Washington Square Mall is a regional shopping mall located on the eastern side of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. It opened in 1974 and was renovated/expanded in 1999. Today, the mall consists mostly of Finish Line and

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, fi ...

, as well as

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 ...

History

This mall was built by

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 ...

and opened in April 1974, supplanting Eastgate Shopping Center three miles to the west, which had opened 1957.

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, and many prime tenants made the move from Eastgate to Washington Square.

L. S. Ayres L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fas ...

William H. Block The William H. Block Company was a department store chain in Indianapolis and other cities in Indiana. It was founded in 1874 by Herman Wilhelm Bloch, an immigrant from Austria-Hungary who had Americanized his name to William H. Block. The main s ...

, and Lazarus were also anchors when the mall was built. Simon Property Group merged with the DeBartolo company in 1996. Simon renovated the mall in 1999. The mall faced a rough period of decline between 2005 and 2010, at which point several stores, including

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

, JCPenney, and

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 ...

, pulled out. However, with

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

occupying the former JCPenney since 2003 and Indy Wholesale recently moving into space formerly occupied by Macy's. Washington Square has all five anchor tenant slots filled for the first time since 2008. Target now occupies the site of Block (later

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

), and

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...

occupies the site of Lazarus since July 2002. In February 2013, Indy Wholesale Furniture announced that it would be going out of business, soon leaving one of the five anchor spots vacant. In early 2014, Washington Square lost BonWorth,

Rack Room Shoes Rack Room Shoes is an American footwear retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, which operates more than 500 stores in 36 states under the Rack Room Shoes and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse brands. Both brands offer a variety of styles ...

, MCL cafeteria, and

Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an Americans, American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in ...

, with the former three all closing and the latter moving to Cherry Tree plaza a mile west. The mall then lost Aeropostale in early 2016, as well as

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Unit ...

in mid-2018. Washington square interior

As of August 20, 2014, the mall's Facebook page no longer displays the SIMON logo or any SIMON photos, and the mall's page on the SIMON website has been disabled. Soon after, it was announced Jones Lang LaSalle is now managing the mall. Simon voluntarily handed over the deed to the property Aug. 6, eliminating the need for a costly and lengthy foreclosure proceeding. Simon's financial filings showed the company held $25.5 million in debt on Washington Square, which appears to be more than the mall is worth. By 2013, occupancy slipped under 50 percent but came back to 85 or 90 percent when the mall went to a new owner. On September 29, 2014, it was announced that Sears would be closing in December 2014. In 2016 The mall was purchased by

Kohan Retail Investment Group Kohan Retail Investment Group is a shopping mall investment company based in Great Neck, New York. They primarily purchase endangered/troubled shopping malls. History Kohan bought Northland Mall from Developers Diversified Realty for $1.8 milli ...

for $2.5 million and new management was put in place. The new property owner began neglecting not only the property taxes on Washington Square Mall but also the upkeep of the mall as well. Management had trouble keeping up with garbage collection, maintenance, and other basic needs of the mall when Kohan stopped payments to Washington Square. All things considered, the mall has kept occupancy at a reasonable rate, with small businesses and family-owned shops filling the empty spaces. No major incidents have been reported at the mall by in part due to armed security guards on the grounds at all times. As of October 2018, Washington Square Mall is up for auction due to unpaid property taxes. The mall as of 2019 is owned by Durga Property LLC. On January 1, 2020, it was announced that two of the mall's remaining three anchors, Dick's Sporting Goods and Burlington Coat Factory, would be departing the mall, closing those locations and leaving Target as the lone anchor. Further,

Bath & Body Works Bath & Body Works, LLC. is an American retail store chain that sells soaps, lotions, fragrances, and candles. It was founded in 1990 in New Albany, Ohio and has since expanded across 6 continents. In 1997, it was the largest bath shop chain in ...

joined Foot Locker at Cherry Tree Plaza in late 2022, vacating its space in Washington Square Mall.

References

{{Shopping Malls in Indiana Tourist attractions in Indianapolis Buildings and structures in Indianapolis Shopping malls in Indiana 1974 establishments in Indiana Shopping malls established in 1974