Northshore Mall

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The Northshore Mall is one of the largest shopping malls in New England at 1.7 million square feet. Northshore Mall is located off Route 128 in Peabody, Massachusetts.

1 Early history
2 Renovations and expansions
3 Trivia
4 Anchor stores
5 Restaurants
6 Food Court and Specialty Food
7 External links

[edit] Early history

The Northshore Mall first opened in 1958 as an outdoor open air shopping center. It was known as the Northshore Shopping Center at that time. Jordan Marsh, Filene's, and a smaller Sears store that didn't feature clothing were the anchors at the time. Kresge's, J.J. Newbury, and Stop & Shop were also located there. Recreational places included a bowling alley, a cinema, and a small amusement park called Kiddietown. There was also a Catholic chapel, which remains at the mall today.

[edit] Renovations and expansions

In order to compete with the nearby Liberty Tree Mall, which was fully enclosed, the shopping center went through several changes in the late 70's and early 80's involving the closing of some stores, the moving around of others, and the enclosement of the walking area between the stores. At first the enclosement was confined to a small area by the rebuilt full size Sears store, then it eventually would enclose the entire center. The mall underwent another renovation beginning in 1992 and ending in 1994 that expanded the mall, including the addition of a food court, moved Filene's to where the amusement park once was, and added JC Penney and Lord & Taylor. The 301,000 square foot Jordan Marsh became Macy's in 1996.

In 2006, some major changes occurred at the mall. In March of 2006, the Filene's store closed after undergoing a liquidation sale, due to the merger with Federated. In May 2006, after some renovations to the former 200,000 square foot Filene's space, the Macy's store was relocated to that spot. The Lord and Taylor store was closed June 2006, due to poor sales. Also, Nordstrom has announced that they will replace the old Macy's store in the Spring of 2010. Since the new Macy's location is smaller than their former location, the Men's and Home departments of Macy's are expected to be moved into the former Lord & Taylor location in the mall soon. The old Kitchen Etc. store in the mall is still vacant, and has been for over 2 years.

[edit] Trivia

The area outside the former Macy's (future Nordstrom) space where a headstone bearing the name of a Revolutionary War soldier, Jonathan Wilson, is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of the soldier who died there.

The Northshore Mall Security Department is ranked as one of the finest in the state, and many of their officers have gone on to successful careers with the local Peabody Police, the Massachusetts State Police, and the FBI.