Big Town Mall
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Big Town Mall, located at 800 Big Town Shopping Ctr., just off of U.S. 80 E. and Loop 12 in Mesquite, Texas, was constructed in 1959 and was the first enclosed, air-conditioned shopping mall in the Southwest. Some of the surrounding facilities included Bowlanes, A&R Course, Horse and Rider, an Exhibition hall, and a half price shoe store. At one time up to three major chain stores such as JC Penney, Sanger-Harris, and Neiman Marcus were part of the complex. The attached Woolworths was also quite popular due to its sizable inventory and food court.
This once popular spot in Mesquite that housed department stores, retail shops, an early form of arcade, and even a movie theater has since become a derelict building [1] after Montgomery Ward went bankrupt in 2001 and Town East Mall became the new "hotspot" for local and national retailers. For several years the mall stayed active with privately owned shops targeting urban young.
In September of 2005, Big Town Mall was designated a staging point for the victims of Hurricane Katrina coming to Dallas for shelter and relief. From there, they traveled along I-635 to I-35 to settle in the Reunion Arena and the Dallas Convention Center where they were housed until able to return to their homes in Louisiana. The mall's parking space was utilized as a first stop for evacuees – where authorities searched for weapons, screened them for medical conditions, gave them a light snack and passed them along to any number of shelters in Dallas, Fort Worth and even Oklahoma. [2]
In early 2006 the decision was made to tear down the mall and neighboring farmer's market. The demolition project started on the week of May 22, 2006, and was completed in September of that year.[3] There are currently no plans as to what will replace it. However the nearby Exhibition Hall is still in use with exhibitions such as gun and boat shows each weekend.
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