Crystal Mall is an enclosed, two-level regional mall in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. It is situated in a central retail area off the Hartford Turnpike (Route 85), across from a smaller, open-air shopping center, ''Waterford Commons''. The mall covers a gross leaseable area of , making it Connecticut's ninth largest mall, boasting 110 shops. Its primary trade area includes a trade population of 296,161 people, mostly serving the nearby towns of

, Stonington,

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, Groton and

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

. It is currently anchored by the traditional chains

Christmas Tree Shops Christmas Tree Shops is an American chain of specialty retail stores headquartered in Union, New Jersey. As of 2021, the chain operates 80 stores in 20 U.S. states. History In 1970, Charles Bilezikian and his wife, Doreen opened the first sto ...

and

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 ...

while featuring traditional stores including but not limited to Bath and Body Works, Forever 21,

Men's Warehouse Tailored Brands, Inc. is an American retail holding company for various men's apparel stores, including the Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank brands. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with additional corporate offices in Fremont, ...

, Rue 21, Talbot's, and

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ...

History

The mall was developed in 1984 by New England Development. When it opened, it was the only regional mall in the area, and many smaller shopping centers faced strong competition. Some, like nearby ''New London Mall'', were eventually forced to change strategies, such as becoming a "lifestyle center". The original anchors were

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The ...

. Jordan Marsh became

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 ...

in 1996. After about 10 years in operation, ''Crystal Malls look was becoming outdated, and management realized it needed to be renewed. In 1997, the mall underwent a renovation to upgrade its interior design. The previous dark color scheme was replaced by a brighter white, the food court was remodeled, and lighting as well as other fixtures were improved. The elegant center chandelier was slated to be removed during the renovations, but the fixture was popular with shoppers, so it was shined and has remained. The mall has still been criticized for its aging exterior look, and for not updating its tenants to keep up with the times. In 2006, one of the mall's longstanding anchors

closed its store, as this was one of a number of New England Malls that had both a Macy's and Filene's. After the May Co Department Store Company was purchased by Federated Department Stores (now renamed

Macy's, Inc. 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' ...

) duplicate stores were closed at many New England malls. In 2007, it was announced that two anchors would backfill the original Filene's

and

Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...

. Both retailers opened a few months later in early 2008, with Christmas Tree Shops on the first level, and Bed Bath & Beyond on the second level. On October 15, 2018, It was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing plan to phase out of brick-and-mortar. The store closed on January 6, 2019. Several prospective tenants have been in discussion. On January 6, 2021, Macy's, which maintains additional larger outposts, announced as part of a strategy to focus on their highest achieving locations that they would be leaving the center. The store closed on March 21, 2021. On November 1, 2021, it was reported that the original Macy's location had been sold to a development firm. On September 15, 2022, it was announced that Bed Bath & Beyond would close their Crystal Mall location as part of their plan to close 56 of their stores. The store closed permanently on January 9, 2023. On February 2, 2023, a fire broke out in one of the kitchens located in the food court, causing the mall to be closed temporarily. No one was injured during the incident.

List of anchor stores

References

Shopping malls in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Waterford, Connecticut Shopping malls established in 1984 Tourist attractions in New London County, Connecticut 1984 establishments in Connecticut {{Shopping malls in Connecticut