Woodmar Mall

Woodmar Mall was an indoor shopping mall located at Indianapolis Boulevard between 165th Street and 167th Street in Hammond, Indiana. It opened in 1954 and was anchored by Carson Pirie Scott and Co. The mall was closed and demolished in 2006[1] except for the Carson's store which remained open until 2018[2] and which was demolished in 2019.[3] The site is now occupied by the Hammond Sportsplex & Community Center.

Woodmar Mall
LocationHammond, Indiana, United States
Coordinates41.593897°N 87.481668°W / 41.593897; -87.481668
AddressIndianapolis Boulevard between 165th Street and 167th Street
Opening date1954
Closing date2006
(demolished 2006 and 2019)
DeveloperLandau & Heyman
ArchitectVictor Gruen
No. of anchor tenants1
No. of floors1 (3 floors for the Carson Pirie Scott and Co. store)

History

The Chicago-based developers Landau & Heyman purchased a 20-acre lot in the Woodmar neighborhood of Hammond, Indiana in 1953.[4] They commissioned architect Victor Gruen, who designed the mall as a "v" with a Carson Pirie Scott and Co. store in the center.[5] The shopping center was constructed at a cost of $3 million and opened in early 1954 with eight stores including J.J. Newberry and National Supermarkets. Fourteen additional stores opened on May 19 of that year.[4] The Carson's store was the first one established by the Chicago-based merchant in the state of Indiana and opened on November 1, 1954.[6] In 1964, the Carson's store was expanded from 65,000 sq. ft. to 115,000 with the addition of a third floor.[7] The following year, the mall was enclosed.[4]

After J.J. Newberry left the mall, its former space was subdivided into a 15-store "mini mall" called the "Court of Lions" which opened in September 1975. This generated three times the rent the Newberry's had provided and a combined business volume "between three and four times that of the variety store."[8] The Court of Lions saw its revenues increase by 50% over the course of the next three years.[9] It was modeled after the Court of the Lions in Granada, Spain.[4] A similar mini-mall, the "Court of Turtles" opened in 1977 in the space originally occupied by National Supermarkets.[4] Plans in the early 1980s to add two additional anchor stores were cancelled due to a recession and high interest rates.[10] A renovation of the mall began in 1987[11] and was completed in 1990.[12]

Long-term competition from the River Oaks Center in Calumet City, Illinois and Southlake Mall in Hobart, Indiana drew business away from Woodmar and led to the mall's decline.[4] By 2004, fewer than a dozen stores remained open.[13] In February 2006, the decision was made to demolish the mall except for the Carson's store.[14] The Hammond Redevelopment Commission announced plans in June 2016 for a $12 million sports complex to be built on the site of the former mall.[15] The Carson's store closed in 2018 as part of its parent company's liquidation.[2][16] The Hammond Sportsplex & Community Center opened on the site of the former Woodmar Mall in September 2018.[17] Demolition of the former Carson's store began in August 2019.[3]

References
  1. Holecek, Andrea (August 22, 2006). "Woodmar Mall demolition on schedule - Carson's building expected to be standing alone by end of September". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. The demolition of Woodmar Mall, expected to be completed by the end of September [2006], appears to be nearing the halfway point. After its completion, only the Carson Pirie Scott building will remain standing.
  2. Pete, Joseph S. (April 29, 2018). "Carson's to close in Southlake Mall, Hammond and Michigan City". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Munster, Indiana. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Carson's will close its department stores in Southlake Mall in Hobart, the Marquette Mall in Michigan City and in Hammond, where the three-story store is all that remains of the once-thriving but now largely demolished Woodmar Mall.
  3. Pete, Joseph S. (August 23, 2019). "Vacant Hammond Carson's being torn down to make way for redevelopment". The Times of Northwest Indiana. After 65 years, the Carson's department store that long anchored the Woodmar Mall is coming down, marking the end of an era in Hammond's evolving retail landscape.
  4. Bierschenk, Edwin (June 7, 2016), "A sporting chance for revival at former Woodmar site", The Times of Northwest Indiana, Munster, Indiana, archived from the original on January 16, 2017
  5. Hardwick, M. Jeffrey (2003). "Chapter Five: A 'Shopper's Paradise' for Suburbia". Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0812237627.
  6. "Carson Opens Third Branch Unit Tomorrow", Chicago Tribune, p. 9, Section 2, October 31, 1954
  7. Dombrowski, Louis (August 14, 1964), "Carson's Plans 3 Million Dollar Store Expansion", Chicago Tribune, p. 5, Section 3
  8. "Mini-malls trendy way to make profit", Chicago Tribune, p. 1, Section 12, February 8, 1976
  9. Millenson, Michael (February 10, 1980), "Old World Charm selling 'theme' malls", Chicago Tribune, p. 1, Section 14
  10. Pete, Joseph S. (2020). "Woodmar Mall". Lost Hammond, Indiana. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-1467142861.
  11. "Mall gets renovation loan", Post-Tribune, Gary, Indiana, December 11, 1987, archived from the original on September 25, 2017 – via HighBeam Research, A $9 million refinancing loan has been obtained by Woodmar Mall in Hammond to complete renovation at the 32-year-old [sic] shopping center.
  12. "Woodmar Mall starts final lap in renovation". Post-Tribune. Gary, Indiana. May 30, 1990. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017 – via HighBeam Research. The final phase of a three-year renovation program at Woodmar Mall here has begun, said Manager Larry Davis. The project began May 21 and is expected to be completed by the end of July [1990].
  13. "Mall in Hammond, Ind., is devoid of stores, shoppers and management.", The Times of Northwest Indiana, Munster, Indiana, August 28, 2004, archived from the original on September 25, 2017 – via HighBeam Research, With less than a dozen stores remaining, promised improvements undone and missing management, Woodmar shoppers, employees and store managers all are wondering if there's a future for the 50-year-old enclosed mall.
  14. Holecek, Andrea (February 8, 2006), "Wrecking ball aimed at Woodmar Mall", The Times of Northwest Indiana, Munster, Indiana, archived from the original on January 16, 2017
  15. Quinn, Michelle L. (June 8, 2016), "Former Woodmar property eyed for sports complex", Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Indiana, archived from the original on June 9, 2016
  16. Pete, Joseph S. (November 4, 2018). "Three-story Carson's building in Hammond '98 percent' likely to be razed". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018.
  17. Earnshaw, Rob (September 27, 2018). "Hammond officially opens $18 million sportsplex in Woodmar neighborhood". Chicago Tribune. Hammond officials on Thursday cut the ribbon on the city’s new 135,000-square-foot, $18 million sportsplex that took over the majority of the land that used to be home to the Woodmar Shopping Center.
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