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

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

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

located at 3265 W. Market Street in the

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

suburb of Fairlawn. , and with the closing of both

Chapel Hill Mall Chapel Hill Mall was a shopping mall located at 2000 Brittain Road in Akron, Ohio, United States. Built by Richard (R.B.) Buchholzer and Forest City Enterprises, it opened on October 12, 1967. They continued to own the mall until 2004, when it ...

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 stores ...

, is the only remaining mall in Summit County.

Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Edward John DeBartolo Sr. (May 17, 1909 – December 19, 1994) was an American businessman. In 1971, his Ohio-based corporation was ranked as 47th among the nation's top 400 construction contractors. In 1983, DeBartolo was included on ''For ...

'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 108 stores (of which 102 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 vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...

;

anchor store In 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 typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...

s include

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 ...

and two

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an upscale American department store chain with approximately 282 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 ...

locations (Dillard's and Dillard's Women'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 ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

-based

Halle Brothers Co. Halle Brothers Co., commonly referred to as Halle's, was a department store chain based in Cleveland, Ohio. During most of its 91-year history, Halle's focused on higher-end merchandise which it combined with personal service. The company was th ...

and two other department stores both based in Akron:

O'Neil's The M. O'Neil Co. was a regional department store chain based in Akron, Ohio, United States. O'Neil's dominated the Akron and Canton retail markets. Founded in 1877, the store grew to several locations in northeastern Ohio. By the late 1980's, it w ...

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 Cincin ...

, and

Acme Markets Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in t ...

. 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 th ...

, 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 The May Company Ohio was a chain of department stores that was based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. History In 1899, David May, the founder of May Department Stores, acquired E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. of Cleveland on Ontario Street, renaming ...

in 1989,

Kaufmann's Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Summary 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 regi ...

in 1993, and

in 2006. After Polsky's closed,

Jewel Mart Jewel often refers to: * Gemstone *Jewellery Jewel may also refer to: Companies * Jewel (supermarket), a U.S. grocery store chain * Jewel Food Stores (Australia), an Australian grocery store chain * Jewel Records (disambiguation), several record ...

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 headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

) 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 cinemas certi ...

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 Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956. History In 1947, Chuck Williams settled in Sonoma, California ...

announced it would close its location in the mall. Four years later,

Ann Taylor Ann or Anne Taylor may refer to: *Ann Taylor (writer, born 1757) (1757–1830), English writer *Ann Taylor (poet) (1782–1866), English poet and children's writer, daughter of the above *Ann Taylor (actress) (born 1936), British actress, hostess a ...

announced that it will close at the mall. In 2021, the mall announced that the new stores will have plans.

History

References

Further reading