Cinebarre Cinema-Cafe, Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Cinebarre Cinema-Cafe, Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. (photo by Pat Richardson)

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former Goody's (now Davis Furniture), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. (photo by Pat Richardson)

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J. B. Ivey & Company, Charlotte, North Carolina. Storm damage due to Hurricane Hugo, September 1989. (courtesy Pat Richardson)

Previously on LiveMalls
The Ivey's Archive

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Front page of store directory from Grand Opening.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Banner outside store on 6th Avenue announcing opening. Photographed 9/26/09.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Exterior entrance. Photographed 9/26/09.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Mall entrance. Photographed 9/26/09.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Store directory.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Main aisle on Lower level 1. Photographed 9/26/09.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. Showcase at mall entrance. Photographed 9/26/09.

JCPenney; Manhattan Mall (former Gimbels), New York, New York. interior display vignette. Photographed 9/26/09.

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.

Fore more history on this space, click here for my Manhattan Mall post.

JCPenney is situated on the two below-street levels of the Manhattan Mall with escalator and elevator access from Sixth Avenue and direct subway and PATH train access on the selling floors. The store features a Sephora boutique, a large jewelry department, Custom Decorating and a catalog department, pretty typical for a suburban Penney's of this size. There was no Styling Salon, optical department or portrait studio.

The design of the store a bit of a departure for Penney's. The ceilings are very low, only 8 feet high in some places, and the extensive use of black, white and red in the interior details gave it a different look than your typical JCPenney store. Directional and department signs are lighted, making it feel very urban and helping viability. There are showcases and vignettes all over the store and Penney's has made the displays look as good as they can so show off what is actually a pretty good merchandise selection.

As expected, clothing is the primary focus of this JCPenney. Selections were a bit edited in larger sizes and petites, but there was plenty of decent looking merchandise at affordable price points. Some the merchandise clearly wasn't aimed at a typical New York shopper (a rack of teal Alfred Dunner sportswear separates comes to mind), but tourists would feel right at home with it. The home departments were also really well stocked.

There aren't a lot of sales associates on the floor, but the checkouts were very well staffed. They use a queue system similar to ones used by T.J. Maxx and Whole Foods Market, and payment is easy and efficient. There's even a package delivery service with rates as low as $15.00 for delivery in Manhattan.

I think this place has a future. Customer traffic was good for a Saturday and the store has easy commuter and tourist access via subway, commuter train, bus and foot. As long as they keep the merchandise fresh and the checkout speedy, they're not going to lose.

Dillard's (former Hess's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Dillard's (former Hess's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Previously on LiveMalls
Dillard's (former Hess's), Biltmore Square Mall

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former Belk and Steve & Barry's, Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Previously on LiveMalls
former Belk and Steve & Barry's, Biltmore Square Mall

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Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. Mall entrance. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. Exterior entrance. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. Exterior entrance detail. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. Exterior sign & detail. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina." Belk Blue" parking lot striping. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. Exterior porte cochere entrance. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina.Exterior porte cochere entrance detail . (photo by Pat Richardson)

Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall, Asheville, North Carolina. Exterior entrance.. (photo by Pat Richardson)

Previously on LiveMalls
Belk (former Proffitt's), Biltmore Square Mall

Want more Biltmore Square?
Click here for the Biltmore Square post at Sky City!

Nordstrom, Tysons Corner Center, McLean, Virginia. Photographed September 6, 2009.

Bloomingdale's (former Lansburgh's); Tysons Corner Center, McLean, Virginia. Exterior entrance. Photographed 9/6/09.

Previously on LiveMalls
Bloomingdale's (former Lansburgh's); Tysons Corner Center

Walkway between King of Prussia Plaza and The Court at King of Prussia, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. October 26, 2008.

Macy's (former Bamberger's); The Court at King of Prussia, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Exterior view, October 26, 2008.

Belk (former Leggett); Valley Mall, Harrisonburg, Virgina

Belk; former Leggett (Valley Mall), Main exterior entrance. Originally uploaded by Joe Architect.

former Sears; Cloverleaf Mall, Richmond, Virginia

former Sears; Cloverleaf Mall, Richmond, Virginia, originally uploaded by Joe Architect.

former Sears Auto Center; Cloverleaf Mall, Richmond, Virginia, originally uploaded by Joe Architect.The Sears Auto Center echoed the design of the main store.

Saks Fifth Avenue (Stony Point Fashion Park)

Saks Fifth Avenue (Stony Point Fashion Park), originally uploaded by Joe Architect.

Saks Fifth Avenue has called Richmond, Virginia's Stony Point Fashion Park home since 2003. The 80,000 square foot store boasts two selling floors and a contemporary design.

River Ridge Mall, Lynchburg, Virginia. Vintage General Cinema exterior sign, photographed 4/25/09.

River Ridge Mall, Lynchburg, Virginia. Vintage General Cinema marquee, photographed 6/5/09.

River Ridge Mall, Lynchburg, Virginia. Vintage General Cinema marquee, photographed 6/5/09.

The River Ridge 4 Cinema was opened in 1980 by General Cinema Corporation, and was a standard design for its era. General Cinema sold its southwest and central Virgina theaters to Carmike Cinemas in the 1990s, and this theater has been one of their properties ever since.

What makes it unique is that while other theaters of its vintage were closed or remodeled, this theater was essentially left the same, and is a perfectly preserved example of what General Cinema's theaters looked like in their 1970s-1980s heyday.

Regal Entertainment is scheduled to open a new theater at River Ridge this year, and although the fate of this property has not been officially discussed, it's a safe bat that it will close soon, taking with it all of its history and these signs, which is a perfect example of General Cinema's classic signage.

JCPenney, Charlottesville Fashion Square, Charlottesville, Virginia. Exterior entrance. Photographed 6/21/09.

Previously on LiveMalls
JCPenney, Charlottesville Fashion Square

Eastland Mall featured in WSJ Article

Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Exterior signs. Photographed March 14, 2009.

Charlotte's Eastland Mall is featured prominently in a story about declining malls on page A1 of today’s Wall Street Journal. If you're a regular LiveMalls reader, you know that Eastland and its former anchors (including Belk, Ivey's and Miller & Rhoads) have been featured prominently here. As this mall fades into obsucrity, it may be a good time to take a look back at the mall that was, and what better place to do it than LiveMalls?

Previously on LiveMalls
Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina

Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York. Main floor cosmetics area. Photographed March 28, 2009.

Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York. Cup of ice from Cucina & Company. Photographed March 28, 2009.

Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York.The Cellar housewares department. Photographed March 28, 2009.

Macy's, Herald Square, New York, New York. Main aisle of main floor Photographed March 28, 2009.

Previously on LiveMalls
Macy's, Herald Square

Moonlight Madness at Cotswold Mall

Cotswold Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Moonlight Madness Sale advertisement, February, 28, 1975 (Pat Richardson)

The year is 1975, and Cotswald Mall is celebrating Mardi Gras with a Moonlight Madness Sale. These are better appreciated by clicking on the images to enlarge them. Vitage ads from The Collins Company, Ivey's and Roses are featured. Special thanks to frequent LiveMalls contributor Pat Richardson for the scans.

Previously on LiveMalls
Cotswold Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina

Malls of America: R.I.P.

As of today, the much appreciated Malls of America blog has been removed from Blogger. Keith Milford's work over the past several years chronicling the history of retail was legendary and remarkably thorough. The commentary was always informative and fun, and the photo quality was consistently good.

Malls of America was around for a couple of years before new posts came to an abrupt, unexplained end about a year and a half ago, but it served as the inspiration for at least a half-dozen blogs and websites. I was a supporter to the end, and I kept going back to the site for a while hoping to see new posts. Alas, it was not to be.

If you've never seen the site, check out the archived version before it's too late.

former John Wanamaker, Hecht's, strawbridge's and Macy's (King of Prussia Plaza); King of Prussia Plaza, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Exterior view, October 26, 2008.

former John Wanamaker, Hecht's, strawbridge's and Macy's (King of Prussia Plaza); King of Prussia Plaza, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Lower level mall entrance, October 26, 2008.

Sears; King of Prussia Plaza, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Exterior view, October 26, 2008.

Nordstrom; King of Prussia Plaza, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Mall entrance, October 26, 2008.

Dutch Square Center; Columbia, South Carolina. Mall directory. Photographed January 10, 2009. (cantnot)

Belk (former J.B. White); Dutch Square Center, Columbia, South Carolina. Exterior view. Photographed January 10, 2009. (cantnot)

Richland Mall, Columbia, South Carolina. Exterior view showing portions of Barnes & Noble, parking garage and Belk (former J.B. White). Photographed January 10, 2009. (cantnot)