However, a small addition to Famous-Barr, increasing its area to , square feet, had been allowed in the early s. The new retail complex encompassed , leasable square feet and contained seventy stores and services. Moreover, s-vintage seating areas and fountains were removed, with new lighting installed throughout the complex. Soon after the renovation was completed, Famous-Barr was rebannered. The store opened with a Macy's nameplate on September 9, The vacant building was repurposed with two retailers.
The facility was dedicated November 18, The Upper Level was reconfigured as a 62, square foot TheRoomPlace furniture store, which welcomed its first shoppers in mid Newer Post Older Post Home.
We do our best with sometimes limited reference material. Contemporary newspaper write-ups are our primary source of information. These, and other materials, are listed at the end of each article. A short history of the American shopping center and mall is also provided. On the one hand, it was sad to see the way it predictably and thoroughly decimated downtown shopping. No TIFs, no enterprise zones, no general obligation bonds from the City.
All private financing. Where did those days go? City leaders have created developer welfare, especially downtown. Special taxes, gifts of tens of millions of dollars, etc.
Why work when you can just nurse on the government teet. Just the fact that there was a book store B. Dalton in town other than the Book Emporium sold me on the value of the mall. Plus, places like Jeans West and Suns of Britches provided me a source for incredibly ugly think red, white and blue striped bellbottom jeans. Linking here from my blog and twitter so you can get some extra traffic, hopefully.
Seems pretty sad that the mall took all the downtown business, but that is America. Free enterprise, right? Or something like it at least. I would love to see a more vibrant downtown. It is sorely needed. Louis, tried to counter the flight of retail out of downtown by building downtown malls. Most failed. Eating places have sure jumped the shark…Only a couple places left that would appeal to guys. What I remember about downtown right before the mall went in was the fact stores was already shutting down and the crime rate was on the rise.
Main street used to also be a fun cruise strip, but the gangs, drugs, etc….. Why do people move to the outskirts of town? CJ, it would have been great if what you wrote about in the comments could have been the focus, rather than a more or less straightforward telling of the history of the mall: the fact that private business paid for it with no tax incentives, TIF zones, etc.
There was never a food court at Northwoods, but the mall had several little eateries scattered throughout including a Skewer Inn which was responsible for poisoning several patrons with botulism in due to bad onions served on their patty melt. Northwoods was always a very fun place to go in the 70s and 80s, but by the 90s it had become a haunt for gangs, gang violence, and riff raff.
Thanks for the entry on Northwoods, it was nice to go back home this morning. John December 21st, at am. Like Jack said, the mall originally had fountains at either end and a large sunken area at the center court with a tall, polished steel clock that extended from the base to above eye level on the second floor.
The wide walkways allowed groups to set up tables against the railing without being obtrusive to storefronts. The mall also used to feature ceiling decorations hung from the high, massive rafters for seasonal events.
It was a very nice effect! Interestingly, the small staircases at either end and escalators about one quarter way along each end were the only interior way to move between floors. The exterior entrances opened to either the upper or lower level. The anchor stores had escalators and the one in Famous Barr was the only one set to the center of the mall. I wonder if that was an intentional way to increase foot traffic or a function of the small design?
Scattered around War Memorial are many furniture stores, fast food restaurants and recreational vehicle stores ATVs, campers, etc. It would be interesting to study how Northwoods grew the area, yet never became overcome by the development it spawned unlike many of the other malls featured on labelscar.
Jack Shell December 21st, at pm. John was right, they had magnificent displays over the center court with lights, banners hanging from those immense ceilings, and the sunken seating area was MADE for Santa and us kids. That entire store was remodeled with Famous Barr came in. Turned out to be the longest occupant of that store — over twenty years. God, I loved Northwoods as a kid. Thanks again for these pics. I wish there were some out there from when the fountains ans seating pits and the original center court existed.
Caldor December 21st, at pm. For obvious reasons, our own pictures are of a newer vintage, but we try and grab and save what we can, when we can, and share old gems with people when we can get ahold of them.
Vaudevillain January 3rd, at am. Thanks for the great site. I was born and have lived most of my life in the greater Peoria area. It is great to see others with fond memories of Northwoods. I will check to see if I can come up with some older photos of Northwoods to share. There is now a smaller food court at the top center entrance—very busy, but still has three or more vacant spaces. It is correct the floors have only partial changes.
The parking lots were partially replaced. They really did a patchwork job on the cheap for this one. They must not feel too threated by the Grand Prairie Development it is a sharp lifestyle center with significant room for growth. It is great to see others with fond memories of the Christmas displays. The center court displays are long gone.
Santa now appears in a small decorated area on the lower level near Penneys in an area that once had one of the great tube fountains. I believe the last remaining original non-anchor tenant is about to depart, Karmelcorn now Peoria Carmelcorn this winter.
I have always been shocked that a market of our size has been stuck with this below-average enclosed mall for so long. Many similar trade areas, Quad Cities, Rockford, and Fairview Heights have much large facilities that have experienced multiple enhancements.
I love the old, but this area remains underserved. Megan January 13th, at pm. Bobby January 14th, at pm. Wrong place, Megan. Charles January 18th, at am. I was living in Peoria at the time my 2 years at Bradley and this occurred during that period. The mother of one of my friends at the school was one of the ones who got sick, and for some reason was the last one to recover. She was there for Parents Weekend, and had gone to Northwoods looking for a fun place to eat.
Some choice they made! Oh, I just wanted to mention that Skewer Inn tried to reopen after a long period being closed after the poisoning scare. Knowing people would be leery eating there after the highly-publicized poisoning scare, they produced a series of commercials promoting the restaurant featuring prominent Peorians. My favorite actually the only one I remember featured Bradley basketball coach Dick Versace dining at the Skewer with well-known local Ford dealer John Bearce.
I remember laughing at that commercial, thinking those two guys probably never even knew each other before they appeared together on the commercial. Peoria Illinoisan » Mall Historians January 22nd, at pm. JW January 23rd, at am. I was a manager at the J. At the time it was in the top 10 malls in the country in profit per square foot…despite it appearance it continues to be a cash cow for the SIMON group…A fake overhaul was done in They did fear the new larger Grand Prarie…….
Simons answer. Carsons never made the grade at Northwoods….. Famous was a nice store….. God help us…………. Jeep April 12th, at pm. Does anyone remember the talking Coke machine at Northwoods? Once I saw some photos of the original look of the mall.
The photos belong to the German-American Society and they were singing in the mall. I think some of the photos showed the clock. It was neat to see it the way it used to be. Chip July 9th, at pm. Northwoods is a nice, but dated mall.
Sears and Penneys are both clean and orderly, even better than many of their respectives stores in Chicago. With good ownership, Northwoods can survive the Shoppes of Grand Prairie and being located near the crime-ridden East Bluff neighborhood.
Miss Shop-a-Holic September 9th, at am. I am a peoria native and I go to northwoods mall mostly on special occasions. I think security should be beefed up some more there…….
JSD September 16th, at am. I went to the mall all of the time during the mid 80s to late 90s during the glory days of Aladdins Castle. I remember they had 2 music stores. Where Finish Line is now was Browns sports. There was Orange Julius that had the logo of a devil with a pitch fork that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. Upstairs was a place almost like it that was called Orange bowl. Downstairs on the other side they had Swiss Colony where I used to get beef jerky, cheese soup, or chicken sandwiches.
Also what makes some people stay away from the mall is the old mall walkers or mallrats that doesnt like the younger crowd taking over their mall forcing an increase on security.
Sheryl September 29th, at am. Northwoods Mall was instantly the most popular mall in the Peoria Metro area when it opened in , and still is to this day.
They recently got finished totally renovating the mall, and it looks much nicer than it ever has. It is quality and very nice.
It is a very nice mall, and after visiting numerous malls accross the country, I was surprised to find that Northwoods, by far, is one of the best malls in the country. I still remeber when they had the big clock and fountains. Good Times! I also miss Famous-Barr very much.
They were one of the best stores in Peoria. Reading the Christmas memories reminded me of how much I loved visiting Santa at Northwoods. The decorations with the bows and the little town always amazed me, and I loved running around with my cousins in the sunken area in the center court and riding in the little train with them. My parents opened a store when I was in jr. They sold furniture, lamps, and other home items.
It was a great experience for me to see how they ran the store— they basically got an idea of buying furniture for less than wholesale and selling it at wholesale prices. My parents and grandparents set up and remodeled the space they rented and ran it out with the help of a few women who ran the front desk. I helped out putting together furniture and setting up displays, but most of my time was spent exploring the mall and playing games at the arcade.
I was at the mall almost every day, as my parents had to work and I had no place else to be. The store turned out to be fairly successful after a period of about 2 years, and my parents opened a sister store at Eastland Mall in Bloomington. Unfortunately, sales started going down immediately after September 11th, and the Peoria location was closed.
It was a fun and interesting time of my life, and really fostered a good work ethic in me and showed me that small family businesses can still be profitable. Jonah Norason October 19th, at pm.
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