Summit Mall is a one-story, "East Side Malls" ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' February 22, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006. enclosed

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 ...

located at 3265 W. Market Street in the

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

suburb of Fairlawn., and with the closing of both

Chapel Hill Mall Chapel Hill Mall was a shopping mall located in Akron, Ohio, United States. It was built by Richard "R.B." Buchholzer and Forest City Enterprises, and opened in 1967. At its peak the mall featured more than 100 stores, with Sears, JCPenney, ...

and

Rolling Acres Mall Rolling Acres Mall was a shopping mall located in the Rolling Acres area of Akron, Ohio, United States. Built in 1975, it originally included approximately 21 stores, with Sears as the main anchor store. Later expansions added several more stor ...

, is the only remaining mall in Summit County. Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.'s DeBartolo Corporation built the mall, which opened on October 28, 1965. Today, it is owned by

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

. Currently, Summit Mall contains 110 stores (of which 104 are currently occupied) and a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

. The

anchor store In North American, Australian and New Zealand retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are ...

s are

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 ...

and two

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 ...

locations (Dillard's and Dillard's Men's and Children's).

History

DeBartolo Corporation developed Summit Mall. First announced in 1963, the mall opened to the public in 1965. The original anchor stores were

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

-based Halle Brothers Co. and two other department stores both based in Akron:

O'Neil's O'Neil's was an American department store chain founded in 1877 by Michael O'Neil and Isaac Dyas. It dominated the Akron, Ohio, Akron and Canton retail markets. Founded in 1877, the store grew to several locations in northeastern Ohio. In 1912, i ...

and Polsky's. Other major tenants included Woolworth,

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...

, and Acme Markets. After Halle's 1982 shutdown, their location was transferred to

Higbee's Higbee's was a department store founded in 1860 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1987, Higbee's was sold to the joint partnership of Dillard's department stores and Youngstown-based developer, Edward J. DeBartolo. The stores continued to operate under ...

, which operated the store until it was taken over by Dillard's in late 1992. It was a full-line location (without housewares) until 1998 when the men's department relocated to the top floor of the former Polsky's / Jewel Mart space (see below). When Dillard's took possession of the North store, the men's department and housewares relocated back to the south store which was renovated in 2005–2006. O'Neil's became

May Company Ohio May Company Ohio was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio. It originated with the purchase and renaming of the E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. by David May (merchant), David May in 1899, and expan ...

in 1989,

Kaufmann's Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regional chain ...

in 1993, and

in 2006. After Polsky's closed, Jewel Mart occupied the main floor level. In July 1986, a Dallas businessman proposed opening a

laser tag Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated wit ...

facility in the basement of the former Polksy's. By July 1990, Rizzi's Ristorante and Pizzeria and Charlotte's West occupied the space on the half-vacant lower level. Jewel Mart was gone by 1991 and the top floor remained vacant until Dillard's moved their men's store and started a housewares department on the upper level in 1998. Rizzi's and Charlotte's West were both gone by 2004, giving Dillard's the opportunity to renovate both floors as a Dillard's Women's store. Summit Mall used to include a small movie theater. In July 1989, National Theatre Corporation (now

Regal Entertainment Group Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain that operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with 5,720 screens in 420 theaters as of December 31, 2024. Founded on August 10, 1989, it ...

) closed the two-screen theater at the mall when

General Cinemas General Cinema Corporation, also known as General Cinema, GCC, or General Cinema Theatres, was a chain of movie theaters in the United States. At its peak, the company operated about 1,500 screens, some of which were among the first theaters ce ...

opened up a new theater at West Market Plaza. National Theater Corp. later opened a new theater in Montrose. In January 2013,

Williams Sonoma Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Chuck Williams (author), Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956. History In 1947, Chuck Williams settle ...

announced it would close its location in the mall. Four years later, Ann Taylor announced that it will close at the mall. In 2021, the mall announced that the new stores will have plans.

History

References

Further reading