Salem Center Mall, Salem, Oregon
Posted: 06 Oct 2012 00:58
A few weeks ago I was in Salem and stopped in the Salem Center Mall. A Wikipedia search shows that the mall was built in 1978, and the main mall looks like it could have very well been built during that time period.
This is a unique mall in that it appears to have been built around an existing downtown area. The lower level is divided up by streets, but there are several skybridges that connect the buildings.
Which makes me curious about the history of the mall's main anchors. The Kohl's store, which was likely a Mervyn's, and the Nordstrom store, appear to be designed along with the mall and have typical mall entrances. However, the JCPenney and Macy's have entrances that are separated by a long skybridge from the rest of the mall. They are also off to the side of the hallways and have rather small signs inside. I did not go inside the Macy's, but I did go inside the JCPenney. I noticed the ceiling seemed higher than in most JCPenney stores, although it had typical lighting, and the store seemed older than the mall itself. The Macy's I assume was a former Meier & Frank. There is also a Macy's at Lancaster, Salem's other mall, which was formerly a Bon Marche.
Another clue was a nearby Rite Aid which is not physically connected but is next to the mall. Judging by the size it is definitely a former PayLess Drug. I did go inside, and one clue was the fact that it had a suspended ceiling, but had some rather old looking light fixtures that hung lower than the ceiling, which I also saw at the store in LaGrande, Oregon. However, this store looks like it had the walls repainted recently. It seemed like an odd location for PayLess though.
Anybody have more information on this mall?
This is a unique mall in that it appears to have been built around an existing downtown area. The lower level is divided up by streets, but there are several skybridges that connect the buildings.
Which makes me curious about the history of the mall's main anchors. The Kohl's store, which was likely a Mervyn's, and the Nordstrom store, appear to be designed along with the mall and have typical mall entrances. However, the JCPenney and Macy's have entrances that are separated by a long skybridge from the rest of the mall. They are also off to the side of the hallways and have rather small signs inside. I did not go inside the Macy's, but I did go inside the JCPenney. I noticed the ceiling seemed higher than in most JCPenney stores, although it had typical lighting, and the store seemed older than the mall itself. The Macy's I assume was a former Meier & Frank. There is also a Macy's at Lancaster, Salem's other mall, which was formerly a Bon Marche.
Another clue was a nearby Rite Aid which is not physically connected but is next to the mall. Judging by the size it is definitely a former PayLess Drug. I did go inside, and one clue was the fact that it had a suspended ceiling, but had some rather old looking light fixtures that hung lower than the ceiling, which I also saw at the store in LaGrande, Oregon. However, this store looks like it had the walls repainted recently. It seemed like an odd location for PayLess though.
Anybody have more information on this mall?