THE MALL / MALL ST. MATTHEWS
Shelbyville Road / US 60 and Interstate 264
Jefferson County (St. Matthews), Kentucky

The first shopping mall in the Commonwealth of Kentucky was developed on a 67 acre parcel, located 5.8 miles east of downtown Louisville. The shopping center site was adjacent to a major thoroughfare, which followed its eastern boundary. Opened, in 1948, as the Innerbelt Highway, it was renamed the Henry Watterson Expressway in 1952 and was incorporated into the Interstate Highway system in 1956.

The single-level, fully-enclosed shopping complex was known as THE MALL, or SHELBYVILLE ROAD MALL. It was officially dedicated on March 21, 1962 and was built on land previously comprising the Arterburn Estate. Designed by Baltimore's Rogers, Taliaferro, Kostritsky & Lamb firm, THE MALL was the sixth retail hub built by Maryland's James W. Rouse Company and the fifth to be completed by its Community Research & Development subsidiary.

THE MALL was originally anchored by a 2-level (78,200 square foot), Louisville-based Kaufman's of Kentucky, 1-level (46,200 square foot), North Carolina-based P.H. Rose ("Roses") variety store and (20,400 square foot) A & P supermarket.

There were also Taylor Drug, Rodes-Rapier, Davidson's Milliners, Fleischer's ladies' wear, Cinderella Shoe Repair, Alice Lace Shop, Bond Clothes, Benton's Tweed Shop, Maid Muller Candies, Baker's Shoes, Bell Brothers Shoes, Sutcliffe's Sporting Goods and Variety Records.

The original complex housed forty-two stores and services and encompassed approximately 308,000 leasable square feet. It was situated around two court areas. The West Court, fronting on Kaufman's, had a fountain and stairway to a small upper level, which housed public restrooms, a Community Room and entrance to the Kaufman's second floor. An over-sized chess set was adjacent to this court area. The East Court, fronting on Roses, featured a waterfall fountain, tropical garden and bird aviary.

Directly across Shelbyville Road was an outdoor movie venue. Originally known as simply the J. Shinbach Drive-In Theatre, it had opened for business on August 29, 1941. The name eventually morphed into the East Drive-In Theatre. The facility was demolished in the late 1960s and replaced by a Giant Foods supermarket and Almart discount department store.

Meanwhile, the Kaufman's store at THE MALL had closed in 1966. Stewart's, another Louisville-based department store, moved in in October of the same year. The building was expanded, with a western addition, to 117,100 square feet.

Major shopping centers in the trade area of THE MALL included SHELBYVILLE ROAD PLAZA (1955) {.2 miles west, in St. Matthews} and MID-CITY MALL (1962) {5 miles southwest, in Louisville}. GREENTREE MALL {8.7 miles northwest, in Clarksville, Indiana} opened, as a fully-enclosed, regional-class complex, in 1968.

An enlargement of THE MALL was soon undertaken, which added a sixteen-store South Wing and 2-level (178,400 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store opened for business on January 8, 1970. In 1971, OXMOOR CENTER {.8 of a mile east, in Louisville} was dedicated. This was followed by BASHFORD MANOR MALL {4 miles southwest, in West Buechel} which opened in 1973.

The official name of THE MALL was changed to MALL IN ST. MATTHEWS in the mid-1980s. Its Stewart's store morphed into an Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres on November 1, 1985. 2 years later, a renovation and expansion commenced. During its first phase, a vacant L.S. Ayres was enlarged with a second westward addition. The remodeled (195,000 square foot) store re-opened, as a Louisville-based Bacon's, in September 1988.

A second phase mall remodeling had been underway since February 1988. During this project, a vacant Roses was reconfigured as the 10-bay Picnic Food Court. Moreover, the official name of the shopping hub was shortened to MALL ST. MATTHEWS (the "In" being omitted). A dedication of newly-renovated areas was held on November 16, 1989.  

By the early 1990s, MALL ST. MATTHEWS was in decline; this precipitated by the "too close for comfort" OXMOOR CENTER. In December 1991, a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in MALL ST. MATTHEWS was shuttered. Demolition was soon underway on the mall's north end.

A (25,000 square foot) Limited-Express Superplex was built, as the exterior of the shopping hub was given a face lift. New landscaping was also installed. Twenty new stores, some in the new Limited-Express Wing, opened in November 1992.

The renovation resulted in an upturn in business. This prompted the Rouse Company to begin another expansion in early 1994. This included construction of a new South Wing and third anchor department store. A 3-level (230,000 square foot) Dillard's began business March 26, 1995.

A fifth expansion of MALL ST. MATTHEWS added a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor and multilevel parking garage. This project was dedicated October 21, 1998. With its completion, MALL ST. MATTHEWS became Kentucky's largest shopping mall, with 1,094,000 leasable square feet.

On August 15, 1999, stores in the Bacon's chain were rebranded by Dillard's. The Bacon's at MALL ST. MATTHEWS morphed into a Dillard's Men's, Children's & Home Store. The mall's original Dillard's was refashioned into a Women's Store.

A new century brought more modifications. A deal, whereby Seattle-based Nordstrom was to open a store at MALL ST. MATTHEWS, fell through in early 2001. Lord & Taylor shuttered their store on February 6, 2004. The Rouse Company, builder and owner of the complex, was acquired by Chicago-based General Growth Properties in November 2004.

In 2007, Dillard's Men's moved into the old Lord & Taylor space, leaving the previous location vacant. The original plan was to demolish the structure and replace it with an open-air "lifestyle component". However, the building was left intact, at least for the time being.

A 2-level (110,000 square foot) section was renovated and re-opened, as a Los Angeles-based Forever 21, on February 12, 2011. This store relocated from a 7,000 square foot mall space. In mid-2012, plans were announced for a new theatrical venue. The remainder of the old Kaufman's store (the part not occupied by Forever 21) was gutted. The state-of-the-art Cinemark Mall St. Matthews 10 opened May 16, 2013.

MALL ST. MATTHEWS now spanned approximately 1,076,200 leasable square feet and contained one hundred and forty stores and services. It was now The Bluegrass State's second-largest enclosed shopping mall. Following a 2014-2015 refurbishment, Lexington's FAYETTE MALL encompassed 1,184,900 leasable square feet.

Forever 21 at MALL ST. MATTHEWS downsized their store into its first floor in 2017. The (45,000 square foot) second floor was refitted as a Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe, which welcomed its first patrons in early 2019.

Meanwhile, Brookfield Property Partners, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, had acquired a share of General Growth Properties in 2016. In August 2018, Brookfield established 100 percent ownership of the corporation. Hence, MALL ST. MATTHEWS became part of the Brookfield retail center portfolio.

Sources:

preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
The Courier-Journal
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://drive-ins.com/theater
aboutnordstrom.com / "Nordstrom Cancels Plans For Louisville Store" / February 21, 2004
www.ggp.com (General Growth Properties)
www.macerich.com
Comment post by "Jonah Norason"

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