Queens Center Mall is an urban

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 Elmhurst,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, on

Queens Boulevard Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica in Queens, New York City, United States. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25. Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...

between 57th Avenue and

Woodhaven Boulevard Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard (formerly Jamaica Bay Boulevard) are two parts of a major boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. Woodhaven Boulevard runs roughly north–south in the central portion of Queens. South o ...

, one block away from

Queens Place Mall Queens Place is an urban shopping mall in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Just northwest of the larger Queens Center, it is located on Queens Boulevard between 55th and 56th Avenues. The building was constructed in 1965 as Macy's and was desig ...

. Queens Center Mall is the largest mall in Queens. It is currently owned and managed by

The Macerich Company The Macerich Company ( ) is a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers. It is the third-largest owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned interests in 52 propert ...

, who purchased the mall in the 1990s. The mall features

Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...

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

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

. The mall has a

gross leasable area In architecture, construction, and real estate, floor area, floor space, or floorspace is the area (measured in square metres or square feet) taken up by a building or part of it. The ways of defining "floor area" depend on what factors of the bui ...

of and 198 stores. The mall is adjacent to the

station () on the

IND Queens Boulevard Line The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The ...

of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

. It is across the street from the former St. Johns Hospital and the Rock Church. It is also off Exit 19 on the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

History

Queens Center Mall opened on September 12, 1973, on land previously occupied by a children's amusement park named Fairyland, a supermarket, and automobile parking. The original anchor tenants were

Abraham & Straus Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Compan ...

and

Ohrbach's Ohrbach's was a moderate-priced department store with a merchandising focus primarily on clothing and accessories. From its modest start in 1923 until the chain's demise in 1987, Ohrbach's expanded dramatically after World War II, and opened nu ...

. The mall underwent a major expansion from 2002 to 2004, nearly doubling in size as the original mall was renovated and another wing was added to the east of 92nd Street. The mall's current anchor tenants are

and

. In addition, it has a large food court in the basement. The food court includes BonChon, Burmese Bites & Cbao, Charleys Philly Steaks, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Famous Rotisserie & Grill, Ice Queen, KFC, Kido Sushi, Noodle House, Panda Express, Poke Island Grill, San Wei, and Sarku Japan. In February 2024, the iconic Mcdonalds closed for good. It was a childhood memory for most people that grew up in the area. In addition, there are many other sit down restaurants scattered around the mall. In recent years, many restaurants come and go due to a surge in property tax. For a limited time during the 2006 Christmas shopping season, the Macy's location in Queens Center was open 24 hours a day, becoming the first to do so. Since then, it has had all-day operating hours during every Christmas shopping season. On March 8, 2019, the mall was evacuated when a supposed appearance by

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

rapper,

A Boogie wit da Hoodie Artist Julius Dubose (born December 6, 1995), known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie or simply A Boogie, is an American rapper, and singer-songwriter. He released his debut studio album, '' The Bigger Artist'', via Atlantic Records in ...

was canceled after fans, most of whom were high school teens that had a half day of school rioted and looted stores, including the sneaker store,

Foot Locker Foot Locker, Inc. is an American multinational retailer of footwear, sportswear, urban youth apparel and accessories headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in over 40 countries. Although established in 1974, and ...

. The mall reopened the next day. A similar event took place later that year in November. The mall underwent renovations during the mid-2020s. This included upgrades to furnishings, lighting, and the parking lots.

Anchors

Current

(Opened in 1989) *

(Opened in 1995) *

(Opened in 2024)

Former

(Opened in 1973. Closed in 1987. Replaced by Steinbach) * Steinbach (Opened in 1987. Closed in 1990. Replaced by JCPenney) *

(Opened in 1973. Closed in 1995. Replaced by Macy's)

References

External links

* {{New York City Malls Macerich Shopping malls established in 1973 Shopping malls in New York City Commercial buildings in Queens, New York Tourist attractions in Queens, New York Elmhurst, Queens 1973 establishments in New York City