The Shops at Chestnut Hill is a two-level 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 in the Chestnut Hill section of

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, runs through Back Bay, and e ...

( Route 9). As of 2022, the mall currently features two

Bloomingdales Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...

, as well as prominent brands

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

, Uniqlo,

Crate & Barrel Euromarket Designs Inc., doing business as Crate & Barrel (stylized as Crate&Barrel), is an international furniture and home décor retail store headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. They employ 8200 employees across over 100 stores in the Uni ...

, Tiffany & Co., and

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

. It is managed 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 ...

, who owns 94.4% of it.

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...

Women's store is located at the west end of the complex and the Men's Home & Furnishing store anchoring the east end. These are the only Bloomingdale's locations in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

History

The Shops at Chestnut Hill, formerly known as The Mall at Chestnut Hill, was built into the side of a hill in 1974 and as such had ground level access on both of its two floors. A

Home Furnishings store had opened at the site in 1973, while the two-story mall itself and a

Filene's Filene's (formally William Filene & Sons Co.) was an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-p ...

store opened in 1974. The Filene's had relocated from a neighboring 1950s-era location in the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center (which became the headquarters of

General Cinema 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 ...

in 1975, later becoming the location of The Container Store and an

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 ...

, which closed in 2012). Filene's expanded in size to in 1980 with the addition of a third floor, while the mall's Bloomingdale's home store added its own third floor and was reconfigured to include a men's department to complement a women's store it had opened across the street in 1978 at the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center. In 1998 locally based S.R. Weiner & Associates assumed a long-term lease on the mall property from developer C&R Realty. In December 2001 S.R. Weiner in its turn assigned management as well as sold part of its leasehold in the mall to Rodamco North America, N.V.The Boston Globe, December 22, 2001, page C1, "ECO/S.R. Weiner sells to Rodamco" A few months later, with the break-up of Rodamco,

acquired management and an interest in the mall's leasehold. The mall's structure and anchors remained essentially intact from 1980 until 2005, when

May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many ch ...

(the then parent of Filene's) was acquired by

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...

(the owner of Bloomingdale's). In March 2006, Federated closed the Filene's store and spent the better part of the year renovating the space. In November 2006 Bloomingdale's relocated its Women's store from the adjacent Chestnut Hill Shopping Center to the former Filene's, thereby giving The Mall at Chestnut Hill a Bloomingdale's at both the east and west ends. The mall was renovated in the fall of 2006 to coincide with the opening of the expanded Bloomingdale's. In addition to adding more chairs and sitting areas, a large handicapped-accessible elevator was installed in the central atrium close to the main, Route 9, entrance. The

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

location moved from its original location into a much larger one, re-opening on March 26, 2016, sporting the newest Apple store design language. The first Massachusetts location of

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's (), is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best ...

opened in December 2015 on the second level at the main entrance, at the location of the former Papa Razzi. A Simon-operated Starbucks opened Summer 2016 nearby, at the same entrance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shops At Chestnut Hill Buildings and structures in Newton, Massachusetts Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Shopping malls established in 1974 Shopping malls in Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Middlesex County, Massachusetts 1974 establishments in Massachusetts