Christown Spectrum Mall - A Familiar Name

A Familiar Name

Following the sale of the mall to Developers Diversified Realty in 2006, Phoenix Spectrum Mall took on a hybrid of its previous names to become known as Christown Spectrum Mall. The developers understood many residents still preferred to call the mall by the original name and thus knew the value of the name Christown. At this same time the southwestern wing that was added in 1974 was demolished and replaced by Target, as well as creating space for smaller specialty shops that would no longer be directly connected to the mall. The former United Artists Cinemas & food court were demolished and replaced by a Harkins theatre with stadium seating which resulted in the Chris-Town Cinemas located in the parking lot to also be demolished. Most of the enclosed section between the old Court of Fountains and the new PetSmart and Costco was demolished for the return of a previous anchor, JCPenney which relocated from their recently closed location at nearby Metrocenter. This demolition cut off mall access to the Petsmart & Ross, thus leaving only the center & eastern side as traditional enclosed mall.

Today the only remaining original structures are the center entrance, east wing and the Montgomery Wards building although the second floor remains non-leasable space. The rest of the buildings that housed the original anchors have been razed, along with the movie theatre and the entire western wing. Although the mall's central complex remains, the fountains were removed shortly after new flooring was added.