Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)Note from Steve: Thanks to the generous contribution of Nicholas DiMaio of The Caldor Rainbow, I am able to present even more photos of the Manhattan Mall. Nick's photos were taken just before Christmas 2006, and show a lot of the details that I was not able to caputre in my pictures, including possibly the most neon-coverd McDonald's I've ever seen. LiveMalls thanks Nick extensively for his offering.
Manhattan Mall is located in Herald Square at the corner of 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue in New York. The building originally opened in 1910 as the flagship store for the iconic
Gimbels department store chain, and was open until 1986 under that nameplate.
When Gimbels closed, the massive store was modernized and reconfigured as a vertical mall originally called A&S Plaza, which opened in 1989 with an 8-story
Abraham & Strauss department store as its pimary anchor.
A&S's parent company, Federated Deaprtment Stores, merged with
R.H. Macy Co. in 1994, and eventually combined the A&S and Macy's nameplates into a single Macy's brand. Since Macy's already had a store two blocks away, Federated transfered the former A&S to its
Stern's division.
With Stern's as an anchor, the mall changed its name to Manhattan Mall and witnessed a gradual but distinct drop in popularity, hurt at least partly by the sudden proliferation of national chain stores taking up residence in nearby storefronts closer to Macy's, which culminated in near failure when the Stern's nameplate was discontinued in 2001.
The mall was drastically reconfigured, eliminating nearly half of its original shopping levels, and replacing Stern's with a relocated food court and smaller anchors like Steve & Barry's University Sportswear and Charlotte Russe. The changes increased occupancy, but compared to its original opening, Manhattan Mall is not the gem it once was.
In an effort to stem the tide of losses and increase poplarity, the Manhattan Mall will soon be reconfigured again. On April 18, 2007, JCPenney announced that it would open a 150,000 square foot store at the mall, its first in Manhattan, in 2008 or 2009. The new store will take up much of the existing mall space, but will add a popular anchor that may help the mall viable in the future.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Exterior entrance at 6th Avenue and 33st Street. Photographed 4/28/07.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 4/28/07.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Exterior of McDonald's. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior of McDonald's. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Dillard's (former Ivey's), SouthPark mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Aerial view, 1976. Belk and the main mall entrance are in the background. (Pat Richardson)
Belk (former Leggett), Valley View Mall, Roanoke, Virginia. Upper level exterior entrance. Photographed with camera phone 6/22/07.
Neiman Marcus, North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Exterior view. (Neiman-Marcus at Midnight, originally uploaded by DCVoyager.)
Macy's (former Hecht's), The Streets at Southpoint, Durham, North Carolina. Sign on exterior entrance canopy. Photographed with camera phone 6/16/07.
Matthews Belk, Eastridge Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. The California Raisins celebrating Belk's 100th Anniversary, October 1988. (Photo courtesy Pat Richardson)
Belk, Charlotte, North Carolina. Oprah Winfrey makes a benefit appearance for Belk on October 8, 1988 -- she even held a Belkie Bear! (Photo courtesy Pat Richardson)
Belk Corporate Headquarters, Charlotte, North Carolina. Womenswear vendor doing a presentation for buyers during the 1960s. (Photo courtesy Pat Richardson)
Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York. Exterior view from 7th Avenue and 34th Street. Photographed by Sammantha Casolari for New York magazine.
Tanglewood Mall, Roanoke, Virginia. West interior court, circa 1990. (Virginia Film Office )
Sears, Friendly Center, Greensboro, North Carolina. Main store building, circa 1990. (Sears Roebuck & Co.)
JCPenney, Four Seasons Town Centre, Greensboro, North Carolina. Level One mall entrance, circa 1990. (J.C. Penney Co.)
JCPenney, Four Seasons Town Centre, Greensboro, North Carolina. Escalator well. Photographed with camera phone 8/26/05.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
With Stern's as an anchor, the mall changed its name to Manhattan Mall and witnessed a gradual but distinct drop in popularity, hurt at least partly by the sudden proliferation of national chain stores taking up residence in nearby storefronts closer to Macy's, which culminated in near failure when the Stern's nameplate was discontinued in 2001.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Exterior entrance at 6th Avenue and 33st Street. Photographed 4/28/07.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 4/28/07.
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior atrium. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Exterior of McDonald's. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Manhattan Mall (former Gimbel's), New York, New York. Interior of McDonald's. Photographed 12/9/06. (Nicholas DiMaio)
Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. Photographed 4/28/07.
Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. Photographed 4/28/07.
Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. Photographed 4/28/07.
Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York. Chandelier on main floor. Photographed 4/28/07.
Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York. Exterior lighting along 34th Street. Photographed 4/28/07.
Bloomingdale's, 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, New York, New York. Entrance for the subway to Metro Level. Photographed 7/12/08.
Bloomingdale's, 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, New York, New York. Interior display on main floor. Photographed 4/28/07.
Bloomingdale's, 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, New York, New York. Escalator well between Children's and Domestics departments. Photographed 4/28/07.
Sears, Oak Hollow Mall, High Point, North Carolina. Escalator well. Photographed with camera phone 8/04/05.
Sears, Oak Hollow Mall, High Point, North Carolina. Misses Sportswear department. Photographed with camera phone 8/04/05.
Sears, Oak Hollow Mall, High Point, North Carolina. Domestics department. Photographed with camera phone 8/04/05.
JCPenney, Monmouth Mall, Eatontown, New Jersey. Vintage advertisement, circa 1981. (scanned by Pat Richardson)
JCPenney, Monmouth Mall, Eatontown, New Jersey. Vintage advertisement, circa 1981. (scanned by Pat Richardson)
