Lafayette Square Mall - History

History

This mall was built by Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr., and opened in April 1968 at 38th Street and Lafayette Road in Pike Township, just two miles north of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in greater Indianapolis.

Upon completion, Lafayette Square featured 90 inline tenants, a single-screen General Cinema movie theatre, and over 1,000,000 square feet of retail space. Originally, there were five anchor stores built: JCPenney in the south end, Sears on the north end, G.C. Murphy in the north wing near Sears, a Kroger grocery store in the south wing near Penney's, and William H. Block at center court (opened in 1969).

An expansion in 1974 saw a sixth department store added near Sears. This wing added Ohio-based Lazarus as well as about eight new stores including Radio Shack. In 1975, the Kroger store connected to the mall was demolished to make way for another expansion that included its replacement, Indianapolis-based L. S. Ayres, on the south end near JCPenney.

The success at Lafayette Square prompted DeBartolo to plan two additional malls on opposite sides of town. Ground was broke on the northeast side of Indianapolis for what was to become Castleton Square, opening in 1972. Washington Square Mall on the east side of Indianapolis opened in 1974.

Around 1987, Lazarus bought William H. Block and the Block store was converted to a Lazarus while the original Lazarus became Montgomery Ward. In 1993, the G.C. Murphy five-and-dime closed.

Facing competition from new malls such as Circle Centre (opened in 1995), the mall needed a remodel. DeBartolo's company had merged with Simon Property Group, and they remodeled the aging mall in 1998, adding a racetrack-themed food court in the former G.C. Murphy. Montgomery Ward abandoned its store in 2001 and was replaced by a Burlington Coat Factory (but only the first level).

Lazarus closed in 2002, and was replaced with a church. The trouble at Lafayette Square was not over. In 2005, an open-air center called Metropolis opened in the nearby suburb of Plainfield and pulled JCPenney out of Lafayette Square as well as many other retailers. In 2005, Old Navy closed and was replaced by a Max 10. By 2006, many of the first-tier stores had closed at Lafayette Square and were replaced primarily by discounters and urban wear shops. On September 9, 2006, the L. S. Ayres store was renamed Macy's due to the May/Federated merger.

Facing the mall's long decline and preferring to focus efforts on other malls in the Indianapolis area, Simon sold the mall to Ashkenazy Acquisitions Corp. in December 2007. Some months later, the mall underwent a new remodel that included a rebuilt entrance, a Pretzelmaker/Maggie Moo's/Great American Cookie Co. kiosk, an east-coast chain called "Shopper's World" located in the former JCPenney (it was described as being between JCPenney and Value City in price points), and an entertainment facility called Xscape featuring a variety of games. In October 2008 and January 2009 respectively, Sears and Macy's announced they would pull out despite the new renovations XScape was later replaced by America's Incredible Pizza company in the summer of 2010. In Late 2010, Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, and Andrews Jewelers all closed. In early 2011, the Pretzelmaker/Maggie Moo's/Great American Cookie Co. kiosk closed, along with Radio Shack and GameStop.

In the first quarter of 2012, Claire's Boutique, The Children's Place, and America's Incredible Pizza Company closed, leaving Burlington Coat Factory and Shopper's World as the mall's only two remaining anchors. America's Incredible Pizza announced that they would close, effective March 19, 2012. By November 2012, the last remaining original tenant, GNC nutrition, had closed, despite several vacancies being filled with third-tier businesses and more urbanwear stores. The only four remaining first-tier businesses in the mall are Finish Line, Foot Locker, Champs Sports, and Burlington Coat Factory.