Sears, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Primary mall entrance, unaltered since 1989. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

Sears, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Secondary mall entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

Sears, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Original exterior signage, unaltered since 1989. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

Leggett, Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, Virginia

Leggett, Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, Virginia. Escalator well, July 30, 1975. (Photo from Hampton Roads Daily Press, scanned by Anita Rose)

The Leggett department store at Newmarket North Mall in Hampton, Virginia, opened to much fanfare on July 30, 1975. At 126,000 square feet, it was, at the time, the largest Leggett store ever built and featured the latest in merchandising and contemporary design.

Unfortunately, this store and the chain it was a part of are no more. Leggett Newmarket North closed in the mid-1990s due to underperformance, and the Leggett family sold its stores to sister chain Belk in 1997. Newmarket North Mall would ultimately cease to be a retail center, and is now known as NetCenter, an office park.

Fellow mall blogger Anita Rose, of That Mall’s Sick and That Store’s Dead, scanned the newspaper article highlighting Leggett Newmarket Fair’s opening from microfilm and generously contributed the information to LiveMalls.

Thank you to Anita for this invaluable look at the past.

Leggett, Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, Virginia. Escalator well, July 30, 1975. (Photo from Hampton Roads Daily Press, scanned by Anita Rose)

Leggett, Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, Virginia. Article on grand opening, July 30, 1975. (Article from Hampton Roads Daily Press, scanned by Anita Rose)

JCPenney, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Main exterior entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

JCPenney, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Main exterior entrance detail. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

JCPenney, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Catalog Department exterior entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

JCPenney, New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, Virginia. Primary mall entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/23/07.

Dillard's (former Ivey's), University Mall, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Exterior entrance facing South Estes Drive, June 28, 2008.

Dillard's (former Ivey's), University Mall, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Exterior detail, June 28, 2008.

Dillard's (former Ivey's), University Mall, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mall entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/31/07.

Though updated in the early 2000s, this store (opened in 1973) is remarkably faithful to Ivey's original store design.

Previously on LiveMalls
The Ivey's Archive

Roses, University Mall, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sign on mall entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/31/07.

Macy's, Valley View Mall, Roanoke, Virginia. Lower level exterior entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/30/07.

Macy's Home & Children's Store, Valley View Mall, Roanoke, Virginia. Lower level exterior entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/30/07.

Previously on LiveMalls
Macy's (Hecht's), Valley View Mall

Saks Fifth Avenue, Triangle Town Center, Raleigh, North Carolina. Exterior entrance near Food Court. Photographed with camera phone 3/24/07.

Previously on LiveMalls
Saks Fifth Avenue, Triangle Town Center

former Thalhimers (later Hecht's and Lord & Taylor), Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh, North Carolina. Sealed mall entrance with announcemnt the openeing of its latest tenant, a Hudson Belk Men's Store. Photographed with camera phone 3/24/07.

Previously on LiveMalls
Lord & Taylor, Crabtree Valley Mall

Hudson Belk, Triangle Town Center, Raleigh, North Carolina. Upper level exterior entrance. Photographed with camera phone 7/15/05.

Previously on LiveMalls
Hudson Belk, Triangle Town Center

Macy's (former Hecht's), Triangle Town Center, Raleigh, North Carolina. Mall entrance. Photographed with camera phone 3/24/07.

Previously on LiveMalls
Macy's (Hecht's), Triangle Town Center

former Belk, downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, during demolition, 1989. (Pat Richardson)

Leggett (now Belk), Tanglewood Mall, Roanoke, Virginia, 1990 (Virginia Film Office)

>Belk-Yates, Thomasville, North Carolina. Changing the lights in the Belk "B", 1988. (Pat Richardson)

Leggett, downtown Hampton, Virginia, Summer 1989. Closing of the store (symbolized by the mannequins wearing the Leggett bags) -- the new Leggett had just opened at the Patrick Henry Mall and the downtown store was almost closed. (Pat Richardson)

Picture inside one of the Belk Outlet Centers (Gastonia, North Carolina) from 1992 (note bag in front of picture). These would later merge with the Belk "Tags" stores -- these were a different division of Belk outlet stores. (Pat Richardson)

Find more Belk memories like these in The Belk Archive

SouthPark, Charlotte, North Carolina. The Intimate Bookshop, circa 1990. This was one of several locations of this chain, long since closed. (Pat Richardson)

Find more SouthPark memories like this at SouthPark circa 1990

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina

Frequent LiveMalls contributor Patrick Richardson went to the Gaston Mall in Gastonia, North Carolina, and took these great pictures in November 2006 (below). His comments are in italics below.

Gaston Mall opened in Gastonia in the early-60's and was the first enclosed mall in Gaston County (and the second in the greater-Charlotte area). With Eastridge Mall just down the street, the mall has fallen on hard times and will be closing sometime next year.

A fabric store (people come from all over the state to shop at Mary Jo''s) and the only cafeteria in the area keep people coming at the moment (plus a Harris-Teeter on the side). There was a Media Play on the front side, but it closed last year.

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Main entrance, November 2006. (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Sign pylon, November 2006. (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Harris Teeter supermarket (Pat Richardson). More on this supermarket at Grocerying

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Corridor leading from main entrance to center court, November 2006. (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Center court holiday display, November 2006 (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Interior corridor, November 2006 (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina Mary Jo's Cloth Store, November 2006. (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Jackson's Cafeteria, November 2006 (Pat Richardson)

Gaston Mall, Gastonia, North Carolina. Various storefronts. (Pat Richardson)

Thanks to Patrick for this great contribution.

A Shopping Center is Born

David at Retail Memories From Coast to Coast uploaded 2 videos (split) about Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, California, as it was in 1957 when it opened.

The videos show the center before it was enclosed, activities related to it, and vintage fashions, stores and signage. They serve as almost a class as to "how to shop" in what was then a new style of commerce.

Check them out. I think you'll enjoy them.

A Shopping Center is Born

(photo courtesy of Scott at BIGMallrat's Malls in Northern California and Reno Blog)

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Lower level mall entrance during last days of Store Closing Sale, 2/3/07. (Pat Richardson)

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Exterior entrance during last days of Store Closing Sale, 2/3/07. (Pat Richardson)

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Chandeliers at exterior entrance during last days of Store Closing Sale, 2/3/07. (Pat Richardson)

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Former cosmetics department during last days of Store Closing Sale, 2/3/07. (Pat Richardson)

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Former Misses Sportswear department during last days of Store Closing Sale, 2/3/07. (Pat Richardson)

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Children's deprtment during last days of Store Closing Sale, 2/3/07. (Pat Richardson)

Previously on LiveMalls
Belk, Eastland Mall