Hilldale Shopping Center, or simply Hilldale, is a partially enclosed

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

lifestyle center A lifestyle center (American English), or lifestyle centre (Commonwealth English), is a shopping center or mixed-used commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities oriented toward ...

development on the west side of

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, United States. Originally opened in October 1962, Hilldale has four anchor stores -

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

, Metcalfe's Market, and L.L. Bean - as well as over 40 specialty stores .

History

Hilldale was initially developed as part of the Hill Farms Neighborhood in Madison. In the early 1950s the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Board of Regents formed a plan to sell of University Hill Farms land (which was used by the School of Agriculture) to an expanding city of Madison. As part of the development plan, Kelab Inc. was formed in 1958 to direct the operation of the shopping center. Construction was delayed in 1960 when Glendale Development brought suit against the Board of Regents, Kelab Inc. and Hilldale Inc., blocking construction until the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

refused to review the suit in 1961. After the legal issues were resolved, Hilldale opened on October 25, 1962, with a Gimbels anchor store. In 1986 the Gimbels store was converted to a

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

, which was subsequently rebranded as a

in 2006. Hilldale underwent expansion in 1969, then again in 1985, and was renovated in 1997. From 1983-2004 the Hilldale parking lot was the site of what is now Brat Fest. Each year on Memorial Day weekend, a portion of the parking lot was converted to a grilling and seating area for the event. In 2005, the event outgrew the Hilldale parking lot and was moved to Willow Island at the

Alliant Energy Center Alliant Energy Center (formerly Dane County Coliseum) is a multi-building complex located in unincorporated Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises of greenspace and includes the Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Willo ...

Renovations

Hilldale was acquired by Joseph Freed and Associates LLC in 2004 and completed a major redevelopment/expansion in 2006. Among the changes: * Two multi-level parking ramps were erected in front of the mall, as well as a strip of several additional free-standing restaurants and stores. * A row of townhouses were erected in the front portion of the mall. * Refurbishment of the interior of the mall. * Hilldale was the first national location chosen by Sundance Group for the Sundance Cinema concept. On May 11, 2007, Sundance Cinemas 608 opened. (The theater was named for

area code 608 The 608 area code covers much of southwestern Wisconsin, including the capital city of Madison as well as the cities of Waunakee, Mount Horeb, Verona, Sun Prairie, Monroe, Platteville, Lancaster, Lodi, Portage, Baraboo, Wisconsin Dells, B ...

which covers the Madison area.) The six-screen theater featured independent, documentary and foreign-language films. The Sundance chain was purchased by

Carmike Cinemas Carmike Cinemas was a motion picture exhibitor headquartered in Columbus, Georgia. As of March 2016, the company had 276 theaters with 2,954 screens in 41 states, and was the fourth largest movie theater chain in the United States. The company ...

, a company which was later purchased by

AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...

. The ''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of September ...

'' reported on March 29, 2011, that the property was in foreclosure, with a sheriff's sale set for June 21, 2011. The shopping center was purchased by Massachusetts-based WS Development in May, 2012. The company converted the majority of the mall from an enclosed to an open-air space. The Sundance Cinema chain was sold to

in 2015; Carmike, in turn, was sold to

in 2016. The Sundance Cinemas 608 became the AMC Dine-In Madison 6 in 2017, and closed in 2022. Other notable tenants in the mall are: the

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...

, Metcalfe's Market (a local grocer), Cafe Hollander (a brew pub),

Anthropologie Anthropologie is an American clothing retailer with approximately 200 stores across the U.S., Canada, and the UK that offers an assortment of clothing, jewelry, home furniture, decoration, beauty products, and gifts. Anthropologie is part of ...

lululemon lululemon athletica inc. (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and ot ...

Shake Shack Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk with ...

, and

Lucky Brand Jeans Lucky Brand Jeans is an American denim company founded in Vernon, California in 1990 by Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman.Vanessa McGradA Lucky Pair ''Catalyst'' Spring/Summer 2008 Lucky also produces other apparel, including activewear, outerwear, ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Shopping malls in Wisconsin Shopping malls in Wisconsin Shopping malls established in 1962 Buildings and structures in Madison, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Madison, Wisconsin 1962 establishments in Wisconsin