The Plantation Towne Mall was an 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 ...

Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, which was destroyed by a fire on September 6, 1996. The shopping mall originally opened in 1968 as an open-air shopping plaza with a

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

Supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

on its west end, and a Rite Aid

Drug Store A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...

(vacant space during the fire) and movie theater (called Towne Theatre, but later Art Towne Twin until closing) on its east. In 1971, the center was enclosed by a metal roof, while original roofing was not removed. By 1991, the mall had undergone both interior and exterior renovations, converting the vacant theater space into offices, and cladding the exterior in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

with mansard mall entryways. One of the major reasons why the fire was able to spread so quickly, and had been so difficult to extinguish was because flames were able to seep in between the roofs.Casey, David.
"PLANTATION, FLORIDA, TOWNE MALL FIRE"
''Fire Engineering'', 1997-04-27. Retrieved on 2009-08-01. In addition to this, the mall wasn't equipped with a sprinkler system. The shopping mall was rebuilt as Plantation Towne Square, a strip mall anchored by a new Publix store.

References

External links

Analysis on mall fireInformation on the mall's cinema
{{Broward County Malls Defunct shopping malls in the United States Demolished shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls established in 1968 Plantation, Florida Shopping malls in Broward County, Florida 1968 establishments in Florida 1996 disestablishments in Florida 1996 fires in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1996