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It was the mid 1960’s. Shops that used to thrive in downtown Pittsburgh were closing
down in exchange for suburban settings.
Commuting had become the norm, and the suburb community of
Monroeville, PA was at the peak of economic development.
The Miracle Mile Shopping Center (pictured below) had been the
main center of commerce in the Pittsburgh satellite, but a new
phenomenon was sweeping the nation: the indoor mall.
Harper’s Mine was located just off of Route 22 and had been closed for some time. Don-Mark Realty decided that this would be a prime location for their cathedral of consumerism. 110 acres of the 280 acre area was cleared to build the 1.13 million square foot complex. $2.5 million dollars was spent to excavate nearly 5 million cubic yards of dirt. The $30 million dollar building began construction in 1967 and two years later, the doors to the Monroeville Mall were opened.
The Mall contained 125 stores on two levels and
housed The Monroeville Mall Ice Palace, a world class ice skating rink.
The parking lot contained 6,500 spaces. The Mall was decorated
with fountains and plant life that flourished under enormous skylights.
One end of the Mall featured a large
The Mall was anchored on three sides by two story department stores. Hornes and Gimbels flanked the Mall, while JC Penney sat in the middle, directly across from the Ice Palace. The stores contained in the Mall ranged from high fashion to hardware. There was a bank, several places to eat, pharmacies, pubs and even a ministry center.
It is clear that the developers intended to supply the consumer with an all-inclusive center of commerce, as well as a place that the community could embrace. They wanted to provide a place where one could handle their every possible need.
Once the Mall became prosperous, Gimbels and JC Penney both opened auto service centers in the rear parking area. An annex strip was also built that contained an A&P grocery store, a post office, a garden center and many other businesses. During the early 1970’s, more commerce began to surround the Mall, including The Cinemette East movie theatre, a Sheraton Inn, and a K-Mart.
In 1977, George A. Romero began filming Dawn of the Dead on location at the Monroeville Mall. The Mall was used as a fortress to protect four human survivors from a world taken over by the walking dead. Romero used the location to its fullest, beautifully displaying the Mall and its vastness, almost giving the Mall a cavernous feel. The movie went on to become a huge hit worldwide, leaving legions of dedicated fans in its wake. Fans travel far and wide, sometimes from other countries, just to have a chance to visit the location.
In 1981 the K-Mart was leveled, and the Pittsburgh Expo Mart, an $8.3 million dollar convention center, was constructed in its place. It was designed to attract trade shows, exhibitions, and conventions. At the time of its construction, it was the largest such center between New York and Chicago. The Expo Mart is constructed so that traffic on Route 22 flows underneath it, thus creating a ramp entrance to the Mall parking lot. In 1993 the Expo Mart hosted the Zombie Jamboree Convention, which featured a reunion of the Night of the Living Dead cast and crew, along with many other celebrities of note. Since then, conventions relating to Dawn of the Dead have been held almost annually, usually featuring a tour of the Mall.
Over the next few years, many changes were made to the Mall's layout. In 1984, much to the dismay of local citizens, the Ice Palace was replaced by a food court. The clock tower was removed, and was replaced by a holiday children’s train and an escalator. The fountain at the opposite end has been removed in lieu of a Mister Rodgers’ Neighborhood Playspace. Gimbels has been replaced by Kaufmann’s, and Hornes has been replaced by Lazarus. The Sheraton, after a brief stint as a Marriott, is now a Radisson. The Cinema is now a Best Buy.
In early 2004, the Monroeville Mall was purchased for $231.2 million dollars by CBL & Associates, a firm out of Tennessee. Shortly after the acquisition, construction began in the front parking lot that would change the face of the Mall forever. In the parking lot separating the Radisson from the front entrance of the Mall, The Village, an 86,204 square foot open-air courtyard of stores, was constructed. A large wall was constructed around The Village, concealing the new facilities, and the front of the Mall. Even with such drastic changes, once inside the Mall proper, the layout is nearly identical to when it was first created. Fans of Dawn of the Dead can still venture around the “set”, and relive moments from the film.
E. Kent
7/9/05 |
