History
Coliseum Mall was built in 1973, as a commercial centerpiece of Hampton's Mercury Boulevard-Coliseum Central district and still remains the largest single tax source within the city. Coliseum opened with three anchors: E. J. Korvette, JCPenney, and Nachman's. The center was the largest and busiest shopping area on the Virginia Peninsula as it opened on October 31, 1973, until Newmarket North Mall opened in 1975 with Sears, Leggett, and Miller & Rhoads which had moved from its original location across the street at the original Newmarket Shopping Center.
Thus, Coliseum Mall was expanded in 1976, thus adding Norfolk-based Smith & Welton and Richmond-based Thalhimers. The Smith & Welton location was later a Children's Palace toy store.
In 1980 E. J. Korvette declared bankruptcy and closed all its locations. The Coliseum location was left vacant until major tenant Montgomery Ward acquired the space. Ward had moved from the adjacent Mercury Plaza Mall which was converted into an open-air shopping center. The company's Auto Center remained at Mercury.
In 1987, Crown American and the City of Newport News built and developed the competitive Patrick Henry Mall, and later surrounding "big-box" shopping centers sprouted around the mall during the 1990s. Since then the city's Oyster Point/Patrick Henry district has experienced substantial growth, making commercial retail challenging for the Coliseum Central district of Hampton.
Until the last several years, Coliseum existed, though did not really keep up with changing times. The Nachman's became Hess's, then Proffitt's, then Dillard's, which also opened an auxiliary store in the former Children's Palace. Thalhimers became Hecht's in 1991 and Macy's in 2006.
Both of the Dillard's stores closed in 2003. The same year, a portion of the mall was set aside to accommodate a Burlington Coat Factory store. Burlington Coat Factory instead opened in the former Montgomery Ward building, and a short-lived Steve & Barry's opened in the slot originally slated for Burlington Coat Factory.
Read more about this topic: Peninsula Town Center
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