Town & Country Mall
Encyclopedia
Town & Country Mall was an upscale shopping mall
in Houston, Texas
, competing with the then upscale West Oaks Mall
and neighboring Memorial City Mall
. It was supposed to surpass the older Memorial City Mall but never did due to its location.
The lot was bought out by Midway Companies and closed to develop a new shopping, residential and business center known as CityCentre. Opened in spring of 2010, CityCentre is a 1800000 square feet (167,225.5 m²) development with 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) of retail, restaurants and entertainment, 149000 square feet (13,842.6 m²) fitness facility, 425000 square feet (39,483.8 m²) of office space, as well as many different types of housing.
(became Dillard's
after 1987 acquisition), JCPenney, Marshall Field's
(became Saks Fifth Avenue
after 1996 acquisition) and Neiman Marcus
. The large, comfortable interior attracted residents from all over the surrounding area. Many large anchors, such as Dillard's, continued to flourish in the golden years of the mall.
The mall initially had a large food court on the third floor in the JC Penney wing, but it was soon replaced by a children's store called Twelve & Under, which offered a selection of toys and clothing in addition to a giant play structure. The only restaurant that remained in the food court area was a McDonald's. It featured booths within the inline store as well as seating out on the mall street. Numerous other restaurants were located throughout the rest of the mall.
By the late 1980s, Memorial City Mall
, a nearby rival, was teetering on the brink of closure after Town & Country had taken the neighboring mall's 20-year grasp as the leading mall away. Town & Country was very popular through the 1980s, yet the 1990s saw a great depression.
When the Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 interchange was rebuilt in 1989, it obscured the view of the mall from the highways, giving Memorial City Mall an advantage since it was at the next Interstate 10 exit. Also, it was very hard to access the mall due to the limited amount of signage guiding people to the mall, and the clogged traffic of the Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 frontage roads. JCPenney pulled out in 2000 with the closing of several other stores nationwide. By the late 1990s, Town & Country was desperate for shoppers and tried to persuade them to come back by hosting model train conventions and such, but the mall never regained strength. By 2000, the mall was almost empty.
space in Memorial City Mall after Lord & Taylor vacated the property in 2005. Late in 2004, the mall was demolished save for Neiman Marcus, which was slated to become part of a new development on the site of the former mall. However, Neiman Marcus later closed with an official closing sale in early 2006. The building has also since been demolished.
29.780470°N 95.560423°W
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...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, competing with the then upscale West Oaks Mall
West Oaks Mall (Houston, Texas)
West Oaks Mall is a retail shopping mall in the Alief area of Houston, Texas, USA, that opened in 1984. It is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Westheimer Road and Highway 6. Anchor stores include Dillard's, Macy's, and Sears...
and neighboring Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall is a large shopping mall in Memorial City, Houston, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Gessner Road, adjacent to the large Memorial Hermann medical complex...
. It was supposed to surpass the older Memorial City Mall but never did due to its location.
The lot was bought out by Midway Companies and closed to develop a new shopping, residential and business center known as CityCentre. Opened in spring of 2010, CityCentre is a 1800000 square feet (167,225.5 m²) development with 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) of retail, restaurants and entertainment, 149000 square feet (13,842.6 m²) fitness facility, 425000 square feet (39,483.8 m²) of office space, as well as many different types of housing.
Beginnings (1983–1990)
In 1983, Town & Country Mall opened on Interstate 10 and Beltway 8 in Houston. The three-level mall debuted with anchor tenants Joske'sJoske's
Joske's, founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio, Texas. In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired the company along with the Titche-Goettinger department store of Dallas, and three years later Hahn became part of Allied...
(became 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,...
after 1987 acquisition), JCPenney, Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
(became Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
after 1996 acquisition) and Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...
. The large, comfortable interior attracted residents from all over the surrounding area. Many large anchors, such as Dillard's, continued to flourish in the golden years of the mall.
The mall initially had a large food court on the third floor in the JC Penney wing, but it was soon replaced by a children's store called Twelve & Under, which offered a selection of toys and clothing in addition to a giant play structure. The only restaurant that remained in the food court area was a McDonald's. It featured booths within the inline store as well as seating out on the mall street. Numerous other restaurants were located throughout the rest of the mall.
By the late 1980s, Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall is a large shopping mall in Memorial City, Houston, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Gessner Road, adjacent to the large Memorial Hermann medical complex...
, a nearby rival, was teetering on the brink of closure after Town & Country had taken the neighboring mall's 20-year grasp as the leading mall away. Town & Country was very popular through the 1980s, yet the 1990s saw a great depression.
Rapid decline (1991–2001)
Town & Country was a leader until the mid-1990s, when its popularity started to decrease. The mall was losing style with Houston shoppers as the interior became small and clogged while leasing space that was available could not handle larger stores that were demanded by many retailers. In fact, much of the mall's third level was vacant by the middle of the 1990s.When the Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 interchange was rebuilt in 1989, it obscured the view of the mall from the highways, giving Memorial City Mall an advantage since it was at the next Interstate 10 exit. Also, it was very hard to access the mall due to the limited amount of signage guiding people to the mall, and the clogged traffic of the Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 frontage roads. JCPenney pulled out in 2000 with the closing of several other stores nationwide. By the late 1990s, Town & Country was desperate for shoppers and tried to persuade them to come back by hosting model train conventions and such, but the mall never regained strength. By 2000, the mall was almost empty.
Closure (2002–2005)
In 2002, Memorial City Mall saw its opportunity to take back thousands of shoppers and started a huge renovation project. Dillard's then announced it would leave the mall and relocate to Memorial City after their lease expired in 2003. By 2004, only Neiman Marcus and a handful of national and local retailers remained, and when Dillard's relocated to Memorial City in favor of large, inexpensive retail space, Town & Country saw no other option but to close. JCPenney reopened inside the former Lord & TaylorLord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
space in Memorial City Mall after Lord & Taylor vacated the property in 2005. Late in 2004, the mall was demolished save for Neiman Marcus, which was slated to become part of a new development on the site of the former mall. However, Neiman Marcus later closed with an official closing sale in early 2006. The building has also since been demolished.
CityCentre (2005–present)
Following the demolition of the mall, all that remained were the mall's parking garages. In 2007, construction on a brand new outdoor shopping center, dubbed CityCentre, began. In mid-2008, the last structure from the original Town & Country Mall (the mall's entrance sign on the Beltway 8 frontage road) was taken down and replaced with a CityCentre sign. The new mall opened in early 2010.External links
- Gonzalez, J.R. "Town & Country in pictures." Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. December 15, 2009. - DeadMalls.com article about Town & Country Mall
- CityCentre redevelopment
29.780470°N 95.560423°W