Smith Haven Mall

Smith Haven Mall is a shopping mall located in Lake Grove, New York (with the western half of the mall in St. James), and is the main mall for the "Mid Island" area of Long Island. It is also the easternmost enclosed mall on Long Island, and thus draws shoppers from the (5) towns that make up the Hamptons, and the North Fork.

Smith Haven Mall
Outdoor lifestyle center at Smith Haven Mall
LocationLake Grove, New York
Opening dateMarch 12, 1969 (March 12, 1969)
DeveloperMacy's
OwnerSimon Property Group
ArchitectCopeland, Novak, & Israel
No. of stores and services170
No. of anchor tenants4 (2 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,301,459 square feet (120,909.5 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in Dick's Sporting Goods, former JCPenney, and former Sears, 3 in Macy's)
ParkingLighted lot
Public transit access Suffolk County Transit: 3D, 6B, S56, S57, S58, S59, S60, S62, S63, S69
WebsiteSmith Haven Mall

The complex covers an area of 1,301,459-square-foot (120,909.5 m2) of retail space, with the key building (opened in 1969) being one story and 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2), which includes 148 shops and restaurants. The mall has been managed since 1995 by Simon Property Group;[1] 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 Garden City. Its name is a portmanteau of the towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven, as the mall overlaps the boundaries of these towns, Also the mall overlaps the boundaries of the Smithtown Central School District and Middle Country Central School District.

History

Plans for the mall were first announced in October 1965 by Macy's, to be called "Nesconset Shopping Center".[2] 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.[3][4] They were followed soon after by a 68,000-square-foot (6,300 m2) Martin's (later Steinbach,[5] then JCPenney),[6] and then Sears.[3]

The mall is notable for the works of public art which it originally held, including one of the final works of noted sculptor Alexander Calder, a giant mobile Janey Waney which was made especially for the mall's opening in 1969, and a 40-foot (12 m) mural by Larry Rivers.[7][8] Calder's piece, after being taken down in early 1970s, was refurbished and moved to the newly built food court in 1987,[9] 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. No artwork remains from the gallery which existed at the mall's inception, which also included work from Peter Max, among others. The Calder piece at the food court sold at auction for $1.7 million in 2002.[7]

One of the developers was Leonard Holzer who was married to art dealer Jane Holzer and the art work originally cost $50,000. After Holzer sold his interest in the mall the art work was dismantled. Rivers' mural, "40 Feet Of Fashion", was 40 feet long and 20 feet and consisted of an assemblage of giant Plexiglas objects including lips, a clock, bathing suits and giant women's legs.[10] When the art work was dismantled it was sold off piecemeal with the legs winding up being erected outside the home of East Hampton, New York art dealer Ruth Vered in Sag Harbor, New York. Her home is in the former Bethel Church/former art studio for Abraham Rattner. In 2010/2011 the 16 foot high sculpture of the legs raised controversy when Sag Harbor building officials said it exceeded the 15 foot height requirement for structures. Vered has said she would lower its foundation to get it under the 15 foot limit.[11]

Smith Haven Mall underwent a massive multimillion-dollar renovation project in 2006–2007, in which a lifestyle village was built over the space once occupied by Stern's and the adjacent unused parking lots.[9][12] Major retailers there include Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Dick's Sporting Goods, and California Pizza Kitchen. Elsewhere in the mall, Abercrombie & Fitch's new concept Gilly Hicks, an underwear store, has opened its doors, as well as Abercrombie & Fitch's upscale RUEHL No.925 (now closed) concept which opened on August 1, 2008. On September 9, 2006, an Apple Store was added to the mall with many on hand to commemorate it.[13] In addition, on November 16, 2006 the newly constructed Cheesecake Factory upscale casual dining restaurant was opened.[14] In July 2008, Bobby Flay's first Bobby's Burger Palace location was opened at the mall.[15] On June 23, 2017, L.L.Bean opened its first Long Island location at the Smith Haven Mall.[16]

On February 28, 2019, it was announced that the JCPenney store would be closing as part of a plan to close 27 stores nationwide. The store permanently closed on July 5, 2019.[17]

On February 12, 2020, it was announced that the Sears store would be closing; Sears previously filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on October 15, 2018. The store was originally expected to close in mid-May, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the store closed a month earlier on Saturday, April 11, 2020, while the entire mall closed at the same time. This left Dick's Sporting Goods and Macy's as the only anchors left.[18]

References
  1. "Mall owners want breezy restoration". The Times Beacon Record. August 18, 2004. Archived from the original on 2013-07-31. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  2. "Macy's Plans A New Long Island Department Store". The New York Times. October 22, 1965.
  3. "Island Shopping Centers Seek Same Buyers". The New York Times. October 16, 1969.
  4. "Two Major Stores Hold Previews on L.I.". The New York Times. March 11, 1969.
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/29/nyregion/store-shifts-expected-to-heat-up-competition.html
  6. "Martin's Fashion Chain Opens Long Island Store". The New York Times. August 8, 1969.("Martin's, a fashion specialty store chain, opened its fifth store yesterday in the new Smith Haven Mall")
  7. Halbfinger, David M. (February 17, 2002). "A Genuine Calder Was Here, at the Mall? (Psst, What's a Calder?)". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  8. "A Shopping Mall In Suffolk Offering More Than Goods". The New York Times. June 22, 1970.
  9. "Smith Haven Mall renovations unveiled". The Times Beacon Record. November 21, 2005. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  10. "Larry Rivers Artist Index". Veredart.com.
  11. Rattiner, Dan (2011-03-25). "Dan's Papers - March 25, 2011 - Legs". Danshamptons.com. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  12. Cotsalas, Valerie (November 20, 2005). "Long Island; Making a Mall More Like Main Street". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  13. Apple, Smith Haven Opening (2006) Archived 2006-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "The Cheesecake Factory Opens in Lake Grove, New York". Business Wire. November 17, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  15. "Bobby Flay meets the mall". Long Island Business News. July 15, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  16. "L.L.Bean set to open first LI location at Smith Haven Mall". Newsday. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  17. https://www.newsday.com/business/penney-smith-haven-mall-closing-1.27876585
  18. "Sears at Smith Haven Mall closing". Newsday. February 12, 2020.

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