History
Dayton Mall's official grand opening was held in 1970, although some stores were already in operation at the time, such as Rike's, Hickory Farms of Ohio and the single-screen Dayton Mall Cinema. Originally there were three anchor stores: Rike's, Sears, and J.C. Penney. There was also a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10, Liberal supermarket and three outparcel tire and auto service centers.
The one million-plus square foot, bi-level shopping center held the distinction of being the largest in southwestern Ohio for many years. Several more stores were added when Dayton Mall underwent two major renovations of its existing structure in 1984 and 1995-1996. In the first renovation, the interior of the East and West Concourses was remodeled, as was the two-level Main Entrance. The Central Atrium area was also improved with a food court installed on its mezzanine
Later, in the mid-1990s, a fourth anchor store was added, in front of what had been the main entrance. It was occupied by J. C. Penney, which moved from its former location at the west end of the mall. The original Penney became a Cincinnati-based McAlpin's in 1996 and a Dayton-based Elder-Beerman in 1998. After these renovations were completed, the Dayton Mall had nearly 150 retailers under one roof.
Changes in the retail industry over the past 20 years left an impression at the shopping center. Rike's, owned by Federated Department Stores, was placed under the ShillitoRikes nameplate in 1982. The store changed nameplates again in 1986 to Lazarus. The store fully adopted the Macy's name in 2005.
The Greene Town Center, a retail and entertainment complex, opened in Beavercreek, Ohio in August 2006, forcing the Dayton Mall and The Mall at Fairfield Commons to extend the properties to attract more visitors. A 97,000-square-foot (9,000 m2), open-air, "lifestyle component" was added in the Dayton Mall's north parking lot, along Ohio 725. Known as The Village At Dayton Mall, it added twenty-five tenants to store directory and was dedicated in early 2007. With the completion of this addition, Dayton mall encompassed 1,300,306 leasable square feet.
In 2012, the DSW store moved to a space in the "life-style" area of the mall formerly held by Borders Book Stores. In April of 2012, Dick's Sporting Goods announced that it would occupy the space held formerly by DSW and f.y.e. in the Dayton Mall adding another major tenant to the Dayton Mall and boosting the mall's occupency rate above 95 percent.
Linens & More for Less opened at the mall in 2010, taking space formerly occupied by Linens 'n Things.
Read more about this topic: Dayton Mall
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“The steps toward the emancipation of women are first intellectual, then industrial, lastly legal and political. Great strides in the first two of these stages already have been made of millions of women who do not yet perceive that it is surely carrying them towards the last.”
—Ellen Battelle Dietrick, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 13, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“I saw the Arab map.
It resembled a mare shuffling on,
dragging its history like saddlebags,
nearing its tomb and the pitch of hell.”
—Adonis [Ali Ahmed Said] (b. 1930)