Penn-Can Mall

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The Penn-Can Mall is a dead mall in the town of Cicero, New York, north of Syracuse. It opened on March 28, 1976. It was the first enclosed mall on the north end of Syracuse, and the fourth mall to be built in the entire metropolitan area. It was constructed by the Winmar Company of Seattle, Washington, and had room for 86 stores. At the mall's inception, only 28 stores were open, but the other spaces quickly followed, followed by even more during an expansion in 1986, putting the mall's store count to 121. The mall also had a smaller upper level with a few small shops and a Loews Cinema. There was also an old European clock in the center court of the mall. Today the mall, including its clock, is home to a multi-dealer "auto mall".

Contents

[edit] Building Design

The mall was built in a straight line, and later it was in a "T" shape following the expansion. Its anchors were built modularly, meaning that they could be demolished and rebuilt if its occupant vacated the space, and another store had to rebuild or redesign the space to fulfill that particular company's needs. The mall was also the first two-level mall in Syracuse, even though the mall's second level was smaller than the first level.

[edit] Anchors

The mall's anchors during its lifetime were as follows:

[edit] North anchor

  • Hills - Chain later acquired by Ames
  • Ames - vacant store still standing

[edit] East anchor (added 1986)

  • Chappell's - Syracuse, New York-based chain
  • Caldor - replaced Chappell's in 1994, now part of auto mall

[edit] South anchor

[edit] Junior anchors

  • Addis & Dey's - located in northern wing, across from Denby's.
  • Denby's - 2-story location in northern wing. Later offices and additional mall space

[edit] Death

The Penn-Can Mall started to show signs of trouble in 1988, when the Great Northern Mall opened in Clay, New York about 10 miles away. Sears relocated, and was replaced by Steinbach. Chappell's also relocated to Great Northern Mall and was replaced with Caldor. The big blow, however, came in 1990 when Carousel Center was opened about 5 miles to the south, boasting 3 levels of shopping and over 200 stores. At this time, the smaller stores at Penn-Can started to move to the new mall, and the mall started to falter. In 1995, Steinbach closed, and the space was split between Burlington Coat Factory and OfficeMax. Hills became Ames in 1998, and Caldor closed in 1996. The mall went from the most popular to the most avoided in a period of ten years.

[edit] Today

Center Court of Driver's Village in December 2006
Center Court of Driver's Village in December 2006

In early 2000, Roger Burdick, a local area auto dealer, purchased the old mall and proceeded to turn it into an auto mall, known as Driver's Village. The old Sears and Ames wings were demolished, and the rest of the mall was gutted, save for the hallway and the eastern portion of the newer wing from 1986. Ames closed in 2002 and was turned into a used car showroom. The rest of the mall was converted into showrooms and service centers for 15 auto makes. Remaining retail is limited to Burlington Coat Factory, two coffee shops, and a Driver's Village auto accessory store. There is also a NASCAR Silicon (virtual) Speedway and an Aspen Athletic Club.

[edit] Highlights

Highlights of the new auto mall include, but are not limited to:

  • ASPEN Athletic Club - Fitness club pertaining to local residents, as well as the auto shoppers.
  • Nascar Silicon Motor Speedway - a cyber Nascar racing experience powered by television and high powered video game consoles.
  • Drivers Expressions - gift shop located near the old Caldor.

[edit] External links

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