Mall History
The mall first opened on Labor Day Weekend of 1977. It was built on top of a wetland, which was not protected in New Jersey until 1988 with the passage of the New Jersey Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act, and the former Dover city landfill.
Upon opening, the mall contained five large sculptures by Rita Blitt. Most were located on the first floor and reached up through openings to the second. A twenty-foot stainless steel and brass American flag hung from the ceiling. The silhouette of one of these sculptures, the yellow Stablitt 55, became the mall's original logo. Although the other sculptures have been removed, Stablitt 55 still stands, on the corner near the three-store strip when you enter off the main road.
A glass elevator was added to center court, as part of a larger renovation in 1995.
In 1999, the mall was purchased by Simon Property Group. With this ownership Simon felt that this local area was growing vastly and felt it needed to open a more upscale selection of retailers. From the start upscale retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Ann Taylor joined the mall in 1999. A substantial number of other fine retailers went on to open later in time.
Notable stores that have since closed include: Bamberger's which was in the location currently occupied by Macy's (it was converted along with the other Bamberger's stores to the Macy's nameplate in 1986), Hahne's which was in the location currently occupied by Lord & Taylor (converted to the L&T nameplate in 1988), Child World which was occupied by Kids "R" Us after Child World went out of business in 1992, though was occupied by Office Depot after the majority of standalone KRU locations closed in 2003. (Office Depot has since closed as well.) AMC Theatres had screens 1-6 in the location currently occupied by Forever 21 (Previously F.Y.E.) located inside the mall as well as screens 7-12 in the location currently occupied by Best Buy in one of the many strip malls located on the perimeter road. The 1-6 screens closed in 1998 and the 7-12 screens in 2002. At the time when the theaters were open, it was the first multiplex in America.
On August 25, 2009, a small plane crash-landed in the parking lot. The only injury was the pilot, who walked away and was treated.
On February 20, 2010, a grease oven fire broke out at a McDonald's inside the mall, causing a brief evacuation of the mall until the fire was put out. The McDonald's is now closed.
Read more about this topic: Rockaway Townsquare
Famous quotes containing the words mall and/or history:
“Finishing schools in the fifties were a good place to store girls for a few years before marrying them off, a satisfactory rest stop between college weekends spent husband hunting. It was a haven for those of us adept at styling each other’s hair, playing canasta, and chain smoking Pall Mall extra-long cigarettes.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)
“It is my conviction that women are the natural orators of the race.”
—Eliza Archard Connor, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 9, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)