White Oaks Mall is a shopping center in Springfield, Illinois,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is located at the junction of

Illinois Route 4 Illinois Route 4 is a major north–south highway that runs south from the Interstate 55 business loop around the state capital of Springfield, south to Illinois Route 13 just north of Murphysboro. This is a distance of . Route description Ill ...

(Veterans Parkway) and Wabash Avenue. With of retail space, it is the largest enclosed shopping center in

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...

. The mall's anchor stores are

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 ...

Michaels Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores, as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall ...

LA Fitness LA Fitness (doing business as LA Fitness International LLC) is an American gym chain with more than 700 clubs across the United States and Canada. The company was formed in 1984 and is based in Irvine, California. History LA Fitness was founde ...

, and Dick's Sporting Goods. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once

Bergner's P.A. Bergner & Co. (also known as Bergner's) was an upscale Midwestern department store established in 1889. The chain is now an online retailer operated by BrandX.com, Inc. The flagship store was located in Peoria, Illinois at The Shoppes at Gr ...

and

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 ...

History

The mall is located on the southwest side of Springfield, approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of the traditional city center. Construction started in 1974 and opened in 1977.

Stix Baer & Fuller __NOTOC__ Stix, Baer and Fuller (sometimes called "Stix" or SBF or the Grand-Leader) was a department store chain in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1892 to 1984. Founders and History Originally called the Grand-Leader, the original centr ...

was an original anchor store, but it was closed in 1982 and sold to

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...

when the former chain decided to close all operations outside its primary market of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. At the time, this move coincided with rumors that Kohl's would also be operating a location at

Hickory Point Mall Hickory Point Mall is an enclosed mall in Forsyth, Illinois, United States. The mall opened in 1978. The anchor stores are Kohl's, Von Maur, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Ulta Beauty, Ross Dress for Less, and Shoe Dept. Encore. The mall is managed by Nam ...

Forsyth, Illinois Forsyth is a village in Macon County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 3,734 at the 2020 census, up from 3,490 in 2010. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The settlement of Forsyth dates to ...

. In the early 1990s, it underwent a $14 million renovation which included the addition of a new food court. A carousel was installed in 1997. White Oaks Mall houses over 100 stores. Its operator, the

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 India ...

, which owns 80.7% of the mall, describes White Oaks Mall as a "super-regional shopping mall". The mall shares its name with the

White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

, the state tree of Illinois. The original planned name of the mall was Westroads Mall.

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...

and

Billy Carter William Alton Carter (March 29, 1937 – September 25, 1988) was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician. The younger brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter; he promoted Billy Beer and Peanut Lolita; and he was a candidate for ...

attended the grand opening held on August 24, 1977. White Oaks Mall has a children's play area. Children's Place and Carter's specialize in juvenile clothing.White Oaks Mall
OutletStoresMalls.com. Retrieved: 9 February 2015. Two major closure announcements were made in 2018. In April, it was announced that

would be closing around July 2018 as part of a plan to close all stores nationwide. In May, it was announced that

would be closing its White Oaks store in September 2018 as part of a plan to close 78 stores nationwide. After

and

closed,

became the only traditional-sized anchor store doing business at White Oaks.

Anchors

(originally

Famous-Barr The Famous-Barr Co. (originally Famous and Barr Co.) was a division of Macy's, Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, in the Railway Exchange Building, it was the flagship store of The May Department S ...

, became Macy's in 2006) Still open

Former anchors

(originally Myers Brothers, became Bergner's in 1982) Closed in 2018 *

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 ...

Ceased operations in 2001. The former anchor space was later split among Dick's Sporting Goods,

Cost Plus World Market World Market, formerly Cost Plus World Market until 2021, is an American chain of specialty/import retail stores, selling home furniture, decor, curtains, rugs, gifts, apparel, coffee, wine, craft beer, and international food products. The bran ...

, and

Linens 'n Things Linens 'n Things was a Clifton, New Jersey-based big-box retailer specializing in home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories. The chain operated 571 stores in 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, and had 7,300 employees as ...

. After the latter two closed in 2008, the Linens 'n Things space became occupied by

hhgregg H. H. Gregg, Inc. (stylized as hhgregg or HHgregg on their website) is an American online retailer and former retail chain of consumer electronics and home appliances in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast United States, that operated stores in ...

, and later

, while the Cost Plus space became occupied by

. *

Sears, Roebuck and Company 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 ...

closed in 2018, last original anchor to close * Stix, Baer and Fuller 1977-1982, became Kohl's upon liquidation *

Nov 4, 1982-1992, moved to White Oaks Plaza

Refitting

The

Illinois Department of Central Management Services The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) is a code department of the Illinois state government that is generally responsible for certain state properties, acquisitions, and services. It operates the Illinois Century Network ( ...

, the custodian of Illinois state government real estate, confirmed a report in December 2020 that the state had purchased the Sears anchor store building, with its approximately 120,000 square feet of space, with the intent of redeveloping the footprint as office space for three state departments. The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology, the

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) of the state of Illinois is the primary body concerned with the protection of the environment for the state. The Illinois EPA's mission is "to safeguard environmental quality, consistent ...

, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board were said to be planning the move.

References

External links

*Mal
website
*Corporat
website
{{Shopping malls in Illinois Shopping malls in Illinois Simon Property Group Buildings and structures in Springfield, Illinois Tourist attractions in Springfield, Illinois Shopping malls established in 1977 1977 establishments in Illinois