I consider the Galleria Dallas the #2 mall to Northpark Center in scale (Houston: hotels, tenants)

[widespreadfan]

I think the D/FW Metroplex has always had too many malls. As a child I am pretty sure I visited all of them because I had a Mom that liked to shop. I feel like now we are starting to see many of the old malls be re-developed. I live in the middle of Willow Bend and Stonebriar. Willow Bend will wind up being re-developed and Stonebriar will continue to operate as a regular mall at least at this point. I believe when the Galleria was built it was much larger than most of the other malls. North Park has since had many renovations and additions. I personally do not go to malls often except for last minute Christmas shopping and I am very content in this habit. It is going to be interesting to watch Collin Creek and Valley View be re-developed. I think my favorite thing at Valley View was the Swensen's to get ice cream at. There is still a Swensen's in Midland or at least was when we lived in Midland five years ago.

[jsnww81]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

I think the D/FW Metroplex has always had too many malls. As a child I am pretty sure I visited all of them because I had a Mom that liked to shop. I feel like now we are starting to see many of the old malls be re-developed.

The LBJ/Tollway corridor was certainly over-malled in the 1980s and 1990s. Galleria was the standout back then - Saks, Marshall Fields and Macy's (which actually had a whiff of luxury about it in those days - it was a *New York City* store!) plus loads of high-end retailers. Nordstrom went there first, ahead of Northpark, which said something about the mall's positioning in the 1990s. Going to the Galleria back then was an event, and you felt like you were somewhere special.

Prestonwood had Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor, but the store mix inside the mall itself was pretty pedestrian. A lot of national mid-range chains and some local odds and ends. It had an ice rink and a childrens' playground and the giant grandfather clock, but all things considered it was a very bland mall that happened to have a Neiman Marcus at one end. When Nordstrom opened at Galleria, the owners of Prestonwood came out with a very aggressive plan to redevelop, but it never happened and within 2-3 years the mall was dead as a doornail.

Valley View had more twists and turns - it was a middle-class mall in the 1970s (the first one north of LBJ) but tried to get a bite at the luxury apple when it opened Bloomingdales in 1983. That didn't work out and Bloomie's was gone by 1990, replaced with a very large JCPenney that actually did quite well - and that spoke to Valley View's power in the middle of the market. All four of the anchors at Valley View were very large stores, come to think of it.

Stonebriar is twenty years old but still feels like the 'shiny and new' mall in the trendy part of town - it's effectively what Galleria was in the 1980s. Willow Bend, as other folks have written, misread the demand for luxury shopping in west Plano and opened about fifteen years ahead of its time (opening a few weeks before 9/11 didn't help, either). Will be interesting to see what happens there.

The other suburban malls are all varying levels of sad. Collin Creek and Richardson Square are gone. Irving Mall and Southwest Center/Red Bird might as well be. Town East trundles along since it's the only thing happening on that side of town - Firewheel in Garland didn't chew it up nearly as much as I expected.

Saddest of all is my beloved Vista Ridge in Lewisville - I grew up in Carrollton and was there on opening day in 1989. It was the most incredible place I'd ever seen, and my memory of it through the 1990s is always of it being packed. Now it's "Music City" and basically on life support.

[tcualum]

I spent a lot of time at Prestonwood Mall because that's where I trained for competitive figure skating. Their ice rink was bigger than the Galleria's.

[widespreadfan]

I remember watching them have hockey practices there.

Does anyone remember eating at the Nieman-Marcus tea rooms? I used to go there with my Mom and Grandmother when I was young. We would eat at them at Prestonwood, North Park, and Ridgmar malls. I remember getting either chicken noodle soup and a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

[Leonard123]

I remember shopping with my mother at the Lord & Taylor stores. It was always her favorite.

I was perplexed at how how Neiman-Marcus relatively recently ended up in Fort Worth, hardly an area known for its affluence. I can't imagine that surviving in the long term.

Regardless, Texas malls are nothing compared to Orange County, CA; and they will never be able to compare. It's one area they do have us beat besides weather. I also never could understand why the Haagen Dazs shops could never survive in Texas. Practically every mall there had one.

[widespreadfan]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

I remember shopping with my mother at the Lord & Taylor stores. It was always her favorite.

I was perplexed at how how Neiman-Marcus relatively recently ended up in Fort Worth, hardly an area known for its affluence. I can't imagine that surviving in the long term.

Regardless, Texas malls are nothing compared to Orange County, CA; and they will never be able to compare. It's one area they do have us beat besides weather. I also never could understand why the Haagen Dazs shops could never survive in Texas. Practically every mall there had one.

Neiman-Marcus has had a store in Fort Worth for I would guess about 45 years. They were at Ridgmar Mall and now moved to an open air development called The Shops at Clearfork.

[4Movingeast]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

I remember shopping with my mother at the Lord & Taylor stores. It was always her favorite.

I was perplexed at how how Neiman-Marcus relatively recently ended up in Fort Worth, hardly an area known for its affluence. I can't imagine that surviving in the long term.

Regardless, Texas malls are nothing compared to Orange County, CA; and they will never be able to compare. It's one area they do have us beat besides weather. I also never could understand why the Haagen Dazs shops could never survive in Texas. Practically every mall there had one.

Relatively recently? They were at Ridgmar from 1976 to 2017. I am 43 and NM was there my entire life until the move to Clear Fork. Dude. Where are you from? I ate many popovers in that Zodiac room.

[4Movingeast]

Also don't forget that area of FW is not the shopping area but it is surrounded by million dollar plus homes on all sides from west of FW with developments like Montserrat and areas of Aledo and all the old money FW Rivercrest, Monticello, parts of Ridglea, etc. That's why NM hung in there so long. And FW has so so much old money, along with all that hot spendy new money.

I went and picked up some shirts my husband bought at Pockets in Legacy West and had altered and was floored. Not my type of shopping as I am a TJ Maxx girl that married the opposite (lol) but wow, that place is nice. There was a line to get in to one of the stores near Pockets, I can't remember if it was Gucci or LV. Too lazy to Google which one is closer. I had to grab boys from practice and had a million other things to do than shop so I called the store instead of parking and the sweet lady ran the shirts out to me. We'll definitely shop there again for him, great experience.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

I remember shopping with my mother at the Lord & Taylor stores. It was always her favorite.

I was perplexed at how how Neiman-Marcus relatively recently ended up in Fort Worth, hardly an area known for its affluence. I can't imagine that surviving in the long term.

Regardless, Texas malls are nothing compared to Orange County, CA; and they will never be able to compare. It's one area they do have us beat besides weather. I also never could understand why the Haagen Dazs shops could never survive in Texas. Practically every mall there had one.

Northpark and the Houston Galleria are considered among the very most admired and successful malls in the nation. They easily compete with SCP, which is the premier SoCal mall. What do you find lacking in TX malls besides ice cream?

[Leonard123]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Northpark and the Houston Galleria are considered among the very most admired and successful malls in the nation. They easily compete with SCP, which is the premier SoCal mall. What do you find lacking in TX malls besides ice cream?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._United_States

South Coast Plaza has more going for it. It's been a while since I've been, but Fashion Island was also one of a kind and probably my personal favorite, at least in terms of childhood memories. It may have changed. I've never been to Houston.