Castleton Square

Castleton Square Mall is the largest and busiest mall in the state of Indiana.^[1] Built by Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr., in 1972, it is located in northeastern Indianapolis and owned by Simon Property Group. The largest stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Macy's, Von Maur and Sears. A large area in front of Dick's contains a large children's play area and a food court which are popular meeting places within the mall.

History

Riding off of the success of Lafayette Square Mall on the city's northwest side, DeBartolo planned two additional yet similar malls in Indianapolis, one of which was Castleton Square. Ground was broken for the mall in 1970 and it opened in September 1972 with four anchors.

At that time, there was very little development in Castleton. However, in the years that followed, tremendous growth quickly sprang up on all sides adjacent to the mall, most of it retail with some residential apartment complexes and office buildings mixed in. By the early 1990s, the entire Castleton corridor was nearly completely built up.

Construction was begun in 1990 for a fifth anchor on the south side of the mall. L. S. Ayres opened its Castleton Square location in 1992, and a sixth anchor and food court was added in 1999. The mall underwent an extensive renovation the following year.

In 2006 the L. S Ayres store and parking garage were demolished to make room for an AMC Theater, Borders, and several out door retail.

In 2012, the mall expanded both Finish Line and H&M, introduced Off Broadway Shoes to the Sears wing, and moved Forever 21 into the former Borders space out front.

Incidents

On March 9, 2013, fights broke out among several teens in the mall food court. Police had to move the teens to the McDonald's across the street. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Linda Jackson said there was a fight and a few arrests were made. Jackson said officers at the scene had the fight under control and no extra units were dispatched. The officers moved kids away from the mall and the kids were told to call their parents or board buses to be sent home.^[2][3][4]

A second incident arose in October of 2014. The fight happened in the parking lot of the AMC Theater in the front section of Castleton Square Mall Saturday night around 11:30. Despite the efforts of several mall security guards, it took two dozen IMPD officers to get the situation under control. A 16-year-old and 17-year-old were arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. ^[5]

A third incident occurred on Saturday, January 3, 2015. An unruly crowd of teenagers sparked a fracas that frightened shoppers and forced some moviegoers to leave mid-show. While police received reports of shots being fired, officers were unable to locate a gun or any shell casings. No one was arrested and the mall did not close, but officers did disperse the youths, who ranged in age from 14 on up. The AMC Castleton Square 14 movie theater interrupted some of its screenings mid-show. The fight started out small, but gradually drew in more and more people. Later, there were reports of shots fired in front of the AMC movie theater, but again police have not found any evidence of gunfire. There were no reports of injuries and, as of Saturday night, no arrests were made. Police just dispersed the large crowds that began gathering outside the mall after the fight and alleged shooting and restored civility just before 10 p.m. They say no arrests were made and no evidence was found to substantiate gunshots. The investigation is ongoing.^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}

Present

Castleton Square is currently both the largest and busiest mall in Indiana. An expansion to the building similar in nature to a lifestyle center was completed in late 2007 on the site of an L. S. Ayres department store, and a 14-screen cinema operated by AMC Theatres.

Anchors

Current

• Dick's Sporting Goods (100,000 sq ft.) (opened as Galyan's until Dick's bought them)
• JCPenney (178,727 sq ft.)
• Macy's (298,454 sq ft.) (opened 1973 as Lazarus, became Lazarus-Macy's 2003, Macy's 2005)
• Sears (212,012 sq ft.)
• Von Maur (103,375 sq ft.)

Former

• L.S. Ayres (1992-2006)

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Castleton.

• Castleton Square Mall - Simon.com

Coordinates: 39°54′32″N 86°03′54″W / 39.90889°N 86.06500°W / 39.90889; -86.06500