Grand Avenue Mall; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Located in the middle of downtown Milwaukee, the Grand Avenue Mall opened in August 1982. Part of a larger civic revitalization effort, the mall premiered downtown during a time when retail (and nearly everything else) had moved out to the ‘burbs and downtown Milwaukee was left to the 9-to-5ers and the bums. A nationwide problem not unique to Milwaukee, the loss of downtowns across America led city planners to develop resurgence programs, and many plans offered up enclosed malls. I suppose they figured what was working well in the suburbs at the time might work in the downtowns and save them.
The plan worked. For a while, at least. Many who had abandoned downtown to shop in the suburbs returned to this large, glassy, modern two-level structure. Occupying two city blocks on two levels with a third level food court at center court, Grand Avenue Mall skywalks over a street on the second level and is split into discontiguous pieces by the street on the first level. The 1980s and early 1990s saw the mall at near 100 percent capacity, with upmarket local stores as well as chains such as Laura Ashley and Banana Republic.
However, you can’t reinvent the wheel, especially in the midst of dramatically changing demographics. As soon as the mall opened, Milwaukee’s manufacturing economy began to erode, with unemployment jumping high as more and more factories left town for cheaper labor elsewhere. As a result, crime in the city spiked at unprecedented highs during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the murder rate doubling in the eight years between 1982 and 1990.
While few of these murders occurred in the heart of downtown, where the mall is located, many were too close for comfort in the poorer neighborhoods adjacent to downtown to the west and north. As a result of these changing demographics, shoppers jumped ship and instead chose to plug their money into malls closer to where they lived, like Bayshore, Southridge, and Mayfair. Vacancies skyrocketed at Grand Avenue in the mid- to late- 1990s. Longtime east anchor Marshall Fields, which was previously a Gimbels flagship, decided to leave in 1997 after years of declining sales. This sent the mall further into a downward spiral, and many stores in the eastern section of the mall (Plankinton Arcade) closed as a result. The western section of the mall, with the large third-level food court and Boston Store anchor, fared slightly better but also eventually faltered.
By 2002 the mall was on life support. The few stores remaning were mostly athletic and urbanwear chains, and the food court remained viable due to the large number of office workers nearby. However, a huge breath of life came in the form of a remodel and repositioning. The mall’s dated, early-1980s look was replaced with a more modern facade inside, and the main entrance on Wisconsin Avenue was given a facelift as well. Management leveraged this remodeling to attract new stores, citing the recent growth of residential space downtown. Extensive development in the third ward, downtown, and lower east side would provide a significant local retail base to give Grand Avenue viability again. Also, crime in the city scaled back dramatically to pre-1980s figures, and job loss in the region was slowed.
But, instead of reinventing the wheel and trying to re-establish a top-tier superregional mall downtown to compete with Mayfair, Bayshore, and Brookfield Square, management sought to instead establish a different niche for Grand Avenue. The first step in this transformation was to rename the center from Grand Avenue Mall to The Shops of Grand Avenue. In-line small store space was scaled down dramatically in the eastern section of the mall by replacing all of the stores on the first level and the hallway with two box stores, Linens ‘n Things and TJ Maxx. The result is kind of interesting, design-wise. One can look down from the second level of the mall directly into the stores, as little was done to change the old configuration other than removing the small stores’ walls. Old Navy was also brought into the mall, replacing another large section of vacant in-line space. Also, the vacant Marshall Fields was redeveloped into a Borders and Residence Inn and renamed ASQ Center. Although not technically part of The Shops of Grand Avenue, ASQ Center is connected to it by the same skywalk which connected Marshall Fields.
Today, The Shops of Grand Avenue is chugging along all right. By no means is the center as successful as it was during the 1980s, but neither is that the current owner’s intention. Instead, the mall functions to serve the needs of the retail base which supports it, the newer neighborhoods downtown, and the 80,000 office workers which funnel in and out of the city center daily. The store roster speaks to this, and the food court is still as busy as it ever was. If management continues to woo more tenants in, it could really work out. The design features of the mall, and the way it’s hemmed in with hundred-year-old buildings, is rather unique and pleasing to the eye.
At any rate, Grand Avenue is currently the last enclosed shopping mall in the city of Milwaukee. As of ten years ago there were three others: Southgate, Capitol Court, and Northridge, but each met its own fate largely due to the same demographic problems which felled Grand Avenue. We took the pictures featured here in April 2007.
on October 10th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Sounds a lot like a more-successful version of Indianapolis’ downtown Union Station shopping complex, which if I’m not mistaken closed for good after declining for years.
on October 10th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Same thing happened in St. Louis as in Indy - St. Louis Center, which was built around the downtown Dillards (Now Closed), and Famous-Barr (Now Macy’s). It started off strong, but leveled off pretty quick, and by the end it was pretty much nothing but urban stores and places selling cheap jewelry and cell phones. All but the Macy’s are now shuttered, and the area is being redeveloped into offices, hotels, and lofts.
Is there one of these 80s vintage inner city malls that was actually a long term success?
on October 10th, 2007 at 9:03 am
When working as a consultant, I spent over a year in the Residence Inn that is attached to the mall. I frequented the food court in the evenings for a quick bite to eat. I remember there were still quite a few people in the mall, esp. in the daytime/afternoon. The mall closes early, so it was pretty much a ghost town in the evenings. It is also nice that the different sections of the mall are connected by skywalks, especially in the icy winters when the temperature never got above 20 F. You could walk four city blocks and not have to go outside.
on October 10th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I thought of one mike, how about Stamford Town Center in CT. It’s right downtown & is doing fairly well with 90% of it occupied & a new wing set to open in november. Bear in mind that downtown Stamford is resurging with new housing, retail & restaurants.
Another city that comes to mind is White Plains NY. If you would like to check it out www.whiteplainsdowntown.com.
White Plains BID has plenty of info on whats happening downtown.
on October 10th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Reminds me of the Harborplace Gallery (across Pratt Street from Harborplace itself), which is still pretty well-tenanted but has no anchors and always seems to have a few gaps in the food court. There’s no real reason for anyone to go there after 5, and not a lot of people do.
on October 10th, 2007 at 11:03 am
i miss the grand ave as it was . i remembre bing there on opening day i also remember going there on a school feel trip ,had a teacher that was realy into shopping when the mall opened mayfair was old and dinngy the fields there (macys) was realy bad never being remodled as of that time . in contrast the grand ave had big sparkiling new stores and the department stores gimbles and boston store had been re done from top to bottom. the mall for smeone in there late teens and early twentys was the place to be seen and the place to see. the same people you went to the clubs with on weekends were working shopping there and living inon the east side it was apart of my life i wish i could get back more than any othe old mall the grand ment a lot to me i dont go vary often any more it almost hurts in my gut to see it the way it is now . i was talking to a old frend the other day he works for the boston store he said that its still making money(now only Two Floors)but the end is comming he felt that thay will look to build a new store with parking neer buy after all boston store is a bon ton co. and thay did just close state st in chicago if the boston store goes i think it will be the end of the mall for sure.
on October 10th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Wow, this place looks wonderful. I especially like the fact that you can look straight down into the TJ Maxx space.
There was another anchor here too — Woolworth. It became an Office Max.
Also, what’s that big white block at the top right on the mall directory?
on October 10th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Kind of a pre-renovation Freehold Raceway Mall/Danbury Fair Mall clone by looking at those skylights.
on October 10th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I think this should serve as a model for a lot of other struggling urban malls from the 80’s & 90’s. Here in Cleveland we have two - the Galleria at Erieview, and the Avenue at Tower City, although Tower City has fared slightly better. Tower City especially started off all high end: Gucci, Fendi, Barney’s, etc. Now it’s a lot of second-tier chains selling urbanwear and cell phones, right alongside Brooks Brothers, MAC, and Ann Taylor. Also, the City of Columbus just took ownership of Columbus City Center, which is mostly in the same boat. This kind of a concept could work in both places, with the increasing number of condos downtown.
on October 10th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
That is such a classy looking mall. THe mall owners had the right idea to bring in big-box stores to liven it up, and hungry office workers must help as well.
on October 10th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
This mall always fascinated me ever since my first visit there nearly 19 years ago……October 1988.
At that point in time, Gimbles had already made the name swap to Marshall Field’s, but the rest of the mall retained all its 1982-era tenants and storefronts. I remember many of them vividly to this day.
In 1999, the newer half of the mall, which runs the length from Boston Store to 2nd St., was pulled out of its 1982-vintage chrome and neon, terra-cotta floortiled scheme into what you see in these pics.
The famous Plankinton Building was restored to its original appearance in time for the opening of the mall in 1982….beforehand it had been drastically turned into office space with ground-floor retail during the 50s-60s.
I have a mall directory I’ll have to dig up from 1988 I got while visiting there during the hoilday period. There’s tons of store names, both local to Milwaukee, and nationally known, that don’t exist anymore.
Grand Ave. and Wausau WI’s Wausau Center mall, are two of the very few examples left out there in the entire U.S. where there’s still some sort of viable retail functionality going on in these downtown complexes. Most now have been shut or converted completely to office or residential use. If you’re in the area and into malls and a mix of modern and historical architecture, I do recommend a visit to see this place in person.
Before I forget to mention too……this is also one of the few malls left in the entire U.S. that still bears an in-mall Walgreens……there before the mall, but integrated into the 1982 complex. Woolworths was the same….there before the mall but integrated into it with interior entrances.
on October 10th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Yeah, the Walgreens here is somewhat of a relic and probably won’t go away anytime soon due to the lack of space for one of their standalone prototypes. Its sign is very neon and the store is unrenovated.
I am also wondering what the large block is on the directory. I thought it may have been Office Max but it isn’t. It might be office space? I also know UW-Milwaukee operates satellite classrooms from within the mall in the Plankinton Building. Their elevator comes out right in the middle of the mall, which I always thought was funny.
on October 10th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
That ‘block’ was once the main branch of First Bank, which I believe was regional. It’s empty now, the First Bank name having been bought out by what was (at the time) called Firststar back in the mid 1990s. Firststar was eventually acquired by US Bank. I don’t know if any offices occupy it.
Woolworth’s spot is now Office Max, as has been stated. This was only a single-level Woolworths. The second level above it is inline shop space, the floors above it are offices.
on October 10th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
It is so cool how you can look right down at the TJ Maxx. I love this place! It is a beautiful center with arches, skylights, chandeliers and 3 story atrium design. Some more big box stores and maybe some outlet stores could be added to the pretty decent store mix and keep this place viable for many years. But it is good to see that a big city downtown mall can be redefined and redeveloped instead of being closed down and demolished. Some other similiar malls have not had the chance to be redevelop such as New Orleans Centre in downtown New Orleans.
The New Orleans Centre has been closed since hurricane Katrina hit, and is probably not going to be reopened. It is a 3 level glass covered atrium type mall, similiar to Grand Avenue, opened in the late 80’s on Poydras street across from the Superdome and connected to the still closed Hyatt Regency with 2 anchors, Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. It had a few successful years following the opening. It was once owned by Simon Properties. But the same fate hit NO Centre that hit many other downtown malls. Even before the storm had hit, New Orleans Centre was on life support. It lost an anchor when Lord & Taylor closed in 2004 when they abandoned there prescence in the south. Little by little all the major chains were slowly leaving and there was not much left in the mall as far as major chains went except for Gap, Ann Taylor and a few others, and a lot of local book and souvenier type stores that are in abundance just a few blocks away all over the French Quarter. And they also had a TV station and fitness center on the 3rd floor. My last visit was in spring 2004 a few months before L&T closed and it was half empty then. Check out the posting on deadmalls.com for tale of NO centre. Even though downtown New Orleans never really shuts down because Bourbon street and the French Quarter is pretty much a constant non stop party with 24 hour bars and clubs, the mall was too far away from this constant activity and pretty much just catered to downtown workers at the food court, like many other similiar malls, guests at the Hyatt who forgot things on there vacation, and events at the Superdome. A redevelopment similiar to Grand Avenue could have been a possibity because these type of stores would have been a very good alternative to the still successful, but very upscale, Shops at Canal Place anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, at the foot of Canal street just down the street. Canal Place reopened a few months after the storm, although they did lose some of the inline tenants, it is still very upscale.
on October 11th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Here’s an interesting story about the owner’s reaction to issues they are facing at one of the urban malls in Cleveland.
http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business-3/1192092347230670.xml&coll=2
on October 11th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Another mall that would fit into this bill is the Rivercenter in San Antonio, plus this mall has the added lure of being on the Riverwalk. The difference is that due to its location, it has managed to keep itself viable.
http://www.shoprivercenter.com/main/index.php
on October 12th, 2007 at 11:41 am
I find it sad that so many urban malls are failing. With so many people within walking distance, you’d think they would appreciate all those shops in one place, especially under a roof. Although in San Francisco, the new Westfield center is doing well. But perhaps this is due to it being enormous and they have retailers found nowhere else.
Scott
on October 12th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Yeah, that was why Grand Ave was dying in the mid-late 1990s. It had all the same stores found at other malls in the Milwaukee and surrounding area. The Grand Ave. was able to turn itself around because of its space being remodeled, then rearranged to hold larger tenants.
I should note a few tenants who once left the Grand Ave, only to return in its current format as a big-box style mall.
Lane Bryant (original 1982 tenant, left in the late 1990s, returned in the early 2000s at a different location)
Old Navy (original 1982 tenants included The Gap and Gap Kids, who left in the late 1990s)
TJ Maxx (Original 1982 tenant was Hit or Miss, precursor to TJ Maxx, both chains of which were started by Zayre. Hit Or Miss left the mall in 1995)
on October 12th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
I would say The Gap and Old Navy are two vastly different operations, despite ownership by the same company.
on October 13th, 2007 at 12:34 am
I love that circular set of staircases in the Plankington Arcade. Is that clown museum still in the basement? That place always creeped me out.
on October 14th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Another thing that helps with the viability of this mall is the fact there are two big hotels attached to it. A Residence Inn and a Courtyard by Marriott. Also you have a Best Western and a Hampton Inn across Wisconsin Ave from it, not to mention a large convention center.
I can remember staying in downtown Milwaukee once and using the mall to purchase a couple of items I forgot. I thought it was a novel concept to have an office supply store (Office Max) downtown.
A cute story that sticks in my mind about this mall is being approached by a con artist. He told me he locked his keys in his car and needed $10 for a bus ticket to Green Bay. I told him that we could go inside and talk to a security guard. The guy didn’t want to do that. First time I ever encountered this scam.
on October 14th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I highly doubt it. During Tanglewood Mall’s doomsdays, there was a local firefighter’s museums. Unfortunately, when the mall remodeled to provide for more big-box tenants, the museum was kicked out.
on October 14th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Here’s a story published today about an urban mall I mentioned in an earlier post, called “What’s Next for Tower City”
http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business-3/1192351524316770.xml&coll=2
on October 15th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Why would you just abandon your car and go over 100 miles to Green Bay when you’ve just locked your keys in? They have to do better than that to swindle me, I’m afraid.
on October 15th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
That sounded kind of funny to me too.
on October 16th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Interesting article, John, and thanks for posting a link to it here. Am I safe in presuming that Tower City Center is an enclosed mall right in a downtown area, similar to Grand Ave. Mall in Milwaukee?
on October 16th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Here in Atlanta, Underground has been the mall in downtown, and it has undergone about 3 or 4 renovations since it reopened in 1989. The original attempt for the mall was to be a “festival marketplace” of sorts like Harborplace or Bayside, but the mall has turned into an assortment of Urban stores, and has become somewhat of a nightclub district. This new transformation makes a bit more sense given the demographics in the area.
Successful downtown malls I can think of:
Horton Plaza in San Diego, which was instrumental in revitlizing their downtown area when it opened back in 1985. It also helps that the mall looks like an MC Escher drawing from hell, so it’s interesting to look at.
Eaton Centre in Toronto has been pretty successful too. It also helps that it is directly attached to the subway and the underground city in Toronto as well. It’s fairly well integrated into the downtown streetscape, especially with Dundas Square across the street.
on October 24th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
The Circle Center in downtown Indianapolis is extremely popular with a full tenant list including Nordstrom and a Carson, Pirie, Scott (formerly a Parisian and interesting in that it’s in the old L.S. Ayre’s building). My guess is that it’s one of the most popular downtown shopping malls. But the first poster is correct, in that the Union Station mall died a slow death, more than likely due to the opening of Circle Center.
on October 30th, 2007 at 12:21 am
I went to Grand Avenue the day or shortly thereafter its opening in 1982. I may have been in a cranky teenage mood that trip from Georgia to see my sister but I forgot my worries when reaching the mall.
I am glad the owners have rehabilitated it. There is no way that it will attract other than area clientele. It was and still is an innovative concept- sort of the reverse of lifestyle centers.
I remember the Woolworth’s and bookoodles of stores there. Gosh I wish I remembered all their names.
on October 30th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Union Station in Indy died within a few years of its opening. It was a poorly executed renovation with very ordinary stores & restaurants and a poor layout that made some tenants fairly isolated from the rest. Archtectuarally, they really ignored the special features of the building. A good example of why shopping mall mindsets don’t work downtown. Circle Center was dead when I visited a few years ago–even a major convention with 20K people didn’t seem to help and it seemed to have killed the street life nearby.
Underground in Atlanta has suffered partly because there’s nothing around it to draw & keep people.Rich’s is long gone and the area is semi-desolate with only a few homeless people and transit users at busy times. The tenant list is pretty unimaginative. It’s gone bankrupt multiple times. It would work if there were businesses that supported real urban life there, which the mall mindset of Atlanta developers and politicians has not supported in the past and only supports with duress now.
on November 5th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Strange, we were at Circle Circle center this past summer after going to the Zoo (we live about two hours away). It was wall to wall people. Even the street life was fairly active due to the amount of restaurants surrounding the mall like the Old Spaghetti Factory.
on November 8th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
The crown jewel of the Grand Avenue Mall was the Gimbels Department Store. (Not Gimbles as typed by other bloggers.) A magnificent eight-story building of whie terra cotta that was built in stages beginning in 1902. The riverside of the building was modeled after the famous Selfrides department store in London. Gimbels opened it s first storein Milwaukee in 1887.
Many people will remember the famous FORUM restaurant on the top floor or Tasty Town on one. For decades the store features an instore bakery, meat market and candy store…not to mention wine and liqour department.
In the basement was the popular Gimbels budget store.
The company was sold to BATUS which also owned Gimbels, Kohls and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Sadly Gimbel chain of stores (Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York) were closed in the 80’s. The downtown Milwaukee store became a Marshall Fields but it never really caught on. Fields put little effort into the Milwaukee store.
on December 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I came to Milwaukee to go to college in 1979. A couple of us visited the Grand Avenue on opening day (or at least attempted to visit it), we were in a car and only succeeded to drive through the parking deck in the time we had. We never found a parking spot nor did we even exit the car.
on March 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I currently work at one of the shops in Grand Ave. It is quite depressing walking to work and seeing all the empty stores, but the store I work at seems to be doing ok. Many times, we bring in more sales just during the lunch hour than in the rest of the day. Our customers are very diverse, but mostly enthusiastic. The mall, in general, has interesting architecture, and I enjoy “window shopping” on my breaks by just looking down into tj maxx and linens.
on March 21st, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I remember Christmas shopping here with my family during the early 90’s. It was a sight to see, look at the architecture and bronze statues. I cannot believe they put a TJ Maxx in the middle of the mall. It is an ignorant use of space just a way to save money(or try to scrape up what is left). Milwaukee’s Downtown area is so small and Grand Avenue Mall is closer to the West Side (Marquette College) and doesn’t feel so safe when walking a few more blocks to the West. I go here sometimes for TJ Maxx, but there are so many boutiques and locally owned stores, that I have no reason to go to a mall. Also, 15 minutes on the freeway can get me to two or three better malls. The most recent ‘dying’ mall in the Milwaukee area is Bayshore Mall. It is an outdoor upscale mall with high end restaraunts, highend movie theatre/bowling lane/bar/lounge,LA fitness, California Pizza Kitchen, and many popular stores as well as big box stores. The only thing missing is an electronics store. It is a smart idea to included other amenities in a mall to insure constant participation, Parking is ample too, but people always fuss about not getting the store-front metered spots.
on March 21st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I just wanted to add that Grand Avenue is basically a large food court and teh ground level has two or three “custom t-shirt and air brush shops” as well as numerous no-name mobile phone stores. Just a few staples of dying malls.
on June 16th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Despite what this site touts as a successful revival, the new Shops of Grand Avenue is anything but a success story. Instead of capitalizing on the rich history of Milwaukee, the latest renovation removed any character from the mall, making it dated and ordinary before it even came to fruition. Furthermore, Northwestern Mutual and WE Energies, the former owners of the center couldn’t wait to divest of this albatross after they gussied it up and (temporarily) filed the square footage. It was sold to a NY outfit who has invested NOTHING to help this dying mall. Another blow came to the mall when Linens-N-Things filed bankruptcy, and will be shuttering their store. The photos you see on this site are of the handfull of stores still open in the mall (very deceiving). For example, take the photo of Lane Bryant. What you don’t see in the picture is that the entire wing of the mall is EMPTY. It is literally Lane Bryant and a branch of Guaranty Bank. Dress Barn, another retailer brought in before the mall was sold has already closed. Sun Coast Video and Sam Goody went bankrupt leaving another huge dent in the mall. Famous Footwear, another store brought in before the mall was sold, is struggling as a chain. So what’s left in Grand Avenue? Beyond the food court…Anchor: Boston Store, Walgreen’s, Office Maxx (and they are struggling),GNC, Lane Bryant (their days are numbered), Old Navy, Lids, Footlocker, Kids Footlocker, Children’s Place, Payless Shoes, Famous Footwear (for now), Trade Secret, Piercing Pagoda, Coldstone Creek Coffee (kiosk) and a TJ Maxx (and rumour has it that they want out). That’s it for national retailers in this HUGE mall. Then we have local retailers: a wig shop, a candy store, a home decor shop of cheap resin figurines, a pen shop (actually the only unique cool store left), two local second rate jewelery stores (all tacky gold thug necklaces), an incense shop, a thug clothing store, three small wireless phone stores, and a black clothing store that sells purple leisure suits and faux crocodile shoes. Get the picture? Not a success story. Would you come downtown for this tenant mix? Would anybody? And get this: you have to pay to park at Grand Avenue. Their new big ta-da is that if you spend $150 in the mall, you can get up to three hours of free parking! Whoppee! They should simply CLOSE the mall for a good 12 months and hope everyone forgets about the old Grand Avenue demise. Then make noticeable renovations, and work to get viable new tenants and reopen fresh. Our downtown has a humongous convention center, a public market, hotels (two of them actuall adjoining the mall), office complexes, the thrird and fifth wards nearby, three museums, a library, a casino, a college campus, and condos built on top of condos. Their is no reason this mall should have flopped. It flopped when the former mall manager, Steve Smith, went to Mayfair. Now Mayfair…that is a success story. A dumpy old mall with an ice skating rink and late 60’s decor turns into the biggest retail venuture in the metro area. You should see the place. It’s as if they are giving something away at Mayfair.
on June 16th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
From what I can tell with the store directory online:
The cheap house decor shop is “Accents & Decor”
The pen shop is “Daly’s Pen Shop”
A thug store is “Terrance’s House of Threads”
The candy shop is “Quality Candy”
And a cell phone store is: “CellUAll”, ”
Here’s some TJ forgot or I just can’t match up:
Brew City Beer Gear, Foot Action USA, Children’s Place, A to Z, Beauty Luxor, Besso, Blue Kiss Photo, Charcoal Celebrities, RadioShack and a few others.
on June 17th, 2008 at 5:06 am
You are almost right on! To clarify on a few others: the thug gold jewelry places are “New York Jewelers” (a stall space), and “Gold ‘N’ Jewels”. The thug clothing store is the A to Z, which you mentioned.. The store selling purple leisure suits is Torrence’s House of Threads, which you also mentioned. Both of us forgot about urban clothing disappointment, “Rainbow”. A recent article in the Journal interviewed Brew City Beer Gear’s owner, Mr. Keppler, who indicated he would pull out this year if the new owner didn’t turn the mall around. So, you can depend on that store being gone. I didnt include Charcoal Celebrities, because it’s really a kiosk I think.
Now, here is something really, REALLY sad. A list of the retailers that left over the years: Astors, Cignal, T. Edwards, Overland Trading Company, Track and Trail, Kinney Shoes, Father and Son Shoes, Dolci’s, Banana Republic, Attivo, Merry-Go-Round, Chess King, Bachrach’s, Baskin, Florsheim, B. Dalton, Footgear, Canary and Elephant, Wilson’s Leather, City Lights Boutique, Young Hui Imports, World Bazaar, Gap, Gap Kids, Laura Ashley, Sock Stop, J.Riggins, Eddie Bauer, Speedo, H20+, Lane Bryant, Sunglass Hut, Id, Hunt and Peck, Units, Urban Stuff, Door County Confectionary, Traverse Bay Fudge, Saint Winefred’s Faire, Accessory Lady, Earring Tree, Gloria Jean’s, Brill’s, Desi’s, Brower Shoes, Connie Shoes, Marriane, Hit or Miss, Stewart’s, Lizzie B, Musicland, Sam Goody, Limited, Limited Express, August Max Woman, Seifert’s, Marc Jacobs, Nobel Gallery, Puzzlebox, Goldi, Claro Que Si, Evergreen, Godiva, Garden Botanika, Deliciously Different, Marc’s Big Boy, Giovanni’s Pizza, Woolworth, Netzow’s Organ Center, Kay Bee Toys, Lechter’s, The Great Cookie Company, Mrs. Field’s, Benetton, Au Coton, Victoria’s Secret, M.E. Lou, South of the Border, Sophisticated Man, Pearle Vision, Fanny Farmer, Just Pants, Leather N’ Fur, Tannery West, Pacific Southwest, Haircare Harmony, Mr. Dino’s, Spencer Gifts, ToonVille, Schwart’s Booksellers, Au Bain Pan, Vie De France, Nature Company, Bailey Banks and Biddle, The Nature of Things, Afterthoughts, Woolworth Cafeteria, Jarman Shoes, Athlete’s Foot, Warner Bros., The Body Shop, Zales Jewelers, Page’s Jewelers, Powell Jewelers, KarmelKorn, Jeans West, WaldenBooks, Bachrach’s, Charter Club, Mole Hole, Camelot Music, Tape World, Claire’s Boutique, Topkapi, Brooks, Casual Corner, Petite Sophisicate, Grand Avenue News, Petland, Apricot Annie’s, Babbage’s, Brown’s Photography, Black’s Photography, Mike Crivello’s Cameras, Dejaiz, Rainbow Kid’s, Bentley’s Luggage, Cinnabon, County Seat, Dress Barn, TieDentity, Parklane Hoisery, Deck the Walls, Things Remembered, Baker’s Shoes, Michelle’s Baguette, Hot Sam’s, Chi Chi’s El Pronto, Popeye’s Chicken, Chickadilly Circus, Taco Johns, Columbo’s Frozen Yogurt, Daquiri Shack, Salad Lover’s, Sbarro, Wong’s Wok, One Potato Two, Ollie’s Ovens, Saz’s Ribs, Murphy’s Pub, BoJangle’s, Orange Julius, Betsy’s Brownies, Turkey Gobbler, Boardwalk Fries, Shinz, Jerry’s Subs, Haagen Daz, Baby Gap, Nine West, Edel’s Faces, Miniature Junction, Merle Harmon’s Fan Fair, Sterling Optical, Soltani, Northern Getaway, Vitamin World, Stein Optical, Gimbel’s, Marshall Field’s, The Bridge Restaurant, Software Etc., Merle Norman Cosmetics, Danielle’s, Hallmark, Auntie Anne’s Pretzel’s, Desmond’s Formalwear, Gymboree, Candyland,Journey’s, Talbot’s, Stride Rite, Thom McAn.
And these are just the ones I can remember. Any I missed?
on June 17th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
The roster was so big, I did forget a few more: R.A. Lang Cards, Remington, Precision Jewelers, Athletic Attic, Marshall Field’s, European Gifts, Ashley Gift, Health Rider, Rose Meister.
Anyway, you get the point. No one could make a go of it in this desolate mall. And some even tried multiple times, in different locations. It was such a booming mall. It kind of reminds me of what happened toRolling Acres Mall in Akron when the owner neglected it and got greedy with the rents. Check youtube.com for a few clips of this mall in it’s hey day and in its current condition. It is eerily like Grand Avenue. There is also another site called deadmalls.com. Grand Avenue has not managed to splash the pages of deadmall.com yet, for whatever reason.
on June 18th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Wow, CoryTJ, that’s a lot of stores that were in the mall!
I don’t think I would call this a ’successful revival’ - in fact, I pointed out that it wasn’t what it was in its heyday, which was reiterated by the exhaustive list of stores above, which were once present and aren’t there anymore.
I just wanted to point out that there was a greater dearth of stores before the renovation, which made use of the completely dead Plankinton Arcade section of the mall by converting the lower level to TJMaxx and Linens ‘n Things. Of course, all of that is being undermined with Linens ‘n Things leaving, which is too bad.
I also wasn’t attempting to deceive anyone with the photos. The photos on this website aren’t the greatest for at least a couple reasons. First, I’m not a professional photographer. Second, mall security is often militant about disallowing pictures in malls so if I get a vantage point that provides a clear photograph, I take the picture quickly. Also, I try not to take pictures in people’s faces. So it’s hard to really set up a shot and often impromptu.
At any rate, no, this mall isn’t doing well, and I apologize if anything I wrote made it seem like it was. I just felt it was necessary to point out the attempts at renovation and the positives which came to light rather than just saying ‘oh it’s dead and this sucks’ - and tell the whole story.
on June 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hey Prange Way,
First, I think your photos are of excellent quality. I don’t want you to think I was ripping on your photagraphy. This mall is, for whatever reason, a very emotional topic for me. In essence, I grew up in this mall. It allowed me to open stores (kiosks), some of which went into inline spaces ( I didn’t list them in the stores above), and this in turn paid for my college tuition. I went on to work in retail for many years as a DM before departing the retail arena for a more lucrative career.
Anyway, as I mentioned I think in one of my previous blog posts, this mall really parallels what I think happened in Akron, OH with Rolling Acres Mall. I watched a youtube video about the plateau and demise of that mall, entitled “At least they tried”. Watch it; it is a great video, but it is sure to put you in a melancholy mood. It is Grand Avenue all over again.
In my opinion as someone with first hand experience as a merchant in Grand Avenue, the mall had several things that impacted its demise:
1. Steve Smith left the mall as manager and went to Mayfair.. This guy was militant. Every day he would walk from one end of the mall to the other with the entire management team. If so much as a light bulb were burned out, he would make you IMMEDIATELY replace it. He didn’t just manage from an ivory tower. He LIVED the job, if you know what I mean. For example, at the time I managed one of the stores in the mall, and Smith came around and noticed a burned out light bulb. I told him I’d get to it later. He said, “No, now please.” I explained that I didn’t have enough floor coverage until noon, and he said, “That’s okay. I will watch the front of the store while you get the ladder. I’ll hold it.” And he did!
2. Under Steve Smith, the head of security was a gentleman by the name Fernando Perez. He was equally as serious about the mall, and did not tolerate any gang activity. Mall security was outrageously visible. And if a kid had his baseball cap tipped to one side, he was asked kindly to remove it. If he didn’t, the kid was expeditiously ejected from the mall, no questions asked. When Smith left, so did Perez.
3. Right around this same time, Rouse Management jacked up the rents. Severely! This was quite possibly the single worst thing they could have done in a time when many chains were shaken and failing. They didn’t know how to adapt out of the 80’s mentality and reinvent themselves. The party would soon be over, for everyone.
4. Several chains went bankrupt during this time period, because they couldn’t adapt their merchandise mix. E.G. Chess King, Dejaiz, Merry-Go-Round, Attivo. They were owned by one company, and just this one bankruptcy left for vacant store fronts.
5. Grand Avenue was famous for “cultivating” quality, local merchants into inline stores; and these stores looked and felt like genuine national chains. Brew City Beer Gear is a prime example. So is ME Lou, which left the mall for Mayfair, and now Brookfield. They had another key team player, Jill Ash, in charge of kiosk rentals. This woman was tough as nails. I, at times, hated her, but then again loved her just the same. NO hand written signage, no eating during business hours, in short, nothing unprofessional at the kiosks. She would pitch in and help vendors with visual merchandising and sales and product ideas. And the kiosk business flourished in Grand Avenue. She left.
6. Again, at this same time, sweethart leases were coming up for renewal, and national chains didn’t renew them. It was like the perfect storm.
With Smith and Perez gone, more thugs came into the mall. I honestly have to say they were harmless for the most part. But perception is everything. Stores that went bankrupt left holes. Rouse didn’t respond quicly enough to fill them with the proper tenant mix. The allowed mom and pop stores to rent the spaces just to fill them, but they didn’t hold them to the same standards that Ash did. Grand Avenue got hip hop crazy. Rouse’s core management team (Smith, May, Faulkner, Ash, Perez) was GONE. With the stores leaving, so did the clientelle. Neither the stores nor the customers would ever return to Grand Avenue again. It was OVER.
Then the malls former owners Wisconsin Electric (now WE Energies) and North Western Mutual, decided to renovate the mall. In my opinion they spent a lot of money to make the mall look generic. They took away any real history of the mall that reflected the local Milwaukee flavor. Instead, the mall got generic 16 x 16 off white ceramic tiles, a new goofy color scheme that was too trendy and went out of style before completion, and this big box store concept with TJ Maxx and Linens-N-Things. The Plankinton Arcade housing Linens and TJ maxx looks, well, interesting. And I’m being kind. It screams: dead desperate mall. Now it will be empty soon.
The new owner once planned another renovation for the mall, but removed plans from their website. Maybe they gave up too. Who knows. I’d love to find out what is in store for the mall that was such and integral part of my life.
Prange Way, how does one get ahold of you? I loved some of the pieces you did ( I think it was you) like Port Plaza Mall in Green Bay.
on June 19th, 2008 at 2:03 am
CoryTJ,…wow. What an exhaustive history of tenants! It covers from the mall’s opening in August 1982 till at least the late 1990s. I must say, that’s quite a feat to remember all of those. I have a mall directory from 1988 when I first visited the Grand Ave. (back when “Grand’ actually referred to the mall’s overall appearance and the sheer amount of shops within). There’s stores in that list that obviously were already gone and replaced by others in that list in my 1988 visit.
I also didn’t know Steve Smith (whose name came up a bazillion times when Mayfair Mall had to deal with its own problem of teenagers some time back) was Grand Ave.’s manager at one point. He rules over the properties he’s run hand over fist. Hard-headed for sure, but that’s something that’s lacking in a LOT of shopping malls nowadays….management who give a damn. I don’t know if he was already out by October of 1988 when I first went to the mall at the wee age of 9, but I could tell that the mall was very well kept. Not a burnt out light bulb in sight.
What the mall had that many malls back then lacked, was an even mix of local, regional and national tenants in its roster during the early years. It’s something that made the mall unique compared to the suburban ones, wherein those were mostly occupancy rate of national tenants was nearly 100% of the property. (not including anchors).
To make that list easier (well, at least the October 1988 tenant lineup) for you folks, I’m going to dig up that map, scan it, and link to it when I got the time.
on June 21st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
What about the clown museum in the basement? WHen did that come in?
on June 21st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
The creepy clown museum came in around the time of the infamous “remodel” in 2001-2002. It is thankfully gone. It creeped everyone out!
Anyone know of the new owner’s plans to reposition the mall again??? They had some drawings on their webiste but have removed them. The drawings indicated making the bix boxes back into boutique stores with awnings and topiaries. But just as soon as the plans were unveiled, they were yanked from the site.
on June 21st, 2008 at 7:16 pm
There’s something on the clown museum here:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mclown.html
Red noses in the gift shop? Would anyone even set foot in public with something like that? The clown museum website was at clownmuseum.org, but here’s something from Archive.org:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010405054548/http://www.clownmuseum.org/
on June 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
CoryTJ, I have one question about Brew City: what does it sell? Beer taps? Neon liquor signs? Just lots of beer? And what kind of other “local inline stores” were turned into “national”-looking tenants?
on June 30th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Well, those are interesting questions.
Where to begin. First, let me answer your question about Brew City Beer Gear. This is a really COOL store. It sells its proprietary designs in silk screened t-shirts, as a staple. it also sells its own line of barware and add-on items like magnets, key chains, etc. They also developed a Milwaukee version of the board game Monopoly, and they have beer making kits, and foam cheeseheads…all items you’d expect to find in Wisconsin. But they are very different and unique. The store itself sports sculptures that were commissioned and work with several themes that they used when desigining the t-shirts. The Milwaukee Bolshoi Ballet comes to mind….a comical sculpture of a portly ballerina adorns the premise.
This venture was started by a really rockin’ family…the Kepplers. The father is the overseer, and the kids are the lifeblood of the business. Frank Keppler is the nerdy but ultra-trendy lovable self-proclaimed geek that creates all the t-shirt designs. Some are nostalgic, some are sassy, all are Milwaukee. Rick is the one that cracks the whip, and George is the one that women seemed to fall all over, and he is the charismatic one of the bunch. If you go to the website: www.brewcitybeergear.com you will get the whole picture.
Their store is signed and merchandised like a national retail chain. Their mere presence in the Grand Ave is more like a favor to the mall. Although they have had stores both permanent and seasonal in other malls in Milwaukee, like Southridge, ultimately their success lies in the wholesale end of their operation. you will see when you visit the website. The problem in Milwaukee is generally management companies and mall owners that get greedy with the rents. I can vouch for this first hand.
Another concept that looked like a national retailer and was originally a kiosk was “Celebrate Wisconsin”. You can guess the types of items they carried, but the manager, Jean, came up with all these really unique items and unusual twists on a theme, from gourmet foods to kitchenware, to ornaments, you name it. Example, there was the tradtional coffee mug, but they designed mugs with different kinds (guernsey, holstein) of little ceramic cows that would peek up at you when you drank your coffee. This store left Grand Avenue in 2001 and went expanded their Mayfair store location.
I will break up this post into another post so that this column isn’t too long. There is a lot of history behind the answer to your question. lol.
on June 30th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Other stores that went in-line but looked national were:
Soltani, named after the owner. Sold high-end garments for women.
Then there was this pair of women that worked at Units (this bizarre women’s clothing place where everything looked like pajamas to me. You could take a pair of leggings and “poof” it was a scarf or a skirt or whatever). When Units folded literally overnight, these two managers Joy and Diana opened a cart called “Claro que Si” which sold Batiks and Bajas. The store went temporary inline, and looked temporary, moving from empty store front to empty store front. But then something happened. The two business partners went in two opposite directions. Joy kept the ethnic clothing theme and opened chilli Peppers. It didn’t take. Diana rolled with the punches, responding to customer demand,and opened a new concept called M.E. Lou (named after her niece).,M.E. Lou sold really different clothing for women. She eventually moved the store to Mayfair, and now it is a free-standing store in nearby, wealthy Brookfield. The M.E. Lou store looked like a national chain when it took over the old Benneton spot in Grand Avenue, and it still looks the same in its new home.
Another success was Pride of Milwaukee which reminded me a lot of the Brew City Beer Gear Store, but it had its own unique branding and direction. Rouse raised the rent and the owner, Paul, told them to take a hike. He since opened Alterra Coffee, which is like Milwaukee Metros versin of Starbucks. It is everywhere, from the Museum to the Mall, to free-standing stores. It has it’s own brand of coffee, and even restaurants here carry it. It is definitely of national caliber. See how Rouse just missed the boat by f’ing people over on the rent?! Incidentally, his wife, “Goldi” had a huge store in the mall bearing her name. It sold shoes and accessories, and clothing. It was in other malls also, and still is, but no longer in Grand Avenue. Today Goldi has several mall and stand alone stores, and looks like any national chain.
ToonVille was another kiosk wonder turned inline. It sold, as you can imagine, anything to do with cartoon characters from Warner Bros. to Betty Boop. It sold all licensed product. This store eventually took over an old Spencer Gifts location in the mall, and it looked again, like any national retailer. Professional branding and a full-fledged neon sign. Rosemary and her husband did a great job! But then Rouse signed on Warner Bros. and they didn’t renew ToonVille’s lease. Then Warner Bros. pulled out of the mall. Karma is a bitch!
Then there was a local retailer who owned a Petland Franchise. They developed a nature store, much like Nature Company, but with it’s own very distinct store design. It grew to a chain of I think 53 franchised stores at one time. I won’t say the name of the store, because the guy that owned it was such a supreme jerk to me. It is now defunct, as the concept was overdone, and the founder died of a heart attack I think. Again, Karma! But the mall, in its infinitel wisdom, signed The Nature Company. Well, we all know what happend to The Nature Company concept.
Then I also had a few jewelry concepts that went inline, but only for a very short time. At one point I had five kiosks: Elements (sterling silver) Decalage (french accessories and hand bags…total flop), Here and Now (fashion earrings and accessories), Exotic Ears (BIG fasion forward earrings and accessories), and Fintasia (sold tropical fish, aquariums, and supplies all from kiosks! and yes, I had aquariums of live fish on the sky walk!). I had so much fun! Elements and Exotic Ears went inline for a few months, with big frosted glass panels suspended from chrome. I still have the logo from Exotic Ears. Rouse finally doubled my rent and I just couldn’t keep up with the never-ending rent increases.
Oh, I almost forget Puzzlebox. This store sold unique games and puzzles, toys, and the like. It had a really cool store design with these bronze metal waves radiating along the ceiling, and the bronze matched the sign. They also had stores in Madison I think. They left in the late 80’s but I think had their roots in a kiosk.
I just have to add this note. The reason these kiosks-gone-inline looked so professional was because of the mall’s director of temp leasing, Jill. She worked like no one I’ve ever seen. She was an absolute driver…I mean, think Soup Nazi. But she pitched in and helped people with merchandising and design. She was a well-spring of creativity. I often wonder what happened to her. I really admired her work.
These are the ones I can remember. If you ever get to Milwaukee, I can show you around the mall and point out where everything “used to be”.
on July 1st, 2008 at 2:55 pm
CoryTJ, I have more questions (I’m sorry!)
1) What did “Exotic Ear”’s logo look like?
2) I know the owner of the nature store was a jerk, but what was the name of it, again?
3) Were Joy and Diana related?
4) Do you have any pictures of Grand Avenue before the early 2000s renovation?
Thanks!
on July 1st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Also, what exactly was the Plankington Arcade?
on July 1st, 2008 at 9:15 pm
First of all, I LOVE questions about this mall. It is such a part of who I am today, and I know a LOT of the history, including the owners and franchisees of many of the stores.
I will attempt to answer your questions the best I can (and I apologize in advance for always giving you “the story” leading up to the event. LOL):
1. The Exotic Ears logo. There were these two blond identical twins working at one of the Kiosks called ETC. Valerie and Vanessa. Valerie Solberg was an art student, so I paid her to create the Exotic Ears logo. The logo consisted of a female face (which looked peculiarly like a very famous female pop icon, which I will vehemently deny. LOL.) and the words spelled out in a very clean font. I have the original sign from the kiosk and I can take a picture and post it so you get the idea of what it looked like. The neon sign for the short lived in line store, which was destroyed before I could save it, was a black metal rectangular frame with white back lit lettering that had a thin violet border to it. I wish I could describe it better, but the management company took a hammer to it the second I did not renew my lease. Assholes! And I could have cried because it was a VERY expensive sign and a lot of thought went into the detail.
2. The Nature of Things. I don’t want to talk about it any further here. If you want the whole story, I’ll give it to you one-on-one someday.
3. Joy and Diana were not related. They always got along professionally, but I later learned that they were not even friends. I didn’t post their last names here, since they were not part of the former mall management (which is public record if you dig enough.) Both were very talented women.
4. Unfortunately, I do not have any such photos before the renovation. I wish I had taken some. But when you’re young you think that everything is frozen in time and will never, ever change.
5. The Plankinton Arcade. The mall is divided into two halves, connected by a very attractive sky walk. The Plankinton Arcade refers to the eastern half of the mall where a statue of John Plankinton resides in a rotunda staircase that leads down to the mall office an a pair of bathrooms, etc. At one time there was even a Patricia Stevens Career College in the basement. It was hilarious watching these girls from the “finishing school” walking all over the mall in their suits from Chess King with huge shoulder pads, and their Mary Kay “painted hamburger bun cheeks” makeup.
The Plankinton Arcade used to house Marc’s Big Boy which was so cool. It was a very retro looking mall entrance with field stone. The Plankinton Arcade also had the walkway to Gimbels, and later Marshall Field’s until they pulled out and KILLED the mall.
The Plankinton Arcade still has the lanterns on the second level that used to adorn both sides of the mall. When the new owners renovated the mall, they took out the lanterns on the New Arcade side (why, I’ll never know), along with the Green Iron clock on the New Arcade side. The entire mall had an interlocking brown cobblestone to complete the look, and that was replaced by matte cream 16 by 16 tile throughout. Also taken from the New Arcade was a fox or bear (no one really knew which) on a tightrope that traveled back and forth holding two mugs of beer. It spanned the chasm by the elevator on the New Arcade Side (see Prange Ways photos of the elevator). It was part of the Speisgarten food court (like that of the Schlitz brewery), which is now generically called The Grand Cafe. How original.The dark green railings were painted sage green, and the whole mall got this hokey light yellow-green cast paint and a ton of icky graphics along the food court in bright pinks, etc. It is the equivalent of someone wearing a brown belt and black shoes. Honestly, it isn’t a bad look, but it just doesn’t fit! Oh, also taken away from the New Arcade side when the name changed to “Shops of Grand Avenue” (which never did catch on with the locals), was the blue brick fountain which looked much like the big blue Federeal buidling also attached via skywalk to the mall through Boston Store. The mall is kind of dead sounding without the noise from the fountain. The new owners also got rid of the very loud classical music that piped from one end of the mall to the other. I loved that. It was especially fitting when Steve Smith led his brigade of royalty for their morning inspection of the mall.
6. I’m adding my own question and answer. What was the skywalk like?
A: It was a mad bustle every day in the morning, noon time, and at 5 p.m. as people scurried to get to work, to get lunch, or to get home. The skywalk was FULL of kiosk vendors. There was a waiting list. It was like an open air market of it’s own, with some very unique concepts. There was even a florist kiosk with live flowers kept in coolers…Rosemeister…LOL. The skinny twink that worked there was right next to one of my places and would complain about how everyone would walk by and say, “Oooh, I’m the Rosemeister…meister-iffic” etc. like the Saturday Night Live skit…the “meister” thing was a catch phrase back then.
Any other questions? Ask away.
on July 4th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I was excited to see work being done on the exterior and interior of the former Body Shop in a very prominent place in Grand Avenue. But my enthusiasm subsided. They simply moved the Verizon Wireless Kiosk to the store after painting it BLACK. They also filled another former storefront a few months ago…the former Sterling Optical is not Lyrics by Leija. No offense to the folks at Lyrics, but who the hell is going to shop for poems in a mall? I always see the proprietor just sitting there in this huge empty store. It is sad that the mall would take advantage of someone like this, by not telling them to find another, viable concept if they wished to open a store. Speaking of which, someone opened a shop selling, get this, stinky generic sticks of incense. Yes, Scented Garden. All the makeshift signage and stores not filled with merchandise just speak volumes about the fact that these are individuals with no retail background being allowed to embark on their little ventures. It detracts from the mall and I would think this to be a turn-off to any national chain coming through the property. I am astounded that Ashkenazy has seemingly done NOTHING to attract anyone to this center. They just seem to sit back and watch the national chains leave, one by one.
on July 10th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
The Grand Avenue Mall has quickly become one of my “favorite malls”, thanks to the information you (CoryTJ) provided me. I have thought that GAM, although not beyond repair, is a dead mall. I think that simply by getting competent people in, renovating the mall again (turn the first floor back into retail again), and et cetera will stem the outflow of chain tenants and allow GAM to flourish again. The color scheme is pretty bland, and I have two questions which are really answered with one.
1) Which skywalk were you referring to?
2) What’s the layout of the mall? See, here’s the Google Maps area:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=43.037615,-87.911471&spn=0.004485,0.006824&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=43.038733,-87.911585&panoid=bhifWQrliF4_czC3WvNzrg
You could trace the mall via the skylights. From the west, there are several buildings, and on of them might be the Boston Store (which may predate the mall), going east, there’s a skywalk over 2nd, then a larger building which appears to surround the Plankinton Arcade, then another skywalk (is this the one with the vendors?) over to the now-ASQ Center. Bizarrely, beyond THAT, there’s ANOTHER skywalk which goes over a canal area (top pic), which leads to YET ANOTHER skywalk which leads to a parking structure. So, I’m REALLY confused now.
on July 10th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Jonah,
Hi! That map tool is kind of neat, but you need to maneuver it a bit to make sure you’re facing the right way toward the mall and not the blue Federal Building. Anyway, let me try to describe the mall. For all intents ane purposes, The mall is split into two halves: The New Arcade and The Plankinton Arcade. Go with me on this. I’ll talk about the other skywalks at the end.
The New Arcade spans from 4th street to 2nd street. On the corner of 4th and Wisconsin, you have the majestic Boston Store Department Store Building. It is six storied high and the front entrance is on Wisconsin avenue, and the back entrance is on Michigan Avenue. So it is the entire block deep, if that makes sense. That is the main anchor.
In the old downtown, before the mall, you had a Woolworth Store on the bottom with offices above it, and it faced Wisconsin Avenue. It was obviously not an entire block deep. Then there were some stores along the front of Wisconsin Avenue, then a Walgreen’s with office above it, an old two story Kresge’s building that was totally converted to offices (they left the Kresge’s name in the cement, and from the looks of it this might have been a corporate regional office for the chain at one time), and at the end of the block on the corner you had 1st Bank. All of the store facades faced Wisconsin Avenue, but only Boston Store was the entire block deep.
Here’s how they built the New Arcade portion when it became a mall. They bulldozed the stores in between Woolworths and Walgreens. In it’s place they put the original facade of the mall, smack dab in the middle of the block facing out onto Old World 3rd Street. As part of the facade, perpendicular to the street, they built a small glass florist in what looked like a sunroom on one side of the entrance. On the other side of the entrance they built a glass atrium style high end restaurant with valet parking. The restaurant went out after the first year due to car thefts, and Marc’s Big Boy moved from their location in the Plankinton Arcade to this spot. Today it is no longer glass, but rather a brick Applebee’s structure. Now, imagine that they ripped the backs off Woolworths and Walgreens and built a mall behind the entire lenth of the blocks from 4th street, east to 2nd Street.
When you walked through the entrance where 3rd met Wisconsin, you had the center of the mall with a big blue fountian to match the big blue federal building acroos the street. Later, in the late 90’s, in back of the center of the New Arcade they built an adjoining Mariott Courtyard to accommodate the expected conference attendees from the new humongous Civic Center that was put up across the street. They attendees never came. And tenants that gave Grand Ave a second chance by coming back, soon shuttered. Anyway, the mall was a traditional corridor with shops on both sides of the hallway along this span, with the fountain being the center of this “X” confiuration. The original four tenants at the corners of the X were 1. Bailey,Banks, and Biddle 2. Footgear (very cool locally based shoe store with multiple locations in Milwaukee) 3. Michelle’s Baguette (Later Au Bon Pain, then Vie De France, and now locally-based and highly touted Wild Flour Bakery) 4. Brill’s (another locally owned chain of menswear stores that had multiple locations) The New Arcade was three levels of glass atrium, with shops on levels one and two, and a food court on the third level, originally called “Speissgarten”. The new arcade also housed a two level sit down restaurant, bar, and club called Apricot Annie’s. It wa between the Walgreen’s and Bank on the interior of the mall. It later was converted to stall spaces on the ground floor, and Brew City Beer Gear on the upper level. A bear on a tighrope, balancing two beers, traveled back and forth, on a uniycle in the Speisgarten, above the other levels and the fountain and could be seen from practically all points in this half of the mall. There was an iron verdigris clock (think Marshall Field’s style) outside the Bailey Banks and Biddle. And then there was the glass, light-bulb lined elevator and several escalators to get between the levels. There were lanterns on level two (see pics of Plankinto Arcade) of the entire mall. They exist only in the Plankinton Arcade now. I have no idea why. The entire New Arcade was lined with tiles in a zig zag pattern that resembled the cobblestones of the streets of Old Milwaukee.
Then there is the Plankinton Building. This building had a lot of charm. It spanned the block from 2nd street, east to Water or 1st Street.The second entrance to the mall was the Plankinton Arcade and it had the same “X” pattern to it that the New Arcade did, with specialty shops on both sides. It was two levels. This side was one big office building at one time, which is several stories high. The mall occupied two of the levels. This side, being older, was different but blended together with the other side very well. They left/repaired the old terrazo floors throughout this side, and there was an escalator and an old style elevator at one end (west) of the Plankinton arcade to get between the two levels. the escalators were taken out in the new design when the lower level was converted to a Linens and Things. On the other (east) end there was an old style elevator and the grand staircase, which still exists today. When they converted the lower level to TJ Maxx, they simply put high plexi walls around the perimeter of the railing on the second floor. The plexi also sealed off the use of the Grand Staircase which is CRIMINAL! it is so regal looking with it’s victorian dark green wrought iron designs. TJ Maxx uses it to put maniquins on it! It looks RIDICULOUS!!! The escalators were moved to the back of the Plankinton Arcade and they moved The chocolate Factory (once a small restaurant on the first level) to the second level to accommodate Linens. So when you come up the escalators now you are right by the Chocolate Factory. The Rotunda in the middle of the Plankinton Arcade leads to the second fountain with a statue of John Plankinton. It still exists, and you can see it in PrangeWay’s photos. When Ashkenazy NY bought the mall, the turned the water to the fountain off. Bastards! At the base of the Rotunda staircase are a pair of restrooms, the mall offices, and what used to be The Patricia Steven’s Career College. The first original tenants in the “X” in the Plankinton side level one were: 1. Marc’s Big Boy (later Banana Republic…a cool prototype with “caves”), 2. Gloria Jean’s 3. Deliciously Different (wonderful gourmet cafe and specialty food items, which oddly somehow had two levels without going into the actual second level. Hard to explain.) 4. August Max. The original tenants in the “X” on level two were: 1. World Bizaar (later Accessory Lady, then Godiva) 2. Puzzlebox (later Garden Botanika) 3. Sock Stop (later Eddie Bauer) 4. Baby Gap. Also, Guaranty Bank had a really odd and totally cool old fashioned looking banking lobby that opened right into the mall. No doors! It had marble columns everywhere and carved victorian detail. Also, on the first level of the Plankinton Arcade there is Peddler Jim’s produce cart and it is still there. Again, it is only there because his wholesale warehouse, Tropic Banana, is downtown near the port.
Now, take the New Arecade on the East end of the mall, and take a skywalk and connect it to the Plankinton Arcade on the West end of the mall and you hae the basic configuration. The Skywalk connected on the second level. If you wanted to cross halves of the mall on level one, you had to go outside and cross 2nd St. And you could, as there were door on each side of the mall on the first level.
The Skywalk: this thing was cool in its original form. Along the ceiling it had these inverted “V”’s which were lined with light bulbs. It was very “energetic” for lack of a better word. The skywalk had the cobblestone tiles. And the best part is that it was lined with kiosks and a florist shop with cooler, so it was a marketplace in and of itself. That’s where I sold my silver, jewelry, handbags, and tropical fish. There were also kiosks in the other parts of the mall, scattered, but this was like “kiosk central”.
Now, I know you are saying to yourself, “Where the hell was this Gimbel’s Store?” Well, that’s where the second skywalk comes in Jonah! this skywalk connected to Gimbel’s on the second level. If you wanted to get to the other anchor, Gimbels, you could cross the street on level one , or you could cross the second skywalk. The second skywalk had a Gimbels deli and frozen yougurt counter as you exited the Plankinton Arcade, and a sit down restaurant cafe on the actual skywalk, complete with frosted glass panels and mauve decor. Then there was a parque walkway in front of the partitioned restaurant, and this led to Gimbels. When Batus bought Gimbels, they converted the store to a Marshall Field’s and then shuttered it and the mall NEVER FRIGGIN’ RECOVERED!!!!
The Gimbels was cool. It had a bakery and deli and candy counter in the basement, as well as a toy store. The rest of the Gimbels was six floors of completel old fashioned department store. Clothes to Crystal to Furniture. Paired with the Boston Store’s six levels of retail, this is what made Grand Avenue, well, Grand. Boston Store also had the same format as Gimbels. Full Service everything! I also want to say here that if you look at the pics of the Grand Staircase in the Plankinton Arcade, they once had two lit forest green football shaped signs with the Gimbels logo; one hanging on each side of the staircase. Very cool signs. The dark hunter green matched all the green in the mall. The ORIGINAL green, not the ucky pastel crap. Marshall Field’s had the same football shaped signs.
Later on, Boston store shrank their six levels, including the basement, down to four levels. They always had their corporate offices above. That is where I had that advertising job where I botched the Eva Gabor wig ad and caused local havoc! When Ashkenazy bought the mall, Boston Store almost left, but didn’t. The shrank their store again. This time to two levels. They converted the basement to parking, which created a larger first level since it wasn’t hollow. That is, looking down into the store. And this accomodated the merchandise from the upper floor that the sealed off.
Now, Johah, I just know you’re going to ask me about yet another skywalk connecting the former Gimbels/Field’s to the bank. Yes, there is another skywalk that goes over the Milwaukee River and it connects to what used to be Marine Bank, but today is Banc 1. It is just a plain, gray carpet lined ugly thing. Nothing to mention really.
Also, the Gimbels was converted to 1. Borders Booksellers in the front 2. ASQ offices in the back 3. A Marriott Regency Hotel in the middle.
I should also mention that the 1st Bank on the corner of 2nd and Wisconsin is now converted to condos on top and retail space (vacant, of course) on the bottom.
I wish they would convert the shops back to the original configuration in the Plankinton Arcade.. Linens and TJ Maxx really detract from the look of this once elegant and brilliant mall…in my opinion. If you have any more questions, ask away. Hell, come for a visit. I’ll be your personal tour guide.
on August 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Grand Avenue Update…
Store openings:
1. Verizon (in the former Body Shop space).
2. Scented Garden (in the former Picture Us space). This local shop sells stinky incense sticks and reeds sticking out of jars of oil. They are using generic signage left over from merchants past (they just cut their name off) to promote “2 for 1″, apparently on incense sticks. These people do not know what they are doing.
3.Tomato Destination (in the food court, in former Murphy’s Pub space). Neat concept. A $4.99 salad. But the guy was mixing greens together in an undersized stainless steel bowl. Another local merchant that obviously has no experience. I can’t imagine this during a busy lunch rush. Well, perhaps he picked the right mall. It isn’t busy.
Store Closings:
1. Lyrics by Leija (big surprise)
2. European Gifts (which finally gave up. Tad had been in the mall from its inception).
3. Verizon Wireless. Yes, you understand correctly. It didn’t even make it for a full month!!! It opened, and closed. Ashkenazy pissed them off.
4. Piercing Pagoda (this inline space was originally Earring Tree, then Piercing Pagoda since the mall’s inception).
5. Door County Confectionary (also there since the mall’s inception).
6. Linens -N- Things is now a whopping 30%-60% off. Whooopee. They are really drawing their closing out. Signs say: NO RETURNS or EXCHANGES.
7. Faye’s Accessories (in the former Claire’s location)
8. Lane Bryant is one of the stores targeted by corporate to close this year. This will leave the Plankinton Arcade side with: TJ Maxx, Guaranty Bank, Alteration Stop, Old Navy, Daly’s Pen shop, and Van’s Shoes and Potbelly’s accessible only from the outside of the mall.. A far cry from the fifty plus stores that used to grace the halls of the Plankinton Arcade.
Ashkenazy’s big plan was to rejuvinate the mall with several kiosks that they purchased. They are all sitting in one of the many vacant stores, unused. This was there master plan that they shared with current merchants, while raising their rents. Ummm, can you say lame.