Willamette Town Center
 South side of the mall | |
 | |
| Location | Salem, Oregon,  United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°56′30″N 122°59′11″W / 44.94180°N 122.98650°W |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| No. of stores and services | 80 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 8 |
| Total retail floor area | 648,990 square feet (60,293 m2) (GLA) includes outlying retailers |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Parking | 3,523 |
| Website | www.lancastermall.com |
Willamette Town Center, formerly Lancaster Mall, is an enclosed shopping mall located in Salem, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1971,[1] the main part of the center has 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) of space.[2] The regional mall is located on Lancaster Drive and is bordered on the West by Interstate 5, making Lancaster Mall a retail hub for the city of Salem.
History
Originally an outdoor mall, the owners spent $5 million to enclose and expand the East Salem site in 1970.[3] Montgomery Ward then moved from downtown Salem to the newly renovated mall.[3] In 1972, the mall was to be one of the first locations in Oregon for an automated teller machine not located at a bank branch, which created controversy at the time.[4] About 1976, the Taco Time chain experimented with selling alcoholic beverages at their Lancaster location.[5]
A 17-year-old woman was kidnapped from Lancaster Mall in 1977,[6] as was a 19-year-old woman in 1982.[7] In May 1982, an ex-Salem police officer shot and killed two people at the mall before killing himself in the parking lot.[8] The mall banned the Salvation Army from soliciting there in 1988 in an effort to uniformly ban all solicitations at the mall.[9][10]
In 2008 Lancaster Mall achieved EarthWISE Certification through Marion County Public Works-Environmental Services. Lancaster Mall has committed to recycling, reducing waste, saving energy, conserving water and practice environmentally preferable purchasing in their operations.[11]
The mall was renamed Willamette Town Center in 2017. As part of the renaming, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post, and Hobby Lobby were added.[12]
Former anchors
- Montgomery Ward – closed in 2001
- The Bon Marché - Became Macy's.
- Emporium - Closed in 2003 when the chain went out of business.
- Sports Authority - Opened in former Emporium space. Closed in 2016.
- Macy's – planned closure announced in 2016[15] and final clearance sales under way in January 2017;[16] store closed later in 2017.
See also
References
- ^ "Salem's Lancaster Mall opens new shop". Portland Business Journal. November 22, 2000. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ Chain Store Age. Vol. 75 (Issues 1-6 ed.). Lebhar-Friedman. 1999. p. 104.
- ^ a b "Store to move to East Salem". Register-Guard. Eugene, Ore. Associated Press. January 13, 1970. p. 2A. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ Nacheman, Allen (October 3, 1972). "Oregon banks hire automated tellers". Register-Guard. Eugene, Ore. Associated Press. p. 7F. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ Bellamy, Ron (April 13, 1984). "Taco Time hopes selling wine and beer will ..." Register-Guard. Eugene, Ore. p. C1. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Two men kidnap girl, take car and presents". Register-Guard. Eugene, Ore. UPI. December 13, 1977. p. 7C. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Kidnap victim flees". The Bulletin. Bend, Ore. UPI. September 9, 1982. p. B4. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Ex-policeman gunfire leaves three". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. May 17, 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Mall bans Salvation Army". Register-Guard. Eugene, Ore. November 18, 1988. p. 3B. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Mall kicks out Salvation Army bell ringers". The Bryan Times. UPI. November 22, 1988. p. 12.
- ^ "Lancaster Mall earns EarthWISE Certification", Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine Salem Chamber of Commerce Business News (Salem, Ore.): p. 9. November 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/money/business/2017/04/06/mystery-solved-new-stores-coming-lancaster-mall-revealed/100103252/
- ^ Rose, Michael (April 25, 2006). "New mall, downtown Salem stores alter retail landscape". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 4 May 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.lancastermall.com/leasing/sitefacts.html
- ^ Marum, Anna (November 10, 2016). "Macy's closing downtown Portland store: 'A bit of Oregon history is lost'". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
- ^ Sell, Sarah Skidmore (January 5, 2017). "Macy's to close more stores, including 2 in Oregon". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Associated Press. Retrieved June 26, 2017.