993. Rhodes was briefly replaced by Hawaii-based Liberty House in the late 1970's, then by Texas-based Joske's. When Joske's was acquired by Dillard's, the store was converted into a "men's and home" unit. After nearly 10 years of operating two stores at Metrocenter, Dillard's sold the former Rhodes/Liberty House/Joske's to JCPenney, which relocated from the nearby Chris-Town Mall. The Broadway was rebranded as Macy's in 1996. In January, Macy's closed its Metrocenter location due to lackluster sales but the chain will return after it absorbs Robinsons-May as part of the Federated/May merger.

I'd like to mention that Metrocenter was featured in a classic '80's movie, "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." The mall stood in for the fictional "San Dimas Mall" (for the record, there's never been a mall in the L.A. suburb of San Dimas). I love how this movie features the mall as I best remember it, with its original decor, food court, and ice rink.

Sadly, I believe the main reason Westcor is soliciting memories of Metrocenter is that the mall has "lost its way." While not yet in danger of becoming a "dead mall," it has been overshadowed by Westcor's newer super-regional malls throughout the metropolis. Metrocenter has even lost its long-held distinction of being Arizona's biggest mall to Scottsdale Fashion Square. The demographics around the mall have also changed, as the wealthier customers that once frequented Metrocenter have moved to newer suburban areas farther afield. The closure of Macy's is a sure sign of trouble; let's just hope that it has more success in the (soon to be) former Robinsons-May location. The loss of another anchor may set Metrocenter on a downward trajectory that cannot be reversed. I applaud Westcor for asking current and former Phoenicians to share their memories of what once made Metrocenter "special" so that it can reclaim some of its former glory and serve future generations of Arizona shoppers.

Here's an aerial photograph of Metrocenter today that I snagged from Google Earth (click on it for a larger image):

I strongly suggest that any readers with fond memories of Metrocenter send them to Westcor.

Metrocenter Web Site