Muskegon Mall

Muskegon Mall

300px Aerial view of Muskegon Mall, c. 1976
Location	Muskegon, Michigan
Coordinates
Address	100 Muskegon Mall
Opening date	March 27, 1976 (1976-03-27)
Closing date	December 2001 (2001-12)
Developer	Economic Development Corp.
Architect	Landman/Andrews
No. of stores and services	60
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area
No. of floors	1

Muskegon Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in downtown Muskegon, Michigan. Opened in 1976, it closed in 2001 and was torn down for redevelopment.

History

Muskegon Mall construction began in 1974, and the mall opened for business on March 27, 1976. The mall was created by enclosing three blocks of Western Avenue and building a department store at each end: Sears at one end, and Grand Rapids-based Steketee's at the other. Building the mall also resulted in the closure of parts of First, Second, and Jefferson streets. An existing store, Hardy's, was incorporated as a third anchor. Hardy's had been in operation since 1881, and its store was partnered with Herpolsheimer's after being rebuilt in 1946.

By 1989, Muskegon Mall was the most popular shopping center in Muskegon County. The same year, the Hardy's-Herpolsheimer's store closed. By 1992, its space had become Burlington Coat Factory, while the mall was sold to Harold Back and Richard Perlman. The mall continued to lose tenants throughout the 1990s, when retail stores were built along Sternberg Road at US Highway 31 southeast of town.

When The Lakes Mall opened in that area in 2001, Sears relocated there from Muskegon Mall, and Steketee's closed. Muskegon Mall closed in December 2001 and demolition began on the structure in November 2003. The site was used for redevelopment, which included the reopening of Western Avenue to traffic and the construction of new buildings on the former mall site.