Meridian Mall - History

History

Meridian Mall opened in 1969. The mall was built at the northwest corner of Grand River Avenue (M-43) and Marsh Road in Meridian Charter Township. Originally, the mall was a straight line of stores with an anchor store on either end: discount chain Woolco at the east, and local chain Knapp's at the west, with a G.C. Murphy dime store in the middle. Meridian Mall also included a four-screen movie theater near center court, and a supermarket near Woolco. Two years later, a second set of theatres (known as the Meridian 4 East) opened in the former supermarket space, and the older theater complex in the mall was renamed Meridian 4 West. A third movie theater was eventually opened in the parking lot as well. Other retail stores soon began opening along Grand River Avenue near the mall, including Kmart (which closed in 1995 and was replaced with Best Buy) and Meijer.

Knapp's closed all of its stores in 1980, and its store at Meridian Mall was sold to JCPenney, which had also acquired Knapp's at Lansing Mall on the other end of Lansing. A new wing was added to the south end of Meridian Mall in 1982, bringing in local chain Hudson's as a third anchor. Woolco closed later that same year, and its space was eventually divided among a Service Merchandise catalog showroom, a new food court, and additional retail space. In 1987, the mall was expanded again, with a new northern wing ending in a Mervyns department store. The 1980s also brought further expansion to the retail around the mall, with a strip mall anchored by Target opening on the other side of Marsh Road.