This has to be the end for Metcalf South, right? (Kansas City: tenant, theater)

[CrownVic95]

I don't remember there being a Macy's at Metcalf South. Did they buy out the Jones store or something?

Edit: Hadn't read the linked article. I see the answer is there.

[kcmo]

I used to like Metcalf South because it was three levels and you could see almost every store from the central atrium. I'm sure a couple of big boxes will eventially take its place.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I used to like Metcalf South because it was three levels and you could see almost every store from the central atrium. I'm sure a couple of big boxes will eventially take its place.

I was surprised to see that it opened in 1967. I would have guessed closer to 1960 simply because I remember first shopping there in '76 and it seemed quite dated even then. Of course, that was compared to the brand new Oak Park. Interesting that those few years between them made such a difference, with Oak Park feeling so much more modern.

I suppose Metcalf South has been dying a slow death for most of the years that Oak Park overshadowed it, kinda like Crossroads in Omaha....whose death knell was Westroads, built just a few years later.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by CrownVic95

I was surprised to see that it opened in 1967. I would have guessed closer to 1960 simply because I remember first shopping there in '76 and it seemed quite dated even then. Of course, that was compared to the brand new Oak Park. Interesting that those few years between them made such a difference, with Oak Park feeling so much more modern.

I suppose Metcalf South has been dying a slow death for most of the years that Oak Park overshadowed it, kinda like Crossroads in Omaha....whose death knell was Westroads, built just a few years later.

I always thought Blue Ridge Mall and Wark Parkway Mall were much older malls, dating back to the 50's maybe? I know Blue Ridge Mall for sure and maybe Ward Parkway and Antioch were originally open air malls and then later enclosed. Metcalf South was built from the ground up as an enclosed mall, so it may have been the first actual enclosed mall built in the metro. Metcalf South was pretty busy even while Oak Park was open for quite some time, well like ten years anyway as mall years are like dog years. Life span of most malls is only 20 years.

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Kind of sad. Metcalf South was THE mall in the early to mid-70s....

I question this. For one, Metcalf South just isn't very big, but I thought Bannister was THE mall prior to Oak Park taking that title. I do believe Bannister was large and had 4 department stores. Metro North and even Indian Springs were larger and had more department stores than Metcalf South, weren't they? Edit: Ah, I see Bannister didn't open until 1980, but wow it went quick! And Metro North didn't open until 1976. I see what you and others mean who say that.

Originally Posted by MRG Dallas

It is sad to hear. I was at Oak Park Mall when I was back in August and it seemed pretty vibrant still. Are there any other shopping centers that have opened as Joco has grown south, or are malls even persona non grata now?

Still? Oak Park Mall has still been being construct in recent history and is still landing new, significant tenants, many unique to the metro. The area around it is still under construction too. In relatively recent history Nordstrom and Barnes and Noble along with other retail spaces have been physically built onto the mall. In the surrounding area, Nordstrom Rack, Target, Academy Sports, and several other retail stores and restaurants have been added.

Originally Posted by ProspectiveTransplant

Between Oak Park, Zona Rosa, and the Legends... there's only so much of a mall market in the area (I know the latter two aren't technically malls per se, but for all intents and purposes...) The Great Mall in Olathe is probably only kept afloat by the kids' amusement park, the Johnson County DMV, and the theater. I still find it hard to believe that when it opened less than 20 years ago, they were actually directing tour buses there.

Independence Center is the other major mall in the area and is second to only Oak Park. It's successful and has added on/renovated in relatively recent history.

Independence Center® Mobile Website - Independence, MO 64057-1729 - Simon Malls

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

Oak Park still does okay despite the enclosed mall concept getting somewhat out-trended by the "lifestyle center" model.

When my fiance was growing up in Mission in the late 70s and 80s, Metcalf South and Indian Springs Mall were where his family shopped. Both dead malls, now, or nearly so.

Oak Park is more than doing "okay". It's a very successful mall.

There's no mall aspect left to Indian Spring as far as tenants go. It won't be long and the building will be gone. The KCK school district and police department offices had to have a place to move and that's been taken care of, so....

Originally Posted by kcmo

I always thought Blue Ridge Mall and Wark Parkway Mall were much older malls, dating back to the 50's maybe? I know Blue Ridge Mall for sure and maybe Ward Parkway and Antioch were originally open air malls and then later enclosed. Metcalf South was built from the ground up as an enclosed mall, so it may have been the first actual enclosed mall built in the metro. Metcalf South was pretty busy even while Oak Park was open for quite some time, well like ten years anyway as mall years are like dog years. Life span of most malls is only 20 years.

I've heard and/or read the same, but don't remember the details either. I do recall that Blue Ridge and Antioch were originally outdoor malls, but don't remember if Ward Parkway was either. I do believe Ward Parkway Mall has been around since 1959 though, so if it has always been indoor it might have been the first indoor mall.

-

A complete list of KC area malls, past and present, from my recollection:

Antioch Center
Bannister
Blue Ridge
Great Mall of the Great Plains (I'm not sure I'd consider it traditional, it's different somehow).
Independence Center
Indian Springs
Metcalf South
Metro North
Mission Center
Oak Park
Ward Parkway

[luzianne]

I went to Oak Park one night just before Christmas. It was a madhouse. I'm sure Christmas was a big reason, but as I was going in, I noticed that groups of late teens/early 20s were arriving and groups of late teens/early 20s hanging out inside. That was the first time I had actually gone INTO the mall for a long time. Usually if I go to Oak Park I just stick with Penney's because it's on one end and I can go straight into the store without having to traverse my way through the mall to get to it. I'd go to Macy's on the other end if there weren't a Macy's in Prairie Village that is easier to get to. I don't like enclosed malls so I stick to the periphery if I have to go. At Christmas, though, I had to go to a specific store inside the mall for a gift.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by MOKAN

I question this. For one, Metcalf South just isn't very big, but I thought Bannister was THE mall prior to Oak Park taking that title. I do believe Bannister was large and had 4 department stores. Metro North and even Indian Springs were larger and had more department stores than Metcalf South, weren't they? Edit: Ah, I see Bannister didn't open until 1980, but wow it went quick! And Metro North didn't open until 1976. I see what you and others mean who say that.



Still? Oak Park Mall has still been being construct in recent history and is still landing new, significant tenants, many unique to the metro. The area around it is still under construction too. In relatively recent history Nordstrom and Barnes and Noble along with other retail spaces have been physically built onto the mall. In the surrounding area, Nordstrom Rack, Target, Academy Sports, and several other retail stores and restaurants have been added.



Independence Center is the other major mall in the area and is second to only Oak Park. It's successful and has added on/renovated in relatively recent history.

Independence Center® Mobile Website - Independence, MO 64057-1729 - Simon Malls



Oak Park is more than doing "okay". It's a very successful mall.

There's no mall aspect left to Indian Spring as far as tenants go. It won't be long and the building will be gone. The KCK school district and police department offices had to have a place to move and that's been taken care of, so....



I've heard and/or read the same, but don't remember the details either. I do recall that Blue Ridge and Antioch were originally outdoor malls, but don't remember if Ward Parkway was either. I do believe Ward Parkway Mall has been around since 1959 though, so if it has always been indoor it might have been the first indoor mall.

-

A complete list of KC area malls, past and present, from my recollection:

Antioch Center
Bannister
Blue Ridge
Great Mall of the Great Plains (I'm not sure I'd consider it traditional, it's different somehow).
Independence Center
Indian Springs
Metcalf South
Metro North
Mission Center
Oak Park
Ward Parkway

There was also The Landing, though that might be considered more a shopping center than a full-fledged mall. I remember it because I was sent over there to help them close the store when I worked for Dillard's. Early 1986, as I recall.

Have no idea what's left there now.

[westender]

The Landing was an urban renewal project. I recall that Nichols agreed to build it to demonstrate his interests on both sides of Troost Avenue.

Metcalf South was absolutely THE mall for Johnson County in the 1970s until Oak Park went up circa 1980. Ward Parkway Mall was more a KC thing, although lots of JoCo kids would go there for movies.

I also agree with another poster upthread that Metcalf South felt dated almost immediately -- it has a mid-1960s interior and color scheme (pinks, blues, beiges) which was dated by the early 1970s (harvest gold, avocado green, burnt orange). Nevertheless, that was where people shopped. Oak Park and Bannister, to a lesser extent, doomed Metcalf South. I am amazed it has hung on for this additional 30 years. It even outlived Bannister Mall!

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by westender

The Landing was an urban renewal project. I recall that Nichols agreed to build it to demonstrate his interests on both sides of Troost Avenue.

Metcalf South was absolutely THE mall for Johnson County in the 1970s until Oak Park went up circa 1980. Ward Parkway Mall was more a KC thing, although lots of JoCo kids would go there for movies.

I also agree with another poster upthread that Metcalf South felt dated almost immediately -- it has a mid-1960s interior and color scheme (pinks, blues, beiges) which was dated by the early 1970s (harvest gold, avocado green, burnt orange). Nevertheless, that was where people shopped. Oak Park and Bannister, to a lesser extent, doomed Metcalf South. I am amazed it has hung on for this additional 30 years. It even outlived Bannister Mall!

Oak Park was up and running before May of 1976, when I first moved my family to Lenexa. According to Wikipedia, it opened in '74.

Oak Park Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[westender]

Metcalf South did have a short window of viability in that case -- 1967 'til 1975 or so.