The Mall of Memphis was a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

in Memphis,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, containing of retail space and 5,564 parking spaces. The mall opened October 7, 1981, closed on December 24, 2003, and was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...

in 2004. Among other things, the mall was home to the Ice Chalet, Memphis's only public

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

History

The Mall of Memphis and the commercial area that developed around it prospered throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, several deadly shootings and a rash of

robberies Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

occurred on or near the mall's parking lots. These events led to the Mall of Memphis developing a reputation for being unsafe and being nicknamed the "Mall of Murder". A study done by

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Associa ...

in 2006 shows the media's impact of giving the mall this reputation and also studying how the mall's nickname may have resulted in its death. In the 1990s, in an effort to escape the growing crime in the area, many of the mall's clientele moved east to Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett and Cordova, making trips to and from the mall longer and less convenient. A new mall, the Wolfchase Galleria, opened in 1997 between Bartlett and Cordova. Other shopping centers and big box retailers opened near the new mall. This took away most of the business from the Mall of Memphis and the commercial area surrounding it. Later, the closure of anchor store

Service Merchandise Service Merchandise was a retail chain of catalog showrooms carrying jewelry, toys, sporting goods and electronics. The company, which first began in 1934 as a five-and-dime store, was in existence for 68 years before ceasing operations in 2002 ...

due to a corporate

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, and the 2001 closures of anchors

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

and

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company a ...

drove away most of the remaining clientele. Without anchor stores, the Mall of Memphis could not afford to remain in operation. The mall underwent an extensive

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...

shortly before it closed, in an unsuccessful attempt to attract new business. Although new tenants opened, the full renovation was never completed, which would have included a face lift and a name change to Memphis Park Galleria. This meant that when the mall was closed and demolished, many of its features, such as benches, railings,

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s and interior decor, were still in new condition, having seldom been used. By April 2007, a newspaper report by ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

'' stated that

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

planned to build a 176,000 square-foot Supercenter location on a portion of the site. At the time, the retailer was under contract to purchase approximately 22 of the former mall site's for the project. However, due to corporate decisions about building too much too fast, Wal-Mart abandoned plans to build on the site. The site of the Mall is now a TAG Truck Center by Lonestar Truck Group.

References

External links

Deadmalls.com: Mall of Memphis

MallofMemphis.org Tribute wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mall Of Memphis 1981 establishments in Tennessee 2003 disestablishments in Tennessee Buildings and structures demolished in 2004 Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee Demolished buildings and structures in Tennessee Demolished shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls established in 1981 Shopping malls disestablished in 2003 Shopping malls in Tennessee Tourist attractions in Memphis, Tennessee

History

See also

References

External links