Big Town Mall was a

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

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

suburb of

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a suburban city located east of the city of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Most of the city is located in Dallas County, though a small portion extends into Kaufman County. As of 2019 census estimates, the population was ...

. Built in 1959, it was the first enclosed

in the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. Its last

anchor tenant 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. W ...

(

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 ...

) closed in March 2001, and it was demolished in 2006.

History

Big Town Mall, located at 800 Big Town Shopping Ctr., just off of U.S. 80 E. and Loop 12 in

, was constructed in 1959 and was the first enclosed, air-conditioned

in the

. Some of the surrounding facilities included Bowlanes, A&R Course, General Cinema, Horse and Rider, an exhibition hall, and a half price shoe store. At one time up to three major chain stores--

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 ...

(which

James Cash Penney James Cash Penney Jr. (September 16, 1875 – February 12, 1971) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the JCPenney stores in 1902. Early life J. C. Penney was born on September 16, 1875, on a farm outside of Hamilton, Caldwel ...

himself opened), Sanger-Harris, and

--were part of the complex. The attached Woolworths was also popular due to its sizable inventory and food court. This once-popular spot in

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

housed department stores, retail shops, an early form of arcade, and even a movie theater (which has since been demolished). Even after

Town East Mall Town East Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, United States of America. Its anchor stores are Macy's (Opened as Sanger-Harris in 1971, became Foley's in 1987, became Macy's in 2006), Dillard's, JCPenney, and ...

had long since become the new "hotspot" for local and national retailers, the mall stayed active for several years with privately owned shops targeting urban young.

Film Appearance(s)

The exterior of the mall can be seen in the 1985 film '' True Stories'' as the site of the fashion show. The interior of the mall shown is actually

NorthPark Center NorthPark Center, sometimes referred to as NorthPark Mall, is an upscale, enclosed shopping mall in Dallas, Texas (United States). It is at the intersection of Loop 12 (Northwest Highway) and US 75 (North Central Expressway). Opened in 1965, it ...

in Dallas.

Decline

The mall would keep all of its anchor stores occupied until 1989, when

Foley's Foley's was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. On August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's ...

(in the former Sanger-Harris) was shuttered, It would never be re-occupied. Further closings occurred in the 1990s with a multitude of inline tenants leaving the plateauing mall behind, the mall's

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

would jump ship in 1993.

, the last remaining anchor store, was closed after going bankrupt in 2001, thus sealing the mall's eventual demise.

Humanitarian Use

In September 2005, Big Town Mall was designated a staging point for the victims of Hurricane Katrina coming to

for shelter and relief. From there, they traveled along I-30 to I-35 to settle in

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The ...

and the

Dallas Convention Center The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (KBHCCD) (formerly Dallas Convention Center) is a convention center in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The "Dallas Memorial Auditorium" was a standalone multipurpose arena, de ...

where they were housed until able to return to their homes in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The mall's parking space was utilized as a first stop for evacuees – where authorities searched for weapons, screened them for medical conditions, gave them a light snack and passed them along to any number of shelters in

, Fort Worth, Irving, Grand Prairie and even

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Demolition

In early 2006, the decision was made to tear down the mall. The demolition project started on the week of May 22, 2006, and was completed in September of that year. As of September 13, 2011, the Big Town Bowling Lanes were demolished. The only remaining structure on the property is the Exhibition Hall. The Exhibition Hall was remodeled in 2013 to retain current use for shows and conventions. In 2016, the remainder of the site was purchased by FedEx to develop a major distribution hub.

Anchor history (1959–2001)

Traditional anchors

(164,200 square feet, 2 stories) (opened on February 26, 1959) (closed in March 2001) *

Sanger Brothers Sanger may refer to: Places Romania * Sânger, a commune in Mureș County United States * Sanger, California, a city * Sanger, North Dakota, a ghost town * Sanger, Texas, a city * Sanger, West Virginia, an unincorporated community People * ...

(104,000 square feet, 3 stories) (opened on February 26, 1959) (rebranded as Sanger-Harris in 1961) ** Sanger–Harris (opened in 1961) (rebranded as

in July 1987) ***

(opened in July 1987) (closed in 1989)

Junior anchors

(38,000 square feet, 1 Story) (opened on February 26, 1959) (closing date unknown) *

(unknown square footage, 1 story) (opened on February 26, 1959) (closed in 1993)

References

External links

Deadmalls.com writeup on the mall

Photos of Big Town Mall in its defunct state
{{Dallas malls Buildings and structures demolished in 2006 Shopping malls in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Shopping malls established in 1959 2006 disestablishments in Texas Demolished shopping malls in the United States 1958 establishments in Texas Shopping malls disestablished in 2001 Demolished buildings and structures in Texas