Sharpstown Center

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Mall facts and statistics
Sharpstown Mall
View along Bellaire Boulevard

Location	Houston, Texas, USA
Opening date	1961
Developer	Frank Sharp
No. of anchor tenants	2
No. of floors	2
Website	www.shopsharpstown.com

Sharpstown Center, colloquially named Sharpstown Mall, is the world's first air conditioned mall located in the Sharpstown development of Houston, Texas. It is located on the northwest corner of U.S. Route 59 and Bellaire Boulevard. This is the second mall to be built in Houston after Gulfgate Mall opened in 1956.

The mall consists of the mall building itself and the high-rise Jewerly Exchange Center.

1 History
- 1.1 Retail mix
2 Anchor stores
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Sharpstown Center consisted of many stores and the Sharpstown State Bank—closed after the Sharpstown scandal; now the Jewelry Exchange Center. Because it was the world's first air conditioned mall, many Houston residents residing in the central part of the city wanted to experience the "mall of the future." The mall features the first Foley's branch store. The remains of the bank are two drive-throughs in the middle of the front parking lot that are still standing to this day.

Transportation was a major problem because it took Houstonians hours to get to the mall. Frank Sharp decided to donate a 300 ft (91 m)^[1] wide strip of land to build the Southwest Freeway (U.S. Route 59) through his development and position the mall on the outbound side of the freeway to provide quick access to the mall.

In the early-1980's, a second floor was added and the mall extensively renovated from its original 1950's appearance. A food court was added in the former Battelstein's department store.

In the mid-1990's, the mall was branded as the "Sharpstown Center." In 1998, neighboring Westwood Mall with the area's Dillard's and Sears stores closed. Recently, to attract customers, it bills itself as "Houston's Premiere Urban Mall" on its website to compete against the nearby Houston Galleria. The mall's proximity to the city center and frontage on a major freeway might revitalize the mall and the surrounding development in the fashion of Memorial City Mall and its surrounding area.

[edit] Retail mix

The mall contains mostly independent shops. ^[2] Some national chain speciality stores, such as Bath & Body Works and City Sports, have stores in the mall.

[edit] Anchor stores

Burlington Coat Factory (181,477 square feet, opened in former Montgomery Ward)
Macy's (360,846 square feet, opened as Foley's in 1961, became Macy's 2006)
Vacant (177,229 square feet, opened as JCPenney in 1981, closed 1998, still empty)

[edit] References

^ Slotboom, Oscar F. "Erik" (2003). Houston Freeways. Oscar F. Slotboom. ISBN 0-9741605-3-9. Also available in full online: Houston Freeways.
^ Sharpstown Mall, Houston Chronicle, November 18, 2005.