welcome to the
Crystal Point Mall
appreciation page

6000 Northwest Highway
Crystal Lake, IL 60014



This is the story of Crystal Point Mall, an
indoor shopping mall that once contained nearly 50 storefronts.
In 1998, it was converted into a boring outdoor strip mall.

This page is dedicated to its former life:
the years between 1976 and 1998, when it was
the grooviest indoor mall in McHenry County.
(Actually, it was the only indoor mall in McHenry County.)



Wow! Check this out!
1987 Video Tour Of Crystal Point Mall.
Join Mike as he takes us on a tour of the mall,
plus Kmart, Spiess, Jewel, Zayre and the
recently demolished "train car" McDonalds!


contents
before the mall (1972-1976)
phase 1 (1976-1978)
phase 2 (1978-1990)
phase 3 (1990-1997)
the end (1997 & beyond)

1972-1976: before the mall
In 1972, the Crystal Point Shopping Center Association
was established. They purchased vacant property at the northeast corner
of Main Street and Route 14 in Crystal Lake.
In 1973, Robert Hall Village was
the first store to open on the site.
Dominick's Finer Foods opened in October 1974.



Robert Hall Village was a discount department store,
similar to Kmart. In 1976, there were
30 Robert Hall clothing stores and seven Robert Hall Village
discount department stores in the Chicagoland area.


1976: the mall opens
In 1976, a single-story enclosed mall was
added to the shopping center. When it opened, it had 35 storefronts,
and was anchored on the west by Robert Hall Village and
on the east by Joseph Spiess Company.



Joseph Spiess Company was an upscale department store
specializing in clothing, shoes, jewelry, gifts and home furnishings.
The main branch of the store opened in Elgin in 1868.




Artist's conception of the mall entrance to Spiess


February 1976
Two months before the grand opening, the local newspaper published
this list of stores that were scheduled to open in the mall...

-	Minnesota Fabrics Walgreens Stuarts Fashions Kinney Shoes Brooks Fashions Crooked Horn Steak House ** Tree House Ladies Wear Browse-a-Round Books & Records Rorry's Ladies Apparel Gunter's Mens Apparel ** Thoughtfulness Shop Jordon's Mens Wear Frederick's International Jewelers **	India Imports ** First Lady Beauty Salon The Machine Gipper Formal Wear The Pants Store Claire's Boutique Trinket Tree Fashion Forum ** Service Optical Flowerama Carousel Snack Bar Merle Norman Cosmetics The Fashion Shoppe **

**stores that never opened


1976: grand opening
On March 20, 1976, the mall merchants hosted a champagne
party and mall tour. 600 invitations were mailed out to local
business owners and dignitaries. On the big night,
Spiess and 15 other shops were open for browsing. Dance music was
provided by the Vito Buffalo Orchestra. Tickets were
$5 per person and $10 per couple, with all proceeds going to the local
Bicentennial Commission.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony
was held on March 25, 1976.

The Grand Opening Sweepstakes lasted until April 17.
Shoppers could register to win a trip to Jamaica or
a Spiess charge account.

The first phase of the mall lasted from
1976 to 1978. Let's step inside and take a look....

phase 1 >>>