Franklin Mills

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Franklin Mills
Entrance to Franklin Mills mall (without the mall's kite logo) as viewed from the parking lot.
Entrance to Franklin Mills mall (without the mall's kite logo) as viewed from the parking lot.
Facts and statistics
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°05′14″N 74°57′42″W / 40.0873, -74.9616Coordinates: 40°05′14″N 74°57′42″W / 40.0873, -74.9616
Opening date 1989
Developer Mills Corporation
Owner Simon Property Group
No. of stores and services 200
No. of anchor tenants 17
Parking Lighted Lot
No. of floors 1
Website http://www.franklinmills.com/

Franklin Mills is an enclosed shopping mall located in northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bordering Bensalem in Bucks County and 15 miles outside Center City.[1] Named for Benjamin Franklin, the mall houses 200 stores, a movie theatre, two food courts, and seven theme restaurants[2] and was visited by an estimated 18 million people in 2006[3].

Opened in 1989, Franklin Mills was the second built and formerly owned by the Mills Corporation and is now managed by the Simon Property Group.[4] Along with King of Prussia Mall, Simon has control of Pennsylvania's 2 largest malls.

Contents

[edit] Location

The Franklin Mills site was formerly home to Liberty Bell Park, a race track.[5] It is located approximately one mile west of Interstate 95, at the intersection of Woodhaven Road (Pennsylvania State Route 63) and Knights Road.

In August 2006, unconfirmed rumors circulated that the mall was being closed and sold for residential redevelopment.[6]

[edit] Branding and design

Franklin Mills mall is designed in the shape of a thunderbolt in commemoration of Franklin's kite-and-key experiment. The mall's logo includes a red kite with a lighting bolt on the right side and the string ending on the letter "A" of "FRANKLIN".

The 1.7 million-square-foot mall consists primarily of factory outlet stores.[2] The mall is separated by its 4 Neighborhoods: (Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green), and has 6 main entries including its neighborhood color entries, plus Aqua at the Grand Court and the Orange entry in its Green Neighborhood near Steve & Barry's. There are also entries at either side of the AMC 14 theater for moviegoers after mall hours.

The mall is the first Mills mall to have 2 food courts. "Cafe Court" is at Red Neighborhood 1 and is anchored by GAP. "Cafe Freedom" is a larger food court at Green Neighborhood 4.

Like all Mills Landmarks, the mall has graphics, usually hanging from the ceiling. A sculpture of Benjamin Franklin's Face is located at the Grand Court between Neighborhoods Blue & Yellow. Almost all main mall entries have a graphic at its entry. Throughout the mall, there are several sets of projection TVs hanging from the ceiling known as "Mills TV", showing video loops of music videos and advertisements.

[edit] Mall Entrances

  • Red-Liberty Bell
  • Blue-Lightning Bolt
  • Aqua-none
  • Yellow-Key with string (a nod to Franklin's lightning experiment)
  • Orange-Ink cup for its feather pens
  • Green-Bald Eagle (its entry has no kite)
  • AMC 14-entries on both sides of the theater, accessible after mall hours.

Stand-alone stores adjacent to the main mall include Wal-Mart, Super Fresh, Dick's Sporting Goods, and, Raymour & Flanigan in a failed Carrefour building, plus various fast food eateries and restaurants. In addition, there is a neighboring strip mall called "Franklin Marketplace" (former Home & Design Center) Also included on site are a Bally Total Fitness gym, a non-denominational church called Bethel, The Church @ Franklin Mills, a Sam's Club, and a Toys "Я" Us.

[edit] Anchor stores

The following anchor stores can be found at Franklin Mills:[7]

[edit] Former anchors

The following stores were formerly anchors at Franklin Mills:[citation needed]

[edit] See also

Philadelphia Portal
  • Roosevelt Mall

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Simon: Franklin Mills." Accessed July 20, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Franklin Mills Mall." Accessed July 20, 2007.
  3. ^ Van Allen, Peter. "Franklin Mills Mall lines up as major tourist destination." Accessed July 20, 2007.
  4. ^ "Simon: Find a Mall." Accessed July 20, 2007.
  5. ^ "Cinema Treasures: Franklin Mills 14." Accessed July 20, 2007
  6. ^ Kenny, William. "Is Franklin Mills on the market?" Northeast Times Accessed July 20, 2007.
  7. ^ "Franklin Mills: Mall Directory." Accessed July 20, 2007.
  8. ^ Walker, Julian. "Nordstrom registers ring in an unhappy new year." Accessed July 20, 2007.
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Former properties of the Mills Corporation (now Simon Property Group)
Operating centers
Under development
United States: 108 North State Street · Potomac Town Center — Italy: Mercati Generali
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Former properties of the Mills Corporation (now Ivanhoe Cambridge)
Operating centers
Under development
v • d • e
Shopping malls in the metro Philadelphia area
Pennsylvania
New Jersey