Tri-State Mall
| File:Replace this imageb.svg | |
 | |
| Location | Claymont, Delaware |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1967 |
| Owner | The Rosen Group |
| Website | http://www.tristatemall.net |
The Tri-State Mall is a shopping mall located on Delaware Route 92 (locally known as "Naaman's Road") in Claymont, Delaware. It is located just off of Interstate 95 and is less than a mile from the Pennsylvania/Delaware border.
Layout
The mall includes a single-level, enclosed building arranged in a cross pattern. Exterior stairs on the building's eastern end lead to an adjacent strip mall of stores on the lower level of the property's parking lot. Current anchor stores include Kmart, Burlington Coat Factory, and a "Comedy Lounge" comedy club. Former anchors include Grant City, Wilmington Dry Goods, Sameric (later United Artists) movie theater, and Value City. Former perimeter businesses include Silo Electronics, Levitz Furniture and Wendys.
History
After its 1967 opening, the mall housed numerous niche stores, eateries, and other retailers throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Residents of nearby New Jersey and Pennsylvania were drawn to the mall due to the lack of sales tax in Delaware as well as its proximity to Interstate 95. Before Pennsylvania acquired the game, residents of the state would often trek to the mall's "Tobacco Express" retailer in order to purchase Powerball lottery tickets.
The mall began its decline in the 1990s and is what many classify as a "dead mall" currently. The construction of larger malls in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as increased levels of crime and "white flight" in Claymont and its surrounding communities (including the nearby Pennsylvania towns of Chester and Marcus Hook) added to the mall's deterioration.