The Malling of Jacksonville

[Metro Jacksonville]

The Malling of Jacksonville



When complete, this mall will  employ the newest concepts in suburban shopping facilities.  It's going to be something very unique, architecturally.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/917

[reednavy]

I didn't realize OP Mall was that old!

[Traveller]

One website I occasionally visit is http://www.deadmalls.com/.  It provides a good list of malls that, for one reason or another, failed to continue as sucessful retail shopping centers.  Presently, there are no entries for Jacksonville, but perhaps some of the failed malls listed in this article should be included.

[fsujax]

You forgot to metion Parisian at the Avenues, it was added on two or three years after the mall opened. I worked there while in high school. By far it was Jacksonville's nicest department store, now its just another Belk, even thoguh they do sell very high end clothing. Their Lacoste section is bigger than the lacoste store at SJTC.

[billy]

Is that Regency in the first photo?

[thelakelander]

Yes, that's Regency in the 1960s.

[billy]

What was the record store just off the main entry?
It was a local store, I think, that was originally downtown.

I also remember the International Bazaar.

[Jason]

Belk, JCPenney and Regal Cinema are the anchors for this 187,000 square foot, 23 store mall.  In need of renovation and with increasing competition nearby, this center is now at the crossroads that Jacksonville's older malls faced 25 years ago.
www.poncedeleonmall.com

The Ponce Mall is undergoing a renovation but there are no talks on an expansion.  I just finished a design for new lighting throughout the mall interior.  Also in progress are new floors, ceiling system (to accomodate lighting), and some other patching and painting which should be completed by late March.  That mall structure has literally remained virtually unchanged since the day it was built.  Now it holds on with Belks and Pennys and a glob of mom and pops in the interior.


Also, the Prime Outlets expansion is due to be complete in the next month with a grand opening in November.

[Ocklawaha]

The ANCIENT ONE SPEAKS! Roosevelt Mall is not quite right. It NEVER was a strip center or even a town center sort of place. It was a mall from day one. What made Roosevelt stand out in 1961 from the rest of the pack, was it's cutting edge fusion of two concepts. This concept seems to have been pioneered locally by Cedar Hills Shopping Center, which also had a mall section, way back when. It was a partly a semi-roofed court yard with surrounding small shops and a center garden.

AT ROOSEVELT

1. All stores focused inward (except for a small run of attractive mini shops on each side of the front entry along Roosevelt Blvd). This was not unlike Regency or Normandy, Gateway etc.

2. Unlike the others, Roosevelt celebrated our beautiful climate and though it was 1960's MODERN ART in style, it took a page from the Spanish Plaza's and cut huge holes in the roof over the paseos.



The 300 store SAN DIEGO CENTER in Medellin, Colombia is very similar to the original Roosevelt concept.

So it never was an open air strip center, rather a fully enclosed but un-air-conditioned version of TOWN CENTER before there was a TOWN CENTER. No vehicles entered these spaces, but at the East End large duck pond with water falls and tropical gardens caught the noon time sunshine, with full grown palms reaching far above the mall itself.

The main or center piece was a fantastic modern art sculpture of brass pipe welded at every conceivable angle into a soaring tower as tall as a tree. This lives on, and is displayed today in front of JU. (Psst- the locals used to call it the "sewer pipes"). Water ran down and splashed onto a concave plaza with recycle pumps. This made it a favorite of kids in the area.

There were at least 4-6 other plant islands each with it's own exposure to mother nature from above. Each was a garden with features of it's own.

When the modernized it, it was ruined. They cut all the trees out and got rid of the ducks and geese. The sculpture didn't fit the plan either, but Air Conditioning would be the BE ALL - SAVE ALL. IMO it destroyed the mall. Certainly the uniqueness had flown out with the birds.

================================================================================
THE UGLY DUCK OF ROOSEVELT

There was a Roosevelt Mall legend about a ugly duck that was very adept at biting the Lady's coming out of Furchgotts, Lerner's or Ivey's. Seems a young boy who spent much time in the woods around Yukon, was shopping (dread) with his mother and 3 sisters. That stupid duck went after the youngest of the three older sisters.

So while the quartet of women were shopping, the kid went to the bicycle and hobby shop. On the way he spotted the offending bird. In a sneak attack that would have made YAMAMOTO proud, he grabbed the quacker from the neck and dragged him squawking and flailing out the door - kicking him into the parking lot.

Security was called and they came running, certain the kid was chewed beyond recognition. To their amazement the kid survived with only a mud bath and a few minor scratches. The stupid bird vanished and for many years the shop keepers told the legend of the crazy little kid that gunned down the fearless "Billy The Ugly Duck".

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

So it never was an open air strip center, rather a fully enclosed but un-air-conditioned version of TOWN CENTER before there was a TOWN CENTER.

By fully enclosed, the defination typically refers to air conditioned space.  For the article, I focused on fully enclosed malls with air-conditioned common space.  The 1960's Roosevelt article about the re-grand opening as an air conditioned space did mention it was open air for the first couple of years.  There was also an image of the before and after work, but I did not make a copy and scan of it.

Btw, here's a link to an image I found of the outside.  According to the caption, this was taken around 1967.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40726390@N00/7292259/

[Abhishek]

This is why I like talking physics more than talking about urban planning. Words and definitions in physics can not be twisted to ones benefit and every living bloke is not allowed to just make up a term.

Calling the Town Center Mall a 'Lifestyle Center' is one of the silliest things that I have ever heard. The only lifestyle it promotes is that of cheap gas and sprawl. This is also the same lifestyle promoted by my neighborhood strip mall!

[thelakelander]

No doubt.  I certainly don't disagree with that notion, Abhishek. 

A lifestyle center (or lifestyle centre[1]) is a shopping center or mixed-used commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall but with leisure amenities oriented towards upscale consumers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_center_(retail)

A power centre (or power center[1], also known as a retail park) is an unenclosed shopping centre with 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) to 750,000 square feet (70,000 m2) of gross leasable area[2] that usually contains three or more big box retailers and various smaller retailers (usually located in strip malls) with a common parking area shared among the retailers. It is likely to have more money spent on features and architecture than a traditional big box shopping center.[3]

Power centres function similar to a traditional shopping mall, but more closely resemble open-air malls and lifestyle centres, rather than the modern enclosed shopping malls of today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_centre

SJTC is really a hybrid because the Target/Ross area is really a "Power Center" (a strip center with a bunch of big box stores next to each other).  However the impact on the surrounding environment is essentially the same as any other retail center located in the middle of a sea of parking.

[vicupstate]

7 million visitors to the Landing in it's first year.  That is a huge number, yet spupposedly it has never made a profit.

[DjDonnyD]

Hello All!!!!

Does anyone have any pictures of Philips Mall? Inside or outside? I worked at the Gameroom (Arcade) at that mall in the early 1980's. The Arcade was right next to the Original Renna's Pizza. If anyone has any pics, Please contact me at DjDonnyD@aol.com .... THANKS Soooo Much!   

[DjDonnyD]

Oh.... Also, There was Train in the courtyard at Philips Mall near the Theater and near J.M. Fields. There was a restaurant right next to the train, But I don't remember what the name of it was. I do know for many year, That location, (restaurant) was used for the Original Hall of Terror. Any more info on Philips Mall would be great! Thanks Again! DjDonnyD