Cinderella City Mall
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Cinderella City Mall was a large shopping center located in Englewood, Colorado. The mall, built in 1968 and demolished in 1999, once held the distinction of being the largest covered shopping center west of the Mississippi River and featured four unique individually-named sections: Rose Mall, Gold Mall, Shamrock Mall and Cinder Alley. In addition, the Center Court area was known as the Blue Mall.
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[edit] Design and construction
In the early 1960s, developer Gerri Von Frellick proposed to build a new shopping center on what was then the KLZ radio tower property in Denver. Neighboring residents around the proposed property were asked for their opinion on the new shopping center, and fearing a disruption in their community, rejected the idea, and in turn the zoning board did the same.
After being rejected in Denver, Von Frellick approached Englewood in an attempt to buy a park spanning more than 60 acres to build his mall. The zoning board accepted his proposal, the task of designing and building the mall remained.
The newly purchased area was rectangular in that it was longer east/west than it was north/south. Von Frellick would not let the area restrict the mall's size, so he designed it with an unorthodox shape. Looking at an aerial photograph, the mall appeared to be a large "M". Each leg of the "M" shape would have a code name. On the second floor, the western wing of the mall was named Rose Mall, and the eastern wing was named Gold Mall. On the bottom floor, the corridors were Shamrock Mall and Cinder Alley, respectively. The original plans called for a structure with a one block cylindrical center court, four anchors, and surrounded in parking garages. As the plan was eventually refined, the "M" shape remained, although minor changes were made to other components. The mall's parking structure was unique as well. From adjacent streets, a look at the mall would reveal a seemingly regular parking lot at ground level. However, additional parking existed in an underground garage located beneath the mall.
Von Frellick's original name for the creation was "Cinderella City," although Englewood city officials found the name repulsive. After months of debating, the name, a combination of Von Frellick's original idea, and ideas from the community, was officially "New Englewood: The Cinderella City." The name was shortened to "Cinderella City" just months after its opening.
Construction of the 1.35 million square foot structure was difficult due to the sheer size of the project, but was also complicated by the fact that the land was a landfill prior to being a park. The landfill deteriorated the soil, and installing the massive concrete pillars was a daunting task because the soil was so far eroded, it shifted horribly.
On March 7, 1968, the mall officially opened. On the east end, however, construction was still progressing. The east anchor, along with adjacent stores and corridors, was still under construction. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic was routed around the areas still under construction. Dedication and official opening of the mall was marked by Von Frellick's wife turning on the 35-foot fountain in the center court. Over 20,000 people attended the first grand opening. A few weeks later, after the east end of the mall was finished, a second grand opening was held to officially dedicate the rest of the stores.
[edit] Early operation
Through the early 1970s, business was spectacular at Cinderella City. It was said that over 15,000 people visited the mall daily. Management received hundreds of applications from potential tenants, although all spaces were filled. For the first few years, the mall's more than 7000 parking spaces were filled to capacity and some visitors had to park in blocks surrounding the mall.
Cinder Alley, one of the two basement corridors in the mall, simulated a New York City street, complete with outdoor-esque facades and streetlamps. The ceiling tiles were painted black to simulate a sort of "night on the town" effect.
Guy "Yug" London, a professional artist, painted surrealistic work in a public area in the mall. He initially sold these paintings in the center court, and later moved to Cinder Alley.
During a routine structural inspection, workers found cracking on a pillar in the JCPenney store on the mall's north side. Fearing a structural failure, they checked other places for similar fractures, and found the massive parking deck was also becoming unsafe. The mall closed for over two months for structural repairs, and it was even speculated that the JCPenney building would be demolished. The structural problems were kept quiet to prevent economical erosion.
[edit] Renovation
As other shopping center competition popped up, Cinderella City management, now in the hands of KRAVCO, decided to embark on an enormous renovation project for the mall that would last three years, 1981 to 1984. The renovation plan changed almost everything except for the basic layout of the mall. The original concrete floors were replaced with parquetry. Skylights and square holes were added in some concourses, allowing shoppers on the first floor to view the basement shoppers, as well as allowing more light into the basement areas. One of the largest and most controversial aspects of the renovation was that of removing the 35-foot fountain from the center court. Once the symbol of the mall's uniqueness and beauty, the fountain, along with its massive plumbing, was removed. A section of parking garage under the center court was replaced with a food court. Additionally, the floor of the center court was modified to integrate the new food court with the remainder of the mall, by way of large squares cut into the floor to allow light to pass through. A large tree was also installed, which grew from the food court level through to the center court above.
In addition to interior changes, another change concerned the southwest anchors, formerly a movie theater and a Colorado-based store, Neusteter's. These two buildings were demolished, and were replaced by a top-scale May D&F, which later became Foley's.
[edit] Sales decline, stores leave
In the mid 1980s, new shopping malls around Colorado began opening, posing threats to Cinderella City's financial status and reputation, including Southwest Plaza, which opened in 1983 (the May D&F anchor opened in time for Christmas 1982), and Cherry Creek Mall, which underwent a major renovation and reopened in August 1990 with many upscale anchors and boutiques. Each brought new designs and new tenants, causing Cinderella City to appear dated.
Over the years, Cinder Alley became known for its collection of oddball stores and head shops.
[edit] Abandonment
Although the newly-renovated mall rejuvenated foot traffic and sales, continued competition, as well as more physical problems with the mall structure itself, caused tenants to begin leaving the mall in the early 1990s. Gated storefronts became more and more prevalent as time wore on, until, in the mid 1990s, entire anchors began to close. Joslins, at the east end of the mall, closed first, followed by JCPenney. Both stores anchored an entire wing of the mall. With their demise, the Gold Mall and Cinder Alley corridors were eventually closed to the public.
Following the depressing trend, the more than 200 stores that once occupied the facility left at breathtaking speed. Foley's, which was the newest structure on the southwest end, and anchored the remaining wings of the mall, closed in the mid 1990s. The last remaining anchor, Montgomery Ward, remained in the semi-abandoned mall until December 1997, when it closed due to financial strains. This officially marked the operational end for Cinderella City.
[edit] Redevelopment
During the following years, the city of Englewood would create, revise, and reject in excess of 30 plans to redevelop the Cinderella City site. Plans ranged from complete demolition and turning the land into a park, to keeping the structure and converting it to an art museum. Ideas came and went, but Cinderella City sat empty and decaying for two years.
In 1998, a final plan was adopted to rehabilitate the area with transit-oriented development. Catalyzed by a future Regional Transportation District (RTD) light rail station, Englewood planned on remaking the former mall site as a "downtown", complete with luxury apartments, mixed-use retail and residential buildings, and "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and The Sports Authority.
Beginning in late 1998, the demolition process began. Due to the presence of asbestos and lead-based paint in the mall, as well as oil and gas hazards at the JCPenney Auto Center, Englewood actually had to form a whole new committee for large-scale environmental cleanups.
During the long asbestos abatement process, immigrant workers were caught engaging in misconduct inside of the mall, reportedly throwing hazardous materials at each other. An inspector reported the incident, and requested that the abatement process come to a halt. During the abatement, progress was slow due to lack of funds and labor, but following the city's decision to terminate the asbestos abatement phase, the demolition was quickly carried out.
To demolish the structure, the team used large bulldozers and literally drove through the mall, demolishing everything except for the structural members themselves. When asbestos was a problem, a specialized demolition robot was used.
Ironically, just as the east end was the last to be finished in 1968, the east end, with the exception of the JCPenney Auto Center, was the first to be demolished. The demolition crew worked from east to west, and as one part of the structure was completely removed, construction on replacement structures began. The only original structure left in the redevelopment was the former Foley's building, which was renovated to house the new Englewood Public Library and city offices.
