Smith Haven Mall

The Smith Haven Mall is a shopping mall located in Lake Grove and St. James, New York, United States. It is the main mall for the "Middle Island" area of Long Island. It is also the easternmost enclosed mall on Long Island, and thus draws shoppers from the communities that make up the Hamptons, and the North Fork. The mall features Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Primark. The space last occupied by Sears is now a doctor's office operated by Stony Brook Medicine.

The complex covers an area of of retail space, with the key building (opened in 1969) being one story and , which includes 119 shops and restaurants. The mall has been managed since 1995 by Simon Property Group; it is one of the largest developers of shopping malls in the United States and the owner of Long Island's largest mall, Roosevelt Field in the East Garden City section of Uniondale.

The mall's name is a portmanteau of the towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven, as the mall overlaps the boundaries of these towns. It additionally overlaps the boundaries of the Smithtown and Middle Country Central School Districts.

History

Plans for the mall were first announced in October 1965 by Macy's, to be called "Nesconset Shopping Center". After a preview event with guest of honor Robert Moses on March 10, 1969, the mall, with anchors Macy's and Abraham & Straus (later Stern's and now a lifestyle village ), opened on March 12. They were followed soon after by a Martin's (later Steinbach, then JCPenney),("Martin's, a fashion specialty store chain, opened its fifth store yesterday in the new Smith Haven Mall") and then Sears. Century Theatres opened a location in the mall in May 1969.

The mall is notable for the works of public art which it originally held. One of the developers, Leonard Holzer, was married to art dealer Jane Holzer. She had her husband set aside $350,000 in the mall's budget to commission sculptures and paintings artists including Larry Rivers, Jim Dine, Robert Grosvenor, and Alexander Calder. The mall's art installations included one of the final works by Calder, a giant mobile ''Janey Waney'' which was made especially for the mall's opening, and a mural by Larry Rivers. Calder's piece, after being taken down in 1972, was refurbished and moved to the newly built food court in 1987, which was named ''Calder Court'' for the sculptor. The food court was later renamed ''Saturn Court'' when the car dealership picked up the food court's sponsorship.

After Holzer sold his interest in the mall, the art work was dismantled. Rivers' mural, "40 Feet Of Fashion", was long and and consisted of an assemblage of giant Plexiglas objects including lips, a clock, bathing suits and giant women's legs. When the art work was dismantled, the legs were installed in front of Rivers' home, where they remained until being sold at auction in 2021. The Calder piece sold at auction for $1.7 million in 2002. It was eventually installed in Gramercy Park and has since been placed on display around Europe.

Cineplex Odeon Corporation upgraded the existing movie theater to include four screens in 1989 and added another eight in 1998. However, the theater ultimately closed in May 2002. Smith Haven Mall underwent a massive multimillion-dollar renovation project between 2006 and 2007, in which the space once occupied by Stern's and the adjacent unused parking lots was redeveloped into an open-air "lifestyle center format. Major retailers there include Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Dick's Sporting Goods, and California Pizza Kitchen.

On September 9, 2006, an Apple Store opened in the lifestyle center wing of the mall. In addition, on November 16, 2006 the newly constructed Cheesecake Factory was opened. In February 2008, Abercrombie & Fitch's new concept Gilly Hicks, an underwear store for women, opened one of its first stores. In July 2008, Bobby Flay's first Bobby's Burger Palace location was opened at the mall.

In July 2013, Uniqlo opened its first Long Island store at the mall. Gilly Hicks closed in December 2013 when the company decided to move away from brick-and-mortar locations. A P.F. Chang's location opened at the mall that same month. On June 23, 2017, L.L.Bean opened its first Long Island location at the Smith Haven Mall.

On February 28, 2019, JCPenney announced it would be closing its Lake Grove location on July 15 as part of 18 store closures nationwide. A Lego Store opened in November 2019. On February 12, 2020, it was announced Sears would shut down as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.

The mall closed on March 19, 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and remained closed until July. In July 2020, Bobby's Burger Palace permanently closed. A Ruth's Chris Steakhouse location opened at the mall in December 2021.

In July 2023, Stony Brook Medicine opened a new outpatient center in the space previously occupied by Sears. In September 2023, Warby Parker opened a store at the Smith Haven Mall. In October 2023, it was announced that Primark would be replacing JCPenney that November. New York Fries opened in May 2024.

On February 10, 2025, a multi-million dollar renovation project was announced. This includes a new outdoor plaza, refurbished food court, and new stores including Zara. On the 28, it was reported the Forever 21 store would close later in the year.

On May 15, 2025, it was announced the Bahama Breeze would be closing alongside 14 other locations across the United States due to underperforming.

In popular culture

On the 2000 album '' This Time Next Year'', by the band The Movielife, the mall is mentioned (as Smithtown Mall) in the song "Single White Female".

References

External links

Simon Companies PageSmith Haven Mall renovation plans
(Simon 2007)
*

(May 21, 2006)

{{coord, 40, 51, 53.98, N, 73, 07, 48.45, W, display=title

Simon Property Group
Shopping malls established in 1969
Shopping malls in Suffolk County, New York
Brookhaven, New York
Smithtown, New York
Buildings and structures in Suffolk County, New York
Tourist attractions in Suffolk County, New York
Shopping malls in the New York metropolitan area
1969 establishments in New York (state)