Eastwood Mall (Birmingham)

Eastwood Mall (Birmingham)

Eastwood Mall was an enclosed shopping mall located in metropolitan Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was the second enclosed shopping mall in the Southeastern United States; this following the opening of North Carolina's Charlottetown Mall, which debuted on October 28, 1959.

History

Eastwood Mall opened on August 25, 1960. It was located on Crestwood Boulevard (U.S. Highway 78), adjacent to the future route of I-20, and near the suburb of Irondale. The original tenant list included J.J. Newberry and S.S. Kresge Corporation dime stores, as well as J.C. Penney, a Kroger supermarket, and Colonial Stores supermarket, (which became a Hill's Food Store, and eventually evolved into Winn-Dixie). The mall had no major department stores until the mid-to-late 1960s. Anchors that have been connected to the center over time include the local chains Parisian, Pizitz, and Yielding's, as well as Service Merchandise.

Eastwood Mall was the creation of Newman H. Waters, who owned a chain of drive-in theaters in the Birmingham area, including one adjacent to where Eastwood was built. Early advertisements for the mall boasted of its "Air Conditioned Sidewalks" and dubbed it "The Merchandise City of the Future".Fact|date=August 2007

For quite some time, the mall was unique in that it had two cafeterias under the same name and management, one at each end of the mall; Barber Dairies was the original owner, who later sold out to Britling Cafeterias, who themselves sold one cafeteria to another operator and closed the other (Pioneer Cafeteria).

A movie theater opened on Christmas Day 1964 and was equipped to show Cinerama movies such as "" and "Ice Station Zebra". Eastwood Mall Theatre was also the site of the world premiere of the 1976 film "Stay Hungry," which was set -and filmed- in Birmingham. Co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won a Golden Globe award for his role in the movie, appeared at the opening, largely unrecognized by fans.

At the time of its 1966 expansion to 70 stores, Eastwood Mall was believed to be the largest enclosed mall in the Deep South, eclipsing anything that much-larger Atlanta had at the time.Fact|date=August 2007

In 1967, Newman Waters sold Eastwood Mall to Alabama Farm Bureau (today known as ALFA), which owned the property until the mid 1980s.

Decline

Eastwood Mall was once one of the leading malls in Birmingham, remaining enormously successful for 30 years and continuing to hold its own in the 1990s

In 1989, Eastwood Mall received a facelift, adding a food court with a glass atrium and a wall of video screens that made one big image, a Books-A-Million, and a larger space for Parisian. When larger cinemas came into favor, the Eastwood Mall Theatre was closed.

However, the renovations came with a cost. Mismanagemaent involved with the mall renovations led to overcharged rents, which drove many of Eastwood's old-time tenants out, therefore turning the mall into a virtual dead mall.

Wal-Mart bought the property from Lehman Brothers (the last owner of Eastwood Mall), and demolition of the mall began on June 23, 2006. It was completed about 10 weeks later. A Wal-Mart Supercenter opened on the site on October 22, 2007. This replaced the smaller Wal-Mart in nearby Irondale. It serves of one of the anchors of what is now called Eastwood Village, in honor of the South's first enclosed mall. Other anchor tenants of Eastwood Village, as well as some smaller shops, opened before Wal-Mart, and more are scheduled to open as of late 2007. Other anchors are: Party City, Ross Dress for Less, Old Navy, Office Depot, and Shoe Carnival. Inside the "Retail Center" entrance of Wal-Mart is a historical tribute to Eastwood Mall that contains a brief history of the mall, as well as several photos. The display was the work of Friends of Eastwood Mall in cooperation with Wal-Mart. Many Eastwood Mall fans, as well as the Friends of Eastwood Mall, hope to see an official historical marker placed on the site of Eastwood Village honoring Eastwood Mall.

See also

* Dead Mall

References

External links

* [http://www.bplonline.org/resources/Digital_Project/EastwoodMall.asp Birmingham Public Library: Eastwood Mall]
* [http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/eastwood_mall.html Deadmalls.com writeup on the mall with photos]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eastwood Mall (disambiguation) — Eastwood Mall is the name of several shopping centers in the United States:*Eastwood Mall in Niles, Ohio.*Eastwood Mall in Birmingham, Alabama …   Wikipedia

  • Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area — According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 1,129,721 inhabitants. The 2007 Census estimate puts the Birmingham Hoover Cullman CSA at 1,188,764. The statistical area consists of the Birmingham Hoover, AL MSA (metropolitan statistical… …   Wikipedia

  • McFarland Mall — Location Tuscaloosa, Alabama Coordinates 33°10′14.57″N 87°31′15.08″W /  …   Wikipedia

  • Century Plaza — For the strip mall in Merrillville, Indiana, see Century Mall. Century Plaza Location Birmingham, Alabama, USA Coordinates 33°31′58″N …   Wikipedia

  • Pizitz — Infobox Company company name = Pizitz company company type = Department store foundation = 1899 Birmingham, Alabama location = Birmingham, Alabama industry = Retail products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Parisian — Infobox Company company name = Parisian company company type = Merged into Belk slogan = You re Somebody Special foundation = 1877 locations = location = Birmingham, Alabama USA area served = industry = Retail products = Clothing, footwear,… …   Wikipedia

  • List of shopping malls in the United States — This is a list of shopping malls in the United States of America. States Alabama * Bel Air Mall Mobile * Bridge Street Town Centre Huntsville * Colonial Brookwood Village Mountain Brook (Birmingham) * Madison Square Mall Huntsville * Parkway… …   Wikipedia

  • Britling Cafeterias — was a chain of cafeteria style restaurants, originating in Memphis, Tennessee. During the late 1920s, Britling opened three cafeterias in downtown Birmingham, Alabama.Little information about the beginnings of the company is publicly available,… …   Wikipedia

  • Service Merchandise — Infobox Company company name = Service Merchandise company company type = defunct private catalog merchant and showroom foundation = 1934 (revived as an Internet site in 2004) location = Original company in Brentwood, Tennessee; current company… …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”