Mall St. Matthews
Encyclopedia
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
located at 5000 Shelbyville Road
U.S. Route 60
U.S. Route 60 is an east–west United States highway, running from the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast in Virginia to western Arizona. Despite the final "0" in its number, indicating a transcontinental designation, the 1926 route formerly ended in Springfield, Missouri, at its intersection...
in the eastern suburb of St. Matthews
St. Matthews, Kentucky
St. Matthews is the 20th largest city in Kentucky, United States and is a prominent suburb of Louisville. It is located 8 miles east of downtown Louisville in Jefferson County. It is one of the state's major shopping areas, being home to second and fifth largest malls in Kentucky St. Matthews is...
.
Opened in 1962 and originally named The Mall, it was the first enclosed suburban shopping mall in the state of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Located next to the Watterson Expressway
Interstate 264 (Kentucky)
The Henry Watterson Expressway, also known as the Georgia Davis Powers/Shawnee Expressway west of US 31W, is one of two Interstate Highways in the United States designated as Interstate 264 . It is 22.93 miles in length, and runs an open circle around central Louisville, Kentucky...
, the mall had A & P, J.C. Penney, Kaufman-Straus
Kaufman-Straus
Kaufman-Straus was a local department store that operated in Louisville, Kentucky from 1879 to 1969. In 1879, local retail clerk Henry Kaufman opened the first store on Jefferson between 7th and 8th. Four years later, Benjamin Straus entered into partnership with Kaufman...
, and Rose's
Rose's
Roses Stores is a regional discount store with its headquarters in Henderson, North Carolina. Once dominant in the mountainous regions and rural areas of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the chain has dwindled...
as its anchor store
Anchor store
In retail, an anchor store, draw tenant, anchor tenant, or key tenant is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store or a major retail chain....
s. The mall's features included a children's play area near Rose's (which is now a food court), an oversize chess set near Kaufman-Straus, and numerous fountains. The name of the mall was changed to The Mall in St. Matthews as other malls were built, but the mall gradually declined with stores moving to newer malls. In the late 1980s the mall was purchased by The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company, founded by James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties Inc...
which simplified the name to Mall St. Matthews and remodeled the mall to include a food court, built a new wing dedicated to stores owned by Limited Brands
Limited Brands
Limited Brands is an American apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009 it reported 9.04 billion dollars in revenue for the last fiscal year.-History:...
, and expanded the former Kaufman-Straus store (which had become both a Stewart Dry Goods
Stewart Dry Goods
The Stewart Dry Goods company of Louisville, Kentucky, commonly referred to as Stewart's, consisted of seven department stores in Kentucky and Indiana. It was a division of Associated Dry Goods in New York City....
and L. S. Ayres before closing) to accommodate a Bacon's
Bacon's
Bacon's was a chain of department stores based in Louisville, Kentucky.Jeremiah Bacon opened a store called Bacon's Dry Goods in 1845 on Market Street near Hancock Street. In 1876 he moved into a structure four times larger than the original. In 1901, Bacon's opened a location on Fourth and Market...
department store which relocated from its freestanding location at 3937 Shelbyville Road. As more retail stores wanted to move to the mall after these changes, a new wing was built which resulted in the re-routing of Sherburn Lane to the west of the new wing.
The mall expanded again in 1995 with a new wing and the addition of Dillard's, and in 1997 Lord & Taylor followed suit. In 1998 the Bacon's chain was merged into Dillard's, and the former Bacon's location became the Dillard's Men's, Children's & Home store. In 2000 Nordstrom tentatively agreed to build a store, but withdrew in 2001 before a concrete agreement was reached with Rouse. Lord & Taylor closed their store in early 2004, a portion being occupied by regional junior department store Dawahares until early 2007.
The mall currently has over 1100000 square feet (102,193.3 m²) and includes the anchor stores of JCPenney and separate Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
locations for Women (in the 1995 Dillard's building) and Men's, Children's & Home (in the former Lord & Taylor building). The Dillard's Men's & Home store relocated to the former Lord & Taylor building in late 2007, and Dillard's then turned over the former Bacon's store to the mall owner, potentially for redevelopment.
On July 13, 2007 Business First of Louisville announced in its print edition that Mall St. Matthews will undergo a major renovation with the possibility of new restaurants and a movie theatre. The former Dillard's could possibly become a lifestyle center type development.
The mall is currently owned by the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
company General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...
, which also owns neighboring Oxmoor Center
Oxmoor Center
Oxmoor Center is a Louisville, Kentucky shopping mall located at 7900 Shelbyville Road in eastern Louisville.Opened in 1971 on the opposing side of the Watterson Expressway from Mall St. Matthews, the mall originally had Shillito's and Stewart Dry Goods as its anchor stores...
and has four major stores include two Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
locations, JCPenney, and Forever 21
Forever 21
Forever 21 is an American chain of clothing retailers with branches in major cities in The United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that offers fashion and accessories for young women and men....
.