Maple Hill Mall/Maple Hill Pavilion
Site: Maple Hill Mall
City: Oshtemo Township (Kalamazoo)
Status: Demolished
Opening date: 1971
Closing date: 2004
HISTORY
Maple Hill Mall opened in 1971 with three anchor stores: Wurzburg's, Montgomery Ward, and Steketee's. Behind the Wurzburg's and detached from the mall, was a combination Turn Style/Jewel Foods. Across the street was another mall, which opened in 1969, called West Main Mall.
In the 1980s, Turn Style was replaced by Meijer Square, a failed Meijer concept that featured only a discount department store with no groceries. When Wurzburg's closed, the former Wurzburg's was gutted and expanded, allowing for more mall space and an entrance to the Meijer store. The south half of the old Wurzburg's became Gilmore's. Jewel moved across the street to West Main Mall, and Meijer expanded into the old Jewel space, before a new Meijer was built down the road in the mid 1990s. The former Meijer was mostly torn down for Target, although the easternmost portion was gutted for another mall entry and a few additional store spaces that apparently were never tenanted.
In 1981, a newer mall called Crossroads Mall opened across town in the suburb of Portage. This newer mall featured Hudson's (later Marshall Field's, now Macy's), JCPenney, and Sears as anchors (Mervyn's, which is now Burlington Coat Factory, was added later). Despite being a larger, two-story complex, Crossroads proved to be no threat at first, and the two malls shared several stores. In a 1993 phonebook, I've found many overlapping stores at both malls, including Zales, Waldenbooks, Hot Sam Pretzels, Dollar Tree, Sbarro's and Waldenbooks. West Main Mall, however, was long dead by the 1990s.
DOWNFALL
Over time, Maple Hill Mall began to decline, especially after Gilmore's closed in the mid-1990s. Some chains like Dollar Tree and Braun's Fashions hung on for a long time, and some local stores did open. Nonetheless, by 2000, the mall's west half was almost entirely vacant, with the only major addition being an OfficeMax in the former Gilmore's.
Around 2000, according to Storetrax, some renovations were planned. The Storetrax site shows an artist's conception illustrating a Texas Roadhouse in the mall's east wing, and the lease plan shows Old Navy and Dunham's in the Target wing, with a space simply labeled "Bookstore" in the middle. The size of this bookstore space suggests that Barnes & Noble or Borders may have been slated to open in the mall in 2000. It is unknown why these plans fell through - perhaps the closure of Wards was a factor. Marshalls took a big chunk of the east wing in 2000 as well.
Surprisingly, the few holdouts in the early 2000s still kept their stores maintained. Hot Sam had the most recent logo, with "Hot Sam Pretzel Bakery" in a circle; GNC had the pastel colors and motivational quotes on the walls; and Foot Locker had a shiny black storefront. Eventually, some of the more common stores (including Pearle Vision, Hallmark and Payless Shoe Source) moved to a strip mall nearby, leaving the mall even emptier.
Montgomery Ward's bankruptcy in 2000 spelled the closure of their Maple Hill store, and Grand Rapids-based Steketee's closed its Maple Hill location around the same time. The number of tenants plummeted as these two anchors left, and by 2004 fewer than ten tenants remained, counting the remaining anchor Target and junior anchors Marshalls and OfficeMax. Hobby Lobby opened in half of the former Montgomery Ward in early 2004, then Value City Furniture opened in the other half shortly afterward. After the Wards space was filled, demolition began on the mall.
MY VISIT
In June 2004, I made a quick visit to this mall on the way back from a trip to Illinois. When I arrived, the middle section of the mall had already been demolished, leaving two "stubs". The west "stub" comprised Target, Office Max, Regis Hairstylists, and a Secretary of State office, and the east "stub" consisted of Marshalls, Dollar Tree, GNC, and Glamour Nails, all located amid a bevy of vacated storefronts. Some patrons were still visiting the mall - many coming to walk, and some shopping at Dollar Tree. The mall's security office had been temporarily moved into the former Pearle Vision storefront. It was an almost eerie sight - the vacant stores, with their gates up, and the entries cris-crossed with yellow tape, amid the very few remainders.
I purchased a disposable camera at Walgreens in the mall's parking lot, and then went in. When I spotted a security guard, I politely asked her if I could take photos of the mall for posterity. The friendly security guard said yes, much to my surprise. I had also asked if there were any other bits of esoterica she might be able to offer me; she offered me an electrician's map of the mall, as well as a bag with the mall's logo. After I was done taking pictures, she followed me out to the car, conversed with me some, and even told of a detour we could take to avoid construction on US-131.
MAPLE HILL PAVILION
Before 2004 was over, the conversion to Maple Hill Pavilion was complete. Target, Value City Furniture (which became Rooms Today), Hobby Lobby, OfficeMax, Marshalls, and the Secretary Of State office remained intact, and several strip mall spaces were built on the site of the former mall. GNC, Glamour Nails, and Regis Hairstylists have new stores between Target and OfficeMax. Dollar Tree opened a newer, larger store on the other side of Office Max. PetSmart, DSW Shoe Warehouse, Pier One Imports, rue21, Sports Clips, and EB Games (now GameStop) have opened, as well.
PHOTOS
Looking down the remnants of the west wing, just past GNC. Barely visible are the skeletal remains of the carousel.
This used to be the mall's midesction, where Old Navy, Record Town, and Family Christian Bookstore were located.
Dollar Tree in their old location.
Dr. NYC sounds like it was a clothing store.
Former Foot Locker. Note that this store looked to have been remodeled recently. Strangely, Foot Locker's online store locator still listed this store long after demolition.
Glamour Nails.
GNC.
Former Hallmark.
Former Hot Sam, with the most recent logo the chain used.
The information desk, with my clipboard on it.
Sign near the former Wards entrance. Note that Hobby Lobby walled over the mall entry.
The main entrance, with the Steketee's sign still up. This is where the DSW Shoe Warehouse now stands.
Former Mary's Boutique.
Former Payless ShoeSource, which also moved across the street to a strip mall. Next door was RadioShack. Everything else beyond the wall was torn down.
When Pearle Vision moved across the street, the old location temporarily became the security offices. (Pearle Vision's store locator used to list this store as being in the "east wing by former Wards".)
Two shots looking down the main entrance opposite Steketee's.
Former Steketee's department store. This closed in 2001. Steketee's was based in Grand Rapids. In addition to this store, they had two stores in Grand Rapids, and one each in Muskegon, Grand Haven, and Holland. The one in Holland was the last to close.
I have heard that this used to be a great Thai restaurant. (Update: It was apparently Golden Chop Stix at one point. The chopsticks logo matches a 1993 phone book listing for Golden Chop Stix in the mall.)
Looking down what remained of the main hallway, again just past GNC.
Former Zales Jewelers.
MAPS
Here is a map of the mall as it looked in June 2004.
This map illustrates many of the former tenants of the mall. Note that Dunham's and Old Navy never actually opened.
Maple Hill Pavilion as of 2007. This map is on a smaller scale than the first two maps.
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